Well here it is. Enjoy
Chapter 8- The Real Battle Begins Part 2
"Here I come, Captain Kira."
The wicked grin on his face said it all. Ryoku was intent on having boatloads of fun in this fight. And Captain Kira was about to get the short end of the stick. Or, sword really. There was no way to get out of this fight now. He Izuru was deadlocked and he had nowhere to go. Izuru could already tell that this boy, this child, had Captain-level power within him. There was only one thing to do.
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP AGAINST KID!"
Not only did Izuru charge into battle with no plan, he went into battle against a knowingly stronger opponent. Still, Izuru fought skillfully and valiantly. The two warriors charged at each other with terrifying speed.
All Izuru could see on his opponent's face, was that same wicked grin. It terrified Izuru right down to his soul. Just the way Ryoku fought was like Kenpachi, right down to the way his fingers held his blade. As their blades collided and crashed back and forth, Ryoku could feel his blade getting unbearably heavy.
Izuru noticed this and found his spark of hope. The spark wouldn't light, however, to Izuru's disapproval.
'Maybe I can use this extra weight to my advantage.'
Ryoku thought to himself. So, with this in mind, he braced himself for the next clash. Izuru rushed forth with his unbelievable speed and attempted to hook Ryoku's blade. He seized his opportunity and dropped his sword. Izuru tried to get Wabisuke free, but to no avail. He and his sword fell deftly to the floor, back of the hook in the ground.
Izuru was attempting to free Wabisuke, when Ryoku appeared behind him.
"Hado #31, Shakkaho."
A ball of red Kido formed in Ryoku's right hand.
'I'm really glad I had Stoma help me with my Kido practice...'
Flashback...
"You can do it man!"
"No way dude. This is way too hard."
Ryoku was training his Kido nonstop in the forest outside the Soul Reaper Academy. Before Jenna was arrested, Ryoku was a star student, excelling in Kido practices and Hakuda. Some of his Hado and Bakudo were still in need of some work.
'I do NOT want to end up in Squad 4 for my Kaido.'
A first-day friend of his, Stoma Ikinazuke, was currently the top in the Kido class. Ryoku kept this in mind while training until exhaustion.
"Try it out man. One more time."
"Fine."
Ryoku got up from the rock he was sitting on and took his position. He mustered up his own inner energy and morphed it as it spilled out into the shape of a sphere. No incantation needed, Ryoku fired his flaming red missile at a nearby tree with a bull's-eye carved into it. The sphere hit dead center and the tree basically disintegrated.
"Wow. A much better result than I thought. You're doing better. Keep training like this, and you'll be in the 60 level Hado in no time. Now take a break buddy."
"Awesome."
Stoma tossed a smile and went to sit on a rock opposite of Ryoku. He was sweating and had just his lower half of his mock shihakusho on. Every day after that, until Jenna's arrest, they went to that same forest to train.
END OF FLASHBACK
Ryoku's highly powerful Kido attack hit Izuru point-blank. He was surprised by how powerful the attack was without an incantation. Izuru was factoring in Ryoku's extraordinary spiritual energy, of course.
Everything went downhill for him then.
Izuru was sent flying back in the direction that he had originally come from. He regained his footing after tumbling a little bit and he reached for his blade, realizing that Wabisuke was still subdued under the massive weight of the other blade.
"From here on, Captain, I think it should be a Hakuda fight."
'There's that demented grin again. I won't ever be able to win hand-to-hand with him! I'll have to use my Kido...'
"What do you say, Captain?"
"I say let the first round begin."
Ryoku took a professional and threatening stance. It had a feel of grace to it as well.
'This'll be a tough one for sure...'
The next thing Izuru knew, he was being hit from all sides. The speed of Ryoku's hands were hard to follow. They were moving at lightning speed.
'If I keep this up for a while, I may be able to pull this off!' Ryoku thought to himself.
Izuru was not a bulky man, but an honorable one. His body seemed too fragile for this level of a beating, yet his bones were mostly intact and nothing was ruptured that badly.
'He's toying with me... He really is like Kenpachi... The pain is almost unbearable now...'
"COME ON CAPTAIN! FIGHT BACK! USE YOUR KIDO! THE BEST YOU HAVE!"
'He's pushing me to fight harder... But why? All he wants is a strong opponent. Well, he has one, so I better make this fight count!'
Izuru began his first series of blocks that Ryoku quickly picked up on. Within a matter of seconds, he had figured out Izuru's pattern and countered the blocks.
'He's making it way too easy for me. Maybe I should take it up a notch and finish this pathetic excuse for a Captain.'
"I THINK YOU MIGHT LIKE THIS CAPTAIN! IT'S MY FIRST TIME USING A HADO THIS FUCKING POWERFUL!"
'Oh no. What's he gonna do now?'
