Central Seireitei

[Elk]

While Hideo spoke with the Arrancar, he felt something was off — his arms felt a little heavier, and as he was about to shunpo and swing, his eyes shifted over to his zanpakutō. The once shining metal had now turned to a dull-colored stone.

In that moment, his zanpakutō exploded — destroying his forearms, breaking his momentum, and causing him to fall to the ground for a moment. His eyes shifted down as the pain coursed through his body. But it wasn’t just the pain of his arms that was coursing through him — it was the feeling of loss, the feeling of himself being shattered due to his connection with his Bankai. He knew that once a Bankai breaks… it becomes irreparable.

”Destruction… Mmm, an injury that will last for quite some time…”
”Ah… Kidō…”

His senses felt altered. Then came a voice — one far too familiar to him. The dean had arrived, and he was the one with the Bankai. His eyes shifted around as the voice moved about, and his senses felt off — different. That voice, though, was unmistakable. It was his cousin. And if he knew his cousin well enough, he knew that he would have to go. As Antonio began to speak, Hideo shifted far and fast away, moving just enough distance to finally catch his senses.

His eyes shifted around, catching his bearing before sensing a runt of the litter — and he couldn’t help but crack a small smile. If anything, she had a way of brightening his day, though he knew one thing.
“If anyone is going to kill me, it would be her.”

Another flicker came as he appeared next to Suzume, his body leaning over as he pulled the hairpins out with his teeth before looking down at her.
“Sorry — we can’t have you wearing something that he could take and use against you or anyone here.”

“From what I can tell, the Arrancar can take inanimate objects and Kidō spells, moving them with his eye… it’s how he was able to move that one spell from our mystery man.”

“The Arrancar is capable of keeping up with the faintest of reiryoku abilities with ease. However, he struggled to keep up with my movement. High-speed movements might be able to help us distract him — and hopefully land a hit, or a killing blow…”

“Oh! Glad to see you here! But I’ll need your help to cut my arms off and cauterize my wounds…”

“We’re going to need all the help we can get. Let’s hope we can deal with their trump card that’s emerged — the Arrancar was speaking highly of her.”

“Battle plan: how about you and I try to run circles around him, stick close enough that it seems like we’re moving as one, land hits where we can, and avoid his gaze, don’t stop moving he can turn things into stone. There’s a chance he can turn us to stone.”


“Got anything you can add too that?”


He had been watching her reaction, a small smirk on his face — as if the world was alright. Was he confident now that she was here? More than likely. She was a rock he could often rely on, and he was hoping she would come up with something other than the beratement he was bound to receive from her.

​

 

[HankMoody]

“He sees fragments of the future—but not all of it. He looks in a straight line, projecting forward with very little context. Time bends, but it isn’t planned… assuming I can think faster than he can see, he very well just may be as blind as the rest of us.” the Shihōin thought. “I’m sure you could have used that piece of information, couldn’t you, cousin…” he finished with a faint exhale.​

He watched on as his brave, yet foolish family member was maimed within seconds—his bankai seemingly destroyed, his body left in critical condition. A sad sight, but there was little time for grief. The tides of war were still churning, and though it pained him to see his kin fall, such was the nature of their line of work. The battle must go on. The very sight sharpened the dean’s focus, reminding him that he too could share that same fate if even a single misstep was made.

The watery curtain now unveiled, the final battle waged amidst the thinning souls of the Soul Society’s military capital. Lives were lost on both sides, yet the outcome still hung in balance—waiting to be claimed by whichever will endure. The rising tides filled the barracks, their open crevices swallowed by the slow, relentless crawl of water and reiryoku. Yūichirō took into account everything—the shifting battlefield, the displaced energies, the faltering reiatsu of allies and enemies alike and the rubble that perpetuated all throughout the quadrant. Each detail filtered through a mind sharpened by centuries of combat. His bankai armed him, but it was his mind—his precision—it was always the knowledge he held that had kept him alive all these years.

Even now, as sunset-colored cubes flickered in his periphery, he knew this could very well be his final fight. But that was a problem for later. His yellow hues flicked left, then right. The endless arsenal of his thoughts churned like the ocean beneath him.
​

“Interesting…” he murmured, just barely shifting his foot forward and lifting his arm an instant before detonation.
​

The blast consumed the upper half of the First Division barracks, tearing apart towers and reducing nearby structures to fractured silhouettes. The shockwave rippled outward, its echo reaching the outer Seireitei—yet the blast itself unfolded strangely. Rather than expand upward in full bloom, it bent downward, channeled like a funnel into the watery arena below. If all eyes were not paying heed to the confrontation in the central Seireitei, this would at the very least draw some attention.

Using his speed and deep understanding of kido and reiatsu control, Yūichirō deduced the truth in a heartbeat: Antonio could seemingly ‘reverse’ the point of origin of kido and solidified objects, but only after it had been released. He had no foresight before activation—no foresight in motion. Just a reaction disguised as prediction.

“He sees the thread,” Yūichirō thought, “but not the knot.”

That single realization rewrote the battle in his mind.

Dodging the explosion itself was simple. With just a few precise, well-spaced steps, he blitzed through the pressure, landing on opaque Bakudō barriers as he ran—solidifying the energy beneath his feet like stepping stones, an elegant theft of concept from the Quincy technique, Hirenkyaku. He slid along the watery wall of his creation, his form cloaked in the faint shimmer of Bakudō twenty-six, unseen yet ever-present. At the same time, his control over the kido allowed him to curve the blast’s trajectory downward, forcing it to detonate within the bowl of his Bankai.

