Chapter 10: Tournament Trauma: Tairos Tussles!
Tairos, Jaice, and Baiten strutted proudly down the streets of Seireitei as they made their way towards the arena of the Shinigami Tournament. The week leading up to the event had seemed to ebb on slowly, as each day the comrades practiced for the upcoming conflict. Jaice licked his lips with anticipation as they drew towards the registration table outside the stadium built specifically for the occasion.
"I'm excited," Jaice stated, his words slicing through the air as if harbingers to the actions his zanpakuto, Sangren, was about to follow in the coming hours. "I hope I can fight some Captains and prove my ability!"
Tairos and Baiten laughed slightly, causing Jaice to wheel and glare daggers at the duo. "What, don't you have any faith in me?" Jaice questioned, edging closer to his chuckling comrades.
"Jaice, did you listen at all when we read over the rules that runner brought us?" Tairos asked. "Asking Shinigami of that high a level to compete would not only be unfair to the competitors, but also dangerous. Only Shinigami of the rank Third Seat or below are allowed to participate."
Jaice snorted and turned back to face front. "Cowardly Captains, I bet I could take one of them on." Baiten raised his eyebrow at Tairos, who shrugged, silently communicating that both were confused, yet used to such a display of overconfidence.
After several uneventful minutes of walking, talking, arguing, and a brief display of fisticuffs, the three friends arrived at the registration table. Seated at the aforementioned piece of furniture was a gruff looking middle-aged female Shinigami. Jaice, the most eager to fight, rushed towards the table.
"Name?" The woman asked.
"Jaice Gandaime."
"Squad?"
"Ninth." As he spoke she poured over a list of names atop the oaken structure.
"Ah, found you Gandaime-san." She replied in a kind way, her voice a sharp contrast to her harsh outward appearance. "You're fighting in bracket one. Your number is three." The woman handed Jaice a circular badge when she finished speaking with the number 'three' on kanji on the front. "Report to arena waiting room one and get ready."
"See you guys later," Jaice called to his friends as he hurried off. "Try not to get eliminated, eh? I'd prefer to take out my own friends if I can."
Baiten and Tairos had similar experiences upon reaching the table, though Baiten was given a rectangular badge with the number seven on it and thus had to report to arena four, while Tairos obtained a triangular badge with the number ten on the front, sending him to arena three. As the two parted ways, they wished one another luck.
Tairos watched Baiten disappear into the distance before turning a following a large arrow-shaped sign that read: "Arena Three this way." Tairos sighed as he walked along the path. I'm starting to regret coming here, Tairos thought sullenly. I could be enjoying some shut-eye, or be out on a date, or eating. Anything beats pointlessly exerting myself in a tournament I'm probably going to lose anyway. Well, I'm already here, I'd better make the most of this. And hey, if I win, I should get even more dates than usual! With that in mind, Tairos rushed into the waiting building for arena three.
The building was small but spacious, resembling a gymnasium with waxed wooden floors, a high ceiling, and white walls covered with yellow mats. Inside, Tairos saw more than a score of other Shinigami milling around the room. He saw that they seemed to congregate in small clusters, which he discerned to be members of the same squad. Tairos looked frantically for a familiar face, but soon came to realize that he was the only ninth squad member in the room! Ten awkward minutes passed in which Tairos tried to survey the competition. Luckily, his boredom was cut short when a tall, muscular male Shinigami strode into the center of the room. His hair was blond and his face was smiling and handsome. The voices in the room died down as this man began to speak.
"Warriors, competitors, Shinigami of all squads! I welcome you to the Shinigami Tournament!" A great cheer arose as the man finished, catching Tairos off guard. "I am the referee for Arena Three, Aoi Ryuga. I'd like to inform you all that all matches in each round will be fought simultaneously in order to save time. Each arena will thus be divided into sections and each fight will take place in a separate section. Each section is marked with special reiatsu trackers, so that if a rules violation occurs the combatants will be frozen until the referee arrives. The walls dividing the sections are made of Sekiseki, a stone which absorbs reiatsu, and have been strengthened with various kidou, so do not attempt to break them as it will prove futile; also, anyone purposefully attempting to do so will be disqualified; that stone isn't cheap. Now, any questions before I continue?" No hands shot into the air, so Aoi continued. "Now, you were each given a number on the badge you were issued. The numbers are completely random and denote who you are paired with in the first round. For instance, number one and number two are fighting, three and four, and so on. Now, without further ado, I'd like you each to step forward and show me your number; I will then supply you with a Hell Butterfly that will escort you to your section. Good luck, fight well and, most importantly, fight fairly!"
