At the Gates [OPEN]

[Hibiki Shimizu]

An ordinary day in the Rukongai - that was what its citizens probably desired the most at this time. The heavy stomps of marching and authoritative shouts from commanders filled the long streets. Torches flickered and crackled in the midday air, filling the streets with a warm and stuffy aura. The civilians of the Rukon didn't dare go outside, choosing to instead hide in their homes with wary ears and tightly shut eyes. The marching echoed through all the Rukongai like a storm of thunder, perfectly synchronized and positively booming with anger. It wouldn't have been such a problem if the thundering marching was from a troop of shinigami. No, that was not the case. All amidst the streets and structures of the districts that surrounded the Seireitei were lined the battle-ready bodies of mercenaries. Many thousands marched the streets of the urban scene, weapons drawn and in orderly formations.

Miraculously, this unsuspecting force had now surrounded the four gates that led into the Seireitei, and they didn't seem content with that single feat. At each of the gates there now stood apparent commanders, clad in unique garments each with strange emblems adorned across themselves and their troops behind. A keen strategist might realize these emblems to be those of the "Triad" and the "Sayomi", two major gangs that have been essentially running Rukon affairs in the shadows for a considerable amount of centuries.

At the North Gate a man adorned in a deep purple Shihakusho stood defiantly before the obstructing walls. He was an average-sized man but seemed slightly more barrel-chested than most people, and his short black hair was tied into a topknot at the back of his head. He scratched the scruff of his neatly-trimmed black beard and chuckled a bit. The cape of wolf pelts on his back fluttered slightly in the air as he turned around with a smirk and addressed his similarly-clothed troops in a charismatic tone, "These shinigami think they can stop us with a wall like this? Its pathetic," The many armored mercenaries cheered at their commanders mocking comment to their common enemy. "We'll crush them for their insolence! How dare they attempt to keep out the new rulers of this dominion! Follow me, Akinori of the Claw, for greater victory and spoils than you have ever beheld!" With that proclamation, the soldiers in front of the North Gate all gave a thunderous cheer and stomped ritualistically in place. "Let's teach these fools the power of the Triad!" The soldiers then all took defensive positions around the northern part of the Rukon and broke out the heavy battering rams.

At the South Gate the apparent siege was already in effect, slinging catapults throwing barrage after barrage of rocks at the spiritually energized shield that protected the top of the Seireitei. Below, mercenaries clad in mostly green armors smashed against the massive gate that blocked their way with a huge battering ram of their own design. Though there wasn't any signs of any breakthrough yet, the incredible noise from all the flying boulders and ramming would no doubt be unpleasant to the occupants of the Seireitei. At the head of the march on the southern entrance was a blonde-haired man wearing the same armor as his troops, riding a horse that was as a bit too elegantly clothed for this particular battle. "Ugh, how boring," the man yawned, patting his mouth lightly with one, white-gloved hand. "These 'Shinigami' types didn't even see us coming. It'll be a decisive battle if no one shows up. Perhaps I can still make time for my afternoon tea?" The blonde man looked over his shoulder to his other two officers that were also on horseback with an expectant stare. The men jumped up, a bit startled at first, as they dismounted their horses. Hurriedly they made their way to their commanding officer's horse and helped him dismount with the utmost care. The blonde-haired man was a bit on the tall side and he held his chin up in the air jovially. He made it a point to always keep a proper posture, even when being dismounted from his steed. As he landed on the ground he brushed off his shoulders and headed for a table that was set awkwardly off to the side of the cheering hordes of his mercenaries. One of his officers immediately ran up, a chair in hand, as he set the object on the floor and pulled it out politely for his superior. The blonde-haired man gave a nod and a slight "hmm" as he accepted the open chair and took a seat. He crossed one leg over the other and folded his arms over his chest. "The Gotei 13 will rue the day they had to contend with the most elegant of all warriors - Hinonori the Pincer."

The Eastern Gate was a bit more silent than the others. Of course, a huge horde of armed soldiers still stalked its walkways and streets, but with a much more ominous quietness about them. These soldiers were all clad in navy blue robes and armor, and the frontline of their ranks were all crouched on one knee, bowing slightly. At the head of this contingent was a more elderly-assuming gentleman with mid-length gray hair that was kept into a ponytail and a bushy mustache of the same color. His intense silver eyes scanned the breadth of the Seireitei's walls that stretched far in either direction, and even from this distance he could still hear the sounds of battle from the other Gates. At first the man might not look like a threat, but his body was just as toned as any warrior half his age, and his experience in combat was second to none in all of the Triad. He continued to stare at the walls, his katana sticking hilt-up from the ground and his palms were set upon the end of his blade. He closed his eyes for a second and then sighed somewhat rushed. "Begin," the elderly commander prompted to a soldier just behind him. Obediently, not only that solider nodded, but the entire frontline of mercenaries did so as well, all of which soon stood up and began marching towards the pearly walls. "Ryouji the Wise, ruler of Seireitei. I wouldn't have thought to see this day come in my lifetime," the elderly man whispered to himself as his troops marched onward.

And finally, at the Seireitei's West Gate, stood the towering brute of a man - Makoto Sayomi, otherwise known as the 'Beast of the North' for his conquests many centuries ago as a prominent warlord. His many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of armed thugs and mercenaries all cheered like a group of raving animals. Throwing their hands up into the air, with weapons drawn and fresh propaganda in their minds, they started to chant as they marched forward. Crude wooden siege machines followed in the wake, such as catapults and the like. From afar, in a comfortable overlook from his portable throne carriage, Makoto sat back and watched the scene play out with a gleam of hatred in his eyes. "The Soul Society will finally see who's the rightful heirs of this cursed place. The Triad and Sayomi have finally joined! The Gotei 13 have no hope of winning against our forces!" With a hearty laugh, Makoto turned to his most trusted subordinate, a dark-skinned man in a shinigami's shihakusho, and smiled evilly. "Get out there and flush out some of them Captains or something. We need some fresh kills!" With a quiet nod, the dark-skinned man dashed away using shunpo, away from the carriage and its heavy-set occupant. "Today we get our revenge..."

Now, it seemed the entire Seireitei was under attack by some force of hired thugs and professional myrmidons. A message extended to every reach of the Gotei 13 via a wave of hell butterflies, prompting all Divisions to deal the strange problem outside its gates...immediately. It may just be the largest revolt the Soul Society had ever witnessed.

[Fate T. Harlaown]

After gaining the new news from one of the many hell butterflies sent to all the different squads, Fate had been sent a genral one as well as one about the South Gate...her Squad being one of the nearest. Fate gave a light half-hearted sigh when she heard the news about the Sayomi,Gang...she had dealt with a few of them before, nothing very hard to deal with but in larger numbers...now that could be a slight problem that and they where under attack from all four sides didn't help the situation either. "Man..are they gonna be anoyed with me." Fate got up from her desk, the wind softly blowing into her hair as she left her office and out into the courtyard to ready the Squad.

