SPELLBOUND

**Date Started:** 27 November, 2021
**Date Completed:** 2 December, 2021
**Next Role-Play**: N/A
**Users Involved:** User:Ash9876, User:AbysmalShadows
**Setting:** Seireitei, Kuchiki Clan Residence
**Characters Involved**:
* **Present:** Kurome Kuchiki, Minamoto Kuchiki

## The Mages' Manors

Within the Kuchiki Clan training grounds was a single woman who had drawn her blade. She had swung it downwards several times, practicing her motions repeatedly. She was an elegant woman who normally would not be seen doing such mundane practice. However, beneath her poise, defined facial features and clean-cut appearance, were determined eyes that continued to look forward.

This was Kurome Kuchiki, the 3rd Seat of the Sixth Division and a premier soldier of the Gotei 13 among the Kuchiki Clan with the absence of Byakuya Kuchiki and Rukia Kuchiki. She was focused as she continued her routine of slashing forwards.

"*He keeps moving forward...*" A thought passed. Kurome stepped in with her right foot forward and slashed towards the left, "*I won't stay behind forever. But I can't abandon those I've committed myself to...*" Kurome was drowned in her thoughts, and her routine had come to a standstill, just waiting to be interrupted.

The air shifted so subtley she might have missed it. But here in this training ground with only her thoughts to keep her company her senses were sharper, and far more acute so she was able to detect the faint ripple of an invisible barrier forming around the area. With her spiritual senstivity she could feel the architecture of its framework, a spell had just been cast. A complex one at that. As she felt her focus fall into her Reikaku to explore this spell she could perceive the spell and unravely its mystery.

The spell resembled the Kyomon in only passing. Its function was similar in that it obscured the presence of those within its barrier, but beyond that comparing the two was like comparing a door to a fully built home. This barrier not only had completely covered the training area, given the lattice of its spellwork she could discern that its scope went beyond that, erasing the existence of those within it completely. It even went so far as to delude the very space within another subconsciousness to prevent them from even perceiving it in the first place.

The complexity of such a spell was astounding as there was very little if anything one could do to counter such an effect. This deduction took only a few moments and in that time a presence had arrived nearby. His reiatsu was not like others, where the pressure could be staggering and near suffocating. It was so tightly controlled forming into a perfect sphere, that the world seemed to bend around it, it was both mesmerizing and somewhat painful to the senses to behold.

The moment he noticed that she could sense him such tight control was relaxed and his reiatsu steadily flowed inward, until she could feel only the barest indication that he was actually standing before her. Were it not for her eyes one would be mistaken that he was even here at all, so diminutive was his presence. His face possessed that same stoicism the Kuchiki were renown for. Though not brother and sister they were still family. Minamoto Kuchiki, an enigmatic figure even among the Kuchiki, his post in the Kido Corps and their subsequent merging into the Fifth Division was unclear.

What was known was that he held a great deal of authority and was known to involve himself in many matters within Soul Society. It had become something of an adage, if one were to see Minamoto Kuchiki anywhere, know that something is going on, trouble afoot. Tilting his head to the side as if to ponder, Minamoto's eyes roamed over her form with intense scrutiny. When he was done he gave a satisfied nod and came within conversational distance. He was relaxed and she could sense that he was pleased to see her. "Kurome, it's been a while. I heard a rumor that you had faciliated quite the training session with your newer recruits." He leaned in and whispered, "They say that the spellwork you used was a spectacular display of ingenuity. I can never pass up on a good mystery," he leaned back, "and I want to see it for myself."

Kurome's eyes widened as she felt the presence of another individual and snapped out of her thoughts. She snuck a glance at who entered the field and recognized it as her relative, Minamoto. Kurome was surprised to see the man here, but she retained her composure, as expected of a Kuchiki clanswoman. She turned to face Minamoto, and bowed.

Kurome was briefly stunned that Minamoto would have heard such rumors about the training session. After all, the only one who would have any contact with the man would be Soichiro Tenma who, as Lieutenant of the 5th Division, would have found her Kidō use nothing more than above average. Nothing exceptional. To hear such praise from Minamoto felt unusual.

