Eight Swords, Eleven Hearts

**Date Started:** 23 November, 2021
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Next Role-Play**: City of Thieves
**Users Involved:** User:Loominarty,User:AbysmalShadows, User:Sir Ice Man, User:ComicMaster619, User:Mr.Zeno999 , User:GalleyWorks
**Setting:** Seireitei, 11th Division Barracks, Svarga Temple
**Characters Involved**:
* **Shinigami**: Kiokushi Hotsuka, Taopaipai Nobunaga, Nagoriyuki Magatsuchi, Yashiro Mitsuhide, Kenzo Shinzui, Tsukihara Aoya

*Do you adore the serene melody?*

*When fighting is the recipe*

*I pray all the dead rest in peace*

*To brew my Battle Remedy.*

## Battle Remedy

“Man all this bullshit is wack on my momma, I can’t go one day without another little ass bitch boy tryna’ pick a fight with me.” Says a woman in a rowdy and ratchet voice with her voice booming across the barracks.

“Oi! Oi! Oi! What's hot!” A booming, raspy baritone entered the barracks with the insanely beautiful and young-looking man who uttered it. “The life of a Shinigami suits moi!” The man spoke with a shiny smile. This was Taopaipai Nobunaga, the recently appointed 4th Seat of the 11th Division. Though now clad in the robes of a Shinigami, at heart, he was what he had always been: a criminal.

"Han!" Muttered one shinigami, huddled together around three other 11th Division members, throwing dice across the floor as one of the spectators was as the dealer in their game, putting a small bamboo cup on top to conceal the dice from sight, letting them decide on whether or not they were odd or even. Among them stood a mountain of a man, nearly several feet larger than even the tallest man in their barracks, his face not contrasting the tone his stature demanded, his eyes shut while meditation on his decision, having gambled this months salary on this game, he was more so tranquil in his decision making, not too concerned if he lost or not. "Chō."

"C'mon on Yashiro, that's the 4th time you've chosen Chō, and you haven't won once."

"Choosing even that many times means only means there's a higher chance of it being Chō next time around, its jut a matter of odds."

Just as he said that, as soon as the dealer lifted the cup up, Yashiro glanced underneath to catch a quick peek of the dice this round, the dice reveled an odd number, coming up Han. Simply smiling, Yashiro motioned his hand toward chin, but as soon as he lifted it, Yashiro moved at a speed that was reminiscent to Shunpo at how fast he altered the faces of the dice, ensuring it came up Chō. "Oh? What did I tell you, it was just a matter of time." Grunting in disbelief, the shinigami were shocked, groaning over their loss as the amount they had gambled on the final round had more than made up for everything Yashiro had lost and then some, carrying off a small coin purse full of winnings. Just before they could start the next round, Yashiro heard a familiar boom from the other side of the barracks.

"Oh, Nobunaga, long time no see," leaving the small huddle of 11th division members, Yashiro swung his large arm around the young man, the two sharing similar history with circumstances labeling them both as criminals, and to be paired off in the same division too was something he greatly appreciated. "Be honest with me, as the 4th Seat, you have to agree they should make the new Kenpachi already, everyone's talking about it. Aside from you, there's at least three others in the running, and I got to say I like my odds." Speaking in an overexaggerated manner, Yashiro did it on purpose, catching the attention of everyone within ear shot. To say that the mood flipped was an understatement, with shinigami backing away as several officers interpreted it as a clear sign of challenge between seated officers, since it wasn't a laughing matter when one was throwing the name "Kenpachi" around when the title was still vacant and there were numerous others still vying for it.

Although there wasn't a hint of malice in his words, and he spoke in a softly and well-mannered tone, Yashiro made no attempt whatsoever to mask his hostility, almost playing to the fact that he knew he was speaking as the 6th Seat addressing someone who was clearly above his station to boot too, egging him on to see what kind of reaction he would get from Nobunaga.

With a bottle of sake in one hand and a cigar in another, Nobunaga took a huge gulp and then a huge puff, and spoke, “I ain't even wanna be Kenpachi, y'know. A Captain's haori and all the duties and all the pizzazz. I ain't want that. I like the stink of the streets, smells like home. I would not mind being the next best thing.”

He raised his voice and called out, “Ya hear that, Lieut?! Whoever ya are?!” Saying so, Nobunaga took another large gulp of his sake and then another huge puff of his cigar, and seated himself. He was not bothered with politics. He had enough of a while ago. Now, he was chilling.

“Kiokushi Hotsuka’s the name you lil’ fag.” Said Kiokushi, the current lieutenant of the Eleventh Division and considered as the top candidate for the position of Kenpachi. She was clearly angered by Nobunaga randomly mentioning her out of the blue “What do you want anyways huh, you looking to get yourself murked your first day here?!?” She exclaims clenching her fists and her veins popping out of her forehead.

Nobunaga was still chill, “Oh, chill, girl. I just wanna chill, alright? I got eyes on your seat, not the seat you got your eyes on, get it? I made a lot of over the years and many of them are me friends. I wanna make friends. You want me to be friend? Does not matter. I wanna be your friend, and I wan' you to be my friend, capische?”

Hearing the all the commotion, Kenzo appears outside using Shunpo, "What's all the noise about, I'm trying to sleep" He says while recklessly spewing his massive pool of reiatsu, alerting everyone present.

“Oh, ho, ho, ho! Somebody in the house wanna show they are tough. You wanna show you are tough, buddy?!” Nobunaga arose and raised his own comparable, if not superior, spiritual pressure.

"You really want to play this game with me, the 3rd seat." Kenzo replies simply releasing some more of his reiatsu.

“Oh, we can keep playing this game, oh, man! We can keep playing this bloody game,” spoke Nobunaga and rose more of his spiritual pressure.

Sighing a nervous breathe of relief, Yashiro, with his arm still around Nobunaga's shoulder, leaned it to grab him from the back of his head, the sheer size of his palm almost fully grasping at his skull, as he pushed him down for a bow, doing the same after him. The strength he used wasn't natural by any means, it was comparable to what he would use to gently lift the gate to the Seireitei from the Black Ridge Gate at the height of a normal human being, to make up for the disparity in spiritual energy between them, keeping his own power ambiguous for now. "C'mon Lieutenant, you can't blame us for being a little restless, besides...besides...," cutting himself off, tears began to well up in his eyes, bursting out in an emotional cry that shook everyone watching, given his stature and physical build. "I-I'd h-h-h-hate to have to k-k-k-kill you..." Barely able to keep himself coherent, Yashiro kept stuttering between words, gasping and sobbing as loudly as he could, making a scene that dragged Nobunaga along with him.

However. As if he had a change of heart, Yashiro's complexion changed at the flip of a coin, "…or maybe that's exactly what I want," his spiritual pressure rising to meet his cohorts own, his face relaxed and serene despite the steak of tears rolled down his face, as if he was unaware of what he had just done.

“Ya done?” asked Nobunaga, before suddenly shouting, “Get your bloody hands off me, ya prick!” He pushed Yashiro's hands off him, and then return to his calm, chill self and seated himself again.

Kiokushi started bursting out laughing, dropping onto the wooden floors of the barracks making a big scene barely being to contain herself. “Broooo, you are such a pussy!!!” She says repeatedly laughing almost like she’s being tickled.

To say that this squad is unorderly and wild would be an understatement. Booze and sake all over the place from drunken members, everyone screaming at the top of their lungs just to hold a normal conversation. And the highest ranking professional members of the squad also being a bunch of ruffians.

