Stealing Souls (Ny)

Setsou pondered for a moment at Kaito's question. Kaito wasn't really the kind of guy that enjoyed sitting around and meditating, he'd rather work with his hands. Besides, while he may have gotten his zanpakuto that didn't mean that he was a master with it yet. he would still need to learn how to enhance his swordplay with it. A spar was in order clearly.

"You'll train yourself against me," Setsou said simply as if it wasn't up for debate. "That way at the very least you'll familiarize yourself with your weapon in open combat," he pointed out before drawing his sword and allowing the blunt side to rest on his shoulder. "For now I'll stick to my Zanpakuto, however if I feel that you're ready I will unleash my shikai and fight with that."

Kaito turned away from Setsou and sheathed his sword, he was a surprise attacker. "On guard." He muttered trying to pass the ready statement off as more of a quick utterance than a real flag of beginning.

Spinning on his toes Kaito drew his weapon all in one motion and swung for Setsou's midsection, it was obvious there was killer intent there, he wasn't going to hold back, now wasn't the time for that after all they'd been beaten by that bunch of hollows, now wasn't the time to slouch even though he wanted to.

Setsou knew not to let your guard down against an opponent though, and luckily he didn't have a sheathe for his weapon to fit in to. it was already out. With a quick pull it came free of the cloth bindings that held it to the side of his uniform. He performed a full spinning motion, hitting the blade of Kaito's away from his body before using his free hand to launch a punch right at Kaito's chest.

Kaito staggered back a few steps and righted himself before taking up a new fighting stance and running to the right in a circle around Setsou before coming in with a low sweeping strike before flipping over the path of the blade and doing an inverted kick at the moment of contact, trying to land his foot on Setsou's face.

The move seemed to work just fine. Setsou quickly moved in order to block the blade, and due to how he swung his sword he wasn't able to see in time just what Kaito had done. The foot made contact with the third seat's face and made him stagger backwards. "Not bad, but you'll have to do better than that," Setsou said before leaping up and smashing his sword in to the ground. A large amount of dirt was kicked up and covered both of their visions. With that done, Setsou quickly tried to move behind kaito before launching an attack at his back.

Kaito smirked, he would have openly smiled but dirt tasted badly and he didn't wan to get any in his mouth, He quickly ducked down and Flash stepped to another part of the dirt geyser, before coming at Setsou from the side, his tactics being to prefer stealth, and surprise attacks this made him that much more dangerous when the lights went out or vision was impaired by dirt. His attack would be a powerful downward cut, that even if it missed would throw up another geyser of dirt.

Setsou wasn't going to allow himself to be shown up by just anybody. If Kaito wanted to land a real blow on a third seat, he was going to have to do a lot better than that. Setsou swung out his sword and released some of his spiritual pressure, causing the dirt to blow away from him in all directions. With the dirt gone it was easy to see the attack coming and raise his sword to block it. "You'll have to do better than that. This isn't just some normal katana you're swinging. This weapon is a part of you, and you need to figure out what exactly it's trying to tell you," Setsou said before leaping back a good ways. "Every shinigami has a unique way of fighting when they unlock their Zanpakuto, in time you will find yours."

Kaito nodded at the scolding, he'd perfected his way of fighting with a Katana, but this was a Zanpakuto. This was where his own personal style came into play, no the style that most fit his level of fighting, sneaking around was over, with this weapon he had the power now it was time to exercise it.

"Alright." The 20th seat nodded, and began to walk, as though circling prey, his weapon dropped to one hand gripping tightly behind the small Tsuba, his look became determined and a little grin came upon his face, he focused his Spiritual energy though somebody like Setsou wouldn't feel it until he was right on top of him. There was something special about Kaito's spiritual pressure that Setsou would soon learn.

Kaito's walk quickened to a trot then in a second he changed directions and speed, appearing in front of Setsou, the speed differential was so great it caused many people to believe that he'd used a Flash step, but this was not the case. He knew a trick like that wouldn't work on someone like the third seat, but it wasn't alone. Kaito's spiritual pressure would now be felt, and it would feel like a weight upon Setsou's chest making it hard to breathe, It would be impossible for someone like a 20th seat to match a 3rd seat in pear spiritual energy so HOW did he do it?

Kaito's strike was across and down landing in the dirt just in front of Setsou the attack not causing dirt to come up in a geyser like before, but sparks flew up and in every direction as if there was a small explosion the spirit particles had their bindings removed and returned to particle form, then used as shrapnel, exploding up from where the Zanpakuto made contact. This move however was only valid in places like Soul Society or Los Noches, with a high abundance of spirit particles.

The real attack was Kaito Flash stepping behind Setsou and attacking from the bottom right upward at an angle.

