Night befalling upon the outskirts and edges of the Rukongai, Zane and Ume trudged further and further from the heart of civilization; apparent by the increasingly sparse houses across the district as the two ventured further into the abysmal wastes. The silvery lighting of the moon showered and descended upon the surface of the straggling houses and the shifting terrain, illuminating the area with an eerily-dim light; it's cascaded glow also reflecting upon the two Shinigami trekking along the earthy path. Many fragments and portions of the sky clear, one could see the twinkling stars that "littered" the midnight-blue canvas of the night, although grayish clouds sprawled along the stretch of the dusky horizon. The moon itself, the epicenter of light, wrapped a cloud around it's "figure," plastering a creepy scene against the layer of the sky. Ume found luxury in star-gazing, well, any kind of gazing at night, so whilst they traversed the threshold from third to fourth district, she was enraptured for the time being with a subjective beauty: a realm of the unknown and out of man's reach. However, she knew the time of relaxation was over, duty slowly kicking in.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see fellow members of my division, so don't be alarmed by their presence; also, keep a close eye out for any hollow or threat." She mutters, eyes making the steady decline from the sky to the floor, casually averting her straight line of site to glance at Zane. More aversions would occur; her eyes now assuming the roll of scout. Mentality focused on this objective, she denounced the thoughts and questions that have recently taken over her mind. Simply, Ume would be unable to focus fully on this duty with a bunch of distractions, and she owed Taisho some sort of favor for her current behavior!

Zane's pace was greatly slowed from his norm, trying to match his fellow Shinigami as they walked through the districts. She seemed focused on the sky above them, the stars and the dim light of the moon being such a beautiful sight, but one that Zane simply chose to ignore. Zane was more of an "earthly beauty" kind of observer, preferring to stare at the sights that were right before him, rather than those that he had to lift his head to see. He wasn't one to deny that the night sky was beautiful to look at, but not to the extent that one would distract themselves by staring at it.

Zane then glanced toward Ume as she began to speak about fellow members of her Division, "As long as I don't have to see Taisho. That self-absorbed dipshit annoys the royal hell out of me. As for Hollows.. let's just say I am used to dealing with Hollows of any variety." And he was. No more than any other member of the Gotei, but no one in the Guards was aware that Zane had an adoptive Arrancar sister. He hated having to be so.. distant about it, but he knew that most of the others were too close-minded to accept that fact. "Tachibana-Sama, tell me, what is your general opinion of Hollows?"

Breaking the eerie silence that encompassed the area, a quaint whistle could be heard by those with attentive ears. If Tachibana and Zane were to continue walking down the path they were walking, they would have eventually encountered a young man with his back turned and facing a bush. If one were to listen carefully, the bush in front of this young man would be making "rustling" noises; as if rain was pouring onto the bush's leaves.

"Yes.....it's like a load being lifted" he said, relieving himself as he urinated on the bush in front of him and went back to his whistling. "Don't I have to meet someone here?" he thought, tilting his head as he pondered deeply. A few moments later, he would sigh and rolled his eyes. "I swear, this is like the longest piss I ever took..." 

Kohaku was merely out just wandering around. It had been a while since had been forced to take a day off. In fact he might have never taken a day off since he came to the Seireitei. He was quite unfamiliar with this part of the Rukongai that he happened to wander into, but as always the only way to familiarize oneself with an area is to to go exploring that area. While continuing to march forward he began to feel a bit lonely. "I most certainly have become quite spoiled since I became a Shinigami." 

Unfortunately for him as soon as that thought slipped past his lips a certain voice inside his head would speak. "What are you talking about my love.  I'm always with you." He would role his eyes before mumbling "Oh just be quite you."  Had anyone heard this exchange of what would appear to be words with himself they might find him to be a bit disturbed in the head.  However, it was very possible that he could have been heard as Ume and Zane would undoubtedly be close to crossing his path.

Lurking in the shadows, as much as lying curled up over one's-self in a discarded doorway could be considered lurking, Lard paid no mind to any sorts of the goings on from outside her encampment. Behind her, a partial roof bathed in the moonlight, blocked out some of the elements, though they seemed few and far between this night, and housed a small, nearly dead fire. She was cold, the warmth from the fire long since gone from the security of the walls where she attempted to rest.

