Forest of Menos

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The Forest of Menos (メノスの森, Menosu no Mori) is an area below the surface of Hueco Mundo's desert where the average Hollow hide from the Arrancar.

The forest is filled with large trees made of a silvery quartz substance. These trees extend to the surface and dot the landscape of the desert in Hueco Mundo. Arrancar have a considerable amount of influence here, judging by a large group of Hollow bowing down upon seeing an Arrancar. Countless Gillian class Hollow live here and follow the commands of the Guardian of the Forest of Menos and his followers. The Adjuchas in charge of the Forest of Menos are under the command of a few select Vasto Lordes.

Soon enough, the group of people would be crossing into the Menos Forest through a portal opened in the Twelfth Division's Sixth Laboratory. Out of this portal came a pink haired woman with two cat tails and a pair of cat ears. She pushed spectacles up onto her nose as she stepped out and grinned. "Oh, this place is really different. This is much better than trying to analyze it through video feed," the woman mentioned in case any one happened to be interested in the parts of her research which took place long before the individuals present would have been thinking about such things. As she looked up, she took in the sights of quartz like trees and desert sand.

"I can leave more sources if you want," said the youngest of this group, who was the second to walk through the Garganta. The boy immediately spread his arms, allowing ten white snakes to emerge from his over-sized sleeves. The eyes on these snakes were exactly like his own, and in fact, he shared their vision. Yonsokei, the mechanical male figure who emerged afterwards, said nothing. The Lieutenant named Raizen, however...

"Sugoi. I didn't expect the home of Hollows to have trees, but the material is a nice touch," he said simply to address the aesthetics of the area. The more he looked around, though, the more Gillian-class Menos he saw. "Now... where are the..." His statement paused briefly, as there were numerous standard Hollows quickly approaching the group. An almost ethereal glow swept across the area surrounding the Shinigami when Raizen drew his sword, as he quickly maneuvered around the others to cleave through the mask of each Hollow near them. When he sheathed his blade, he exhaled and felt open enough to complete his clause. "... other Menos."

"Hai, that will be good. I don't know how much more information and proof I will need later," said the woman who was already apparently thinking about things far into the future of herself and probably most of the Seireitei. As she looked up towards the sky she found it strange. "It seems like we're under something..." she said seeming to not be bothered by the approach of numerous Menos. Soon enough, Raizen was taking care of it anyways, and so far as anyone could tell, this woman wasn't even armed. "I wonder how far up that goes, how to get to the light," soon though the woman's ears twitched and she remembered what she was here for. The Menos so recently murdered by Raizen. "Right, not here to study the environment. Here to find the strange Menos," she said remembering the important information. "Yonsokei, bait the area," it was an order which was something apparently simply done, she intended to draw more Hollows to the area if only to see if any of the interesting ones would come to the surface.

When the Captain mentioned feeling as if they were underneath something, Raizen's gaze rose to the apparent roof of this forest. The trees seemed to reach this roof, and what's more, there were light-giving holes scattered along the platform as well. After seeing this, Raizen immediately brought his gaze to the ground beneath them. There, he took note of the sand, which showed itself in larger piles directly beneath the holes above. "The Hollow world is a desert. I wonder if it's anything like..." He stopped himself there for some reason or another, choosing to address Akiko's change in subject. "Surely though, you would be interested in taking a bit of a detour once we have the information we came for."

Moments later, Yonsokei held out his left hand. A segment in his palm opened, preparing to release a special Hollow-attracting bait, but the hand of Raizen stopped it from doing so. "Gomen. I have a better idea," he said as he stepped away from the android and out into the open. "I don't know if you finished watching that recording or not, but I never killed that last Menos. We tied, and he ran back here. I assume things will be much easier, Taichou, if I call out the one that probably wants my head for the state I sent him back to his 'brothers' in." As he spoke, Raizen's Reiatsu flared. Though he was very much a young Lieutenant, his energy output seemed much closer to that of a moderately fresh Captain. "Think this will be enough, or should I go for a bit more?"

Akiko noted the easy transition in conversation, and after the young man addressed her need to know what was going on above them. "Yes, I plan a bit of a detour anyways, so long as nothing too frightening happens. But I want to know why you stopped speaking a moment ago, got a comparison you'd like to share with your friendly scientist expedition leader?" this was a coy question and for the most part just a curiosity.