A cheer erupted from the crowd with Tairos lending his voice to the cacophony. He smiled as he walked towards Aoi and, in minutes, was following him personal Hell Butterfly to a section on the left side of the arena. Upon arriving, Tairos noticed that the section has three walls of pure white stone. Tairos entered and, as he did so, the fourth wall sprung up behind him. He looked around, searching for his opponent and gasped as he saw the scar-faced figure crouched in one corner.
"Hey there employee, fancy fighting you here," Crowe chuckled as Tairos looked on in confusion.
"W...wait...I have to fight my boss?"
"Most people would relish the chance to trash their oppressive overlord," Crowe replied, his voice still ringing with laughter. Tairos looked oddly at his employer before responding.
"Wait...if I win does that mean I lose my job?"
"Nope, you're fired just for competing in this tournament! Our agreement was no fun of any kind!" Crowe roared angrily, causing Tairos to jump back.
"Hey, that was never..." but the younger Shinigami was cut off my more raucous laughter.
"Just joking, lad," Crowe said, standing. "I'd actually prefer a fun fight. I wouldn't have entered this tournament if I was looking for an easy win. I want you to fight to the best of your ability. Oh, and by the way, beating me won't be so easy. I may look old, but I'm much more spry than you'd think. Now, let's quit this babbling and get to fighting." Without another word, Crowe drew out his zanpakuto; Tairos did the same. The two stood still for several minutes with only the sound of the wind and the muffled noises of nearby fights in the air. After the long pause, Crowe finally broke the silence. "Are you going to attack, or should I?"
"I've found it's best to wait for an opponent with unknown abilities to attack first," Tairos answered. "It also the defender to make the most of the situation."
"Using that logic, I shouldn't attack either," Crowe said, sullenly. "Then again, if you make the first attack and it is effective enough you might overpower your opponent before he can even react." Crowe paused and then roared, "And that's my plan exactly!"
Like lightning, Crowe was charging Tairos, giving the black-haired Shinigami barely enough time to parry the accurate strike of his employer.
"Oh, so I don't need to go easy on you, eh?" Crowe laughed, wheeling his blade through the air and catching Tairos lightly on the chest as the younger Shinigami jumped backwards. Tairos glanced downward to see a trickle of blood staining the front of his kimono.
Tairos scowled and lunged as Crowe, who dodged expertly and brought the flat of his blade across Tairos's temple. The younger Shinigami grunted in pain and stumbled, trying to regain his composure as stars floated across his field of vision.
"It seems swordplay isn't your thing," Crowe stated as Tairos continued to pitch to and fro. "Maybe if you release your shikai things will start to get interesting."
Tairos shook his head as he regained some semblance of normal consciousness. "I didn't even really want to be in this stupid tournament, but now that I'm here I want to do my best and prove the level of my skills. Crowe-san, I won't release my zanpakuto until you do the same."
"Heh, fine then," the older Shinigami rasped. "Just don't blame me if you have a few broken bones and an even more damaged sense of pride! Pound, Hiroki!" As he spoke, Crowe's katana morphed into a large steel mallet with a long handle that allowed him to grasp the weapon in both hands.
"Balance, Librar!" Tairos answered, causing his sword to become the trademark staff denoted his shikai. "Let's do this, boss!"
"Ah, a staff," Crowe said. "I assume that your zanpakuto is the accessory type, most likely augmenting your kidou."
"Good guess," Tairos said. "But your little speech gave me time to chant...Destructive Art Thirty-One, Shot of Red Fire!" A large ball of crimson flame shot towards Crowe. "I guess you should regret asking me to release." Tairos grinned as he watched the fire engulf his employer.
Then, Tairos noticed something odd: the fire seemed to stay in one place, and then move back towards him; he was barely able to dodge the blast that had come back to him.
"Maybe I should explain my shikai," Crowe said as he watched a stunned Tairos began to rapidly chant again. "Nah, I'll let you learn through experience!" At that, Crowe slammed his mallet into the ground, sending a shockwave rippling outward, causing Tairos to stumble and miss his next shot of kidou. Tairos had a brief moment to look down at his legs, realizing to his horror that he had just given Crowe the opportunity the older man needed.
Tairos rolled quickly to the side, dodging Crowe's hammer, though the strike sent ripples through the stone and threw Tairos against one of the walls. Tairos coughed, releasing a torrent of blood and mucous.
"You want to surrender?" Crowe asked, hefting the mallet onto his shoulder. "You probably didn't expect an old feeble man like me to be able to use something this destructive eh?"