Nobunaga rose again, “Hey, who you calling a pussy, girl?!”

“Not you goofy.” Said Kiokushi ceasing her laughter and reverting back into her usual grumpy persona. “I was talkin’ bout the big guy over there with the topknot, and don’t you ever refer to me as girl again you MUST acknowledge me as yo superior.” Kiokushi replies to Nobunaga calling her a girl and she points to her chest with her thumb further clarifying her position above everyone else present.

"You sure? I mean, you are kind of feminine, what with all the dyed hair, " Yahsiro answered honestly, also embarrassed at the sudden emotional outburst, "my mother used to tell me I was too delicate for this kind of work," scratching the back of his head in a bashful manner. Sitting down at the closest bench, Yashiro pulled out a kisero, snapping his fingers to create a spark from his spirit energy, radiating a bright violet light from the point of his index finger as he leaned it in to the bowl, lighting the tabacco in the pipe. Taking a deep breathe, Yashiro pondered for a moment what on his mind, blurting out the first thing that he could think of. "Then how about changing positions then Lieutenant? I'm sure you'd be happier as 6th, its a much prettier number anyway." Laughing out, Yashiro reached for a gourd of sake from from table serving himself a cup.

“Oi, Oi, Oi! Oi, Oi, Oi, Oi, Oi!” Nobunaga interrupted, “Alright, Lieut. You made yourself clear, Lieut. I will call you Lieut, now, Lieut.” He took another puff of his cigar, and spoke, “And if y'all have any problems, I am sure we can all handle it in the most appropriate way.” Nobunaga chugged down more of his sake, and spoke again, “…which, given that this is the 11th bloody Division, means that we beat each other black, blue and bloody red. Who is up for a bit of that? I know, I am!”

Kiokushi’s cold piercing emerald eyes then proceeded to stare at Yashiro deep into his soul. She did not utter out a single word with her being too enraged to speak at this point, her reiatsu was growing more and more potent the second like a bomb that’s about to activate and blow up. Her cyan colored reiatsu was explosive enough to start destroying the plates of wood on the floor beneath her and it shot all the way up to the roof, absolutely decimating the top. This much of damage to the barracks wasn’t unusual to their division, as monthly repairs alone cost 50% of the squad’s budget. She then walked closer to Yashiro staring him down and looking up straight at him considering how tall he was compared to everyone else and her.

She then finally decided to talk with her eyes becoming nothing more than a white blur at this point. “You… dare insult me like dat??”. Kiokushi then grabs Yashiro by the neck attempting to choke him and forces him down to the ground.

“Oh, yes! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! It is happenin'! We fightin'!” Nobunaga started jumping around, hyped up, almost frothing at the mouth, spitting up spit and sake. He bit his cigar in his teeth, and started chanting, “Go! Go! Go! Go!”

Kenzo seeing all the commotion began to smile "I'm betting on Kiokushi!!!!" He shouted hyping up the other members of the Eleventh Division. "This is getting intense" He continues before sitting down to watch the upcoming fight.

A small, dark-skinned figure with a childlike appearance laid back on a ceiling beam, looking down on the division with one eye. "Can't ever get no shut-eye around here. I knew it was a bad decision to join a branch full of a bunch a' rowdy idiots," Tsukihara mumbled. "Why don't you lame-ass knuckleheads find somewhere else to scrap?"

Just as Yashiro was about to draw his Zanpakutō, he overheard Tsukihara's comment, mulling it over a bit in whether or not he should cut his losses and go all out right now. But considering further, there were other unseated officers, and it was in the middle of the barracks, so neither of them could go all out even if they wanted to. "Maybe we should take this outside huh?"

Kiokushi calmed down a little bit keeping her composure a while longer, she then grabs the hilt of her Zanpakuto and replies back to Yashiro “Alright bet, let’s take this ho seriously **Sixth** seat.” She said as her waraji make sounds while she walks outside of the divisions barracks sliding the door open loudly and Yashiro follows behind her.

A mysterious man then appeared suddenly out of nowhere with the use of Shunpo he then looks towards Yashiro and Kiokushi without any emotion rendering reading his face useless. He then begins to start laughing “Hahaha, sorry for not introducing myself yet, my name is Mugen Amado an worker from the Central 46 here to inform and check up on y’all.”

## Ultimate Showdown

Before leaving, Yashiro saw the young man arrive from thin air, the only thing more surprising than the fact that he had snuck up on him was the fact that he was a member of Central 46 of all places, his thoughts flashing back to his incarceration underneath the Central Great Underground Prison, having been conscripted to serve his new term. Interacting with another agent was the last thing he wanted after that entire ordeal, Yashiro almost tempted to stomp him into the ground and be done with it, at least, its what the old "him" would have done. "Mugen huh, don't tell me Harunosuke sent you to check up on me and Nagoriyuki? As far as I'm concerned, we're done." It wasn't very common for Yashiro to get upset, to get him to that level, would be a skill all on its own. Not wanting to keep the Lieutenant waiting, he kept his pace up, turning to look at the agent before leaving, "if you have something to say, you can say on the way there."

Taking his large Zanpakutō, Yashiro and Kiokushi walked past the 11th Division headquarters and out in the courtyard, with a number of both seated and unseated officers following in quick pursuit, not wanting to miss out on what could be a battle to decide the next Kenpachi, with some of the senior officers however more than aware this was simply another dispute between two officers, a normal occurrence not too uncommon in their division. With a crowd forming around them, most of them, most of them had snacks and alcohol lined up, treating this encounter as some sort of festival, going so far as to put up wagers on who was going to take it. "Give me 5-to-1 on Kiokushi!" Echoed one, "all in on the Lieutenant!" shouted another. The odds favoring the Lieutenant was something that wasn't too surprising given the sheer disparity between seats, with Yashiro sitting at least three levels below her. Yashiro wasn't nervous, as he was aware more than anyone else where he stood at the totem pole, grabbling his large ōdachi by the scabbard and jabbing it into the ground, the tiles breaking and cracking, leaving a sizeable impact where it stood, imbedded in the earth.

"I didn't expect THIS kind of turnout Lieutenant, I'm shaking just standing here," he exclaimed, his attitude reflecting the farthest thing of fear. Taking a deep breathe, Yashiro was taking on a martial stance, both hands raised close to his face, leaving behind his sword in favor of Hakuda to start. To psyche himself up, he elevated his spiritual pressure up to an astounding level, glowing a violet splendor as the tiles and surrounding walls shook, his muscles bulging in preparation. On the other hand, seeing Mugen kept him a little distracted, *things are never simple when Central 46 is involved*, he thought, signaling him to come to their side before things got out of hand fast.

"Before we get started, what did you come to report," Yashiro questioned, crossing his arms while he waited for the stranger to deliver his announcement to the rest of 11th Division.

“Oh, come on, man,” uttered Nobunaga, exasperated, “What does Central 46 want? We just want to have a little fun, and I do not know about anyone else, but I think I have had enough of Central 46.”

Mugen quickly flashed near Yashiro to answer his question “Haha, you guys are already getting down to business as I can see here.” He says laughing once more giving him a sort of odd aura as he’s seemingly always excited “Like I said they sent me here to check up on you guys… by training. We’re going to first do a couple of rounds of sparring then so I can get a grasp of all of your individual skills and powers and then we’ll head onto a more practical training involving Zanjutsu.” He then takes off his kasa and yells out “Let the duel begin!” alerting all the onlookers that the battle between the two is starting.

