Genpaku Enters the Template Game

[ K | A | I | E | D | O ]
[ M | O | U | I ]

A Man Whom Darkness
Sheltered, Raised, And Gave Its Strength
Now See Him Wield It
________________________________________

{Insert Posting Music Title - Composer}
{Insert Posting Music Proper}

________________________________________

- {D E S T R U C T I O N} -
- {R E I G N S} -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was impressive to say the least, Hakai’s defenses. He took a Geki straight to the gut and after a little bleeding managed to stop it and go right back on the defensive. The same was true when he countered the modified Kidō, taking only minimal damage in comparison to what the attack had the potential to do. As Kaiedo released the wind Kidō to blow away the smoke and dust he felt a new push of energy, alien and yet familiar. He guessed, and was proven correct in short order as Hakai was revealed, his hollow mask having been drawn. Again Hakai had stepped up to match him as he had driven the stakes up, but it was once again him raising the stakes. He rushed in and brought the blade down, and as expected Hakai raised an arm and blocked it. The sweeping kick managed to catch him, but Hakai used his arm as a pivot and avoided the bala outright. Kaiedo knew that any moment Hakai’s counter offensive would begin, so he broke down some of the nearby sand, and prepared.

He was not disappointed; Hakai launched forward, lost to Kaiedo’s eyes for a brief moment as the crack of sonido ripped the air. He appeared again to the right, and as Kaiedo turned to face his opponent Hakai unleashed another blast of the strange black smog, obscuring the vizard from view. Beyond that problem though, there was the more immediate problem of the smog itself; Kaiedo had already learned just what exactly that smoke could do upon contact, though he was sure there were more applications and uses yet hidden. Breaking it down had proven a fruitless endeavor, and it is properties were too chaotic to make a second attempt mid combat a smart decision. Hakai would use this as cover to launch an attack; that much he could figure out. However, there was no telling where the attack would come from, and it was possible that he might dodge straight into the oncoming attack. He made his decision.
”Tenran.”

Upon the incantation’s name the wind exploded once more; this time it was aimed straight down, sending wind and sand and smoke alike fleeing from its rage as Kaiedo cleared an area roughly 40 meters in diameter before the smoke had gotten to him to begin the damage. This meant that when Hakai was there, at his left, he saw it coming. He let instinct take over.
”Enkousen,” he said, his voice calm but combined with the distinct rattle of the hollow’s voice. Between himself and Hakai a large barrier appeared. Hakai’s first strike cracked the barrier, but it gave Kaiedo enough time to readjust. The second strike broke clean through the barrier, which began to dissipate as the rest of Hakai’s blows slammed through; Kaiedo had not fully readjusted yet, and the third and fourth strikes found purchase in his left shoulder and sternum. He brought Gekimetsu to bear, point down, and used the large blade as a partial shield, knocking away several of the blows with only minor movements from the blade. Of the 30, 12 found solid purchase, and another 3 had grazing blows. Bones cracked under the strain, more than a few broke; he immediately began to invest some of his personal spiritual energy into regeneration.

He couldn’t compete with an enemy like Hakai with a broken body, and he would need a few moments to fully allow the majority of the damage to heal. Hakai was not done though; the blue light did not go amiss, and as Hakai called out the Kidō’s name, Kaiedo made his plan. He jumped back, gaining minimal distance before the blast tore forth. In appearance, the blast had been a success as Kaiedo flew away from The Destroyer, smoke coming off his body. He neared the wall of smoke that had been pushed away by the earlier Kidō when he managed to flip, hitting the ground and sliding back hunched over with his Zanpaku-tou securely in his grasp. Hakai charged forward, eager to keep control of the pace and land another blow. It was now time to see if Kaiedo’s little ploy would work.

When Hakai had unleashed the Kidō, Kaiedo had set Gekimetsu to work devouring the energy as it flew. He had then use Gekimetsu itself to block the Kidō with the point, forcing it to detonate early. Because he had already been in the air, the concussive wave had forced him back while Gekimetsu had absorbed a little more energy. Kaiedo was hoping that Hakai would think him weakened and rush in to capitalize on the opportunity. As Hakai closed the distance for the uppercut, Gekimetsu broke down the ground immediately before his feet. The purpose of this was to throw the Destroyer off balance and flip the tables to grant Kaieod a momentary advantage. He slice with Gekimetsu, going from lower right to upper left on Hakai, the red aura blazing as though to fire another Geki at point blank range.

As he did this though, he further broke down the ground below Hakai, aiming to further upset his balance or at the very least force the man to focus on creating a stable platform for a moment while avoiding the strike. There was no Geki blast accompanying this attack though; instead, there was a finger pointed at Hakai from Kaiedo’s right hand, the left having been used to swing the sword.
”Hyouga Seiran.”
For a moment Kaiedo’s hand glowed a brilliant blue, around him the air became freezing, then the Kidō was unleashed as a huge wash of ice and power rushed out to meet Hakai at near point blank range. The force of the blast would possibly be enough to push the vizard back, but the aim was the freeze him solid. The Kidō would not hold him for long, but it didn’t need too on its own.