"Thank you, Minamoto-niisan." Kurome demonstrated her respect. "Although I do not think it is anything particularly of note, if it has been recommended to you, then I shall oblige on your request. However, before we engage in Kidō, I do have a question to ask you, if you would let me."

"By all means ask away. Never shy away from your curiosity Kurome," as it was becoming clear Minamoto was unfailingly familiar in his speech, and rarely used honorifics.

Kurome honored Minamoto's lack of honorifics by removing her own, even if it felt a little uncomfortable. "Right now, as I am, I don't know what I should pursue. The Kuchiki Clan appear to be most proficient in the use of Zanjutsu. Byakuya-sama and Rukia-sama both harbored special connections with their Zanpakutō. However, while I feel myself strongly aligning with Kidō, my duty to the clan...to the Gotei 13...asks me to become more powerful. Is it wrong for me to pursue more than one path to acquire strength?"

A look of realization passed through Minamoto's face. "You feel conflicted about your particular pursuit of power?" Though asked as question it felt more like a statement. An observation of her inner conflict. He chuckled lightly, "Power is power. Whichever path you choose, matters not. Only that in its pursuit you do not lose sight of who you are and what you are fighting for." Minamoto said with a light smile.

"If it pleases you, pursue as many paths of power you feel is necessary. To be beholden to one particular fixed path," His entire body tenses up in a mixture of revulsion and disgust. "-is short-sighted." He exhaled out his last words. There was a hint of something personal there. It was for but a moment and then Minamoto was relaxed again. "Does that answer satisfy you?" He asked tentatively.

"Ah." Kurome blinked her eyes. The way Minamoto phrased it made her worries seem meaningless. She blinked again. It was uncharacteristic of her to be shocked by what someone else said, but here she was.

Kurome chuckled. "I see. So it was that kind of thinking that was holding me back." Kurome realized the error of her ways. She was thinking about pursuing power for power's sake. But that wasn't it at all. Nor was he seeking that kind of power. The strength Kurome sought, it was driven by a single purpose: protect the Soul Society. For that sake, it didn't matter how many paths of strength she chose to follow. So long as it served her purpose, it was okay. So long as she could bear that burden, it would be fine.

"Thank you very much, Minamoto." Kurome bowed once more to her relative. This was less of an honorific gesture, and more for thanking him for giving her clarity.

"I am happy to engage in a battle of Kidō against you now." Kurome said cheerfully, as she prepared herself by taking a half-step back. She disappeared from sight briefly, using Shunpo to relocate herself a few meters away from Minamoto. A battle between Kidō users, of course, had to be conducted from a distance.

"Lets begin with an exercise I've found quite engaging." Minamoto wordlessly conjured the beginnings of a *Shakkaho* in his hands. The crimson orb was lit with swirling demon magic, and molten flame that churned like lava. "Think of it like a game. I'm going to fire this at you, and you're task is to take control of the spell, weave another spell into it, and then rebound the new modified spell at me all before it, well blows up. This will go back and forth, until one of us is can catch the other by surprise." With a flourish he raised his hand and with a pulse of will fired the demon magic.

A miniature sun was propelled forward at high velocity, she would only have moments to formulate her counter lest it detonate on her person.

"I see. An interesting test of skill." Kurome's eyes focused as she noticed the *shakkahō* being formed in Minamoto's hands. Unlike Minamoto who was, comparative to her, playful with his Kidō, her skill in Kidō was a lot more fortified and rooted in the teachings of the Shin'ō Academy and Kuchiki Clan. But she had to demonstrate her skill here. It wasn't fair to Minamoto, who came here with high expectations, to see a failure instead.

Unlike Minamoto, Kurome had not learned to completely take a spell under her control from a distance that wasn't her own. However, she had other ways to compensate for that lack of ability. Kurome flourished her hand forward, unveiling a bright yellow rope of spiritual energy that wrapped itself over the orb of flames as it continued to propel towards Kurome. It was Hainawa, a binding spell used to flow Kurome's spiritual power into the spell.

