Guardian Angel
Chapter 7
The Final Lesson:
Part I
Disclaimer: I no own Bleach people.
GAH! I HATE SUNDAYS!! I woke up today with a sore throat, a killer migraine and I was nauseous; I STILL had to got to church! This is one of those days where I hate being Catholic. What sucks even more is that this is the first time I've gotten sick in three years. THREE YEARS, that's like a world record or something!
... Anyway, this chapter is cool. This is a two part mini-arc where Matt will finalize his training by achieving Bankai! So the way I figure it, we've got about three or four chapters until Matt has his showdown with Toshiro; I know two readers in particular are looking forward to it. I've already written the actual fight scene, I've just left out the dialog and such because I'm still working on the final details, but overall, that particular chapter is technically already finished.
Oh, and Human. Vizard, if you're reading this (who am I kidding, I know you are.), I hope my advice to you helped. I've checked out your writing, and it's pretty good to begin with. Much better than some of the other work I've seen. There's nothing in there that a little editing can't fix.
Okay, I'm done rambling, onward!
Five days…another five days of Kido lessons, Zanjutsu training, and workout drills. His zanjutsu, according to Ichigo, was a match for his now. His Kido was going well as too; Rukia was a great teacher and in a matter of days Matt had mastered almost all the Destructive spells save for the most powerful which even she didn't know. As for his physical training, well it had gotten to the point where he could block Zangetsu with his bare hands if he had to, so Matt assumed that was good.
It was about maybe noon and he had stopped, both for some lunch, and because Ichigo apparently had something important to tell him. He was just polishing off the last of some coffee when Ichigo walked into the room, still in his body seeing as he hadn't done any Zanjutsu yet. He sat down across from him at the table with a serious look on his face.
"So what's up?" asked Matt.
"I think you're ready for Bankai," he said bluntly.
Matt sat there for a second, absorbing what he'd said, "Bankai, huh? What would I have to do?"
"Well, you'd have to fight your zanpakuto spirit…and beat him."
Matt was afraid of as much. If he really had to fight Gabriel, he didn't see how he'd ever achieve Bankai, how was he supposed to beat and angel who'd existed before existence? Still, he'd need Bankai in the future; that much was clear. He had to at least try it...for Holly.
"I'll do it," he answered.
"Good, it's going to be noon in about fifteen minutes; that gives us just enough time to set up."
"We're doing this now?"
"The sooner we start, the sooner we finish. Don't you have a friend to protect?" Ichigo goaded as he jumped down the basement hatch.
Matt nodded and jumped straight down the hatch to the shop basement. He had to pull this off; he had to show Gabriel he was worthy. Beating the angel wouldn't be easy; hell, he wasn't even sure if it was possible, but he'd feel even worse if he didn't at least give it a shot. He trusted Gabriel enough to know that he wouldn't pull any punches, not out of resentment, but for the sake of his training.
Matt felt a subtle thud as he landed on the soft sand of the Urahara Shoten basement. Ichigo was walking over to the bottom of a mound of sand toward a human-shaped white cutout looking thing. He picked it up and set it upright, keeping it steady by placing a hand on its 'shoulder'.
"So what's with the cardboard cutout?" asked Matt.
"This is a Tenshintai, a special Soul Reaper tool normally used by the special forces, but I've got some friends in high places and got my hands on one. Basically, all you have to do is activate your shikai, stab this thing, and your spirit will appear. Once that happens, you have to defeat him, only then will you be able to achieve Bankai," he explained.
"Sounds pretty straight forward, so what's the catch?"
"The catch is, you've only got three days. Take any longer than that, and you'll probably die."
Matt lowered his head, contemplating if he really wanted to go through with this or not. He had no problems trying, but what if he failed? There were two negative possible outcomes, either Gabriel would end up killing him, or he'd die by running out of time; the odds definitely weren't in his favor. Still, if Ichigo could do it, then he could do it.
"I told you when we started I couldn't guarantee your safety, that you might die," he continued.
"I know, I knew what I was getting into," he said as he pulled out his claymore.
"It's like I keep telling you guys though; I've died once already, and it wasn't so bad."
He centered his zanpakuto, and prepared to call on his shikai, "Bring Heavens Wrath: Gabriel!"
