Bleach: Waves and Rapids
Part IV: Hollows War Arc
Chapter 25: Confrontation
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and its characters, except for the OC's being introduced into the story. These characters (and Zanpakutō, if applicable) belong to me, and me only.
I looked down below.
There were many black-robed people that swarmed in from one direction. They wielded blades of different types which flashed spectacular lights or altered the terrain. Occasionally, feeble lights would explode from a body as a sign of death. Both parties, the black-robed people and the monsters we fought, died the same way. No bodies were left behind; only the shimmering blue lights that disappeared around me.
So this was war. Both side will face casualties. But it was more bearable than wars in the Human World; men covered in blood, mutilated by wounds gushing red, eyes still staring into the sky. They left bodies. Spirit wars, however, did not. The only thing left behind were the memories of the lost.
"Kai!"
My name being called brought me to my senses. Anson had shaken me. "You look as though you're gonna hurl," he noted.
"I remember conflict like this in the Human World," I replied. "I can imagine bodies instead of lights."
"When you're a Shinigami, it takes some getting used to," he told me. "I went through the same phase. Many Shinigami went through the same phase. Just remember, one out of twenty Shinigami are retainers of their memories from the time they were alive." I nodded. Mugen Shionari took a burst of speed toward the dark castle with Raimei Tori following close.
"Hey Brandon," I heard Anson say," we've arrived at your destination."
"Huh?" he asked.
"See ya later." With that, Anson kicked Brandon off of the bird. He fell down, screaming as he fell to the ground.
In just two seconds, Brandon had neared the ground of the Forbidden City. His rational thinking instinctively told him to gather Reishi to slow his descent. He looked up to then find himself in the midst of Hollows. "Ahh!" he cried, shunpo'ing into the air. Two bird-like Hollows met him in the air, and Brandon covered his head with his arms. Hollow screams indicated that they had been immediately cut down by an unknown aggressor... until Brandon opened his eyes.
"It's been too long, Brandon," said his father. He hefted the giant axe-blades that were his Bankai. "I have been neglecting the family for quite some time. I believe I should have brought you along to hunt Hollows... I guess a war with them fares well enough. Let me teach you the skills of the Second Division."
"Will Brandon be okay?" I asked, worried.
"He got someone to watch his back," Anson replied. "Wish I could do the same with Jorden; he's better off being a frontline soldier than on this mission facing the Vasto Lorde."
"Shit, Vasto Lorde..." I cursed, "they are obviously not going to be easy to fight, so why bring an inexperienced?"
"Are you doubting your own ability?" Anson asked me. "Besides, that 'week-long' training has increased your Reiryoku at least ten-fold."
I was stunned. "How? It doesn't make sense; all I did was do a lot of Jinzen, practice Kidō, do some Hakuda training here and there, achieve Bankai..."
"General training, whatever uses your Reiryoku as a medium, will increase it. If done at a consistent rate, your Reiryoku will grow faster than just cram-training. If given time to let it grow and determination to keep nurturing it, that thing will grow toward its potential the quickest. You will survive the attacks of a Vasto Lorde, however, you should still be careful. Just because you've gained an increase in Reiryoku doesn't mean you can withstand being beheaded or can survive with a tattered heart."
I had to stop myself from putting my hand on my chest.
"But for now, focus at the task at hand. We have insertion in five seconds." I turned to the castle; we were going to crash into the wall if we don't do something." Anson then called to Rosche, "Breach pattern D! Hadō Fifty-four, Haien!"
Three pale, purple energy projectiles erupted from Anson's palm, along with three of Rosches. They formed a pentagon-like shape with one Haien in the middle. "Dou-kan!" Jorden exclaimed, saying the Japanese onomotapiea for "ka-boom". The castle wall exploded, and we dove inside the smoke. In the limited vision field, Anson fired Byakurai bolts toward the left of the hole we had made, and I heard the shriek of Hollows being burned by the Kidō. "Step Three, complete."
The smoke cleared, and Anson gestured Jorden, Rosche, and I to follow him. I decided to question his "Step" comments later.
Ichigo immersed himself in the Reiryoku ribbons of the various Shinigami. He sifted through all of them, despite his impatience to search for the location of just one certain Shinigami. Most of the people he knew from the Gotei were here, surprised that they had mobilized into Hueco Mundo so quickly. He only noticed that Yamamoto was staying behind the frontlines, though that thought was brushed aside when that Reiatsu came.
