I like how this is shaping out. This chapter shall conclude the battle between Kuroda and his friends and will also include a small twist in Ichigo's story that will explain later events. Because, in all honesty, there are one or two things in later arcs that don't coincide with what happens now, not in my story but in early episodes.
*Cough* Kenpachi vs Ichigo *cough*
Anyway, enjoy the show.
Where were we anyway? Oh yes, I remember now.
Chapter 14
Planning the bigger picture
"Oh boy, what's he done this time?" asked Yoruichi,
In the far distance of Seireitei, Yoruichi watched from her roof top view as another explosion rocked through the streets.
Shinigami dropped what they were doing to stop and watch as mushroom cloud after mushroom cloud of dirt was thrown up into the air by the three combatants fighting in the middle of their serene city.
"Who is that?" said one,
"Is it one of the Captains?" asked another,
"It must be…", answered a third
"what's with this reiatsu, it's strangling me,"
Yoruichi was not surprised. With the amount of reiatsu being emanated by those involved in the fight, it was to be expected that the weaker shinigami would immediately feel the effects of being in a greater presence.
Judging by the feel of it, one of those fighting was definitely Kuroda. Yoruichi could pick out his reiatsu among a millions others if she had to.
"I suppose I should go help him," she sighed, "I wonder who he's fighting."
Else where
"Whoa Kenny, did you see that?" asked Yachiru with large wide eyes as another explosion threw up a geyser of dirt in the far far distance.
"Yeah," he replied,
"Do you think it's the ryoka?" asked Yachiru,
"Of course it is," he scolded, "who else would be fighting at this time?"
"But they're so far away," complained Yachiru, "do you think we'll make it in time?"
"If what I've heard about this guy is true, then I won't need to worry about someone else beating him before me," answered Kenpachi before dashing off towards the fight,
!()#%_&!_#()&*!#()*!_#()%*!_!#+%*+!#%)+#%+#%)*+)()
Kuroda quickly jumped back as Rajin fired off another volley of his deadly lightning bolts from his Denko Te.
Just as he touched back to the ground, Kaito suddenly sprung out from the cover of the smoke behind him, his hammer raised high above his head, ready to smash Kuroda into a bloody pulp.
With a savage battle cry Kaito swung his hammer.
Kuroda swiftly twisted himself around and raised his sword to block the attack. The two collided and sent out a powerful shockwave that actually created a sizeable crater beneath them.
When Kaito's feet came back into contact with the ground, he attacked Kuroda with a vicious fury of swings, only to be denied his prize by Kuroda's AnShen.
Kuroda quickly retaliated by parrying the man's latest attack and then launching his own barrage of swings.
The black haired man swung out with a wide horizontal swing aimed for Kaito's chest. But the savage warrior, who was a veteran of many battles, flipped over the attack and his opponent, landing safely behind Kuroda.
Taking advantage of his position, Kaito spun around on his foot while lashing out with his hammer at the same time in an effort to catch his opponent off guard.
But Kuroda easily dodged the attack by pushing off his foot and landing a safe distance away.
"You can't get away that easily!" Kaito shouted,
He smashed the head of his hammer into the ground; something seemed to come out of his hammer and burrow underground then dig its way towards Kuroda.
About ten feet before reaching Kuroda, it stopped. Suddenly a large jagged spike or rock shot out from the earth, then another and another, each shooting out closer and closer to Kuroda with an alarming amount of speed.
Kuroda drew back his sword with a deadly calm. Just as the jagged spikes were about to impale him, Kuroda swung AnShen in a wide arc.
All the spikes that had shot out from the earth were suddenly split in half and fell harmlessly to the floor, leaving nothing more than stumps of rock jutting up from the ground.
However this did not deter the psychopathic shinigami. No, in fact it simply made excited. A chilling grin spread across his face as he watched how his commander had so easily defeated his attack.
But Kuroda wasn't finished yet.
He raised his sword above his head and swung,
"Shibou Ryuu"
The dark red missile of reiatsu shot out from his sword and sped towards it's target: Kaito.
Kaito in response raised his hammer over his head and swung it in a series of wide circles.
"Gufuu Toku!"
Almost immediately, the air around him rushed to his side in the form of a miniature tornado that completely shielded him from the outside world.
Kuroda's attack smashed into the wind based shield; the two powers struggled for a few brief seconds with neither gaining the advantage. The teeth of the Shibou Ryuu seemed to gnash together out of frustration as it was continuously failed to penetrate the tornado.
Finally, Kuroda's attack detonated. The explosion completely engulfed the tornado in fire and smoke, causing it to break apart but still leaving Kaito relatively unharmed.
Kaito smirked at his ability to successfully stop the attack but his happiness was short lived as Kuroda suddenly came bursting through the smoke, AnShen poised to deliver a devastating blow.
In a vain attempt to stop the attack, Kaito began to raise his hammer but found he would not make it in time to stop Kuroda's blade.
There was a flash of movement and Rajin was suddenly in between them.
Kuroda's blade had been stopped; despite its greater swing power Rajin had found a way to stop it. He'd cleverly blocked it with the broad side of his katar and supported it by placing the second dagger directly behind it. A classic cross-block technique.
Kuroda could not help but smile, but of course he could not let them get too full of themselves.
Shifting the placement of his strength and shuffling his feet forward a few steps, he swung the hilt of his sword forward.
Rajin was caught off guard by this move but was nonetheless able to swing his head back just in time to dodge the clever trick Kuroda had used, or had he?
Kuroda had known Rajin for many years and something he'd learned in those years was that Rajin knew that wearing glasses was a disadvantage in combat. Thus, one of the areas of the body he worked the hardest on protecting was his face.
Kuroda's aim, had never been to hit Rajin with his hilt, he just need him off balance.
With blinding speed, Kuroda pulled his hands back, dropped down low, and swept Rajin's feet from beneath him. The black haired man then quickly raised himself back up and kick out with his foot again, catching Rajin square in the stomach.
The kick sent Rajin barreling through the air and straight into a wall.
Kaito was quick to step in for his friend and began swinging without mercy in an attempt to overwhelm his deadly opponent.
