What's up, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it.
Chapter 29
Patricide messes with your head
Many years ago, Seireitei, Black Ops underground garden
BOOM!
"Son of a-"
CRASH! Right through a tree
"Mother fuc-"
CRASH! Through another tree
"Cow herding-"
CRASH! Another tree
"Old-"
CRASH! That was the wall this time.
"Ugh," groaned Kuroda as he tried to check as how many bones he'd broken this time, though that was incredibly hard to do considering he was now stuck in the rock wall of the cavern.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take," he muttered to himself and he dislodged his right arm,
"You're going to take as much as I say you're going to take!" roared Taiju, the lieutenant of Black Ops suddenly appeared in the air with his sword raised above his head, ready to slice Kuroda right down the middle.
"Oh shit!" he cursed, quickly pulling himself out of the wall and raising AnShen
The two blades crashed against each other with a horrid screech of metal, Taiju laughed as he broke away, "still got some fight in you huh? You can always quit!"
"I'll quit when you're in the ground old man!" growled Kuroda, "Unleash Chaos: AnShen!"
Kuroda's zanpaktou unleashed a mighty burst of red reiatsu, enveloping both itself and Kuroda. When the red curtain was drawn away, AnShen had morphed into a 4ft long red blade with a cold black grip.
"Heh, calling to your zanpaktou already? I haven't even broken your arm yet! Fine, if that's the way we're gonna play," Taiju stretched out his zanpaktou, "Charge: Shintou Mori!"
Taiju's zanpaktou similarly released a burst of blue reiatsu that completely obscured him from Kuroda's view. A moment later and the reiatsu dissipated. Taiju now held an 8 foot long lance, the entire thing was a giant solid piece of metal with a sharpened head at both ends and two hand guards.
"Let's go!" Taiju charged for with Shintou Mori leading the way, Kuroda raised AnShen and blocked the attack though it pushed him back and shoved him into the wall.
A moment later and an incredible explosion enveloped him,
"What an idiot," laughed Taiju, "he should know by now that the special impact oil coating my Shintou Mori makes blocking impossible."
A few seconds passed as Taiju waited for the cloud of dust to blow away.
"Oi, kid! You still alive in there?"
"Shino Kabe!"
Taiju's eyes widened as he felt the black wave of death descend upon him; he whipped around just in time to see the hundred damned souls coming right at him.
"Tricky little bastard," Taiju smirked, he thrust out Shintou Mori's head right into the wall of death, the wave exploded, leaving him completely unharmed.
"Rah!" Kuroda growled as he burst through the smoke, swing AnShen to decapitate his foster father.
"Heh" Taiju gripped the handle of his lance with both hands and swung the back head towards Kuroda, nearly catching the boy off guard.
Nearly.
Kuroda through up AnShen at the last minute, blocking what could have been a nasty blow to the head.
"What's the matter old man? Aren't you gonna blow me up?" asked Kuroda, Taiju was silent, "Oh that's right, only head on collisions set it off"
"Cocky brat," muttered Taiju, without warning he struck out with his right foot, catching Kuroda right in the ribs.
The single blow sent Kuroda tumbling across the cavern floor.
"Crap," cursed Kuroda as he pushed himself up,
"The zanpaktou isn't the only weapon a shinigami has," scolded Taiju,
Kuroda growled and shot forth,
"Shibou Ryuu!"
He swung his sword and let loose a hellish missile aimed right for his father.
Taiju met the charge head on and thrust Shintou Mori forward; its head struck the missile and blew it to smithereens.
'Here he comes'
As predicted, Kuroda came bursting out of the smoke.
"You're getting too predictable kid!" Taiju swung his lance just as he had before, only this time Kuroda ducked under the attack.
Up came Kuroda's knee, right into Taiju's jaw. The blow sent the lieutenant rocketing up towards the ceiling, then crashing back down into the ground.
Taiju emerged from the dust rubbing his jaw, "not bad"
"Tired old man?" taunted Kuroda,
"Heh," Taiju pushed himself up from the dirt, "what the he'll are you talking about? I'm just getting warmed up!"
"Bring it!"
The two charged with epic zeal on their face as they anticipated their clash.
!
"Ah! Son of a-, Mom!"
"Itsumi!"
"Lunch time!" she called,
"Oh, okay, was kind of getting hungry anyway," said Kuroda, sealing his zanpaktou back,
"Yeah, me too, wailing on you works up an appetite," agreed Taiju,
"Shut up old man," growled Kuroda as they walked back,
"Mind your elders," Taiju shot back,
A few seconds of silence, "wonder what you're mom made,"
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"Mmm, coconut shrimp, my favorite," complimented Taiju as he stuffed another of those heavenly golden suckers into his mouth, "amazing as always dear."
"Don't talk with your mouth full dear," scolded Itsumi,
"Sorry,"
Kuroda snickered at his father as he ate his own food.
"You have no right to laugh young man, you are just as bad, look at how messy your side of the table is," pointed out Itsumi,
Kuroda blushed slightly, "sorry mom,"
"Just clean it up later Kuroda or you'll be doing your fathers chores in addition to your own,"
Kuroda gaped, Taiju snickered.
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"I need to go see the Commander," said Taiju, "I'll see you later kid,"
"Sure thing and stop calling me kid,"
"Sure kid," mocked Taiju as he walked away,
"Stupid old man," smirked Kuroda as he too left, as he walked through the streets of Seireitei, he asked himself, "what should I do today? It's been pretty slow the whole week, no missions at all."
"And just what is wrong with no missions?" asked a voice,
He looked up to see Kaito, lounging about lazily on top of a wall. "No missions means more time to relax, drink, and meet nice girls."
Kuroda chuckled, "uh huh, emphasis on girls"
"But of course," said Kaito, sitting up, "what is the life of a man without women to comfort him."
"Oh do tell," Kuroda said sarcastically, of course Kaito took it literally,
"Of course I will," said Kaito, jumping down, "Women are the greatest thing in the world. For example, they are such fun to look at, especially when they're smoking hot! Remember that blond I saw last night?"
"How could I forget,"
"Yeah, nice body on that one. She had great legs, perfect shape, nice and slender. Her waist, fit, flat, got the curves in the right places. Face, a little on the pale side, but pretty good. Then there were her boobs, a little shy, but she makes it work. Don't you just love staring at their little valleys, wondering what it would be like to touch all of that?"
"Every day," lied Kuroda,
"Don't they just ignite the fire in you?" asked Kaito, a little lost in his own fantasy realm,
"Mmhmm, I'm sure they ignite something in you," chuckled Kuroda, "whatever happened to the girl anyway?"
"Oh, well, she took me back to her division's barracks and we ban-"
"Okay, okay, I get it, you're a big studly man whore," Kuroda quickly said,
"Yeah I'm a, I'm a what?"
"Man whore," repeated Kuroda, "that's what I call guys who sleep around with a whole bunch of women,"
"Why don't you just use stud?" asked Kaito,
"Because that implies congratulations, which I do not wish to give you," answered Kuroda,
"Aw whatever, you're just jealous that I'm getting all the girls while you're still stuck on one," teased Kaito,
"I'm not stuck on anyone,"
"Sure, I totally believe you," Kaito replied, voice dripping with sarcasm, "I so don't believe that you're in love with a certain purple haired cat girl."
"Kaito, I'm warning you"
"Kuroda and Yoruichi, sitting in a tree," sang Kaito, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
"Alright that's it, come here!" Kuroda lunged for Kaito and caught him in a headlock, "take it back! Take it back!"
"Aggggh" chocked Kaito, "I tagh iggght baghk!"
"Good," said Kuroda, releasing his prisoner,
Kaito sucked in a huge breath of air before let out a loud and rather dramatic gasp, "jeez dude, you've got an arm!"
"You asked for it," pointed out Kuroda,
"Yeah, I suppose, but seriously man," said Kaito, regaining his devilish glint, "when are you and Yoruichi going to…"
"going to what?" asked Kuroda, though he dreaded the answer,
"You know," smiled Kaito, he put his hands out in front of him and began to thrust his pelvis forward,
"What the hell are you doing?" asked a new voice,
Both of them turned, to see Rajin walking down the street.
"Oh, Rajin!" called out Kaito, "I was just asking Kuroda when he was going to do this, to Yoruichi."
