SOMETHING WICKED [01]

Nightfall had finally cast its shadow over Soul Society. The days were long here, and the sun's light had laid heavy over much of the Seireitei. Of course, in Soul Society, no law, not even the very law of nature, was applied indiscriminately. Nestled deeply underground, the Central 46's residential quarters, a veritable forest of endlessly reaching towers known as the Seijōtōkyorin, laid comfortably beyond the reach of any prying light. There, amidst the dense ocean of tiles, one of Soul Society's so-called rulers slowly made his way home.

As the elderly man entered the residence, he immediately stumbled back into the wall, startled by a voice emerging from the shadows.

"Fascinating -- this compound was designed to be all but impenetrable from the outside. Kido, reiatsu, brute force -- it's seemingly impervious to them all. Not even my zanpakuto could secure me entry here..."

The representative squinted, desperately trying to make out the face of the intruder.

"Yashin-taicho?! What are you doing h--"

"-- and yet, once inside there is not a single safeguard worth mentioning."

The man stammered forward, completely taken aback by the intrusion. Fear turned to fury as he pointed his finger into the darkness.

"Yuu Yashin! Show yourself! How dare you enter these sacred halls! Entry to the Seijōtōkyorin is forbidd--"

The man's voice suddenly cut out as an eruption of spiritual pressure flooded the room. Instantly silenced and brought to his knees by the sheer weight of the energy, the man struggled even to catch his breath.

"Incompetence alone couldn't have lead to such an aggregious oversight. Truly, the arrogance of your kind knows no bounds, 'Representative #13'."

Yuu slowly emerged from the darkness, gazing apatheticly at his crippled prey.

"This...is...TREASON...!!..!"

A devious smile crept its way onto Yuu's face.

"Treason? The weak shouldn't use such strong words. In fact, allow me to thank you for your particular weakness, 13-sama -- an extensive list of gambling debts in the Rukongai will provide a convincing narrative when they find your corpse."

The man's eyes widened in horror as he struggled to look up at his assailant, now brandishing the sword that had previously laid sheathed at his side.

"Ah, yes. Please forgive me. I was telling you earlier about my zanpakuto. You see -- it has the power to instantly transport matter between points in space. I tried for weeks to gain entry to this compound, but it seems as though somebody placed a protective seal over the building. In any event, my appointment to the Central 46 is no longer necessary -- my nomination alone was sufficient to allow me the access I needed to remove the seal."

Yuu slowly pointed his sword down at the judge, the same insidious smirk again slathered across his face.

"However, with your sole dissenting voice silenced, I imagine that my nomination will press forward without any further oppositon: the first Shinigami representative in the history of Soul Society. Fear not, 13-sama, for I will accept this great burden of responsibility in honor of your memory."

"CURSE...YOU...!..!!"

"You needn't despair, 13-sama. You are leaving Soul Society better than when you arrived. Is that not the wish of all who seek to govern?"

Yuu chuckled faintly to himself as the man instantly disappeared from view, sucked into the infinite abyss of his shikai.

Still relative new to Soul Society, having only lived their for sixteen years, Jingu found easy residence in the outer districts of Rukongai. Though she was twenty in total, she appeared to be a six-year-old girl. Her hair was short and just above her shoulders, bright red with yellow tips like a fire itself. She wore a brown sack that was battered and dirty. Blood was caked underneath her fingernails. Her eyes were dull and bored.

"That man has been dead for a while now." She pushed herself up from the ground and tilted her head in curiosity at the clean-cut Shinigami, though her face still remained void of expression. Her monotonous tone matched the indifference her countenance exuded. "A silent killer. I have never met one of those." Her reiatsu began to flare wildly as her interest in the man piqued. He seemed strong -- stronger than anyone she had encountered in this district. A crack ran along the brick walling beside her, caving from the sheer pressure of her power.

Since she had been here, she lived in boredom. Slaughtering and abusing anyone who stepped in her path became old quickly, as no one could even touch her. She didn't know what she wanted, but she knew that perhaps this man could give it to her. Her eyes traveled down to the dead body on the ground before jerking back up to Yuu. "I think I want to kill you," she added, her tone still bleak and devoid of expression.

As the dark-haired snake's hand moved to his zanpakuto, a slow smile spread across Jingu's face. She had yet to feel an excitement like this in her lifetime. She was without weaponry, but that was how she liked it. It made her fights against armed men more fair. "Do fawn always ask the name of the lion?" she asked curiously, her smile growing more chaotic with each passing second.

She began walking toward him before stopping. Violet petals floated downward out of nowhere. Jingu had never witnessed a released zanpakuto or kidou, or anything like that. All she knew was street fighting among swordsmen and street mongrels. "What is this? Are you doing this?" she asked, a mixed expression creeping onto her face. She was unsure of what was happening, and the animalistic instincts within her told her to be heavily on guard.