It's Christmas! Have an update one day early!

And, though this was not in any way planned, this chapter is (to my mind, anyway) the first really epic one.

enjoy!

X-X-X

The Striking Snake

Ch12

The Slaying Moon

X-X-X

Tatsuki was the first to speak.

"This is the heaven that's promised to the dead?"

Rukongai, as Yoruichi called it, was an inhospitable place. Rough hovels and shacks were haphazardly scattered around the edges of the dusty dirt road, with only a few properly built structures - most of which seemed to be functional buildings rather than residences.

"Pitiful, isn't it?" Said the cat. "District one, around the east gate, is a fair bit better - but the majority of Rukon is even worse than this. The only redeeming feature is that souls never grow hungry here; if you have enough reiatsu to need food, you end up living in the Seireitei one way or another."

"That's it over there, isn't it?" Said Gin. "That big ol' city that looks like it was actually built instead of thrown together."

"Yes, that's it. The infamous court of pure souls, central headquarters of all Shinigami activity in the two worlds. Luckily for us, no more than one in a hundred men of each division is stationed there. Unluckily for us, these ones of hundreds are the strongest members of every division. Captains, lieutenants and most seated officers, at the very least."

"Hmm." Gin surveyed the city through his narrow eyes. "No defenses? I don't believe it. No way this is going to be as easy as it looks."

As if on cue, the banging sound of alarms could be heard from the Seireitei periphery.

And, in mere seconds, huge slabs of greenish-grey stone began materializing out of thin air, forming a gigantic, uniform wall around the Seireitei. It was easily over fifty feet high, and broken only by what looked like a gate, made of the same material but marked to stand out.

"Shit. That would be the entire Seireitei going into yellow alert," said Yoruichi. "At least they're taking us seriously, I guess."

"That's deathstone... an entire curtain wall of it." Uryuu raised an eyebrow. "The Gotei must really love defensive strategy. I can't even imagine how difficult it must have been to amass enough deathstone to build that..."

"Actually, the fortification was built on the order of central 46. The captain-commander was against the decision - he felt it was unjustified expense, and that it prevented rapid deployment of troops against Rukongai threats." The black feline licked the dust off its paw. "But the stuffy nobles must have their way, and they hardly care if Rukongai is overrun as long as their precious noble houses remain safe; so they overruled the captain-commander on the decision. Idiots."

"I see a gate," said Gin. "The obvious question, I would think, is how to get that open. No sense in an elaborate infiltration if we can just walk in."

Yoruichi's tail flicked. "There are four gates; each has a gatekeeper. The gatekeepers are giants. They may not have the reiatsu of a high-ranking officer, but they have the physical strength to lift the gate - so trust me when I say we'd do better to avoid a fight with any of them."

"Sure we need the gatekeeper?" Gin mused. "I mean, if me an' Chad and Tatsuki all put our backs into it..."

"No, Ichimaru. The gatekeepers are giants for a reason," said Yoruichi, giving Gin a contemptuous look. "The gate weighs hundreds of tons. Furthermore, since it is deathstone, it is nigh impossible to use reiatsu to enhance one's lifting strength. Six captains working together would sweat to lift that gate."

Orihime put on a hopeful smile. "I'm sure we can convince the gatekeeper to help us!" She said cheerily. Tatsuki and Chizuru rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, I got my 'convincing argument' right here." Gin smirked, running his finger along Shinsõ's handguard. "C'mon, let's see what we can do about that gate."

X-X-X

Yoruichi had not been kidding about the gatekeeper's size. The gigantic man must have stood over thirty feet tall, and he was built like an 18-wheeler truck.

"Yellow alert is in effect!" He boomed as they approached. "No entry to the Seireitei without lieutenant-level authorization or higher!"

Gin didn't even blink. "We have authorization. We were, uh, ordered to return from patrol immediately."

The giant's eyes narrowed. "Oh, really? I don't remember seeing you before. What division are you with?"

Gin thought quickly. He didn't know much of the Gotei's command structure, but there had to be something he could use... "division six, under, uh, Cap'n Kuchiki."

"Really." The giant folded his arms. "I see two Shinigami - a standard patrol unit - but who are these others with you?"

