『Shizuko Yukimori』
Shizuko arrived at the front door to the house she had not visited in hundreds of years. She slowly opened the door, her hearing still not quite working, but able to make out the distinct screech of rusty hinges. Though the outside of the house was the perfect picture of normal, the inside told a different story.
There were the skeletons of dead fighters scattered about the broken structure, left to lie where they fell on the day of the assault. Shizuko paused briefly at the sight of a skeleton's rib cage pinned to the wall with a sword. "Gorou..." He was one of her older brothers, the fifth born of the septuplets. Shizuko moved quickly on, not wanting to be caught wallowing in the mire of her family's history.
She made her way towards the center of the house, intent on gathering heirlooms to take with her to her future home. She arrived with little incident, discounting the stairway that collapsed when she attempted to walk up it. Entering the untouched room, she was pleased to find that everything was exactly as it was when she had last left it, hundreds of years ago. She moved to the stand at the very center of the room, examining the large, ancient scroll that sat upon it.
That would be the last thing she took. First, the Zanpakuto's. She couldn't take the Zanpakuto's of her entire lineage - there were hundreds, for thousands of years of Yukimori's. She settled for those of her immediate family, gathering the seven Zanpakutos of her brothers, as well as her father's and mother's. Wrapping each first individually, then in a bundle, she hefted them with one hand, and tucked the scroll away under the other. There. She had what she had come for.
She made her way out of the house for the last time, freezing when she sensed nearby presences. "Come out. I know you're there." At her call, dozens of figures emerged. Among, there were three that Shizuko payed attention to. Captain Kumiko of the 2nd Division, as well as Lieutenant Tsukiko Fujiwara and 3rd Seat Reynard Nuit.
"Give up this escape, Shizuko. There is no way this can end well for you." Tsukiko spoke, as the Captain had long ago taken a vow of silence.
"I do not wish to fight you, and I am doubtful of my ability to win against such a large number. I promise, though, that my death will cost you much more than you will gain." Shizuko spoke calmly, though her heart was beating rapidly. She settled the Zanpakutos against the side of the house, and carefully balanced the scroll on top of them.
The Captain already had a hand on her sword, something Shizuko could not allow - her Bankai was devastatingly powerful, and Shizuko had very little chance of winning a fight where it was directed at her. Quick as possible, she drew her own sword, and released, not only Shikai, but immediately to Bankai. She only had enough energy for one shot at this, so she was determined to take down the Captain.
With Bankai active, the moment she Shunpo'd out of sight, she could see the group acting in confusion. Taking advantage of said confusion, she concentrated on Kumiko. With a incantation-less Zoufuku, she thrust her hand out and began gathering Reiatsu. "Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness! Hadō #90. Kurohitsugi!" A torrent of black and purple energy flew towards the Captain and engulfed her in a black box in a moment. The direction the Reiatsu had come from alerted them once more to her presence, though it was too late. The gigantic black box had already been formed, and the spears of Reiatsu were already thrusting through it.
A moment later, the Reiatsu of the Captain vanished. She was dead. Never taking her eyes off of Shizuko, Tsukiko cursed at her. "Damn you! Kill her!" The masses of unseated Shinigami charged at Shizuko, but with a mere incantation-less Suchīru Ryūsandan, she managed to break the charge, killing many and scattering the survivors.
She turned her attention to Tsukiko, her next real threat. A Lieutenant with Bankai, and this time, Shizuko did not have the energy to simply finish her off as cleanly as the Captain. As Shizuko Shunpo'd towards her, she heard Tsukiko speak. "Blaze, Nishi Hōō!" With such small words, a blast of Tsukiko's release pushed back against Shizuko's attack, effectively stopping her. A wave of heat accompanied it, forcing Shizuko to close her eyes. When she opened them, Tsukiko was adorned with two wings made of fire.
Shizuko knew the properties of these wings - one touch, and whatever it was would burn, providing Tsukiko with an additional source of Reiatsu to power her Rising Sun. Try as she might, Shizuko could not think of a way to bypass her defense technique - it was an incomplete Bankai, and activated without Tsukiko's permission. Shizuko's only choice would be to take Tsukiko down twice.
Pushing the offense once more, Shizuko Shunpo'd forward, making it inside Tsukiko's defense right as she finished the release. A quick swing of her sword removed Tsukiko's lower left arm, which Shizuko threw to the side. She kept track of it, as she had plans for it. With her free hand, she slammed Tsukiko in the chest. "Shatter and return! Hado #43. Hone no Hahen!" The force of the blow utterly caved in Tsukiko's chest, but that wan't the primary effect. The bones of her rib cage shattered and were blown out her back creating massive exit wounds, before being seized by Shizuko's Kido and forcefully pulled back into her body, and out the front, perforating the Lieutenant.
Shizuko quickly jumped back as Tsukiko fell to the ground, gasping, and moments later, was consumed in a massive sphere of fire. Her rebirth process had begun. It would take some time, so Shizuko turned to the last seated member, Reynard Nuit. He was much faster than Shizuko, so any attempts to blitz him would end in failure. Deciding on an area attack, she once more forwent an incantation. With a mere thought, several circles appeared on the ground, each one covering one of Reynard's obvious escape routes. "Hado #59. Incinerating Pillar." Reynard didn't have the highest knowledge of Kido, so he did not recognize the spell, making him that much more vulnerable to it. When Shizuko rushed him, he easily Shunpo'd away, but, true to her suspicions, had chosen to stop in an area directly above her Kido. The pillar exploded upwards, and true to it's name, instantly incinerated the 3rd Seat.
Shizuko Shunpo'd around, picking off the last of the unseated, when an explosion signaled to her that Tsukiko's rebirth had completed, and the Lieutenant was back to full health. Tsukiko surveyed the scene of destruction with horror, before her eyes landed on Shizuko, and comprehension dawned on her. "You b***h...."
"I did not wish for this, but I cannot allow you to stop me." With that, Shizuko Shunpo'd towards the discarded arm, picking it up. As she suspected, Tsukiko took up a normally unbeatable defensive stance, her wings wrapping around her, prepared to destroy anything that attempted to pass through. "I am fortunate that I was around when you learned the specifics of your Bankai, as I also know the specifics. Like the fact that your fires cannot effect yourself. Or any piece of yourself." Casting a Shakkahō, Shizuko burnt the arm she was hold to a crisp, leaving only the bone behind. With several quick motions with her sword, she carved a point into it, and without further ado, flung the bone directly at Tsukiko. It passed through the fire barrier without interruption, and pierced the Lieutenant's heart.
Not bothering to watch Tsukiko fall, Shizuko turned to collect the bundle of Zanpakuto's and the scroll, wobbling slightly as her exhaustion hit her like a wave. While she had not been physically injured in the fight, the amount of stress she had put on her body had extended the healing time by several days.
With all she had to do completed, Shizuko Shunpo'd away, headed for the Main Senkaimon, where she had promised to meet up with Noire.
