Event: Call of the Hollow's Siren (All Captains must participate)

by **Ravilin** Mon Jun 04, 2012 1:40 am

OOC: (You cannot post here unless your character has been through the entire approval process and has been approved. So get to it.)
Date and Time: Sunday, June 2nd, 2012. Afternoon, 6:00 P.M.
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Rubianca's entire world had changed overnight, literally. The burden upon her already troublesome life had increased one thousandfold. She was no longer the Bitch of 5th. No, she had been crowned under an even more ridiculous title. The Wretched Commander. To the dismay of both her and the entirety of the Gotei 13, Rubianca Oukami, former 5th Division Captain, was appointed as the new Captain Commander. How had this atrocious situation arisen? According to "rumors", the previous Captain Commander, whom had also been recently appointed, had enacted desertion. Well, "rumors" to Ruby were factual Intelligence. Indeed, the previous coward of a Captain Commander had disappeared in the Human World just a week prior. What a fucking disgrace to all Shinigami. But why the governing council had chosen her...well, never mind. She knew exactly why. She knew everything.

Rubianca's entire 5th Division grounds were swept clean by her most trusted subordinates. All of her belongings, no matter how small or insignificant, were transferred to her new home, the center of Seireitei, the fortress that was known as the 1st Division. She had even requested her quarters re-structured to replicate her 5th Division dormitory. The exact replication. And luckily, that was where she was headed this very moment.

She now wore only her black kosode, black hakama and black sash. She had left her previous haori, that of the 5th Division Captain, behind for her replacement. She knew that prick inside and out. Even though she wasn't very fond of his antics, Ruby knew he was the best choice for that particular position. Last she knew, he was cunning, otherworldly intelligent and a slithering fucking snake.

Neither her twin Zanpakuto nor her revolver pair were with her as she resolutely marched through her new compound. The antique architecture was a bit off-putting and so were the small corridors. She'd get it fixed in time, oh yes. Her silk brown hair was up in its typical ponytail tied at the stem by a fine black ribbon. Her brown bangs bounced as she placed one muscled foot in front of the other. Her movements were strong yet seductive. Her breasts shook, visible by the cleavage of her kosode, at every pace. Her arms swiveled back and forth at its respective side. Surprisingly, Ruby didn't posses a cigarette entrenched between her lips. Like always, her expression was completely void of emotion. As blank as an untouched canvas.

As she turns the corner of what seemed like a two mile long hallway, Ruby's eyes are met with the two large parting doors of her quarters. She had yet to step foot within due to the renovations. As she nears, just feet away from them, the doors begin to open of their own accord. As soon as they begin to part, Ruby notices just how well of a job her soldiers had done. Speaking of soldiers, Ruby had transferred many of her best subordinates to the 1st Division. Before her, this shit-hole was infested with ineptitude. She enters the dimly lit Office.

They had placed fine black drapes, at her request, along the large open balcony that stood in front of her. It spanned the entire left side, from corner to corner, of her Office. She enjoyed the view of the entire Seireitei, but she would not allow such an insignificant perk to extinguish her desire to rest within the safety of blackness. Dark and quiet were synonymous with peace, to her at least. As she enters, Ruby's head turns from left to right as she scans the entirety of the breezy space. The drapes danced with the winds that blew inward. Her black, ornate piano. Her brown, mahogany desk. And then her head stops as her eyes lock onto a large, brown cabinet at the far right of the area, next to the far right wall that was parallel to the balcony. She smirks slightly as she walks diligently to the cabinets face. As she nears, Ruby raises her right arm and grips the bottom nudge of the furniture with her right hand fingers. She pulls. Lined perfectly, there hung at least a dozen haori. All with the mark of the 1st Division. So many? What, did the previous Captain Commander change clothes every other waking moment? Idiotic.

She raises her right arm further in order to grab one of the haoris by its neck-wrap. As she grips it and pulls it off of its hanger, Ruby brings it close to her visage in order to inspect it. No customization at all. As her left hand fingers pass over the edge of this haori, Ruby's reminded of her previous haori's custom black fur. She'd get it tailored in no time. Her eyes twitch as she suddenly senses a newcomer, one of her trusted informants, and breaks out of her trance.

She quickly thrusts her right hand through the right opening of the haori and then replicates the motion for the left pocket. In seconds, Ruby had worn her new 1st Division coat. Surprisingly, it fit quite well. She then closes the door, slowly and silently, and turns abruptly to face Rock who stood kneeling ten feet in front of her wooden, brown desk. His head was bowed and his masked visage invisible. Her blank, blinking eyes tell the informant all he needs to know. He begins to relay his message.

"Oukami-sama, there is an unimaginable catastrophe occuring in the Human World! Unforseen amounts of Hollows have begun to rampage through the streets of Karakura Town! An amount you haven't seen in..."

Ruby then quickly interrupts. Her voice was both calm and raspy. She closes her eyes the second her lips part. "How many?"

Rock quickly responds. "Thousands. And the number grows exponentially as we speak." This time, his tempo was a bit more flat. A silence strikes them both. Rock knew what she wanted. Details. He continues. "We're not sure what has caused this rise in Hollows...but when I was there, I sensed the pressence of greater Hollows. O-Of at least Adjucha level Reiryoku."

As Rock looks up, he notices his Captain Commander no longer stood before him. No, he now sensed her behind him, just in front of the door. When had she-

"Send out the Hell Messengers to all Captains. There will be a mandatory meeting. Now." Her tone was now strong and commanding. That's all Rock needed to hear as he disappears into the shadows.

Seconds later, the Wretched Commander stood in front of the large, ornate doors of the Captain's Hall. They open of their own will as she moves forward. Both her dual Zanpakutou and revolvers lay hidden under her white, long sleeved haori. The swords lay fastened around her waist on either side and her two fire-arms lay holstered under each arm-pit. She walks through the now opened gates and walks straight towards the center where the Captain Commander's throne lay. She halts feet in front of it. How inappropriate. Sitting in front of your soldiers as if a King. No, this wouldn't do at all. She raises her right hand and snaps her fingers. Out of the corner shadows of this large, dimly lit Hall, a dozen masked Shinigami appear from the blackness. Each one unsheathes their blade and slashes at the wooden, yet ornate chair. Each Shinigami cuts off a piece of the seat and before said severed piece falls to the floor, it disappears with its cutter back into the shadows. In mere seconds, in front of her lay the throne no more. Not even a single particle of wood or dust.

She walks to where the seat once stood, halts, and turns to face the now closed doors. She swings her arms behind her back. Unlike her blank expression and unwavering brown bangs and ponytail, her cleavage would wish the attention of all yet to come.

by **Kenji Yasutake** Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:58 am

Kenji had been overseeing the training grounds within 6th division, one thing was for sure. This bunch was going to be ready for when they needed to be there duty. He was going to keep their skills sharp, and their minds sharper. There he was walking around the Perimeter of the training, letting the sounds of and yells of the sparing and Kido incantations fill his ears. Kenji was small and lithe, but packed a real punch, and his demeanor was cold and he demanded perfection. Even in death, his father’s influence still shown through in his actions and his training methods.

“You third seat Aketchi keep your feet planted, do not let them break your center of balance. You do, and you’re dead.” Kenji ordered, yes he was a real drill master. But it was for the good of the soul society that he did it. Shinigami needed discipline and structure or else they will fall apart in a real fight. So they had to bear through the rough training and learn to work together. “Recruit! Always keep your eye on the one…..” He was cut off soon enough by a message, extending his hand he let the black butterfly land in his palm and relay the message.

“Very well, I’ll be there.” Kenji released the messenger back into the air to do whatever it did. “Okay, training is over for now, return to your paper work and chores. I will return shortly.” He turned and adjusted his Haori which seemed to be two sizes too big for him. As he started walking from the sixth division, his hand resting on the pommel of his zanpakuto, which like the captain commanders, was a duel zanpakuto…but it held the same spirit. In the form of a long and short sword worn together on his left side, like the samurai he once was.

There was a sense of urgency in Kenji’s steps as he walked; hurried long strides carried the lithe swordsman towards his destination. Walking to the first division HQ would take too long, so with one more step he took off at full sprint, weaving in and out of others. His upper body leaning forward and his arms hanging behind him, the wind brushed his face and causes his crimson hair to sway.

It would not take him that long to get to 1st division HQ, once he used the walls to bypass the foot traffic. Upon reaching the gate to 1st division headquarters he stopped running and started walking once more. The guards at the gate bowed as they opened it for the 6th division taichou, and he bowed in return. Kenji may have acted cold but he could be proper if need be.

Now was the walk towards the captain’s hall, and for once his companion Tenryu was silent…given the urgency of his movements, he was sure that the 1st division shinigami were watching him as he passed by, coming to a stop at the door of the captain’s hall. He took a deep breath and took a step forward, the door opening of its own accord. Onyx black eyes scanned the room, and it appears he was the first one to come. Better to be early then to be the last one that everyone was waiting on, right?

