6. Dragon vs. Dragon
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SEREITEI
COURTYARD
Toshiro looked up from his blood-stained hands to the group of captains. Then back to his hands and back up to the advancing shinigami, especially the leader of the group...the captain commander, Shigekuni Yammamoto Genryusai! His small eyes glared and his spiritual pressure rose to a level that could kill a weaker shinigami.
"Former captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. You have spilled innocent blood! For such a severe crime, I must remove your powers and banish you from Soul Society! Do not resist, we have you outnumbered and far outmatched!"
Byakuya Kuchiki and Sajin Kommamura stood beside the old man as he spoke, their gazes trained on Toshiro.
"This is all a mistake! It is not as you think!" Toshiro pleaded. He fell to his knees causing a splash in the ever growing pool of crimson water.
"That excuse won't work with the evidence before us! We witnessed you attacking her! We watched the whole thing!" Genryusai snarled.
"What?! You just watched?! Why didn't you stop me?!" Toshiro felt his hatred of the captain commander rise, boiling his blood and consuming him. "If you saw the whole thing then you would have seen me die! Something resurrected and possessed me!"
"Fool!" Byakuya closed his eyes and stepped forward. "Resurrection is impossible! Not even that human girl could do that!"
"But-"
"Face your fate, Toshiro! Don't disgrace yourself further." Sajin growled. His wolfen eyes shone a vibrant yellow. He made a frown which also revealed his sharp teeth.
"Please help Matsumoto! She needs help!!" Toshiro turned away from them and cradled her in his arms.
"Get away from her!" The captain commander rasped, his beard shaking frenziedly as he talked.
"Forget about me! Just...save her..." Toshiro cradled his head in his hands and sobbed. The others watched with a mix of disgust and curiosity.
"Captain commander, shall I call for fourth squad?" Sajin looked over to the frozen old man. He glared at Toshiro while addressing Kommamura's question.
"No."
Kommamura's large lupine eyes widened in astonishment. "But she has committed no crime...she must be tended to!"
"She shall stay where she is...Her death shall be a fitting punishment for the traitor!" The last word was spat with such venom it made Toshiro wince.
"You heartless monster!!" Toshiro roared. "You are even lower than a hollow!! You don't deserve your rank!"
"Neither do you. Maybe we can settle this once and for all?" Yammamoto lifted his sword and held it in front of his face. "May the victor continue to live here in Soul Society, and their rank remain."
"And the loser shall be dismissed from their rank and life!" Toshiro drew his sword from Matsumoto's stomach. He then gently kissed her cheek. "I shall win for you. I wont let you die!" He whispered in her ear. Her mouth twitched a tiny bit.
"Very well." Toshiro straightened up and twirled his sword in a threatening display. "I accept! Just you and me!"
"Leave!" Yammamoto told his companions without looking away from Toshiro.
Byakuya and Kommamura did as told and flash stepped away.
"May I take Matsumoto somewhere safe?" Toshiro had already picked her up before the question was over. He then disappeared without waiting for a response. He stopped outside the infirmary and knocked on the wall outside before departing. A nurse peeked out the window and saw Matsumoto. She screamed and then yelled at the others who helped drag her inside.
Toshiro returned to the courtyard, an expression of pure hatred in his dragons eyes. Yammamoto returned the gesture with his small beady orbs of fire which burned with contempt. "Dragon against dragon. This shall be interesting!"
""Fire versus ice, good versus evil. Call it whatever you want! It wont stop me from killing you Shigekuni Yammamoto Genryusai!!" Toshiro used Shunpo to get behind the old man. His sword sliced through the air and connected with the scabbard of Yammamoto's sword. While the scabbard held Toshiro's sword at bay, the old man took the opportunity to draw his sword and hack at the young prodigy's midsection.
Toshiro leapt back and stared at the spray of blood.
What is going on?! I should be in pain right now!! I can't feel anything?!
Yammamoto flash stepped to his side and unleashed a set of strikes, each one barely dodged by Toshiro. Sliced horizontally and his blade caught that of his opponent. "Sit upon the frozen heavens...Hyorinmaru!" A blast of ice caught the captain commander by surprise.
