Chapter 20: Totenkopf (A Noble loss)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner hollow/Zanpaktou speech'
xxx
Around the same time at a different location in Seiretei
The combined reiatsu from the multiple battles happening all around the Seiretei pumped the adrenaline into the veins of even such an experienced fighter as Shunsui Kyōraku certainly was. In both of his hands he was gripping the hilts of his twin-bladed zanpakuto and stared down at his opponent. It was a tough work to analyze the man in front of him. No emotions, no muscle twitches and no facial expression made him quite unreadable. The only Shunsui knew for a fact was the threat his opponent represented.
Shunsui was old. Not as much as the Captain Commander but old indeed. He had lived through many live-threatening battles, survived things ordinary people wouldn't have and most importantly, he had faced quite the number of Quincy in his lifetime. But things were different this time. This time the Quincy weren't weak, they didn't fight while their hearts were squeezed in psychological turmoil. This time, they weren't the defenders; now they were the invaders. And according to the iron rule of the Gotei 13, invaders must die. Only once had they broken it and they had gained a powerful ally with orange hair but now, such a thought was out of the question.
His hands felt sweaty. It surprised the Captain of the 8th Division. He didn't think he was feeling intimidated by his opponent, no, he was far too experienced and confident in his skills for that. It must have been something else. When his opponent moved forward and Shunsui accordingly reacted by raising his right sword he suddenly knew it. He realized the reason behind the sweat.
He was excited.
His blade missed the outstretched arm of his enemy by mere milimeters and sliced off a portion of his sleeve. With a kick, he send the man tumbling backwards and tried to follow with another attack but he was forced to stop when a set of reishi bullets scratched his left cheekbone. The Quincy's right hand held a modern-looking gun and the man was aiming it at Shunsui, a tiny cloud of smoke gushing out of the barrel. The action installed the sense of stalemate between them and neither of them moved.
Yes, Shunsui was excited. The ever present screams of people dying everywhere brought back the memories of the war the tingling sensation of dread numbing one's mind and emotions. He had been trained in the art of war and knew how to keep his cool. The warmth slowly disappeared from his eyes.
He despised this side of him, he despised the notion of wars and fights. He was the paladin of the Gotei 13, yet the power he possessed created a weapon of mass destruction, a killer capable of ending conflicts. He loved his zanpakuto to death and the relationship between the two of them, their bond, was unbreakable. Yet, there was a single room within his mind where he stored all the hate he felt towards it. His zanpakuto knew about it and respected it.
He hated the reflection of his soul his zanpakuto represented. The shadows were his theme, the power behind his abilities. They were dark, endless and capable of swallowing a man whole. They were part of the force that made children's games real.
He deflected a bullet with his left blade and let it sink into the wall behind him.
"Bushōgoma." He said and rotated with both blades facing in opposite directions, creating large wind blades that shot towards his opponent, enveloping him in a vortex of sharp air. Using the Flash-step, he appeared behind the man, attempting to slash his back.
A few moments later, he landed at his previous position, blood dripping from the wound in his left shoulder where a bullet drilled a hole in his flesh. However, his blood wasn't the only one that landed on the ground. A bit of it trickled from the shallow cut on the Quincy's abdomen too.
"Tsk, tsk, I act like I know how to counter an opponent wielding guns but yours shoot faster than the ones of the late Primera Espada." Shunsui muttered and nervously wiped the blood from the cut on his cheek. This fight was shaping to be just like he had imagined it to get.
Problematic.
The most precarious thing at the moment was for Shunsui the superficial injury he dealt to the Quincy. He was sure he used a good amount of strength in the slash, which was supposed to cleave him in two halves.
'This is like a repeat of my fight with Coyote Starrk…' He thought. Trying to move with his injured shoulder a relieved sigh escaped his mouth. It burned like hell but he could still use it without any restriction.
'…but it seemed like he knew exactly what I was going to do. They must have analyzed our fighting patterns… that means I'll have to be unpredictable.' Shunsui narrowed his eyes. Dodging a sudden bullet to the knee, a plan formed within his mind and he hurried to put it in motion.
"Takaoni!" He loudly exclaimed and watched as the Quincy immediately jumped in the air and landed on a nearby building's roof, pointing his gun straight at Shunsui. With it, the Captain confirmed his assumption that the enemy knew their abilities and because of that, he also knew he had fractions of a second to finish the plan if he didn't want end up dead. In a flash, he showed the Quincy his back and struck his shadow with all of his might.
"Kageoni!"
From behind him, he heard a loud gasp and felt his blade sinking into something soft. Pulling it back, the sword emerged from the shadow covered in blood. As he stumbled forward when a bullet hit him in the back, he turned around to see his opponent on his knees.
An explosive reiatsu exploded somewhere in a distance and he the heat coming off of it was drying his throat at a fast rate. He could recognize this energy anytime. It was his oldest mentor, the Captain Commander.
Releasing his own reiatsu at his surroundings, his gaze pierced his enemy who landed in front of him with a hand pressed against the new wound.
"It seems Yama-jii has joined the fight. I can feel his reiatsu all around the place."
Spinning around, he side-stepped his opponent's attempt at shooting his head off and lashed out with both of his blades. As if nothing happened, he continued his speech.
"It's almost as if he's yelling at me… the energy is so raw. Like he's telling me to hurry up and defeat you. Like I'm still a small boy who doesn't listen to him."
Ignoring a bullet to his calf, he kneed the man in the gut and tried to cut his head off.
"His aura is so commanding you just have to stand up, gather all of your strength and fight."
His blade cut skin and created another injury but what entered his ears was not a gasp, nor a groan. It was a chuckle.
The Quincy he was fighting, an older-looking man was hunched over and breathing rapidly. Yet, despite his injuries there was a smile on his face.
"You're too naïve, shinigami. Your leader is not the only one who can raise the morale of his group."