"And Kuroda wishes you wouldn't," said Kuroda,
"I'm in agreement with Kuroda," said Rajin, "there isn't any need for the visual."
"Fine, I'll stop," conceded Kaito, "ooh, look at that hottie,"
Kuroda and Rajin reluctantly turned to the direction that Kaito was pointing. He was pointing at an admittedly attractive female shinigami who seemed to be perusing the wares of one of the local stands selling what looked to be jewelry.
"What do you think?" asked Kaito, "she is F-I-N-E! Don't you think?"
"She's pretty," admitted Rajin,
"Sure," said Kuroda,
"What would you give her?"
"We are not rating the women we see Kaito," growled Kuroda,
"I'd give her, a B+" said Kaito, completely ignoring his friend, "I mean just look at her, velvety brown hair. Skin that's not too tanned and not too pale. Pretty good figure, pretty good boobs, nice butt too. Man, I wish the girl's uniforms showed a little more skin! Can barely see anything in those shihakusho."
"And yet you somehow managed to determine all of that," commented Rajin,
"Hey, look at that one!" said Kaito, pointing in a new direction,
With a sigh, Rajin and Kuroda turned to see.
"You guys see that dark haired beauty over there with the green eyes?"
"Yes," they both said,
"She's definitely got it going on," drooled Kaito, "definitely,"
"I will never get used to this," muttered Rajin, "I seriously think we should take some time to look for a therapist."
"It would never work," said Kuroda,
"Screw you guys, the only problem I have, is that I'm a man!" proclaimed Kaito, "I've been trying to help you two with your problem, but I just can't do it for some reason. Remember that one time I tried to hook the two of you up with those two girls?"
"Unfortunately yes," replied Rajin,
"You two totally ran off from them!"
"We had an emergency mission," Kuroda pointed out,
"Detail details, point is you two passed up two very nice ladies, both of whom I had to take back and comfort…all…night…long," Kaito said dreamily,
"My heart aches for you," mocked Rajin,
"It should, because I-whoa!"
"Kaito, we are not going to look at another-" Rajin was interrupted when Kaito grabbed his head and forced him to turn,
"Look at her!" Kaito was now staring at a very voluptuous female shinigami. She had strawberry blonde hair that reached just past her shoulders, icy blue eyes, full lips, and an almost impossibly perfect hourglass figure. She also seemed aware that her god given assets were much larger than most women because she wore her shihakusho very exposed. Kaito was quite literally drooling.
"I think she might have broken him," said Rajin as he attempted to push out of Kaito's hands,
"She is a goddess made flesh," Kaito whispered, "I must go talk to her!"
With that, the wild man went running towards the woman.
"Talk? Usually he says something else," noted Kuroda,
"This'll be interesting," commented Rajin,
"Is Kaito getting another girl?"
Kuroda turned around and immediately found something large, soft, and round shoved into his face.
"What the-"he suddenly fell under the weight of another person piggy backing on him,
"Hey now, I'm not that heavy," said Yoruichi,
"Why must you do this to me?" asked Kuroda,
"Well, obviously because it's fun," answered the dark skinned woman as she hopped off,
"Hello Yoruichi,"
"Hey Rajin, how've you and Soi Fon been getting along?" she asked,
"Oh, um" Rajin blushed and adjusted his glasses, "we've been doing fine."
"Glad to hear it," said Yoruichi
"Why are you here anyway?" asked Kuroda as he got back to his feet,
"I can't just come to see you?"
"…just, just answer my question," stuttered Kuroda,
"Hm, well, I came to give you this," Yoruichi held out a sheet of paper,
"What is it?"
"Take it and read it,"
He did, cautiously, though what he read was not exactly comforting.
It read: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at the Lake near the Shihouin residence, usually around 8:00 AM or 9:00 PM
"What is this?" he asked,
"Just my bathing schedule, I use the lake near my family's manor. I prefer it to the family bath house" she explained,
"And just why are you giving me this?" asked Kuroda, though he instantly wished he hadn't,
"Well, so you can spy on me and see me naked," she replied,
"What?"
"I'll just leave," said Rajin, who wanted to get out of the way of any explosions,
"Why on earth would I have any interest in that?" his face blushing madly,
"Oh don't be such a prude Kuroda. A hot young woman is inviting you to feat your eyes upon her body. Besides, it's perfectly normal for guys to jump at a chance like this, take Kaito for an example."
"Kaito is not normal," Kuroda pointed out,
"True, but still, any real man would love to see me naked. After all, we wouldn't want people thinking that your preferences lay…elsewhere," she hinted,
"You told other people about this?"
"Yup"
"Your black mailing me into watching you bathe?"
"Yup,"
"You're evil,"
"Heh, see you later," she teased, walking away while greatly exaggerating the sway of her hips.
"Oh my god," he groaned, "and today is Wednesday too!"
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"That Yoruichi girl gave you her bathing schedule?"
"Yeah," said Kuroda as he ate his dinner, "crazy right?"
"Crazy? Crazily lucky you little dog!"
Kuroda, who had been taking a sip of tea, immediately spat it out. His own father was encouraging this?
"As soon as you finish your dinner, you are to go straight to the Shihouin residence and peep on that girl," ordered Taiju,
"Wha- but, Mom?"
"You should do it dear, when a girl gives you her bathing schedule it means she's really into you," Itsumi said sweetly, "isn't this great Taiju honey, it's just like that time I gave you my bathing schedule!"
"What? You guys…oh, god I can't get that image out of my head," wailed Kuroda, slamming his head into the table,
"Eat your dinner Kuroda, then go make love to Yoruichi," Taiju said nonchalantly as he slurped up some noodles,
"I thought you wanted me to peep on her!"
"Well, one thing usually leads to another,"
"Ugh,"
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And so Kuroda was forced to go peep on an incredibly hot cat girl. We all must sympathize with him…just kidding.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," muttered Kuroda,
"Go you idiot!" ordered Taiju, giving Kuroda a kick in the back.
"Alright I'm going, see," he said as he walked towards the lake. His father had threatened to beat him with his zanpaktou's sheath if Kuroda chickened out, and reminded Kuroda that he would be on the outskirts to make sure Kuroda didn't run away.
"Alright, how am I going to do this?" he asked himself as he made his way to the lake,
He took some cover in a few bushes, then melded with the shadows so that in case there was anyone else around, he wouldn't be spotted. Yoruichi might have been okay with this but he doubted her family would be.
Soon he was quite near the lake,
"Okay, where is she?" he peeked out of his bush and looked around for Yoruichi, "I can't believe I'm doing this."
"Neither can I,"
"Ah!" Kuroda yelped as he tumbled out of the bush, "what were you doing in there?"
"Waiting for you," replied Yoruichi as she walked out of the bush,
Why? You're supposed to be bathing!" he yelled, face very red,
"I was just about to get to it," Yoruichi walked past the flustered Kuroda and towards the water, "want to watch me undress?"
"No!" he growled, quickly turning around,
"Hm? Isn't this what you came here for?" she asked,
"Just because I came, doesn't mean I have to watch. I'm only here because my father told me to," he replied,
"Maybe, but don't you want to see?"
"Why would I want to do that? We're friends Yoruichi!"
"I know," she said, Kuroda noticed her voice was much closer, "but what if I want to be more?"
Kuroda felt a jolt of lighting go up his spine, "huh?"
He felt something soft push against his back, then he felt a pair of arms reach around his waist, in addition, something was definitely nuzzling against neck.
"You heard me, what if I want to be more?"
"Uh…" Kuroda's mind began to fry, "Yoruichi, you need to take a bath, a very cold bath, right now"
"Do you want to join me?" she asked seductively,
"I…I just ate and it would be bad if I went swimming right after," he tried to say,
He heard a giggle, Yoruichi's fingers began to traced against his chest through his shirt. Kuroda's heart began to beat insanely fast.
Then, he felt something soft press against the nape of his neck. It felt good, really good, he even leaned into it a little bit. Suddenly, he felt Yoruichi leave him.
"Well, she said, if you ever feel like coming in, feel free to," she told him, he heard a splash.
For whatever reason, Kuroda chanced a peek. He turned his head ever so slightly and caught a small glimpse of Yoruichi's naked back. Unfortunately, she noticed and gave him a cat like smile. He quickly turned back.