But before anything could be properly addressed it seemed that Raizen had something to say about the method of attracting a bit of attention. And went on to showcase something in particular which made the young woman's eyes widen quite a bit. "Well, of course I watched the tapes until the end. A couple of times even... but... that doesn't really explain why you're so strong." she said her eyes now locked on the young man. However he chose to attract attention, soon enough they'd be approached by a large hollow shaped a bit like a salamander. "YOU CAME TO ME THIS TIME! I'M ABOUT TO HAVE A DELIVERED MEAL!" the hollow seemed to have a bit of personality to it, and most definitely was quite original in its look. "Well would you look at that..." the woman said her head tilting to the right as she studied this new thing right before her eyes. "That is a lot of talk from something we generally assume is mindless...." she said of the Hollow seeming to compare the knowledge of this to nothing else she'd seen before. "Oh and you brought something for my Brothers too!~" this Hollow didn't seem to fear these Shinigami at all, and instead seemed to think he was about to make a meal of all present.

"I was just thinking aloud," was Raizen's response to the matter of his halted speech. He moved on to acting as bait for Hollows - specifically the one he'd so recently collided with - only diverting his attention when something was mentioned regarding his alleged strength. When he turned to look at Akiko, he looked almost confused. "What do you mean? I didn't exactly win that fight," he said.

It didn't take long for Hollows to begin approaching, but the pleasant surprise came in the arrival of one specific Menos who seemed to have an eye for Raizen. Just the same, Raizen had a bone to pick with him. "Well, I do have something of a meal for you," he said to the Hollow before spitting out the lollipop stick left over from the treat he'd been given right before this excursion. This had all occurred just in time for him to fully recover by the effects of the lollipop. "Forgive me if I'm overstepping a boundary or two, but I'm taking this one for myself. Don't worry... I won't get in the way of the other ones." Without further ado, Raizen employed the technique known as Shunkou, sparking a continuous release of Kidou energy from his body with the main focal points being his back and arms. He had previously utilized this against this very same Hollow, but now, he showcased a more adept usage of it as he beckoned the creature toward himself.

"I don't believe you," was the immediate retort of the Captain, but she didn't press the matter further. She'd find out what she wanted at some point in the future, she always did. "Really I can't believe you haven't noticed the quality of your Reiatsu already. Or maybe no one has told you, but as it stands... you're putting out enough to make me believe you were just made a Captain and not a Lieutenant, you can't really be so blind to that, or maybe... you haven't noticed yet because it really is your first day," the scientist of a woman seemed a bit shocked that this all wasn't obvious. Losing a fight was one thing, and usually just a matter of experience, but this boy was full of raw power, which was something quite unexpected in addition to his already showcased skills. Beyond this point a hollow soon enough surfaced and it was the one from previous recordings. "Hmm, you are crossing about 4 boundaries, but I'm part cat, I don't think I care about rules and regulations that much. Go ahead, I'll finish taking my measurements and readings..." said the woman who didn't seem at all unduly influenced. Though to be fair in this moment, Raizen was just as much a noteworthy subject of study as the hollows they were here for.

The Salamander Hollow was also taking in Raizen's form and his bettered use of the technique he'd tried before. "Oh, great. You got better, you'll be an even tastier meal now!~" this hollow then began charging up a rather large fireball like cero in its mouth before firing it off in a beam like fashion aiming to go straight through Raizen and anyone or anything else in the vicinity. All the while the Captain of the 12th Division looked on in awe, 'Sugoi, it's not even been that long, and he has that much control. That technique looks dangerously close to Juri's use of it... he couldn't have...'

"Good for me, then. That just tells me I'm even closer to achieving my goals. Honestly, though, I'm a bit disappointed if that's really the case." Not only Akiko, but the other two as well, seemed to be fine with Raizen claiming this Hollow as his own fight. In fact, Yonsokei and Tatsuya had already begun clearing out the other Hollows in the vicinity, leaving Raizen free to have his fight. "You really are spliced, huh? That's intriguing. I love cats. We should go for tea," he said with a grin. His eyes were still locked on to the salamander Hollow before him. The beast rather quickly resorted to its fire-attribute Cero, which Raizen faced with open hands. "Gomen, gomen. I can't say that's going to work the same this time." As the Cero approached his hands, Raizen unleashed his Shunkou in the form of an electrical blast. It was smaller than the Cero, but this size difference allowed it to push through the Cero's center and cause it to explode outward, away from Raizen and his comrades. This also cleared an interesting little path that let Raizen dash along what would have been the path of his attack, where he flipped and spun to eventually aim his left foot at the Hollow's mask, intending in that moment to break through it.

"Don't be disappointed, most of what separates Captains from everyone else is experience. Live a little longer, get a little stronger, know a little more..." the scientist was surprisingly philosophical for the kind of person she was, but that didn't seem to matter much. "Or ya' know, a lot of any or all of those things, if it's what you're into~" and with that the woman went back to taking her measurements while the two members of her division busied themselves with the other hollows. These things were actually appearing as measurements within the lenses of her glasses, connected directly to a bunch of cameras apparently already moving around. It seemed they were having a good enough time of their excursion that the Captain herself didn't actually need to get involved. But one comment of Raizen's caught her attention, and made her narrow an eye in his direction. "Really? You choose now to flirt? Strange man."