Toshiro knew he would escape in seconds, so he drove his blade into the ice and at the captain commander's head! The ice shattered and Yammamoto jerked his head to the side. The blades tip sunk into his cheek and made a deep gash into his face.
"Just another scar!! That won't stop me!" Yammamoto unleashed a shot of red fire without even using an incantation, only a point of his finger. Toshiro deflected it with a powerful sword thrust and then dashed forward to counter-attack.
The captain commander anticipated the movement and ducked to the side where he found a hole in the young shinigami's defence. He jabbed his zanpakuto into his side and then wrenched the blade out with a smile of satisfaction.
Toshiro choked on the blood that bubbled up into his throat, but still he couldn't feel pain. The wound was completely numb.
Genryusai noticed the odd occurrence and his eyes narrowed. "How can you not feel such wounds?!"
"I don't know!"
*****
Blood spied on the two combatants from a distance. "Do not fear little puppet. I have given you the strength to kill that old fool! Now fight!" She cackled and threw her hands to the skies. "I don't even have to lift a finger! He will exterminate his own kind for me!!"
*****
Toshiro stared at his wounds. "I can't feel anything! What is happening to me?!"
"I don't care if you are oblivious to pain! You can still die!!" Yammamoto back-handed the smaller man and sent him hurtling into a wall. He then flash stepped over to where Toshiro lay and then kicked him in the ribs. Toshiro made no sound as he was thrown about and beaten senseless.
"So...I must use more effort to kill you then. So be it! Turn all creation to ash...Ryujin Jakka!" The long katana's blade became engulfed in flames.
Toshiro watched the glowing flames that wrapped themselves around the blade, like burning vines around a steel tree. The menacing weapon swung down towards him and he felt something tick in the back of his mind.
"I won't let you die just yet!"
A female voice whispered harshly in his mind.
The blade crashed down and a sea of flames swept over the whole area. Genryusai laughed and inhaled the fire. "Ha! Not even a captain of your strength could survive that! I- What?!"
Toshiro had caught the blade with a bare hand, the blade embedded into his palm. His whole body was veiled in shadows cast by the firelight, the only thing visible were the icy, silver tips of his hair and the blazing green serpents eyes. The gaze burned straight through the captain commander. Yammamoto stepped back and lowered his sword.
"How?! That is not possible!!"
"I am Toshiro Hitsugaya...And my blade is the great dragon of ice, Hyorinmaru! Together we are unstoppable, and together we shall slay the wicked! We shall be granted victory and our enemies head shall be carried in our hands!"
"Grrrr!! Insolence! Stand down!!" Yammamoto roared.
"It is too late for that! We both accepted the challenge...winner takes all...the loser forfeits his rank...and his own life! I will not back down until your black heart finishes it's final beat!!" A blue aura grew around him as he spoke. It eventually took on the form of a great dragon which towered over the two opponents and reached into the skies.
"Are you afraid Shigekuni Yammamoto Genryusai?" Toshiro growled.
The ancient man grunted and spat to his side. "I have never feared death in my many centuries of life! I will not start now!" The captain commander's reiatsu increased and the flames raged with more intensity. "Are you forgetting that Hyorinmaru isn't the only dragon here..." Yammamoto thrust his zanpakuto at the sky and the flames gathered into the form of a great dragon. The two beasts hissed and roared at each other, as their leaders stared coldly at each other.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!" All screamed in unison.
*****
From her position, blood could see the huge dragons charge at each other. They towered over the buildings and made the world look small and insignificant.
"What is this?! I can't control that boy anymore! He must have rejected the spell somehow!" Her glowing eyes scanned the area as a great shockwave turned the buildings to ash and dust. "This power! It is truly that of the gods of death!"
"What?"
Blood whirled around and almost fainted. The red cloaked reaper floated in the air and drifted softly to the ground.
"Grim?! What are you doing here?!" Blood backed away from her leader and bumped into something. She craned her neck to see grim right behind her. Her eyes darted back to his original spot which now was empty.
