Yay! Another chapter, I'm really getting into this. I've even got Kuroda's bankai all thought up. In this chapter, I'm going to introduce two new OC's. I apologize if Kuroda seems a bit overpowered, but he has been alive for a long time.
Chapter 13
Familiar faces
Kuroda woke up that morning with a horrible headache. He clenched his teeth in a fit of pain and roughly dug into his temples with his fingers, eagerly trying to soothe the pain.
The light that seeped through the cracks of the window shutters in the warehouse he'd slept in burned stung his eyes. He shut them tight in hopes of regaining an ounce of peace in his head.
Gradually the pain inside his head began to fade away and soon he could think clearly without feeling like a sledge hammer had smashed open his head.
"I need some fresh air," he mumbled as he stood up and replaced AnShen in his sash,
He pushed open the door to the warehouse and stepped outside. The sun seemed particularly bright today.
"Ugh," he groaned as he sat on top of the roof, "why couldn't they have built a few trees in Seireitei? It would be so much more relaxing. All this white reminds me of some lab where they kidnap children and subject them to cruel experiments."
"...maybe I should stop talking to myself," he murmured…to himself,
He let out another deep sight before closing his eyes.
"LET ME OUT!"
"GAH!"
Kuroda immediately jumped to his feet, hand already on AnShen's hilt but soon realized that he needn't be ready. His hand came up to his face as if trying to block out the intruders of his mind, he felt weak but pushed himself to remain strong, now was not the time to suffer a break down.
Taking a deep breath, he chose a direction and started walking.
!*$&!(*%&!*($&)!(*))!*($&)(*$&!)(*$&)
Captain Ichimaru Gin limped steadily towards the 1st division barracks. His encounter with Kuroda had left him with three broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and a fractured leg. The only reason he was even out of bed was because he'd agreed to using crutches to get around.
"Oi! Can I come in?" he asked loudly, "it's me, Gin! Hello! Anyone?"
There was a brief moment of silence before the doors finally opened, revealing the Captains of all 13 divisions, save Sajin of the 7th.
"You've arrived," boomed the Head Captain.
"What's all this?" asked Gin as he limped inside, "I was just starting to feel well rested when I got called for some emergency. Did you all gather to comfort little o'l me?"
When no one responded, Gin feigned depression.
"I guess not," he pouted, "huh? Where's the Captain of the 13th?"
"Captain Ukitake is on sick leave," answered Tosen,
"Again?" said Gin, "I hope he gets better. Wait, where's Kenpachi?"
"He's out looking for the Ryoka," answered Shunsui, "apparently after you got beaten; he wanted to get a piece of the action as well. He's been running around Seireitei since yesterday."
"He's still looking?" asked Gin, "doesn't he ever run out of energy?"
"Ichimaru Gin," interrupted the Head Captain, "we did not gather here to discuss Kenpachi's antics; we are here to talk about the Ryoka."
"Oh yeah, that guy, I almost forgot about him," teased Gin,
"Enough," boomed the Head Captain, "this ryoka has issued us a challenge that we must not ignore. We must meet it with the full strength of soul society. But some of you are aware as of last night, that this ryoka may be someone we know."
A murmur broke out among the Captains; understandably they were surprised that Soul Society would have left such a dangerous enemy unchecked.
"Ichimaru Gin," said Yamamoto, "I have but one question for you; what was the ryoka's name?"
"His name ya say?"
"Yes,"
"His name; was Kuroda Ryou."
A thick silence hung in the air as soon as the words left Gin's mouth. The head Captain's eyes flashed open with recognition of the name. Shunsui tipped his hat over his eyes so as to hide them from his fellow captains and though it was feint, both Aizen and Tosen, winced at the mention of that name.
The two Captains locked eyes for a moment before quickly pulling away. The message had been sent.
"Are you sure, it was Kuroda?" asked the Head Captain,
"Yup, I saw his face and everything, it was Kuroda alright," assured Gin, "even got to see his shikai again. A real scary one he's got."
"Then it is as I feared," Yamamoto said solemnly, "he has returned for his revenge."
"Who is this Kuroda?" asked Captain Hitsugaya, "and what makes his so dangerous?"
"He is a shinigami," answered Yamamoto, "he held a high position in our ranks only 100 years ago, he was considered one of our very best if not the best."
"Just how powerful is he?" asked Soi Fon, "I remember him from when I was younger but his fighting prowess if relatively unknown to me."
"High enough that only Captains should be allowed to confront him," replied Yamamoto, "and even then, it is best if you do not fight him by yourself."
This struck a chord among the Captains, never before had they been told to exercise such caution. Though for some of them, this was the biggest emergency they had seen to date.
"We must also assume," continued the Head Captain, "that Kuroda intends to bring the remaining ryoka from outside, into Seireitei. He is as resourceful as he is powerful, he must not be underestimated. Captain Soi Fon."
"Yes Head Captain,"
"Have the Onmitsukido scour Seireitei, search every corner for Kuroda. But do not have them engage. The minute they find him, a Captain must be alerted," ordered the Head Captain.
"Yes Head Captain!"
"All Squads must be put on high alert, if you spot Kuroda Ryou, await further instructions. Under no circumstances must he be engaged," ordered Yamamoto,
"Is all this really necessary?" asked Shunsui, drawing attention to himself, "Kuroda's a reasonable guy, can't we just talk to him."
