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| - The realm of Kōhai Tochi was bleak. A cold breeze blew past, as the rats scurried across the floor around. The ground was murky, and blood stained. Trails of black, and a crimson red stained on the ground like a carpet. As it appeared hundreds of thousands were dragged, and tortured. The blood itself was new, and fresh. The carpet led to a large, prison only a few blocks ahead. The daily wails exited the prison ahead, and was heard from miles away. Screams, and yells of pain and anguish. Standing not so far away, a woman with blonde hair stood. One of arms stretched across her waist in a bar, supporting her breasts. An unmoving grin across her face, as she looked at the prison ahead. Her other arm gripped her sword. A sword that layed gently over her shoulder. "Finally, we're here." Terumi paused as she turned her head slightly, a fearless gaze imprinted onto her face. "Sakae was right. A true genius she is. The blueprints, layout and even the towers were all exact. Odd though. That one there looks like it's been attacked." She said, pointing her finger outward, to the crumbled remains of the Northern Tower. Spirit Energy of the previous battle still cloud the area. After a brief pause, Terumi looked intently at the tower. "I-Impossible! I feel Ryouiki's energy there. It's weak, but it's there." Looking behind to her companion, "Where should we start?" she asked, as memories of Ryouiki lingered in her mind. Shigeru remained erect as his companion examined the scene. His senses were finely tuned and extended as far as he could reach out, searching for danger and potential trouble. It had been too long since he was the master of his own ship and although he was hardly free serving Sakae, it was true that he had more freedom under her than he ever did with anyone in the past. His caution was perfectly understandable, especially in light of his reputation and recent actions against the Imawashī. They were actively seeking his head after all and would raze an entire section of the city to the ground just to flush the Betrayer out. He wouldn't give up this newfound freedom, no matter how slight, for anything. "If he was battling wouldn't it be obvious he tried to escape this hell-hole?" Looking around he could see why someone would want to. Working for the asshole known to many as Shinzō, Shigeru had saw some filth in his time; though little he had witnessed ranked as highly as this place did. And the smell to boot was simply stomach turning. "Believe it or not but I've got an extrasensory skill that lets me see traces of spiritual energy." He said finally. "Handy for tracking assholes who need their heads caved in, you know the work. Follow me." To Shigeru's eyes the man's spiritual energy was as clear to him as footprints were to a tracker and following them was childsplay to a man who did this very job when still in the Gotei 13. "...Follow?" Terumi remained hesitant. Deep down in her, she was unwary of many. A sense of betrayal and abandonment resided inside her heart. "..Sure." She said after a brief pause. Her hair flapped in the cold, breeze as she flung her head to the Eastern Tower, in which they were expected to arrive. "I remember Sakae telling me he was in the Tower most eastern. We should start there?" The memories that lingered in her head returned. Visions of a young man with jet black hair. A warm smile comforted her, as in her vision she relaxed alongside the man, near a towering, old tree. A weak branch fell before the duo, as the young man lifted the branch effortlessly, easily impressing the young Terumi. The two then laughed as a large flash had removed Terumi from her daydream. Shigeru took note of her hesitation though he opted to keep his mouth shut instead, deciding it was a better pursuit to concentrate on the trail in front instead of getting distracted by idle banter. "Believe me, if he's at the end of this trail then we'll find him." He surveyed the ground then with an idle eye as he moved, giving the illusion of carelessness. This was followed by a look over his shoulder, blue eyes catching the light from beneath a mop of black hair. "Trust me," So he couldn't resist saying something after all. "I'll find your boyfriend." The last was said with an increase in his walking speed. He had enough experience to know to move quickly when acting like an ass. Terumi pause ceased, as she heard Shigeru speak. The hate still resided in her, though Shigeru was risking his life for her own goal. Her spiteful nature toward man began to fade. Nodding, she moved hurriedly behind Shigeru. As she followed Shigeru, her stare intensified as his black hair caught her view. Followed by another vision of the past. This time, Terumi was in the background watching. She could see herself, years ago. The gentle breeze blew at the young Terumi's hair as a trickle of blood fell to the ground ahead of her. In front, was a young