Hi guys! Here's chapter 4! I hope you all enjoy it.
To my reviewers:
Thank you all for your support and comments. In a mixed blessing there are now too many of you for me to comfortably answer one at a time, so I'll try to answer some of your questions generally, and from now on will respond to reviews and questions individually through the messaging service.
It's a difficult question to answer whether I'm trying to portray Isane herself as bloodthirsty. Itegumo's spirit is in a way, a part of Isane, but her bloodlust isn't really Isane's. The same way that Ikkaku's Zanpakto is lazy while he isn't, and Ichigo's is wise and experienced while he isn't, Itegumo is kind of an opposite to Isane. A part of her she struggles to reconcile with.
One of the few things we know definitively about Isane is her love and loyalty for Unohana, so I'm glad so many of you saw that in my writing, as I'm glad that some of you are seeing her grow as a believable character.
Hey, we all know Mayuri is a little insane and obsessive. So I'm glad some of you enjoyed that depiction. He was surprised by Isane's potential, then took it personally when he failed to push her to Bankai, that's why he's so royally pissed about all the time he's spent on her "experiment" I hope that I continue to live up to his character, as he truly deserves my best efforts.
Without further ado, please enjoy chapter 4
Chapter 4: One Last Gift to Give
&
"Itegumo means 'Frozen Cloud'." She continued as the temperature of the room plummeted swiftly. Mayuri estimated it was at least negative twenty-two degrees Celsius.
She lifted her sword arm, turning her wrist to present the flat portions of Itegumo in front of her face. "She's a killer." Her voice was darker and more malicious than Mayuri ever thought her capable of.
"She exists only to freeze the blood in your veins, and the breath in your lungs." She hissed.
&
Isane's spiritual pressure erupted, a tornado of freezing air and mist whirled angrily around her knees. A single powerful leap catapulted her towards Kurotsuchi with a fierce yell, drowned out by the roar of the wind.
Her thrust presented all three of Itegumo's blades parallel to the ground, attacking over the widest possible area, but Kurotsuchi's reflexes were sharp. With a deft twist of his hips he avoided her lunge, letting her pass harmlessly by him as he drew his blade.
Isane was a blur of moment, the second her first foot touched down she was spinning. Her slash started at her feet, rising diagonally across her body. The mist answered her command, a crescent blade of frozen air raged toward Kurotsuchi with murderous intent.
A purple haze surrounded Kurotsuchi as he exerted his spiritual pressure. A deft horizontal slash of his sword caught and dispelled Isane's attack. The wind continued to howl, drowning out the angry clash of steel as Mayuri parried Isane's following charge.
Her lips were curled back over violently clenched teeth; her eyebrows arched daggers, her eyes freezing death. He held her gaze without flinching, an unmovable rock under the withering storm of her surging spiritual pressure.
"That can't possibly be all can it? Show me everything." He didn't shout, didn't even raise his voice, but somehow his amused drawl pierced the rushing wind. Isane's scowl grew; her spiritual pressure soared even higher as she let out an infuriated scream.
Mayuri just grinned.
Their blades disengaged, and Isane reared back for another strike but Mayuri disappeared in a flash step. Konjiki Ashiogi Jizo rushed forward in his place, its blades prepared to dice Isane into pieces.
Mayuri's Bankai was persistent, and Isane was forced to retreat, barely able to stay ahead of the dancing swords. She finally cleared some distance with a flash step; the creature opened its mouth in response. "That won't work again." Isane promised as she gripped Itegumo with both hands, the sword glowing white from tip to hilt.
The beast paid her no mind, and spat forward its gas, clouding the air. Two slashes, too slow and methodical for swordplay, almost as if she were fanning the air instead of cutting her enemy. The end result was far more deadly. The frozen mist that continued to coil around her legs kicked forward, whirling and gaining size rapidly.
By the time the tornado struck, it had gathered all of the poison mist within the funnel. Konjiki Ashiogi Jizo was lifted, and then thrown backwards. It crashed into the nearest wall head first, and fell limp, leaving its underside exposed. Her feet sank slightly into its soft flesh as she completed her flash step, landing behind its swords.
