Central Seireitei

[Bane]

“You know, you’re really good; you’ve got a good nose, no pun intended. To think, out of the entire Seireitei, it was you who figured me out, a Vice rank. Impressive, impressive indeed. I’m not a betting man, but I should’ve bet on you.”

The Captain's voice echoes within a blue barrier, erected around his head by the snapping finger of the spirit detective. Hashimoto’s goggles may have protected from the hue, but not the casting of this Bakudo spell, primed to be activated by the already clasped hands of his arrestor. It would take only a single thought for Kasuka to now decapitate the Captain, and surely that would be the easiest thing to do. Especially if Hashimoto intends to provide exactly what Kasuka wants, the artifact that he had stolen. What guarantee then is there that the boy would spare his life?

The Fifth Captain’s praise falls flat on the boy detective, whose casual demeanor betrays his hyper-vigilance. The Captain possesses two scabbards, and yet only one Zanpakuto. Could it be that he had drawn his weapon already, or worse, activated his shikai or bankai? Surely Kasuka would have been able to sense such a release, and yet in this situation it is foolish to believe there are no unknowns. Regardless, the Vice-Kido chief focuses intently on both the traitor and the prisoner, forced to ignore if he has somehow fallen under a zanpakuto’s effect.

“Let’s just be cool about this, yeah?”

“Oh yea, let’s be cool, definitely, I think you’ve earned this for a damn good job.”

With his hands still clasped together, Kasuka watches his detainee, feeling the skin tighten around his skull as his brow furrows. The Captain is too worry-free in this situation, either confident that he has already won, or hoping to lower his captors guard for a trick. Despite Hashimoto’s disposition, Kasuka’s mind is not present on him, but rather on what to do with him. This situation is difficult, and he must decide what aspects of the case to prioritize, even including his own survival. Hashimoto must face justice, the artifact must be secured, and Kano must not be released. Kasuka’s own life is not a concern, except that his death would result in a loss of one of these priorities. He has arrived at the board, and identified the pieces, but is it possible to take the knight, the rook, and secure the queen in a single move? What will he have to sacrifice in order to do so?

The Captain raises an outstretched hand, and Kasuka looks away. No fool, he knows the ease in which Tanma Otoshi (タンマ落とし, Time-Out Drop) can be casted, having utilized the deception countless times himself. Fortunately, his own spiritual sensing does not necessitate a visual of his surroundings in order to account for them, and yet it is not preferable to lose eye contact with his target. Above the Captain’s glowing palm, the Fuin no Kagi emerges, already activated. Under the yellow light of Itai Ryōken, the artifact could be instantly transferred to Kasuka’s possession, and in that same instant, Hashimoto could be executed. Yet, the artifact does not remain dormant, and so, not knowing how fast it can be used, it is also possible that Hashimoto might be able to break the barrier around his head faster than Kasuka’s reiatsu can reach it. Perhaps this is why the Captain acted with such ease, despite already having his head placed in a guillotine.

Instead, the moment the Fuin no Kagi appears, Kasuka outstretches his own hand, holding a five-fingered open palm to the air in front of his Shikai’s snout. Hashimoto in turn would not have seen this action, instead seeing only a glowing white light, which shines so strongly that it acts like a flashbang, shattering the Captain’s goggles and blinding his vision. This is because, in the same moment that the Fuin no Kagi appears, and Kasuka reaches out his hand, Hashimoto’s location instantly changed. Instead of decapitating him, approaching him, or attempting to capture him in an additional spell, Kasuka simply pre-casted Tanma Otoshi, and teleported Hashimoto directly to it, using his Shikai’s fetch ability.

Up until now the two had been caught in a standoff. The summoning of the artifact served as the clock striking noon, and instead of seeing who could draw quicker, the detective chose to cheat. Using his cunning, he strategically deployed Standing Ovation as a decoy and insurance policy. If the opponent thinks they know the next move, they’re more confident in making a mistake. In this case, Hashimoto was given no time to register what occurred, having already fallen under Kasuka’s Shikai effect the moment he arrived. As such, a blinding white light shatters the Captain’s goggles, causing his blue-cubed head to fall limp, and his body to dangle unconscious from Corpse Hound’s mouth.

The artifact however, falls through the air, glowing with its signature spiritual energy. Yet it would not clatter to the floor, but instead find itself encased in an orange barrier. Though Kasuka is ignorant in how to operate the item, his hope is that it requires a conscious user, and so cannot be activated remotely to destroy the barrier it is already in. With this, much like a television screen turning off, the orange cube would blink out of sight. Using the same technique he had done for his coffee cup earlier this evening, the Vice-Kido Chief archived and teleported the item away. Hopefully, this would mean it remains safe in his possession, until it can be returned to the vaults of eighth.