Kuroda's superior speed kept him out of Kaito's deadly frenzy. Kaito attacked with an overhead strike, Kuroda sidestepped and let the hammer smash into the ground, bad move.
Almost too suddenly for him, a ring of jagged rocks shot out from the ground, threatening the man with impalement.
He just barely managed to escape from the deadly spikes, though his shirt's collar was now torn.
Without warning the jagged spikes of rock raised themselves out of the ground and began to levitate a good five feet in the air. Kaito had his hammer raised in front of him a smug look on his face; he pointed his hammers head at Kuroda and unleashed his fury.
"Crap," muttered Kuroda,
With the first rock missile nearly upon him, Kuroda quickly back flipped away. Again and again he was forced to be quick on his feet as the deadly projectiles kept coming, each moving with great speed and deadly accuracy.
But Kuroda didn't like staying on the defensive for too long, it was boring. He didn't enjoy fighting but still, boring was boring, no matter what it was.
"Shino Kabe!"
He swung his reiatsu enhanced sword; the powerful red wave of energy tore through the barrage of stone spears.
Rajin, now recovered, stepped forth to challenge Kuroda.
"Raikou Raion!"
Lightning wrapped itself around both Rajin's hand, soon forming into the shape of a lion's head that encompassed the entirety of each hand. The energy was so intense that the lightning would occasionally lash out and scorch the ground.
Rajin drew back his hand and punched forth with all his might, the lion head shot forth, gradually gaining in size and speed until it finally smashed into the wall of ungodly terror.
The two immediately detonated into a massive explosion that could be seen clearly from anywhere in Seireitei and even some places in Rukongai.
Kuroda raised his hand to protect himself from the streams smoke that stung his eyes.
His cloak flapped violently behind him as the shockwave created by the explosion sent gusts of wind through the streets.
Rajin suddenly burst out from the smoke, his remaining lion head on his left hand.
Kuroda saw this and quickly raised his sword to defend; Rajin lashed out with his left hand and smashed the lion's head into AnShen's blade.
The lion head detonated.
Kuroda was sent tumbling across the ground, when he finally managed to stop himself he felt a small trickle of blood run down his forehead.
"Not bad," he muttered as he pushed himself back up,
The smoke that filled the air was suddenly brushed away by a powerful gust of wind; Kuroda looked to see Kaito waving his hammer around again.
"I see you," whispered the 3rd seat, with a heave of his shoulders tossed his hammer at his opponent, the heavy weapon flew true to its target. Kuroda would have had his head taken off had he not raised AnShen in time to block the blow.
Even so, he was forced to struggle with the heavy strike with all his strength. Their battle sent him skidding across the pavement, leaving deep marks where his feet were dragged.
As soon as they came to a stop, he pushed back and sent the hammer flying back. Kaito snatched it out of the air and attacked Kuroda with all his full force.
The two exchanged quick blows, neither able to badly damage the other. The fight became even more chaotic when Rajin suddenly joined in the melee.
Now Kuroda was stuck fighting two enemies at once, yet he showed no signs of fear, he simply fought on.
"Take this!" shouted Kaito,
The man swung his hammer again and again, each time he swung he seemed to gain more speed. In a sudden gust of wind, Kaito's attacks became a vicious tornado. His hammer began to beat against AnShen like a storm of hail.
'He's not even using commands,' thought Kuroda as he continued to parry, 'he's so in tune with his zanpaktou, he can issue it commands without even speaking!'
Kaito's speed had finally reach its height, with one final strike he sent Kuroda flying back straight into a wall, burying him under a pile of rubble.
Rajin stepped in to finish the job; he drew back his right katar and pumped it forward, sending a powerful bolt of lightning racing towards their helpless opponent.
The bolt connected and exploded.
But just to be sure, Rajin kept shooting; kept sending those deadly bolts at the same spot, unwilling to believe that they'd killed Kuroda just yet.
Finally, after sending numerous bolts of lightning into the target, Rajin stopped. His breath, heavy from the drain that his power had took from him.
Ten seconds passed, and nothing happened. Another ten seconds and still nothing; a full minute passed and still nothing.
The two shinigami began to think that they really had succeeded in bringing down the legend. Soon the smoke had cleared from the wall that they'd assumed Kuroda had been in, now they saw that they'd hit,
absolutely nothing.
"That was a very good try,"
Both shinigami's eyes widened,
"But I can't die just yet,"
Rajin felt a chill run down his spine as AnShen's tip came in the corner of his vision.
Kuroda raised AnShen above his head,
"Ru-!"
And brought it crashing into the ground, a geyser of rubble shot into the air from that single swing, no normal shinigami under the rank of a captain could have survived such an attack. But Rajin and Kaito were not normal.
A few moments after the attack, both of them came bursting out of the geyser, both still intact but not unharmed.
Kaito had taken the most damage, the entire top part of his uniform had been torn apart, he was bleeding badly in his right shoulder and his body was covered in numerous minor wounds.
"Idiot, shouldn't have pushed me!" scolded Rajin, who'd taken much fewer wounds.
A good portion of the top left half of his uniform was gone and his cloak had been shredded into pieces. But other than the wound on his ribcage, he was relatively fine.
"I'm fine man, just give me a moment," he said stubbornly,
The man winced in pain as he tried to push himself back up into a fighting stance but failed and only succeeded in falling back to his knees.
"Kaito!" Rajin rushed to the side of his wounded comrade,
"I said I'm fine," shouted Kaito as he pushed the Lieutenant away, then with a deep breath, he finally pushed himself back up, "I'm not dying just yet."
The two were interrupted by the sound of a sharp whistle; the two saw that the source was Kuroda, his sword resting casually on his shoulder, waving to them out of impatience.
"Alright," whispered Rajin, "we've got to play this carefully, I'll head in first, then-"
"Fine," interrupted Kaito, "but like it or not, I'm going to use, that move."
"What? You can't do-"
"I can and I will," replied Kaito as he stood up confidently, "if you've got a complaint about it, leave it for the end of the battle."
