[Compile] Komamura, Shunsui, Renji, Adaro
The release phrase of Osovenenoso was lost in the shriek of metal against metal, a thickened blade raised to block the long arc of Zabimaru. The contact was enough to send the shudder down her arm, an enjoyable first attempt, even without blood drawn. Adaro did not blink at the sparks that came with the collision, crimson eyes moving between the three that had gathered.
"The vice captain goes first?" she inquired with a laugh. "Very well!" That would be appropriate, for the first of this battle and the second of the day. The equivalent of a division destroyed, to lighten the hearts of those who had not taken the measure of pleasure at half the job already done.
Renji had not been the only to move, Adaro let her attention drawn the most unique of the Gotei-13 captains. Adaro raised an eyebrow, lifting Osovenenoso to be ready to counter a first strike should Komamura take the opportunity before she revoked that privilege. To take the initiative could be an advantage, but she held back for a moment, retaining the cold confidence that spoke volumes of her satisfaction with their grief.
"How I quiver with fear," she replied to his vow, tone not idle in its mocking depth. "The threats of the Gotei-13 are foundless!" Adaro shifted her gaze to Shunsui, part of a slow pan of her attention to keep track of the three and inevitable assaults that would require sudden focus. "You have no more ability to follow-through than your fallen friend has to breathe."
His lips curled as a low, guttural growl emitted from his furred throat.
This abomination’s delight in destruction and pain was intolerable and blasphemous to everything good and orderly in the world. She had to be destroyed, for the sake of his fellow shinigami still scattered around town, and the humans that they protected since time immemorial.
For a split second his more bestial urges surged forth, wanting to rip out her throat with his own claws, and to rend her flesh with sharp teeth. But he immediately quelled the thoughts with his iron-will, annoyed that his ‘other’ half often flared up during inopportune times.
Instead he let centuries of training and logic take over, noting how he’d missed the opening Abarai’s attack had given him due to his quelling of his feral instincts. That was inexcusable and a costly mistake on his part.
In reparations for his lack of control, he decided to give another opening to his fellow officers. Without calling out his sword’s name, he swung his zanpakutou at Adaro. The move seemed ineffectual since he was still a distance from her, but a giant scimitar suddenly materialized from the air.
The huge blade was no illusion; it bore the considerable power of his reiatsu as it rushed at her from above in a downward slash. Even if she blocked the massive weapon it would occupy both of her arms, leaving her exposed for the others to exploit … or at least, so he hoped.
Shunsui's brow furrowed. Everyone present had now released their shikai, including Adaro. He glanced at his own two blades as Tengen bore down from the sky and Zabimaru shot forward. He thought of Unohana. He thought of the timing. He thought of how many years it had been since he had let his zanpakuto free on the battlefield.
His first instinct was to wait. He wasn't yet aware of Adaro's power level, didn't want to do this if he didn't have to, especially since he had two other highly-ranking officers here with him. The battle had only just begun, after all. But it was true that the woman herself had released also. If he followed suit, surely he would not appear rash.
So for the first time in what must be a few centuries, the words of a poem began to fall from Shunsui's lips in a whisper. It wasn't that he needed to say them anymore, far from it, but speaking the extended release showed reverence to his swords and helped the captain feel closer to them during the fight. Every set of zanpakuto and wielder worked differently.
"Flowered breeze flutters... flower god weeps... Heaven's gale blows... Heaven's demon laughs..."
Katana and wakizashi moved smoothly through the air before shifting their forms into those of large twin scimitars, red tassles hanging from the back of their hilts. Despite their size, they were held easily by the eight division captain. Still otherwise unmoving, Shunsui brought Katen Kyoukotsu to the ready position anew, keeping a very careful eye on the fight.
Zabimaru returned to its owner in a smooth arc as Renji pulled it back and felt the tangs of the blade snap back into place. With Komamura and Shunsui unsealing their zanpakuto, he would fall in where he needed to in order to cover an opening. Between the three of them, the red head hoped it would be enough.
However with the woman unsealing her blade, and the cold chilling power that emanated from it, Renji confirmed what he had only suspected the few occasions he had come across her. This woman was different from her Arrancar. The power-level between them was staggering, but it was to be expected. This woman had not begun as a hollow like they all believed.
This changed the situation considerably.
Adaro had strength that betrayed slender limbs, but that would be insufficient against the weight of the blade that bore down on her by the will of Komamura. One arm raised Osovenenoso in a snap decision, the other raising above her head as white materialised, streaked in the patterns of the Hollow mask that she pulled down over her features. The power of her reiatsu exploded, a force she did not hold in check for the sake of countering that which fell upon her, cancelling what could be as she raised her hand to brace the blade of her zanpakuto.
The collision was enough to send the shudder through her bones, transferred down her long body and to the ground, which cracked beneath her feet in protest. Adaro did not attempt to force the blade back, taking the instant of reprieve that her burst of reiatsu had given to force her steps back and allow the blade to continue into the ground, without cleaving her body in twain.
Each of the three had gotten serious, she noted that as she straightened, ignoring the debris that had rose at impact, red eyes framed in black beneath the mask as she noted their shikai releases.
One, though, had yet to raise a hand against her.
"Taichou," she called, facing Shunsui for the moment, wavering between which of the three would be her next target. "You need not pull your punches for a lady, but you are welcome to lay down and die if you do not wish to fight me!"