Kaiedo launched himself into the air; he didn’t use Gekimetsu to launch an attack there because he would need that stored energy after his next attack, because he was about to use a great deal of his own energy between the first Kidō and the ones to come.
”Bakudo #61, Rikujōkōrō,” he called as he rose, the six rods of light shooting forth to attempt to hold Hakai further in place for what was to come. Kaiedo created a platform in mid air, took aim by placing his hand palm out towards Hakai, and began the chant.
”Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness.” Immense power began to gather around Kaiedo.
” Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders.” Ten pink energy spears appeared surrounding him in the air as he spoke, the hollow rattle adding a strange quality to the chant.
” Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired.” The spears glowed brighter, the already dark sky seemed to turn an even deeper shadow of obsidian and the moon seemed to have disappeared, or fled in fear.
”Hadō #91, Senjū Kōten Taihō.”

Whether this was more than Hakai had bargained for or not, Kaiedo did not care. The 10 spears launched forward, and collided on the place where Hakai was supposedly frozen in place. The resulting explosion cratered the ground as the world glowed a bright pink. Such a pretty color to hide such overwhelming destructive power, as the land below was stripped away along with Hakai’s fog presumably. Kaiedo was feeling the effects of using such Kidō back to back. Amplified by the properties of the mask, the Kidō was certainly a destructive force beyond anything Kaiedo had delivered up until now. However, it took a great deal of energy to use. Kaiedo was not one to go around using this level of Kidō all the time either; in fact this was the first time he had been forced to use such a powerful Kidō in open combat. He wasn’t drained completely, but if he was forced to use a second Kidō near that strength he would be running into dangerous territory. For now, he would stick to Gekimetsu’s attacks and conserve his own energy.

He was feeling the effects of Hakai’s beatdown from only a little earlier as well. Having used so much energy, he had stopped the regeneration to a degree. It would take longer for all of his bones to mend, but he could keep fighting for now. He now waited; there was no need to follow up his attack with another until he knew what kind of condition his opponent was in. Despite the severity of the attack, Kaiedo was not aiming to kill Hakai, though such an outcome was not off the table at this point with the rate they were going at it. Hakai was a resilient creature though, and Kaiedo knew that the vizard would not be dead yet from the attack. Heavily damage he hoped. Gekimetsu began to absorb more energy, reaching roughly 80% of its maximum for the time being as Kaiedo waited to see Hakai’s response to the force just leveled against him.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- {S I L E N C E} -
- {F O L L O W S} -

Code:

<Blockquote><div style="background-image: url('http://img835.imageshack.us/img835/7697/lgrey091.gif'); 15px; -moz-border-radius: 10px; -khtml-border-radius: 10px; -webkit-border-radius: 15=0px; border-radius: 10px; width: 100%; align: center; font: 12px Times; color: #000000; cursor: crosshair "class="center"><center><div style="width: 90%" align="left">
[center][font=impact][size=28][ K | A | I | E | D | O ]
[ M | O | U | I ][/size][/font]
[img]http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1442/kaiedonewtemplatepic.png[/img]
[font=impact][size=18]A Man Whom Darkness
Sheltered, Raised, And Gave Its Strength
Now See Him Wield It
________________________________________[/font][/size]

[font=Georgia][i]{Insert Posting Music Title - Composer}[/i][/font]
{Insert Posting Music Proper}

[font=impact][size=18]________________________________________

- {D E S T R U C T I O N} -
- {R E I G N S} -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [/font][/size][/center]
[Enter Post Text Here]
[center][size=18][font=impact]- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- {S I L E N C E} -
- {F O L L O W S} -[/font][/size][/center]
</div></center>
</div></blockquote>

N A T A L I A
A S H M O U R N E
-----------------------
┼ A V A T A R | O F | L I F E ┼

[Gogo no Hizashi - Yuki Kajiura]

---

Current Active Gates
None

Current Active Forms
Base

These domed cities always seemed somewhat strange to Natalia, with their controlled environments and false sky stretching overhead. Granted, she had her own reasons for that kind of feeling (primarily the fact that she had lived so long without the existence of such cities). While strange these cities held a particular beauty all their own with their towers of steel and glass and the encompassing dome overhead, standing as testament to mankind’s will to survive the onslaught of those who sought their eradication. Cities like this, beneath their grand domes, inspired a feeling of safety in the masses, because how could something so grand, so immovable, be brought low? Natalia had seen exactly that happen, and when those grand structures of great cities fell so too did the spirits of the city’s people. She had learned firsthand that when an enemy wanted into a city it was the strength of arm, not stone, that kept them at bay. In that this city, Karakura, was the safest city on the planet with so many organizations centered here. For that reason though it was also one of the largest targets on the face of the Earth and that was why she chose to live elsewhere, in a little town called Osora. This little town had no dome and no regular protection from any of the organizations. Yet the town stood, and there were a few who wondered why; only one resident of that city knew the answer to that though.

