DEFY OR DIE
"Limbo must die."
The words wrapped around Limbo's brain and twisted painfully.
"Harsh much?" Ichigo snorted, glaring between his orange locks. He tried his best to ignore the never ending rain. Whatever was going on, the substitute shinigami couldn't justify killing either Michio or Limbo until he knew what was going on. So he pressed, "Why don't you explain?"
The tall shinigami twirled his zanpakuto upside down as he spoke, "We don't have the time for such luxuries, you're going to have to trust me Kurosaki."
"See that's the thing, I don't trust you," Ichigo instantly retorted. The remark seemed to surprise the other.
Looking from Ichigo to Eri, to Limbo, Michio spoke cool and calmly, "Glisten, Koganedoku."
His zanpakuto's tsuba shrank into nothing more than a small spike at the base of the sharp edge of the now –longer and golden blade. Before anyone could comment on his zanpakuto, the giant lunged with a wide horizontal swing. Ichigo stood his ground confidently with his sword ready to block when Michio suddenly yelled in mid-swing, "Kogane Kisu!" The moment the zanpakutos connected, Koganedoku exploded in gold reiatsu, blasting the teen away. Taking another step, the mysterious shinigami shunpoed toward Eri who swung with all his might only to be side stepped. Michio repeated "Kogane Kisu" as he sliced downward behind him at the ground under Eri, and again his blade exploded, throwing the second one away as well. Slicing through Limbo's Cero, Michio's hand wrapped around the slender Vizard's throat. Trying to work fast before his victim could release another cero, the giant thrusted his sword without warning.
"Is it really so hard to just talk?" Ichigo grinned, one hand holding the tip of Michio's sword barely an inch from Limbo's heart, the other pressing Tensa Zangetsu firmly against the shinigami's throat. Despite the bleeding, it was obvious that the sword wasn't going anywhere.
Baffled at what had happened, Michio choked on his words, "I h-hadn't realized you were this s-strong…"
"Let him go," The eyes on the substitute shinigami warned Michio. Reluctantly, he let go and used Shunpo to retreat a few paces. As the tall shinigami went to work calculating a new strategy, Ichigo tried asking once more, "Will you just tell us already?"
"I'll tell you!" Limbo spat out of nowhere, causing Ichigo and Eri to give him a surprise look.
"Shaddup!" Michio roared as he pounced at the slender Vizard.
The orange-haired teen immediately jumped in the way, releasing a Getsuga Tensho; however, it was dodged as if Michio knew he would use it. Releasing a wicked, Ichigo found that dodged as well, right before a kick sent him barreling. Michio twisted around in time to block Eri's attack but flinched at the sheer force of the blow. Summoning all his strength, the giant managed to sling the other to the side and then slash again, narrowly missing Eri as he rolled out of the way.
"Go away!" Limbo's distorted voice yelled as he brought his zanpakuto down hard; Michio blocked it but was thrown off balance. Eyes glaring fiercely, Limbo started to yell again when he spotted Tatsuki from the corner of his eye.
Noticing the object of Limbo's sudden distraction, the tall shinigami stepped forward to regain his footing and strengthen his side of the clash before he yelled in a cold, angry voice, "What is she another one of your puppets?"
The words pierced through Tatsuki's mind.
"Did you use your zanpakuto on her, you fiend?" Michio hissed sharply before Ichigo intervened with a surprise Getsuga Tensho. The blast caused the three to separate, but the substitute shinigami didn't let up as he unleashed a flurry of swings at the constantly retreating shinigami.
Tatsuki's mind went every different direction as she tried to remember if Limbo ever used his zanpakuto around her—she didn't even realize that Rukia was leading her back a little wasy from the battle. Honestly, up until earlier, the tomboy hardly remembered the slender teen even touching his sword.
Removing his mask, Limbo called out, "Don't listen to him! The reason I kept trying to leave my zanpakuto, the reason I'm afraid of it, it's all 'cause I didn't want to use it… especially on you… Believe me."
This made Michio use his Kogane Kisu ability again to give him space from Ichigo's attacks. Puffing in disbelief, the giant propped his sword on his shoulder, "Oh please, you could've easily used your zanpakuto on her… I'm actually surprised you're not fighting with it now." He then looked at Eri and Ichigo before adding, "Hmm… I'll have to be careful not to overpower you two, but I really do need to finish this quickly."