The electrical charge which split the Cero was indeed something new to the Salamander Hollow. even so he didn't seem to be very phased when Raizen approached him, in fact a quick twist of the beasts body would allow him to make contact with just his tail aiming to swat back the young man where he would have initially intended to crack the beasts mask. "And I told you before, your little tricks won't work on me!" claimed the beast as it rather quickly turned again this time aiming to swipe the young man down into the ground with a large claw. His only intent to pin him to the ground and make him an easier meal to swallow. "Seriously hold still, I like my food with flavor."

"Sounds fun. I like trying new things," Raizen said about the developments he would need to be going for. As for the Captain's latter clause, the white-haired male could only manage a chuckle and a brief comment. "What better time than one of discovery? Don't tell me it's not working," he said. Mere moments after this statement, Raizen's attack against the Hollow failed to hit its mark. He was knocked away in this moment, but this was no problem. The true issue arose during the Hollow's next strike. Raizen held out his own arms against the downward-swinging claw, and though he was dragged to the ground by its force, he remained resilient in pushing against it to prevent being crushed. He was disturbed to discover that there was still a bothersome gap between his power, and the power of this Hollow. This may have been the very same day, but he expected greater ease in this battle with this new development in his Shunkou.

'Aww, Raizen,' spoke a womanly voice in the Lieutenant's mind. 'I tried to tell you this power wasn't going to be enough. Even the power I gave you won't be enough for this enemy. If you get desperate... tell me. I'll share my special treat with you, if you really, really want it~'

"Yeah, yeah, still won't join the division though, been a while since someone was there that I didn't alter in some way," the Captain mentioned. Perhaps it was getting around the time that she should go looking for a sound mind, to join her ranks. As for the joking flirtation of the young Vice-Captain she couldn't help but chuckle. "During a time of discovery I am more likely to think of you as a test subject than a person. If you're fine with that... then whatever," she said. Unlike Juri earlier this wasn't a complete shutdown, though her motivations were likely not at all similar to those of the young man.

She then soon got to see the boy getting completely trashed by the strength of this hollow. But this was of course, about what she expected to happen. From what she saw on the tapes and what she was witnessing now, this level of hollow seemed to be stronger than a Vice-Captain was at base. The Lieutenant wasn't being crushed though he was at least still holding as the Hollow screeched then aimed fall down upon the young man with this claw again and would continue bashing unless he succeeded. "Oh give up already! I'm hungry, I want to eat now! NOW! NOOOOOWWW!!" each strike at now becoming stronger as if he wanted to overpower the man with brute strength.

'That again? Kuso. At least... I can't say you're lying. What I'm able to reveal in Shikai won't be any good here. But...' As he had this discussion with the woman in his mind, Raizen continued receiving the battering strikes of the salamander Hollow. He initially had no problem with this, but his Shunkou was beginning to fade with every hit against his defense. Still, he managed a response to Akiko while holding out his arms. "Heh... I told you... I'm into new things. Just nothing too invasive the first time out, yeah?" he replied. He seemed upbeat enough, but as the strikes kept falling upon him, and his Shunkou finally faded away, his expression turned sour. Eventually, his arms gave out and fell at his sides. A crater was beneath him from the numerous impacts, and now, it seemed as if he was doomed to receive a direct hit the next time this Hollow's claw came down.

'You know what? Fine. I'll try this secret power of yours out, just to see if I like it,' he said to this apparition. When this permission was given, the woman seemed somehow saddened, despite offering this alleged power. 'Sumima... it doesn't work like that.'

When the Hollow's claw descended upon Raizen again, his right arm rose to keep it at bay. His Reiatsu flared again, seeming not only to be far greater than its original strength, but also not simply that of a Shinigami. Strangely enough, it had heavy amounts of Hollow Reiatsu as well. Its weight alone was enough to put halt to Tatsuya's efforts against the other Hollows in the area, causing the boy to call out as he hunched over and clenched his chest. "T-... Taichou...!" he shouted in a plea for assistance with the Hollows on his end. In the meantime, Raizen looked up at the salamander Hollow, showing eyes with black sclerae, as well as a quarter of a Hollow's mask atop his head. "Kufufu... Chitchai ne~♪"

