Chapter 28 - With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?
"Was that meant to be funny?" asked Rangiku, staring at Nesikk cautiously.
Nesikk merely shrugged as the smile on his face disappeared. "I was just trying to lighten the mood a little. Your death would seem a little less tragic that way."
Rangiku's face turned sour. "Death? Yours will be sooner than mine." She raised her right arm up in an arc and her Shikai followed that direction, moving towards Nesikk. He didn't move, instead his entire body became blurred slightly and her attack went through him, doing nothing.
"If that's all you have then you should probably take back those tough words."
Rangiku's irritation increased and she waved her arm about frantically sending her Shikai to repeatedly attack Nesikk. But still, nothing touched him. It was as if he was a ghost.
Rangiku stopped and pulled her Shikai back into normal its sword form. "Is that it? Given up?" asked Nesikk arrogantly.
"If my sword won't work I'll try something else," Rangiku thought and sheathed her sword. "Hado 31, Red Flame Cannon!" She fired a flaming ball at Nesikk who raised his tomahawk and sliced through the attack. "Bakudo 4, Crawling Rope!" Rangiku threw out a yellow rope of energy. Nesikk was caught by surprise and the rope wrapped around his body, binding his arms.
"You're starting to irritate and bore me," sighed Nesikk. "Though I have no idea how that works, but who cares!" Nesikk blurred again and the rope binding him fell through him.
He brought his weapon's mouthpiece to his mouth, then inhaled and exhaled repeatedly at regular intervals. Smoke started rising out from the pipe end of his weapon. Rangiku jumped back, cautious of Nesikk's attack. But she didn't jump back far enough. As soon as the smoke started to rise out of his pipe, it spread out like wildfire and within seconds a radius of over 100 metres was covered with a thick black cloud of smoke.
Rangiku immediately held her breath, but it was already far too late, she had inhaled a small about of the smoke and it felt like acid burning away her windpipe. She dropped to her knees choking, gasping for air but only found poisonous smoke.
Nesikk attacked swiftly and aimed for a quick kill, but Rangiku surprisingly found the strength to hold her weapon up to block. She got back on her feet but her face was pale and sweat was pouring down her forehead. She didn't have long.
Nesikk moved again, he made a horizontal slash, aiming for her neck once more. Rangiku could barely raise her sword to block and because of her weak grip, her sword was knocked out of her hand. Nesikk followed on and kicked her in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of her and she collapsed.
Toshiro sensed Rangiku's fading spiritual pressure and turned to see nothing but black smoke. "Rangiku!" he shouted towards it, but got no reply. "Dammit," he cursed, but when he turned back to Jozepp, he had moved away from him as if inviting him to leave the fight. Toshiro didn't have much time to think so he moved swiftly for the smoke cloud.
He slashed his sword down ferociously whipping up a huge hail storm and blew the entire smoke cloud away. He saw Rangiku lying there and picked her up.
"Sorry… captain…" she whispered and fainted. Anger filled Toshiro and he turned to Nesikk. He flash stepped away and set her down somewhere safe before appearing back at the fight.
"One down, one more to go," said Nesikk with a twisted smile.
Toshiro said nothing. He flapped his ice wings once and took off at Nesikk with incredible speed and slashed through him. However he wasn't surprised by his failed attack. Then Nesikk knew why. He froze in shock as every part of his body was starting to turn to ice from where Toshiro had slashed.
"What's this? What did you do?" he shouted, turning to Toshiro pointing a blaming finger.
"I froze you. I knew your power from the instant I slashed you. You turn your body into smoke meaning nothing can touch you. But if I stop you from turning to smoke, then you're dead."
"You! I won't forgive you!" he managed to scream out before his entire body froze. Toshiro walked away and the icicle shattered.
Jozepp walked slowly and yawned as he arrived near Toshiro. "I heard some noise, anything big happening?" he asked, as though he just woke up.
"Your comrade is dead. Yet you walked off and watch. Don't you care what happens to those who risk their lives with you?" Toshiro asked.
"Comrade you say? Risks his life? It is a time of war, child. If you don't risk your life then you don't belong here. Yes, he was a comrade, but so are all the other hollows and arrancar here. Do you think I have time to care for everyone that dies? He is but another person. When another person dies in war, nothing changes. But if you want to continue our fight then I will oblige."
