Thanks to my beta reader - peanutbutterthedog

disclaimer: I own nothing. Kubo Tite made bleach. Anything written in my story regarding squad 0 and the spirit king is a fiction of my imagination and has nothing to do with the "real" subjects (and was also thought of before now so any possible similarities are purely coincidental).

Chapter 29 – Encounter part 2. Choke on your own fear.

"How are we supposed to find him without the scanner?" Tetsuzaemon growled in frustration.

Izuru's team had joined up with Rangiku's in the 79th rukongai. It was the day after the team's encounter with the Ashura and they were still looking everywhere for the demon or Soga. Rangiku and Ikkaku were healed by a 4th squad member and Yumichika recovered from his shameful defeat and the entire team was now searching.

"Izumi's working on fixing the thing. Meanwhile there's nothing we can do but keep searching. Try searching for Soga's reiatsu, at least it's detectable." Rangiku said.

"Yeah, if she's still alive." Tetsuzaemon snorted.

Rangiku didn't answer but scowled at him.

"Oh come on, what was she thinking following him alone?" Tetsuzaemon asked.

The kept searching for a while, not saying a word. Then they saw Ikkaku and Yumichika. They didn't have anymore luck in finding Soga or the demon. The 11th squad-members looked especially disgruntled and Rangiku guessed that it was more then just because Soga was missing.

"Listen to me you two!" Tetsuzaemon barked before Rangiku could speak. "Next time we find that demon, we take him down together! I don't care about your one-on-one-fights-only rule! It sounds like this demon is more dangerous then we thought, if he could take down three of us. If you don't think you can fight as a team then get back to the seireitei and send someone who can!".

Ikkaku looked like he had something to say but he just bit his cheek and looked away from the seething Tetsuzaemon.

"Stop being selfish, thinking about your own glory. People's lives are at stakes here!" Rangiku said angrily. She used her anger to disguise her fear. She couldn't remember being so afraid in her life and she knew the rest were feeling the same.

Out of the shadows jumped Kohaku and stopped the conversation.

"Personal gains means nothing. The mission comes first." he said, eying Ikkaku and Yumichika. "They found Tadashi.".

Back at the new special patrol team's headquarters, medics were treating Soga. She was found by some regular patrol members, weak and exhausted. Kouichi, the 4th squad member that was the in charge of the healing team said that she sustained some injuries and lost a lot of blood.

"She's very weak right now. Something else, besides blood-lose, causes her weakness. It seems like she's drained from her vital energy. Her internal organs are barely functioning." Kouichi said. The only thing he suggested was full rest until her body returns to normal activity.

Despite the medics insisting, Ikkaku pushed his way into Soga's room to ask her about what happened.

"How come he didn't kill you?" he asked just when Rangiku and Momo entered the room.

"Ikkaku leave her alone, she needs rest." Rangiku said, pulling Ikkaku away from Soga's bed.

"He... He ran away..." Soga whispered.

They all looked at her in surprise. She was white as a sheet and her eyes were sunken and red. A bandage was wrapped around her neck, Kouichi said that she suffered multiple injuries to the throat. She was shaking slightly, tears running down her cheeks. Momo took her hand and stroked it gently.

"Shh it's okay." she said soothingly, "You need to rest now.".

Momo cast an angry look at Ikkaku but Soga spoke again, her voice weak and shaky.

"Just when he was about... to kill me..." she said in a choked voice, "He suddenly backed away, he looked... like he was in pain again. And then he just... disappeared.".

"But why?" Rangiku wondered a few minutes later, after they left Soga's room. "He was obviously winning... so why did he take off?".

"He's mocking us!" Ikkaku hissed, clenching his fists.

Rangiku explained to Momo, who wasn't there when they fought the Ashura, how he easily overpowered them and then all of a sudden he doubled over in pain and ran away.

"Maybe he's sick?" Momo suggested after hearing the details. "Anyway we should send a report back to the seireitei.".