"Maybe, but Yama-jii will take out your leader."
There was a small pause when neither of them moved.
"…and what makes you think our leader is even here? We don't need his presence to fight for him."
…
"C-Captain Kuchiki, please! Let me release my Bankai otherwise this is a losing battle!" Renji yelled at his Captain as he recovered from a brutal kick to his back which had forced him to smash through several buildings. He was bleeding from multiple cuts all over his body but his stubborn nature caused him to refuse to stand down.
"No! Something's not right!" Byakuya yelled back, beads of sweat rolling from his forehead while he desperately held his Bankai against a fire attack from the duo's opponent, Bazz-b. The Captain of the 6th Division was slowly losing his cool demeanor. Nothing he or his Lieutenant did had worked on the Quincy with a Mohawk. The man had been effortlessly beating them even after Byakuya had released his Bankai and that was making the Noble Captain feel one thing he hadn't felt in a long time.
The Fear.
He had tasted defeats in his lifetime, the most recent one being at the hands of a certain substitute shinigami. But this was different. Ichigo had fought him for a just cause while the opponent grinning at him from a far was causing mayhem, a mindless destruction of the Seiretei.
And he was good at it. Too good. Too strong. Too fast. Too… powerful, almost overwhelming.
'This is ridiculous.' Byakuya's eyebrow twitched as a fire beam penetrated his wall of petals and almost pierced his skull if not for his hasty dodge. Having enough troubles defending himself, he was in no position to warn Renji when Bazz-b formed a massive reishi arrow and flung it at the red-headed Lieutenant.
Thankfully, Renji noticed it in time and, with some problems, deflected it away.
'We were told they can steal our Bankai yet even after I have released it, nothing happened. Why? Is the enemy waiting for something? For some trigger?' Byakuya wondered grimly. His opponent's attention being on Renji, he tried to come up with a plan.
'I can't use my Senkei. That would be a suicide. His offensive power is too great. I could use Gōkei but would it be enough…?' A small explosion rocketed the place, making him stumble. Hastily he turned around to see his Lieutenant plummeting through the air. With a relieved sigh, he noticed he was still in one piece. He narrowed his eyes.
'What a preposterous thought. Would it be enough? Me, questioning my abilities? Haven't I learn anything? It will work. There is no way my blade wouldn't work.'
In a flash, he appeared behind the bored Quincy, who raised his eyebrow.
"Finally thought of something that could entertain me, shinigami?"
Raising his zanpakuto in front of him, Byakuya took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"You're too arrogant, Quincy. Gōkei, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!" The myriad of Senbonzakura's petals swirled around Bazz-b, creating a spherical formation. As Byakuya grabbed groaning Renji and flashed away, the innumerable blade fragments collapsed within, aiming to obliterate the Quincy.
Landing in a short distance away from the sphere, Byakuya placed Renji on the ground and allowed himself to take a breath. The shockwave that blasted the air around him calmed him down. It was a sign his attack was finished.
But when he turned around and saw his enemy standing there surrounded by scorched petals that fluttered in the wind and the man was completely unharmed, his mind froze.
"I-impossible…" He muttered in a daze. His mind rebooted itself only after it registered a sharp pain in his chest.
"C-Captain!"
Byakuya blinked. The scene was too surreal for him to comprehend it. One of his most powerful attacks didn't even left a scratch on the Quincy. He stared at the man with eyes wide open and blood trickled down his jaw. Bazz-b was standing opposite of him; they were maybe twenty meters apart. His arm was raised and outstretched forward, a single finger was pointed at the Captain. The tip of it was covered in smoke.
"Burner Finger 1."
He glanced down, at the place where the pain was coming from and touched it with his fingers. He felt his bare skin. Moving his fingers around, he came across some weird hole in his body that shouldn't have been there.
Behind him, Renji gritted his teeth and, ignoring the pain, stood up. His position allowed his eyes to see Bazz-b. But it wasn't because he wanted to look at him.
It was because of the gaping hole in Byakuya's torso that he could see him. The hole was only the size of a coin but it had been done precisely. It was almost like he was looking through a short, hollow tube.
"Captain…"
Byakuya coughed a bit blood and his legs wobbled. He remained standing but he felt the strength leaving him. Feeling dizzy and empty-headed, he stumbled forward. In the last moment, before he could fall, he stubbornly moved one of his legs and supported himself on it, refusing to go down. As images of familiar faces flashed through his mind, he clenched his jaw.
'I can't… I can't die like this!' He growled, catching Bazz-b and even Renji off-guard and straightened his back.
"This…is not the end. Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui!" Two bursts of bright blue energy shot from his fingers and hit the surprised Quincy dead-on. Without stopping, he turned to Renji.
"Don't just stand there, Renji! These people have come here killing our men, our comrades! We'll have time to rest after we are dead! Let's crush them!" He exclaimed and despite the blood gushing out of his mouth he jumped in the air and slashed with his sword, sending the myriad of petal blades at his opponent.
"Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui!" Another Kidō spell flew at the Quincy surrounded by smoke but Byakuya wasn't backing off. He spun around and his petals following the movements of his hands tore through the enemy's position. Landing next to the man, his reiatsu exploded, allowing more blood to flow out of his mouth.
"Shūkei: Hakuteiken!" Pure white wings formed on his back, as well as a halo-like circle, made out of his concentrated spiritual energy. With a roar, he flashed forth and thrust his blade forward. The attack connected with something and a small shockwave caused all of the smoke to scatter, revealing two people in a dead-lock.
Renji, stunned by his Captain's outburst was just numbly staring at the scene, his brain slowly catching up with what was going on. A small pool of blood underneath the two combatants was slowly expanding. The Quincy chuckled.
"It's quite ironic, shinigami. With those wings and the halo you resemble an angel… and one should never try to imitate something as holy as that."
Byakuya coughed, his hands shaking a little from the fatigue.