With Hashimoto and the Fuin no Kagi secure, Kasuka had succeeded in solving the case he was assigned. Yet these two proved to be symptoms of a much larger conspiracy, and the boy does not find any ease. Turning the open palm in front of Hashimoto’s face into a closed fist, Kasuka activates Bakudō #63. Sajō Sabaku (鎖条鎖縛, Locking Bondage Stripes; Viz "Ethereal Binding Chain"), causing a thick rope of yellow light to manifest, and wind itself around Hashimoto should something occur that could cause him consciousness. With this, the Captain was under the effects of Standing Ovation, Timeout Drop, and Locking Bondage Stripes. A triple kido infusion the ensures he would not find consciousness, could not move should he do so, and would be executed even should he be able to achieve both movement and consciousness.

The details of his situation provided no comfort. It was not lost on Kasuka that Hashimoto was missing a zanpakuto, and that the Fuin no Kagi had already been activated. So who had the Zanpakuto, and where is the being who possesses the power of the Vasto Lorde? Could it be that this creature was still here with them, and also in possession of a Zanpakuto? Or perhaps in one of his excursions to Hueco Mundo, Hashimoto had struck a bargain to activate the Fuin no Kagi ahead of time? Even worse, could it be the woman imprisoned in front of him?

Kasuka’s eye twitches, as it cuts to Kano’s own gaze, smiling back at him. The item was active, and in her presence, even if just for a singular moment in time. Was this enough to break her bindings? Was she the one in possession of his Zanpakuto? Kasuka swallows his nerves, knowing well the look he recieves. Like Hashimoto, Kano is not perturbed. Rather, she is overjoyed, excited, interested in the strange arrival of the boy from the jump. Something else is going on here, and the great detective deduces that the table is turned. He took the knight and the rook, but in doing so placed himself in the path of the queen.

“Bakudō #99, Part 1-”

Clack.

Suddenly, one of the thirty seals beneath the prisoner's feet diminishes. Rapidly, Kasuka throws his hands out to his sides, before bringing his index and middle fingers together in front of him. Bracing himself for the impact of Kano’s Reiatsu, he shouts the name of his incantation, bestowing in it an additional level of power. From the ground, black bandages rise, slithering up Kano’s body, engulfing her in an additional cocoon of spiritual fabric. This binding spell would hope to ensure that Kano’s body remains pinned, hoping to make up for the release of a single restriction.

"Kin!"

With this, Thirty Three black roots extend from her body, as Kasuka’s Prohibition spell forms an additional black “X” across the Muken floor. Following this moment, several iron shafts materialize across her bindings, each one falling with a thunderous echo as they clash into the ground, pinning the fabric between metal and stone.

Behind Kasuka, the Twenty Foot Hound stands, primed to strike, and yet seemingly unbothered by the situation, as though unable to register events. The blank-minded beast does however respond to the will of its master, and as such, a second body suddenly manifests in its mouth. Alongside the limp and contained form of Hashimoto, would be the undoubtedly confused and yet very much aware body of one Itaku Ōhei, who is subsequently released to the ground. Summoned in this moment as the last person to accompany Kasuka and be subjected to his Shikai’s vision, and so the first person to appear in the boy’s mind. Additionally, Itaku was deduced to be a talented user of Kaido, and seemingly of other forms of Demonic Arts, as such, he is a prime candidate to assist Kasuka in this situation.

“Take Hashimoto and get out of here!”

With these orders, Kasuka’s shikai beast turns and begins running from the compound, its padded footfalls deathly silent. Kasuka is banking on Itaku’s intelligence to deduce events, as well as his compliance to follow Corpse Hound, given that Kasuka’s own attention has to stay focused on maintaining the spell. As such, he does not turn to look at Itaku, or seemingly address his appearance or explain the situation any further than the orders given. Instead, Kasuka’s fingers remain interlocked, and his body remains braced, feeding the Bakudo his reiatsu as he prepares for Kano’s retaliation.

Though only a single restriction was lifted before the detective sprung into action, it is likely that given an inch, Kano can take a mile. Any prisoner of the Muken is a threat to soul society itself, possessing such immeasurable spiritual power that they cannot be killed by any known means. As the foremost expert of restriction, binding, and barrier spells, there is no soul more qualified for this moment. Yet a spell like this requires constant maintenance, and so Kasuka suspects that he will have to go down with the ship. He has no choice but to put his faith in the strange Itaku, especially since it is uncertain who all remains alive, let alone who is currently in charge. Regardless, Kasuka was the only one to deduce the true threat, and now he is the only who can confront it.

“I’m counting on you, Itaku.”

 

[Nobody]

"Yea, what is in the Muken-"

In the middle of questioning the elder on what exactly is in the Muken that he was worried about getting out, as if to answer his question Itaku finds himself no longer in the Shiba Compound, the Third Seat finds himself surrounded by darkness. Dangling above ground he squints his eyes while looking around almost recoiling when seeing a body dangling next to him. Lowered to the ground his mind is immediately filled with a flurry of questions. What was going on, where was he? HOW DID HE GET HERE? Yet, even with all his questions, he asks none of them, instead he comes to a brief realization, his head shifting back up towards the massive dog. It was not the dog that was drawing his focus, but something he had noticed while being held by the beast.

