"NO!" Harribel shouted as she tried reaching for Danketsu when he suddenly dissolved into a black mist, and blew away with the wind.
Before Harribel could utter a single word she lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
Starrk, having just witnessed the loss of one of his few friends, quickly tried to regain his composure, picked up Harribel and departed, with the lingering sound of sonido having been all that remained of their presence.
"Motivation dictates actions, and so understanding brings forth certainty" – OSA
Chapter 10: Desire
* Seireitei *
"All captains and lieutenants, report to the First Division for an emergency meeting!" an alert rang out.
* First Division *
"Now that we have all arrived, let the meeting begin!" the Captain-Commander said with authority.
"Soul Society is in a state of disarray! Divisions throughout the Seireitei have suffered damage to buildings and loss of members, what are your reports on the matter?" the Captain-Commander asked.
Soifon cleared her throat before speaking, "The Second Division for the most part is unscathed, and we suffered little structural damage and few casualties. In the most recent battle we had, I fought against the arrancar Grimmjow."
"What can you tell us of the incident between Baraggan and Danketsu?" Byakuya queried.
Soifon grit her teeth before replying, "Danketsu arrived and bought time for Unohana to evacuate her division's members and patients."
"No one paid our division a visit," Gin sang nonchalantly.
Soifon sent a glare at Gin, but was unaware of whether or not the captain of the Third Division had even noticed.
"Danketsu-san did indeed arrive at my division and bought us valuable time which saved the lives of numerous patients and division members" Unohana spoke softly, "at the cost of his own life."
There was a silence in the room following Unohana's statement, many feeling sad for the loss of an ally, while others showed no remorse; one individual was reveling at the news.
"How did he die, Captain Unohana?" the Captain-Commander asked, therefore breaking the silence.
"I was not there to witness, Captain-Commander" Unohana replied.
"The arrancar called Baraggan was in his resurreccion form. Baraggan was channeling his mist-like attack at Danketsu, who had created a shield of spiritual energy to protect the division. Danketsu eventually lost focus and the mist seeped through his shield, and too much of his body had been exposed…" Kyoraku explained.
"If I am to assume the reports on the battle between Aizen and Danketsu are to be true, how is it that Danketsu was overwhelmed by Aizen's previous underling?" Byakuya asked.
"I have a theory…" Ukitake said hesitantly.
"What is your theory, Captain Ukitake?" the Captain-Commander asked.
"When Danketsu cured me of my sickness, he explained that his means of healing me were akin to the marks he used to save his allies in the Karakura battle" Ukitake began.
"One day ago Danketsu had arrived with the shinigami that he spoke of who could confirm his 'uniqueness' as a hollow. However, just before his departure, Danketsu had a coughing fit, and he was coughing up blood" Ukitake said, pausing to let the words sink in.
"Danketsu had cured me of my sickness, but as a result he had acquired the sickness himself" Ukitake finished.
"Interesting," Mayuri commented.
"What is it, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Ukitake asked.
"This is mere speculation of course, but considering what we know of Danketsu's abilities and your testimony" Mayuri said thoughtfully while rubbing his chin, "Danketsu's marks could be comparable to transplantation, or redirection. The sickness that previously ailed you was removed and placed within Danketsu's own body."
The captains stood there in shock, there eyes visibly widened at the revelation Mayuri just explained.
"Furthermore" Mayuri continued, his face wide with excitement, "it could also be surmised that the marks Danketsu used to save those arrancar, kill Aizen, and destroy the Hogyoku worked in a similar fashion."
"For you laymen, the spiritual energy required to save two arrancar from death, kill a man as strong as Aizen was, and destroy an entity such as the Hogyoku was at the expense of Danketsu's own spiritual energy. In addition to acquiring Captain Ukitake's sickness, a loss in concentration and succumbing to the effects of that mist is certainly a possibility," Mayuri elaborated, "but I would need to run tests in order to confirm such a theory."