"No promises," the Twelfth Division Captain mentioned of the invasive-ness of anything to take place between the pair of them. In fact, she was more likely to dissect someone than she was anything else. And as if she didn't already have enough reason to, when it became obvious that the hollow was going to overpower Raizen the Captain was prepared to help, except, he apparently didn't need it. Soon an immense bit of Hollow Reiatsu was pouring out of the young Vice-Captain seemed to shock the young woman beyond anything else she'd seen. 'That's... not possible,' the woman thought, but soon enough she couldn't stand and watch because, one of her Division members was actually seeking her help, drowning in the Reiatsu presented by the young man. She was soon enough, at Tatsuya's side drawing a sword from within the left sleeve of her lab coat which she used to slash at anything approaching the young one. "It's alright, I have you Tatsu-chan... here," she said offering him a lollipop this one purple in color and was meant to give him a bit more space to breathe. Her own Reiatsu protected her from this. "Your friend here, is something else entirely." she said still content enough to let this transformation take place, after all, she'd never seen anything like it before.

Even so, the Hollow was apparently confused as his claw was stopped. Beyond this, it seemed that the Hollow Reiatsu coming off the young Vice-Captain seemed to frighten him just a bit. "Bakana!!!" A screech escaped the beast as he called for help, the Hollow Reiatsu coming from the young man letting him know that he couldn't take this one by himself and would instead need his brothers.

"Kufufufu~" As the Hollow screeched, Raizen's Reiatsu and mask continued to grow. It soon seemed as if there was nothing left of him within, but the power he emitted caused distortions in space around this area of the Menos forest. His right hand pushed against the Hollow's claw, seeming to have no issues whatsoever in allowing Raizen to stand straight while lifting it from its earlier downward swing. "They won't find you here," he said as his left hand rose to the Hollow's face. His pose implied a coming Kidou spell, or perhaps something else. However, what Raizen did in the end was simply thrust his hand forward, albeit with enough power to plow through his enemy's mask and head.

As this next stage of battle occurred, Tatsuya's calls were answered by his Captain. She came bearing another of her strange lollipops, which the boy accepted, knowing it would somehow be of use to him. Within moments of inserting it into his mouth, he felt much more comfortable breathing. He was even able to stand again. When she spoke of Raizen, he looked toward the battle. "Hai. I know. Who made him?" he asked. True to his earlier words, Tatsuya had once assumed Raizen to be an experiment like himself. He had discovered the man's latent abilities through discovering his Zanpakutou, but Tatsuya himself had no standards for what was normal and what was not. As such, he had never found this strange.

Raizen seemed to now be having a rather easy time dealing with the hollow. "No...no...." the Hollow began to move like it would back away, trying to slip further into the depths, having finally found a meal it couldn't tame and swallow. Of course, this dashing attempt would be met by a single hand plowing through his mask, shattering it and dispelling him from his very existence at this moment. This hollow would become nothing in the face of the young hollowfying Lieutenant.

Tatsuya on the other hand seemed to be recovering. He also seemed to know a bit of Raizen, but seemed to think him some sort of experiment. A wide eyed expression came to the face of the young woman as she shrugged. "I don't know. There are laws against this sort of thing, I've been trying to find away around for a few decades. Purely in the interest of science mind you. But..." she looked at Raizen and saw proof of the act of hollowfication and knew that someone, had done something to the young man he didn't seem to have any control over. "Hm... Kumori..." a light switch flipped on in the mind of the young woman as she remembered finally where she'd originally seen that surname and when this happened she was more than a little stunned. She looked to Tatsuya and back to Raizen. "Shit."

"Is something the matter?" Tatsuya asked, having taken a more relaxed stance with his arms tucked into his sleeves as he watched the strange Menos being dealt with. Something about the expression on his Captain's face was odd, and more importantly, he was made curious by the mention of a name, as well as the fact that Akiko looked his way before returning her gaze to Raizen with whatever conclusion she'd come to.

"Yes..." was the response of the Hollowfied Lieutenant to the words of this Hollow. It had taken nothing to erase the creature from this world with this power, but Raizen did not seem satisfied. Of course, this was the case because Raizen was no longer present. The Hollow in control of his body, once freed from the battle with its original opponent, turned its gaze in the direction of the Shinigami group. At this time, one would be capable of seeing the growth of his mask, which had now taken over most of his face and moved onto his neck and shoulders. "Ano... if he's going to attack us now, I can't do anything about it. Taichou?" These were the words of Tatsuya, coming immediately prior to Yonsokei stepping ahead of the group. Metal plates on his arms were already beginning to shift, but he wished for clearance from Akiko. "Shall I detain him, Ayatsuki-sama, or would you rather I eliminate the threat?"

