Episode 6 – Outpour of the Soul, Shaping by the Mind 1

"A direct order from the Captain-Commander…" Masato muttered. "Things must be pretty dire for him to give us an order like this."

"You think?" Shigehito said with a raised eyebrow.

Masato leered at Shigehito through his glasses. "Look, this is the first time an order like this has been called in a long time. Even I know that much."

"Regardless of what did happen, we need to stay focused on what is happening," Michiyo said, stepping between the two of them. Taking a look at the both of them, a slightly confused look came across her face. "By the way, how did you two get paired up?"

"It wasn't the brightest of choices," Masato said, looking away from Shigehito and adjusting the glasses on his face. Shigehito crossed his arms and gave a grunt in sarcastic agreement. Michiyo sighed and walked away from the two of them, not willing to be the moderator between them.

Meanwhile, Matsuo was examining the corpse of Ryota Taro, whose lifeless body remained sitting limp in the chair he had been tied to. A troubled expression showed on his face as he closed Taro's eyes. Ryuuhei had managed to get up the strength to stand and walk again, although he was still taking it slow.

"You alright?" Ryuuhei asked, standing next to Matsuo.

"No… no, I'm not," Matsuo murmured in a thoughtful tone. "How could this happen?"

"Well, our new adversaries seem to have some rather advanced abilities…"

"No, not that…" Matsuo said. "How could they do this to one of their subordinates? You heard what he said before he died. And if they had the power to do this much to him, why couldn't they just try and rescue him?"

"Since they didn't," Ryuuhei offered, "maybe that means they don't want us to know too much about them. Taro was a loose end to them."

Matsuo's expression turned angry. "To do such a thing to someone who was loyal to their cause… it's unforgiveable."

Ryuuhei put a hand on Matsuo's shoulder. "Even so, we still need to focus on what's at hand. If we really want to prevent something like this from happening again, we need to find out who is responsible and put a stop to them."

"I know," Matsuo said. "And I won't stop until I find out who did this."

"Just know that I have your back on this one, Matsuo," Ryuuhei said. "We all do."

"I've been going this one alone for all this time, I think I can handle it myself," Matsuo said. He turned to look at Ryuuhei, who showed a slightly concerned look on his face. Matsuo gave a sigh and smiled.

"Still," he said, "It'll be nice to have some more eyes and ears on this one. I can only cover so much."

"So," Michiyo said, interrupting their train of thought, "where do we go from here? We have our orders."

"Well," Matsuo said, "we're dealing with people who have an extreme talent for spiritual manipulation. And if we want to get any further on this, we're going to need some help from someone who has experience in such a field."

"Who do you recommend for something like this?" Masato asked.

"There's only one person I can think of who has experience in this type of field," Matsuo said with a slight grin. "Although he may need some convincing."

"Who?" Michiyo asked.

"His name's Yamashita Junichiro," Matsuo said. "He's the town Quincy."

In another part of the city, somewhere underground, a figure sits alone in a hidden sanctuary. Cross-legged, he meditates as a white glow surrounds him. Swirls of energy circle around in wisps, flowing out and around and returning to his body in smooth, flowing curls. The glow is bright enough to illuminate the room around him. On the floor, a large, thin, black mat spreads out and covers the majority of the floor space. Inscribed on its surface shone a large circle with various symbols and shapes dispersed throughout, similar to the circle seen by Shigehito in the alleyway. It shimmered with a slightly silver luster, as if drawn in metal. The only other object in the room was a single door, which was the same color as the walls and blended almost flawlessly with its surroundings, save for one lightly shimmering door handle. The handle presently twisted quickly, and the door flew open as another figure leaned through the doorway, gasping slightly as if he had taken a bit of a run to reach the room.

"Maste-" he began to say, but stopped short as he realized he was interrupting the concentration of the individual on the floor.

"Yes, continue," the figure said, not moving a single inch from his seated position.

"…Excuse me, master," the man in the doorway said after a slight pause, "but we have received word that Ryouta Taro-"

"-is dead?" the figure said without hesitation or concern.

"Y-yes…"

After a few moments, the figure on the floor took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. As he did, the wisps of energy around him smoothly compressed and circled back to a single focal point on his chest, and the light eventually faded, leaving the room near pitch black. The only other light source was the dim light that shone through the doorway, and even then it was difficult to see. The sound of rustling clothes was heard as the figure in the middle of the room stood.

"I knew he was dead the moment it happened," the figure said without turning around. "I sensed it."

"Amazing as ever, master," the figure in the doorway said with a slight bow.

The so-called "master" in the middle of the room turned slowly. His features remained hidden behind a long robe and a hood that concealed his face.

"It would seem it is time to act," he said. "Make the necessary preparations."

"Yes, master," the figure in the door said, turning to take his leave. In his wake, the door closed behind him, leaving the one in the room in total darkness. A faint white glow slowly developed again, dimmer than the glow before, but still enough to enlighten the room. The source of the light hovered over the lone figure's hand.

"Let's see how well you fare… Shinigami."