The redirected explosion engulfed Antonio’s enlarged form and the emerging tendrils that resembled hands that burst from the ground beneath them, consuming it all in spiritual fire, lightning and rising dust. It wouldn’t kill him—that much he knew—but it would delay him. Delay meant uncertainty. And uncertainty meant blindness. The tendrils however, if their density or properties were shared with their supposed user, then they as well would be incinerated by the backlash.
​

“He’s looking forward,” the dean mused to himself. “So I’ll move between where his eyes can't see...”​

Yūichirō began to break rhythm—not out of desperation, but intent. Every step, every flicker of reiatsu, every command he issued to his Zanpakutō was slightly out of sync with the last. An uneven tempo. A shifting current. To a being bound by the line of time, this erratic flow became invisible—unreadable. He wasn’t moving faster; he was moving asynchronously, existing in between the cracks of cause and effect. The next instant, the walls of his Bankai stirred—the membrane of its vast sea rippling to life, birthing countless tendrils of compressed water honed into piercing lances. They hummed silently through the smoke, fire, and brimstone—unseen, unheard.

Shin’en Yari, Lances of the Deep Abyss.

An eruption from every angle, spearing through the haze, homing in on the most distinct reiryoku in the area—Antonio’s. The Arrancar’s massive body would find itself impaled from every flank, each lance seeking out the countless eyes that dotted his form. Even if they missed the eyes directly, any spear that ran through his body would anchor itself to his limbs, and the rest of his body, while the rising waters at his feet would begin to thicken and slow his movement. Even piercing through the cocoon he seemed to be obsessed with, it only merely was a figurative obstacle in the way of his true target. Whatever existed within it would have to be dealt with later. The spears didn’t exist when Antonio looked into the future. They weren’t meant to. They were decisions born after his sight had ended—choices that lived only in the blind fold of the present.
​

“Let’s see you predict this,” Yūichirō whispered.​

The lances constricted, their hold tightening as the tides surged higher to meet the soundless storm that followed. Unbeknownst to Hideo—or even Antonio—Yūichirō had never stayed still. From the instant the kido detonated, he was in constant motion, weaving through the chaos, forming another set of sunset-colored cubes and sealing them within the vast ocean of his Bankai. Leaping from the inorganic wall, golden light surged from his hands. He slashed through the air in rapid, intersecting arcs—each motion clean, deliberate, and unrelenting.
​

“Hadō number seventy-eight, Zangerin,” he whispered. ​

The spell erupted in its wide arc, but instead of its familiar ring, it manifested as a cascading stream of light, reminiscent of Hadō thirty-two, Ōkasen while using his speed to discharge it in a direct circle, like Bakudō sixty-three: Rikujōkōrō.

A gilded torrent unleashed from every angle toward the immobilized Antonio. From the Arrancar’s point of view, he would see several streams of light aimed for all angles of his body. The headmaster then quickly clapped his hands in an undecipherable rhythm, the sound swallowed by the swirling noises of the battlefield and the rising tide. In that same instance, the gilded torrent of flying kido transformed into multiple massive sunset-colored rectangles, one aimed for the area around its head and another two began enclosing themselves on its arms, setting the prelude to the next act while the final geometrical bodies stayed the course towards the body of Antonio’s ugly Resurrección.

“Now,” Yūichirō thought, his gaze steady, “let’s see if fortune still favors the bold.”

The water churned once more, reflecting the fading light of his cubes like dying stars beneath the surface…the headmaster would draw his hands to a close…

​

 

[Adonai]

---

Power of Time

Reinforcements are slowly arriving but they may be too late to stop what is coming. Yuichiro’s line of thinking is almost correct, Antonio does indeed see the thread but not the knot its cast from. However, so too does Antonio know this. The explosion erupts downward engulfing Antonio for a brief moment before being forced away from him like a sudden hole in a cloud.The fate of the hands are currently unknown. Antonio shifts his body, looking at where the hands had erupted from then back towards the Dean. He watches quietly, water tendrils racing towards him and he lets out a hiss.

”Allow me to enlighten you on the power of the Left Eye…”

The tendrils suddenly collide with one another, splashing and erupting water where Antonio was just a mere blink ago. Yuichiro continues to strike at the spot where Antonio once stood only for the large serpent like Arrancar to slowly slither upward behind Yuichiro and dwarf the sky above him as he looms over.

”The Left Eye grants me the ability to interact with any possible future for myself or inorganic matter. I merely reach into and…”

Suddenly all of First Division is restored to its former glory, undamaged and structurally sound. But just as soon as it was there it was returned back to its former state.

”There exists a future where this place was never damaged. There exists a future where there is a wall between us, there exists a future where your Kido was never used…”

His Kyokko vanishes from his form along with the other multitude of Kido he had launched as well.

”There exists a future where I was standing in this spot all along instead of the one you struck. I don’t need to see you, just the tangible constructs you summon. Should you hide those I merely need to see the damage I would incur then displace myself to a spot where a future me is unharmed, although…”

He raises the stump of one of his four arms, it seems like one of the tendrils hit its mark and took a limb from the beast.

”Fate can still take hold. Without the Right Eye, Fate cannot be overturned. But, the Right Eye has awakened at last…”

The ground rumbles and out of it erupts something massive, something bigger than Antonio, something that even leaves him awestruck. Sparkles rain down all around them, some fall into the water, its ferocity dwindling bit by bit as more of the sparkles fall into it.

New Goddess

A large mass rises up out of the ground and unfurls itself, its wings, fanning out more of these sparkles. Antonio is jaw dropped, unable to speak, simply watching.

Valiosa has risen, her new form, her Segunda Etapa. She looks at Antonio and smiles. Speaking his name. Her voice is deeper, no longer sounding like a young girl but instead she sounds like a grown woman.

He opens his mouth to speak, releasing what sounds like a hiss before she responds to him, giving him no time to speak.

She smiles again at his sentiment and reassures him.

”I’ve always been careful. There is nothing to worry about…”

She laughs to herself, placing a hand over her mouth to hide her laughing grin, lines forming along her cheeks, her skin cracking.

The skin tears and rips open, her jaw unhinging as she lets out a horrific bellow while she makes her declaration.

