Hey there guys! Hope you're all enjoying the fic! Thank you to fuzzibunniez and TheDarkSlayer for their reviews! Guitar III was the music in my head this time, I felt it suited a battle. Enjoy and don't forget to review! Thanks :)
14 - The Calm Before the Storm
Ichigo burst through the portal, Ryuken directly in front of him. The Quincy was standing with his back to the boy, turning slowly to face him as the substitute Shinigami brought down his zanpakuto in a vicious swoop. The elder Quincy darted backwards, taking the attack lightly on his shoulder. Blood, thick and red, splattered onto the floor. Lashing out however, the man clasped his pentacle in his hand and used it to smash Ichigo's mask into pieces, striking him in the face. Chunks of the skeletal structure flew around them, the boy's eyes wide in shock. Ryuken reached down and then quickly swung out, his Seele Schneider burning through the air. Ichigo flipped over it and landed roughly on the floor before collecting himself and looking up at his opponent.
'W…where the hell are we?' he asked, Ryuken looking around.
'Purgatory. This is all because of your attack in the Dangai Precipice World. It seems to have thrown our time off. I don't know where we are at all.' flicking a strand of rebellious blue hair out of his face, the man scowled at Ichigo.
'But at least here and now, I can slay you.' he said darkly, Ichigo taking up a stance and clutching his zanpakuto tightly in his hand.
'Really?' he chuckled, reaching for his face. A split second passed and he had summoned his mask in a burst of red and black, holding his enormous weapon out beside him. Ryuken tilted his head, sighing.
'Hollow powers? Quincy utterly destroy Hollows. All this time has passed and yet, still, you cannot use Bankai. You're like a baby, Kurosaki Ichigo. I am a Quincy, yet I know more about your sword than you. Can't you hear them? Their voices cry out to you, to be listened to. But you…a foolish young boy, fail to hear them. You are not a Shinigami and you never will be. Even if I were to kill you here, you would never become a Shinigami. You would simply rot in Rukongai. You would rot, just like my father did.' Ryuken lamented, Ichigo breathing heavily under the weight of his mask.
'What is this…feeling? Of course…my body isn't used to using this power in my shikai…I'm going to have to restrain myself from using it too much…' he thought to himself as he slowly and reluctantly whisked it from his face in a whirl of white smoke. Ichigo lifted his head to the man, sighing.
'Your father didn't die at the hands of mine, Ishida. But…if you're willing to strike down your own son to believe that…' Ichigo whispered, opening his eyes suddenly, blue fires burning within them as he rushed at Ryuken, dust picking up around them. '…then I'll kill you to make you believe!' Lifting his sword around his back, he swung it at the man, Ryuken raising an eyebrow.
'…how droll.' he sighed. As Ichigo came crashing in like a bird of prey, Ryuken had already caught the boy's blade in his hand. 'Don't overestimate yourself…boy.' Ishida scoffed, the light flashing over his glasses as he cast Ichigo into a nearby rocky cliff face, the boy spluttering as he emerged from the dust and rubble. Ryuken was taken aback by the sudden appearance of this scenery and he turned, looking down at his feet. Grass was sprouting up around his shoes, dust floating by. Suddenly, something struck his chin and he spluttered, Ichigo pulling his fist back, grinning broadly.
'No time to be observing the pretty flowers, Ishida!' he coaxed, the man sniffing in disgust as he wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve.
'It appears the time we lost is catching up with us. I'll have to finish this sooner than expected.' the man sighed, reaching into his pocket and lighting up a cigarette. The end of it glowed a pulsating orange, Ichigo watching him before pulling his weapon up in front of him, the end of the blade glinting in the sunlight.
'Me too.' Ichigo rushed at him again, sprinting towards the man who was far more interested in his cigarette to care. Instead, he looked up slightly and gave a rather lacklustre order.
'Gritz.' he said simply, the cross emblazoned canvas springing up from the floor, Ichigo cursing as he tumbled straight into it. At the same time, Ryuken appeared beside him, looking down on the boy who was slicing his way out of the cloth.
'You look like you're in trouble.' he stated, but leapt upwards suddenly as the orange haired Shinigami swung out in a wide arc. Ichigo ripped free of the final piece and looked up at the man in the sky, swinging his zanpakuto around him wildly, gathering a brilliant blue aura around him as he went.
