IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the timeline of these fights, if you do not post within three days of your previous post you are considered inactive and may be killed.
In the underground room, seen to only few, the ceremony took place. Silent murmurs and the stuffy, yet prideful aura radiated through the room. On every floor, behind every plaque was a member of the esteemed council. The whispers between neighboring members escalated as the man of the hour entered the room. Two shinigami stood near the entrance, eyes solemn and forward.
Kikuchi Issei stepped into the Chambers of the Central Forty-Six. He was younger, his eyes missing the centuries of wisdom and age. He was thinner, stood taller, but still retained the swagger of a high noble. Confident in both stride and purpose he moved towards the center. The six judges sat the farthest back and above, towering over the other wise-men and women.
It was at that moment that silence fell. A dead quiet echoed through as all eyes trailed to the newcomer in their midst. His eyes looked up towards the six that sat above him, as the hidden visages greeted him. A voice, male, broke the silence. The aged tone resonated through the room as she began to speak.
“We, the grand six judges of Central Forty-Six call this meeting of wise-men to order.”
Haresuno’s body lurched, as if it had been in motion and suddenly stopped. All around him was a familiar, yet different scene. He stood in the chamber of Central Forty-Six, where the wise-men and women gathered together in council. All throughout the room, silence had fallen.
His head snapping around, trying to get a understanding for his surroundings, Haresuno’s cyan eyes took in the familiar and unfamiliar faces around him. Among the recognized he saw Adelaide, Mitsuyo, and ... Vincent?
When did he get here?
The rest he either had seen somewhere before, or not at all, and he regarded them long enough to mark them as friend or foe. Could he trust them? No. Were they going to attack him? He didn’t know. But they were all in the same boat as he was. He knew that for certain.
The only question now, Haresuno thought to himself, is why are we here?
Just a second ago, Sekka was literally running for her live. Now she stood in a strange room she had heard many tales of, it was the grand chamber of the Central Forty-Six.
Looking to her side, she recognized her division mates and some people she had never seen in her live. I hope there won’t be any more fights.
When she looked around, she tried to get herself accustomed to her surroundings. A room full of old people behind paperboards, hiding their faces and in the middle stood a young man probably judged by them right now. As far as she wanted to ask her friends what was going on, she did not want to speak unasked in this holy chamber. Good thing there was another way for her to communicate.
Adelaide, what is going on here, didn’t we fight against a strange machine just now?
[147/147]
Sorry for not writing for the fast few days, RL and stuff hit me hard, but here I am again!^^
Hotate had her arms folded with her head tilted in confusion. This was definitely the chamber of the forty six. One moment she was facing a large, possibly psychedelic, tree and now she was here. This place was too confusing for her.
And hey, there was that wandering samurai. Despite having never shown her true form around him, Hotate still tried not to catch his attention. She looked away and shifted her hair a bit to block out more of her face.
Hopefully, if she just stayed quiet and in the back, the judges would ignore her just like last time.
Adelaide was pretty surprised when her scythe sealed itself into its silver-and-black katana. Which was not a good feeling to have when fighting a giant robot of death and mayhem. Then again, where was the robot? Or the building she was running toward. Was she dead? No, no, she was still alive. Probably. So what was exactly going on here?
Then she heard a voice she had never heard before. A Judge? No, she had seen them all, she had heard their voices, seen them without their screens. Sekka’s voice rang in Adelaide’s mind, but it was hard for her to focus when she was confronted with the reality in front of her. The six judges? The six? No, that wasn’t at all right. Adelaide had been calling them the ‘Central Forty-Three’ for a long while now.
The mystic spellswordstress lowered her blade, but did not sheath it. I don’t know what’s going on, yet, Sekka, but this is not what it appears. Three of those men are dead. I watched one of them die. I helped save the lives of the other three. This place, those men are wrong. Stay alert. It wasn’t a harbinger of the apocalypse, but who or whatever was impersonating the Central Forty-Three, it was probably just as terrifying a moment.
Uchiharu, man was she probably the last voice he wanted to hear in his head more than likely, but she needed confirmation, unless I’m seeing double, there happens to be a problem here. If they replaced the missing judges, say nothing. If this is as big a problem as I think it is, give me a sign. Adelaide needed to be sure. If this Forty-Six was an illusion courtesy Fukushin, things might go bad very fast, especially considering the man in white’s desire to kill the government of Soul Society.
