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[PM][Earth] Week ---: Proclamation

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"So she flies in on a chainsaw, and you people are worried about little old me?" With a smile and raised eyebrow, the Templar Queen waved to the new girl, though in truth it was probably a wasted gesture. "How's it goin' kid?"

I remember this one. It's muddled, but her energy signature was present in Hueco Mundo when Masato led us in...fucking hell, that feels like a lifetime ago. Deciding that the knowledge was best kept to herself, Tsubaki paid a casual glance to the room as it slowly began to accumulate more and more...people of interest.

If this goes bad I can make a break for it, but there are too many for me to try and take them alone.

"So Hisao, I don't suppose you were there when that 'certain army' was making a go of things, were you?" Her tone remained polite enough, but the intent was all too clear behind her eyes. Anyone she had crossed blades with before would be liable to do so again at some point, and rooting out the drive behind her newfound 'allies' would be vital.



[187/588]
 
As Ciro lazily rested his head on his hand once more, the door opened. The sudden shuffling of another employee caught his attention. As the messenger walked closer to the brown-haired man, he leaned back and sat up in a more dignified manner. He was a Chairman, so he, of course, should give a good impression.

“Sir, there’s someone downstairs who says he has business with Mister Adachi and is here on behalf of his employer.”

Curiosity sparked in the Italian, as it finally appeared that things would move along. “Bring him up here,” Ciro replied before turning to face Hisao, “Seems like your employer has more than just you working for him.”

The red-eyed man tapped the card on his table a few more times, as time passed. Roughly ten minutes later the door opened again, as the imposing man was brought into the room. A brief use of Reiatsu Nouken from Ciro allowed him to lock onto the being in front of him. There was reiatsu, but the amount veer from high to low wildly. The man's eyes were instanly drawn to the briefcase, a faint sense of unease building inside of him. He trusted Hisao enough to... well... hope that his employer wasn't looking to harm all of them, but then again, this was someone who would hire Hisao.

“I take it your employer has a reason for gathering this many humans and vizards in one place then?” responded Ciro in still a rather bored tone of voice.

[206/820]
 
“You must forgive the apparent lack of hospitality. However gathering this man strong personalities in one room does not bode well if left for long lengths of time” The old man said leveling a bored gaze at the latest newcomer. The man’s face looked somewhat familiar and yet any other information eluded the elder vizard. “I trust our mutual employer has given you something to illuminate the reason he called us to this place? If so the sooner we find out, the better.”

[83/692]
 
Kazimir raised one bushy eyebrow. "There are always reasons, are there not?" He walked over to the far wall, where a large monitor was bolted to the wall. Moving with purpose, he loudly dropped the briefcase on the table beneath the monitor, thumbing a simple numeric code on the lock before clicking it open. Inside was a sleek white electronic device with no sign of a name brand or maker's mark.

For the most part, he ignored the rest of the room as he went to work, plugging wires from the briefcase up to the monitor. In less than a minute, everything was connected together. Kazimir slowly typed in a password of some kind on a small interface within the briefcase before powering on the monitor. It came to life with an audible hum.

The screen turned blue, and thousands of lines of white code flashed by in seconds before the monitor opened up on a video feed to a room. The room on the monitor was a rather plain looking office, with a bank of windows in the rear. Instead of a desk, there was just one black leather office chair, situated directly in front of the camera. It was presently unoccupied.

Kazimir pressed a few more buttons before closing the miniature interface with a little click. Looking up at the screen, the giant instructed, "My employer will be speaking with you presently. There is a microphone in the briefcase. It should catch the entire room. If needed, just move closer to the briefcase."

Then, he turned to walk back out the way he came in with no further explanation.

[271/506]
 
The murmuring and idle conversation began to die down, anticipation passing through the room with an unexpected equality. It was the youth that leaned in the corner of the room that broke it. "So what a motley crew we've assembled without any intention to...why is it here?"