"Captain Hashimoto?"
Was it coincidence, that just when Captain Hashimoto was being mentioned and discussed by Vice Captain Aoji and Captain Nakazawa, the very man Itaku himself was still searching for, that he'd be hand delivered to him...so to speak.
​

“Take Hashimoto and get out of here!”​

His eyes having adjusted to the darkness, he turns noting a familiar, smaller shape and reiatsu. Having been wondering where the boy vanished to, and given the all encompassing darkness he finds himself in it seems he had his answer. Kasuka shouts out a command. Itaku couldn't tell if the boy was talking to him or the monstrous towering dog, but he could tell that things were dire at the moment. As if on cue and on one accord both the canine and Itaku turn tail and run, leaving Kasuka alone with...whatever it was that was in this dark pit with him. Instead of concern for the boy, Itaku finds himself incredibly curious.

"So..I'm currently in the Muken, which is clearly where Kasuka went to from the Shiba Compound back when he was with us. "
Shunpo propels him forward, working to maintain a steady pace with the strange dog while he compiles and organizes his thoughts. Distance and time incomprehensible in this place, so he has no means of knowing how far they've distanced themselves from Kasuka and how much farther they must travel to reach the service, let alone if they were even going in the right direction to begin with. His eyes shift towards the mouth of the dog.
"Captain Hashimoto who's been absent while the Seireitei was thrown into chaos, seems to have been down here in the Muken. And this strange dog...I'm confident now that this is Kasuka's shikai. Since I appeared in its mouth so suddenly I'm guessing it holds some sort of spacial ability. Am I right boy?"

He asks the trotting dog with a smile, the beast of course offering no response to his forced traveling companion. It doesn't even seem to acknowledge Itaku's presence, focused on a singular task. Itaku frowns, but dismisses it. He can tell that Kidō has been used on the scheming Captain, clearly the boy wonder's doing. So now he's determined what he does know, but there were still things left unanswered.

"What was that bastard Hashimoto doing down here? How long has he been down here? I still need him to give an account on what happened to that failure of a Lieutenant of mine."

He was also uncertain how long the good Captain would be indisposed for. Lacking information on a good portion of the Captain's ability he couldn't be certain that Kasuka's contingencies and the weird mutt would be sufficient enough to deal with a Captain, especially one so secretive as Hashimoto. Who knows what tricks he held up that greasy sleeve of his. Reluctantly, Itaku's hand drops towards his obi, stopping several inches above it. The area beneath shimmers as his zanpakuto slowly bleeds into view. Gripping the handle of Genriron, as he maintains focus on Hashimoto, glancing his way every so often. 'Yea, stay just like that until we get out of here.' A demand or a silent plea? Perhaps even Itaku didn't know. Fingers clench harder around Genriron as he quickens his pace as he journeys through the dark.

 

[admins]

Captain Nakazawa and Hachi arrived at the Muken nigh simultaneously, a remarkable feat for the Third Seat that garnered him a compliment. “Damn Hachi…didn’t think you’d grown this much…Old Man told you to come, huh?”

Before the conversation could continue, the escalation of Hachiko’s spiritual power, and the response made by the overbearing rise of the Kenpachi’s Reiatsu was followed by the destruction of the Northwestern Quarter of the Seireitei. Even though one could not see, behind the Captain’s shades, his eyes widened as he clenched down hard on his teeth. He of all knew the consequence of the Kenpachi’s actions; shock quickly turned to anger, his own spiritual power speaking to the fury boiling within his heart, spreading out through the Muken without abandon. And yet, he took in a deep breath, looked into the blackness of the abyss, and said, “Don’t get in my fucking way, you hear me?”

Whatever response Hachi would give, the Captain would not care to wait for.

The two of them vanished into the black.
​

---

Listen While You Read

Kasuka Rikai was an intellectual unmatched, a Soul who you knew would always have a contingency plan for the contingency plan; as an ally, you knew victory as a certainty; as an enemy, a hindrance unrivaled.

Calculations, theories, and precautions; all of which manifested in the sequence of actions taken by the Seireitei’s Hound; the casting of Standing Ovation, the subsequent teleportation of the Captain into the flash of Tenma Oroshi, Hashimoto hanging unconscious within Corpse Hound’s maw, the containment of the Fuin no Kagi within Kasuka’s orange barrier, the snaking of Sajō Sabaku around the detained Captain, the violation of Kin upon the Mother of Vizards, and finally the summoning of the peculiar Itaku. It seemed the Vice Kido-Chief had made his move, and it all came to be as he envisioned it. The board had been set, and Kasuka sought to force the game into checkmate, the Boy facing Kano with hands clasped awaiting what he was certain would come, and his Hound alongside Itaku racing off into the pitch black of Muken with Captain and artifact in hand.