Ichigo rushed forward, simultaneously donning the Hollow mask and activating Bankai. He dashed toward the castle tower in the back right, sensing two other reiatsu. One he couldn't recognize, but the other he remembered clearly.
He let out a battle cry, echoed by his Hollow half's voice. He built up energy for a Getsuga Tenshō, and fired it at the building. There was a grand explosion, and Ichigo dove into the smoke clod he created.
Instead of entering however, he bashed his head on the roof's shingles.
"What the fuck?!" he cursed as he peeled off of the building. He had just jumped away from the building when a storm of blue arrows crashed into its roof. Ichigo turned to see Uryū behind him, wielding his miniature short-bow.
"Thanks," Ichigo muttered. "Hey, Uryū! What the hell happened to your spider web?! I thought you still had that flat-bow before my Fullbring training, then you bring that midget of a bow when we fought Kūgo!"
"It was intended as emergency weapon," Uryū calmly stated. "But the fact that it helps me with my Heilig Pfiel, I can create many more arrows than I could with Ginrei Kojaku. And it never was a spider web, you imbecile."
Ichigo brushed Uryū off and swiped his swiped his sword to push the smoke away from the tower. The roof was slightly battered, but Ichigo noticed that the shingles had become more blue. He slashed into the roof with Tensa Zangetsu, clearing off a large portion.
He jumped down, and faced the scythe Messenger.
"I hadn't expected you to come so early," Sy said.
Ichigo looked behind him. He heard his name being muttered, and glanced at Rukia. "You can cut the crap; I'm taking Rukia back. But first, I'm gonna kill you for what you did to Kensei, Rōjūrō and Shinji!" Ichigo ran forward to attack the Messenger, but Rukia held on to his arm. "Let go!" he roared.
"I won't let you!" Rukia yelled back.
Ichigo yanked his arm out of her grasp. Free, he dashed toward the Messenger and slashed. Sy merely batted the blade aside, the impact also causing Ichigo to skid back against the wall. A red blotch appeared on the Messenger's gloved hand. Cradling it, he said, "I have no intentions of fighting you, and the plans that have been in motion prevent me from doing so. My Lord has told me that in the scenario that you were to reclaim the prisoners, I would leave them. He is finished with her anyway." With that, Sy disappeared in with the sound of the Arrancar's Sonído technique.
"Finished?" Ichigo asked. "He didn't do anything to you, did he?" He glared at Rukia.
Rukia pummeled the back of Ichigo's head, cracking it and making him bend under the force of the punch. "You really think I'd let a creep like him do something to me?! What goes on in your head?!" Rukia then turned and bent down, cursing herself for hitting the hard mask.
Ichigo passed his hand over the place where he was hit, effectively regenerating the Hollow mask material. "You're safe now, that's all there is to it," he said finally. "Go back to Soul Society; I'm sure you've had enough of this hellhole."
"While you go and get yourself killed? No, I'm going along with you. I'm fed up with all of this 'damsel in distress' crap. I'm gonna slay some Hollows!" Rukia made a weird gesture that Ichigo immediately read as "up yours".
"Whatever you say," Ichigo said, relenting. "Nothing gets by you, huh. But who's that?" Ichigo pointed to the other Shinigami.
"He's Tsubasa Daichi," Rukia said, "from my brother's Division. He was a prisoner of war for killing a Messenger whom had been replaced. His execution was actually scheduled an hour after the invasion. And then they moved us here."
Ichigo was silent. "Why did you hold me back there?" he asked softly. "The Hollow King probably didn't, but that guy did do something, right?"
Rukia started to speak, but she stopped. She turned away, as if not wanting to make eye contact with Ichigo. "He... he saved me. Ever since I got here, he's been treating me nicely... even though I was a prisoner. Even Tsubasa; as much as an asshole he was to his Hollow wardens, Sy still defended us from some of the other Messengers. I just can't seem to think of him as an enemy. Maybe, just maybe, we could get along..."
"Hollows can never be friends," Ichigo cut in. "I told you; they killed my mother. Now, they take away my friends; that Sy guy changed them!" Ichigo bashed against the wall with his fist, leaving a crack in the stone. "Look, you can support that guy all you want, but I'm still gonna kick his ass for what he did to my friends." With that, Ichigo returned outside to leave Rukia to swallow the words he had said.