However, simply restricting the spell wouldn't do enough. To make this a true challenge for Minamoto, Kurome went a step further. "Tsuzuri Raiden!" Her rope of yellow energy was now sparkling with electrical energy that surged through the spell and into the shakkahō initially produced by Minamoto. With this additional surge of reiryoku, on top of the electrical energy emitted by the spell, Kurome managed to completely seize the spell and transform it into something that was even more dangerous than what was originally produced.

"Hah!" Kurome pushed her palm outwards, and the spell originally aimed for Kurome was now turned against Minamoto. The original ball of flames was already considerably fast, but as the now-red lightning-flame orb crackled, it zipped through the air, barely able to be tracked by the naked eye. It aimed towards Minamoto's chest, and only gave him the briefest window of opportunity to make a sizeable counter.

Minamoto lowered himself in a defensive stance, his hands splayed open and crossed over the other. As the enchanted Shakkaho rebounded towards him, he couldn't help the giddiness that was beginning to spread through him. It was rare that he could engage another in such fun, let alone someone like Kurome. He would endeavor to showcase his abilities, and see for himself just how far she's come, and how far she will go.

As the Shakkaho neared he stretched out his arms and uttered the simple incantation for Seki, why Kurome might wonder given his apparent skill in wordless spellcasting, yet a moment later she understood why. Twin blue orbs coalasced in his hands that began to stretch into a concave plane. With it he grasped the Shakkaho for a better lack of terms between the two, causing the spell to rebound with increasing frequency as if violently vibrating. Pivoting on his feet he spun in a revolution all the while his hands circled the Shakkaho.

Having arrested the demon magic himself, it was another to weave another spell into the growing matrix of spells, and prevent himself from suffering the effects of the lightning imbued in by Kurome. Cackling golden energy encircled the Shakkaho and thin ropes of energy emerged from around it as Minamoto hurled the newly enhanced Hainawa Tsuruzi Raiden Shakkaho towards Kurome. As it was explosively repulsed from his hands, its velocity was even greater than before, causing an audible crack in the air as it shot from his hands. The real danger however were the three entangling ropes which snaked towards Kurome, intending to both bind her and serve as a homing mechanism against the enhanced demon magic!

The moment Kurome had rebounded the spell back to Minamoto, her eyes were steeled on Minamoto's every move. This game's true test was not simply an individual's skill in Kidō, but their ability to predict their opponent's actions and react with swift and decisive actions. After all, both parties would only think of one thing: force the spell to speed up. Minamoto played exactly as Kurome predicted he would. She observed the use of Seki to slow down the impact of the spell, before the sudden addition of Hainawa caused her to widen her eyes. Of course, simply rebounding the spell wasn't enough. Making it faster was never just enough. This wasn't a battle of spells. It was a battle between spellcasters.

Kurome immediately took her stance as the orb of combined kidō rushed back to her. With an open palm, she yelled, "Tsuriboshi!" Instantly, a bright blue orb of energy was born from her palm, which immediately sent out three rope-like structures flying in the same direction as Minamoto's own, countering them with their powerful adhesive properties. The central orb grew in size as it sprung forward using the momentum of the tendrils that were sent out forwards. It expanded from a mere orb into a widespread net made of a material that resembled gum. Its sticky properties resisted the sheer momentum and heat emitted by the combined spell and gave Kurome a mere moment to breathe.

She had to process through her arsenal immediately. What was the best spell to tackle this situation? Which spell would be most effective in forcing an advantage over Minamoto? Kurome could only think of one spell, and immediately put it to use. Keeping her palm outstretched, Kurome spoke aloud. "Tenran!" From her palm, a howl could be heard. Wind wrapped around her very being before channeling towards the center of her palm. With but another push, the compressed wind expelled itself in the form of a miniature cyclone. It leaped forward at breakneck speeds, forcing up significant quantities of dust from the training grounds that was all heading directly towards Minamoto's position.

