Chapter Seven
The explosion shook the assembly hall like a cataclysmic earthquake. The formerly pristine assembly hall was now riddled with cracks. Each Captain stood in a state of shock, until the sound of Jakara sprinting out of the room broke the silence. Wild thoughts ran through Jakara's mind, while the walls of the Barrack slipped away and he ran out of the gate. Smoke rose from a street in the distance, and that was where Jakara was running to. He jumped over the buildings in his way, his sandals patting and cracking the stone slabs in the floors he landed on.
"This can't be a coincidence," Jakara murmured to himself. "Yesterday I am attacked by a member of my own squad, and now this? If this continues, who knows what will happen." Jakara began to grin. Those other foolish Captains were right, this was his fault. If the security at his Barracks was better, this could have been solved much quicker.
As he reached the area where the explosion had occurred, he stopped, coming to a halt, suspended in mid-air. His fists clenched. His jaw champed down. The smoke- filled crater spanned a distance of at least two miles, and at least half of the Fifth Company's Barracks had been destroyed. The remains of burned buildings dotted the newly-created wasteland, along with the scattered body parts of dead Soul Reapers.
"Where are you?" Jakara screamed with a new rage kindled in his soul, each word rending a new wound in his heart. "Do you want to kill me? Then I am right here!" The strike came from behind, but he managed to dodge it with ease. Jakara put his hand on the emerald in the handle of his sword; the enemy would have to do better than that. His adversary seemed to suddenly slide into the air in front of Jakara, a tall man in an elegant robe with long, white hair in a ponytail. He wielded a regular-sized Zanpaku-Tō with a serrated edge. Jakara could tell that it was as sharp as the particles of Reishi in the air just by looking at it. It was also obvious that this individual was not under any form of control, he was in full command of his body.
"Well, isn't this interesting?" The man asked. "I did not think I would kill the Captain first. It was a mistake for you to come out and face me as soon as I arrived. I expected to remove some of the lower down seated officers and guardsmen, but I think there are a few taken care of down in the rubble." Without another word, the man flash stepped towards Jakara. Jakara drew his sword, but something else blocked the enemy's blade. Föra Krig stood in front of his Captain, his sword between two of the serrated edges on his adversary's blade.
"Sorry, but I will have to do for now," Föra stated plainly, "Because I cannot allow you to have the honour of facing the head of my company without proving yourself against me."