Twirling his blade up this time, Michio breathed out, "Bankai." The sword's width instantly expanded—Ichigo guessed to a little wider than his cleaver-like shikai—while still retaining its katana shape and gold color; the tsuba had returned but was also freakishly large, giving the whole thing an almost cartoonish look. Pointing the huge sword at Limbo, the tall shinigami spoke, "Joushi Koganedoku."
Michio vanished, reappearing behind Ichigo to deliever a horizontal swing with his oversized sword. The orange-haired teen barely blocked in time and even then, the power of the blow dragged him around in a complete circle. Then Eri jumped in from nowhere but was easily slapped away.
Ichigo and Michio's blades grinded fiercely together as the two glared as hard as they could, but then the orange haired teen noticed the other glance at Eri. With lips curling into a snarl, the larger shinigami's grip tightened just before he threw Kurosaki away.
"You know what'd be great?" Michio spun his oversized katana around as he loomed over the downed and terrified Eri, "A little bit of loyalty!"
The gold blade dropped right for the shinigami's throat, but he managed to use Gingitsune-Hime as a shield to keep the other at bay. Struggling to hold the sword up, Eri yelled out, "Stop Sato! You don't understand! Limbo isn't evil! He's not the one you're looking for!"
While letting out a long sigh, Michio relaxed a bit as he stared at Limbo. Not sure how to proceed, Limbo simply stared back. The other's stare faded into a glare, the longer he looked.
"I can't believe he got you too, Kai," MIchio growled as he brought Joushi Koganedoku down again, but this time, Ichigo's swing forced him away.
"I don't know what kind of history you two have," Ichigo spoke as he helped Eri up. There was a moment where the substitute shinigami gave the blue haired shinigami a curious look before continuing, "But I can tell you that none of us are under any kind of mind control or whatever you keep yapping about."
"Oh? But what kind of mind control would it be if you knew?" Michio barked through the rain. Ichigo and Eri looked to each other for an answer but neither had it. Stabbing his bankai into the ground, he added, "Neither of you understand. Limbo is the real enemy here. He must d—"
His words were cut off by an enraged Tatsuki as she punched and kicked at the tall shinigami. None of the attacks even came close to hurting him, but it did annoy him. She was yelling, just yelling as she delivered blow after blow. Staring down at her, Michio didn't even flinch when suddenly an elbow knocked him across the back of the head. The impact nearly made him fall forward, but before he could react, Limbo had already lept away with Tatsuki.
Lightning flashed and with Sonido, the two were gone.
"Damn you!" Michio spat before Ichigo and Eri lunged to keep him at bay.
Tatsuki opened her eyes to find her and Limbo standing on one of the taller buildings, overlooking where Michio, Eri, and Ichigo were fighting.
Limbo looked like a kicked puppy.
"What the hell's going on?" Tatsuki demanded, poking Limbo's chest harshly, "And I don't want any of that secrets crap. I already had to deal with that with Ichigo."
Silently, the slender Vizard loosened then pulled off his necklace—a simple pink gem on a black string. Putting it in Tatsuki's hand, he curled her fingers over it before speaking, "I put you on this rooftop so that you can't reach me in time."
"What'd you mean?" Tatsuki gripped Limbo's shirt, "You're not going anywhere."
He pried her hand off, kissed it, then jumped backwards with a smile and vanished.
Tatsuki stared off at the rain as her mind went crazy. Looking from the battle below to Limbo's necklace, the tomboy cursed to herself before taking off to the rooftop exit. The dumbass doesn't think I can make it to him in time. I'll show him.
Everyone stopped fighting briefly, all eyes turning when Limbo rejoined them.
"Where's Tatsuki?" Rukia asked, partially glad to actually be assisting but partially worried about the other too. Ichigo and Eri were wondering the same thing—neither one believed Michio, but they were curious.
"The tall building," Limbo gestured, "To keep her outta harm's way... though she's probably on her way now." He laughed and gave a faint smile.
"Limbo," Michio's tone was colder than ever, "Let's finish this, one on one. Leave everyone else out of it."
The slender teen shrugged, "They're in this by choice. I didn't ask them to fight, but I agree. One on one."
"Limbo, don't," Ichigo protested, taking his stance, "There's no need to jump in all suicidal. We're helping for a reason."