Natalia walked at a steady and measured pace down the semi-busy street. She was dressed simply this day; worn comfortable jeans subtly complimenting her light crème colored jacket, a dark shirt beneath and comfortably worn-in sneakers rounded out the outfit. Her hair was pinned up today like normal, her golden locks kept in place by a simple hair pin. She took in the city with her brown eyes, seeing as few did the similarities between these advanced cities of the “future” and the cities of the now distant past, which stood only as a memory in her mind and the worlds. She was not here for vacation and sight-seeing though; while she planned to see the sights of these connected cities should time allow, she was here to pick up several key supplies that the companies did not feel comfortable with delivering to her tavern in the unprotected region. These were mostly things that were not easily procured outside cities like this; technical upgrades to stay connected to the ever changing world, certain ingredients that were uncommon outside of trade ports such as cities like this, and so forth. Already she had gone through the trouble of picking up stricter security system for the tavern, a spiritual energy identifier, and a few other technical pieces. Next on the list were the ingredients and that lead her towards the more common market place.

Something brown and greed broke the grey river of concrete she walked upon just ahead of her, and gave her a moment’s worth of pause. It was strange to see weeds in general in the confines of the domes and their sidewalks, but to find some growing in the dead-center of the sidewalk was exceptionally odd. After a few moments of inspection she discovered something stranger yet about the plant; that it was not growing up through the sidewalk but had burrowed down, straight through the concrete slab; that was exactly the kind of things that was not normal and would attract attention from those who could spot it. Someone had dropped something here, and that thing had sprouted into this weed. She lifted her gaze and found another plant not too far away. Her eyes followed the trail of weeds from her position to a flower shop a little ways ahead of her. Outside of the shop was a single woman who was squatting near the flowers, apparently studying or enjoying them. Natalia started forward again, and looked to her right; she caught sight of a young man leaning against the trunk of a young cherry blossom tree; even from here he looked disgruntled.

Now, truth be told the random creation of the weeds and plants were of no concern of Natalia’s at all, nor was the woman or man within the immediate vicinity of the shop; they possessed nothing that she was aware of needing or missing. However, there was a little something in the shop’s window that was relevant to her interests. As such, she detoured her journey to the market for now. She flashed a small smile to the man as she walked by and into the shop. The shop-keep, she spared a slightly longer, amiable smile.
”Are those dragon-fire Lilies in the window for sale by chance?” she asked. The shop keep, a round and slightly balding man who looked in his forties, rewarded her with a somewhat shocked and puzzled look at the question.
”Well…yes, but I should warn you they’re a-“ he began.
”Notoriously difficult plant to raise,” she finished, giving another smile. ”If you willing to part with them I will gladly take them off your hands.”

And so the haggling began. As expected the shop keep wanted a sizeable sum for the rare flower. However, the amount he actually wanted far exceeded the actual value of the pretty flower, and certainly was more than Natalia felt comfortable paying at the moment. After a few minutes of bargaining though, she talked him down to a downright cheap price on the rare flower, though she did have to offer up a free night’s stay at the tavern should he be in the area. What she owed she paid in cash, left an address for him, and walked over to the window, admiring the brilliant orange and red delicate lily. She got a view out of the window here, and she noted a new person had appeared outside of the shop;. It seemed that this flower shop was a popular place on this given day.

{ L I F E }
{ G O E S }
{ O N }

---

┼
This Woman
┼
Guards A Precious Secret
┼
With Honor And Strength
┼

Code:

<blockquote><img src="http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7794/nataliatemplateimage1.png" align="left"><div style="background-image: url('http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/676/nataliabackground2.png'); border: 0px ridge #000000; font: 12px Times; color: #C7C7C7; cursor: crosshair "class="center"><center><div style="width: 90%" align="left">[color=white][center][font=impact][size=28]N A T A L I A
A S H M O U R N E
-----------------------[/size]
[size=20]┼ A V A T A R | O F | L I F E ┼[/size][/font][/center][/color]
[Enter You-Tube Music Here, Dimensions: W: 250, L: 150]

[color=white][font=Georgia][Song Name - Composer][/color][/font][/center]

[hr]
[right][font=Georgia][color=white][u]Current Active Gates[/u][/color]
[i]None[/i]

[color=white][u]Current Active Forms[/u][/color]
[i]Base[/i][/font][/right]
[Enter Post Content Here]
[/font]