Ryouiki. His arm bloody, and his leg near it's breaking point, as he faced a row of Hollow in front of him. "Don't worry Terumi. I'll end this quick, and I swear not one of dem' will lay a finger on you!" The past Ryouiki said gently, as he darted forward. Terumi shook her head, dismissing the flashback. Despite her efforts tears rolled down her face, as she thought of her intentions on coming here. Before she could do anything else, two spirit energies rose from behind them. Turning around and looking sharply at the two, she saw a man with yellow hair and defined, muscular body. The other was a young lady, with pink hair. They both wore a scowl across their face. "Look at these guys, Izumi. I think they're tryin' to get in. Come on ya assholes make a move!" Akihiro taunted, which was followed by him raising his middle finger. The two new arrivals were meet with laughter drifting from behind Terumi. Turning slowly, head down and features hidden from sight, Shigeru began walking forward without a shred of fear or even intimidation. "Is this all Sabishii can muster? This is fucking hilarious! Between you two you'd be lucky if you've pot two particles of reishi to rub together!" His laughing continued until he swept aside the hair falling about his face, finally tying it into a ponytail at the back that rested between his shoulder blades. "You idiots don't know when to be afraid. Now drop that finger before I decide to snap the arm it belongs to. And believe me, if it comes to that you'll be leaving with it rammed down your throat, 'cause I imagine there's a fair amount of shit passes those lips in a single day." "Go on!" Akihiro said angrily, "keep on talking ya lil shit an' I'll show you who's the real deal 'round here!" Before, Akirhiro or Izumi made another move, Terumi had already swung her blade in their direction commanding a large force of wind there way. As the two guards struggled, Terumi had threw her head into the sky. "Hold on." she said simply, as she grabbed Shigeru's shoulder, preventing him from mauling the two gaurds to death, a feat which she knew he was capable of. "Sentan Hakuja!" she hollered, commanding a white cloth to ensnare and subsequently teleport both Shigeru and her to the prison, more significantly, inside the Eastern Tower. As they left Izumi looked perplexed. "Was that that guy from before?" "That was close. Don't need to cause any commontion." she assured, mostly to herself. Recollecting herself Terumi thought of their next plan of action. "Were in the Eastern Tower. And, I bet that those guards have already alerted someone that we're here. So should we begin searching for Ryouiki now, Shigeru?" As she ended her sentence, Terumi's voice was kind, and sweet much like that of when she was in Soul Society, and if she was talking to Ryouiki. Shigeru unclenched his fists, for a time showing his sadness at not having had the chance to follow through with his threat. If they ever managed to find out who he was then he'd need to do just that to safe himself some face. As well as keep his reputation intact. "Damn I hate Kidō." He'd endured enough of that when his brother and he used to spar. "And now I'm thinking about my brother..." He whispered quietly before shaking his head in irritation as though the action would dispel the thoughts. They didn't and now Shigeru was stuck with the image of his ever righteous brother with that ever-present, annoying grin plastered across his face playing through his mind. "Yeah, let's move on before you start fawning over me, pretty doll. I get enough of that in the brothels." He sealed the comment with a wink that was followed once again by quick feat to take him out from harms way. "Wait here." Shigeru said before disappearing around the nearest corner in the corridor. Several minutes passed before two thuds were heard, followed by a doors lock falling into place. When Shigeru returned he held two uniforms in his hands. "They smell awful, look awful and are as uncomfortable as the beds in Sakae's estate. But they'll do us bloody rightly." He turned as he donned his own, though he was telling himself it wasn't because he was a gentleman. "Hmmm?" Terumi became uneasy, however not because of her uncertainty towards Shigeru, in fact nearly all of her anger towards him had been replaced with respect. "I refuse to change in front of you. Just because I like you now doesn't mean you can't get my clothes off like that." she said, snapping her fingers along with the last word. "Besides, I've done some thinking. Now that we're in the prison it'll be much easier to just search around for Ryouiki. I give about 5 minutes before those guys come back, with that guy Sakae had warned us about, umm Sabishii." A faint voice was heard from afar, it was indeed a different voice from before. It was a masculine, strong echo, that creeped through the tower. "Hide." Terumi said, immediately she snapped her fingers commanding both Shigeru and herself