The tornado passed through the orb of Kidō, pushing it forward with the momentum of wind. However, it was not a one-sided exchange either. The residual heat and electrical energy comprising the kidō leaked out and fused with the tornado itself, forcing an even greater spell to face Minamoto. Not only was the original orb pursuing Minamoto, but dust sought to cloud his vision and a tornado merged with flame and electrical elements sought to strike Minamoto in the midst of it all.

Kurome was pleased with her counter, but she remained vigilant. Losing her guard at a time like this could prove to be the deciding factor.

Minamoto was immensely pleased with Kurome's strategy, and silently praised her innovative use of the spells to turn a veritable death trap and turn it against him. So much so that he would have to respond in kind. Minamoto flooded the area with his reiatsu pushing an inordinate amount out, causing the distinct scent of ozone to fill the air as the pressure was increased quite drastically.

This was very deliberate, as the sudden atmospheric change caused the raging storm cackling with lightning and turned ablaze to momentarily stutter as the winds powering it had their momentum interrupted. Kirume's spell didn't halt so much as it was slowed down. Meanwhile Minamoto stared down the approaching hellstorm, with a thrust of his hands he cast a single binding spell, six rods of light formed into being and slammed into the storm, momentarily restricting its movement. The hellstorm raged against the binding and cracks formed nigh instantly from the storm. Having its spell matrix changed and modified even at this level had made the spell volatile.

Having the necessary time to complete his next spell, Minamoto clasped both hands together and uttering the incantion, "Walls of iron sand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright, silent to the end. Gochūtekkan! "

Yet even as he completed the incantation he began to repeat it once more like a chant, thereby increasing its strength and potency! Five seeds of golden light bloomed from his clasped hands each one flowing towards a column of light from the Rikujōkōrō he had cast previously. Then as he slammed his clasped fist on the ground, his chant reached a crescendo, as the beams of light holding the hellstorm in placed flashed into five massive pillars connected by a chain ring!

The hellstorm screeched and groaned in protest, arcs of lightning lashing out digging gorges into the ground beneath, the flames bursting like geysers from the shimmering orb contained within. One last fiery moan echoed out before the entirety of the hellstorm stilled as if time itself had frozen before collapsing into an iridescent pulsating orb strewn with a rainbow of gold, crimson, white and orange colors. Each pulse was like a heartbeat, as Minamoto wove his spell into the increasingly complex matrix before him. It required an immense degree of control to precisely manipulate the chaotic energies within into a stable form. Now that he was in control it was time to respond to Kirume's inventiveness with his own.

Rising up from his crouched position, Minamoto lifted both his arms hands splayed open. He then began his next incantation, his voice barely audible as a ghastly purple flame burst into open in his right hand. In his left hand, twin streams of azure fire was drawn as ambient reishi around them, as his incantations mixed and intermingled with another, starting one stanza, only to begin the next of the other spell. In but a few moments both spells were complete and with pulse of reiatsu he slammed both hands together molding them into a new spell.

A vastly enhanced Soren Sokatsui combined with the pure destructive nature of the hellfire of Haien. Then with control only a master could muster, he stepped forward and began forging the iridisecent orb contained within the empowered Gochūtekkan with the spell he had in hand. The ground beneath quaked and storm clouds formed above as the destrutive forces being forged together was causing the nearby atmospheric pressure to plummet generating the beginings of a local storm. All the while Minamoto's face was entirely focused on the task at hand. It was then the two cackling orbs of spellfire merged into one and in the process rapidly expanded in size dwarfing Minamoto himself.

Bracing himself, Minamoto summoned ropes of binding spells to holdfast his legs to the ground as he placed his hand next to the orb. He couldn't see Kirume but he would no doubt feel her awe as he then did the unthinkable. With a final push of his will he collapsed the Gochūtekkan binding the spell and then unleashed it upon Kirume.

A veritable torrent of fire, plasma, and crackling ropes of lightning flew towards Kirume. its form barely holding together as its own existence threatened to rip itself apart in a maelstrom of chaotic magic. It shifted through the air arcing like lightning itself, its fiery corona like a eye staring hungrily at her.