“Sou-Taichou.” Kenji lowered his head for a brief second, his tone dry and cold, his young face much like hers. Blank of any and all emotion, in ways they were alike in that regard. Though Kenji’s was a guard, a guard against betrayal and only one person among the shinigami has managed to get past the mask he wore. She would be present in this meeting, the lithe swordsman stepped up on his platform letting his left hand fall back to rest his palm on the pommel of his zanpakuto.

A man of few words, and more about action he didn’t care for boasting. Eye lids sliding shut and his head lowered, he was not falling asleep. More along the lines of readying himself for whatever this meeting was about. Running through possible reasons for an urgent captain's meeting, Invasion? No, they’d have heard something of it before now. Betrayal? Possible, since the former Sou-taichou has gone missing.

So that only left a handful of other options, but it was hard to pin point. Idle fingers taped the hilt of his zanpakuto as he waited, letting his mind wonder about the reasons.

by **Der König** Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:19 pm

13th Division was like always void of any kind of noise. No seated officer was barking at the Shinigami training their zanjutsu, their hakudo, their kido, you call it. They also did not make a single sound while training, besides the slight panting because of the exercise.

It was uncommon though, for 13th Division members to merely train. The ones who had their off days did, as the others had to keep a job in mind.
They were maids, all of them.

"Oh god, I loathe this guy." Marifun whined while his big body was hunched over, rearranging the sand corns that lay on the ground.
"Hush Marifun. I swear the boss can hear you." Aoji whispered as he leaned over to his friend - his small body hidden behind the bigger one.
"Both of you be silent before he comes out and chews on you." Bao muttered, helping his two partners with the sand.

Though... who the fuck ordered people to clean sand?

"He is still a crazy bastard." Marifun muttered silently.

Though Zer cared little about the bitching and moaning of his Shinigami. He wanted a clean Division, a very clean one and as long as they did their job he did not mind them complaining about it.
Besides... it was not like there were not more important matters to attend to.

The 13th Division captain sat in his office, which was as always spartan of anything. Almost anything. While his desk was plain and small and while there were no plants or anything of the sort that suggested somebody actually spend time in this room the walls very covered with bookshelves, which were filled with books of every form, size and color.
Information, it was always about information.

Like right now...

Zeraphin sat in front of his desk, the sleeves of his white dress shirt rolled up while his suit jacket was placed over the back of his chair. A few feet to the right of him, at the only spare room of the wall, was a huge window, which was opened due to the heat of the afternoon sun. The bright light shining through set the tall man's crimson hair aflame while his usually pale orange eyes disappeared in nothing but whiteness.

The Shinigami in front of the captain did not feel any kind of fear - had known his captain too long for that, though huge respect at the imposing figure.

"S-so..." the small male stuttered, unable to watch himself in the moment of weakness. Damnit.

An elegant, crimson eyebrow was lifted - though otherwise nothing showed on the impassive face.

"We have sent out members to 12th Division, to ask them about well... for a lack of better words... what the fuck is going on there, Zeraphin-taichou."

Still nothing on that face.

"We still have not received any answer though, though I suggest we act quickly, sir. The numbers of the Hollows are raising dramatically." The man swallowed heavily. "Maybe... maybe you should ask for a captain meeting?"

Finally, movement.

Zer leaned backwards, his posture not suggesting in the slightest any kind of concern, as the tips of his fingers brushed together while his elbows rested on the arms of his chair.

Fucked up situation. Shitload of Hollows. One of his maids telling him about that.
Captain meeting.

Zer snorted.
The boy probably had not been informed yet that Oukami took over First Division and that woman surely had gathered the same information by now.
It was not her style to be left in the dark.

"Go and clean the toilets." Zer finally spoke up, his voice thick and low - the rumble suggesting the lack of use.

"B...But... T-taich..."
The look ... it said enough.
Immediately the small man bowed deeply before leaving the office, wondering why his captain stayed so calm about the happenings in the human world.

The crimson haired male in the meantime took out his silver cigarette box and opened it calmly. Slowly he took out a thin, black cigarette and placed it between his lips. Just as slowly he tugged the box back in the pocket of his dark purple dress pants, before he stood up. He took a silver zippo out of his other pocket and lit the cigarette - taking a deep drag of the calming smoke before putting the lighter away. Then he turned slightly and carefully he picked up his dark purple suit jacket, draping it over his left arm before he slowly left his office.

She will order them to a captain meeting, it was obvious.

And indeed, he had been right. On his way towards First Division a Hellbutterfly landed on his shoulder - informing him about the meeting. Still... he did not quicken his steps in the slightest.

He saw no need to do so.

Once he had stepped into First Division he draped his suit jacket over his shoulders as he made his way towards the meeting hall. It was obvious to anybody who looked closer, that a lot has changed.

Not many were actually of First - too many faces of Fifth here.

Of course she'd bring her own army - she trained those puppies.

Zer lifted his right hand and pressed down the tips of his long fingers against the cigarette - taking it away from his lips as he let out a long breath - the smoke shortly covering his vision as he pushed open the doors with his left hand.

He place his cigarette back where it belonged as he slowly marched over to his designated spot.

The dwarf was already here.
Though what was more interesting was that the throne was gone.
Of course.
And the plainness of her haori.
Not for long, that he already knew.

Pale orange eyes settled on the newly appointed Captain Commander.
This is going to be interesting.

by **Absolutionist** Tue Jun 05, 2012 12:26 am

There she was at her desk once again; the command center for the entire squadron. Anne had it specially shipped from her Fathers former estate in the country. It gave the room a rustic feel, and Anne felt as though she was sitting at the helm of a ship when she was behind it. She sat there as if she was bored with one hand under her chin and her pipe in the other. Two of her top Agents had just arrived back froma 2 week mission to Hueco Mundo, which was the limit any normal Shinigami attempted to stay in the Desert World.

Anne looked up at the young Shinigami kneeling there before her, she took the pipe from her mouth as she readied to speak. "Well Fourth seat Kamina, what have you to report. Go ahead, out with it" she beckoned. The man raised his head a looked up at her with obviously tired eyes I'm sorry Captain we have...failed you. As hard as we tried there was nothing new to report. Strike that, it was more like there was an absense of information. We could find out nothing.

The Captains nails dug into the arm rest of her chair "Again!?!..." She finally noticed her hand digging into the chair and released her grip, four little fingernail shaped holes lay in the chair. "Yes I see. The two of you get some rest, your no good to me in this kind of condition. Report to the fourth squad and then get some rest. Kamina looked up at his captain and let a slight smirk come across his face. "Yes Captain.....thankyou" He said in a serious tone. Then in a flash the two Shinigami had disappeared.

Anne stood from her chair and pushed it behind her. She walked over to the window and looked out aimlessly as she did many times before. This lack of news from the other site was disturbing. Some might say no news was good news, but Anne new better than that. Instead of feeling like peace, it felt more like the calm before the storm. Just what was going on in Hueco Mundo.

Suddenly her train of thought was interrupted by the sight of a Hell Butterfly fluttering just outside the window. Anne flipped the lever on the lock and opened the window, letting the butterfly in. She held out her hand and let it land on her index finger. "A meeting I see" Perhaps today would be the day she would get some answers. Anne Grabbed her pipe off the desk, as well as her Zanpakuto sitting on the wall behind her and left for the door. As she walked through the halls of her squad all the Shinigami stood to attention at her presence. "Relax boys...whats got you all riled up" She chuckled. They knew if they had responded in any other way, they would be reprimanded.

The door of the 6th squad opened and out headed Anne straight towards the first division. She had a look of determination on her face as she took another drag off her pipe. Almost nothing seemed to phase her as she walked through the Seireitei. She was too deep in thought to be disturbed by anybody. Finally she arrived at the 1st division gates. Anne took the pipe from her mouth and tapped it with her finger releasing any smoldering embers. She took the pipe and pushed it through her hair as she finally entered the meeting hall.

The Division certainly felt different than she had remembered. The new captain certainly wasnt one for tradition and the "old way" of doing things. As she walked through the doors she acknowledge her fellow captains. She gave a slight smile towards Zer as she was always amused by his flashy dress sense. Anne then took her spot adjacent from the looming captain."Afternoon everyone, your looking good as always Zeraphin" Anne said in a soft low voice.

by **Tsukimiya** Wed Jun 06, 2012 12:50 am

Kyousuke was chewing lazily, a bowl of rice raised to his chin as he stared impassively at the images of the carnage in Karakura. A slight hint of static clouded the picture on the oversized monitor, but it was clear that the situation was rapidly spiralling out of control.

He swallowed a mouthful of rice, and jabbed his chopsticks in the direction of the monitor. "Got any figures for me, Saotome?" he asked, before shoveling more rice into his mouth.
"Quadruple digits, sir. And rising." The answer came through tinny and hollow-sounding, almost as if it was being piped through a very poor set of speakers.
Kyousuke frowned. Thousands of Hollows romping through Karakura wasn't exactly his idea of a good day, and he only had two men on-site, so his options were rather limited. "Menos?"
A short moment passed before Saotome's voice crackled into life. "Yes sir. Possibly Arrancar."
Kyousuke's expression soured, and he took another bite as he crossed the room and sat on his desk, still facing the monitor.