"No...I never underestimated you," Tairos spluttered. "I've learned that experience comes with age. As you grow older, one often becomes more powerful thanks to what one has acquired over the course of one's life."
"Very wise," Crowe said. "Even so, wisdom can't help you here. Your legs are most likely fractured, possibly broken, and you probably have some form of internal bleeding. The referee should be here shortly; I don't want to make more of a mess for him to clean up, and I especially don't want to hurt my only employee even further."
"I refuse to just give in," Tairos muttered. "I'll give it my all. Come on, Crowe, don't go easy on me! What won't kill me only makes me stronger!"
"Fine kid, but don't think I'll give you a pension when you're off work!" Crowe said before roaring a battle cry and charging headlong at Tairos. As Crowe raised his mallet above his head, Tairos cracked a smile and yelled: "Balance!"
Crowe looked briefly confused as his movements slowed slightly, and Tairos saw his only chance. "Destructive Art Thirty-Three: Blue Fire, Crash Down!" A ball of blue fire whizzed through the air and caught Crowe straight on. The older Shinigami stumbled back, his body now covered with a slight burn.
"Clever, Tairos, saving a trump card," Crowe said as smoke billowed around him. "Sadly, you used it too soon."
Tairos shook his head. "No, because now I've got another clear shot at you! I only used three-quarters of the reiatsu I stole from you in my last attack. Now, Destructive Art Four: White Lightning!" A beam of white electricity shot from the end of Librar straight towards Crowe's chest. As the energy arced forward, Tairos noticed Crowe swinging his hammer at the ground.
It doesn't matter, Tairos thought. Even if he sends a shockwave, I'm too far away for it to strike me before my lightning hits him. Besides, I'm already close enough to the ground that his attack won't do nearly as much damage as mine will. I'll come out with some broken bones, yes, but I'll win this round. And, if I'm lucky, Squad Four can patch me up before the next round.
Tairos looked at Crowe, expecting him to have a red hole in his chest where the kidou struck. Crowe had his head down and the head of his mallet rested on the ground, yet he had no marks of damage. Tairos gasped as the man raised his head and pointed at the broken ground around his feet.
"Good effort, Tairos, but now you're too low on reiatsu to prove a threat. As you can see by the blood on my right cheek, I swung Hiroki into the ground, breaking the floor and making me slightly lower than your initial target. Thus, your attack only grazed the side of my face. I've also realized that your shikai only balances the amount of reiatsu you have with that of your opponent: I'm low on reiatsu myself, so even if you use that ability again you won't have enough to do any major damage."
"Seriously?" Was all Tairos said as he flopped over and passed out. The last thing he heard was Crowe laughing and saying: "Oh, I should've mentioned, my shockwaves take lots of reiatsu to use. You should've stopped me after the first one. You gave me a good fight, kid, maybe next time I won't have to go easy on you."
Tairos awoke hours later in a tent where the 4th Squad was tending to the wounded. He noticed others in cots all around him, their bodies covered with bandages, casts, and poultices. There were several members of the 4th Squad using kidou to heal various wounds and, as one came up to him, Tairos rasped, "Do you know if Jaice and Baiten won?"
"Not a clue," a voice replied. "Round two just ended, so it'll be awhile before the winners are known. Even so, there are a lot of participants. If your friends lose they will probably wind up here, or if they win and suffer major damage."
"No, the guys they fight will end up here, I'm sure of that," Tairos said.
"You need some sleep," the voice replied. Tairos tried to nod but couldn't find the energy. As he shut his eyes he wondered about his friends...
Character Profile: Crowe
Age: Unknown, though he has been making furniture for at least two centuries (appears 67 in human years)
Height: 180.3 cm (5 feet 11 inches)
Affiliation: Retired member of the 3rd Squad, currently owns a furniture store in Seireitei
Rank: Former 4th Seat, current owner a shop
Hobbies: Making furniture, playing cards, cooking
Zanpakuto: Hiroki
Shikai: Hiroki takes the form of a large steel mallet when released by the command "Pound!" The mallet itself allows for Crowe to strike his enemies for much greater damage than a blow from a normal sword. Hiroki allows Crowe to focus his reiatsu through the weapon and send a shockwave through any point he strikes be it ground or the body of an enemy. While unknown if it is one of Hiroki's natural abilities or merely Crowe's prowess, Crowe had used the weapon to knock back and deflect kidou.
HES: Once again, loyal readers, sorry for the late update! As usual, I have been busy, but now that I've reached the Shinigami Tournament Arc updates should be far more frequent. Thanks for your patience and support! Please review, I value your input!