"Yep," was the one word reply of the Captain about something being wrong. She realized that her research had taken her down this road a couple of times and she'd always been required to turn around and find something else. Now, there was the matter of dealing with a rather deadly combatant and she'd take a moment to answer Tatsuya. "I know, and I wouldn't ask you to either, it'd be a waste," she said, on the order of expend-ability this child with her and the hollowfying Vice-Captain were only slightly lower than herself on the totem pole. 'But I also don't want to be forced to Bankai against a Vice-Captain, that'd be rather unbecoming...' she thought to herself, noting that the quality of his reiatsu was enough that she wouldn't want to risk having to kill him so the skip to Bankai would have been necessary. Beyond this, it seemed that her current Vice-Captain was willing to step up, as such she sighed. "Don't kill him. He's too valuable a subject to study, by my own approximation breaking the mask forming over his face should restore him to himself, at least long enough for him to be properly restrained." she said to the man known as Yonsokei.

"Hai. Taking precautions to detain threat," Yonsokei said as his eyes showed various small readings on the Hollowfied Raizen. "Readings determining power required to remove Hollow mask. Power required determined. Initiating maximum extermination protocols." As Yonsokei brought his hands together, numerous segments opened in his arms, revealing dozens upon dozens of miniature Kidou cannons. Once Raizen was locked into his sights, Yonsokei fired all of these cannons simultaneously, creating a massive blast that easily encompassed Raizen's entire form as the Lieutenant approached. "Target has shown an unexpected weakness to detainment method. Target has been eliminated," he said. In the following moment, Yonsokei turned around. The clearing of the blast and smoke revealed that Raizen was indeed no longer present, but... neither was Yonsokei's right arm.

Raizen had utilized a high-speed movement technique, but it was not at all Shunpo. He now stood in the air above the Shinigami group, holding the mechanical arm of Yonsokei without so much as a scratch on him from the blast he had certainly been hit by. Only a quarter of Raizen's mouth was visible around his mask, but there was a toothy smirk upon it. "Chitchai ne," he said. The Hollowfication had spread along his body enough for his left arm to be entirely covered, and in the palm of said hand was an open, fanged mouth. After dropping Yonsokei's arm, Raizen appeared in front of the android via the same method he'd disappeared, holding this mouthed hand out. A nigh-instantaneous Cero - a technique only previously seen in Menos - erupted from the mouth and overtook the 12th Division's Lieutenant, quickly wiping out all traces of him.

All seemed to be going well, until of course, Yonsokei thought he'd properly dealt with the young Vice-Captain. Then, Akiko was faced with the destruction of her android Vice-Captain. Actually, she was beyond stunned that this entire thing had happened. And yet, Raizen's body was still on a rampage. There weren't any options left and as such the woman held out her sword and one would see it begin to glow and herself with a pink outline to her Reiatsu, she fully intended to use a release she probably shouldn't right just now. "Ban..." she got through this first syllable before a well dressed looking young person with a long back ponytail appeared directly in front of the Hollowfied Vice-Captain, its left hand would reach out for the boy and aim to crush the mask like material forming around it in a vicious outpouring of sheer strength and Reiatsu, so strong even the Captain of the Twelfth was paralyzed by the power. "Making someone like me have to dirty my hands before the main event, waro," the voice said with mild disinterest. "You should be ashamed of yourself," the person spoke with a subtly that leaked power. The eyes of the Captain of the Twelfth Division widened as she took in the visage of someone she tried to avoid on a regular basis. "Joushi, you are in so much trouble." If any one cared to notice this person spoke with words no longer used in common dialogues.

After eliminating the other Lieutenant, Raizen's attention returned to the other Shinigami present. He no longer had a distraction from his initial target, that being the Captain herself, but his approach was halted abruptly by another individual. This one seemed to have no problem at all crushing the mask on Raizen's face. When this occurred, the rest of Raizen's Hollowfied form began to crumble away as well, leaving the white-haired male in a weakened and barely-conscious state afterwards. The addition of this individual's Reiatsu drained him of his breath and remaining stamina, sending him falling toward the ground. In the meantime, Tatsuya was left nearly in the same state, barely able to breathe even with the boost in ability from the creation of his own Captain. Whoever this individual was, they were quite the force indeed.

However, this group of individuals would be remiss to know that there was a similarly powerful force of the Hollow persuasion approaching as well...

