[CB] Sanctuary (Ezrachek)

The morning sun struggled to crest over the large buildings that made up the city. Well past 7am and it barely any of the warm rays had reached the streets and small shops below the glass and metal tower that stood amongst the city's epicenter. Fog held the city in it's grip, the light smoke snaking it's way through the many paths. A middle aged man shuffled down the street from his apartment a block away. His name was Lenny Fredrickson, for the last 20 years he operated the corner store near the church off 9th and main. At age 58 the slight cold gnawed at his bones. He pulled the his jacket tighter about him and kept his eyes forward. The streets were not safe if you didn't have that look about you. Avoid looking lost or confused and no one will notice you. Suddenly Lenny stumbled, there was a hole in the sidewalk. A scoop of the stone was missing as if someone had taken a shovel to the pavement.
"Place is falling apart." he muttered barely recovering his balance. He'd walked this same path so many times and hadn't noticed the hole before. What he also didn't notice that there were several other similar breaks in the street as well as the wall behind him. Lenny didn't notice at all he just kept on his way. As he passed the next building a chill ran down his spine and Lenny stopped in his tracks. It wasn't the morning chill, it was something else. Breaking his own rule Lenny looked around for several seconds. There was nothing to be seen. Finally he gave one last look over his shoulder and continued on his way. It was almost time to open the shop, he didn't need to waste time with strange feelings. Lenny kept walking as the sun finally manage to pierce veil over the city.

Lenny didn't notice the many breaks in the concrete around him, nor the scorch marks. Such physical things are easy to over look when you're not looking for them. But what he couldn't see was what was on the wall. It took a special type of person to see it. Only someone that possessed spiritual awareness might have perceived the horrible sight. Someone like Lenny merely felt a fraction of what was before him. If he could have seen the mangled and bloody form might have been so startled as to have a heart attack. The person's clothes, what little remained, were completely black. A full body suit of black not unlike a ninja. The man's face was battered beyond recognition. The man was pinned to the wall by a sword driven through his both of his hands. His arms were posed over his head. There was a message scrawled in blood beneath the gruesome display.

SLAY THE REAPERS

Ezrachek struggled in argument with the gate team to get them to open the gate for him to travel to Earth. He was unseated, and therefore had little authorization over them. "Look! Listen to me! Shit is going down out there and I was given unofficial orders from the Omnikutsudo to deliver a message to a man in a town and your team has the gate the is located in that town! now open the damn gate!" He ordered the man who reluctanctly disagreed, until a 3rd seat from the gate team arrived and sided with Ezrachek, opening the gate in a matter of a few seconds. Ezrachek traveled through the gate, and due to the rush, he didn't have time to waste with preparing himself for the travels, and instead, relied on his speed to get him past the sweeper that destroyed all unwelcomed creatures. He broke through the final area of the gateway and arrived in a town that automatically smelled of aweful hollows. Ezrachek rushed over to a small little building that appeared as an inn.

The smell changed to a peaceful flowery smell when the scenery of the inn pleased Ezrachek. He looked around, noticing that this was quite an extravegant inn, with very expensive looking chandeliers and fine leather couches placed all around the lobby. Ezrachek walked up to the man and asked him for the location as he pointed to the words scribbled down on the envelope that was given to Ezrachek.

"I haven't the time to waste with this, sir" The man stuck his nose to the sky in a snobby manner as he said the word sir with an extreme sense of sarcasm in his voice. Ezrachek was wondering why he kept running into problems today. Ezrachek decided it was best not to argue with yet another waste of time, and left the inn, going back out into the stinky streets that smelled of death. This was not a good place to be, especially not if you are lost.

Despite the dreary atmosphere the street remained empty. The city was barely coming to life now that the light had gained a more permanent hold. People started to slowly pop onto the sidewalks and cars passed by on the main street. Those first few people ranged in appearance and races. Men and woman of different walks of life ready to start their day of work. For some it was just that they had some place they rather be. In any case few stopped to say hello to one another while other just ignored the presence of anyone while they stared at the phone or tablet in their hands. The digital stimuli was more important than the reality around them. A group of young children no older than twelve ran by Ezrachek. Each wore an uniform of slacks and a white t-shirt. They each also had a blue-green backpack against their back. One of the young men laughed as he shoved his friend forward as they all rushed toward the main street.
"Hurry, or we'll miss the bus." he said and his friend pushed him back, but continued to run. A middle aged woman stood in the door way of her apartment watching the boys as they went. She had to be the mother of one of them. Her blonde hair closely matched that of the boy not being pushed, but they lacked similar facial features. Not that it mattered. A man in a business suit rode by on a mountain bike as a car peeled through the street. More and more life was pouring into the desolate area. There were people now moving in bigger groups.
Another car drove by in the opposite direction as a woman dashed across the road to get to the inn that Ezrachek just left. The girl wore a torn jacket and hand long dark hair. "Move." she said simply as he nudged by the man, but her eyes locked on him for a moment before she clicked her tongue and walked away.

Ezrachek was relieved as the city bloomed to life. The streets filled with people and the morning businesses became very busy. The smell of death was washed away by the sweet aroma that was the baker man, who was just next door to the inn, baking some sweet smelling morning pastries for the working people to come in and quickly get a delicious breakfast. Ezrachek’s thoughts were quickly interrupted when a shorter lady ran into Ezrachek with a rude remark as she passed by him, moving into the inn. He was originally irritated by the extreme lack of respect, but then quickly remembered that he was no longer in the realm of the Seireitei and was no longer entitled to any sort of respect, regardless of anything.

It was then that Ezrachek realized that, despite the distance from Karakura Town, This blooming city was also home to humans with the spiritual power capable of seeing and interacting with this shinigami. He decided to travel back to the forest near the gate that he entered the area through. He ran through the streets, feeling the cool breeze smashing his face as he made his way near the forest, spotting his eyes on Gigai that looked completely different than that of his spiritual form. Regardless, he decided that he shouldn’t waste any time, and quickly got adjusted to the physical restraints of the body, knowing well that if it came down to a battle, at his level, he would be forced to leave the body and fight as a shinigami, and not a human.