As he shouted the command, he was engulfed in the familiar fires of his reiatsu. It was always such a warm feeling; it looked painful from the outside, but to him it was like a hot shower or sitting next to a strong fireplace. He smiled as his sword heated up to a similar temperature, the flames licking the superheated metal core of the blade. After using it a few times, the whole transition felt very natural and comfortable.
He opened his eyes and stared down at the flaming sword. In a sense, he was looking forward to this; how many people can say they've fought an angel. Even if he did die, this was one hell of a way to go down. At least he'd die swinging.
"This is your last chance to back dow-..." he was cut off as Matt had already stabbed the Tenshintai.
"Ichigo...shut up and get out of my way."
He said nothing, but shunpo'd away, leaving Matt to stare on as the Tenshintai took shape. It was slowly but surly re-molding itself into the shape he knew well. In a mere matter of seconds, Gabriel was standing in front of him, holding an identical flaming claymore. He was an intimidating figure; a white clad man with just as white hair and giant wings holding a sword that was on fire, not the sort of guy you'd want to piss off.
"I see you're finally moving onto Bankai," he said while taking a look at his surroundings.
"Yup, now is there any special way you want to do this?" asked Matt.
"Not particularly, no. I think a simple dual would suffice."
"That's it?"
"Yes, why?" he asked.
"Nothing, it's just that I expected something a bit more complicated than, 'hey, let's beat each other to death with sharp objects'. I mean, you are an a being who has a near infinite understanding of the workings of the universe, but that's just me."
"Sometimes, the greatest lessons can be taught in the simplest of forms."
Matt entered a zanjutsu stance, "Maybe."
Gabriel stood ready as well, the two staring each other down. Suddenly Gabriel dashed to the left and Matt followed, matching his course and speed perfectly. The two closed in one each other, and swung their blades, creating a gunshot like sound as the two pieces of superheated metal slammed into each other.
Ichigo stood atop a large rock structure near the entrance to the basement, watching Matt and his spirit battle. He was absorbed in the two blurs of flames until he heard a number of voices coming from the ladder.
"Come on slowpokes, he's already started!" shouted who Ichigo recognized as Jinto.
He looked over to the source of the voice; Jinto had dropped down to the ground, followed by Ururu and Tessai. Shortly afterwords, Kisuke, Nathan, and Rukai landed, and even Grimmjow showed up to watch. They all jumped up to where Ichigo was sitting; Rukai took a seat next to him and Nathan next to her, Jinto and Ururu sat a little farther to his left, Tessai sat behind them, and Kisuke and Grimmjow chose to stand.
"How late are we?"asked Nathan.
"Not very, he just started a minute ago."
"You wouldn't know it, they've already done some pretty severe damage to my basement," commented Kisuke.
Ichigo turned his attention back to the battle, Matt and Gabriel were it a fit of high speed strafing, slamming their blades into each others at speeds well beyond the human eye. Neither of them had sustained any injuries as far as Ichigo could tell, but this was, at most, a three day process; there would be plenty of time for injuries.
"Come on ya smarmy bastard, take him down!" shouted Nathan.
"I doubt he can hear you," said Rukai.
"It's the thought that counts."
Ichigo turned to Grimmjow. "So why are you here, you hate Matt?"
"True, but I wanna know if the punk can pull of Bankai or not, and if he can, then I wanna fight him. Watching him fight against his zanpakuto will give me a good idea of what he can do."
"Is fighting all you think about?" asked Rukia.
He gave her a dumb look and pointed to the gaping hole in his gut, "Hollow."
"Right, stupid question."
"You think he'll pull it off?" asked Jinto.
"I've got no doubt that he will, it's just a matter of when."
With that, they all turned back to Matt's battle with his zanpakuto; the arc angel Gabriel.
Matt jumped over a low sweeping slash that Gabriel sent his way. He retaliated a thrust with his own blade, but Gabriel easily sidestepped it and slashed for Matt's head. He twisted sideways; the blade came so close, he felt some of the flames lick his ear. The young Soul Reaper jumped back, but it was futile. He'd learned already that Gabriels wings gave him a huge advantage in speed, and his swordsmanship was better than Matt's by a mile.
They'd been fighting for four straight hours now, and Matt still hadn't landed a single blow. He wasn't fairing as well; he'd already gotten hit in the chest twice and his right arm got nicked about an hour ago. He'd also received a head wound from the pommel of Gabriels claymore, and the blood was dripping down his face, sometimes distracting him.