[center][font=impact][size=18]{ L I F E }
{ G O E S }
{ O N }[/size][/font][/center]</div><img src="http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/1558/nataliiatemplateimage2.png" align="left"><img src="http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/4631/nataliiatemplateimage3.png" align="right">
[hr]

[center][font=impact][size=15]┼
This Woman
┼
  Guards A Precious Secret
┼
 With Honor And Strength
┼


[/size][/font][/center]</center>
</div></blockquote>

____________________

With such a momentous day underway and two of the three proxy rulers of Demon World’s new power structure, you would expect the third to not be far away, no? Well, you’d be wrong in this case. While Mana’s signal drew the demons towards the central city, several ignored the summons, but they aren’t important; the one we’re here to see is the missing leader. The demon who had been named King in Touketsu’s presence; Abaddon was far from the realm of Demon World. A different plane of existence; the between worlds to be exact.

At one time, Soul Society had been solely in charge of monitoring and policing these worlds. Times were different now; K-world, Hueco Mundo, and Demon World had all taken some measure of control over sectors of the between worlds, and made use of them. This world, just like any other, was contested territory that every party wanted a piece of. Thus was the way of war.

War was the reason one of the strongest demons in existence was here, and not in demon world celebrating the merger of Sin Fall and the Nuevo Espada. The massive Demon Lord stood stock still, a low muttering coming from his being and disturbing the silence of the barren stretch of world, his hands held out before him making some kind of symbol. All was not as calm as it seemed though; around the dragon-demon an immense radiation of power was taking place, enough to crush lesser beings and make stronger ones think twice about confronting him. This was no display though; this power was being shaped and controlled with precision. Abaddon’s eyes were unfocused, as though he was looking far away from the bleak place he now stood. In a matter of speaking that was exactly what he was doing.

He shattered the physical stillness with a motion of a clawed hand raking upwards. At the motion, even greater power rushed forward and a sound rose. It was a tearing sound, as though someone was ripping apart a sheet of tin; in the still silence of the between world it roared like thunder. Before Abaddon the air broke; the dimensional wall that defined the space was cut, and it broke to pieces before him as the dimension he created was opened.

This dimension was small as dimensions went. It was a flat plane of rough black ground, not dirt or stone but something between the two. It was a sub-dimension really, the borders set in a strange dome of smooth stone the color of jet. Yet in this black dimension there was ambient light that came from nowhere. The dome rose miles high; miles of empty space. This dimension was dead. Not only in the sense that there were no living beings in this place, but in its feel. There was no movement of air as there was none. And there was no spiritual energy of any kind. It simply did not exist here, as was one of the parameters Abaddon had set upon this plane’s creation.

The entrance was a gaping wound in the dimension, and it was somehow jagged like broken glass. Abaddon stepped in, looked back at the tear, and held up a hand. More power radiated off of him, like heat from a volcano or a star. He reached out with his power and his will, and he forced the wound closed. The sound of it was like rain, if said rain was made of small droplets of glass hitting stone. Within a few moments, the between worlds had vanished and Abaddon was left in the middle of this new, dead world. His crimson eyes looked around the plane for a few moments before he turned and opened a new portal.

This one led to demon world; specifically to a group of waiting demons. Upon the opening of this portal, they rushed in, carrying strange equipment and magical instruments.
”Begin the preparations. If the cur from the Eighth Circle arrives with the information do not admit him here, give him nothing, and take what information he offers. And inform me of his arrival.” His voice was harsh and commanding. The demons nodded silently and began their work.

The first phase complete, Abaddon walked out of the dead dimension and into Demon World; the difference was immediate. It was like static on the skin, like fine mist; that was the difference in feel from the world where no spiritual energy existed and a realm populated by beings capable of wielding power. He stood a moment, feeling out those powers that now flowed around him. Then he put forth another effort of will, and solidified the portal from Demon World to the dead dimension. Then he sealed it.

There was a massive influx of power; Abaddon turned his gaze towards Demon King’s City. A massive being was, almost literally, tearing its way into Demon World. It was going through a Garganta, however, so he could safely assume that Ashlei Clixx, the former Cero Espada and now Hollow Queen had made her entrance on the little event that Mana had gone and set up. He stood there a moment, gauging the power that had just entered Demon World; while the giant machine was menacing to be sure, the power that radiated from it was different than the one that was overpowering the feel of hundreds of thousands of demons. He pushed forward a small effort of will, and completed the spell. His eyes flared a strange green coloration, and he could suddenly see as though he was standing in the crowd.