Once outside thanks to her third seat the Squad was arranged in groups of 15, Fate then stood before them and spoke. "Alright we will be heading to the South Gate, where the Sayomi Gang is located most likely there leader is there as well. I want all groups to engage them and dispact as quickly as possible. Do not let them through the gate. You have permission for use of all releases including Shikai, if someone is badly hurt I will come to you and help any questions?" Fate scanned her Squad as no one said anything, all being ready. "Alright, let's go. I want you all down there in 3 minutes." And with those words Fate once again lived up to her name "The Lightning Goddess" appearing on top of the South Gate as she gazed down looking among the mass of members. What a pain...... Fate sighed to herself, no point in not using shikai, but let's surpise them first shall we? Fate let a slight grin escape her lips, before jumping off the South Gate, Fate landed in front of the mass group of gang members. Fate thought it rude to not introduce herself...besides it would be one of the lasts things these men hear anyway so why not? "Fate T. Harlaown. Squad 5 Captain of Gotei 13, and the person who locked up one of your little friends Kichiro Sayomi. Now I'm very sorry for this but it's time for you to all die." With those words Fate disappeared from view, reappearing in the same spot where she stood only seconds before, only now a few groups from the gang had been whiped out and were either begging to die or already dead. "So anymore takers?" After that the rest of the Squad arrived with a breif nod to them all her Squad advanced.

Fate moved forward with them readying her Shikai, she would not need to use it yet. Not until someone worthwhile came forward. However as her squad started attacking so did she, cutting down anyone from the gang she could using only her Haduka and Shunpo...it was a good thing of her nickname too..it seemed to make people fear her when fighting, just beacuse of her speed.....even if she was called "The Lightning Goddes" did it really mean that people feared her so much? Fate sighed as she took down many weaklings after another in groups, with the help of her squad Fate knew this would not take long.

[Kusubanasan]

Sitting at a taiyaki restaurant in Northern Rukon, a certain somebody wearing a long hooded vestment that cast a shadow over the top half of their face had viewed the morning's activities with watchful eyes. Sent on a mission from their homeland to pay attention to Seireitei's movements, this particular person had so far done an adequate job in staying unnoticed.

When a veritable cacophony of marching noises begin to fill the streets, it was no surprise that the cloaked individual had found themselves intrigued by the day's proceedings. The thunderous storm of noise was filled with anger and rage, something that intrigued the figure ever further, going as far to pay for their food before exiting the restaurant to join the ranks of these marching soldiers, finding a small break in their orderly formation that the figure soon filled up, marching in time with them whilst brandishing a curious pole arm.

It wasn't too long before this force of men had gathered around one of Seireitei's gates and forming up into several orderly regiments of purple-clothed men. Relatively situated behind the regiment that the figure had joined at random, a man strode through the ranks with a calm yet imposing swagger, his deep purple shihakusho and topknot hairstyle giving the figure the slight impression that this might be the leader.

These suspicions are quickly confirmed when he turned to face the assorted troop of soldiers, asking a mocking question about Seireitei's walls that seemed to resonate well with the men. From there he speaks once more, a rousing speech about the insolence of shinigami, and overall making it fairly more obvious that this was an occupation force.

The soldiers all begun taking defensive positions around the wall, the hooded figure also deciding to partake in this, moving to the side of the gate with polearm at the ready while several of the men about took up positions around this area as well. One man in particular who had noticed the figure enter their ranks while back in town finally takes the opportunity to tap the figure on the shoulder, prompting them to turn around and look at him.

"Hey, You. Who're you? I've not seen someone fitting your description around here before. What's your name soldier?" The purple-armored man asked in a gruff, commanding tone, a few of the other soldiers around him seemingly taking note of his observations and chiming in with their own requests for the figure to identify themselves before one made a grab at their hood.

"Please don't. I'm new, and I have family in Seireitei... I just don't want them to see me."

The voice was quite feminine and possessed an almost lyrical quality about it as the woman voluntarily decided to lower her hood and reveal her face to the men around her. Some were astonished by what they saw, a face with flawless skin, deep and expressive aquamarine eyes bundled with exquisite long pink hair. She smiled briefly at the group before moving to place the hood back over her head.

That was when an arm shot out and stopped her before she was able to complete that action.

"What's that thing on yer head? It looks like one 'o them masks those hollo- AUGHAUGHASUGHAUGH!" He wasn't even allowed to complete his action before the figure thrust her free hand through his chest, ripping her hand out of his torso soon after and letting him drop dead onto the ground before disappearing from sight.

There was a sound of ringing steel accompanied by a dull ripping sound. Several of the men falling to the ground limp, twitching in a pile as more and more of the regiment begun to fall. The last remaining man emitted a confused whimper before looking upwards, but a second unseen attack parted his head cleanly at ear-level.

"Poor men... Shouldn't have been so nosy."

A discarded cloak floated to the ground with the shuffling of garment. Heels clicked lightly on the barren floor as the woman stepped back into vision directly in front of the gate, back facing it while she stared down the crowd of purple-armored men.

"Furiko Kusbana. Trecera Espada."

[Hibiki Shimizu]

"I underestimated our foes," Hibiki grumbled, an irritated look on his face and the upper half of his body completely unclothed. The Captain was sitting in a chair in one the buildings used for storage that was normally shared by all the squads, a member from the 4th Division hunched over behind him as the dim light from her hands healed the numerous wounds across his body. A dozen other squad members from his own division surrounded the Captain, all eager and preparing themselves for orders. The doors to the storeroom were left wide open so a fair amount of light shown through, not to mention the sounds of emergency from the scrambling squads. Hibiki sighed and tried to relax his breathing even more than usual. "So what happened, Captain?" one of Hibiki's subordinates finally prodded after a long pause, the comment bringing Hibiki's gaze up to look at his assembled squadmates.

Hibiki sighed once more, and that action alone told those assembled members of his squad that it was a long story. "In short, they tricked me," the Captain said resolutely with a nod. His subordinates all jumped up a bit in surprise, and even the healer behind the Eighth Division Captain skipped a bit in her technique. "T-they tricked you?" another one of Hibiki's subordinates asked, astonished. Hibiki nodded, his eyes closed. "B...but there's no way! How come you sound so nonchalant about that?!" The shinigami all gawked their own comments of disbelief at their commanding officer, never before having heard of such a feat. "I'll spare you the excessive details. But the truth of the matter is that those bunch of thugs and ruffians managed to outsmart me," That statement too made all those around the Captain creep forward a bit closer, eager ears ready to hear the tale. "Unfortunately, I fear they'll use the same tactic to some extent here - using the Rukongai citizens as bargaining tools and combat fodder."