Nothing was ever going to get someone used to having a voice creep inside of your head. Especially when it felt so different from Tentei Kuura. Unsure where Adelaide was going with her train of thought, Haresuno turned his eyes back to the scene at play. With a relaxed and light-hearted statement, the captain smiled an odd fox-like smile, “Well now, this ought to be interesting.” His voice, while cheery, was still soft enough that it didn’t echo throughout the room yet still managed to reach the immediate folks around him. “It looks as if we’ve just been given a rare opportunity,” turning to the redhead mystic, he winked. “Everyone should probably wait before we do anything.”
So, now what? A slightly bored voice croned in Adelaide’s mind. It made the shinigami frown, though she quickly tried to mask it. Of course, Haresuno Uchiharu had just confirmed her suspicians. This wasn’t what it appeared, so the superweapon would not be brought down on them, but the problem was an entirely new and probably just as bad one.
Giving Uchiharu the faintest of acknowledging nods, Adelaide closed her eyes, contemplatively, and addressed her scythe’s question, He wants us to hate the Forty-Six. He wants a revolution. He wants us to take his weapon and in one instant stage the greatest military coup ever imagined. If I had my guess, the ‘Forty-Six’ he’s created are going to do something to earn our ire. If he can make us kill this Forty-Six, he conditions us better as weapons against the actual governors of Seireitei. But there was another lesson learned here.
The realization that the Forty-Six wasn’t real sat uncomfortably in Adelaide’s mind: if they weren’t truly the Forty-Six, likely Loviator wasn’t really Loviator. Likely that contraption she fought was not real either. The reason Loviator lacked a kanji was clear now – the only real things in this entire game were those she entered with. The others were to make the ‘contestants’ behave the way Fukushin wanted them to.
Naturally, they were here and had a part to play, but one last thing was gained from the Forty-Six that sat so near them – Fukushin wanted them to know now that the only real things were the soldiers themselves. Why? Why hadn’t he created the Forty-Six as he knew it stood today? Was it a limitation of his power or an intentional slip of his hand?
He knows three of those men are dead – he killed them. He knows we know that, Adelaide answered Lashiel’s question and addressed Uchiharu’s mind to hit two birds with a single stone, I’d bet all the money in my pockets against all the money in yours that if we find out what that reason is, we finally take the advantage here.
346 Words
652 Total
Sorry
Apologies for the tl;dr entrance turns, but I wanted to get in Adelaide being ever-so-slightly clever before Hiren turned again and made it all kinda pointless. You can all go about your lives now, I'll shut up. :\
The ceremony was cut off abruptly, as all eyes in the room turned to face the growing crowd. The two imposing figures near the front of the room stepped forward in front of the rag-tag bunch of shinigami. The taller man, a figure carrying an aura of power which dwarfed most spoke first. He had long black hair which trailed down. His body was well-built, strong. A large gauntlet was on his arm, one that would be carried on by his lineage for time to come.
“This is a private meeting of the Central Forty-Six. How did you arrive in this meeting chamber?” he spoke.
“Faust, is this your work?” barked the head judge from above.
More voices began to chime in as the attention in the room was focused on the gathered shinigami. The commotion began to grow and whispers, slowly growing louder, began to break out with in the meeting chambers.
“What is that haori?” stated Number Twenty-Four, from behind the gathered group, “There hasn’t been a Captain of the Fifth Division in decades.”
“Is this what the Second Division was warning us about?” broke out the voice of Number Thirty-Seven from the other side of the room.
“They’re armed,” spoke Issei, as he turned around to face the group.
The commotion escalated to a feverish pitch, as the group of noblemen and women began to panic. The shouts of assassins could be heard from the crowd. The chaotic din was escalated as Samael Faust and his fellow shinigami, Ashikaga Kousei rushed forward towards the shinigami, drawing his blade in turn.
With a momentous blow, Samael rushed forward towards the shinigami. He drew his katana instantly, swinging down with mighty force towards Haresuno. At the same moment, Kousei drew his blade as well, the silver chokuto swinging sideways at Adelaide.