Kano remained absolutely still save for her consuming eyes of purple, which looked up and down upon Kasuka hungrily. Then, Captain Hashimoto’s voice broke the silence…

“Oh no, you’ve caught me! Guilty as charged…”

Before Kasuka’s very eyes, the Captain materialized, the back of his white haori shone under Coprse Hound’s yellow gaze…? Had the boy’s Shikai disobeyed orders, and returned to its original place? The Captain jumped to face Kasuka, hands raised up in surrender.

“Oohoo, so that’s what you’re after?”

The Fuin no Kagi…came to be above the Captain’s open palm, resonating with its undisturbed spiritual power. But how? Hadn’t Kasuka confiscated the item within his masterful barrier? A glance up at his salivating beast would find a second Hashimoto hanging unconscious. And like before, Itaku of the Strings suddenly appeared within the beast’s maw.

Clack.
Clack.
Clack

“Sagishi Hashimoto, I am placing you under arrest.”

An unmistakable voice rang from behind Kasuka…it was his own? From the darkness emerged a second yet identical Kasuka.

“Hand over the Fuin no Kagi, and step away from the prisoner.”

Then the strangest thing happened, Kasuka’s vantage point and perspective shifted, as he now found himself further forward, looking back over his shoulder to see himself clasping his hands tight.

“Kasuka…” he heard his own injured voice echo from his front. When he glanced forward, he would see a mirror image of himself, eyes nearly gone white, falling forward face first. “..run…”

Clack.

The yellow of his Corpse Hound grew brighter and brighter as it turned a blinding white.

Clack.

A subtle ring penetrated his ears.

Clack.

The ringing grew louder.

Clack.

And louder.

Clack.

Until he could do nothing but close his eyes, and clasped at his ears, as it felt like his brain was about to explode. Then suddenly did the debilitating ringing deafen, followed by an absolute and relieving silence. When Kasuka opened his eyes, he found himself in a different place, one where only the color white existed. So too had Itaku experienced the same debilitations, now standing beside the Boy Genius, the both of them able to interact and recognize each other. But alas, this was surely not the time, for a third entity stood before them both.

“Ka…su…ka,” the Vice Kido-Chief heard, the male voice strangely echoing too close for comfort…like it had originated from within his own mind. Itaku, on the other hand, would only come to experience a demonic cackling, it too sourced from somewhere deep within.

“You,” the levitating woman said, glaring at Itaku. He suddenly felt a paralysis fall over him, unable to move in any capacity. She then hovered toward him, placing her devouring purple eyes inches before his. She clasped his smooth jaw within her soft hand, elongated fingernails digging into his cheeks. “Are so much more than you pretend to be,” she inched forward, looking down at his lips, then back into his eyes. “I will bring your true self out for everyone to see.”

Kasuka, who surely remained where he had manifested, would not be able to do much else but watch, for he too experienced the same inhibiting paralysis. Kano’s gaze turned to fall upon him. “And you,” she said, now speaking to Kasuka. She shifted right to hover before the Boy Genius, looking down at him. “You were not a part of my plan, and yet…you have so much potential…” She placed a single finger under his chin, forcing Kasuka’s head back. “...I will give you my gift…rise, and cause the Heavens to tremble.”

The woman then looked out into the distance, and smiled. “Finally, the Chosen One.”

A sequence of back to back clacks resounded throughout the domain…the final seals?!

Both Kasuka and Itaku felt a sharp pain cut down the middle of their backs, excruciating and debilitating; they both fell forward onto the hard ground. An abrupt sickness befell them both, a nauseating pain piercing the pit of their guts, spreading quickly to reach their hearts, and continued up through their throats and into their skulls. From their mouths burst forth a distasteful of white liquid, snaking up and expanding to cover their faces.

Suddenly, the robed woman appeared some distance ahead, and surrounding her on both sides were several beings; Captain Hashimoto, Shika Shiba, younger sister of Choko, an Onmitsukido Operative, two more unidentified Shinigami…and a Hollow, who looked more human than beast. They all looked upon the pained and prone duo with smirks and devilish smiles, Kano the only one with palpable empathy, like a mother would look upon her children. Behind them all the fabric of reality tore open; the unmistakable Garganta. One by one they walked into its black maw, the last of them being the Mother of Vizards, and as the passageway closed shut, her words rang within their minds. “Rise, my children.”

Her words were the last things they heard before their worlds went black.
​

---

When Captain Nakazawa and the Wind-Walker arrived, they would come to a peculiar and unsettling revelation. Before them, a large beast looking down upon an empty throne, all seals broken, and two Shinigami, fallen unconscious, a strange white liquid slithering over their faces.

“What the fuck?” Captain Nakazawa asked anyone who understood any bit of what was happening. “Hachi,” the Captain declared, but no response came. “Yo, Hachi-”

The Captain turned to find the Third Seat standing before him, eyes wide, a white snake escaping from his open maw, slithering up to solidify over his face. Upon arriving, Hachi’d felt a sickness come over him, though he could not explain from what. A look into his Shihakusho would elucidate an answer; had the Violent Gale forgotten the device handed to him by the Onmitsukido Agent at the desecrated village in his home district? Within it had been hidden a most despicable poison that would only come active when in its mother’s residual presence. The question that would surely plague him, if he were to survive, was: why him?

