Savior or Destroyer?

A large tear opened up in the central hall of Division 1 where all the captain meetings generally occurred. The rip looked almost like a tear in the fabric of creation itself not unlike a Garganta but not quite the same. Out from it stepped a masked man who dismissed the Mask very much like a Vizard would, since thats what he was, and looked around as old memories stirred but were easily dismissed by the more tamed Reno. The place seemed to be empty, which made sense since it was only really used when something big was about to happen or had already happened.

He pulled out a cigarette of weed and lit it up with his dragon-themed Zippo before shaking the lighter out and putting it away. Taking a large drag and blowing out the smoke he sighed, "Well time to see what all the fuss is about.. Whether I am the enemy or the ally the world needs depends on this.. I'd better behave myself.." and he lit up his already huge amounts of spiritual energy to it's bankai maximum, not going into full hollow form just so people didn't think a Vasto Lorde had gotten in some how, but more than being a large enough energy source to be detected by every shinigami in Soul Society.

After a moment he turned it off and reverted back to his sealed state, not wanting to seem like he was here for a fight when they arrived he even took a seat at the captain's meeting table and propped his legs up while waiting and puffing more on one of his weed cigs.

"This shouldn't take too long.. Considering where I am.."

And so he waited.

But the memories wouldn't sit idle, He had left the Soul Society because of his hollowfication and subsequent slaughter of his fellow team members during a mission in the world of the living, back before Aizen and his treachery was known. He was a hunted and wanted fugitive and until this meeting came to pass whether or not he remained one was entirely unclear.

But considering everything going on..It didn't seem right to just sit in a hobble in Bogota making it the second safest place on earth, in his own arrogant opinion at least, when he could be on the front lines where he belongs.

Jensen was in his office when a massive spiritual energy appeared, and since he couldn't sense that well, he had no idea what it was. Pushing out of his chair and snatching his Zanpakuto from its place on the wall he was gone in an instant, and withing the meeting room of the former squad one building, which still served the same purpose but had been renamed to match the gotei's knew layout. A man sat in a chair at the table, his feet up. Jensen's hand was on the hilt of his sword but the panic he felt died quickly as he seen how calm the man was.

"Gods be damned man are you trying to cause a panic flaring your energy like that?" He said as he crossed the room. He was more than ready to react to any aggressive movements, but his face was calm as he put a hand on the back of a chair and watched the stranger. "Explain your presence here and be quick." He said. There would likely be others not far behind. After the attack by Azazael, everyone was on edge. Dead or not, his stunt had shook the gotei. If Grainne burst in and turned this man to ashs, Jensen wouldn't blame her.

Instead of Grainne busting it, it was Aki with a fire and lightning sword ready to kill. He didn't know who the hell this was, but they were gonna die. Or not. Jensen was there already, and the guy wasn't being...threatening. Lowering to his normal state, the former Captain Commander sheathed his swords and looked at his buddy. "Do you know this guy? If so, he needs to be told to show up OUTSIDE of the Seireitei if his intentions are purely peaceful...as they seem right now..."

He eyed the guy suspiciously. He'd been trying to track down Ariel to get an explanation from her. So he hadn't have had any time to really look into anything else. Aki was pissed at this guy for doing this. But he guessed he'll find out why this guy was here in the first place. He stood off to the side to wait for Grainne.

A moment after Aki turned up, a small black raven fluttered in through the door. She had been sitting in her office, filling out paperwork and such, when she felt the energy spike. She tailed Jensen and Aki as they headed for the source of the disturbance, which alarmingly was the old Division 1 barracks, which was now used for captain's meetings and other official functions. The fact that the intruder had made it here undetected presented a whole other set of problems. The raven landed on the ground beside Aki and transformed into the small form of Gráinne Xios, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei. She fixed a stern and suspicious expression on the intruder, who lounged in a chair across the room. There was a distinct scent of weed in the air that made Gráinne stomach turn. She addressed the intruder directly and firmly.

"I don't know who you are or what you want, and frankly I don't care. What I do care about is how you got here. There's no way you could get past the guards at the Senkaimon Gate undetected, and I was told that was the only way in or out. So answer me now. How did you get here?" She squared her shoulders in a display of impatience. She was getting to the bottom of this. After the temporary loss of Soul Society and the subsequent release and recapturing of Aizen, Gráinne had the R&D division devise a way to strengthen the existing barrier around Seireitei, to prevent any entry except through the main Senkaimon Gate. They had assured her that the procedure was successful, but that didn't seem to be the case now.

The first two to arrive were not happy at all, in fact they looked right ready to just straight up try to kill Reno. This was amusing but he seemed unphased. He listened to Jensen make demands and Aki make a laughable statement, which did make Reno chuckled, but he already felt the powerful presence of one who could only be captain commander on her way at high speeds and waited for her to arrive and say her piece before talking to any of them.