Kurome was sweating profusely at the method Minamoto used to suppress her own spell and repel it against her. What began as a simple shakkahō transformed into a maelstrom of energy that could seemingly rival the strongest Kidō known to Shinigami. A true spiritual disaster in every sense of the phrase. Kurome could only take a deep breath as she began formulating the correct spells to use against this monstrosity. She didn't have time to make any wrong decisions. A haphazard choice could leave her spiritual energy completely muddled for eternity. This was her greatest test. After taking a single, long breath, Kurome opened her eyes and knew exactly what to do.

"Prison of heaven, marionette of gods. Coil unto the thirteen stars!" Kurome recited an incantation while her spiritual pressure flared into the environment. She needed as much time as she could possibly buy to delay the onslaught of this spell. This was her first measure. "Sajō Sabaku!" Several extremely large and dense chains of golden spiritual energy manifested from behind Kurome's back. They moved forwards at a breakneck pace before coiling around the maelstrom of elements. The reiatsu emitted by these chains was enough to temporarily force back the vortex, enclosing it into a bound area.

Of course, Kurome could see that this method was only a stopgap. One binding spell would never be enough to stop this monstrosity. Taking another breath, she slammed her hands on the ground as blue spiritual energy illuminated from the ground beneath her golden chains. "Four corners converge as one. Horizon rise, mountain descend. Cage the world in crystal!" Four distinct lines of spiritual energy rose diagonally in each direction surrounding the bound vortex of spiritual energy. Each line moved in a square shape parallel to one another, creating four distinct layers of a barrier in the shape of a reverse pyramid. The chaotic storm of spiritual energy continued to surge, but it was kept secure briefly within this spiritual cage.

Kurome was sweating, she had contained the spell for now. But it continued to surge violently. At this point, with all the Kidō fed into the spell, it was more likely to self destruct on both Minamoto and herself. She briefly had the time to observe her surroundings and she realized something: the barrier that Minamoto had erected around the Kuchiki compounds had been broken. No doubt, the Kuchiki Clan who were outside the training grounds would immediately see the situation and determine it to be an emergency. Minamoto and Kurome did not have that much time left before onlookers would be here. If they had lost control while others were in the area, the results could be catastrophic.

Minamoto watched in fascination as Kurome wove her spells in concert, and watched with bated breath as she unleashed them to chain his oncoming hellstorm. Perhaps it was luck, or maybe his focus on observing how her strategy unfolded that he realized with a sense of growing dread that his Kido barrier that he placed earlier had shattered.

No, not shattered, it had been ripped apart and he could feel the ambient reishi being absorbed, no it felt more like it was being devoured by the ever expanding hellstorm, much like how a flame consumes air to fuel its growth, this Kido was beginning to consume everything around it. Which was also straining under the Sajo Sabaku-Tozansho combination binding. In point of fact, it was even beginning to eat at the integrity of that.

If they failed to get a handle on this, then the Kido would reach critical mass, causing every spell-chain woven into it to self-detonate leading to a catacylsmic implosion on an epic scale. Nothing within the Kuchiki Clan residence would survive. Well nothing on the upper levels. In a rare moment of self-awareness, Minamoto realized that perhaps he may have errored.

Flickering to her position, Minamoto quickly rounded the growing calamity watching in a mixture of dread and awe as the culmination of their spellwork became something almost... alive. A shame they had to contain and destroy it, he would have loved to study it more in depth. Bracing himself against the ground, Minamoto let loose his spiritual power, the resulting pressure was like a river crashing a gate wide open.

Tightly wounding all of that power under his immense control, he began weaving a complicated series of hand gestures. Pools of blood red light shined beneath the violently puslating hellstorm, and then shot up and thickening until they became a dense red haze enveloping the fiery storm trapped within Kurome's binding.

"**Geki**!" He bellowed. The spell took effect immediately, causing the swelling of the flaming orb contained within Kurome's to cease its growing. But it wasn't enough. Already minute fractures were appearing over the inverted prism. Grunting in effort he then held out his hand as if grasping air, a single rod of silverly light formed in his hand. Hurling it upward in the air, he clasped both hands together causing the shimmering white silver rod to abruptly stop and hover above the catacylsmic kido.