In the middle of a city near the college campus, Yamashita strolled down a sidewalk, bobbing his head to a song playing in his headphones that no one else could hear. His goggle-like glasses glistened in the sun as his eyes would turn up and then down again. The grey berretta on his head covered the majority of his head, and was held firmly in place by the headphones he placed over top of it. His pendant bounced around on its chain as he tapped along to the beat of the music. He stopped briefly, inhaled sharply, and held a hand above his head. He held this pose even as people walked past and gave him strange looks. After another moment, he brought down his arm with a sharp downward sweep and continued to stroll down the sidewalk as he had before.

While he was bouncing down the sidewalk, he accidently bumped into someone who was passing by in the opposite direction.

"Oh, sorry sir!" he said, turning around. However, instead of a man standing before him, a woman stood with an annoyed look on her face. She narrowed her eyes at him at the sound of his comment.

"…Or madam…" he said. He grinned awkwardly, and the woman just rolled her eyes and walked off. Yama breathed a heavy, embarrassed sigh. Then a frightened look came over his face, and he swiftly felt around in his pockets. A look of relief came over his face as he pulled out a few small white disks. They resembled chewable tablets of some sort, although they were unmarked. He gave another sigh, this time one of relief, and chuckled to himself as he placed them back in his pocket. He returned to his original stroll, but stopped a second later and realized his headphones had come unplugged when he bumped into the woman as well. With yet another sigh, he pulled his music player out of his pocket and plugged the headphone jack back into the port.

Just as he was about to press play, he paused his finger above the button. He smiled to himself, and raised his head as though he were looking straight forward.

"You're back I see…" he said in a loud voice. "And you brought company this time, no less."

He turned around to see a group of Shinigami standing in the middle of the sidewalk behind him, consisting of Matsuo, Michiyo, Shigehito, Masato, and Ryuuhei. Matsuo headed the group, smiling back at Yama.

"Better find another way to carry your Hollow bait," Matsuo said, motioning towards Yama's pocket. "That many tablets breaking accidently would make for quite a bit of trouble for all of us."

"Actually, it would have been quite a coincidence had they broken," Yama said, pulling one out of his pocket and rolling it around in his fingers. "You see, I was actually hoping to find you sometime soon. We need to settle our score."

"Settle your score?" Michiyo asked Matsuo in a whisper.

"Our last meeting wasn't so much extermination as it was a competition," Matsuo murmured back, still keeping his eyes on Yama. "Seems we won't just be talking today."

"What?" Michiyo shot back at Matsuo with a harsh breath. "You mean to tell me that he actually plans to use that bait?"

"So it would seem," Matsuo whispered back.

Yama flipped the disk into the air and caught it in his fist as it came back down.

"If I think you're whispering about what I think you are, then you know what I'm planning."

"We have a general idea, yes," Matsuo said, taking a few steps forward. "Although the only thing I want from you is some information."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know…" Yama began, as he crushed the Hollow bait disk and tossing the dust that remained into the air. "…if you settle our score first."

The grin vanished from Matsuo's face. That bait in combination from the spiritual energy being emitted by all the Shinigami with him would draw too many Hollows into the area, putting everyone in the city's vicinity at risk.

"This time there won't be a kill limit," Yama said, dusting off his hand against his pant leg. "And your opponents will be more than just the Hollows."

Matsuo furrowed his brow in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"I'm going to be your opponent as well," Yama said with a wry smile. Black, swirling portals began to appear in the sky above, and vicious, glowing eyes peered through. Roars of multiple Hollows tore through the air as white masks emerged from the shadows.

"Damn…" Matsuo muttered under his breath, drawing his Zanpakuto from the sheath on his back. The other Shinigami did likewise, and took a circular formation as more and more Hollows began to appear all around in the city sky.

"Ryuuhei!" Michiyo said quickly. "You stay back and provide support. You're still recovering from your wound. Don't be reckless. That's an order!"

"Yes ma'am," Ryuuhei said, turning his eyes downcast with a troubled look.

"We can cover your back," Shigehito said to Matsuo. "I'd love to tear that Quincy know-it-all a new-"

"No," Matsuo said sternly. "This is my fight. My problem. I'll take care of it."

Everyone in the group gave Matsuo slightly surprised glances. They all knew that members of Squad Three hated fighting, and yet the lieutenant of the entire squad was willing to take a challenge like this on his own. After glancing at one another, they all nodded in agreement not to interfere unless the situation became dire. Meanwhile, the Hollows began to advance upon the Quincy, the group of Shinigami, and the city as a whole. It was time to act.

"Go!" Matsuo called out.

Everyone dashed outward from the circle. Matsuo went straight for Yama while the others went to take care of the massive mob of Hollows that was about to wreak havoc upon the city.

Yama smiled a cocky grin, and punched straight forward with both of his fists, letting loose two small bolts of reishi from his wrist mounted crossbows. Matsuo easily slashed both out of the way with his blade and continued straight forward. He then suddenly flash stepped, disappearing and then reappearing directly in front of Yama.

"Got him," Matsuo thought to himself, aiming to slice away the two wrist bows.

