Snakes Without Sin
Ageha, Jinzo, Shion, Jingorō - Human World
Mei stood at the furthest end of the Seireitei, awaiting the new graduates. She stood taller than the average woman, with a face that was largely considered beautiful by most. Her gray hair was twisted into a ponytail that reached past her lower back, the color complimenting her hazel eyes that glared forward. She was accompanied by a spiky red-haired man, Rio, who stood a few inches shorter than the woman. His eyes were light blue and as a member of Squad Eleven, had a muscular build. It was rather noticeable that the man’s arms, however, stopped at the elbow and were wrapped in bandages. It clearly didn’t affect his duties as a Shinigami, though.
“You’re all late!” Mei would yell as all the graduates would show up, regardless of how early or late they actually were. “I expect you to be hours early, so expect points deducted from your evaluation, no exceptions!”
“Now listen up!” Mei pulls out four small, blue, circular chips, “our mission today is simple! Exterminate the hollow in the human world and find out what’s drawing them to this Shipyard. What I have in my hand are power limiters, once they are placed upon you then you will only be able to fight at twenty-five percent strength. That’s the amount of Reiatsu a Shinigami is limited to using in the Human World without it affecting the surroundings and causing unnecessary damage, but that’s more than enough to kill hollow, even for you new blood.”
“These chips can easily be broken by focusing your spiritual energy through them. However, you are only allowed to break these in emergency situations, such as a life or death situation. Is that understood? Good, now let’s go.” Rio just gave everyone an understanding half-smile. The chips would float onto the chests of the Shinigami, although they felt no different than before.
A hooded figure opened a portal leading into the sky of the human world. Mei stepped through, followed by the graduates, and then Rio last. They stood above a bustling shipyard advancing through various stages of construction. Heavy loads were lifted and guided with precision onto massive ships. Scattered across the yard were workers wearing oil-streaked overalls, clad in hard hats and high-visibility vests.
It would appear to be a normal worksite, if it weren’t for the hollow littered around. Two of them were closer to the water, approaching a group of men helping one another carry various items. The biggest hollow in the vicinity was in the process of climbing the crane. A lone human seemed to be alone, standing still behind a stack of boxes, staring up into the sky. Funny enough, directly where all the Shinigami stood. There were hollow emerging from various corners on the ground, however, most were climbing across the abandoned warehouse that was the backdrop of this industrial site. Although, it was only a matter of time before they noticed the souls and went for the attack. Despite how high up the Shinigami were, they would feel the constant release of spiritual energy from within that warehouse. Jinzo most of all would feel it calling to him, hunger, telling him to devour…
“Alright new blood, remember, your attacks right now don’t have the potential to affect the human world. So, in other words, use whatever method possible to dispose of the hollow and save the souls.” Mei pointed a finger forward, ordering the attack. Her other hand rests on the hilt of her sword.
Red spiritual energy was released from Rio. Although, instead of flaring around him, it was a solid mass that began to take form perfectly around his body. Two arms, made of spiritual energy, outlined his own cut-off arms. He balls up his spiritual fists and grins, “I’m Rio of Squad Eleven, and I’m backing up the first of you that goes in.”
Tower Of The North
Asami, Yuto, Kobe, Tatsui - Hueco Mundo
On the opposite side of the Seireitei stood two Shinigami, the bubbly blue-haired Division Two member alongside a tall and lanky man. Deimos, of Division Five, looked exactly how one would expect those in the human world to look like. He wore a tank top and jeans, with sports sneakers on. A beanie covered what gave hints of low-cut purple hair. Wireless headphones covered his ears as he bobbed his head, not paying an ounce of attention to his surroundings. Tattoos adorned his arms, numbers on his right arm while the left arm tally marks, as if counting something. If that wasn’t interesting enough, he didn’t carry his Zanpakuto on his hip or across his back, he simply just carried it in his hand.