"**Hyapporankan**!" What was one rod was now a hundred and all floated about in the air encircling the hellstorm. This time he used the incantation. The final nail in the coffin to secure the spell.

"**Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Horin**!" Opening his hands a pool of energy swirled into form, casting bright golden-orange into the dark. He fired the Horin at the original Hyapporankan which wound itself around the white-silver rod like a coiling snake. As the two spells became one, the magic of the Horin leapt from rod to rod, becoming a powerfully binding kido net bounding them all together. With a near deafening roar he shouted, "Kai!" All at once the white-silver rods slammed into the prism, the coiling lightning converging to become a shell of near plasma like binding energy.

A binding chain had now become a full-fledged binding concert as the layered binding spells each strove to contain the spell. However, now that they had managed to contain this volatile spell of imminent destructive power, what were they going to do next?

Minamoto was surprisingly unhelpful, merely giving Kurome a knowing smile. Despite the fact that his entire thing he was his suggestion, he seemed rather content to let Kurome decide its fate. Especially since a crowd began to form around the perimeter of their battle. The thick and dense pressure exuding from their challenge alerting all nearby clan members that something foul was afoot. The quiet murmurs of those in attendance echoed throughout the field, many were awed by the display in front of them, and could only watch with bated breath as they wondered if this catastrophe was the prelude to something great or their destruction.

Minamoto turned to Kurome and said, "It appears we've an audience for the finale. Seeing as its still you're turn, I don't see why I should interfere any more than I have. Please, demonstrate to our clansman the veracity of your chosen path! Let them see what I see! Show them and quell any doubts that the path to power you've chosen is not wrong! Let all who watch bear witness to the measure of your capacity!"

Perhaps this had been Minamoto's hidden agenda all along. To pit herself against her own self-doubt and destroy it in a spectacular display. Or maybe it was the childish glee in his voice and expression in seeing something new, a potential he saw come to fruition? Regardless of the reasons or motivations, it was clear to Kurome that Minamoto had done this to see the depths of her potential unleashed.

Kurome looked upon in shock as Minamoto spoke. He expected *what*?! It took everything within her not to give Minamoto a good punch in the face. But she restrained herself, composed her spiritual energy and looked towards the ever-growing crisis that was Kurome and Minamoto's game of spells. She had to take another breath. To come up with the correct plan in a situation like this...was difficult. Everyone was watching her. This was the greatest demonstration of Kurome's skill. The breaking point. Today would be the day Kurome told everyone...that her path was never wrong.

"I apologize for this mess, everyone." Kurome began with speaking, her confidence not once wavering. "I will disperse this mass of reiryoku!" Although Kurome was referring to everyone, there was one specific person she was referring to. Kurome's eyes briefly glanced at her blade, before reaching back towards the anthology of spells that lay before her. Kurome was ready, she would conquer it completely, in one final string.

Kurome's spiritual pressure soared, pulsating across the ground in waves and even causing dust to rise. Truly, the entirety of her mettle would be tested in this very moment. "Stone statue erected unto eternity. Her throne shifts as the earth wails. Plead forgiveness in eternal dance. Daichi Tenyō!" Kurome's palms once more slammed the ground. This time, the shockwave from her action meant something. The ground that surrounded the spells swelled and rose as four tremendous pillars, before strangely smashing against the chaotic energy. It was a bold move. To intentionally break the barriers that confined such a volatile accumulation of energy meant that Kurome had every confidence that her plan would work out. Every step had to be executed perfectly. No mistimes, no wrongly spoken incantations. Kurome would prove it. This was the path she committed herself to, and she would demonstrate her worth here.