And he could hear as well. He stood there, listening through a distance that should have made it impossible to hear as Ashlei made her introduction speech and rallied the gathered horde of demons and Arrancar. One would think that the battle was to take place this very day. It was a while down the road yet, but that said the introduction was a nice touch. Mana’s entrance, he assumed, had been little more than her walking onto that stage. The demons of Touketsu’s kingdom loved her, in their own twisted way. With that love, there was respect as well; she wasn’t the queen of demon world and Sin Fall for no reason. Abaddon commanded no such love from the members of Demon World; he commanded a respect and fear of a different kind.

And he was due to make an entrance.

Originally, he had planned to just walk in to the meeting and take his seat. However, the stakes had been raised by the queens; he couldn’t just be boring now, could he? He retracted his senses, and stared to walk towards the city. As he walked, he was suddenly outlined in crimson/black energy, and an oppressive feeling began to well up. Then his form suddenly rippled, and his wings exploded outwards. The ground below him broke with each step, the area around him began to warm, and within a few moments the demon that had stood there before was gone; in its place stood a large dragon with scales of black and red.

The dragon easily stood over seventy meters at its shoulders. With Abaddon’s transformation to his Demon Dragon form, his power rushed out into his surroundings. He rose high enough to clear the buildings of the city so that he would not have to run into any of them. He rose into the air and headed for the congregation of demons and Arrancar. Though he was miles from his destination, his power could be felt; immense as his physical body suggested and more. His was the power of ancient times, of legions of demons that he had devoured and slain, of centuries of knowledge and conflict. Before this power, the majority of the congregated demons were like moths before a volcano.

And this was but sixty percent of his power; power that was not even being used yet.

While he could have covered the distance in a moment with Shadow Movement, it would not leave the same feeling. Form this distance those assembled could feel his power, and they could feel it approaching them like a great wave of heat and death. Yet this was their proxy king in Touketsu’s absence, so to them it may have been as good as a rallying force. He reached the congregation soon enough all the same, and he made a show of circling the area.

Then he pulled up, and landed near the stage; below him the ground cracked from his weight and presence. He started forward towards the stage, and as he did his form began to shrink; while this form was great for an entrance, its size was limiting when it came to interacting with others. And being on a stage that was barely large enough for him to lay on if he curled up. And this was the smaller of his forms, not a true release. It was enough all the same.
”I like that idea, Miss Clixx. Together, our kingdoms shall drown our enemy’s in their own blood,” Abaddon’s voice said, distorted into something deeper than his already deep bass voice. As he reached the stairs of the stage, his draconic forms fully faded, leaving him in his humanoid form; even in this, he towered at over ten feet in height. His wings were wrapped about him as though they were some formal cloak.

He gave a bow to the seated Queen of Hollows and Center Throne, then turned to Mana and gave another formal bow before he walked to his throne, spinning and sitting. When exactly the crown had decided to up residence on his brow it was hard to say, but it sat there as though it had always been there. And so the Three Thrones were assembled.

What would happen next? Well, that was Mana’s show to set off, just as it was everyone else’s’ to watch.

Code:

<blockquote><center><div style="width: 500px; background-image: url('http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/6910/abaddonbackground.png'); border: 0px ridge #000000; font: 12px Times; color: #ffffff; "class="center"><center><div style="width: 90%" align="left">
[center][img]http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/3180/abaddonheader.png[/img]

[font=impact]____________________[/font][/center]


<center><div style="background-image: url('http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/179/img420.jpg'); border: 2px ridge #FAF8CC; ; font: 12px Times; color: #E10000">
<div style="width: 90%" align="left">
[i]
<div style="width: 90%" align="left">
[i]

Enter Post Here

[/i]
</div>
</div></center>

</div></center>
</div></center></blockquote>

The Eleventh Division grounds were crowded upon Aramand’s arrival, members of the division in the process of training, leaving for one form or another of duty, or watching. When he arrived, several of them turned to look at him. Even after his proclamation, only a handful had actually taken notice of him. The man Aramand was looking for was not present, however. One of the members slipped off towards the Captain’s quarters.

Aramand’s target was busy taking a nap at this moment, mostly out of boredom. The towering man lay sprawled out on the floor, near an open window. He was enjoying the pleasant air if nothing else. This place had become rather boring as of late; it wasn’t often he had much reason to leave lately either. Things, in the general sense, had become boring. There wasn’t much of anyone around that felt like a “friendly spar” either. Granted, boring spars like that did very little to get his blood going.

“Zaraki-taicho! You’ve got someone lookin’ for you out front,”[/color] someone called. Zaraki Kenpachi’s one showing eye opened as he looked at the door.
“Oh? What do they want?”
“No clue,”
Eh, what better did he have to do? He sat up, grabbed his Zanpaku-tou, and stood up. The division member ran off ahead of him, leaving Zaraki to walk outside alone for once; Yachiru had ran off to get some candy or see Kuchiki or something. It was only a minute or so until he reached the training grounds, and spied the man that had apparently come looking for him. He raised his eyebrow; this guy was looking for him? Wasn’t he the Vice-captain to one of the other divisions? Seventh maybe? Eh, he couldn’t remember and didn’t really care. Small fry.