"You did well."
"Oh, you scared me! I thought-" Blood was interrupted by a scythe severing her arm. A black tar-like substance spilled out. She gasped and fell back, stumbling on her own cloak and falling.
"I will not tolerate betrayal!" Grim snarled. He raised his scythe, the blade shaped like a black and red dragon skull, it's serrated fangs forming a barbed cutting edge. The spikes at the back of the skull were wrapped in chains and smoke rose from the intimidating weapon. Three small horns ran along the top edge and a talon jutted out from the bottom of the dragons jaw. A clawed hand made up the bottom of the staff which was made of rotted brown/red wood.
"I would never-"
"Listen carefully blood!" Grim's eyes burrowed into her and made her paralysed. "This is a warning! If I ever hear so much as a hint of possible deception, then your head shall be ground to powder! Am I clear!"
"Yes sir..." Blood waited for him to go before curling into a ball and crying. Her tears were formed from the same dark tarry fluid which bled from her amputated arm.
*****
Yoruichi glared at the reaper before her. His glowing little eyes focused on her shikai, a duo of vicious looking daggers, one with a 's' bend blade pointing inwards, the other pointing out. Yoruichi crossed the two blades and closed her eyes.
The reaper took this as a chance to attack and rushed to her, his clawed hand swinging out behind him. As he came within two steps from her, she vanished...only to materialize above him. The reaper dodged the first strike, but the second landed on his arm, cracking the bone. He slashed Yoruichi's back and then kicked at her face, but she had rolled out of the way. The two exchanged swift, yet powerful strikes in extensive combinations. Sparks flew constantly as steel met steel in a violent confrontation. Mixed into the flurry of slashes and scratches were various kicks and punches.
The two managed to dodge and block many of the attacks which happened so fast that they were almost imperceptible. Yoruichi's daggers danced wildly at such a speed that they created mirages.
The two landed heavy blows to each other and both became badly wounded. Yoruichi's left hand shook as a red waterfall cascaded down from a deep cut in her upper arm. Her back had a gory pattern of lines carved into it. A scratch under one eye trickled with stray droplets of blood. The front of her uniform was torn in various places, revealing her dark flesh underneath. Her stomach had been slashed and a deep wound made her wheeze and gasp for breath.
The reaper had a fragment of his jaw removed and a large crack ran down the side of his skull. One hand was twisted and broken and one of his legs had been severed to the knee. He floated just above the ground to compensate for the missing limb and then removed the useless arm.
"A worthy opponent." The reaper murmured. A black liquid bled from his wounds. It smelled terrible and maggots festered among the black soup. "I have never sustained an injury this severe before!"
"That's not surprising. You are very powerful. It's just a lucky coincidence that I was here, otherwise Soi Fon would have been slain." Yoruichi wiped a trail of blood from her mouth and cheek.
"Well then..." The reaper moved behind her and drove his claws deep inside her back. "...Maybe we should end this!" Yoruichi gasped and slowly, shakily craned her neck around to see him. Her amber coloured eyes were wide and terrified and her jaw had dropped. Her whole body trembled and her feet slipped out from under her. The world spun around and patches of darkness stole from her vision.
"Goodnight, shadow cat!" The reaper drew his claws out and let Yoruichi drop to the ground, her head slamming into a rock. "Your strength was impressive, but I have still endured this torment of life three times longer than you have!" The reaper wrapped his wounds in makeshift bandages made from Yoruichi's clothes. He stared at her half naked body and smiled. "I guess that weakness is the price of beauty..." He then vanished, leaving only a hideous, bug-infested pool behind him.
*****
Toshiro closed his eyes and listened to the humming chorus of killing intent emanating from his sword. A great blue dragon towered over him, as tall as a skyscraper and as long as a river.
Yammamoto stood with his own mighty dragon, forged from the vengeful flames that inhabited his zanpakuto. The flaming beast spread it's immense wings and the sun disappeared behind a red eclipse.