Rukia bit her lip and thought of Orihime's abduction. Of course, they had made Hollow friends; no they were only part Hollow. The fact that they had a humanoid mind changed that. What would that Nel character have said? Rukia asked herself.
The hall was pretty much deserted afterward. Few Hollows guarded the inside of the castle, and the ones that did were still easily cut down by Anson's blade, whether or not they were Adjuchas or not. I noticed that with every Hollow slain, Anson ran slightly faster.
We approached a large square room with many slits in the side walls. "This is the throne room?" Jorden asked; walking forward. He pulled out a intricate knife that could have passed as a Forerunner weapon from the Halo franchise.
"It's his Zanpakutō," Anson said to me. "Perhaps I should have burned a few more since he kept it as a Constant Release..." I was about to question "a few more" when a piercing scream sliced my ears. A giant Gargoyle Hollow had descended from the rooftop and crashed into the floor with a crater. Evaporated reiatsu exited its nostrils as it assessed its intruders.
I stepped forward when Anson put a hand out. "Let's see Jorden's first battle with an Adjuchas," he said. "Besides, I can easily intervene if Jorden starts having a hard time."
"Won't be long," Rosche scoffed. She pointed, to which Jorden was barely evading from the Gargoyle Hollow's well-aimed Cero bolts. The few knives that seemingly appeared out of nowhere clattered off the Gargoyle's hide like plastic darts hitting a thick sheet of metal.
"It's not fair!" Jorden cried. He resumed his running away from the Gargoyle. An accurate Cero sent Jorden to the ground. The Hollow loomed over Jorden and prepared another Cero.
Suddenly, the Gargoyle froze. It started to disintegrate into black dust and lights, as though purified by a Zanpakutō. When it disappeared, the Cero squeal gradually faded away. Jorden emerged from his duck-and-cover and looked back at us. "I'm alive!"
"That's because Anson..."
Rosche was cut off. "I did nothing," Anson replied. We stared into the dark corridor across the expanse. A lone figure slowly approached us with clacking footsteps. Some flag-like object was attached to his shoulder... no, it was a scythe.
"Sy," I heard Anson declare. "You've come to defend the castle now?" I was slightly amazed, given that I had given him the exact same name.
"The Ruler has noticed your presence. The Messengers have been sent to exterminate you." From the shadows stepped six more humanoid Hollows, only identified by the masks they wore. Outrageously, I made connections to what their masks appeared as. Sy was Zero from Code Geass. The others resembled General Grievous and Darth Nihilus from Star Wars, Headhunter Master Yi and Full Metal Pantheon from League of Legends, Tobi from Naruto, and ProtoMan from MegaMan NT Warrior.
The Grievous carried a massive sword on his back. The Nihilus was armed with duo swords, hanging from his, or her, waist area. I couldn't see the weapons of the Headhunter Yi. The Pantheon was already favoring a spear, while the ProtoMan carried a similar sword to the Greivous, only smaller and shorter.
"Exterminate?" Anson said. "Remember, we've come to take him out. What he has done couldn't be denied as trivial to the Head Captain of the Gotei Thirteen."
Sy nodded. "He understands. But you're already outnumbered, so what is the point of continuing without ample forces..." There was a pause. "Or so I thought."
"Ya got that right!" came a voice from the side. The room suddenly heaved toward the right, as though momentarily sucked in by some spatial cataclysm. A black and red wave zoomed past us and eclipsed the Messengers behind a dust cloud. The cloud was swept aside, and there stood Ichigo, Rukia, and a few of the Captains.
"Raynes-taichō," spoke Head Captain Yamamoto, "have I told you of not leaving us behind and storming as a group?"
"Sorry," Anson said. "I don't like giving out 'secrets of intel' meant for me."
"So like you," Soi Fon chimed. "Anyway, Unohana will take care of your failed Twentieth Seat." Beside her, the Fourth Captain stepped forward to meet Jorden.
"We shall go back to the outpost, shall we?" she asked.
Jorden turned. "Ehh, I'm fine. I can still..."
"We shall go back to the outpost," Unohana cut in, "shall we?" So that was the fabled "scary repeat" that the rumors of Unohana spoke of. 'You would be scared into listening her,' they said. Boy, were they right... Her smile, though tender, seemed scary already.