'Getsuga…' he whispered, watching the man. '…Tenshou!' he roared, unleashing his blast upwards, like a skyward rocket. Ryuken looked down as the attack sharply sped towards him before he held out his hand. In an instant, the blast had been absorbed into the Quincy's pentacle, Ichigo spluttering in surprise.
'…Quincy can absorb the reiatsu around them to their advantage. Your powers are nothing more than condensed reiatsu.' Ryuken explained, Ichigo cursing before launching another attack, disappearing, reappearing behind the man and swinging another one, the elder Quincy sighing. He vanished in the explosion as Ichigo's two attacks collided with him, coiling upwards in a plume of smoke and blue light. Kurosaki straightened himself up, breathing heavily as he whipped his sword round to his side.
'I think I got him…' he thought to himself. Suddenly, the boy felt a hand on his back, and then, the sharpness of an arrow head burning into his shihakusho. Turning to look, he saw Ryuken looking down at him, a cigarette in his mouth, hanging precariously from his lips. Taking his hand from the boy, he took the bow in one hand and narrowed his eyes at Ichigo, everything seeming to slow down for the substitute Shinigami. Then, Ichigo was hit, the arrow tearing through his body, flinging him across the battlefield. He could feel the blood running down as he chest as he stumbled, scraping his sword across the ground to keep himself steady, sweat running down his forehead.
'Did you honestly think that by attacking twice I wouldn't be able to absorb it?' Ryuken asked. 'Don't be so foolish.'
'Damn this! I've got no chance in my shikai…I have to attack him with my mask on!' Ichigo thought to himself, clenching his fist in the dirt. Like an animal, the boy leapt to his feet, vanishing behind Ryuken, the man spinning round, unleashing an arrow at him. However, the boy was gone, the Quincy's eyes swivelling round to his right.
'You're there…' he whispered. '…no.' quickly, he altered his trajectory and looked up into the sky, Ichigo leaping downwards, his eyes widening behind his mask.
'…thought I wouldn't notice?' Ryuken asked before diving aside, skidding across the floor. '…there's more.' he said, Ichigo landing where the Quincy had been, dust erupting up around him as he lost sight of his opponent. Suddenly, from the walls of dust, he noticed five glowing blue lights around him and he clenched his sword.
'Sprenger huh?' Ichigo chuckled before pouncing up into the sky. 'I've seen it all before, Ryuken!' he roared, his voice rattling underneath his mask as he collected a fearsome black and red light on his sword, bounding over the wall of dust as the torrent of blue light billowed upwards behind him, turning him into a ghoulish phantom silhouette in front of the intense glow. As he soared towards the man however, his eyes caught sight of something else. Five more glowing lights.
'Another one!' he gasped as he flew towards Ryuken, the man flicking his cigarette into the centre of the pentagon.
'…Sprenger.' he whispered, his back to Ichigo as the cigarette connected with the blue lasers sending a violent torrential plume of fire upwards, swallowing Ichigo whole as he cried out, Ryuken retracting his bow and brushing some dust from his sleeve as the flames engulfed the scene, the Quincy safe on a ledge overlooking the Seireitei, the majestic towers now in view.
'Quincy are experts at manipulating reiatsu. Just because Uryu was only able to use a standard Sprenger, doesn't mean I can only do the same. I split my Seele Schneiders, allowing me to make two of the attacks instead of just the one…' Ryuken explained, the fires burning brightly behind him. '…naturally this cuts their strength. But…by throwing my cigarette into the centre, the fire mixed with Sprenger's reiatsu. The results…well, you're getting a first hand experience.'
Turning away from the deadly explosion, he dropped from the ledge and started walking towards the cliff face.
'It's time at last to attack Soul Society. Thank you for the warm up, Kurosaki Ichigo.' Ryuken smirked, the flames dancing across his face. Suddenly, the fiery tower stopped twisting, turning quickly into an icy pillar, Ryuken's eyes widening with shock as every inch of the blast was covered with shimmering, sparkling ice.
'Ryusenka!' came a cry, Ishida looking up, squinting into the sun as what looked like a dragon flew overhead, Captain of the 10th Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya diving downwards towards him, sword outstretched. Ryuken vanished into the air as the boy slammed into the ground, the area around him freezing instantly, the Quincy skidding along the sky, his hands in his pockets.