A foreign voice began to laugh within Hachi's mind.

So the Captain of the Thirteenth found himself in a void of black, his Division exterminated, and surrounded by three demons.​

 

[admins]

Captain Shihaimono thanked his Vice Captain upon the completion of her broadcasting task, and soon after did a handful of medics arrive to tend to the unconscious Commander and the near-death Third Seat.

Things took a sudden turn, as in the Northwest, Hachiko’s spiritual power rose alarmingly, followed by the entire Seireitei’s trembling, and then by the Kenpachi’s all-consuming Reiatsu. Then, everyone’s world was overtaken by an explosion that brought the Soul Society to its knees, and upon its fiery walls was etched the Kenpachi’s demonic, grinning visage. Just like that, the Northwestern portion of the ancient and historic Seireitei, vanished.

With back to his Vice-Captain and the working medics, Captain Shihaimono looked upon the infinitely tall fiery waves as its hues transformed the visible world into one blood red and blistering orange. When it subsided, and their view upon Sōkyoku Hill was replaced by the black of soot and smoke, did the Captain finally turn to face his Vice-Captain. He shook his head disappointingly and sighed. “Kenta…you animal…” His cold eyes fell upon Fuyuko. “Come with me. Secure their Zanpakuto,” by their, the Vice Captain would rightfully infer that of the Commander’s and Muzen’s. The Captain made his way past them all as he marched with haste toward the Chamber of the Central Forty-Six.

“There are yet criminals that require sentencing.”​

 

[Nobody]

"Huh wha-?"
Itaku stands, surrounded by white on all fronts. The relief he felt from that blasted ringing in his ear, no..in his brain was suppressed. Partially by will, and partially by confusion, finding himself back in the company of the boy wonder. How strange, having once been traveling through darkness only to now be seated in light. 'Someone's playing a very unfun game he-' His thoughts are cut off at the sight of a woman appearing before them with no sign of her approach or arrival. Itaku reflexively takes hold of his zanpakuto. ​

“You, are so much more than you pretend to be. I will bring your true self out for everyone to see.”​

Still gripping and holding his zanpakuto Itaku finds himself incapable of doing anything else. His body refuses his commands, his reiatsu too appears to disobey him refusing to rouse itself to assist him in breaking out of whatever this was that was restricting him so. He continues to try and move in vain as the woman draws ever closer to him. Her consuming purple gaze peering into his emerald hues. Her touch made him want to recoil, an act beyond his power at the moment. 'This bitch!' He spat out in rage in the confines of his mind.

Likewise the annoying hag turned giving the boy wonder a similar treatment, or at least he assumed she was. He couldn't exactly shift his gaze to see at the moment, much to his chagrin. 'What's that sou-GAH!?' The clacking isn't lost to the frozen Itaku, unfortunately for him he had other pressing matters to worry about. The sharp pain in his back jolted his mind, his body still defiant to his commands fell forward. At times like this, his Kaido was usually more than enough to take over.

This wasn't like those other times.

His stomach seemed to twist and churn painfully, his body stiffening and tensing up as it began to lightly convulse. Eyes once paralyzed begin to widen, and absent of his will his mouth opened up as he began to retch loudly. Heaving and wheezing he begins retching again as a strange white substance is regurgitated and expelled from his mouth. Instead of pooling on the ground around and beneath him however, it moves as though alive. Rising up only to snap back towards his face as if it were elastic. It smothers him, the sounds from his mouth muffled as he writhed, his body now apparently able to move hands drop the zanpakuto he had been holding to claw at his covered face, the white substance refusing to relent as it shifts and morphs.

Was this how it ended for him? Was he going to truly meet such a pathetic and ugly end, in a place like this? Summoned in a place filled only with darkness, only to be transported in a place where only white existed, Itaku is returned to the dark once more as everything goes black.​

​

 

[Amaya Munetoshi]

Fuyuko rested her arms at her sides taking in the various reiastu signatures around the seritei. She could feel hachiko's monstrous signature flare then vanished within that of the Kenpachi's own. She watched in silent acknowledgement before hearing the confirmation of her captain's acknowledgement "Hachiko..."She whispered before sensing a change as one of their former ninth , Old man Oto's own join in, battling against the kenpachi's own. She was almost in a trance following the signatures and their fight. She was hoping this chaos was to end.


She turned her attention back to the notice of the squad of medics as she turned moving to the captain commander and the third seat. She felt horrible for the way things were turning out. This morning was peaceful now. captains were fighting captains. Her own took on the commander and a third seat for what? What was all this bloodshed for? Her emotionless eyes focused on the next order. Securing their zanpackuto.

She crouched down next to the commander, taking ahold of his zanpackuto before moving over to the third seat, seeing him still barely alive. " I am sorry for all of this, Please survive. Our talk is not to end here." She whispered retrieving his own Zanpackuto as she stood up, placing both within her own belt. her emerald green eyes watched him before she stood up moving after Shihaimono as she followed hearing their next course of action.