Laughing, Limbo twisted his zanpakuto absently, "I want to fight alone so that I can't be accused of using my powers wrongly. You'll be doing more harm helping than not... and besides, I don't need your help."
This made Ichigo laugh but he backed off, walking past Limbo to the "sidelines". As he passed, the slender teen whispered, "See if you don't recognize his moves."
"Just don't die, you ass," Ichigo snickered as he approached Rukia and Eri, neither looked happy with just letting Limbo fight. Michio was the only one please with his decision.
"We're just gonna let him fight?" Eri looked concerned. His eye looked up to Ichigo as if to an older brother.
A huge grin widened across Michio's face as Limbo stood across from him, "You sure you don't wanna make those three fight me instead. You do have the power." This bothered Kurosaki the most; he started to jump at the taunt, but Rukia held him back.
"No I don't," Limbo held his sword out horizontally with both hands. The entire blade began fading to a solid black. The rain coincidentally intensified as he spoke, "Defy, Jabbawokii."
Running down the stairs as fast as she could, Tatsuki stopped for a breath. She held up Limbo's necklace curiously. For some reason, the gem was warm and glowing but she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. It felt like she should hurry.
So Tatsuki ran faster.
"I can't believe it's taken you this long," Michio smirked, Joushi Koganedoku propped on his shoulder. It was obvious that he was itching to attack. "It use to be all you would use."
Limbo shrugged at the remark.
Both of Limbo's hands were in solid black gloves. The tips of each finger were sharp and hooked slightly for a talon look while at the wrist, either glove formed into a tentacle that waved rhythmically in the air.
"Go ahead," Michio tapped his temple, "Read my mind."
"If you insist," Limbo raised a hand as the gloves' tentacles wrapped around his arms. A solid pink eye with a cat-like pupil blinked open in his palm and instantly focused on the giant. After a moment, the Vizard frowned, "I can't..."
Revealing a small pendant around his neck, Michio gave it a short twirl, "A nice little kido creation made just for your zanpakuto."
The fact that Limbo could read minds made Rukia a little uneasy, but then she noticed one of his palms turned towards her. She met eyes with Jabbawokii's eye and panicked to herself at the thought of Limbo misinterpreting her general wariness for distrust. Then she wondered just how deep his power could go.
"Neat trick," Limbo said to Michio before lowering his arm and turning to Rukia, "Don't fret. At anything beyond arms length, the best I can do are your outer-most thoughts."
"You get within his grasp though," Michio whistled, ready to strike, "And he can see into your memories, your darkest thoughts, you worst nightmares. There's nothing he can't see, nothing he can't manipulate..."
"Which is why—" Limbo started.
"Which is why you hadn't used it yet," Ichigo interrupted, "Jeez, what's wrong with you? We get it already. Can't you tell that we trust you? Focus on your fight." His words reassured Limbo, but made Michio droop a bit.
The rain was starting to lighten up.
"We'll do it your way, Michio," Limbo turned to the giant. Both tentacles unwrapped and slid up from the bottom of his hands, stiffening into blades the moment he grasped them. The he turned and winked at Ichigo.
"What was that?" Rukia exclaimed, blushing as her thoughts got the best of her. It took Eri a minute to catch what she meant, but then his face turned red instantly. Eri kept his head down as Ichigo glowered at Rukia; she was a little embarrassed at her own outburst.
"He read my mind is all, ya perv," The substitute shinigami defended himself angrily before calming down to add, "He knows I'm not going to let Michio kill him... even if that means interrupting his fight."
Joushi Koganedoku was slammed into the ground to grab everyone's attention.
"You won't beat me. Shikai versus bankai? Do the math," Michio taunted as he raised his zanpakuto in a way to prove his point.
"Eh, this is all I need," Limbo smiled as he glanced down at Jabbawokii for assurance.
"Mugen Kogane Kisu," The overly pronounced words exhaled by the giant caused his sword to flicker with gold energy a few times before being engulfed in the reiatsu. With one last twirl, Michio positioned himself, "Then come."
"Here," Limbo spoke coldly from his crouched position right in front of the shocked Michio. No one saw the slender teen's movement until he was already there. With both swords reared back, he sliced upward in a criss-cross at the retreating opponent.
And with that Limbo severed the pendant from Michio's necklace.