Some time ago, she didn't have an exact time, as she'd never paid attention to it other than the span between her meals (very long lately), she'd taken off after a kick to her ribs had sent her packing. She had fled into the wastelands in her panic, her drive of being unseen and unable to be found taking precedents over anything else she might have felt at the time. Like fear; the fear of being killed by The Man far outweighed the fear of being alone in the wastelands with the hollow. Only recently, within the last few sun cycles, had she dared come back toward civilization, and the even more elusive meal.

Now that the area of her occipital vision leveled with the ground and surroundings, instead of an inclination toward the horizon, Ume was aware of Zane's "need for speed," tilting her head as she caught his dismay at her pace in movement; however, she failed to make any verbal note of it, instead reacting to his response. "Oh? What's wrong with Taisho? Well, yeah, he's obsessed with tanning and looking good, which tanning is hardly manly if you ask me, but he's a good man. He's never done me wrong, but I him." Ume sighs softly, inhaling inaudibly but with a sharp breath of disappointment. A psyche shattered and entering a metamorphosis, the female wasn't fond with her recent behavior; especially in regards to placing an unfathomable amount of pressure onto Taisho in an unexpectedly short notice. "I can relate, since I frequently have to fend off hollows in the districts. My opinion? Well, I guess I generally don't like hollows, but even I am conscious of killing one good-natured; so, it's safe to say I wouldn't harm something helpless or of kind spirits. Why do you ask?" Her eyes, an orange-silver glow thanks to the moonlight, quizzically glanced in his direction; but not for long, oh no.

For a man of her division's "caliber and dignity" - which really wasn't saying much - was so indecently relieving himself of fluids on that poor, defenseless bush; unaware of two incoming officers. Lacking a clue to this man's identity, Ume just stared for a brief moment, face squinting and scrunching in disgust as her hand raised to her face, palm lightly smacking against her visage and her fingers following suit. However, she didn't quite say anything in particular to the pissing man, embarrassed and hoping Zane, a man himself, would utter the courage to address this comedic but unfortunate situation. She could tell the man was of her division with the insignia - hardly and barely with the illuminated light - but Ume was incapable of recognizing the division member, at least for now.

The rippling, trickling noise of urination, in combination with the whistles, hadn't dulled or stifled the noise of chatter; head turning to face the assumed direction. She noticed the latest newcomer to this "intersection," but couldn't discern the physical traits of the Shinigami member, though assumed he or she, too, was a tad nuts. She wasn't able to distinguish his words, either, presuming he was randomly mumbling. Oh well!

Lurking in the doorstep and darkness, an injured Rukongai citizen who possessed a silent presence, eluded Ume thus far. Was reconnaissance a near-future task for the young teen?

Zane threw his shoulders up slightly in an effort to make a shrug toward the questioning former Taicho. Zane waited a few moments between her words before he managed to throw out a few answers of his own. "I simply do not like him or how he addresses me. He simply assumes that because of where he stands in our.. little group that he is better than me. How I feel about that is similar to that of my own opinion of the Hollow race as well as Shinigami and Rukon: You cannot simply judge by looks and status alone. To truly know a being, you must know their personalities and how they act when they don't have to be judged. Basically, one needs to be open-minded and the close-mindedness I have encountered is why I am so blunt to everyone I work with. People just wouldn't understand my scenario."

Zane managed to continue grumbling on for several minutes until the two of them came across some dumbass pissing on a bush. In public, no less. How grand. Zane stepped forward from Ume, obviously not wishing to address the man herself, "Hey, Pissant! Why don't you go do that somewhere else? Haven't you got any respect for people around here?" He basically figured the dumbass wasn't going to remotely care about the fact Zane was yelling at him, "I really don't want to do this, but.. You may want to cover your ears, Lady Ume.", He said, turning back to look at her.

Zane not only wanted the man to cease his indecent exposure, but to have a bit more peace in the area and, assuming he wasn't stopped anywhere along the way, Zane grabbed the hilt of his Zanpakuto and removed it from it's sheathe, holding it with the tip pointed to the ground, "Kanakirigoe, Shi Hōkō!", he murmured, the guard on his Zanpakuto breaking apart and crumbling to dust before everyone's very eyes. As he held it, a thin "sheathe" of purple Reiatsu formed around the blade of his Zanpakuto, "A little silence please.. Raioness no Hōkō!", Zane's index finger flicked against the "Sheathe", causing it to release a loud screeching noise around the area of Zane's figure, effecting the man as well. He cringed at the sound of his own blade and tried his best to stand while listening to ringing noise that butchered his hearing and the waves of nausea that flooded his stomach.

