BSD
Administrator
The Incursion of the Karakura Skyscraper
The Explosive Plan of the Shinigami Ikari Hiroka
The circumstances pertaining to the manifestation of a large nest of hollows within Karakura Town had certainly been a topic circulating like wildfire throughout the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. An accumulation of hollows in a single location was bad enough as is, but in sheer amount, action had to be taken with the utmost haste. The original decision was to dispatch fifty shinigami to the site; given the direness of the situation and the risk of fallout. Given the responsibility of leading the team, Hiroka talked them down to thirty instead. He assured them that this should be a reasonable enough size to handle the situation with discretion, a bit uncharacteristic for his typical approach. Usually he was typically one to prefer an over the top brawl, however, this situation required more precision and planning.
Upon gathering with the reapers that would be tasked with handling the nest, Hiroka briefed them on his plan to try and reduce the numbers preemptively before proceeding with a more bold action. He kept the specifics of dealing with the Adjuchas to a minimum, all to leave it upon himself to combat it personally.
"I want to start this off by saying this won't be easy. I've given us a strong handicap by limiting our numbers beneath the originally proposed quantity, but this decision is imperative to our course of action." He stated plainly his face emanating determination, and fiery motivation due to the importance of the mission. "The plan stands that we will advance upon the nest from all sides. We will break into duos, one acting as the vanguard, while the second will focus on the suppression of any trying to make a break for it. Now as much as I'd like to throw caution to the wind, the scale of this operation could have lasting repercussions should any of the Hollows slip through our formation."
Hiroka took a glance at the eyes of those looking upon him as he spoke, never breaking his confident expression. He'd then however let out a quiet sigh before continuing to speak, "And although I typically find it distasteful to not face an enemy head on, I believe that our initial kills should be carried out without raising any alarms. Take out the outer targets without the use of your Zanpakuto release or the use of Kido and keep your spiritual presence in check." Hiroka went on to mention that the end goal was to push the Hollows into a concentrated area within the plaza of the construction site, within proximity to the main tower. At this point their only job would be to prevent any of them from leaving the perimeter of their formation. He continued to elaborate on the plan as quickly and efficiently as he could to not hold up their dispatch to the Human World.
Upon arriving to the World of the Living, Hiroka led the charge towards the construction site. Each duo gets into position on the outer reaches of the location, firstly observing their targets before taking any action. The first phase they remember, was to narrow the numbers down while advancing by at least twenty-five percent. A stealthy approach was required for now, given that this phase would have the largest gaps in the ring.
After all members of the Eleventh were in place, Hiroka would look to his partner for this mission, an individual name Daichi. Giving a nod of confirmation to each other they prepared for their push. Inward they ran, hands upon their sealed weapons, their focus on silencing their steps and suppressing their own spiritual presence. Striking forth with speed, their blades severed the masks of the camping Hollows within the outer reaches of the construction site. Each member having to take out at least six of them to allow for the plan to progress onto the next stage. Hiroka took it upon himself to make use of his familiarity with the Flash Step technique to close gaps between each of the almost sentinel-like hollows that occupied the outskirts of the hive. Where he would not be quick enough to reach another Hollow, in would come his partner, striking down any stragglers. This pattern would be maintained until the fifteen pairs had evenly reached their secondary positions.
Reducing the count by around a hundred seventy-five they were prepared for the second set of directives. Similar to the first phase, the plan was to eliminate another twenty-five percent of the nest, though at this point speed was more of a value. If quick succession of kills and stealth can be maintained it would be preferred, though at this point the use of Kido was on the table since no doubt their presence was compromised by the hollows due to their close proximity towards the center of the hive.