"I know what you think, but I swear, I didn't do anything... also, you're drowning Tatsu-chan, could you. Please." she said her own head now bowed. It would seem that she thought highly of this person and as the individual stepped forward one would see on their back a haori marked with the kanji for the number one. "Since you've suddenly become rather polite, I'll do that... just this once," the voice said humbly and the Reiatsu which was crushing the two younger members and mostly paralyzing the Captain of the 12th receded as immediately as it had come. "Whew, you're scary there, Sotaicho. But really, I didn't do it, this wasn't an experiment, I was only doing what I was sanctioned to do, which was look into the hollows of the area," said Akiko as she tried to get out in front of whatever was coming from the person standing before her. Beyond this she'd moved, aiming to catch both Raizen and Tatsuya should he need it before either of them fell, and would have them each thrown over one of her shoulders without too much fuss if nothing stopped her. "I am aware. Your division members are why I am here, actually. They seemed to think it might be dangerous here for you and those you took with you. I didn't expect... to see you about to use your Bankai on a child, you should get out of your laboratory more often, and do something physical, so that isn't your first answer when you see something powerful. Also I didn't expect... him...." this individual cut eyes in Raizen's direction. Even so Akiko pouted just a tad, she didn't like that she was being chastised here, even if it wasn't for what she originally thought it was going to be for. "But that isn't important now..." said the apparent Captain-Commander, who didn't seem to move from the spot where they were, leaning against a rather large sword simply being carried by its sheath.

Tatsuya did not fall, leaving any catching of his body unnecessary. The Captain-Commander's Reiatsu had been ceased just in time to leave him conscious, but there was a certain intimidation factor about their presence alone that left him silent. Raizen, on the other hand, ended up slung over the shoulder of Akiko while the Captain-Commander spoke to her. In the midst of this, he was mentioned, and thus he began to stir. "Oi... still... awake here," he grunted. The Lieutenant had no idea what had been happening around him for the past few minutes, and this exact moment was no exception.

In only a few brief moments, another great Reiatsu approached. It was certainly Hollow, but somehow greater in strength than the expectancy of a Captain. When it came into view, it also boasted size equivalent to an adult human, including its musculature. It was bug-like in appearance, with long antennae and wings, and blades in place of its hands. These blades came together to create a Cero that dwarfed even the one utilized by Raizen minutes earlier. Such a Cero was aimed not at any of the Shinigami, but at the Garganta they had used to enter Hueco Mundo. "Shinigami... Welcome, and goodnight," the Hollow spoke.

"Quiet, I'm trying to keep you from being executed," the woman mentioned to the boy slung over her shoulder. Within a second she'd moved her body so that she could shove a purple lollipop into his mouth, aiming to bolster his Reiatsu just a little so he could at least be conscious of what was going on around him, even if he wasn't really capable of standing just yet. "Still awake, waro? Good... I'll have a question for you soon enough." the voice said as calmly as it had been speaking the entire time. "Sotaichou, I..." whatever was about to be said by Akiko would be lost as a massive cero was soon fired at the Garganta used by all present to arrive in this place. This would cause the destruction of the mechanism. "Whatever you are about to say can wait, this is why I am here... and you should get to work on that... we do know how you like to work under pressure, joushi." the Captain-Commander seemed to find this whole thing to be something different and now the attention of this person was turned towards a bug like hollow which was well beyond the power-level that he expected from these normally mindless creatures. And a lot smaller than would generally be expected.

"Oh? More than basic intelligence. Cutting off your enemy's escape route," the Captain-Commander surmised. "I approve... but you'll find being trapped somewhere with me isn't nearly what you want to do. Akiko... protect yourself and the children. I'll handle this," said the Captain Commander which got a resounding noise from the young woman. "Hai!~"

"... Huh?" was Raizen's immediately response. If he had anything else to say, it would have been silenced by the lollipop shoved into his mouth. He apparently had little to no memory of his little transformation, but he knew now that something was strange about this power offered to him by his Zanpakutou. This would have to be addressed at a later time, as there was apparently an even greater threat at hand being managed by the Captain-Commander.

"Keh! Foolish Shinigami," the Hollow spoke as the blades on its arms began to glow a deep red, as if being super-heated. "I've been watching you. Your group barely defeated a poor Adjuchas. You should fear the power of the Vasto Lorde!" With this statement, the Hollow unleashed an ear-splitting screech. Its blades slashed out at the Captain-Commander, unleashing mighty waves of intense heat with power enough to cleave through the quartz trees on their individual paths toward the Shinigami. "We know the power of your little Captains, Shinigami! We have power far beyond any of you!"

"Nice, lack of control and memory. How will I be able to question you, if you don't even know what you did?" asked the Twelfth Division's Captain as she went about constructing several barriers around the trio at an exceedingly massive strength for some reason or another.

Meanwhile this bug like enemy was having a conversation with the Captain-Commander about the foolishness of Shinigami and apparently stating that there were at least 2 levels to Hollows that would have been previously unknown to Shinigami. The Captain-Commander didn't move at all as they witnessed the coming of heated blades which seemed to have no problem cleaving through the quartz trees as they approached. Even so, a single and swift drawing of the weapon applied inverse pressure to atmosphere around them the slash itself was one of skill and of Reiatsu. And would dissipate the coming heat and damage in a single movement. "Children love proclaiming things they can't yet prove..." said the old Shinigami Captain-Commander with a surprisingly youthful face. This person would then charge forward bring the now naked blade up and towards the 'Vasto Lorde' aiming to cut it in half vertically with the sheer power of the stroke. There was surprising skill in this movement, as if there was more to this person than its outward appearance let on.