"Witnesses." Gin's bullshitting was in top form. "They said they saw the senkaimon opening, so we're bringin' 'em in to see what they can tell us about the, uh, intruders."

"Uhuh." The giant snorted. "Not a bad story, Ryoka, but you made a rookie error."

Gin shrugged. "Hey, I do my best..."

"I am Ikkanzaka Jidanbõ, keeper of the White Road Gate... and division six is housed clear across the Seireitei, by the Blue Stream Gate," he boomed. "They don't have any patrol routes in west Rukon. If you'd claimed to be with division three, I might even have believed you - but as it stands, you clearly lack authorization to enter!"

Gin's smile widened slightly, and his right hand disappeared up his loose left sleeve. "In that case... I got yer signed authorization right here," he purred, gripping the hilt of his concealed zanpakutõ and concentrating.

Shoot to kill, Shins-

"Ichimaru!"

Gin turned his head to see Yoruichi glaring at him.

"Don't be a fool. He can't lift the gate for us if he's dead."

Tatsuki put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Gin, let me handle this," she said. "I've been itching to try it out in a real battle anyway."

Tatsuki stepped forward, her hand on the hilt of her zanpakutõ.

Jidanbõ loomed over her. "A duel, is it? Prepare to be crushed to dust, rogue!"

The giant reached inside his shihakusõ and withdrew an enormous hand-axe, large enough to level a building in a single strike.

Gin's smile faded slightly as he saw the immense weapon, and he reached up his sleeve again. The others were not so subtle: Orihime put a hand to her hair-pins and Chizuru's right eye began to darken, while Chad and Uryuu outright summoned the full form of their respective weapons.

"Huh? This will never do!" Yelled the giant. "You act like uncivilized barbarians. Here in the soul society, we have rules! You wash your hands when you return home, you don't eat food that has fallen on the ground... and when two come to duel, no-one is to step in before the fight ends!"

He slammed the axe into the ground, blade-first. With an earsplitting crack, a wide fissure appeared in the dry earth, somehow curving around Tatsuki to denote an impromptu arena. It was more of a line in the sand than a real barrier, but Gin's companions took the hint, and grudgingly sealed their weapons.

"Now, the fight begins! When one can fight no more, the other wins!"

Tatsuki smirked. "Suits me." She grasped the hilt of her katana and yanked it sharply from its scabbard, holding it blade downwards.

"Shine, Getsurõ."

The blade and hilt vanished in a flash of light. A second later, a golden glow formed around her hands and feet, then disappeared to reveal her metallic, lupine gauntlets and footgear.

Gin clapped from his seat; he had dragged what looked like an old crate over to the edge of the arena and was lounging on the ground with his back resting against the wood. "Nice one, Tatsuki-chan! I swear, everyone gets the cool powers except me. It's not fair."

Tatsuki ignored him. She was in the zone - nothing in the universe existed but her and her opponent.

Sure, her opponent in this case was four stories tall, but fundamentally this was no different from a karate tournament. Besides, she had her Luna Wolf to match her opponent's brute strength.

Jidanbõ raised his axe, and swung it down onto Tatsuki like a freight train. There was a boom, and a massive cloud of dust.

"Hah! Couldn't even take one hit!" The giant crowed. "Pathetic!"

There was a collective gasp from the rest of the group, and Uryuu once again summoned his reishi weapon. As one, they stepped forward.

"For fuck's sake, ya guys, cool yer jets." The group looked over to see that Gin hadn't moved from his seat. "Ain't none of you ever seen Tatsuki-chan in a fight? She's never gone down on the first blow before, and she doesn't 'zactly make a habit of going down on any of the others either. Give her some credit."

"Thanks, Gin."

The dust began to settle, revealing Tatsuki leaning nonchalantly against the blade of the colossal axe, which was embedded in the earth. "Oh, and by the way, I hope you can swing faster than that. My grandmother could have dodged that, and she's dead."

Jidanbõ scowled. "You've got spunk, I'll give you that!" He shouted. "But can you dodge ten strikes in a row?"

"Would I need to?"

The colossus roared with anger, and reached into his gigantic shihakusõ. His hand emerged, gripping a second, identical axe.

"One!"

He swung the first axe down. This time, there was a clang, and a brief flash of metal sparks.