She nearly heaved in revulsion and fought the instinct to cover her ears as her Zanpakto sank into its flesh. Its pained shriek shook her to the core, and the dark colored puss that began to seep around the wound smelled of rotting flesh and refuse.
"Wonderful…" Itegumo's voice was a breathy whisper at the back of her mind. "So much blood in this creature."
"You don't have to smell it." Isane muttered in disgust, but pushed her sword deeper, sinking to one knee as the creature began to flail and scream. The flesh slowly gave way, as if Isane was pushing through a viscous liquid until Itegumo was buried to the hilt.
"There, it's done." A content sigh.
Isane tensed as she prepared to move, but his voiced halted her. "That wouldn't be wise girl." She looked over her shoulder; he was standing several yards away. His arms were limp at his side, his sword in his right hand. "Konjiki Ashiogi Jizo's blood is highly pressurized. If you dislodge your sword you'll be instantly doused by a highly potent organic acid." He paused a moment. "The damage would be…conspicuous."
"Harder to cover up then." Isane mused silently to herself. "I'll take my chances." Kurotsuchi's eyes narrowed.
She spun to her feet facing Kurotsuchi, dragging her sword behind her opening a harsh wound in her wake, causing a new series of shrieks from the creature. The blade cleared with a flourish, Isane's left hand secured around Itegumo's sheath, her right extended at the shoulder arching away from her.
Significant amounts of dark liquid were kicked into the air with the strike, shooting a few yards in a smooth crescent ark around Isane's feet along the wound. However it was not the torrential explosion that Kurotsuchi described, and not a drop of liquid touched Isane. "Fascinating." Kurotsuchi was enthralled as the blood slowed until it hung suspended.
Isane let her sword arm fall gently to her side, her expression serious but strained. It was almost as if she was fighting back a smile.
Itegumo was in pure rapture, and it was becoming harder and harder to resist her enthusiasm. Isane found herself wanting more, and it was difficult to think of a reason to deny the urges.
"Hmm?" Mayuri pondered as the blood began to slowly wind and coil, separating into several lines like ribbons blowing in the wind. Isane's frost aura kicked up again, coiling lovingly around her knees, as mist once again began to fall from Itegumo's blades. Several of the dark lines were draw into her aura; others twined themselves around her sword.
"Your Bankai is finished." She announced, a whimsical lilt to her tone.
"Tch." He scoffed with disdain. "Don't be ridiculous."
She couldn't hold back the smile anymore.
It started with a faint crinkle. At the tip of her sword the black blood shifted, changing in color as it shrunk down in size. A white diamond as narrow as a finger reflected the light, a small beacon. The crinkle grew in volume as it spread. Dozens of glistening shapes danced around her blades, and then around her feet.
"Itegumo's power is more…subtle than say, Captain Hitsugaya's Hyourinmaru or Rukia Kuchiki's Sode no Shirayuki." Isane explained.
A dull roar like a distant waterfall grew steadily. "She can't use her spiritual pressure to create ice directly, which is why I was only able to attack with her freezing winds…at first."
Kurotsuchi's Bankai slowed in its movements, its struggles dying down. "But she is an Ice elemental Zanpakto, not a wind elemental. So even though she can't create ice out of nothing, what do you think happens when she has a source of water?"
It ceased moving altogether, the dull roar now a rising cacophony. "For example." Isane continued. "A storm cloud, a lake, a stream…"
Realization dawned upon Kurotsuchi, his brow lifted as an excitement tore through him.
"Or even." Isane's eyes narrowed. "Blood." It spread in the blink of an eye, a rapid crystallization that discolored flesh as the creature was frozen from within. Parts of its body contorted before spears of ice broke through and pushed feet into the air. Finally, its mass simply shattered, crumbling into thousands of fist sized shards of frozen flesh.
Kurotsuchi was positively trembling. Not from the extreme cold, not from fear. Isane's eyebrows lifted in absolute astonishment.