"Gee however did I get into the fabled Soul Society without using the front door.." Reno said as his hollow mask simply formed on his own will and he disappeared as a rift was opened IN the chair he was sitting in so that without moving he slid into it only to appear behind Grainne all of a sudden, but still unarmed and still not being hostile, "There are ways beyond your ability to guard young one."

"Regardless of how I got here.. as there is only one me. The question that should be on your mind.. is why has the great Reno Kitsugi.. who decided to become a recluse years ago.. shown up in Gotei 13 of all places.. where he was not wanted.. and forcibly drawn the attention of powerful people to himself?"

His mask had already disappeared by this time and he was rubbing his chin, "Indeed such a question could very well be the cause of you obtaining answers." He shook his head as he stopped with his games, "Rena Lisola is dead. Whether you knew this or not is not my concern nor do I care.. I left this world alone because she was there to pick up my slack and I was not needed. With her gone a very powerful place in the universe has been left unfilled."

He was pacing around the captain's table about halfway through his talking, "I am not going to, or intend to ever, join the Gotei 13 and it's ridiculous methodology.. However.. in place of Lisola I am willing to render assistance against the very real threats that the captains alone cannot begin to handle. Such as the growing hollow invasions, and this..Serion..incursion."

He stopped and looked at the people present, "Yes I am aware of a "truce" with the Serion right now.. but that will inevitably break. They came here for the world of the living's resources. I do not believe for a moment that they will simply go away without taking what they came for."

"And so the question you must now ask.. Is are you going to accept the help of a former mad man who matched the greatest warrior to ever be produced.. if I may be so bold as to embellish her reputation a bit.. or are you not.."

Jensen shook his head. "Never met him before." Jensen said. The man said nothing to either of them, which was down right infuriating, and considering who he was facing, plain stupid. Then grainne showed up, and he decide to answer her. Jensen shrugged. "We know Rena is dead. And I'd say most of us care. She caused allot of trouble but she earned my respect, along with allot of other people here." He said.

The man spoke, and seemed very cocky. The kind of thing that annoyed jensen, especially when he claimed the captains of the gotei alone couldn't handle the threat of the hollow. But he was wrong, on that account. Otherwise, there would be nothing left of this place. He mentioned the serion, too. "We never agreed to piece with the serion. But as of yet, they've made no moves against us. Yes, they are a problem for us, but the humans are capable of handling themselves. Until they say otherwise, our job is to keep the hollow at bay." He said. They'd agreed on this.

Jensen looked at Grainne and Aki, then back to Reno. "You walk in here, weeks after an attack that shook this place, and start flaring your power. You insult the captains, and suggest we can't handle our situation without your help. If that was true, we'd all be dead, and you'd be standing in a ruin. But your not, and we don't need the help of someone who hasn't shown an ounce of respect for us. If you don't like our "rediculous" methodology, go bother the humans and stay out of our business." Jensen said. It was one thing to burst in and start flaring energy, to show so little respect that he couldn't even knock on the front door, but then to start insulting the gotei, it was enough to drive Jensen mad.

He looked to Grainne. "I highly recommend we do not accept his help. But Its your call." Jensen said. "I do suggest consulting the other captains. And maybe looking into his history a bit first if that's what you want to do."

Akihiko had more patience than Jensen. But still, it was infuriating indeed of everything he said. Jensen had the right of it. "Shouldn't be hard to check up on him. I agree with Jensen whole heartedly. It might help, but the lack of respect is concerning. If you decide to accept, I'll have him chained to my ankle, metaphorically speaking. Until his attitude adjusts and/or proves himself, I'll be right there keeping an eye on him." Even he was uneasy about it.

He really didn't need to say much more, but he reemphasized what Jensen said about the Serion. "They've left us alone, focusing entirely on the Coalition. If they needed help, they'd have asked for it. They're not that prideful. Or at least their leader isn't." And if they were truly in trouble, they would have mentioned it.

Gráinne listened carefully to the man's rhetoric, reflecting on his words and planning her riposte. She didn't move a muscle when Reno disappeared and reappeared behind her. While Reno had displayed an impressive amount of power during his brash outburst to draw them all here, the man possessed an arrogance bordering on delusion. The loss of Rena Lisola was tragic to be sure, for although she was an abrasive individual who often rubbed people the wrong way, she had earned everyone's respect with her dedication to her work at the academy and her determination to do her duty and prove herself. But the fact that her death had brought about the appearance of this troublemaker only compounded the grief. Gráinne waited as Reno finished his oratory with a proposition. Jensen chimed in first expressing his doubts and reservations. Aki took a slightly more diplomatic approach, though no less wary. Gráinne thought for a bit longer, and then made her decision. Her reply was a little more curt than intended, though that was as much a symptom of fatigue at recent events as it was an expression of impatience towards the visitor.