By the time Zane stepped forward from Ume, the young man was already done with his business; putting his "junk" back in his pants and whatnot. Moments after doing so, he finally noticed two individuals appearing right behind him. He chuckled when he was called a "pissant", because it sounded like piss...bathroom humor. Anyway, the young man did feel bad for his actions and simply shrugged.

Slowly glancing behind him and taking notice of the duo, Zeixer was mentally preparing an apology. As he did so, he remembered one person while never knowing the other. Before he could even mouth a single word, Zane was already warning Ume of something and telling her to take caution.

The very fact that Zane said outloud how to avoid his own technique while also letting Zeixer hear it was probably not the smartest thing to do. This is Zeixer's opinion of course. Since Zeixer was glancing back, his eyes widened the moment the guard on Zane's zanpakuto crumbled into dust; a transformation that he had never seen before.

Before Zane could say "A little silence please...", the young man decided to heed the warning that was originally intended for Ume and applied both of his hands to his ears. Tightly pressing the palms of his hands against his ears, Zeixer slowly turned his figure around to face the two.

If Zeixer only had one regret, it was that he didn't wash his hands.

If there was ever a time he would possibly rather hear that voice that popped into his head every once in a while this would be one of those moments.  As the ringing in his ears became ever worse with the passing moments he too would begin to feel the negative symptoms that were intended to be felt by Zeixer.  He would soon drop to his knees while clamping his hands over his ears to attempt to block out the noise.  However, his memory already had that awful screech drilled into his memory making it impossible for him to block out this sensation for the time being. 

He would look up to the individual with the released Zanpakuto after determining where he thought the sound had originated from.  Sure enough there were three people standing there.  Two of them appeared to be together while the other individual seemed to the focus of their attention for whatever reason.  "Oh please stop making that God awful sound.  Have mercy why don't you?" He would plead to the man who was the source of what was causing him some serious discomfort.  There was no way to tell if his words would reach the man unless he actually had complied with his request. 

That sound. That awful sound. It reminded her of screaming, of fighting. Of fleeing. Soon after, there was shouting, yelling. Something was going on outside, something that woke her from her fitful slumber and hurled her into panic.

Ariadne froze on the spot, hardly daring to breathe as the sounds around her drew closer. Her shifty eyes darted from the door beside her (she was in the doorway to what may have been a bedroom or closet), or to the exposed back of the ruined house. She should flee, but she didn't think she could. Her energy was so low...she was so tired. But that noise...that noise....

She shrieked then, a high-pitched, terrified sound as her body reacted to something that she shouldn't have felt in the first place; then again, she'd always been sensitive to loud noises, and one surefire way to get rid of them was to make one that was louder. Despite her adolescence, she still had that wavery pre-puberty pitch that only teenagers could invoke, and while it would draw attention to herself, it would surely stop that noise. That awful noise....

"STOP IT STOP IT MAKE IT STOP!" Trembling fists clenched and pressed into pained ears, the body both belonged to curling up in the fetal position. So much noise, so tired...so scared.

The subject of Taisho was something that Ume hardly wanted to dwell upon, so with a stiff, disinterested shrug, she spoke with a rather monotonous tone, "We all have differing opinions, but yes, I do agree that one should be open-minded." Ume wasn't present to bash about her comrades and friends, but to get this job done and return home. But, things weren't going to turn out so great.

Instinctive action kicked in, Ume's ears honed in carefully on Zane's direction, hands trailing the outline of her frame to rest upon her ears. It seemed this Shinigami had a knack of "shooting first and asking questions later," not that Ume necessarily minded, but for this occasion? Ume saw the insignia of the man's uniform, but perhaps her ally wanted to be safe rather than sorry; as one never knew if a hollow or rebel struck down the man and disguised himself in the uniform.

A rather foolish move on Zane's part was that he mentioned for Ume to cover her ears, but she assumed that by the actions of the man right in front of them, he, too, heard his advice. Not wanting to see what his blade was capable of, Ume clasped her hands tightly against her ears, but not before curling her lobe and folding it to disrupt its natural ability as a sound "funnel and tunnel".

