Chapter 9 – Nerves Of Steel
Soifon, honing into foreign spiritual pressures, decided to head towards the south gate when she saw others heading out to the other three. Flash-stepping from roof to roof, she quickly gathered speed. The buildings seemed a blur as she passed them all.
Approaching her target, she called out to her surroundings. "Marechiyo, get out here right now!" she yelled, Marecfhiyo appearing quickly behind her, a nervous look crossing his face.
"Yes, captain?" he managed to speak, before Soifon hushed him by raising her hand. "I expect that you are aware of the current situation?" she asked.
Marechiyo quickly snapped into a serious demeanour. "Yes, Captain Soifon," he replied. "We all sensed the large fluctuation in spiritual pressure, and all seated officers are currently tracking it. We don't know how many there are, but we'll find them all eventually."
"Well, at least this time we have some order around here," she muttered. She then focused herself ahead. "Now, Marechiyo, let's get going!"
"Yes, captain!" he replied, struggling to keep up with Soifon's new speed.
The garganta that had brought him through finally closed, as the last of his hollow companions stepped out. The figure stood tall, his white jacket blowing in the wind. His hollow mask only remained on his jaw, pronouncing it out more than the rest of his face.
He stepped forward, unsheathing his sword and staring towards the oncoming spiritual pressure. He smirked lightly, his cold black eyes showing no emotion to distinguish the smirk from friendly or sadistic.
He turned to the numerous hollows stood behind him and pointed outwards to the streets of Soul Society. "Kill everything you see," he spoke, coldly. The hollows roared to agree and rushed out through the streets. He laughed softly to himself and readied himself for the oncoming threat.
When Soifon and Marechiyo finally arrived, the arrancar had sat down on a wall that surrounded them, and was looking up to the sky. He finally noticed them and turned to view them. "Nice day, right?" he asked, sighing.
Soifon looked up and glared at him in reply. "What do you think you're doing, arrancar?" she yelled. "Why are you just sitting there when you came here to destroy Soul Society?"
The arrancar turned to face the sky again. "Well, I was going to, but I got distracted by this beautiful sun, and these faint clouds," he replied, sighing yet again. "But my hollows are currently around, killing your soul reapers, so that's fine."
"You get down here right now and let me kill you!" Soifon replied, her voice growing gradually louder. She turned to Marechiyo. "Bring him to me now, will you?"
Marechiyo jumped slightly, then did as she wanted. He flash-stepped behind the arrancar and attempted to grab him, but the arrancar answered with a swift overhead kick to Marechiyo's head, knocking him down to the ground.
The arrancar looked down to where Marechiyo fell, and sighed again. "Fortunate that you attacked me," he muttered. "Otherwise I would have hurt you much more than I did just then." He then smirked and turned to Soifon. "So, Ms. Captain, will you be my dancing partner now?"
Soifon glared daggers at him and quickly flash-stepped behind him to attack with her sword. The arrancar turned and blocked with his sword extremely quickly, then jumped down to ground level, taking a stance.
"Ms. Captain, please, I haven't even introduced myself yet," he said, a smirk still on his face. "I am Eiji Kitadani, and I am currently under the 'employ' of my friend Matthew Richardson. I believe that you know him, as he was the one who attacked the academy recently."
Soifon gasped, then glared yet again at Eiji. "For that," she whispered, her eyes shadowed by her hair, "I will kill you, and your 'friend'."
Eiji's eyes widened slightly, as Soifon suddenly appeared behind him and quickly kicked him in the back of the head, forcing him down to the ground. He swiftly rolled forward, and unsheathed his sword again to make a stance, panting for breath.
"How did you do that so quickly?" he asked, a hint of curiosity present in his voice. He quickly regained his composure. "Though, it does not matter, for I will be the victor in this fight."
Soifon smirked. "We'll see, won't we?" She held out her sword at her side. "Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!" Spiritual energy blasted its way from her sword and surrounded it. Dying down, her sword was now visible, having shrunk down to the stinger worn on her finger. "And my sword's ability will leave you dead, much like what I'll do to your 'friend' once I find him."
"How so?" Eiji asked, curious yet again. "I'm sure that you mean for your sword to be used in my defeat, but I doubt it has such power as to kill me straight off."
"That is where you are wrong," Soifon answered. "My sword gives me the power of instant death to my enemies, if I strike them in the same place twice on their body."
Eiji smirked slightly darker. "Well then, if that is the case, it will be my pleasure to face you with all of my power," he sighed, "and leave you in a pool of your own blood afterwards."
As Nanao was flash-stepping towards the south gate, in pursuit of Soifon and Marechiyo, she was suddenly pushed back by the surge of spiritual pressure that appeared before her. What felt like a hundred hollows were heading her way, and she was the only one in their way.
