High To Lows - Jinsoku vs. Fuyuubi vs. Mel

The cold and crisp wind of winter bit through the exposed skin of a man in flight. The lonely howl of this frigid gale was all that could be heard, despite the chaos running rampant throughout Seireitei. Streaks of white flashed through the eyes of Jinsoku. The alabaster buildings whizzed by without discretion, their monumental size ignored completely. Something else seemed to have caused the appearance of his surroundings to become viewed through a different scope- other than his constant and fluid bursts of shunpo. Even if there were times when traveling so fast that it caused one's eyes to reactively tear up due to the force of wind...

Jin's hazy eyes showed tears.

Salted water flung from his cheeks in this rapid egress. The adrenaline he had recently been experiencing now wore itself thin and his mind could only find itself retracing its steps back to before. He had seen his sake brewery destroyed; he had seen the corpses of those he once knew fallen. Detest swelled up within- for he had told Keitaro earlier that he had left the Gotei to protect these same people, that he was becoming a man, that he didn't need strength so much as he needed the mental capacity to bring himself together.

How much of a fool he was.

For all his thoughts, his strength failed him, he could only watch as lives were snuffed- lives that could have been saved by him. He hated the fact that what he wanted- his goals- were out of his reach still, and would leave him to cry. What kind of man was he after all of this? And now, his blind rage at the perpetrator of these crimes had caused him to recklessly abandon those same people he wanted to protect, though he could have stayed behind and helped the remainder of troops at the Tenth Division.

But his stubborn frustration at his shortcomings wouldn't allow this. Not when that insane Arrancar was on the loose. That person with his face... with a psychotic intent on punishing the Gotei in its zealous mindset. He couldn't let that same beast, that monster that could share his smile, share an eerily similar Reiryoku to his kill any more. Jinsoku took it upon himself to make sure a malevolent entity like that would never pull harm on anyone again. He wouldn't watch a distorted mirror image of himself kill anyone coldly... it haunted the silver haired rogue far too much.

Wiping away his tears, he didn't even know where the Hybrid had gone to- the maw it disappeared under had completely vanished with its known existence, as if Jin was now chasing after a ghost of the past, a ghost with his face. He couldn't feel the familiar Reiatsu it emitted anymore. He felt as if he were running away from his problems, how he could have solved things at his old Division like he originally wanted to, and continue on- he could have let another be rid of that tusked menace of a Hybrid and let destiny work its path. And he hated himself even more knowing that he was on a blind chase, leaving behind another menace for his former subordinates to handle.

Yet his legs kept on pushing.

They wouldn't allow him to rest, despite their burning throughout his muscles. Jinsoku sought revenge, pure and simple. If anything, he would prove to himself that he wasn't going to end up losing to himself, his insecurities, his failures. He wouldn't let those that tried to halt the Arrancar die for their efforts, trying to fulfill their duty to their once Captain. Respect would be paid in their honor when he himself eradicated this being. He could absolve himself of his shortcomings in this way.

Was leaving the Gotei even worth it then? Was becoming a part of a morally sound group such as the Excelsior the true path to walk? Had he been a Captain, there still would have been a chance that many lives could be saved... Without following what he thought was best for himself, he should have been thinking of what was best for the others... But wasn't that what he was doing in the first place? After all, he had been chosen by Shinkou himself to become a part of this group... to save not just Soul Society, but both planes of existence. And wasn't that what he wanted over all?

Why was it so hard to look beyond the losses and look at the grander scheme.

Because these losses hit home, they hit him directly and hard. The anguish built up so terribly inside. Their faces burned within his mind's eye. They blamed him for not being able to do what he was able to do. Instinctively he reached for his sake decanter-

And realized that he despised how he relied on alcohol for everything. Another fault to blame.

With the passing of time Jinsoku noticed his running became slower, slower, slower. He found that he was now walking; his legs had ached and were cramping into hardened steel. But he had to keep on going. There was no reason for him to stop. Justice would be delivered and he would show that his life was indeed worthwhile, and that he was capable of swimming through the monstrous tides of reality. He had to keep going for everyone, not just for himself. He couldn't stop now, he wouldn't stop now.

Michi had been cautiously trailing behind her best friend throughout the journey. The emotions had literally become tangible about Jinsoku and she didn't want to invade that personal area. Though once he had slowed down, the raven furred canine now found an opportune moment to console him. Whimpering softly, she edged up her fur against Jin's leg, nuzzling.

