I'm sorry! I got swamped with homework and Science Olympiad, so I had no time to work on this until this morning. I hope you enjoy this. This chapter connects back to the canon, and it has the fight between the ex-captains, so enjoy!
Chapter Twenty: A little spar
A week later, Enishi, Raiden and Sayu stood facing Kuromaru in the enlarged and heavily reinforced sub-basement. Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Chad, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and surprisingly, Urahara and Yoruichi stood to the side, spectators to the coming clash. After all, it wasn't every day that three upper tier captains fought with a captain on the same level as the Soutaicho or Aizen. That apparently hadn't been enough to get Hitsugaya to come along, and Matsumoto merely tagged along with him.
"Urahara-san, do you think that they'll go all out?"
"Well I should hope not, Kurosaki-san. For one thing, they are experienced captains, and they would know the consequences of using excessive amounts of energy. For another, this is merely a spar. Impressive though it will be, it will hardly do any justice to their real skills. And thirdly, they would not be so stupid as to reveal their true capabilities to outside observers.
"Although," Urahara continued while looking at the four. "those three apparently will not be restricting themselves." Enishi, Raiden and Sayu had stripped off their armor, revealing to all their true appearance.
Enishi carried himself with an air of indifference. That attitude was reflected in his ice-white eyes and relaxed posture. Short though he was, he was still an imposing and intimidating figure with his cropped onyx hair and perpetually serious face. The message was clear: don't mess with me.
Raiden sported a mess of flaming red hair that was spiked up and still maintained its form even though he had been wearing a helmet over it. His golden eyes conveyed an unquenchable eagerness for action; more specifically, combat. Taller than Enishi and more muscled, his smile put others more at ease, though that quality made him quite dangerous to any who fought him.
Sayu was, simply put, the epitome of grace. Tall and lithe, with waist-length silver hair and storm-gray eyes that flickered around constantly, she was off-putting in that her happy-go-lucky attitude didn't quite extend to those gray eyes. There was just something hidden behind them that frightened nearly everyone who saw her face.
Urahara whistled. "So that's the Silver Tempest…she is beautiful…and deadly."
Everyone else turned toward him questioningly. "What are you talking about?" Yoruichi inquired.
"Outside of the Fifth Division except for among the captains, she was called the "Flower of Death." Among the Fifth, they called her the "Silver Tempest," a play on her hair and her zanpaku-to."
"And you know this…how?" Renji asked.
Urahara shrugged. "They didn't guard the archives very well back then…" Yoruichi palmed her face.
Kuromaru merely stripped off his cloak and let it flutter to the side before he gestured. BEGIN.
***
Raiden, true to his nature, charged forward immediately, right fist drawn back. Kuromaru used his left forearm to shunt the blow away while throwing a vicious right hook in response. Raiden grabbed his wrist with his left, turned, and wrapped his right arm over it, trapping it. Kuromaru responded by grabbing Raiden's left shoulder with his other hand and yanking towards himself while he drove a knee into Raiden's back. Then he tugged his arm free and performed a right open palm strike that launched Raiden away from him.
Sayu took the opportunity to initiate kamikaze-style slash attacks interspersed with the occasionally thrown kunai. Kuromaru finally countered one of her charges by sidestepping to his right while grabbing her shunto with his left hand. As he gripped it, he spun with the combined force of Sayu's inertia and his own speed before he let her fly away. Far from normal expectations however, she did not impact the wall. Only Urahara and the combatants saw the tiny reishi threads attached to Kuromaru's armor where they had impacted when he deflected them. They seemed to compress before snapping back to their normal state. Sayu flew back on the recoil, shunto extended in a thrust aimed at Kuromaru. The captain simply jumped up high, snipping the threads as he did so, grabbing them and using them to sling Sayu into the ground with appalling force.