"Your views are wrong, and you'll never win a war this way. All lives are precious. Since I can't talk you into changing your mind, I will force you to!" Toshiro shouted and moved to attack Jozepp again.
Ai looked slightly worried after hearing that a second attack could kill her, but her posture stayed the same. "If you hit me again in the same spot you can kill me? Is that meant to scare me?"
"No, I was educating you on my ability. You've been warned," Soifon stated.
"What a useless ability. You won't ever reach me again. The first time was a fluke."
"Say what you want now, I won't have to hear you again in a few minutes," said Soifon confidently, and moved for Ai again.
"It is you who won't be heard soon," said Ai and pointed her sword at her heart. "Breathe, Renacimiento." She plunged her sword into her chest, which exploded with a huge mass of spiritual pressure. The pressure, and Soifon's shock at Ai's stab, stopped her for a moment. But after the pressure it had passed Soifon resumed her advance. When she was within a few metres of her, Soifon jumped and aimed for the butterfly mark.
Ai removed her blade at that time which now looked like it was made of blood. Her skull necklace lengthened out and drew blood from her chest and back. Blood also dripped onto the ground from her skull earrings.
Suddenly, hands reached out from the ground and two bodies jumped out to block Soifon's attack. Taken off guard, Soifon retreated to a safe distance. She didn't recognise the two new people who had arrived as Ai's reinforcements, but she did notice that they both had blank eyes and blood red hair.
"What's this?" Soifon asked.
"My resurreccion. My blood continues to flow during my resurreccion, and it will seek out genetic signatures. It will then absorb that genetic code and bring the being that it belongs to back to life under my total control. And the two you see before you are my good friends, who have already perished in this war. Let me introduce Yulna Onnell and Hanna Meirrh," said Ai, indicating the respective persons.
Soifon frowned, "Quite a sick ability. Do you not care for the dead? They were your comrades in battle and yet you use them like any pawn."
"Comrades you say? What are comrades? All I see are empty carcasses waiting to serve me," said Ai. "Because my power is my God. Everyone else is merely a tool for me to use. Even my captain, if he dies all he will do is serve me. Everyone will serve me. I only joined this group to have more servants, if I ever needed them."
Soifon's face changed to disgust, "You're a sick person, and you don't belong in this world," she said angrily. "The sooner you're gone, the better for everyone."
"You can't beat me, I have the power of God in my hands." Soifon ignored her and moved to attack. Ai waved her sword and commanded the reanimated Yulna and Hanna to attack.
Soifon met Yulna head on in a deadlock of weapons. Hanna snuck up behind Soifon and slashed, but she was long gone. Soifon flash stepped back, then launched herself forward and delivered a quick kick to Hanna's back, knocking her down.
Yulna's eyes widened slightly, and she brought her sword up, ready to release her resurreccion. Soifon reacted quickly, flash stepping forward and stabbing her blade into Yulna's chest and back. The butterfly mark appeared on both wounds, and Yulna quickly turned back into blood, splashing on the ground.
Hanna finally got up, and she started to nervously back away. Ai saw this and gestured, and Hanna's body fell limp for a second, before her face wore a determined look. Soifon didn't care and attacked, feigning left before moving right and delivering a sharp kick to Hanna's side. Soifon then aimed her blade at Hanna's abdomen, stabbing her in the same spot twice. The butterfly mark appeared on Hanna, who then quickly burst into blood again, and Soifon turned back to Ai.
"Were these two originally this weak? Or is it because your 'God' ability is far from perfection?"
Ai wasn't provoked by the taunt and kept her composure. "Say what you will. The result will be the same." She then gestured, and another hand shot out of the ground.
"Of course it will, and you'll be no more." A white mist suddenly appeared around Soifon coating her like armour. She threw her Haori off and shouted, "Shunko!" The ground around her cracked and turned to dust. She smirked at Ai. A sudden burst of energy from Soifon's back drove her forwards faster than a jet, giving Ai no time to react. Soifon stabbed her where she stabbed before and quickly fell back to where she was.
Ai fell to her knees. She could feel Soifon's poison working. Her insides were dissolving and her outside was rotting away.
"You won't live after this," stated Soifon. "Everything will be gone. Nothing of you will remain. That means you're never coming back."