"I need to sit down," he whispered, finding a nearby tree, he slumped down, with his back to the water.
About an hour later and Yoruichi was finished bathing.
"See you tomorrow," she called,
"Mmhmm," he managed to say before returning to his father,
"So how'd it go?" asked Taiju, eager to hear,
"It was fine," was Kuroda's only reply,
"Fine? Kid did something bad happen? Kid?"
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Two weeks later
"You look tired," said Kisuke, Kuroda yawned, "have some tea."
"thanks" said Kuroda, accepting the hot brew.
"I'll take some of that too," said Kaito, who looked equally tired,
"Same here," said Rajin, also tired looking,
"What's happening?" asked Kisuke as he poured two more cups of tea and served them, "you staying up late?"
"No really," replied Rajin, "it's just that our…Captain, has been driving us mad with missions."
"What's up?" asked Kisuke curiously,
"We're…not supposed to talk about it," answered Kaito,
Indeed, what they were doing was absolutely secret. At least, they hoped it was. Ever since last week, Commander Hoshigaki announced to only them that he believed there was a leak in their squad. He didn't reveal how he knew, but was absolutely sure of it. Thus, he'd entrusted them with keeping an eye out and running missions on trying to find out who might behind the leak.
It was hard, after all, whoever was the leak, was one of them, and they all knew how to effectively cover their tracks so that no one could ever find them. Still, they seemed to be making some progress.
In addition to their little hunt for the traitor, they were also conducting an investigation into a murder. One of the family members of the 5 noble houses, the youngest son who had been part of the 9th division, had been recently murdered. Which was strange, because since he was a noble, you'd think that someone would prefer to take him hostage, not outright kill him.
"But if you want to know which one of us has been coming back late at night, you should look to Kuroda," said Kaito, tired but still enough energy to be an ass.
"Oh, Kuroda, you've been out late? Interesting," said Kisuke,
"Where have you been during those nights?" asked Rajin
"Uh…somewhere," replied Kuroda,
"Nice try, but be specific," ordered Kaito,
"I've been walking," tried Kuroda,
"No you haven't," said Rajin, "seriously, where do you go? Does it have something to do with that note Yoruichi-"
Kuroda quickly cut him off with a hand to mouth,
"Note, what note?" asked Kisuke,
"Ooh, a note from Yoruichi, who we all know is Kuroda's secret crush," teased Kaito, "could it be perhaps, an invitation?"
"I know what you're thinking and its-"
"You're banging her aren't you!"
"I am not-"
"Good for you buddy, it's about time you stepped into your manhood! Now all that's left is Rajin"
"I am not doing anything with her I am-"
"Excuse me sirs" said a voice,
All four of them turned to see a messenger at the door of their booth.
"Your Captain needs you immediately,"
Kuroda sighed, "tell him we'll be right over."
The messenger disappeared,
"Sorry Kisuke, maybe next time," said Kuroda, pulling out some money,
"Oh no, it's fine," said Kisuke, "I know you guys must be busy."
"I'll buy next time," suggested Rajin
"Aw man, and I didn't even get to tell you guys that I'm in love" muttered Kaito,
Everyone came to a screeching halt,
"Wait, what?"
"Yeah, remember that girl you last saw me with?"
"…."
"Come on you remember"
"The brunette?" asked Kuroda,
"The dark haired one?" asked Rajin
"No, the strawberry blonde one you idiots!"
"…oh,"
"Yeah, I'm in love!"
"How…is that possible?" asked Rajin, completely skeptical, "you're…you!"
"She's everything I've ever wanted in a girl! That's how! She drinks large amounts of sake, she wear's loose clothing so I can see a lot of skin, she's lazy but hot, and she's just so much fun!"
Silence
"I give it two weeks at most," announced Kuroda as he started to leave,
"Week and a half," said Kisuke,
"Tomorrow," said Rajin as he followed Kuroda
"You guys are assholes!" growled Kaito as he followed after the Rajin
Kisuke smiled as the three left, he looked down and saw that they had left enough money to pay for the entire meal, "so nice to have friends"
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"Commander, sir!" the three saluted,
"Good to see you three," said Commander Hoshigaki,
Commander Hoshigaki was a brutal looking man. 6ft 4, a powerful jawline with a fine layer of stubble, steely eyes and a completely shaved head. In addition, he was built like an ox, it looked like you could hit him with a hammer and it would be the hammer that would break. The man wore the standard black ops uniform as well as standard hooded cloak and kept his zanpaktou strapped his waste at all times.
"You'll have to forgive me if I skip any formalities," said Hoshigaki, "but we've got a really serious situation."
"Just an hour ago, a death note was sent to the Meiji House," the man began, he handed a sheet of paper to Kuroda.
Kuroda immediately began to read
To the Meiji House, at midnight, your entire house will be massacred. Hire as many guards as you want, hide as far away as you like, but you will all die.
"This person has some serious problems with the Meiji house," quipped Kuroda.
"This is serious Kuroda," warned Hoshigaki,
"Sorry sir,"
"Joking aside, yes, this person, whoever he or she is, seems to have a serious grudge against the Meiji House," said Hoshigaki, "and if a threat is made against their entire family, then something must be done about it. I've already taken this up with the Captain Commander, he has agreed to put the Meiji house under Soul Society's protection."
"Which, where we come in?" asked Kaito,
"Exactly," said Hoshigaki, "you three, 80 shinigami provided form various divisions, and 30 2nd division members,"
"Great, we get to work with the damn ninjas," muttered Kaito,
"You may not like it Kaito, but you may very well need their help," warned Hoshigaki, "the Meiji's family manor is in Seireitei, the fact that they are confident they can carry out such a slaughter in the middle of a place teeming with Shinigami should speak for itself."
"It is?" asked Kaito
"All the big noble houses are in Seireitei Kaito, remember history class?" asked Rajin,
"…yes"
"Oh you've got to be kidding me," muttered Rajin,
"Kaito's idiocy aside, we're ready sir," said Kuroda,
"Good, but let me just remind you that this is a very delicate situation, we are Black Ops, we are made for this kind of thing, you three may be at the bottom of the food chain but you all have potential. Personally, I wouldn't want to send you on this, but my hands are tied," said the Commander,
"Here's a lay out of the Meiji manor," said Hoshigaki, handing Kuroda a large rolled up sheet of paper, "good luck boys,"
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"Are you sure that my house is completely secure?" asked the Head of the Meiji house, a rather small and thin man with a very large nose,
"Yes my lord, I am sure that everything is completely safe," assured Kuroda as he continued to look over the layout of the manor, "We've established a perimeter with a two guards every two meters both in and outside the manor's compound. We have the Onmitsukido doing regular patrols in the manor itself, nearly one every hallway. In addition, my comrades and I are guarding your entire family, who is situated in rooms only 5 meters apart at most. It is very secure sir."
"Oh good," said the lord, looking rather relieved, "now if you don't mind, I'm going to go get some sleep."
"Of course my lord, you must be very tired,"
As the lord left, Kaito and Rajin entered.
"Everything set up?" he asked,
"Everything," answered Rajin,
"There won't be any trouble tonight, as soon as the assassin sees how locked down we have this place, he'll just give up and go back home," said Kaito,
"Careful Kaito, it's just like Commander Hoshigaki said, this place is in Seireitei. If the assassin is so confident that he could carry out a killing on this scale, right in the middle of a place full of shinigami, then he must have some trick up his sleeve," warned Kuroda,
"Yeah, I guess," said Kaito, taking a seat, "I mean, we do it all the time."
"Do what?"
"Assassinations, in the middle of Seireitei," explained Kaito,
The conversation ended there, from then on, it was just a wait until midnight, when the assassin said that he would strike. The three members of the black ops division over saw each area of operation, nothing went on that was hidden from their sight.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Kuroda murmured to himself, it was almost midnight, which meant that the assassin would be here soon.
Somewhere on the outer perimeter
"Man, why the hell are we doing this?" asked one of the shinigami,
"Because we were told to do so, now shut up and man your post," growled his companion,
"No one's stupid enough to come at this place, we've got it locked down tight. Nothing's getting in here,"
"Maybe, but if the bosses catch you screwing around when you're supposed to be on duty, you'll be scrubbing the bathrooms for a week,"
"Whatever, hey, stand guard for me will you? I need to take a leak,"
"You can't do that now, the nearest bathrooms is like 10 minutes away and the nobles sure aren't going to let you use theirs!"