Her Reiatsu erupts, everyone in the Seireitei takes notice of it. A horrible power that can barely be fathomed, barely be understood. Her tail coils and raises her off the ground a bit more, she reveals that those supposed tendrils from earlier were in fact her hands removing the debris from the hole her cocoon had fallen in. That radiant beauty is replaced with the visage of a monster, a monster who dwarfs Antonio in power. She looks over her shoulder at the gathered Shinigami, all malice and fury.

If the Shinigami do not unite as a unified force this may very well be the final hours of the Gotei Thirteen, the Seireitei, and Soul Society itself…

---

​

 

[TherosAestas]

Suzume’s neutral but tense expression remained steadfast, even as Hideo ripped her favorite hair sticks from their place with his teeth. She didn’t dare protest though because she understood his reason for doing it. Her lips remained sealed as he spoke, her eyes glued to his arms. With only the barest of utterances about his condition escaping his lips, in one clean almost imperceptible movement, she severed the damaged limbs at the elbow and pointed her index finger in front of the stumps. As the blue flash of Byakurai illuminated them, her lips moved ever so subtly. She expertly inspected her handiwork of cauterizing the wound, wishing she had been granted the time to just heal his arms with Kaido, but alas one doesn’t always get what they wish for.

”Bankai.”

She held his gaze as Jigitarisu vanished from her hand, furious with this outcome but accepting that she might have her chance to chastise him later, she adjusted his disheveled uniform for him since he no longer could.

”Careful.”

Before she could say much more, another beast emerged. It seemed occupied with its companion that Hideo and Yūichirō had been dealing with for a moment. As Valiosa unleashed her reiatsu, Suzume braced herself against its power. Her eyes narrowed as she knelt to retrieve one of her hair sticks from the ground, the sharp point embedding itself into her fingertips.

Hideo and the rest of the Seireitei faded into the back of her mind as she deftly drew upon the ground and her own hands and arms with her blood. As her blood coated hands rose into the air, the glow of Tenteikura danced in her eyes. With every practiced movement, the roots of the kido formed and spread out, her measured voice intruding upon the minds of every shinigami in the Seireitei.

”Brothers. Sisters. We have taken heavy losses, but we still have a job to do. Your duty is to the Seireitei and a greater threat is upon us, in First Division, that requires us to band together. Blood demands blood, now avenge the fallen and defend your home.”

As the spell dissipated and Suzume rose to her feet, she licked the blood from her fingertips and turned her gaze back toward the beast before them. Her fingers, gently combed through her hair, plucking out the metal flower and clasp that held her braid that Hideo had left behind and tossed them onto the ground beside her hair sticks. Her gaze remained trained on Valiosa as she spoke.

”Do you think speed will be enough to distract that thing too?”

 

[Elk]

In a swift and clean motion, his broken arms were severed away from the rest of his body — no pain was felt. It was a testament to her skill, both in precision and the swiftness of her blade’s movement. Her hand adjusted his arms ever so slightly as she launched the Kidō spell, cauterizing the wound to prevent blood loss. That one, though, had him biting down on his own teeth — grinding away until it was over.

She spoke as he locked eyes with her. She hadn’t really said a word to him, yet she had patted him down, adjusting his uniform to fit nice and neatly. Such a gesture brought a smile to his face.

“I’d say always, but I don’t got arms to reach for that.”

His eyes shifted over to watch as his cousin’s attack landed, but as it did, Antonio merely faded away — only to appear elsewhere. One that had his eyes constrict.

“That wasn’t sonido… That was the eye’s doing! I would’ve been able to keep track of him if he used sonido.”

Before he could utter another word, in a literal blink-and-you-miss-it moment, the destruction of First Division was undone — worse, it was as if it had never happened. Such power in the hands of an Arrancar was dangerous. Yet, if this was the left eye’s doing, what would the right eye do?

They would soon find out, as one from the cocoon had finally emerged — bringing with it an earthquake that began to damage the surrounding areas. As she spoke, she had spoken before Antonio could. This had his head tilting a bit, eyes shifting toward the sparkles, then back toward the Arrancars.

As her mouth opened and she released her reiatsu down upon them all — it was as if he was being crushed by her reiatsu, but it only served to heighten his adrenalin. If he had his hands his fingers would be twitching. Though his breathing slowed down before he would begin to speak.



“Interesting… she spoke before he could call her something. Judging by his expression and tone of voice… He didn’t like that.”




“We could probably use that against them. Have away for them to turn on one another”


“As for speed? Theres a chance that we can keep them distracted enough. But we cannot stop for too long, keep your movements random maybe we can also keep their attention on us, long enough for our Dean to make another move.”


His arm would raise up as he pointed over at Antonio.

“Lets keep close to his body,”

His foot shifted as his eyes moved between Suzume, Valiosa, and Antonio. A nod came from him as his reiryoku began to gather at his core before surging toward his legs. A surge of reiatsu could be felt as the air around him began to swirl. Because he had no arms, he concentrated all of his reiryoku into his legs enough that the air around him began to whip violently before the ground beneath him caved in.

The very image of him faded away. In less than a blink of an eye, he was at Antonio’s foot. He had blitzed past the sparkles, avoiding them through sheer shunpo speed alone. He considered himself the fastest Shinigami alive — even among the Shihōin, it was his pride to move as fast as he could daily training, was him constantly pushing him to his limits.

His reiryoku had been greatly unlocked by Bankai, and while his gauntlets were destroyed, the rest of his Bankai remained — shins, elbow pads, and a pair of metal boots. With that, his reiryoku maintained its power level, as he had never deactivated his zanpakutō nor was it forcibly deactivated.

As such, he was able to concentrate his reiryoku into his legs, allowing him both the speed and power he needed to move. His image was seen bent down, body lowering and as they did, a sharp pain coursed through the Arrancar’s foot. as his foot would lower into the ground.