Ume couldn't quite hear, but there was a faint ringing; so it was safe to say that while she covered her ears to the best of her ability, it wasn't entirely sealed like concrete.

Her eyes trailed each of the men she discovered on the trek coming here, noting Zeixer heeding Zane's own spoken word, while the other who approached was down on the ground, sharing the same discomfort that Zane, too, forced against himself. Although her ears weren't functioning at the moment due to obvious reasons, her eyes noted the grimaces and facial expressions that solidified the zanpakutou's true power.

Conflicted with ending this noise, Ume debated terminating this offense to each and everyone's sense of hearing. Her hand to hand more than sufficient, combined with the strength, she figured it wouldn't be hard to deter his shikai's ability. Still, she would express her disapproval by a mere shake of her head and turning to face him, shouting through the black fabric at her lower visage. "CALL IT OFF!" She commanded, although whether or not he would cease and desist, would determine if she should take her next course of action.

Obviously, judging by the muffled but extreme vibrations of sound, not to mention the screams of others, it was unbearable in every sense of the word.

So many screams of pain and agony echoed the night air, Zane's own included among that. The problem was that the one person who needed to hear this abomination of a noise was the one who seemed unaffected by it. Once Zane's ears stopped ringing, he managed to place his Zanpakuto back in it's sheathe which rested nicely at his waist, close to his tailbone. The hilt poked out at his side as it rested ran parallel to his spine. As soon as the blade rested completely in it's sheathe, the guard reformed upon it and returned it to it's sealed state and destroying the effects of his Shikai.

"Shame that didn't actually work. Guess I'll have to use a different plan.."

Zane's mind became flooded with thoughts that the man before him who was simply pissing in public was indeed his enemy. The man had had this issue many times before during his time within the Gotei and it reflected in his status as still being only a tenth seat of his division. His body lowered as if to take up a battle stance and he waited calmly to see how the situation would diffuse.

The young man removed his hands the moment Zane sheathed his sword. Zeixer cringed slightly, realizing his 'uncleansed' hands were holding his ears shut. Zeixer's eyes fell back upon Zane as he took up a fighting stance. A smirk fell upon the young man's face as he knew the man was prey to his very own attack. He did his best to hold his laughter.

"Hello Tachibana-Sama," he said shifting his glance to Ume before bowing to her out of respect, "My bad, I had to go and I couldn't find a bathroom." Zeixer was going to scratch his head as he said this but stopped himself at the last second; realizing that he didn't wash his hands yet.

Apparently his pleading had proven successful.  The awful noise had finally subsided, and he was slowly beginning to regain his normal senses.  Even though the noise was now gone just the mere memory of it still plagued his mind.  He would adjust himself by leaning backwards and sliding his legs out from underneath himself.  Kohaku would now be in a sitting position with his knees pulled up close to his chest.  His elbows rested on his knee caps as he rubbed his temples with his index fingers.  This action was not planned, but it did seem to sooth his mind allowing him to finally recover from that adverse effects that had just ended.

Rather than turning his attention immediately towards the three individuals before him he had remembered hearing a scream that had the tone of a pitch similar to a teenage female.  He would lower his hands onto the ground using his palms to help push himself up until his legs were once again able to take control allowing him to stand up.  He would take a few steps towards the house (or rather the remains of a house) before turning towards the other three.  "Did you guys happen to hear anything coming from in there?" Not out of disrespect for any reason he didn't wait for a reply and continued to walk towards the house peeking his head in through the door taking a look around.  If the others had decided to reply their words would probably go unheard as his interest was solely focused on the scream he had heard while the prior chaos was going down.  "Hello anybody in here?"  He would ask in somewhat of a confused, but slightly concerned tone.   

Ariadne's tiny knuckles kneaded into her ears as she curled into a tighter ball and rocked bath and forth on her hips; a low moan whispered through her lips as her eyes crunched up as tight was they could muster, trying to block the world out. She was unable to hear anything low, or even loud, unless it was right in front of her...the doorway was close to where she was hunkered down, however, and any astute pair of eyes could easily find her terrified, wasted frame rocking back and forth in the fetal position. If they could not find her frame, any ears that had regained their full functionality could hear the sobbing as it started up again.