"And you're saying you're the actual angel? An absurd notion…"
The Captain gritted his teeth when he felt his sword moving and glanced down.
There was no shock represented on his face, only a small smile. Closing his eyes, a single tear escaped his eye. This was truly as far as he could go. His serene expression was radiating an acceptance. In the end, he couldn't defeat his opponent but at least, he had managed to injure him. Now, it was in the hands of his loyal Lieutenant. All of his strength was leaving him and he fell on his knees, his hands letting go of the hilt of his zanpakuto.
The sword itself began to dissolve, leaving only a deep wound in the Quincy's side. The man looked down at Byakuya's face, a tiny amount of respect present in his eyes.
"Heh, you've survived most of my fire show, shinigami. You were good. However, it is time for you to finally die." With his own halo glowing above his head and a set of wings made from fire protruding from his back, he raised his right arm.
"Quincy: Vollständig. Burner Finger 2." With a swipe of his hand a deep gash appeared on Byakuya's torso. Before his consciousness left his body, Byakuya recalled a face of two raven-haired women and passionately smiled.
'Rukia… I'm proud of you. You have become an amazing woman, an amazing shinigami. I'm glad I was able to tell you all of it before today. Hisana… I'm coming home…' The last thing he did was to turn to his shocked Lieutenant and mouthed his last words.
"I failed to protect this place, my men. Renji, take care of my Division and most importantly, Rukia. She'll need you…"
With a loud 'thump', he fell of his back, dead. His body was full of scorched injuries. Thus, the Captain of the 6th Division and the Head of the Noble Kuchiki Clan died without glory, becoming just another casualty of the war.
As Bazz-b grinned and turned away from the dead body, he felt a fiery reiatsu from afar. It was the Captain Commander. But before he could head towards his position, another large reiatsu hit his back.
"BAN-KAI! SŌŌ ZABIMARU!"
…
As the shockwave from his slash died down, Kenpachi was able to see the situation. His blade was embed into Ywach's forearm, a bit of blood flowing from the cut. Pressing onward, Ywach pushed the sword away uncovering the slight cut. It wasn't very deep but it was also deep enough to draw blood.
"To think you could cut through my Blut so easily… it was indeed cautious to label you as a special asset." Ywach stated casually and, with a flick of wrist, removed most of the red liquid from his forearm.
Grinning from ear-to-ear, Kenpachi laughed.
"Ha, surprise!" Slashing diagonally, a powerful attack forced Ywach to lean backwards. In a rapid series of motions, the Quincy leader gathered an enormous amount of spiritual particles around his hand, stepped to the side and threw it at Kenpachi. Another shockwave rocked the place as Kenpachi explosively released his reiatsu, interfering with the projectile and causing it to explode.
Emerging relatively unharmed, Kenpachi hacked and slashed, forcing the man backwards with the immense power behind each strike. His blade stopped moving when a hand firmly grabbed it.
"Indeed, indeed, you are very strong, Kenpachi Zaraki. Even more so that we have expected." Ywach said, his hand shaking a little as he tried to hold the sword in place.
"Eh? Of course I'm strong. That's why I'm Kenpachi." He finally yanked the zanpakuto from the man's grip and tried to cut off his head.
It took Ywach less than an instant to duck and stretch his right arm, full of raw spiritual energy, forward. Releasing all of it at once, a powerful blast blew Kenpachi away. A mocking smirk appeared on the Quincy's face.
"However, it is nothing we can't adapt to. We suspect you have been able to acquire a proper Shikai release. You should use it, Kenpachi Zaraki or else this will end very soon."
A wave of yellow energy demolished the building where Kenpachi landed and a leg kicked through the rubble. A second leg appeared soon after that, revealing the overjoyed man.
"End? No fucking way. This is too much fun. Way too much fun!" He leaped in the air and landed next to Ywach, his sword destroying part of the concrete ground. The flying debris from the violent destruction obscuring their sight, Kenpachi laughed again.
"My Shikai? Bah, fuck that! You're still too weak for that! You need to earn it!" Spinning around, he slashed through the debris and blasted some of it towards his enemy. Ywach didn't even bat an eye at the oncoming fragments and smirked.
"I see. So be it."
In a fluid motion the man reached inside of his clothes and parried the next attack with a sword of his own. This ornate sword had a relatively long handle and a cross-guard shaped like a bird. On a first glance, it appeared to be fragile but surprisingly, it easily withstood crossing its blade with Kenpachi's zanpakuto. A set of sparks flew from the point of contact, illuminating both combatants' faces and further emphasizing Kenpachi's wide grin.
"You even have a sword? That's good, that's really good. It means we can have even more fun!" He exclaimed and the pair withdrew their swords only to cross them again the next instant.
Another shockwave shook the place.
The exchange of blows continued in a series of high-speed movements completely invisible to the naked eye of an ordinary person. Only things visible were sparks, occasionally bursting from within the sequence of blurs encircled in a cloak of heavy spiritual energy on one side and an aura of glowing spiritual particles on the other one.
The walls crumbled as even larger and louder shockwave hit it with its monstrous pressure. The two adversaries flashed all around the place, caring little for their surroundings. As a result of the previous clash, a small accessory fell on the ground only to be stepped on. It was an eye-patch and a blast of yellow reiatsu forced Ywach to narrow his eyes.
"So this is the true level of your power."
Kenpachi raised an eyebrow and raised his right hand to touch his face. He noticed the small black thing innocently lying on the ground and scoffed.
"Tch, you shouldn't have done that. I wanted to enjoy this for a while longer."
A pair of huge reishi arrows exploded on the contact with his skin and sent him plummeting backwards.
"So arrogant. Don't mistake my words. I'm not afraid of your power. It was a mere observation."