She unsheathed her sword and took a stance. She gulped nervously as they swarmed in closer. She readied herself and stared forwards, ready for the worst. She saw the first hollow's mask from around the corner, and rushed forward. She slashed down at its face, making it recede in pain and let out a hideous scream.
She jumped back again, waiting for the rest, until she was caught off-guard by a rush of hollows from around corner. Whilst she fought off the first four or five, the others swarmed around her and quickly outnumbered her.
Sweat fell from her forehead. "I don't think I'll survive this," she whispered to herself. One of the hollows, the largest – the apparent leader, raised its claw to deal the finishing blow to her. As its claw fell down on her, she closed her eyes.
She didn't feel anything. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw a burst of strawberry blonde hair in front of her. "Rangiku?" she asked, shocked. Rangiku stood in front of her, her sword blocking the hollow's claw. She turned and smiled. "How are you Nanao? I was just in the neighbourhood and I thought you could use a bit of a hand," she said, humour in her voice.
"Rangiku, I thought you were tending to Captain Hitsugaya," Nanao stammered. Rangiku turned back to the hollow. "Come now, Captain Hitsugaya is a big boy, he can take care of himself," she replied. "And furthermore, I couldn't leave a friend in need, could I?"
Rangiku repelled the hollow's claw, sending it backwards. She then raised her sword. "Growl, Haineko!" Her sword erupted into a storm of ash, pushing back all the hollows that encircled them.
She gestured to her left, and the ash followed, making a sickle-shaped arc that cut through all of the hollows that stood there. She then gestured to her right, and the same blade was formed from her ash, cutting through all the hollows on that side also. One stray hollow jumped forward to attack her, and she was taken off-guard.
Nanao yelled out "Hado 33, Soukatsui!" and a blue blast launched the hollow into the opposite wall, crushing its head and dissolving it. Rangiku turned to Nanao. "Nice timing there, Nanao!" she beamed. Rangiku just managed to dodge a cero aimed at her whilst her back was turned. She turned to the hollow which had done so. "Now, that wasn't very nice, was it?" she asked, annoyed. She gestured, and the hollow was sliced cleanly in half, in no time whatsoever.
Soifon jumped back again, after delivering a devastating kick to Eiji's abdomen, which sent him back-first into the wall next to the gate. He panted for breath, then smirked once again. His eyes were still emotionless, which gave question to what his smirk actually meant.
"Nice going Ms. Captain, but I have to admit that this charade is boring me to no end," Eiji taunted, albeit in a monotonous tone that wasn't easily distinguishable as such an insult. "I shall have to raise my game to my normal power level if I am to destroy you, it seems."
He threw his sword up into the air. When it hit its peak, it turned around and fell blade-side down. He raised his hand and awaited the oncoming blade. As the blade made contact with his palm, he smirked darkly. "Tear through, Acerocuerpo!" he yelled, his sword being absorbed into his palm. As the sword finally disappeared, he just stood in front of Soifon, nothing seeming to have changed.
Soifon glared. "What the hell was all that flash and show about, when all it did was make your sword disappear?" she yelled, cautious. Eiji laughed softly, then stared at her coldly.
"I advise you to refrain from such taunts, Ms. Captain – or should I call you Soifon?" Eiji spoke, monotonous again. The playful emphasis that he usually put on 'Ms. Captain' was gone, and instead, a lack of compassion and feeling seemed to originate from his soul.
Soifon smirked herself. "Well, what is this power that you have then? I would like to see it in action," she said, slightly agitated.
"Be careful what you wish for, girl," Eiji answered, flatly. He ran up to her and threw a punch swiftly, but he was just as swiftly parried by Soifon, who then proceeded to stab him with her shikai. Her attack simply bounced off of Eiji's skin, and sent Soifon back a few feet.
"What is this?" she asked, bewildered. "I stabbed you, and yet my hornet's crest has not appeared. What is this trickery?"
"No trickery, girl," Eiji laughed coldly. "It is my ability, which you said did nothing. It makes my body steel, but not so much so that I cannot move, but so much that I can protect myself when needed and attack you when needed." He trailed off. "And I can do this." He opened his jacket and plunged his hand into his now visible hollow hole located on his sternum. He pulled out what appeared to be a blade, but on further inspection, Soifon sank back in disgust.
"That's you rib!" she yelled, her eyes narrowed. Eiji smiled, and ran at her, blade poised to stab forward. Soifon dodged just in time and flash-stepped a couple of metres behind him, to recuperate. "Damn, this guy doesn't give up!" she said to herself.