He started across the grounds, grabbing the attention of those in the area. Most of the members present had been here for a decent length of time, so they had grown somewhat accustom to the spiritual pressure that rolled off of him subconsciously. There was one or two new members who weren’t used to it though, and they instantly felt the effects of him just being in the area. Weaker Shinigami would have been paralyzed, and maybe even passed out. And this was just the stuff he put out without thinking about it.
“So, what do you want?”
His tone was a strange mix of gruff and bored as he approached the man. It was a strange occurrence however; it wasn’t often that he met someone who was actually taller than himself.

Zaraki sized the man up in a glance; he was taller and had more weight on him. If strength was determined by only the size of your muscles he might have been stronger than him. He was a combatant. But he wasn’t putting out all that much spiritual pressure. Roughly Vice-Captain level alright. While he waited for his answer, he dug into his ear with his pinky finger, seemingly as bored here as he had been before. Granted, it would not have seemed strange to the other members of the Division if he had laid down right there and decided to take his nap outdoors for once.

Code:

<blockquote><center><div style="width: 600px; background-image: url('http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8268/201253.jpg'); border: 2px ridge #ffffff; font: 12px Times; color: #ffffff; "class="center"><center>[img]http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/3513/zarakiposttemplatepic.png[/img]
[[Enter Youtube Music here; Dimenions: Width = 600px, Height = 35px]]
[center][font=impact][size=18][Song Name - Composer][/size][/font][/center]
<div style="width: 90%" align="left">

<center><div style="background-image: url('http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8268/201253.jpg'); border: 1px solid #9b8300; ; font: 12px Times; color: #ffffff">
<div style="width: 95%" align="left">
[i]Enter Post Here

[/i]
</div>
</div></center>

</div></center>
[img]http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/294/zarakiendpost.png[/img]
</div></center></blockquote>

[[Enter Youtube Music here; Dimenions: Width = 600px, Height = 35px]]

[Song Name - Composer]

Current Gate(s)
None
Current State
Base

---

Viktor was far from the only person to have stumbled across the strange mass of creatures; several others had, and unfortunately none of them had the ability to blow up things attacking them. That said, a few had been fortunate enough to have weapons on hand. They had escaped, and passed along the news about their own homes. Most of them came from smaller domed cities outside of Karakura City. A few of those that managed to survive came from a far stranger down; a little city that remained unprotected. There was no protective dome, no squadron of protectors from any of the various organizations, nothing of that sort. Some had questioned why the city remained standing for so long; maybe it was because there were few people with any detectable amount of spiritual pressure to attract monsters, or maybe because it was so out of the way that it wasn’t worth being raided. Others thought that it was because there was a guardian angel watching out for the city; they were the closest to being right.

The news of the strange mass of creatures had made its way to town, and yet that wasn’t what had tipped off a certain individual to their presence. Osora Town housed an old style tavern that offered home cooked food and warm beds to those travelling through the town to more secure or prosperous places. Said tavern was run by a woman who had come from seemingly nowhere and set up almost overnight. Natalia Ashmourne was famous in the town for her astounding ability to cook food that had moved men to tears, or so some people said. On this particular day, however, the tavern had a closed sign on it, which was strange to some of the individuals; it was a rare day that the tavern was closed.

Inside, Natalia was busy not with pot and pan, but with a computer. Specifically, it was a complex series of devices hooked up to a couple computers which she stored in a hidden room adjoining her personal quarters. Natalia was no ordinary tavern keeper or woman, but that’s a story for a different time; the present story demands the attention you see. Using the set-up she had managed to detect the mass of strange creatures about an hour back, and had been busy tracking them since. They had moved closer to the town in bursts and spurts, but it looked as though they may have passed by harmlessly. That was until people started to show up wounded. When that happened, she directed them towards the hospital and closed up for the day. After that, she tracked them for maybe fifteen more minutes before she decided it was time to take action.

The area surrounding Osora town and the domed cities of earth were now mostly barren wasteland or else places that Nature had begun to forcibly reclaim in the absence of mankind to keep it in check. The use of hover veihicles had become mandatory, though you could occasionally find older off-road vehicles from a different time. Within ten minutes Natalia left, much to the disappointment of some who had shown up hoping to grab a late lunch. She drove a simple vehicle that you’d be hard pressed to pick out in a crowd. Of course, when it was the only thing moving across a wasteland it was probably pretty damn easy to detect. That was fine to her; considering she was heading out to stop the creatures attacking and moving towards her home she wanted some attention. There were two ways it could play out and be helpful; she might attract the attention of whatever this shambling horde was and draw it to her, or she would draw the attention of one of the other organizations that was monitoring the area with their advanced tech and satellites and force them to intervene. There were ways this could go bad as well; she preferred to not think about those.