Jorden appeared as though lost all composure and surrendered, then left with Unohana. "You're not leaving," shouted the Tobi, a mysterious gauntlet materializing on his left arm. A yellow-colored energy erupted from his hand toward Jorden and Unohana. I almost saw Sy try to intercept the hand, but he had missed.
A light-blue arrow pierced the energy bolt, effectively destroying both projectiles. I turned at the newcomers to see Ichigo's other friends hovering outside the blast in the wall. I suspected that the one named Ishida had countered the bolt. I glanced away from them, and Unohana and Jorden retreat from the ensuing battle.
"Now," the ProtoMan spoke, "there are Kurosaki, the former prisoner, three Captains, and two Seated Shinigami. Seven Shinigami against the Seven Messengers. Now, does that seem fair?"
"Not fair at all," Ishida spoke. "There is a Quincy and a Fullbringer in the fight. It is nine against Seven." He raised a spider-web shaped bow at the Tobi. "Either way, I'm facing against the Hollow with the shiny gauntlet. It looks like a cheap version of a Sanrei Glove."
The Tobi rubbed his gauntlet. "This? I invaded some headquarters of an occult Quincy area, under the order of the Ruler of Hueco Mundo. I believe the organization was something like Vaderlike or..."
A Quincy arrow shattered in front of the Tobi's face, and a powerful yet demonic reiatsu shot forth. I glanced at Ishida, whom had the look of rage. I then noticed Anson stepping forward and drawing his blade.
"Bankai... Snapshot."
Suddenly, a circle appeared around Anson as his Zanpakutō assembled into its Bankai form. The circle suddenly expanded. My vision produced a gray-scale image of frozen silhouettes. Outside the blast hole was a background of visual noise. When I turned around, I no longer saw Inoue.
"Snapshot is one of my Bankai's abilities to copy an area and import it into the Nexus," came Anson's voice. Everything that had been grayed out was now suddenly regaining their color. Anson stood in front of me. To my left were Captain Soi Fon, Head Captain Yamamoto, Ichigo, and Ishida. Beside me was Rosche.
"Where did Rukia go?!" thundered Ichigo.
"She's safer in the original timeline rather than with this timeline," Anson said. "Once this battle is over, your conscience shall return to its original point. Fate has already decided how long each battle will last, so I have adjusted the timeline so we all return to the original timeline simultaneously."
Yamamoto stepped forward. "Raynes-taichō, you have explaining to do. This was not the Bankai you demonstrated during your Proficiency Test."
"Forgive me, Head Captain. Having you know that my Zanpakutō was this unique, you may have sent me to Zero Division and away from my tasks. I will ensure an explanation when we are finished." Yamamoto dipped his head once.
Anson then turned to Ichigo. "I will face Sy."
"No way! I'm taking him on!" the Substitute Shinigami said. "He kidnapped Rukia, and Byakuya told me to kill him for taking her away!"
"What is more important, your life or your pride?" Anson demanded. "Swallow your pride, and look at the bigger picture. You're not just "winning" anymore." Ichigo tightened his grip on his Zanpakutō and angrily spat on the ground.
Ishida stepped forward. "Spiral Mask is mine," he said.
"This 'Spiral Mask' has a name. It is Ez," he offered a hand toward Ishida. When Ishida didn't move, he lowered it to his side. "The fact that you don't shake my hand either means you don't have any trust, or that your culture has nothing to do with contact. However, I believe it's both."
"You killed clan members," Ishida stated. "I don't shake hands with an enemy."
Anson waved a hand and lights appeared around Ishida and Ez. The lights converged upon them, and they disappeared. "'Chatroom' is the technique of isolating one or more persons in a confined space in the Nexus. But, I certainly know of a Fullbringer whom has something of the same exact ability. He shares my ability, them I may as well share his name...
"Kai, Rosche, Soi Fon, and Head Captain; choose one of the Messengers. Sy, however, has been taken."
"How about, we attack and you may chatroom then?" asked the Yi, whose voice was curiously female. I was barely able to lift my sword and block a strike from the ProtoMan, though an upheaval of ground formed around me. The burst of reiatsu wasn't as strong as Ez's, but I knew I couldn't withstand it for long. It took all of my strength to shove him back, then I noticed that Yamamoto was holding off the Grievous with his cane, while Soi Fon and the Yi were locked in close combat. Rosche had barely managed to lock the Nihilus's dual blades in an intricate pattern of her whip. Ichigo was pushing back the Pantheon's spear with his Bankai.