She wanted to believe he was right but this blood and chaos, the lost of so many stories. No, she had to know the full truth before she could decide where she stood. Taking him on, while plausible, She was no where near capable of doing so. Not yet anyways. She listened as she heard their next step. Heading the chambers of Central 46. A place she knew some of her own family has graced from time to time.

She followed in Silence ignoring Shibori's laugh in the back of her head at the threads of thought and action forming.

" Oh! Oh! Are we finally getting some break throughs?" asked the voice in glee
"Shut up." she responded quietly
"Oh you can say that when you actually take off that mask you wear." Teased the spirit back as she sighed following after her captain.

She looked towards the battle once again feeling the kenpachi's signature finally fade, Oto's barely there " Good job old man." She whispered​

 

[admins]

Three immobilized Shinigami lay face-down on the dark, cold floor of the Muken; all three befallen with a grotesque ailment, serpentine white goo pouring from their maws out and back over to cover their contorted expressions. Above them stood a single Shinigami, a Captain, who looked upon the red of their sliced backs with pity and disgust. One of the affected he knew, a compatriot from centuries past, and the other two he knew only by name.

Vizards? Was it what these three were transforming into? It was a concept foreign even to a Captain of the Gotei 13; Captain Nakazawa had never encountered one in the long life he’d lived, the little he did know of them derived from ambiguous tales from millenia past; scant details on what they were, much less what they looked like. He didn’t do well with the unknown, never one to enjoy surprises; situations like these always gave him headaches, and so the migraine that struck him came as expected. What was also expected was the Captain’s unending curiosity, which led him to seek answers to his many questions.

A hell butterfly materialized at the tip of his flared, custom Haori and within it a message imprinted:

Some weird Vizard shit happening in Muken. A Vice-Captain and two Third Seats affected by whatever this is. I’m alone, requesting backup. Captain Nakazawa, out.

The black creature flapped its wings once and then it was off to deliver the Captain’s message; the recipient: First Division HQ.

“Hey, you,” the Captain directed his ignored command at the squirming Itaku, the likes of which remained facing down at the ground. The sound of the Captain grunting was accompanied by the unsheathing of his Zanpakuto. He made his way toward Itaku, kneeled down, grabbed the Third Seat’s arm, and then turned him upright to find…
​

---

Meanwhile, deep within someone's soul...

From the black did Itaku of the Strings awaken to find himself within the deepest reaches of his soul; around him he would find the ever-changing expanse of his inner world, rooms and corridors and doors sliding and shifting evermore. Typically, the Third Seat would find his trip into Genriron’s sanctum a perplexing endeavor. But, the purple-haired snake would find this time an anomaly, for next to him sat his vindictive Zanpakuto spirit.

Before either could get a word in, a deafening rumble could be heard out in the distance of the never-ending maze. From all sides, a black shadow crept inward toward Itaku and Genriron, consuming the spirit’s world whole. Then was the source of the rumbling made clear, a deep resonating snickering! Above them, some ways away, a wretched visage strewn across the blackness: a pair of gigantic, demonic, yellow eyes peered down, a wretched white toothed smile twisted in a grin.

The display was accompanied by footsteps, up ahead! From the darkness emerged an exact copy of Itaku…yet discolored in black and white. Within its yellow and black eyes could one see the devil, its toothy grin resembling that of the visage that yet remained in the dark sky above.​

 

[Nobody]

"-up"

The voice was quiet, faint even as if coming from a distance. Where was he? He couldn't tell, he couldn't feel. Everything had grown dark.

"-ke up"

Again, the voice calls out, this time closer, a tad clearer yet still not close enough. It was just barely reaching his ears, rather than a voice it was more like a ringing in his ear. Just what was that noise? Why was he being bothered? Just what the hell was going on?

"WAKE UP!"

Itaku jolts up, eyes widened as he is met with a familiar scene. He stands within the deepest recesses of his soul, in the ever shifting realm, doors constantly in flux and motion. His breathing was heavy, labored his heart thumping heavily in his chest. He takes a moment to get his bearings. Had Genriron pulled him here? Where he expected for her typical cat and mouse game, he turns only to find she is there at his side. He takes a step back, confused. A wave of emotions comes over him; confusion at what is going on, and relief at the sight of a familiar face something he'd be sure to never admit aloud.

"Just what kind of weird games are you up to this ti-"

"KEKEKEKEKEEEEEE"

Itaku spins around, his words cut off by a foreign voice. A laughter, cold...sinister, and perhaps most importantly...foreign. It was not the doing of his zanpakuto as she remained seated beside him. It is only now does he also realize something is off with her. Gripping her signature instrument, her fingers do not move to play a single note. Instead she seems to be clenching the instrument tighter, clutching it against herself as though it were some sort of blanket. Yes, there was someone else here with them, but how? That should be impossible....right?

