Murderous Intent (Kanae, Armina)

It was quite a rare sight to see Armina during the group sessions, preferring to train by herself or strictly with her own little group. The latter were the reason that she was there at all today in truth, her powerful blue eyes tracing their every move, as well as those of any of the moronic rank and file members who dared to make a pass at them. She’d heard of such things being done on the training field, an act that was absolutely unforgivable in the mind of the annoyed 4th Seat. The only person who flirted with her girls was her and no others. It might have seemed odd that the blood shedding maniac had become so possessive over anyone but there was just something about the foursome that caused her to feel protective and she sure as hell was that.

As she watched, her right hand would stroke the scabbard of her Zanpakuto, as if trying to soothe the immense hatred that she felt at that moment. It was a losing battle and completely pointless in reality, as sooner or later, she’d need to release such emotions, whether through combat or sex, it mattered not which. Perhaps once the session was over, she could find a source to vent her frustrations but until then, it appeared that all she could was simply seethe, almost begging for one of the fools to touch one of her own.

“The hell is wrong with you?” A voice would whisper into her mind. “Go over there and rip someone’s fucking head off if that’s what you want to do. They’re not worth a pot to piss in.”

“How about you show yourself and I’ll show you a new position or two?” The Shinigami’s mental tone was consumed with lust and irritation.

“Kinky whore. You’re not ready for another session with me yet.” With that, the voice vanished, leaving Armina even more pissed off then she’d been before.

The look on her face could have frozen a man completely solid and her murderous intent was just beginning to show in her reiatsu.

Another day, another morning spent overseeing her Division's group training. Dozens of Fourth Squad members stood in duos in front of her, going through fundamental sequences meant to solidify their Zanjutsu. Since taking over the Fourth, Kanae had instituted more strict training regimens meant to improve the fighting force from the ground up. But as she watched them go through their kata, her violet gaze following their movements without delay, the only thing she felt was disgust.

Thus far so few of her Fourth Division underlings had managed to impress her in any way. Rio, Tento, and Moe were the first she reviewed all those months ago, and while all three showed moxy, Moe proving the most determined of the bunch, none were standouts beyond that. Then came Shura, that aggressive egotist who fell to her blade rather easily despite unleashing Bankai. Not even Kanae's own underlings were exempt from the utter contempt she felt for everyone in this despicable Gotei. She hated them all. At times she wished she were back in the darkness of prison so her eyes would not have to suffer these fools. But then she would quickly decide otherwise, having had her thousand-year-long fill of that place.

The appearance of a recently promoted officer drew Kanae's attention. Not because she was interested in her officers, but because of the bubbling wrath within her Reiatsu. Something had set that woman, one she knew as Armina Wilsaam, off. This woman was one of some renown within the Fourth, her ferocity and eager attitude towards fighting enough to set her apart from most. Still, to Kanae, one of the original Captains of the Gotei, ferocity and bloodthirst were nothing new. Kanae turned her amethyst gaze back toward the wretches of her squad and barely contained the urge to slice them all to bloody ribbons as she stood observing.

The gaze was felt and Armina’s icy blue eyes briefly shifted to meet the violet orbs of her Captain. The 4th Seat didn’t experience the same sort of fear that many of the squad had claimed to feel. There was a menace in the dark haired woman’s Reiatsu, something that was actually a draw in the mind of the lower ranked Shinigami. Armina had been in the combat Division for quite some time and had witnessed a fair few different Captains who had come and gone, some she respected and others she didn’t. Captain Nagoshi was definitely in the former group.

That respect didn’t extend to the rest of the Division and as her attention returned to her girls, her left hand clenched into a fist at the sight that had just caught her sharp eyes. A foreign hand, placed where it shouldn’t have been, on the youngest and most vulnerable of her small band. The sheer audacity of it was almost enough to send the 4th Seat over the edge and as she stood up, she had just the fleeting thought of walking onto the ground and cutting the bastard in two for such an act. Unfortunately, the name of the lecherous piece of filth eluded her for the moment but she’d learn. There was no excuse for such an act. Not in the middle of a training session or anywhere else, as far as she was concerned. Armina’s opinion of the male gender was skewed in the first place and it never took much for her to lose her temper with them, even when they were behaving.

Unable to completely control her rage, she’d move towards the edge of the ground and shout, her Reiatsu probably a more potent way of getting her message across than her words. “Keep your hands on your swords and off of each other!”