“Goooooooood wonderful morning everyone! I hope you all had an amazing sleep, and a hearty breakfast! We need all the strength we have for this one, mmmmkay?” Aya gave a thumbs up and a wink to the graduates, smiling wide. “So, let me run this mission by you again. We’ll be performing an incursion into Hueco Mundo, the home to hollow. These jobs are generally performed by Division Three and Thirteen, but me and Deimos have a particular skill set they wanted. It also just so happens we were selected to evaluate you. So, expect those two squads to hear directly about how you did today as well.”
“Aaaaaaaanyway, back on topic! We’ll be infiltrating a castle today, previously said to be abandoned but something has appeared and is drawing hollow slowly. Our job is to get inside and find out what, and if possible, clear the hollow from the area. However, the secondary objective only applies if we feel we aren’t in danger. The information matters above all else, isn’t that right Deimos?”
“... Deimos?” Aya turned to see Deimos still bobbing his head to the music, not listening to a single word that was being said. For the first time the Shinigami would see a frown on her face as she reached up and put the taller boy in a headlock. He struggled trying to pull away, but her muscles bulged significantly and trapped him. He frowned as she snatched the headphones away. She smiled again at the graduates and giggled. “Sorry about this, my ride can be a buffoon sometimes!” She released her grasp and he stood straight, rubbing his neck and yawning.
“C’mon, you don’t gotta be so rough all the time.” He pressed down on the side of his neck, releasing a sigh of relief as the tension gave way. Aya rolled her eyes.
“Well, we don’t have all day Deimos! These new recruits are itching to get in the field!” She gestured forward dramatically.
“Alright, alright…”
Deimos stepped into an open space and held both arms out, palms forward. Every tattoo on his body began to glow a deep, dark, red as the energy traveled from the ink and into his palms. A ball of energy the same color shot forward before expanding, slowly. Those more proficient in Kido would be able to come to the conclusion that his tattoos somehow enabled him to use Kido at full strength, quick and without incantations. The orb expanded until it ripped into space itself, transforming the landscape in front of them into their destination, the gray and desolate, Hueco Mundo. He gestures forward to a rocky hill they would be stepping onto. Once everyone stepped through, the portal would close and they found themselves on the hill looking down upon the castle. The sky was dark, but the moon gave just enough light for them to see their destination. It was a clear infestation as hollow circled and crawled around the castle.
The air was harsh, almost as if soot was constantly flying through the air and the energy felt draining. This clearly wasn’t a place they should be in for too long. “Group up everyone.” Aya slammed her fists together as a dome expanded from her body, covering the entire group with enough space for them to move comfortably and draw their weapons if need be. “This makes us practically invisible to hollow and souls alike, and as long as we keep our volume reasonable nothing should hear us outside of the dome. So, any questions you have, feel free to ask.”
The Shinigami would begin walking forward. As they made their way to the northern tower, Aya would answer any question that may have come her way while her previous statement would prove to be true. Any hollow encountered walked straight past them, and they would occasionally side step to avoid any hollow stepping through the dome. The group approaches the northern tower entrance, and notes how much larger the castle was up close than further away. The tower alone was several stories high, but paled in comparison to the massive mansion that was further behind it. The group entered, walking onto the first tower floor.
This floor was wide with a singular table and two chairs placed in the center of it. One of the chairs was knocked over, collecting a large amount of cobwebs. To the left of the room was a staircase, spiraling upwards. A closed door was straight ahead of them, possibly leading to a basement of sorts while the door on the right hinted towards a kitchen as a stove could be seen through the slight opening. Deimos tattoos began lighting up again as he placed his hands on the ground, the energy sprawling through the ground and walls itself. A blueprint of the tower and its multi floors would appear where he placed his hands, and glowing yellow blips appeared throughout the tower. The brightest one Deimos pointed to, on the fifth floor.
“This is what we’re here to investigate. All of these lighter marks on the other floor are hollow,” there were at least six on each floor, “but there’s two significantly bolder energies which is strange. One just appeared on the top floor, and it seems to be taking out the smaller blips. The other is remaining dormant downstairs, I’m assuming the door ahead of us.”
Aya turns to the graduates, her fists still slammed together emitting the dome. “Well, I’m going to leave this decision up to you new recruits. Call it your first test. Do we head up and make our way to the fifth floor, or proceed forward to end whatever surprise that may approach us later?”
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