Hibiki's subordinates all blinked in synchronized astonishment. "The citizens? How so?" Hibiki let his gaze trail off to his swords, all of which were neatly arranged under a nearby window. "Yes, the citizens. Children and women mostly. I'm guessing that most of them were captured or otherwise acquired before the assault today. When our outpost was overrun I noticed this, and I assume it has something to do with the debts some of the Rukongai families have to those crime syndicates. But that's only a hypothesis." The Captain's subordinates all hushed themselves deep into thought, and the noise of battle sounded not too far off. Somewhat not wanted to break the group's concentration, the 4th Division healer that was tending to Hibiki's wounds whispered to the Captain that she was finished with her work. Hibiki gave a grateful nod as the woman walked out the door and presumably went off to assist the thousands of other shinigami running about the Seireitei.

"We haven't time to think about an extensive reasoning for their tactics," Hibiki concluded as he stood up and brought up his shihakusho and haori to cover his healed upper body. "Now's the time for action. The Seireitei's under siege and the Eighth Division is without orders, until now!" Hibiki cleared his throat and immediately his gathered subordinates, some of the best leaders he had from his division, all stood at attention. "Sir!" they all shouted obediently in unison. "From what I understand the enemy has miraculously blocked all four gates into the Seireitei. I'm sure other Captain's are on their way to suppress the issue, but part of this whole ordeal is my fault, so I must attend as well. My duty commands me." Hibiki walked over and grabbed his numerous zanpakutou, placing them all in their appropriate positions under his shihakusho. "I want half of you to go back to the barracks and amass a main force, at least a few hundred strong, and head for the Northern Gate. The other half, I need you to gather any units we have around the surrounding areas and spread yourselves out amongst the other three gates. We must ensure the integrity of the walls no matter the cost!" Hibiki turned around, now having his swords situated, and he thrust his arm out to his side. "Now go!" Like the obedient soldiers he had trained them as, Hibiki's subordinates heeded their superior's words and all dispersed out the door. Hibiki rubbed the back of his head nervously for a moment. "Looks like it has begun,"

Meanwhile, outside the Southern Gate, the ever-extravagant soldiers under the command of Hinonori the Pincer had run into a slight wrench in their plans. A shinigami, clothed in a white cloak, appeared before the group atop the gate's entrance, though only for a brief moment. A few soldiers thought to mention the shinigami's appearance, but didn't get the chance, as the woman jumped down and landed just in front of the main battering ram. The armored and green-clad mercenaries manning the ram were caught off guard by the sudden scene, and all together dropped the giant piece of timber and iron right there. From afar, at his elegant dining table, Hinonori perked up a bit an intrigued expression cast over him. "Hmm? What is this? A contender?" The woman said something, but from that particular distance from his troops, Hinonori couldn't hear what she had uttered. Nor could he have known that it was a Captain of the Gotei 13 that had just landed before his army.

"Who?" one mercenary gawked, even after the blonde-haired woman had introduced herself. "Wait! A shinigami?!" another soldier blurted out, and by that time a small group of others had gathered around the woman with their weapons drawn. Then, the Captain had disappeared before the startled soldiers, and before they could utter any parting words of their own the nearest to the battering ram squad were cut down in a flash. Fresh blood sprayed across the ground and Hinonori slammed his hands down on the table just as he saw how fast the woman had retreated from her attack. The blonde commander stood up, his fists clenched as he bit his lower lip. "Those fools! They just saw a shinigami and let it slip away?! Insignificant...little..." Hinonori cursed under his breath, quickly gesturing one of his officers.

Wave after wave of armored thugs assaulted the small group of shinigami that had gathered at the Southern Gate under the command of Captain Harlaown. They certainly didn't seem to be making any headway, but there numbers far outclassed that of the mere score or so forces that the Captain had brought with her. In due time they would probably overwhelm the shinigami with sheer force in ferocity. After a few minutes of combat, the green-clad soldiers suddenly stopped fighting and all pulled back a few meters away from the shinigami forces, forming a semicircle around the group that protected the gate. A small opening appeared in the soldier's ranks right down the middle, and a single figure strode confidently and with seemingly exquisite poise down said opening. "Well, well, well. If this isn't a surprise!" the figure noted, hands folded behind his back in a dictatorial kind of pose as he continued walking towards the shinigami. When the tall, blonde man reached the end of his troops' encirclement, now well within range of speaking to the Captain, his gaze lowered somewhat malevolently towards Harlaown. "A shinigami, at my gate. No, no, no. This won't do. This simply won't do. Could I ask you to move, my dear? If not, then I'll have to cut off your pretty little head," Hinonori commented with an evil smile, his hands in a mocking gesture of a shrug, apparently confident enough to not keep a hand on his sword. As to how he thought Harlaown was the leader of the bunch of shinigami before him, it was just a good guess.

Off at the Northern Gate, things were just beginning to take off when a sudden ruckus emitted from within the ranks of Akinori's mercenaries. The seasoned military man turned instinctively when he heard the precise slash of a weapon and the dying, blood-filled screams of his subordinates. But just as Akinori had a glance at a handful of his soldiers falling down to ground in a heap of a bloody mess, a melodic voice brought his attention back to the gate. The commander scowled for a moment at the sight of the pink-haired woman in front of him, claiming to be one 'Furiko Kusubana'. "Tre-what? You some kind of performer?! Cutting down my soldiers like that wasn't very nice, though," Akinori seemed to be in half-confusion and half-irritation. He flicked his cape of wolf pelts back to reveal his sword, and then, very precisely, drew the weapon out for all to see. The man held the blade in both hands and adopted a combative stance. "You know, right about now, I don't really care who you are. But you killed my men, and on such a momentous occasion, that I have no other choice but to silence you. I haven't had a one-on-one match for a while, so thanks for obliging." The soldiers at Akinori's heels all took a few paces back and gave the newcomer and their boss a good amount of room - they were accustomed to the procedure it would seem. "Your move, princess," Akinori said with a chuckle, his entire band of a few hundred soldiers all giving a cheer as they heard their commander's comment. "Akinori-sama is so cool! What a man of honor, letting that woman attack first! His stance is flawless!"

OOC: Sorry for the long post again, just gotta establish more of the setting ><

[Fate T. Harlaown]

After taking out a few more of the thugs around her, Fate knew sooner or later her forces would be taken out by the sheer number of thugs compared to the so few of them. If she could just get someone or even their leader to come forward then she could use that to her advantage and finish this quickly, Fate didn't want to use shikai let alone bankai to finish these fools quickly. Fate never really much enjoyed killing...but if she must she must...and for these thugs she would make an expection. Still Fate continued fighting, she already knew she had the rest of her Squad on standby to come and help should she need it...Fate could guess that these thugs thought this was the only attack force she had, oh how wrong they all were.