Seeing that he could in no way stop his friend, Rajin gave a nod, and stepped back from the front line.
'What's he gonna do?' Kuroda asked himself as he watched Kaito step up to challenge him,
"You okay Kaito? That wound looks pretty bad, you should get someone to check it," said Kuroda,
"I'm fine," replied Kaito, though he was obviously not, "besides, I've been looking for an excuse to use this move for a while now. It'd be a shame if I missed the opportunity just because I passed out from blood loss."
'Alright,' Kaito thought to himself, taking a deep calming breath, 'here goes.'
The 3rd seat raised Gaikotsu to eye level, for a brief moment he simply stared at his zanpaktou.
A thin smile cracked on his lips as he remembered the fond memories he'd had with this weapon.
Flash Back
"Ugh, this is so boring," muttered a brown haired boy,
"Quiet," said a blond haired boy with glasses, "if you're too loud, the teacher will punish you again."
"Why do I care, I get all of this crap about the Spirit king and stuff, I just joined because being a Shinigami means I get to paid to kill stuff."
"That's not what being a Shinigami is about," said the blond boy,
"It is for me," the brown haired boy replied nonchalantly,
"Kaito, Rajin!" the teacher shouted, "is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"
"Uh, no sir, please continue," Rajin quickly replied,
"Don't make me stop my lecture again," warned the old man, "now-"
"Kaito please, at least try to study," pleaded Rajin,
"Why should I?" asked Kaito as he leaned back in his chair, "I'll just show them that I'm good at fighting, and I'll get in."
"But-"
"Isn't that right Kuroda…Kuroda?"
The two boys looked over to their left to see Kuroda wasn't even paying attention to them; he was too busy being immersed in the teacher's lecture. His pencil never stopped as it jot down note after note from the teacher's words.
"Hey, Kuroda," said Kaito as he tugged on the other boy's sleeve, "why are you bothering with that crap?"
"Huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me, you're a great fighter. Just show them that and you're definitely going to get in," explained Kaito,
"I don't just want to be a Shinigami," answered Kuroda,
It was Kaito's turn to ask, "Huh?"
"I want to go farther than that," he continued, "I want to work my way through the ranks of the Shinigami. I want to someday be in charge of the decisions made. To be the Captain Commander, so that I can change Soul Society for the better."
"Like how?" asked Rajin,
"I want to help the people of Rukongai, so that they need not live the way that they do anymore, especially those in the lower districts."
"Don't you remember what it was like for us in district #79 and #78? Every day was a battle, a struggle, simply to survive. We three were lucky to be born with the skills needed to live, we were lucky to be born murders."
"That's a bit much isn't it?" asked Kaito,
"Not at all, we were what we were. I killed so many other children for the right to live, I remember slitting the throat of a boy that was my senior, just for a loaf of bread. Life should not be that way. I cannot believe that whoever created us, ruled that life should be like this. Life was meant to be enjoyed. The only way I can make sure that someone like us is never needed in order to survive, is to change life. I can't do that, if I satisfied with simply being a shinigami, I must aim higher."
With that said, Kuroda turned back to his notes, once again immersed in the teacher's lecture.
Kaito turned to Rajin and saw that the blond haired boy had also resumed taking notes.
With a resigned sight, Kaito stole a piece of paper from Rajin, took out his pencil, and started writing.
!()#*%&!_#(*%&!)(#_&%_#%!_!(!#%*_)
It was time for Kaito's favorite class: Zanjutsu.
And today, Kaito was having a day.
With a savage battle cry he swung his bokken at his opponent, his attack contained such power that his opponent's bokken broke upon contact as was sent flying back a good ten feet before landing on his tail bone.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" complained his opponent,
"Tch, so weak," muttered Kaito, "whose next?"
A murmur broke out among his fellow students, as everyone looked around to see if anyone was mad enough to step up.
"Come on! Rajin said he wouldn't duel me until I beat at least twenty other people! Someone get up here so that I can kick their butt!"
"How about me?"
Kaito turned around to see a blonde haired student take up his own bokken and step onto the mat.
"Kisuke?" Kaito murmured out of surprise, "Well, I haven't fought you yet, so this is a good time to start."
"Yeah, please don't hold back, okay?"
"Don't need to worry about that blondie."
The two students bowed to each other and took up their stances. Kaito was the first to move, he rushed forward, bokken raised and ready to deliver some serious punishment.
Except when he swung the wooden sword, his target wasn't there. He had just a moment to realize that Kisuke had sidestepped in the last possible moment and switched his sword to a lower guard.
He knew that Kisuke had switched to a lower guard because a second later, Kisuke's bokken caught him on the chin, full force.
The blow lifted him straight off his feet and onto his back.
"Ow," he muttured before pushing himself back up,
"Ugh, lucky shot," he spat, "now it's round two!"
Kaito again started off first, though this time more carefully. He sent a flurry of well-placed strikes at Kisuke and though they were all parried, he succeeded in putting his opponent on the defensive. Now he just needed to-
Kisuke suddenly dropped low and swept his bokken into the back of Kaito's knee, sending him flying off balance and falling flat on his back, again.
"Ugh," groaned Kaito,
A few seconds later, he quietly brooded in a corner, very angry that he'd been beaten by that blonde haired nerd.
A cry of pain suddenly interrupted his thoughts; he turned around to see Kisuke on the floor with Kuroda standing over him, bokken in hand.
"Ow," complained Kisuke, rubbing his shoulder, "you didn't have to hit me so hard."
"Get over it," ordered Kuroda as he stretched out a hand, which Kisuke appreciatively took, "you think an enemy in a real fight is going to stop just because you're hurt?"
"I guess you're right," chuckled Kisuke as he bashfully rubbed the back of his head.
"Kuroda beat that guy in like 2 minutes," whispered Kaito, "argh! I've got to get stronger!"
Few years later
"Kaito, could you please demonstrate your zanpaktou's abilities?" asked a teacher,
"Sure thing," he replied,
"Smash their bones: Gaikotsu"
Kaito's zanpaktou immediately transformed into the bone crushing hammer it was meant to become. Kaito gave it a few practice swings before giving it a full powered attack that sent powerful gusts of wind racing through the streets. Next he smashed the hammer into the ground and commanded a few sharp spikes to shoot up from the ground, though back then, they weren't nearly as large as they were now.