The desk was empty save for a crisp white cotton napkin, which he picked up and wiped the corners of his mouth with delicately, balancing the chopsticks on the rim of the bowl as he did so. He dropped the napkin back to the desk with a small sigh and ran through what would happen next in his mind. No doubt Oukami would have gotten wind of this already, which meant that she would've dispatched summons for all the captains, which in turn meant that a butterfly was most likely on its way here now. He glanced at the timestamp in the upper right corner of the screen, it read 18:02. He twisted to look at the window behind his desk, past the high-backed armchair that his haori was draped over. It was closed.

Setting the half-eaten bowl of rice and the chopsticks down next to the napkin, Kyousuke slid off his desk and walked over to the window, pushing it open ever so slightly. "Alright," he called over his shoulder as he waited for the inevitable butterfly to come fluttering through the crack, "I want the two of you to stay out of sight and keep us posted. You are not, and I can't emphasize this enough, going to engage the enemy at any cost. Are we clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Lieutenant!" His voice rose as he called for his adjutant. The Fifth Division's lieutenant poked her head in through the door almost immediately, making it blindingly obvious she had been eavesdropping. Kyousuke made a mental note to instruct her to at least pretend she wasn't listening in on his conversations at a later date. "You're in command until I get back."
"You're going somewhere, Captain?" she asked, entering the room and closing the door softly behind her.
"I'm heading to First's compound, the Captain-Commander wants to see me." He glanced back out the window and smiled. "Ah, here come the orders now."

The little black butterfly fluttered in through the window and landed on Kyousuke's outstretched finger, and he stared at it intently for a brief moment, then it took wing once more. Closing the window behind it, Kyousuke spun on the spot, grabbed his haori off the back of his chair and slipped it on, flashing a quick smile at his lieutenant as he strode toward the door.
"I'm not sure when I'll be back. Oh, and have someone take care of that," he said, pointing to the bowl on his desk as he stepped out the door.

The walk to the First Division was brisk, and the weather was pleasant, but other things were on the captain of the Fifth Division's mind. Not only was this his first official gathering of the captains since his promotion, but the situation as it stood required a delicate touch. Knowing Oukami, she'd go charging in, guns blazing—or whatever the Captain-Commander equivalent of that was. Kyousuke was unsure what the best course of action would be, but off the top of his head he couldn't shake the feeling that a surgical strike against whatever was rallying the massive host of Hollows would cause the vast majority them to tear each other apart. Hollows weren't creatures that operated well in groups, and without their masters whips behind them, they would turn on themselves soon enough.

As the First Division compound loomed ahead, Kyousuke could sense the immense power of some of his peers emanating from within. He wasn't the first to arrive, but he wasn't the last, either. He counted three captains, excluding the Captain-Commander, and a fourth which he easily recognized as Kasumi was on her way. He'd probably get there a few moments before she did. He saluted vaguely at the guards as he passed under the archway into the compound, muttering something about "She's expecting me," before making his way into the administration building.

Past visits to the First's compound had always made him uneasy—something about the oppressive feeling of high command set his teeth on edge—but Oukami had turned the place into a carbon copy of the Fifth, and it made Kyousuke feel strangely at home. He reached the gargantuan double doors of the Captains' Hall and pushed them open, and stepped inside. Sure enough, there was Anne Dubois, captain of the Third, Kenji Yasutake, captain of the Sixth, and the ever-flamboyant Red Baron of the Thirteenth. And there, at the end of the hall, stood his former captain. He smiled at his colleagues and met Oukami's eye as he made his way toward his designated position next to Dubois.
Don't look at her tits, don't look at her tits, don't look at her tits—
He glanced down for a fraction of a second—
Damn it.
He kept a straight face, uttered a quick "Ma'am," as greeting, and then took his place solidly next to Dubois without another word.

by **Kasumi Suzume** Wed Jun 06, 2012 1:09 am

The smell of sweat was strong, men were training. Kasumi was doing a lesson in her barracks at the time teaching them how to balance their skills so that they didn't handicap themselves. Sunlight slanted through the window where the blinds allowed light to seep through. The crimson eyes were sparkling with amusement as she stood in the center of the room waiting for her squad mates to attack properly. Stillness seemed to echo through the room and then movement caught her attention. Flexing her left hand slightly she caught the throwing knife aimed for her throat between two of her fingers. "I felt the attack before it even got close enough to draw blood from me. If I felt it then other people will certainly. You need to work on that." Kasumi threw the knife right above the man's head embedding it into the wood. The look of panic on his face made if worth anything else. Tapping her fingers on the hilt of her zanpakuto it was more than obvious that she was looking for a challenge.

This job was supposed to be Maes but her vice-captain didn't seem that intent on helping her train the recruits like she had requested in their prior meeting. Slowly she pivoted, throwing her right arm up in a block from a punch aimed at her head. As the fist connected with the arm Kasumi swept her leg out, knocking the young blond haired woman away from her. This was a normal day of training when it came down to it. There was papers to be filled out about the maggot's nest and other works like that but since Maes wasn't helping here she was making him do that work. It would balance out or she'd be doing extra work. Hey, who needed sleep anyways? Looking down to the face of the woman she knocked over, Kasumi flowed in a smooth movement as a kick hit where she was once standing. The emotionless face peered to the brown haired man who almost had her. "Better." The simple word was a high praise coming from the second division taichou who was known for her temper.

The small butterfly fluttered through the paneled doors, Kasumi paused in her lesson to look at it before opening the palm of her hand. The insect landed on the smooth skin the message whispering through the room. The silence that hung in the room was heavy. Finally the woman let the butterfly once more return to where it was released from. "The lesson is dismissed. Expect to continue tomorrow." She spoke evenly before vanishing with a shunpo. The haori ruffled in the slight breeze caused from her speed toward the meeting room. They needed to discuss the emergency. The news had sounded dire when it was spoken from the butterfly. Kirin was whispering in her mind about how this could be one of the very times that ended up damming them to the depths of hell. The raven eyes merely narrowed in anger at the pessimistic comments from her sword spirit.

She understood he was supposed to be a part of her soul but that didn't stop the fact that she wanted nothing more than to have him be silenced forever. Soon enough the woman was outside the large doors to the meeting room. She could easily feel the pressure of spiritual energy flowing from the other captains. Pushing the large doors open Kasumi swept her gaze across the fellow captains. The woman didn't speak to them much beyond when their paths crossed due to duties. She never went out of her way to befriend the other men and women because it seemed pointless to get attached to someone else when they weren't going to be useful for what she needed in the future.

Stepping into the room she moved past her peers to take place near the foot of the steps below the sou-taichou in her respective spot. The cool gaze swept along her peers to take in their appearance. So far it appeared that Yasutake, Tsukimiya, Dubois and Rotbaron. Assessing each of them the small woman noted Tsukimiya glancing to Oukami's breasts like it was nothing. The petite woman arched one of her raven eyebrows while standing at attention. Her hands were folded together almost formally. The woman hadn't had the time to change from the special uniform of the second division, so the only thing that seemed to be redeeming about the outfit was the white haori that clung to her. It seemed they were missing a couple of the other captains though. Not that she cared too much, it just seemed odd that the R&D and combat captains were absent. Hopefully they would show up before Ruby continued in the meeting or else they would end up neck deep in shit from missing an important meeting like this.

Kasumi did notice one change about the meeting hall as she stood there. The throne was gone, not a trace remaining of it. How strange. The crimson eyes swept once more to ahead of her. Kasumi didn't speak until she was spoken to. After all she preferred the silence compared to talking when she didn't need to say a thing. All she needed from this meeting was the orders of her superior. Kirin growled lightly amused that the woman was willing to put her life on the line for a bunch of people who wouldn't even mourn her passing if she did die. The thought made the crimson eyes flick to Ruby once more. The woman could care less if anyone noticed as long as her men were cared for.

While waiting for the other captains Kasumi offered a glance in Kenji's direction a slight smile touching her normally harsh features. It was nice to see her friend in charge of a squad like he was. The smile only lasted for a second before she reminded herself the reason of the meeting. There was danger out there to be dealt with.

by **Shikashi Yubi** Wed Jun 06, 2012 5:30 pm

Shika was sat behind a computer screen, his fingers flying so fast they could barely be seen, clicking over keys and moving the mouse as was necessary. He'd been alerted to an extremely huge number of souls in the human area, and he felt it only right that he take over and lead the diagnostics on it. Behind him, Massai sat, her fingers doing much the same as Shika's. She, on the other hand, had been assigned to working out exactly what this reiryoku that was summoning them was. All they knew so far was it was so damn good that it couldn't be accidental, techniques like this had to be trained. But, who would train a technique like this. An espada might, but surely if they wanted to attack the human world, they'd send their Adjuchas minions. Hollows might, but there were very few hollows with the strength of spirit needed to summon so damn many. That left either Soul Reaper or Human, and neither of those options were a pretty sight.