In the next moment, an image of him appeared high in the air — his foot close to Antonio’s chest. His legs pulled back, then launched forward, slamming into Antonio’s chest with enough force to crack through Hierro and send shockwaves across the body.

At the same time, his own body was propelled back, flying far and fast toward the ground. Just before he landed, he flipped and disappeared, using shunpo to dart across various locations around the Arrancars — landing and moving. Each time he moved, it became difficult to catch his signature, for he kept his movements random, never landing in the same spot twice in a row. Even with a gods eye on seeing into the future, such movements made it seem like he was

“You have shattered my gauntlets, but I’m still here, Antonio!”

“I’m going to make you pay for what you’ve done!”

“Hell’s gates will open up for you and your invasion force!”


His voice echoed — never lingering in one place, movements sporadic and ever-changing. One second on the left, the next on the right. Each step sent pillars of water splashing high into the air, soaking his clothes and hair before he vanished again. His motions were unpredictable, leaving behind almost no afterimage — the only clue being the sharp pains Antonio would feel as Hideo landed another kick before disappearing once more.

​

 

[Deleted member 65]

---

”Brothers. Sisters. We have taken heavy losses, but we still have a job to do. Your duty is to the Seireitei and a greater threat is upon us, in First Division, that requires us to band together. Blood demands blood, now avenge the fallen and defend your home.”

While the Seireitei wide Tenkeitura rang in her mind, who but Hyoroshi should bound up to her?

"Captain! I'm here, Shizukana..." Hyoroshi fell to one knee and scrabbled for his breath, presenting the full extent of the wound he'd sustained. Trickles of hardening blood were sticking to and clumping up the fur around his shoulder, pectoral and neck, his soaked makeshift bandage useless to stem the bleeding. "Where's Oyuki?" Hyoroshi pressed with noticeable strain.

Shizukana had reappeared in the Seireitei in a flicker of white while the distortion of the Garganta was closing behind her like a curtain snapping shut. No sooner had her sandals touched the broken tiles of First Division than she felt a familiar reiatsu flickering nearby.

Her head snapped up, eyes widening.
A tall, furred silhouette appeared.

“Hyoroshi!”

Her voice rang out like a bell, bright and relieved, and completely at odds with the carnage around them. She practically skipped the distance between them despite the rubble, she had no trouble catching the wolf-man's uninjured arm before he could fully fall. His fur was matted with blood. A deep wound carved through his shoulder, still fresh and ugly.

But Shizukana only smiled at him as if they’d simply met by chance on a sunny afternoon. No disdain like his own for his perceived failures. Just kindness.

“Look at you! Oh, sweetie, My poor Hyoroshi, you’re a mess!”

she laughed warmly, brushing a smear of blood away from his cheek with her thumb.

“But I’m so, so glad to see you. I got a teensy bit lost in Hueco Mundo, you know. Everything’s so… sandy. But I’m home now!”

Her smile turned dreamy.

“And I met the nicest Arrancar! Really! He was very polite, he helped me and Yuichiro defeat a very powerful Espada and then I was whisked away to Hueco Mundo of all places and he was actually very handsome.”

Her eyes sparkled in a way that no doubt would deeply confuse the wounded wolf-man but he couldn’t be surprised considering his Captain’s dream.

“Not at all what the reports said about him. You know the one with the blurry photo! Now, hold still. I don’t want you bleeding everywhere.”

A soft radiance bloomed from her palms which she pressed onto his wound. Gentle, warm mint that shimmered with a delicate pulse. The light flowed into Hyoroshi’s wounds like a tide, weaving muscle back together thread by thread, smoothing torn reiatsu channels, stitching skin closed in a way that felt more like warm water than medicine.

“There we go.”

Shizukana dusted off her hands proudly.

“Fit to fight another day!”

Then she squinted at the battlefield, shading her eyes theatrically with her fan.

“I certainly hope you both have your safety stickers on.”

Her tone was so earnestly serious it bordered on absurdity. Then Hyoroshi had muttered something about Vice-Captain Oyuki’s whereabouts.

“Oh! Oyuki-san? He’s right over there.”

Shizukana tapped her temple.

“I can feel him. He's moving and he's alive. He should join us soon.”

She flicked her wrist.

"Cleanse, Yurusarezaru ."

The bottom of her fan’s hilt snapped open with a delicate click, causing the folded fan to shiver like a living creature.

The hilt erupted.

A massive plume of thick, white vapor spiraled outward, swallowing her and Hyoroshi in a single breath. The mist surged across the ground like a living tide, expanding with impossible speed; it was dense enough to obscure all shapes within, yet swirling with strange, hypnotic patterns. The poisonous vapor glowed faintly from within as her reiatsu threaded through it. In this way, prying eyes could only see her reiatsu as she worked to conceal herself and her third seat.
Then she and Hyoroshi vanished into the haze. Though, the both of them could see eachother and sense eachother quite simply.
Despite the formidability of her release, she kept her spiritual pressure tightly coiled, barely a whisper. A trick she practiced endlessly: to be overlooked. To be unremarkable.

From deep inside the fog, her voice drifted out soft, encouraging:

“Yuichiro’s fighting hard. We’ll go help him and isn't that Hideo Shihoin too? How about that. They could surely use the support!”

She paused, then added brightly,

“Let’s all get along, okay?”

The ground quaked.

A pulse of vast, monstrous reiatsu struck the Seireitei like a falling star.

Valiosa rose into view as a towering, grotesque silhouette unfurling herself and her power that rained glittering motes of energy across the battlefield. Her presence crumbled stone, bent trees, and warped the very air. A roar shook the sky.

Even Antonio seemed small beside her.

But within the expanding sea of mist, Shizukana simply narrowed her eyes, her expression calm, her posture relaxed with her haori swaying like a curtain in a breeze.

“Stay close to me. Scatter only if you need to.”

she murmured, stepping forward, fan raised.