Kiokushi seems almost unfazed by the thought of battle, and expects this to be just a regular squabble with her ending up on top as usual. This arrogance in battle may lead to a detriment though with her being defeated.

She then grabs her bokken, believing that she doesn’t even need to utilize her Zanpakuto to defeat Yashiro. She switches her posture to Sha no Kamae allowing her to both defend any oncoming attacks from Yashiro as well as be on the offensive in case if she needs to. Her long blue hair flowing around due to the wind, as she waits for Yashiro to make his move as she tries to see what he’s gonna do first to figure out his way of combatant and use it to his disadvantage.

Watching the current events unfold, Kenzo sits down hoping to fight the winner whether it was Yashiro or Kiokushi with him betting on the latter.

Nobunaga looked at his immediate superior Kenzo. The two had a rough start, and that was just the way he liked it. What he wanted with this guy was a rough friendship. Also, while he knew that Kenzo was the stronger of the two, Nobunaga could not wait to rise above him.

“Looking for a fight, are ya?” spoke Nobunaga to Kenzo. “Why pick on someone right after they, uh… what is the word? …excruciate themselves through a fight. Why not go for someone fresh off the bat?”

Hearing Nobunaga's words, Kenzo smiled becoming excited at the very thought of finally getting to fight someone. "If you wanna fight, then bring it" He says while getting up and putting his hand on his Zanpakutō. "Because I been itching to have a good fight".

With the sound start. Yashiro didn't rush in or bother to come up with a plan in advance, simply walking up to his sparring partner, rather liking this turn of events, taking what he felt was too serious of competition into something that would benefit the two of them, rather than someone ending up dead due to some freak accident. Tucking his hands into his shihakusho, Yashiro strolled up to where Kiokushi was standing, stoping until he was mere inches away from her, towering over her. *Shunpo maybe?* he thought, taking note that a women of her build would be adept at that kind of movement, something he would keep an eye out in the next couple instances. "I hope you don't mind me being so close, I figured this should be enough space for us to get to know each," he whispered, being somewhat cordial in invading her personal space. But to anyone watching, it was anything but, evidenced by the fact that Yashiro was exuding an abundance of bloodlust that his hair began to stand on end, so much so that the gap of spectators broadened, with the circle growing even further to give them more space to fight.

At first Yashiro simply examined her, smiling with his eyes very narrowed, leaving them obscured from sight, keeping his intentions a complete mystery. To begin, Yashiro started with a very basic punch, the force of which was what one would expect from someone suited for 10th Seat, making no secret that Yashiro had always had to restrain himself due in part to his size and natural strength. Using his left hand to deliver a simple hook directed to her head, Yashiro didn't bother to take his right hand out of his pocket throughout the entire endeavor. "Consider this a handshake, to say good luck."

Kiokushi is instantly put on alert as soon as Yashiro attempts to land a punch on her as she jumps away into the air and utilizes her sky walk “I do not tolerate the disrespect mane.” She says as she goes back to descend on the Eleventh Divisions grassy plains. She then starts running towards Yashiro with the look of pure bloodlust exuding from her eyes “I’ll end this in just one strike” Kiokushi yells out as the crowd keeps cheering them own. She then swung down her bokken to Yashiro right on his skull. The spectators and betters that betted on Kiokushi’s victory are ecstatic and start screaming that they knew they were right along.

Not bothering to waste time dodging, Yashiro used his still outretched left arm to block the incoming strike, slamming down hard on his forearm, Yashiro more than impressed at the force applied behind the strike, his arm shaking the keep her sword from reaching his head any further. "So quick to end it, so scary." With his right hand still in his pocket, from the outside, it appeared as if he was rummaging for something underneath his clothes with all the movement taking place, Yashiro gripping his hand into a fist, slipping his thump underneath his index finger, the entire process done in his clothes to obscure his actions. Still smiling, Yashiro flicked his thumb from his pocket, the resulting power far from anything that a simple action should be allowed to posses, as a tiny burst of compressed air erupted from his shihakusho, aiming to to hit her at point-blank range, the move in question that Yashiro employed was the **Oni Dekopin** technique, an intermediate Hakuda attack aimed dead-on to her chest, almost to pay back for the echnage of blows.

The lieutenant was a bit caught off guard and surprised by Yashiro's clever tactics. As she didn't have any time to counter attack his move she had to take the brunt force of his Oni Dekopin. Kiokushi then fell to the ground due to the magnitude of force the attack possesed. Although she wasn't damaged as brutally as a regular person would be if they were put up against Yashiro's Hakuda. She rose back to her feet giving the sixth seat some praise for his efforts, "Wow. I didn't see that shit comin'" She said as she proceeds to take another stance this time with her bokken held above her head as she dashes toward Yashiro with shunpo and attempts to perform another downward slash this time aiming for his chest instead of his head.

"Huuuaaaaaahhhhhh, I thought I told you crackheads to shut the f-Wait, there's no one here," Tsukihara muttered, surprised to see that people actually listened to him for once. In a single, fluent motion, he swung from the ceiling beam and climbed out to the roof of the barracks, hoping to get a look at the action down below. "Huh, looks like Yashiro and the Lieutenant really are dukin' it out. Should be interesting enough. Oi! Kiki! If you lose to Yashiro, your mom's a bitch!" yelled Tsukihara as he stuck his tongue out at Kiokushi.

"Jeez, what in the world is wrong with this squad?" Said Mugen as he looked up and saw Tsukihara ontop of the rooftop of the barracks, "Even the little kid picked up on their language? Heh." he said smiling. He then looked back down at what was going on with Kenzo and Nobunaga, apparently after having their little squabble for a while they resolved the fight and became best friends suddenly. Then he takes a look at Yashiro and Kiokushi "Now that's intense, if I've seen it. They're barely exchanging any dialogue just throwing attacks at eachother." Mugen then puts his hand below his chin and crosses his arms, "This squad really is *bred* different from the rest."

With the quick vanish, Yahsiro was keeping an eye out for the exact moment she used shunpo, but all the same caught by surprise. At the speed she was moving, it would have been a waste of energy to catch her or follow her with his own Shunpo, instead, he'd let her come to him, strike at the exact moment she did, to create an opening. Feeling the wooden sword crash against the surface of his chest, it knocked some of the wind out of him, leaving behind a deep bruise across his chest, his legs buckling a little from the sudden strike. But while she struck at him, Yashiro would use this opportunity to slam his arm across her head at the moment her sword had hit.

As soon as Yashiro launches his arm towards Kiokushi, she took notice of it with her weapon still in the same striking position as before. Kiokushi then moves back a little and drops her bokken on the ground and positioned herself on all fours akin to a tiger, preparing to showcase her own Hakuda. She starts projecting down a barrage of kicks down onto Yashiro and grabs him around by his legs and starts spinning him around like a pinwheel propelling him upwards to the sky whilst she lets go of him. "That was my **Toraō**, yu' like dat'?" She says questioning Yashiro for his feedback, putting her hand on her waist and smiling right back at him.

