[center][img]https://i.makeagif.com/media/12-21-2015/Vh7_CL.gif[/img]

[sub][i][color=#000000]"Do you hear me?"[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Yes..."[/color]

[color=#000000]"Good. It is time, time for this to all end"[/color]

[color=9e0039]"I understand my Lord"[/color]

[color=#000000]"They will not harm you...I'll make sure of it personally"[/color]

[color=9e0039]"My Lord, you needn't waste your strength on me, I'm but a small piece in this game"[/color]

[color=#000000]"No...this is not a game, everything is valuable to me and your service will not end on this day. Simply trust in me"
[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Absolutely my Lord..."[/color]

[color=#000000]"Also...do make sure [b]he[/b] doesn't die, but allow him what he wishes..."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Understood..."[/color][/i][/sub][/center]

[hr][hr]

[i][sub][h3]Atop the 1st Division barracks[/h3][/sub][/i]

Smoke and fire continued to engulf everything before it, even the 1st Division barracks were not safe from the fires that blazed throughout the Seireitei. The Head Captain continued to look over his work as a figure appeared in the smoke behind him, it's form becoming more clear as it's steps got closer to him, until they suddenly stopped and a womanly voice uttered a single word "[color=9e0b0f]Sir...[/color]" The figure took a knee and bowed their head to the Head Captain, the smoke still obscuring their appearance. The Head Captain hadn't moved a muscle as a large explosion not to far from them cast light upon the rooftop revealing the Head Captains face.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/I0LzHgK.png[/img][/center]

His name was Masaru Owari, he'd been the Head Captain for about "[color=9e0039]A thousand years...[/color]" The lady still engulfed in smoke behind him, lifted her head "[color=9e0b0f]S-Sir?[/color]" A small grin made it's way onto the Head Captains face as he let out a sigh and looked up at the smoke filled night sky "[color=9e0039]I've been the Head Captain for a thousand years and this night it will all end and they will come for me...[/color]" The Head Captain then turned to face the woman, brushing away the smoke with a simple swipe of his right hand revealing her appearance also.

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/LxdJ9SD.png[/img][/center]

The Head Captains eyes met hers as he spoke "[color=9e0039]My dear Lieutenant, Itsumi Yukanna, how I've enjoyed having you work alongside me...there is none other I'd have rather spent those thousand years with.[/color]" Itsumi looked up at her Captain, her eyes looking a little shaky before she lowered her head quickly "[color=9e0b0f]It's been my pleasure to serve under you sir...but...but[/color]" She tried to choke back the tears as a lump caught her throat and stopped her words. The Head Captain let out a little chuckle as he crouched down and lifted her head gently with his right hand, her chin gently resting on his hand as he looked into her tearful eyes "[color=9e0039]Everything must end...but this will be the beginning of something new. Now...don't let others see you like this, you'll need to be strong for the future to come[/color]" The Head Captain then wiped the tears from her cheeks then stood upright.

"[color=9e0039]Remember what I said. No matter what happens, you are not to come to my aid, if you must, cut me down. You're important to the future of this place...[/color]" The Head Captain then turned his back to Itsumi and looked out into the distance again "[color=9e0b0f]But Sir...why does it have to be this way?[/color]" The Head Captain then took a shallow look over his right shoulder and spoke "[color=9e0039]You remember our duty as Shinigami right?[/color]" Itsumi nodded to her Captain as he then continued to speak "[color=9e0039]We're supposed to keep the balance of the worlds...and yet[/color]" the Head Captain looked out into the distance "[color=9e0039]How many of them would willingly give their lives for the sake of Balance?...Our worlds are on the verge of destruction but you'd barely notice it. We could continue to kill hollow but in truth there simply isn't enough left for us to kill and so rather than sacrifice the lives of those innocent souls out there in the Rukongai, I chose to sacrifice the lives of our own...the Shinigami and Gotei 13 will survive this night, this is merely the beginning of something[/color]"

The Head Captain then looked to the sky once again "[color=9e0039]And the end of something...[/color]" Itsumi's eyes widened and her face turned to that of horror as she realised what it was that her Captain was looking at "[color=9e0b0f]S-Sir you can't! we will all die! you will die!...Y-You're strong Sir but...how can you fight that!?[/color]" The Head Captain chuckled "[color=9e0039]I'm well aware...but higher powers call out to me and I cannot deny them. This is what I enlisted for all those millennia ago...I had hoped it wouldn't of hurt so much but[/color]" the Head Captain sighed "[color=9e0039]There will be done. Mark my words Itsumi...I will not ever get the chance to see [i]it's[/i] face, but once [i]it[/i] realises why this is happening then my former friends will come for me.[/color]"

Itsumi's head went low again as she struggled to truly understand why her Captain was going into a battle he knew he'd lose, then darkness crept over her mind, it sounded like a million screams inside of her head and then there was silence as an echoey voice entered her mind and spoke to her [i][color=000000]"He...will...live..."[/color][/i] The darkness then left her mind as she began to pant, it felt as if for a moment her very being was going to be torn apart...she then looked up to see her Captain looking at her "[color=9e0039]Hm...[/color]" Itsumi began to perhaps understand what was happening here, was this what her Captain was speaking about? She felt a chill throughout her body thinking about that voice but she couldn't help but trust it. 

[hr][hr]

[i][sub][h3]???[/h3][/sub][/i]

Sat in a darkened room, a man sat on a throne with his left elbow resting on it's arm, his head resting on his left hand as he sat with his right leg resting ontop of his left. His face and torso were impossible to see but his piercing blue eyes tore through the darkness as he opened them "[color=00aeef]So it's to be like this...Perhaps I was foolish to have thought he'd stay in his prison. It seems as if there is almost no hope for them...even still I do cherish them so.[/color]" The man then let out a sigh "[color=00aeef]Prepare two of my best...they should be more than enough to free that poor corrupted soul...[/color]" The one man kneeling before him nodded and without a word moved to execute his orders, leaving only that man in the room "[color=00aeef]Why must we continue these games?...did you not learn your lesson last time?, You will not defeat me, that I assure you...[/color]" the room then suddenly turned pitch black as a smokey red figure appeared before the man "[color=000000]You're...doomed...[/color]" The man in the throne slammed his right fist down onto the arm of his chair and cleared the room instantly along with the figure. Then he spoke in a slightly irritated voice "[color=00aeef]Not a chance...I'll play your silly little game, just so I can humiliate you again![/color]"  

[hr][hr]

[Center][h1][sub]..And with that I declare the IC Open![/sub][/h1][/center]