"Report about what?" Ikkaku said sharply, crossing his hands and looking at Momo.

"About... Everything that happened." Momo said, slightly confused about the angry retort.

"Well, nothing happened. We should send a report only when we get this maniac! We don't need to report this failure." Ikkaku spat.

Slightly reluctant, they agreed no to send a report yet until they have something good to add. They checked with the guy who was fixing the scanner but he made no progress. He said it will take him a while because the device was highly complicated and if he does something wrong it might not work at all.

Frustrated and disgruntled, the special patrol team had no choice but patrol. They all had communication devises with them now, in case anyone meets the demon again. All the patrolling shinigami were ordered to report immediately if they see the Ashura and not make contact until the high officers arrive.

They gave a description of the demon to each and every member of the patrol team, tho as Yumichika said, what are the chances that he walks outside half naked and carrying a knife. The details of tall and black haired guy were also too common features so the only detail that was actually meaningful was the red eyes, but that wasn't new.

The day after, Ikkaku's wish for some action finally came true. A few hours after the sun came down, a shrill scream echoed in the special patrol headquarters.

Zanpakto drawn, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Izuru and Tetsuzaemon came rushing in and saw one of the healing team members sitting in the corner of the room, covering her face and crying uncontrollably. On the other side of the room, laid Kouichi, covered in blood, dead.

"Son of a bitch!" Ikkaku yelled, slashing at the door in frustration.

"Stop it you idiot!" Tetsuzaemon snarled as Izuru went to tend to the crying woman.

They stepped closer to the body, observing the horrifying sight. The man laid against the wall, his throat slashed, dripping blood on his front. Crouching carefully near the eviscrated body in a pool of blood, Tetsuzaemon tilted the head gently backward and examined the ripped throat.

"Vocal cords are cut." he said quietly.

He got up and stepped away from the body, observing the blood splattered wall behind it.

"Oh dear are those fingers?" Yumichika choked, pointing at the floor.

Indeed they were, Kouichi's fingers were all severed and strewn on the floor nearby.

"Screw the fingers, look at that." Ikkaku said, pointing at the wall.

In a space relatively clear of blood was written a sentence, also in blood.

"Its night time to rule, ruthless and cruel." Tetsuzaemon read out loud. "What the hell is that supposed to be?".

"It's a challenge!" Ikkaku snarled.

They contacted the rest of the team and told them about the attack. They all spread out thinking that the demon couldn't have gotten to far. All the team members were alerted and the headquarters was full of running shinigami.

A shrill scream rang out in all the communication devices.

"It's him! South entrance- aaaarrrrrrrrggghhhhhh! nnooooo!" terrible screams and static noise followed, until finally the device went silent.

"Yes!" Ikkaku bellowed as he mad his way to the south entrance, hoping that he wasn't too late.

He was. Tetsuzaemon and Izuru were already there, fighting the demon. Tetsuzaemon's sunglasses were broken and blood was dripping from his forehead. Izuru was spiting blood and his left hand hung limply at his side. They were both holding their zanpakto in their shikai form. The demon was empty handed, a sword in his sash. He was grinning, eying them with his red eyes.

He noticed Ikkaku and his smile widened. He dashed forward, bare handed. Izuru leaped in his way, slashing with his zanpakto. The demon side-stepped Izuru and hit his chin with a powerful hook punch from the left. Then the demon kicked the stunned Izuru with his knee, burying it in his opponen't belly. Izuru flew backward, spiting blood.

"Grow, Hozukimaru!" Ikkaku screamed, brandishing his zanpakto. He was furious. The demon not only sneaked in and attacked their best healer, but was now facing three opponents and did not even bothered to use his zanpakto! For now Ikkaku knew that the small knife he used last time was his shikai, and the sword he was carrying now in his sash was undoubtedly his sealed zanpakto.

Ikkaku slashed at the demon's feet, but he jumped and pulled his fist backward, preparing to land it on Ikkaku's face.