to become intangible. In her mind using more Kido was revenge for asking her to change clothes. As the voice passed, Terumi removed the Kido that concealed them. In the time she had been intangible she had changed her clothes. The new ones were slightly loose on her body, but nevertheless they fit. "Hmm? A person like Ryouiki, he's been here for centuries. And, I'm guessing that he might be at the bottom, so should we start searching in the halls, Shigeru?" Shigeru stood quietly were he was, hidden by the Kidō spell Terumi had cast on him. As the energy suffused his limbs and afforded him invisibility to those coming close he found himself once again thinking of the brother he hadn't seen in close to sixteen years. "Still serving the Soul Society, brother? Or have you thrown your lot in with Kenji and the Order?" There were many times in the last sixteen years when Teruo's presence would have been very welcome. If he had of been there Shigeru doubted he would be in his current predicament with half of the most ruthless thieves and cutthroats in the known world actively seeking his head. When he and his partner became tangible once more, Shigeru's eyes narrowed at the sight of Terumi fully dressed. "What? Not even a peek? I feel... cheated. Yeah, cheated." The fool smile that followed showed he meant little by it. His own clothes were donned quickly, the garment hugging somewhat tightly around his torso and stomach. "Out of all the dregs I could've knocked out-" He began complaining "-I get lumbered with a guy who could pass as a fucking bean pole. Lovely." He nodded to the far end of the corridor they were on. "Let's get looking, then. What's this fellow look like?" He asked, finally clicking that he didn't have the foggiest idea who he was looking for. Moans, and wails from down the hall followed by a loud slicing noise was heard not to far away. A man pleading for his life before being beheaded, and following his death was grim laugh that could only belong to the man who rules this domain; Sabishii Kunsha. An slight yelp came from Terumi's mouth as she heard the laugh. "A place l-like this...Why would Ryouiki come here?" She thought. Terumi quickly became uneasy as she felt emotions swell inside of her. Some positive, many more negative. She wanted to kill Ryouiki for abandoning her, and at the same time kiss him like the old days and tell him her secret. And, then there was Shigeru, whom of which she had been sympathizing with, and a person who reminded her of Ryouiki. "Well, I-I haven't seen him..for a while." she said lightly, realizing she couldn't conceal her emotions like Shigeru can. "He had dark black hair, and he was pretty strong. He was nice, and caring. He loved kids----" Terumi was caught up in her own tears. As her cries rolled down her face, she looked back up at Shigeru. Attempting to wipe her tears, she brought her wrist to her eyes. "S-Sorry..you shouldn't..have to bear my burden. I-I'm so sorry." The comment about this man loving kids struck Shigeru like a blow between the legs. It came very close to the past he had left behind, though anyone who spent any amount of time spying on him knew that the man known to most as the Betrayer of Hope had a soft spot for children. Heck when he was back in Soul Society he used to give out sweets and money when on patrol around Rukongai. For the first time since accepting - he says accepting. More like forced to take it by a certain women dressed in red. Terumi's words just now marked the first time Shigeru sincerely wanted to save this Ryouiki character. There were too many similarities with his old self not to try. "... Were you born in the Seireitei, Terumi? Or are you like me and come from the outlying districts of the Rukongai?" Teruo would've been fit to fold his spiritual energy to keep out such sounds like those that moved his companion to tears. Maybe if he could keep her talking about subjects unrelated to Ryouiki he could keep her mind distracted long enough till they passed this floor. It had worked with Akiye when she was younger and more innocent so he was hoping it'd work here too. "But that voice was definitely Sabishii. Wonder how the old 'King' is doin' these days? Bet he's still trying out wacky new hair colors." Even the inner monologue held a vulgar tone. Terumi nodded slowly, "I was born in Rukon. My parents were rich, social heads and it was pretty easy for me to get by." It was obvious to her that Shigeru had not come from a rich family, neither did he come from a middle-class family living in Seireitei. Her past life before meeting Ryouiki was always a blur, never truly full until she had chosen to become a Shinigami. Noticing her own tears roll down her face like a stream, she stood up slowly. "We should p-probably keep moving." She said dawdling, relieving herself of the topic of Ryouiki. Suddenly, a new voice arose, but this from inside the room! Creeping from the edge of the hallway, was man