"I know, I was just gonna go in the corner,"
"Oh that's even worse!"
"Just stand guard and no one will know," the shinigami hurried around the corner,
"God, his antics are going to get him in trouble one day," muttered the other,
After a few minutes, the shinigami heard the sound of his companion's footsteps coming back.
"What took you so long?" he asked, about to turn around, "did you have to find some leaves to-"
There was a flash of steel, then the warm feeling of blood running down his body. He tried to call for help, but his blood filled lungs wouldn't let him. His murderer shoved him off the blade and let him fall to the ground with a thump, the assassin then continued to kill the rest.
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"Some one's out there," murmured Kuroda,
"Sir?" asked an Onmitsukido member,
"have one of our men check the outer perimeter guard," ordered Kuroda, "I smell blood in the air."
"Sir, right away!" the Onmitsukido disappeared with a flash of Shunpo,
A minute later and the same man reported back, along with the sound of the guard mobilizing.
"Sir, the entire outer guard was slaughtered, not a single man was spared!"
"Damn," cursed Kuroda, "Kaito! Rajin! Get down there! We do not let him get to the higher levels!"
"On it!" Kaito called back,
Kuroda headed to a balcony that overlooked the entire courtyard of the Meiji manor. Already he could see about 30 shinigami battle ready, continuously sweeping the area for any signs of the intruder. He also managed to spot Kaito directing them.
Suddenly, the main gate of the Meiji manor's walls burst apart, sending splinters and pieces of wood flying everywhere.
And there, where the gate had once stood, was the assassin. Kuroda squinted his eyes to see if he could get a better look, but the figure was shrouded in darkness.
"Cocky bastard," Kaito said almost admiringly, "Get him!"
A dozen shinigami charged the assassin, their blades ready to slice him to pieces. Though he knew better, Kuroda hoped that they'd be able to kill the assassin, but in his heart something told him that Kaito had just sent a dozen men to their deaths.
The figure hunched forward, the dozen men continued to charge.
A flash of movement, and the assassin was suddenly gone. A moment later, he reappeared behind the group of shinigami that had threatened to kill him. Another second and a dozen shinigami fell to the ground, their blood exploding from wounds they didn't even realize they had.
The men, stunned by the brutal deaths of their comrades, were nearly helpless as the assassin continued on, butchering each one that got in his way.
"Bastard," cursed Kaito as he himself rushed the assassin,
The assassin cut down another man, then whipped around just in time to see Kaito swinging his zanpaktou to lop of the assassin's head.
Amazingly enough, the assassin ducked under the attack and retaliated with a swipe at Kaito's gut. Kaito quickly backed up, avoiding the blade then came back with a powerful overhead slash. The assassin side stepped, then jumped over a low sweep, then blocked another strike.
"You're a slippery bastard," complimented Kaito as he pressed hard,
The assassin did not respond, but suddenly shot out with his left hand and punched Kaito right in the face. There was a loud crunch and Kaito was sent reeling.
"Son of a-"
Kaito never finished as the assassin suddenly rammed his shoulder into Kaito's stomach, kept up the momentum of his attack, then practically used Kaito's back as a battering ram to smash through the main doors leading into the manor.
"Damn! Kaito!" yelled Kuroda, fearing the worst he leapt down from the balcony and ran through the hole in the door that the assassin had made.
When he reentered the manor, he found Kaito lying on the floor with a dozen bodies of the guards that had been posted in the room.
Kuroda hurried to Kaito's side, "Kaito are you okay?"
Kaito let out a pained groan, "that bastard, really packs a punch,"
"Just stay here Kaito, I'm gonna go find Rajin and we'll take this guy out," assured Kuroda as he left his friend's side.
As he ran through the halls, Kuroda witnessed a massacre in the process. Everywhere he went, he found the bodies of the shinigami that had been meant as protection. Blood splattered the walls like paint or pooled onto the floor in deep puddles of crimson. Worse was when he found the bodies of servants, who had most likely been hiding, cut to pieces just like the shinigami.
Kuroda heard screams as he continued his pursuit.
Then there was a ground shaking explosion followed by the smell of smoke.
"Rajin," he realized, he must have released his zanpaktou,
Kuroda doubled his speed, following the sound of fighting and the smell of blood. More and more bodies were added to the ever growing body count, worse, there didn't even seem to be a direct route by which the assassin was traveling. He was simply going through every part of every level, killing anyone he found. He wasn't just going to go after the family, he was trying to kill everyone!
Just as he heard the sounds of fighting coming closer, the wall next to him exploded! A body came tumbling out and Kuroda went straight for AnShen. But he stayed his hand when he realized he recognized this body, he kneeled down and confirmed that it was indeed Rajin.
"Rajin, talk to me! Are you alive," he asked, checking the man's pulse.
"I think so," the man managed to say weakly,
Kuroda breathed a sigh of relief, Rajin looked like he'd just gone through a meat mincer. Dozens of cuts crisscrossed his body, blood flowed freely from the wounds and stained the floor. Big ugly bruised the size of apples were on his face and chest, then his right shoulder looked dislocated and his left arm was at a funny angle. But at least he was alive.
Suddenly, Kuroda felt a cold wind creep up his spine. Slowly he stood up, his hand on AnShen's hilt. He turned his head towards the gaping hole in the wall and stared upon the assassin.
Kuroda felt a pit of anger form in his gut, he took a step towards the assassin, he couldn't see the man's face because of mask, cloak, and shadows. But that didn't matter, he could look on his face when he'd cut the man in half.
He took another step through the hole, AnShen let out an eerie noise as it slid out if the sheath. Kuroda took another step, the assassin made no move.
They were now barely a meter apart, by now Kuroda could see the blood dripping off the assassin's katana.
He raised AnShen,
The assassin ran.
"What-hey, come back here you bastard!" Kuroda immediately chased after,
Kuroda chased the man down the hall, the assassin turned down a corner, Kuroda followed catching only a glimpse as the man disappeared up a flight of steps.
"Damn it!" he cursed,
By the time he reached the top as well, he could already smell the scent of fresh blood. The screams, the sound of flesh being cut open, Kuroda ran right for it.
He ran with all his strength, desperately trying to catch up. Sometimes he'd get there just in time for the last body to hit the ground with a spray of blood still lingering. But he'd only catch quick glimpses of the actual assassin.
Before long, the only floor left was the top floor, on which the entire noble family was living.
Kuroda was tempted to give up, but he didn't. Perhaps, even if he couldn't save all of them, he could save some. Even just, one, even if it was just one of them, that would be enough.
He rushed up the stairs and right into a fist.
The blow was powerful and Kuroda immediately began to see stars, it had also knocked him right onto the ground.
In the distance, he heard more screams. Through his blurry vision, he watched as a woman, maybe the daughter or wife, was sliced in the back as she tried to run from the assassin. Another woman ran to the first one's side, crying over her.
The assassin allowed no time for mourning, he raised his blade and plunged it into the woman's back.
There was crying, a young boy, having seen two of his family brutally murdered, cried in the just behind the assassin.
"Run!" Kuroda wanted to say, he clumsily pushed himself up, but no words could leave his mouth.
The assassin noticed but did nothing, instead he turned to the boy.
"No!" Kuroda tried, but still nothing, by the time he was fully on his feet, the crying had stopped.
"Son of a bitch," he cursed, "killing a child? Have you no shame?"
The assassin, now turned to him, said nothing.
"Nothing to say? Fine, I don't need an apology, just your head!"
Kuroda charged forth, though in his groggy state it was most likely unwise to do so. But he didn't care, he was angry.
The assassin side stepped his first attack, then ducked under a horizontal swing. Kuroda's opponent fought back with a quick thrust of his katana, Kuroda deflected the attack and kicked out with his foot. The attack would have connected but the assassin threw back his head at the last second, grabbed Kuroda by the ankle and pulled him onto his back.
A flash of steel, Kuroda rolled out of the way, just barely avoiding being skewered through the eye. His foot lashed out again and swept the assassin's feet from under him. As his opponent fell, he came up, bringing AnShen up with him, hoping to cut the man right in half.
But no, the assassin was too skilled and quickly jumped out of the way by catching his whole body with a single handed handstand.
