Hinamori's Apprentice
Chapter 26
"I see. So you've discovered your shikai ability," Momo said as she healed Karin. Karin's wounds healed quickly as the green glow from Momo's healing spell covered her body. She sat upright, excited about her recent victory.
"I don't know how I did it. I just focused my reiatsu in the blade, and suddenly… I don't even know how to describe it! But that's not the most amazing part! After I was wounded, I suddenly gained a lot of reiatsu and was even more powerful than before!"
"When a Shinigami's life is in danger, they sometimes gain an immense boost in strength," Momo explained, "What you experienced was your body pushing you to the peak of your powers as a self-defense mechanism."
"Wow… I never imagined that I was that powerful…" Karin said.
"You're more powerful than you think. You've only been training in the Shinigami arts for a few months. When I was at that stage, I'm not sure I could have done what you just did," Momo said.
"I'm still amazed at what my zanpakuto did," Karin said, "I didn't think that it would be anything like that. Even now, I don't know exactly what to think of it."
"From your description, it's power is probably control of magnetic fields, though until I've seen it with my own eyes, I'm not sure about the details," Momo said.
"I see…" Karin said thoughtfully.
"Now that you've activated your zanpakuto's power, you will reach heights you may have once thought impossible. As you communicate with your zanpakuto and hone your techniques, you will become much stronger," Momo said, "Today you did much better than I could possibly have hoped. Words cannot express how amazed and proud I am."
"Thank you, Vice-Captain Hinamori," Karin said with a smile.
"You don't need to address me like that anymore. I think you've earned the right to address me by name, both in public and private," Momo said.
"Oh, okay. Thank you, Momo," Karin said, "By the way, what will we do now? Toushiro is still missing…"
"We'll have to go back to Seireitei," Momo sighed, "I was hoping to find Toushiro and bring him back before anyone was aware of it, but by now this incident has surely come to the attention of the other Captains. We'll just have to turn ourselves in and tell them what happened. They'll send out others to find Toushiro. I wish things had turned out differently, but right now we have no other choice. Besides, we have to take this guy back for interrogation." Momo gestured at Aardo Verec, who was tied up in Momo's kido.
"I'm not talking!" he growled.
"No, not voluntarily. We'll let the Onmitsukido worry about that though. Come Karin, we should get back now."
No sooner had she said this however, something very strange happened. Appearing out of nowhere were a number of strange creatures. They were short, grey skinned beings with trollish faces and clawed hands. They were walking extremely slowly and awkwardly, almost as if they were drunk. Aardo grinned.
"Ha-ha! I'm saved!" he laughed. Momo began to raise her sword for a fight, but stopped when she sensed something odd.
"Karin, get down!" she yelled, pushing Karin to the ground. Mere moments after she said this, massive explosions tore through the bodies of the troll-like creatures.
When the smoke and flames cleared, Karin found herself in a bubble-like kido barrier created by Momo. The ground outside was charred, and mangled bits of troll littered the ground. Aardo, who was unprotected by the barrier, dissolved into dust. There was a loud, cackling laugh.
"Heeeeeeere's Usagi!"
Momo and Karin looked up to see a man standing on a strange black device that hovered in the air. He wore dark sunglasses and a black longcoat, and his blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. Momo glared up at him.
"Karin, stay here," she said. The barrier parted as Momo walked through it. Karin watched as she walked out, sword drawn. "Who are you? Identify yourself."
"I am Usagi Uzaki!" the man said with another laugh, "Allow me to congratulate you on defeating your enemies! It's a bit of a shame though; those were two of the last arrancars we had!"
"You didn't seem to be too concerned about that when you blew one of them up just now," Momo said, "Not to mention your killing of those other subordinates of yours."
"Oh, don't worry about them," Usagi chuckled, "They're just a bunch of barely sapient creatures doing grunt work. Killing a few of them doesn't matter."
"I don't like people who take such a dismissive tone when discussing their own subordinates," Momo said, her gaze hardening.
"Oh, well I guess we just do things a little differently," Usagi said.
"Who precisely is 'we'?" Momo asked. Usagi snorted in laughter and waved his finger mockingly at her.
"No, no, no, I can't tell you!" he snickered.
"Then I will have to take you prisoner by force," Momo said. She leapt into the air, drawing her sword as she attacked Usagi. The hovering glider he stood on twisted around, and Usagi produced a black rod with a pointed tip to block Momo's goals.
"Not bad. To be expected from Vice-Captain Hinamori, of course," Usagi said.
"How do you know my name?" Momo asked with a glare. Usagi chuckled and tapped the side of his dark glasses with his free hand.