Kurotsuchi was laughing.
It wasn't diabolical, maniacal, or crazed. It was slow and even, rolling off of him in steady waves as his shoulders shook. "Absolutely magnificent!" He breathed.
Isane was completely taken aback.
"What a wonderful expression." Kurotsuchi commented.
She tilted her head in absolute confusion. She had completely annihilated his Bankai with one stroke of her Zanpakto. He should've at least been taken aback, given pause, grown nervous, or angry. The last thing she expected was this…glee she observed in his features and body language. He was nearly giddy.
"Oh don't stop. Show me more." He demanded of her. "Aren't you going to kill me for insulting that corpse you call your Captain?"
Her hands went white with the strain, and her arms shook.
"Claw Out, Ashiogi Jizo." His blade shifted, twisting and changing color until a deformed golden trident sat atop his hilt. "You'll show me everything girl, either in this room, or in a cell at the Bureau of Research and Development. Choose quickly!" In a blur of moment his blade was coming down on her.
Her parry was true, but her footing was not. Her legs buckled under her, lacking purchase on the shattered remains of his Bankai. Her face contorted in pain as her abused stomach flexed, stretching the lacerations she herself inflicted.
"Pay attention!" He chided her as his kick lifted her back on her feet, her breath leaving in a rush as her wounds screamed anew.
She stepped into a thrust, six blades locked together as Mayuri countered. Isane's eyes narrowed as she focused her spiritual pressure. A gust of freezing wind connected with Mayuri's face at point blank range, carrying freezing debris with it.
He grunted as he lifted his left arm to shield his eyes. Isane seized the opportunity, twisting Itegumo with all of her strength she drove forward intent on skewering Mayuri through the gaps between his own blades.
He had the presence of mind to dodge, but an angry line opened on his left leg where Itegumo drew a narrow cut.
Mayuri jumped backwards to clear the lock. Isane's right foot snapped into a crescent kick, three knife sized shards of ice jumped at her command, burying themselves viscously into his torso.
She couldn't help but feel satisfied when he finally let out a clipped yelp of pain. She allowed him no pause, swinging Itegumo in wide arcs casting dozens of razor sharp sheets of ice on freezing wind.
He was certainly proving his skill with flash steps. Even on a wounded leg he avoided every attack, but he was certainly no longer amused. Blood ran down his face and over his eyes from countless small lacerations, bitten by shards of ice no larger than snowflakes with her first strike. His left leg was obviously numb, frost poured visibly from the cut she inflicted.
Unfortunately for Isane, the battle had left marks on her as well. Itegumo had dispelled Mayuri's poison and halted her bleeding, but she had sustained significant damage. Rage and adrenaline allowed her to ignore the pain for a while, but damaged organs and ruptured blood vessels were making their presence known with every swing of her arms.
She was winding down fast, and Kurotsuchi knew it. His own injuries were relatively minor, and he hadn't even taxed his spiritual pressure. While it appeared he was on the defensive, the truth was he was a vulture circling his next meal.
Finally Isane sank to one knee, leaning on her Zanpakto's hilt to help sustain her weight. She was panting, sweat was rolling freely down her face, and her spiritual pressure began to flicker and wane.
"Not yet Isane." Itegumo begged. "Don't give up yet, we can kill him I promise!"
"Finally. That was growing tedious." Mayuri complained as he pulled the last shard from his chest. He glanced down at his left leg as he tried to move it. "An interesting ability. In addition to generating freezing winds, your Zanpakto's spiritual pressure allows it to draw water from any source, even compound liquids like blood. Additionally it absorbs the water's kinetic energy in proportion to its surface area and time on target."
He paused for breath, "In laymen's terms the deeper your sword cuts and the longer it has contact with its victim, the faster it freezes them solid from the inside out."
Isane still did not have her breath back, so she settled on staring at him with the most murderous expression she could muster.