The assassin kicked and caught Kuroda right in the face, again! The blow sent him crashing through a pair of doors.
"Damn" he cursed, Kuroda's eyes widened when he noticed a red glow coming from where he'd just been.
He hastily crashed through the wall and into the next room, the one behind him suddenly burst into flames.
'That was kido!'
Another red glow,
'crap!'
The assassin was in the door way already charging another shot, Kuroda raised his own hand,
"Hado #31: Shakkaho !"
Kido met kido and an explosion tore the room apart, but sent the assassin tumbling down the hall in a daze. Kuroda, being much more fortunate, burst out of the smoke, AnShen raised over his head.
The assassin quickly rolled out of the way and let AnShen sink into the floor.
His sword stuck in the floor, Kuroda had no chance to counter as the assassin cut him across the chest and kicked him away.
Pain bloomed on him, he could already feel his life blood soaking into his shirt. Weaponless, tired, and wounded, Kuroda still jumped back to his feet.
The assassin waited, then when Kuroda was ready, he thrust his katana forth. Kuroda side stepped, spiraling around the attack and delivering a solid kick to the side of the man's head. The assassin smashed into a wall, Kuroda quickly pulled AnShen out of the ground.
By then his opponent was already amazingly up and attacking.
Kuroda once again sidestepped an attack, and this time thrust his own blade forward. A grim satisfaction filled him up as his blade slipped through the man's ribs.
There was a grunt of pain, then a fist, which promptly hit Kuroda in the face.
That one hit must have been especially hard, because after that he began to lose consciousness. However, some small part of him bid that he continue to fight, his hand grabbed out aimlessly, trying to secure some part of the assassin's clothing.
It caught something, a piece of his cloak. But it tore.
Kuroda hit the ground, then blacked out.
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The next day
Kuroda woke up in the 4th division, depressed and ashamed.
The reports were in, 110 shinigami, dead in a single night and both of his friends hospitalized. Captain Unohana said that the wounds weren't as bad as they looked, but it'd still be another day or two before they could do anything.
His wounds were the least life threatening, as such, he was let out before them.
He walked home with his head low, he reached into his pocket and felt the piece of cloth he'd torn from the assassin. His anger burned greatly, he should have been able to protect them.
But for now, he had to go confront his Commander.
As he walked into Commander Hoshigaki's office, he felt the shame press down on him even more.
"Sir, reporting in sir,"
"Kuroda, you're up already, I thought that you'd be in for at least another day," said Hoshigaki, "are you alright."
"Physically, fine sir,"
"Mmm, good, now tell me, what the hell happened over there?"
Kuroda recounted for his Commander, the events of the massacre, it wasn't very hard, every detail of it was burned into his memory. At the end of it, Kuroda asked if any of the noble house had survived.
"I'm sorry kid, but the only survivors there, were you three," replied Hoshigaki,
"I see," said Kuroda, "I failed,"
A moment of silence
"I'm sorry to send you into the field again so soon, but, we think we may have found the information leak," said Hoshigaki,
"You have?" Kuroda asked, immediately perking up,
"We have, we believe he may also be the one behind the attack on the Meiji house," said Hoshigaki, "after all, young as you are, not many could throw Black Operatives around like dolls."
"Who is it?" Kuroda asked, his voice taking on a much darker and blood thirsty tone,
"I can't reveal it right now, but seeing as what you've gone through, I think I'll let you be the one who plugs the leak," said Hoshigaki, "report back at 11:00 PM tonight. Then, you can have your revenge."
(#*(%) #*&%) (#*&%)#&*% )(#&%_ #&%) #&()% ()#&%) #(%) #(%&()
11:00 PM didn't come fast enough for Kuroda, but he waited patiently in his room until the appointed hour.
"What the hell are you doing in there kid?" asked Taiju, having just taken a bath.
"Waiting," replied Kuroda,
"For what?"
"Something important,"
"What's the matter with you today?" asked Taiju, a little creeped out,
"Nothing old man," growled Kuroda, turning to his father, "now if you don't mind I'd like to-"
"Like to what? Finish that sentence?" asked Taiju as his son suddenly stopped talking,
"Dad,"
"Hmm?"
"Where did you get that injury?"
"Oh this?" he said, pointing to an injury, most likely a stab wound, right on his ribs, "I was training with the Commander and he got a little carried away and accidently got me right in the ribs. Must be getting old or something, in my younger years I could have dodged that. See you later kid, I'll leave you to do your wall staring or whatever."
'No,' Kuroda thought, 'no, it's just your imagination. You're being paranoid, there's no way that it was him. Probably just a coincidence, yeah, that's it. He said he was training right? Stuff like that happens in training.'
"Mom?" he called,
"Yes dear?"
"Where was Dad last night?"
"I'm not sure" she called back, "he was out all night, came back a bit after midnight. Why?"
"No reason," he tried, 'there's no way. There's no way it's him!'
Despite his own assurance, Kuroda found himself sneaking into his father's dresser, looking for his black ops cloak.
He found it, didn't like what he found. The cloak had the exact same rip that he'd given the assassin last night.
'No,' he thought, 'it's impossible! It can't be him!'
11:00 PM arrived to early.
Kuroda reported as he said he would, to Hoshigaki's office.
"Kuroda, there you are, right on schedule," said the Commander, "now, here's the plan for plugging the leak."
"I'm going to send you and the leak on a mission, it'll just be to take down some hollows. You two will go, you'll kill the hollows. But while you two are fighting, if you see the chance to strike take it. No heroics here kid, no honor, this is another Black Operative, there can be no chances taken."
"Yes sir," Kuroda said, halfheartedly, "I will kill him."
There was a knock on the door, "he's here sir,"
"Send him in,"
The door creaked open ominously, and let in Taiju Ryou, traitor to the Black Ops division.
( #%^# %*&) #*%&) #(&%) #(%*) #(*%^) #*% )#*(%^) #*(%#%) *()
"Bit weird don't you think? Commander Hoshigaki sending us on a mission to kill a couple of hollows, shouldn't this be something given to another division?" asked Taiju as he and his son rushed through the forests
"Yeah,"
"I mean, come on, we're Black Ops, this is grunt work!"
"Mmhmm"
"Kid, are you sure you're okay?" asked Taiju, Kuroda could hear genuine concern in his voice, which made him feel horrible, not okay.
What was he supposed to do? This was his father! Maybe not his blood father, but still, this man had adopted him, raised him, everything he had was because of him! Yet at the same time, he was a traitor to the division, and traitors deserved absolutely no mercy, no matter who they were.
Kuroda grounded his teeth, how could this be happening? What went wrong? All the facts that he'd gathered, the wound, his mother, the piece of fabric, all pointed to Taiju.
"Kid!"
"Huh?"
"I asked if you were okay"
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, just a lot on my mind is all,"
"Heh, what happen, Yoruichi break up with you?"
"No, we were never together, old man,"
"Well then, what's up, you're acting all…depressed, that really isn't you."
"It's nothing," insisted Kuroda, "let's just finish this mission and go back home."
"Must be a phase," mumbled Taiju as Kuroda sped past him,
After a few more minutes of running, the two of the came to a quick halt
"You sense them?" asked Taiju,
"Yeah," replied Kuroda, "they've been trailing us for a while now."
"You knew they were following and didn't say anything?"
"Yes, I didn't want to scare you"
"Scare me? I picked them up a while ago too, but I didn't want to scare you,"
"….great"
By now, the two of them were surrounded by at least two dozen hollows.
"Now this is just disappointing," muttered Taiju, "I was hoping for at least twice this amount."
"Shut up and kill them,"
As if on cue, the two of them exploded into motion. The hollows pounced, ready to feast upon their flesh and satiate their hunger.
Unfortunately, the beasts were effectively shredded to pieces in just a matter of seconds.
"See, disappointing! If there were twice as many, it would have taken us at least one more second!" complained Taiju,
Kuroda was about to respond, but was interrupted when a dozen new garganta opened up, spilling in two dozen more hollow.
"Happy now?"
"Yes!"
The two men exploded into motion again, slaughtering the hollows in a beautiful explosion of blood.
"Well, I think that's the last of them," said Taiju,
Kuroda grunted in agreement as he calmly wiped off something off his face. His eyes hurt for some reason, and the liquid dripping down his lips, they tasted salty. He needed to complete his mission.
