[bgcolor=000000]You old fool. He thought to himself as he felt the flesh of his back being torn open, the creature's venomous infection spreading throughout his body. It burned, but was cold. It sucked the strength out of him and caused him to tip over and fall flat upon his face, limbs stretched out, limply, lazily. And then, they locked in place. He fought to move, but every muscle in his body refused to work. His eyes, though, they still worked and they were frantic. How stupid! You stupid old fool! He was fuming at himself, though he had at least slew another ghoul before he was done in.

So there he lay, unable to move anymore than his eyes and considering the way he was laying, that wasn't allowing him to see too much. But at least his ears still worked. He could hear Harupia's cry to Mai, the sounds of battle and the sounds of bodies moving and falling. Body parts being rendered, bodily liquids splattering against the ground. How he hated battles. The smells of blood, rotten flesh and other things he'd rather not think of, filled his nose.

Movement, close by. His ear perked, his eyes rolled around in his head. His head, nay his body was moved. As was hair, the smell.. He knew that smell. It was her smell. And then suddenly.. Pain. He hated needles.

A moment later, as if a switch had been flipped he could move and move he did. Rolling over a bit more, ignoring the wounds upon his back he gently reached up and patted Mai on the face, a smile forming his lips followed by him mouthing two words. 'Thank you.'

Not moving from his position, his neck craned to see another one of the ghouls moving in on Harupia's Fukutaicho, Hotaru. He moved his hand away from Mai's face, aimed quickly and spoke just as fast. "Vindictive martyr, poised as flawlessly as the heavens, tear with thy lustrous claw! Hadou number Four! Byakurai!" What followed next? A lancing bolt of kido which was intended to go right through (or at least part way through) the back the ghoul's head.

[bgcolor=E86100] The pain.
Oh God, the pain.
It hurt, y'know.. like, real bad, the pain that is.

The girl stayed in her position, her back cuts on her back from before starting to hurt even worse than before, as she felt a weird sensation on her body from the position she is in. Blood. The blood ran out slowly from her back, dying the ground under her in a crimson red color. This was bad.. y'know, real bad?

An action had to be made, and quickly before she'd lose the power for that too. Her arm raised itself, pointing high up into the sky, which was already decorated by clouds and thunder. Her index finger pointed out, and she called upon the Miracle-Calling Spell, the one that would light the earth in the middle of the night...

"I'm dying, you b-blockheads!"

From her finger, a butterfly flare in a white and bright color flew straight up, alarming people with the message.. written above, asking for help in the nice-est way possible.

Let's just hope that death was not an option here..

Hotaru caught the motion of 'Zane', she still did not know his name, cutting round her flank to take on the tongue lashing horror. Good enough, she thought; that one freaked her out.

As the biter lurched toward her, she simply raised her hands into the air and moved her right foot forward, locking her arms at the elbows. It was her plan to shove the tip of her Zanpakuto up under the beast's chin and into the base of its brain stem. Even though she did not have great strength, his forward motion should combine enough momentum and force to gain her blade's entry through the soft tissue and her target beyond.

That was when she saw a blast coming up from behind the creature's skull with amazing speed. She dropped to her knees, keeping her blade raised before her now, upper arms pinned to either side of her head and titled her face toward the ground. her heart was thundering in her ears hoping the blast would not level them both into meat husks.

Sengoku shrugged as he glanced at Kiba. "Reckless fool." He murmured, before moving about their little battle field, prodding some of the dead-looking things with his foot to make sure they were good and truly dead. None of them moved at all, so he assumed they were dead once and for all. He looked back to the assembly of shinigami, who had things well enough in hand. "I have my own people to check in on." He called out to them, glancing in the direction he knew his tavern to be. "You all seem more than capable of taking care of yourselves, so I'm moving on. Stay safe, watch your backs."

He disappeared into one of the side streets, moving at a loping jog. For the most part, the streets appeared to be void of anything but corpses, and he didn't have any real trouble until he came to the place in the roads where Nod had lead the rumbling berserker. He found only rubble, the aftermath of the brutish beast's charge, and took his time navigating around it.

He encountered two biters, at last, near enough to his tavern to call it trouble. Cursing, he rolled his shoulders and rushed the two, moving for the nearest and striking at its head with his upraised right axe; aiming to cleave its skull in half right between the eyes. He was prepared, mentally, at least, for the second biter, his left axe poised for a counter strike. He was fairly certain that the Biters lacked any real intelligence, and were most likely to make their attacks as direct and predictable as possible. They didn't seem to have any sense of self preservation, so he didn't believe dodging of any sort from these creatures was very likely. If all went according to plan, his right axe would split one biter's skull, killing it, and the left axe would be used to ward off a potential attack from the second biter.

''Administer it quickly, then.''

"Yes, ma'am."

Ubaga 's hand reacts quickly, diving into the pocket and retrieving one needle and vial. Laying the needle's tip down to the bottom of the vial, he pulls the plunger upward until the cure was entirely drained int the needle's containment. The plunger however is pushed down once more upon applying the needle sufficiently into the man's bicep. Once the cure had been entirely transferred, Ubaga rose to his feet, leaving the needle and empty vial there for reusage at some other point in time. Ubaga had not paid Kurisuna any mind, nor anyone else. He simply gives the area around him a brief look around, then takes off. He enters the alleyway just across from the alley he exited from earlier, and so his trek forth was continued. His path was a little off course, however with careful direction he'd soon be back on his way. For now he takes a small detour, running through several broken alleyways. The coverage was not prime, however the area in which he ran through seemed semi-desolate, so that made up for things. Upon connecting back into his route, he stops and takes a breather, giving the area a quick look-about. Before he could take an entire rest, something is heard. It stabs his ears so gruesomely hard he actually winces. What was this? Guilt? He hardly felt this emotion, but it was coursing through he and he felt cold. It was the same EXACT voice from earlier. He knew from the get-go, when he first heard her that there was some sort of trouble occurring. But at the time, because he saw figure(s) flee, he assumed they got away.

