Night of Farewells [Murasaki, Urahara]

"Ooh, fancy. I've heard a little bit about those, nice to see they're getting some use like this."

Murasaki moved from point to point as Urahara had directed, her awareness still on the existential threat potentially offered by the Dangai. She didn't really expect it to cause any trouble, but even so, she couldn't help but continue to feel ill at ease. If she didn't stay on top of her guard, something bad was probably going to happen. She could practically taste it.

"Maybe I oughta try and put those to use too, I bet there's a lot to be done with 'em if I gave it some thought."

It was mostly just idle chitchat, which admittedly, maybe wasn't necessarily the best idea in a situation so grim as this. Still, better than the alternative of dead silence, and the sound of kido slowly taking shape.

"Sometimes even we can be fascinated by the creations of younger minds, it is that youth which we must strive to protect and nurture. Even when society has already failed them, as it did Ms Basterbine."

His thoughts did not drift back to Bambietta, though, as his chanting completed and the barrier spells flickered into existence. It was a different youth that had once come to him looking for his aid, one that now found himself on a path far different to that which he was meant to walk, and it was Kisuke's duty to right that wrong. They would hate him for it, those that he sought to save and those that he hurt for trying, but he had spent a lifetime an outcast. It was too late to buck that trend.

"Activate the devices now, Ms Murasaki. Then we will confirm the barrier's effectiveness and I can go retrieve the test subjects."

It was quite a unique situation. The barrier protected her from any external influence, but the Kaikyō Kotei were still partially internal to it so the magic could flow inside and affect her. He had mentioned the great density that she would be under, though chose not to elaborate on the strain. It was a force enough to crush a lesser soul, and that alone might give her some trouble akin to wearing lead shoes, but once the circuit had completed then the talismans woven onto them would activate. Like an impromptu shock collar, they surged with energy searching for a way to ground themselves. And that would be through her.

Murasaki set the last of the devices in place, still on edge but not quite unwilling to cooperate or anything similar. If something did go wrong, she had quick enough instincts that she should be able to react to it pretty fast. The moment she activated it, however, she realized exactly what had been wrong. The weight of the Dangai's pressure, even through those barriers, wasn't something she had any trouble understanding.

If she were a lesser shinigami, panic would have set in. Instead, all she felt in the immediacy was burning anger. That wasn't good. It was going to cloud her judgement. But, at least for a few brief moments, which the distortion of time likely stretched to hours on end, the only expression on her face was fury unlike any other.

She'd misplaced her trust again. That was a mistake Murasaki had made too many times, but she wasn't going to blame herself for it anymore. No, she was going to blame the one who'd betrayed her this time. She needed to calm down; something that took precious minutes she knew she couldn't waste here in the Dangai, of all places. If Urahara was turning on her like this, something bad was about to happen. She had to get out of here, and she couldn't risk trying to reappear somewhere she might mess it up, or somewhere she'd be in danger when she came back into existence.

There was only one place she could go. Murasaki inhaled, then exhaled. The weight of the Dangai's presence made focus difficult even for her; the stress of the unknown danger ongoing made it moreso. She closed her eyes as Musonzai took her mind, and imagined the only place that was so dear to her heart she could never possibly forget it;

After precious minutes, Murasaki simply ceased to exist within the Dangai. Her very existence, gone from the world, would return on the boundless steppe. After that, she just had to get home.

The spells burst into effect suddenly, beams of blue energy surging back into Murasaki as she remained confined within a prison of his own making. He did not waste a moment to gloat; he took no pleasure in seeing her languish there, but it was a necessary evil. That innocuous smile he had worn so easily slipped free from his face like a mask being removed, a dour frown settling in as he drew his zanpakuto once more and stabbed out into the nothingness behind them to reopen the door and then stepped through it.

To her, for once, he would move as a blur - so fast that it seemed impossible - until the obvious became apparent. The time density, which he had alleged to have amplified, had in fact been reversed. The talismans were a tool to mask his use of Forbidden Kido as Kisuke tampered with the fabrics of time itself if only for a few fleeting moments. They would not last long, even as Murasaki freed herself they were already burning up from the power that they had briefly unleashed, but the purpose had been served.

He returned to his laboratory only a scant few seconds after they had left, yet the former Captain was akin to a man changed. His automated assistants came to tend to him, wrapping him in a cloak that shielded his presence from all and obfuscated his energy signature to little more than a passing wisp. Tapping the side of his head, Kisuke silently cast another spell, to send a message hurtling across the realms to another that was waiting to receive it.

"It's done."