"Good job," said Taiju, "maybe next time you can do it while looking like a man."
Kuroda said nothing as Taiju laughed at his own joke. His grip tightened around AnShen, he took a peek behind, Taiju had his back to him. This was a perfect chance!
"But your alive, that's always good. But of course you have to be alive, the only one who's going to kill you is me! HAHAHA!"
Kuroda felt something tighten in his chest, his breaths began to become deep and hard on his throat. He didn't know it, but his hands were shaking uncontrollably, he began to grind his teeth in frustration.
Do it!
Kuroda turned around
Do it!
"Well" said Taiju, back still facing Kuroda, "time to go back"
He stifled a scream, pushed off his foot and ran.
Kuroda would never forget, the feeling of that day. He'd killed many things, hollows and men, all felt the same when he cut through them with AnShen. But cutting through Taiju, cutting through his own father, feeling as his razor sharp blade, cleanly sliced into his father's flesh, carving a path way into the man's heart.
That is something that Kuroda would never forget, he would forever remember the feeling of it, the sound of it, everything.
Blood dripped down the blade and onto his hands. God, his father's blood was on his hands!
With all the fear ripping in his heart, he looked up.
Even from the back, he could see the blade coming up from Taiju's chest, soaked in red.
With just as much disgust as he had before, Kuroda slipped AnShen out of his father's back and let him fall to the ground.
The man's eyes were closed, for that much Kuroda was thankful for, if they had been open he would have fainted.
But there was still so much blood, so much of his father's blood! He dropped AnShen and fell to his father's side.
He cried, he cried so hard. Tears streamed down his face as he sobbed into Taiju's bloodied chest. Nothing, nothing would ever make him clean of this stain on his life. No amount of happiness, no amount of forgiveness from anyone would help him.
He had murdered his father! His father!
His entire world was tearing itself up. Voices began to pop up in his head, accusing him, applauding him, so many of them.
"How could you!"
"Murderer!"
"Good soldier"
"Your own father!"
"You'll make a fine shinigami"
"Disgusting"
"A real man"
"Bastard"
"You did the right thing"
"Unforgiveable"
Kuroda screamed, just to shut them up and let loose all his anguish.
Suddenly, something pressed into his neck, something sharp and cold.
Kuroda looked up from his father's chest, and saw his father's eyes looking back at him. At first he felt relief, his father was alive. Then he remembered that it had been he who'd nearly killed him, even more how was Taiju still alive? Had he found some way to cheat even death?
"Idiot," muttered Taiju, "you only nicked my heart, next time, make sure you hit your mark"
Kuroda was too stunned to respond
Taiju's mouth, for reasons still unknown, broke into a loving smile.
Then, his head fell back.
The life fled from his eyes.
His grip on his sword disappeared.
And he died.
(#(*%& #(*)&% ()#* #)(&*% )#(&*%) #(*&%) (#%& #)(*^% )(%&)
Kuroda walked back home, alone, there was no way he could have bared carrying his father's corpse back.
He felt so empty, as if someone had just taken him and thrown out everything that had ever made sense to him. He felt broken down then remade. It wasn't horrible, just empty.
"Kuroda!"
Kuroda jerked instinctively at the sound of his mother's voice. Damn it, he'd forgotten all about her, what if she found out?
"Kuroda, there you are, back from your mission?"
"Yes mother," he said hesitantly and with his eyes to the ground,
"Is your father with you?"
Kuroda weakly shook his head,
"Well, if you see him can you give him his cloak back?" she asked, handing him a black ops cloak, the one that he had worn when he'd killed the Meiji family, "I had to patch up a hole on the cloak after your clumsy father let it get torn in a sparring match with Commander Hoshigaki."
"What?"
"Oh, well you know your father spars with the Commander?"
"Wait mother, that from the Commander?"
"Yes," she said with a raised eyebrow,
"How do you know?"
"I saw it,"
Kuroda suddenly felt confused all over again.
"Mother, this is important, are you sure that torn of patch was because of the a sparring match with the Commander?"
"Uh…yes, why?"
Then that meant…
"I've got to go, see you later"
"Wait Kuroda where is your father?"
He kept running,
'He's dead mom, I killed him'
(## *(%& #()*&% ()#%&*) #(%&*) #&*%()#&% ()#&*%)_#%&*(_ #&*% &%_)
Kuroda burst into the Commander's Office,
"Kuroda? I assume the deed is done-"
"My father,"
"Yes, your father, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but-"
"He wasn't the assassin at the manor,"
"What?"
"He wasn't the assassin at the manor, the assassin, I tore off a piece of cloth from his cloak. I saw a similar tear on my father's cloak, that's why I suspected him first," he said bitterly, "but my mother saw that tear being made, which means my father wasn't the assassin."
"I see," said Hoshigaki, furrowing his brows, "but still, I'm quite sure that he was the information leak."
"How?"
"My sources are very reliable,"
"I would like to speak with them,"
"My sources are members of this division" roared Hoshigaki, "are you saying that I don't know my own division Kuroda Ryou?"
Kuroda became silent,
"Now, if there is nothing else," said Hoshigaki, composing himself, "you are dismissed and-"
"Commander, you're bleeding,"
"Huh?" Commander Hoshigaki looked down, and indeed there was a noticeable wet patch on the area of his ribs, "oh, old injury,"
"I gave the assassin a similar wound last night," Kuroda commented, his voice beginning to seethe,
"Are you implying something Kuroda?"
Without warning, Kuroda grabbed a handful of the Commander's cloak and dragged him by it over the table.
"How dare you-"
"Where did this tare come from?" asked Kuroda, pointing to a patch that looked just like the one he'd given the assassin.
Hoshigaki narrowed his eyes.
( #*(%()*%& )#(*%) #%&* )#%&*)#%^ #()%& )#&%*) #&*%) #&*%)( #%&*)_%#) )
Two members of the Black ops division spar in the underground garden.
Suddenly, the cavern ceiling explodes. Out from the dust comes a body, soaring through the air until it crashes into the ground with a might crack.
The two member rush over to see who it was. When they find out, they can hardly believe it.
"Commander? Are you alright?" asks one of them,
"I'm fine!" he growls, pushing away their offers of help, "that bastard kid Kuroda is a traitor!"
"What?"
A moment later, Kuroda jumps out from the same hole in the ceiling and lands just a few meters from the Commander. He has already activated his bankai, now clothed with dark red trench coat and leather vambraces upon his forearms.
Red reiatsu oozed from the air around him that gave off a deathly chill and his eyes, full of hate and anger against one person. Something that could only be satiated with revenge.
"You idiot kid," the Commander says, "I would have given you a chance if you'd stopped and left my office, but now you've just pissed me off!"
Without a word, Kuroda dashes forward, sword already swinging AnShen,
Hoshigaki raised his sword and thwarted that attack, the pushed Kuroda back.
Kuroda dug his heels into the ground and called fourth a volley of souls. Hoshigaki easily avoided the acidic substances but one of the other members was hit and immediately began to scream in pain as the horrific liquid ate through his flesh.
Hoshigaki came down on Kuroda from the air and slammed his blade against Kuroda's defenses multiple times. Kuroda shunpo'd away and reappeared behind Hoshigaki but the Commander was too fast and kicked out, catching Kuroda in the chest and sending him flying away.
"Shino Kabe!"
Kuroda let loose an incredibly powerful wave of souls, now transformed into a calvary charge from hell. Hoshigaki smirked, he waited for the incoming attack to come in, then sliced through it with a single stroke.
This only led to more frustration and anger from Kuroda, causing him to step up his power without hesitation.
Daiichi no Dankai: Shipan"
The souls of Kuroda's sword began to converge around him, engulfing him in a hypnotic swirl, bestowing upon him two large wings onto his back, giving him the appearance of a demonic angel.
By now, the rest of the division had shown up in the gardens and stood by their commander's side.
"Commander Hoshigaki, sir! What's going on?"
"Kuroda has turned traitor boys, we're here to put him down. The Black Ops division doesn't tolerate traitors!"
"It doesn't matter how many you hide behind you cowardly bastard! I'll get to you and when I do, I'll shove my blade through your heart and let AnShen devour your soul!" roared Kuroda,
"Really? Last I checked, even with that form, you could only ever tie with your old man. I'm much stronger than him, I'm the Commander of the Black Ops division! What makes you think you can take me on you little punk!" taunted Hoshigaki,
Kuroda scowled and glared at him with rage filled eyes.