However this was surely not the case. As embedded in the flare was a just one word that stuck out, dying. Of course he fully heard the entirety, but with that word said, the man was off. No matter how much the guilt clawed at him, no matter how large the gap between them, he was going to reach and save her if it was the last thing he did. It wasn't that he felt some sort of duty to protect, but it was just in this particular case, he felt it was his fault and that prevention would have been possible at an earlier time if he had just investigated. Ubaga exits the alleyway promptly and enters a two-story house on the other side of the street. He runs directly up to the second floor, through the hallway and into the master bedroom, exiting quickly out to the small balcony. He takes to the ledge, crouching only briefly before springing forward and toward the neighboring houses' roof, the structure of which was only a story-tall. He lands in a sloppy duck and roll which results in the near tumbling of his body off the roof. Luckily though Ubaga manages to stop the tumbling by latching his hand onto some sort of cylinder air vent. He rises to his feet with a soft groan, feeling a sort bruising pain in his thigh. Giving it but a brief rub, Ubaga is back to it. He begins dashing across the closely gaped roofs, each jump striking his thigh not with a stabbing pain, but just a dull, annoyance. Sweat begins to trickle down the man's head and his breathing becomes rigid, off tempo. He was losing his energy from pushing his body passed it's limits.


Something keeps driving him though, he didn't know what, but it was likely to end out soon and so he didn't focus on this too much, he just kept running over rooftops. Well, that is until he finally runs out of length to run upon. He jumps down and looks at the street surroundings, things around began to grow ever so familiar, tattered buildings, signs and the like. He knows he's close, at least close enough for her to hear him shout at the top of his lungs.


"LITTLE GIRL, WHERE ARE YOU?!" albeit his ragged breathing, he manages to say this much in a stern, almost booming voice. He just hoped his call wasn't drowned out by the formation of storm clouds within the sky.

Kiba was falling; that much he knew. He took a swing at Kurisuna, the treacherous demon, but still was he falling, and a fall could only be responded to in one way: by pulling a stupid face and locking one's arms before them, to brace the fall. So when Kiba unfroze, this was the action he resumed, jolting into a sitting position and crossing his arms, face pulled into a tight grimace, only to be met with cool air, hard ground beneath his backside. His next heartbeat sent a shudder of pain rolling through his body through his legs, and the Taicho's back arched as his eyes shot open and a strangled cry passed his clenched teeth, his fists clenching all the tighter as his body swam in vertigo, reconciling the falling motion with his sudden sitting position.

Kiba's head was in a fog, and the closes he could come to forming words immediately was a second gasp of pain as the sharp sting of his legs became his most pressing concern, his gaze lowering to the bloody streaks running down his shins, his hakama drenched where the blood and pooled. Gathering his bearings, Kiba's head turned from side to side, glancing briefly over a few familiar persons before setting on Kurisuna, at whom he growled before again wincing, then forcing himself to stand, albeit shakily.

"You dropped your sword, Kukuka-Taichoo." Kiba spat, fists still clenched tight as his mind was taken over by the words of Sumie, specifically warnings from a time long passed. The news hurt her, Sumie had said. She's different now. Kiba had seen the difference, though he granted he hadn't known the woman well in the before-days; even without that knowledge, of course, Kiba had seen what his senior Taicho had become, had attempted to feign ignorance, had attempted to carry on as though he never knew. Some things really weren't worth the hassle... but sometimes you had to follow the requests of a friend.

"You really should be more careful where you leave your precious things. Wouldn't want to lose more of them." He didn't turn his head to regard the woman as he spoke; he had to keep his eyes forward, to make certain no corpses attempted to reach for his bleeding legs as he made his way on awkward legs to retrieve his Zanpakuto, still embedded in the skull where he'd presumably saved Kurisuna's life. No good deed went unpunished, he'd been informed once - Kiba would keep that in mind, he thought. It was a lesson well learned.

The thunder and clouds were only sidenotes in Kiba's day at this point; he anticipated pain from his enemies, but not from an ally, and it was a quick way to sour a mood. It wasn't any fun, either, when the perpetrator in question was under the 'protection' of his closest friend... but maybe, at this rate, that wouldn't be an issue all too much longer. It was clear the crimson-maned Taicho was beginning to slip, if she would chance an 'attack' so openly, surrounded by supposed allies. Times, how they were a-changing...

Noticing his shadow tentacle failed to kill Teeth, Mihamaru take a hop back, canceling what’s left of it, all while keeping his cloak in place as a makeshift shield to protect himself from the mucus. Noticing stick-boy crushed the head of the other foe, Mihamaru stands ready, assuming that Teeth is going to keep charging him. Before it gets within range, Mihamaru would quickly shift his cloak from its natural stage into an armored gauntlet onto his right hand, while remembering one of his old comrades from the old militia, and his favorite trick. ”Hold on a minute little girl. Stay hidden, and I’ll come get you after I finish this.”

If the monster attempted to keep charging at him, Mihamaru would quickly dash to its right side and turns around to get behind it, while placing his armored right arm at his chin, keeping his mouth shut, while his left hand is at the back of his head. Before the monster can try and force his mouth open, Mihamaru quickly turns his jaw to the left, before quickly pulling his right arm, and the monster’s chin, to the right, while using his hand at the back of his head to assist his control of the head, in an attempt to snap the monster’s neck.

Given the circumstance, Rip didn't bother looking behind him to check on his pursuers. The sounds of buildings being reduced to rubble, alarmingly quickly, was enough to spur him ever onwards. He altered course a bit, turning his headlong dash into a lazy arc. Essentially he was doubling back on himself, albeit in a roundabout way. Whereas he initially came towards the group of combatants from the South, if he continued on his current path unhindered he would eventually reach them coming from the North.