"I do not believe tests will be necessary, Captain Kurotsuchi" Ukitake replied with regret.
The Captain-Commander furrowed his eyebrows ever so slightly, "Did any division suffer significant structural damage or high casualties?" the Captain-Commander asked.
The captains all shook their heads.
"I believe the arrancar forces who attacked today succeeded in their mission," the Captain-Commander stated.
"What mission, Genryuusai-dono?" Komamura asked.
"The arrancar attacked Soul Society, and yet we suffered little damage and few casualties. The only significant loss today was Danketsu" the Captain-Commander replied.
There were audible gasps in the room.
"How sad," Unohana said regretfully.
"Sad? That is one less hollow we have to deal with, they did us a favor by killing him off" Soifon said without remorse.
"You needn't concern yourself over my well being, and besides, your honorable Central 46 undoubtedly hope that all hollow involved in this war will perish in the coming battles" Unohana remembered clearly.
"We have lost a valuable ally, I do not see the same small victory that you're implying it to be, Captain Soifon" Unohana replied.
Soifon clenched her jaw and scowled at her fellow captain's response and before she could retort Kyoraku spoke, "I agree with Captain Unohana. Danketsu and his allies asked for peace, agreed to help us defeat these defected arrancar, and Danketsu went as far as to sacrifice his life for shinigami who would have otherwise killed him on sight. That is hardly the appropriate attitude, Captain Soifon."
"Enough!" the Captain-Commander said, slamming his cane on the hard wood floors.
"Captain Soifon, I have already accepted Danketsu's forces as our allies, albeit temporary, and as such you will behave accordingly. After this war, it will be up to the Central 46 to decide whether they will remain allies" the Captain-Commander finalized.
"If there is nothing else to report," the Captain-Commander said openly before continuing, "then you will all repair the damage done to your divisions and see to it that your wounded members are healed. We will strengthen Soul Society and halt any onslaught of further arrancar attacks!"
"What of Danketsu's comrades?" Kyoraku asked.
"Should they choose to no longer assist us against these defected arrancar then that is their purgative," the Captain-Commander replied.
"This meeting is concluded!" the Captain-Commander stated before tapping his cane on the floor.
* Las Noches, Hueco Mundo *
"What will we do now?" Nel asked sadly.
Starrk thought carefully before he replied, "We will continue to assist the shinigami."
"With the niño gone however, our strength has been reduced" Dordoni stated.
"We agreed to assist the shinigami, and it is what Danketsu wanted" Starrk replied.
They continued to sit in silence until they recognized an approaching presence.
"What do you want, trash?" Ulquiorra asked.
The newcomer laughed psychotically before he replied, "What, you didn't miss me?"
"What do you want, Grimmjow?" Starrk asked stoically.
"Baraggan was getting on my nerves, so I decided to come back" he replied.
Starrk eyed Grimmjow briefly before replying, "Take a seat, Sexta Espada."
Grimmjow sat down and the previous tension in the air faded away after a few moments.
"Where is Szayel?" Gantenbainne asked.
"He is trying to discover what is wrong with Harribel, she has been unconscious since Danketsu was killed" Ulquiorra replied.
"What the hell?" Grimmjow yelled angrily.
They all looked at Grimmjow curiously before he said, "What do you mean Danketsu was killed, there's no way Baraggan could've managed that!"
"Danketsu was ill, so to speak; had Danketsu been at full health and power Baraggan wouldn't have stood a chance," Starrk explained.
Grimmjow scoffed before crossing his arms and putting a scowl on his face.
"Ulquiorra, you will search for more allies that Aizen was unable to find. Nel, you will help train Grimmjow, Dordoni, and Gatenbainne. I will maintain contact with Soul Society and keep everyone apprised of Harribel's condition" Starrk said.
* Seireitei *
"Emergency Meeting at Sokyoku Hill" ordered via Hell Butterfly.
After mere minutes, all had gathered at Sokyoku Hill, expecting the Captain-Commander or some sort of urgent danger, but all that welcomed them were each other and a thick layer of fog.