"Amazing," said one of the teachers,
"Incredible, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before," said another,
"This will go down in history!"
"Uh, what did I do?" asked Kaito, completely confused,
"Kaito, I don't know if you know this, but your zanpaktou is very special. In the entire history of our organization, we've never encountered anything like it."
"Seriously? What makes it so special?"
"That's hurtful, I think I'm going to cry" said Gaikotsu,
'Shut up,' replied Kaito,
"What makes it special is it's mastery over both air and earth. Never before has there been a zanpaktou that has been a dual elemental."
!(#*%!)(#*%&)(*#%&)!(*&%)(*!%)#(*&)
Years later, Kaito achieved the rank of 4th seat in the 11th division.
"WHAT!" screamed Kaito, "KURODA'S ALREADY A CAPTAIN!"
"Yeah," replied Kisuke as he took a quick sip of his sake, "he took the test a couple of days ago and just got the responses yesterday."
"God damn it!" Kaito cried loudly "first Rajin becomes a lieutenant and now this. Why can't I keep up?"
"Don't let it get to you," said Kisuke, "I'm sure you'll catch up soon enough."
"There is no soon enough," shouted Kaito, getting up in Kisuke's face, "do you hear me? There is no soon enough, it has to be right now! RIGHT NOW!"
"Uh…okay," replied Kisuke with a nervous smile, "just calm down, okay?"
"Yeah whatever," said Kaito as he slouched back into his chair.
After he downed another cup of sake, he noticed someone approaching their table.
"Are you Kaito Shibata? The 4th seat of Squad 11?" asked a hooded Shinigami,
"Yeah," he replied, "what do you want? An autograph?
"My Captain wishes to see you," answered the hooded Shinigami, "please follow me."
"Oh, and which Captain would that be?"
"Captain Kuroda Ryou,"
$(*()$&*)($*&()$*)
"Huh? What do you mean you're not really a captain?" asked Kaito, practically jumping out of his chair,
"Settle down Kaito," ordered Kuroda, "I'll explain it to you."
Kaito, knowing that Kuroda would stay true to his word, complied and tried his best to calm himself down.
"Have indeed been promoted, but no one really knows about it," Kuroda started, "I guess getting to where I am is sort of like becoming Captain."
"What do ya mean?"
"Kaito," said Kuroda, a somber look dawned on his face and his eyes seemed to drop to the ground. He looked like a man who'd done something horrible.
"Hey, are you okay?" asked Kaito out of genuine concern,
Kuroda simply nodded.
"Kaito, I've been promoted to the Lieutenant of the Black operations squad," Kuroda finally said, though each word seemed to sting his very soul.
"Black operations? You mean the 2nd division?"
"No, this is different," answered Kuroda, taking his own seat now, "I can understand that you haven't heard of it. No one except those in the rank of Captain know of the squads existence, it's a real shady part of our corps. Only those selected by the Head of the squad can enter in, not even the Captain Commander has authority in there."
"Whoa, so you're part of this thing now?"
"Yeah, don't tell anyone else," warned Kuroda, "Only you, Rajin, Kisuke, and Yoruichi know."
"Gotch ya, but wait, why did you say it's like being a Captain if you're just a lieutenant," asked Kaito suspiciously,
"Gee thanks, that makes me feel better," chuckled Kuroda,
"You know what I mean," Kaito shot back.
"I guess it's because only those with the potential to be a Captain are even considered for a position in the squad. So being a Lieutenant in this squad is pretty much right up there with being a Captain, weird huh?"
"But…"
"Yeah I know, the squad just calls me a Captain as cover or something, at least until we can figure out a way to erase me of the board."
"So, what's the top guy called?"
"The Commander."
Few more years
"You think I should join the squad?" asked a bewildered Kaito,
"My boss think's so and so do I," replied Kuroda, "heck even Rajin thinks you should."
"I don't know," answered Kaito with an ambivalent tone, "I kind of like the 11th division."
"Do you want to be stuck as a 4th seat forever?" asked Kuroda,
"Hey, I'm getting close to beating the 3rd seat," he pointed out,
"Please you could beat that idiot with your hands tied behind your back," scoffed Kuroda,
"Shhhh, don't say that so loud," whispered Kaito,
"Alright, sit back down, jeez."
"So say I do want to get into the squad, what do I have to do?" asked Kaito,
"Attain Bankai in one week," replied Kuroda,
Kaito raised his eyebrow skeptically, as if expecting Kuroda to say, "just kidding."
"Okay…what's the catch?" asked Kaito,
"You get entered into a world of cloaks and daggers, where only the strongest are allowed to survive."
"Sounds like home," smirked Kaito,
Kuroda stood up from his chair and said, "Tell me your answer tomorrow; I'll wait for you here."
Kaito watched as his friend began to walk away,
"Hey Kuroda," he called out, Kuroda turned back for a moment, "is it really worth it?"
Kuroda simply nodded.
A few hours later, Kaito found himself in a large open field. His Gaikostu placed in his lap. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and let himself drift into his inner world.
&*$%^)*(%&!#)(*!)#%*&!)#*%(&!)%*!()#)
"So, what do you think?" asked Kaito,
He'd just activated his bankai and completely decimated the surrounding area with a few demonstrations. He was incredibly tired after doing so, but did a good job in not showing that, instead he simply smiled his psychopathic grin and leaned against a tree.
"That was pretty impressive," admitted Kuroda before turning around to leave, "welcome to Black ops."
Kaito for some reason, could not help but feel giddy with joy. So happy was he that he forgot how tired he was and leaped into the air, smiling a smile that just wouldn't go away.
"Hey, catch up!" called Kuroda,
Kaito practically flew over to the Lieutenant, his boundless joy giving him the needed energy to keep up.
"I told you I'd get in," said Kaito when he caught up with his friend,
"Yeah" smiled Kuroda," you did."