Fate knew she had at least one hundred other shinigami waiting at the barracks to back her up. After a few more minutes they had taken out a fair ammount of this group...but then the thugs of this little clan stopped drawing back and no longer attacking, Fate raised an eyebrow at this. She held her hand to her side, signalling for the rest of the Squad to stop and they did.

Fate walked forward towards the front of her Squad, waiting as the semi-circle around them cleared slightly to let a man through..he had dirt blonde hair. Fate raised an eyebrow as this man spoke, was he a fool to come this close? Either that or he did not hear who she was...if that was the case...then this should be very interesting.

Hearing him speak again Fate smiled, "A shinigami, at my gate. No, no, no. This won't do. This simply won't do. Could I ask you to move, my dear? If not, then I'll have to cut off your pretty little head," Hearing this man ask her to move Fate gave a light chuckle..no way was that going to happen she then spoke, but not before sheathing her weapon. "It seems you are either unaware or did not hear me when I spoke of who I was no? Let me introduce myself again then, I know you'll being dying to hear it." Fate took a step forward smiling softly, but those from her Squad knew..that was not the kind genuine smile she gave to everyone at the barracks. They knew this ment she would not hold back if they did anything many called it her "killing smile" but then, they all looked as Fate spoke again. "You are all very right in assuming I am a shinigami, I doubt your men heard before they were killed. But I shall tell you now. My name is Fate T. Harlaown, Squad 5 Captain of Gotei 13...and if I remeber rightly you are missing one of your important leaders am I right? Kichiro Sayomi if I'm not mistaken, well I'm sure you have had reports that he was captured..well I hate to break it to you but that was my handywork. Now..."

Fate disappeared in a flash, appearing behind this man with her blade drawn and to his neck as she spoke to him. "Now, you have two choices, die now by my blade and I might let some of your men live. Or try to get away and I will kill your men right now in front of your very eyes and then you..or maybe something else if you don't listen. So? What will it be little leader? I'm feeling generous today so I'll give you a choice." She gave a soft smile towards there leader and wondered if he was stupid enough to fight her, despite everyone saying she was weak and could do nothing not many had seen Fate fight in the first place so who knows? Fate was ready with Bardiche if she needed it...and she thought she might...or maybe he would give in but Fate hardly thought he would, this little display was only to make his men doubt there little leaders power...especially if he could be killed so quickly and by a women no less.

The Squad stood ready, hands on their weapons ready to attack, they all knew they would been in for a harsh fight...but they also knew that their Captain could do anything when provoked and when fighting no one messed with her.

[Kusubanasan]

"Oh, you're adorable."

She responded with an enthusiastic nod of the head, twirling her pole-arm in her hand and embedding the bottom into the dirt beneath her. There was a noisy clinking of metal as vibrations from her action resonated through her weapon, her reiatsu beginning to spike to a noticeable level. When the man before her had finished drawing his weapon and taking a combat stance, she calmly waited with a playful smile on her face, intrigued that such a man would think to oppose her after being made aware of her title and status.

The espada's aquamarine eyes glanced about their immediate surroundings, secretly taking heed of unit positions and the various power levels of her present opponents before carefully watching the men begin to circle around, backing up and creating a ring in which herself and the man before her were the only people within. Was this some sort of clever trap? Or was it simply another showboating display? If the unit commander was so willing to draw himself into the open, the chances are that he is simply exceedingly confident in his own skills.

A mistake that Furiko intends to teach him in a lethal manner, for without their commander the soldiers, whom are nothing more than a rag-tag collection of trustees or disgruntled Rukongai residents will likely be thrown into disarray, and therefore easily routed. It is for this purpose that the Trecera Espada raises her blade once more, eager to get this over with so that she could move onto the other gates and break this ridiculous siege before too many lives were lost.

That's when her opponent does something surprising again, he offers Furiko the first move, his soldiers finding this act positively amazing and swooning over him as if they were teenage girls attached to their latest idol. The man himself seemed smug enough, holding his weapon in a conventional stance and offering no particular feelings of extreme power. Yet it is still folly to attack before one knows what their opponent is capable of, and to this end Furiko inhaled, and begun her first move.

"You're really funny mister um, Akisori, um... Akinami... Arnold...? But you really should reconsider underestimating me. If you think you can move me out from in front of this door, please let me see you give it your best~!"

That first move of course, being a taunt intended to sting him in front of his own men, to make them question this bravado of his and instead seek to make him attack her. Yet despite this choice of tactics, those that look at Furiko would notice that her demeanor gives the impression of her being a kind yet mellow person, her long pink hair and the caring, almost joyous smile on her face giving off the image of someone who could and would never harm another living being. Yet the pile of still-twitching fresh corpses to the side of the gate, coupled with the gaze in her eyes provided a window filled with confidence, unshakable and firm.

She wasn't the sort of person to ever make the first act of aggression in a conflict, her preference lies towards gauging an action and formulating an appropriate reaction instead. Very tactical and careful, taking heed to protect her body and prevent her opponents from utilizing their strengths while improving the strengths of her allies. It is due to this lack of allies that Furiko exercises more caution than usual, she couldn't afford to make a mistake here, not while she has exposed herself directly infront of her enemies' very seat of power.

"Well? I'm positive you haven't all day."

[Hibiki Shimizu]

"A Captain eh? That's certainly intriguing," Hinonori replied to Fate's introduction and as she appeared right beside him with a blade at his throat. The tall, blonde-haired man seemed not the least bit intimidated by the woman's threat and a smug look laid indefinitely across his face. He was now a bit more excited that he finally met someone worth his time. "Its nice seeing how hospitable an enemy can be, giving me a choice to live or die. But do you really have that power?" Hinonori smirked, his body language indicating he was not deciding to make any counterattack but a somewhat threatening tone still sounding in his statement. "I wonder what oblong delusion makes you think such fantasies could be made real?" The commander then suddenly disappeared like a flash, reappearing a few feet in front of Fate. The feat would seem completely impossible for such an average-looking individual such as he, and it even made his surrounding soldiers gawk in surprise. "Too bad for you..." The elegant man slowly drew his katana that was at his side, whipping it out quickly at the end of his dramatic sequence and pointing it at the shinigami Captain. "...you haven't the power to kill me." The man thrust his sword through the air in precise jabs, almost like testing the weight of weapon.