Or the large, spiky thing would catch him and he would die.

What he wouldn't give for a pointed stick right about now.

RYUU HAD BEEN ABANDONED BY HIS NEW FRIEND. Truly this was the most heartbreaking thing that had happened to him AT ANY POINT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Why would she have abandonded him? Was it the smell? The fact that he could fire exploding lasers? The fact that he made a habit out of torturing a person then eating them bit by bit while they were alive all for his own amusement? WAS IT THE SMELL? IT WAS PROBABLY THE SMELL.

BUT THAT WASN'T THE ONLY THING TO TAKE A BAD TURN. For Ryuu's shots had missed and had only succeeded in dropping some debris into the alleyway. SO NOW THE TWO FLIERS WERE TAKING THE OPPURTUNITY TO ATTACK HIM AGAIN. BUT THERE WAS EVEN ONE MORE BAD THING THAT WAS TO OCCUR. For Torako sent up another message asking for help FOR SHE WAS DYING. WOULD THIS BE THE END FOR RYUU OR WOULD HE BE ABLE TO VALIANTLY RESCUE TORAKO DESPITE HER CRUEL BETRAYAL. And not only that but all of the running around had made Ryuu run out of breath.

The odds were looking grim for our hero (in a very very very loose sense of the word). FOR THIS WAS TRULY RYUU'S DARKEST HOUR. But luckily for Ryuu that darkest and most hopeless of hours lasted for only a few seconds. FOR KURAI THE DRAGON HOLLOW THAT RYUU WAS ONLY ABLE TO RECOGNIZE AS A HOLLOW BECAUSE HE HADN'T MET HER (or at least recall meeting her) HAD SWOOPED INTO THE RESCUE AND SAVED RYUU BY MAULING THE FLIER BEHIND HIM WITH HER CLAWS. Taking a deep breath as he faced the incoming flier, Ryuu shot two Bala at the flier in order to bring it down for good. It was coming down a narrow alley so Ryuu knew that should have finished it off.

AND SO AFTER TAKING A FEW QUICK BREATHS TO REGAIN A BIT OF ENERGY, RYUU WOULD THEN RUN OUT OF THE ALLEY TOWARDS NEKO. Quickly coming to Torako's location, Ryuu noticed the blood and removed any cardboard boxes to find (dramatic pause) TORAKO WAS DEAD. AND BY DEAD RYUU MEANT THAT SHE WAS ALIVED BUT SEEMED TO BE IN PAIN. "Are you okay?" Ryuu asked. But TORAKO NOW HAD NOTHING TO FEAR FOR RYUU THE HERO WAS NOW HERE.

With his newest target undone, and the Rukon seeming to be mostly alright, Yuigon turned his attention to his Taichou who also appeared to have been helped. He then heard yet another flare go off, and this one seemed to bring rather dire news. Someone was in serious trouble. "That doesn't sound good." He looked back to the initial group, which really wasn't all that far, and saw only one enemy that was being taken care of quite nicely. He moved a little closer, just to make sure he would be able to be heard (so long as thunder did not decide to boom as he was speaking) since the distress seemed to be generally coming from the other direction. "If we have any medics to spare, then can someone help Kiba-Taichou here and another come with me to answer that message?"

Regardless of how quickly, if at all, they responded to his call, Yuigon rushed towards the location of the distress signal. Whether he would arrive there unhindered or perhaps encounter another fleeing Rukon, he was not sure.

Still casting furtive glances about, desperately hoping that the emotions rolling off her body would go unnoticed in the field of battle, Mai caught sight of her fukutaichou off in the distance; she appeared to be alone, and while Harupia was dispatching of his own foe, he had no way of knowing, by her logic, of how much danger Hotaru was in. "HARUPIA!" Mai bellowed, propriety long forgotten; the chiyudo energies flowing from her hands stopped as Malik stirred slightly, prompting her to subconsciously grip his shoulders to keep him still. "BEHIND YOU!"

A great shudder beneath her lax hands suddenly stole her attention as her father shifted more than she thought possible in the short time since she had injected the cure; as he reached up to stroke at her face, breaking through the grip she had on his shoulder, she rather rounded on him. "You do not move!" she hissed in the same fearful, commanding timbre she had addressed her Taichou in just breaths ago, once more seeking to grip his shoulders and render him inert.

Naturally, her father disobeyed and fired off a kidou. What a jerk; what if he had hit Harupia, Hotaru, or worse, his own daughter!?

Hmm...apparently he was a bit more skilled with the blade then ha gave himself credit...at least if the head of the foul smelling beast being mostly detached from his body was any indication. Though the feeling of cutting into someone more then it needed to be during an operation was a still unsettling...but he would have to worry about that later. Hmm...it got really dark really quick...where did all the clouds come from...


Mere moments after he managed to dispatch his enemy, he heard the shout of Mai come from behind him, which made him turn around to see Hotaru ad the Shinigami she assisted in a sticky situation...but before he could really react, Malik, who fortunately was ridden of the infection before it caused them any real problems, used another Kido spell to fire a bolt of energy towards the foe which Hotaru was handling.


And of course then came the message, the special variation of the Hell Butterfly which the Rukongai citizens were able to use, exclaiming rather loudly that someone with a familiar voice was about to die...Still, the scream only registered in the back of his mind as Harupia wordlessly moved towards Hotaru, with intent to aim another strike at the neck of the creature she was struggling with, assuming the bolt of Malik's reiatsu wouldn't do it for him already. After that was done he would decide how to split up the team of medics...one part of the needed to head forward to help the Shinigami wounded in the frontline of the battle, while some of the would need to go to the sides, since he flare was a clear indication that help was needed there as well...