His eyes locked on the two loudest and most obvious intruders. The girl, blaring her energy like some distant foghorn in an obnoxious display of attention-drawing obviousness. The shinigami, sitting pretty with all the cares of a cloud and about as much awareness of the situation.

His voice was cut, dry and left little room for negotiation. "Shinigami, you have no place here." He noted the sharp look from Hisao but returned it sternly, Kairososhi repeating the message sent by Ciro in his head. "So why bother being here at all? You have abandoned your home, abandoned your people and seek audience with those similarly cast out. Why and how are prudent questions, Tsubaki.

"You want information and allies. For what; I suspect we're about to find out, but that's not why you've come here. You're here because you need help, a strange request from a former captain and one of the strongest presences in known existence." His single eye locked dully with her fiery oak ones, meeting it evenly. "Information isn't cheap, and allies less so. Why should we even tolerate your presence when you have brought nothing to the table?"

His eyes flicked to the screen, a faint echo of sound drifting back through the stereo system as the trace hinting of someone on the other end.

[ 266 / 766 ]
 
"Yes, yes you're right. What could the third...excuse me, second strongest Shinigami in existence possibly offer you against uncertain times and unknown enemies of unknown strength and number? What kind of information could she possibly offer about Soul Society and its current workings and deployments since she just left there roughly forty-eight hours ago and the last time you were there was...."

She smiled, rolling her eyes at the impudence of the questions. "I have left my home, and my people, that much is true. I have not abandoned my duty to protecting the balance. Why and how are questions that I will answer in time to someone who has proven they're worth answering to. As far as the suffering of my presence, why would you assemble all these people if you didn't need help, hmm?"

"Information and allies aren't cheap, and right now I'm offering you one hell of a bargain. So maybe you should sit back down and watch the movie." Her eyes remained focused, unyielding. Tsubaki had given her word that no harm would come to the building they now occupied, but if the man continued to test her good nature he would shortly find himself outside the building, and the boundaries of her honor.

[208/796]
[Dafuq, brah]
 
He snorted lightly, the amused smile on his face wiped clean by the retort. His eyes locked on her collar, and the smile returned as a smirk. Her energy read as a hollows, but its power was easily weighed.

Arano would not survive a fight against her...perhaps save that collar's unknown purpose. He once more met her gaze, "Are all shinigami so arrogant?" The comment was muttered, barely audible but still there as he turned his attention back to the screen.

[ 81 / 847 ]
 
Let her go, Arano.

“Now then Madam... Tsubaki was it?” Ciro said in a louder tone of voice, as he attempted to break the tension, “My unnaturally haired friend here is suggesting nothing of the sort. If what you say is true and you have left Soul Society, I have no quarrel with your visit. I only ask that you show some modicum of respect towards us humans. We have long been thought to be a weak race; however, those accusations have usually ended poorly for those who assumed so.”

The Chairman set his gaze back on the window, towards the outside world. He inwardly cursed at Masato for forcing him to be the one to babysit the odd bunch of characters which had joined. He inwardly wondered if the militaristic shinigami ever had this problem, considering all their rules and regulations. On Earth, there was no one to set the law. As such, while it facilitated the exponential growth of humans, quincies and vizards alike, it also caused exponential growth in egos, something that even he, the wonderful Ciro Martelli suffered from.

The puppeteer looked back towards the empty scene on the screen. “Now then Mister Employer, I assume that you are simply wandering about back there and that you probably can hear everything we are saying right now. If it would not be a huge detriment to your daily schedule, might I ask that we get this rolling? I do not know how long such powerful people can sit idle before chainsaws start flying... again.”

[254/1054]
 
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"I've had the pleasure of knowing many strong humans, and I'm happy to say the only weakness I've seen in the race is weakness of character." Maintaining a practiced and polite smile, the Templar Queen leaned back in her chair.

