Hey guys, been a while. This chapter begins a continuation of Takeshi's adventures that will go far beyond anything he has previously experienced. There will be 3 chapters, then I will work on a separate story, followed shortly by the rest of Takeshi's adventures. I have to thank my beta reader, The King of Thieves Cephas. Enjoy the chapter.

-Piercer

The Grey Marigold Chapter 36

"What a beautiful day." Feet pounding against the barren ground, Takeshi lumbered through the forest. Forest, of course, was a very generous term for his current surroundings. The trees within his inner world were not green or brown, but a dull grey. Similarly, the clouds covering the entirety of the landscape looked to be little more than a sheet of soot.

"Indeed." Kishi no Kage softly padded alongside him. Her appearance had not changed in the slightest since the fight with Aizen 17 months ago. Skin like snow, with dark blonde hair resting upon her shoulders. Her dark attire, a traditional sign of morning, blended in almost perfectly with the surrounding shadow.

Takeshi also looked much the same as before. Over the year and a half, his dirty blonde hair had not been cut and grown long enough to several inches down his back, forcing him to tie it back into a tight ponytail. Because he no longer kept his hair in his face, the vibrancy of his bright green eyes was on full display. At 5'6", he was only a few inches taller than his Zanpakutō spirit.

"If only the Seireitei could be like this," he casually commented, looking to the sky. "Might just brighten up the place."

Unassumingly, his partner considered this. "Perhaps, but if you had nothing to compare it to, would it not become repetitive and dull, causing you to yearn for the way things are now?"

"Probably," he conceded, "that does sound like me."

"But," Takeshi countered, "that is not always the case."

"It must not be. You never seem to tire of coming here and talking to yourself."

"That's not what I meant," the shinigami shot back. "I was thinking of corny things like love, friendship and the like."

"Speaking of love, when are you gonna get yourself a girlfriend? You know you have yet to get that cherry po-"

"Hey now!" Takeshi exclaimed, cutting her off and looking red as a different kind of cherry. "We were having such nice conversation. Why ya have to bring that up?"

"Well, you turned 62 this year. You need to get out there whole we are still young."

"Why don't we stop that-" Takeshi began.

"And go get a girlfriend?" Kishi no Kage finished hopefully.

"-and have a match."

"Ah, you're no fun!" She pouted. Pulling a sword from her mofoku, the spirit relented. "Perhaps fighting is something else that never gets old to you."

"You're damn right, it is!" He roared, lunging at his partner.

A hush fell over the sickly woods. On the forest floor, limbs and whole tree trunks lay scattered on the ground. Piercing the shadows, the savage cry of two warriors filled the air, followed by the clang of metal on metal.

Takeshi's sword flew through the air and embedded itself in a tree stump. Shocked, he fell to his knees. "How?"

"Normally, our fights are not as one-sided." Sheathing her blade, she cast sorrowful eyes on her partner. "It's you, Takeshi. Something has happened that has affected your fighting."

He stared at his weapon, baffled. "What can I do?' He frantically implored.

His heart skipped a beat as she shook her head. "This is something you must discover on your own." With that, segmented into the shadows, leaving her partner to his misery.

"So explain it to me again." Takeshi gruffly requested. "It doesn't make a lot of sense to me."

Takeshi was walking together with Izuru and 7 other seated officers from his squad. Through the maze of white walls and yellow tiled rooves that was the Seireitei. The band of Squad 3 members was was indistinguishable from the unusually high traffic that permeated the heirarchal center of the Soul Society.

"Well," Izuru anxiously began, "We are going to the Squad 1 barracks to put some of our power into a sword."

"And we are doing this to get Ichigo his powers back?"

"Yes," he confirmed tiredly. "If Ichigo is... stabbed with sword containing the energy of countless Soul Reapers, it should be enough to reawaken his powers."

Izuru was a dreary looking Shinigami, with the appearance match his professional title of "Death God". He had cut his blonde hair, with it not even reaching his shoulders in the back. His signature bang hung down over his eye, covering it entirely. He rarely smiled, and he always looked tired, as though overworked.

Takeshi crossed his arms behind his head. "However you put it, that makes no sense. Sounds to me more like we're killin him."