"I see all," he said with a high pitched giggle.
Momo leapt back, standing in mid-air as she faced off against Usagi. She glanced down at the strange glider that Usagi stood upon. She quickly began thinking up a strategy. Judging from appearance, it seemed that Usagi was unable to solidify spirit particles under his feet as she was currently doing, and thus required the glider to remain in mid-air. If she could knock him off or destroy the glider, this fight would become much simpler. She pointed her finger at the glider, and a bolt of lightning burst forth. At the exact moment it would have hit however, Usagi disappeared. He didn't use shunpo or some similar technique, he simply disappeared. Momo stared blankly in shock.
"Surprised?"
Momo turned to see Usagi right behind her. She swiftly brought her sword around to cut at his head, but Usagi leaned back, dodging the blow and simultaneously thrusting his own weapon forwards, forcing Momo to block.
"Don't act so shocked, I told you that I see all," Usagi snickered, "I know of your skills with kido. That technique just now was Byakurai, was it not? Amazing that you were able to use it with neither the incantation nor the spell itself spoken aloud. That would be considered impossible by normal standards. You truly are gifted. Unfortunately, not gifted enough."
A cloud of thick red smoke was released from Usagi's glider. When it reached Momo's face, she coughed and closed her eyes, the smoke stinging and burning her eyes, nose, and throat. Usagi laughed, and disappeared behind the smoke cloud as Momo squinted her burning eyes.
"There's nothing you can do. I know everything about you," Usagi cackled, his voice seeming to come from all around, "Momo Hinamori, Vice-Captain of the Fifth Division. Spiritual pattern Delta. Reiatsu level 8 with 95% control. Spiritual manipulation at degree 9.27 with capacity of up to 325 spiritual units. Zanpakuto harmonization at seventh degree; bankai unachieved. Shikai control at 98%."
"What are you talking about?" Momo said, becoming rather unnerved as the cloud of smoke began to clear.
"I'm saying that I know exactly how strong you are and that I know exactly how to counter you," Usagi said, "The conclusion to this battle has already been decided."
"We'll see. Snap, Tobiume!" Momo said. Her zanpakuto straightened and produced several prongs. It glowed with energy as Momo launched a fireball from the tip at Usagi. He flew to the right with his glider, only to have the fireball curve towards him, and it was only by suddenly dropping in altitude that he avoided the attack.
"Don't think that you can pull any surprises on me. I already know that you can guide your energy blasts," Usagi said, "I know all of your tricks, and I can say with confidence that you are no threat to me. You're of no value whatsoever. But you don't need me telling you that. Your old Captain demonstrated that to a greater degree than I ever will."
Momo froze, her eyes wide. Memories of Aizen's betrayal and the pain he caused her filled her head. Usagi's grin widened.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hit a raw nerve? Sorry about that, I just found it so funny that you dedicated your entire life to that man and he tossed you aside like a used rag," he giggled, "Tell me, do you still have any positive memories of the forty or fifty years you spent serving him and worshipping him? Or is that entire portion of your life just a dark, meaningless void to you now? One of the most important parts of your life was based around a lie. How do you live with that? Please share."
"Shut up!" Momo yelled, rushing at Usagi. He flew away, dodging the blow from Momo's sword.
"You built yourself up with him as the foundation, and when he left you just came crumbling down. I'm actually quite jealous of ol' Aizen for having such a mindlessly loyal servant. I know that if it had been me in his position, I'd have had you on your knees in more ways than one. Tell me, how far would you have gone for him? I bet you would have given him quite a bit of fun if he asked you to. After all, you attacked your precious little 'Shiro-chan' for him, so it wouldn't surprise me if you had-"
"I said shut up!" Momo screamed, slashing at him viciously. This only made Usagi laugh more as he blocked the strike with the black rod.
"Who would have guessed that such a sweet little girl had such a temper," he said, "Was it the comment about how loyal you were to him or the comment about Toushiro Hitsugaya that set you off just now?"
"Don't even speak his name!" Momo said, launching another fireball that Usagi dodged.
"Ah, I guess it was the latter," Usagi giggled, "He always had a soft spot for you. It must have been like a punch to the gut when you betrayed him. It was certainly noble of him to forgive you, but I don't know how you can live yourself after betraying him like that."
"I didn't betray- I mean, I didn't mean… I didn't know what I was doing at the time! I wasn't thinking clearly! If I had been in my right mind, I never would have-"
"You can make excuses all day long, but the facts remain," Usagi said.