Blocking her intial volley attacks by crossing both hands infront of him, he hadn't accounted for the low-grapple that sent him flying in the air, Yashiro was more than ecstatic for this new perspective, comprable to something he had heard in the human world called "Tilt-A-Whirl". Before falling, Yashiro charged his right hand with his Reiatsu, realing it in ust as he was about to hit the floor, and punching the ground, resulting in a shockwave that softened his landing and destroyed the floor. Carresing the mark she left him, he slid his hand from the wound to his neck in a slow and methodical manner, almost as if he was tracing the length of her sword in an eplicit manner. Yashiro's face went from stoic to absolutely jubilant, as if a spark had gone off, "I LOVE it, show me more," Yashiro bellowed, now taking the fight a bit more seriously, reaching for an overlarged bokken for him to use, nearly twice the size of what any ordinary human could use, but just the perfect size for someone of his staure.

"The timing was perfect, you sacrificed your weapon for a chance at survival, and dodged at the last possible second, that's the Lieutenant for you." Taking a few practice swings, Yashiro swang downward, each repetative motion creating a powerful stream of air that ripped up the tile floor, the bokken heating up from the frition in the air, glowing red and smoking, almsot as if it could catch fore at any moment, but still stable enough to use. Assuming a kendo stance, Yashiro charged forward with an overhead slash, bringing it down at a diaginal manner.

Kiokushi attempted to dodge this attack once more like prior earlier, but this time she wasn't that lucky. The scorching slash reached Kiokushi's left cheek and it left a wound around it with it steaming up with her blood. "Shii, dat one hit hard, dat one hard." She said reflecting on the attack as she covered her cheek trying to halt the bleeding. "I'm finna show you what **REAL** combat is though." Kiokushi then turned her back on Yashiro leaving her open to an attack or blow of any kind. This however was just a trap to give Yashiro a false sense that Kiokushi has let her guard down. She then disappears to the naked eye for a second, and afterwards reappears with dozens of dopplegangers surrounding Yashiro confined in something that's almost similar to a cage. These weren't really clones of Kiokushi though, and were rather just afterimages of her due to her speed circling around Yashiro showcasing just how proficient she is in utilizing Shunpo. Though she was not the best user of Shunpo in the whole entirety of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, her usage wasn't something scoff at as everyone else present at the grounds of the fight were completely taken away by such a showing from the lieutenant.

"So this is how a fight with the lieutenant is huh?" Says Mugen Amado as he watches the two of them clash. "She's a rather spontaneous woman." He then takes a sip of sake out of the Sakazuki gaven to him by the members of the Eleventh Division.

Yashiro was taken aback at such a display, just trying to find the real Kiokushi proved just as futile as it was stunning to look at, it was like he was stargazing. Scratching his head, Yashiro was more than stumped as to what to do. "Playing hard to get huh? Sorry Lieutenant, but I can't move that fast," Yashiro said bashfully, glancing at his practice sword for a quick instance. "What to do...oh...," With his bokken still smoking, Yashiro came up with the only recourse that made the most sense to him, as it was something only HE could do given his unique physique. Taking a deep breath, Yashiro casually swung his sword. After that, he did so again, the pace increasing a bit. Doing it again, the swing accelerated even more. This pace followed numerous times. Much to the chagrin of shinigami watching.

"This isn't some training drill idiot!"

"Don't just stand there, do something!"

Yashiro simply ignored the audience, practicing his swings in peace. However, it was after the most recent swing that something unusual was taking place. Up to this point, it wasn't odd for his swings to pack power, thanks in part to his sheer size and muscle, creating a loud boom in its wake that created compressed air slashs that cut up the ground, leaving a gaping gash near the floor around him. But it was after his 15th slash that this trend began to change. Each swing after had his arm momentarily vanish, taking several seconds for the slash to catch up before the whole sequence repeated itself ad nauseam. It was at this point that his arm was simply invisible, the slashes now cleaner and perfected, leaving the most narrow of gashes at the floor compared to all the other “practice” swings he had done at this point. “Hmmmm, yea, this should be the right swing,” Yashiro commented. Stopping for a moment, he exhaled as loud as he could, inhaling the exact same volume as he let out an ear-bursting growl. “GHHAAAAA!”

As as soon roared out loud, Yashiro was swinging his sword as fast and hard as he could in every possible direction he could reach like a man possessed. The bokken sword actually caught fire, spreading embers and flickers of flame that left behind red streaks of afterimages in its wake. All this power dedicated for one single purpose, one mundane task that didn't require much thinking: hit Kiokushi. Yashiro used **Hōzan Kenbu**, a Zanjutsu technique designed for “defense”, but to anyone watching, this move had nothing but openings, making it less than useful for its intended purpose. But for this instance, Yashiro was dedicating himself to absolute offense, repurposing it for something entirely new that took adavantage of his size and reach, the wide-arrange of swings ripping apart the tiles and igniting the air around him, increasing the speed the further along he went, aiming to hit all the dancing images of the Lieutenant he could. If he was going to be trapped in this cage, Yashiro made sure he was going to rattle it as much as he could.

Quickly startled by Yashiro's display, Kiokushi knew well and better than everyone else that Yashiro wasn't just another meathead that decided to join the Eleventh Division just because it suited somebody of his body type more so than the other squads. *Nah*, the reason why Yashiro has risen through the ranks was *because* of his ability to come up with a plan no matter how simple it maybe is still effective if executed correctly. And that was exactly what was done here with his Hozan Kenbu. "Man, this niglet ain't gon' give me a break huh?" Kiokushi says as her afterimages keep dissolving from the fire one after another. It was only a matter of time until Yashiro reached the true concrete Kiokushi.

And as he did it was clearly made evident which one was it. With the real lieutenant being all the way at the top of the cage floating in the sky, which was an obvious guess from an spectator's points of view but Yashiro was already too preoccupied with dealing with the others. "Oi, looks like you've finally found my hiding spot smartypants." Kiokushi says smiling at Yashiro

"But this bout ain't over yet!" She yells out loud, shaking the bones of those around her with the sheer volume of her voice. She quickly descends rushing towards Yashiro and flashes straight to him peforming a slap right on his right cheek. "If you wanna have a bitch fight, we can have a bitch fight." She said laughing, staring down Yashiro.

Spitting blood from his mouth, it was exactly what he needed right now, a wake up call. Yashiro had no desire or care to keep fighting with swords or weapons, if he was being honest, he rather liked using his bare fists to handle his fights, his Hakuda outperforming his Zanjutsu even on the best of days. And it wasn't because he was simply good at it. No. Yashiro liked the sensation that every bone breaking punch had as he felt it through his hands, that things crumbled at the lightest touch whether he meant to or not. It meant he could be as "intimate" as he could with his opponent, or as close as it was possible for warriors. "Oh Lieutenant, if you keep this up, I don't know what I might do ♬," Yashiro beckoned in tune, his face flustered and red, his breathe hot and ragged, not from all the swings, but from something that proved far from rational or ordinary. Ceasing his swings, it was evident that all that was left from the bokken was the charred remains of the handle he was gripping, nothing but smoldering ash as that too was breaking into pieces from the excessive force he was applying, leaving him barehanded.

From this point on, Yashiro was going to fight as seriously as he could, changing his stance to a much more refined style, his clenched fists giving way to a open-palmed form, his Reiatsu focused solely on the surface of his hands, taking on a bright violet hue. To those watching, it was evident he was employing the use of the Sumo, a style that perfectly took advantage of his frame and large hands. "Ready or not, here I come." Using Shunpo, Yashiro vanished from sight, moving right behind her, aiming to throw a well-placed thrust against her back with his left hand.