Akinori could barely hold back his growing bravado, could barely withstand the humorous glory that was currently dawning down upon him. It was all invigorating to the seasoned warrior. His mercenaries cheering him on from behind and this mocking challenge of a pink-haired dame from in front. Akinori was loving it all. Oh, the glory days! the man thought to himself as he continued to circle around his foe. But when she spoke up and mispronounced his name the man's entire demeanor changed like a light switch. "What what WHAT?! Its AKI-NORI!" the warrior yelled out at the pink-haired woman, not hearing much more of what she said. "How could you get my name wrong?! The CLAW, AKI-NORI, the CLAAAAAAAWWWW!!!" Almost in unison, all the soldiers began to chant their commander's name like a pack of zealots. "How could she get his name wrong? What disrespect! Off with her head!" Akinori dropped his combative pose for a moment, his face red with growing anger. "You know what?! I will take the first move, dammit!" The soldiers all cheered in agreement, anticipating a great show of power from their superior. "Sorry to say, princess..." Akinori yelled as he began to charge in directly towards the Furiko, and just as he got within melee distance he swiped out his katana in a plain horizontal slash. But just as he executed the first attack, no matter what the pink-haired woman's next move, he would suddenly appear just behind her. "You can't last very long against someone of my skill!" The man unleashed a short series of slashes at his opponent's back then, blade ready to block and counter at a moments notice just in case she managed to see through his plan.

The Western Gate was all in a huge state of disarray, boulders flying through the air, arrows pelting the walls, and a horde of malicious thugs just outside. Hibiki had just arrived on the scene, running up to the nearest gate guards. There were only a dozen or so shinigami that had arrived at that gate, and that made Hibiki shutter a bit. "Guard, stand back!" the shinigami that seemed to be the most senior of the current gate watch immediately turned around and looked at the approaching Captain, a look of relief washing over his face. "T-thank the...It's good your here, Captain Shimizu. We've got enemies at the--- I know," the Eighth Division Captain assured the gate guard with a nod. "Leave this gate's defense to me. I require something of you." The gate guard's expression suddenly changed to one of disbelief. "Bu-but sir, this is my post. I can't leave just because--- That is an order!" The gate guard looked down in contemplation, his body trembling a bit. The other shinigami around the gate looked at the Captain with wary expressions of their own. "I need you to report something - get a message out to the rest of gate patrols. And its of dire importance..." The gate guard senior looked up at Hibiki, gasping a bit. "Sir?"

Out charged Hinonori, his deadly and excellently poised blade lunging swiftly all around Captain Harlaown's head. It wasn't the ordinary speed that a regular warrior might've possessed and it was well swift enough to contend with a shinigami's reflexes. It was clear that just by Hinomori's style of fighting, despite his strange way of conducting himself, he was no novice to combat. Similarly would Akinori's fighting style seem. The warrior was no extreme and precise tactician as his pink-haired foe was, because his attacks and fluidity in combat appeared all haphazard.

[Fate T. Harlaown]

Fate saw the blonde-haired man disappear from her, Fate just gave a light shrug not bad considering what he was. As she heard the man speak she wondered if he knew of her power, she guessed not. "Ahh~ Such weak talk coming from someone of equally weak power. As to weither I can kill you or not, there is no question there. You will die one way or another. Now then the question is? Can you kill me before I you? If you wish to test this little theory of mine, then by all means try." By this time the rest of the Squad had ready themselves for battle and were just awaiting Fate's order.

Fate then gave a breif nod of her head as her Squad charged forward she then disappeared behind them, as she whispered. "Ikou, Bardiche." The small gem inside of her gloved, rose into the air with a small flash of yellow reaitsu, Fate could be seen holding a staff. She gave a soft smile, moving back a little more to prepare. Once far enough back from the main fight with the blonde-haired man a circle appeared below Fate as she whispered. "Arcus Cultus Aegeas" Her reaitsu suddenly flared quite a bit, small bolts of lightning lingering around her. Then small spheres of lightning infused reaitsu appear around her, Fate smiled she had known to inform her Squad about this attack. She also knew that her Squad were keeping his men at bay until this attack was launched. "Now!" Her squad members heard this and parted to leave room for the attack Fate aimed her free hand at the blonde-haired man and spoke. "Bakudo #61 Rikujokoro." Soon after that Fate spoke again. "Photon Lancer Phalanx Shift. Fire!" The photon lancer shots fire very quickly, as soon as one was fire so was the next letting a barrage of attacks towards the blonde-haired male, meanwhile the rest of her Squad continued to keep up the attack on the man's thugs.

ooc: sorry it's so short.

[Kusubanasan]

Furiko silently watched the man respond in anger to her taunt, displaying to her that he is easily provoked. Provoked enough to take the first move for himself, and begin with a reckless charge. Not bothering with her weapon at all, Furiko glanced over at the soldiers behind him instead, taking note of their facial expressions and deciding that this man wasn't the sort to be completely careless.

Her suspicions are proven correct when the man performs a horizontal feint before utilizing his shunpo at a speed that would render normal people unable to see him. Fortunately for Furiko, her own speed exceeds the majority of the captains in Seireitei's, so his movements were fairly easy to catch. They were unpolished and haphazard, the man likely relying on sheer strength and speed rather than any particular skill when he fights, giving Furiko an immediate edge.

The slashes toward her back were avoided with a graceful bound forward followed by a pivot, her weapon still embedded into the ground where she left it and thus out of her hands. She smiled at the man courteously before moving in towards him as he performed another slash, catching his blade with her hand and pouring out her spiritual pressure. "A proud man whom knows naught about who he has drawn his blade against."

Her hierro, one of the gifts a hollow gains upon ascension to the Arrancar stage was more than enough to stop one of these comparatively weak slashes from a man whom does not display the talent or training that a Shinigami would have. His sword normal, not made out of the soul-cleansing metal that the shinigami blades are created from, but average steel instead. Clearly not enough to deter the third strongest fighter in all of Hueco Mundo, and clearly not enough to withstand her next action.

Snap.

Just like that, the blade is snapped in half by a sudden jerking of Furiko's wrist, the end swatted away before she faded from vision, reappearing atop her naginata, her foot balanced upon the blade and the rest of her body poised as if she were to begin a dance.

"Of all the hollow in the world, I am third in power. Two above me, millions below me. Yet the top ten are all it would take to conquer all of soul society in a heartbeat."

She gracefully hops off her weapon with a flourish of movement, performing an aerial frontflip and landing upon her toes directly in front of it as she does so. Directly upon landing her hand grasps the shaft of the weapon and pulls it out of the ground with a horizontal slash resulting in a wave of spiritual pressure being sent out like a shockwave as Furiko stood with a kindred smile on her face, poised dramatically and ready to decimate this man if he so happened to choose to continue.

"I might have lied. Our leader is powerful enough to wipe out Soul Society by his lonesome."

[Hibiki Shimizu]

Even though his attacks were easily dodged, Akinori didn't show the slightest bit of hesitation. As he went in for another attack his blade arm went still and he couldn't budge his weapon an inch further. "What?" the commander gasped when he looked to only see his blade caught by the grasp of the woman he was fighting. "Once again, you think I care about who you are? I don't. I'll crush you like I do all my enemies, princess." His body didn't seem to tremble at all when Furiko unleashed a wave of spiritual pressure, much unlike the vast majority of his soldiers who were now a bit more silenced by the scene of battle.