Toshiro's blue dragon rose on it's back feet and roared. It's fangs were even larger than Kommamura, the huge fox man. The two serpents glared at each other and roared in unison. The sound made windows cave in and small structures to collapse.
All of Soul Society stopped as the great battle cry rose from the great beasts.
"Prepare yourself old man!! This is WAR!!!" Toshiro stabbed at the sky and the dragon surged forward. To some watching at a distance, it appeared as if the sky was moving. Genryusai's dragon crawled forward and the two reiatsu clashed in a fearsome explosion which threw the two opponents far from each other. The sky rained ash and ice as the two dragons exploded on impact. A huge portion of Soul Society became reduced to a steaming crater.
Almost all of the shinigami appeared at the base of the crater, thousands of eyes searching for the source of the destructive blast. As the smoke cleared, the two foes continued their stand off. Their eyes sent messages more terrible than anything that could be spoken.
"Your skills are worthy of the gods young one. You were always the weaker of the other captains, but today, you have shown a strength that I doubt even Ukitake and Kyouraku could posses."
The word posses made Toshiro flinch. It was then that the pain set in from before. Every flake of skin was a new wave of pain, throbbing inside his head. He dropped his sword and began to stagger.
"You have used the last of your strength. The battle is over now!"
"NO! I swore I would kill you!! I can still fight! Bankai!! Daigyuren Hyorinmaru!!" Toshiro's blade released a small amount of reishi and a small aura enveloped the blade, but the Bankai never formed. "What?!"
"You have drained your spiritual energy. You can barely keep your shikai active in your current state!"
Toshiro wanted to deny it but he witnessed his blade return to it's normal state with no aura, no ice, just plain steel. "No...Even with everything I had...It was nowhere near enough...Matsumoto...I'm sorry."
Genryusai limped forward, his body was badly singed from the blast. His beard had turned black from the ash and parts were burnt off.
"Very well...I accept defeat. Banish me if you must!" Toshiro raised his hands in surrender.
"Banish? I don't think so! Remember the rules of the challenge. The loser must forfeit his rank...and his life!" Genryusai raised his sword and shut his eyes. Instantly, flames leapt around the blade and his body. "I shall make your end quick, but the pain shall last even after you pass into the shadows!"
"I can't die!! I...I can't!!" Toshiro begged.
"I do not care for weaklings who beg for their lives. Mercy only goes to those who deserve it!"
"But before you said that my strength surpassed that of your own students!!"
"I did, but that does not mean a thing when the power is used against me! Now bow your head in shame and say farewell to the world."
Toshiro did as instructed and knelt by his sword, his head lowered and his gaze to the dirt.
"I shall send Matsumoto your head as a reminder of you." The sword swang down and the flames crackled hungrily, eager to feast on the defeated young captain.
Blood splattered over the dirt and onto the two combatants. The warm red fluid signified death and the crowds around the crater gasped and screamed in shock.
The two foes remained standing. Toshiro fell first. He bled profusely from many wounds all over his body. His eyes still stared wide open and his teeth became stained with red. His reiatsu fell drastically until it could no longer be felt.
"Captain Hitsugaya!! He's dead!! He's dead!!" A young female shinigami shrieked. Two bystanders approached her and dragged her from the scene.
The captains all flash stepped down to their captain commander who still hadn't moved an inch since the final strike.
"Poor Toshiro-kun. It never should have come to this!" Ukitake stooped down and closed the young mans eyes.
"Captain Commander, what shall we do with him?" Asked Byakuya Kuchiki. "Captain Commander?!" Byakuya made a step towards the old man before he collapsed.
"Master Genryusai!!" Ukitake and the others crowded around him. Kyouraku brushed the ancient warriors beard aside and found a blood slick handle sticking out from a still bleeding wound. With a grunt of effort, he pulled the blade out and found it to be snapped in half. All eyes fell on the hilt, the design of which only belonged to one person...
Toshiro Hitsugaya!
Did Toshiro win? Is he really dead? How will Matsumoto feel when she hears the news? Will Yoruichi and Soi Fon survive their encounter with a Reaper?
All will be revealed in the next chapter!! Don't miss it!!
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