A psychotic laughter entered his ears and he watched as another building crumbled under the pressure of the heavy reiatsu coming off of the Captain who emerged from it with the intention on cleaving Ywach in two. The Quincy's eyes showed dismay when he saw Kenpachi's sword cutting through his blade that he put on guard. He instantly jumped away but it was a moment too late as Kenpachi's zanpakuto managed to slash him across the torso.
"Mere observation my ass. Look at your sword. You thought you had me and lost your concentration." Kenpachi stated, looking at the broken blade in Ywach's hand with a pity in his eyes. But it was quickly erased when the sword he was looking at glowed and slowly repaired itself.
"And I'll repeat myself. So arrogant." Ywach said and pointing his sword at the heavens a barrage of arrows fell from the sky straight at Kenpachi in a series of small blasts.
Once again, yellow energy detonated from the center and cleared the area around its source. A swirled dust slowly revealed the man staring at his opponent with serious expression. He was no longer unharmed and was bleeding from a few cuts. His clothes were a bit torn and showed parts of his skin.
"I gotta give it to you, you're one strong bastard." He stated and cracked his neck joints. His spiritual energy increased and he slashed the air in front of him, sending the raw reiryoku at Ywach in high speed.
Another shockwave.
"Indeed, en energy truly worthy of a special asset." Ywach commented, the skin on his arms lightly signed from the attack he took head-on.
Both of them just gazed at each other, motionless as if in an attempt to decide on the next course of their action. Being the one who had rarely used any sort of strategy in the past, Kenpachi gave up after mere seconds and sped up towards his opponent armed only with his zanpakuto and his enormous stamina and durability.
In the next few minutes nobody uttered a single word, the air vibrating only with the sounds of two blades clashing, sounds of two sets of flesh getting pierced, cut or slashed and with the slowly increasing amount of shockwaves. They were equally matched, neither of them gaining any real advantage over the other one. When one of them pushed the other one back, the remaining one instantly responded and pressed on. If one of them scored a hit, the other one quickly returned it.
A fiery reiatsu washed over them but both of them ignored it, too immersed in their own fight. An explosion of raw collection of spirit particles and a massive amount of reiryoku split them apart and forced them to jump backwards. When Kenpachi took a quick breath and leaped in the air to clash with his enemy again, Ywach raised his left arm and instantly generated a number of roman numeral-inscribed constructs from the fingers of his outstretched palm. Several towering columns of reishi, shaped like a Quincy cross, erupted upwards in a circular formation around him. It surrounded Kenpachi, who was still in mid-air, with its pure white glow.
"Kirchenlied: Sankt Zwinger!"
As Kenpachi was falling to the ground, Ywach allowed himself a smirk and glanced at him with a smug expression.
"This is a spell of maximum protection among the Quincy techniques. If you step inside the light of the lord will strike down!"
Kenpachi narrowed his eyes and for the first time, cursed. As soon as his feet touched the ground, a pillar of white light shot from the ground and enveloped him in a pillar of burning energy.
A grunt escaped his mouth. He moved forward.
Another pillar burned him with its holy light. Multiple moderate burning marks began to appear on his scorched skin. But he wasn't stopping and the grin on his face widened. He took another step. The third pillar hit him and he started to laugh. Smoke started to rise from his body. He slashed the air and sent another energy attack at Ywach. The fourth pillar stroke him. He laughed even louder.
Ywach watched the scene with clenched jaw and took an unconscious step back.
"Die already you monster!"
"Ha, maybe I will!" Kenpachi replied with a grin and jumped in the air, preparing to strike the Quincy as soon as he landed. The burnt skin on his arms cracked and blood started to pour out of it.
When Ywach raised his head to look at the Captain of the 11th Division, his pupils widened in a small amount of fear. The enemy descending upon him looked as a devil incarnate, cloaked in blood and energy beyond belief, his burnt body, which was still moving, radiated a berserk impression and the smoke trailed after him just added to the appearance of a monster from heavens coming to punish him.
"You said you wanted to see my Shikai. Here it comes!" Kenpachi exclaimed and released another burst of reiatsu.
"Drink, Ketsueki no Gashadokuro!"
Before Ywach's very eyes, the sword in Kenpachi's hands changed. Its length doubled, now being almost as long as the man holding it. The guard widened and its center, a skull with glowing eyes appeared with blood flowing from its mouth.
Unable to move, he watched as all the blood surrounding Kenpachi slowly stopped moving and in the next instant, it got sucked inside the skull and the blade's color changed into violet red.
Kenpachi finally landed next to the stunned Ywach, forcing both of them to get enveloped in the fifth pillar of light.
"You're the first person to ever witness it. It was fun while it lasted, Quincy but it's time for you to die."
With a resolute slash, Kenpachi's zanpakuto cut through Ywach's sword, reishi arrow he held next to it and even through his entire body, cleanly separating him at his abdomen. As the pillars of light broke down and the upper half of Ywach's body fell down, Kenpachi sighed and glanced at the whispering enemy with something akin to a sadness.
"Too bad I can't enjoy our fight again. I rarely kill my opponents like this, but this time, I had no choice. You chose a bad place to invade, Quincy." He turned away from the body and so he missed the changes it underwent.
The zanpakuto in his hand glowed and the color from its blade was slowly disappearing. The accumulated blood within the skull flowed out of it and crept on his arm. It travelled across his body and healed some of his injuries.
He looked up and closed his eyes. Feeling a multitude of strong energy sources, his grin returned.
"Time to find more fun."
…
Human World – Outside of the Urahara's shop
"Chikasumi no Tate!"
A barrage of reishi projectiles hit a hexagon-shaped crimson barrier from behind which the former Captain of the 12th Division watched another arrow fly towards him, this one larger in size and power. The barrier held but a small crack appeared in it.
"Urahara Kisuke, why do you cower behind such a measly shield? It is a measly shield, don't you think?"
Urahara pointed his sight at the woman leading the small group of Quincy and a confused expression formed on his face. He glanced at the shield in front of him.