"I wish we could Shunsui," replied Yamamoto, "but Kuroda has always proven stubborn in the past, we'd have little hope with reasoning with him."
Shunsui sighed, "I know, I just wish we didn't have to fight him. Or rather, I wish I didn't have to fight him."
"Then you know?"
"Yeah, I'll go check on Jushiro, see if he's feeling better. If I'm going against Kuroda, I want back up," explained Shunsui,
"What are you talking about?" asked Captain Hitsugaya,
"Shunsui will be our first line of defense," explained Yamamoto, "hopefully he will be able to stop Kuroda before he causes too much damage."
"Two Captain's hospitalized and dozens others badly injured," surmised Mayuri, "I'd say he's caused quite a bit of damage already."
"Captain Unohana, what is the status on Captain Komamura's recovery?" asked Captain Yamamoto,
"He's is recovering nicely, my earlier predictions were actually wrong, he should be ready to leave by tomorrow," she explained,
"Good," said the Head Captain, "we should not underestimate his allies either, Kuroda has only ever allied himself with those he has believed to have the potential to be the best."
"What was his rank in Soul Society anyway?" asked Captain Hitsugaya,
"He was, the Commander of Seireitei's Black Operations,"
A chill crept through the assembly hall and an ominous feeling crawled through all of them.
"I was, not aware that we had a Commander of Black Operations," commented Captain Hitsugaya,
"It is a rank that few have held in the Soul Society, even fewer than those that have held the rank of Head Captain," explained Captain Yamamoto, "only those who have proven themselves to be powerful enough to become a Captain or Lieutenant are considered to become part of the Black Operations. From those few, only one is chosen to be the Commander. That one must be of cold heart and willing to execute his own subordinates if they become weak links. The reason we have not placed another at the head of Black operations is because we have yet to find anyone strong enough or cold enough to be the Commander."
"Then, we're dealing with a professional killer," said Soi Fon,
"Exactly,"
"Then why, did he spare Sajin?" asked Unohana,
"I do not know," admitted the Head Captain, "but for now we need only-"
"Emergency Alert! Emergency Alert!" announced a voice, followed by the sound of constant striking of a large bell, "Intruders detected in Seireitei! All squads, take defensive positions!"
"Intruders?" whispered Aizen
"Is it the ryoka?" asked Hitsugaya
All around Seireitei, shinigami began emerging from their barracks and taking up their positions. The streets were literally filled with Shinigami, all ready to do battle.
Kuroda sat upon the roof of a watchtower and watched as his enemies swarmed through the streets. A ghost of a smirk on his lips.
Meanwhile
"More of them?" asked Kenpachi as he took a break from his constant running, "good, more fighting for me!"
The Captain of the 11th squad watched as the large blue cannon ball smashed into Seireitei's protective field, inside, he was hoping for it to break through.
!()*%#(*%_!*%_)
"It can't be helped," said Yamamoto, "this meeting of Captains is temporarily dismissed, prepare your squads for battle."
With that said, the Captains began to move out, one by one. Captain Hitsugaya, was one of the last to start moving, but as he walked he noticed Aizen stopping suddenly next to the crippled Gin.
"The alarm sounds quite conveniently," said Aizen in a rather hushed tone, "I wonder why it didn't go off when Kuroda entered into Seireitei."
"What are ya sayin? I don't quite understand," Gin replied innocently,
"You think that excuse will work? Don't underestimate me," warned Aizen as he too finally left the hall,
Captain Hitsugaya followed after, his mind buzzing through what he'd just heard.
Soon, Head Captain Yamamoto was the only one left in the assembly hall. He raised his walking stick and tapped it's tip to the ground three times.
"You may come out now," he ordered,
Suddenly, as if out of thin air, two shinigami jumped out of the shadows and took their places in front of the Head Captain.
Unlike other shinigami, these two wore gear similar to the Onmitsukido, except that these two wore black hooded cloaks over their uniform and were missing the face masks.
"So it's true then, he has returned," said the first, his voice calm and kind
"Of course he'd return, the Commander doesn't let things go easily," said the second, his voice rough and energetic
"Then you two know already,"
"Yes," they both said,
"Then you know why I have brought you here,"
"I have an idea," said the first, "you want us, to take down Commander Kuroda."
"Yes," replied the Head Captain,
"Sweet," said the second, "it'll be just like old times. I've been aching to spar with him for a whole century."
"In old times he used to beat us black and blue," reminded the first,
"Yeah well, things change," pointed out the second, "so when do you want us to start?"
"Immediately" answered the Head Captain, "bring him in alive if possible but otherwise, use your full power against him."
"Don't be taken alive, that's our corps motto," said the second, "I'm guessing he'll still follow that."
"Still, we should try to take him alive," said the first,
"Use whatever methods you have at your disposal. You two have your orders, go and bring me Kuroda Ryou!"
*(#*%&()*#&)(*#&)#(*)(*&)($)
Kuroda watched as the kido cannonball managed to push through the force field that surrounded Seireitei, of course something had to go wrong.
The cannon ball for whatever reason broke up upon entering and pretty much scattered everyone into different directions of Seireitei. Which was very, very bad.