"HAHA! I made it!" he screamed, in his mind he said, 'I'm glad I made you proud.'
End of Flash Back
'I've always been behind you Kuroda, I've always been chasing your back,' Kaito thought to himself, 'But in truth, I didn't mind. I always felt happier following your lead or looking up at you, like a little brother really. It was thanks to you, I didn't end up in some ditch, dying from hunger. It was thanks to you I didn't end up some no name shinigami. It was thanks to you, that I unlocked my true potential. The only way for me to really thank you, is to show you that your efforts were not wasted.'
With that last thought in mind, Kaito raised Gaikotsu and uttered the command words,
"Gufuu Ryuu gekido"
The air around them began to pick up into giant gusts, as though it had a mind of its own, it began circling around the three combatants like a flock of hungry vultures.
Rock, pavement and rubble were all swept up by the wind, sucked in by this massive vacuum that Kaito had created.
The tunnel began to rotate faster and faster and faster, until finally, the wind had clearly formed into a massive tornado.
Kuroda felt his feet leave the ground as the wind slowly grabbed him and lifted him into the air. Across the tornado, Kaito and Rajin had similarly been picked up.
Now all three of them were floating at least thirty feet in the air, but none of them showed even the slightest hint of fear.
"This is new," commented Kuroda, experimentally he tried throwing his weight to the left. The sudden shift in his balance caused him to float to the left of the tornado; he rebalanced himself and immediately stopped, "I can barely control myself here."
Kaito swung Gaikotsu in a wide arc, the wind obeyed his command and Kuroda was suddenly caught by the tornado and sent spiraling around towards Rajin.
Rajin raised his katar to face his incoming opponent.
The two clashed in a vibrant display of sparks as Kuroda practically collided with Rajin, sending them both spiral out of control but still locked in combat.
Kuroda swung AnShen out at Rajin but the lieutenant blocked the attack, however the force of the attack sent both him and Kuroda spiraling to opposite sides of the tornado.
Kaito looked on with an amused smile, "nice try commander."
Kuroda quickly rebalanced himself, he was just about to try for another sweep when an gust of wind suddenly sent him spiraling out of control. Someone's hand shot out and grabbed him by the back of his cloak and pulled.
He turned around and raised his hand just in time to catch Kaito by the hand as he brought down Gaikotsu for a skull smashing swing.
"By now you must have realized," said Kaito, his eyes calm and full of killer intent, "that only I can truly move in this tornado."
There was a brief pause before Kuroda finally said,
"Well, crap."
With a sudden burst of reiatsu, Kaito ordered the wind to break their struggle. Then with a swing of his hammer, the wind grabbed Kuroda and sent him spiraling down towards the ground.
"Shit," he spat as he saw the ground suddenly jump up to meet him.
His had shot out and stopped his face from smashing into the floor, his victory was short lived however, as Rajin suddenly appeared out of nowhere and shot a volley of lightning bolts at him.
Kuroda quickly rolled himself out of the way, though his cloak took a good singeing he emerged unharmed.
Again, the victory was short lived.
Using his zanpaktou's powers, Kaito became like a living bullet and shot down from above. Kuroda shunpo'd away just as Kaito swung his hammer.
Kuroda was glad he'd avoided that shot, as it had caused an incredibly deep crater.
Rajin suddenly appeared in front of him with his katar drawn back, blue reiatsu oozing out of them.
"Raikou Raion!"
"Shibou Ryuu!"
Twin lion head clashed with a red missile as the two shinigami fired their respective attacks. The two met at the center of the maelstrom and immediately erupted into flames.
Thankfully the smoke was quickly funneled out by Kaito's tornado but Kuroda and Rajin had both been thrown out of control and were bouncing through the tornado like a pair of pin balls.
Kaito commanded the wind and Rajin was quickly snatched out of the air and put in the upright position.
He then commanded it again, this time grabbing Kuroda and having it smash the former Commander into the ground several times before relinquishing his grasp.
"Ow," muttered Kuroda as he pushed himself out of the rubble.
"Rajin, are you alright?" asked Kaito,
"Yeah, I'm fine," replied the blond haired man, "what about you, how you holding up?"
Kaito rubbed his wound and winced in pain, "I've been better but I've also had worse."
"Let's finished this quickly then get you the 4th division," decided Rajin,
Kaito took a string of deep breaths, then said, "alright, let's use the thousand wasps"
Rajin nodded, by now Kuroda had dug himself out of the rubble he'd been lying in. Though a bit disorientated and bleeding on his forehead; he was for the most part, remarkably unharmed.
"I hate this battlefield," muttered Kuroda, "I can't do anything right on it."
Just as he had prepared himself for his next clash, the wind suddenly scooped him back off the ground and centered him in the middle of the tornado, between Kaito and Rajin.
Obviously they were planning something sneaky.
"This is a very interesting technique Kaito, when did you learn it?" Kuroda asked casually,
"A while after you left Soul Society," replied Kaito, "actually, until now I haven't used it outside of sparring with Rajin. Must work pretty well if it works on you."
"I'll say," commented Kuroda, "I'd even go as far to say that you might be able to challenge Rajin for the seat of Lieutenant."
"Pft," scoffed Rajin,
"Well, I don't know about that," said Kaito, "but if you think that this was impressive, just wait till you see this next move."
"More importantly, let's see if you can survive," added Rajin,
Kaito raised Gaikotsu and swung it in large circles above his head, as he did, Kuroda noticed the tornado becoming faster and faster with each consecutive circle. But oddly enough, it wasn't Kuroda who was being swept into its current, it was Rajin.
The Lieutenant had been grabbed by a pair of invisible hands and dragged into the walls of the tornado, sending him spinning around and around and around.
Kuroda almost couldn't keep up with him he was moving so fast, Rajin suddenly shot a bolt of lightning from his zanpaktou.
Kuroda quickly batted it away with AnShen, only for another to come at him from his right. He smashed it away just as quickly but yet another came at him, this one from behind. Then another and another and another, until finally he was under a constant barrage of deadly lightning bolts.