It turned out that neither was what would happen on this day. As she drew closer to the area that the horde was last detected she sensed their spiritual energies, a mass of writhing chaotic energies that somehow managed to feel like something crawling over her skin. Beyond that though she detected a different energy, a familiar one that felt like warmth and arrogance. Believe it or not though, that wasn’t enough to narrow it down yet. She accelerated; someone was running straight into them and there was no telling how it would turn out. Granted, she couldn’t lightly jump into a conflict; she was supposed to remain under cover less people start trying to understand her powers, or the source of her…longevity.

Suddenly the horizon blazed, accompanied by a massive increase in pressure being put out. She pulled to a halt as the fire roared; it died down after a few moments. The spiritual pressure vanished with it, and for a few moments it looked like she was too late. She was about to feel bad and turn around when a strange pulse flowed out. THAT she did recognize. Instinctively, she covered her face with the palm of her hand. Oh, this day was just starting to get tedious. That said, she pushed down on the accelerator; just because the person she expected to find was effectively immortal (both like and unlike her), it didn’t mean that he would be alright.

She pulled to a stop less than a hundred yards from the man’s body and what did she see? An ass. Literally. Viktor was face-down in the dirt, presumably unconscious, in the middle of a scorched wasteland that hadn’t needed his help to become that. Around him were the scorched remains of several of the creatures. She dug into the back seat for a moment before she produced a worn blanket she used to protect the seats of the craft when transporting groceries or other things; she tossed it under her arm and started walking over to him. She paused for a moment near one on of the destroyed husks; it looked vaguely humanoid though that much was hard to tell considering how more or less vaporized that thing was.

She crossed the rest of the distance to the downed man and did him the courtesy of covering him both for his decency and her own. She kneeled down over him a moment, having already decided how she was going to handle this meeting; the same way she dealt with it each time it happened. She and Viktor had crossed paths a handful of times; the first time she had kicked him in half, quite literally. Since that day, she had denied ever having taken that course of action or even having ever met him. It was to protect her and a certain entity that she housed within her body and possibly soul. She already had one person now who knew she was an immortal being. The more she let know, the more complicated things were going to become. So she would continue to pretend she had no idea who this man was.

“Um…sir, are you alright?” she asked, the question genuine. She wasn’t entirely clear on how his regeneration and immortality worked. She was careful to make her facial expression one of true concern however. All she could do was wait for a response now.

Code:

<blockquote><center><div style="width: 600px; background-image: url('http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8268/201253.jpg'); border: 0px ridge #ffffff; font: 12px Times; color: #C7C7C7; "class="center"><center>[img]http://img805.imageshack.us/img805/7495/nataliapostingtemplatep.png[/img]
[[Enter Youtube Music here; Dimenions: Width = 600px, Height = 35px]]
[center][font=impact][size=18][Song Name - Composer][/size][/font][/center]
<div style="width: 90%" align="left">

<center><div style="background-image: url('http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8268/201253.jpg'); border: 1px solid #ffffff; ; font: 12px Times; color: #C7C7C7">
[right][color=#ffffff][u]Current Gate(s)[/u][/color]
None
[color=#ffffff][u]Current State[/u][/color]
Base[/right]
[hr]<div style="width: 95%" align="left">
[i]Enter Post Here
[/i]
</div>
</div></center>

</div></center>
</div>[img]http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/3013/nataliaendpost.png[/img]</center></blockquote>

[[Enter Youtube Music here; Dimenions: Width = 600px, Height = 35px]]

[Song Name - Composer]

Enter Post Here

Code:

<blockquote><center><div style="width: 600px; background-image: url('http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8268/201253.jpg'); border: 0px ridge #ffffff; font: 12px Times; color: #C7C7C7; "class="center"><center>[img]http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/9041/grimmjowpostheader2.png[/img]
[[Enter Youtube Music here; Dimenions: Width = 600px, Height = 35px]]
[center][font=impact][size=18][Song Name - Composer][/size][/font][/center]
<div style="width: 90%" align="left">

<center><div style="background-image: url('http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8268/201253.jpg'); border: 0px solid #ffffff; ; font: 12px Times; color: #ffffff">
<div style="width: 95%" align="left">
[i]Enter Post Here
[/i]
</div>
</div></center>

</div></center>[img]http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/431/grimmjowfooter2.png[/img]</div>
</center></blockquote>

[[Enter Youtube Music here; Dimenions: Width = 600px, Height = 35px]]

[Song Name - Composer]

For all the chaos that Soul Society experienced anymore, there were quiet days once in a while. Quiet of course is a subjective term in this case; Soul Society was on stand-by for war, as was always the case anymore. At any time Soul Society or Earth could come under attack again, and each day the attack didn’t come was another day everyone held their breath. Thus the members of the Gotei 13 were kept on standby for the inevitable conflict that was to come. Add on the strange incidents of conflict in Rukongai, or people challenging a certain Captain to combat that resulted in a (not) minor amount of collateral damage. Strange disappearances, the constant risk of enemy spies, sneak attacks, and the normal business of hollow slaying; all that adds up. The point? A day without chaotic events taking places was a great thing indeed.

