Hey everyone. It's been a while. Well not really that long, but anyway I have the next chapter ready for you all. It is going to be the real captain's battles from here on out. Hope it will satisfy your reading pallet.
Disclaimer: I will say it again and it won't be the last time. I do not own bleach in any way except for my own characters and story.
The Demon Within
Chapter 29: Jushiro vs. imagination?
Normal POV
Jushiro Ukitake
The espada and Jushiro stood between old buildings which looked like a wreck from the aftermath of a battle. Jushiro already had his zanpakuto drawn aswell as the espada. They both begun to engage in battle. Their swords met each time as one attacked and on blocked. Not one of them could break through the other one's defence. The espada made a bold move and used sonido to get behind the captain. Jushiro instinctively flash stepped away from the espada due to years of battle experience. When there were some distance between them, a small smile crept on the espadas face.
"You fight well captain." the espada complemented.
"The same goes to you. Your speed and attack power is outstanding." Jushiro returned the compliment.
"Thank you."
"Mind telling me your rank and name?" Jushiro asked
"I'm espada number 106, Akihiko Hayashi. And you are?'
"Captain of squad 13, Jushiro Ukitake.
"Plesure to meet you captain. Now prepare for battle."
Jushiro and Akihiko stood ready, raising their swords in front of them. Akihiko made the first move and disappeared from Jushiro's sight. Scanning the area Jushiro didn't see Akihiko anywhere. That's when Jushiro realized that the espada was going to attack from above. Jushiro jumped back just in time to avoid the attack from Akihiko's blade. Jushiro was airborne as he jumped back and as soon as his feet hit the ground he charged at Akihiko. Jushiro swung his sword but was deflected be the espada. Akihiko countered by trying to stab the captain through the chest with his zanpakuto, but proved useless as Jushiro flash stepped away.
"Good instincts captain, but it will take more then that to beat me."
Akihiko charged at Jushiro and made an attempt to cut him. Jushiro blocked Akihiko's blade and now they were both locked in a stare. Jushiro was the first to brake and made an attempt to push Akihiko's blade to the side. It was a success and left him open for an attack. Jushiro swung his sword from his right horizontally to his left, cutting Akihiko across the chest. Akihiko stepped back not even flinching at the pain. He looked down at his wound and back up to Jushiro.
"You live up to the example of a captain. I'd expect nothing less from a captain."
"If we don't do that then what kind of role models and leaders would we be if we didn't live up to the responsibility of a captain."
"Inspiring words. Since you were able to cut me I will reveal my resurrection to you."
Akihiko raised his left arm to right above his head and the sword hung at his right side. His arm covered half of his face and then he glowed a bright yellow.
"Create, Sozo no tane."
A huge yellow orb started to expand and in no time Jushiro was caught inside of it. Jushiro looked around at the dome. There was nothing for miles as it was only yellow. Jushiro also noticed Akihiko was no longer where he was. Jushiro scanned the area but failed to see anything. He then concentrated and searched for Akihiko's spiritual pressure. Once again Jushiro could not sense him.
'Where could he be and what is this strange power that I'm feeling. It's not like anything I have felt before?' Jushiro thought to himself.
Almost on que grass materialized everywhere along with trees, hills, mountains and flowers. Jushiro also noticed a castle of some sort a good distance away from where he stood. Jushiro instantly raised his sword and readied himself for an attack. Jushiro stood a while waiting for Akihiko to reveal himself. Nothing happened for a while until Jushiro heard something.
"Welcome captain to the kingdom of Tranquility."
"Where are you, show yourself." Jushiro demanded.
"It won't be that simple my dear captain for you see I am in my castle waiting for you."
"What is this strange power of yours?"
"Sozo no tane uses my imagination to creat anything in the yellow sphere. Once you are inside you can't escape from here. I am also able to speak telepathicly to you so if you want to talk to me just yell and I will respond. I will demonstrate my power so you can understand it better.
A small blue light seeped from the ground and a wolf was now standing a few meters from Jushiro. The wolf looked harmless enough and didn't look all that powerful. The wolf then attacked Jushiro as it launched itself in the air and charged towards the captain. The wolf, unfortunately was way too slow for a captain level soul reaper. With one slice the wolf glowed a blue green colour and burst into tiny crystal fragments before disappearing into the sky.
"As you can see captain, anything I imagine becomes a reality. There is only one way to get out of this place. You should fight your way towards my castle and defeat me. Simple isn't it? Well I'll be waiting for you captain, but don't keep me waiting for too long. Good luck."
With that said Akihiko's voice disappeared leaving Jushiro alone with his thoughts. Jushiro gazed at the castle. It would take him a good while to get there, but if he wanted to escape this place he needs to head over there and defeat Akihiko. Jushiro started to jog and flash step his way in the direction of the castle. In no time creatures started to appear out no where and attack Jushiro.