His arms never stopped moving, each moment was spent trying to defend himself against Rajin's constant barrage. So far he'd been able to smack each of the bolts away but they were getting ever so closer each time and Rajin's tempo was gradually getting faster and faster.
In short, he couldn't keep this up forever and they all knew it.
Both Rajin and Kaito were amazed that he'd lasted this long to begin with, then again, they should have known better.
From his view point high above the battle, Kaito watched as Rajin continuously pummeled Kuroda's defenses with his Denko Te. It was truly an amazing sight, like a thousand arcs of electricity jumping from one piece of metal to another.
Some might even describe it as the largest light show ever to be shown, it was equally impressive. Even after seeing many times, Kaito was still amazed by the sheer amount of lightning bolts that Rajin could throw.
That was why he'd dubbed this move, Thousand Wasps, because of the hundreds upon hundreds of attacks that would come out of nowhere from all angles. Just like a thousand wasps, he doubted even Kuroda would last long, especially since he was about to speed things up.
!(*%#&)*(#&%!*()#&%(!))!(#*%&!)(*#%&)
Kuroda was starting to feel a bit crowded in this tornado, not because of the other people but because the tornado was getting smaller! Just a few moments ago, Kaito and ordered the Tornado to gradually close in on him, making it all the much harder for him to block the volley of lightning bolts Rajin kept shooting at him.
He had to turn this around, fast!
The black haired man just started coming up with a plan as he swatted away another lighting bolt when he felt something ram into his side, followed by a swift stab of pain, he'd been hit. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another bolt, he quickly smacked it away but felt another bolt hit him in the back.
"It's all over," whispered Rajin,
Pumping the rest of his reiatsu into Denko Te and with some added speed from Kaito, he unleashed a furious, massive, unending barrage of deadly lightning bolts at the man in the middle of the Tornado. Each one flew true to its target.
There was an explosion of the brightest blue in the world and it was all over. Smoke cloaked whatever remained of Kuroda but both shinigami knew, not even Kuroda could have survived that.
Both of them felt a small pang of sadness with the knowing that they'd just killed the man who'd been like a brother to them.
Rajin and Kaito closed their eyes in a silent respect to the dead.
"That, was a very good try,"
Both men's eyes shot open.
"But like I said before, I can't die just yet,"
"No way," whispered Rajin,
The smoke cleared and the two saw how there friend had survived.
Surrounding him were dozens of what looked like sword cuts; except these sword cuts had left their mark on the very air around them and lingered on in the color of Kuroda's blood red reiatsu. The cuts circled around Kuroda in the form of that was akin to an orb.
Then the two noticed a sound, one like the wailing of those sentenced to burn in the eternal fires of hell. The wails that could only be made by those that felt true misery. The wails that one made as they died. It was a horrifying sound, one that both wished they could shut out of their ears but knew that even if they did, the sound had already made its mark in their mind.
"This is one of the last techniques that AnShen taught me," said Kuroda, "it's called: Shino Tama"
"You most likely never saw this technique, because up until now I've never really needed it. I was always able to get by on using Shino Kabe and Shibou Ryuu, as for defense, I could always block or parry. But, you guys were just a bit too much. Congratulations."
The two looked on, absolutely speechless and unable to respond. That had been what they believed to be their trump card, now, they had nothing left up their sleeves.
Without thinking, Rajin fired of a dozen blasts from his Denko Te, each smashed against the protective orb of sword cuts, but none of them penetrated.
Suddenly, one of the sword cuts quite revolving around Kuroda. Without warning it shot itself at Rajin with ungodly amounts of speed.
As if flew, the sword cut quickly expanded until it was large enough to completely envelop Rajin in a blast of red reiatsu.
The Lieutenant cried out in pain as he the attack made contact with him. The sword cut detonated upon impact and caused smoke to rise from the aftermath.
"Rajin!" screamed Kaito,
Even from the distance away that he had been at, Kaito had felt the amount of power that attack had carried. The amount of dark reiatsu concentrated into that single attack was enough to make his skin crawl.
The smoke dissipated.
Rajin emerged, not dead, but definitely near it.
The entire upper part of his uniform had been simply ripped from existence. His torso was badly burned and bleeding in several different places, blood practically seeped from his forehead, and his right arm hung limply at his side, damaged to the point that it was too painful to move it anymore.
"God damn it," cursed Rajin, "what kind of technique is that."
"Shino Tama works much like my other two techniques," explained Kuroda, "as I swing my blade, I pour my reiatsu into it, giving it amplified swings that cause massive damage. But with Shin Tama, the swings are used for a defensive purpose just as much as they are used for an offensive purpose. Each swing I make with my sword, leaves a trail to defend me, the more I swing my sword, the more there are. In a way, it's like a platoon of miniature Kabe's."
"You had that this entire time and never used it?" Rajin asked weakly,
"I did," admitted Kuroda, "but I wanted to see if you could push me to use it. You did."
"Damn it," cursed Rajin, "still so far."
"You've obviously felt the effects of just one of the strikes," observed Kuroda, "let try the rest."
Kaito's eyes widened with fear as he realized what was to come. Without hesitation he ran to Rajin's side and quickly called to Gaikotsu.
Without warning, every swing that Kuroda had made unleashed itself. The tornado simply ceased to vanish as the unstoppable barrage tore through it.
So much smoke filled the air at that single moment that some might have thought that Seireitei was on fire. Kuroda swiftly sent it away with a quick burst of his reiatsu.
He emerged unharmed by the resulting explosions of his attack, though the same could not be said for the other two.
Kaito had tried to protect him and Rajin to the best of his abilities, using Gaikotsu he summoned a multilayered stone wall filled with the hardest minerals he could conjure up. But it hadn't been enough; the blades of Kuroda's attack had smashed through the walls as if they were made of wood.
Rajin had fallen unconscious from all the blood he'd lost and now Kaito was bleeding in more places then he cared to count.
The two had to face facts, they'd lost.
With a single move, he'd beaten them.
"You two look like crap,"
Kaito looked up to see Kuroda standing over them, sword resting on his shoulder tough all killer intent had left his eyes.