"Ah, now that you're saying… it kind of looks weak…" A few more arrows flew towards him, smashing the crimson red shield into pieces and forcing him to hastily dodge them with surprised eyes.
'What the… ' He cursed and narrowed his eyes. That was the second time his shield suddenly shattered from a far too weak attack and he was getting suspicious. It wasn't natural that his Shikai ability could be destroyed just like that. He spun around and fired at the few Quincy trying to surround him.
"Nake, Benihime."
Just as the attack was about to emerge from his blade as a red energy blast, the woman spoke again.
"It's rather cold here, thank you for bringing out this nice, harmless burst of warm air, don't you agree?"
Urahara blankly stared at her, trying to understand what she was talking about when his attention got caught by the men around him receiving his attack dead-on. As the red energy harmlessly passed through them, barely hurting them, he raised an eyebrow.
'Interesting… I'm sure I fired a regular Nake. Did she change my attack with just her words? They were too odd to be said just like that, without any purpose. Is it her power? To change reality like that? But she's a Quincy, it doesn't add up.' He thought while dodging arrows coming at him from all sides.
Trying to empty his mind so that he could think about the whole thing once more in a different way, he glanced at Tessai, who was busy fending off all of the hollows. The large man, a former Captain of Kidō Corps was doing well. The group of ordinary Gillians and Adjuchas were nothing he couldn't handle by himself. After all, from the trio of childhood friends, Tessai had always been the best in Kidō. Even Urahara, a genius in his own mind was still unable to surpass him in a raw usage of the Demon Arts. The man's Dankū easily withstood a series of red Cero only for him to retaliate with a Hadō #88 Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō, one of his strongest destructive spells and annihilate half of the hollow forces. It caused the other half to start approaching him more cautiously. Seeing that the man was more than capable of taking care of himself, the woman commanded some of her Quincy forces to join the hollows.
"Are you sure you want to send them away? I'm quite strong." Urahara stated humorously, correcting his hat with his left hand. The woman turned to him with a smirk.
"I'm sure. Berenice Gabrielli, the Sternritter 'Q' of the Wandenreich army of his Majesty is enough for the likes of you, Urahara Kisuke."
"We'll see, Kamisori, Benihime!" Urahara replied and fired an unexpected energy arc straight at the woman, catching her off-guard. He sensed something was wrong as soon as the strike didn't cut through her and instead blew up in a small explosion.
"I should have expected unexpected from you. However, thinking you can strike a Quincy with an attack based solely on energy manipulation is quite silly. We are masters of reishi manipulation." Berenice emerged from the smoke, completely unharmed despite some of her clothes being burnt away.
'There is it… the web-like pattern on her skin. That should be the Blut.' Urahara observed while looking at the skin on her arms.
"Don't you think you should be ashamed for attacking a woman?"
He wanted to reply in a witty manner but Urahara felt something shift in his mind and heard himself saying something completely different.
"Maybe… you're right. I'm despicable, aren't I? Attacking a woman… I'm sorry." Only the reflexes gained by years of training saved him from getting hit by an arrow an instant later. He shook his head and looked at the Quincy woman.
He was sure now. Her words were her main weapon. There was still much he didn't know about her ability but one thing was certain. He could only attack or defend himself successfully only if she was silent.
"Boss, watch out!" A sudden yell caused him to turn around. Leaning backwards, he dodged a bright Cero only by inches.
"Was it wise to dodge it?"
As soon as the words left the woman's mouth, Urahara's eyes reflected horror. He spun around to watch as the hollow attack hit a distant part of the Karakura Town, resulting in an explosion.
'Damn it, that's Sado-san and Orihime-san's apartments!' He clenched his jaw and turned to the woman, causing her to blink as a deadly glare pierced her soul. His reiatsu started to pour of him, filling the area with red, heavy aura.
"It seems you are finally getting serious." She commented and braced herself when his reiatsu started to press on her shoulders.
Urahara took a deep breath. He rarely get angry as he considered such strong emotion to be a nuisance but when he did…
"From your words I assume you know where the Cero headed, am I right?" He asked in a calm tone.
"I don't know, are you?"
When he felt an intrusion in his mind once again and felt his mouth opening, he released more reiatsu and felt the intrusion leaving his system.
"I think I am."
Apparently surprised, the woman grimaced and began forming an arrow above her right palm.
"Those kids had nothing to do with this war. Or did the Quincy fell so low they'd bring even humans into their conflict?"
The grimace on Berenice's face broke and twisted itself into angry snarl.
"What do you know about us?! As long as our holy crusade becomes a victory, I don't care who has to die!" She yelled, completely losing her composure and fired the large arrow at Urahara. But the emotions intruding into the fight, her aim was bad and she missed the man by a huge margin.
"I see." Urahara said and flashed around her to deliver a devastating slice to the back of her neck. His eyes widened when a hand holding a small arrow plunged into his abdomen.
"Too slow."
"You're right."
Beatrice paled at those words and watched as the Urahara in front of her burst into pieces.
"A portable gigai…" She whispered in shock.
"Exactly, Nake, Benihime!" Urahara exclaimed and fired a strong burst of red energy at her from a proximity too close for her to evade it. Once again, she was enveloped in a small explosion. In a quick movement, Urahara drew a circle of energy with the tip of his zanpakuto's blade just as a hand full of reishi reached form him from the smoke.
"Tsupanne, Benihime. You're not the only one who's good at analyzing and manipulating the energy, Quincy."
The smoke revealing Beatrice's anxious face, Urahara flashed to the right and pointed his sword at her side.
"Shibari, Benihime!" With a slash, a tangible blood red net shot from the tip of the blade and latched onto the woman, binding her and restricting her movements. When the net pushed her to the ground and forced her on her knees, she groaned.
"This-this is not the end, Urahara Kis-."