The worst at the moment avoided, Ume was relieved to see Zane's cooperation. Retracting her hands from her ears only when he 'resealed' and deactivated his shikai state, Ume letting out a soft, gentle sigh of relief. "Thanks for ceasing." She rests her hands momentarily against her hips, blinking as he shifted into a battle stance. He was still going to lunge forward and attack?

The silhouette became evidently clear as he announced himself with a bow and reasoning, her hand quickly ascending again to face-palm. "Ah, Zeixer-san... Sorry about all this... Er, but maybe next time you shouldn't be so... out in the open." She shrugs, glancing toward Zane as she stepped forward, motioning with her hand as well as shaking her head in unison "no," and "stop."

Her head vehemently turned as her face reared to glance toward the nameless fourth party, approaching his spot near the house, but standing back as if in a defensive stance. "State your name, please, for verification." As she exclaimed her command in a loud tone in case he couldn't hear, she tilted her head at the sound of sobbing, his statement sound, ironically. It was faint from her position, given that she wasn't as near as the man in the doorway of the house, but she, too became curious. "Step away, sir, and let me through first, as a precaution." She urges, but hopefully after she catches his name, thinking primarily that if anyone should risk venturing into the unknown, it would be her to take the first leap or faith inside. It only seemed wise, in her eyes, and besides, someone, something, could be in quite some trouble, or pained. She wouldn't doubt that Zane's shikai injured the creature or person in the house, too. Things just seemed to be growing chaotic each and every second, and she hoped the two she left at the moment wouldn't have some sort of tussle or scuffle, but instead follow her course of action.

Zane released a low sigh and straightened back up upon Ume's request. Clearly the male was of her division and she would defend him if Zane attacked. Or she would simply do so because they were "teammates" and shouldn't be fighting in the first place. However, Zane would not move from the spot he picked as his destination as he wished to keep an eye on the man and really didn't care much for what Ume had found over yonder. He nodded and kept his gaze over toward her, his right hand rested on the hilt of his Zanpakuto.. in case he needed to release it again.

"So is it alright if I take a number two in those bushes in the meantime?" he asked with serious look on his face, only to to break into a chuckle a few moments later. "I'm messing with you folks, but in all seriousness, what are we going to do now?"

He shifted his glance towards the sobbing and screams while a look of concern occupied his face. For the first time during this whole ordeal, Zeixer finally became serious because there was something to be serious about.

"We should check that out," he muttered to the two in front of him, beginning to walk cautiously toward the sound of distress while he moved his hand onto the hilt of his blade.

Right as he began to peek his head past the threshold of the destroyed dwelling he would be interrupted by a woman requesting identification.  He would point to himself questioningly, but decided there was no harm in sharing his name with one who spoke in a matter similar to a superior within his ranks.  "My name is Kohaku."  He would then step to the side allowing for her to pass him as she instructed.  "Be my guest, but it does sound like there is someone or something in this place, so do please be careful."

Murmurs. Whispers. Echoes of people, maybe. There was too much ringing in her ears to be sure what was going on, and that scared her as much as the sudden noise had, if not more. Her breath hitched in her throat at the sound of something being said in a commanding tone, and as the former captain would cross the threshold into Ariadne's domain, the young girl began to hyperventilate.

Terror was a strong motivator, though in the poor child's case, all it affected was her respirations; her breathing became fast and shallow as the silent-to-her footsteps approached her closet, the blanket she had tried wrapping herself under vibrating with her tremors. Those whose hearing had resumed normalcy, or close enough to, would begin to hear the staccato noises as they stepped into the derelict building, just a few meager feet from their entry point. The girl's panic overwhelmed her now, and as she squeezed herself into the smallest, trembling ball she could, a low half-moan, half-sob escaped the confines of her hands pressed against her chattering mouth.

As the panic rushed in her ears, drowning out the footsteps even as they approached, all she could hear was the roaring of her own mind: an unintelligible screaming for air, for silence, for nothing. Even...even for it all to end.

Oh, was Zeixer a man of amusement and to some, disgust! She then calmly asked, "Kohaku... of the fifth division, 4th seat?" She pressed onward, entering the house and ceasing action to catch another clip of the sobbing. She motioned with her hand for the two to follow, her stature low as her knees were bent in a slight crouch; but high enough so that placing one's hands on the floor wasn't necessary. "Follow me... If it is just someone crying, maybe in pain, or a hollow acting, we need to still it figure out. Don't strike unless I tell you." Here she was, ex-captain barking out orders; er, well, whispering... Would they accept the terms from a 6th seat, or did they possess a sense of respect to heed the advice of their previous captain, who had recently stepped out of commission perhaps a month, maybe a few months, back?