Jushiro engaged his targets and eliminated every foe. There were wolfs and even ogres. Creatures that Jushiro have heard of in stories and some he has never seen or heard of. They were weak but they all came in masses of hundreds which made things difficult for Jushiro. He defeated one and three would reappear. The battle raged on with Jushiro as the victor. He was gasping for breath as he got tired from fighting countless enemies time after time. They may not do almost no damage but it still took a lot of energy to defeat the masses of monsters that made an attempt on his life.
Jushiro just finished of the last few remaining monsters and sheathed his sword. He begun his journey to the castle with a slow walk. Everything became quiet as Jushiro walked towards the castle. Upon stepping on the ground, a trap circle formed on the ground and grew bigger and brighter. Red light barriers shot op from the edge of the circle to prevent Jushiro from escaping. On guard, Jushiro drew his sword and stood ready for an attack, but a few moments passed and nothing happened.
"I see that you have activated on of the traps I set."
"A trap? What kind of trap is this?"
"Oo I forgot to mention it to you. How silly of me. Be wary of traps around my kingdom. The traps that I create will not kill you instantly so don't worry about dying just yet. It is more like a challenge that you need to do before the trap activates and kill you. If you fail to complete the challenge then you will die, complete the challenge and you will be set free. Once a trap is activated read the instructions."
Once again Akihiko's voice disappeared. Jushiro looked around only to see words typing in the air. Jushiro studied it. Once it was done Jushiro read what stood there. A sweat drop formed on his head and his eyes widened at what stood there.
"This has to be some sort of joke." Jushiro said with a bit of disbelieve.
Level 1 Riddle:
What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Time for completion:
5 minutes
Jushiro then started to think. If he didn't complete the riddle in five minutes he was going to die. How he would die he didn't know but he then decided to take this challenge head on. He re-read the riddle. He then started to ponder about it. With four and a half minutes left Jushiro thought of an answer.
"My name."
The letters correct formed above the riddle and a new one formed.
Level 2 Riddle:
What begins with a T, ends with a T and has T in it?
Time for completion:
4 minutes
Jushiro thought about it carefully. The letter T. Everything was focused on T. It was probably a trick question. Jushiro started to think outside the box. After one minute Jushiro laughed a bit.
"Teapot"
The letters correct formed above the riddle and a new one formed
Level 3 Riddle:
Feed me and I live, Give me something to drink and I'll die, What am I?
Time for completion
3 minutes
Jushiro was having a hard time with this one. He paced around thinking for most of the time. He looked at the time and saw that he had less than one minute left. He repeated the riddle in his head hoping that it will make him think of something. With ten seconds remaining Jushiro could not help but panic a bit. He still didn't have an answer. Somehow he thought about something. It was obviously but well hidden by the riddle. There was three seconds left.
"Fire!" Jushiro screamed and the time stopped at one second. The correct letters formed above the riddle along with challenge completed. The circle started to to shake and then shattered into crystal fragments. Jushiro gave a sigh as he went back to advancing on the castle which held Akihiko somewhere inside.
Almost 20 minutes of walking, Jushiro was now standing in front the collosel wooden doors of the castle. Jushiro gave the doors a push which caused the doors to slowly slide open. When the doors stopped a loud bang was heard as it echoed through the castle. Jushiro entered and looked around. There were statues of old roman gods on the side. Red carpets with gold lashes on the side decorated the floor which gave him a 'welcome' feeling. Crystal chandeliers hung from the roof above that light up the room perfectly. Water fountains were built into the side walls with dolphins spitting out the water. Jushiro was amazed at how grand and amazing the place looked. Jushiro quickly got his senses back and started to search for Akihiko. Monsters started to appear in the castle and attacked Jushiro, but fell before the captain in no time. Jushiro searched the castle for Akihiko he walked blindly and not knowing where to look.
"Where could he be? This castle is already so big?"
There was a small pause.
"That's it, the throne room!" Jushiro exclaimed as he ran towards the room where Akihiko might be. Jushiro saw big doors at some point in the castle, but monsters appeared which made him change course and forget about the doors.
'Why didn't I check in there?' He thought to himself.
Moments later Jushiro looked at the big metal doors at the end of the long corridor that would lead towards the throne room. Jushiro walked and thought about how he was going to defeat Akihiko when he is in his own world. Jushiro failed to notice the trap and in no time was caught in the circle.
"Damn, what do I have to do now?" Jushiro asked.