Blood splattered Ikkaku as the demon backed away after being intercepted mid-air by Tetsuzaemon. The demon clutched his side which was bleeding, and glared at the two shinigami.

"I thought you fight alone, Madarame Ikkaku." the demon's low voice taunted.

"You thought wrong!" Izuru called, jumping behind him with his weapon held high.

He slashed down at the demon's back, putting all his strength in this one-handed attack, his left hand broken at the elbow and wrist by the demon's vicious assault.

His hand stopped, caught by the demon. He was now being held up in the air, the demon's hand closed around his wrist. Suddenly fear filled his body and he realized just how much taller the man was. He was about as tall as captain Zaraki, and even if he wasn't as wide as the Kenpachi, he was just as intimidating, with his hungry red eyes, feral grin and wild jet-black hair.

Ikkaku and Tetsuzaemon hurried to attack the demon from behind, but he heard them. He let go of Izuru's hand while in the same time crouching and pulling back his arm which was slightly bent at the elbow. He then charged with his lariat, a split-second before Izuru's legs touched the ground. The demon's muscular arm hit Izuru's upper chest and neck with a crashing force that sent him thru a building's wall.

The demon then turned to face his other opponents, which were both charging at him. He caught the wooden part of Ikkaku's zanpakto and shoved it aside as he bent backward, leaning on one hand and kicked Tetsuzaemon's flat side of the blade with his two legs. While Tetsuzaemon staggered backward, Ikkaku tried to wrench his weapon from the demon's hand but he pulled back and with a flat palm thrust broke the shikai in two.

As Ikkaku stumbled back, holding his broken weapon his eyes fell on the demon's waist, where Tetsuzaemon cut him earlier.

'The wound is gone!' Ikkaku thought in shock as he stared at the flesh that was, despite being covered in blood, unharmed.

The demon laughed and threw the broken piece of Ikkaku's shikai he was holding and crouched, preparing for another attack. Then he stumbled, as if an invisible weight fell on his back, and choked as a blade protruded from his throat. His eyes widened as he spat blood as Kohaku materialized, crouching on the demon's back, his tanto stuck in his neck.

Pulling his blade and jumping off the demon's back, Kohaku made a little motion with his wrist and the blade snapped back into Kohaku's sleeve, thanks to the little mechanism that held it there.

"Don't tell me. You were here all the time and have been waiting for the right moment to attack." Tetsuzaemon grunted.

"Correct." Kohaku said airily.

"Watch out!" Ikkaku yelled.

But too late. The demon rose to his feet and thrust his elbow at Kohaku's head. Kohaku's eyes were wide in shock as the elbow hit just above his ear and knocked him out, hurling him against at a building's wall.

The demon spat blood and rubbed his neck, a sulky expression on his face.

"Hado 32 Okasen!" Tetsuzaemon yelled, holding his zanpakto horizontally in front of him.

A wide arc of yellow energy fired from the length of the sword, hitting the demon. After it disappeared, smoke covered the entire battlefield.

"Bankai!" Ikkaku called, jumping up in the air, holding both parts of his broken shikai.

This Ashura was clearly something they never faced before. Ikkaku was sure that Kohaku's attack didn't have any more effect than Tetsuzaemon's, and he was not going to wait to find out. The power coursed thru him and his weapon as the bankai was released. The huge black blades in hands, Ikkaku dived at the middle of the smoke, where the Ashura was standing before the attack.

"Ryumon Hozukimaru!" With an almighty force and some extra help from gravity Ikkaku slammed down with both blades, roaring triumphantly as he felt his weapons made contact with flesh. Not satisfied yet, Ikkaku pulled back his blades and struck again. He thought he heard a choked gasp and puled his weapons back for another attack. After this he jumped back and stood in the air, holding the middle section of his bankai above his head. He started spinning the weapon in his hands, awakening his bankai's real power. The dragon crest full now, Ikkaku stopped spinning and dived again, roaring like a beast, bringing his bankai down one last time.