"Great, now how am I supposed to decide who to rescue?" he asked himself,
"I should probably go protect Uryu, Orihime, and Chad," he said to himself, after a brief pause he said, "uh…Chad will probably be fine actually. So just Uryu and Orihime."
"Then there's Yoruichi," he continued, "she'll be fine…"
"Go save her!"
"No, she'll be fine, she's a big girl, she can take care of herself," he said unconvincingly, "after all, I need…to focus on the mission."
"You want to save her" teased AnShen
"She's a former Captain," he said weakly, "she should have no problems."
"Just think of how thankful she'll be," continued AnShen, "I bet she'll give you a big hug and tell you how much she loves you."
"No, there'll be nothing to save her from, I should just do what's practical," he said, his will power visibly breaking away,
"You know you want to," teased AnShen,
"I-I, gotta, d-do what's right," he managed to say, "I mean it's not like I can imagine what it'd be like right?"
Few minutes later,
"God damn it," he cursed, "I just imagined it."
His face incredibly warm and red, he quickly grabbed the hood attached to his cloak and pulled it over his head.
Usually Kuroda didn't like wearing the thing but this was a special occasion, he did not want anyone to see his face at the moment.
"Well, it can't hurt to just check on her right? I mean in order to fight she'd have to change into human form and then she'd be-"
On top of a roof somewhere
"Achoo!," sneezed Yoruichi, "hmm, why do I feel like someone's talking about me?"
Back with Kuroda
"Okay that is a valid reason to go to her first," he said as he dashed across the roof tops, "let's see, when we left Soul Society we left some of our things in the secret hideout, so all I have to do is find her, go to the secret hide out and bring her clothes."
"Because you secretly love her," said AnShen,
"Will you stop!" he screamed, "I do not love her but I can't just let her run around Seireitei naked! What if someone see's!"
"I bet you want to see,"
"Leave me alone!"
With Ichigo
"Luc-luc-luc, luc-luc-luc, luc-luc-luc," sang the bald man, luc-luc-LUC, luc-luc-LUC, luck, luck ,luck ,luck, LUCKY!"
Ichigo and Ganju just stared at the bald man with rather stupefied looks, unsure on how to respond to such a…display.
This for some reason, made the bald shinigami mad.
"What the HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING!" screamed the bald shinigami, "can't you see that I was doing my Lucky dance, waiting for you bastards to crawl outta that damn hole! Why are you just staring at me with those faces!"
"What's with him?" Ichigo whispered to no one in particular as the bald shinigami ranted on about how he'd been so considerate and that they should play in to his plan and such.
"Hey," whispered Ganju,
"Huh? What?"
"Don't what me," said Ganju, "we're gonna take our chance and run!"
"Run? No way," protested Ichigo,
"Don't be stupid," spat Ganju "can't you sense their reiatsu? They're nothing like ordinary weakling Shini-"
"What are you two talking about," interrupted the bald Shinigami,
"They're probably so afraid of us that they can't stand to fight," said the bald shinigami's partner,
"Well, argue all you want as long as you want," offered the bald shinigami,
"But if they take too long, others will notice and steal them away from us," pointed out the other,
"Now that you mention it, that's true," agreed the bald one, "alright then, there'll be a time limit. I'm nice enough that I'll do one more dance, after it's done-"
"Anyway, I'm going to run," whispered Ganju, "if you wanna fight, do it alone!"
With that said, Ganju jumped out of the hole and sped off at top speed away from the two Shinigami.
"What the hell, you two break up or something?" asked the bald shinigami,
"You could say that," replied Ichigo,
"Tsk, don't' make me waste my time," muttered the bald one, "Yumichika,"
"On it," said Yumichika, and sped off after Ganju.
Knowing that there was no way Ganju could take on that purple haired shinigami, Ichigo mentally resolved to finish this fight as quickly as possible.
He quickly pulled himself out of the hole and griped Zangetsu,
"Hey," called the bald shinigami, "lemme ask you, why didn't you run? The other guy ran cuz he saw that our reiatsu was greater than his right? That's the smart decision if you ask me."
"If your power is greater than mine, running would be meaningless," answered Ichigo, "you'd definitely catch me and It'd all be over. But if you're weaker, then all I have to do is beat you and move one. There's nothing more to it"
"I see," said the bald Shinigami, "you're not stupid after all."
"But also," continued Ichigo, "I've got someone I want to catch up to; beating you may help me do just that."
"Hm? Well, I suppose I can understand that, let's get to it then. I want to beat you before anyone else shows up!"
!(#*%(#*%&_!#*()%&_#_#*%_!%(_+)
Kuroda was busy running towards the direction of Yoruichi's reiatsu; part of him still couldn't believe he was doing this.
"Her reiatsu is getting stronger," he whispered, "I must be getting close."
As he continued hopping across the roof tops of Seireitei a strange sensation entered into his mind. He immediately took note of the odd tickle in his brain as he continued forward, it felt like something familiar was nearby.
"What is it?"
"I sense reiatsu I have not felt since-"
Kuroda had barely enough time to dodge when someone suddenly shouted, "Hado.33: Sokatsui!"
White lighting lashed out in the corner of his left eye, he pivoted of his foot and spun out of the way of the deadly blast.