"When you demonstrated the power on my Bankai I was hoping you had other powers as well." He sighed. "However you merely were able to utilize frozen projectiles with your earlier wind attacks, not terribly impressive. It seems you've reached your limit." He regarded her silently for a moment, running through data in his mind. "Unfortunately, you still haven't convinced me to spare your life."
Isane's stare hardened even more, her nails dug into her palms piercing skin as she labored harder to catch her breath. "Is that what this was? An experiment? Just a test to see if I'm worth keeping alive?"
"You sound so surprised." He observed. "Don't be daft girl. Did you truly entertain the notion for even a moment that you could defeat me?"
She didn't answer.
"Tch." He spat. "No matter what new abilities you may surprise me with child, they are still of your spiritual pressure, something I've studied with great detail. You'll never be able to deal sufficient damage to defeat me."
"Yet there you stand with a mangled face and a frozen leg!" She spat furiously.
"Superficial." He assured her in a bored tone, his left had bobbing up and down.
She growled with frustration as she strained her wounded and tired body, forcing herself to her feet. "I may not be able to defeat you Kurotsuchi, but I swear." She secured Itegumo in both hands, adopting a traditional kendo stance. "Before the last breath leaves my body, at the very least, I'm going to give you a wound you will NEVER forget."
Her irises began to glow softly as her spiritual pressure surged again surrounding her in a white aura.
"Pointless." Mayuri began exerting his own spiritual pressure, literally pulling the air around him to the ground under its weight. Isane didn't falter.
"It won't be a wound. I'm going to grant this monster a death blow" Isane could almost feel Itegumo's smile. "Be strong Isane, I can't hold back your bleeding any longer."
Isane sucked in a deep breath as her stomach flared in fresh pain.
"Now, strike now!"
Isane answered Itegumo's call, sprinting forward with all the speed her tired and worn body could muster. A small part of her cheered with glee as Mayuri rushed forward to meet her. This wasn't another of his games. He was completely serious, and he wasn't taking her lightly.
Isane exhaled into a long and fierce cry as they rapidly closed distance, Itegumo held high over her right shoulder.
Mayuri was silent until he began his slash with a fierce, "Kyah!"
Their spiritual pressure exploded with the ferocity of the attack, pushing the air away from them with a powerful shock wave. Their blades remained locked for an impossible moment of eternity as their spiritual pressure clashed for supremacy.
It was such a small shift that decided the contest, the tiniest crack that opened in Isane's spiritual pressure that proved her downfall.
Her sword shattered.
She gasped.
Her head tilted to look down in small jerks as her body was wracked with spasms. His Zanpakto was buried in the right side of her chest next to her sternum. Even the tips of the two smaller blades had penetrated.
Captain Unohana's face flashed before her eyes, downtrodden and sad. "I'm sorry Captain." She cried to herself
"Such a waste." Mayuri lamented. "So much time, so much potential, gone. What a fool you've been."
Her left arm slowly rose, trembling, the poison was spreading fast. She managed to fist the hand in his robes just below the shoulder as her knees buckled forward, refusing to fall further onto his sword.
Her eyes were glossy and her breath ragged, but she refused to succumb to the blackness edging her vision. She still had one last promise to fulfill. Blood began to dribble from her lips as she parted them, "I have one last gift to give you Captain Kurotsuchi."
"Oh?" He asked.
Fighting through agonizing pain she lifted her face to meet his amber eyes, "When Itegumo shattered, you breathed her in."
It was a rare feeling, the sheer panic that gripped him. His eyes widened comically as his whole body tensed pushing Isane off his Zanpakto. He knew intellectually that it was already too late, pointless to run, but logic escaped him in this rare moment of helplessness.
He turned and made it two steps, Isane hadn't even hit the ground yet when she whispered, a content smile on her face, her eyes closed. "Condense, Itegumo."
Mayuri's scream was cut short as his chest instantly expanded beyond all possible natural proportions, his lungs literally exploded from within by solidifying ice. He fell first to his knees with a hard thud, then forward onto his face.
&
A little shorter than the last chapter, but I think no less intense.
What do you think?
Please click the button to let me know!