((BTW PM Amy she's wondering where you are))

What happened next was such a change that Setsou barely knew how to tolerate and counter it. Kaito went from swinging a sword to actually seeming to understand how his Zanpaktou actually worked. It was quite the leap forward, and one that Setsou hadn't counted on so quickly. The spiritual pressure was getting to him, his breathing was making it hard to focus and Setsou knew that his defenses were being lowered as his mind was in too many places at once?

Eventually, Kaito unleashed his attack and Setsou wasn't sure how to prepare for it. He quickly moved in an attempt to deflect it, but ended up getting a pretty serious wound on his shoulder. He looked up at it, knowing that the medical team was going to give him hell. They had only just patched him up after all!

Setsou lowered his sword though after gaining a safe distance from Kaito. "Remarkable, it's like you've been training with it for the last several weeks. Tell me, how'd you know what to do?" Setsou asked. He thought that he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear Kaito's explanation.

Kaito ended his assault after one swing and prepared for a reprisal but Setsou moved off and broke combat asking him, how he knew what to do. "I forgot everything I learned at the academy about swordsmanship, I went on instinct, and feeling, gut and Id.

Setsou might also notice without being in close proximity to Kaito that he could no longer feel the overwhelming spiritual pressure.

"As for the spiritual pressure." Kaito looked around. "That's my little secret." Kaito quickly sheathed his weapon. "Everything else is a combination of tactics learned at the academy with nothing more advanced thrown in on top." He gave his superior a wink and walked toward him. "Lets get that shoulder looked at."

"Sounds like you're learning what it means to be a shinigami, and not just one that comes from the academy, but what a REAL shinigami is," Setsou said with a smile as he looked at the lower seat warrior. In such a short time he was already learning so much, just as others that came before him had...just as Setsou himself had once done. Much like everyone, shinigami stood on the giants of those that came before, but that didn't mean they couldn't become a giant of their own someday.

"This? It'll heal just fine, I can wrap it myself. It's mainly just a superficial wound, it'll heal itself in a few days time," Setsou insisted as he looked to Kaito. "It's you that should get some rest...we all should to be honest. It's been a very strange day."

"Hello everyone My name is Keishan." The Shinigami with the 12th squad band around his arm bowed before all of Feeler Team 1 in the meeting room in the 8th squad barracks. It'd been two days since the group had been out and a day after Kaito and Setsou's private training, few of the shinigami already noticed his Zanpakuto but most were oblivious to it, many in seats higher than his were waiting for theirs. Though it was believed that many below the 5th seat never received one. "After reviewing the footage from the hell butterfly that followed you into the real world." Such a thing was quite the common occurrence. "We have identified several of the hollows that ambushed you. The survivors Include Flyer H, Marlin L, Bluefin J, Hammerjaw I, Haddock G and Barracuda A an adjunct previously thought deceased."

Kaito stood up when a picture of Barracuda A was shown, it was the Adjunct whose head he took clean off with a swing of his weapon. There was no way it survived that encounter but here it was in the real world attacking Feeler group 1.

A murmur arose over the group of about 20 Shinigami, Kaito was blank but quickly returned to his seat and his laid back form. The look on his face had changed for sure, he was focused, not longer shocked, he'd heard that these bastards didn't die easy now he knew for sure.

Setsou listened in silence as Keishan spoke about the incident and how the footage had been reviewed after the squad had returned. Everyone had been healed and was present at the meeting, and everyone seemed to be as nervous as Setsou himself him. He didn't like the smell of this, something was going on in the real world. This kind of thing never happened. However, he knew the point of his job and why they needed to go out there, he needed to remind his squad that they were shinigami. Fear was not an option.

"Feeler Team 1 will prepare to move out whenever it is deemed necessary," Setsou said from his seat. As he felt the eyes coming upon him he slowly pushed himself out of his seat. "We are shinigami, and it is our job to stop and kill the hollow that plague the human world. We have hollow that are more organized before, which means that we have an even reason to destroy them," he said before turning to face the men and women of his squad.

"We were lead in to an ambush, but despite all of that we were able to survive and come victorious. I have faith that we will do so again, but the longer we give these hollows to like their wounds, the harder they will be to face in the future."

Kaito's expression turned to a smile, he was very happy to know that he'd be able to give that Barracuda bastard another beheading if he stood his ground again. Though it was obvious that the encounter they had was just a skirmish, this Barracuda after all was looking after whole fields of Menos and had other weaker adjuncts reporting to him in Hueco Mundo.

"Oh KAY!" Naoki jumped up out of her chair when their fearless leader finished speaking, everyone else stood up and let out a little call of enthusiasm, there was no formalized cheer for the unit, but it seemed everyone despite their injuries were more than ready to go out and give the Hollows Hell.