The earth started to shake and cracks formed on the ground. Jushiro notice a hand that stretched out and and pushed down on the ground to help get out of the hole. When the creature was out and standing in front of Jushiro, he could see it clearly. It was a big minotaur. He was at least two body's bigger then Jushiro. He wore black armour around his chest, arms and legs. From what Jushiro could see is that it would be almost impossible to land a blow from the front because of the armour. The minotaur had a long blade that curved slightly up at the end and had a gut hook design at the tip. Jushiro noticed words on the circle at the top of the minotaur.
Challenge:
Defeat the minotaur
Time remaining:
5 minutes
Jushiro saw the timer starting to count down. He wasted no time and charged at the minotaur. The huge blade of the minotaur came down upon Jushiro which he easily avoided by jumping to the side. He charged again and swung his sword. Jushiro's zanpakuto connected with the armour, but it didn't shatter. The minotaur took his open hand and tried to punch the captain, but Jushiro flash stepped away. The minotaur had continued his assault on the captain. As soon as it wanted to land a fatal blow on Jushiro, he would use flash step to avoid the attack.
The minotaur saw the captain a few meters away after he used flash step to avoid one of his deadly blows and started to make a dash towards him. Jushiro readied himself, as soon as the minotaur tried to pierce the captain's body with his sword Jushiro jumped over his head and landed behind him. The sword pierced the ground instead and was dug deep into the ground. When Jushiro turned around he saw that the minotaur's back had almost no armour and was exposed.
Jushiro had uncovered the weak spot and his chances of victory. He quickly glanced over his shoulder and at the clock. There was two minutes left to defeat this minotaur. Jushiro focused back on his enemy who was now attacking him again. Jushiro then flash stepped a few times and came up behind the minotaur. He jumped up to it's back and with ons sweep of his sword he made a deep cut wound in it's back.
The minotaur roared with anger and pain. Quickly it turned around and swung his sword which Jushiro blocked, but in doing so Jushiro was sent flying in the opposite direction. Jushiro regained his balance in the air and landed on his feet. When he looked up the creature was upon him and bringing down it's sword to deliver the finishing blow. Jushiro flash stepped to the right and jumped up in the air. He then charged at the minotaur and stabbed the monster in the back and through it's heart. Jushiro jumped of to see the creature slowly blurring and then burst into fragments before disappearing.
Jushiro let out a few breaths as he gazed upon the timers. There was still just more then a minute left to spare. The circle disappeared and Jushiro made his way to the doors. When Jushiro wanted to push the doors they seemed to open by themselves. When the doors were open Akihiko was sitting on the throne with a smile on his face.
He still wore the same espada uniform, but his mask had covered his cheeks, left arm and left leg. He had no longer a zanpakuto but instead he had a bagh nakh (tiger claws) and a gauntlet on his left hand and arm and a saber in his right hand. He stood up from his throne and walked towards the captain. He stopped a few meters away from Jushiro and smiled.
"Welcome to the throne room captain. I must congratulate you for making it this far. As promised you will get your chance and fight me one on one. There won't be any interruptions, no minions and traps. As a bonus I will creat a trap that will benefit you. For ten minutes I won't be able to use any of my powers."
A circle formed throughout the entire throne room and a timer showed high in the sky and will only start to count down when the battle begin. Jushiro wasn't sure why Akihiko would do this. Why weaken yourself if your enemy is weak and vulnerable. In truth Jushiro was fairly tired. His legs and arms were burning with pain from his battles. The monsters and creatures he faced wasn't all that strong. Not even once did he think of using his shikai. The true intention of the attacks were to tire him out and weaken him. It worked in the end but Jushiro wasn't about to give up.
"Now Akihiko, you have showed me your power. Allow me to show you mine."
Jushiro took a step forward with his left foot and rested his sword on his right side. His left hand was at the side of his sword at the guard.
"All waves rise now and become my shield. Lightning strike now and become my blade."
Another blade seem to come out of his original one. With one swift movement he slashed the air in front of him, crossing his arm with the two swords in his hands.
"Sogyonokotowari"
Akihiko gave a sly smile at the captain's shikai release.
"Impressive. Duel wielding is fairly rare in soul reapers right. If I'm correct there are only two people including you who has dual weapons in shikai right?"
"Yes you are. Only Shunsui and myself has two swords in our shikai."
"I think this is enough talk for one day. Why don't we get on with our battle?"
Jushiro and Akihiko took a defensive stance as they eyed each other. Once they engage in battle the timer will activate and Jushiro would have ten minutes to defeat Akihiko otherwise things will get much more difficult for him. Jushiro charged at Akihiko and the timer started it's countdown. With his right hand sword he slashed at Akihiko, but was stopped by the gauntlet on his arm. Jushiro then attacked with his left handed sword which was blocked by Akihiko's saber.