'…a captain?' he asked slowly, Toshiro turning to face him. With a sigh, the boy looked up at the looming ice.
'You can come out now, Kurosaki Ichigo…' he said quietly, the ice cracking slowly. Ryuken looked over in quiet shock, raising an eyebrow as the pillar exploded into chunks, ice raining down past them all, Ichigo standing in the centre, blood running down his face, his shikai torn and ripped, the remains of his mask disappearing.
'You're lucky I came by when I did. Why haven't you used your Bankai?' Toshiro asked sternly, Ichigo lowering himself down next to the captain.
'I…' Ichigo whispered, looking away angrily. '…didn't want to.' The captain looked at him dumbfounded for a second before shaking his head and stepping up in front of the wounded boy, his icy wings flexing proudly as he looked up at their enemy.
'Then stand back. Clearly you aren't ready for this.' he said coldly, Ichigo cursing under his breath, clenching his fist tightly. The wind began to collect around Toshiro as he let out a bellow, Ryuken watching him intently. The air around the Shinigami began to grow cold as the rocks and grass began to freeze up, ice crawling along the ground, Toshiro's piercing blue eyes watching his opponent.
'I don't know you. You're a Quincy though, I saw that. I only know one Quincy and that's Uryu Ishida. Are you a relation?' the captain interrogated, Ryuken quiet for a moment before closing his eyes.
'No.'
'Then why are you here?' Toshiro snapped, brandishing his zanpakuto in his hand.
'That's my own business, child captain. You'll see soon enough.' Ryuken said darkly, the boy shaking his head before speeding towards the man, pulling up all the ice from the ground behind him. Ryuken's eyes widened as Toshiro swung his weapon out in front of him, the ice wall breaking apart behind him like glass.
'Guncho Tsurara.' Toshiro whispered, his icy cold tone seething towards Ryuken, the man scowling as he readied himself, the shards of ice twisting over to reveal dagger sharp edges as they launched themselves at him. Flicking his hand outwards, the Quincy summoned his bow, the array of blade sharp icicles speeding ever closer.
'Licht Regen.' he said simply, his bow spinning around before releasing a monstrous amount of arrows, a flurry of blue bursting from his weapon, Toshiro taken aback as his daggers of ice were turned to dust around him. Cursing, he lifted up into the sky, Ryuken sighing as he watched the boy disappear upwards. Narrowing his eyes, he followed the boy as he got smaller, disappearing into the clouds. Pulling up his bow, he grinned slyly.
'I see you, captain.' he sneered, a perfectly aimed arrow facing the boy's head. Suddenly, Ichigo swiped at him, the man bending over backwards as the weapon skimmed over his face. Twisting his bow downwards, he blasted Ichigo in the stomach instead, the boy spitting up blood before barrelling down onto his knees.
'I suppose I can finish you first.' Ryuken muttered, but suddenly, the sky turned dark and clouded over, the Quincy looking up, his curiosity piqued. Toshiro was hanging in the sky, his eyes closed.
'Tenso Jurin,' he announced, his sword out to the side. 'My zanpakuto…it's strongest ability. Hyoten Hyakkaso!' with that, a tremendous amount of snow began to billow from the boy's weapon, collecting in the centre of his blade and shooting off into the sky. Then, from the black clouds, they twisted and turned, churning in the middle, the sky opening up to allow a plume of snow to fall.
'What the…?' Ryuken wondered, watching the sparkles drift downwards. Toshiro watched him when suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed Ichigo preparing to strike Ryuken from behind. His eyes widened in horror and he sped downwards, screaming at Ichigo.
'KUROSAKI! MOVE YOU FOOL!' he cried out, Ichigo looking up in shock. Suddenly, he was struck in the chest, Ryuken chuckling, rearranging his glasses as he left Ichigo to fall to the ground, Toshiro crashing down onto the stony floor as the Quincy shot him out of the sky, the captain falling through his own ability, his body beginning to disappear under a collection of icy flowers. Ryuken turned away from them, casting some blood from his bow as he smirked darkly, his face covered in shadow as he began walking towards the Soul Society, a nasty grin on his face.
'I'm sorry, but I have things to be getting on with.' he said dangerously before leaping from the cliff side, Ichigo and Toshiro disappearing beneath the flowers as they sprouted on the ledge, covering everything in an ice cold doom.