“You will not stain this chamber with the blood of those who have watched this land for centuries,” spoke Issei as he ran forward to join the fray. Drawing the sheathed weapon at his side, he moved in tandem to the two other shinigami, this time heading towards Sekka. With a quick slash upwards he aimed to shred the Mystic.
[574]
Hmm
So yeah, people who haven't entered yet, you still can enter. Though... you'll be entering a bloodbath ;D
Haresuno’s eyes burned azure as the strike of the Faust Lord bore down on him with deadly accuracy. But as the scene had rapidly run horrible course, words of power sat at the tip of Haresuno’s lips. A swordsman, some distant part of his mind noted. “Iron Bastion,” he commanded.
Adrenaline rushed through every part of the captain’s body, and he began dissecting the world as it happened around him. At that moment he had three attackers. All of which were fast, fast enough that he was worried if the others would be able to catch up.
While he realized this, synapses firing and judging actions, his body moved before he could tell it. As if it already knew what to do. Side-stepping his own spell while magic power left him, Haresuno’s hands came up and seized the Faust Lord before he could recover from his failed strike.
Muscles pulled taut as the Fifth Division’s captain spun on his heels, slamming Samuel through Kousei before he let go and hurled the Faust into Issei.
“Strike before your enemy can strike, eh? Or is it kill first and ask questions later?” Readying himself for the next strike, Haresuno ordered the shinigami around him, “Everyone, on me!”
Sekka did not know what to do, she wanted to draw her sword, but somehow she did not want to look like an enemy.
This changed though, when her group suddenly was attacked. While Adelaide and Haresuno faced the two shinigami who stood at the entrance before, the guy who stood in the middle came at her.
He turned around so fast and started to slash at her, that she had no time to draw her sword. In panic, she jumped back and used Soshi to throw two chairs in the way of her attacker, before he was hit by Faust. Looking at the captain of the Fifth Division and hearing his command, she ran to his back before saying ‘thank you’ for helping her.
Drawing her sword she shouted, “I don’t want to fight you, we don’t mean any harm!”
So much for being careful...
[151/298]
Tech
.::Soshi::.
(Elements)
Soshi refers to the purest elements of the spiritual realm that culminate into telekinesis -- the most basic, fundamental ability required of a shinigami to become a Mystic. A shinigami's journey in the Tenth begins with a keen awareness of the universe and an exceptional talent in reiatsu manipulation. The Mystic must be able to harness their spiritual energy and apply it in anomalous ways to the physical world.
With Soshi, the Mystic learns to move objects with their mind. Its range of effect is within a 15-meter radius. The strength of Soshi is directly related to 1/10th of the user's reiatsu in pounds, capping at 2,000 lbs. It costs the Mystic 1% reiatsu to perform this ability per turn. The reiatsu of others acts as a repellent to this ability, therefore, at no point can Soshi be used to levitate other spiritual creatures or people.
The mystic met the gaze of Kousei as his silver katana met the black of the pole of Adelaide’s suddenly-released scythe. “Aggressive and -“
Quite surprisingly, another person suddenly knocked Kousei out of Adelaide’s way. She lowered her blade into a slightly more relaxed position and commented, letting humor reach her tone. “That works too.” Hey, with Uchiharu here Adelaide wasn’t in command. The only lives she had to worry about now were her own, Yuurei’s and Sekka’s. It was a burden she was fine having Haresuno lift.
Adelaide fell in beside Uchiharu, desperately hoping he had some clever idea and wasn’t just making them pretty targets for area of effect kidou. She tightened her grip on Lashiel and readied herself against what she assumed would be the coming charge.
The echoing sound of screams and screeching cars had vanished. All in one moment the putrid scent of the polluted city had vanished. In that infinitesimal moment between being in one place and being transported to another, Gorou’s pain had ceased and the numb feeling of blood gushing from his new wounds had been similarly halted. During the following moments it occurred to him that he’d been moved without walking, and that realization seemed to bring with it all of the pain in his body. It seemed to return with a furious vengeance, eliciting a sharp scream to ring out from his throat.
Had the injured reaper done anything but leverage himself using his weapon, he might have tumbled to his knees. That he still somewhat stood was fortunate, for the sounds of combat within the room attracted his full attention. Bleeding to death in the mysterious chamber wasn’t how he planned to let himself die.