“This might get tricky, but don’t you worry.”

Her smile, unseen in the mist, was soft but certain.

“We’ll find a way. We always do.”
​

---

 

[Souris]

🕊️ Fuu Shiratori🌸
🎵 Disaster Remastered 🎵​

The Soul Society was by no means impervious. To humor the thought was idiocy in its own right. Nothing was beyond breaching. Though one would think between the tangible walls, barriers, diligent soldiers, and the innate division of realms - improbable was too light of a word.

Though the attackers this time around approached with power beyond their own traditional means... They held the very ability to cast a wrecking ball to those primed defenses.

Fuu found herself at the moment of the devastation in need of an immediate pivot. The mundane routine that she had fallen into had be upheaved and thrown directly into wartime action. Normally a change from the cycle would be liberating, potentially even exhilarating - but what was transpiring left little for enjoyment. Calamity had struck, taking with it the foundations of buildings, the integrity of partitions, and the blood from the bodies of those so unfortunately caught in the siege. The Fourth had found itself prioritizing emergency efforts over almost anything else. There was nary a moment to linger on anything that held even marginally less importance.

For the outcast of the Shiratori - her purpose followed just the same. Her call to mend was at the forefront of what she must do. That is... at least initially. A call rang through, a request, a rally. It beckoned all able-bodied blades to avenge the fallen and defend what the Shinigami call home.

Fuu would heed the summons to traverse to the rubble littered nervous center of the Goteijūsantai and provide direct relief during this ongoing clash. There was a time for her to sit at the bedside of ailing reapers, but this wasn't it. If the threat at hand managed to encroach any further than that have, there would be nothing left to mend. She felt as if her talents would be better spent on the frontlines, bolstering the forces present and providing immediate support to those that needed it.

Already in the moment, lives were being risked against the enemy at hand. Those ready to fight in the name of protecting what they believed in. Even if that meant going toe to toe with...

Monstrosities

Fuu took to the chaotic epicenter with haste written on every move. The shifting tides of a battle like this, with power like this, with destruction such as this - were ever so unpredictable. Having more hands to churn against the waves would be imperative. Anyone and everyone with the ability to tread the waters should be present and willing to do so. Though that willingness within Fuu did not remove a subtle knot that was twisted in her stomach. It wasn't born of doubt or even of fear... It was at the costs that would come from this all.

She shook away the thought.

"It doesn't matter."

What mattered was that they were still standing at the end of all this and that maybe her contributions would allow for that future.

Once Fuu had entered the ravaged stage, she took a moment to access the situation while still in motion. Taking note of those in active combat and those primed on the sidelines. At a first glance, the situation was bleak. The discrepancy of spiritual power from the Arrancar outweighed the presences currently contesting them. It was true that more aid was on its way but if they continued to simply trickle in single file, they'd be withered away one by one. Though breaking that loop at this moment seemed... tricky. The lack of updated intel on the threats did not bring forth a clear solution beyond the plea for numbers. This meant that the cards were limited so long as each soul had to rely on first-hand notes.

Fuu grasped upon the hilt of Hachikazuki, drawing it out from its sheath. All the while her other hand sunk within the form of its corresponding sleeve. Her best course of action right now was to provide immediate support in response to allied and enemy actions. With that in mind, she would opt to not shroud her spiritual presence, as she wanted those present to know of her arrival - though this would likely only act as a piece on a board rather than any concrete move to lead the situation into check. Her attendance alone did nothing more than add a component to everything... at least for now.

So she bid her time, remaining elusive yet present, cautiously navigating the influences of both sides. Her attention tilting more so towards the Shinigami closest to their marks - especially the one fighting with a considerable handicap.​

 

[Nobody]

"Kuwashii Hakunetsu, I see. Good, very Good! A pleasure my dear!"

The Espada muses gleefully at the girl's introduction. The newest Captain's rather tactless arrival seemingly now dismissed with this pleasant exchange. As the nameless Captain moves to tend to those fallen at the hands of the espada, what is perhaps overlooked by the Shinigami, all focused on the dangers and harm done, is that Cazador has made no steps to intervene in the man's actions. He shows no interest in the Captain's movements, no intrigue in the barrier erected or what they hope to accomplish within. Was he perhaps, merely ignorant of all that was happening?

What does garner a brief shift in attention is the hovering of the large body of water, packed with an incredible amount of spiritual energy.

"Oh ho ho! Could that perhaps be...another Bankai of sorts or a result of one? How fascinating- hmm."
​

“I hope you don’t mind but I took the liberty of removing the unsightly view”.​

The girl now known as Kuwashii begins to voice her objection but stays her tongue before rewording to agree. Cazador's attention pulled from the spectacle above in turn, tilts his head as if studying the girl, no...not just the girl, but the interaction and chemistry between the two, or perhaps lack thereof.

"What you do with that rabble of rude brutes is of no concern of mine."
​

“And this ‘twit’ as you so ungentlemanly called me is the Jubantai Taicho, Jushiro Izanagi. I trust you’re not the type to prey upon the defenceless, I mean that would be indefensible, right?”. ​

"If the shoe fits good sir! Only now do you choose to properly introduce yourself?! I dare say this lass is leagues above you in regards to etiquette.!"

He huffs, flamed feathers 'ruffled'.

"I've only ever attacked in self defense. That defenceless lot as you would call them attacked me and suffered the consequences of doing so! That Captain will tell you not once have I moved to attack them once they were immobile!"

Cazador fumes at the thought of being some mindless barbaric neanderthal that took delight in attacking and torturing. Perhaps unexpectedly to those present, the young lass offers her apology to the amazingly intelligent and gentlemanly espada. However blinding and searing white comets down, the spectacle forcing eyes to be averted to spare them from the intensity.

"Hmph! At least you're aware enough to know how shameless you are for attacking me in such a manner!"