"Hado.31: Shakkaho!" shouted a new voice,
Kuroda spun around and saw the red orb of kido shoot out at him from the shadows, he lashed out with his hand and batted the deadly orb away with little effort.
"Bakudo.62: Hyapporankan!"
From his right a barrage of purple glowing rods were thrown, Kuroda pushed of his foot and quickly backed away from the Bakudo that could potentially leave him defenseless.
"Hado.63 Raikoho!" he heard from above,
Kuroda looked up to see a massive wave of yellow energy crash down towards him. As he back peddled away from the Bakudo at his front, he purposefully fell backwards. Catching himself with his left hand, he used it to flip away from both attacks, landing a safe distance away.
The Hado hit the ground and sent a powerful gust of wind and dust through the streets, but left Kuroda himself completely untouched.
"Level 60 kido without incantation?" he asked, that could only mean a high ranked shinigami but what bothered him wasn't the fact that the kido had been performed without incantation; it was the fact that he hadn't sensed them until now.
"Great reflexes as always Commander," said a voice from behind him,
"That voice," he turned around to see two figures shrouded by black cloaks, their faces obscured by their hoods.
"And just as powerful as ever," said the other, "smacked away my kido like it was nothing."
Kuroda narrowed his eyes and placed his hand upon AnShen's hilt, "it's you two."
"Oh, and he remembers us," said the second, "yeah, you got us."
Together, the two shinigami took off their hoods.
"It's good to see you again Commander,"
"Raijin Takeda Lieutenant of Seireitei's black operations,"
Rajin was a man that looked well educated and had a kind face. His blonde hair was well groomed and relatively long, most of it falling past his ears. What gave him the educated look were undoubtedly his thin rimmed glasses that seemed to highlight his impossibly blue eyes. Though relatively thin looking, he was in perfect shape.
But despite his outward appearance, he had become the Lieutenant of the darkest warriors in Soul Society for a reason. He had initially been the 3rd seat of the 2nd division under Yoruichi, but she had recommended him to transfer to be under his own command. Inside the 2nd division Rajin was known for his incredibly fast attacks and pinpoint precision. His title was: Rakurai "The lightning bolt", because just like a lightning bolt, he could be absolutely devastating in the blink on an eye.
"Kaito Shibata, 3rd seat of Seireitei's black operations,"
Kaito was Rajin's complete opposite when it came to outward appearances, the man looked absolutely feral. In contrast to Rajin's well-groomed hair, Kaito's brown hair was relatively wild and spikey. The man was quite muscular, a fact of which Kaito took much pride in and his deep green eyes seemed to complete the psychopathic look that Kaito had mastered.
Kaito had originally been in the 11th division, one could tell simply from the torn sleeves of his uniform. A lover of fighting ever since the academy, he fit perfectly into the squad of battle experts. He eventually rose to the level of lieutenant and would have eventually challenged the Kenpachi for the title of Captain, and won, had he not been recruited by Kuroda for his own purposes.
The wild man soon built a reputation among the operatives as a berserker, as well as one of the strongest men in the entire squad. The only reason Rajin had won in their battle for the spot of Lieutenant was because he could lead men with a cool head, Kaito's idea of a plan was simply to find the biggest hammer he could and start smashing things with it, though he was surprisingly good at kido, even better then Rajin in some aspects.
In short, they were two of the deadliest people to ever step foot in Soul Society.
"It's been a while," said Rajin, "you look good, a bit pale though."
Kuroda snorted, "your one to talk, from the look of your skin. I'd say you've spent most of your days in the office."
"Damn right he does," said Kaito, "he makes me go out on all the missions, all he ever does is paper work."
"Paper work is an important part of running a squad Kaito," Rajin pointed out,
"Whatever," replied Kaito, "we never did paper work in the 11th division,"
"Back to the matter at hand," said Rajin, "Commander, I expect that you know why we're here."
"Yes, I knew that it was only a matter of time before they sent you," replied Kuroda, "I'll tell you right now, I won't be taken alive."
"Ha! Just like I told you, Commander would never let himself be taken alive," laughed Kaito, "and that's just what I'd expect."
Rajin lips formed a sad smirk, "I don't suppose I could persuade you could I?"
"Sorry," replied Kuroda, "but I have a mission to carry out."
Together, the two black op's agents drew their katana.
"We hold nothing against you Commander," said Rajin, "when we were all children, you helped us survive, you taught us to fight, you brought us into Seireitei. Without you, we'd both be dead. But we must carry out our orders."
Kuroda nodded in acceptance and drew his own sword, as he pointed his blade at his adversaries. He felt a strange sense of nostalgia fall over him. He remembered;
Flash back
Kuroda walked towards the broken town that was district 78 of Rukongai, this was after he'd met Yoruichi and Kisuke. He could have stayed in the peaceful neighbor hoods of the upper districts but he chose to visit the lower districts every now and then, to remind himself of where he'd come from.
His body had matured somewhat over the years, no bearing the body of an early teen. He'd plan to enroll in the academy for shinigami soon, along with Yoruichi and Kisuke.
As he walked through the streets of the dangerous district, he noted the various criminals that sat on the sides and hid in alleys, all of them eyeing him, most likely thinking him an easy target. But as desperate as they might be, they weren't stupid.
