CHAPTER 5: CLASH AT THE URUHARA SHOP – THE THREE SLAVES
The two strangers, Dorei and Toriko, didn't hesitate at all to follow their female counterpart's command. With a blur they vanished, only to appear instantaneously before the huddled group in Uruhara's shop. Katanas slashed and sparks flew as they were met by the zanpakuto of Kisuke Uruhara and Shakuho Hitokage, and the battle began.
"Yoruichi!" commanded Kisuke as he deflected the strikes of Toriko, the larger stranger with his cane/zanpakuto. "Protect the man and his wife! Don't let yourself be attacked either, Ichigo!"
"But I can…-!" started Ichigo, but Kisuke cut him off.
"You're their target too," said the shopkeeper, blocking away another flurry of slices and strikes from Toriko. "Don't leave yourself open for attack!"
"That means they're your responsibility, Fu," said the shorter, wildly black-haired man Dorei who was now fully engaged in battle with Shakuho. The female stranger sighed deeply with an air of ennui, and pulled out her own zanpakuto.
"Damn shinigami and your code of ethics…" she muttered. "You guys get one opponent each, and then you leave me with two? Bastards…" Fu then locked her gaze onto Yoruichi and Ichigo, both of whom were now standing guard in front of Mark and Alicia.
"Prepare yourself, Ichigo…" muttered Yoruichi. Ichigo's zanpakuto Zangetsu was already out and ready, and he gave a curt nod.
"Yeah…" he replied back. Behind, Alicia was still trembling (she had no idea what was happening, as everyone besides Shakuho and her husband were speaking Japanese, though the former did switch back and forth between the two depending upon his audience), while Mark's mind was overcome with stress; try as he could, his zanpakuto would not appear.
Awaregeken…where are you?!
"Don't worry, you two," said Fu to Yoruichi and Ichigo. "This will be quick."
Already away from the others in the open, rain-drenched pavement, Shakuho and Dorei dueled, each focused completely upon the other. Both fought with their zanpakuto's in their base forms; Dorei's blade looked like any other katana wielded by a shinigami – black and red wrappings on the handle, hollowed-out oval pommel, long, curved blade, heavily folded. Shakuho's zanpakuto, on the other hand, was unique like Kisuke Uruhara's – an unwrapped, wooden, flamboyant red handle, at least twice the length of that of a normal katana, a black, solid, square pommel. His blade was similar in shape and length to Dorei's, but Shakuho's was inscribed with hundreds of characters from hilt to tip. With such a long handle, Shakuho's hands were well spaced along the handle, giving him a surprisingly effective dimension of movement against the well-trained and vicious Dorei.
"You fight like a shinigami trained in Soul Society," observed Dorei in his rough, dark voice, his wild black hair flailing around with each strike and slash.
"An astute observation…" replied Shakuho, slicing at his foe.
"But that zanpakuto of yours…its not normal," continued Dorei. "First off it makes you look totally queer with that awful red handle. But I must say it gives you the advantage over me in movement." Dorei knocked Shakuho a few paces back with a powerful strike.
"I like it this way," retorted Shakuho. "When you live in America, you gotta be yourself, be individual." Shakuho lunged forward again, delivering a series of blows that likewise forced Dorei backwards, nearly losing his grip.
"Hmph, individuality…" grunted Dorei, repositioning his hands upon his zanpakuto. "There is no such thing as 'individuality'; we are all just slaves to fate, to a higher power…to God."
"So then why even live?" asked Shakuho as Dorei ran towards him, his sword held high before slashing down at Shakuho, where blades met and froze in struggle, shivering under the muscular battle between the two warriors.
"Because…" stammered Dorei, his teeth gritting as he pressed down upon Shakuho's blade. "I have met God…and he has promised, in his infinite goodness and wisdom, to release me from that miserable line of existence." Shakuho responded with a burst of reiatsu, overcoming Dorei and swinging his katana with considerable thrust. Dorei flew into the air, but vanished in an instant.
"Shunpo, huh?" asked Shakuho, parrying the attack from behind with relative ease. "Seen it. You know, it is kinda odd for someone to go on a religious rant in general, but a shinigami on a religious rant…I mean, I don't even know really who you are. I'm sad to say that my first impression of you is…well…insane."
"Mere words…" grumbled Dorei. "I take it you were once a shinigami like myself, correct? Your skill with the blade is excellent; it looks like I won't have to hold back on you."
"Tut tut…" said Shakuho softly. "Not a wise decision…" Several paces divided them amidst the sound of battle all around, a cruel smile upon Dorei's face intimating a terrible, devious secret.
"Bare your claws, Yamainu!" shouted Dorei. Immediately his sword began to glow and morph its shape; whereas before it was a standard katana, its appearance was now greatly modified: sharp on every edge, jutting straight for three feet then splitting off and curling back like two enormous velociraptor claws.