Silent again, she noted the proximity in which the sobs and noises altogether were coming from, discerning which ear heard the noise closest and loudest; judging from that and instinct, she aimed to search the nearest room, stepping right before the threshold so that her eyes and face could first peek into it. While some might say she was being extremely cautious, in reality one could never be cautious enough! So, before stepping into the room, she made sure to check as much as possible with her eyesight, wondering if she was able to see the girl (if this was the room) once stepping into the threshold so she could do a full 360 degree panorama. Hoping the two (Kohaku and Zeixer) would follow suit but remain outside of the room, with one guarding one side of the corridor and the other respectively handling the opposing side, Ume would call them if she needed their aid.

Zane simply shrugged toward the ignoramus who said "We should investigate" the scene that Ume had bounced off to see for her own eyes. "YOU can feel free to go look, but I have no interest in whatever is over there. Especially if it's a Hollow as I do not feel like coming to terms with my mortality tonight, thank you.", Zane commented before Zeixer then went over to see what was going on. Zane removed his Zanpakuto from the sash holding it near his tailbone, folded his legs and sat down in a cross-legged fashion with said sword placed in his lap. He drew in a calming breath and closed his eyes for a moment, but that brief moment was all it took before he heard..

"Hello there, cute stuff. What brings you to my world today?" Zane opened his eyes to find himself in a small and, sort of, cramped room which seemed to be like the stage and seating area of an old-fashioned opera house. Crap. Seemed Zane hadn't really desired it, but he had pulled himself in his inner world. Zane shrugged, it wasn't like he had anything better to do at the moment. Within seconds, a tall pale woman with incredibly long, crimson-colored hair and a shadowy black half-dress appeared before Zane and winked toward him. It made him groan in annoyance as he rose to his feet.

"Shi. Must you dress so.. scantily?", He questioned, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I mean, really, would it kill you to cover up your breasts?" The woman chuckled lightly at Zane and sauntered over to him, standing behind him and draping herself around his shoulders as she whispered, "But Zane, they are covered. Besides, I am a manifestation of YOUR soul. Clearly you wanted this." , She said giggling as she moved away from him. Zane shook his head, "Female? Yes. Half-naked flirty woman? Not exactly. As to what brings me here.. I guess I don't really know. Insight I guess." "Insight? On what exactly?" She gave him a inquisitive glance and turned her head. "When I release.. "you", I am still getting affected by the effects of your "howl".. Why is that?"

Shi giggled again and shrugged toward him, "Unfortunately, Zane, you are not immune to my abilities. I do not know what to tell you. Neither I nor you can changed that, no matter how much we train, you will always feel the effects. All you can do is increase your tolerance to it, but it will never go away. Sorry, Love." Zane and Shi continued this conversation for, what seemed to be hours, but in reality was only mere minutes in the real world. He seemed to just be peacefully meditating on the outside though.

Zeixer was the type of person who understood the situation at hand and obviously knew the person with the most experience with these type of situations here would probably have been Ume. With the title of 'captain' formerly under her belt, Zeixer followed suit as he cautiously moved about with his hand on his zanpakutō's hilt.

Following Ume into said threshold, Zeixer moved about and followed her. Once making it to the corridor, Zeixer waved his hand at Kohaku; motioning that he would guard the east corridor, leaving the west corridor to Kohaku. As Zeixer past the open expanse that would be the doorway, he would take a quick glance inside before guarding the east corridor.

Kohaku was a little caught off guard by suddenly being addressed by Ume.  She was one of the least likely people he figured he would run into tonight.  In response to her question he would nod before replying "The one and only."  He still sort of recognized her as the captain of their division even though she no longer had that title.  Kohaku had no problem stepping to the side allowing her to take point.  His night off was finally over as Ume took charge of whatever operation they were now under.  

As Ziexer passed him following Ume into the house Kohaku would follow suit.  When the party reached the corridor he noticed that Ziexer volunteered to guard the east, so when he motioned for him to take the west Kohaku would lightly walk over to the west corridor taking up a guard position.  His mind wandered off for a bit as he thought to himself that he was going to miss his nightly bath because of this, but it just couldn't be helped.  He once again focuses on guarding the west corridor. 