Enishi didn't give him time to recover. No sooner had the dust cloud arisen then Kuromaru was forced to guard against a two-handed swing from the azure spear. Enishi proceeded to launch a barrage of strikes that kept Kuromaru on the defensive. Raiden picked himself up off the ground, released his axe, and proceeded to try and attack the captain's blind side.
Kuromaru stopped a shove from Enishi's spear with his left hand, gripped it tight, and then flung Enishi over his shoulder. Raiden jumped overhead, grabbing Enishi's spear and dragging him up as well. Then, at the apex, he released his grip on the spear, held his axe in both hands, and brought it down, hard.
Kuromaru clapped his hands on either side of Raiden's axe before bringing his hands downward to embed the axe in the ground. Not-quite-coincidentally, he also ducked underneath a wind blast that Sayu fired at him, which blew Raiden away instead. Then he stood up and spun while neutralizing two more blasts, first with his right fist, and another with an open left hand
Enishi, meanwhile, was still in the air, and began spinning rapidly. As he came down, he extended his spear in a futile effort to strike at the captain's head. Kuromaru whirled around and canceled the attack with an open right palm strike, and the recoil launched Enishi backward several yards to land in a ready stance, spear out to his right.
Raiden got up and charged again, seemingly unharmed, to launch a barrage of blows that were either dodged or neutralized. Then Kuromaru lashed out with a favored right palm strike. Raiden blocked with his left forearm, though it went numb in the process. And then, while Kuromaru was reeling him in, Raiden drew back a hand while forming a cero. However, rather than extending his hand and firing it, he fired it first, and then extended a closed fist into the cero. The result was spectacular. The cero enveloped his fist, which abruptly appeared to vanish before crashing into Kuromaru's chest. There was a sound of two near-simultaneous impacts, hailing the first blow the captain had received. Kuromaru skidded backward, hunched over from the blast, a large spiderweb of cracks on his chestplate, as Raiden charged forward again and performed the same move. Kuromaru stepped backward, and then immediately sidestepped as well. When Raiden's punch missed its mark, the cero left his hand completely and continued straight ahead through the space that Kuromaru's head had just vacated. But it wasn't over just yet. Enishi blurred into existence in the path of the errant energy blast as the charm on his left wrist flashed and extended as net of reishi threads. The cero barreled headlong into it and the net shrank with its captured load. The charm flashed again and formed a bow with a pulsating red arrow. Enishi slammed his spear on top of the arrow, and the spear gained a crimson aura. He readied the bow, and fired.
Raiden vanished the moment the spear left the bow, and Kuromaru whirled around just in time for it to hit him. A massive explosion rang throughout the chamber, but when the dust cleared, Kuromaru stood there, holding the spear with two fingers of his right hand in front of his chest. He raised it over his shoulder, and with a negligent flick, fired the spear back at Enishi, in the face. Enishi didn't even attempt to catch it at that speed, and it embedded itself almost entirely inside the wall behind where he'd been.
Meanwhile, Raiden picked up his axe, nodded at Sayu, and then unleashed a raging torrent of flames at Kuromaru. Sayu twirled her blade as it changed to its released kodachi form before slashing horizontally in front of herself and sending a powerful cyclone at the captain as well. The flames and cyclone collided around Kuromaru and fairly exploded into a blazing pyre that completely obscured the captain from view. Enishi tugged his spear out of the wall and pointed it at the tower of fire. Simultaneously, Raiden threw his axe, Sayu fired a lightning storm from her blade, and Enishi sent a veritable wall of very large ice needles at the tower.
The three attacks obviously hit something in that inferno, because there was a larger explosion, and then silence as the firestorm dissipated. Then Raiden's axe flew back out, spinning so fast that it whined as it flew at his chest level. Raiden ducked underneath and kicked it toward the ceiling where it ricocheted back down to his hand. Sayu barely raised her blade in time to block a similar but much more powerful lighting storm, and Enishi was forced to create an ice clone to escape a hail of much larger ice needles than the ones he threw. A new firestorm, pitch-black this time, erupted from the dust cloud. When it faded, Kuromaru stood there holding his broadsword up with the four diamonds glowing red, blue, yellow and gray.