Shigeo stepped towards Yuigon as the latter spoke. "I'll keep an eye on Shuchiku-Taichou, and get his legs tended to," offered Shigeo. "Perhaps you could take Sakokui-Taichou to investigate that distress call...?" Trailing off doubtfully, Shigeo's gaze turned back towards his former tutor, brow furrowed in uncertainty -- uncertainty that she would go with his division-mate, that she would not just brush off the idea for whatever reason. He hoped that was not the case, as the Rukon citizen had left the group to their own devices, to check on friends or family. The constant low rumble of thunder had Shigeo glancing heavenward at the unnatural storm that had begun to gather in the past few minutes...what was that about?

Kurisuna superintended their newest arrival as the needle was plunged into the Shuchiku's side, and subsequently drained of the remedy. To the departing axeman, she gave a rare, inadvertent nod of thanks; to the other citizen, who receded soon as he administered the cure, she could not spare any such semblance of courtesy, so quick was Kiba to rouse from his all-consuming paralysis.

A sudden lurch upright, an audible paroxysm of pain. The chain reaction of her betrayal was a delight to every relevant sense; she was caught aback, amber eyes widening briefly at the magnitude of his response, as the telling pin-pricks of synapses firing just right crackled throughout her anatomical latticework, imparting such a rush that her pulse sang in her ear, and the flush of pleasure escalated, manifesting in fashions more overt than she'd have liked for such a volatile status quo.

But then, her breath caught once, twice, as she was loathe to admit that her hatred of him was a product of jealousy, truth being that Kiba, well-meaning and no doubt better liked by Sumie (this, this was the source at its most fundamental), had unintentionally, and consistently hurt her too. She did not need the woman's extraordinary memory to recall how Sumie would conduct herself about Kiba in a choreographic sequence so conspicuously different from the one employed when she was concerned; with her, Sumie appeared fatigued. Prudent to not upset the whimsical balance of chemicals that kept them both in control of every faculty. Even tense, at times, in spite of having nothing to fear from her—better safe than sorry, the woman most likely thought. To Kurisuna, it was a distortion of trust.

Now she had committed nothing short of treason, and the Gotei was just barely of concern; she could support the train of thought culpable for her actions adequately, could justify the direness of her maneuver as Kiba had barreled, possibly to his own destruction, towards the creature and its barbed appendages. That she'd infected her ally in the process was a tragedy, but she had gotten him the cure; there were witnesses of that much.

Pernicious indifference summed up her acknowledgement of Kiba and his growl; he had turned away from her shortly afterward, and everything she thought to say was meaningless if thrown against his broad back. Her eyes had narrowed briefly, but there was nothing more to it until Shigeo spoke up, and she, having no intention of tagging along the unfamiliar Shinigami, replied, ''That won't be necessary. Take care of Shuchiku-Taichou, Shigemitsu-san; I am returning to reinforce our base.''

She sheathed her sword and broke into long, rapid strides, then, racing in a rush of limbs for Sumie, who she was determined to reach before the woman's childhood friend, to make sure that she had survived this long relatively unscathed.

Zane gritted his teeth as soon as his blade tore into the cretin with relative ease, but it was still a danger to him. The damned thing began to spew from it's neck a poisonous.. well.. whatever it was, it was likely to infect Zane again and he sure as hell wasn't about to have that. No sooner did the zombie begin to spew did Zane lurch his body forward and push off the ground, sending himself backwards and, hopefully, out of range of the damned creature."Damn thing's dead and still a hassle!", He called out to no one in particular.

Now that this one was dealt with. What of Hotaru?

Zane used his "Skill" in the use of Parkour to get onto the rooftop of ab building close by where he had landed when he backstepped from the spitter. He caught a glimpse of Hotaru and was just about to head over to help her when BAM! A lightning bolt, which he noticed was a kidou spell, slammed into the skull of the bitter heading toward Hotaru. To make it even better, Hitoshi-Taichou headed over to assist Hotaru. Zane simply chose to crouch on the rooftop he had gotten on and wait to see if he could spy out someone needing his assistance.

[bgcolor=555555]

The flier which Kurai closed in on already had quite a head start on her. She wound find her claws sinking into the decaying flesh of its back easy enough as she finally caught up, but it was already too late for Ryuu; though he managed to fire off his Bala at the other flier, the consecutive impact caving in the beasts head, the flier which Kurai attacked still lanced Ryuu across the back with its outstretched claws for he, much like Malik, had turned his back on an enemy who had not officially been dispatched. Thus, his running to Torako was not but a daydream in his head as his body hit the ground with the flier he had killed.

Kurai would find the flier sinking under the Hollow's weight, though it was still very much alive and thrashing in the dragon's grasp. Its unnatural body twisted away, dead flesh still clinging to Kurai's claws as it's own sought to penetrate its attacker's hide. If they did, Kurai would find herself dropping like a stone from the air, her body riddled with infection. For the flier itself, its thrashing was to be its own demise as its skull came into full force contact with jutting wood from Ryuu's previous attack, sending the splintered beam straight through its skull.

Not far from the chaos in the alley, Yoshiya and Mihamaru's nearly tandem efforts were effective in dispatching the remaining two ghouls in their immediate vicinity. Both would be greeted with the sickening snap and crack of bones in their various targeted points, shortly followed by the thump of bodies hitting the ground. Far behind their own battle lines, Sengoku would find one of his axes wedged in the skull of a biter as the other flailing weapon took off the outstretched arm of the other.

The amputation didn't stop the biter however, as its second arm came slashing forward to lacerated Sengoku's extended arm. The limb never reached him. Instead, the zombie quickly dropped, revealing a black clad form behind it. The green numbered insignia on the left side of the uniform's shirt indicated that the Shinigami was from the Third Division. In fact, it was one of the two that had been sent to scout the initial onslaught. With him was the woman he and his partner had rescued from the horde. He gave Sengoku the once over before saying to the woman, "You should be fine here."