[40/836]
[worth it]
 
"Offering help before even knowing out what's going on Madam Tsubaki? Depending on what this mysterious monitor asks, this might be the shortest partnership ever," Hotate noted from her position against the wall next to the door. Her hands were held together behind her back.

As for her own feelings on the matter, she didn't voice them. What this "employer" wanted she didn't care about. Hotate was only here to make sure the rest of the vizards came back safely. That included the awesome chainsaw wielding girl.

Hotate made a useless wave towards the girl and cheerfully said, "Good day Miss Hitome. I have some eyes for you if you don't want to leave those sockets empty. You can pick any color you want. They won't help you see the person that called this meeting though."

Her gaze briefly flicked back to the large monitor. This entire setup was unnecessarily obtuse.

[301]
 
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There was a click from the screen then the sound of a door being closed, thankfully audible enough to be heard over the petty bickering. A man dressed in white appeared on the screen; white slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a white trench coat. As his face came into view, they could see that he had dark aviator shades on, but a clean-shaven chin. His short dark hair was slicked back. Those who were observant might even notice the three small cuts in his left ear.

With a subtle smirk on the corner of his face, the man immediately sat down in the office chair, leaning back in it. He was backlit by the sunshine from the window, casting his features in shadow.

"I am glad you all arrived on such short notice." He paused, scrutinizing the group. "I see we are missing one... but it appears we have some unexpected guests as well. The Lady Tsubaki, alive after all..." Chuckling lightly, he turned his attention to the center of the screen, where Ciro would be. "We are all busy men, so we will move this right along. You may refer to me as Fukushin.

"Each of you is here for different reasons. Regardless of those reasons, there are certain things we can all agree on. First, we should endeavor to protect the world of life from the scourge of the afterlife. Regardless of organization or race or creed, we can all agree on that one fact. Second, the shinigami -- or soul reapers, blacks, Theos, samurai -- have failed in recent decades in their task of protecting the living world. If that was not so, there would be no reason for organizations like Initiative: Orpheus or the Cerberus Corporation to exist."

Fukushin leaned back in his chair, drumming his fingers on the armrests. "It appears to me that some among us have forgotten that first truth... and none among us have addressed that second truth. Remember that, and think on it. Before I continue... I have something to show you.

On cue, the screen split, continuing to show Fukushin on the left but showing a completely different and exotic location on the right. The viewpoint was awkward -- perched on the edge of a roof, perhaps? -- but it clearly showed a city, one that was ancient in design and yet immaculate and pristine. Red-tiled rooftops and even tiled walls filled the screen, each road paved with broad and flat stones. The sky was a bright, clear blue, vibrant in a subtly different way from the sky of the living world.

Tsubaki and the vizards would immediately recognize the scene as being in Seireitei, the White City.

"What you are seeing is live... or as live as we can make it when crossing dimensional boundaries."

The view shifted over toward the right, revealing a broad circular wall with a flat-topped cylindrical building at its center, and a deep, empty pit surrounding it on all sides. As the camera panned back over to the left, a series of white dots appeared, a crowd moving through the streets.

[518/1024]
 
"Well miss Hotate, it seems my need for help and your employer's are one and the same." A strange sense of ease settled over the former Captain as she watched the feed, her attention focused on the tiny white clad dots approaching the building.

The Forty-Six called them in already...that can't be good. Her worries naturally affixed themselves to Kyuketsu, but had to be quelled for the moment. He'll do the right thing, have faith.

"So, when do we level that eyesore?"

[82/918]
 
"For a woman both outnumbered and running from her kind you speak with presumptions." The old man quipped at the former captain. "If you wish to level that place you may go ahead but understand this you pompous idiot. I will not risk lives for you to have a personal vendetta. I will go so far as to say if you value the breath you take you will either shut up now or leave this meeting as you have no use here." A crooked smile overcame the old man's face as he continued, "Do you assume my exile has made me wish for blood? Perhaps. However there is a difference between defense of the living world and the idiotic suicide mission you wish. I do not know what you are thinking but if you came to me simply for aid in taking over Seireitei, you had best find other allies I will not be helping you and neither will Cerberus or Orpheus."