"Ahh!!!" Kurome shouted as the earth continued to ram into the plasma. Until it finally occurred. The earth and the raging vortex of plasma collided. Kurome's sweat dripped onto the ground as she stood back up and kept her palms and fingers enclosed together, almost as if in prayer. But this wasn't aimless prayer. Kurome was using her hand gestures to maintain control over the spell. She expended every effort to enclose all gaps that could possibly be broken through. Sweat dripped the ground, and her feet were digging inwards too. But she continued observing, and slowly she saw her success. Rather than pour outwards, the only path left for the energy to escape to was within the earth Kurome summoned. Solids interacted with the plasma and rather than exploding, the earth instead began to melt into a molten form. Kurome managed to let a breath escape. The first part of her plan was successful.

The true threat of this energy was how quickly its formless nature managed to absorb everything around it when it went out of control. Simply binding the ever-growing inferno wasn't enough, as it simply fed it more spiritual energy. However, by changing the very state of that reishi into something with less movement, it would automatically slow the pace of the destruction down.

But this didn't remove the threat. It merely changed its form. What happened now was the molten energy began to corrode everything it came into contact with. The molten spiritual energy streamed down like lava from a volcano, and sought to envelop the entirety of the Kuchiki grounds. This was where the second phase of Kurome's plan came to play. She spread her arms outwards, one facing the sky while the other faced the ground. Her palms were open, as she rotated them clockwise, before drawing them in together and cupping her palms. As she performed this motion, the air surrounding her and the grounds began to move violently, as the howling gusts surrounded her very being, slowly compressing themselves to fit the space granted to them by Kurome's palms.

"Bellow from the void! Silk breath, Northwest fortress, Decaying invitation! Destruction flows between both hands. The satchel opens till time's end! Tenran!" The hyper-compressed wind that rotated within Kurome's palm exploded forwards towards the molten lava. It caught the lava within its grasp and forced it to soar upwards into the sky, as if a wind dragon consumed its meal. Kurome then split her palms away from one another, pushing them to the limits of her wingspan, as the tornado split into four distinct directions, drastically reducing the threat of the spiritual lava now that it had been split apart into more manageable components. Kurome was close to panting, she had to catch her breath once more and bite her lip to suppress the strain. This hadn't ended, but it would end now.

The spiritual lava, taking upon the color of the sun itself, was finally beginning to cool down with the presence of the wind. But it would still break through given enough time. There was one final thing that needed to be done. To be certain that this threat had been vanquished completely.

"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Soaring crow of inferno! Scorch! Collapse! Light falls, draw away life within the darkness! Kuyō Shibari!" From Kurome's being a dark spiritual power began to emit, as if the shadows themselves were possessing her being. With both of her hands, Kurome pointed in nine separate angles, with the final stretch directly above her head. The shadows emitting from her body retreated into those very points, before appearing once more in the sky. Paralleling those nine angles, the shadow-like spiritual power each appeared, one after the other, as pitch-black spheres of spiritual energy that drew in all energy, regardless of its density, towards themselves.

They were nine points of extreme gravity that targeted the tornadoes hosting the molten, volatile spiritual energy. They pulled from every angle, drawing up the spiritual energy with such great strength that even the ground beneath began to rip away from its foundations and was drawn upwards. It took Kurome exerting all of her available spiritual pressure in a tremendous aura simply to keep the gravity at bay. She was panting, sweating buckets as her palms were cupped together. She observed her spell slowly, but surely, draw in the maelstrom of Kidō formed by Minamoto and herself. However, the process wasn't that easy.

Not only was Kurome's spiritual energy being expended completely, the aggregated form of the spiritual power did not go down without a fight. It began attempting to fight against the black holes formed by Kurome. Kurome wouldn't allow it. She dug her feet into the ground, released an even greater pulse of spiritual pressure, and bit her lip so hard it began to bleed. She had to concentrate. She couldn't allow herself to be exhausted. Not at this critical juncture. If this spell didn't work, not only would the Kuchiki compound have to face a molten aggregate of destructive spells...they would be forced to contend with miniature black holes as well.