It appeared to have some effect at least, with the Shigami in question jumping what appeared to be a foot in the air. If Armina got hold of him, he’d be jumping far higher than that.

Seemingly becoming aware of her position at that point, she’d turn towards the Captain, nodding respectfully. “Apologies, Captain, I couldn’t sit there and watch as that scum touched one of my girls.”

Strange. thought Kanae as she witnessed the events transpiring within her training grounds. Some lecherous older member of the squad seemed to be getting a bit too friendly with a younger, newer recruit. Either seniority or a difference in ability had frozen the girl in place, but luckily for her the woman Kanae had spotted, Fourth Seat Armina, had jumped into action and frightened the man with a shout and some Reiatsu.

What stood out most to Kanae was not the attempted pass the man made at the younger Shinigami, but the lack of discipline within the ranks of her division. These cretins were causing a ruckus instead of just continuing on with their training. Had it not been for Armina's intervention, they would likely be on the ground frothing at the mouth, unable to stand beneath the weight of her Reiatsu.

One of her girls? Kanae's frowning visage was unchanged as Armina explained her actions. She was not particularly interested in the reasons for this trouble, she just wanted it resolved. "The training grounds are for training. Any other behavior is unacceptable. This is the Death Squad, and if you don't want that name to ring true sooner rather than later, pay attention and do your kata."

The words of the Captain definitely seemed to have the desired effect and Armina could feel the disgust in every syllable that she uttered. Her contempt was unmistakable and the 4th Seat was in no doubt that the Captain meant every word. The blue haired woman would have liked nothing more than to have jumped on that threat and cut the man down herself. It would have been a privilege but alas, she instead forced herself to simply watch the soldiers before her. When she had joined the Gotei, 40 years ago, she’d done so for power and to satiate her blood lust. The former had somewhat been achieved but the latter? No. That promise hadn’t been kept, not yet. If it had, then she wouldn’t keep returning to the Rukongai, slaughtering as she had for over a century. That was her training ground and still was, she supposed.

As if reading her mind, she’d feel the rumblings of her Zanpakuto in the back of her head. There were no words this time but she could feel her sword’s temperament, which was a mirror of her own. She could almost feel the arms of her eight foot counterpart embracing her from behind, icy breath on her neck. Her sword was starting to bay for blood and Armina subconsciously placed a hand on her shoulder, as though her hand was covering that of her sword’s. Their relationship was incredibly strong, both creatures of bloodshed and unadulterated lust. Every encounter between the two had always begun with combat and ended on the floor of her inner world, both panting and gasping for breath. They adored each other, closer than family, closer than lovers.

She’d never been one to ask advice, preferring to keep her own issues to herself but if anyone could understand her particular issues then perhaps it was her Captain. The blue haired woman would move so that she was beside the violet eyed Shinigami and ask, in a tone that was low enough so that none of the soldiers would hear. “How do you control the rage and disgust, Captain? How do you stop yourself from tearing them apart?”

A thousand years of imprisonment in a dark pit did not temper the violent hatred Kanae and Tosatsusha harbored for everyone and everything around them. In fact, that punishment had only strengthened these feelings while shattering what control they had over their bloodlust. Now, Kanae constantly forced her true predatory self down and beneath a disguising veneer meant to allow her to better hunt her chosen prey. At times cracks formed in this mask, most recently because of her battle with that disgusting creature Asher in the Living Realm, and the aftermath of releasing her Shikokai again for the first time in a thousand years.

At first when Kanae met Shura Kurata, she thought the Third Seat had some similarities to herself. That woman was forceful, wrathful, and brutal in her dealings with others. At least, that's what Kanae had initially believed her to be like; evidenced by the months since, Shura was more a reckless child than anything resembling a cold-blooded killer. Though wary of making that same mistake again, between Armina's malevolent Reiatsu and her questions perhaps there really was someone in the Fourth like herself. Her Zanpakuto companion, Tosatsusha, knew this didn't bode well for the Fourth Seat.

"Do you truly think yourself so different from them, Armina Willsaam? What separates you from the rest?"

“They lack something important.” Armina replied, her icy gaze returning to watch the scum as they trained. “I don’t feel the almost animalistic desire for blood from them that I feel and that is the difference between myself and them. My life before joining the Gotai was one of violence and lust, butchering all those who stood in my path and taking who I wished. Innocent, guilty, it didn’t matter, they all fell under my boot and were left in my wake. I look at these men and women training and I don’t see any of that ruthlessness. Without that, they’re as good as dead and deserve to be.”