"Two! Three! Four! Six! Three! Five!"

"He can't even count..." Sighed Yoruichi.

"Seven! Nine! Six! Ten!"

Jidanbõ brought both of his axes down with all his might, kicking up a massive plume of dust.

"Is that it, then?"

The dust settled, revealing its source: Tatsuki's feet had been driven into the earth almost up to her knees. Both axes, their blades looking worse for the wear, were blocked by the gauntlets on her crossed forearms.

Jidanbõ's eyes widened. "Impossible..."

Tatsuki pulled one wolf-clad arm free, and then swung it in a vicious hook.

There was a clang of metal on metal... and a loud shattering noise. Jidanbõ stared in pure shock at the broken stumps of his axes.

"You're beat, gatekeeper," said Tatsuki coolly. "I can beat you harder if I really have to, but the fight's already over."

"My... my axes..."

The giant looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"I - hey, look, I'm sorry," said Tatsuki, cringing at the awkwardness of the situation. "I'm sure we can find a way to fix them... or, uh, replace them..."

Jidanbõ pulled himself together. "Ah, listen to me! Blubbering over losing, and even though I tried to kill you, you're still willing to try and cheer me up?" He put on a sad smile. "Not only are you a better fighter than me, you're a kinder soul. You've truly beaten me; honor demands I let you pass."

The colossal man turned and wrapped his hands around two huge, sculpted handles on the bottom of the gate. The muscles in his immense arms bulged under the weight of the huge deathstone slab as he heaved it upwards.

X-X-X

The exchange was brutally fast. The first hint any of them had that anything was wrong was a gasp from Jidanbõ, and a microsecond later, a hideously metallic noise.

Then Jidanbõ's left arm fell to the ground, severed above the elbow. Suddenly lacking one of its supports, the gate slid down and landed on Jidanbõ's shoulders, forcing him to his knees - though there was still plenty of room for a normal-sized human to pass.

"K - K – Kurosaki... Ichigo-taicho..."

In the courtyard beyond the gate stood a young-looking Shinigami with brilliant orange hair. Just like Byakuya had done, the man wore a large white haori over his shihakusõ. His hand rested nonchalantly on the handle of his large zanpakutõ, which was already sheathed in its shoulder baldric.

"Ikkanzaka Jidanbõ," replied the captain coolly. "Why is this gate open?"

"Th-they beat me," stammered the terrified giant. "It's the rules. If the gatekeeper gets beat, he has to open the gate..."

"Now that just ain't true, Jidanbõ," replied Kurosaki, his amiable look never faltering. "The gatekeeper's for keeping the gates. Keeping them shut. If the gatekeeper's beaten... well, then they should die."

As if to emphasize his point, he drew his zanpakutõ and hefted it dramatically. The large blade was substantially bigger than a normal katana - it was as long as a nõdachi and its blade was twice as wide as most swords. Its handguard was perfectly circular, with an odd, irregular pattern of random blotches on it.

"B-b-but - "

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!

Tatsuki brought her armored fist forward. In the blink of an eye, the captain brought his blade around to block.

"Oh? There's spirit in some of you after all." He smirked slightly. "But I'm afraid your journey ends here, ryoka."

He pushed Tatsuki's fist back as if brushing aside a fly, and raised his sword high in the air.

"Eclipse the sun, Zangetsu."

A heavy, malevolent pulse of unholy black reiatsu burst forth from the captain. It felt strong enough to crush a man where he stood; Tatsuki noticed one or two of the flagstones near the captain's feet beginning to crack.

The darkness pulsed upwards over Kurosaki's sword, and then passed, leaving a different weapon in its wake. The blade had become longer still and had widened hugely, while the handguard and hilt wrap had faded away entirely, leaving little more than a bandage-wrapped tang of rough metal for a grip. The entire effect was that of a grossly oversized Khyber knife.

Having tasted the world-breaking power that the captain effortlessly exuded, she had no doubt that the blade could, and would, cut through her gauntlets like butter.

"Now you will die, ryoka," said the captain. His voice was calm, but there was steel in his eyes.

He inclined the immense weapon, preparing to -

"Shoot to kill, Shinsõ..."