"THIS ENDS NOW!!" Kurome violently exclaimed, her spiritual pressure roaring violet as she stretched her arms to their maximum limit and rotated them clockwise once more. She was strengthening her spell with one last push. Replacing an incantation with her gestures, the Kuyō Shibari responded in kind. They grew even more dense. The struggle that they initially posed in dealing with the spell no longer existed. The molten anthology of Minamoto and Kurome's skill, as well as the Tenran that bound them, had finally been dispersed completely by the crushing power of gravity.

With one final clap, Kurome managed to dispel her own Kuyō Shibari, but in the process of doing so, fell to her knees in exhaustion. "Haaah....haaah..." She panted. Her sweat had completely drenched the ground. Their spells had completely ravaged the Kuchiki Clan's training grounds. But as she looked around, she realized that everyone was safe. Nothing had compromised the lives of the Kuchiki who weren't involved in this game.

"I...did it..." Kurome said, barely managing to let out the words. "How...was that...Minamoto?"

Minamoto had stood by and simply marveled at the spellplay employed by Kurome. It was quite the innovative spell-combination too. Using Dachi Tenyo to collapse the barriers and force a reaction with the molten spell, and he noted that Tenran seemed to be a favorite spell of hers, and quite versatile too given how she was able to manipulate it and form multiple funnels.

But the beating soul of this spell combination was her casting of Kuyo Shibari. Her melodious voice cutting through the cacophony of chaos as her words and will rent reality shaping it into an extension of her design! The folding of the canvas of the sky into darkness deeper than night, as powerful forces collapsed unto one another, consuming the raging maelstrom held in check by a quartet of wind dragons summoned by their goddess! It was a spectacular display, wondrous and above all had exceeded every expectation he had in her and more!

Looking at the exhausted woman panting on the ground Minamoto felt pride swell within his chest. Kurome had done it. Truly she had exceeded her limits and beyond, gone to the furthest point of her boundaries and cast them down in order to accomplish what she desired. And now, with her might on full display before the Kuchiki clan grounds, no one in their clan could deny her any longer. The crowd had grown in size, mesmerized by what had transpired, transfixed on the spectacular effects in the sky. The Kuchiki were not an overly emotional people, our pride did not allow us to show emotions so easily. But if there was ever a point where it had come close to breaking this very well may have been it.

The Kuchiki clan members on the outskirts did not roar nor clap, but the murmurs had started, and many had been in awe. Such prowess on display was reserved for only the most senior and esteemed members, those possessing phenomal power and for many past generations reserved only for the ranks of those who claimed the most powerful seat in the Gotei 13 - Captain.

What they were witnessing was the birth of a new Captain, one who was now on the cusp of realizing that potential. It was a monumentous occassion, worthy of celebration. No there was denying the truth. Kurome Kuchiki was an heiress worthy of respect, and the power she wielded demanded they give it. Collectively the gathered Kuchiki clan members bowed their heads in acknowledgement of her accomplishment, of erasing all doubt, silencing every naysayer.

Minamoto took and placed a comforting hand on her back, and gave her a rare geniune smile. He wanted to her know that he was proud of her. This much even he could allow.

"Yes, you did Kurome. Now look you around you." He gestured to the crowd with their heads bowed in respect. "The path you chose was not wrong. They acknowledge that now. From here on there will be no more doubt as to your place in this clan. Now they see what I have always known. You have done yourself, and the Kuchiki clan proud. I am proud." He allowed Kurome to drink in this feeling of accomplishing her goal, of finally being recognized for her efforts and for taking one more step closer to obtaining the power she needed to never again allow a needless death in presence.

"Come, lets get you inside and cleaned up. A lady should hold her head high with the pride that she has certainly earned." Minamoto helped Kurome to her feet and escorted her inside the Kuchiki Clan compound to rest. All the while praising her efforts and prodding her about the details of her spellwork. Sadly for everyone else the two had left quite the mess for his fellows to deal with. The aftermath of this event would surely shake the Kuchiki clan from their slumber, and they could rejoice, after having lost so many of their esteemed brethren in the vanishing. Kurome's display and indeed his own was a catalyst signifying the return of the clans power among the nobility. In a single night not one but two masters of the magical arts had been showcased. And so the recovery and might of the Gotei 13 grew.