There was nothing Gotei friendly about her response but that meant little to the 4th Seat. The Captain didn’t want any bullshit and Armina knew that, so she shot from the hip, so to speak. The nickname of the Squad had changed due to the Captain’s influence and Armina would admit that she was quite fond of the “Death Squad” moniker that she heard from time to time. It was how the blue haired woman personally wished for the Division to be. If the Gotei were to be feared by its enemies then it’d fall to the 4th to instil said fear, in her mind anyway.

Such a bloodthirsty, dangerous answer from Armina was a surprise to Kanae. Besides the fact the Gotei generally did lack the viciousness it possessed in the past, even those teetering on the edge of sanity were typically smart enough to keep their intentions unannounced out of fear of reprisal. Either Armina is an idiot, Kanae thought, or she is arrogant enough to think herself above reprisal. She did consider a third option, however. Maybe she earnestly believed Kanae would agree with her.

As she thought of what to say, Kanae sighed. At least compared to her peers, Armina did possess some of that old generation viciousness, if her words were to be taken at face value. Unfortunately, this woman was reckless as well. "These things you say so wantonly are dangerous, Armina Willsaam. Not everyone in the Gotei United shares your desire to return to the old ways."

Kanae eyed the Fourth Seat curiously. Would she try backtracking? The Captain scoffed before continuing on. "You're focusing on the wrong things anyway. Ruthlessness gets you nowhere in the face of real power. Your Vice Captain is an efficient, intelligent worker. But she isn't as you describe. Can you defeat her? Having tested her myself, I would guess not Armina Willsaam. An enemy's ruthlessness has never prevented my blade from cleaving through them."

“No but aren’t you just as ruthless as I am when swinging your sword, Captain?” Armina asked directly in reply. “It has been the core of my being since I was a child and it was that which allowed me to gain the power I possess. It was my instinct and desire to dominate that allowed me to communicate with my sword. She has no interest in efficiency or intelligence, my blade is as bloodthirsty as I am and it’s through that where my power stems from. Is yours any different?”

A frustrated sigh escaped the lips of the blue haired woman once she’d finished. It wasn’t easy for her to speak of such things and words had never been her first choice of communication anyway. Still, she knew that it was better to get all of the shit out into the open rather than just keep banging her head against the wall in anger.

“I speak so candidly with you Captain because I thought that you, more than anyone else, might understand a little about where I’m coming from. You’ve said that my words are dangerous but I don’t feel that danger. If I did, then I’d be satisfied with how the Gotei is now. When I asked you earlier about how you managed to control your own feelings of contempt for others, it was a genuine question because I swear to fuck that I don’t know. Should I even be trying to hold these emotions back? They’ve served me so well up until now. ”

As the agitated Fourth Seat spoke, Kanae raised an eyebrow at her. Their few and far between interactions had managed to convince this woman of their similarities; or perhaps it was her reputation that did it? Either way, Kanae seemed to know far less about Armina than Armina did of her. Or, at least, Armina knew of the "Kanae" the rest of the Gotei did: An efficient, effective Captain with a dangerous aura who led her Division through order and growth.

Kanae waited for Armina to finish speaking, and then stood in silence for a short time before deciding to respond. She spoke coldly, though not aggressively "My sword is an executioner's tool; it falls upon the necks of those in my way, who've earned the guillotine simply by being. Some may call that ruthless; I call it the way of the world. We found those who strayed into our path grew ever stronger, but they too were put to the blade. That's the path of our strength."

From the minute she was born, a dark sky loomed over her fate; this was the reality of the Kusajishi District. As she reminisced silently to herself about her past, particularly about that sweetest of memories as her parents' blood coated her blade, Kanae knew even for Kusajishi she was a special kind of demon. It was Armina questioning her bloodthirst that brought Kanae's mind back to those simpler years, but she couldn't remain in the past for long.

"If you desire something, you will never achieve it without power. To gain power, you must be disciplined. If you feel so strongly about those around you, and act upon these emotions, how will you achieve anything? Control yourself, channel whatever urges you have into gaining power, and you may yet reach your goals. The wild beast draws attention to itself and is put down; the lurking predator gets its prey."