Strapped to Kuroda's back was a well-crafted wakizashi, ever since the incident in the alley with Yoruichi. She'd given it to him, though he initially resisted, he eventually gave way to her constant pleading.
On the same day he'd accepted the weapon, Kisuke slapped him on the back of the head as punishment for making Yoruichi worry so much. Kuroda had punched him in the face, not too hard, the doctors managed to fix his nose after all.
As he continued his walk, he eventually found himself down an alley, he knew he'd probably get ambushed here but he didn't mind, he could use some excitement. Though, the ambushers were not what he was going to expect.
Kuroda soon heard footsteps behind him, unusually soft and quite footsteps but he could definitely hear them. Two sets, only ten feet away, Kuroda dared not turn back, if he did they might just jump him.
He gradually began to take slower and slower steps until he could hear the footsteps as though they were right behind him.
He heard a few whispers, plans on how they were going to take him down. A small smirk of excitement crossed his lips. By now the footsteps were just behind him.
The footsteps suddenly shuffled and picked up pace, Kuroda swung around and lashed out with his elbow, intending to catch the thug in the stomach.
But when his elbow made contact, Kuroda looked to see that he had instead caught his attacker on the chin and what was even more surprising was the attacker's height, he was pretty short, just an inch or two lower than Kuroda.
The thug went tumbling to the ground, that's when Kuroda got his first good look at his attacker.
It was just a kid.
A scrawny kid, not much younger than him with wild brown hair and deep green eyes, for a moment, Kuroda was completely stunned. He'd always known that there were other children that lived in this district but he'd never seen any with the guts to take up the criminal ways.
As it turns out, his attack had done little in the way of damage because the kid was immediately back on his feet. The wild child lashed out with a series of quick jabs, they were clumsily thrown and as such Kuroda had little difficulty dodging them.
Suddenly, the kid threw a punch that was both powerful and accurately performed. Kuroda was caught off guard and was smacked in the chin. The attack sent him stumbling back but he managed to regain his balance without much trouble.
The kid lashed out again with another powerful punch, this time Kuroda was ready. He grabbed the kid by the wrist and pulled him through while he side stepped, then tripped the boy and flipped him head over heels.
"Wait, weren't there two of you," he said to himself.
Suddenly someone snuck their arm around his neck from behind and held him in a powerful choke hold. Kuroda felt his lungs struggle for air, his attacker was no novice, if this was kept up any longer Kuroda would lose conscious.
He reached behind and grabbed his new attacker by the armpits and tossed him over his shoulder into the other kid who'd just managed to get up.
Kuroda now saw that his newest opponent was another child, again no younger than him. Blond hair and glasses with incredibly blue eyes, the two of them quickly recovered and assumed a battle stance.
Kuroda by now had had enough of this fight and quickly drew his wakizashi. The sight of the blade immediately deterred the two from attacking any longer.
For a long moment, the three stared at each other, both parties wondering who would make the first move.
The silence was suddenly broken when a loud gurgling sound filled the alley.
The blond haired kid fell to his knees and gripped his stomach; the other boy immediately came to his aid.
"Hey, hold on," said the brown haired feral child,
"I-I'm fine," said the blonde haired kid, "just need a moment."
Kuroda knew that sound better than most people; he'd had such sounds many years ago.
He reached into his pack and pulled out a black box.
The two boys, too busy with their own problems, failed to notice Kuroda until he was right in front of him. As soon as they noticed, both raised their fists in defense, ready to fight.
"Here," said Kuroda, offering them the black box.
The two were immediately skeptical, neither moving to take the box. Kuroda sighed and took the cover off the black box, revealing that it was in fact a bento box.
The two boys began to drool at the sight and smell of the food, the blond boy immediately snatched the box from Kuroda and held it between the two of them. Both began to gobble hungrily at the food, practically stuffing themselves.
"You two were hungry," said Kuroda, "which means that you're special."
The two took note of his words but refused to stop stuffing their faces.
"What are your names?"
"Rajin,"
"Kaito,"
End of Flash back
And now here they were again, weapons bared at one another, their killer instincts on high alert.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this again," said Kuroda as he reached up his sleeve and took hold of the first band on his arm, "but if I'm to deal with you two, I must. Let's see if you both still remember what I taught you all those years ago."
With the single move, he unlocked the band.
The results were immediate, Kuroda's reiatsu sky rocketed, sending powerful gusts of wind in ever direction. His reiatsu danced around him in powerful waves of red energy, the pavement around him began to crack, only a little at first, but suddenly everything in a five meter radius was damaged beyond repair. Small worms of red energy would occasionally wiggle their way through the broken pavement and along the walls.
"HAHA! Yeah! That's what I'm talking about," cheered Kaito with pure joy, "this'll just be like old times."
"If I remember correctly," said Kuroda as he raised his sword in challenge, "I always let you two make the first move."
!#_!#()%*_#%()&!_()!#%*_()_!#()%&*_)(*#!_())
"Save her? How many of you came?" asked a defeated Ikkaku, "you'd need at least seven or eight!"
"Nope, Six and a half," replied Ichigo with all seriousness,
"Huh? What's that mean, "and a half," asked Ikkaku, "whatever, you really think you're going to save her with that many people?"