with cold eyes and a grim smile. Nowhere near the power of Sabishii, but also severly stronger than the two previous guards. "Well, look what we have here." he said, walking towards the two. "I don't recognize you at all, but then again I never recognize prisoners. The man walked with a noticeable limp, and his arm was severly damaged, that much was obvious, but whom did such was a mystery. Biting his lip, the man swung out his arm. "I'm guessing that you two are new here, and therefore are trying to plan some type of escape. Well, stop. There is no salvation here." he said harshly. The walls around Terumi and Shigeru began to shake wildly. Soon the ground beneath the two intruders began to crack, and in seconds the entire floor had been leveled! "Just like your hopes, once you enter here. Everything you believe in will come tumbling down." Katashi was enveloped by the darkness and cast out of view, as Terumi was quickly concealed by rubble of the fall. Her body sent crashing to the bottom floor of the Eastern Tower. "Damn, my arm! I can't move it. This whole building'll come down." she thought hastily, as her valiant effort to break out've the rubble failed. Unable to muster the strength needed to break free. Feeling a strong residue of energy, she immediately felt Ryouiki's spirit energy skyrocket forth, however, he wasn't in the Eastern Tower. Instead he was somewhere far off, nevertheless he was in the prison, and closer to Terumi then before. Realizing she hadn't possessed the power necessary to save herself, Terumi raised her own spiritual pressure. Amazing herself with her own power, she mustered up her energy for a large scale blast! "Shō!" She yelled, shattering the rubble around her to mere dust. Realizing that her energy would most likely awaken many of the guards of her arrival in the prison, including Sabishii. However, for the moment Terumi was intent on finding Shigeru alive. Recollecting herself, she fired several more Shō attacks with her left arm. Unwary of the possible danger of destroying, what little remained of her arm. Far off in the citadel of the prison, the man known as Sabishii sat in his throne. Behind his throne, is swirling hole of energy that was rarely used. Drunk on his own arrogance, and power Sabishii sat grinning as he felt multiple energies arise in his prison. However, his eyes were focused on the individual in front of him. It was a large man, with dark brown hair, and a dreadful stare burned on him, all the while the large man's energy had stayed constant. The man bore newly given scars across his arms, and a gash above his right eye that bled down his face. "That energy. It can't be." The man said, as he swung his large arms back and forth attempting to shatter the shackles that bound him to the wall. "Sabishii!" "Quiet down." Sabishii said loudly, as he gave Ryouiki a threatening glare. Sabishii quickly looked at the blade near his throne - the same blade that had been used but a week ago, by the same person shackled to the wall ahead - assuring that even if Ryouiki had broken free, that he wouldn't cause any harm to Sabishii. "Well, Ryouiki. Looks like I found some new playmates." Glancing at a small device in the wall, a screen that displayed nearly every inch of the prison. "Even with Katashi's little outburst I still am able to watch those fools scurry around." The voice from before was indeed Sabishii's, however it hadn't been directly from him, but from the camera. "Unfortuantely, I can only speak into the cameras, and for now all I can do is watch those fools struggle." Ryouiki's eyes became wide, as he stared at the blade on the ground, and then back at the moniter at Sabishii's side. Slowly the battered man looked away, unable to maintain the stomach to watch anyone suffer, all the while knowing that he would either die on this day, or taste freedom once again. Either way, he knew he wouldn't allow Sabishii to continue breathing! Elsewhere... Shigeru formed a thin layer of reishi beneath his feet the second he saw the cracks forming which enabled him to remain afloat even when this unknown idiot blasted a hole in the floor, which Terumi promptly fell through. "Fuck! Don't die on me. I'll be down in two seconds." Afloat, the black-haired Excavado took two quick glances around his position, with one look for left and right. "Poor move," He said as his head turned to face the one responsible for separating he and Terumi. "You see, it doesn't take much to piss me off-" He had a short fuse for most things lately "-which means something bad for you." He then ripped off the prison garb he had been wearing, which also cast the fringe away from his face, revealing the usual garb he favored worn beneath. "I've already matched your master once or did he refrain from divulging that little fact? What chance do you think you have?" Katashi observed Shigeru, his eyes careful. Immediately Katashi could tell Shigeru was trutful, or atleast what