Speaking of his superior speed, Gabriel was now behind Matt as he sped backwards. He dug his feet into the ground and flipped to the right at the last seconds, avoiding a huge Sanctus Incendia attack. As soon as he landed, he sensed Gabriel behind him again already. He put his sword over his shoulder, blocking the attack on his back, and twisted about, forcing both their blades into the ground.
"You've improved immensely Matt, even most other angels don't last this long against me," he complimented as brought their blades up again, and pushed the boy back.
Matt charged him again, and was easily deflected by the angel. With an opening in his defense, Gabriel delivered a strong kick to his stomach, shooting him back into a large stone about a mile away. Gabriel was there in an instant, just outside the cloud of dust and sand.
Suddenly he heard Matt's voice from inside the cloud, "Sanctus Incendia!"
Gabriel stepped to the side as the huge wave of flames blew past him and glassed all the sand in its path. Following in it's wake was his host himself, his blade raised and ready to strike. Gabriel jumped back a bit, Matt's claymore slamming harmlessly into the ground. The angel followed this up by kicking Matt hard in the chin, blasting him high into the air until he slammed into the ceiling of the basement.
He hung there for a second, and then began falling back to the ground. Before he was even halfway down though, Gabriel intercepted him. He grabbed the back of Matt's head, and forced in into his knee, breaking his nose. With that, Gabriel let him fall again until he hit the ground. Even though it was sand, the sheer altitude he fell from was enough to cause the impact to hurt.
Matt pushed himself up again, staggering up against the protest from his body. He spit out the blood that was gathering in his mouth and lifted his sword again, even though he was sure his left arm was out of its socket. Even as he was rising, Gabriel appeared in front of him again. Luckily, he was able to move fast enough to roll under the attack. Though as soon as he stood, he saw Gabriel's claymore had half it's blade in the sand as he used it as a platform for an inverted windmill kick.
The angels foot slammed straight into his face, firing him backwards again. He wasn't sure if he would be able to get up again; his arms and legs screamed at him to lay still, and his head was throbbing as he lost blood at an alarming speed. Once again, Gabriel was there, standing over his battered and bruised opponent.
"Is this all you have, is this what my power has been wasted on?" he said as he kicked Matt in the stomach again, sending him rolling back a few feet.
He began coughing up, no, vomiting up blood violently. The sand around him was covered in a red tint as his inner fluids soaked into the ground. The breaths he were able to breathe between his fits of coughing were ragged and strained at best.
"I really had faith in you, I honestly believed you could be a great warrior. Obviously the billions of years of existence have taught me nothing."
He raised his blade to strike the killing blow.
"Holly would have been disappointing."
He thrust the sword down, only to have it blocked. Not by a blade, not by an arm, not even by a hand; Matt had stopped the final attack with his index finger. What was even more amazing was the fact that he wasn't even looking in Gabriels general direction.
He heard him mumble something, but he couldn't hear it.
"What?" asked Gabriel.
"I said," he started as he grabbed ahold of Gabriels claymore with his entire hand, not even wincing in pain, "You really just need to SHUT UP!"
He pulled on his blade, forcing it down along with the angel. At the same time, Matt rose up and threw his left fist forward, punching Gabriel right in the jaw. The blow threw the angel all the way back into the ladder that led out of the basement, which at this point was at least a two mile distance.
Gabriel lay there in sand on his back. As he sat up, he moved his tongue around his mouth, and spit out one of his molars. He felt his mouth, and felt the blood trickle down his chin, and he grinned. He hadn't seen his own blood since the Great Rebellion of Lucifer. The Prince of Darkness himself had left a scar his chest, among other, less severe wounds.
He looked into the distance, and saw the familiar orange-red glow of Matt's energy. His full power was now in high gear, which was what Gabriel had been aiming to do.
'It's about time,' he thought to himself with a grin.
Oh yeah, part one is done! Bankai is coming next chapter, then it's back to the Soul Society! Today sucked so far, but finishing this chapter brightened my day, I love a good fight scene. Speaking of which, what did you guys think, this was one of my better fight scenes, a few of my past ones were a little lazy in my opinion; the fight against Ichigo was one of them. That one could have come out better, but it was still good.
Anywho, many thanks for reading and reviewing, I'm now looking forward to writing Matt's Bankai, and then his fight against Toshiro, that'll be fun. For now though, I'm gonna take a little break; I'm still feeling a bit under the weather.
I'll recover quicker if you review, so think if my health!