Finally turning his gaze from the captain the old man took in the scene on the monitor before him. "I would ask where the technology came to establish this feed, and who planted that camera but those aren't the important questions. What is this scene supposed to tell us? I've known you too long to assume you'd give us a nice relaxing slideshow."

[229/921]
 
Ciro replied with something rather odd, a smile. “My love, I feel like you have taken the word God for granted.”

With that the red-eyed man focused his attention back onto the screen in front of him. The words of this man, Fukushin, confused him. Truths? What nonsense. The only truth to him was what he and his company strove towards. However, for some reason, something about what the mysterious figure had mentioned seemed to stick, seemed to cling like an insufferable leech.

Protecting humans? Preposterous. But to pick apart and analyze those who called themselves Gods of Death? Perhaps.

Ciro gracefully ignored the exchange between the old vizard and the newcomer. He had nothing else to say on that matter which wouldn’t be repeating what the elder already said. His eyes were fixed to the building in front of him. The vizards appeared to all be focusing on the building, and as Ciro could deduce, it did seem quite important. The brilliant stone, gaping entryway and sheer beauty of the place lent a sense of elegant superiority.

“For all of us that are under a century old, what is this place?”

[192/1246]
 
For now Zakki had sat back and taken in everything that was happening without any reaction. Not a single expression of emotion had crossed his face as the argument raged back and forth across the room. There was an extreme arrogance in Tsubaki but to the eyes of the slender youth it was a front. It was like a Noh mask that hid a shattered interior landscape. She comes here offering us help but maybe she needs our help even more he thought and left the question hanging in his mind. There were larger matters to attend to now.

After having seen the destruction rained on the city the last time the shinigami came to town the lanky young man was going to give this Fukushin gentleman his full attention. The immaculate city on the screen was deeply intriguing to Zakki. It looked like something out of his Japanese history textbooks but clearly was a live feed. Ciro's voice rang out into the room and asked the question that the vice-chairman of Cerberus had on his mind too.

Now as they all waited for the response from their strange "friend" on the other side of the screen Zakki tried to respond to Ciro's mental message with a thought: You got it! Also let's watch Tsubaki. She's showing bluster but I detect weakness. We may be able to exploit it.

[251/489]
 
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You don't have a friend in this room Tsu, they're making that pretty damn clear. Letting the comments about her motivation and purpose fall unanswered the woman spoke up before the man on the other side of the recording device could.

"What you're looking at boys and girls is the heart of the afterlife, if such a thing exists. The building in the center is the chambers of the Central Forty-Six, the parliamentary arm of the Soul King's power. They're responsible for passing law, maintaining diplomatic order, and barring my own personal opinion of the quality of their work they've been doing it a very, very long time."

"In the past few months the Forty-Six has come under considerable metaphorical...and not enough literal fire by the Gotei for the rather severe restrictions they have both imposed upon the military and deployed them under. As of forty-eight hours ago, a Shinigami was restricted from active carrying of their Zanpakuto, and expressly forbidden to utilize Ban Kai or any of the higher level Kidou save for a scant few places in the entirety of Soul Society. As I can only assume that those white robes are those of the Captains heading into the judge's chambers, I'd imagine that something has happened....you know, aside from me."

"This past year a new threat made itself known in Hueco Mundo, a Vasto Lorde. The creature used illusion and misdirection to turn our soldiers against each other and afflict us with these cursed accessories." She idly gestured to the choker encircling her neck before continuing. "The Vasto Lorde had an army of considerable size when we first faced him, and as he's had nothing but time since our retreat I can only imagine it has grown in number. That is the threat on the horizon, and that is first and foremost what I am fighting to stop. My own qualms with the governing body of Soul Society are and have always been secondary."

Leaning back in her seat once again, two leonine hued daggers fixed themselves on Hisao.