As the Shinigami started filing out of the room, to take care of their errands before leaving, and assembling at the gate to the real world, Kaito was approached, Yuuto, the young man with black hair that'd been cleaning the barracks with Naoki before. "I saw that things head fall off and roll away from its collapsing body and now they're telling us its still alive?" Yuuto couldn't believe the story.

"Just means I'll have to obliterate the body this time." Kaito responded coldly before turning to leave, he didn't have much to get in order but his plants could use watering before he left.

Setsou watched as the entire squad seemed to agree that they needed to continue the pursuit and finish off the beasts before they did any more damage. He was glad that they sided with him, even if he was a bit nervous to the battle. Last time they had fallen in to an ambush and nearly been wiped out. Luckily no lives had been lost, but Setsou needed to be more careful this time if he was to become a good leader. This would be their second mission, and he needed to prove himself.

He slowly made his way to the gate of the human world, waiting for his squad to make preperations. He needed to show his eagerness, and he also wanted a moment alone to think about the situation. They needed to be more cautious this time around. The hollows took a beating last time, they won't be as eager to make such bold moves unless they bring reinforcements. Setsou would need to watch for the signs of battle and make decisions on every step of the way.

He slowly took a seat and crossed his legs before closing his eyes. He wanted just a minute to relax and concentrate, trying to decide what was going to come next. He'd have to be more focused than ever before, strike harder than before. He could only do this, by being calm.

It didn't take Kaito long to water his plants usually he made arrangements for that sort of thing but these plants usually kept moist long enough for them to make due between missions. So it wasn't long after Setsou took his seat near the Senkaimon. Though he had arrived before the rest of the squad he didn't speak much simply sitting down beside Setsou and relaxing, a gut feeling told him that this was going to be one hell of a mission, if that was the case they might need to bring to bear the might of the 11th squad, not that they couldn't handle themselves but they might need to bring in combat experts.

"HI!" Naoki's voice cut through the silence like a bomb, she'd practically appeared out of nowhere behind the two of them. It was fairly obvious that she'd intended to sneak up on them. "Whatcha doin?" She asked whimsically she knew they were sitting but why weren't the two guys talking... like about guy things? Or the mission or something?

Setsou had felt the presence of Kaito show up, but he said nothing. Kaito said nothing after all, so clearly the man was respecting Setsou's pre-mission preparation. He appreciated the action, as he didn't really want to think right now. Sadly, that silence that his mind had was to be interrupted as the loudest member of the group decided to join. While Setsou didn't jump or flinch at the woman's loud introduction, his body did tense up.

Slowly, he opened his eyes as he realized that Naoki didn't quite realize what was going on. He quickly used his legs to push himself upwards before turning to face Naoki. "We were preparing for the mission in our own way Naoki," Setsou explained as he crossed his arms. "Everyone has their methods for how they deal with trials and tribulations. For me, I communicate with my Zanpakuto in my mind."

Naoki's cheeks puffed out, "Well you do it awfully similarly." She spouted almost observantly, as if poking fun at the two of them jealously, while pointing at the two of them, indeed Kaito had taken Setsou's sitting position and looked overly focused on something, as if trying and failing to commune with his zanpaktou, while trying to ignore Naoki, the tone of whose voice made that a very difficult thing.

Kaito's hands came up from his lap rubbed his face then ran his fingers through his hair, "Perhaps you should try it Naoki." He was mostly referring to her shutting up.

Naoki shook her head causing her hair to flow, "Nuh-uh. I don't do the constipated look." She shrilled at the idea imagining it in her head with chibi cartoony results.

With a sigh Kaito went back to his Zanpakuto. Though he wasn't having much luck, it was obvious that his weapon was nearly as shy as he was. And though he was going out on a limb to make communication with it, it only wanted to talk when necessary... very much like he did.

It would be fairly obvious to Setsou now that he had a look of her that Naoki didn't have her Zanpakuto....

Setsou's eyes did glance down as he looked over at Naoki. She seemed to be excited and ready, but Setsou wanted to lightly smack his own head in annoyance. "Naoki, did you happen to forget your weapon when you came back here?"

"At any rate, still remember that you need to have your guard up Naoki. You did very well last time, but we can't make any mistakes this time. We've wounded and killed some, that means they'll be scared, dangerous, and they won't underestimate us," Setsou said very seriously. "You need to stay focused. Your life is in your own hands, but there may be more times where you need to help others."

Naoki reached inside the folds of her uniform and pulled out a Tanto in its sheath, it had a pink Ray skin handle wrapped in dark blue cord, and a deep crimson scabbard. It was obviously not a standard issue Asauchi, it was something very different. "It's really pretty isn't it?" She was fairly excited though before she hadn't shown it. "I woke up this morning and it was like that! It was so awesome!" obviously she ignored Setsou's warning about being more serious... or did she?