"Being attacked by you does that to people," Kaito muttered,
"People keep telling me that for some reason," joked Kuroda, "you two, have become so much stronger since we last met."
Kaito smirked at the compliment, "well, it hasn't been easy but we did our best."
"I'm glad," said Kuroda, he was about to continue when something caught his attention. He felt a presence coming towards them, it took him a moment, but he soon recognized it, "I have go now"
"I…understand," replied Kaito,
"Don't let Rajin die," said Kuroda as he began to move away, "I'll see you two later."
"Commander!" Kaito called out, Kuroda stopped and turned back to face his friend, "before you go, I have to ask you something."
Kuroda gave a nod,
"Why are you here? What's your mission?"
"Mission, heh, there's no mission Kaito, there's no goal, no overarching plot. I'm just here, trying to help out a friend," answered Kuroda, with that said, he disappeared.
Kaito pondered those words for a brief moment before turning his attention back to his injured friend.
"Hey, Rajin, you okay?" he asked, giving the blond haired man a light slap on the cheek.
"I don't suggest doing that Kaito," said a sweet voice from behind the smoke,
Kaito looked up to see Captain Unohana of the 4th division walking towards them, a soft yet charming smile on her face.
"Captain Unohana," he said, standing up to greet her, "I was just about to carry him over to your division, but I guess that isn't necessary anymore."
"Well let's see what the damage is first," she pointed out before kneeling down to examine Rajin, after a brief study of his wounds she deemed that she could treat the lieutenant's wounds on the spot. She whispered a simple command phrase and began healing the blond man with a soft green glowing kido.
"Will he be alright?" asked Kaito,
"Absolutely," she answered happily, "the wounds are bad, but with the right medical treatment, it will be like he never had them. His arm may take a little more work however; the bones have been cracked in several places, so we'll still need to move him to the 4th division barracks for a cast.
"I see, that's good," with a sigh of relief, he sprawled himself out on the ground, finally able to relax without worry of his friend dying.
"You should get yourself to the 4th division barracks," suggested Unohana, "those wounds of yours are pretty bad."
"Uh, no, that's alright," said Kaito, "actually, they aren't all that deep and-"
"Kaito,"
"Huh?"
"Go to the 4th division barracks," she ordered sweetly, though something about her just seemed so…scary.
It was enough to cause even Kaito to feel a small chill go down his spine.
"Uh…yes, of course ma'am, whatever you say."
"Besides, Isane's been waiting to see you again, she didn't get a proper introduction the last time you were in need of medical attention," added Unohana,
"Isane? Hmm…Oh! You mean that pretty grey haired lieutenant?" he realized, "Yes! I get to see her again!"
He quickly pushed himself up, dusted himself off, and started running as fast as he possibly could towards the 4th division barracks.
"Ah, young love," smiled Unohana,
&*(#!)%*&!)*%&)*(%&!)(*&!#%)(*%&#)
"Well it's nice to know those two haven't slacked off while I've been gone," Kuroda said to himself as he sat atop a roof.
"Now, what to do next?" he wondered, "I should probably go find the others, regroup before things get too out of hand. Then find a place to rest and plan, get things sorted out hopefully."
A full minute passed before he finally asked himself, "I wonder how Yoruichi is doing?"
"You like her" teased AnShen
'Don't make me throw you into a bucket of water,' Kuroda thought back,
His thoughts were soon interrupted by the light jingle of what he believed to be a bell. His hand immediately reached for AnShen, his senses all came on high alert. Behind him, on the roof, light footsteps could be heard.
"Oi, are you the ryoka?" asked a rough voice,
"I am," said Kuroda without turning around, "who are you?"
"Zaraki Kenpachi."
!(#&*%^*()#&%!)#*(&%!#&*()%^)*(#&)(!*#%&)!
It was a full ten minutes before Yoruichi finally caught up with Kuroda. Though when she got there, he wasn't doing what she thought he'd be doing.
She jumped onto the roof that she was sensing his reiatsu signal from, of course when she landed, she expected to see Kuroda, not the pink haired little girl who was currently staring at her in amazement.
"Huh? Kitty!" screamed the little girl as she ran over to grab Yoruichi,
"Ah!" screamed Yoruichi as she scrambled away from the girl,
The two began running around and around and around in circles. It would be hilarious from anyone's standpoint except for Yoruichi, who was currently trying to save herself.
What was even funnier, was when the little girl actually caught Yoruichi, ya wanna know how?
Well, Yoruichi in cat form cannot move as fast as she can in human form.
So, all the little girl had to do was use Shunpo, get in front of Yoruichi, and glomp her. Yeah.
"Ahhh, let me go!" screamed Yoruichi,
"Kitty!" screeched the little girl, "it's sooooooooo fluffy!"
"AHHHHHH!"
"Yachiru," shouted a voice, "what the heck are you doing over there?"
"Hugging a kitty!" she screamed,
"Kitty?" said another voice,
Yoruichi heard a shuffle of feet and clothing, though she was unable to see who it was because the little girl was restricting her.
"Yoruichi?"
The girl shifted her enough so that Yoruichi was able to see who was talking. She looked up to see none other than Kuroda, flanked by a tall muscular looking man with tall spike hair, and ragged clothing. She guessed that this was probably the Captain of the 11th division.
"Kuroda! Help me! Hurry! She's strangling me!" Yoruichi pleaded,
"You know that cat?" asked the big man,
"Uh, yeah, she's my friend," replied Kuroda,
"Hmm, Yachiru, stop squeezing the cat," ordered the tall shinigami,
"Aw, fine," pouted Yachiru, releasing her grip on the feline, who quickly scrambled away from the girl and jumped on Kuroda's shoulder.
Gasping heavily, Yoruichi managed to say, "Thanks Kuroda,"
"Hold that thought for a moment," said Kuroda as he turned to the tall shinigami, "do we have a deal Kenpachi?"
"Yeah, sure," replied Kenpachi, though he didn't seemed to thrilled with agreeing, "come on Yachiru, we gotta go."
