Gale Force

Can the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? (十三) // @windstormwielding 🌪​​

The first second of eternity passes once the mountain is chiseled away. (七) // @bellringerbrawler​ 🔔​

a gust of ice. “ Do you think I’m stupid? ”

A Lieutenant may have shrieked from that immediate onslaught of blistering cold, and quickly wrapped his own arms around himself to keep warm.

At least, that was until its flow slowly shifted near the courtyard. A change in direction, a higher surge in wind velocity, and branches from planted trees shaking with growing intensity all pointed to the arrival of the squad’s second-in-command, back at last from a self-imposed “extended sabbatical.”

Though leave was no stranger to higher-ranking shinigami for any odd reason, his real motive in how he had spent his time off was known to all but a select and trusted few. Kōtarō had kept mum on his machinations out in the furthest reaches of the Rukongai, though if a reiatsu-sensitive soul had sought to seek him out, his intentions would have been obvious.

It took some time for him to swallow some unnerving revelations around his late Captain and Rukia’s predecessor, granted, but Lieutenant Ryōhei had already come this far. He wasn’t about to slow down his Bankai training now, not when he was already close, and thanks to his time away, he was closer than ever to achieving his goal of realizing it.

The straw from his waraji met with the smooth tiled flooring of the court of pure souls hard; Kōta practically dug his front heel into the ground as he skidded along at blistering speeds, with his blue scarf whipping about recklessly behind him. Having used Hai’iro Ranmaru’s power over wind to propel his flash steps all the faster, it only made coming to a full stop all the harder in turn, with turbulence in his wake pushing him forward in spite of his resisting efforts to slow down. Teeth ground against themselves as he strained against his own built-up momentum, with the sliding vice-captain leaning back while he slammed his gloved palm down – change his shihakushō for a baseball uniform and he would look no different than a player of the sport cinching a homerun against all odds!

If anything, this series of almost haphazard actions— a result of his going almost uncontrollably fast—made him appreciate the Goddess of Flash’s talents all the more. How does Yoruichi pull it off so seemingly effortlessly?

With a final sigh escaping his lungs, leaving the rest of the airstream to pass over his fallen form and beat on the wood of the doors into the main hall of the barracks, Kōtarō groaned as he pushed himself back up and onto his feet and patted off any dirt that clung to the black of his clothes. Goggles were then lifted so that his green eyes may properly take in the view of present company who came to greet him, and with a lackadaisical smile and a quick shake of his shoulder to readjust the bag at his back, he spoke as though he never left!

In my defence, I simply grossly underestimated how addicting the gameplay loop got.

With his gaze transfixed to the calendar, Kōtarō could only mope for the end of summer, the coming of fall... and the continuous, encroaching approach of winter’s chill. At least the rain during autumn isn’t all bad (despite it lacking the extra kick of summer storms), but days are only gonna get shorter and colder.

That said, I’m just gonna up and put out an open call, since I know a fair few mutuals of mine are artists yourselves: who would be available to make brand new icons for my boyo? Since Kōta’s gotten a new look a short while ago, I’ve been wanting to get new icons of him done with it in mind, to reflect the new one-shot and time period going forward (while keeping the existing ones for interactions earlier in the Bleach timeline!) and to kickstart my muse something fierce.

An artist I am not, sadly, so I’m turning to pleading advertising. I shopped around a bit before, but some folks weren’t available for one reason or another, and I wasn’t about to badger ‘em on the matter further.