During the Captain-Commander's approach and attack, the Hollow evaded, vanishing and reappearing to the Shinigami's rear via the same strange movement technique earlier employed by Raizen. When he resurfaced, his right arm-blade was raised overhead. It was then quickly brought down toward the head of this Shinigami, carrying even greater heat than the previous wave attacks. "Just another Shinigami thinking they're so much stronger than the rest. None of you can compare to us! None!"

The creature moved with a speed and technique this Shinigami had never seen before. Even so, besides the momentary widening of golden eyes there wasn't any change in the Captain-Commander's physical features. No, this individual instead seemed rather calm and collected as their left arm raised with the sheath still within it to block the coming attack while the right hand moved that large blade as an extension aiming to bifurcate this hollow and end its suffering once and for all. "All this noise, and all this arrogance, you just want attention don't you?" the Captain-Commander spoke while retaining general disinterest. It would seem that this being was at least good enough to contend with the Captain-Commander, forcing heat and pressure down on this person the likes of which it hadn't experienced in some time.

"Arrogance!?" the Hollow questioned. "I should leave a mirror on your remains, you fool!" The blade approaching this Hollow, following the Shinigami's blocking of his previous attack, was met by the blade on his other arm as he spoke. This left the pair in something of a standoff situation, but the Vasto Lorde had another trick up his sleeve. His right foot rose, revealing an additional blade jutting from his heel. This blade would aim its tip at the Captain-Commander's back, and though it did not presently possess the heat of the other two, the power it held within was equally as great.

"You say that like you think I am going to die here," the Captain-Commander said, seeming to think this advanced hollow nothing more than a tantruming child. Actually this was more or less proved when after their standoff resulted in this being raising its right leg and trying to ram it into the back of the Captain-Commander. This being however didn't seem to be bothered by this and simply took the hit with the grace of someone who hadn't been hit at all, aiming instead grab the leg with a left hand. "I have you now, Shimidashite, Dokusen~" the name was practically whispered though it was mentioned with the force of someone who was sure of only one thing. The release of this nearly ancient zanpakuto immediately caused the area to flood with a corrosive poison which would engulf all around. This poison would flow around the Captain-Commander as they tried to hold the Hollow in place. "Choke on your own arrogance and fade to dust, hollow," the Captain Commander mentioned knowing that over the course of a few moments with the power that they possessed, it should be fairly simple to end the life of this hollow, all weaker ones nearby and even the Shinigami who'd come here if they hadn't been protected. The entirety of this place was flooded with heavy Reiatsu and corrosive poison which would melt away the very bodies of living things in the area.

During this attempted back-stabbing, the Hollow had its leg grabbed by the target of his attack. He had no worries for a counterattack, but the release of this Shinigami's Zanpakutou was something that would be surprisingly powerful. Its body began to dissolve in mere moments of this Zanpakutou's name being spoken, but something strange would occur to keep this Hollow's life intact. Suddenly, a far greater Reiatsu shook the area, and the corrosive substance of the Captain-Commander's Shikai was dragged upward through the holes in the forest's ceiling. Following this, the influx of immense Reiatsu was joined by a mighty voice from above. "The arrogance of Shinigami, at last, brings them to my kingdom! And... you! Ryoutenbin no Akito! I remember you! Perhaps you still believe you can defeat me. You're more than welcome to try, if you wish to throw away the lives of yourself and your new subordinates."

The Captain-Commander apparently known as Akito, let go of the leg of the hollow as it began to melt before their eyes. It didn't seem to need much more, but then rather suddenly the poison created by Zanpakuto began to disappeared, being sucked up into the desert. A frown immediately came to this normally poised face as it heard itself referred to by a name only used by one other on a very rare occasion. The influx of Reiatsu while surprising, wasn't nearly enough to completely shake this being though it did manage to make them turn their head towards the holes in the sky. "Calling me a fence sitting brat and by my given name... and we're arrogant? The speech of you hollows is starting to get annoying," the Captain-Commander managed to sound annoyed, likely for the first time in decades. Though that didn't mean the Captain-Commander had gone completely dimwitted. Even if it were possible to defeat this being, there was no way to know what else was around... the propensity for death was far too high and risked crippling the Seireitei in a way that the Captain-Commander couldn't allow. "Oh and I do remember you, I didn't know hollows could live so long, what with your constant need to consume each other... you more so than most, if I am remembering correctly~" the Captain-Commander said, not resisting the desire to jab back. "You'd do well to keep a better eye on your 'kingdom' what with them interfering rather directly with Shinigami we were bound to be drawn here. Like I said, children... begging for attention," with that the blade of the Captain-Commander was sheathed and carried against the left shoulder, its back turned to all that was there. "A word of warning, between old enemies. Akiko, we're leaving now..." said the Captain-Commander.