His smile lit up as he saw the diagnostic. Over 1, 500 hollows at least, not to mention any gillians or Adjuchas. To have so many hollows in the human world, to have an invasion of this scale, was a sight rare to behold. It was a diamond in the rough and, whilst he was confident that he and his fellow captains could deal with it, given enough time and energy, it would certainly be a good opportunity for the new Captain Commander to show her teeth. Sure, she had proven herself a good head of the Fifth division, but this job was so much bigger than meager captaincy. That would be like comparing the job of a waiter and a chef. In one all you had to do was follow orders, but in the other you had to do what you did best, lead and hope others would follow your example.
"How's it going, Massai, got any results yet?"
"Not yet, Shika, I'll tell you when I do." Shikashi nodded, and just hoped that no-one else had heard that. After all, he was her captain and nobody else was allowed to call him anything other than "Captain" or "Yubi-taichou". This was double standards, but they weren't just captain and subordinate, they were more like brother and sister.
"Suuuure, brother and sister, keep telling yourself that, Onii-san." Okami piped up from his holster, to which a little discouraging tut was the only answer.

Shikashi closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on what all the information they had gathered meant. From what he'd been told by Anne-sama, they'd not had any plans from the espada recently, and this burst of hollow-attracting Reiryoku had seemed to come out of nowhere. So, this was obviously pre-planned by something, or some-one. This made it very hard to believe that anything other than the hands of a rogue soul-reaper or a very, VERY stupid fullbringer or quincy. Bounts, at least from his experience, were never so blunt in their motives. They always seemed to love secrecy and making themselves seem so much deeper and darker than they actually were. Maybe Kasumi-chan would know something about rogue soul-reapers, and would be able to give him a better heads up. After all, the rogues were HER territory, not his. As he was thinking he could hear a little beating noise, like the flapping of tiny wings. He opened his eyes a crack and saw a hell butterfly land on his hand.
"Looks like the new Captain Commander wants to see me, men. I'll be back later." Massai turned around and smiled, passing him a headphone
"Take this and get out there already, Shika." Shikashi took it and placed it on his head, adjusting it to fit properly.
"thanks.... and Massai-chan, it's Yubi-taichou, not Shikashi. We're still at work." With that, he faded into a flash step and made his way towards the captians meeting.

He came out of flash-step just outside the captain's hall, and changed to a meager walk. He knew he was probably one of the latest there, but that didn't particularly matter. He pushed open the doors and entered, smiling.
"Goood morning, Oukami-taichou. How are you...." A crack of static roared into his ear, and he adjusted the setting slightly. Perhaps he hadn't turned it onto the right setting when he put it on. He altered it slightly and got the transmission
"Yeah, Massai, hit me with it. What's the kick?" His face drained of blood as his fears were acknowledged. He didn't like to think that any race would be stupid enough to bring the harbringers of their destruction to their front door on purpose, but apparently humanity was.
"Thanks, Massai, I'll tell her. Good job, girl." he turned the transmission off and looked at his boss, his usual smile gone and replaced with a look of seriousness.
"Captain Oukami, it appears that the reiryoku that's been pulling in the hollows, is..... well, the reiryoku seems to be missing particles you would catch in either the Soul Reaper or Hollows attacks. This means only one thing, and that's that this was orchestrated by either a quincy or a fullbring. What with the style of the bait, it seems to be very unique, as if it was the power of one being instead of a created substance. That means, i'm afraid, that it's all but certainly a fullbringer."

by **Ravilin** Wed Jun 06, 2012 6:35 pm

She stood in her living room, mere feet from the piano bench. Ruby's young, five-year-old brother stood behind her, a portion of his mushroom hair-style protruding from the left side of her lower back. His hands were latched tightly onto her trousers. They were in the living area, a dimly, candle lit room. At this time of day, light played hide-and-seek with the shadows, forming interesting and at times horrific shapes on the surfaces of the house.

"A-Are you going to play?" Gen murmurs, his voice a bit muffled due to it being lodged into her lower back. She nods, a large smile on her face. "Ya, Genny. You pick the song!" Not seconds post speech, Ruby pulls away from Gen's grasp and walks around the bench. She stands at the center, facing the piano and then comes down gently to sit on the wooden stool, her long, brown hair bouncing up slightly and then waving from side-to-side. Ruby rests her hands on her laps, palm down, her almost non-existent tricep muscles flexing. Her eyes stared blankly, straight ahead. "So...which one, Gen?"

The younger Oukami had already returned to stand at his sisters back, his fore-head plopped against it and his hands tugging on her shirt. She knew which song he'd suggest. It is a truly beautiful melody. Her cheeks lift even before he speaks. "You know which one..." Her smile grew even larger. "Ya, I know" she replies as her hands rise and gracefully slide on the surface of the instrument's teeth. Gen wraps his arms around her waist and smothers his face onto her back. She closes her eyes...and then, she hears a loud laughter of dark and demonic tone.

Ruby's hazel eyes blink blankly in quick succession as the Captain's Hall's doors begin to part. Her previous posture had remained unmoved as her arms still lay behind her. Her eyes quickly adjust to the almost engrossing darkness of the area. Only a single light graced the room and it shown down upon the center of the Captain's Row, merely ten feet in front of where the Wretched Commander now stood.

Subconsciously, Ruby had sensed the calm yet abrasive spirit of the 6th Division Captain. Of Kenji Yasutake, the Silent Demon. And now, the quiet monster had graced the Wretched Commander with his presence. He was the first to respond to her call, or at least to give her command enough consideration to hasten his arrival. As soon as he had stepped his first foot into the darkened Hall, Rubianca's eyes had scanned him eight times, from head-to-toe, in mere seconds. No other muscle of hers had moved. Her piercing eyes dissect every muscle and every movement. The male Captain maintained a frail appearance, one that would cause his opponent to miscalculate. Quite ingenious. His fiery, crimson hair gave his already deathly disposition an aura of complete dread. Such a taint of hair, how befitting. It almost seemed as though the very blood of his victim's colored the 6th Division Captain's long follicles. They had more in common than many would ever know, her and this small creature. No other muscle but her eyes trail to the right as they follow the young male.

“Sou-Taichou.”

The coldness of his voice causes her lips to smirk slightly. And that bowed, darkened visage. Yes, very much alike. Her eyes then trail down to his right hand fingers, which annoyingly, continually tapped on the hilt of his Zanpakutō. Her eyes twitch. The fingers suddenly begin to move in slow motion, each beat of the fingertip causing a now visible reverberation from the point of impact all the way up to the finger's knuckle. One, two, thr-

Before his third fingertip struck, Ruby had appeared behind the 6th Division Captain. Her hair and haori still shivering from the sudden movement, Ruby quickly and forcefully swings her left arm in an arc. The target of her brachialis was the young male's neck. In the blink of an eye, Ruby's left arm wraps around the Silent Demon's throat. As she contracts her left arm to tighten its hold, the Wretched Commander's right arm had already swung around his right side. Her fingers now lay wrapped atop his then finger tapping hand. The female Oukami applies downward force on his appendage to ensure its immobility. Her breasts probe at his upper-back. Her expression had remained blank during the entire ordeal. Not a second had passed when Ruby suddenly lifts Kenji forcefully into the air. She guides him over her shoulder as her body arcs back and then-

Ruby's vision refocus as her spiritual sense detects a newcomer. Her eyes shift to the left, from the still standing and ominously quiet 6th Division Captain to the parted doors of this dimly lit room. From the still lit outdoors, the gray light of the dusk covered sky shown in from the entrance. And in fated fashion, from this peerless light materializes her second guest. The abnormally tall and masculine Zeraphin Apollo Rotbaron III, or simply, the Faceless. A being of unrestricted selfishness. A being of questionable allegiance and unknown motive. That clothing. Unlike her first arrival, whom wore the traditional Shinigami outfit, this snow flake purposely wore otherwise. A custom fitted suit. Asinine. Well, who was she to judge? She wore a customized haori atop her burdened shoulders. Well, not quite the same.

Ruby's eyes quickly lock onto the masked visage of the 13th Division Captain. Her eyes trail, slowly but surely, to the left as they follow the newcomer's riddled movements. They suddenly halt. Her stoic demeanor remains in tact throughout. And then, her blank, hazel eyes meet his of pale orange. Those eyes...

Abruptly, from the ground beneath the 13th Division Captain, eight black holes, almost five feet in circumference, surge upward. The rubble created from the now ruined floor fires in all directions. One large slab of earth almost striking the 6th Division Captain, whom fittingly remains unmoved. These eight dark round energies fly up and lock in place at every vital point of the tall, suited male's carapace. He was rendered immobile from head to toe. Suddenly, like its many brethren, the final and ninth black hole manifests at the center of Zeraphin's now motionless body. Without reprieve, Ruby raises her hand and-

Her attention shifts back to the still parted doorway. Her peripheral sight could still discern the tall male's gaze. And more annoyingly, due to her self-willed inability to smoke, the Faceless's cigarette. Smoking within the meeting may have once been a prosecutable crime, but no longer. Things were changing, for better or worse.

Number three. Literally. From the now opened entrance steps forward, in rugged yet seductive fashion, the 3rd Division Captain. A tall, dark and atrociously complicated creature. From right to left and up to down, Ruby observes the abnormally pleased, especially for this setting, Captain's march. In her dissection, Rubianca notices a pipe that was grasped between Dubois's fingers. And that long, flowing hair. She had also noticed the custom fit uniform. It seemed to Ruby that the 3rd Division Captain cared not for the opinion of others. Well, at least they had something in common. Her staring eyes blink twice as her right ear twitches. She hears the almost whispered words.

