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▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ▬ ▬ ＣＨＲＹＳＡＬＩＡxＦＯＲＥＳＴ ▬

This forest is filled with an abundance of the purest reishi; so much that it can literally be seen by the naked eye. The entire forest is composed of dense Reiryoku, making it an ideal place to meditate, connect with Zanpakuto, or practice Kido and Reiryoku control.

Xamthos's last shouted words could have been heard, but nothing but the burning division one hallway where he'd been accosted and maybe some of the tails could have been seen. As the gate closed behind him, and the heat and colors of fire vanished entirely Xamthos reached one hand up to his disguise and tore it off at the same instant that he ended his bankai. Underneath his disguise, he wore baggy plain trousers with a hole for his tail...which he returned En'ō to forthwith, where the zanpakuto was once more wrapped protectively. He was glad to be away from his enemies, but he wished they could have met somewhere not in soul society.

"nice hat," he said with a wry smirk towards the top hat perched in the tree. In less than a flash he was seated where it was, wearing the damn thing and grinning like a little kid with a new toy. "so kiyoshi's being held against his will and he has little to no access to his powers, otherwise he'd have been here just as fast as I was. He's somewhere in the second division fortress, most likely being tortured...from what little I picked up during his flare up, his injuries are not even bad enough to be called superficial. But the pain, it's as if he's being flayed alive and shredded apart like beef for a stew." Xamthos always did have an...interesting and often colorfully imaginative way of describing things. But as he finished his report, choosing not to disclose exactly which captain he'd fought and nor why he'd elected to deviate from the plan, he fell into a pensive silence. He'd also kept to himself his disclosure of the goal. But the reason for his unease was the fact that right at that moment, kiyoshi was being tortured and there was nothing he could do about it. If one of them could be captured so easily, what hope did they have? This was the subject of his thoughts.

When Raven told him the hat's origins, all he said was, "I think I'll keep it. It looks good on me." In reality, it looked absolutely ridiculous but then again...this was Xamthos. A brown top hat perched precariously atop his aquamarine locks, clashing just as hard with his magenta eyes was almost to be expected.

"well, if you'd like some company, I'd like my own chance to see how well the torturer can stand his own devices," he said with a meaningful glance cast at his zanpakuto. Even though he'd just been in bankai recently, it was clear he still had a s**t load of steam left.

"You know perfectly well that I wanted to see if the Shinigami could be reasoned with, to see if we could negotiate or, failing that, intimidate them into allowing us to ascend to our goal. Even with Kiyoshi enduring the Second Division's interrogations, I would rather not cause undue harm. After all, if we kill them all, what subjects will we have? If we push them too far, their loyalty will not be as it should. I went ahead because I had to know...not think, know whether or not we could avoid needless bloodshed." Xamthos's demeanor had become suddenly grave, as if he despised such weighty topics. Indeed, he had always, even in their past life, hated even discussing violence, and the fact that En'ō lacked any blade and could not draw blood (at least not in any practical sense) was possibly the single largest evidence of his views.

If Xamthos were anyone else, his answer might have been taken for an attempt to cover something up. But Xamthos he was, and it was no secret among the Katena that he, as a general rule, never lied. Sure, he had been known to be wrong from time to time, but he could have intentionally told a falsehood about as easily as he could have cut off his own tail. His disposition, while mildly subdued like that of a child being reprimanded, was also steadfast in its refusal to be remorseful. He was not sorry for what he'd done because he did not feel he'd done wrong.

And then he was back to his generally lighthearted self, adjusting the hat to find the best way to have it sit on his head as he said to Raven, "I think we'd best see to retrieving Kiyoshi. I can only assume that this hat, since you said it belonged to someone you captured, will be used as proof of that capture....even though I do intend to keep it if I can. I like it. Also, we may not wanna go in in full Bankai. If we both are in Shikai before we enter, we'll be operating in a higher power without overexerting ourselves, and we can deceive them into thinking that we're just that strong at our base level. However, that means we'll have to do everything we can not to enter Bankai. With what I got to witness of the 4th Division Captain's abilities, it was clear she more fighter than healer...but it was clear from fighting her that the Captain-Commander has been unconscionably lax in his standards." How Xamthos managed to come up with the sort of strategies he did would, it seemed, be forever a mystery. In the back of his mind, Xamthos was dimly aware that such a ruse was basically just an attempt to make the enemy think they were stronger than they really were. It was genius, and that selfsame genius lay in its being so ludicrously simple.

Xamthos was not terrigly pleased to lose the hat. He reallty had been fond of it. But as he followed Raven through the portal, his resolve was as stone. He would only release his zanpakuto if he absolutely had to. He was confident enough in his abilities.
((Exit to whever raven went))