Then, SNAP! Akinori's blade was severed clean in two, metal clanging loudly on the rocky ground as the warrior stared angrily towards Furiko. But she was gone. Akinori held the hilt of his katana still, only a small jutting piece of his sword remaining from the once-proud weapon of the once-proud warrior. He turned around hurriedly only to find the pink-haired woman atop her naginata, her body positioned in a way akin to that of a dancer. The next few words Akinori shrugged off - he couldn't care less how powerful this woman was or who were friends were. "So, a fighter of elegance, huh? You remind me of Hinonori. Sure you two aren't relatives or something? HAHAHAHA!" the commander let out a bellowing laugh and his soldiers did the same. The wave of energy that racketed through the army pushed more than a few of the mercenaries down to their feet, but it didn't move Akinori at all.

After the burst of energy had subsided, a newfound resonance of pride shown from Akinori's grinning expression. The commander rose his arm in the air and snapped his fingers, all his soldiers instinctively snapping back to attention. "Hehe. I can see your no amateur, but don't think I continue to go easy on you still. That was just a...a waddya call it? A warm up? Ya, one of those! That was a warm up! HAHAHAAHA!" Akinori let forth a great hearty laugh as he placed his hands on his hips, chest heaving in the air and his eyes teared up a bit. The laughter continued for a short while until he composed himself to some degree, wiping the tears of hilarity from his eyes and snapping once more into the open air. An armor-clad soldier dashed out from the line subordinates behind the commander, carefully carrying another katana in both hands. "Here you are, Boss!" the soldier offered, bending down on one knee as he raised up the weapon to his superior. "Excellent!" Akinori replied without looking at the soldier at all, instead keeping his fiery eyes set directly on those of Furiko. The soldier dashed back to the frontline and the commander swung his blade in the air a few times until finally grasping it in both hands and closing his eyes tightly.

It might've seemed to an average warrior, nay, perhaps even the most inexperienced combatant, that Akinori was preforming some kind of zen-like focus or meditation before going off to battle again. But, this was Akinori the Claw, and he was far from ordinary. Just as he shut his eyes, his voice began in a low mumbling chant. It grew and grew into a greater hum of sound, until the man was full-out yelling. "Hyoooooooo! Shooooooooo! Whaaaaaaaaa! Kyaaaaa!" the man shouted, stretching out awkwardly from side to side as he swung his blade out in a -very- strange ceremonial fashion. At the sight of that all the army behind him began to cheer and applaud their master's efforts, all the while spouting threats toward the pink-haired woman. "Haha, yerdead now, lady!Good luck fighting against the boss now! Save yourself the humility and take your own life now!" A few more moments of the chanting and cheering continued until Akinori finally settled down and his entire crew quieted down in great anticipation.

Akinori's shihakusho fluttered in the air as he dashed forward, now a bit faster than he previous display of speed. His eyes were still closed but his blade was ready, though it didn't seem prepared for any kind of forward attack. Just as he approached Furiko he disappeared from sight, reappearing just above her as he prepared to strike downwards. The man opened his eyes then and disappeared yet again, before appearing in his original spot just in front of the woman and releasing an overhead swing of his blade. This time if his steel met Furiko she would find it very much more threatening of a blade than the one she had just broke - very much more like a zanpakutou.

Meanwhile, the battle in the south was just beginning to take a turn of its own. Hinonori lunged out with his blade but met only empty air as the Captain that once stood before him suddenly vanished from sight again. "What a pest!" the commander growled, noting that the rest of the shinigami forces were now on the offensive again. Since he was forward most in the line, Hinonori met two shinigami blade to blade. Steel clashed against steel as the two parties began to fight again, the shinigami from Squad 5 not meaning to give a single inch of ground to their enemies. But neither were Hinomori's forces such pushovers. Little did the commander know that his opponent Captain was busy charging an attack far behind her lines of subordinates. "Ignorant filth!" Hinomori scoffed as the two shinigami in front of him attacking in unison. He blocked the two cuts of the swords that assaulted him, side-stepped and released a blinding flurry of quick jabs at one of the shinigami. The shinigami yelled out in agony as his body was pierced by Hinonori's vicious blade.

"Is this the best that the Gotei 13 has to offer? Captains that make poor threats and worthless pawns that can't fight for s---" Hinomori was busy blocking another attack from his remaining opponent when a bit of noise caught his attention. Everyone on the ground, shinigami and mercenary troops included, seemed to be intently focused on something just behind the offensive line of Squad 5 troops. A dim light began to flicker in the distance, one that grew brighter and more intense with each passing moment. "What is this? Some kind of trick?!" The blonde-haired commander pushed away the next cutting edge of his opponent's blade with his bare hand, turning and smacking the zanpakutou harshly out of the shinigami's grasp.

Hinomori was just as an experienced as all the Triad members, so he knew when a big attack was coming on. The unarmed shinigami just off to his side was just about to jump away, but Hinomori's reflexes were the faster. He flung out his arm and caught the squad member by the collar of his shihakusho, pulling the man close as he impaled him with his blade. "Now, now, stay right here, sir." The shinigami grunted, muttered a few condemning words to the ruthless mercenary commander, and fell limp. By that time, Harlaown had just let loose an incredible wave of electric-looking attacks just as her remaining soldiers all fled to avoid the impending attack. Shoving the deceased body of the shinigami in front of himself, Hinonori braced his legs for the impact of the blast. Luckily enough for the commander, Fate's bakudo had collided instead with the corpse of his meat shield, serving as an excellent immovable barrier as it was bombarded with a barrage of electrical blasts.

The resulting damage left a fair amount of dust around the battlefield, but even with that substance thick in the air, the shinigami under Captain Harlaown's command and Hinonori's soldiers continued fighting indefinitely. The elegant-minded commander coughed hoarsely as the smoke began to clear around him, waving one of his white-gloved hands around to clear the dust away from his face. "How impolite, aiming such an attack at your own subordinates," Hinonori laughed with a half-cocked smirk, not really sure if Harlaown had heard him but surely hoping she had. He threw the beaten, bloody, and charred body of the deceased shinigami on the ground. The commander himself wasn't entirely undamaged by the attacks, but he didn't seem effected too badly by the blast. "Now its my turn, dear," The commander said with a deep bow, disappearing again from his current position as he appeared directly in front of Captain Harlaown. Hinonori flicked his wrist and with that simple movement his blade went quickly to work as it assaulted the shinigami Captain with a flurry of incredibly fast attacks. "Hehe, come now. Show me your spirit!"