“Gu...aarrgh...Gunshin...” he muttered as he forced his weight back onto his feet. At his command the war god appeared at his side, its attention focused on the battle that had already begun.
“Kouhi!” As the samurai’s weapon took the form of the red naginata he could feel his spirit’s strength combine with his own. Bleeding and out of breath, he gripped the polearm and launched himself towards the Faust lord with no regard as to the existence of the other shinigami. There was too much pain and delirium in his mind for him to pay attention to anybody other than an enemy he could kill, regardless of strength or number.
She sank low to the ground and tried to slowly back away from all the action. They can't see her, she was invisible. They were only attracted to movement and the smell of coffee. Nice and easy. Sneaky sneaky.
While moving away, Hotate's hand reached around blindly for something on the ground or the desks, anything. If it comes to it, she could make something.
Vincent stared in wonder at the large room around him. He had never been in this room before, and honestly, never really expected to at all. Seeing it now, in the midst of this terrible maze he had gotten himself into, after just narrowly escaping the berserker with Mitsuyo, the young death god wasn't really sure what to think of it all. Adelaide and Haresuno seemed a bit odd about it, and the others around just seemed confused. But, despite that, there was one thing he knew for sure. It was boring.
That was, until everyone turned on them. Turned on their own kind.
Despite the frenzy and chaos of the attack, Vincent's mind began to work, trying to recall who these people were. One was a Faust, but not the former soutaichou. And there hadn't been a captain in the Fifth Division for decades? Before his coma, it had been centuries. This clearly wasn't the time it was supposed to be. Were they really in the past? Or was Raifuku simply drawing on the past for his game? Not that it really mattered just then.
Vincent slid up beside and slightly behind Haresuno and Adelaide. In the brief time between his promotion to Vice Captain and the Hueco Mundo invasion, Vincent had tried to brush up on the history of the Gotei. "This isn't right," he announced, even though he was pretty sure they already knew that. "I don't know what's going on, but I think this is at least a few centuries ago..."
Having said his part, Vincent stepped back, letting the two stronger fighters protect him, and drew his sword. "Mourn, Insontis." The weapon shone a bright gold briefly, fading to reveal twin bracers on the boy's arms. He knew he couldn't do much, but he would still do something. Unlike the battle in Tokyo and the fight against Cadena he wouldn't be useless this time.
“Gorou!” Adelaide wanted to grab his arm to stop him, but needed both hands on her weapon. Besides, given how his arm looked, if she grabbed it she probably would’ve torn it off. That arm wasn’t going to stay, which given that the Ninth would probably develop a mechanical replacement was going to lead to the worst irony the samurai would probably ever know.
When Vincent dashed in behind Adelaide and Haresuno, Adelaide whispered to the boy and Sekka what the odd conversation between herself and Hare had been about. “I doubt even Fukushin can send us back in time. I wager that if we figure out why we’re looking at an ancient Forty-Six, we can press that to our advantage.”
Speaking of advantage, it was taking longer than she anticipated for the faux-shinigami they fought to regroup. That would be a costly mistake for them, as Adelaide channeled energy into her scythe. God, Kenkyouka was her best friend in the world. She was going to need it, too. Vincent was her friend, more than that he was technically Tenth Division, which meant that right now his survival was Adelaide’s responsibility.
191 Words
973 Total
Kenkyouka
Kenkyouka [Sword Empowerment]
Utilizing their own kidou energy, the practitioner has the ability to cast a kidou spell onto their blade. Once the blade comes in contact with the opponent, the spell will automatically activate. Whatever damage or effects are done by sword and spell, will be unleashed on to the opponent. With continuous use of the technique, the caster will gain the ability to have two spells imprinted on their blade at one time, once the user gains 5k kidou or zanjutsu stat.
Samael returned to his feet, an annoying ‘tch’ was spat out as he got up. “You’re strong for your appearance imposter. Though, your skills still lack the centuries of training needed for a true Captain,” shouted the Faust lord as his eyes met Haresuno’s, “Cut them down with no hesitation.”
As Gorou flew towards the black haired lord, he reacted instantly. Sparks danced as the two blades met one another. However, his sheer force was far out of the league of the samurai alone. His body moved with centuries of honed skills, as he parried the blade with his own. The impact launched Gorou back, as the ancient death god returned to his original stance.