Akihiko pushed the sword away with his gauntlet and attacked the captain with his bagh nakh. Jushiro ducked and the attack went wide over his head. Jushiro reacted by sweeping both his swords at the espadas feet. Akihiko jumped into the air and avoided a fatal wound. He then brought his saber down towards the captain, hoping he could end things here, but his saber was blocked.
Akihiko then pushed himself of the captain's sword to make a front flip and land behind the captain. He swung his left hand backwards while turning around to try and cut Jushiro with the claws.
"Hado # 1, sho." Jushiro said while pointing his finger over his shoulder.
Akihiko was sent sliding along the ground. He stopped a few paces away from the captain. Akihiko then laughed as he rubbed his cheek from where the kido had hit him.
"Good hit captain. I see that you are very lucky today."
Jushiro was a bit unsure of what was about to happen when the timer was at zero. He doesn't know the full extent of the espadas powers, but he had an idea. If he can imagine anything he can make it real and that could really get out of hand if he imagines the right things.
The two charged at the same time and their weapons met. Jushiro stabed at Akihiko but was blocked by his gauntlet. Shortly after that Jushiro attacked Akihiko with both his swords swinging and striking from all sides. First a strike from up high then one from down below then from each side. He repeated this attack but Akihiko blocked every blow. On one hit where Akihiko used his gauntlet he pushed Jushiro's sword up into the air which broke his rhythm. With one thrust of his saber he aimed it at the captains head.
Jushiro made an X shape with his sword and blocked the saber. But was launched into the air. He regained control and descended to the ground. As he looked up he saw Akihiko charge at him. He turned his left shoulder against the captain and in one movement swept his arm with his bagh nakh. Captain Ukitake felt the claws cutting his chest. He jumped backwards and looked at his wound. Blood was beginning to pour from his wound, but at a slow pace. It wasn't fatal but would bring him down later if he didn't finish this battle quickly.
He then charged at the espada and with his right sword held out in front of him attacked the espada. Akihiko lifted his left arm and blocked the strike with his gauntlet. Yellow energy burst from the gauntlet as the sword hit it. Akihiko took a step to the side and Jushiro flash stepped until he was behind his opponent attack continued behind him. Jushiro stopped and turned around to face his opponent as he passed him with his last stab attempt at Akihiko's back.
"Is the weapons you use also what you imagined?" Jushiro asked.
"Yes it is."
"Then how could they be this strong to block direct attacks from my zanpakuto?"
"I fill them up with my own spirit energy which increases their attack and defence capability. In other words the more energy I put into them the better the defence and attack powers become."
"I see."
The two stared at each other for a short time before disappearing. Jushiro attacked the espada with his left hand sword, but was blocked by the saber. Akihiko pushed the sword away and with his claws made an attempt at the captain's face. Jushiro took a step back and avoided the claws. Both of them then attacked with their right handed weapon and the two swords clashed between them. Jushiro flash stepped behind Akihiko and charged at him. With fast reflexes, Akihiko turned around and thrusted his saber towards the soul reapers head. Jushiro used his left handed sword to push the saber past his face, which only left a scratch.
This continued for a while. Each one trading blows and the other blocking or avoiding the attack. Jushiro decided to make a bold move and flash stepped. Akihiko thought he was going to reappear either behind or above him. What shocked him was that the captain only flash stepped a few inches forward and his sword was racing towards him. The sword pierced the left shoulder of the espada. Blood burst out from the wound, making Akihiko grunt. He swung his saber towards Jushiro but the captain flash stepped away.
Akihiko was now inhaling deeper and faster breath's. He looked towards the time and saw that there was two minutes left. If only he can survive until then. He needed to think of something before the soul reaper ended his life. He didn't have much strength left in him.
"I'm sorry it has to end this way Akihiko. You are a great warrior."
Before he could say anything, he felt a pain through his chest. Slowly he looked down to see a blade coming out of his chest. He turned his head to see Jushiro behind him with his blade piercing his body. He then felt the blade being pulled out from him. Akihiko was making his decent to the ground. First falling to his knees and then his torso. The blood stopped flowing from his body and he glowed a bright blue-green before shattering.
Jushiro looked around to see the same is happening to the castle and the dome. In a few short moments everything of Akihiko's imagination shattered and Jushiro was standing in the same area he fought. He sensed that all hell was breaking loose in the soul society. He used flash step and raced towards his squad members to get a full report on what is happening.
Well hope you like this chapter. I had some difficulty thinking about what Akihiko's powers would be, but then came up with that. Hope you liked it and the battle. Would like to hear all your thoughts in the form of a review. I also want to thank everyone that has reviewed my story so far. You guys and gals rock :)...Sorry if there is some spelling errors. I was tired and fixed as much mistakes as possible. Thank you.