The power of the hit was so great that it generated powerful shock-waves that destroyed the nearby buildings.

Tetsuzaemon grabbed Kohaku and Izuru just before Ikkaku released his bankai and placed them and himself behind a shielding bakudo. And lucky he did because if he hadn't they would have probably got caught in the blast.

The dust was starting to clear and Tetsuzaemon removed the shield.

"What's going on?" Yumichika arrived, followed by Rangiku and Momo.

Tetsuzaemon said nothing but pointed at the place Ikkaku landed. It was still obscured by smoke. They all ran into the smoke, calling for Ikkaku, their weapons drawn.

"Ikkaku!" Yumichika yelled as he noticed a figure in the smoke.

He ran toward it, the smoke sinking down around him. It was him. It was Ikkaku! The figure looked like a bald man. Yumichika ran even faster, calling for his friend.

The smoke was completely gone when he got to Ikkaku, who's back was turned to him.

"Ikkaku." Yumichika said in relief but then gasped, noticing the puddle of blood under Ikkaku.

"Ikkaku!" he called again and grabbed his friend.

Ikkaku's limp body fell on Yumichika, who gasped again as he laid the body on the ground. Ikkaku's eyes were half closed and blood was coming from his mouth. There were two bleeding puncture wounds, one on his throat and on on his chest, where the heart was. A wide, deep slash tore open his belly, his guts were spilling out.

"Ikkaku! Ikkaku!" Yumichika screamed, shaking the lifeless body.

"No it can't be." Momo sobbed, tears escaping her eyes.

Tetsuzaemon roared in fury, kicking nearby rocks as Rangiku hugged Momo, holding back her own tears.

"What the fuck is that?!" Tetsuzaemon growled as he kicked angrily at anything around him.

Rangiku looked at what Tetsuzaemon was talking about and saw that he was looking at a flat piece of broken wall. It had a writing on it, in Ikkaku's blood.

"Eyes glowing red, bloody fangs bared." Rangiku read quietly.

Tetsuzaemon cursed bitterly and slammed his zanpakto on the ground.


The healing team arrived a while later but it was already too late to save Ikkaku. They tended to Kohaku and Izuru as the others sat, mourning quietly together.

"What are we doing?" Yumichika snarled suddenly. "We should be chasing him!".

"Calm down! Rushing recklessly after him, when we don't know where he went and can't even trace his reiatsu is pointless!" Tetsuzaemon said loudly.

"We need to catch him now! Now that he's weak after fighting Ikkaku-" Yumichika yelled but Tetsuzaemon stood up.

"Weak?" he roared, his voice thundering angrily. "Weak? You have no idea what you're talking about! This bastard took us on and didn't even break a sweat! I don't know what we're dealing with but it's obvious that we're over our heads!".

"What are saying, Tetsuzaemon? That we are a bunch of weaklings who can't even take on one person when it's three-on-one?!" Yumichika spat, standing up as well.

"I'm saying that it's time to report and ask for more reinforcement. It's time the captains step in." Tetsuzaemon roared in his face.

"Ask for reinforcement? We are the reinforcement, how disgusting it will be for us to call for help!" Yumichika snapped back.

They kept arguing for almost an hour. Momo just sat kept crying the whole time and Rangiku didn't say a word, she just stared into the empty space.

Eventually they decided not to send a report yet, but reviewed everything they knew about the Ashura.

"He's extremely strong and fast. Very agile and aware of his surrounding. An expert in hakuda and zanjutsu-" Tetsuzaemon said but Yumichika cut across him.

"How do you know he's an expert in zanjutsu? You said he didn't fight with his sword!"

"He didn't but last time you said he fought using a knife which was probably his shikai! Meaning that he is an expert in zanjutsu!"

"You can't deduce something like that! It makes no sense!"

"Oh yeah?! Well how about I knock some sense into your head!"

"Knock it off you two!" Rangiku said loudly as the men grabbed each-other by the collar. "We need to rest. We're all tired and angry, and besides we need to do this with everyone, Izuru, Kohaku and Soga. There's no point in brawling over it now when you are all riled up.".