He was gone as quickly as he came, bounding off in the direction Rip had gone and consequently, his partner who was hot on the trail of the berserker who was having a grand old time chasing down Rip. Two quick Shunpo spurred bounds had the Shinigami perched on the bulging shoulders of the monster. There was a flash of steel, highlighted by electricity crackling throughout the bottom of the clouds overhead, then the thud of a massive weight hitting the ground. The Shinigami who had dispatched Sengoku's second attacker caught up with the giant slayer as the latter pulled his blade from the base of the berserker's skull before they both moved on, back to base camp, passing by the now stalker free Rip.

Meanwhile, the Shinigami personified the term overkill, though in a case so bizarre as the morning's, it was better to be safe than sorry. Hotaru's own strike did the deed well enough to stop the zombie from persisting, but Malik's kidou came nonetheless, piercing through and intersecting the wound caused by Hotaru's zanpakutou, causing a stream of the head's contents to gush out of both wounds as Hotaru's ducked. To top it off, Harupia's blade joined the mix of the already damaged tissue, unleashing another, albeit minor, spurt of partially congealed fluid.

It was as all these events came to their inevitable conclusion that the sky let lose a furious downpour. There was no preceding drizzle. It was a full blown storm, soaking all those who were under its influence. Oddly enough, for those still infected, the cold splashes of water did more than just wash away the various messes of battle. They would find their limbs out of deadlock, the infection gone from their body. For those paying close attention to the corpses of the zombies, they might start to notice areas of skin receding back to more normal colors than the utter state of decay they had been in.

Despite all that going on around her, Sumie was engrossed in what the woman had to say to her. It wasn't much, but given recent events, Sumie was grasping at any information she could cling to. The woman's head was tilted skyward as the ran came down. Even though she spoke aloud, it felt as if her words were not necessarily directed at those around her. "Cleaning up the mess this time? Yes, I suppose that is wise. Hard to make a cure when you have nothing to test it on. I should know."

Thunder seemed to punctuate each of the woman's sentences as if the storm was conversing with her. Eventually the woman's gaze shifted back to Sumie. "The first seal has been broken already. I need more time." From within her kimono, she withdrew a thin metal box bearing odd markings that overlapped the edges of the box. One of the markings almost looked like a lock. "Hold on to this. It will open when you need it most. Now you have company, so I'll be taking my leave."

And so she did. All Sumie did was avert her gaze for a moment to look over her shoulder at who the old woman meant, only to find her gone when she looked back. Still, she had alerted her to Kurisuna's approach. Sumie turned to face the woman as she clutched the metal box close to her, an expression of momentary relief on her face when her visual exam affirmed the woman to be okay. Still, she asked once Kurisuna was close enough, "Are you alright, Saikokui-taichou?"

Then Sumie's brow furrowed. Kurisuna had initially taken off after Kiba, yet from where she was, Sumie didn't see the other captain. "Where's Kiba? Is he alright?" Sumie's body shifted to peer past the taller woman's approaching frame as if perhaps he was merely obscured by it.

SPOILER: Click to show

I apologize for how late this is. I had to wait on the guy from dish network to get our satellite and internet set up for most of the morning/early afternoon. Anyways! All zombies are officially dead. All infection is officially gone due to the rain. Injured parties will need to be taken care of either in your exit posts, or follow up threads because this next round of posting will all need to be exits. If you don't exit in the next 24 hours, I'll exit you off in my final post as Sumie, though this is the final mod post for the event portion.

Kiba approached his downed weapon about as quickly as he could on tender legs, though already he was beginning to adapt to the pain; though he walked fairly straight-legged to avoid putting undo amounts of pressure on this shins, he'd begun to figure out how to maximize his gait for speed, and so approached the downed body as the rain began to fall. Kiba sighed and halted long enough to enjoy the feeling of the cool rain on his open wounds, but it wound up that waiting was entirely the wrong thing to do; when he looked again, the corpse retaining his blade was shifting from the mottled mess it had been to become more human, and he grimaced as the change spread over the body - at this point, he was losing awareness of the bodies surrounding him, and was focused on the one holding his weapon, like some sick twist on a legend he'd never heard regarding a sword and a stone.

Kiba had seen bodies before, had even been forced in the past to make one or two, but this was somehow different. The body, only moments ago, had been humanoid, but not human. Now, unfortunately, it was entirely human, and the revelry with which he had assailed the masses struck Kiba as entirely inappropriate. The Taicho sighed and closed his eyes; how many had he slain? That he couldn't immediately recall spoke volumes about what this entire situation meant. Four? Three? Perhaps only two? For a moment, Kiba considered looking to others, to see if they were reacting any differently from himself, but he couldn't. His eyes stayed closed, and mentally he traveled into memory, into a very dark and lonely place.

The Rukon had been populated then as now, with more bodies than moving people, and it had shaken Kiba, as it did now. But Sumie's cry had been what really startled him, what woke Kiba to the need to be aware and brought him running around a building to her. The sight of the two bodies, hand in hand, put a total halt to his motions, and Kiba swayed as he broke from his memory, eyes opening again to the body with his sword in it's skull. It was wrong of him, Kiba decided, to have referenced the two so callously, even if poorly. Even if his fellow Taicho didn't comprehend the slight, for her own reasons or for Kiba's inarticulate nature, it had been in poor taste. He would need to apologize... or at least, stay his tongue once or twice. Maybe just not break down a wall of hers.

With a second sigh, Kiba leaned forward and yanked his weapon free of the corpse, letting the falling rain cleanse the blade before sliding it into the scabbard it called home. When he turned again, he was honestly a little surprised to see Shigeo still about him; he was certain there would be some sort of hard feeling present, as Kiba would readily admit he had acted in haste in the past. Still, he wouldn't brush off a hand extended out of courtesy.