"Ukitake" the newly arrived captain of the tenth division said.
"Captain Hitsugaya" Ukitake said.
"What's going on, why are we here?" Toshiro asked.
"I don't know, no one has heard anything about this meeting" Ukitake replied.
"What's with this gathering?" Kyoraku asked to no one in particular.
"Why do you think the Captain-Commander summoned us?" Mayuri asked.
Everyone was thoroughly confused as to the purpose of this meeting and why the meeting was to take place at the Sokyoku Hill.
"Dam this stupid fog" Renji said irritably.
A couple of minutes passed until someone approached the Captains and Lieutenants.
"Lieutenant Sasakibe, what's going on? Where's the Captain-Commander" Kira asked.
Sasakibe stood there rigidly before falling forward on the ground.
Many of the Lieutenants and Captains rushed forward to check on Sasakibe and caused everyone to be on the defensive.
"Don't let the slightest aura slip by!" Soifon said.
"He's gone into cardiac arrest. This is bad!" Isane said.
"Cast a resuscitation spell immediately!" Unohana replied.
"Right!" Isane replied while immediately beginning her work on Sasakibe.
"Hm" someone said with slight amusement.
Everyone turned in the direction of the voice, ready to defend themselves against an attack.
"Your Captain-Commander won't be joining you," the person said as the light illuminated his appearance.
"Who the hell are you?" Toshiro asked.
Komamura immediately flash-stepped in front of the newcomer, "You said the Captain-Commander isn't coming, didn't you?"
"Captain" Iba yelled.
"Scum! What have you done to Genryuusai-dono?" Komamura asked loudly, his contempt rising with each passing moment.
The man simply stood there in silence with a smirk on his face.
"No answer?" Komamura said.
"Then, I'll force you to answer!" Komamura stated before drawing his sword.
The man did a backflip, avoiding the slash in the process. As he landed, he brought out his hand and directed it towards the Captains and Lieutenants, a gush of wind rushing towards them.
"Bankai: Kokujou Tengen Myou-ou!" Komamura roared.
A huge giant spawned, clad in full samurai armor, wielding a massive sword.
"You will tell me where Genryuusai-dono is!" Komamura said.
"That attack won't hurt me," the stranger said.
"Ridiculous!" Komamura replied before bringing his sword down, his Bankai mimicking the attack, before Ukitake warned Komamura, "Look out!"
Much to everyone's shock, Komamura's Bankai had aimed the strike at Komamura, rather than the intended target.
"Captain!" Iba shouted in concern.
"What just happened?" Toshiro asked in shock.
"His zanpakuto attacked its master?" Soifon questioned.
"Impossible" Kyoraku said in disbelief.
"What the hell just happened?" Renji asked, as confused as everyone else was.
"Now isn't this fascinating?" Mayuri said excitedly.
Komamura looked up in shock at his Bankai until it seemingly dissolved into a blue smoke. He turned around and with utter shock he said, "Who in the blazes are you?"
A red skinned giant stood there with fiery eyes and breath, looking at Komamura with furrowed eyebrows.
"Are you Tengen...?" Komamura asked before he had to bring up his sword to parry the giant's attack.
Komamura flash-stepped away from the giant, but the giant caught Komamura's arm with the rope attached to its sword.
Komamura struggled against the giant's pull, and the giant then sent fire along the rope and finally managing to bring Komamura towards him; much to the astonishment of everyone present, the giant brutally slashed Komamura.
"What…the hell…?" Komamura said before falling to the ground.
"Captain!" Iba shouted.
Toshiro jumped into the air, and as he came down on the red giant he said, "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyourinmaru!"
Soifon also drew her sword and said, "Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!"
Toshiro's eyes were wide with shock as he realized nothing happened, and quickly dodged the giant's attack before landing on the ground.
"I can't go into shikai form," Toshiro stated.
