061408 - Caught In the Crossfire
-=[City Park - Karakura]=-------------------------------------------------------
The City Park is an area outside of the school grounds where kids can go to play rough; it even contains a baseball diamond.
A few trees litter the wide expanses of green grass and provide shade from hot days and perfect places for picnics. There are pieces of equipment for children younger than twelve to play on stationed away from the baseball diamond along with benches. There is a dirt pathway leading through the park into a more secluded area slightly more dense with trees. It eventually brings the walker to a small pond and a few more shaded benches.
The blond tugs his goggles down upon setting foot in the park; Later in the day, it certainly made less of a target than most places; There were the occasional pedestrians walking through which would make good enough targets, but really, Rose was more interested in defacing public property and anything that got in his path. If that happened to be an old man on a walker or a little boy, so be it. Their fault for being in the way of his paintball gun.
There's a dull *Chk-CHK* as he cocks the fully automatic assault rifle between his hands, and straightens the reservior of dark red paintballs atop its mount, before he ducks off the path, and into a cluster of trees, which he stealthily disappears into, as if he never walked into the park in the first place. As to where he is now? Nobody knows until it's too late.
Scatter, indeed.
Patrols were tiresome, but necessary, but Izuru had at least drawn duty around the park area. There it was quiet, unlike the school or the mall or any of those other awful places. The Shinigami lieutenant was currently positioned just off the path, back leaned against a tree. He wasn't exactly the type to lounge about, especially when it was his job to be observant. But at the moment, the only thing to observe was a pair of squirrels scampering around in the trees. How tedious.
Having already left a scene of destruction behind her- or so she assumed, as she'd only heard the multitude of paintballs hitting something before she had bolted out of earshot- Lisa was already well into planning her own. Needless to say, she had a few dirty tricks up her sleeve that was probably the reason why she had a complacent smirk on her face.
Since she had evacuated the scene so smartly, she had stolen enough time to reach the park and clamber up the top of one of the taller trees there, perched periliously among the upper branches with her (modded) paintball rifle. There was a little red laser situated on the top of the barrel for maximum aim, not unlike a sniper- but she wouldn't shoot. Not yet. She just had to wait for the /perfect/ time...
That, and she was almost sure that one of her fellow 'competitors' had entered the area, as well.
Great minds think alike, right? At the moment, Rose was actually among the treetops, perched in some of the highest branches before sipping to the nearest tree in a blur. Shinigami were close, so he was sure to very, very carefully keep his reiatsu cloaked despite using short bursts to shunpo himself from tree to tree. Eventually, though, he came to a halt in the loser branches of a large pine tree, laid out flat along the thickest branch he could find. He already had the little stand for his gun flipped down, and his eye to the scope.
He couldn't be sure, but Lisa might be here, too; She came this way, as well, and it was almost a given that the hotheaded girl would head straight for the prime targets. He might feel bad about pelting humans with paintballs, but shinigami got no such mercy. So, scope at the ready, crosshairs aiming the way, his aim shifts, scanning each and every movement he catches; A squirrel, a pair of kids throwing a ball, a wimpy looking shinigami cowering in the corner, who also just so happened to be in posession of Shinji's bell.
What a boring selection.
He was only slightly less anxious than he had been the last time when he'd been running around like a headless chicken bearing such dire news. The timid representative of the Fourth Division walked along the sidewalk with his shoulders drooped, his hands busily grasping at the material of the front of his clothing, barely feeling the round shapes of the silent bells he wore strung about his neck that hung there out of habit now. He'd been told not to remove them ever the night he'd received them, and not one to question such a serious sounding request, Hanatarou continued to uphold it. A faint smile eases across his face as he sees Izuru not far off, but as he continues towards him, he pauses a moment. What was that..? A slight tickling at his senses- but a glance around showed him nothing. Perhaps he was just imagining things again. Shaking his head, the medic resumed walking. "Kira-fukutaichou!" he called, waving a hand. He wanted to do something useful, but with none injured he was mostly in the way where they were stationed, so he decided he'd make himself useful by seeing if the ones out on patrol needed anything.