Ichigo smirked, "Absolutely,"
Ikkaku suddenly burst into unrestrained fits of laughter, practically rolling on the ground with joy.
"There's no way! You must be retarded," he screamed between laughs, until suddenly he cried out in pain, "Argh! My wound opened up again cause I was laughing too hard!"
"You must be retarded," muttered Ichigo.
!#&*(#_%()_#%&!#_(&_!#%(_)(#%^&#$$%&#^%*)
Two blades clashed against one, sparks flew and steel grinded against steel. Kuroda held back the blades of his former comrades; all sentimentality had fled from their eyes. From now on, it was kill or be killed, that was their way.
With a roll of his shoulders, he shoved the blades back, buying himself a precious few moments. As his opponents reeled back, he charged forth. He lashed out first against Kaito, his blade deflected his first attack but Kuroda spun into his swing and came back around with a round house kick. Kaito raised his arm in defense and caught the blow, though it caused him to skid back he remained unharmed.
Rajin suddenly jumped through the air and swung at Kuroda's unprotected flank, Kuroda however side stepped the attack and grabbed Rajin by the elbow, then tossed him through using the man's own weight to add to the throw.
Rajin fell forward but rolled into it, somersaulting across the ground and jumping back unharmed.
Kuroda came at Lieutenant with few quick swipes of his sword, all of which were dodged. Rajin retaliated with a leaping overhead chop, their swords clashed and locked together.
The former commander was just about to break the lock when, Kaito jumped out from behind Rajin, his sword already in full swing.
"Surprise!"
Kuroda was forced to break the lock and jump back, unfortunately, he was not fast enough to prevent the 3rd seat from placing a scratch on his cheek.
"Ha! First blood!"
"Last blood counts for more," retorted Kuroda before charging forth.
Kuroda swung at Kaito twice, both times he was denied. Kaito suddenly jumped back and let Rajin jump forth with an overhead strike. The blow hit hard enough that Kuroda was forced to stumble back but quickly recovered.
He fought back with two heavy strikes targeting Rajin's left and right, his third strike came head on and was powerful enough to knock Rajin back even though he managed to block the attack.
Kuroda took advantage of Rajin's temporary vulnerability, he leaped forth and grabbed Rajin by the shoulder, out of the corner of his eye he saw Kaito leaping to the defense of his friend. Kuroda used Rajin as a balance and pushed off the ground, kicking out with his feet, catching the 3rd seat right in the face. The blow sent him reeling back, temporarily stunned and confused.
As his feet came back to the ground, Kuroda moved his hand so that his arm wrapped around Rajin's shoulder, he pushed down on Rajin and brought the lieutenant crashing down with him, smashing his body into the ground.
Kuroda quickly rolled to his feet and attempted to bring the point of his blade down on top of Rajin but the lieutenant rolled away from his attack.
The rouge warrior heard a savage battle cry from behind and jumped away just in time to avoid a devastating swing from Kaito. Rubble flew through the air as Kaito's blade smashed into the pavement of the street.
Kaito continued his assault with a savage flurry of swings, Kuroda managed to block or dodge most but some came uncomfortably close to hitting their mark.
Kaito unexpectedly ducked down to reveal Rajin using his back as a spring board for his hand to perform a flying kick. Kuroda raised his arms in defense just in time to block the strike.
With Rajin now in the front, the lieutenant began to swing away with quick precise attacks in contrast to Kaito's hurricane of uncoordinated attack
Kuroda decided it was time to switch to the offense.
He parried Rajin's latest attack, then swung his sword once, twice, three times, only to be denied. He swung once more, but this time he channeled his reiatsu into AnShen's blade, as soon as their blades clashed, Rajin was sent flying back into a wall from the sheer power of his attack.
Kaito stepped in for his friend, starting off with a powerful roundhouse slash, followed up with a powerful uppercut with his sword.
The former Commander accepted the blows with his sword. Kaito swung again but this time Kuroda lashed out with his hand and caught the 3rd seat by the wrist, he quickly raised his knee into Kaito's stomach, than swung his free hand, catching Kaito's cheek with his bare fist.
The force of the blow caused Kaito to spin around, exposing his flank to his opponent. Kuroda could have ended it there; one clean blow would have been all that would have been needed. But he chose not to, instead he leaped into the air and struck out with both of his feet. The blow connected solidly with Kaito's back and caused the man to crash into his just recovering partner.
The two shinigami quickly recovered, appearing unfazed by Kuroda's attacks.
Both Kaito and Rajin extended their hands and shouted, "Hado. 31: Shakkaho!"
Twin orbs of red energy shot towards Kuroda with alarming speed, he raised AnShen like a bat, waited for the right moment then swung with all his strength.
AnShen's blade found both orbs and batted them away. However, the orbs exploded just moments after being hit, causing smoke to pour into the air and temporarily blind him.
"Damn!"
Kaito's fist suddenly exploded out from the smoke and smashed right into Kuroda's jaw, the blow sent him reeling back but it was a minor wound.
Kaito, seeing his surprise attack was not enough; he immediately took up the attack again. He suddenly disappeared in a burst of superhuman speed and reappeared behind his commander. Swinging his sword with all his might but Kuroda suddenly disappeared as well, leaving Kaito with nothing but air to cut.