[Fate T. Harlaown]

Fate knew her attack could be dodged easily enough but still she never intended to kill this man with that one attack, on the other hand she had no intention of using bankai to kill this man. He was not worth it, although..so far no one was ever worth it...being that Fate had never had to use her bankai very often...she also knew this man was not nearly strong enough to warrent her usage of bankai on him. Fate also knew that many members of her Squad would have to fall for all of this to work but it would work she knew it would, and well if it didn't she would die trying.

Fate had sent a hell butterfly away just before her attack, so the rest of her Squad would be awaiting her command to come and join the battle...if this continued for to long, Fate feared she would have to use bankai...and that would not only put her in danger but everyone else around her as well and that included her Squad memebers.

As the dust cleared from her attack she guessed that he would not be hurt very much from the blast but that was fine, it was all she needed and it served well as a distraction. Fate then saw this man come forward send a furry of attacks at her which Fate easily dodged with a smile then speaking quickly, now this would surprise him. "Bardiche, Now!" A faint ringing sound could be heard for a breif moment before a robotic like male voice spoke. "Yes Sir! Knuckle Form!" The staff in Fate's right hand disappeared fully from view qucikly reforming on her hands and hardened gloves as Fate spoke. "Now, Bardiche and I don't take kindly to thugs like yourself so I think it's time you die." Fate stopped dogding the many attacks sent at, appearing to the left of the blonde-haired man, Fate said nothing as she moved forward, as the ringing sound was heard once again followed by that same voice. "Lightning Barrage." As soon as Fate was close enough, Fate unleashed a lightning fast barrage attack of punches, Fate knew if this didn't work she always had one more ready and waiting, she also knew not many could evade this attack she wasn't known as the "Lightning Goddess" for nothing in this.

Fate continued attacking remebering back to when she had to use most of her reaitsu to do this, now it was like second nature to her, as 10 small spheres appear a little way behind the blonde-haired man as Fate spoke once more. "Fire!" The bullet-like-sphere's fired, even if they didn't hit him Fate could make them fade or just chase him, but she knew this would not be an easy fight that much she was sure of.

[Kusubanasan]

Her burst of energy successfully begun to cause worry within the ranks of her opponents, their faces and overall energy signals repeatedly flagging before her as she rotated the long pole weapon in her wrist, coming into a combat stance while her opponent snapped his fingers. His men snapped to attention immediately, forgetting the display of power that Furiko had just presented them with as the man in the lead begun to praise her.

Now was the time for Furiko to begin her dance.

Waves of invisible reiatsu begun to flood the air as Furiko silently begun a series of war-like dances with her polearm, seemingly paying no heed whatsoever to her opponent's antics as he received a new weapon and observed it for himself before beginning his series of chants.

These waves of reiatsu slowly sunk into the souls of each and every person in the area, draining the energy and slowly making them feel ill, the effects beginning to become visual the longer Furiko continued to dance. Chants from the enemy about her soon-to-be demise went unheeded, the woman continuing to just dance on the spot as her opponent dashed forward toward her.

He moves out of the way before approaching her entirely, the woman calmly bounding into the air with a twirl, her weapon extended as she fell like a deadly bladed top. And when she landed back down on the ground, the man appeared again with another slash, just in time for her weapon to collide into his before she would gracefully leap to the side with her leg extended into a kick.

A kick that abruptly halts in mid-air and is instead cancelled into a dancelike downward spiral attack from her polearm. The dance-like movements and the release of invisible waves of reiatsu not halting at all, Furiko carries on with a flurry of slashes until coming to a halt and sending a wave of bala at her opponent instead.

If he chooses to actually deal with these attacks or perhaps avoid them, he'll find that they had ricocheted off the wall behind him, headed straight toward him again as Furiko would appear above.

"Simply not enough."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Skill Used:
Danza de la miseria (Dance of misery): She begins to dance, which sends out her spiritual pressure and causes enemies in the vicinity to begin to feel sluggish and weak. The longer she dances, the worse the symptoms. The effect lingers for a few minutes after she stops dancing. Can be used in tandem with Melodia de la Vida

Bala: Like a cero, but small and fast. Furiko's Bala also richochet off surfaces if she so desires.

Sonido: The hollow variant of Shunpo. If someone were to ask among the Espada whom was the fastest, Furiko's name would come up fairly often. Her talent with Sonido is unmatched, her lithe and limber body only adding to the potential speed with which she will move.

[Hibiki Shimizu]

Continuing his barrage of jabs and lunges with his blade, Hinonori was completely confident that he had control of the situation. That was why, when Fate so abruptly dodged one of incoming attacks with such ease, his expression turned a bit sour. "How?!" the commander barked, looking to his side as the shinigami Captain exclaimed "Bardiche, Now!" Hinonori stepped to the side and regained a bit of his composure, but his arrogant demeanor was quickly changing to something more purely disgruntled. He heard a monotone voice speak soon afterwards but didn't know where it had originated from, as he was far too focused on Fate's weapon transforming before his very eyes. "That's a nice trick," Hinonori commented when Fate's weapon had formed into a pair of sturdy-looking gloves, not thinking much of the repercussions of such a tactic.

"Yourself...and Bardiche...?" the commander said with one brow raised, still not sure what Fate was talking about exactly. But the elegant Hinonori hadn't a second to spare in thought, as Fate soon charged in with a flurry of her attacks. Hinonori blocked one punch with a swiping motion of his sword, then another, but soon enough the punches became so furious and swift he couldn't cope with the barrage. "...urggghh...akkkk...!" the commander grunted and gasped as the Captain's attack seemed successful in striking him repeatedly. A few moments of that passed before Hinonori slipped back, gasping for air, his armor and body bruised and beaten. "You little witch!" the man cursed under his breath, stumbling in place as he wiped a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth. He rose his sword in a poor attempt at a strike, but his eyes widened when he noticed Fate had thrown another technique towards him. Hinonori turned his head slowly and looked over his shoulder as the ten orbs of light flickered just behind him. "...no..." The orbs closed in and swarmed the commander, resulting in fair-sized explosion that caught him completely by surprise.

As more dusted clouded the area around Fate and Hinomori's scene of battle, the echoes of ringing steel still sounded in the background. Hinonori's troops hadn't relented in their assault but neither did they know their superior was probably dead. As the smoke would dissipate, one could see a small crater where Hinonori had once stood. Now, the tall blonde-haired man was now lying face-down in the stone ground, very motionless. Two of the top officers from Hinonori's army almost immediately ran up to Fate then, brandishing katanas, as they assaulted the Captain with a blind combination of cuts and stabs.