“Kegasu! Ekigaku!”
A viscous, teal, liquid began to flow violently from the guard of the blade, as it quickly engulfed the entirety of the katana. Droplets of liquid fell from the blade, instantly dissolving the floor below it. Samael launched forward in a use of shunpo, appearing directly in front of Adelaide and Haresuno. He swung down with another violent swing. As the blade moved to slash through Haresuno, three spheres of the teal liquid emerged from the blade, quickly firing around the Founder to dissolve the Mystic.
Issei and Kousei moved in tandem, as years of cooperation had honed their skills as a team. The two split apart for a moment, as Kousei moved towards Vincent, marking for another horizontal slash. Issei launched forward in a use of shunpo as well, appearing directly behind the youth. With an identical movement, the black-haired nobleman aimed to strike simultaneously with his cousin.
Complement and insult woven together reached Haresuno’s ears, and he couldn’t help but smile. He would have answered - for once a witty reply at the edges of his lips - but the next attack came and the world slowed again.
Such precision!
Haresuno had no time to admire his enemy, but the thought was in his expression. Three forms disappeared, but his cyan eyes tracked two. “Shou!” he commanded, flicking a single finger at the Faust’s direction. Power once more rolled out from Haresuno in a unseen wave that slammed into, and threw, the Samuel. That same hand, his right hand, the one closest to Kousei, dropped into the path of the mighty warrior’s swing with a knife to deflect the blow.
Sheer euphoria was spreading through Haresuno. This was his place.
But he could only do so much. Adelaide was still in danger by the time he was set to impede Kousei, and it was only when he turned to face that man did he catch the blurry form of Issei out of the corner of his eye.
These men were not a rag-tag trio of skilled fighters. These were steel-forged men, whose bonds had been strengthened time and again. They were elite, and they could work together.
Their enemies would press them, force them to react without being able to counterattack. Haresuno would be able to stand against them for a time, and if he was lucky, but ultimately even he would be worn down and slaughtered.
The Tenth Division had no Vice-Captain to ascend to her place. Instead, it had Adelaide Pierce. For all intents and purposes, right now, Adelaide was the closest thing to a Captain that the Mystics of the Divine had. She was damn sure going to act like it.
It wasn’t easy to control more than one object at a time, but she had done it before with Loviator, and she only needed to curve the paths of two of those acid balls.Are you going to have me turn aside acid, Adelaide? Lash chided. Adelaide made sure enough room existed between herself and her comrades that the two spheres her mind controlled bent around her and instead made their way, one each, for the assailants behind her intent on striking her littlest charge. The third met the blade of the scythe and was deflected into another direction entirely. She saved her own rather attractive ass as well as the tail end of a (technically) member of her Division, and did it with the grace of a Mystic. It was downright satisfying.
Adelaide’s eyes steeled against the Faust lord’s entirely averted acid attack. Okay, I imagine he won’t send me a manageable number next time, she reasoned, but I still can use this. “You’ll have to do better against the Ranking Officer of the Tenth Division.” She considered herself ‘acting captain’, but considering the company she was in she was hesitant to use the word ‘Captain’ in a sentence describing her. Ranking Officer implied the same thing.
259 Words
1222 Total
Techs
Soshi [Elements]
Soshi refers to the purest elements of the spiritual realm that culminate into telekinesis -- the most basic, fundamental ability required of a shinigami to become a Mystic. A shinigami's journey in the Tenth begins with a keen awareness of the universe and an exceptional talent in reiatsu manipulation. The Mystic must be able to harness their spiritual energy and apply it in anomalous ways to the physical world.
With Soshi, the Mystic learns to move objects with their mind. Its range of effect is within a 15-meter radius. The strength of Soshi is directly related to 1/10th of the user's reiatsu in pounds, capping at 2,000 lbs. It costs the Mystic 1% reiatsu to perform this ability per turn. The reiatsu of others acts as a repellent to this ability, therefore, at no point can Soshi be used to levitate other spiritual creatures or people.