"Hiasobi, Benihime, Juzutsunagi." Stabbing the net with his blade a series of explosions traveled across it, allowing Urahara to watch as the final large explosion engulfed his opponent.
He blocked a desperate attempt from the few Quincy soldiers still alive and flashed to the woman, still feeling her reiatsu signature.
"That Blut of yours is quite incredible, Quincy-san. Most people hit by this technique don't stay in one piece and yet you're even still conscious."
As the woman twitched and another groan escaped her lips, he raised his sword and pointed it at her torso. His eyes void of emotions as he hid his anger, he slashed down.
"But this indeed is the end."
Couple minutes later, after dealing with the rest of the Quincy, he landed next to Tessai. Shooting a powerful Raikōhō at the last Adjuchas, the man nodded to him with a regret in his eyes.
"I'm sorry Boss… I didn't realize where it was headed."
Urahara raised his hand.
"It's not your fault, Tessai. Moreover, I think our friends are still alive. Otherwise we'd be hearing a lot of beeping noises from within the shop." He glanced at the distant part of the town, where a cloud of smoke was rising to the sky.
"However, we should hurry. I have a bad feeling about this."
…
Amid the sands of Hueco Mundo
Slowly running out of stamina, Grimmjow growled and kicked the dirt beneath his feet. His Resurrección was keeping him alive but even with it the former Espada had received a lot of injuries, making it difficult to operate under the harsh circumstances surrounding him. His opponent, the Sternritter 'R', stared him down from afar but was in a considerably better condition. The wound Ichigo had given him was mostly healed and no blood was flowing out of it. However, it had been a deep injury and until he completely recovered, the man was unable to use his special ability on Grimmjow. Because of that, the fight between the two animals had been mostly happening with the use of range attacks.
Reishi arrows were countered with multitude of special abilities and an occasional Cero. It was a difficult combat for Grimmjow who liked to fight up close, where his claws could skin his opponent alive. But he couldn't just surrender. He was all too aware of the terrible ability of Quincy. To completely destroy a soul, smash it into pieces and turn it back into simple spirit particles was the most horrendous death a hollow, evolved to an Arrancar, could ever imagine. After spending years, decades and even centuries consuming other hollows in an attempt to satisfy that hunger screaming at him from within his soul and to push his limits to the absolute maximum so he could transcend him meager existence, Grimmjow refused to die like this.
'…like a piece of shit.' It was just with sheer luck the tide of the battle began to slowly tilt in his favor. In a rare moment of extreme ingenuity and ability to logically perceive the small details during the fight he had noticed it. He had noticed the pain on the Quincy's face whenever a tiny amount of his hollow energy penetrated his skin and entered his bloodstream through the injury on his abdomen. In that instant, he recalled something he had heard about the Quincy race from Urahara or as he called him:
'A fucking Aizen-like-smartass.'
He and the rest of the hollows were a natural opposite to Quincy, a poison to their bodies. At that time, the Arrancar didn't really listen to the shady man. He rarely listened to anybody. However, his brain had stored tiny bits of information it had registered and now it all came back to help him. Not liking the sense of owning a favor to anybody, Grimmjow made a note to form some sort of 'thanks' to the man once this conflict was over.
"Garra de la Pantera!"
It was kind of funny for Grimmjow, though. He had sworn months ago to become stronger, more so after a brief 'sparring session' with Ichigo. The fact the teen had the audacity to call it like that made Grimmjow burn with a resolve Ichigo once faced him with. It hadn't supposed to be a spar. Grimmjow came at the substitute with all he had. After all, he had promised him he'd try to kill him in the future. Yet the teen shrugged him off like he was nothing. He barely forced him to activate his Shikai and even that may have been done just for the heck of it.
"Desgarrón!"
Ever since that day, he had immersed himself in a training. Endless training. He hated the fact he became inferior to almost everybody. In his pursuit of power, he even forgot about his pride and attempted to copy the other person he hated, Ulquiorra. However, no matter how hard he had tried he had been unable to do it. Even if Nel had tried to reason with him that the Segunda Etapa had been probably something unique just to Ulquiorra, he had still continued to train. To the present day, the Segunda Etapa still eluded his grasp. Yet everything he had undergone in its pursuit stayed with him and created a new person.
"Gran Rey Cero!"
As the bright blue torrent of energy shot forward and hit the Quincy dead-on, Grimmjow ignored all the arrows tearing his flesh and flashed to the man with a fist surrounded with a faint glow of his own reiryoku.
"You were good, fucktard, but there is only one fucker I will ever lose to and you're not him!"
Indeed, the present Grimmjow was still the same person and yet he was different. He was still an animal yet he became a bit human. He still hated Ichigo, yet he had learned to respect him. He still loathed the weak, yet he had grown to live with them.
He watched as his energy found its way into the man's system through the deep wound he had created with his Desgarrón. It took only a few seconds before the Quincy started to violently cough and fall on his knees. Along with him, Grimmjow fell on his knees too; the rest of his energy spent on the final attack. As his opponent's eyes rolled back in his head and the man died, Grimmjow ferociously smirked before fainting from the fatigue.
"Serves you right, bitch."
…
Harribel was faring fairly better than Grimmjow, as was expected from her former position in Aizen's army being superior to his. Yet despite that, she too was having troubles in dealing with her Quincy opponent. The Sternritter 'W' had not been injured as badly as his comrade and so he had no problems using his special ability. He utilized it every moment it was possible, exploiting the scenarios in which his whirls became a superb counter to Harribel's attacks based on water manipulation. She shot a blast of water and he swirled it around and redirected it back at her. What goes around comes around indeed. She poured a stream of water and blocked it by spinning it into a whirlpool. It was almost as if their abilities were created to counter each other and it reminded Harribel her fight with a certain white-haired Captain of the Gotei 13 so many months ago.