Rather than screams from one in pain, or the silence of the deceased it is the Espada's voice as it has been this entire time, albeit now laced with annoyance. A second look shows the cascaded flames striking against an invisible to those afar, yet another angle reveals the truth, a golden square shaped wall of sorts above the espada, not dissimilar from the one that stopped Kuwashii's advance.

Out here in the courtyard of the Second Division there existed little to obscure one's view skyward. While thoroughly entertained in the previously pleasant exchange with the young girl, the aquatic bankai construct had pulled his attention upwards to study the marvel. While reveling in the view he noted something, a...peculiarity. He had hoped he was wrong in his hypothesis, had hoped he was merely jumping to conclusions, his fragile little heart scarred and traumatized by the ruffians from early making him paranoid towards all who wore the shinigami uniform. To his dismay, he was right. Already prepared for such treachery the crashing flames were hardly covert devoid of any type of obstruction to mask or hide its presence, Cazador erecting a second Muro de Negación to intercept it.

"How pitiful. Souls capable of only seeing what they want to see. You lot know nothing and understand even less. You, the one called Jushiro Izanagi! Are you the one responsible for this little girl's beliefs?!"

He asks, though the question is poised more as an accusation. He does not bother waiting for a response.

"You both act with the same mindset, the Captain comes in freezing everything while the lass prattled on about heat and life. All scientific responses while forgetting a key element."

His gaze turns sharply towards the blue haired girl.

"These flames you are so proud of, do not exist..not truly. It is not something born by natural causes but by your spirit. If it is something then manufactured, why then do you cement yourself in believing that it must and will absolutely obey the laws of the natural phenomenon and why everything in this world will react and respond in kind?"

Cazador is a scientist, and while he believes everything has an explanation, follows a set of rules, those of science study these rules to tweak and bypass them, if not circumvent them altogether. He has never once rescinded himself into believing there are never further mysteries to be discovered and as such, no true wall or ceiling exists, only deeper mysteries to be explored.

The espada retreats backwards away from the girl and the ceiling he had erect, the walls he had created collapsing on themselves and vanishing as a strange golden type sheen covers the bird shaped man.

"That woman intends on the destruction of you all. I once thought it a shame, a waste and had no interest in such a thing. But now? I will bear witness to the inevitable end of you ignorant lot. So struggle, resist and then lament your own ignorance."

Cazador stares at them fiercely. His words harsh, cold and far more venomous than his own abilities. Captain Izanagi has ascertained the nature of the walls the espada created and will perhaps be able to conclude what is transpiring with his perceived enemy now. He will understand that his efforts against the slighted gentleman will be fruitless as he is beyond their reach though, conversely it means that in such a state so too are they beyond his physical reach. As much a threat as Cazador is perceived, the true danger lays elsewhere, perhaps beyond anyone's ability to stop by now.

​

 

[HankMoody]

From the moment his hands reunited to one another, every drop and ounce of water became still—yet like any living sea, it was merely in wait. In that same breath of time, the many-eyed reptile demonstrated his ability to the dean, or rather in this fleeting lesson, the “student”. The First Division grounds restored themselves in an instant, wiped clean of the Arrancar incursion as if rewound by unseen hands. The creature explained itself calmly: the left eye allowed it to interact with possible futures involving itself or inorganic matter. He spoke of futures where Yūichirō defended instead of attacked, futures without a single kidō, even a future where he stood exactly where the reptile now hovered.

“Quite the lesson indeed,” the student mused.

The serpentine-like hollow’s bulk dwarfed the veteran, though the monologue and explanation was rather short, the dean remained upright and unmoving atop his seki-stepping stones. Hands held in a prayer-like pose—though he had no blessings to give—he did not once turn to face the giant malformed thing behind him, He listened. He learned. And beneath the stillness, he took stock: his own pressure, Antonio’s, what remained of his cousin… and the growing weight descending upon the battlefield like a verdict. He wondered what an ordinary Shinigami would do in this situation. Balk? Kneel..? Pray….?

He was in full understanding that he had no time to do any of these things. In fact, none were ever an option in his mind. Instead, he drew a quiet breath—so subtle that not even an all-seeing eye could assign meaning to it. Posture perfect, spirit unwavering, he reflected on the one truth he had gathered: whatever the creature could not see tended to work. And though one limb had vanished, he brushed the detail aside just as quickly. Fate can still take hold in a vacuum, as the Right Eye can govern fate. He didn’t appear to hold possession of that eye, which was a thankful occurrence…until it wasn’t.

On the Precipice of Defeat.

The ground split open revealing a yawning black gulf. The rumbling of the ground beneath them was enough to send tremors to the outer reaches of the Seireitei. The surrounding water fell in streams into what seemed to be an endless vat. With reinforcements slowly littering into the central portion of the city, Yūichirō feared that if anymore souls, including Captain-class shinigami failed to answer the call of the Tenteikūra that was sent out, it could very well be the very final battle ever waged within the Seireitei, or even the Soul Society at large. An idea that Yūichirō fought tirelessly to overturn, but never a possibility he ever ignored. An eruption of reiryoku sparkled down around all combatants within the water bowl, even littering itself within the vast body of water, as a new serpent-like threat exited the crevasse with a slow yet chilling grace.

Where Antonio dwarfed any regular sized shinigami, Valiosa dwarfed the building they conducted their business within, and may have even rivaled the size of the Repentance Cell itself. Far more regal, almost dignifying, and much larger than her uglier contemporary. A beauty by hollow standards, perhaps—but Yūichirō saw only the truth glinting behind her glowing teal bangs. The wind shifted, just enough to expose her right eye.…

the Right Eye.

The dean’s expression never changed, and his yellow irises tracked her as she moved ever so slightly, studying even the small movements that she made with the lower half of her new form. “Segunda Etapa…? It must be. Along with a primordial weapon…” he thought grimly.