"That is a beautiful shikai…" observed Shakuho, prompting a mocking grunt from Dorei.
"Yamainu is far advanced from the shikai of regular shinigami," he began, his voice raised in pride. "He has three movements; upon the third your life will end."
"That is quite the claim," retorted Shakuho. "I take it this Viajante person taught you this specialty?"
"You will not disrespect my god!" growled the slave. "First movement! Kumoashi!" Dorei swung his sword down parallel to his body, slicing the ground with Yamainu's massive blade and sending a spray of dirt, asphalt, and dust into the air, maintaining its cloud-like nature despite the rain. No sooner had he done so when he vanished, appearing opposite his original position and behind Shakuho, where he repeated this motion, slicing the ground again before vanishing to another location. This continued again and again, the speed of each shunpo increasing until a circle of dirt and dust several feet high surrounded Shakuho, who merely stood and watched, his face lowered, his eyes looking at the ground almost in sorrow as rainwater dripped down his nose and chin.
"To see you so defeated…" said Dorei, now holding his position outside the circular area. "You look like a coward…a coward that should never have been granted the opportunity to use a zanpakuto. It makes me want to kill you even more! Second movement! Fukisarashi!" Dorei swung his zanpakuto mightily into the cloud of dust and dirt sending a gust of air all around it. The winds increased, carrying the rain-resistant dust and higher and higher, simultaneously increasing its depth and creating a cylinder of nearly pure darkness around Shakuho, still in the same position as before.
"Oh?" muttered Shakuho curiously.
"You cannot break out of this prison," stated Dorei loudly. "Yamainu's first and second movements combined create a powerful barrier of spirit energy than no zanpakuto nor kidou spell can break easily, and if you tried I would know exactly where and when, leaving you vulnerable to attack. Master Viajante has indeed trained me well!"
"Who is this Viajante anyway?" asked Shakuho after a moment. "I have heard the name before, a long time ago, and I always wondered who this person was. I would imagine he would have to be someone pretty damn special to have three top-notch shinigami desert their ranks to follow him."
"Master Viajante…" muttered Dorei's voice from beyond the shadows of the clouds of debris. "He is like no other soul I have ever met…he is god himself…"
"We were once part of squad 11, many years ago. All of us were faithful shinigami, loyal to the code for which we lived and fought. Our names were different back then, as were our foolish beliefs…all until he came to us. It happened during a routine mission in the outskirts of Rukongai, far from any village. We were sent to track down a murderous hollow running rampant through the land, and it had last been seen heading towards the deep, distant forests.
"The hollow was easy to track and find for the three of us, and just as easily dispatched. It seemed insulting to send us, the third, fourth, and fifth seats of the eleventh squad to deal with a measly hollow of little strength, particularly since this mission required several days and nights of journey. Needless to say we weren't in the highest of spirits, but soon after the hollow was defeated he appeared to us.
"It was almost like a dream; his face appeared before us, floating in the air as though looking through a window bathed in light. His smile and kind countenance lifted our downtrodden hearts and filled us with hope – hope for change, hope for respect, hope for fairness and justice in the world. I can't even remember all that he told us, but his overall message was clear: life as we knew it was unfair, injustice ruled the universe, and he could change it with our help.
"Soul Society listed us as being killed in combat, but we secretly laid in wait for our master's command, travelling back and forth across the void between mortality and the afterlife freely through his power. And now he has given us our most important mission, the end of all missions…" Dorei was silent for a few moments while Shakuho absorbed his words. Pieces and shards of memory and suspicion from the past now merged together, filling in the gaps that Shakuho had spent forty years trying to piece together.
"What part of the Viajante's plan did Aiseki fill?" asked Shakuho to the swirling darkness after a moment.
"Well, his name is on the list, isn't it?" chuckled Dorei. "We knew Mark and Aiseki were the same person, we just weren't sure where he was. But, thanks to you, bringing the final two names together in the same place has made our job so much easier."
"You didn't answer my question," continued Shakuho. "Why are you killing those people? Why are you trying to kill Ichigo and Aiseki?!"
"I don't even know myself," said Dorei in a softer tone. "All I do know is that the world as we know it will end when the thirteen keyholders have been collected."
"Keyholders?"
"Master Viajante is unfortunately sparing in the details of his plans," added Dorei. "But it is for the better. It is simply meant for us to obey on faith, so that his plans might be realized; after all, he is god, and his wisdom is perfect."
"Hmph…" grunted Shakuho with an air of humorous disbelief. "To think that god would be bloodthirsty and murderous…doesn't that strike a chord of doubt within you? Why would god, in his 'infinite goodness and wisdom', seek to destroy the souls that supposedly are his?"