"I… You're right. I was wrong and made a horrible mistake, but Toushiro forgave me and-"
"I don't care about the details of the relationship of a couple of children, so don't bore me with them," Usagi said, "What I want to know is-"
"I'm getting tired of talking with you," Momo said, "Bakudo 9, Horin! Hado 31, Shakkaho!" Upon saying the first spell, a rope of yellow-orange energy came from Momo's hand and flew at Usagi. When the second spell was uttered, a blast of red energy was fired at Usagi. As he dodged the Shakkaho, the rope of energy from the other spell wrapped around his ankle. Before he had a chance to free himself, Momo tapped the rope of energy with her zanpakuto. The rope of energy lit up and exploded, creating a cloud of smoke.
For a moment, Momo thought she was victorious, but then a pair of metal balls attached to wires flew out from the smoke and wrapped around Momo's wrist. Usagi emerged from the smoke, snorting with laughter. The wires attached to the metal balls came from Usagi's right sleeve. Momo immediately raised her hands up for another attack, paying no attention to the objects wrapped around her wrist.
"Hado 58, Tenran!" she said. Instead of the wide, tornado-like blast of wind typical of the spell however, only a gentle gust of wind was produced. Usagi snorted with laughter.
"My spirit bolas disrupt the reiatsu of anyone they come in contact with. Not only do I now have you on a leash, the kido spells that you take so much pride in will be nearly useless!"
Momo panicked, and immediately began using kido spells, only to find that what Usagi said was true. Byakurai, Shakkaho, Sokatsui, Haien… they were all so weak that they were practically harmless. Laughing, Usagi reached into one of the pockets of his coat, pulling out a banana shaped object and tossing it at Momo.
"Bakudo 39, Enkosen!" she instinctively said. A circular shield of energy formed in front of her. However, due to the effect of Usagi's bolas, it only partially blocked the ensuing explosion. As Momo tried to steady herself, she realized that the wire cords attached to the bolas were tugging at her, drawing her closer to Usagi. She quickly tried to untie the bolas from around her wrists, but they seemed to be locked in place, and she ended up having to give up as Usagi got closer and closer.
"Your Kido is indeed impressive, but when you're deprived of it, you are of no consequence," Usagi said, thrusting his black rod forward, forcing Momo to parry it, "You really think that you have what it takes to become a Captain? Don't make me laugh. You're so inconsequential that it's a wonder they still keep you around! Remember when you tried to attack Toushiro Hitsu- Whoops! Sorry!" Usagi giggled as Momo slashed at him in retaliation for bringing up the sensitive subject again. "Remember when you attacked him?" Usagi repeated, "He intentionally tried his best to not hurt you, and he still knocked you out cold! Even going out of his way to give a weak blow, you were so fragile that he knocked you out effortlessly! To think that you still harbor delusions that you and him might someday become equals…"
"I'll readily admit that Toushiro is stronger than me," Momo said, "I'll also admit that I've been jealous at times, but… he's also my friend, and I'm proud of him for his accomplishments. If you intend to make me feel bitter towards him, then you're wasting your time."
"Oh, not bitter towards him. You should be feeling bitter towards yourself for being so weak!" Usagi said, "Really, of what consequence are you? You could work yourself to death trying to learn a new skill, and he could do it better in a fraction of the time! You could fight a long, grueling battle and emerge victorious, all while knowing that he could beat your opponent effortlessly. Captains of the Gotei 13 have their place as the primary fighting force of Soul Society and the lower level Shinigami have their place of grunt work and basic duties. People like you, however, who are neither strong enough to be a Captain nor know enough to relegate themselves to simple duties are just worthless. Any enemy you can fight a Captain can fight better. The only use you have is fighting the battles not worth a Captain's time."
"I don't need someone like you lecturing about the duties of Captains, the duties of Vice-Captains, and the duties of other Shinigami. All Shinigami have a place and a duty to perform. You vastly oversimplify things," Momo said.
"Whatever you say, girl; you know it's true though. You're not strong enough to be of any real use. If you were, maybe that Hitsugaya kid wouldn't have to keep getting hurt while trying to protect you."
"Shut up!" Momo yelled at him, rushing at him to attack. Due to the recklessness of the attack, Usagi's agility, and the bolas around her wrist, however, Usagi was able to dodge the attack while simultaneously delivering a strike that left a small cut across Momo's right shoulder.
"You lose," Usagi said with a wide smile. Almost immediately, Momo's right side began going numb. Her muscles became stiff and she found herself unable to move that side of her body. She quickly grabbed her zanpakuto, taking it in her left hand and striking at Usagi, who blocked it with his black rod.