"Stop dancing around you damned little broad!" Akinori spat, seeming a bit more collected than his previous attempt at combat with Furiko. The man blocked the incoming slashes of the woman's naginata but couldn't avoid taking an occasional scratch or nick every few attacks or so. In the middle of their melee, Akinori felt one of legs go limp for a fraction of a second, and soon enough the world around him looked to be getting more and more slow-paced. The seasoned warrior shrugged off the strange symptoms with a wag of his head, and continued blocking the best he could.

This is getting far too repetitive. Time to change my strategy a bit! the commander thought to himself with a smirk, watching Furiko's next strike come down expectantly. But the woman's slash stopped in mid swing, making Akinori go into a half-defensive stance of his own. "Hmm?" For an instant, a bright light shone from the woman's hand as she flung out her next attack - a ball of condensed spirit energy. Akinori gasped and his guard dropped a bit as the projectile neared him. The commander took the brunt of the explosion and was sent flying back into his crowd of soldiers, a trail of smoke following his path. "Boss! Akinori-sama, NOOOO!" the soldiers were a bit less rowdy but surprisingly still assumed their stalwart bravado. The loyal mercenaries nearest their commander all helped him up, but Akinori the Claw shoved them away, his eyes struggling to not roll back into unconsciousness. "...G-get away...fools!" Akinori grumbled, pushing back any help his subordinates tried to give him as he rose to his feet. His entire body was covered in soot from the bala explosion colliding with him, and his body shook a bit as he stumbled around and waved his blade. "W-where'd ya go...p-princess!..." Then, with a great gasp of astonishment from his soldiers, the commander fell down onto his back, completely unconscious.

"Keep them back! Let none pass!" the Captain of the Eighth Division roared to the few soldiers that he found guarding the West gate. Two armored thugs ran up, clubs in hand and ready to strike the unsuspecting Captain, but Hibiki moved with incredible speed and slashed out at the two in mid air. Appearing just behind them, the Captain flicked his sword out as the blood that sullied his blade was flung off to the ground. The thugs grumbled and fell to the ground, both of them almost completely severed in half. "How much more of this?!" Hibiki said between gritted teeth, noting that a few hundred or perhaps thousand still chanted and roared only a few dozen yards away. For the time being they were only sending small parties of a score or so of men to combat Hibiki and the gate guards. The roaring horde continued to stomp and wave their weapons around wildly from afar as the newest group of thugs charged in.

"Rage, Kaen!" Hibiki whispered in a stern tone, holding one of his zanpakutou out pointed at the incoming enemy forces. The blade was instantly surrounded by a dancing display of bright orange and red flames. The blade began to glow underneath its envelope of fire, finally bursting out into a small spiral of light and flame, revealing a much different weapon than before. Hibiki held the trident out and swiped the weapon through the air, creating a small wave of flames that shot at the incoming thugs. The blast hit the charging group fully, reducing them all to a heap of fiery corpses. "Withdraw your men, you imbecile," the Captain muttered, knowing that he could contend with such numbers if he really needed to. But then again, he had no desire to murder hordes of hapless morons, even if they were trained criminals.

[Fate T. Harlaown]

Fate gave a grin when this blonde-haired man had asked how as she was glad to reply to him. "Oh? You didn't know? I did not gain the nickname "The Lightning Goddes" for nothing you know, such slow attacks you have." Fate almost spat the words towards him. Hearing him speak again Fate smiled softly towards him this time and spoke. "You think this is a trick? How wrong you are."

She quickly moved forward, lifting up her right-handed glove and pointing to the gem that was placed in the slot there. "Bardiche introduce yourself if you would." The gem flashed bright yellow then faded as Fate spoke again. "This is my zanpakuto Bardiche I hope you aren't afraid of Lightning." She smirked once having finished her attacks she heard the man gasp...but he didn't get long to live...only about a few seconds Fate thought as the bullet like spheres she had fired into the man, just before she had heard him say "You little witch" A witch? Goodness no, a very good killer? Yes, not that Fate enjoyed killing much.

Fate then waited for the explosion to clear, seeing the blonde-haired man fall to the ground as a lifeless body Fate then knew her job was done all she needed to do now was finish this fight which would not take long by her normal time. Seeing two of what appeared to be so called "high-ranking officers" charging towards her katana's drawn Fate could not help but emmit a small chuckle what fools...if they thought they could kill her they would regret that for the rest of what remained of their lives. Once they started attacking Fate just grinned anoying them even further, she then uttered but one word. "Go." And with that word came another 100 shinigami from her Squad, who soon started to back up fellow shinigami and fight back. Fate then quickly reverting Bardiche back into his sealed form, she drew the spare katana that was still placed around her hip, with one flash step behind the two enraged officers they where falling to the ground with one loud Thud.

Fate then moved quickly downwards to help her fellow shinigami now wanting to end this....

[Kusubanasan]

"That about wraps it up, don't you think?"

The Espada's weapon disappeared from her hand as she strode forward towards her fallen adversary, the few soldiers that were still around him simply staring at her with looks of fear and astonishment as the gates in front of them opened and a regiment of shinigami ran out, swords raised and ready for action until they saw that the leader figure had already been defeated. It was a quick movement for Furiko to kick the fallen man into the crowd, him getting caught by the regiment leader and examined for a bit, but when the leader looked back up, Furiko was already gone.

A few minutes pass before Furiko appeared at the western gate, moving in a counter-clockwise direction on her way all the way around Soul Society to potentially witness some shinigami's powers. When a sharp spiritual pressure begins to fill the air and several others accompany it, it became all the more obvious to her that there was someone of captain rank up ahead doing the fighting.

What she saw when she arrived on the field was a spiral of lights and flames, something Furiko recognizes as the activation of a Shinigami's Shikai. The man wielding the bright weapon swung it through the air, an intense wave of flames emitting from the tip and shooting through the group of men he was fighting. And that's when Furiko made her move.

There was a rumbling noise and some screaming, a large number of thugs being sent flying into the air by some unseen attack, as well as there being a crater in the ground from where something impacted it. The screaming soon stopped however, and the men that were sent soaring begun to get sent every which way, loud yet unseen thuds being heard as each of them were sent away.

And then she came back into vision, standing in front of the ranks of the shinigami with her back turned to the ranks of the invaders, a bright smile on her face as a man from behind ran up to her with his sword and slashed at her shoulder, a fearful look on his face when it failed to cut her.

Without even turning around, Furiko embedded her elbow into his stomach, sending him to his knees before a backwards punt sent him flying into his friends, the Espada more intent on observing the captain on the field as opposed to actually doing battles against these people.

"It's within the best interests of my people for your organization to not get beaten here, okay? So would you please not try to cut me down while I solve this little problem for you?" She said, a lyrical tune in her voice and a simple smile on her face as a polearm like weapon materialized into existence in her hand. Her next actions being entirely dependent on whatever the captain here does.

OOC: My quality dropped pretty hard this time, orz.