Hello all! If you don't follow my profile, then you don't know why I didn't update on Firday as usual. The reason is this: I've started another story, and it'll be full of badassery and epicness! Go and check it out, the summary for it will tell you more.
Also, I won't be updating either story this Friday as I will not have internet. That's why I'm posting this chapter now. I'll be back next week to update my other story, then this one the week after that, so on, so forth.
Now, without further ado, here is the newest chapter of Put to the Test! Enjoy, and leave a review!
Diclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Dammit!" the child Hatsuyo exclaims. He's not been hurt, but he can't seem to do any damage to his opponent, either.
"Hatsuyo," Majo says, appearing next to her brother. "I think we should retreat."
"Yeah, you're right. Listen up, you cheap shot bastards! I'll be back, and when I am, I'll take on every last one of you!" Hatsuyo yells as Majo opens the portal.
"Not so fast," Captain Kyoraku says. He flash steps right between the two and grabs both by the backs of their robes. "I'm afraid I can't let you leave so easily."
"Dammit, let go!" Hatsuyo yells, aiming a kick for Shunsui's crotch. The blow lands easier than one would think, but Hatsuyo's foot just starts to smoke and tears well up in his eyes.
Majo sighs. She really didn't want to have to get serious, and it'll probably have serious side-effects on her while in this form, but she knows she'll have to perform some pretty heavy duty kido to get her and her brother to safety. "Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired," she says rather quickly and somewhat quietly.
"Majo, no!" Hatsuyo says, but he's too late. His sister has already said the full incantation and is currently stating the hado number and name.
"Hado number 91: Senju Koten Taiho."
The resulting blast is tremendous despite being caused by a little girl. It provides them with cover to escape as Shunsui is caught off guard. As they are slipping through the portal, however, a black and white blur cut them off. The two are once again in custody of a captain, and this time it's Sui Feng who has them in her grasp. "Now!" she yells.
"Right!" Tessai says. He puts his hands together in an intricate formation and starts his kido. "Bakudo number 99 part one: Kin!" he yells. Black bindings appear from nowhere and pin Majo and Hatsuyo to the ground, their arms by their sides. A smaller one wraps itself around Majo's head, gagging her mouth. Stone tablets slam into the bindings and strengthen the seal.
Then, the rest of the Kido Corp lying in wait start to chant, constructing a larger barrier around the two. Tessai and Hachi join in, and the resulting green box is impenetrable, even for Majo Kumiawase.
"Alright, Captain Kyoraku. You can release your bankai," Tessai says, undoing his first kido. Shunsui seals his swords and places them in their sheathes. However, Majo and Hatsuyo remain as children.
"Sorry about that, you two. It's a side effect of my bankai. Don't worry, though; you'll be back to normal soon enough," Shunsui says. "For now, though, you two just sit tight. We'll be contacting Central 46 in the mean time."
Hatsuyo huffs and Majo remains uncharicteristically unemotional. "I'm sorry," she says quietly, so that only Hatsuyo can hear.
"For what?" he responds.
"I failed, and now we've been caught. They'll probably execute us," she replies solemnly.
"Hey, don't give up just yet. Once we're back to normal, I have a plan," Hatsuyo says, grinning at his sister cockily. "Besides, I wasn't exactly useful, either. We can't do anything in these forms. And, I can't believe I'm saying this to you, but you can't be so reckless."
Majo remains silent. Her last attack really drained her, and it's going to be a while until she can do anything again. Maybe, once they've returned to their original size, she'll be fine, but for now, she's content with just lying on the broken tiles of the Seireitei ground.
...
"Excellent work, everyone. We now have the intruders in custody and are awaiting Central 46's judgement. What is the progree of the Sokyoku?" Head Captain Yamamoto asks Kido Commander Tsukabishi. All remaining captains with the addition of Ichigo and Tessai, including acting Captain Urahara, are in a Captains' Meeting. The top members of the Punishment Force and the Kido Corp are still with the prisoners, continuing to strengthen the barrier and ready to strike if necessary.
"The Sokyoku is almost fully restored, Head Captain Yamamoto. I will be assissting in its completion after this meeting," Tessai replies.