he said was true. He in fact did fight agianst Sabishii, and for the most part come out with a victory. Katashi smirked, as he felt two spirit energies come toward him. " 'Bout time. Izumi, Akihiro. Get ready." He assured, already recognizing The Betrayer of Hope. "You think I don't know you. I'm well aware of you, Mr. Betrayer." Akihiro and Izumi quickly came to Katashi's side. "Well, well. Looks like I found ya again." Akihiro sneered with a confident smirk., followed by Akihiro raising his middle finger. "It's three against one. You should surrender." Izumi said, shyly. Though what she said was true, her tone revealed that she truly knew that even though the odds are against Shigeru, he still could kill all three of them. Akihiro was the first to dart forward, his fists wailing as he headed for Shigeru. Meanwhile, leaping aside Izumi had lifted her palm and prepared to fire a large Byakurai at the Betrayer of Hope! "Surrender?" Shigeru scoffed, shaking his head with a large, mocking grin set in place. "I've fought stronger folks and lived." Averian came to mind. "The Imawashī couldn't contain me, so what chance do you three think you have?" The large sheath set across his lower back fell away in unison with the sheath of the more slender blade he drew from his back. Twisting in place once, the flat side of Shigeru's large zanpakutō blade defended against the Byakurai while the more slender blade's flat side impacted the incoming mans fist. With a second twist, he deflected both and was in the air; his larger blade cutting a hole in the roof. Debris threatened to fall atop Akihiro even while Shigeru moved on the floor above. "Is that it!?" He roared as the roof above Katashi and Izumi broke apart to reveal Shigeru descending like a demon. Bouncing off a larger piece of falling stone, the Betrayer vaulted and struck with both blades; one aimed for each target while his spiritual energy burst from his body like a torrent of water breaking through a dam. "This is nothing!" Realizing that had been put in a corner, Katashi pushed at Shigeru's being, attempting to send the Betrayer flying backwards. However, Katashshi dreadfully underestimated the man's power and had been pushed back by sheer spirit energy as a result. Meanwhile, Izumi had taken her turn. Shooting a Byakurai toward the ground in an attempt to dash off and escape from the battle. In truth she had been terrified of Shigeru, hearing stories of the powerful man from the prisoners. "Get back." As she attempted to escape, her plans were ended by the sudden darting of Akihiro. Using his Rapiditas, Akihiro had grabbed hold of Izumi and thrown her back into the fight. "No one's leaving. We fight to the death!" he declared, as if he known he would win. Akihiro darted once again, this time with his blade in hand. Several floors below, Terumi felt the spirit enery flood out. "Shigeru!" She thought as her head swung up. "He's fighting, I should go help." Immediately, Terumi began to fly up, only to stop nearly half-way through. "No. We're here to save Ryouiki and thats what I'm going to do. Besides, Shigeru can take down those three no problem." she assured aloud. Nodding, she shot off down the hall with amazing speed. "Ryouiki! Hang on just abit more!" A cheeky and mocking little grin spread across Shigeru's face, which promptly disguised the fact his eyes momentarily looked to the floor beneath him. "Save your man, Terumi. I've got this." He thought even as that smile deepened into something truly horrifying. "I do pity you three morons. You couldn't have picked worse turf to try and take me on. We're in Kōhai Tochi you idiots!" Their zanpakutō meant little in this realm, yet for Shigeru's whose powers were closer to an Arrancar's power than a Shinigami's, the limitation had little meaning. With a ripping motion followed by the uttering of "Awaken" a fox mask formed on Shigeru's face. "This is gonna be fun." As she sped down the hallway with amazing speed the walls themselves began to crack. Her hair flying back and her eyes could barely stay open. Despite breathing heavily, she only sped up. Ryouiki being her entire motivation. Once again, Shigeru stepped into her mind. Currently the two most important man in her life - one a demon with a heart, and the other, with a heart strong enough to overcome a demon. Ignoring the wails that could be heard so easily, Terumi grabbed hold of her blade. Clinching onto it with much force, as if her life was hanging by a single thread. Completely aware that she must fight in order to save Ryouiki, and that it wouldn't be easy to do so. She must have no imperfections, and no hesitation. Meanwhile, Ryouiki's will was gradually rising. His fears had come to realization - the one he cared about most, was in pure danger. He was certain that he had to save Terumi, yet she was certain that it would take all her willpower and then some, to save him.
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