Sending multiple strikes in a rapid succession from all sides, she glanced at the teen fighting in a distance and her lips twisted into a small smile. In the past, she used to fight to protect her Tres Bestias. She was willing to die for them as they had become something she couldn't imagine to lose, which was rare among the hollow race. Now, the number of other people she was willing to sacrifice herself for had increased. Ignoring the roars from the other distant fight, she followed her series of attacks with another, successfully creating a shallow cut on the Quincy's arm.
Yes, she considered Grimmjow to be one of those people too, even though she would never say it out loud. It was not because she liked his presence or him in general. She had other reasons. However, the person she would be willing to die for the most, was the orange haired teen. She didn't love him. While she was an odd kind of hollow, capable of creating unbreakable bonds of friendship, her missing heart was unable to produce an emotion called love. She only enjoyed his presence. She felt calm, at ease with him around.
She effectively cut through the Quincy's skin again, this time more deeply.
At first, the boy had been an enigma, something unknown she wanted to uncover. Now, she knew that him being an enigma was good enough for her. In a way, she grew accustomed to the warm feeling in her stomach whenever he did something unexpected. What she liked about him was his endless ability to trust people he cared about. Never once she found him staring at her or others in Hueco Mundo with hostility. Not once he looked at them in disgust at being so close around hollows. And not once did he threw away Lilynette when she desperately needed his company. After she found out about the circumstances around his mother's death his actions become even more precious to her.
A sudden energy blast coming from Ichigo's direction hit the Quincy in front of her in his back, propelling him forward. She smiled more.
This was exactly the kind of unexpected action she liked. In Ichigo, she found something akin to a soul-mate but not in a romantic way. He too, was a person willing to sacrifice himself for his precious people. And the number of people he considered precious was a whole lot larger then hers. Despite that, he never faltered. There had been some setbacks in his road to become a Protector but he never backed down. No matter what, the burning resolve in his eyes couldn't be extinguished. It was all this that had created a different emotion within her during those past few months.
Frustration or more like regret.
It showed itself only once but it affected Harribel deeply. In a rare moment of vulnerability, the hollow hole in her womb ached as if trying to resonate with the missing heart and she needed a hug from her Tres Bestias that night. She regretted being a hollow unable to feel. She regretted being a hollow that could not love. She regretted not being a human that could fall in love with Ichigo and a human Ichigo could fall in love with. The morning after, she vowed never to feel that emotion again. No. She didn't need it. Ichigo didn't need it.
A grimace forced its way on her face when an arrow pierced her thigh.
So she got over it and the experience only made her stronger. She was a hollow for a reason. She couldn't dwell on something unreasonable. Her purpose in this lifetime was not to be a lover.
Ignoring the pain, she shot forward and used the knowledge she had received from Urahara in the same way as Grimmjow.
She would become a companion to her precious people. To people she had bonds with. To people she couldn't imagine living without. To Ichigo.
The Quincy fell on his knees, blood pouring from his mouth as he cursed before she mercilessly cut his head off.
"Never threaten my people again."
…
'This is weird.' Ichigo thought as he tightly gripped the hilt of his zanpakuto and watched the Quincy walk towards him.
'Here I am, pitted against the very person responsible for my Mum's death, for Uryū's Mum's death and for much more, yet I feel eerily calm. Weird.'
He raised his sword and prepared himself for a fight. The Quincy in front of him, the Emperor himself, raised one eyebrow.
"Immediately preparing himself for a battle. I see, Kurosaki Ichigo. You will not allow me to say anything."
Ichigo's mouth twitched.
"There is no need for words, Ywach. You know who I am and I know who you are. Spare me your little backstory of suffering as nothing could justify your actions." He retorted with narrowed eyes. Ywach narrowed his eyes too, before raising his right hand.
"Indeed."
The next instant, Ichigo was busy dodging a volley of large glowing arrows made of spirit particles. He didn't really need to do it though, as his senses were telling him the power behind the projectiles was not enough to pierce his Hierro-and-Blut-induced skin.
'Which is quite weird, actually.' He thought and slithered around the arrow, slashing the air and sending a wordless Getsuga forward while doing so. Even more surprisingly, his attack collided with the man, creating a small explosion that sent the sand flying in every direction.
Ichigo had expected the Emperor, the progenitor of all Quincy to be a figure in a possession of power easily above most of the people he had met so far. At least more powerful than Aizen was. Moreover, the Ancient himself talked about his son like he was more powerful than he was.
He intercepted the incoming arrow with the blunt side of his sword and frowned.
He certainly hadn't expected a Quincy whose attacks were only slightly more powerful than those of the other two Quincy from the enemy's army he had met so far, the two Sternritters. And he certainly hadn't expected him to emerge from his wordless Getsuga with slight injuries. No, something was wrong and he could feel it. He had met the Soul King and the very presence of that… being... was overwhelming. The man he stared at was constantly releasing waves of amazing spiritual pressure but it was lacking something. It lacked… superiority.
He fired another Getsuga from his blade. This time, the man evaded it and let the energy strike sail through the air until it hit his comrade, the one fighting Harribel, in his back.
'But his lack of concern about his comrades without a doubt feels like somebody in his position.'
He ducked under a second barrage of reishi projectiles. While they didn't feel particularly powerful, the multiple attacks were fast. Deciding to try something out, Ichigo reached out with his left hand and pumped his reiryoku into it. When the web-like pattern appeared on the skin, he willingly put the palm of his hand against a flying arrow. He fought its momentum until it slowed down and, spinning around, he threw it back at its sender.
Besides the smoke rising from his hand, he didn't feel any pain in it which meant the attack was not able to penetrate his skin. He glanced up just as the man landed on the ground after previously dodging his own arrow and grimaced.
"Who are you?"
The man seemingly ignored the question and reached into his clothes. Taking out an ornamented sword, he pointed it at the teen and sneered.