The sudden touch startled the rogue as he nearly leapt up in surprise. Gazing down at his best friend, Jin could only see the fact that she was merely diverting him and shifting attention to herself. Raising a fist- for the first time in his life against her- he bore a face that was something totally inhuman in itself. The only thing he could hear was his heart beating, his arm poised to strike one of the only beings that understood him so well, his anger pushing that arm downwards.

Michi froze. Although she could have retaliated easily to this threat, she stood still and uttered no noise. For she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that Jinsoku was overwhelmed with feelings. Feelings that he had pent up for so long, after so many years, all brewing within. And that in the end, he would control himself enough to see through all of these hardships. Her molten amber eyes fixated back into his slowly fading faÁƒ §ade of mixed emotions.

Those eyes pierced back into his... and Jin snapped out of his trancelike state. Snatching his upraised fist with his other hand, he found out that he had actually threatened Michi with physical harm. Brimming with a coarse amount of sickness, he knelt beside the oversized dog. His arms wrapped about her shaggy mane as he whispered, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

But the pup didn't want to listen. Hurriedly she shook herself off of him, before gently sinking her teeth into his arm. Growling the black furred dog barked and jumped about him. No doubt she was telling him the obvious and something that he should have realized from the start.

After feeling her teeth perforate his skin just ever so gently, the pain and shock that ensued was a boon to the cloudy headed man. He couldn't be entirely consumed by his emotions... not right now at least. Who was he kidding? Already he could picture the faces of those he knew scolding him, for being entirely out of character. Especially those tightwads Katsu and Rei. Suddenly realizing what Michi was telling him, he ruffled her crown playfully.

"I know, I know. It's hard enough dealing with all of this stuff... but I'll handle it as I go along. Lead us to where we need to go."

A triumphant (for now) yip boomed from the dog as she hopped about several more times and took off in one direction.

"Cool muscles like the sweetness of the evening and the warmth of the sunrise, let this body replenish... Chiyudo Number 27, Daifuku." An aura culminated about his legs and released the tension upon his lower extremities. For now, yes, the Velox Argentum would continue in a renewed sense of pursuit, so to speak. And he'd do his best to get all this emotional baggage away from what he needed to accomplish.

With a great swing of his sake that tasted ever so sweet, a firm grin planted upon his face. The proud member of Excelsior had bolted off after his best friend, those familiar feelings of warmth coming back to him. He'd let fate work its course once again. Just like always, Michi would lead the confounded Jin to where they would need to go.

"Oi! Slow down, furball!"

Within that instant the once light ambiance between Jinsoku and Michi was shattered.

A veritable storm was released without the slightest of inclination; the next moment the rogue had felt a sharp and unexpected pain rocket through his shin in mid run, along with a force of Reiatsu that nearly squeezed the air from his chest. Thrown into this chaotic embrace of unforeseen events, Jin's body lifted from the ground due to that jarring impact. The only thing he could see was the white blurs of Seireitei's paved grounds, whirling and shooting about him, until time happened to slow its pace for a solitary moment amidst this confusion.

His two eyes, one glinted a bright azure tone, the other a deep shade of emerald, focused in on the perpetrator of this astonishing feat. And those dual colored irises reflected themselves in eerily similar hues upon this person. A pale dapper of ragged green hair flowed about a face that seemed to sneer with blue tinged lips revealing a sort of immature malice. One solitary coat of alabaster covered the face, more specifically, the right eye- a jagged and thick plated remnant of a bone- or Hollow mask. Billowing pieces of cloth revealed a longer than normal banded scarf clung tightly about the neck.

What he noticed in his fast paced flight was that... this was another Arrancar. And a woman at that.

The next thing he could see as time picked back up to its normalcy (or in other words, a tornado of ambiguity), a kaleidoscope of energy swelled around him. Large portions of Reishi gathered about the woman's form, growing to a scale comparable to her release of Reiatsu. Instinctively, as Jinsoku regained his balance in midair for a proper landing, he finally had the foresight to know that this was no ordinary maneuver, no, this Hybrid wanted to follow up her trip with a Cero.

A grunt and a push of Kidouryoku burst from the silver haired Shinigami; it was just enough to harrowingly evade the potentially soul-taking Cero. The only thing he could see was a luminous pulse flash before him, along with the telltale screech of pure power emitted from the Arrancar. However, barely escaping the Cero came at a price as he could literally feel his flesh begin to burn by just being within proximity of the blast. Combined with this pain followed the raw force of the blast, further hurtling the Excelsior member skywards in a somersaulting flip.

Completely dazed by this simple assault, the only thing Jinsoku could do was hold out his arms in reflexive defense- to cushion his body for the upcoming fall- his fingers splayed widely, palms outward.

... And those two hands were bulleting directly for the Arrancar's ample and wide open bosom.