Kawasu [To Turn Aside]
There are some attacks which cannot be stopped, and a master of his weapon recognizes that fact. However, that does not mean that he must submit to those attacks. By hardening his swordsman's spirit, the practitioner of this technique can parry a powerful blast, deflecting it away from himself and his allies.
This technique costs 3,000 reiatsu and only affects attacks up to twice as strong.
As suddenly as the cousins had appeared around Vincent, he only had time to react by instinct. Instincts that had laid dormant for years, instincts that had thankfully been reawakened by his last battle. Without even knowing what he was doing, the little guardian poured his spiritual energy into Insontis, the symbols and glyphs flaring to life with bright golden light. A bubble of energy began to form around him. He knew it wouldn't be enough to stop the two men, even if it had time to fully form around him, but hopefully it would still be enough.
Not waiting to see what would happen, Vincent launched himself to his side, toward Kousei. As Issei's sword met the half-formed shield, it easily tore through, but the resistance gave just enough delay that Vincent could survive the attack. As he fled, he heard the sound of ripping cloth, followed by the all too familiar sensation of warm blood trickling down his back, followed quickly by pain. The man's sword had still found it's mark, albeit a split second later than anticipated, leaving a shallow gash across the back of Vincent's left shoulder.
Not stopping to take stock of his injury, Vincent pushed forward. Following his former subordinate's lead, the boy used his size to dodge under the nobleman's diverted sword arm. As he passed under, he called out, "Hitotsu!" The energy rope leaped from his hand, wrapping around Kousei's arm several times. Vincent pushed forward into a Shunpo, pulling as hard as he could as he went, hoping to stagger the man, even a little, like he had with the berserker. Hopefully, he could buy someone an opening to attack.
[287/616]
Industria
Ability: Industria -This ability serves to exemplify the virtue of Diligence. When this ability is activated, the symbols on the bracers begin to glow, then project the symbols around Vincent in a dome shape.The dome acts as a shield, protecting Vincent and those around him from physical and energy based attacks.The shield only lasts for one round, repelling all attacks until it is overpowered. This ability costs 5% of Vincent's reiatsu to use, and can block attacks up to that amount.
While Adelaide took care of the flying orbs, and Vincent was busy with his two attackers, Sekka had the time to think on what to do in this mess.
Now she drew her sword as well, seeing that arguing would not help here. Looking at Haresuno throwing Samael out of balance, she knew a way to help her team.
“Weight of the World on your shoulders, suffer your punishment. Bear the Heavens or all shall fall. No rest for the weary, no sleep for the wretched. Bakudou number twenty-five, Atlas!”
She directed the attack at Samael as well, hoping to drop the box of air on his shoulders.
After that, she used Taidan to communicate with Adelaide once more.
I may not be as strong as you may, but I can handle Soshi as well, so leave one or two attacks counting from the left for me, this way we can share the stress of concentrating while fighting.
[158/456]
Techs
.::Soshi::.
(Elements)
Soshi refers to the purest elements of the spiritual realm that culminate into telekinesis -- the most basic, fundamental ability required of a shinigami to become a Mystic. A shinigami's journey in the Tenth begins with a keen awareness of the universe and an exceptional talent in reiatsu manipulation. The Mystic must be able to harness their spiritual energy and apply it in anomalous ways to the physical world.
With Soshi, the Mystic learns to move objects with their mind. Its range of effect is within a 15-meter radius. The strength of Soshi is directly related to 1/10th of the user's reiatsu in pounds, capping at 2,000 lbs. It costs the Mystic 1% reiatsu to perform this ability per turn. The reiatsu of others acts as a repellent to this ability, therefore, at no point can Soshi be used to levitate other spiritual creatures or people.
Atlas - Bakudou #25, 270 Kidou
Description: In Greek mythology the titan Atlas was punished by the god Zeus to forever bear the Heavens on his shoulders after the war of the titans against the Olympians. This spell will conjure a weight (prior to connecting it is visible as a box of rippling air) that falls from the air above the opponent, with an aim to land on the opponent's shoulders, making their arms incredibly heavy. Thus their capability to strike quickly with their arms is hindered. If it hits, it will visually be invisible.
Incantation: Weight of the World on your shoulders, suffer your punishment. Bear the Heavens or all shall fall. No rest for the weary, no sleep for the wretched. Bakudou #25, Atlas!