"Aye aye sir!" she yelled as she hopped on his shoulder, as they left she waved back at them and said, "bye Kuku! Bye Kitty!"
As soon as the two were out of sight, Yoruichi asked, "what was that about?"
"Nothing, I just made a deal with the Kenpachi, that's all,"
"What was the deal?" she asked,
"I asked him to go fight Ichigo," he replied nonchalantly,
"WHAT! ARE YOU INSANE?" she screamed,
"Don't worry, I told him not to kill Ichigo," said Kuroda, as though that solved everything.
"What makes you think he'll comply!"
"I said if he kills Ichigo, I won't fight him, and that's all he really wants. To fight me."
"Still, sending the Kenpachi of Seireitei after Ichigo…what are you trying to do?"
At first, Kuroda didn't respond. As he himself wasn't sure why he'd done what he'd just done. Ichigo wasn't ready to fight someone of Kenpachi's strength; Kuroda felt it from their brief exchange, at full strength, that man would splatter Ichigo's guts all over Soul Society.
But, one reason seemed to make him dismiss all that.
"Ichigo needs to get stronger," he finally answered,
"What?"
"You heard me," firmly answered, "You and I both know that this conflict stretches well beyond Rukia's execution. What is to come will be marked as one of the greatest conflicts in history and Ichigo will be a key player."
"He's a special boy. A single month and already he is stronger than most shinigami in Soul Society. He'll get involved into our problems whether we like it or not, because that's just the kind of person he is. These next few battles against soul society, will be instrumental in shaping him."
"He needs to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, but to do that he must face the Captains of Soul Society. He must believe that he can defeat the best that they have to offer. I asked Kenpachi to fight him and lose, because I want to push Ichigo further and at the same time, make him believe he can win."
"But it's false hope," Yoruichi pointed out, "if he passes your test and defeats Kenpachi in a fake fight, he won't really have gotten stronger."
"Weren't you listening?" asked Kuroda, "this is a test, to push Ichigo forward. Kenpachi will push him to his limits. Psychologically and physically, of that I have no doubt. Besides, sometimes a false hope is what's really needed. It's a horrible thing to say, but the truth is rarely something we want to hear."
Yoruichi could not help buy chuckle at the way Kuroda was presenting himself, he sounded like some evil master mind, bent on controlling everything to fit his designs.
"My, you are quite the character aren't you," she said jokingly,
"Your one to talk,"
End
A/N
That admittedly took me a while to finish. Okay, a few announcements.
One, school is starting soon for me, so my updates will be a lot slower. I'm sorry, but that's just how the stone rolls down the hill…what does that even mean?
Anyway, I'd like to ask you, the reader, if there are any stories that you can recommend for me to read. Because lately the stories that I wait for have been pretty slow and I'm getting bored with nothing to read, so if there are any stories you can suggest, just message me.
I enjoy a variety of stories, I usually prefer stories that focus on OC's because it usually means that the author has given the story some thought.
I'd also like to announce some plans for the future.
You all know Tatsuki right? Black hair tom boy, girl, Orihime's best friend? Yeah, good character. I felt that she was somewhat under used in actual Bleach. So I thought to myself, why not give her a bigger role in my story? So I thought, maybe I should give her some sort of cool power, like Chad and Orihime have. So, I wanted to know what you guys think, do you think I should do it or not? Go ahead and tell me in my messages.
What else?
Oh yes, I guess I should explain what happened in the end there. Well, remember how later, Kenpachi destroys the Quinto Espada, Nnoitora? Remember also how Ichigo had to go all out, Bankai, Hollow mask, everything on Grimmjow, the Sexta Espada? Well, to me it just doesn't make sense that Ichigo beat Kenpachi with just his Shikai in this arc, and then was totally upstaged by Kenpachi in a later arc. As it turns out a lot of people agree, they keep saying, "That fight was rigged."
So I figured, you know what, let's make it so that the fight is rigged. So that is why Kenpachi lost to Ichigo, Kuroda rigged the fight so that Ichigo could be a hero later.
So, yeah. That's all I really have to say.
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Please tell your friends about me, if you think they'd be interested, and have a nice day.
Omake Time!
Dreamerboy84 sits at his computer, looking through entries on deviant art and being jealous for other peoples amazing ability to draw, that he does not possess. Because while he has some skill sketching, he sucks at making anime.
"Ugh, I am so jealous," he mutters as he scrolls through NexusYuber's page.
"Hey," shouts Kuroda, "what are you doing? Shouldn't you be focusing on the story or something?"
"Uh…"
"Yeah," says Gin as he comes in, "focus on my story, I want to get my comeback soon."
"But I-"
"And we want to get more air time too," says Kaito as he and Rajin walk in.
"Well you see-"
"And I want some more intimate time with Kuroda," says Yoruichi as she joins in, "I want some where romantic, like a beach, or a hill top, or heck, just put me and him naked in bed.
Everyone:"O.O"
"What? Women can like those things too," she points out,
"look," says Dreamerboy84, "I'm not superman or Mega mind. I need breaks and time to polish my ideas. You're all just going to have to be patient."
"Oh, is that so?" says Kaito, his eyes darkening,
"Yes, after all I do have a life beyond this," says Dreamerboy84,
Everyone suddenly piles out and slams the door behind them, Dreamerboy84 hears the ominous sound of a lock closing.
"Uh guys, you locked the door," he calls, "GUYS?"
And now for some education
Shino Tama/ Death Orb: Shino Tama is much like Kuroda's other attacks in that it is performed by pouring reiatsu into AnShen and swinging it as one normally would. Except with Shino Tama, the reiatsu released by the swing does not travel. Instead in stays in mid-air ,until mentally commanded by Kuroda to do otherwise. Kuroda uses this technique by swinging wildly around himself, creating a cage like barrier to defend against just about any attack. However, the technique can be used for offensive purposes. With a simple mental command, the reiatsu released by a sword swing can become a deadly projectile that causes massive damage. Kuroda generally uses it when he is outnumbered by multiple high level opponents.
In his opinion, using it on a one on one battle, unless the opponent is incredibly powerful, would be cheating on his part.