A ripping whistle was the only warning the captain got before a glowing lance of death registered in his peripheral vision, shooting straight towards his right eyeball with a speed approaching an arrow in flight.

Captain Kurosaki's face blurred as he snapped his head backwards with inhuman speed and abruptly flash-stepped a few feet to the left to evade the endless blade. Messy rivulets of blood trickled from a deep gash, running from his brow to his now severely damaged ear.

"Well, there's a thing," said the captain, the amused expression gone. "And here, all this while, you had me fooled into thinking the girl was the most dangerous one. You're good, kid."

The same arrow-like whistle sounded as Gin snapped Shinsõ back into her tiny wakizashi form. "Aw shucks, I guess you're faster than I thought after all," he sighed, still grinning widely. "I should have tried to get closer. Ya kinda forced my hand by threatening Tatsuki, there."

"Hah. You really do have teeth, ryoka. Not bad... but, sorry, I still won't let you into the Seireitei." Through the blood, the captain smiled. "Run or die, kid - your choice!"

He raised his immense sword, crosswise this time, and swung it sharply in a horizontal arc.

"Getsuga Tenshõ."

A surge of black oblivion washed forward from the edge of the sword. Gin's crimson eyes snapped open.

His hand flew forward, green reiatsu already collecting around it. "Bakudõ 26: Mirror Door!"

A shimmering silver barrier materialized in the open gate just as the dark shockwave reached it. The Kido spell shattered like glass under the captain's Moon Fang, but the edge was lost; Gin, Tatsuki and Jidanbõ were struck by what felt like a wall of 18-wheeler trucks, as opposed to what would probably have felt like the blade of the world's largest razor.

"Ja ne, ryoka!"

With a vindicating boom, the gate slammed back into the earth.

X-X-X

Gin sat up, shaking the dust from his hair. "Well... that could have gone better," he mused, his old grin back on. "I guess I'll have to get closer if I wanna spear a captain, huh."

"Bad luck," said Yoruichi bitterly. "We had no way of knowing a captain would be waiting right there for us. You can bet they'll reinforce the guard now, though..."

"Ikkanzaka-san can't open the gate now," said Orihime, a concerned tone to her voice. "It'll take hours just to re-attach his arm enough for him to safely move it. I don't think he'll be strong enough to lift the gate for weeks..."

Gin looked up, confused, to see a huge orange glow around the join where the arm had been severed. Though the bone was still broken, the flesh had already regenerated slightly.

"Oh? Not bad, Orihime-chan," Gin said. "I didn't think your healing power was that advanced."

Uryuu pulled his glasses off, wiping the dust from them. "So the gatekeeper will be unable to lift the gate," he said. "I don't suppose there are any others we could conveniently duel."

"Not after this," replied Yoruichi. "They'll probably be given orders to die rather than lift the gates."

Gin cocked his head, his hidden eyes lazily surveying the massive wall. "No way through the front door, huh?" He said. "Inconvenient. Oh well, time for plan B: the sneaky approach. No fortress is completely impregnable... any way to get over the walls?"

"No," said Uryuu shortly. "I tried to get a read through that way, but I couldn't feel anything. I'm pretty sure there's a barrier."

"Huh?"

"Ishida-san is correct," said Yoruichi. "The deathstone walls are engineered with some arcane method to extend their nullification. It forms a complete anathema barrier around the Seireitei - one cannot enter over the walls or under them. Only the frames of the gates generate holes in the bubble."

"The bubble can't be as strong as the walls themselves, though, can it?"

Six pairs of eyes zeroed in on Chizuru, who cringed as if she'd said something wrong. "I... I mean... it just seemed that way to me," she said apologetically. "That deathstone stuff is supposed to be the strongest thing around, so anything it generates has got to be weaker than the wall itself, right?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Clever," said Gin abruptly. "If the barrier's extended by magic, there's gotta be magic that can get through it. And if we can get through the barrier, we can get in over the walls."

Yoruichi's tail flicked. "Difficult, but I'm sure it can be done," the cat rasped. "In fact, I think I know someone who can help us on that - name of Shiba Kukaku. I just hope that crazy loon hasn't moved the house again..."

X-X-X

May ye merrily celebrate Persephone's return!