"No answer huh? Well then this will be quick," Hoshigaki said arrogantly, raising his blade, "hold back for a moment boys, I'll take care of this one personally."
Kuroda burst forth with a powerful flap of his wings, and easily batted away any of the Black Operatives that tried to impede him with a strong swing of AnShen.
Then he locked blades with Hoshigaki, the two exchanged a flurry of swings and thrusts as both of them tried to tear the other apart.
Kuroda struck at him with a horizontal swing, but Hoshigaki blocked and retaliated with a downwards chop.
Kuroda parried and riposted managing to catch Hoshigaki on the cheek. The Commander growled in irritation and swung wildly at Kuroda, all blows were avoided letting Kuroda kick out both his feet and catch his opponent right in the face.
Hoshigaki was sent reeling back with a bloodied nose.
With a growl of anger, Hoshigaki attacked again.
This time Kuroda brought up his wings and easily blocked every single strike Hoshigaki threw at him. When the barrage was over, Kuroda burst out from his wings and yelled,
"Shibou Ryuu!"
Unleashing a hellish missile that slammed right into Hoshigaki's chest, smashing the man right into a wall with a powerful explosion.
By now, Hoshigaki was tired of being made a fool of.
"That's it, Execute: Handan Ono!"
Hoshigaki's katana suddenly morphed into a brutal looking double headed battle axe.
The transformation caught Kuroda off guard and was unable to respond when Hoshigaki swept the monstrous weapon in a wide arc.
The attack caught Kuroda and sent him barreling into the ground.
"Damn," he muttered,
A shadow descended upon him, out came his wings, wrapping him in a protective shell as Hoshigaki's axe came down. His knees buckled from the assault as the terrifying weapon came down again and again.
The axe smashed against his wings one lasts time, the Kuroda burst out and unleashed another wave,
"Shino Kabe!"
The calvary charge made for Hoshigaki, but the Commander just smirked and swung his axe. Without even touching the wave, it burst into two pieces.
"Give it up kid" offered Hoshigaki, "you're still young and haven't mastered you're bankai. I'm older, more experienced!"
Kuroda let out a feral snarl,
"You're persistence is admirable but it's starting to annoy me," Hoshigaki signaled to the division, they all shunpo'd to Hoshigaki's side, weapons at the ready, "surrender now and I'll let you live."
"And as some extra incentive," Hoshigaki snapped his fingers, suddenly at least 30 Onmitsukido members suddenly appeared by Hoshigaki's side.
"where the hell did they come from," whispered Kuroda,
"Just a little favor the 2nd division Captain owes me," answered Hoshigaki, "he's repaying me by allowing me to borrow some of his men to put down a dangerous criminal. I knew you'd do something stupid kid, so I thought in advance."
Kuroda's breath was heavy, his arms ached and his legs threatened to give out. As much as he hated to admit it, the Commander was right. His Bankai was still undeveloped, he was still getting used to its strength and he definitely didn't have the strength to take on all of them.
"So what'll it be kid?"
"Just one question Hoshigaki, why?"
"Why what?" the Commander asked back,
"Why have my father killed? Why frame him?"
"Ha! Because he really was the information leak you idiot," answered Hoshigaki, "your old man was reporting back to Old man Yamamoto! Telling him all of our dirty little secrets."
"But you see I didn't like that, I didn't like the old man snooping around. Because soon, he started asking questions, telling me what t do! Did you know, that he threatened to shut us down? How crazy is that? Seireitei needs a black ops division, always has, always will!"
"And the Meiji massacre?"
"That was me, I wanted to show Soul Society why they needed us, why they should keep us on. By showing them threats like this, I could show them why we were around. To deal with things others couldn't."
"All this, for your own god damn pride and greed?" growled Kuroda, "you son of a bitch! I murdered my own father for you! Now you tell me this! He was right to report back to Yamamoto!"
"Careful Kuroda, you're trying my patience,"
"I don't care, nothing you say will stop me from tearing you limb from limb! You're going to die here, this night, I'll scatter your flesh across the ground for the birds to peck at and the maggots to chew through!"
"Heh, yeah right" laughed Hoshigaki, "one last chance kid, what's your answer."
Kuroda was breathing heavily, not from fatigue. No, from raw unbridled anger, without a word he raised AnShen at Hoshigaki. The Black Operatives, 5 in all, raised theirs.
"here's my answer," he growled, a sudden burst of reiatsu came out of him,
"Dainii no Dankai: Tatakau!"
A massive wave of souls began to smother Kuroda, wrapping around him and seeping into his flesh. As they granted him their power, they gave of their haunting wails that chilled each of the men, even Hoshigaki to the bone.
When the final soul had been absorbed by Kuroda, Hoshigaki was disappointed in the lack of transformation that had been so evident in Kuroda's first stage.
"Is that it? What did that do?" he asked confidently,
Kuroda stood up, his eyes piercing through Hoshigaki.
Suddenly, he flipped AnShen around so that he was hold it backhand style and plunged it into the ground. Almost immediately, a strange liquid, not unlike that which Kuroda used to attack, began to ooze out of the blade and cover the ground around him.
The moans of the dead could suddenly be heard again, in fact, if one were to stare at the liquid spreading around Kuroda, they would see the faces of those slain.
Then, a part of the pool that had now formed around Kuroda, began to bubble uncontrollably. Something suddenly burst out from the liquid, something that very much looked like a giant red lizard's claw.
The claw pulled up its owner, which was revealed to be a very ghastly and horrific creature. The thing kept pulling itself up until its entire body was exposed.
Everyman, even Hoshigaki shuddered at the sight of this new monster.
It was what could only be described as a giant lizard, one that looked like it belonged to the devil himself. The beast was covered from head to toe with dark red scales that seemed to be rotting away, the thing was also at the very least 6ft high at the shoulder. Its four legs were thick and muscular, it's feet were armed with razor sharp claws that dugs through the earth like it was made of mud.
It's hideous face held two large pupiless eyes, a mouth full of teeth the size of steak knives, and a line of sharp boney frills trailing down the middle of its head. In addition, it's behind held one long tail that held a sharp barb at the end of it.
As if all of that were not horrifying enough, pieces of the beast seemed to have rotted away. Muscle, bone and even sometimes organs could be seen in small patches along its body.
The thing looked just like the serpents that Kuroda could already summon, except given a new body.
The monster let out an unnatural roar as it took its place next to its master like a good boy.
"That's it? Your bankai's second stage lets you summon some ugly looking lizard mutt?" taunted Hoshigaki,
"Commander, look!" cried one of the Black Operatives,
Hoshigaki did and what he saw, was even more claws suddenly reaching out from the liquid still oozing from AnShen. More of those horrifying lizards began to emerge, screeching as they were brought into a world they did not belong in. But they came through anyway and they stood by their master and awaited his command.
When Kuroda finally yanked AnShen out from the ground and the pool finally receded, a total of 6 hell lizards stood by his side.
Kuroda raised his face and stared a chilling stare at his gathered enemy, one that only a man who knew he was about to kill someone could give. Everyman felt death tap them on the shoulder in that single moment.
The hell lizards drooled, the men sweat fear and shuffled in their position. Hoshigaki, swallowed.
Kuroda gave his first command,
"Kill them"
The beasts had been let off the leash, in a single moment, each and every one of them roared with hunger and pounced forth.
Screams, echoed in the cavern that night.
The hell lizards crashed into the ranks of the terrified shinigami. They grabbed men by the necks with their mouth full of teeth, tearing out their throats and drinking their blood.
Their claws cut down groups of men at a time, working just as well as any weapon.
One man tried to run, unable face the terrors that stood before him. He screamed and ran for the exit, but one of the lizards noticed and quickly ran in pursuit. The man spared a look over his shoulder and saw only the slathering maw of the beast eager to feast on him.
The man tried to double his speed, but it was all in vain. The lizard pounced and pinned the man to the ground, its claws dug deep into the man's flesh. He let out a pained choking sound; the lizard promptly silenced him by biting of his head.
A group of men were smart enough to try and from a defensive circle and hold off the lizards. Three of the lizards ran around the circle like a pack of wolves trapping their prey.