He considered his cool composure to be some sort of accomplishment in this setting. Standing upon a raised mound in the midst what seemed to be a park in a diamond shape, Byakuya's cool eyes looked about the area before him. This entire situation did not suit his noble breed in the least. What a poor excuse of a park. What was the point of such a flat, open place with lines drawn on the ground and the mound he stood apon?
It could have been that the Captain was not in the best of moods that such negative thoughts crossed his mind. Not only did he have to leave his all-important position as clan leader, he was not with the most pleasant of companies. He could only hope that Shuuhei and Rukia could keep Renji in line while he surveyed this worthless lot, and that Izuru and Hanatarou could handle themselves for just a few minutes.
A gentle breeze danced through his scarf and his captain's haori, and after a few moments, he turned around the other way and proceeded to look in the other direction. "... Hm."
Her head whipped around, plaits flying behind her as she looked around wildly. She could've /sworn/ she had just heard something- a rustle in the trees that shouldn't've been there. It was no secret that shinigami were in the area- after all, they were unsuspecting of this little match that they hadn't any reason to hide... yet. But it couldn't be them. A stern look of concentration spread across her face as she assessed her options. She couldn't afford to give away her position, but moving now would probably reveal where she was. What she really needed was... a distraction. Suddenly, an idea came to her as she spotted the pair of children that were playing 'ball' down in the clearing. Surely if she managed to shoot something so far away, then attention would be drawn elsewhere.
Cocking the gun and aiming, goggle-covered eye pressed to the scope, Lisa's finger cradled the trigger as the little red laser pointer followed the ball... just a little to the left... up a fraction...
KCHTPUTPUTPUTPUtputputputtch--
... and the ball was no more. Not only had it been destroyed, but there were now two children absolutely drenched in bright blue paint, looking confused... and a little scared. Using this distraction as her chance, Lisa made a break for it, switching trees.
Much like his companions, Izuru also took note of that odd feeling. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up momentarily before he shook his head, dismissing the feeling as nothing. It was more likely than not paranoia from being so constantly on guard and even more nervous than usual. If there were enemies, he would notice them.
He only stirred from his position against the tree when he heard his name called out. That too-serious expression faded and he offered a wave in return. "Yamada-san. Has something happened?" He really almost wished something would happen.
Of course, when that something turned out to be those two kids across the part getting splattered with paintballs, Izuru could only sigh. Kids causing trouble again, or something. Nothing /he/ needed to worry about.
Oho, what's this? A captain, if Rose isn't wrong, and one of those ones that tends to be very full of himself because of his position. Possibly a noble. Looks like that Kuchiki kid, too, if he can recall. But it's been decades, and all he knows is that that guy is wearing something very expensive, and looking very importants.. and completely off guard. And in the middle of a baseball diamond, which really just.. made him an easy target.
The scope's crosshairs shifted to one side, and suddenly his lower body was hovering in midair, as if he were still lying on the tree, but facing completely perpendicular to the tree branch now. His hips wiggled, getting comfortable, and..
K-CHAKKCHAKKCHACKthukthukthukthukratatatatatat--
A line of red splatters starts right between the taichou's feet, then abruptly jerks upwards, a line of high-powered, high speed paintballs flinging themselves at that pretty white scarf. Oh yeah. He modified his gun. A lot.
Slither, slither. Tongue stuck out in concentration, Mashiro army-crawled like a snake in the grass, one rifle strapped to her back for the time-being, one in hand and tucked against her arm, finger on the trigger while she shimmied across the ground on her stomach behind a bus stop bench.
Gun propped, she took aim, squinting in the sights gleefully. She wasn't allowed to hit the tiny squirrely one, but all bets were off for his blonde friend, and she was just at the right angle...
WHUD. TUNK TUNK TUNK TUNK. Tree bark flew in a flurry of debris as the nuclear green trail arced across it and upwards, right towards Izuru's side.