"I thought words were useless, Kurosaki Ichigo."
"…fine, have it your way."
They clashed. Expecting a powerful blow, the teen braced himself and strongly pushed forward. He quickly overpowered the man and forced him to back away. Momentarily caught off-guard, Ichigo received an arrow to the abdomen, which broke upon the contact with his skin. He looked up and gazed upon Ywach with a slightly amused expression, despite the seriousness of the situation. The man's face twisted into a grimace.
"Do not take Quincy lightly, Kurosaki Ichigo. Kirchenlied: Sankt Zwinger!" Several towering columns of reishi, shaped like Quincy cross, surrounded the teen and wiped the smug expression from his face. Seeing the alertness in his eyes, Ywach regained his composure and sneered.
"It's the end for you, Kurosaki Ichigo! Step into the light and the Lord will strike you dead where you are!"
"You do realize when a villain takes out his ace this early in a fight it usually ends with his defeat, right?" Ichigo retorted calmly and took a step forward.
And nothing happened.
Looking around, Ichigo raised one of his eyebrows before taking another step.
"W-what is this?"
Ichigo tilted his head to the side.
"You're losing it quite quickly. Was that really your best attack?"
Ywach took a step backwards.
"This cannot be! Sankt Zwinger was created especially to deal with the worst enemies of the Quincy, the shinigami!"
Ichigo released a knowing sigh.
"Yeah, that must be it. I'm sure you know it but I'm not exactly a normal shinigami. Or weren't you informed?"
When the Quincy remained stationary with his eyes glued to the scene, Ichigo clenched his jaw. He played with the man long enough. It was time to get some answers.
"I'll repeat my question. Who are you? You're not the real Ywach, I can feel it." He asked in a serious tone, finally gaining the man's attention.
"I see. It seems my performance wasn't good enough to fool the likes of you, Kurosaki Ichigo. But you're too naïve if you really think I'll tell you anything. This is a war."
Ichigo didn't like the tone in which the man said that last word. He flashed to him and pressed the blade against his neck.
"There is still time before the war begins. I'll stop you before you can…" When he saw the man's evil grin, Ichigo cursed.
"You…"
The Quincy laughed.
"After everything you've been through you really think we would play by the rules? This is a war, Kurosaki Ichigo and in the war the one who strikes first, wins."
Ichigo withdrew his sword.
"That's right. Your friends are already fighting, dying. The Soul Society is under siege and there is nothing you can do about it!"
Clenching his fists, Ichigo shook his head.
"You're wrong. I thought about this possibility and do you know why I came here, despite knowing it?"
When the man didn't respond, Ichigo grinned.
"Because I believe in my friends. They will fight you and they will win. I have learned that I can't be everywhere at the same time and I have to trust the others they can take care of themselves." He stated confidently.
His smile froze when he noticed the cold and cruel grimace on the man's lips.
"You're talking about your friends in the Soul Society… but what about the ones in the Human World?"
The atmosphere rapidly changed. The smile on Ichigo's face completely vanished and was replaced with a stone-hard expression. His eyes became cold and his voice caused the hair on the man's neck to stand.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing is sacred in the holy war."
The reiatsu exploded from the teen, undetectable by normal means, but its very presence began to erase the spirit particles around him. His hand, in which he was gripping the sword, shook.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"His Majesty will bring peace and-" The Quincy fell silent when a sword pierced his abdomen and stuck out from his back, the blood dripping from its tip. After he yanked it out, the teen barely contained himself while looking at the man's face.
"If something happened to them, I swear I'll fucking exterminate all of you. By myself. Starting with the real Ywach."
He watched as the man's appearance began to change into a young man with bald head and a third eye tattooed at the center of his forehead. Before he died from the gaping hole Ichigo's sword left in his body, the man deliriously chuckled.
"Loyd Lloyd, Sternritter 'Y', 'the Yourself', is returning to you your Majesty…"
Not wasting another minute, Ichigo hastily turned around and flashed away, to clean the rest of the invading party.
A few minutes later he stood next to the entrance to Las Noches with Harribel panting next to him and Grimmjow lying on the ground, unconscious.
"Harribel, I trust you to take care of things here, I need to-" He was interrupted when a small mobile device in his pocket rang.
"Urahara-san, what's going on? I heard-"
From the other side of the connection, Urahara spoke to him in a serious and urgent tone.
"Kurosaki-san. I need you to return to Karakura Town as quickly as possible."
Hearing the distressed tone, Ichigo felt adrenaline entering his bloodstream.
"What happened?!"
For a few seconds, everything was quiet.
"…it's your friends, Kurosaki-san. They are in a serious condition."
"Wha…" His eyes wide open, Ichigo stared at the ground, a sense of dread building up in his stomach.
"There's more. Ishida-san is getting violent and yelled something about his father sacrificing himself for him. He intends to go into the Hell for him… Kurosaki-san, hurry."
End of Chapter 20.
Thank you all for your support, I can't believe it's been a full year since I posted the first chapter of 'Way of the Protector'. Since that time, this story has gained almost 200k views, more than 800 favs and more than 900 follows. It's amazing!
*Krazyfanfiction1 - they do but as far as I know, not all of them. At least not the instant one. Dual Cero? Nice idea!
*SSJ3_Kyuubi_Gohan - well, he sorta was but he was also sorta entertaining with his broken view at justice and villains.
*cruel_vamp -heh, eh, heh eheheh :D. Don't say I didn't warn you ;)
Well, the next chapter will be the last one with the German title and things are finally moving forward. This chapter was maybe shocking and so I'll confirm it one more time.
Yes, Byakuya is definitely dead. No sudden revival like in the canon.
totenkopf - lit. death's head (Kenpachi)
Drink, Ketsueki no Gashadokuro - Kenpachi's shikai. It's ability will be explained in more detail in the future but I'm sure some of you will figure it out by yourselves.