The twins—left and right—spoke as though finishing each other’s sentences before they began. More than siblings. Something older. Something unengineered by even the gods themselves. The dignified serpent then tilted her head back and unleashed a bellow that split into a toothy grin so wide it cracked her skin. Her reiatsu detonated and imploded outward on itself within the area outward towards the rest of the Seireitei. The sound could not be avoided, however, her eruption of reiatsu would remain contained within the iron liquid sea that was the Bankai of the Dean of the Shin'ō Academy. Standing stalwart in the face of the shrill, the water remained unfettered, only merely ripples along the sea surface signifying the sound passing but failing to pierce through to the rest of the Seireitei.

A lone bead of sweat formed down his face, yet he remained unmoved and his expression unfazed as his hands would glow a sunset peach. Right on time with Valiosa revealing her true form, as the end of her tail were revealed to be the hands that were previously erect from the chasm below.

A humble gulp then was actioned. Yūichirō closed his eyes, then he momentarily thought about his mother, and sister.

The remainder of the students.

The shinigami that are left.

The Captains that remained alive

and finally…

The governing body who will have some type of say should their sorry military live through what looked to be the end…

Call of the Scholar.

Without any sudden movement, or warning, Yūichirō reappeared behind the massive snake—kneeling in position on his step-stones as if he had always been there, once again cloaked in the twenty-sixth bakudo spell. Once again, he used his hydro-woven whips, which also propelled him forward at impossible speeds. Keen to avoid the falling teal stars as the hydro-clad tendrils remained silent, resheathing themselves into the still body of water around them all. Antonio, and maybe even Valiosa would struggle to register the dean’s movement or even what had just taken place; it was synchronous with neither past nor predicted pattern.

If his timing was correct, Antonio would look down and find an X carved deep across his torso—blood and viscera prevented from spilling only by the sheer speed and pressure of the cut. Its precision was unerring and the serpentine hollow would find that embedded within the cross shaped wound, were several sunset-colored cubes, the same he had attempted to use earlier, only now placed directly into torn flesh. Without breaking position, in less than a thought, Yūichirō clapped his hands together again and detonated the boxes of kidō, lighting up his upper torso in unison, exploding in a pillar of fire, lightning and raw pressure that rivalled Valiosa’s own arrival.

The explosion wouldn't even have time to finish blooming before the sea was shifted once more.

Every ripple of water that was once stilled—then surged to life not upward, but inward. The ocean of his Bankai folded, reformed and finally constricted in deliberate, precise and inexplicable geometries. The bowl that once encapsulated multiple combatants, now warped into a towering barrier, forcing the division between the twin counterparts. Yūichirō did not look at her. His gaze belonged to Antonio alone. The airborne Valiosa would be visually blocked off from Antonio and he would have no vision of her in turn either, the brother and sister cut off by the iron-black waters of the dean’s bankai, with her side of the wall, forming an enormous glowing palm with all fingers splayed out as it shoots upwards toward Valiosa’s floating body with the same force of shifting tectonic plates. If she reacted poorly, she could easily be shot through the air at blinding speeds, at a distance of well over two thousand leagues, or worse…

The walls that were once around her on the ground were no longer erect as all the water was quickly reformed to contain he and Antonio, noticeably taller and closer together, giving the larger opponent little room to truly move within the confines of water, as the walls were large enough to dwarf even his twin, while blocking the ordeal taking place outside of the arena. This move also seamlessly placed Hideo and Suzume outside of the bankai, leaving him and Antonio alone to perform battle with one another, but not without leaving a backdoor for entry or exit for any peers who may have arrived or seek to do so.

In the dean's mind, he could fight on both fronts to some degree if he was careful enough but he had to trust that whoever wished to call themselves shinigami would live up to their name and not leave him for dead. The few souls he could sense began to split amongst themselves, a herd running towards Valiosa and the other scaling buildings to reach to the top of the water bowl. A small comfort but he still had to remain focused.

From beyond the wall, dark silhouettes formed. Shinigami from across the capitol—bloodied, bruised but breathing, a small herd began to form at the base of the wall while the more skilled kidō users maintained high sight lines of fire, into the dark plume of smoke they fired volley after volley of coordinated spells as they roared inside, if not to harm Antonio, but to muddy the future trajectories he may look into, severing entire branches of probability or possibility and denying the left eyes roads before they opened up.
​

“For every path you open, I will close it. This is a different kind of war now and I only need one blindspot to properly usher you into a world where you don't exist,” he said with boldness. His voice was not quiet. It wasn’t a proclamation nor was it a threat. It was a fact. “Make no mistake Antonio—I do not need help killing you. I just need help poking out every filthy eye you directed at my home and my shinigami,” with finality in his throat while waving his arms in the air as if to balance, but it would ultimately be for his next move.​

Surfing along the edges of his bankai, he stayed at the ready for the next phase of the fight, and hoped that they would soon be in the final throes of war.

 

[Adonai]

---

Hideo was quick to understand how Antonio was able to move, quick to realize some bit of discomfort between the two Arrancar when they spoke to one another about the eyes, quick to rationalize a plan to focus on Antonio alone, but too slow to realize his current shortcomings. Everyone seems to think Antonio is the weaker of the two, rightfully so, however, this does not invalidate him as a threat in the slightest. One of Antonio’s eyes shifted to look at Hideo at the base of his snake-like body, the Shinigami still had his Bankai active and was ready to strike but when he finally made his move he would realize a most grim thing, he has no proper control of his Reiryoku.

Shinigami anatomy is a funny thing, they are powerful, durable beings that can survive harsh conditions and attacks, but taking away precise parts of them, like striking pressure points, can hinder their combat ability greatly, if not outright remove it. Antonio doesn’t know anything about this, he simply wanted to remove Hideo’s arms as a scare tactic to make him back off, he had no idea that doing this would turn out in his favor. With his arms destroyed so too are his Reiatsu vents located in his wrists which release said Reiatsu, which, in turn, allow him to exert and control his power. With those destroyed his power will ebb and flow randomly, either spiking to its limits or dropping down to its lowest lows.