"SPRINKLED ON THE BONES OF THE BEAST! SHARP TOWER, RED CRYSTAL, STEEL RING! MOVE AND BECOME THE WIND, STOP AND BECOME THE CALM!"
"NOOOO!"
"THE SOUND OF WARRING SPEARS FILLS THE CASTLE! HADO #63! RAIKOHO!"
Ryoku brought his hands down on Izuru in a double-hammer fist motion, and a huge bolt of bright yellow lightning came down with him. The smoke cleared and Izuru was still crouched under a blue protective barrier.
"Sorry, Ryo. I couldn't stand to see you do this. I've reached my Shikai and my power has far succeeded yours."
"S-stoma?"
Ryoku was shocked by the random action of his school friend and training partner. He was even more surprised by the fact that Stoma came around unnoticed.
"Hahaha. It certainly has been a while, hasn't it, Stoma?"
"I didn't think my best friend would turn into a Class-A fugitive in the Soul Society."
Stoma chuckled as he said this.
"Well, I guess we have to fight now huh."
"Yeah. I guess so."
"Oh, before I forget, what was that barrier that you used?"
"Oh that was Bakudo #73, Tozansho."
"Wow. That was quite powerful. Did you pre-prepare the incantation?"
"Right before I got here."
"That's just like you. Well, I suppose we should start our fight then."
The demonic grin that Izuru had come to know, reappeared on Ryoku's face.
'Woah. What's with the smile...? It's kinda creepy... Then again, I have seen him fight with that grin before. He looks kinda murderous. Maybe..., no. I will fight him. I have to protect Captain Kira.'
"Well buddy, let's start. Retract and fold out, Yudokuna Suparuta."
Stoma's purple and red katana shrank down and split over his wrists. It started bubbling with a purpley-red liquid and hardened. When the smoke cleared, Stoma had metal wrist bracers that were striped the same purple and red. The top half of his fingers were covered in metal, each of them with claws at the end. There were also noticeable cartridges that held extra blades that could expand and retract at will. Also, there were spikes at the elbow that curved inwards. The blackish-gray mixed with purple-red iron, steel compound looked fierce and threatening. Well, maybe to the average shinigami, but no. Not Ryoku. He was surprised, but not shocked. In fact, he was almost completely unnerved by this.
"You think you're stronger than me? With those pathetic excuses for weapons?"
"Hey dude, look. One day, some time, somewhere, you'll have use something similar to these here and you'll be damn fucking grateful for them." Stoma had made his point.
'Should I retrieve my sword?'
"I know what you may be thinking dude. Captain Kira? Could you do me the honor of letting me take out this traitor scum?"
"I wouldn't call him scum, but please do as you will. I will offer no interference, Captain's Word."
"There you have it, Ryo. Go get your damn sword so that we can fight."
Ryoku slowly turned around to walk back to his massive blade, checking that the two Soul Reaper were still there. The effect on Wabisuke had worn off by then, and Izuru's blade had returned to normal. He swung around his huge sword a couple of times to check to see if anything went wrong during his previous fight.
"Alright, my blade is perfectly fine. Shall we begin, old friend?"
"Haha, who said that I was old? Let's begin."
Stoma took a regular, old-fashioned Hakuda stance. Ryoku took a different than usual approach. Instead of his usual right side out, one-handed blade stance, he took a traditional Kendo stance.
'Remember kids, an extra hand on the blade, makes the strike twice as powerful.'
Ikkaku's words rang in his head.
Ryoku truly disliked Kendo. Not hating it, but not loving it either.
"You know how I fight. I thought a change of pace would be necessary."
Stoma had only seen Ryoku use Kendo once. The day he fought Captain Madarame. He used Kendo for a brief moment, but it momentarily upped his power almost 10 fold.
'What happens when he has both hands on the blade the whole fight? This may be bad...'
"COME ON MAN!"
Ryoku charged immediately and Stoma threw up an easy cross-arm block.
'I have to let him think that I'm weaker than him. Or else, my whole plan will fall apart.'
Ryoku had originally wanted to distract Izuru long enough to incapacitate him. Now that he had Stoma as an opponent, almost all of his chances for deception were shot. Except, this last resort. He lowered his spiritual pressure to a spot right below Stoma's own spiritual energy.
'I'm doing quite a bit to fool you, friend. Make it count for me.'
"FINE!"
Stoma broke the block and rushed Ryoku, claws out. Stoma repeatedly tried to slash at his face, but made absolutely no success whatsoever. Until Ryoku suddenly stopped in his place. Stoma saw this as somewhat of an opportunity and seized it. He made an open grabbing motion with his right hand, and he thrust all 5 claws into Ryoku's chest. Stoma looked up at his friend.
"Looks like that'll settle it."
A small snicker that turned into a hearty laugh came from Ryoku.
"What's so funny huh? I just injected lethal poison into your bloodstream, and all you can do it laugh?!"