"Much is left to the unknown," replied Dorei slowly. "It isn't given to us to know all things, only the things that we must know to fulfill god's will." Shakuho didn't immediately respond; in his mind the answer about the Viajante was clear in at least one regard: whoever he was, he definitely wasn't god, or a god at all.
"I simply can't believe in your god," said Shakuho confidently, raising his head for the first time since Yamainu's second movement had been released. "It just doesn't feel right, and I'm sure inside you feel the same."
"You aren't in a position to lecture me," growled Dorei. "After all, you are just fodder in the way of my mission. None of what I told you matters now anyway, since you are about to die."
"Again with the pride…" muttered Shakuho, his hands gripping the long red handle of his zanpakuto tightly. "A shinigami is weakest when he is filled with pride."
"Pride…it is ironic that Yamainu's form is that of a proud coyote," observed Dorei, a hint of glee filling his voice. "And like the coyote Yamainu has a preferred method of delivering death to its victims. You see, while many animals tackle their prey one-on-one, Yamainu prefers more of a pack approach. Through these mists I have created using the first and second movements, innumerable replicas of Yamainu will course through, attacking you instantaneously from all sides and directions, leaving you vulnerable to the death that I will give unto you. Behold, the third movement! Inunanseihokubatsu!"
Glints from the streetlights outside the clouds peeked through as hundreds of Yamainu replicas shot through the mists, colliding together in the center of the cylinder with a crushing din of sliding, grinding steel.
"HA!" laughed Dorei rudely during the cacophony, continuing his rant as the clouds of darkness began to swirl away. "You disgust me! Here you are, trained by Sereitei, and you didn't even bother releasing…your…" Dorei's voice trailed off as the mists vanished, revealing a soaked pile of swords that vanished with a bright, white flash of smoke and vapor into the now lightening ran. Missing from the scene, however, was Shakuho.
"What the…?" gasped Dorei, looking left and right before hearing the blood-curdling sound of footsteps behind him.
"All captain-class shinigami are prepared for attacks like this in one way or another," said the voice of Shakuho, now standing several feet behind Dorei. The slave's countenance had now fallen, and his body began to tremble, first in fear, but then reverting to rage.
"DIE!" he screamed, swinging around and slashing at Shakuho, but it was already too late. The red-handled katana moved so quickly the slave could barely see it, knowing only of its motion from the spray of blood erupting diagonally across his chest and torso. Dorei then fell into the puddles of the asphalt clearing in front of the Uruhara shop, his blood mingling with the rainwater and turning all of it within several feet a deep transparent red.
"I wanted to see your abilities…" said Shakuho softly to the mortally wounded Dorei, now quivering helplessly. "And I needed to find out who this Viajante person is."
"B-but…how…?" stammered Dorei, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth. "How did you…?"
"You said that I hadn't released my zanpakuto," replied Shakuho. "That isn't true. Like Ichigo Kurosaki's zanpakuto, my Datesugata prefers her first released form. In other words, she's always in shikai mode, and in that mode she can perform her unique technique without a word."
"But…?" gurgled Dorei, but Shakuho shook his head.
"I can't tell you that," he replied softly. "Your companions might hear, and that would remove my advantage. However, I can only say that I was most impressed with your zanpakuto's shikai, and I would have been most interested in seeing its bankai form. Unfortunately, you chose a life of treachery for a false god."
"A false god, you say?" asked a man's voice from the alleyway behind Shakuho. "I've never been called that before." Shakuho then turned to face the speaker, upon which his eyes widened with horror. A quick flash of light tore across Shakuho's chest, where he stood silently and still for a moment before falling to the ground in a similar state as Dorei, Shakuho's blood pouring out of the gaping wound and mingling with Dorei's.
"V-Viajante...kami…sama…" stammered Dorei, looking up at his master.
Next chapter: THE VIAJANTE
ARRIVES BONUS!
Second note, at the very end Dorei says Viajante-kamisama. This was the best I could come up with for a title meaning "god", with the sama for master thrown in for kicks.
Third note, this chapter was a little later and a little shorter than others. There is a reason for this, and its nothing for me to be ashamed about. Simply put, I don't write stories based around fights. Rather I write stories based upon plot occurrences rather than planned out and choreographed battle sequences. What this means is that I can pump out plot and non-combat related material really fast and in high volume, but when I get to a fight scene I kinda have to sit down and figure out what happens when to whom and so on. I think this is pretty cool actually, since it allows me to stop and take a good look at the big picture of the story while I write. As for being a little shorter, well…they just are. Anyway, I hope you liked chapter 5! Please tell your friends to stop by and check it out, since very, very few readers on both sites makes Kanko a sad Kanko :'-( , and nobody wants a sad Kanko, right? Right.