The girl's breath caught in her throat the moment a shadow had passed over her trembling frame; whatever had made that terrifying racket outside was now inside, right in front of her, and she was going to die. She knew it.

The trip into, and back from, the Wastelands, she thought she was going to die. Somehow, she managed to find protection, and somehow, even far more magically, she'd neglected detection from a fearsome hollow. But now, now that she was back and ready to confront her past and fix the mistakes she had made once and for all, she was going to die. She knew it.

Terror gave way to an utter calm as she shifted slightly, somewhat at ease as she confronted her own mortality. If she was going to be eaten, she would put up a fight; her arms slowly unfurled themselves from their constriction in her fetal posturing, shoulders scraping along the packed earth beneath her. She exhaled, a long, shaky sigh, unaware that she had been holding it in, and peered around through the edge of the scrap of a blanket she hid under. She was going to die. She knew it.

She had to face it.

Let bygones be bygones! At least, Ume mused, given Zane's nature. While he was likely good-hearted, the woman would rather avoid anymore possible conflict and confrontation; despite the lurker in the house crying, which could easily become an enemy rather than wounded friendly. If anything, Zane could act as scout for the exterior premises. Little did Ume know, he was in a trance-like state and vulnerable as he sat alone, encroaching the realm within his soul. Hopefully, tragedy wouldn't befall the member of the first division!

Each station set up with several pairs of trained eyes looking out for subtle movements in the dark - if, of course, one was capable of noticing such detail - Ume wandered further into the room, utilizing her senses draw herself closer to the frightened teenager. While her face, from the bridge of her nose and down, was covered by a traditional shinobi fabric of an onyx shade, her orange eyes were illuminated by the fickle light invading the cracks and crevices of the run down house. Quiet to the best of her abilities, despite the screeching and groaning of the floor boards, the ex-captain sought the distinct sounds of human exhalation and movement, or really any sounds or signs of that matter. However, she figured it wouldn't hurt to address the lurking being, aiming for peace and civility, if nothing more, from the silhouette underneath the tattered blanket; not to say she could really make out her movements and species at the moment. With a soft, gentle tone, she murmurs, the silence no doubtfully aiding the low volume of her voice. "I'm Tachibana Ume of the Shinigami. I won't hurt you, and if you are in need of assistance, I can offer that. Please, do not be afraid, as I mean you no harm; unless of course you threaten the existence of my men and try to engage me offensively. Like I said, though, I can provide better shelter and conditions than this house and I'm a helper of the people." She exhales softly, frame still crouched as her eyes gauge the area in which the 'creature' vacated. Would she accept the aid, or deny it with hostility? Or was she a hollow attempting to deceive the group of Shinigami? Perhaps now was the time to find out.

Zane's eyes snapped open after about ten minutes of being within his his inner world. Within there, hours had passed, but the time on the outside wasn't even fractional to that and Zane glanced around. He heard the murmurs from the home and assumed the remaining members of the little group were investigating whatever was going on in there. What Zane didn't know was that there was a Rukon there who had earlier become a victim to his Shikai, but he was suspicious. It was dark and Hollows were always lurking around the area.

His gaze shifted as he heard a light rustling sound coming from his left and he moved to investigate, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade as he did. Turned out to only be a squirrel, up way late in the day gathering food as it seemed. Zane released a heavy breath and returned to where he was sitting before and plopped back down. The dead of night had apparently drawn up some paranoia in the man that was greatly unneccesary and unappreciated by him.

Hollow

The spectre of 'trouble' was an ill-defined creature, but not by lack of description - as with most mythical beasts, it simply bore so many adequate adjectives that attempting to nail any singular form to the name was absurdity writ large. Fit to form, then, in the act coming to fruition in the play of the life of these Shinigami and their attendant Citizen, trouble fell upon them in the least direct method possible: the sky gently filled in, cloud cover eliminating the very moon and stars from the sky, plunging what could be considered the most dangerous land in all the world into the most dangerous possible state: utter darkness.