"Fuck! This dude is slimy as hell." Says Kiokushi as Yashiro appears behind her and is about to hit her from behind. "You're not quite the type who likes using your sword huh?" She then says noticing he completely decimated his bokken earlier. Kiokushi then puts a stop to Yashiro's left hand with her own hands and they both get into a tackling match, seeing who's going to drop to the ground and fall flat first.

"You really are persistent as a boner, sixth seat." She says gritting her teeth as she tries to pull back a man of such a colossal stature such as Yashiro. Kiokushi tries kicking her opponents foot with a roundhouse attempting to knock him off his balance, but such an move would not be as effective on Yashiro as his legs are almost as tough as iron itself. But nonetheless Kiokushi tries to overpower him.

Coming back from his fight with Nobunaga, Kenzo took a seat to watch the fight intrested in where it would go from here. "For a Sixth Seat, that Yashiro guy is strong as hell though I'm not suprised considering this dude used to carry the Black Gate out side of Soul Society" He thought while drink some acohol. While he was sitting he was thinking of what he was gonna do if Yashiro or Kiokushi won and a wide smile overcame his face, as the mere thought of fighting either one of them was inticing to say the least.

“I was honestly thinking that the fight should be over by now,” spoke Nobunaga, “Black Gate, you say? Huh, impressive. Prick never told me about that, that prick.” Nobunaga laughed, “Oi, look at me! The alcohol has rendered me a simpleton.” He said, “I think I am gonna get sick,” as he lit his cigar. Then, he spoke, “Probably should not smoke right now,” before proceeding to smoke anyway.

Lifting his leg in response at the last moment, Yashiro leaned back and rocked himself forward, his goal was to stomp on her foot, not injure her, but to lock her in place, keeping her from running in any other direction and keeping the battle in close quarters. He was going to make a point of ending this as quickly as possible. Before he started, Yashiro noticed Kenzo from within the crowd, a pleasant distraction from all the fighting he was doing. "Oh, Kenzo huh? Here to cheer for the underdog," Yashiro yelled out, hoping to catch his attention from all the cheering and ruckus taking place. With the pleasantries out of the way, while he was trying to pin her down, he would add-on to his assault with a two-pronged attack, throwing a diagonal karate chop aimed across the side of her head.

Having to think quickly to respond to this attack, Kiokushi braces herself for impact by putting both of her hands up in a blocking position trying to guard her head first the most vulnerable spot. As the attack lands, Kiokiushi was able to perform her defense in the nick of time being able to protect her head, but her arms weren't that fortunate as by this point they were heavily bruised and damaged from the battle and how long it's been going now, Much like Yashiro, Kiokushi was starting to take the battle more seriously realizing how much of an extended period of time they've been duking it out for. The battle was now in its final stages with Kiokushi whipping out her Swan's Song if you may say.

"Release." She says with the diamond coated cross earrings that she pierced on her opened up and formed a construct of reiatsu forming around her body. Taking the appearance of a humanoid skeleton towering over Kiokushi and both Yashiro reaching all the way to the sky blocking out the view of the sun for Yashro himself. Such an amazing display from Kiokushi is not one seen very often, as she prefers to use this technique only when she's desperate for a W, and some view this card as a dirty cheat. As she starts preparing for her final blow she looks back at Yashiro with her eyes burning with the reflection of her firey battle spirit. "Ya ready for this?" she says smiling with an awe encompassing grin covering her face.

"Hmmm...I GIVE UP!" Backing away, Yashiro used Shunpo to backstep a considerable distance from her, letting up on his grip he had on her foot. Yashiro was blushing profusely, his hands in the air as if to signufy he was harmless. "Hahah you got me Lieutenant, its you're win. So serious, you won't catch a man with that kind of attitude." Walltzing to her side, he gave her a couple pats on her back, as if to congratulate her.

Kiokushi was shaken up by the revelation of Yashiro giving up on the match, with her reiatsu bodyguard being deactivated all she could do was stare off in the distance. "What the fuh-" She said before she could finish the sentence, as Yashiro patted her on her back she fell to the ground feeling like she could pass out right now. "That was soooo lame." She said crying from disappointment that the match ended prematurely. "Please." "I beg of youuu" she says like a little baby wailing for their mama's milk. "I want a rematch!!! I can't go out like dis!!" Kiokushi continues on, with her pride being absolutely trampled on by Yashiro.

"Wow, Look like she's going out sad huh?" Says Mugen giggling as she approaches Kiokushi "Don't worry my little baby, I'll let you fight me if you want." He says in a jokingly manner with his arms crossed.

"You dare fucking insult me you bitch?!?" Kiokushi responds angrily as she jumps off from the ground and proceeds to berate Mugen with a flurry of punches.

"Swawery." Mugen says barely making out a sorry, with his jaw all beaten up and circles and bumps forming all over his face from Kiokushi's heavy hits.

“Alright,” yelled Nobunaga, “Time for the final rou— wait, what? Prick gave up?! Yashiro, you son of a mother—”

Nobunaga lunged at Yashiro, but fell down and fell asleep. The day had been fun yet also long and tiresome, and it was time for not a final round but a time-out for Nobunaga.

"What the hell man, I was lowkey rooting for you" Kenzo yelled at Yashiro, though he couldnt do anything but laugh at the sight of seeing Kiokushi cry like a little baby.

"Man that was a bit underwhelming." Said Mugen as he decided to walk in the middle of the battlegrounds again making his next announcment.

"Hahaha, I guess that's that. What can I say, the Lieutenant's is one scary gal Kenzo," he said jokingly, sitting on the ground from across Kiokushi, letting out a sigh. *I wanted to fight all out too, but If we were going to go at it, it should be with our Zanpakutō, only then will I know you're giving it all you got* he thought to himself. If Yashiro had fought her now the way he was, he wouldn't have given her the fight she deserved, and it wouldn't have been a good representation of his abilities. Despite how things ended, Yashiro felt more than satisfied, and had his fill. Picking up Nogunaga from his head, Yashiro lunged him across his back, waltzing past the large crowd of 11th Division Shinigami, some more than happy at the turn of events while others left dissatisfied with how abrupt things ended. "Think of it this way, you're one step closer to being the 'Kenpachi' Kiokushi."

Nagoriyuki sipped from his cup of sake, basking in the rich flavor. Sitting atop one of the buildings overlooking the sparring matches, Nagoriyuki looked on in equal parts amusement and of keen earnest as he digested the fighting styles and reiatsu of his "comrades-in-arms".

He was a battle junkie like the rest of them, but he preferred challenges that pit his life on the line, not this training. He was unwilling to engage in idle banter, preferring to observe from afar before making his entrance. Despite appearances, Nagoriyuki and his gang of miscreants were if nothing else professionals first. Scouting out the competition was something he was not above doing.

Settling into his seated position, Nagoriyuki contemplated his move. He was watching very keenly the fight between Kiokushi and Yashiro. If there was a contender for the title of Kenpachi, it was definitely Kiokushi. Her power was monstrous, and worse off she had the raw talent to back it all up. He was skilled, excelling in technique over raw power, and while had managed to increase his strength, it was not even close to the same plane as Kiokushi.

At least in his present form that is. Ever since he acquired his Zanpakuto it hadn't taken long for him to bond with his weapon and learn its name. Now it remains in a state of constant release, a rarity for a Shinigami, and such things bode well for him and his potential. Should he imbibe more of the sake, he might be able to close the gap.

Might.