***
Kurotsuchi stood in the center of the communications center with Akon and Nemu by his side. Their attention was focused on a large display that was currently covered in static. Occasionally the screens flickered and showed sudden clear images of parts of the world, mainly Karakura Town, only to return to static once more. However, these occasions were becoming much more frequent than usual these past few days. Kurotsuchi patiently stood, waiting until the screens all flashed clear feeds and remained so for more than ten seconds.
"Soutaicho, our communications network is back online. The Dangai is now stable enough for passage."
"Convene in the Captain's hall at once."
Kurotsuchi peeled his lips from his teeth in displeasure. He had wanted to personally study the afteraffects. "Hai."
***
Ulquiorra entered the room set aside for the Espadas. "Yammy, Luppi, it is time."
Yammy shrugged while Luppy cracked a grin before they got up and followed. They hadn't gotten far before a loud, one-armed Grimmjow stepped in front of them.
"Hey! I'm going with you!"
"Grimmjow," Ulquiorra stated warningly. "You are no longer an Espada, and have little say in this..."
"Feh! I'm coming whether you like it or not! I just want to kill that stupid shinigami!"
Ulquiorra considered before shrugging in dismissal and continuing. Yammy sneered at Grimmjow while Luppi eyed him with disdain. The group entered the throne room.
"With one obvious exception," Ulquiorra stated while Grimmjow glared murderously at his back. "these are my choices for the operation."
Aizen nodded while Margera Wonderweiss detatched himself from Tosen and clung to Yammy.
"Huh? Who's this?"
Aizen smiled, amused. "It seems that Tosen's friend wishes to accompany you in this. Very well, proceed."
"Hai."
Yammy, Luppi and Grimmjow opened the now-stablized Gargantas and entered their depths while Ulquiorra went to confer with Szayel about the Dangai surveillance.
***
"Now that communications have been restored, I believe that you have something to report, Hitsugaya-taicho?"
On the screen, the tenth captain nodded. "Hai. Kurosaki Ichigo has been going through training sessions with Captains Takahashi, Namikawa and Hanabusa." There was a great deal of sympathetic wincing at the last name. "In addition, Abarai-fukutaicho has been helping to train the ryoka Yasutora Sado in the usage of his powers. I have recorded footage of this training and Urahara's conclusions that he shared with me, at Kurotsuchi-taicho's request." Kurotsuchi grinned insanely. Perhaps this meeting wasn't a complete waste of time. "There is one more thing. Kuchiki Rukia" Byakuya lifted his head in interest. "was training with Shihouin Yoruichi before Takahashi-taicho took over. From what Kurosaki and Abarai-fukutaicho have told me, that training placed a great deal of mental strain on her. I have doubts about her continued station here in Karakura."
Byakuya's eyes narrowed while the Soutaicho considered other matters to be brought forward.
"That concludes your report?"
"Hai."
"Hmm…" The silence was broken by Kurotsuchi's communicator.
"Kurotsuchi-taicho!"Akon gasped out. "My apologies, but our probes in Hueco Mundo have recorded some alarming data-"
"Send it to the projector."
The holographic projector hummed to life and displayed for all the captains the information. Kurotsuchi studied the charts for several moments before he turned toward the Soutaicho.
"Apparently, our four rogue captains have been paying visits to Hueco Mundo. What's more, they routinely emerge in the known vicinity of his stronghold."
"Hmm…"
"What did they do there?" Ukitake queried.
"Alas, that I am unable to determine. All that we know for sure is that they did something nearby. They definitely used their powers on hollows and arrancar in the vicinity, but that is all we can be sure of."
"Perhaps as a demonstration of their usefulness to Aizen?" Soifon offered.