"An escort to the Second Division would be appreciated, Shigemitsu-san. Once there, I won't intrude on your personal time by having you wait on me; hate to be considered the dragon what eats up all his subordinate's free time." He gave the best smile he could at that point, though no doubt it came across as more than slightly wry, and the Taicho began to plod along through the rain, drumming his fingers along his side.

He wouldn't move in the same direction Kurisuna had, no doubt to go find Sumie; best to give the Taicho a little time, perhaps. A little time without him, specifically. Still, it wouldn't do any good to not give Sumie a head's up about what was happening. "Still, if you would be so kind, Shigemitsu-san, as to stop by the Third Division after leaving my side, and relate to Sumie-chan where to find me, I would be appreciative. Make sure she doesn't think it's urgent, if you would be so kind. No reason for her to worry, after all."

These weird days always put Kiba off in mood.

[Exit]

Once Kurai saw the rotting creature twist and escape her claws, her crimson eyes would widen in slight fear. The dragon would flap her wings to help propel her in a backwards motion, out of harms way.

When the flier was suddenly impaled in the head by its frantic thrashing, Kurai would let out another roar in victory before landing on the ground next to the one who called himself Ryuu (but Kurai didn't know this since she was a reclusive type). The hollow would sniff at the arrancar, "Hmm, this one doesn't really stink as bad as those other scary guys. Kurai will let this one live. Time to go home!"

And with that, the dragon hollow would hop into the air and make her way towards her birthplace to sleep, hoping nothing else decided to jump out at her.

[Exit]

The heavens opened on Yoshiya's back as he stared down at his latest quarry. Rain ran down his face and collated in his beard, dripping upon the corpse. Whilst his staff was blunt and had mostly crushed the skull, he had impaled the spitter slightly. He raised it into the air by a few inches and used his foot to kick the lifeless thing into the dirt.

He looked around and saw those around him had also bested their foes. The battle had been won. He relaxed his stance and stood in the rain, panting.

But, there was one last piece of business before he could leave. That child seemed to be fairly badly injured. Still, he had noted the location of her flare, he knew where she was.

After a few moments searching he found her, collapsed by a few boxes in an alley. Yoshiya analysed her wounds. He was no medic, but while he thought them serious they did not seem to yet be fatal, as long as she got treatment.

"One last blow, old friend"

With a firm tap the lid broke off one of one of the nearby crates. The gruff man looked down at Torako and gently laid her upon the crate and lifted it onto his arms, his staff in his hands, walking in the direction where Sumie had barked out her initial instructions not half an hour before.

En route he would find a medic and would hand her off with nout but a note to look after her before disappearing off into the rain.

[exit]

Sengoku grimaced as he wrenched his axe free from the zombie he'd managed to slay, and nodded his thanks to the two shinigami who'd saved him from infection before they disappeared. He hurried on from that point, eager to get back to his bar. He was almost there when the rain started, and the remaining corpses began dropping. He grimaced as the rain soaked into his clothes, washing away the stinking gore and retched filth that had covered him from the start of this horrid mess. He slowed his jog to a stroll, and came through an alley straight across from his home. he surveyed the mess, glanced at the tavern, and decided Mihamaru had done an all right job taking care of things. Maybe he'd give the younger man a bonus in his next payday.

He spotted Mihamaru and a stranger nearby, with a few more corpses around him, and smirked. "Good...I see that you managed not to get eaten." He released the hold on one of his axes, and it faded away into reiatsu, scattering and recombining with the other axe, until only one remained. He shoved the original axe into his belt and smirked a bit, scratching at his beard. He made for the door of the tavern, intent on getting a drink and some food. He was tired, and the rain had made him cold. Mihamaru was more than welcome to follow him, of course, but that was the man's own prerogative. "I've fought a giant, two spitting ghouls, and two of the bitey ones. I could eat a damn horse."

{exit}

He heard a thump behind him and turned to see the giant had fallen. A Shinigami stood alongside it, and it was obvious to Rip that the man had just saved his life. He nodded his thanks as the Sword departed, mentally reminding himself to buy a sword.

As he contemplated the various benefits of carrying a blade, the sky opened up. A great deluge fell from the heavens, and Rip revelled in it. Though his ordeal was nothing compared to most, he had been running for his life, and that was a draining exercise. He stood there and let the rain wash over him. Closed his eyes. It was nice. As he opened his eyes he realized that he wasn't that far from the bar he liked.

Maybe he would go for a drink.

[exit]

AND TORAKO WAS OKAY AND THEY WERE FIGHTING MORE ZOMBIES WITH RAINBOWS AND OTHER FUN STUFF. PLUS THERE WAS ALSO A UNICORN THAT WAS KILLING ZOMBIES WITH IT'S AWESOME HAND TO HAND SKILLS. But that was when Ryuu woke up and found himself face first on the ground. "Should have figured that was a dream. Everyone know's unicorns fight with kicks and not punches." Ryuu thought to himself as he struggled in vain to move. HOW WOULD RYUU BE HEROIC NOW?

But that wasn't the least of Ryuu's concerns. FOR THE HOLLOW THAT HAD SAVED HIM HAD SWOOPED DOWN AND WOULD NOW PROBABLY EAT HIM. Afterall that was how hollows were and Ryuu was quite vulnerable at the moment. BUT THEN A HOLLOWEEN (see what I did there?) MIRACLE OCCURRED AND KURAI FLEW OFF INTO THE SUNSET SUNRISE. But she had done something terrible. SHE HAD CALLED RYUU SMELLY. Well that and humiliate him by looking down at him and decide that he wasn't worth the time to kill. BUT RYUU WAS MOSTLY SAD ABOUT THE SMELLY COMMENT. That must have been why Torako had run away.