"Be ready!" called one of the men, "whatever happens! Don't break the circle!"
As soon as he finished his sentence, one of the hell lizards pounced through the group, grabbed the man with its teeth and just as quickly pounced away with the man screaming in its jaws.
Before anyone else could try anything, another lizard pounced through the group and took another man.
Then a third pounced in, but unlike the two before it, this lizard reared up on its hind legs and began to swing madly with its front two claws. The men, too terrified to even try to escape, were torn to pieces by those powerful appendages.
Another man had fallen on his back in a pitiful attempt to escape from a lizard. As it approached him, he waved his katana in front of him wildly to try and keep it back. But the lizard knew no fear, even when the blade cut a crease across its snout it continued forward.
It snapped up one of the man's legs in its teeth filled jaws, the man screamed as he wildly hacked at the creature to no effect. Then another lizard came and hooked its teeth into the man's shoulder. The two lizards pulled, both trying to secure their share of the prey. The man let out a strangled gurgle before he was ripped in half.
One of the Black Operatives tried casting kido,
"Hado #33: Sokatsui!" a burst of blue energy fired from his outstretched hand and struck a charging lizard right in the face.
When the lizard did not appear out of the smoke, the Black Operative let out a relieved chuckled, "haha, I got one!"
His victory was cut short, when growl, followed by the lizard he had assumed he'd destroyed, burst out from the smoke with its right eye leaking blood.
The sight was so terrible that the Black Operative cried out in fear as the lizard pounced on top of him and began to rip out his intestines.
A group of the remaining Onmitsukido members, led by one of the last Black Operatives, attempted to gang up on a lone lizard who'd just finished with the pervious Black Operative.
One of the Onmitsukido made a swipe at one of the lizard's front legs, but the lizard, despite its size was took quick and easily swatted the man away. The Onmitsukido member flew across the cavern floor and landed with a juicy crunch.
"Hado #31: Shakkaho!"
Someone shot a red ball of energy that connected with the lizard's snout, the ball of energy exploded scorching it's face.
The lizard reared up on its hind legs and let out a roar of pain. The Black Operative saw his chance and rushed the lizard, sinking his katana deep into its exposed belly.
"Got you!" The Black Operative dragged his weapon down the monster's belly, drawing a bloody line that stunk of rotten flesh and sprayed blood onto his face.
Just as victory seemed to be within their grasp, a hand, shot out from the creature's belly and grabbed the Black Operative's wrist.
"What, what the hell!" he screamed,
The cut in the lizard's belly began to open, more and more, but instead of the organs that you'd expect, what the shinigami found was that the lizard was stuffed with bodies! Human bodies!
Rotting corpses of those deceased, eyeless, shriveled, dead, yet they moved! One of the corpses had its hands firmly around the black operative's wrist.
"Let go," he cried, trying to wriggle away,
But another corpse grabbed a handful of the man's shirt. Another grabbed his hair, and yet another grabbed his cloak.
"No!" he cried out, "someone help!"
But all of his comrades were too stunned to help.
"No!" he screamed as they began to drag him into the lizard's open body, "let go! Let go!"
He sliced away a rotting hand, but another came out and replaced it.
"No! No!" he pleaded as he was pulled in deeper and deeper, until finally he was completely dragged in.
The lizard fell back down onto all fours, and the open wound that had once been on its belly sealed itself up.
"Run!" someone finally yelled, "run for your lives!"
In a matter of only 5 minutes, the numbers of the shinigami had been reduced to only a fourth of what they had once been. No one could have blamed them for trying to escape, futile as it was.
"Fools!" roared Hoshigaki as he beat back one of the lizards, "stand your ground! Or I'll-"
His sentence was replaced with a gurgle as a lizard raked its claws down his back.
"Bastard," he growled as he swung his sword around,
The lizard jumped away, letting the sword miss entirely.
"Hey! Where are you guys!" he called, he turned to the entrance and found his answer.
Dead, all dead, he was all that was left.
"Kuroda, you son of a bitch, I'll make you suffer for this!" the Commander promised.
"No," he heard, pain exploded from his legs, "you are the one who will suffer"
Hoshigaki fell the ground, blood gushing from his severed hamstrings. He caught himself with his hands and found himself looking down at a pair of feet, he turned his gaze up to see Kuroda staring down at him.
One of the lizards came up next to Kuroda, the man put his hand on its head and calmly pet the monster as though it were some common house hold dog.
"How does it feel, Hoshigaki, to be helpless in the face of a stronger power?"
"You haven't won yet kid," growled Hoshigaki as he tried to rise, "I'm still alive,"
As the Commander tried to rise, he found much to his horror, that his legs would not respond to his commands.
"Don't try to move," advised Kuroda, "I've hamstrung you, you're about as helpless as a baby who hasn't even learned how to walk."
"Bastard, that was a dirty trick," Hoshigaki spat,
"I am of the Black Ops division Hoshigaki, we are all about dirty tricks" Kuroda pointed out,
"You still claim to be part of the division, yet you've destroyed us all!" roared Hoshigaki, "I'm still Commander of the Black Ops, it's because of me that this division will continue to live on! I-"
He was suddenly cut off when Kuroda pressed AnShen's edge against his throat,
"You, are nothing more than a vile pig" finished Kuroda, "you made me murder my father, and massacred an innocent family for your own designs."
"That's how the world works kid, that's what we're here for!" Hoshigaki shot back, "you want to be a hero? Then change divisions! This isn't a division for the honorable, or the gallant, there are no good guys here! We are backstabbers, assassins, we do the jobs no one else wants to do! It's because of us, that the world is safer! Not because of some goody-two-shoes hero who has a set of morals and saves the day because he believes in himself!"
Kuroda let AnShen fall from the man's throat, "perhaps you are right. But still, if I am a part of such a dishonorable division, then there is nothing stopping me from killing a crippled man who can't even defend himself."
Hoshigaki's eyes widened as the lizards began to surround him, "No, wait, Kuroda! Please, don't do this! I'm begging you!"
No words
"Please, I'm begging for mercy! This man is begging for mercy!"
"Feast on his flesh"
"NO!"
The lizards pounced, blood was spilled, flesh was torn, bones were broken, and a new monster arose from the chaos.
That monster's name, was Kuroda Ryou, the new Commander of the Black Operations division.
End
A/N
Wow, that was a really long chapter, I think this is a new record.
So yeah, please tell me how you liked this chapter.
If you haven't figured it out by now, Kuroda's Bankai powers are relatively based off of the Four Horse Men of the Apocalypse.
The first horseman is the first stage of the Bankai, since the first horseman stands for Judgment, I decided I needed something that represented Judgment. So, I gave him wings, he's like, like an angel come down to judge mortals.
The second horseman is War and I'll admit that I went through a lot of ideas for this one. I figured since it was war that maybe I should give him some new offensive power. So I played with the idea of letting him shoot the feathers on his wings like a sort of barrage of projectiles. But that really wasn't a very original idea, plenty of people have already done that. I thought about it more and more, then I decided, what makes War, War, are the large scale conflicts between armies.
Armies, I went off that. Then I remembered watching an anime called Hellsing where the main character can summon this giant army of familiars. But I didn't want a giant army because that would just be cheating and overpowered. So I scaled it down, but I didn't want humanoids because that just didn't seem creative enough.
Then I started playing a game called Prototype 2, where the main character can summon a pack of these big ugly things called Brawlers.
Well Kuroda didn't have Brawlers, but he had those snake things that he summons. So I had an idea, where he summons kind of, evolved versions of those snakes. Then viola, you have Kuroda's second stage power.
It was really fun to wright about how they tore everyone apart. I'm sick in the head, I know.
But, yeah, I hope you liked this chapter. I took it as a chance to give some insight into Kuroda.
The next chapter will hopefully come out soon, the gang will finally leave Soul Society and we can get on to killing some arrancars!
Yay!
Also, I don't know how many people know this, but I actually have a deviant art page. I'm not very good at drawing but I did a few sketches to help inspire myself. Check it out, there's an old sketch of Kuroda I did like last December. Link is on my profile page.
Please review, favorite, subscribe and share!
Bye Bye!
Translations
Charge: Shintou Mori – Charge: Impact Lance
Execute: Handan Ono – Execute: Judge's Axe
Dainii no Dankai: Tatakau – Second Stage: War