Ai strained to stand up again. "I am still a God, soul reaper," she started. "My powers still dwarf even a captain-level soul reaper's. My powers determine the outcomes of life and death. I have lived thousands of lives. You haven't even lived your single life to its fullest." She smirked slightly. "Even in death, I will transcend both the soul reapers and the arrancar. I am the true God!" She then disintegrated. A huge butterfly mark appeared in her place and then vanished along with her.
Two rows of blade like pillars rose up in front of Byakuya, as though unveiling a path for him to walk. He slowly strolled between the two rows and stopped when he was in front of them. "This is the difference between you and I," he stated and the blade-like pillars all shattered into tiny pink pieces.
Jose let out a curt laugh and smirked. "And it's that difference that will make you my first kill!" He then also held his sword out in front of him and let go. The sword vanished into the ground just like Byakuya's. "Reflect, Espejo!" Byakuya, although taken aback, as he saw his Bankai rise out of the ground from someone else's sword, remained calm.
Behind both Jose and Byakuya were two huge clouds of pink blades. "I don't care what trickery you use, but the end result will remain unchanged," said Byakuya.
Jose laughed again, "This is no trick I can assure you. This is my resurreccion." He raised his arm and directed his cloud of blades at Byakuya, who reacted and directed his own Bankai to match Jose.
The two attacks met in stalemate. But after only a few seconds the stronger one was made clear as Jose's attack overwhelmed Byakuya and crashed down at him. Byakuya flash stepped upwards but Jose's attack followed. He then moved his cloud of blades to meet Jose's attack again, but like before, Jose's attack overpowered his. It then continued on and overwhelmed Byakuya and sent him crashing into the ground.
"The difference between you and I?" laughed Jose. "I'll tell you what difference that is. It's that I'm always stronger. I am one of the strongest arrancar that ever lived. It's because of my resurreccion. It has no shape of its own, but it can copy any other sword and give me full use of it and a power boost on top. So do you now see? No matter who faces me, they'll just have their abilities and power thrown back at them with increased force. So no matter who I'm up against, I will always be more powerful!"
Byakuya listened with confidence in his stance and asked, "Is that so? Are you so naïve as to think power is everything? If you do, then you have been sorely misguided." His blades stopped following him and instead spread out in a circle around the two. "Senkei," he said and the blades rose up forming a whirlwind and shone out a blinding pink light. When everything cleared the two now stood in a cylindrical space bordered off by a large black curtain. Seconds later pink swords started to form around the two, following the cylindrical shape of the area and lined up neatly in four rows on top of each other. The swords span around perpetually as if waiting for Byakuya's orders.
"So this is another one of your abilities?" Jose smirked. "Nothing I can't copy." But before he could say anything else Byakuya was in front of him.
A sword fell from the row and fell neatly into Byakuya's hand, who then, in one fluid motion, stabbed him in the stomach. "Do you know your weakness? You may be more powerful than the original user but that's all. We captains have spent hundreds of years honing out skills to use our swords to the best of their abilities, and we know them better than anyone. Do you really think you can win just by overpowering us?"
Blood dripped out from Jose mouth and a slight expression of worry crept into his face. "You're wrong. All my opponents lose their nerve when they see their own attacks thrown back at them. No one can fight themselves, especially when my power is greater!" screamed Jose and rammed down his blades into Byakuya in front of him.
Byakuya swiftly flash stepped behind him and stabbed through his back. "When you don't use your hand to direct the blades then its speed is cut in half," he stated and flash stepped to a distance. "Do you get it now? You might've been able to win fights in the past, most likely because those you face aren't very skilled with their weapons. But you can't hope to win against someone who has mastered their sword to perfection."
Byakuya now held his sword in front of him. The swords around the walls vanished, gathered behind him and exploded in a huge burst of spiritual pressure to form white wings on his back. "Shuukei, Hakuteiken. This is the final form of my sword. But what would you know?"
Jose's facial expression turned into anger. As he turned to face Byakuya, the two swords had vanished and now blood was pouring out his wounds. "Power is absolute. Nothing can beat power! You will die now!" he shouted, directing all his blades at Byakuya. "Taste the power of your own sword!"
Byakuya charged straight into the blades. He sliced upwards and cleared them with one stroke. The shock froze Jose to the spot. Byakuya flash stepped forwards and before Jose could ever move again, sliced him in half.
"Pitiful misguided fool."