And that's before she unleashed her own Zanpakuto. He pondered this conundrum for another moment before the deafening roar of his comrades in arms drew him out of his musings. It seemed like the fight between Kiokushi and Yashiro was coming to a close soon. Once Yashiro lost, and lets face it, that fight was inevitable. Fool didn't take it seriously. Or maybe he did and this was the extent of his ability. Doesnt matter, once he's down, Nagoriyuki was going to make his stand.

While the Lieutenant was involved in a duel, the lower ranking officers — 3rd Seat and 4th Seat — prepared their own duel. Nobunaga walked outside, wearing his bamboo kasa hat and halted to pick a right spot. Then he started walking rightwards, eyeing his surroundings. He was looking for a locational advantage so that if the two were face to face, the sun would be directly in shine its rays in Kenzo's eyes. Once he was done, he stood upright, arms open wide.

Unsheathing his sword, Kenzo walked up to Nobunaga. "Let's go" He says before charging at Nobunaga.

Pushing Kenzo's sword aside by slamming the back of his hand against the flat of his foe's sword, Nobunaga raised his huge hand towards Kenzo's chin.

Using shunpo, Kenzo goes above Nobunaga before sending a powerful kick towards his head.

Nobunaga raises his hand higher, and counters Kenzo's kick with a strong punch aiming right at his heel.

Mugen is on standby at this point, trying to focus on both of the battles going on and is entertained by the spunk the contestants are putting in already. “This sure is really interesting.” He says grinning under his hat.

"This guy is strong" Kenzo says before intercepting Nobunaga's punch with his sword.

With Kenzo's sword pointed at his fist, Nobunaga had no choice but to retreat. He flickered backwards and as Kenzo started descending, lunged towards his foe with a lariat.

Kenzo seeing this uses his reiatsu to form a protective layer around his body.

Nobunaga smiles and continues towards Kenzo. His lariat was a mere faint. With Kenzo forming his great spiritual pressure into a layer around his body, Nobunaga focused the bulk of his even greater spiritual pressure into his foot and stomped on Kenzo's foot.

"You little shit" Kenzo says before aiming his sword directly at Nobunaga throat which he then enhanced with his reiatsu.

Nobunaga was not done. He propelled himself from the stomp, getting out of the way of Kenzo's sword, and launched an oblique kick at his shin.

Kenzo jumps out of the way of Nobunaga's kick before swinging his sword at Nobunaga's chest with monstrous speed.

Nobunaga once again punched the flat of Kenzo's sword to push it away from himself, and launched his knee towards Kenzo's chest.

Seeing this, Kenzo uses Shunpo to back himself away before launching a reiatsu enhanced kick at Nobunaga's skull.

The knee strike was another feint. Nobunaga's plan was to raise his other foot to kick Kenzo in the face. He raised his foot anyway, but raised it even higher, blocking Kenzo's kick with his own spiritually-enhanced foot.

"Your good" Kenzo says to Nobunaga. "But enough with the kicks, I wanna see your Zanpakuto!" Kenzo says with fiery passion.

Nobunaga sighed, and pulled out his two nōdachi, almost as big as he himself was. “Bring it on,” he said.

Kenzo swings his sword at Nobunaga attempting to put him on the offensive.

With his great strength, Nobunaga knocked Kenzo's sword aside with one of his swords and jabbed the other towards Kenzo's already bruised foot.

Using shunpo, Kenzo moves to the side grabbing his Zanpakuto before hitting the ground, shattering it.

Nobunaga sighed once again, and lunged towards Kenzo in a spinning motion, with one sword slashing towards Kenzo's leg, the other towards Kenzo's arm.

Kenzo manages to block the attack, though he is pushed back quite a bit. Before he lands on the ground, Kenzo uses air walk to stay in place before he sends a air slash towards Nobunaga.

Nobunaga uses his great leg strength and Shunpo to get to Kenzo, blocking the latter's slash with his two blades in a cross position.

Kenzo becoming even more interested in the battle raises his reiatsu output increasing his already monstrous physical abilities before charging with his zanpakuto at Nobunaga.

Nobunaga hammered one of his Zanpakutō down at Kenzo's Zanpakutō, and hammered the other Zanpakutō, with the blunt side down for he wished not to seriously hurt his foe, towards Kenzo's neck.

Reacting with blinding speed, Kenzo grabs Nobunaga sword before using his strength to push Nobunaga back.

Nobunaga reacted with his own great strength to free his sword from Kenzo's hand. Keeping his enemy's sword down with one of his swords, he drove the other sword towards Kenzo's arms, aiming to severe his tendons.

Kenzo freeing his hand from his sword launches himself back.

Popping his foe's sword in his own mouth, Nobunaga charged at Kenzo with three swords.

Kenzo smiled before saying, "Fierce Storm, **Hageshī sora**" Activating his Shikai and returning his sword back to him before he quickly deactivates it and charges at Nobunaga.

Feeling his teeth sting, Nobunaga could not help but feel agitated, but he also could not help but smile. Ready for anything, Nobunaga braced himself for Kenzo's next attack.

Charging at Nobunaga, Kenzo swings his sword at Nobunaga's chest before launching a sweeping kick.

Jumping to avoid the kick, Nobunaga countered Kenzo's sword with one of his swords, and thrusted the other towards Kenzo's shoulder.

The alcohol now starting to heavily kick in, Kenzo doesn't react in time and gets slashed on his shoulder.

Nobunaga smiled, “Gotcha, prick!” He spun off his sword and launched a kick directly at a suffering Kenzo's face.

Kenzo now smiling even more now, manages to slash Nobunaga's face before getting thrown back from his kick.

Nobunaga tried to avoid the slash, but his own sake clicking in to slow his nerves down, he took the slash, nose to cheek, and fell back. Uttering a laugh, Nobunaga shouted, “Ya sly dawg!” This was the first time the 3rd seat had managed to damage him. He pointed at Kenzo, aiming for his other shoulder, “Byakurai!” A bolt of lightning emitted from his fingertip, hurling towards a thrown Kenzo.

Quickly Kenzo activated his Shikai, turning the sky dark with thunderclouds and hurled his own bolt of lightning that he then strengthen with more of his reiatsu.

Nobunaga was not surprised. He had struck Kenzo thrice, while the latter had only managed to strike him once. Clearly, Kenzo needed to unleash his Shikai to face this challenge. What was also very clear was that now that Kenzo had unleashed his Shikai, Nobunaga stood no chance. Kenzo's bolt overpowered Nobunaga's puny one and struck the man himself, throwing him back. As if rising from ashes. Nobunaga screamed and unleashed his spiritual pressure at full force.

Kenzo now being alot more serious sent another thunderbolt at Nobunaga before containing the rest of his thunder reiatsu inside his shikai.

Nobunaga screamed harder, and with his great, dense spiritual pressure, swung his sword at the thunderbolt. The shockwave that was unleashed completely nullified the bolt, leaving a giggling Nobunaga in the wake of the smoke and dust.

Kenzo charges at Nobunaga while summoning a mini storm around his and Nobunaga's immediat vincity, moving at sppeds that he looks like a flash of pure thunder racing towards Nobunaga.

Nobunaga unleashed his spiritual pressure with all the effort he could muster up, but was ultimately thrown off his feet struck directly by the thunder and was sent crashing into the walls outside the barracks.

“Well, got no choice,” he said before yelling out “Kyokkō!”, and disappearing.