"Impossible" Soifon said in disbelief, as she too could not go into shikai form.
The Lieutenants proceeded to attempt to go into shikai form and had similar results.
"What's going on? I don't feel any spiritual energy in my zanpakuto" Renji said in surprise.
Everyone else noticed the same.
Mayuri looked interestedly at his zanpakuto.
"There isn't any spiritual energy in it. What's going on?" he asked the stranger with a curious expression on his face.
"It's quite simple. Your zanpakuto are no longer with you. I freed them from you shinigami" he said.
"Our zanpakuto…can someone really?" Isane asked Unohana.
Blood began to run down the eyes of the stranger, he then rose up his hand and a series of explosions were produced behind him.
"What the…" Rukia said.
"Damn you! What did you do?" Renji asked in frustration.
"It wasn't me. Your zanpakuto did it themselves" he replied.
"No way!" Hinamori replied in disbelief.
"They have been freed from your imprisonment," the stranger said before laughing.
Attacks suddenly broke out throughout Seireitei as havoc swept in every division.
"This is merely a greeting. This is so you will understand how powerful my comrades are. Behold, the true forms of the zanpakuto you thought you owned!" the stranger said as several more individuals arrived at the scene.
"Is he saying that the zanpakuto have taken physical form?" Toshiro asked.
New figures appeared next to some of the Captains as they walked towards the stranger's group standing in front of them.
"But that's…" Ukitake said, at a loss for words.
"My, my" Kyoraku said to himself.
Byakuya began to walk forward.
"Nii-sama?" Rukia said.
"Who on earth are you?" Byakuya asked the stranger.
"My name is Muramasa. Tonight brings the end of Shinigami rule. From now on, the zanpakuto will rule over…" Muramasa said before a glint of light caught his eye.
There, imbedded into the ground, was a sword. It had a white hilt, a black guard, and white blade.
"A zanpakuto that a shinigami threw away undoubtedly" Muramasa said with a quiet anger as he began walking over to the sword.
Ukitake's eyes widened in fear, "That's Danketsu's sword…"
"If he manages to…" Kyoraku continued, understanding the consequences.
Toshiro, picking up the direction of the conversation, quickly acted and leapt towards Muramasa in an attempt to deter his advances to the sword, but he was stopped by one of the zanpakuto.
Muramasa held out his hand above the sword and said, "Abandon your fear. Look forward. Move forward and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate. Come. Your name is…"
The blast of spiritual energy muffled what Muramasa said near the end, and a pillar of light formed at the sword. Everyone was forced backwards as the sword reacted to Muramasa's words.
Finally, after several minutes of spiritual energy encompassing the area, it all receded back towards the origin where a cloud of black smoke now swirled.
The smoke and dirt settled, revealing a figure that had everyone shocked, Muramasa and his company included.
There stood a teenage looking man, with long ragged white hair, white skin, two completely different eye colors and a white robe with black tattered ends and collar. The most shocking feature was the black hollow mask with a long protruding horn that adorned the left portion of his head.
"Where is he?" the teenage-hollow demanded with an ominous anger.
Neither group that stood on opposite ends answered him.
"Where. Is. He!" he asked again, his anger growing with each moment.
"We're sorry, Danketsu didn't make it" Kyoraku replied with sorrow.
The teenager's eyes widened in utter shock, numerous emotions running through his features, until he settled for furrowed eyebrows, a clenched jaw, and narrowed eyes.
Soifon suddenly flash-stepped behind the teenager as to decapitate his head clean off and before doing so whispered, "Die, hollow."
Unfortunately for her, she didn't get the chance to so much as move her blade because the teenager merely tapped her with his finger and she was completely obliterated on the spot, exactly like Aizen and the Hogyoku.
"Soifon…" Toshiro said with sadness.
"Those who were responsible for my wielder's death will pay, and anyone who stands in my way will perish" the teenager said with a fearful rage.
Chapter 10: Desire
Author's Notes:
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them in a review or private message.
-OSA