"Afternoon everyone, your looking good as always Zeraphin"

As the female Captain turns to stand at her designated location, Ruby's eyes follow her now raised pipe. Seconds later, Ruby was mere feet away from Anne, the fingers of Ruby's very hand, her right one, were wrapped around the silver-haired Captain's wrist. A slight moment later, Ruby pulls Anne inward as she simultaneously twists her position so as to have her back face the victim. The moment Rubianca senses the collision of her back with that of the victim's breasts, she raises her left arm, latches her left hand onto Anne's still gripped arm, tugs harder, lunges downward and lifts her left leg in an upward arc behind her. The momentum pushes the 3rd Division Captain over Ruby's shoulder. The dark woman does a front flip and then lands, her back slamming onto the hard floor. Before the hurled female Captain had even hit the hard floor, Ruby had already straightened and had already lifted her now free and loosened right arm. Her two other guests remained silent throughout. Like she gave a shit regardless. Her blank eyes stare down at the pained face of Anne as her arm, at the speed of lightning, strike-

A new energy signature catches her senses. It was familiar. She could feel it, smell it...taste it. The astute Commander returns to her wholesome flesh as the newly appointed 5th Division Captain interrupts her mind's eye. As her former subordinate makes his way to his new designation, next to the still content and still untouched Dubois, Ruby's passive eyes stare blankly at the newcomer, but in reality, they analyze him every which way. His jet-black hair and fine features give him resemblance to a crow. His black kimono and sleeveless, pink-lined haori were of standard issue. Then, the male's eyes lock with hers. As noted countless times prior, those grayish-blue globes were truly unique, truly distinguishable. They were meant for one purpose. To hide the truth, his truth. It would take one of similar breed to pierce the facade. The now Wretched Commander and the then 5th Division Captain had her methods: some unorthodox, many ancient and countless ingenious. She knew exactly who he was, what he was. A snake, no, the Snake. A venomous mongrel, but a necessary evil. After all it was her whom-

The precarious eyes that once stared into her own of hazel had for a brief moment, an action so subtle to almost be unnoticed, glanced at her generously endowed front. They then return back upward to meet with her blank hazel globes once again.

"Ma-"

Before he could even complete his sniveling words, Ruby had already closed the distance. Her ponytail still fluttered in mid-air due to the immense speed. She now stood before him, slightly to his right. She had raised her left arm in mid step and thus had slammed her left palm into his opened gape. Silence, how blissful. Oyo's sculpted grip protruded from the edge of the now lifted haori. Her four fingers squeezed his right cheek as her thumb pushed upon his left. Her palm covered his mouth and thank the Spirit King that was the case. In fluid, slow-motion, the female Commander channels additional energy into her left arm. The force causes the Snake's back to arc unnaturally which causes his nervous system to react and thus causes his legs to buckle. She slams the male, head first, onto the hardened ground. Cracks begin to fissure in all directions, Kyousuke being the epicenter. Her head straightened and face expressionless, Ruby's blank eyes stare down into her victim's grayish-red. Was that fe-

The Dragon. The tiny yet fiery Dragon. Ruby's passive eyes now shift from left to right, from the settled 5th Division Captain to the newly arrived Kasumi Suzume whom had at that moment just placed her first foot within the Hall. She was a small creature, maybe 5' from Ruby's observation, but possessed a spirit rivaling the strength of any Shinigami. She exudes perfection. Her raven black her, her proper posture, her china-doll visage...and those fiery, crimson eyes. The female Oukami's sight follows the unconcerned stride of the 2nd Division Captain, locked particularly within the crimson scanning eyes of her subordinate. Yes, this one was quite the observer. A priceless trait to posses for a soldier. Rubianca's globes stiffen in response to Suzume's halt. She now stood before the Wretched Commander's right. A quiet thing.

Then, her raging red eyes lock with Rubianca's. The female Commander's blankness betrays her not when she chuckles inwardly. These were eyes of a true soldier, of one who would follow to the very end. A steadfast mutt. An angry steadfast mutt. But just in case...

Before the brunette Commander could recreate the world within her mind, another well timed interruption makes its way through the now parting gates. It was now the genius. The mad scientist of the 12th Division. The Electrician. The rather tall, at least compared to Ruby, male barged in with a smile befitting a lunatic. An acolyte of science and none other, Yubi the Electrician resembled no man. Not anymore. He now exemplified the Shinigami's true nature, the Shinigami's final destination. Curious and pervasive, they were animals with disregard to tradition and nature. Her hazel, glaring eyes notice the elongated, abnormal teeth. Disgusting. And that uncombed, unnatural blue hair. Crazed. Indeed, the word "crazed" spoke for Shikashi Yubi in his entirety. Even so, he was as loya-

"Goood morning, Oukami-taichou. How are you...."

The Wretched Commander remains silent in all forms, whether physical or verbal. Only her glaring eyes shift as they follow his movements.

"Yeah, Massai, hit me with it. What's the kick?"

Her observant hazel eyes notice his engrossed expression. She closes her eyes. That severe, huh?

"Thanks, Massai, I'll tell her. Good job, girl."

Oh? Not so fun anymore, sir Yubi? She had noticed his expression shift from joy to dread. She blinks three times in quick succession. In the blink of an eye, Ruby charges past the then standing Electrician. She now stood straight, just a foot in front of the backwards arced 12th Division Captain. His back was forced 45 degrees too far as his head lay atop her left shoulder. Her left arm was raised and curled, allowing her to clench the male's forehead within her left palm. In an action of insurmountable speed, Ruby tw-

"Captain Oukami, it appears that the reiryoku that's been pulling in the hollows, is..... well, the reiryoku seems to be missing particles you would catch in either the Soul Reaper or Hollows attacks. This means only one thing, and that's that this was orchestrated by either a quincy or a fullbring. What with the style of the bait, it seems to be very unique, as if it was the power of one being instead of a created substance. That means, i'm afraid, that it's all but certainly a fullbringer."

Ruby's eyes blink furiously as the gates close. She still stood in the place from whence she had not moved once since the arrival of the first Captain. Still gazing upon the new-comer, Rubianca nods her head blankly in acknowledgement of this latest enlightenment. The Commander's head turns slowly, starting from where Suzume stood, all around in counter-clockwise motion, scanning the still seemingly empty Hall. Almost half of the Captains where still missing. Puny, lackadaisical and dysfunctional. They were all insignificant curs. First was her new Division and soon, the rest of the Gotei. The Great Purge, or so the action would be named, would commence sometime very, very soon.

As her sight is bestowed with the visage of the Snake, Ruby's slow turn halts. Ruby's blank hazel eyes blink twice behind a few strands of her brown bangs. She then speaks, with a voice devoid of emotion, for the first time since the Captain's had begun to arrive. "You're a smart boy. Do you concur with our doctor's assessment?" Still dissecting the 5th Division Captain, Ruby asks one other individual. "And you, Rotbaron-taichou? It is indeed your area of duty that now lays under siege. Do you yield anything of importance?"

by **Kenji Yasutake** Wed Jun 06, 2012 8:12 pm

In the time he waited the Sou-taichou never moved, neither did the sixth division captain. Onyx black orbs revealed as his eye lids slowly open, and move to the light in the center. A dark smirk slid across his lips, reminding him of memories past. The dim lights of a combat camp or the flicker of flames from flaming arrow, many did not know that he still had his memory. Slowly his gaze shifted, to Ruby who remained still. Like a statue, looming over those she was to command. His head did not move during this time though, it remained slightly dipped.

One more tap on the hilt before he stopped, he could feel the raw power emanating from the former 5th division captain. How fitting that she became the next commander, he had nothing against her personally. Quite honestly he hoped it stayed that way, he would hate to meet her in a dark alley. Not that he was scared, but in terms of raw power he was out matched and he knew it. He may not have been the strongest captain in current service but he was smart, always trying to stay two or three steps ahead.

It was then that a noise caught Kenji’s attention, his head perking up slightly to turn towards the open door. Only to watch a shaq sized man enter, and it could be no other then Zerephin. No other shinigami could match his height, great another person to make him feel like an ant. A noticeable eye twitch triggered by the thought, but Kenji remained silent. Unknown to him what the commander was picturing within her mind’s eye, it would have been quite the sight. Interesting to see just how someone would murder you, just to judge it and rate it on a 1 to 10 scale. That actually would be pretty entertaining.

His gaze followed the 13th Division Captain as the lumbering and to the traditionalist Kenji strangely dressed man to his spot among the platforms that created captain’s row. He lifted his head slightly to look at the cigarette the man was holding, funny how quick change could come to a place. Then he started to wonder, his minding completely taking a different turn then he was used to. Could shinigami get the ill side effects of smoking? Or is it just an ‘it does nothing for me, but I look freaking awesome’ kind of thing….my god he was starting to sound like the current generation of human’s…great…

His mind torn from its train of thought as the doors to the room opened once more, Kenji looked over out of the corner of his eye. Still giving the appearance of the ominous statue, you know the ones that no matter where you move it looks like its eyes are following you. Only slight movements slow enough that would go unseen if not observed closely, his left arm extending pushing against the pommel forcing the long blade of his daishou style duel zanpakuto level to the ground. Purely out of boredom, and nothing else.