Darkness erupts from every shifting door, seeping from every corner as though the world itself was bleeding black.

"KEEKEEKEEKEE"

Strange and unsettling snickering echoes throughout the world as it is overtaken by the darkness. In the distance above them were two yellow lights, lingering like fire flies in the night. It is only when that large mocking smile etched itself did he realize that those were not fire flies, but eyes. Itaku focused his gaze and he soon wished he hadn't. What he was staring at...was him. Just, a different him. He turns his gaze to Genriron, preparing to question her about who and what that was.

"Nu uh uhhhh. No tattling you."

The spirit begins to glow in the same color of Itaku's reiatsu before becoming a comet, shooting up towards the now darkened ceiling and now into the hands of his strange doppleganger in her zanpakuto form.

SWIIIIIISH

The darkness retreats and Itaku finds himself standing in a single squared room, shoji doors on every side. A silhouette appears moving on the paper door behind him, prompting him to spin, attempting to catch the fleeting shadow. It then appears to be moving on his left, and again Itaku spins and again he fails to catch even the shadow's tail. He waits, emerald hues darting left, right, up then down until finally he feels a tap on his shoulder from behind.

"What'cha staring at?"

Itaku spins to meet the intruder, the dark twisted version of himself sporting his zanpakuto in one hand and a cheshire-like grin on his face. This time Itaku steels himself, staring the creature down. Calming his mind he works to accept the reality before him.

"You...you're-"

"That's right. I'm the BEST."

As if to finish the phrase of his other self, the doppleganger makes his declaration before bringing the zanpakuto down in a single swing. Itaku leaps back avoiding the slash by a hair, or...at least so he thought. He winces as blood spurts from his left shoulder. The creature had slashed in such an irregular manner that despite Itaku seemingly perceiving the cut, his timing and gauging of the distance and trajectory were slightly thrown askew. He grits his teeth, glaring at his darker self.

"See what I mean?"

He asks with a mocking grin, casually spinning the blade by piece of Genriron's glowing spirit thread, carefree in his entire disposition. It seemed that Itaku had quite the trial ahead of him, if he was to hope to remain himself.

 

[admins]

"…"

What Captain Nakazawa gazed upon was nothing short of horrific. Once a pure Shinigami, though unknown, in the midst of becoming something that went beyond the laws of the Spirit King.

White substance poured from Itaku’s agape mouth, eyes wide, pupils dilated; the young Shinigami lost within himself, a place deep and foreign to the Captain who held him. There would be no connection made, any bit of communication attempted, unintentionally ignored. Such was the assessment made by the Captain, and thus his options were narrowed to two: of the one which was evidently the most appropriate, he found himself unable to pursue. To kill a fellow Shinigami, one incapacitated, came outside the purview of his principle, let alone three. So he went with the only other path presented before him.

The Captain gave Itaku to the cold earth, gently, and then rose, free hand raised with palm open.

“Bakudō #9. Hōrin,” were the words that followed, orange radiating from his fingertips as a rope of spiritual energy shot forth, snaking its way around the three incapacitated abominations. One by one, they were each wrapped by a separate strand of the energy rope, pulled in close with every completion. Tied together like an unseemly gift, the three Shinigami were lifted, feet left to hang just shy off the ground, held within the Captain’s monstrously powerful grasp.

With a deep sigh exhaled, and his sealed Zanpakuto in hand, Captain Nakazawa vanished with three abominations in tow.
​

---

Within the First Division barracks was chaos. Captain Commander defeated; Captains dead; Kenpachi no more. The chain-of-command, and by extension the rule of law, broken. Divisions entirely left to the devices of the unknowing, many of which held no understanding of leadership.

Third Seat Takenaka stood within the Captain Commander’s office, dozens of subordinate Shinigami relaying incoming information and seeking guidance on matters untold. A particular sentence caught her attention, and so she commanded the room to silence. Only when silence came did she point to the source, a fellow officer, and commanded he repeat himself.

With slight hesitation, he said, “Ma’am, got a direct message from Captain Nakazawa…he says he’s encountered Vizards…?” The way he phrased it, a question? “He’s requesting backup, but got an update from him not long after saying he’s headed this way…?” Again, a question posed? The Third Seat took it as a cry for guidance.

“Prepare the First Division for Captain Nakazawa’s arrival! You!” she commanded, pointing at another officer. “Get someone from the Fourth here, yesterday! And you!” Pointing at another officer. “Send out a message to all Shinigami: ‘The Vizard have returned; all able bodied Seated Officers are to report to the First Division immediately!”

The room stood in shock at the sudden outburst, the commands of their superior taking time to sink in.

With a single “GO, NOW!” did they all disperse to complete their duties.​

 

[Nobody]

SWIIIiiish

The sound of rushing air continued one after the other. It was the strange man, bearing the likeness of Itaku swinging the blade violently and haphazardly, a blade that by all rights belonged to Itaku, but now lay in another's hands. "HEY HEY! WHERE EXACTLY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" The man calls out in his sinister voice, towards Itaku who had been fleeing and dodging to the best of his ability this whole time. The two of them locked in a game of tag, where even now this other Itaku remained the pursuer. While it may have been a game towards the crazed doppelganger, it was anything but that for Itaku.