The 12th Division Captain had been rather quiet. If not because she was drowning in the reiatsu of an unknown enemy, than because she was witnessing the release of the Captain-Commander's zanpakuto and a discussion between that person and probably a hollow just as old. "Soutaichou, minor issue, Yonsokei was obliterated during our research trip, and I was using him and myself to stablize the portal. I am... sort of unsure how long it will take me to open another one..." she mentioned eyes averted like a small child.

There were no more words from the voice above, and even the Reiatsu emitted from this male-sounding being receded. Nothing else needed to be said. A challenge had been issued by both sides, but this would not be the day. Perhaps both sides knew there were certain circumstances that needed to be met before the clash. During this time, the body of the earlier Vasto Lorde-class Menos disappeared, though death did not seem to be the cause.

Less-intelligent Hollows had begun to close in on the group of Shinigami again, easily numbering in the tens of thousands across the forest after the Captain-Commander's power had been released. With Akiko mentioning the issue of an apparently destroyed Garganta, Raizen began to writhe his way around, and hopefully out of her grasp. The Captain's lollipop had once again done wonders for a speedy recovery, it seemed. "That's where I come in. I've been studying these things all day. If I might..." Righting his posture, Raizen reached out with his right hand. After a brief moment of hesitation and focus, he tapped the air itself in front of him, opening a Hollow's Garganta in a very strange manner. Instead of a "tear" or "rip" in space, it opened in a manner akin to moving pixels to create an opening more like a doorway. "There. Garganta with a touch of Shinigami."

Soon enough Akiko had a willing young man in her grasp and let him go to look at him strangely. "You know, if you wanted to get down, you could have just said so," she said to Raizen, who went on to explain that he'd been studying the Garganta and similar portals all day. He went on to attempt successfully to open a new one. Which made Akiko's eyes widen. "Sugoi!~ So... you're going on an examination table when we get back, that's amazing!" she said crossing through figuring that Tatsuya would also go along into this new opening. The Captain-Commander calm as they seemed had eyes trained on Raizen. "Waro, are you a danger to the Seireitei?" was the only question asked, there was much seriousness in this, despite the light demeanor and face of this individual. It was as if this question was complete in its idea.

"Is that a yes to that tea, then?" was Raizen's response to the 12th's Captain as he momentarily removed the lollipop from his mouth. He cleared the way for Akiko, and then Tatsuya, to enter his portal. He expected the Captain-Commander to step through before him as well, but instead, they chose to stop and question him on being a danger to the Seireitei. Raizen returned the lollipop to his mouth, then stood with his hands pressed against his waist. "I give my service to the Seireitei. If you want the honest answer, though... I am a danger to whatever gives me reason to be. Are you implying by your question that the Seireitei should consider me a danger?" he asked in response.

"I'll have some tea while I study you. Maybe some cake too~" the young woman said, seeming to agree to the idea in a different manner than most would have. But soon enough the seriousness of the situation in front of her caused her to pause. The Captain-Commander questioned this boy's motivations and resolve.The inquiry was met instead of with a yes or no answer, with an explanation and a question. Akito was old enough to know the difference between a truth and a lie, and with this the Captain-Commander spoke. "I appreciate your honesty, waro," said the Captain-Commander with a smile which was simply that. "I can't say whether or not you would have reason to turn against the Seireitei, but as it stands I believe you. You should know however, that possessing or trying to possess the powers of a Hollow as a Shinigami is expressly forbidden. Assumably this isn't your fault, but I wouldn't go around showing that off. Given its usefulness..." said the Captain-Commander who seemed to be old enough to understand. "Akiko, do you still have those cinnamon lollipops?" asked this individual as they walked into the garganta and prepared to leave. "Hai!" said the young woman handing one over, though the Captain-Commander wouldn't eat it, she knew for a fact this individual liked using cinnamon lollipops as tea stirrers.

The Captain-Commander's response was easily acceptable, though Raizen's original words didn't seem to imply any care for what retort he received. One particular word used by Akito, though, struck a nerve which caused Raizen's eyes to widen. "Hollow?" he said, apparently having no clue whatsoever that he had utilized such power. With the Captain-Commander entering his Garganta, though, he followed suit. There was one final statement he had to share with the 12th's Captain. "I feel as if you somehow missed the point of my offer..." With that said, he passed the threshold of the portal, only to have it close behind him and reopen within the Seireitei.