"What the-"
Kaito was quickly interrupted when Kuroda's fist suddenly connected with his face from his right, sending him tumbling to the ground. But the commander wasn't done just yet, he reappeared above the dazed Kaito and brought his foot down on the man's stomach.
Kaito instantly had the wind knocked out of him and gagged with pain, throwing himself into a fit of coughs.
Kuroda heard the shuffle of feet behind him; he switched to a reverse grip with AnShen and quickly swung around just in time to block an incoming strike from Rajin. Using the reverse grip's strength in blocking to his advantage, he pushed back against the lieutenant's blade, swiftly pulled his sword back to his waist and thrust it forward, shoving the butt of his hilt into Rajin's stomach.
The man keeled over in pain but was amazingly only lightly effected, still having enough strength to grab Kuroda by the collar and toss him over his shoulder like a rag doll.
Kuroda unfortunately landed on his back. Kaito took advantage of his position and rushed towards Kuroda, dragging the tip of his sword along the ground.
"Crap," spat Kuroda as he saw the blade racing forth to decapitate him.
He quickly spun himself on the palm of his hand and shot out with both feet at Kaito, his legs clamped around Kaito's heels and caused the man to fall to the ground.
Kuroda released the 3rd seat, then jumped back to allow himself a bit of breathing room.
Kaito pushed himself back up, rubbing his now sore forehead as a small trickle of blood traveled down his face.
Rajin, now fully recovered, joined his comrade at his side, both raised their swords to their ready position.
"Well done," said Kuroda, "you two have definitely improved in the time I have been away. I'm happy to see my absence hasn't caused the entire squad to became lazy"
"Thank you Commander, It hasn't been easy but I've managed to keep the squad together," replied Rajin,
Kuroda let a smile break onto his lips, "I applaud you, truly, but you still have a while before you catch up with me."
The commander suddenly disappeared from view, both shinigami were immediately on their guard.
But it was in vain, Kuroda appeared in between them, his sword raised high above his head, reiatsu overflowing into its blade.
Both Shinigami had but a second to realize what was happening before Kuroda smashed his sword down on the ground. A massive explosion tore through the streets and walls as all the reiatsu stored in AnShen was released in one single amplified swing.
Rajin and Kaito had just barely enough time to jump away, rubble pelted their skin, dust stung their eyes.
The storm had clouded a full section of Seireitei under a blanket of dust, obscuring their vision to almost zero visibility.
"Uh oh," muttered Kaito,
He was to say the least, in a bad situation. He'd been separated from Rajin in the initial attack and now he was practically blind, one thing you never wanted to lose on the battlefield was your vision.
He tried to calm himself with a few deep breaths, intently listening to anything that might give away the enemy's location.
He heard a quick shuffle behind him, he whipped around but found nothing. Another sound to his side, he turned but again found nothing.
"Your back is wide open,"
Kaito's eyes widened, without thinking he pushed off his foot in a mad attempt to run away. But there was no stopping it.
AnShen tasted blood, the tip of his blade had slid in between Kaito's ribs, leaving the man with a nasty gash on his side.
Rajin heard Kaito pained yell, perhaps it was just fortune that while he ran towards the sound he stumbled into Kaito who had just recently escaped a mortal wound.
"Kaito!"
"Where the hell have you been?"
"I was just-"
"Look out!"
Rajin saw the shadow too late, he had just enough time to glance up and see his Commander dropping down from the sky.
Rajin jumped back, but felt the cold steel of his commander's zanpaktou. The tip of the blade had clipped him, giving him a long bloody scratch running down his cheek.
"Damn," he cursed,
By now the dust had settled, but now it was too late. They were both injured, though minor, it still meant that they were at a disadvantage.
"Well done," said Kuroda, "most people die after I use this tactic."
"Well, we did improve," Kaito pointed out jokingly, "still, you got us. Even if they are just flesh wounds."
"They aren't flesh wounds, your bleed all over the ground," scolded Kuroda,
"I've had worse," replied Kaito cockily, "besides, I've got this."
Taking the hilt of his zanpaktou, he unclipped the bottom of it, pushed in his finger and took out a glob of brownish goo. He wiped it across his rib wound and instantly stopped the bleeding.
"Now, where were we?" asked Kaito,
"We were fighting," answered Rajin, "but it seems that if we are to have a chance at winning, we're going to have to raise the stakes."
"Agreed, you're still a handful commander," said Kaito, "I'm just glad we survived as long as we did."
Rajin raised his sword above his head, blue reiatsu began to gather all around him in a blue aura around his body.
Kaito pointed his zanpaktou straight out, yellow reiatsu began to merge around him into a powerful fire around his shoulders.
"Enter: Denko Te!"
"Smash their bones: Gaikotsu!"
Rajin disappeared in a bright flash of blue lightning, Kaito was engulfed in a geyser of yellow skulls. The combined weight of their reiatsu took its toll on the their surroundings as walls cracked and broke down, street tiles shattered, and rubble defied gravity, hanging weightless in the air.
When the great lights subsided, Rajin and Kaito stood wielding the true forms of their zanpaktou.
Kuroda stared calmly at the two shinigami, the power emanating off of them was palpable, anyone inside Seireitei would have taken notice of these two powerhouses.