"Why not? Take a good look."
Stoma looked down again and saw that Ryoku was right. The attack hadn't even ripped his shihakusho.
"You were never stronger than me, nor will you ever be."
Ryoku grabbed Stoma's wrist and flicked it into the air. While all of this was happening, Ryoku's blade was shrinking. His opponent hadn't noticed this and attacked unknowingly. That was Stoma's downfall.
In 3 quick slashes, Ryoku ended the fight. Stoma fell to the ground, blood soaking his mock shihakusho in the shoulders and abdomen areas. Ryoku felt a still wavering presence coming from behind him. His blade instinctively went behind his neck for a guard.
"How could you tell I was coming?"
Izuru said from behind Ryoku. Technically, he wasn't interfering, so he thought it would be viable.
"Easy. You let out a lot of spiritual pressure when you release Wabisuke. Oh yeah. Bye."
Izuru was puzzled by Ryoku's last statement. The sudden crispness in the air and density of the wind indicated a powerful attack. Captain Kira knew this feeling well, but this was a much more malicious feeling than Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho. A sudden cry broke from Ryoku's mouth.
"HELL GETSUGA!"
Izuru was shocked that such a powerful move could be replicated, but here he was, flying away in its force. The 'Piercer of Hell' that Izuru had just been hit with compared to that of a minor Bankai. The fight was over in an overall time span of about 1 hour. Everything had fallen apart.
"I failed my mission... I'm sorry, Uncle."
"What was that?"
"N-nothing..."
"Tell me before I kill you."
"You wouldn't kill your best friend would you?"
Ryoku shot his former friend a fierce look and simply said,
"Fucking try me."
He held his blade to Stoma's neck. He drew a small, thin line on Stoma's throat.
"FINE FINE I'LL TELL YOU!"
"Okay. Then spill the beans."
"Jenna's dad, my uncle, is trying to take over the Gotei 13."
"How? Some things just don't work out. Plus, chances are, he may be plotting to kill Ichigo, if that's the case."
"You have it correct so far."
"Now why is what I want to know..."
Ryoku placed his cuts out carefully on Stoma. Nothing major, but nothing drastic either.
"...is why."
The cuts he placed could be easily healed by him and allowed Stoma to talk and explain.
"Sounds promising. We're new upstart students that Ichigo has kept an eye on."
Stoma spoke as Ryoku bandaged his wounds.
"Why are you helping me anyways?"
"Because, you're helping me, dipshit. You attack me, you help me. Plus, you're Shikai is one for assassins, and we need that."
"Well, there's no hiding the logic about that. Just give me the plan."
Ryoku explained the carefully laid out, but surprisingly simple plan to his new comrade.
"I see. Where am I in this plan?"
"You're with me. I need you as backup."
"That seems about right. The route we're taking has a lot of seated officers stationed there. A state of emergency has risen because of you two."
"You're actually willing to help me? I was expecting some resistance..."
"Hey. Never doubt a bro."
The friends shared a laugh and Ryoku whisked Stoma away. There was a tough road of recovery and battle ahead for all four of the friends.
'This is definitely going to be tough...' Makuso thought.
'...but we'll make it.' Ryoku finished his brother's thought.
Makuso started a thought and Ryoku finished it. It was the twin telepathy that they shared. They would need it for the events to come.
AT THE SQUAD 1 MEETING ROOM
"File in, Captains."
Ichigo had called an emergency Captains' meeting , due to Renji's fall.
"It has come to my attention that two upstart Soul Reaper Academy students have been wreaking mass havoc in the Seireitei."
"Sir," The Captain of Squad 10, Toshiro Hitsugaya, spoke up.
"Where are Captains Kira and Abarai?"
"The two men fought bravely, but fell in battle. Not dead, but severely injured."
A small murmur of conversation broke out in the Squad 1 Meeting Room.
"Quiet down, please."
Everyone in the room immediately hushed each other's voices.
"I realize that this goes without saying, but we are in a state of emergency. I am decreeing that Captains and all other seated officers are permitted to full use of their Zanpakuto."
The statement that Ichigo made was broadcast throughout the Seireitei, and every seated officer of every rank perked up their ears and understood.
"YES SIR!"
A quick dismissal of the Captains and the day went on as usual, but with much more tension. There would definitely much more to come.
This one took me a while. More Ranger's Apprentice and other plans got in the way. These past couple of week have been pretty stressful for me, but I got this out anyways so you'd better appreciate it! R&R Peace
Yudokuna Suparuta- Toxic Spartan
Kendo-Way of The Sword
Hado #31, Shakkaho- Way of Destruction #31, Shot of Red Flame Cannon
Hado #63, Raikoho- Way of Destruction #63, Thunder Roar Sear
Bakudo #72, Tozansho- Way of Binding #72, Inverse Mountain Crystal
Gotei 13- 13 Court Guard Squads