Anson waved his hand yet again and the lights shimmered around me. I saw nothing, as if falling through the Void, and a light opened underneath me.
It was a chatroom alright. It was a bland cubic room that seemed to be decorated with Greek columns and arches. There was a lot of room to move around, and through the glass roof, I saw Hueco Mundo's crescent moon.
"There will be no interference from me," came Anson's voice. "You all know well I am engaged in battle with the Seventh Messenger. I do not have the capability to monitor six combatants while fighting an adversary of equal strength to mine; even possibly stronger. Therefore..." His voice cut off, and the Nihilus lunged at me.
"I am the replacement First Messenger; Forte."
Soi Fon and the Yi were locked in a kicking spar, after their initial dashes. "I am Nin, the Second Messenger," she said.
"Female Hollows?" Soi Fon retorted. "It can't get much better than this."
Rosche curiously eyed the Nihilus from a distance. The Hollow had made no advance ever since the transport into the Chatroom. "Don't move," Rosche said. "This is going to be over in just a few seconds." She readied a Bakudo to hold the Hollow in place.
"I'm tired. Have you something to eat?"
"Eat a Rikujōkōrō!" Rosche launched the beam of light, which split into six more beams. They slammed into the Nihilus's waist area... but then they started to deteriorate. "What?!"
"That was refreshing indeed!" The Hollow chanted. He raised his dual blades and disappeared. Rosche blocked the blades with another whip pattern, but rendered both combatants unable to move. "I am the third Messenger, Dol!"
Ichigo drove the Pantheon away with a Getsuga, though the wall didn't seem to be fazed by the impact. Instead, the ornaments regenerated themselves from the cut. The Pantheon landed a few meters away from Ichigo and dove forward. "I see your Reiatsu... but I can also see the fear coursing through you... I am the Fourth Messenger, Par."
"Par as in the number of swings to get a golf ball into the hole?" Ichigo asked. "You don't seem to be creative with your names..."
"At least I'm not a strawberry with a rotten top," said the Hollow. Ichigo drove him back with a Getsuga-enhanced slash.
"I hate it when people call me Strawberry. I hate it when people comment on my hair color. And it just plain pisses me off when they do both!" Ichigo jumped forward with his Hollow-enhanced speed, but Par blocked with the bracer on his spear arm.
"The fear has diminished... and that's just the way I like it." A bright light flashed from underneath the eye slits in his helmet of a mask...
Yamamoto held the blade of the Grievous off himself with a hand. "Puny Shinigami," the Hollow spoke. "The King has already informed us of your abilities. All except for the two younglings... I am the Fifth Messenger, Kray."
"For a young one like you, treating your elders with respect is the imperative," Yamamoto replied. "And I can only see you have none." He removed the cane disguise off of his Zanpakutō, drawing it and pointing it toward Kray. "Never shall I fall to the likes of you; this battle was over before it had even begun."
The brief firefight between the two archers was only for Uryū to understand how the Hollow killed his enemies. It seemed that the Messenger fired only at Uryū's arms and legs, most likely to disarm him. "I will defeat you," Ez said, "though things may get a little hectic. For me, that is."
"Keep talking and soon we're going to be listening to each others' life story," Uryū replied. "The sooner I shoot you down, the sooner for me to find out where the other Quincies are hiding."
"Then get past the Sixth Messenger, Ez! I will live up to the title of the second-strongest Hollow of Hueco Mundo, tied against Sy under the King of the Hollows!"
"The time has come now, hm?" Anson questioned Sy.
"I have been waiting a long time for this," the Hollow replied. "There will be no other chance."
"Give it your all," Anson said, raising Jikan-Tekina Munashii. "If either of us fails, the other shall have their task complete."
"He shall fall, I assure you," Sy said. "But first, I have to understand whether He was right or wrong in the first place... and why He chose me as Sy, the Seventh, and the strongest, Messenger. Of our separate paths to join can only mean the demise of the King of Evil."
Anson said nothing as he recalled the memories of why he was fighting now.
Yes... I have come to take revenge. To take revenge against the one who took everything away from me. I will... we will, destroy him together...
Claire! Anson opened his eyes, and a newborn passion illuminated his soul as he delved toward the Beginning of the End.