"Very well. Captain Kyoraku, how long will it be until the effects of your bankai wear off?" Yamamoto asks.
"It shouldn't take long, but that barrier will at least keep them contained until we can get there in case anything goes wrong," Shunsui replies.
"Just in case, Captains Sui Feng and Ukitake will supervise the situation. Captain Unohana will be maintaining Squad 4's relief efforts. Captain Hitsugaya is currently recovering from his battle. Captain Kyoraku, do you need time to rest?" Yamamoto asks. Shunsui's bankai is understandably taxing and the Head Captain knows it.
"I'm fine, Old Man Yama. If the enemy gives us any trouble, I'll be able to help out. I don't think I'd be able to go into bankai again, though," he says.
"That is good. You all are dismissed!"
...
"Hey, Hatsuyo," Majo's childish voice cuts through Hatsuyo's brooding. It's been a while, and both siblings have had time to cool off.
"Yeah, Majo?" Hatsuyo replies.
"Do you remember the time when we went to one of the neighboring ditricts back in the Rukon and made that secret base when we were little?" Majo asks, her small form giving her a feeling of nostalgia.
"I remember Kansoku getting onto us the next day," Hatsuyo replies.
Majo giggles a bit. "We never could hide from him."
"Or find him when he didn't want to be found," Hatsuyo adds.
"Oh, but it was so much fun, though, wasn't it? Being able to discover new places, places way better than our own home, even if things were still terrible."
"Yeah, I guess we had it kinda rough compared to most people. Still, we made it out of there and made an even better place. The three of us became the very first Soul Reapers and created the Seireitei. We founded the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the Kido Corp and the Stealth Force, and look at the thanks we got from it," Hatsuyo says bitterly.
"Kansoku," Majo whispers, tears welling in her eyes as she remembers the day of her older brother's death all those years ago.
-FLASHBACK-
"Majo!" Kansoku yells as he Flash Steps into the office of the Kido Commander. However, it's empty except for a small team of people who are obviously from the punishment force, undoubtedly there to assassinate the Majo.
"Traitors! What have you done with her!?" Kanosku yells, even as he starts systematically and yet brutally rips through his opponents with nothing but hand-to-hand combat. He quickly defeats the assassins, leaving only one consious. "Where is she?" he asks, dangerously quiet with a tone that almost causes the man to pass out from fear.
"She wasn't here when we got here," the man says calmly. He'd been trained to keep cool under these circumstances, but he was doubtful with his orders anyway, so he was perfectly fine with telling his Commander everything he knows. "One other team was dispatched to the next most likely place that she'd be, in the west Rukon."
Kansoku grunts. 'Of course she'd be there.' He knocks the man out just in time for Hatsuyo to arrive.
"Where is she?" Hatsuyo asks the same question.
"At your old 'hideout'," Kansoku replies. The two take off once again, but Kansoku stays near Hatsuyo instead of speeding ahead.
During the trip, the two can feel a powerful clash of spiritual pressure, and out of the hundreds that Kansoku can make out, Majo's is among them and, somehow, quickly waning.
"She's in trouble," Kansoku says, speeding up. Hatsuyo struggles to keep up, but his brother leaves him behind once again.
Kansoku quickly arrives along the outer areas of the Soul Society and, to his horror, find hundreds upon hundreds of Soul Reapers quickly closing in on Majo. His bankai won't help in this fight as it's purely a stealth weapon, but he can still use the sealed wakizashi to start killing the attackers.
However, it isn't enough. He can't reach his sister and Hatsuyo won't make it in time to provide the necessary back up. He knows that there's only one option left.
"Creatures of Hell, masters of the under world, hear my call. I call upon you not for myself but for those around me. Your sword of fire may consume all that can be killed by it, plunging those souls into your domain. I offer my own body, regardless of whether you complete what I wish to be done," he chants, loud enough for Majo to hear.
"NO!" she screams at him. "DON'T DO IT, KANSOKU! PLEASE!" she cries, but the look in his eyes tell her that he won't be persuaded. Through her tears she can tell by the look in his eyes that he means for her to use a barrier to protect herself from the attack, but she can barely find the strength to.