A brow might have been quirked at his apparent chivalry, but Adaro instead chose it to be a weakness, one that she chose to exploit as she ran towards Shunsui, swinging Osovenenoso in a wide arc towards his left side, long hilt braced against her arm to free the other to drive towards the side she did not aim to cut.
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"The vice captain goes first?" she inquired with a laugh. "Very well!" That would be appropriate, for the first of this battle and the second of the day. The equivalent of a division destroyed, to lighten the hearts of those who had not taken the measure of pleasure at half the job already done.
Renji had not been the only to move, Adaro let her attention drawn the most unique of the Gotei-13 captains. Adaro raised an eyebrow, lifting Osovenenoso to be ready to counter a first strike should Komamura take the opportunity before she revoked that privilege. To take the initiative could be an advantage, but she held back for a moment, retaining the cold confidence that spoke volumes of her satisfaction with their grief.
"How I quiver with fear," she replied to his vow, tone not idle in its mocking depth. "The threats of the Gotei-13 are foundless!" Adaro shifted her gaze to Shunsui, part of a slow pan of her attention to keep track of the three and inevitable assaults that would require sudden focus. "You have no more ability to follow-through than your fallen friend has to breathe."
His lips curled as a low, guttural growl emitted from his furred throat.
This abomination’s delight in destruction and pain was intolerable and blasphemous to everything good and orderly in the world. She had to be destroyed, for the sake of his fellow shinigami still scattered around town, and the humans that they protected since time immemorial.
For a split second his more bestial urges surged forth, wanting to rip out her throat with his own claws, and to rend her flesh with sharp teeth. But he immediately quelled the thoughts with his iron-will, annoyed that his ‘other’ half often flared up during inopportune times.
Instead he let centuries of training and logic take over, noting how he’d missed the opening Abarai’s attack had given him due to his quelling of his feral instincts. That was inexcusable and a costly mistake on his part.
In reparations for his lack of control, he decided to give another opening to his fellow officers. Without calling out his sword’s name, he swung his zanpakutou at Adaro. The move seemed ineffectual since he was still a distance from her, but a giant scimitar suddenly materialized from the air.
The huge blade was no illusion; it bore the considerable power of his reiatsu as it rushed at her from above in a downward slash. Even if she blocked the massive weapon it would occupy both of her arms, leaving her exposed for the others to exploit … or at least, so he hoped.
Shunsui's brow furrowed. Everyone present had now released their shikai, including Adaro. He glanced at his own two blades as Tengen bore down from the sky and Zabimaru shot forward. He thought of Unohana. He thought of the timing. He thought of how many years it had been since he had let his zanpakuto free on the battlefield.
His first instinct was to wait. He wasn't yet aware of Adaro's power level, didn't want to do this if he didn't have to, especially since he had two other highly-ranking officers here with him. The battle had only just begun, after all. But it was true that the woman herself had released also. If he followed suit, surely he would not appear rash.
So for the first time in what must be a few centuries, the words of a poem began to fall from Shunsui's lips in a whisper. It wasn't that he needed to say them anymore, far from it, but speaking the extended release showed reverence to his swords and helped the captain feel closer to them during the fight. Every set of zanpakuto and wielder worked differently.
"Flowered breeze flutters... flower god weeps... Heaven's gale blows... Heaven's demon laughs..."
Katana and wakizashi moved smoothly through the air before shifting their forms into those of large twin scimitars, red tassles hanging from the back of their hilts. Despite their size, they were held easily by the eight division captain. Still otherwise unmoving, Shunsui brought Katen Kyoukotsu to the ready position anew, keeping a very careful eye on the fight.
Zabimaru returned to its owner in a smooth arc as Renji pulled it back and felt the tangs of the blade snap back into place. With Komamura and Shunsui unsealing their zanpakuto, he would fall in where he needed to in order to cover an opening. Between the three of them, the red head hoped it would be enough.
However with the woman unsealing her blade, and the cold chilling power that emanated from it, Renji confirmed what he had only suspected the few occasions he had come across her. This woman was different from her Arrancar. The power-level between them was staggering, but it was to be expected. This woman had not begun as a hollow like they all believed.
This changed the situation considerably.
Adaro had strength that betrayed slender limbs, but that would be insufficient against the weight of the blade that bore down on her by the will of Komamura. One arm raised Osovenenoso in a snap decision, the other raising above her head as white materialised, streaked in the patterns of the Hollow mask that she pulled down over her features. The power of her reiatsu exploded, a force she did not hold in check for the sake of countering that which fell upon her, cancelling what could be as she raised her hand to brace the blade of her zanpakuto.
The collision was enough to send the shudder through her bones, transferred down her long body and to the ground, which cracked beneath her feet in protest. Adaro did not attempt to force the blade back, taking the instant of reprieve that her burst of reiatsu had given to force her steps back and allow the blade to continue into the ground, without cleaving her body in twain.
Each of the three had gotten serious, she noted that as she straightened, ignoring the debris that had rose at impact, red eyes framed in black beneath the mask as she noted their shikai releases.
One, though, had yet to raise a hand against her.
"Taichou," she called, facing Shunsui for the moment, wavering between which of the three would be her next target. "You need not pull your punches for a lady, but you are welcome to lay down and die if you do not wish to fight me!"
A brow might have been quirked at his apparent chivalry, but Adaro instead chose it to be a weakness, one that she chose to exploit as she ran towards Shunsui, swinging Osovenenoso in a wide arc towards his left side, long hilt braced against her arm to free the other to drive towards the side she did not aim to cut.
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