The figure in the light of the days end was none other than the Captain of the 3rd division. It seemed more and more people kept trickling in. He didn’t know much about the 3rd division captain, never really ‘ran’ into her in a situation where conversation was required. All he knew from first glance she was another smoker, what was it with that? Did he miss some memo that crossed his desk about ‘all captains are required to smoke!?’ What the hell? Peer pressure for the win!

Kenji cared not for that kind of thing, he drank and that was more than enough of him giving into peer pressure. The next to arrive caused Kenji’s eyes slowly lock on the man, his numerical neighbor on the squad list. New captain of the 5th division, this man he’d seen on numerous occasions. Though never really spoke to other then what was needed. There were not many that Kenji sits down with for one on one talks, it was merely professional banter…or Kenji’s normal abrasive advice on situations. He cared not for any of these captains, but he was proud of himself to grace the ranks of divisional heads. But possibly some of those in the present company would prove trustworthy enough to ‘one day’ See Kenji for who he truly was.

He did not break the statuesque posture until of course he felt the presence of a very familiar spiritual pressure. Even before the doors opened Kenji fully raised his head to look. The dark smile shifted into a friendly smirk, about time she got here. As the doors opened and the only person to chip away at the ice to get to his caramel center entered. A friend he’s had since their days in the academy, Kasumi at times she could be as cold as him…if not more so. But then again she could be warm and kind, a two sided coin and a deadly one at that. Kenji watched her as she passed on her way towards her spot on captains row, catching the glance and returning the slight smile before he caught himself and it faded as he resumed his statuesque posture.

Now enter the mood killer, the head of the R&D 12th division captain Shikashi Yubi. Listening to the news his eyes shifted from the new comer and to the commander as she finally spoke. Putting the 5th and 13th division captain’s on the spot he was glad that the human world was not a part of his duty. He was the head of the ‘cleaning crew’ as he liked to call his division. The reserves, even if his division was not ready for that role in the eyes of their captain. He had his work cut out for him to whip the 6th division back into shape, but he was glad to say they were making progress. Kenji found that when two division’s where singled out it was best to remain silent no matter how hard it was…besides Kenji never spoke unless he had the information or deeper understanding of the situation to back up his words. The ignorant didn’t last long in this line of work.

by **Der König** Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:23 am

Zeraphin felt just too well how two set of eyes followed his every movement, though not a single sign that he was bothered by it could be seen on his face.
He was used to it.
Hell, a man of his appearance had to be used to it.

The little man's eyes settled on his cigarette, the thirteenth captain could see it out of the corners of his eyes before they settled onto Ruby's orbs. For a moment he wondered if the sixth captain would say anything about it. For an even longer moment he wondered why it suddenly was worth the other male's attention. So far he had never bothered to kill a cigarette when entering the meeting hall - he did not care enough about them, to show such politeness.

What hooked his attention even more though, were her eyes. Stubbornly she had tried to stare him down, before those hazel orbs suddenly... he knew that look far too well - had seen it on countless puppets before.
She was hiding away in her mind.
Not very professional and certainly not an attribute that made her look like she was fit for the job, but also not something Zeraphin judged. Besides, she was as obsessed with information as he was... and now she was a double one. There was absolutely no reason for him to question her... or her sanity.

Still though, he could not help but wonder slightly what she was imagining. A memory? Or did he occupy her thoughts? If so... what was it about?
Did he feel pain there?
Ah, the mind. Such a wonderful thing.

Before he could wonder for too long though what else could happen behind those hazel eyes a noise pulled him out of his own thoughts.

He did not turn around. He knew just too well that it merely was another captain who would make their presence known far too soon. Instead his eyes were still locked with Ruby's - whose own eyes finally seemed to be able to see reality once more.
A shame, really.

Then Dubois suddenly took her position in all her fashionable glamor. Where Ruby seemed to be the warrior who made her own hands dirty this female seemed more like a queen. The Queen.

That smile though... was something he did not like to see.
People did not smile at him and her ignoring all the others and smiling at him... it could not mean anything good.

"Afternoon everyone, your looking good as always Zeraphin."

... what was the meaning of this?
He knew far too well that he was an excellent specimen for a male human, but greeting him like this in front of the other captains?

Was the woman in heat? Did the Queen look for a mate?

Suddenly the page of a book he had read years ago popped up in his head. It was about bees. It was about Queen bees.

A virgin queen that survives to adulthood without being killed by her rivals will take a mating flight with a dozen or so male drones (out of tens of thousands eligible bachelors in the colony). But don’t call these drones lucky because during mating, their genitals explode and snap off inside the queen.

...
That mental image... almost made be groan. Almost.
And for a moment he could not help and wonder if Ruby was imagining the same thing - her hazel eyes once more dusted over.
And... would he feel that? Would that cause him pain?

Well, he was one always open for experiments - he had been 'Specimen Red' for quite some time after all, but...

For once Zeraphin actually spoke up, his voice heavy and rough - though his eyes still locked onto Ruby.

"I am impotent."

There, that should... the heavy doors opened once more and once more Ruby's eyes became focused.

Again Zer did not bother to look who it was, he had done far too much for them already today - he just said a full sentence. They should be happy with it and let him go now.

Movement to... ah, the new captain of Fifth. Guardian of all information. He did not mind that one either. He had watched that male already - a quick mind, somebody who thinks before handling something delicate. Somebody who valued information.

Her eyes were still focused.

"Ma'

Now unfocused.

am,"

By now Zeraphin had no doubt anymore that whatever managed to occupy her mind like that was about them. And from what he had gathered about Ruby... the female was not sane enough to imagine them holding hands and running happily through a flower field.
She was certainly doing something much more twisted to them.
A smirk appeared behind Zeraphin's mask - the show of emotion well hidden from view.
He liked it.

Again the doors opened. The redhead still kept his eyes onto Ruby though - was by now far too curious what she had done to him. Maybe he should ask her. Maybe they could even play it out. And then, who knows, maybe she would allow him to cut her open some too... or burn her... He lifted his cigarette - the long trail of ash falling to the ground at the movement - to his lips and took a long drag. Then, as the second Division captain stepped into her place, did he crush the burning stick between the palm of his left hand - uncaring and unflinching - while he blew out the smoke.
It covered his vision of Ruby's eyes for just a second, enough time to finally glance at the other captains present.

Even the cold and arrogant dwarf settled suddenly friendly and warm eyes onto the second Division captain. Zeraphin almost scoffed. He had seen it too often already - they all showed so much warmth towards the petite woman.

Disgusting whore probably sold herself for attention. Something as pitiful as her, his pale orange eyes settled back onto Ruby - whose eyes for one did not daze over, should be killed immediately.

Indeed, today the captain of 2nd was his enemy.
The tip of his right thumb stroked over the top of his zanpakuto and for a moment he wondered if she would show him delighted pain if he burned out those crimson eyes.

The door opened another time - and still Ruby's eyes had not glazed over.

"Goood morning, Oukami-taichou. How are you...."

Greeting only her... maybe the man was in heat too. He should be polite and introduce him to the Queen... then he could see what it would look like when...

"Yeah, Massai, hit me with it. What's the kick?"

Zeraphin knew just too well how important patience was... though this kind of language, he still was not used to it. Maybe another reason why he preferred the 30ties, people actually sounded like they made use of their brains, while this one...

"Thanks, Massai, I'll tell her. Good job, girl."

Too familiar, far too close. He saw absolutely no reason why they always were so friendly to each other... what was the purpose of doing so? A question he just could not find the answer to, no matter how many books he read.

Her eyes though... her mind was at work again.
Funny.

"Captain Oukami, it appears that the reiryoku that's been pulling in the hollows, is..... well, the reiryoku seems to be missing particles you would catch in either the Soul Reaper or Hollows attacks. This means only one thing, and that's that this was orchestrated by either a quincy or a fullbring. What with the style of the bait, it seems to be very unique, as if it was the power of one being instead of a created substance. That means, i'm afraid, that it's all but certainly a fullbringer."

Information his own members already gathered, therefore not something Zeraphin really paid attention to. Though the male seemed to like wasting words so much - interesting hobbies some people had.

"You're a smart boy. Do you concur with our doctor's assessment?"

Yes, even he was excited about what that male had to say.

"And you, Rotbaron-taichou? It is indeed your area of duty that now lays under siege. Do you yield anything of importance?"

Why should he? He had already said something earlier, his fill was done. Actually, he was close to turning around and simply leaving them behind, though... it would look like he was stupid.
Not something he enjoyed much.

"I have troops in the human world." he started slowly, his voice low and heavy once more. The tremors in his throat almost causing him to cough. He certainly did not like talking.

"Higher seated especially focused on areas with strong spiritual vibes... or at least areas with groups of such vibes."