Antonio moved his body to avoid the initial contact and when Hideo leapt into the air, appearing at Antonio’s chest, is when he would realize why fighting without his Reiatsu vents is a bad idea and why such a head on attack is reckless and dangerous. Another eye would glance at him as he would feel his strength sapped from him before being backhanded away from Antonio entirely by one of his remaining three arms. He began to slither now, moving to reposition himself slightly while maintaining visual of Yuichiro to see what he has planned next. Before doing anything else Valiosa spoke to him, a clear and direct order.

”The pale blue mist, remove it.”

Instantly Antonio’s eyes shifted to gaze at the rapidly approaching mist released by Shizukana and using the left eye the mist is pushed back around her, no longer approaching. A future where the mist had never advanced was inserted into this timelines present.

”Careful of the Shinigami controlling the water, he plans to carve into your chest and explode you from within.”

”Understood…”

Yuichiro appears behind Antonio and Antonio moves himself, appearing below Valiosa now as she hovers in the air over him. Yuichiro is once again unseen and his hydro whips propel him but not as fast as he thought they would. Antonio then says the most curious thing.

”Ah, it is weakened…”

Valiosa responds.

”Indeed it has.”

Wings of a Butterfly

Yuichiro was so focused on taking out who he perceived to be the weaker Arrancar that he did not notice Valiosa’s “glitter” falling into his water. He did not notice that the raging waters began to lose their rage. Valiosa’s Primera Resurrección is nothing more than a cocoon used to regenerate and revitalize her by syphoning Reiatsu and Reiryoku from those around the Cocoon or those caught up in its mass when it forms. Before gaining the Right Eye the cocoon would simply open and reveal a healthy Valiosa, with no physical changes to her form. After obtaining the Right Eye she obtained enough strength to push it further, to Resurrección: Segunda Etapa where she is truly reformed into something monstrous. In this new form “dust” from her wings fall onto the battlefield, allowing her to absorb Spiritual Energy as it is released, be it from attacks or even from large all encompassing Bankai.

This “dust” is in fact similar to butterflies, where they are actually small scales that create the pattern on her wings. Because Yuichiro failed to notice these scales falling into the water of his Bankai and its dwindling strength he would find the towering water losing its height and form as a whole. Once he reformed his water structure it would struggle to even reach up to where he was currently standing on his Kido platforms. He would have to think outside of the box on how to use his Bankai in its weakened form. While more Shinigami showed up Valiosa hummed a tune to herself as she adjusted her six arms, one aimed at Yuichiro, one aimed at the Captain of the Fifth Division and her companion who thought themselves sneaky enough to evade detection from all seeing eyes, one aimed towards Suzume, one at the smacked away Hideo who is more than likely shaking off the cobwebs from being batted away so suddenly and one at this strange new comer. The sixth hand remained idle, doing nothing.

The targeted individuals would then be faced with the sudden blasts of Bala, normally no issue to deal with but given Valiosa’s size they will carve out entire sections of the Central Seireitei, in an instant since Bala are twenty times faster than Cero, potentially killing many shinigami who are simply trying to escape the battlegrounds or are trying to rally and help. How ruthless are these Shinigami? Will they let their own kin perish mercilessly or will they protect them with their own bodies? Duty and death go hand in hand, but this day has already taken a great toll on their numbers, how many more are they willing to lose?

”Antonio, they continue to target you for some reason and I am not sure why… Also, why is your arm not regenerating? Your regeneration is far superior to mine.”

Antonio remains quiet, not wanting to answer, not wanting to reveal that his High Speed Regeneration was burnt out months ago in his battle against Estarossa. He glances over his shoulder at Valiosa who is looking down at him and waiting for a response.

”I can’t. I can’t heal anymore, I haven’t been able to for months. Combining my regeneration with the power of the left eye w-was a bit too much. My body c-couldn’t keep up with that level of power or r-regeneration and so… I lost it entirely…”

”Oh…”

There is a sense of shock in her tone and concern. While she anticipates the Shinigami’s next move she has another thought.

”Give me the other eye and I’ll break through the Shinigami’s Garganta locks to send you home.”

”What? No, I thought you heard a voice when-”

”Quiet, in my current form I can handle both eyes, tuning out a voice is far easier than having to watch you die.”

Antonio is stun locked and jaw dropped by what she just said. He has never in his life heard such a sentiment from her, ever. If anything he assumed she would be the one to kill him for messing something up. Valiosa is slowly becoming enraged as she has glimpsed multiple futures where Antonio is killed and butchered and merely seeing those futures both angers and saddens her and to prevent it from happening she must possess both eyes. She must become like her maiden name, Almighty. Antonio’s left bulging eye rotates backwards to reveal the multi-pupil formation that is associated with the Soul King. Antonio removes the eye from his head and places it in the idle hand of Valiosa. The moment her hand closes around that eye she grabs Antonio by the head, seemingly almost violently but as she removes her hand his left eye had returned and his severed arm restored.

”Go home, brother, I will succeed where Esmerelda failed and make him proud.”

The light of Negación crashes down into the rubble surrounding Antonio as he returns to his sealed state. He is raised into a Garganta, forced to watch his sister fight alone, all due to his own weakness.

”P-please don’t d-die…”

The Shinigami are now faced with an escalating threat, while she has not socketed the eye into her skull yet merely holding it is enough to grant her a small portion of their full power, the power of, The Almighty. Yuichiro is close to figuring out the riddle on how to stop them, so very close, but with a weakened Bankai what can he do? Are the Shinigami all so head strong that they refuse to work together to fight a thing that is nearly touching Transcendental levels of Spiritual Power? Only time will tell and time heeds to Queen Valiosa.

---

​