Still, she won't allow his sacrifice to be in vain. With her attackers still approaching, she throws up as many Dankus as she can muster right below her, rising high in the air to avoid the blast of the kido that her brother is about to unleash,
"Hado number 96: Itto Kaso," Kansoku finishes the incantation. As he does, the tip of a giant katana made entirely of fire encompasses the area in which the attackers are located, allowing his own body to be used as a catalyst. He lets the fires consume him entirely along with every attacker there, the sheer intensity of the attack leaving only one person left after the fire recedes.
And right now, she can think of nothing else but the pain in her heart.
-END FLASHBACK-
"Majo," Hatsuyo's voice snaps his sister out of her trance.
"What is it?" she asks.
"Can you feel it?" Hatsuyo replies with a question.
Majo calms herself and can feel her spiritual pressure rapidly building within her. "Yes," she replies.
"Alright, here's the plan," Hatsuyo says, whispering in his sister's ear.
"Hey! Knock it off in there!" one of the men in the custom black uniform of the Punishment Force orders.
"Or what?" Hatsuyo says, his still young body marching up to the barrier and knocking on it. "Are you gonna come in here and do something about it?"
"If you don't stop, we have orders to execute you!" the man says.
"Do you want to know what happened to the last man who said they had orders to kill me?" Hatsuyo says in a quiet tone. His head is pointed down, his brown hair covering his eyes. All of the men around him are a little put off by his demeanor, despite their training and his obvious disadvantage. They are focusing on him so much that they don't notice his sister muttering something quietly with her fingers twisted into a kido spell sign.
Suddenly, a green light appears within the barrier, shocking all of the Soul Reapers outside of it. The light dies down to reveal a green barrier, inside of which is Hageshi Rakurai, all 12 links of chain fully manifested and glowing.
The barrier around the sword breaks and Hatsuyo reclaims his weapon. As grabs it, he and Majo's body both grow exponentially until they are once again their older selves. Majo, who seems to have way more energy than she used to, uses the same spell that she did in her previous battle. However, with her back to normal, it's full strength is infinitely more powerful. "Senju Koten Taiho." she says after her incantation is complete.
However, instead of targeting the barrier, she fires the multiple rods of light at Hatsuyo, who raises his zanpakuto to absorb the bankai. He then thrusts it at the barrier wall and the combined power of the kido and a full strength swing of Hageshi Rakurai manage to break through it, allowing Hatsuyo and his sister to escape, much to everyone else's surprise and horror.
The members of the punishment force attack, but Hatsuyo quickly slices through each one, keeping his promise to the Head Captain. "Pathetic," he says. "Kansoku never allowed his men to be seen until they struck. You might've had a chance had you followed that principle."
"I allow my men to be seen to inspire fear into the hearts of those who earn the full force of my wrath," the voice of a new arrival says as Hatsuyo feels a sting in his back. Before his new opponent can strike again, however, he blocks the attack to his front, making the small attacker retreat temporarily.
"Captain of Squad 2, I see," Hatsuyo says, regarding the insignia on the back of Captan Sui Feng's jacket. "And also the leader of the Punishment Force, making you the Commander of the Stealth Force as well, correct?"
"Very astute of you to notice," Sui Feng replies. Her shikai is already released, the stinger-like weapon poised to strike.
"Is that your bankai?" Hatsuyo asks doubtfully. "Surely there isn't a second Soul Reaper who has a bankai as small as that."
"You're right, this isn't my bankai. That won't by necessary for this fight, only my shikai will be required," Sui Feng says.
"I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. I've promised to kill every member of the Stealth Force I come across, and you'll recieve no pity from me just because you're a captain," Hatsuyo declares as he attacks.
Majo fires a quick Sokatsui at her brother's blade, but before it is absorbed by a different sword. the kido travels wuickly down the zanpakuto my travels through a length of rope, passing through five charms on the way, drastically increasing the power of the attack. On the other end of the rope is a sword identical to the other, and the spell is fired from it back at Majo, who quickly blocks it with Danku.
"You won't be using that technique while I'm around," Juushiro says, entering a combat stance.
"Then I'll dispose of you first," Majo says calmly, entering her state of no emotion once more.