The thunderous sound managed to catch Byakuya's attention. His noble senses focused narrowly. His head turned to the side just slowly, and he looked right out of the corner of his eye, just briefly...
Indeed, to the untrained eye it would have seemed that the red pellets did hit their intended target. The attacker must have misjudged the Captain as being some sitting duck, of course. No, the pellets hit unoccupied space, and their splatters upon the ground would have become visible after the dust settled.
Byakuya was gone. Gone and untouched completely.
Slither, slither. Tongue stuck out in concentration, Mashiro army-crawled like a snake in the grass, one rifle strapped to her back for the time-being, one in hand and tucked against her arm, finger on the trigger while she shimmied across the ground on her stomach behind a bus stop bench.
Gun propped, she took aim, squinting in the sights gleefully. She wasn't allowed to hit the tiny squirrely one, but all bets were off for his blonde friend, and she was just at the right angle...
WHUD. TUNK TUNK TUNK TUNK. Tree bark flew in a flurry of debris as the nuclear green trail arced across it and upwards, right towards Izuru's side. She didn't stay to see if she got her target, vanishing in a flash to safer ground higher up where she could recon and check, then.
Sigh. And he so hoped he'd be able to do this without a fight. The blond Vizard stood -- In midair, mind you -- and brushed bark and tree dust from his lapels. Gun resting against his hip, his hand raised to fix his shirt's ruffles, then.. He's gone. There's something to be said about differences in overall power. He may not be as skilled in shunpo as Kuchiki-taichou is, but he's got enough raw power in him to do a damn good job of keeping up.
Thank goodness the guy's still a kid; The last thing he needed was Kyouraku or Ukitake showing up to ruin his fun. If it was just for a second, he could be seen. Plus, the goggles were big, and did a great job of hiding his identity.
The blond reappeared a moment later, hidden behind the trunk of a tree rather close to the baseball diamond. One paintball reservoir was empty, so he plucked it off, dropped it to the ground, and placed a new one in. He'd get this one, oh yes.
Sigh. And he so hoped he'd be able to do this without a fight. The blond Vizard stood -- In midair, mind you -- and brushed bark and tree dust from his lapels. Gun resting against his hip, his hand raised to fix his shirt's ruffles, then.. He's gone. There's something to be said about differences in overall power. He may not be as skilled in shunpo as Kuchiki-taichou is, but he's got enough raw power in him to do a damn good job of keeping up.
Thank goodness the guy's still a kid; The last thing he needed was Kyouraku or Ukitake showing up to ruin his fun. If it was just for a second, he could be seen. Plus, the goggles were big, and did a great job of hiding his identity. Oh, and it only took a second for him to pull a ski mask from his pocket, pull it up over his head, tuck his hair into it, and pull it fully into place. There. Totally incognito.
The blond reappeared a moment later, hidden behind the trunk of a tree rather close to the baseball diamond. One paintball reservoir was empty, so he plucked it off, dropped it to the ground, and placed a new one in. He'd get this one, oh yes.
Hanatarou's greeting and response to Izuru was cut off short by the sudden paintball fire. "Wh-wha..?!" he stammered, glancing around in panic, automatically throwing his arms up over his head. What was going on?? Were the being under attack?! After momentarily fumbling with which direction to go to, he hastily darted towards Izuru.
The sound of the gun firing drew Izuru's attention away from the paint-splattered kids and their ruined ball. He turned his head sharply towards the sound just in time to meet head on with a flurry of green paintballs. The impact sent him stumbling a few steps until his back met with the tree he'd been leaning against only moments before.
The thought never occurred to him that he'd been the target of paint, though, and paranoia sent him into defense mode. He reached out, taking a handful of Hanatarou's sleeve, and pulled the medic against the tree as well. "Take cover, Yamada-san!"
Side aching where he'd been struck, Izuru did the first thing that came to mind. He drew his sword... For what good that would do.