Sighing, Izuru decided not to try to explain any further, but a voice rose up amongst the other Squad 3 members. "My God, you are such a fool."

Asuka Katakura stepped forward, putting a face to the voice. He was a dapper Shinigami with shoulder length black hair framing his face with a right bang. Beneath his robes, he wore a white short and collar. As 6th Seat of Squad 3, he had above average strength. Then again, the average was pretty low.

"Asuka, please stop this," another voice called out.

"Not now, Rikū," Asuka snapped. "I need to put this 9th seat in his place."

"For some time now, you and Lieutenant Kira have been the best of friends, acting as equals. You even have the gall to give him advice! If you think you can weasel your way into the big leagues by being a goody-goody with the second-in-command, then you have another thing coming.

Izuru looked as though he wanted to say something, but was uncertain. "Don't worry, Izuru," Takeshi stated, stepping fowrard to meet Asuka's challenge. "I got this."

"There you go again, acting all high and mighty for no reason. You, who is nothing but an cockroach trying to get higher in the food chain."

Takeshi sighed, putting a hand on his head. "Listen, guy, I'm in a real bad mood, and I have a splitting headache. I don't feel like fighting a teammate."

The opposing Soul Reaper brushed some hair behind his ear. "That's fine, because I don't recognize you as a teammate."

A circle had formed around the two as they drew their Zanpakutō. All was silent. Rarely did a fight happen among the disciplined ranks of the Soul Society. Izuru's heart rate accelerated drastically as he debated whether or not he should stop this. "Takeshi, don't go too far."

Asuka made the first move, a vertical strike aimed at Takeshi's shoulder, which was effortlessly parried. Quick to follow up, Asuka aimed a slash at Takeshi's legs, but this was also blocked. Frustrated, the Shinigami launched a furious combination of attacks. "Look at the insect! He can barely defend, let alone -" The cocky Shinigami was silenced by a boot to the head. A headboot, if you will.

Asuka was sent sprawling to the ground, resulting in murmering amongst the stunned onlookers. When he got back to his feet, his hair was a disheveled mess. "A lucky shot." Positioning his blade before him, the Shinigami shouted "Drown out, Katakage!" Asuka"s blade briefly shone, and when the light died down, there was a long elliptical hole that ran an inch from the sheath to an inch from the blade. At it's thickest, the metal surrounding it was thin enough to not be practical. I bet a weakling like you doesn't even have a Shikai."

Takeshi gripped his Zanpakutō harder. "Man, this asshole is asking for it. Overwhelm the light, Kishi no Kage!" As he said this, The weapon master of Squad 3 twirled his sword. Almost magically, his blade melted, and the liquid expanded, taking the shape of a much larger sword. By the time the Zanpakutō's spin had come to a halt, it had solidified in his hulking Shikai.

Smoothing back his hair, Asuka stifled a laugh. "That monster is your Shikai? It must be that big to compensate for your weakness, you 9th Seat trash."

Readying his blade, Takeshi spat. "Tough talk coming from a 6th Seat. You couldn't even make the top 5."

What he said must have hit hard, because Asuka rushed once more.

"YOU TRASH!"

The enraged Shinigami tried to execute a downward swing, but he was swatted away by the flat of Kishi no Kage. The 5000 Kg sword sent him flying into a wall, unconscious. Takeshi's Shikai phased back into it's sealed state "You are really starting to piss me off." As Takeshi sheathed his sword, he walked towards his foe, a vein in his head throbbing. "The last person that pissed me off was beheaded on the spot." He came to a stop before the body of Asuka, popping his knuckles. "Let's see where this takes us."

A blade came to his neck faster than he could react to it. Holding the Zanpakutō, Izuru, the indescisiveness gone from his eyes. "That's enough."

Takeshi looked to his friend, then to his enemy, who lay unconscious on the tiled ground. As his heart rate slowly returned to normal, he turned his back to the scene. "Hopefully, he can keep that jealousy in check, or next time, I might not be able to control myself." Then, he began anew his trip to the Squad 1 Barracks.

Sheathing his sword and breathing a sigh of relief, he turned to his fallen squadmate. "Captin Ōtoribashi will not be pleased."