"Soifon-taicho," Kyouraku put in. "I usually don't take sides in this sort of thing, but I cannot believe that they would work with Aizen. Sayu-chan did tell us that they consider him to be more irksome than us."
"As Special Forces Commander, I have to examine all angles that a possible threat could come at us from. They are a possible threat-"
"-but they will not ally with Aizen. Why establish themselves with someone weaker than them? There are no politics in this affair, so there is no advantage."
"In any case," Kurotsuchi added. "their presence in Hueco Mundo was apparently a detriment becase a large number of hollows and arrancar are recorded as obliterated."
"Hmm…"
"But that is a side affair. Communications are up, and also from the data that we recorded, Aizen can now traverse the realms. It does appear that the rogue captains were telling the truth about preventing Aizen from moving."
Hitsugaya decided to add his part. "I am requesting additional reinforcements for Karakura."
"Negative. We still have need of every able-bodied shinigami in order to facilitate preparations to meet Aizen. He shouldn't be making any moves until the winter, when he is prepared to sacrifice Karakura town."
"Soutaicho-"
"Enough. I trust that in the event you require aid, Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi can provide assistance."
"…hai."
"For now, we all need to focus on preparing. Dismissed."
***
Raiden blew forward yet again, swinging his axe down, hard. Kuromaru merely brought up his sword and easily disarmed him. Riaden simply shrugged and continued, but with his fists. Ichigo and the others watched, entranced. Enishi and Sayu were obviously experts in any form of combat, including hand-to-hand. Raiden however, he qualified as an artist. Where the other two performed stiff lateral combos that required a withdrawal to renew the assault or a pause to begin the next move, Raiden was a seamless flow of continuous movement. It was almost hypnotic as blow after blow rained down faster than their eyes could follow.
But Kuromaru was every bit as skilled as Raiden, or perhaps he saw things in slow-motion. Every punch, kick, body blow or headbutt was blocked, deflected or dodged. Finally, Raiden threw a punch that Kuromaru answered full force, and he went flying backward to impact the wall, shattering it.
Enishi leapt forward to take his place, twirling his spear so fast that it whined through the air. Every time the faintly glowing azure weapon crashed against the massive broadsword of the captain, ice formed along the blade, and one of the diamonds turned blue. When all four were blue, Kuromaru tried to take a step backward, intending to slash the ground and release the stored attack, but Enishi made one extra lunge and blasted him with one enormous ice dragon, landing the second blow on the captain.
Kuromaru wound up being buried in ice at the far end. Sayu threw a shredding gale and the right behind it, another lightning storm. The ice exploded before her wind could cut through it, and the wind and lightning was simply deflected to the side. Kuromaru walked out of the dust cloud, swiping the ground as he did so and turning a large section of it to ice. When he did so, the diamonds faded back to their usual clarity. He raised his blade in front of himself, and beckoned.
As Raiden was currently in no position to charge, still buried in the wall and likely concussed, Sayu took it upon herself to attack. As she raced forward, she let fly four powerful wind attacks before lunging forward.
Kuromaru simply raised two fingers and fired a twisting black and white cero that drilled through the wind blasts. Caught flat-footed, Sayu took the spiraling energy blast to the chest and was slammed into the far wall just as hard or perhaps harder than Raiden. Kuromaru then turned his attention to Enishi.
The black-haired ice master eyed his brother and sister before he turned back to the captain. He then picked up his spear, reversed it, and rammed it into the ground before kneeling. "I yield."
***
As the others split off to head for home (Ichigo and Rukia peeling off from the rest), Hitsugaya's notice about communications reached them at about the same time that three gargantas opened up in the sky.
"Alright, the plan is to take them out of possible, but we're just stalling for time while Ulquiorra grabs the girl," Luppi reminded them. Yammy nodded while Grimmjow snorted derisively. "What? You got a problem with that, numero?!"
Grimmjow smirked and angled his head, further enraging the new sixth espada. "No, espada."
Yammy sighed. This was not going to end well...
So how was it? Please review!