And now Ryuu had to deal with the problem of being paralyzed (plus the whole being smelly thing). RYUU NEEDED A CLEANSING OF HIS WOES IN ORDER TO PROCEED FROM THIS DARK PLACE (it still wasn't really morning yet). It was at that moment that the rain began to fall. AND THIS SYMBOLIC PIECE OF NARRATIVE SYMBOLISM INDEED PURGED RYUU OF BOTH HIS WEAKNESS AND HIS SMELL...literally in this case given how he could move and no longer reeked of internal organs. SO NOW RYUU WAS GOOD TO GO.

Standing up and stretching a bit as he felt himself become unparalyzed by this, Ryuu thought about the events of this night and felt as if it was a night of growth and developement and property damage. WOULD THIS LEAD TO RYUU BECOMING A DIFFERENT PERSON WHO WAS MORE CONSIDERATE OF OTHERS? Perhaps he would turn into A HEROIC HERO OF HEROISM or a DARK AND BROODING HERO OF THE KNIGHT.

However all of that would have to wait. For Ryuu noticed that the zombie that Kurai had killed (and was still recognizable due to not being scrattered around in little pieces) started to look like a regular person again as the rain hit it. THIS OBVIOUSLY LOOKED LIKE A JOB FOR RYUU THE ACE DETECTIVE. But first Ryuu ran off to find a big stick to hit the zombie with. Because one doesn't leave a perfectly good pinata laying around.


[Exit]

Then it started to rain. Wonderful. If it wasn't for the fact he was occupied, Yuigon would probably find some comment to make about the dreariness of a sudden downpour when there was some odd infection spreading around. But he had to admit, the cooling rain on his tiring body did feel nice. As he passed one of the corpses of one of the dead creatures, he noticed it seemed to eliminate the infection as well. If this rain had come earlier, would they have returned to normal... Alive? It was a disturbing thought, but one he had to shake out of his mind. The Shinigami still had a job to do after all.

Or not. As he arrived on the scene of the distress call, he saw another man putting the girl in a box and bringing her back towards where he had just come from. He shrugged, and simply followed behind to make sure they found the medics, then went on his way back towards the Fourth. Now if only he could get the haunting idea out of his head that they, he, had essentially just slaughtered innocents...

[Exit] _{See, I remembered it this time.}

Hotaru's thoughts raced in her mind in a disjointed fashion as she lay on the ground, face up not even feeling the rain that hit her face and soaked her garments; Wasn't time supposed to slow at a moment like this? Her life hadn't even flashed before her eyes...when...where was her Zanpakutō?

The blast from Malik's Byakurai intersecting with her Zanpakutō within the biter had knocked Hotaru flat on her back. This did a lot toward rendering her in this segment fractured from time, for she did not recall the precise moment when impact occurred. Such a tiny thing to have gone missing and yet it was enough to confound her senses. In fact her dominant hand still clutched the pommel of her sword unawares. Nor did she realize Harupia had added his sword arm to her own defense this day; a detail that would have meant much to her in a variety of ways. Gratitude, certainly and yet just one more instance in where his aid had been required of her. Blessedly she was spared the conscious experience of the Zombie Spew.

Her hand reaching up, as though of its own accord to wipe the rain from her face, found her Zanpakutō. Her blade seemed to be the lynch pin that anchored her back into her surroundings for as she relaxed her arm upon her chest, the blade angled to rest upon the upper portion of her left arm, she felt the cooling touch of the rain, could hear the voices of people around her and feel an ache in her body like she had just been hit... The Zombie!

Desperation, rather than any overt fortitude, caused her to push against the ground a seat herself upright. She fully expected to see more incoming horrors from the advancing horde. However, thoughts began to make sense again and to analyze her condition and surrounding. She could move so had not been infected. Upon gaining a sitting position her eyes immediately locked onto the gruesome aspect of the biter. It certainly was going no where.

A quick glance round the field gave her further information. There was no sign of her patient, just the tongue lashing creature he had faced off with. Mai and Malik were still together and Haurpia even closer to hand...gore was dripping off his blade nearly cleansed by the rain. Had her sword pierced the creature at all? Her thoughts locked onto Malik, for a brief moment; certainly his Kido had slain the beast. That was when she noticed its arm through the ragged clothes. The skin was no longer mottled with the colors of advanced decay and its fingernails looked more human than its prior raged and talon-like appearance. When the infected died did they somehow revert back to pre-mutation status? That made no sense to her at all. "Oh..."

Hotaru brought her left hand up to cup her forehead and bowed slightly forward. Her right hand still holding her sword lay at rest across her lap; in this manner she closed her eyes until this small dizziness passed. The menace appeared to be over, or at least the first onslaught. There were too many holes in the available information for her to plot a course of action and, for once today, she would wait for Haurpia to give his orders and behave accordingly.

She rose to her feet when she felt more herself and would do as instructed whether that be toward treating wounded, helping to clear the corpses away or being sent home deemed unfit to serve at this time. Lifting her eyes toward the Taicho, she mused upon how soothing the rain felt.

[exit]

Hearing the snap of the monster’s neck, Mihamaru looks around, to see the rain starting to come down, and drops the body to the ground. Noticing staff-guy walking towards the flare sent off a moment ago, Mihamaru decides to head back the opposite direction, but not before shifting the gauntlet back into its natural cloak form, while keeping all of the gunk on the outside, so that it hopefully gets washed off in the rain. Regardless of how much the rain takes care of, it’s still getting washed three more times. That garbage was nasty. On the way back, he raises his hand towards the rainy sky, and fires off one last flare for the night.

”Everyone with a monster kill under your belt, head to The Notched Axe for the afterparty!”

If any of Sengoku’s buddies in the “Defenders” made it, at least the regulars of the group, he’d be able to see them. Hell, he’d probably even be able to keep a head count. Hopefully there won’t be too many lives lost. Hell, hopefully his squatting hole wasn’t destroyed in the battle. While running through the battle in his head, specifically his part, there is one undeniable fact.