Such a day should not be utterly wasted by staying inside and doing something as bothersome and repetitive as paperwork, or so went the thought process of a certain Sixth Division Vice-Captain. It was also this thought process that eventually led Joshua Jehanna to leave his post, his paperwork only half done, and head outside; not just outside his office either, since if he stayed within his divisional barracks or even Seireitei there was a distinctly high chance that a certain Captain would show up to chastise him about his lack of work ethic, punctuality, pride, so on and so forth. So instead he headed out of Seireitei; this of course had nothing to do with an interest in some gambling. Not at all.

So yeah, gambling happened. Joshua made no effort to disguise his appearance after he exited his division’s boundaries. His garb was typical of the crimson hair Vice-Captain; his strange coat and hat. At his side hung his Zanpaku-tou; his sword in the shape of a katana that still felt strange to him, even hundreds of years later. Yet you would not see him travel anywhere without that blade by his side; even within the walls of Seireitei under its new security procedures it was foolish to travel unarmed these days, and Joshua was not as much a fool as he acted like. He stopped only once for a few minutes at the western gate to chat with the guardian there, with whom he had a good rapport with; generally Joshua had a good rapport with just about everyone due to his outgoing nature. After a little banter he bid farewell and continued onto one of the tavern-style establishments that littered Rukongai; a place where drinks were cheap and people liked a game of cards. Joshua was decently well known and liked in this part of Rukongai, something surprisingly few Shinigami could actually say. He entered the tavern to a round of smiles, which had nothing to do with the round of drinks he immediately bought the house. Not at all. He took a seat at one of the tables where a game of cards was underway and bought in.

It is “unfortunate” that Lady Luck did not decided to sit at Joshua’s side this day, at least were cards were concerned, and Joshua didn’t feel like “making his own luck” this day. So after he had “lost” enough money for one day he excused himself. Afterall, today was too nice a day to stay inside, and too nice a day to let his mood be ruined by such events. So Joshua contented himself with a pleasant stroll through Rukongai’s inner districts as people shopped and laughed, cried and lived. Maybe at some point he’d find a quieter place for a nap? Who knew.

Life Is Just Luck, Innit It?

Code:


<blockquote><center><div style="width: 600px; border: 1px ridge #b00202; font: 12px Times; color: #000000; "class="center"><center>[img]http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/9205/joshuabanner.png[/img]
[[Enter Youtube Music here; Dimenions: Width = 600px, Height = 35px]]
[center][font=impact][size=18][Song Name - Composer][/size][/font][/center]
<div style="width: 90%" align="left">

<center><div style="border: 1px solid #b00202; font: 12px Times; color: #000000">
<div style="width: 95%" align="left">
[i]Enter Post Here[/i]

</div>
</div></center>

</div></center>[font=impact][size=26][color=#b00202]Life Is Just Luck, Innit It?[/color][/size][/font]

</div>
</center></blockquote>


[[Enter Youtube Music here; Dimenions: Width = 600px, Height = 35px]]

[Song Name - Composer]

Zanpaku-tou(s) State(s)
Fujin: Sealed || Raiden: Sealed
Power Limiter
Active
Other Active States
None

---

Enter Post Here

Code:


<blockquote><center><div style="width: 600px; background-image: url('http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8268/201253.jpg'); border: 5px ridge #d2c100; font: 12px Times; color: #ffffff; "class="center"><center>[img]http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/6109/genpakutemplateheader3.png[/img]
[[Enter Youtube Music here; Dimenions: Width = 600px, Height = 35px]]
[center][font=impact][size=18][Song Name - Composer][/size][/font][/center]

<div style="width: 90%" align="left"><center><div style="background-image: url('http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/8268/201253.jpg'); border: 1px solid #ffffff; ; font: 12px Times; color: #025700"><div style="width: 98%" align="left">
[right][color=#d2c100][u]Zanpaku-tou(s) State(s)[/u][/color]
Fujin: Sealed  ||  Raiden: Sealed
[color=#d2c100][u]Power Limiter[/u][/color]
Active
[color=#d2c100][u]Other Active States[/u][/color]
None
[/right]</div>[hr]
<div style="font: 12px Times; color: #ffffff"><div style="width: 95%" align="left">

[center]Enter Post Here[/center]

</div></div>
</div></center>
</div></center>[img]http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/184/genpakupostingtemplate1.png[/img]</div>
</center></blockquote>