Actually not something he liked to talk about. Simply because it was the way he handled things... though as the newly appointed Commander she at least seemed to care. The old one... had his favorites.
That male had never given him a reason to speak up.

"A single member of one of these troops had contacted me earlier. A group of strong spiritual beings is gathered."

He stopped there, swallowing once to wet his dry throat.

"Indeed Fullbringers. And one of them is calling out those great numbers of Hollows and the likes."

Now his people were far too busy to fight those enemies and unable to gather more information.
Zeraphin stopped talking once more, though this time out of shame.
He had no clue why those Fullbringers called them.
Embarrassing.

by **Markus** Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:03 pm

Markus was in his class. He had been summoned a few moments ago, and then asked to summon a substitute teacher. Till that man or woman got here he dared not leave. He was master of the academy it was his job to teach the new sore excuses for recruits how to fight on the field, and he had buried enough of his students to know not to cancel class over a meeting. Meetings even emergency meetings came and went, it was the academy that was , ermanent.

He watched with a slight cringe as they fired Kido off at their targets. It was actually rather pathetic a real target would never stay as still as these archery ranges, and yet only half his class was coming close to hitting. Most lacked the natural control for kido, others just had no accuracy either way it made him unsteady. “ What are you dogs doing? If I have told you once I can tell you again hold your stances steady. How hard is it to point and shoot really? Stop shaking your damn hands like your trying to jerk your bacon and maybe you pups would hit something!”

A slight amount of worry was creeping into the small captains expressions and even his insults were lacking now. The substitute for his class was still very late, and there was a new captain commander in charge of the sereitei now. This was not how he wanted to make his first impressions to his new captain commander. The rumors he had heard of her were putting her as a sort of bitch, supposedly loud and angry with all who failed her. It was odd to think that anyone could fail in something like information gathering that was essentially just a division of gossip and lies. As captain commander however that would have put her in the position where someone could actually fail her.

Markus sighed with relief as the teacher actually arrived and he took his leave of the academy. He moved as quickly as he arriving at the captain commander’s office already late. He walked into the meeting to see most of the captains already waiting. He knew only a few of his fellow captains, Kasumi being the one he knew best he smiled towards her it was unfortunate that he didn’t have another stuffy for her this time. Well he did but he didn’t have the time to grab it.

Markus was the smallest of all captains, standing at only 4’7” he was two inches taller than the definition of a dwarf. His red hair and green eyes kind face was still young however, he was lucky had he lived to a full age he would have lost much of the youth that allows him to pass for his height as discomforting instead of disfiguring. His young figure gave him a lithe body, but it was hard to feel intimidated when he was one of the eldest of captains around. At 500 years old he had seen most of the other captains walk into his academy and walk out, it was funny to think that he had witnessed three such people including Kasumi herself as students.

“I put forth my apologies for my tardiness class ran longer than I had hoped. I didn’t feel like I could abandon my students so early in their lessons so I waited until one of my teachers could step in.” As Master of the academy it was a given that Markus didn’t actually need to teach, his job was more to manage paper work and swear in classes at the end of every year. Despite that he had stayed on teaching even so as that was the reason he was here.

Seeing the more angry expressions on the majority however he looked a little harder around the room. Clearly Markus had missed something in the message. His work with the academy had left him busy and unknowing of the current events that were unfolding in the world of the living, and left Markus out of the loop. He sighed knowing that he would get the information one way or the other, but had a strong feeling that he knew it wasn't going to be good.

by **Absolutionist** Sat Jun 09, 2012 1:51 am

As Anne gracefully moved along to her position in the meeting hall, she surely felt the cold stare of the "Wretched Captain" fall upon her. She stood there in the back of the meeting room, with an almost statuesque appearance. The glare was intense and unwavering, it seemed to burn through her very soul.

Why in the world was she looking at me like that, Anne thought. The new Commander couldn't have a grievance with her already. Most likely this was some kind of intimidation technique, to get all the subordinates in line. Either way this kind of thing didn't bother Anne in the least, in fact she took it as a challenge. As she finally settled in her position Anne decided to give the intense stare right back to her. She looked up at the Rage prone captain right in the eyes. Looking at her closer now, Anne detected something strange in her expression. It seemed like she had a far away look on her face. Like her thoughts were somewhere else completely.

While contemplating the almost unfathomable thoughts of Ruby the new Commander, Anne's attention was distracted by the Grumble of Zer's voice. She had hardly given out any compliments during her many years serving as a captain, but she just had to commend him on his daring dress sense. He certainly was a peculiar subject.

"I am impotent."

Anne was shocked. Her eyes suddenly sprung open, and showed surprise for just a second before returning back to normal. In what world is that a response to a fashion compliment. What kind of perverted thought was he thinking. If she didnt know before, Anne most definitely new now why she hadn't made many statements like that before. She looked over to the old man, and tilted her head back so she could pretend to talk down to the giant. Well Zeraphin ... in my experience most men are. She then turned herself away from the captain, allowing her hair to flutter through the air, and focused her attention back on the Commander.

Soon enough another captain's presence started to approach the meeting. The double doors then opened wide revealing Kyousuke, the new youngster in charge of the Wretched Commanders old squad. As he entered the room Anne decided to cover her cleavage a little more, he he seemed to be staring at something other than the commander's eyes. Ruby's stare then finally left from Anne, and jumped straight over to him. She was staring at him with the same strange look on her face. If anything she at least knew that the Commander wasn't angry specifically at her.

Time seemed to be passing slower than usually as the various captains finally made their way into the newly furnished meeting hall. The room finally started to feel relaxed, that was until the 12th squad captain entered the room. He entered the room ,seemingly talking mostly to himself, like he usually did. Anne didnt care to much of what he had to say until she heard the words.

"it appears that the reiryoku that's been pulling in the hollows, is..... well, the reiryoku seems to be missing particles you would catch in either the Soul Reaper or Hollows attacks. This means only one thing, and that's that this was orchestrated by either a quincy or a fullbring. What with the style of the bait, it seems to be very unique, as if it was the power of one being instead of a created substance. That means, i'm afraid, that it's all but certainly a fullbringer."

Fullbringer? Hollows? Apparently there was some kind of attack on the human world!?! Although she didn't know any of the specifics, Anne could guess what had happened. She couldnt help but feel immediately guilty, being that it was her squads duty to prevent the hollows from leaving Hueco Mundo in the first place. It was no surprise though that this information escaped her intel operations, being that the orchestrator of the whole thing was human.

Anne's attention was focused only on the Head captain. There were still many things about this attack that Anne wanted to know. "Forgive my interruption Captain Oukami, but can you give us more detail on the situation. From what Shika said, it sounds like someone has created a large scale hollow attack in the human world. For this meeting to have even been called there must be a substantial amount of them, and powerful ones at that. All this is just speculation of course, but am I on the right track here?"Anne looked at the Commander intensely awaiting an answer. She was so focused that she hadn't even noticed the late Captain enter the room.

by **Tsukimiya** Sat Jun 09, 2012 3:57 pm

Kyousuke stifled a smile as he stood next to Dubois. Oukami was furious with everyone and everything, it showed in her eyes every time a newcomer came through the double doors, and apparently Kyousuke's own little breach of etiquette hadn't gone entirely unnoticed by Dubois, who hurriedly covered up her own cleavage.

Don't worry, sweetheart, thought Kyousuke as he fought against the corners of his mouth as they tried to tug upwards, it's not the cleavage itself that's interesting, it's the fact that she's flaunting them as usual.

And flaunting them she was, as per usual. Kyousuke suspected it wasn't so much a conscious effort on her part as it was a complete lack of concern, the Wolf had never seemed to give it much thought for as long as Kyousuke had known her. In all honesty, looking had become a habit, almost a little game he played to see if he could get away with it. It was evident that this time he had lost.

The room was filling slowly, and when the obnoxiously loud captain of the Twelfth Division burst in, Kyousuke groaned inwardly. Hooray, he thought, now we all get to listen to him chatting on the phone with his subordinates. Sure enough, it took all of three seconds for Yubi to touch his ear and start blabbering away, but Kyousuke perked up when he heard what he had to say. It corroborated some of the files his division had passed to him on his way out—heavily censored copies, of course, which he had destroyed before he had even left the building. There were very few fullbringers dumb enough to set in motion what was happening in Karakura right now, but there was a list, albeit short. When Oukami turned on him, asking for his point of view, he was only half-listening—gears were already whirring in Kyousuke's mind. He let Rotbaron answer first, then he shrugged with a smile.

"Sure, it makes enough sense given what we know about the fullbringer population of Karakura. If anything, it just makes the situation easier to deal with—we remove the root cause, and the problem is more or less dealt with." He peered at Rotbaron for a moment. "I've got two assets in Karakura monitoring the situation as we speak, if they were to attach themselves to a larger force of Thirteenth Division troops, finding the source shouldn't take long—that is, if it hasn't been located already. Unfortunately, my division lacks a portable means of instant communication. One would think Twelfth would be willing to share, but perhaps they'd be more willing to take over the Fifth's duties in addition to their own?" Twelfth was notorious for making all the toys and keeping them to themselves—acquiring the monitor Kyousuke kept in his office had been an exhausting battle, and he was convinced the R&D department had delivered a defective product to spite him. "Inter-divisional politics aside, it's been almost ten minutes since I last had an update on the situation, and members of the Fifth don't tend to stay idle. We find the fullbringer if he hasn't already been found, we remove him—a task well-suited to our beloved Captain Suzume's division—" he glanced across the hall at Kasumi, who was looking reserved as usual, "and then we mop up the rest. We'll be done before dinner."