Hiroka would increase his lead ahead of Daichi, dashing towards a tall green hollow, pushing off from the ground and driving a powerful kick into its face immediately shattering its mask. He'd pivot around and aim his sights on another one, holding his weapon with a reverse grip, eyeing the point of center mass upon the hollow. With a flick of his arm he'd launch the weapon from his hand in the direction of his target. Containing great speed and force it punctures the torso of the hollow. Speeding towards the impaled Hollow, his body would accelerate to two other targets along the way. Prioritizing the one to his left,, Hiroka struck with a precise Tesshō, silencing it before it could even react. He then follows this up with a Shunpo in the direction of the other, dispatching it with a quick death from the Kagamibiraki technique. Wasting no time, he returns to his initial target, and with a grin upon his face he clutches the handle of Ikarihime raising the blade up the corrupted soul until it's completely bisected.
Covering Hiroka’s back, his partner holds the perimeter, cutting down any that try to escape past Hiroka. At this point the option of stealth had flown out the window. Aside from some minor injuries taken by a few of the advancing Shinigami, the second phase was nearing its completion. The two duos neighboring Hiroka and Daichi would continue to reduce their distance from each other as the general circle formation would continue to wane, approaching the third and final phase. Moving onto this phase, the Shinigami would hold their ground, closing the circle a little tighter. It was in this part of the plan that their directions were to simply prevent any Hollow from escaping, as their numbers had now reduced to around half.Twelve of the pairs stood firm at positions that resembled the hours of a clock, two others acting as floaters aiding points of higher concentrations at any given moment.
Hiroka looked to Daichi with a side glance, "I'll go and handle the Menos. Help the others with keeping the hollows within the circle."
"With all due respect Sir, that seems reckless! I should be there to back you up, I can make use of my Kido." Daichi retorted, only to receive a glare from his superior.
"That's an order. Now is not the time for doubt." Hiroka says sternly but giving a toothy smile of reassurance. "Besides... I've never fought an Adjuchas class before. I really want to see how hard I'd have to go to blow it away."
Catching sight of the Adjuchas gazing upon the battle below from what looked to be around the thirty-fourth floor, Hiroka makes a break towards the tower, scaling along the side of it as swiftly as possible. He had faith in the shinigami below to maintain the line but this portion of the plan was a bit time sensitive. The longer this went on, the more likely the line would be broken. On top of that, the possibility of further injuries or even loss of life grew with each passing moment. Even though many of the Shinigami were prepared to die for the sake of the mission, Hiroka of course wanted as many of them as possible to make it home. Some might feel anxiety with so much riding on the timely execution of the Adjuchas, but he instead felt nothing more than euphoria. Reaching the thirty-fourth floor with a smile plastered on his face, he quickly fantasized about the fight he was about to enter.
Spotting the Adjuchas almost immediately, it stood at around eight feet with a muscular humanoid figure. Crimson in color outside of its snow white mask and matching spines spanning out from its back. The entity looked at the tan-skinned Shinigami that appeared before it. "You came alone Shinigami? You must really have a death w-" Before it could finish it's sentence Hiroka closed the gap between them with a Flash Step, a devilish grin upon his face as he swung his blade at the hollow. Despite being caught off-guard , it was able to jump back and avoid any damage.
"Oh you're not just big, you're fast too!" Hiroka exclaimed before continuing his assault, following his previous attack with a flurry of swings. The Menos managed to dodge the attacks and launch a few strikes of its own towards its assailant. The Shinigami shifted away from the punches, blocking one with his weapon but being thrown back a few feet. The Hollow’s strength was on a completely different caliber than the others he encountered below, this encounter was like facing off against at least a Lieutenant-ranked Reaper. He prepared to lunge back in again but halted as the Adjuchas readied a Cero, releasing it with swift execution towards Hiroka. With expert footwork, his figure dodges from the path of the beam, appearing just outside of its radius. He'd grip his Zanpakuto readying a swing despite the distance. His spiritual pressure would escalate in that next moment, "You showed me yours, so I'll show you mine! Bakuhatsu, Ikarihime!" His weapon releasing a brilliant red light while shifting into a curved blade ending in a hook. Hiroka swings the weapon immediately, reciting the word Tsuihō. The air around the blade superheating in a visual haze before launching a crescent shaped projectile in the direction of the hollow, detonating once it was within a meter of it.