He isn’t as good as he used to be. That must change.

[exit]

Eh...hehe, well, he guessed all of them were a little to enthusiastic about helping Hotaru. All in all, when all was said and done,there was not much left of the creature after all the attacks struck at him...but at the very least, Hotaru was safe, as well as all the rest...though rain was not the ideal weather for a triumphant. Especially such a heavy storm.

Though it seemed that the effect of the weather was much more positive then one could hope for, since as he saw from afar, those who were infected by the diseases seemed to be reverting to their normal forms, as if the rain was washing away the toxin within them. Unfortunately, the same could be said about the bodies which had already fallen, as Harupia saw as the remains of the creature that managed to take down were reverting into...well, still remains, but much more normal looking.

Shaking his head, Harupia couldn't let himself lose focus. Rising his head he would say "All right, we all had our glorious moment of combat, now we must get back to work. Mai, I need to ask you to take care of you father...again, haha. Funny how things work themselves out. Take him back to the first point of meeting, and if he'll be willing and capable, back to the 2nd Division. Hotaru, stay here and coordinate all the medics and wounded, Ill go on ahead and see if there are any cases that need immediate attention. We'll make a makeshift point of first aid forward, and then try to lead those who can make the trip back to our Division." he concluded with a nod, moving forward, confident both Hotaru and Mai could handle themselves well.

On his way forward, he was intercepted by the Rukongai member known as Watson, who was carrying around the vaguely familiar form of a small girl, probably the one which sent the signal earlier. And she looked rather bad. Harupia was a bit hesitant to decide on the next course of action, but as he peered forward he could see the Shinigami which were in the heat of battle, Including captain Kiba and Kurisuna as well as Sumie, were well. Or at least well enough that no one was calling an immediate aid of a Medic, which Torako needed. Telling the older Rukon member he would take care of her now, and thanking him for assisting in the whole ordeal. He would walk of towards the meeting point of the Shinigami. She would need help and probably would have to stay in the Division for a while, but she would be fine. Harupia would stay at the site of the whole fight, coordinating the efforts of the people helping with gathering the wounded while applying the necessary aid to the Rukon girl, before he-ding of back to his Division. When the task ended for most of the Shinigami, it was only the beginning for him. But as long as he would make sure these brave people were safe and healthy, it was all worth it.
(Exit)

[bgcolor=E86100] It's.. raining..

The girl had survived the battles of the day, managing to escape and hide from the trouble all around her. However, this all came with a prize... injury. And with this injury, came pain, a burning sensation on her back that flared up through her body from time to time, which was cooled off right after by the cold of the rain.

But where was she? Faint images flashed in front of her eyes, the finding of her by Red-shirt, the meeting of the medical personal, and her travel back through the district she just ran through a while ago, into the Second Division of Seireitei for further treatment.

But something, just a little feeling, blurred up inside her heart.

A feeling of sadness and guilt.

Why? Why was she sad? Why did she feel guilty? Could it be her inability to protect herself and instead having to rely on others having something to do with it? Whatever it was, she was too tired to think about it, her tired body now drifting away as the man above her carried her to safety.

[EXIT]

SPOILER: Click to show

Sorry for the rushed and bad post, I have to go away for something the rest of the day and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to come home before the thread closed.

His expression clearly showed his annoyance at being stuck in this downpour, but Shigeo nonetheless stayed with his Taichou, waiting patiently while Kiba worked through his thoughts. Shigeo returned his superior's attempt at a smile with a rather weak one of his own. The reversion of the slain infected to normal, human corpses jarred the larger warrior as well. "It's no trouble, Shuchiku-Taichou," Shigeo assured him, falling into step beside and slightly behind Kiba. "I'll be sure to bring the news of your predicament to Natsukoi-san."

The day had definitely been a strange one: shambling hordes of people infected with an unknown disease; this freak thunderstorm; and even the fact that there was a cure for those infected, despite the fact that the shinigami knew next to nothing about it. Very curious, indeed. Perhaps, Shigeo mused, he would need to speak a bit more on this with Sumie when he met with her...

[exit]

Nodding an assent to Harupia, more sharply than she had intended, Mai began the ohsotedious task of hauling her father to his feet; the mud and his weight made for slow goings, and she now wish Harupia had taken this task upon himself. But oh well, she'd managed before, she would do so again.

Her arms were shaking as the adrenaline from the situation left, and try as she might, she was unable to hold on to Malik from the slickness of his blood, the mud, and the rain falling from above. A soft groan of frustration passed her lips as she hissed instructions on how to properly rise to one's feet under her breath. "You're too heavy!" she said, surprising herself at the volume of her own voice. By now, Harupia had left, leaving her all alone with a few shinigami around that she did not recognize. "Just great...."

[exit]

Zane sighed gently as the rain began to descend on the area, the infection seeming to cease as it did. It's finally over..he thought, a slight turn of his lips into a smile beneath his mask. It was time to go then. Reports to fill out and whatnot! Zane rose to his feet and made his way across the roof-tops in his typical fashion, but skidded to a stop about three buildings down from his original spot. The rain actually caused him to slide and fall rather comedically. He rose back to his feet and looked on the ground to see Mai attempting to lift Malik to his feet with little success. Naturally, Zane felt the need to assist her, after all it was his Taichou who needed lifted.

Zane leapt to the ground, flailing wildly to keep himself from falling into the mud. He really needed to think before he jumped. He placed his Zanpakutou in his sash and made his way toward Mai and Malik, sliding himself into a good position to lift his Taichou."Don't worry, Miss. I got him.", Zane said to Mai as he got Malik to his feet, coiling his own arm around the man's waist as he positioned himself with Malik's arm around his shoulders to support the man's weight.

From there, Zane would slowly walk toward the Division One barracks with his Taichou thinking Man. The Soutaichou is really is heavy..

[Exit]