Kenzo stood, confused but on guard as he was sure this wasnt some Kido spell but his opponets own Shikai and at that thought he began to smile, glad on how this fight was turning out.

Suddenly, with overwhelming spiritual pressure, Nobunaga appeared, standing behind Kenzo, and slashing at his back with a shockwave.

Sensing Nobunaga's spirtual pressure, Kenzo raised his sword to block the attack thrown at him.

“Hold on!” yelled Nobunaga. His eyes widened, and walked backwards a few steps. He looked at his sword with great astonishment, and spoke, “I can hear something. Oh, yes! I hear it. Oh, is it finally happening?!” He then looked at Kenzo, excited tremendously. “**Sakesuke**!” He yelled out, and suddenly, he was shrouded in beige spiritual pressure. Nobunaga laughed heartily. “It happened! It finally happened! Lieut! Kenzo! I finally, *finally* know the name of my Zanpakutō.” He laughed even more and lunged towards Kenzo, with burning passion.

"Now this is the fight I been waiting for" Kenzo says before charging towards Nobunaga while surrounding himself and his Zanpakuto with razor sharp lightning reiatsu, while this is happening Kenzo also summons a storming whirlwind around him and Nobunaga.

“You are so doomed, boy!” Nobunaga screamed as he revealed tendrils of liquid energy emanating from himself, and almost every single person inside or outside the 11th Division barracks …connecting to the pommels of swords in Nobunaga's hands.

“The Zanpakutō tells me… Sakesuke tells me… its abilities… and those are… to control… *alcohol*! All the alcohol that is dulling my senses is now mine to control! All the alcohol that is dulling *your* senses is now mine to control, too!”

Nobunaga laughed and disconnected the tendrils from everyone else apart from himself and Kenzo. The senses of both men dulled by the alcohol were now Nobunaga's control. “Now, drop… your… sword…” spoke Nobunaga as he controlled Kenzo's senses as much as he could to drop the latter's sword.

Kenzo now under Nobunaga's control began to drop his sword, "You sly bastard" Kenzo says, but before he fully dropped his Zanpakuto, he commanded the little whirlwind around him and Nobunaga to send lightning bolts at Nobunaga.

Nobunaga prepared himself for massive damage, but kept his smile on. Using his newfound power, he tried his hardest from Kenzo's arms from moving and jabbed his swords towards his foe's arms. In all likelihood, the swords should impale his foe's arms, and the swords, being liquid, shall act as conductors. Thus, if struck by lightning, Kenzo himself has to be harmed just as much as Nobunaga will.

Kenzo unable to move his arms, used his legs to jump back and then lauch himself towards Nobunaga's stomach with insane speed and if the hit connected, insane force aswell.

Nobunaga used his own immense leg strength to move out of the way. Now, Kenzo was exactly where Nobunaga was while the lightning bolt approached. Kenzo was now going to be struck by his own lightning. To ensure that the strike connected, Nobunaga focused as hard as he could to prevent from being able to dodge the lightning strike.

Kenzo smiled as the lightning struck, after the smoke cleared Kenzo stood there unharmed and unfazed. Because the storm is infused with his reiatsu, its effects were not harmful to Kenzo himself. Standing there now Kenzo called back his sword and took a defensive postion, knowing that he may not win due to Nobunaga's Shikai in this situation he is currently in.

Nobunaga was deeply surprised that Kenzo was unfazed by the lightning strike. “Wait, you can do that?!” Nobunaga sighed, and activated his sword's power again, “Alright, drop your sword. No tricks this time, there, there.” Nobunaga calmly walked towards Kenzo and pointed his sword right at Kenzo's neck. “Yield,” Nobunaga smiled, “Yield. Smile. And give me a tight hug, my friend.”

Kenzo being under control, dropped his sword, formed a crooked smile, and gave Nobunaga a tight hug like they were old friends.

Nobunaga deactivated his Shikai, dropped his swords, and hugged Kenzo tightly. Almost breaking down, Nobunaga spoke “Thank you! Thank you, my senior! Thank you for the great fight! Thank you for helping me unleash a power I never knew I had! Thank you!”

Kenzo now laughing responded. "I should thank you, you gave me the best fight of my life, I hope we can be friends after this and hey maybe even drinking buddies. However I will watch my alcohol intake around you." Kenzo says before grabbing his sword, desummoning the storm and deactivating his Shikai.

“Sure thing, friend. I think we should go back inside the barracks and see if our lieutenant has won already.” Nobunaga spoke, having made a new friend, perhaps a family in the 11th Division.

"Agreed" Kenzo said walking with Nobunaga into the 11th Division barracks.

After all the fighting that went through with Kiokushi vs. Yashiro, and Kenzo vs. Nobunaga. It was time for the next and final match to be declared by the de-facto referee Mugen Amado. He then speaks up while in the middle of the battlegrounds "Excuse me, I need all of you attention once more! For this final bout I'll be choosing Fifth Seat Nagoriyuki Magatsuchi, and Seventh Seat Tsukihara Aoya.... NOWWWW.... WITHOUT FURTHER ADO..... LETS GET READY TO......" Mugen waiting to end his phrase making everyone anticipated "Rumble." he then says in a calm voice not making any emotion at all, which ends up disappointing everyone.

## Through Hardship Births Experience

Right after all of the rough housing and duels that took place in the backyard of th Eleventh Division, it looked like every single participant and even member of the squad was exhausted. But as they were soon to eventually come to the realization there wasn't going to be that much time for them to rest.

"Well, well, well." says a Mugen Amado as he lets out a yawn hovering his hand over his mouth while doing so. "Think it's time to call it a day." He continues on after being interrupted by his yawn then he proceeds to walk into the divisions barracks as if it were his own estate and takes a drink of coffee as he lays down on a couch to lounge and eventually fall asleep.

Yashiro couldn't calm down, it was bad enough that he was under probation, but to have a memebr of Central 46 stroll around their house, and under the same roof like he owned the place, he couldn't stand all the beuracracy that his presence brought to the 11th Division. Gripping the chair he was sitting on, it nearly broke from the pressure underneath his fingers, "Lieutenant, why's he still here? I doubt he can teach us anymore than what we already know," exclaimed Yashiro. Crossing his arms, he could only stare down at Mugen, almost tempted to throw him out. But what would that mean for him, and how would it reflect on the higher seated officers. For now he would just wait and see what the others would say, and who knows, if the others felt the same way, maybe he didn't need to lift a single finger on his part to kick him out.

The day, passed without anyone noticing. The next day when Mugen waked up earlier than practically everyone else, he already thought to himself how he wanted today be panned out. He then made sure to wake up the previous figthers from yesterday. Yashiro, Kiokushi, Kenzo, Nobunaga, Nagoriyuki, and Tsukihara. Once they were all present in the living room he finally told them the whole ordeal and why he was sent here and the first place and how he's going to be assisting the squad.

"I perceive that you are all aware about the infighting, that's been going on in the Eleventh Division right?" Mugen said as he places his palm ontop of his strawhat for not apparent reason, besides him enjoying the sensation. "Yeah. It's been really a pain to manage the squad in it's current position." Kiokushi said replying as she took a sigh relaying the fact that now more than ever being apart of the 11th squad or hell the Gotei 13 as a whole was not all that too well. "Mhm. That's why I've came to add some balance to this division, this is the reason the Central 46 sent me here, they wanted to make sure that things get resolved quickly so that we can still maintain our numbers in the Gotei 13 millitary force and not let them all go to waste from them outright killing eachother. And there's no better way than training all of you to specialize more in your profession, and strengthen our army to greater heights of power." He then concluded, as he walked out of the Eleventh Division barracks to take them in a sacred temple in the outskirts, known for it's training circumstances. Before he brought everyone though "Any objections?" He said to the squad.