Eiji turned quickly and used sonido to appear behind her, slashing down with his blade, slashing her haori through the back. As she stumbled forwards, her haori fell from her torso, revealing her stealth force uniform. Eiji looked at her with curiosity.
"What?" Soifon asked bluntly. "Oh, my stealth uniform, it is only given to the leader of the Stealth Forces, and only because of a certain technique that only we can use." She raised her arm, in preparation for her Shunko.
Suddenly, Marechiyo ran in front of her, facing Eiji himself. He yelled out in rage. "How dare you make a mockery of Marechiyo Yoshiayamenosuke Nikkotaroemon Omaeda! Crush, Gegetsuburi!" His sword changed dramatically, forming a mace, with the metal ball forming spikes on its surface. Soifon looked on, annoyed. Marechiyo ignored this, and in a blind rage, forced his spiked ball forwards at Eiji, who simply stopped it with his palm.
Marechiyo started to sweat greatly. Eiji smirked and a cero grew in the palm holding the spiked ball. He blasted it towards Marechiyo, knocking him backwards into the opposite wall, and unconscious.
"Well," Eiji chuckled. "That helped you out a lot, didn't it?" he asked, taunting Soifon slightly, but she had disappeared. He looked around, confused. His searches were answered by a kick squarely on his back, forcing him forwards and onto his knees.
Soifon landed with grace and then continued from before she was interrupted. "Actually," she commented. "Whilst Marechiyo acts like a complete idiot 100% of the time, about 3% of the time, it's just a cover for a brilliantly tactical mind. That's one of the reasons why he is my lieutenant. Of course, he's still an idiot, but that will never change."
She raised her arm again, and a white spiritual energy erupted from her back and enveloped her arm. Her hair was blown wildly as the waves of energy grew. Eventually the energy blasts subsided, showing that Soifon was now glowing with a new aura. She ran at full speed towards Eiji, who became confused as she had completely disappeared.
She reappeared at his right, thrusting her stinger at him, attempting to stab him. Eiji realised this and just stood there, reinforcing his body with his steel. Soifon smirked at this, stabbing through Eiji's steel skin and puncturing his kidney. The hornet's crest appeared over the wound as Eiji fell in pain.
Soifon appeared again opposite Eiji, still glaring at him. Eiji raised his head, and answered her glare. This was the first look of real anger that he had since the fight started. "How did you do this?" he asked, his anger starting to well up.
"My Shunko ability is a combination of hand-to-hand combat and kido, and it makes me so fast that I can cut through anything if I move with enough effort, even steel," she explained. "I am probably the fastest soul reaper in Soul Society because of this ability."
Eiji struggled to stand. "Quite the ego you have there, Soifon," he taunted again. "You may have speed, but it cannot stand up to my abilities." He raised his hands in front of him, and his fingers started to form little blades that jutted out of his hands. He forced them down into the ground, creating a ripple from their movement underground, until they erupted from under Soifon, who was taken by surprise. The blades shot out and linked together overhead, creating a cage, before she could even move.
"And that is my Blade Cage," Eiji chuckled. "A cage made out of my own body, in steel form, of course. Not only does it act as the said cage, but it also acts as a torturing device, like so." He gestured, and a blade shot out from one of the bars of the cage, heading for Soifon. She simply sidestepped it, and it was absorbed into the opposite bar.
"You dodged," Eiji chuckled, taunting her. "Well, I wonder if you will dodge the next?" he smirked.
"One question beforehand," Soifon said, hastily. Eiji looked at her curiously. "I'm taking it that, by the fact your fingers are still embedded into the ground, this cage is still part of your body?" Eiji nodded. "Excellent." Soifon continued, smiling.
"Why do you want to know such a thing?" Eiji asked back. "It's not like you can do anything about it."
"Well, if you were listening before, you'd remember my sword's ability," Soifon started. "I can kill anything that I stab twice in the same place."
Eiji narrowed his eyes, as Soifon started to stab the bar on her right. The hornet's crest appeared on it, and Soifon readied herself to stab again. Eiji quickly thought it over, and just before Soifon stabbed the crest, the cage slowly disintegrated, as Eiji's fingers left the ground. Soifon smirked and lowered her arm.
"Not so tough now, huh?" she asked. This seemed to enrage him even more, and he pointed to Soifon, a glare meeting her eyes. "You have not even begun to witness my true power!" he yelled. "Of Matthew's 'Fearful Four', I am the second strongest. You stand no chance against me!"
He built up the pressure in his body, and then released it all at once, producing spikes of steel which ripped through his skin, accenting his broad features. Two blades erupted from his forehead, becoming horn-like, making him look demonic. His jawbone grew drastically, spiking around the back of his head and pointing forward even more, even growing spiked teeth.