Angry and irritated, they all went to their beds. Rangiku pointed out that the demon would probably not attack any time soon, seeing as he ran away after he killed Ikkaku. He could have just stayed, having sustained no visible damage, and continue his assault on the rest of them.

The day after they all gathered in Soga's room. Soga was still to weak to move around so they had no other option. They were all tensed and edgy, as if expecting the Ashura to jump in thru the window at any second.

"So the only thing we didn't see him using is kido." Izuru said after they discussed the demon's fighting style.

"It doesn't mean he can't do it." Tetsuzaemon pointed out.

"He doesn't look like the kind of guy who uses kido." Yumichika said with a slight sneer.

"He doesn't look like the kind of guy who uses knives as his choice of weapons either." Kohaku said, his sneer quite clear.

"What are you trying to say, kid?" Yumichika asked, emphasizing the last word.

"That as an 11th squad belligerent moron, you should leave the thinking to the rest of us." Kohaku said coldly.

"Hey that was out of line, Kohaku. Yumichika sit down!" Izuru said loudly as Tetsuzaemon grabbed Yumichika who tried to jump at Kohaku.

Kohaku looked away, looking completely unconcerned. Tetsuzaemon pushed Yumichika back into his chair, huffing and cursing. Next they discussed the Ashura's ability to recover from wounds almost immediately.

"Kohaku stabbed his throat. He was supposed to die and not just get up a second later, shrug and go back to fighting as if nothing happened. And I slashed his chest, but it seemed like the cut just disappeared." Tetsuzaemon said angrily.

"My blade went thru his spine and windpipe. Unless he has some kind of instant-regeneration ability like hollows I have no explanation." Kohaku said carelessly.

"Do you think he's some kind of arrancar?" Momo asked quietly.

"He doesn't have a mask, so no. You can join the gay in the no-thinking area." Kohaku replied.

"That's enough Kohaku." Izuru said after he took Kohaku to the side while Rangiku and Tetsuzaemon held Yumichika down. "We are trying to work as a team so if you don't think you are capable of keeping your rude comments to yourself, I think you should leave.".

"I'm not leaving until my mission is complete."

"The knife." Soga murmured.

They all went silent and huddled around her bed. She was breathing slowly, trying to gather strength to talk.

"It's the most... dangerous..." she muttered.

"The knife? What's so dangerous about a knife?" Yumichika scowled.

"You will be surprised how efficient a knife can be." Kohaku said, but Rangiku hushed the pair of them.

"It steals..." Soga whispered.

"Steal?" Yumichika blurted but Rangiku shushed him.

"Life... power..." Soga gasped and went silent, panting for air.

"The knife steals life power?" Momo repeated.

Soga said nothing but nodded. She closed her eyes and took deep shuddering breaths. The next time she opened her eyes, it was night. Her room was silent and dark, only lit by the moonlight coming from the window. She tried to sit up, mastering all of her strength into pushing herself off the bed. She managed to stay upright for a second, before a wave of weakness washed over her and she bent forward, her shaking hands on her knees.

"Oh please, don't get up for me." a low voice came from the corner.

Soga gasped as the blood drained from her face and fear surged thru her aching body. A hand on her forehead pushed her back until she was laying again. The hand didn't leave her face, but slid down on her eyes, obscuring the person from sight. But she knew it was him, the Ashura.

"I thought you would recover by now." he said, a hint of disappointment in his tone.

"I almost... died." Soga choked. She tried to forget the last time they met, the way his hands glided over her body, colder than the knife that pierced her skin, crueler than the mouth that sucked her blood and far more abusing than the hard member that slammed into her.

"If you did... It's because you are weak. I could kill you if I wanted, but you are more useful to me alive. Keep that in mind if you think to double-cross me.".

"You said..." she gasped, her lungs searing from pain. "You said... You'll take her... and leave...".