He made his way back to the city, feeling a rumbling hunger taking course in his stomach, as he felt the cool breeze run through the Gigai’s hair, which was relatively shorter than that of his spiritual body. He neared the pastry shop and walked hastily into the small room that was filled with glass desks that showcased the lovely looking pastries that were already baked. Ezrachek walked up and asked the man for a small pastry with a liquid cherry filling and was filled with a cinnamon drizzle all around the top. The fatty man gladly wrapped the pastry in a plastic bag and handed it to Ezrachek, who gladly flipped a few golden coins towards the man who placed them in a register machine that held the rest of the store’s earnings for a given time.

Ezrachek, satisfied with the meal, left the shop and back into the streets to find someone who could possibly tell him where the location on the envelope is, stopping everyone he came across for help.

As more time passed more and more people started to fill the sidewalks. Most kept to the man avenues and avoided the back alleys. The cars became more and more frequent as those that weren't already at work began their commute to their various destinations. A man ran a red light and the car about to take a turn quickly hit the breaks to avoid hitting it. There was shouts, but the offender was long gone. Luckily there was no one using the crosswalk when the person made their moving violation. Aside from that hiccup things returned to normal on the street and the vehicles continued on their way. In the time Ezrachek had taken to get himself familarize himself with this gigai things had changed. The silence that had held the city had faded. There were now sounds of life to accompany the sudden out pour of civilians. Horns honked in the distance, people shouting, music blaring from cars as they passed. The smells of cooking food mixed with the exhaust fumes. Garbage sitting in trashcans on the edge of the streets or in the middle of alleys contributed their part to the fragrance. Occassionally the wind would pick up and sweep the strange scent away. The sun now working it's way over head gave warmth to it all.

But for Ezrachek the sun did little to warm people's hearts. Those he asked for assistance either ignored him or used colorful language telling him to leave them alone. It was to be expected. In such a big city people weren't too fond of strange people coming up to them and asking for help. Those that had lived there long enough knew of many people that used such a ploy as a way to rob or kill. They were cautious and reluctant to be kind to anyone expect those they were very close to or knew personally. Ezrachek was acting like a tourist, and such would garner even more disdain from those that called Sanagu their home. But there were a select few that welcomed tourist with open arms. Although those arms weren't the most gentlest the city could provide. As Ezrachek's questioning of people continued a young man watched him from the shadows of the nearby alley. He flipped his phone open and sent a text. FISH. 12th and Bravo. It wasn't long after the phone shut that there was a chirp signally a response. Down in 5. The young man smirked and kept an eye on man asking for directions keeping himself out of sight.

Ezrachek wandered around hopelessly, finding no one to help, and slowly becoming very agitated with the lack of respect that these street urchins had for this man. He decided to give up after a half of an hour of searching for someone to help. He decided to take a rest and sit on a local park bench, as he watched the city bloom to an unbelievable spark of life. Streets became filled with cars and mindlessly reckless drivers. Three crashes had already happened this morning and the sun hadn't even made it's way to the top of the sky, resembling noon. Ezrachek was thoroughly disgusted with this town and was ready to leave, but when standing up to leave the town, he placed his hand in a pocket of the jeans that his Gigai was wearing, and felt the envelope that he was to deliver. He thought about giving up on the mission, and then was reminded of the character of a guy who stirred up much anger in the soul of Ezrachek with the doubting of his abilities and strengths.

Ezrachek decided it was time to abandon the safe route and do it the hard way. He placed his foot forward, and like a bullet, he was off again towards the forest, rushing through the sidewalks. It came time for him to cross a street, and he had to really push the physical limits of the body in order to beat out the speeding car who was trying to beat a yellow light changing to red. Ezrachek found himself like a deer in the headlights as the car struck him hard, his soul leaving the body just before impact. He still felt some of the force of the impact as the leaving of the body took some time, feeling a great deal of pain on the right side of his body. It was the perfect cover, appearing as the Gigai was a real man who was now killed, and Ezrachek would no longer have to worry about anyone seeing the body dropping dead in the forest. This car had just taken care of his light work. Ezrachek stood tall in the black shinigami robes with his 2nd squad marking tattooed on his biceps. He had his Uniform to not have sleeves, so that he could proudly show off his membership of the squad. The Tattoo did not actually have the effect of the markings on Captains and Vice-Captains, but was rather for the pride he had in the 2nd Squad.

He pushed off the air, making his way high into the sky above the city as he looked down on the different streets. He noticed a group of thug looking men closing in on Ezrachek's Gigai just after the body was thrown violently across the street and they all looked at each other angrily and walked off together. Ezrachek decided to investigate this matter. He fell to the streets, landing softly on his feet. He made his way towards the group, who turned suspiciously into a dark alley way. Ezrachek made his way into the sky once more, and down into the alley in front of them. They stopped in their tracks and Ezrachek moved his hand grazing his palm over the hilt of his sword, not sure if they could see him or sense him in any way, or if they wanted to be violent or not.

OOC: Points for originality in exiting your gigai, but I'm unsure is such a maneuver wouldn't leave you unscathed. Also I'll point out the squad tattoo is usually reserved for captains and vice captains to restrict their power. I hope yours is only the visual kind. That being said I'll also give you credit for predicting my next move, but my execution is different.

The young man watched as Ezrachek suddenly took off. Did he spot him? The young man had no clue he had to sprint to keep up with the strange man. It wasn't easy to say the least. Shoving and pushing though the people on the sidewalk he barely managed to keep sight of the mark's back. Trying to stay hidden was hard, but with his target so far ahead it was doubtful he would notice him running parallel. After several moments he was forced to cross the street and literally came up behind on Ezrachek as he made his mad dash. The gap between shortened only for the chase to end as the man in front got hit by a car. Everyone at the crosswalk stood frozen in shock as the sudden events unfolded. After a moment of eerie silence a woman let out a blood curdling scream. This screamed of horror was mirrored in the faces of all that saw the body fly and bounce from the impact. The young man came to a halt and stared at the broken form. For a moment he thought about running, but then he recognized the opportunity before him. The people around him were in a panic with all the commotion of the crash. He looked about and rushed forward to the down Ezrachek's body. Upon getting close he grabbed at the body and searched while feigning concern for the fallen man.
"Someone call an ambulance!" he shouted, while pretending to try and feel for a pulse. Clearing the downed man's pockets he shifted the contents to his jacket pockets. "Somebody help me!" the young man said. An act worthy of an Oscar. Others approached to help so he stood and allowed them access to his body. Sirens could already be heard in the distance. Quickly he pushed his way through the crowd and move away from the scene.

The young man easily blended in and disappeared within moments. Under the cover of the crowd he made for the opposite direction. As he progressed down the block the crowd cleared and the cops and emergency vehicle made their appearances. He smiled at his own ingenuity. As clever as he was, he hadn't noticed there wasn't any blood on his clothing. The gigai broken mess from the crash, but there wasn't any blood to be seen. Around the corner he ducked into an alley to examine the big score; a wallet and the small metal tube. The wallet held money, which was good, but he didn't know what to make of the tube. It was metallic, silver perhaps? It was hard to tell. His phone chirped.
"What happened man?" the voice on the other end sounded. "We're not seeing you."
"The fish is dead." the young man snickered as he looked around the corner where the accident had occurred. "Got some loot. I'm on my way back."

[OOC: Well I edited the previous post... What exactly is the silver tube? is it the message im supposed to deliver? or is it something else that I am meant to find out about?]

Ezrachek watched in amazement as the man talked so simply of the dead body that was the gigai. Must be some sort of thug, and what exactly was he doing chasing him anyways? Ezrachek looked down and realized that if he did have to encounter with humans again, he would need another Gigai, and the rest of his belongings. He flipped open his cell phone and began dialing the Squad 12's number. The phone rang a few moments and then Ezrachek spoke. "Hey! Squad 12! I'm looking for a specific person. Arawn. An old buddy from the academy." In this city, Ezrachek thought that it would be best for him to only have a member of the Gotei 13, especially from Squad 12, that he could trust to deliver the Gigai. "Hey Arawn! I'm requesting that ya'll send another Gigai to the forest outside of this town. I need it to be smaller in height, but a little bit more built in the event of a fight. The speed capabilities must also be much greater than the last one. Don't give me a runt Arawn! Thanks man!" Ezrachek closed his phone and placed it back in his uniform.

Ezrachek then turned his attention back to the man that was talking on the phone, so simply about some sort of fish. It confused Ezrachek greatly, but nevertheless, Ezrachek decided that the man couldn't sense his presense and removed his hand from the hilt of his sword. Ezrachek could easily just kill the man, but not only would that be a violation of the Gotei 13 to kill such an "innocent" human, but Ezrachek could possibly get a little insight on this group, and since he was lost in this city anyways, it couldn't do any more harm to tail this man and find out what his "business" was all about.

Ezrachek watched as the man closed his phone and took off once more into the streets. Ezrachek kicked off the air, making his way to the building tops and continued to follow the man, looking down on him from far above, getting a complete bird's view of the man's move. The hunted had now become the hunter.

OOC: Read HERE

Back at the communications department

One of the technicians picked up the line that Ezrachek had dialed. Among those that occupied the squad he as one of the more normal looking. That was if you ignored the row of fangs he'd given himself.
"Comms, how can I help you?" he answered as the signal come through to his screen. No sooner had he spoken that Ezrachek began talking. The man tried his best to keep up. Arawn? As far as the man knew Arawn was down in the labs. "I'm sorr_" he began meekly, but the voice on the other end continued. "A new gigai? I can_" again he was cut off by the other man's rapid fire speaking. He began typing to initiate a tracking program to find the caller's location, but then the phone hung up. The man could only stare at the screen before him blankly as the signal faded before he could even figure where it had originated from.
"Who was that?" The attendant next to him asked when he saw the bewildered face of his friend.
"No clue." was all the man responded as he played back call. The speaker had never identified himself so he could only guess it was someone that knew Arawn. With a shrug he made a record of it for the file and sent it on an email to Arawn's lab. Perhaps he could make some sense of the matter.

Sanagu City

The young man fumbled the small tube in his pocket. Although he had succeed in lifting the objects from the dead man's pockets he was smart enough to no let anyone see them. The adrenaline was slowly running off and the gravity of the situation was not hitting him. Despite his penchant for thievery murder and death weren't things he normally saw. Taking a deep breath he tried his best to stay calm and show his distress outwardly on his face. The sirens we getting further and further behind him. The chances of him running into the law were low. In all the panic people wouldn't recall some kid being there.
"Dood!" came a shout from ahead of him. The man hadn't noticed, but three of his friends were standing at the next corner. Having spotted him they called out to him shaking him from his daze. "Neil! What happened!?" one shouted. One of his three buddies wore dark purple hoodies two sizes too big for his teenage frame. With his hood up it was nearly impossible to fully see his face. As for the second man wore a faded blue long sleeve shirt with a white under shirt. The third had red jacket on and had a pair of sunglasses perched on his head.
As Niel crossed the street he clapped hands with each of them. They laughed and walked down the block together.
"You wouldn't believe it man; the guy I was tailing got hit by a car." Niel told them in hushed tone. He kept looking to see if anyone nearby could overhear him. "It was like BAM! and he goes flying" Those listening to the story winced as Niel made motions of what had happened to Ezrachek as the speeding car hit him.

Ezrachek watched the man who was following him join up with the rest of his comrades. He stayed hidden, careful to make sure that none of the men had the spiritual pressure dense enough to spot Ezrachek, or sense his presence. Ezrachek tailed them as they walked around and spoke of the death. He waited for a few moments to hear back from Arawn or the Soul Society, sure that they would do something to aid him. Deciding that it wouldn't help waiting, Ezrachek fell lightly to the street right behind the men as they walked. He walked behind the men carefully, making sure to keep a fair distance from them, as they rounded a corner and continued walking into the street. Ezrachek decided it was wasting his time and decided to take back the items stolen from his physical gigai's body. He decreased the distance between them as they stopped. Ezrachek did not stop, however, as he kept his pace, closing the gap, bringing his palm to his zanpakuto, ready to strike down these men. They were considered enemies of him if they acted hostily. It was time for Ezrachek to cut the crap and get down to business. The importance of this mission, expressed by the eagerness of the Omnikutsido members, was of a top priority, and the package of extremely sensitive, and the fact that Ezrachek no longer had hands on it, was bad. He neared the man chasing him earlier, and reached towards his pockets, attempting to retrieve the lost materials.

The group moved at an easy pace. Bit by by they moved down the street in the opposite direction that Neil has come from. As retold his adventure the four youngsters gained stares from some people as they passed. Before the group could notice the stares the people had already looked away. Their path took them along back streets that limited the number of observers. Niel’s story had ended and one of the others began their own tale.
“ Niel man, you should have been there last night.” spoke a fair haired boy. “This girl was all over me on the dance floor.” his statement gained groans from his friends as well as laughter.
“Dood, you were so drunk last night. You fell on down on that girl and she was trying to push you off.” One of the others responded. “We had to keep her from kicking your ass after you grabbed her chest.”
They all exploded in laughter except for the one telling the story. His ears burned crimson. “Wait, then whose number did I get?” he dug a crumbled up napkin out of his pocket and displayed it for all to see. There was some writing on the thin tissue, but what it said was hard to determine. A broad grin was across his face as the others stood in silence. Niel quickly grabbed the napkin. The other youth had little time to react and had it snatched from his finger. He tried to lunge, but his friend had already jumped away with his prize. Niel held it up to the light to see it better. They had walked into an alleyway between two large buildings. The sun had a hard time reaching them.

“It looks like a 3 and a 7, but what the hell number is that!?” he spoke aloud as he tried to decipher the strange code.
“Hey, give it back!” this time the boy did jump at Niel, who deftly dodged the clumsy charge.
“Wait! This is your address, you must have written it down for the taxi home!” The young man chasing him reached for the napkin and managed to grab it down the middle. With little effort the tissue was torn in half as everyone burst into laughter. Everyone except one. In truth he had stopped walking just as Ezrachek had moved forward upon Niel.
“I think we’ve gone far enough.” he said as he tossed off his jacked. He nosily popped his neck, shoulders , and knuckles. “Time to take care of the ghost man.” His eyes locked on the shinigami. Niel looked bewildered, but the other two boys stopped to turn and flanked Ezrachek.
“What are you guys talking about?” he asked very confused.
“Damn, Niel.” one of the others groaned. “You really are worthless, this guy has been tailing you. Kippei was the first to notice.” he pointed at the one that had pushed off his jacket.
“Enough talk.” Kippei said as a blue glow grew from his hands. He raised his palms and a ball of blue energy leapt from both. Together the blue orbs went directly at Erzarchek’s body. The one that had spoken to Niel stomped his foot on the ground. Less than a foot behind the shinigami a jagged pillar of stone rose blocking his retreat. The last man had purple electricity arching up his right arm. Random bits of energy crackled from his finger tips.

Ezrachek watched in amusement as the men swapped their stories, thinking about his own crazy times back in Seireitei with the few attractive women that he met during his classes in Academy. He then turned his memory towards Shakaku, the beautiful woman whom he didn't endulge in his crazy fantasies with, but rather took time to actually get to know her, and although he would never admit it to anyone, he had grown to like her. He couldn't help but to notice in his daydreaming, that the men had stopped moving and he heard one's voice as a jacket hit the floor. A creeping thought in the back of Ezra's mind crept forward with speed. He had just been called out. He watched in what seemed to be slow motion as he felt the pillar touch his back, watching the blue energy orbs flying towards him. He quickly bursted into action.

"Bakudo 8! Seki!" Ezrachek called out as the round Kidou shield deflected the energy orbs, sending them flying helplessly into the air. Ezrachek quickly decipated the shield, drawing his Zanpakuto, readying himself for the fight. He watched the man with electrical jolts running up his arms, figuring that the man was charging up for some sort of attack. Deciding that the attack wasn't ready, Ezrachek didn't concern himself with the man. He stopped to think for a second before striking. The few times he had actually stopped to think before attacking, betraying his instinct of his human savagery. Ezrachek was in posession of the items that he required for his mission, so he didn't need to fight these guys if he could just evade them and get away. On the other hand, Ezrachek was never big on being a coward, and he still didn't know where he was going, so a fight would be fun.

Fun. Not a word that anyone had used to describe fights since the leadership of Captain Zaraki in Squad 11. Ezrachek shared his views of battle, allowing his body to be stressed to the limits in a good battle, and if his opponents weren't worth the good battle, they would fall prey to Ezra's blade. Ezrachek turned his attention to the man controlling the pillar, pushing off the pillar flying towards the man with great speed. He swung his sword blindly at the man, knowing full well that it would miss, quickly spinning around upon impact with the ground, sending the blade towards the man's waist with blinding speed. The only way Ezra was going to get through a 3 vs 1 battle was by taking them out one at a time, or if Arawn were to show up, which the latter was obviously not happening soon enough. Ezrachek only prepared himself mentally to defend from a counterstrike from the other opponents, ready to evade an attack, or stop his current attack to commit to a counterattack.

The twin glowing orbs hit the shinigami's shield and were sent flying away. No sooner had they been deflected that Kippei moved his hands in circular motion. The orbs spun in the air and doubled back at the Ezrachek. Unfortunately the shinigami had already moved. Kippei's eyes followed his target and then he flicked his index fingers in a sweeping motion. The orbs responded by curved and zoomed towards Ezrachek's back. As for the other man he didn't move as shinigami targeted him individually. Instead he grinned and stood his ground. His opponent was a flurry of movement. Still he didn't seem too worried as the distance between them diminished quickly. The shiny blade sang through the air and slashed the young man. It had little problem cutting through his jacket and shirt, but there was clang as it impacted further beneath. Through the now severed clothing one could see that the man's skin wasn't as fair as his face. The part of the skin beneath the cut shirt was blackish in color. The color faded rather quickly, but now it grew upon his hand as he swung his fist at Ezrachek's face. As for the last man he moved in closer, but still did nothing be sure to stay out of the way of the flying orbs coming to strike from behind. The electricity around him continued to arc as he waited for his chance to strike a blow or support either of his comrades. Niel had moved from the whole battle unfolding. He could only watch wide eyed as they battled the invisible target. At first he thought they were joking around until he saw his friend's shirt suddenly rip open. The looks on their faces as they moved was proof enough that things were indeed serious. Without being able to see the enemy he felt somewhat helpless. He did his best to keep against the way to stay out of their way as well as avoid any stray attacks.

Ezrachek flew back, feeling the heavy hand come upon his face. He hit the ground hard as he slid back in the dusty alley. He regained he stance, gripping his zanpakuto tightly, quickly analyzing the situation. He remember the orbs flying towards him and ducked beneath their path, and as he evaded them, flipping backwards in the air, he noticed the man who held the "items of interest." Suddenly, a plan flickered in Ezrachek. He remembered being told by a superior in the 2nd squad that in order to stay alive, a stealth shinigami must always choose his battles. Ezrachek was doing just this. He jumped towards the man Watching the whole events going down and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him in the air. Ezrachek almost snickered when he saw the man flailing in the air. Ezrachek was running out of time and quickly slashed open the man's pockets, cutting into his skin slightly. The letter and silver tube fell to the ground as Ezrachek kicked them up to his hands.

Ezrachek side stepped, watching the orbs come towards him once again. He had expected that cut-throat men like this wouldn't hesitate an attack for a man like Neil. It was time for his escape. Ezrachek closed the distance between the opponents and him, letting on a shout. "Hakudo #5! Senko!" The blinding light flashed out as Ezrachek shielded his eyes with his uniform. He kicked off the air, focusing the reiatsu to his feet, making his way to the building tops. He jumped from building top to building top until he could not feel their reiatsu anymore. what the hell were those guys? And that gave me no info at all... Looks like im back to square 1[ Ezra stood to his feet, looking around from the building top, not feeling much optimism in this mission. How was he supposed to find something when he didnt know what it was that he was looking for, and he had three lunatics after him, looking to end him, and there was the concern as to why the soul society was neglecting to send him the back up that he requested. These thoughts swirled through Ezrachek's mind as he sat on the edge of the building, allowing his feet to dangle freely, high in the sky.

Niel had no way of seeing the shinigami coming at him so made no effort to dodge the sudden attack. Imagine his surprise to be lifted off the ground. The surprised increased as his shirt got cut open and the feel of his skin being sliced as well. It was true he tended to lack off in his studies. If it wasn't so boring he'd put more effort into it. This moment made him regret that outlook. The wound wasn't deep, but the pain was enough to send him spiraling to the ground. He gave a yelp of shock as he felt blood start to ooze from the wound. It wasn't much at all, but to Niel it was like a geyser. He wasted not time in overreacting. Once he hit the ground he held his side and began to scream and roll from side to side. Kippei was already in action. He performed a series of hand motions and the twin orbs danced around and homed on Ezrachek as he picked up Niel. When Kippei slammed his palms together the spheres collided midair and fused into a single ball. This new orb was nearly the size of a basketball and glowed brighter than before. Even though it was larger it seemed to move just as fast as before. His silent friend shrouded in electricity rushed forward while their third companion hesitated. They saw the shinigami pick up Niel and attack. When their friend hit the round they each assumed the worse. The purple electricity consolidated around the man's fist. In seconds his hand was no longer visible with the purple energy flowing through it. Just a single touch and thousand of volts of electricity would race through the target's body. Seeing the other two spring into action made the third man do the same. Once more his hand changed a darker shade and moved forward to attack.

Of course none of the attacks had a chance to land upon their target. It was at this point that Ezrachek released his kido. The bight light exploded into existence illuminating the area. The spell caught them all by surprise. Kippei turned his head away as the light flared, his flying orb flew erratically when he looked away. It was like watching a drunk trying to walk a straight line. Eventually it collided with one of the walls. Smoke came from where the sphere touched the brick and once it moved away a large burn mark could be seen. It quickly faded after that, but it went unnoticed during the bright light. The man wielding the electricity raised his hands to shield his face. Unfortunately it was too late. He skidded to a stop blinking back tears. As for the last of their group he wasn't so fortunate. He has been mid stride when the spell had been cast. It was hard to stop, so he instead stumbled and fell forward on his face. His face ground again the hard earth for a few inches before he lay they stunned. It only took seconds for Ezrachek to escape from them. They all groaned as they waited for their vision to return. The only one to not be affected by the kido was Niel, but he was too busy clutching his small injury. No one had noticed the dark stain in the groin of his pants nor the tears running down his face.

The first to recover was the young man that had tripped and fell when the spell had been cast. He stood up and rubbed his eyes. There were still small spots. After blinking some more he moved over to the still moaning Niel and shook him.
"You okay, man?" he asked, but Niel didn't seem to hear him. He shook him again and that seemed to get through to the slightly injured young man. "Dood!" he shook more violently than before and shouted at his friend.
"I'm dying! I'm going to die, Todd." Niel bawled as the tears flowed even faster and his nose dripped. Todd grabbed at Niel's side to see the extent of the injury. His frantic friend held on as if his intestines would fall out if he let go. With some effort he moved the others' hands to the side. There was some blood, but nothing too bad.
"It's only a flesh wound." He gave a small chuckle "You'll be fine." As he spoke the other two members had recovered. Kippei didn't bother to check on Niel. The first thing he did with his restored sight was take out his phone and begin dialing.
"Hey, it's me." he said as he put the phone to his ear. "We ran into some trouble. Gather some boys; we got a reaper to hunt."

It was several minutes later a sudden howl broke the silence of the on coming night. The call of a wolf. A long primal call. It was odd for a city to have such an animal inside it's limits. Obviously the sound was being made by a human. The call was answered by another howl down the street. Still yet another howl burst forth west from the second on. Soon there was a chorus of howling throughout the area. They were moving. Sweeping through the area. The howling drew closer to Ezrachek's location.

Ezrachek stood up quickly after hearing the numerous consecutive howls. At first, it was perceived as a wolf, possibly from the forest, but after all the repetitive noises, given the time in between the howls, it was not compatible with the common nature of wolves. Ezrachek decided that it was safe to assume the worst; that he now had a lot more than just three lunatics after his head. he suppressed his reiatsu, hoping that he could hide from them as he jumped from the roof top. He needed to get far away from there, to more familiar territory, so he swiftly made his way towards the Sanuga Forest, grabbing a map of the city from a nearby inn. His past always placed him around forests, and he truly did enjoy the nature. However, this time it was less enjoyable due to the fact that he was being hunted. He sat on a tree branch, deciding to rest his body before the inevitable battle. He had the constant thought in the back of his head about why the seireitei was not sending him the backup. Had he lost communications with them? Were they already busy? Could arawn be reached? Or were they just straight up ignoring him?

The thoughts were quickly dispatched from his thoughts as he felt numerous, almost an uncountable amount of reiatsu sources coming towards him. The regular suppression of his reiatsu wasnt working, so he decided to take it to a bit more extreme measures. "Bakudo 19! Energy Fade!" As the words left his mouth, Ezrachek's reiatsu disappeared altogether. It was as if he had left the area, or had been eradicated. Ezrachek knew his opponents were smarter than that, by a long shot, so he knew that they would still hunt for him regardless. However now they wouldn't be able to track his movements. The day time had stretched out and couldn't have been any later than 4 in the afternoon and the sun arched over the forest, stretching a dark shadow that covered most of, if not all, of the forest floor. Ezrachek rose with his feet on the branch, taking not to observe how the shadow moved along with the movement of the branch. He had his plan. It was only a matter of time until his hunters would enter this forest looking for him, and they were in for a surprise.

He decided that while he was waiting, he might as well do anything he could to figure out where he was supposed to deliver this package. He took the letter from his uniform and read the location to where it was to be sent before breaking the seal. He grabbed a tube from his uniform, collected some sap from the tree, and saved it to re-seal the letter after reading it. He looked at the map, deciding the fastest and most hidden path from the entrance of the forest to the location. He could feel the distance between him and his enemies closing, but with still a good distance. Having already planned his trap, and if need be, his escape, Ezrachek took the letter from the envelope and began reading the words printed on the page. If he was going to die for this, he wanted to make sure that it was important.

The hunt was on. Through the streets the word went out and caught on like wildfire. All able bodies came forth to take part. Youths of different sizes and ages moved about the city looking for their pray. Systematically the groups patrolled the man alleys and hidden paths. They howled like beasts when their searches failed. Little by little they always cornered their pray. This was part of the fun. Searching for the enemy was more fun than killing him. Well that enjoyable in it's own way as well. Still the running about the howling all added to the anticipation of the act. This was there city, they knew everywhere someone could hide. There was no way the soul reaper could elude them for long. Within minutes someone caught wind of a spiritual signal and packs of the teens moved towards the source. Just when they thought they had it, the signal vanished. But even that was a clue towards it's possible location. They closed the net focusing their search in the new quadrant. It would seem that the target was moving towards the forest.

That was troublesome. They knew better than to go there of all places. While they did have some control over the streets the woods of Sengoku was a different thing entirely. But if they acted quickly they might avoid any trouble from what lurked within the forest. They would send in a smaller group and flush him out. Exactly like a real hunt. The shinigami would find himself rushing right into their waiting arms. The problem was who to send. There were plenty of able bodies, but selecting a single person would be difficult. In the end the group that had started the hunt were elected to fish out the shinigami. Kippei was the first to step forward. He would enjoy getting another shot at the soul reaper. This time he would be sure to end him. He swore to himself that the shinigami wouldn't make it out of the forest alive. The others with him knew better than to try and get in the man's way. Niel was the only one of the group to hold back. He lacked the sight to see the shinigami so he'd be pretty useless. There were others in the pack that had the same problem, but they still took part of the hunt.

The sun was rather high in the sky already as they moved to the edge of the city and entered the forest. Kippei stood out in front as they began their march. As he walked he created a single ball of energy in his right hand. Barely the size of the softball the ball glowed brightly. He released it and it floated around him in a small orbit. He would be ready for when the shinigami when he appeared. The other two opened their senses and tried to locate the Ezrachek.

The page that Ezrachek read had little on it of importance. A single line stood out.

the old church the eastern edge in Sanagu. Located near Sengoku Forest

A picture fell from within the folds of the letter and Ezrachek caught it on his foot. He lifted it to his hands where he saw the picture of the church. He figured that this must be where he was to deliver the silver tube. The issue, however, was getting there without the huge force of people after him; if you could consider them people. They were rather resembling Zombies. Ezrachek thought about how he was going to possibly get past the force that was coming to kill him. He focused, feeling for anyone in the entrance of the forest. He felt a few very familiar sources coming towards him. He figured that it must the ones from earlier, more than likely leaving Neil out of the hunt. This was troublesome however, because Ezrachek's trap was planned for the mass group. He felt that it was definitely a trap.

Ezrachek abandoned the letter, keeping the picture. He decided that it would buy him some time. He made his move out of the area, knowing that he could travel a lot faster than his hunters. He made his way towards the western edge of the forest, moving towards the entrance as he jumped from branch to branch. It took a while, so he decided to enjoy the scenery. The green leaves just starting to grow, along with the white and pink flowers starting to bud. He even glanced over to see a doe grazing on some grass. If he had any extra time, he would probably hunt it and make very tasty venison jerky. However, he did not have the time, and so he kept moving. He breathed in, allowing the sweet clean spring air flow easily into his lungs. It was a much better smell than the smoke filled odor of his barracks room. He smoked a lot while in his room, where he did most of his daily activities such as meditation, thinking about things, and working out.

The thoughts had fled from his mind when he reached his destination. He broke from the forest line and released the bakudo that was previously suppressing his reiatsu. He flourished his reiatsu to make sure that the hunting pack felt his presense. he walked a few meters up the streets, finding a nice choke point, and stole some gunpowder from a local firework shop. He placed the barrels all along side the rode where the forest met the outside of the town. They barrels were hidden by the bushes and trees, but close enough to do some serious damage. He finished setting up his trap and then went to a rooftop. "Bakudo 19! Energy Fade!" Ezrachek called out as his reiatsu disappeared once more. He crouched down, hiding behind a gargoyle statue that was posted on the corner of the building, providing substantial overwatch of the area, where he waited to spring his trap.

The three that entered the woods stayed close together. There was no telling what might happen if they got separated. At the same time they didn't stay in a tight group. They had spread themselves far enough apart as to not be hit by some ambush and yet still within eyesight of one another. They were playing it safe. Who knows what tricks the shinigami might have up his sleeve. They moved slowly, but at the same time they kept a look out at the area ahead. Being cautious never hurt anyone. Kippei wasn't too happy lurking around. He really did want to tear into the shinigami. But as they continued there search they found little to no sign of him. Frustration was building as the minutes wore on. Still they all stood ready for an attack at any moment. None came as the progressed deeper.
"Damn it." Kippie cursed punching a tree. He was tempted to launch the hovering orb into the trunk.
"Hey what's that?" one of his companions asked. He pointed to something white in a tree further up ahead. At first the other two didn't see it, but they followed the third man's lead until they spotted the white in the sea of green. All three were on their guard. Perhaps it was part of the trap to lure them to that spot. Slowly they made a circuit around the tree and those around it. Nothing.

"Goddamnit." Kippei growled. The one that had spotted the white spot wasted no time in climbing up the tree to investigate. While his anxious friend fumed on the ground he made his way through the branches til he reached the object. It was the paper that Ezrachek had left behind. Moving carefully he stretched himself out and retrieved it. A second later he was making his way back down the tall tree.
"It's a note." he said as he read the words in the paper's center. "The eastern church." He handed over the note for Kippei and the other man to read.
"You think he went there?" Kippei asked skeptically. "There's no way of know it's his."
"Don't you remember he attacked Neil? He said he grabbed some paper a tube from the guy." The other man stated. "This was probably the paper. He probably came into the forest to shake us, then he doubled back east for the church."
Kippei nodded at the man's assesstment. It made sense. Still it seemed too easy.
He opened his phone and called the others in the group.
"Send some people to the church on the east side. We think he might have headed there." he informed them.
"There's 2 churches which one could it be?" His friend asked.
"Send people to both, we'll keep searching here. He hung up and they resumed their search. It was 5mins later that they felt some hint of spiritual pressure coming from the west.
"It's him." Kippei confirmed. "But it looks like he went west. We should call the others back." He reached for his phone, but his friend held up his hand.
"The spiritual pressure is gone. He shows himself in the opposite direction and then hides. He's trying to lead us away."
"They got enough people to handle him either way." He got on his phone. There was already a group heading west. Kippei and his group would head in the eastern direction, but via the woods.

[i]Fireworks shop[i]

"What the hell is this!?" the manager cried. He looked at the empty spot where his gunpowder had been. On the ground was a trail of powder. "Call the cops." he said looking at his assistant. Picking up a 4x4 he walked out the door trying to follow the evidence left behind by the phantom thief. The assistant rushed to the office to call the authorities. The shop owner walked slowly down the street. It was normally quiet in the area the perfect place for his trade. But to have someone steal from him was unforgivable. He had only gone half the block when the assistant came running up behind him
"The cops are on the way boss." he said. The man nodded. He wanted to tell the man to go back, but he felt reassured to have company. His other assistants could handle the police, but he wanted to get first crack at the vandals. They couldn't have gotten far. The barrels had just gone missing.

Ezrachek watched from the cover of the gargoyle for a long while before finally considering giving up. He could have just as easily attached a tripwire mechanism to it and leave it to chance that one of them would trip the trap. Ezrachek looked closer after having heard some sort of commotion coming from down below. Sheisse! Ezrachek thought to himself. There was no innocent people in harms way, and although it didn't bother him to kill innocent people, it was counterproductive to his strategy to attract a bigger audience. He quickly abandoned the plan.

He moved from the gargoyle heading southeast. He would make it around in a half circle path to save himself from being found on the way to the church. He was getting quite fed up with the situation, knowing that if he had just read the letter sooner, this probably wouldn't have happened. Ezrachek shook off the thoughts as he neared the eastern edge of the city. There were multiple options here. He could easily just sneak into the church and deliver the message and leave, but who was there to stop the hunters from taking the package once again. It looked like there was no real way out but to have to deal with these guys.

Ezrachek made his way to the church and after verifying it with the picture, He noticed a group of people looking around the area. He figured that they were looking for him, so he stayed hidden. He considered at that point to just stay hidden and perhaps they will all get bored and leave. However, Ezrachek didnt have that kind of time and he was sure that the omnikutsido didn't either. He waited for them to all group up out front of the church before making his move. He stuck to walls, staying deep in the shadows. He kept to this strategy until he found himself on the side wall of the church. He slid his body around the wall, and stepped very quietly to the front walkway of the church. He released his Bakudo and flourished his reiatsu as much as he could. He unsheathed his zanpakuto, preparing for battle.

"The only way I'm gunna get this done is to just kill you all. So let's go!" Fury had now pulsed through his body, feeling the anger feed adrenaline to his body. He was about ready to kill each and every person in this fanned city and then go cut into those omnikutsido guys who delivered him with the mission. He was in the good though, because with his past, the angrier he gets, the better he fights; without hesitation to kill, and without hesitation to utilize 100% of his body strength, even if it means straining the muscles to a damaging point. He looked towards the group of hunters, and then back towards the forest, where he could feel three presences. He flicked his wrist, spinning his katana in a wide circle at his side. "Let's do this! Bring it on!"

The youths were indeed searching the area. Half had gone to the other church several blocks away while the rest had taken the time to come here first. The search here was going as systematically as the one in the forest had. They did there best to be slow and methodical about it. Checking the trees, checking the side streets. Not a thing was left to chance. They wanted to find the shinigami. Missing their chance would be a shame upon them all. Little did they know that they had actually gotten there before the Ezrachek. So their search was doomed to fail before it even started. Ironically enough that worked in the shinigami's favor. As he arrived on the scene they had already scoured the area searching. They had of course found nothing. They had even taken the time to double check. As Ezrachek made his move into the churchyard they had finished that particular zone.
It was then that the shinigami released his energy. At this signal all the youths turned toward the now exposed opponent. Kippei and his group weren't too far away, but they too felt the sudden burst of spiritual power. They howled. The animal cry wasn't like the previous ones. Rather than a lonely call, it was a shout of delight. The battle was on, the hunt was drawing to a close. One of the youths picked up his phone and dialed their other members.
"We got him." He said happily. "He's at the second church on the lower end."
Rather than rush forth they secured the area. They formed a perimeter around the church. The shinigami wouldn't be getting away. Kippei and the rest rushed to the new location.

"What is all this commotion!?" came a call from the back of the church. Moments later a middle aged man walked from the back office to the chapel floor. "I thought I heard something." he said while scratching his head. A rather tall looking man wearing a black smock and light brown hair. He looked about at the empty pews and shrugged before heading back to his office.

Ezrachek let a wicked grin crawl across his face. These creatures and he weren't so different in their animalistic instinct. They all loved the hunt, however he praised the battle. He wanted nothing more than to smell the blood of his enemies. A demonic aura came across Ezrachek as he stopped his blade in a reverse position. He did not advance in an attack, but was rather defensive. He didn't want to fight just yet unless he absolutely needed to, in which case he would let loose and have fun. He backed himself through the doors of the church, making his way towards the old man's office. He finally turned his back as he slammed the door shut that lead to the office. Ezrachek quickly retrieved a container of gunpowder from his pocket as he set up yet another trap. He knew he was going to have to fight eventually, and if he could eliminate the mass of them, he would like to fight Kippei and the other original fighters. Once he finished setting up the trap, taking no longer than 10 seconds, he turned his attention towards the old man. Seeing the worried look on the old man's face, Ezrachek sheathed his zanpakuto. He walked towards the old man and tossed him the silver tube. "It's for you. From the Omnikutsido." Ezrachek said calmly, moving them both to the rear corner of the room.He then trapped the window as well with the remaining bits of gunpowder that he had left. All he had to do now was wait. He drew his zanpakuto, feeling its urge for blood for the first time since he first picked it up.

Little by little the ring of young men drew closer to the church. They all kept a constant eye out for the shinigami. After sensing him at the church he had yet to move from that location. At this point they were confident that he was now in the church which made their work much, much easier. Kippei and his group were already more than half way there.

The priest was quite alarmed as the door to his office suddenly opened and shut on it's own. Being a man of the cloth he was familiar with tales of spirits and ghosts, but this was his first time experiencing anything like it. He reached swiftly for the top most drawer of his desk and pulled out the bible stored there. Clutching the book like a lifeline he muttered any prayer that came to mind. Surely he was imagining it. There was no way this holy place would be haunted. His brain raced to recall any story that hinted that there was something amiss. It was at this point that the shinigami felt fit to throw the metal tube at the man. Invisible to moral's sight it was still able to act upon material world. The solid metal hit the man between the eyes with *clunk*. It wasn't that painful, but the effect sent the man running from the room.
"LORD SAVE ME!" he screamed he jumped from his seat and ran to the doorway. Grabbing the handle he tore the door open. With all the praying he hadn't noticed the trap being set by the shinigami. Unfortunately he now sprung it as he attempted to flee from the suppressive ghost's attack.

Ezrachek took a moment to relax; just a moment before realizing that the Priest had once again flipped out and ran towards the door. Ezrachek rose to his feet. "Don't Do tha-" He called out, but was cut off with the sound of the explosion. Shrapnel raced towards him as he dove behind a desk for cover. Dust and smoke from the explosion was kicked up and made it difficult for Ezrachek to see. In this time, The Priest's soul had risen from the body. He looked down, seeing his body had been completely decimated by the explosion. Scared and sad for the loss of his life, he ran out of the room to look for more answers as to what happens next, feeling lost without his God and seeing that he had not made it to 'heaven'. Once the smoke had cleared away, Ezrachek raced towards the door to see the blood had been splattered all over the wall. There was no real recognizable traces of the priest anymore. The gold cross necklace that the man had worn around his neck laid on the ground, covered with burned blood. Ezrachek picked up and laughed. Where has your God placed his protection now? I hope for your sake, that you are with him. Ezrachek thought to himself as he tossed the chain aside. Anger rose in his body. He had failed his first mission with the Omnikutsido. Not only did he hate failing missions, but for an organization that he was wishing to eventually join. It made him feel embarrassed to have to return to them bringing news of a failed mission. Especially those two who gave him the mission. Ezrachek clinched his fist. It was time to take care of some more important business before he evaluated what to do next. There may still be someone else as a contact for this package.

Ezrachek walked outside to the exit of church and flared his reiatsu with anger. He unsheathed his zanpakuto and prepared himself for battle. "You want to fight?! Come and get some then!" Ezrachek called out with a loud and commanding voice. He was angry and he was ready to fight. "Blood! I want Blood" A hissing voice sounded from where his zanpakuto was, and he assumed that it was his zanpakuto attempting communication. He would feed the blade's bloodthirst on this day.

The small explosion rocked the simple church. Those young men standing outside were puzzled by the sudden loud noise. Had the shinigami done something? Outwardly there was little sign that something had happened other than the shatter of the window that was in the unfortunate priest's office. Those watching that area expect their prey to attempt an escape through the now broken portal, but only some smoke wafted out. He was still within the vine covered building. So they waited as more of their number gathered to the new location. Those that had been sent west were too far away to be of any use. They'd make good reinforcements should anything go wrong, but with Kippei's group so close it was doubtful they would be needed. Already some of those standing were getting restless. There was nearly sixteen or more of them gathered before the church. The shinigami was outnumbered, but they knew better than to just let numbers be enough. Of those there, none were brave enough to start things off without some proper support. The misfiring trap caught them all off guard. Everyone had been waiting patiently and watching so the explosion scared them. All eyes fell on the old small church waiting for something anything to happen. They wouldn't have to wait very long as the shinigami made himself present. There was a burst of his spiritual power as he issued his challenge to the waiting mass.

For a moment everything seemed to stand still. One of the young men in the group picked up his phone and called Kippei.
"He came out!" the young man stated "Looks like he's going to try to break through."
"Hold him, we'll be there soon." the voice on the other end responded. The man calling could hear the Kippei's voice change as his group picked up the pace.
"Right." the order didn't need to be given as some of the group were already shuffling and a murmur rose. They didn't know where the shinigami's sudden bloodlust came from, but their own was in no short supply. One of those waiting pressed his hands together. When his hands parted a ball of yellow flame floated between his palms. Yet another person grabbed at his left wrist as blue electricity arced between his fingers. Others had drawn daggers while some simply wielded iron pipes and bars. The first shot came in the form of a ruby light being shot from one young man's index finger. The crimson bolt came from the right side directed at Ezrachek's chest. While this first attack came from the right side the yellow ball of fire launched from the left. The crowd seemed to wait in suspense as four men moved forward. Two of the assaulting men were bare handed, but those hands were engulfed in a an eerie glow. These two men were in the lead in the charge while the remaining two, armed with daggers, came some steps behind them. Even with numbers they knew better than a full on rush. More attackers would only get in the way of each other. The first man to reach the shinigami sent a glowing fist at the man's face while his partner sent pulsating strike at his body. As the duo began their attack the two knife wielders came up to deliver their own strikes.