More shots. Obviously, there were more of her colleagues here than she had originally thought, so extra care was demanded. Squinting, she was /just/ able to make out a red mess over on the baseball field. So, Rose was here, huh? Steadying herself on the branch she was perched on, she readied her gun for a second volley. The children had proved to be a most useful distraction-- so now she could focus on a target instead of covering up her position. She was just about to fire wildly at the treetops in her vicinity, when the tree she was hiding in shook violently.
Glancing downwards to see the blonde shinigami she had spotted earlier standing under her tree and a disturbingly bright trail of neon green paint, Lisa pointed her rifle towards him and instinctively pulled the trigger in surprise--
KCHTPUTPUTPUTPUTputputputTHUNK--
... and then she leapt from the tree onto the top of the nearby bus shelter, fully intending to make a getaway from the park. For the moment, anyway.
The first attack had come from so far away, Izuru hadn't even stopped to think there would be another attacker above. Someone so nearby, yet he hadn't sensed their reiatsu at all. Yet they could see him and hit him with those weapons. Something was very wrong here.
He let out a sharp yelp as he was hit from above and the velocity of such close range fire against his head and shoulders made him see stars. And when his vision cleared, he took note with a sigh that his hair was now covered in paint... He. Had. Had. ENOUGH!
"Stay here, Yamada-san!" he ordered, springing into the tree above only to find that whoever had been lurking there had abandoned their cover as soon as he'd been shot. A quick scan of the area revealed nothing concrete, but he wasn't about to let these people get away with this! With very little regard for his post or the medic below, Izuru took off in hot pursuit!
"Ah, Kira-fukutaichou--!" Hanatarou found himself shouting at air as the 3rd's vice captain was long gone now. He looked down nervously at the spatterings of paint that had missed their target, decorating the ground in colorful patterns. Maybe staying here would be a good idea after all..? But... but... "Aaah, what should I do...???" This was a very unusual predicament!
There was a gentle rustling of the grass behind the medic as fast-moving waraji settled briefly. The white haori and scarf seemed to hang in mid-air for a few moments, defying gravity. Much like his entrance, his words were brief and dramatic. "Hanatarou. Stop dawdling. We are withdrawing from this area immediately. Go." His voice never scolded; it merely commanded.
His presence was a fleeting moment, as with another blur, the Captain was gone. There were some strange happenings in this pauper park, and it might have been worth noting. But, when this supernatural enemy chose to use pellets loaded with paint as their weapon, Byakuya could not help but think this was some ridiculous game.
He did not come to Karakura to take part in child's play. Any more meddling from these nuisances, and Byakuya's hand would be forced.
Hanatarou stiffened at the appearance of the 6th Division captain. "H-hai!" he said with a bow of his head. He hurriedly made to leave the cover of the tree, but at least he noted that no fresh shots had been taken at them. Hardly was that a reason to remain though.
-=[Suburbia - Karakura]=--------------------------------------------------------
The residential area is a well-populated part of the city protected against the darkness of night by the tall street lamps that chase it away. More of the residents of the city live somewhere around here, whether in a busy apartment complex tucked toward the town square or an area not quite as crowded. Most of the houses are packed pretty tightly together and don't have much to speak of in terms of having a yard.
Having calmed a bit, Izuru inched towards the end of the alley. He couldn't have guessed that the enemy was above again and so he was carefully moving towards the corner and sloooowly peeking around it and out into the street. He saw the pair walking along and was just turning away when he caught sight of the unmistakable blue paintballs.... and other ingredients. They were coming from above.
A quick shunpo brought him to the nearby rooftop, where finally he expected to lay eyes on this mysterious enemy with the strange weaponry. "Hold it!"
Oh well. His own quarry had gotten away -- He'd barely had time to aim before the man had collected his cowering little underling and zipped off into the sunset like some big dumb not-getting-hit-by-paintballs jerk. But this place was rife with targets -- The Kurosaki kid's younger sister, the wimpy shinigami who'd already been pelted by two of his comrades, and even his own comrades, themselves.
He'd removed his ski mask when it became apparent he likely wouldn't be getting anywhere close to the 6th division's taichou today. As it was, Rose was in midair -- High above the roofs to get a good look at who and what could be a possible target and.. Ah, there it was, waiting for him to take action. His assault rifle came up, he took aim and..
BrrrrrRATATATAT--
Near half of his reservoir of paintballs were midair in a span of nanoseconds, aimed straight for a perfect target.. Yadomaru Lisa, on her stomach, and oh so at his mercy.
-maybe he took a wrong turn. The sound of paintball fire caused Hanatarou to freeze in place. Ah, he knew he should have gone the other way...! But then- oh, there was Kira-fukutaichou! He was still chasing after them? For a moment the shinigami medic stood and watched, wavering once again upon what he should do.
Oh, what the-
Karin is...lost among all of the action SUDDENLY BROUGHT HERE. What happened to the normalcy!? Wait, nothing is normal for her. Joy. e_e;
When Karin stops to try and cover up what she had just said, it makes Kensei curious and he's momentarily distracted by his wondering. The fire of the pressured gun sails down from the rooftop and he gets a sense of it, but rather than dodge he reaches with his free hand for Karin's shoulder to pull her closer and more directly in front of him so she won't get struck, then hunches his shoulders up and puts his head down, taking the brunt of the attack on his broad back. All save for the banana peel, which slaps him right on the back of his bare neck. There's a slight wince at the slow realization of the smell... is that garbage?!
He reaches behind with his hand once it leaves Karin's shoulder and pulls the banana off, then flicks it away and turns briskly to hold his rifle one handed, pointed at the rooftop where the shots had come from. For a second his eyes glance to the shoulder strap of the vest he's wearing to spot a trickle of blue paint, and then he looks back to the roof and gives Lisa a quick smirk, before lowering his weapon. She's looking over the side of a building. He can't target her body.
Kensei's free hand lifts and one finger is pointed, the finger tip of which is lifted to skim the side of his own cheek. "I'm not gonna hit ya in the face." Not that she might hear that, but with the gun barrel pointed downward and that hand gesture she might get the right impression. "Stay behind me, kid." Even if he doesn't fire he won't count on Lisa doing the same. Shinji or maybe one of the other guys.. he might shoot one of them in the nose. The sound of additional fire gets him to look up and he can't help but laugh. "Let's move!" He looks down to Karin and nods. They better split!
Apparently too absorbed in making sure she had hit her target-- which she did, considering it wasn't hard to aim for a sitting duck like Kensei, but there was some sort of satisfaction in pelting one of your roommates with garbage that Lisa couldn't quite explain. However, shortly after that, she heard a voice coming from beside her, causing her to look up with surprise from where she had been lying on the roof towards the owner-- the blue-haired shinigami she had shot earlier.
Swearing, not all-too-quietly either, it appeared she had no intention of 'holding it' and was just about to raise her gun back up at the blondie when a certain mechanized clicking and the whistle of objects through the air reached her ears. Turning slightly cold with dread, Lisa knew that she had been caught wide open by another of her colleagues. Paintballs exploded next to her on the rooftop and impacted on her thighs and the back of her skirt as she attempted to roll away behind the skylight. Goddamn things frickin' HURT, too.
Covered for the moment, she felt the back of her now paint-drenched skirt and brought her hand up to her face to see the colour-- red. Rose. Cocking her own gun, she grit her teeth, now thoroughly peeved.
Whoa, pulled in by Kensei the bodyguard. She doesn't say anything when there are more shots, eyes widening. "O-okay," she stammers, still peering out from behind him. She still looks at the others in (or not in) view, each having their own interesting personalities and styles to this game.
But running is always a good idea. "Go! Go! Go!" she yells, running with.
Rose huffs a breath through his nose. Direct hit. He'd never hear the end of it now, but it was worth it. His gaze dropped, somber as ever, to the streets below - He was pretty obvious, standing in midair, but he didn't mind too much. It's hard to hit a target as high as he is with a paintball gun. Of course, he's only so high for so long, too.
He catches sight of something blue and green and very angry out of the corner of his eye, and Kensei a little further away than that, and he's suddenly gone.. Only to reappear on the ground a moment later, around the corner of a building not twenty feet from Izuru Kira - Behind him, to be precise, and off to the right. There's a semi-automatic pistol full of red paintballs in one hand.. which is off to his side, and aimed around the corner. He pulls the triggers.
THUKTHUKTHUKTHUK
Four paintballs, all a single shot can fire from one of the handheld weapons can manage at once, zip towards Izuru's neck and shoulders without warning.
Rose was really getting into this, strangely.
"...K-Kira-fukutaichou!" Hanatarou blurted, seeing the impending danger. Danger? Well, it was a warzone out here!
Kensei takes off after Karin, jogging his pace behind her and also watching out over his shoulder in case someone decides to come after them. Luckily the padding didn't give him much of a sting from those paintballs. They were shot from far off and he's too tough anyhow! "How much farther is it?!" The clinic has got to be close by, he hopes. Maybe he can actually stay there awhile until this ridiculous game ends.
For a brief moment, Izuru allowed himself to feel victorious. Even if she had shot at him again, he would have been much more prepared to dodge than he had been the time before. But the shots from above changed his mind very quickly about that feeling of victory. Another enemy? He looked up quickly... and then made a snap decision.
It only took another quick shunpo to bring him back down to the alley below. Izuru was getting out of here. He needed to find the others and get some backup before taking on a number of enemies whose reiatsu. And then, without warning, came yet another attack and he nearly fell face first onto the cement when the force of red paintballs struck his shoulders and neck from behind. He used this momentum to his advantage, though, and made a run for it, snagging Hanatarou's arm as he sprinted past, dragging the medic with him around the corner and off towards safety. Wherever that might be.
"Not that far!" Karin calls back, arms pumping as skinny legs cycle. Home, sweet home. A little more. RIGHT THERE!! The girl reaches the glass doors, digging out her spare key from a pocket. Jamming it into the hole, the door is pulled open. "Come on!!!" she motions, looking for Kensei. He's behind her, right?!? Oh, there. "Inside, now," she says flatly, slipping indoors.
Having once again thrown up his arms again in futile defense, Hanatarou yelped in surprise when he found himself grabbed by Izuru and dragged off to retreat. He almost trips in his attempt to catch his own footing on the ground so he wouldn't be a complete deadweight to the vice captain.
Clambering quickly to her feet despite the pain that Rose's previous volley had inflicted on her, Lisa took refuge behind a chimney as she watched the shinigami get pelted-- again-- and poked her head out from around the bricks to take aim at where her prior attacker was currently hiding. No mercy. Taking aim once more with the little red laser, she pressed the rifle against her shoulder and quickly pulled the trigger with her index finger, knowing that he wouldn't stay in one place for too long-- even if she didn't hit him THIS time, she would get him eventually.
KCHTHKTHKTHKthkSPLUTCH.
Oh, so this time it had been a rotten orange and an assorted set of chicken bones. Always the luck of the draw, huh?
Kensei stops at the foot of the doorway behind Karin and glances behind him. The coast looks clear. The last thing he wants is to have this innocent looking clinic covered in paint just because he stepped inside. But since it appears no one has followed, he nods and goes over the threshold. And he's safe!! Okay so he obviously loses the game, but he wasn't trying to win it in the first place. Now he can just sit out this insanity in the comfort of the Kurosaki clinic.
Unfortunately for Lisa, Rose is just finishing his shot.. Which means that by the time she fires, he's already curling his arm inwards to roll off to one side around the bulding he's hidden behind, in order to avoid catching the attention of the enraged, multicolored 3rd division lieutenant that's already headed some other way.
This isn't to say he's completely scot-free, though. No, one of the paintballs and a chicken bone catches his square on the sleeve, before he jerks his arm inwards, against his chest, and whipes at the blue splotch while dropping to the ground and heading out of blasting range.
Damn that Lisa. She's not going to give up, is she? Well, whatever; It's about time he did some grafitti.