"Not yet," she said, even as the numb area of her body grew larger and larger.
"Is that so?" Usagi grinned. He extended his left hand from his sleeve. Momo's eyes widened as she saw that he held a sleek, silver gun in his hand. She tried to break her sword away to attack him, but Usagi kept her blade locked with his weapon as he aimed the gun at her chest, grinning the entire time. "Goodbye."
---
Karin watched in shock as a bright blue blast of energy hit Momo. Usagi retracted the bolas back into his sleeve, and Momo fell from the sky, her chest smoldering.
"Momo!" Karin yelled, watching in horror as Momo's limp body fell to the ground. Her shout attracted Usagi's attention, who flew down on his glider so that he was hovering just off the ground in front of the sphere of energy Momo had made to protect Karin.
"Hmmmm…" he said to himself. He raised his pistol, and fired a bright blue energy blast at it. Karin flinched, but the shield held, absorbing the blast and rippling like water. Usagi fired several more shots at the shield, each one making a similar rippling pattern upon contact. Grumbling to himself, Usagi flicked a switch at the back of the pistol, and a silver casing was ejected. He fumbled with the gun for another moment before pressing a small button on the side and aiming again.
This time, the energy blasts were not in large bursts, but in small, needle-like bolts of energy that fired extremely fast, as if from a machine gun. They hit and rippled against the surface of the shield. Though they didn't seem to be doing much damage, after firing continuously for several minutes, the shield began to shudder, and soon burst like a bubble.
The moment that the barrier broke, Karin ran. She knew that this was an opponent she could not beat, and she wanted to get as far away as possible from him. He did not let her however. Usagi fired a burst of the small bolts of energy at her again, hitting Karin in the legs and causing her to fall to the ground. Panting, she looked up fearfully as Usagi floated lazily towards her on his glider.
"Hmm… Karin Kurosaki… You're new to the whole 'shinigami business' aren't you? You're far too weak and unrefined to have been a Shinigami for very long. Spiritual pattern Beta, and, let's see here…" Usagi began mumbling a bunch of nonsense words to himself before finally sighing, "Yes, you do have a bit of potential, but I'm afraid that you'll never be respected by your brother at the rate you're going. No wonder he always treats you like a baby." Karin's eyes widened in shock, but quickly hardened. She was disturbed that he knew about Ichigo, but she was also determined not to let him keep saying that sort of thing. With renewed strength, she began to stand up, attempting to draw her sword. Before she could do so however, Usagi swooped forward and jabbed her in the shoulder and her stomach with his sharpened black rod. Almost immediately, Karin felt numb, and fell back to the ground.
"No, no, no! I can't let you do that! If you're going to try something funny like that, I guess I'll just have to… Hmm, what's this?" Usagi suddenly said to himself, a look of intense interest spreading across his face. He tapped on the side of his head as he stared at Karin, a wide grin coming across his face. "My, my, you are an interesting one after all. Who would have thought…"
"What… what do you want?!" Karin said, trying to sound defiant. Usagi merely laughed softly to himself.
"Hey little girl, how would you like to come with me? You're a very interesting specimen whom I would much like to examine a bit more closely. Besides…" Usagi giggled to himself, "I always like having a pretty young girl around." Usagi let out a shriek of laughter, causing Karin to draw back as much as she could. As Usagi began to approach her however, he suddenly ducked.
His action was just in time. Had he reacted a second later, Momo's sword would have sliced off his head. After the first miss, she slashed at him again, with Usagi blocking with his black pointed stick. Momo glared into Usagi's dark glasses for a moment before suddenly collapsing to the ground, panting heavily. Usagi looked down at her for a moment before smirking and letting out a laugh.
"Amazing! You created armor out of kido to help you resist my attack! I should have known you did something funny, that blast should have blown your entire torso apart. It looks like you do have a few surprises after all. Unfortunately, surprises aren't what I'm after." Usagi positioned his rod so that the pointed end was just above Momo's neck. "Goodbye, Momo Hinamori."
Before he could deliver the finishing strike however, he quickly turned around to block a sudden attack from behind.
"Toushiro Hitsugaya!" he chuckled, staring down at the white haired Captain, "It's good to see you again!"
"I doubt you'll be so happy to have seen me after I'm through with you," Toushiro growled, preparing himself for battle.
Thanks for reading! Thank you to randomguy24, Chillis, DigiPal, MegaTank, Taeniaea, war90, Nightraze, The Great Pineapple MEKI, nexuswarrior, moonlightgabriel, and Hikari Droflum for reviewing last chapter! Please review!