"Denko Te," announced Rajin, "the most powerful lightning zanpaktou in all of Seireitei."
Rajin's zanpaktou had turned into a pair of Katar, handles decorated with ornate designs, blades razor sharp and teeming with electricity. The foot long blades each had the design of a silvery dragon traveling down along them; a single touch against the blades was absolutely devastating.
In all of Kuroda's life, he had never found a weapon more suited to close quarters combat, than Rajin's Denko Te zanpaktou.
"Gaikotsu," announced Kaito, "the only dual element zanpaktou in all of Soul Society."
Kaito's zanpaktou had turned into a large, nightmarish hammer. While the handle was only about 3 feet long, the hammer's head was large enough to completely crush a man's head. The head itself was a giant rectangle of pure steel, with a frightening dragon skull design. Even the handle looked like a giant, thick spinal cord.
It was perhaps the most adept weapon at causing massive amounts of destruction without its bankai. Not only that, but his zanpaktou had mastery of both wind and earth.
As if to prove the point, Kaito suddenly swept the ground with the head of the hammer, sending a massive wave of jagged rock rolling straight at Kuroda.
The jagged pieces of earth moved surprisingly fast; only with the use of Shunpo was he able to weave through the deadly barrage of rocks.
He escaped Kaito's earth based attack, only to be met with a powerful wind tunnel that sent him spiraling into the air.
"You're getting better at that," commented Rajin as he watched Kuroda be blow away by Kaito's attack.
"Thank you,"
"My turn then," decided Rajin,
Drawing back his fist, he poured reiatsu into his katar; the giant punch daggers seemed absolutely giddy as the static on them became even more frantic. With a single swift move, he pumped his fist forth.
A single bolt of lightning shot forth from his katar; racing towards the inflight Kuroda like a hungry animal.
"Damn," he thought,
The lightning bolt connected with the body and exploded.
His reiatsu disappeared and he was gone.
The two shinigami looked on as the smoke from the explosion dissipated; there was no trace of the man.
Most would have assumed that they'd destroyed the man but the two remained unconvinced. Their suspicions were rewarded with the sound of clapping behind them.
"Bravo," they heard, "your team work has definitely improved."
The two turned to see Kuroda, relaxing against a rock, completely unharmed.
"Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shiho," guessed Rajin, "I should have expected as much."
"Indeed," replied Kuroda as he pushed himself up, "but now, It's time to be serious. I don't expect you two to hold back."
"We wouldn't dare," replied Kaito, "from this point on, our lives are on the line."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
The three combatants glared at each other, their eyes filled with the intent to kill. This was where the true fight began, this was where they dropped any bonds of fellowship, this was where titans would clash on the field of battle.
Together, the three men unleashed the full potential of their reiatsu. This was a final warning, a tradition among their squad, it told each combatant:
"We're not backing down, the fights on!"
End
A/N
I hope you liked this chapter. I was waiting to introduce Kaito and Rajin, they're two OC's that I came up with before I started writing this story. Kaito was interestingly enough a byproduct of creating Rajin.
You see, earlier, I'd read an OC x Soi Fon story on this website. It was interesting and I decided to put down a Soi Fon story as an option. Of course, ultimately I decided to go with this story, but it felt like a waste to throw out the idea when I'd already come up with some great ideas for it, including the character Rajin. So I said to myself "hey, why not put him into this story?"
So that's what I did. I decided I'd make him a close friend of Kuroda but if felt a bit unbalanced having just the two of them, they're both relatively calm individuals. So I needed someone to balance them out, that solution came in the form of Kaito. He's kind of the wild child of the group.
Anyway, I hope you liked it.
Next time: The biggest clash yet, Kuroda vs Kaito and Rajin. Also, Ichigo makes his way closer to Rukia.
Here's an Omake
Kuroda appears by a large smart board with a pointer in hand.
"Good evening, today I will be talking to you about my Lieutenant's zanpaktou; Denko Te" he explains as a picture of Rajin's Denko Te appears on screen.
"Denko Te, when in Shikai form, becomes a pair of powerful punch daggers known as Katar. It is considered the most powerful lightning type zanpaktou in all of soul society," he says as the picture switches to Rajin holding his zanpaktou,
"The zanpaktou, due to its form, is incredibly adept at close quarters combat," he continues, "it's light, short, and easy to maneuver. In addition to that, it has powerful lightning based ranged attacks that can be used to devastating effect."
"Wow," says AnShen as he walks onto the stage, "Denko Te sounds pretty useful."
"He's a hell of a lot more useful then you," remarks Kuroda,
"What? Why?" screams AnShen indignantly,
"Have you ever tried using a sword as long as your shikai form? It's bloody hard to master, I can tell you that,"
"Ha, you just don't appreciate my look," decided AnShen,
"Oi," said a new voice,
The two turned to see Gin, limping onto the stage.
"Why are you two taking up my screen time?"
"We're no taking up your screen time," replied Kuroda as he pulled a script out, "see, this is the memo."
"What? I didn't know about this," says Gin as he takes the script.
He reads through it thoughtfully and is shocked to find what he sees.
"Gin is very sad," he says tearfully in the corner,
"Uh…maybe we should have broken it to him in a nicer way," said Kuroda,
"Yeah…I think we should have," agrees AnShen,