"I've heard enough, thank you. Mister Kitsugi, your power is impressive, as is your self-belief. But I'm afraid I must decline your offer. I think you read our obituaries a little too early. We are aware of the clouds that loom on the horizon and we know we are up against it. However, I also believe in our strength, in our ability to face this storm and endure. It is the very captains you insult; the likes of Jensen, Aki and Riku; that will provide the strength we need to prevail. I appreciate that you are no joke, but I think Jensen or Aki would be a match for you, and I trust them more than an arrogant troublemaker with delusions of self-worth." Gráinne wheeled to face Reno directly. "You are powerful, I grant you. But be careful putting yourself on a pedestal, because the higher the pedestal, the harder the fall. Thank you for your time, but my decision is no. We are not in such dire straits as to accept help from such questionable sources." Gráinne stepped back from Reno and bowed politely. "Now, I must ask you to leave. I suggest you do so." Gráinne regretted having to be so blunt, but she knew she could not show weakness to one such as Reno Kitsugi.

Reno chuckled as he brushed off Jensen's venomous attitude, but did address one flaw in his statement, "I never said the Gotei 13 made peace with the aliens.. I said a peace was stricken.. You may wish to re-confirm your information if you, the defenders of the Human World, are not even aware they have a policy in place with the Serions. I would also like to address that I did not say you or that of Soul Society cared or did not care about Rena Lisola's death.. I mentioned that I didn't care whether or not you knew.."

Jensen finished his piece and Aki put in a more civil but suspicious quip for his turn at input on the situation. Reno then proceeded, "You also seem to have not listened. I stated the clouds ahead are more than you can handle. I did not say you were weak. A new queen rises and with that comes uncertainty. Let alone the fact that humanity can't even control itself let alone settle the Serion threat alone. Ask for help? Would you ask for the Soul King's help in doing your job? It is no wonder the humans have not asked for help. They figure you are too busy fighting Hollow, whom have done nothing but grow in number instead of be diminished as they should."

He actually laughed after saying this and held his sides a bit as he calmed down after a second or two, "You talk about not respecting you but other than stating facts that have no ways of being denied.. I haven't actually insulted anyone. I merely said danger is coming and that I was willing to offer my help to you. For no cost. With no strings. Just help. I was not asking for your kindness. Your positions. The right to return to my former home. Nothing. And yet you treat me as scum. Interesting no?"

He addressed Akihiko directly now, "While I have no issues with your constant babysitting of me.. Your wording is quite amusing. You have no means and no reason to attempt to "Shackle" such a willing helper but you instead decide you must treat me as an enemy when I have not actually done anything wrong. As for my history.. I can easily explain it. When I became a Vizard so many long years ago I lost control to my inner hollow and destroyed the Squad Members around me who tried to subdue me before I could finish my initial Hollowfication. I fled because I knew I would be executed, at that time, and spent years gaining control of myself. In many ways. There is no secret. Nothing is hidden. I have been truthful on all accounts so far and have no reason to waste time and energy lying to any of you."

Grainne spoke up at this point in Reno's replies and he silenced himself as it was her opinion he actually came for. He grinned, despite disappointment, and merely raised his hands as he shrugged in a half-defeated manner, "Very well then. I have made my points and thus has not been accepted. That is your choice and it was all I came for. I have no reason to stay. I do find it a tad disappointing how hostile and prideful the Shinigami of the present are given how easily the shinigami of the past have proven time and again that that is a weakness and a self-threatening mind set to have. You call me arrogant but other than offering my services and giving a friendly warning of what I have learned first hand.. I have done nothing besides have minor and ultimately pointless fun."

He bowed, actually respectfully, but only to Grainne, "If there was no fall then would I not be a god? That would be terribly boring.. Gods do not get to do anything..just ask our Poor wonderful Soul King himself.. busy maintaining the balance of the universe..However I will at least do what I can with the vast power I have been granted in this pseudo-life of a cursed Soul Reaper.. That is far more productive than sitting the sidelines taking orders from those I have sworn to protect.. even if I do not have Gotei's blessing in doing my Job as they trained me to do it.."

He blurred a hand as he swiped it across his face, forming his mask, and let himself fall backwards lazily as a rift ripped open behind him and swallowed him up, transporting him back to the World of the Living as he disliked the idea of taking a Senkaimon since the Gotei had snubbed him. As he faded from view he decided with a grin to say one last thing. "Just remember that while you don't like me.. Nothing I said was a lie. "Captain-Commander".. Danger is coming.. and your captain's for all their strength.. cannot contain the tide of war that will flood our worlds. You will need help..""