There were those, of course, accustomed to the darkness, those who made the borderlands their home and rightfully so, fell creatures of disease and wretched constitution, which moved along the ground with preternatural silence. Truth in claim, only one creature moved along the ground presently, though his silence was absolute: a hulking beast, each fist a boulder, each arm half the width of it's impressive, stocky chest, though this density tapered at the waist, the legs moderately less bulky than were the arms but still adequately long, meaning the ape-like creature traveled with it's upper body lurching ahead of the lower, a forty-five degree angle rather than ninety. This creature was six feet from head to toe, with head utterly ensconced in a skull-like shell that could only be declared a Hollow's mask.

Standing atop this monstrosity's right shoulder, heels pressed together, back ramrod straight, was a considerably less imposing figure. Five feet even without consideration for the mangled top hat it wore, presumably clad in an exceptionally crisp - but for the tatters and holes - suit, this figure was rail thin and cut into the air as though a knife. Unlike his taller companion, this figure did not bear a full-faced mask; this much more humanoid figure bore an inset skull-shaped mask, almost as though a tattoo, that left only it's glowing white eyes revealed until it opened it's mouth, revealing stark white, clean squared teeth. The rail-thin figure turned it's hand in a slow, almost lazy circle, and from nothing appeared a long, straight staff, really more a cane, topped with an obsidian ball just sized enough to perfectly fit within his palm.

The lumbering creature came to a halt some ten feet behind the meditating Shinigami that was Zane, and with practiced ease it brought up it's left hand, across it's chest and up to it's shoulder, into which the thinner being stepped, accepting his easy ride to the ground. Standing straight as a nail embedded in the earth, the shorter being turned it's glassy white eyes this way and that, as though peering into the pitch dark area and seeing, despite wall or cover, what was to be seen. With a slight nod of his head, the ghast cupped his obsidian-topped cane in both hands, and with a deciding stab plunged the wooden tip merely a quarter inch into the dirt. The dark stone within his hands pulsed and squirmed, and from between the Arrancar's fingers shadows, blacker than black, surged forth, silent whispers along the dirt. Eight in all, each ten feet long and as simple as the stereotypical sheet-ghost, the two dimensional figures flew into the blackness of the ruins... save for one, which south to enshroud Zane in it's embrace.

By this time, the Shinigami had reacted to his squirrel-in-trees and was well on his way to resume his meditative trance - surely, then, the sudden sight of two Hollow would give him pause, and in that pause would the shadow slide up his legs from the ground, all but imperceptible in the newborn pitch blackness.

And chilled, indeed, was that touch, as sudden as plunging into a near-frozen bath, the sort of chill that accelerated the heart rate, that made the pores to pucker shut in rejection and one's hair to stand on end. It was the sort of cold made to hungrily, greedily suckle at warmth and strength; it would not be quick, by any means, but it would be noticeable, and the meditation would needs be deep indeed for the shock to go unnoticed. Not exactly touching him, the shadow more fell upon Zane as though cast from a figure on high, though movement would prove the shadow was quite attached to his back and sides - assuming, of course, he could perceive the creature, a darkness within darkness, a deeper shadow than already existed.

The other shadows did not immediately find source, flitting noiselessly along walls and ground, going where those piercing white eyes directed or perceived - unless warning was given, their approach could hardly be called perceivable, but those ghasts did indeed approach, lurking in the darkness, waiting for their next prey...

Pressing his back against the wall adjacent to the corridor, Zeixer widened his brow as he noticed something completely out of the norm. Since his head was faced towards the way the group entered the threshold, Zeixer easily observed the dark taint that accompanied the arrancar's entrance.

"Say...does it get REALLY dark here? Like...dark, ominous clouds?" he said aloud, loud enough for Ume to hear it. This question not only served as a question, but also a warning of what was occurring outside the building.

Although the question may have been directed towards Ume Zeixer's inquiry would force him to turn his attention towards the threshold that they had entered though.  He would then proceed to look up through the gaping holes in the ceiling before he too notices the strange phenomenon occurring outside.  He would shrug before stating in an annoyed tone "Damn it's probably going to rain.  I wouldn't mind getting wet in my normal attire, but this is a brand new Yukata I'm wearing." Perhaps it had been illogical for him to wear a yukata out to the wastelands of the fourth distict, but the mistake had already been made.

He would turn his attention to Zixer before asking "Hey by any chance you didn't bring an Umbrella did you?" Kohaku probably already knew the answer to his question, but it never hurts to ask in these situations.  The atmosphere wouldn't give him any bad feelings about the possible impending danger since he wasn't very adapt at sensing such things.