"Yeah I do" Kenzo said walking towards Mugen, "We don't need a C46 dog to train us, we are the 11th division, the military of the Gotei 13, the birthplace of every Kenpachi, we don't need you" he said now standing right in front of Mugen.

"I'll have to agree with Kenzo on this one buddy." Says Kiokushi with her arms crossed and Zanpakuto on her waist. "I think we'll just go ahead and train ourselves, it'd be in the benefit for all of us, and don't worry we gon' come back stronger than everyone fa sho!" She said declaring the pride she has for division and the faith she has in the rest of the members.

Mugen then chuckles under his hat weirdly, at this point it's just a gag of his now. "Exactly the reaction I knew you guys would have. I have no objections to that, as you have shown your resolve I trust you wholeheartedly." he says as he gives a handshake to Kiokushi. "Well then, now that I've heard it from you lot, I think it's time for me to take my departure, thanks for the show y'all put on yesterday, it was fun. Bye!" Mugen then dashes off beyond sight in just the matter of seconds without the members of the squad even being able to give him a farewell back.

"Well put. But you can’t deny that was a little unnerving," Yashiro exclaimed, the Central 46 member leaving just as quickly as he showed up, but it was all for the better he felt, if there were problems with the 11th Division, it was up to them to fix it, not an outsider. But he did have to admit, he might've had a point he thought. Up until now, it was the wild west at their barracks, anyone worth their salt clamoring for the title of "Kenpachi", him included. But he was about to change his way of thinking entirely. "Lieutenant, you're already pretty strong huh?" At this point, she and the other higher seated officers already had a Shikai, so out of the many candidates, they were the most likely to succeed. If there was going to be any stability, they needed a powerful enough captain to reel them in, not just for their sake, but for the Gotei 13 as well, as Kenpachi was their most gifted fighter. Taking off his bandages, he was more than intent on giving it his all this time around, clutching his large Zanpakutō.

"Since there's no captain to kill, it looks like the only way any of us can get anywhere is through Bankai. So our only path is clear. We train until someone gets close enough to it."

Kiokushi glanced at Yashiro with a smile written on her face. "Bankai? Ion even like using my Shikai dat much, but bet. I wanna see the full capabilities of all of your zanpakuto's as well." She said ad they're running outside of the Seireitei into the Temple of Svarga.

"I'm down for getting Bankai" Kenzo said before running with Kiokushi to the Temple of Svarga.

## Sidestory: Happy Birthday!

After the passionate training that went down just a few days ago during November. December finally hit with the weather getting colder and people staying in doors as a result of the sudden shift in climate. The Eleventh Division however was always still no matter what circumstances are getting down to work. But as they have no mission assigned to them as of now, and all of the members worn out from the events of the past few weeks. They decided it'd be in good spirit if they took a break for now to get all their stuff together. And no better way to rest then to throw a big party in celebration of a birthday.

Kiokushi woke up with her hair all over the place laid back on her bed, she let out a big yawn as she rolled her arms back and stood up from the bed. "What day is it today?" as she looks to her calendar.

"Shit. It's Kenzo's birthday." She exclaims as she gets her shinigami clothes ready and rushed out of her room, without barely taking anytime of modifying her appearance at all like a usual woman. Her geta's clanking on the floor as she runs. She opens up her partner's room, Tsukihara to catch him sleeping. "Hey wake up if you not a walking L" she says alerting him as he shakes frantically in his bed.

After waking up Tsukihara, Kiokushi goes off and notifies the rest of the members of the squad one by one calling them into the barracks main room and on purpose intently leaving out Kenzo. "So all of y'all I have a idea for Kenzo's birthday." As she says it she then pauses for a second thinking more about it. "A surprise party!" Kiokushi abruptly blurts out.

Dragging a large barrel into the room, the sloshing from the container only gave away Yashiro's location, the size scarching the floor as he hauled it with one hand. Placing it across the table, From his appearance alone, Yashiro had bandages all over his chest, cheek, and arm, still recoving from his battle with the Lieutenant as of recent. "I couldn't agree more, the 3rd could use somemthing to mark the occasion."

“Oi,” grumbled Nobunaga as he entered the barracks, more bitter than ever, which was not surprising, as he grew bitter by the day since his fiancée left for the human world.

He looked around, and saw everyone looking active. “What is going on?”

"Looks like we're planning a surprise party for Kenzo," Tsukihara replied, showing no signs of interest in the event. "Normally, I wouldn't bother doing such a thing, but if Kiki says we should then I won't complain. You in?"

“Oh.” At first, Nobunaga's brows tensed. Then he eased down, and gave a faint smile, “I am. I would love to.” He could not let a troubled romance torpedo recently blossoming friendships.

"Alrighty, let's go out shopping for supplies!" Kiokushi says finalizing her decision on what to do. "Do any of y'all kno' what Kenzo likes? I mean I aint knew him for too long so I can't really think of a present." She says with her arms crossed while she trys to come up with a idea of a gift. "I mean perhaps some food will do right, since they say every man likes a good feast with sake."

“Yeah, let us get some food,” spoke Nobunaga, ”What does he like? I never asked. My pear idea is a no-go, innit, Lieut?”

Nobunaga flipped open his mobile device, and started texting, “I will get some of the best opium I get my hands on. Oh! Does he like hookers?”

Kiokushi then looks at Nobunaga "Hookers?" She then starts bursting out into laughter like maniacal hyena. "Nawlllllll, I'm dead fhoo." Kiokushi continued on laughng "Aighht let's go head to shops!" Kiokushi and Nobunaga and the others then proceed to run off with Shunpo, after hours and hours of shopping and looking for things they've finally gotten all of the objects they deem is important for a birthday party. Such as cake, presents, balloons decorations, and etc.

Yashiro in the meantime would go find the birthday boy and keep him distracted while the Lieutenant and others got things ready. For someone of their Division, it was only natural that he take him to go sparring with the rest of the unseated officers of their company, showing them a thing or two about Zanjutsu.

## Epilogue

“Oi! Got me Shikai today! Pretty cool, eh?”

Nobunaga yelled as entered his cottage, but instead if finding closed blinders and dull lanterns, he found open blinders and bright moonlight. He was puzzled. Where is the darling? He closed the blinders. He switched on his lanterns. He sat down, and chugged down some sake, and smoked a cigar. Waiting. After a while, he heard a knock on the door. He went and opened the door, and found an unseated officer from the 13th Division. He told Nobunaga that his fiancée had been sent on a mission to the Human world. Nobunaga was stunned. He felt numb. After he regained his senses, Nobunaga questioned as to when she will return. The unseated officer was afraid that he was not at the liberty to say. What the officer did not inform Nobunaga was that his fiancée had volunteered for the mission, and the reason why he could tell the 4th Seat of the 11th Division as to when she will return was because he had no idea. He did, however, a note from the woman herself. Nobunaga read the note and his face contorted into a smile and a frown. Was it anger? Was it worry? Was it frustration? Nobunaga had no idea. All he had was a note. The note read,

“Oi! Got me Shikai today! Pretty cool, eh?”