At that moment, Alistair slid softly into the room, apologizing profusely for his late arrival. Kyousuke had never been particularly impressed by the head of the Academy—he was a hard worker, but it always seemed to Kyousuke that Alistair lacked natural talent. While Alistair no doubt fancied himself the great teacher, Kyousuke doubted he could attribute any of his successes to the short man's teachings—he hadn't stayed in the Academy for very long, after all. In any case, it didn't matter. Alistair was here now, though Kyousuke was unsure of how he would make himself useful in the situation as it stood. The bewildered looks and the resigned sigh said it all: Captain Alistair had no idea what was going on. Just as Kyousuke was going to open his mouth to inform the latecomer of the situation, Dubois inadvertently did his job for him, and she hadn't even noticed Alistair enter.

Knowing Oukami, she probably wouldn't even wait for the remaining captains to show up before making a decision. Standing around with her hands in her pockets hadn't been anything Kyousuke had ever known her to do when she had still been his captain, especially not when there was something of this magnitude to deal with. Any moment now, a staccato of orders would come bursting forth, and they would all be expected to comply, on the double. Kyousuke was curious as to how his colleagues would handle the Wolf being in charge. Working for her wasn't what he would call easy, after all.

by **Rubianca Oukami** Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:43 pm

As the peerless Commander retains the vision of her previous and still slithering subordinate, awaiting his and the ogre's response, Rubianca's peripherals discern the many oculars that were now dissecting her from head-to-toe. She knew they weren't children nor brainless adults. They were all cunning in their own right. But even the most intelligent of individuals, if untrained, would forfeit their thoughts with unthinkable certainty. Insane, weak-minded, unfit, rash; these were the traits their unseeing minds more than likely believed of her. These thoughts had likely released beta-endorphins within their minds to relieve them of their insecurities, of their own vices. But, this was the point. This was her motive. To deter them all from knowing of her true self, of the Ruby that lies deep within her darkened soul. The Oukami that was unfit for this perilous world.

With her left wrist still clenched behind her back, Ruby's vision of the very world around her transforms. It transcends from the physical to the ethereal. She could feel, smell and even taste each individual's spirit. She could observe each one's spiritual energy clashing with that of their neighbor, as if vying for dominance. You could call it a sixth sense. And at that very moment, the aura that made her skin irk, her nostrils wrinkle and her taste bitter was that of the Faceless. The abomination. Fittingly, he was the first of two to respond. She turns her head slightly to the right and her eyes farther to gaze upon the now gargling Zeraphin.

Even though her hazel eyes had firstly and only settled upon his pale orange, Ruby had noticed one interesting detail. The red-head had extinguished his smoke. An act of self-seeking respect? No, probably not.

"I have troops in the human world."

She could hear the dryness of his vocal chords within his words. What's the matter, need a glass of water? Maybe if you'd grace the rest of your comrades with speech more often, your own throat wouldn't attempt to leave you speechless forever. As he continues to speak, Ruby unwraps her fingers, which release her left wrist free and then raises her left arm straight to shoulder height. She snaps her middle finger and thumb. Instantly, out of the shadowed corner behind the 13th Division Captain, a masked Shinigami appears with a glass of water. He steadily marches towards Zeraphin and halts just behind the male. The seated 1st Division Shinigami remains silent, the glass held in both hands, head bowed and awaits for the Captain before him to finish.

"Higher seated especially focused on areas with strong spiritual vibes... or at least areas with groups of such vibes. A single member of one of these troops had contacted me earlier. A group of strong spiritual beings is gathered."

The Commander, still glaring at Rotbaron, blinks blankly several times. Her left ear twitches as her peripheral notices his Adam's apple bulge. Yes, dry indeed. This information was both repetitive and irrelevant.

"Indeed Fullbringers. And one of them is calling out those great numbers of Hollows and the likes."

That's it? Was this man toying with her? Either a genius or a complete buffoon. Her bet was on the latter. Before she could contemplate Rotbaron's motive, the steel gates part once more. Her eyes shift from right to left, from the pale ogre to...nothing? She tilts her eyes down. Oh, right. It was the Dwarf. The 8th Dwarf. He was a man of small stature but incomprehensible devotion. He exemplified the very essence of Seireitei. A peerless instructor and damn good one at that.

Her hazel eyes glare at the new-comer as he stumbles towards his rightful spot. Her eyes trail slightly downward. An opening...

“You're goin ta goo eensane, Ruby! Hic!. I didn’t feel like I could abandon my students so early in their lessons so I waited until one of my teachers could step in.”

As soon as the both of them had spoken, Jintao and Markus, Ruby had shut her eyes. What a nuisance. Did that overweight glutton have to bud in spontaneously on every conversation? And Markus Alistair, still as arrogant as she had left him those several hundreds of years ago. Enough arrogance to arrive late to a Captain's Summit. Suddenly, as if from the throat of a lion, or more appropriately, the Lioness, a voice of staunch tone reverberates within the Commander's ears.

"Forgive my interruption Captain Oukami, but can you give us more details on this subject. I assume from what Shika has just told us, there has been a large hollow attack on the human world. For this meeting to have been called there must be a substantial amount of them, and powerful ones at that. All this is just speculation of course, since the nature of this meeting is still yet to be revealed to us though.

The female Oukami's hazel globes shift from the right row to the left, even while closed, where Dubois now stood. More details...

Ruby continues to observe Dubois, through her closed eyelids, as she responds. "The total number of hostile entities fluctuates. An upward trend, higher and higher. It seems the total grows exponentially at every time interval of a second." She lifts her long lashed eyelids to reveal blank eyes. "The cause? Aside from what you have heard from your fellow Captains, I have nothing to yield of significance. But, it has also been brought to my attention that the intensity of spiritual pressure is beyond any meek hollow. Discern from that what you will."

She then hears a hiss. It appeared the Snake had something to say. Her now opened eyes blink just a notch to the right.

"Sure, it makes enough sense given what we know about the fullbringer population of Karakura. If anything, it just makes the situation easier to deal with—we remove the root cause, and the problem is more or less dealt with. I've got two assets in Karakura monitoring the situation as we speak, if they were to attach themselves to a larger force of Thirteenth Division troops, finding the source shouldn't take long—that is, if it hasn't been located already. Unfortunately, my division lacks a portable means of instant communication. One would think Twelfth would be willing to share, but perhaps they'd be more willing to take over the Fifth's duties in addition to their own? Inter-divisional politics aside, it's been almost ten minutes since I last had an update on the situation, and members of the Fifth don't tend to stay idle. We find the fullbringer if he hasn't already been found, we remove him—a task well-suited to our beloved Captain Suzume's division—and then we mop up the rest. We'll be done before dinner."

Quite a battle strategist. Well, well, not all of them were useless. An introductory tactic though. Indeed they would search for the source, well, if they still remained. But, the verbal angst within the words spoken of 12th, quite unruly. The 12th would comply, she'd make sure of that. As he continues to speak, the mention of Kasumi Suzume arouses Ruby from her thoughts. What, did the 5th Division Captain fancy the china-doll? Wouldn't that be something.

But when Ruby turns toward the doll-like 2nd Division Captain, the Commander's eyes befall upon a silenced Suzume. Eyes closed, too. Quite insightful. And the genius, nothing from him either? The passing of time was irreversible, and they required every ticking second. At long last, Rubianca lifts her head and gazes directly to her front. To the gathered lot, it would seem as though she were staring blankly at the twin doors.

"All Captains present will be dispatched to the human world immediately" she says with a tempered voice. "We will utilize the Fullbringer Yuuchi. Some of you may posses knowledge of what this device is. For those who don't, its a contraption that simulates the molecular structure of reiatsu. From the name, I'd assume you are all intelligent enough to deduce to which reiatsu signature it will restructure." She pauses for a brief moment, then continues. "Captain Zeraphin and Captain Markus will be our beacons. You will both be positioned on opposite sides of the perimeter erected by your colleagues. The hollows will then come drooling for your very soul. One batch after the other, you will obliterate them until there exist no more. Be relentless, but beware that human lives may be lost due to your rash decisions." Another brief pause. "The perimeter will be enacted by all other Captains and their Divisions except for our beloved Suzume, whom will be assigned to seek and capture the source. The size of your Divisional forces I leave up to your discretion." Another pause. "The rest of you Captains will support Captain Zeraphin and Captain Markus with their disposals. If any anomalies threaten the success of this mission, you have express permission to remedy it on sight. However, no limiters will be released unless given permission."

Her gaze resolute, the Commander completes her orders, "A Senkaimon gate will be prepared shortly and opened in exactly four minutes. Dismissed."

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