Kaito though he wouldn't say it was impressed, his had changed right after the mission a few days ago, he was a 20th seat, and here Naoki received hers a few days later and she wasn't even a candidate for a seat, that's just what being part of a noble house means then right?

"I saw K-san's changed too and I so wanted mine to be like that but mine is really really cute don't you think Setsou-san?" Naoki asked, obviously she'd noted the change in Kaito's Zanpakuto right after it happened, though she kept it to herself, though the airheadedness there was a lot of insight and wisdom... does that even make sense?

Kaito tried not to think about it as the thought hurt his head, instead he nodded. "Good work Naoki." congratulating her on her recent acquisition.

Where as Kaito wasn't impressed, Setsou was. For quite some time he had either heard of Naoki or seen her work, and he hadn't been that impressed. She was good, but there were so many aspects of her that needed polishing up. Her spells were amazing, but sometimes she lacked the common sense that Setsou had hoped she would gain in battle by now. Perhaps he hadn't been looking closely enough though, perhaps Naoki deserved more praise than he had seen originally.

"That's wonderful Naoki," Setsou said with a genuine smile. "Keep working harder and I'm sure that both of you will have your shikai in no time," he admitted. Setsou couldn't help but wonder what these two would be capable of, but he supposed that would have to wait until they were ready.

After Setsou's comment the squad started to filter back, the general attitude seemed more than ready for a chance at those hollows again, another Shinigami came up behind Kaito and patted the mostly to himself Shinigami on the shoulder and, "I bet you want another chance at that Barracuda C don't you?"

"It's Barracuda A." Another Shinigami piped up from behind him.

"Well aren't you?" The Shinigami asked.

Kaito stood up and brushed off his uniform. "Yes." He responded in a cold tone.

"Wow K-san's really serious!" Naoki cheered. Though she didn't say it she felt that Setsou was more likely to bring Barracuda A down. She would be happy no matter who purified that particular Hollow.

"Give the man some space." Yuuto butted in, he was one of the few survivors of Barracuda A's attack Sensor group 10. When Kaito took the bastards head off and all hoped that he was dead.

Kaito approached Setsou, "Hey boss. I think everyone's accounted for and ready to go."

Setsou just watched as the rest of his squad showed back up, all of them seeming to get ready to head back to the real world. He was breathing slowly and continued to try and focus on the mission that was ahead. He couldn't help but wonder just how well this mission was going to go, especially since they were going against so many of the hollows.

When Kaito mentioned that everyone was ready to go, it seemed like Setsou got serious as well. "Everyone, I'm not one for speeches so I'm going to make this brief. We have one mission to do, to wipe out all of the hollows today. If we work together, we'll be alright," Setsou said before opening up the gate to the real world. "Let's go!" he shouted before getting inside.

"Wah!" Came the shrill cry of Naoki piercing the silence of the night air, atop the highest roof of an apartment building, the group had split up into smaller units trying to lure the hollows out, it was their fourth day out and there wasn't so much as a single hollow sighting, not even a whiff of spiritual presence.

This group was comprised of Setsou, Kaito, Yuuto and Naoki and was central most group that would respond the first if any of the other three groups spaced equally around them were on patrol.

"This is Damn peculiar." Yuuto responded taking note of the situation, if they didn't get a single trace. "Theres no-one here."

"No He's here." Kaito responded against all available evidence. "I may be no expert on hollows, but Barracuda A isn't one to rush headlong into something he doesn't think he can win, he'll out wait us." Kaito was using his sword as a cane out in front of himself with both hands on it, "Without knowing what he wants we cant bait him. What do you think Boss?"

Setsou stood still as he thought about what needed to be done. Everyone was right, this was very odd indeed. The hollows weren't coming out, it was possible that they also had a tracker that was able to sense where they were. Setsou took this as a good sign though, they weren't confident that they could take down the shinigami on their own, which meant that they had the clear advantage.

When Kaito finally asked Setsou what should be done, the answer that was given would most likely surprise them. "If they won't come out and fight unless they're confident that they'll win...than we force them to be confident," Setsou said as he looked out in to the night sky. "It's been four days and we haven't found them, we'll make them think that we have given up," he added before turning to Kaito now. "We'll gather everyone together and announce that we're returning to soul society. Make it look official. When that happens, I'll mention that I'm going to stay behind to do one last spiritual check.....I'll be exposed and vulnerable, and I'm sure more than one of them wants revenge for the damage I caused last time we met."

"Upon entering Soul Society, you will all wait exactly five minutes before coming back. With luck....that will draw them out."