The demon removed his hand from her eyes and cupped her cheek. His red eyes boring into hers, his vile grin sending chill down her spine.

"I did and I will. But the seireitei is a long way from here. I have to feed my hunger on the way. Besides, who said I can't have some fun before I disappear.".

His hand traveled down to her neck, squeezing it lightly. She gasped and sobbed, closing her eyes, hoping the monster would just disappear, that it was all just a bad dream. But it wasn't, and the monster didn't go away. He chuckled, running his fingers up and down her throat.

"Don't worry, if I'll have you the way you are now, I'll kill you. I just remembered that I forgot to ask something, the first time we met."

He leaned down to her, she could feel his breath on her face. She could sense his hunger, his longing to rip her neck again. She kept her eyes closed, forcing back a panicked scream.

"Look at me." he whispered, tightening his fingers around her neck.

She let out a choked sob and opened her eyes, reluctantly meeting his blood-chilling gaze. His red eyes didn't move from hers. It was like he was feeding on her fear, his eyes absorbing the terror reflecting in her blue ones.

"That bleeping thing you had with you, the one that beeped faster the closer it got to me, where did you get it and how does it work?"

"I don't... don't know..." she said hurriedly. "We got... all the equipment... squad 12...".

Her head started spinning as exhaustion washed over her. Talking, and the close proximity to such terrifying creature drained her of the little strength she had recovered.

"Broken..." she muttered, her eyes rolling up in their sockets.

"Who's fixing it?".

She took deep, long breaths, forcing herself to stay conscious. Her ears rang, tiny lights danced in front of her eyes.

"Who?"

"Izu... Izumi...".


Next morning, chaos broke out again. Izumi, the 12th squad member who was in charge of operating and maintaining the scanning equipment was found dead in his room. The scanner he was trying to fix was smashed into tiny pieces which laid scattered around his lifeless body. Unlike the other victims, Izumi wasn't laying in a massive pool of blood. His body was mangled but less brutally then the others and there were very few splashes of blood on the walls. Yes, his head was turned all the way around but it seems Izumi suffered very little. The medic who examined him said that most of the cuts were made after he already died.

"Well yeah... That Ashura bastard probably killed him too quickly before realizing that he didn't leave a message." Tetsuzaemon grunted, nodding at yet another words written in blood.

"Devourer of souls, no mercy to the prey you claim." Izuru read quietly.

There wasn't any reason to look for the demon again, as the medic said that the time of death was sometimes in the middle of the night, meaning that the Ashura was long gone.

The lose of the scanner was a devastating news for them. Now they could no longer track down the Ashura.

"What difference does it make? He's tracking us down." Kohaku said.

Two more days have passed. Two days of nerve-racking anticipation, where no one could sleep. Everyone were stressed, ready for the demon to attack again. No one left headquarters and they all move around in groups. Izuru sat down and started writing a report, summarizing all that happened in the last couple of days, including Ikkaku's death and pictures of the bloody messages. He was halfway thru when someone charged into the room in which he sat along with the other ranked officers.

"He struck again!" the breathless man splattered, trying to catch his breath.

"Where?" Yumichika asked, already on his feet.

"Six... sixty..." the man gasped holding out a picture. "The 64th rukongai.".

Yumichika looked at the picture and handed it over so everyone could have a look.

"Come out demon, I call your name." Momo read, looking at the bloody sentence showed in the photo.

"The 64th rukongai?" Tetsuzaemon snarled. "Are you sure?".

"Positive, lieutenant!" the man said.

"How did he get there so quickly?" Rangiku wondered.

"He doesn't have to carry useless pieces of junk on his back." Yumichika said angrily.

"You don't think... That he's heading to the seireitei do you?" Momo asked quietly.

"I don't know where he's going, but he's doing it fast. I'm going to send the report. This is out of our hands now." Izuru said gravely.


~{-}~~{-}~~{-}~~{-}~~{-}~

Thanks for reading. Please leave a review :D

And thanks to everyone who left a review :D