"Gah-!" He glances down to see a piece of glowing red thread wrapped around his left ankle. 'Shit!' In what appeared to be a casual tug on the doppelganger's part, Itaku is sent swinging through the air like a toy, slamming through a series of the shifting rooms. Itaku's previous reaction wasn't solely from being caught. He knew better than anyone else, the abilities of his Zanpakuto. The time spent trying to escape his horror-like mirrored self was also spent observing what he could of this unexpected opponent. During his observation he noticed the blade's transformation, becoming a deep black, the tale tell sign his shikai was activated.

"Ugh, that hurts, what did I-" Pushing himself up off the ground, Genriron's powers already well in affect. Despite having been caught and ragdolled through the air, Itaku has no recollection of these moments. The memories of those events having begun to unravel, leaving him only with the pain of the collision and the memory of being pursued by his altered demented self. 'No, wait! It-it couldn't be.' Itaku stares at his hands, fingers slightly shaking. He knows. that if he was being chased one moment and was now lifting himself up off the ground the next with no recollection as to how, that could only mean one thing.

"Sucks doesn't it? Like having a bad hangover I imagine."

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH

The doppelganger shows himself, landing softly, hopping on his toes from one foot to the other, spinning Genriron the whole time by the nigh invisible glowing red thread, a thread that was once a vibrant purple. He smiles gleefully, his golden eyes almost seeming to glow as he oh so slowly begins to approach Itaku.

"Don't try too hard. The more you try to remember, the more your mind begins pulling and tearing itself apart, you're just gonna give yourself a headache, FRIIIIIEEEND."

He uses the last word almost mockingly, his white hair like Itaku's tied in a ponytail, the ponytail itself bobbing and swaying back and forth as this corrupted mirror of himself continues skipping his way towards Itaku. ​

---

ROOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!!!!!!

Outside, Itaku's mutating body released a boisterous rattling roar. The sound of snapping and crunching bones echoed as his body continued to shift, swelling and growing as the white amorphous material continued its spread. he fabric of his shihakusho began to tear, fingers elongated into talons, the man Itaku once was, was being erased. No, not yet at least. For now, he was being consumed, covered up and transformed into an abomination. His reiatsu normally under his control, now running rampant, whipping about viciously, his pools of spiritual power swelling and expanding. All of this visible to the appalled Captain Nakazawa, having assessed the situation on arrival and chose restraint rather than execution.

Ironic that Itaku who uses thread to bind others one way or another, now finds himself bound by a spiritual chord. How long would that last though? Even now, the chord binding him was straining, the monstrous Itaku's physical prowess alone pressing against the bakudo testing its limitations, but his increasing spiritual pressure combined was forming web like fractures along the thread before finally

SNAP

The binding chord becomes a ring of glowing spiritual dust, fragments from the spell as the hollow that was once Itaku begin rising to his full height, eyes aglow with primal fury. The creature's clawed hands retrieve something, Itaku's zanpakuto specifically.

ROOOOOOOAAAARRRR!!!

Another roar, this one louder, and more distorted. With it, came a shockwave of air produced from his beast like cry alone. Captain Nakazawa was now charged with dealing with an escaped animal, one that once called itself Shinigami.​

---

"Are you, a hollow?"

For the first time in a while, Itaku attempts dialogue with his other self once again. The skipping hollow finally stops. Still he continues to spin the zanpakuto by the thread, a twinkle in his eye as his grin widens. "A hollow huh? What makes you ask that?"

Itaku glares, struggling to restrain an outburst from being asked such a ridiculous question. He takes a breath, and straightens his posture locking eyes with...himself. "Pale skin, white hair, black schlera, yellow eyes, then there's that spiritual pressure of yours. Need I go on?" Itaku begins listing off the things that led him to the question he asked like a physician listing off the symptoms of a disease to a patient.

"Kekekeke"

The creature begins snickering, the spinning of Genriron finally coming to a stop as the doppelganger now breaks out into a fit of laughter, holding its sides. Itaku lifts his brow, annoyed at being laughed at. He prepares to ask what was so funny when- "You're wrong." As if reading his mind, the creature finally gives a coherent answer. His denial comes off as both firm and genuine. This puzzles Itaku.

"If you're not a hollow then-" "I thought I told you.."

Not allowing Itaku to finish his question, the doppelganger interjects.

CRASH

A thin red line traces itself along Itaku's left cheek, Genriron now embedded in the wall behind him. The flickering corrupted red thread traces back to the creature.

"I'm the best. Better than you in every way. And since I'm the best of the two of us, guess that means I get to stay and YOU hafta go."

The creature bearing his face finally makes his intentions known. Itaku understands that right now the who, what and how were irrelevant. Now, this was a fight of survival, he'd get his answers after that.