The Shinigami watched as the smoke started to clear, only to be met by another launched Cero, managing to dodge it again and counter with another explosive projectile of his own. The Hollow would take the brunt of the counterattack but was able to withstand it, the floor suddenly breaking and causing it to fall to the floor below. As it was in descent Hiroka rushed in delivering a hefty kick down upon his opponent. It blocked the attack with both arms but could not absorb the force of it being caught without ground to stand on. Shattering floor after floor, the battling duo would eventually come to a stop, the Hollow able to rush back and create distance before Hiroka could deal a finishing blow. It took a moment for the Shinigami to realize that his target was not immediately bisected, hesitating for a moment before being pushed and carried through several walls.
Hiroka stood up after the impacts grabbing onto his left shoulder and rotating his arm a few times, watching as the dust dispersed. "Kudos on that one. That actually stung a little bit. I'd love to keep trading blows but I’m kind of in a hurry." He'd spike his spiritual pressure and grip the handle of his weapon incredibly tightly, extending the blade outward behind him and bringing his other hand upwards towards his face. It was now time to initiate the final stage of his personal plan. He primed another set of explosive projectiles to which the Hollow prepared itself to avoid the impacts. With a full swing and a follow up of a second reversed slash the heat waves propelled through the air in the direction of the Hollow but seemingly missing, passing by to each of its sides. The wayward slashes colliding with the wall behind it with incredible force.
"I guess I hit you a little too hard. Where the hell were you aiming?" The Hollow taunted before feeling the ground shift due to the collapsing building. It'd look behind it to see that the slashes had taken out all the corner supporting beams. The Adjuchas returned its gaze towards the Shinigami who had already sped out from the building, standing upon the air outside of the structure with another attack primed. Another devilish grin spread across Hiroka's face as he launched another twin slashes to finalize the destabilization of the tower. He'd Flash away further back as the building began to come crashing down, watching the Menos inside as it tried to flee from its concrete coffin. The other Reapers below would begin to fall back in response to the destruction, moving to the perimeter of the previous phase’s circle.. The building took no longer than ten seconds to crumble, burying the remaining Hollows beneath its mass.
Hiroka returned to the ground rendezvousing with Daichi who was watching the cloud of dust coat the surrounding area. Glancing at Hiroka as he stood staring intently upon the direction of the remaining Hollows, "You think it's over?"
"At least for a majority of them. There will still be stragglers who either managed to be far enough out from the collapse or were only covered by a light amount of rubble. We will need to handle any remaining Hollows and notify the Thirteenth to tighten their patrols. I'm almost certain that that display will probably agitate some wandering Hollows lurking closeby." He finishes his statement reverting his weapon back to its sealed state. Following this he then confirms the Menos' elimination and moves to do a final patrol to cleanse the area.
While they worked to clean up the remnants of the battle, Hiroka ran through his mind the intent behind this specific hive. It was most likely that the Adjuchas was attempting to gain more power through the gradual consumption of the Hollows under its command. That or potentially to orchestrate the birth of Gillian-Class Menos in this realm. Though why there was an Adjuchas outside of Hueco Mundo at this time, or even what the end game could be outside of a pursuit for power stumped him for the time being. He thought it over as time passed and the mission was wrapped up, this event would certainly raise some concern from the humans, but potentially could just be waived to its reputation of being ‘haunted’ or ‘cursed’. The humans can then decide to attempt to rebuild or abandon this specific project. The Eleventh's squad members gathered at the end, debriefing their mission to the Seireitei, but also that three members had lost their lives and that several others were injured. This was also when it was relayed that the Thirteenth might want to keep a closer eye out for the next few hours, as tension may be in the air among the neighboring hollows.
Hiroka held a lot of questions about the incident, finding it a bit suspicious beyond simply the seeking of power by the Adjuchas. He also felt a bit disappointed that he had to cut his big fight short for the sake of timely execution of the mission. He hopes to have the chance to fight another Adjuchas or stronger Hollow in the future to truly test his mettle. At the very least it was incredibly satisfying to be able to be able to level a building with acceptable purpose. It's not everyday you get to blow something up on that scale, which brought a grin to Hiroka's face.
Last edited by a moderator:
