Chill Winds Blow [open]

[Phoenix Tempest]

For years, the Ninth Squad barracks had been, for the most part, empty.

It remained the residence of no more than five subordinates at any given time. They would report to the Captain-Commander on behalf of their Captain upon arrival and take up paperwork responsibilities; then, upon resting and recuperating for three months, pick up huge stocks of fresh supplies and switch out with five other members, returning to their squad's station in the Real World.

And why did a Captain have her entire Squad stationed in the Real World? Easy. Cleaning up the mess left behind.

Ninth Squad had equipped themselves heavily with technology from the Research-Development Dept. and spent all of their time working diligently to reduce Hollow levels in the Real World, where the influx of Reiatsu from Shinigami and Arrancar alike had caused a severe energy imbalance. It was a huge problem: the constant battles were raising the death toll, which led to more Spirits, which led to more Hollow. It was a vicious cycle, and Ninth had made a significant dent in the numbers - but not enough to bring everything back to normal.

Captain Vitalani Bianchi stood in the basement of the vacant office building that Ninth Squad had called home for so long, calm amidst the chaos around her as the shinigami frantically gathered their things, organized into groups, checked to make sure everyone was there, and all in all panicked.

Vitalani wore a sleeveless black tube top in place of the typical kimono worn with the black shinigami's hakama pants. She wore her white Captain's haori like a cape; the neck was modified to bunch over her shoulders, with the sleeves hanging loose. A white and grey hawk flew over, landing on her shoulder and digging its dark grey talons into the bunched fabric, its grey beak nipping gently at her earlobe, watching the commotion with calm black eyes.

An alarm rather like a watch going off sounded from the Captain's pocket; she drew out a small communicator, read its message, and deftly punched several buttons before stowing it back in its pocket, and glancing up at her team.

"Alright, we've got five minutes. Be ready in your groups." She needed to raise her voice only slightly to a) be heard, and b) bring about complete silence. All confusion banished, and the shinigami seemed to move with purpose. They were standing quietly in their groups three minutes later.

Two minutes after that, the delicate panels appeared along one wall, parting to reveal the pathway back to Seireitei.

"Advance team first, please," she instructed. A group of twelve passed through the gate, and a few minutes later, they contacted her through the communicator, confirming that the passage was clear for bringing through their equipment unharmed.

It was slow, moving so many through the gate along with their belongings, but at last, the final group remained, and Vitalani soon arrived with them, standing in a back alley of Ninth Squad's barracks.

So today, for the first time in quite a few years, the Captain strode through the dusty streets, pleased to see that improvements were already underway to clean up the barracks and make them habitable again.

Vitalani left instructions with her Vice-Captain to oversee the clean-up, then left them to their work, heading to check in with the Captain-Commander.

Afterward, she stood in a balcony, overlooking the sprawling greatness of Seireitei, glowing in the setting sun. There were many, many new Reiatsu milling about - many strong ones. Things had changed since she'd left, that much was obvious. Vitalani blinked heavily, her blue eyes beginning to water in the bright light, and turned to go back inside. The hawk on her shoulder dug his talons into the cloth, spreading his wings and flying out over the buildings, rising easily on strong wings. Vitalani reappeared at street level, heading through the wide road, wandering around, and just getting a feel for being back home.

The hawk circled overhead several times before lazily landing again on her shoulder, content to eye his surroundings with her as she headed uphill and toward the center of the massive city structure, leaping lightly onto a low building top to continue watching the sun set, crosslegged on the edge of a building.

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn had just dropped the 7th captain squad when he was heading back to his own squad, in the distance his tuned ears could hear some sparring form his barracks and he was happy, he was following the strangly relaxing sound when a new Reitatsu came to him, it was large so he thought it was a Captains, but this one was new he hadn't felt it before now which was odd or just him not paying attention as usual.

As the wrong turn brought him by ninth squad a obvious guess was that it belonged to the Captain of the squad, and being a polite man Jinn felt it neccisary to introduce himself, he turned into the squad gate and when he felt that the Captain was up on the roof he walked around gently slightly buzzed and looked up, his warm slightly drunken smile was sobering up with the cool wind as he said "Evening" His voice was warm like the crackle of a camp fire on a summer night, a breeze came along helping the effect of a gentle calm night that it was.

He noticed her features and wondered why so many Captains were female, and as he looked closer he added to his thought, and attractive, a man after a few years as Jinn would more or less be could go mental under the stress. Still he wasn't the type of man to do anythign wrong that could dissassemble his own honour and the thougth was gone into the abyess of his mind.

[Hope you don't mind]

[Phoenix Tempest]

Vitalani could sense the approaching Captain, but ignored the reiatsu for the most part. People did not interest her at the moment: seeing Seireitei in the evening's light after so many years away was what held her attention. A few moments later, she heard the male's voice floating up from ground level and glanced down. Seeing the other captain on the streets, she stood and leapt lightly down, landing a few yards away from him. The white hawk on her shoulder clicked its beak as she moved, spreading his wings and circling around until she landed before settling back on her shoulder, eying the stranger with a beady black eye.

Vitalani pushed her short white hair over her shoulder, her blue eyes studying the stranger for a moment as she stepped over to stand within a few feet.

"It would seem we have not met before. Ninth Squad Captain, Vitalani Bianchi," she introduced herself.

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn bowed breaking his right leg behind his left in an etempt to curtosey, simontainiously he broughthis right hand to his heart and his left hand out as he bowed deep and said "Eight squad Captain Jinn Nialo, Pleasure to meet you on this fine night" HE came up using his genuine warm smile and looked her up and down and asked "Bit lonely for a woman out her" He chuckled at the thought of someone trying to mug a captain

He looked at the hawk and thougth for a moment, his face washed a brief moment of calrity miced with the inner most struggling thought as he delved into his pockets pulling out a fish cracker, he stepped forward for a moemnt and said "May i?" His face was in awe at the mighty bird as he awaited the captains reply to his request, generally hew as good wiht animals so he hoped it would continue with birds

[Phoenix Tempest]

Vitalani smiled, dipping her head in response to the other Captain's old-world type bow. The setting sun cast a deep orange glow on the white stone buildings, capturing her attention once more.

"I prefer the high, lonely places. The view is beautiful. It would go nicely with a bit of Chopin, I think," she commented, her eyes still on the horizon, unaffected by the bright light. The nature enthusiast was also fond of classical music, as her statement implied.

Her attention elsewhere, it was up to the hawk to express its displeasure at the male's sudden approach - its beady black eyes had never left him, and as he stepped close, the hawk screeched, lifting its wings over its head and puffing out its white feathers. Vitalani smiled, touching its breast softly, slipping her fingers beneath its feathers to rub its neck. The bird relaxed visibly, but kept an eye on him.

"Kiba doesn't like strangers near me. It was most comical when my Vice-Captain was first introduced, though I doubt Conan thought it was as funny. I do believe he still has a scar on his shoulder," she laughed softly.

Vitalani reached into a leather pouch that was tied to her obi, pulling out a red chunk of small-animal-organs of a somewhat disgusting nature and offered it to Jinn, completely unphased by the unsavory sight. "You're more likely to make friends with this. I would suggest allowing as much of the meat to hang loose out of your hand as possible - he hasn't missed in a while, but you never know with Kiba." Better safe than missing a digit. Or two. The hawk fluffed his feathers, shifting his talons and eying the meat.

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn chuckled and turned to the red sky and said "Yes Kajiryuu and I prefer sun sets, and dawns its shows the realms harmony i believe" He smiled back to her and said "I'm not one for the arts not in the realms of classical anyway" he chuckled nerously.

As the big bired screeched Jinn retracted his hand quickly, he knew how dangerous birds of prey were, as his spirit was more or less a bigger nastier form of one he knew how to move, and as she told Jinn of how her leuitenant has a scar from her bird he coughed a little and watched it saying "Still a beatuiful bird" He remarked wathcing both the bird adn the catpain as she puleld out some meat.

Jinn took it no without any bother raw meat was natural in his hands, as he used ot cook on earth still he placed it at the bottom of his palm where the skin was toughest and if the bird missed it would not cut the skin not enough to bleed, he hoped. The big captain rolled his fingers in to the kung fu fist of "leopard paw" sot hat it would be hard ot remove a digit either way and offered the bird the meat, speaking in a odd language that would bring up the picture of a lizzard and spoke in it "my apologise for making you unnearved" Jinn didn't know if it worked but it usually calmed down most animal,s and he often wondered why and when Kajiryuu picked up the language. As the captain of 8th spent long hours inside his mental scape with the dragon

[Phoenix Tempest]

"I disagree," she said lightly. "I view sunrises and sunsets as a sort of grey area. It's that moot point between dark and light, and neither wishes to give any ground, and sometimes their dissent is such that the sky turns an angry red," she paused for a moment, watching as the sky deepened to a darker burgandy, "I feel that we are on the verge of such a point. But will the sun have risen or set on the other side?" she asked, her expression thoughtful. It was obvious she was using the metaphorical 'we', referring to shinigami and arrancar.

Kiba's talons tensed, shifting and bunching the shoulder of her haori as he inched as close to the meat as he could get without leaving her shoulder. His wings flapped, his pupils contracting. His beak snapped impatiently as, slowly, the man offered the morsel to him. Quick as lightning, his head shot forward, the deadly sharp hook of his beak raking at Jinn's palm as his jaws snatched up the tidbit, swallowing it in seconds before returning to his duty of giving the other Captain the evil eye.

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn looked at his hand a red cut begingin to form as the blood poured gently. He looked at one of the lanterns nearby and the fire flickering inside it. He waslked over gently and said "Yin and yang, perfect balence. One side will always try to win the other..... but they never will" He smiled as he took the wick out gently and burned his wound shut and placing it back shaking his hand a little.

When he came back to the captain he simply said "But fire and light are used for many good and bad thing.. it aldepends o the user. As do alot of things." Still he turned and smiled "War is a natural thing." Jinn said simply and turned back to the sunset "But still we should move off such things, Welcome to the Gotei 13" He smiled as he had never hear dor seen her before when he was just a squadee "I'd like to get to know more about you, if you have time of corse" He smiled once more in his warm friendly maner

[Phoenix Tempest]

"I apologize for Kiba. It would seem an injury is a rite of passage where I am concerned," she laughed softly, holding her wrist up for him to step on to, and shifting the bird to her other shoulder. Only moments after Jinn moved off to tend the wound, she stared back across the skyline in a near reverie. It took a few moments for her to turn back to him once he returned, seeming distracted.

"More like 'Welcome back'," she said with a small smile. "You may have noticed Ninth Division conspicuously absent? Conan and I have kept our squad stationed in the Real World, dealing with the mess left over from the previous battles. But with times what they are, I thought it best we returned here. Too many hollow have become stronger than fifth-seat level."

Her brow furrowed, sorrow tainting her expression just slightly. She had lost three of her lower-ranked subordinates to such a hollow. Vitalani's group was a close-knit one, very much like a huge family, and so it was very much like losing her brothers.

As the sky faded to a blotchy purple at the horizon, she turned back to Jinn with a small smile. "Well, this is where I leave you, I think. Conan is cooking for the team tonight, in celebration of our return. I would not wish to miss it."

[Jinn / Gojyo]

Jinn smiled and said "Don't worry scratches are easily healed with flame, my zanpaktou has made me ore than immune to the feel of fire" He chuckled absently as he stared at his hand. And then he looked at the skyline too and smiled just as absently to it as well.

He chuckled mindlessly to her little joke and said "So you will know of the humans and there last little outcry? They took my by suprise on ym day off there" He smiled thnking back to the almost brain blast he recieved.

He bowed formally and said "Then i hope we meet i the future, you seem more than interesting. Or perhaps in a ramen bar" He chuckled and remembered Kujo his old father like figure for the afterlife. Jinn gave her a wave and said "Enjoy your food, i have a mission to prepare for" He bowed again and began hopping gently into the air from whatever he landed on.