"What do you think of the upgrade?" he spoke, a dark voice emanating from his throat. "I like it, it makes me look intimidating."
"Yeah, well, that's not going to work on me," Soifon replied, flatly. "All it's going to do is make you look nice for your funeral." She flash-stepped and in a split-second was behind Eiji, stabbing him in the back, on the right. In retaliation, a spike jutted out of his back, attacking Soifon, who dodged it and jumped back.
Eiji turned and ran, throwing a punch forward, spikes rising from his knuckles. Soifon saw this and dodged, appearing behind Eiji, who sensed her approach and forced another spike out of his back, pushing her back.
"You can't attack me from the back anymore," he taunted "as I'll just force one of my bones out to act as a defence mechanism."
Soifon smirked at this, and appeared in front of him, rushing forward. She feinted, Eiji looking to meet her at his right, but instead charged forwards, stabbing his chest – the right side.
Eiji started choking. He coughed up blood. "Wha? What is this? You didn't stab me in the same place twice," he yelled in panic. Soifon just stood solemnly.
"I did stab the same place – your right lung," she replied. "I punctured it from the back beforehand, and just now. The two punctures crossed each other, so I'm afraid that your time is up."
Eiji grasped at his throat, his breathing becoming shallow. He tried to grab Soifon's leg as he fell to his knees. Soifon just walked away, leaving Eiji to die in a pool of his own blood.
She re-sheathed her sword, her shikai disappearing. She walked over to Marechiyo and prodded him with her foot. "Get up, idiot," she ordered. "The arrancar's dead now. Thanks for being a distraction, at least."
Marechiyo got up slowly. "Distraction?" he asked "For what?" Soifon growled, then kicked him back up, Marechiyo pleading for mercy. 'Tactician? I have been wrong before,' Soifon thought, kicking Marechiyo again.
Nanao and Rangiku stood back to back, as the last hollow fell to the ground. Rangiku sighed. "Not bad Nanao," she beamed. "Let's go back now, huh?"
Nanao smiled back. "Of course, Rangiku," she replied "just after I have checked upon Captain Soifon and Lieutenant Omaeda. I saw them flash-stepping past here, and I thought they could use some help."
"Oh right," Rangiku answered, understanding. "Well, I wouldn't put a mere intruder past Captain Soifon, but Marechiyo..." she trailed off. "Maybe not," she smiled.
Naomi finally reached her destination. She looked around, ready for a fight, but all she saw was two piles of rocks on opposite sides of the battle area. She sensed around.
"Raven! Crystal! What are you two doing under there?" she yelled, running up to the pile closest to her. Raven grunted. "This isn't our idea of a private moment, if that's what you mean," he answered flatly.
Crystal groaned next to him. "Those two visored just clashed their attack with ours, and it made these landslides."
"Two visoreds?" Naomi echoed, confused. Raven snapped her back. "We'll explain later, just help us out of here, alright?" he said. Naomi nodded and started to pick the stones up one by one.
At the same time that the captains dispersed out towards the gates, Kenji laughed. He stood next to the front door to Squad 1 HQ, and inwardly laughed at their complete ignorance that he was there. He sidestepped to his left and turned to walk through the door, ready to attack.
Kiyomi saw him immediately. "What are you doing here, Kenji Ito?" she asked, glaring at him.
Kenji laughed coldly. "Well, I was going to attack a gate with my companions, but I decided against that, as it goes against my plan. Instead, I got my arrancar's friend to fill in for me."
Kiyomi growled. "And what is this plan of yours?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of him.
"Well, if I told you that, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it, Captain Seiryoku?" he chuckled to himself. "Although I will tell you that my next move is to attack you!" he said, standing in the middle of the room.
Kiyomi stood quickly from her seat at the head of the room. She glared deeper at Kenji, who just smiled back, confidence leaking from his stance.
"Ready to go, Kiyomi?" he asked, taunting her. Kiyomi reached for her sword inside her haori. She pointed it straight at Kenji. "Bring it on, Ito!" she yelled. "You may regret it when this is over!"
And here it is, finally Kenji and Kiyomi look each other in the eye. All four gates are now protected (to a degree), so not it's our new Head-Captain's turn. Also, review if you can. It's just a thought. NB - you seriously don't know how many times I misspelled 'Marechiyo', let alone his full name.
Next chapter: Kiyomi and Kenji now face off, but what tricks does Kenji have hiding up his sleeves? And what of Terri and Hiroshi? Well, they'll also get some 'screen-time', all in a chapter I like to call 'Clash Of The Titans', next week.