"Don't presume."

[344/1,262]
 
"My, my, Tsubaki," Fukushin replied with a slow golf clap, "when you commit high treason you certainly go for broke." He laughed, giving two more slow claps before leaning toward the camera. "What the Lady Tsubaki neglects to inform you is that the reason she is here, with you, and not there... is because she threatened the lives of the innocent and the lives of that very judiciary body she just said was secondary to the demon she has not sought to track down.

"Of course, by all means, share in her company, borrow her strength, partake of her wisdom, such as it were. Only... do so with the knowledge that you court a wanted criminal." Chuckling, Fukushin leaned back again, one thin eyebrow rising above his shades. "That's certainly nothing new, considering your present company."

Folding his hands together in his lap, Fukushin nodded toward the other screen. "I suggest you all watch a little closer, because there certainly are not quite so many 'captains' in the afterlife." Indeed, what had seemed only a few at first was rapidly growing into a swarm. Though the quality of the video was not superb, the heads of those who were now closest appeared to be white as well, either wearing hoods or masks. "Oh, and dearest Tsubaki, I would love to meet you in person after this. I have an offer you may find quite... enticing."

[235/1259]
 
"And it would seem our mutual employer has fallen prey to the same misinformation I fed the judges. I at no point in time had the intent or ability to harm or murder the innocent. So I'm a would-be liar, not a would-be genocider." An impartial shrug answered the golf clap, though at the speed of which Fukushin received his information it told Tsubaki that he was someone more in the know than she previously realized. "And besides, they watch the Vizards, Cerberus, and the other assorted humans who stand out among the bunch. Maybe I just want to give them equal footing?"

"I don't carry prejudice for Vizards, Quincies, humans, advents, or whatever else is out there. Just like in Soul Society, there are merely a few individuals who ruin a sects image as a whole." She let her palms rest flatly on the arms of the chair, looking around the room with a polite yet slow and deliberate gaze.

"I will fight to protect this world, and the people in it. Your individual opinions of me won't change that. So look down your noses at me if you like, in the end Soul Society will regard you with the same contempt they do me...with or without my help." A slight cock of her eyebrow punctuated the comment, and it was left at that. "Fukushin, I'll listen to your offer when you deem the time appropriate." Her eyes wandered back to Hisao momentarily. "Us wanted criminals lead such busy lives."

[251/1,513]
 
Ayako was at a loss for words with the odd assortment she was sent to meet, and the intrepid Masato was still no where to be heard from. The red head’s thoughts swam in multiple directions, from wondering how military the Shinigami really were to have captains. To the irony of being part of a group watching a live camera feed she could not see, well not without annoying the majority of people better left alone with her yellow pulse, to hearing about something called a vast lord. Were they fighting the British or the shinigami? Then again the Spanish name of where these lords were located sounded familiar. Something in a report she must have skimmed long ago perhaps. Impassively sighing she waited out the argument with an apparent military criminal and the mystery self titled ‘trusted friend’.

If they were fighting the shinigami or these lords of a Spanish territory then perhaps it was her talent at healing the wounded that was most desired. Internally one thought bubbled to the top, What the hell have I gotten myself into?

[181/369]
 
“Say what you will, but if this meeting is any indication it wouldn’t be such a stretch to see you threaten war of innocents.” The old man quipped before nearly jumping out of his seat to get closer to the screen. “No! That many in one place? They’ve been scattered for months how did they reform so quickly in such great numbers? How would the have the audacity to mobilize against the Gotei? Are the divisions so weakened they would take the chance or have they grown so large they no longer care?”

After taking a breath to calm himself Hisao continued on, “None of those questions matter right now. What I want to know is, are you allied with them? For the humans and the vizards who don’t recognize those uniforms. The destruction of Tokyo four years ago by hollow hordes was thanks to the generators put in place by that organisation. Sine Qua Non lives.”

[157/1074]
 
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