Then Yama suddenly vanished. Matsuo's blade swung through air. Quickly skidding to a stop a few feet from where Yama had been standing, he looked around quickly. Looking up, Yama had appeared directly above him with his bow formed and a large bolt drawn back. A blue glare shone off of his goggles as the light from his bow reflected back down at Matsuo, and his smile didn't fade when he let the bolt fly. It shot straight down, but Matsuo managed to flash step out of the way. The bolt struck the ground, causing dust and rubble to fly up from the ground in a small explosion.

Lighting down on a rooftop, Yama adjusted his goggles on his face, his smile still remaining. Matsuo appeared on a rooftop opposite him, leering at Yama and taking in a deep breath.

"You think you're the only one who can move that fast?" Yama asked with a slight laugh. "Don't tell me you've never seen someone use Hirenkyaku before?"

"I honestly didn't think you were so advanced," Matsuo confessed. "I underestimated you."

"It would be wise not to do so again," Yama said, adjusting his goggles again.

As he spoke, three Hollows tried to strike at him from behind. Using Hirenkyaku, Yama teleported out of the way and reappeared to the right of all three, bow drawn. He fired a single straight bolt through all three Hollows, eliminating them all simultaneously.

Matsuo quickly turned to see four Hollows coming right for him, and leaped into the air.

"Darken heaven!" he called out, bringing his Zanpakuto behind him. With a bright flash of golden light, Nisshoku took on its second form, the windmill shuriken with a gold chain and black kunai.

"Nisshoku!"

With that cry, he hurled Nisshoku toward the four Hollows, striking two down with his first throw, and catching the other two off guard by slicing through them on the recoil. Right as Nisshoku was about to return to Matsuo's hands, Yama appeared directly behind him, firing a bolt from his bow. Matsuo managed to grab ahold of Nisshoku and swing it back and deflect the bolt, but by that time Yama had vanished again. He reappeared again directly left of Matsuo, firing multiple bolts from his wrist bows. Matsuo flash stepped out of the way, appearing a distance away from Yama and hurling Nisshoku toward him in retaliation.

"Taiyō en!" Matsuo called out. Nisshoku's speed picked up as gold reiatsu surrounded the spinning blades, and it rushed toward Yama with breathtaking haste. Yama teleported out of the way, but Matsuo anticipated this, and yanked the chain to cause Nisshoku to change direction on the recoil. Yama reappeared directly in the shuriken's path and barely managed to dodge out of the way. As Nisshoku continued down its path, it struck down another Hollow as it returned to Matsuo's hand.

The conflict continued like this for quite some time, Matsuo and Yama retaliating to each other's attacks while simultaneously guarding themselves from oncoming Hollows and returning to the battle between them. Flurries of bolts and arrows flew through the air, and Matsuo continued his style of throw and recoil. Still more Hollows continued to pour out from their portals, focusing the blunt of their force on the two opposing forces of spiritual prowess that clashed in the air above the city.

Meanwhile, the other Shinigami were busy keeping the populace of the city safe from harm. Each were taking on singular Hollows that weren't getting caught up in the midair fight but instead chose to focus on the innocent people and souls that inhabited the surrounding city. Shigehito primarily focused on any Hollows still remaining in the air; his spiritual presence would be too much for most people to endure on the streets below. Instead, Masato, Ryuuhei, and Michiyo all focused on defending the city streets. Luckily, the majority of the Hollows were focused on the epicenter of the conflict, with few reaching outside the bounds of a small area of the city.

Michiyo rushed through the streets, cutting down Hollows left and right. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a lone girl about to be attacked by two Hollows. She wasn't aware that they were nearby; she must be human. Skidding to a halt, she rushed straight down the road towards the two Hollows. Both of them looked up at the scent of a more appetizing spirit. As they looked up, Michiyo slashed through both of their necks, decapitating both Hollows in one sweep. Lighting down on the sidewalk, she breathed heavily. The combat was no problem, but the rushing around trying to kill them all was proving troublesome. Realizing she'd need more than just herself to take on this task, she took a basic battle-ready pose, holding her Zanpakuto's blade at a forty-five degree angle from herself.

"Split the seams of reality!" she called out.

Her Zanpakuto glowed with green reiatsu, and the hilt and guard grew in size. Then, with a rush of reiatsu up the blade, the blade grew into a large broadsword that was silver and mirror smooth on one side, and black on the other. A crescent shape curled from the black side of the blade onto the base of the silver side.

"Doppelganger!"

With a blast of reiatsu that sent a small shockwave through the air, she rushed onward and cut down five Hollows in a row. As she continued onward, two Hollows tried to flank her from either side. Michiyo suddenly split the broadsword straight down the middle; it became two blades, one black, and one silver. Sweeping both blades up on either side of her, she sliced straight up through both Hollow's masks at once. Lighting down on the street below, she kept her two blades separated. Looking up, she took a moment to see how Matsuo was faring.

"Matsuo, I hope you know what you're doing," she said.

A Hollow rushed at her from behind. Without even looking, she raised the silver blade in her right hand and stabbed right through the Hollow's mask. It vanished a moment later as it collapsed.

"We may be in trouble if these Hollows don't start letting up soon. It could prove to be too much for us."

END EPISODE 6

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