Chapter 36: The Dark Dawn
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Bleach.
Having defeated the last remnants of Naraku's advance force with the help of Ichigo's friends, Yoruichi Shihouin made a mad dash for the main battlefield atop Sokyoku Hill. The darkening clouds that had begun to form over the execution grounds had already caught her attention, and she could only guess how much time they had left before the situation became worse. The unnatural composition of the smog implied that it was poison, but she could sense small traces of the Sacred Jewel's energy in the mix.
In her left arm, she carried a number of items that were sure to come in handy in the ensuing struggle, one of which she had been personally instructed to deliver to the priestess. She had hidden the goods on her clan's estate a few days ago for safekeeping, but now that the final battle was drawing close she had chosen to retrieve it.
The former Captain of the Second Division had promptly parted ways with the others as soon as it was clear that they no longer needed her assistance to stop the enemy onslaught. In all honesty she was planning on going back to get the special package earlier, but she had sensed trouble and immediately went out of the way to check out the situation for herself. It had felt like the right thing to do at the time, but now she was beginning to have second thoughts on the situation.
Pausing between flash steps, the dark-skinned woman stopped for a moment to observe the precious cargo given to her by Kisuke Urahara not that long ago. It was a single arrow and a bow, but the surface of the weapons gave off an unnatural glow, and even before the situation had been explained to her she sensed that it wasn't an ordinary piece of equipment. The bow itself was long and metallic with strange symbols carved into the handle, whole the arrow was rather broad and extremely sharp.
As long as she had known the ragged scientist, his inventions never ceased to amaze her. Back when they were growing up together she remembered him always tinkering around with different objects and experimenting with nature, and this only became more pronounced as he grew older and joined the Stealth Force.
When he was finally appointed to take up the vacant seat as the captain the Twelfth Division, his interests drove him to establish the Department of Research and Development within his unit, and with the help of Mayuri Kurotsuchi and his lieutenant Hiyori Sarugaki, they created a new organization, which ultimately revolutionized the entire Soul Society. Her old friend Kisuke was always an odd man, but he had proven multiple times to possess a wit beyond compare.
The strange weapons that he had given her were rather special according to what she had been told. Thinking back to what he had said, this device that she now carried could very well have been the only thing in the Soul Society capable of completely destroying the jewel at this point. She had been skeptical to believe this idea at first, but his explanation had made it quite clear as to what he had been thinking.
Flashback
It was a dark evening and she had just gotten back from the Soul Society to relay the most recent report back to her old friend at the Urahara Shoten. She was unusually nervous at the time, considering that she had been given instructions by him to deliver a certain number of questionable items as soon as possible. Slowly but surely she pushed open the front door of the old candy shop and went inside to take a closer look at what was going on inside.
The place was unusually quiet, but lucky for her it seemed that Ginta and Ururu had already turned in to rest for the night and were not around to cause any disruptions. Resting the large wooden crate she had brought onto the floor for a moment, she sighed at the lack of a welcome from her two oldest friends in the world.
As if on cue, a large man wearing an apron stepped through the doors leading to the back room of the shop. "My apologies for not anticipating your arrival, Yoruichi-dono… If you're searching for the manager I believe he wants you to meet him in the basement as soon as possible." Tessai replied with a sense of haste.
"Thanks Tessai…" she replied with a small shrug. Without any further objection, the former commander of the Stealth Force hoisted her load onto her shoulder and continued on to the back of the shop.
Having known her for so long, the Kido Master immediately noticed the gloomy expression on her face. "Something wrong, princess?" he questioned with a frown.
"I'm just wondering what Kisuke plans to do with the contents of this box." She explained in an emotionless tone. "He's done some pretty crazy things in the past, but I doubt that Commander General Yamamoto would respond well if he knew what it is that I smuggled out of the Soul Society last night."
Before Tessai could voice any form of opinion, Kisuke Urahara came through the secret passage in the floor with his normally lighthearted demeanor present. "Yoruichi, what a pleasant surprise…" He scratched the back of his head nervously before assuming a much more serious expression. "So assume you brought the goods…"
She merely nodded with a grim expression as he turned and leapt back into the basement, closely followed by his two old comrades. Once they had safely pulled out of the fall and landed on their feet, the scientist approached a small table where a number of strange tools were already strewn about in a messy order. Once Urahara reached the working station, he began tinkering about for several minutes without so much as a backwards glance.
Long having become accustomed to his experimental ways, his friends remained relatively silent and said nothing to interrupt the scientific process. It seemed like a while before anyone spoke again, but at long last the old shopkeeper turned around to face them.
"All right, I trust that you were able to salvage as much as possible." He asked in an unusually somber tone.
Yoruichi nodded in agreement as she placed the crate onto the table beside him. "You do realize that we could be in a lot of trouble if the Soul Society finds out about this little endeavor."
The ragged store manager merely shrugged with a half-hearted smile. "I'm already in trouble, so one more crime won't make a difference. All things considered, I wager that they wouldn't care very much either way. In the case that the Shikon Jewel does return, we will need a way to destroy it."
Tapping the side of the crate with the end of his cane, Urahara snapped open the lid of the box to reveal the glowing shards of some kind of broken weapon. "These, my friend, may be just the solution we need."
"I still fail to see why you wanted me to salvage the broken shards of the Sokyoku from the execution grounds." She replied with a serious look.
Kisuke merely smiled with a slightly crazy glint in his eyes reminiscent of the mad scientist he truly was. "Although Ichigo managed to destroy the Sokyoku, the shards that remained behind still bear small traces of the weapons power."
The former Commander of the Stealth Force paused to think about it for a moment. "When in its unsealed form, it creates a powerful thermal disruption capable of completely dissolving a soul. Even so, what good does that do for us?"
"I'm glad you asked…" the shopkeeper replied with a clever smirk. "If what Higurashi-san told me is true, even the purity of her soul and strong spiritual powers was not enough to destroy it completely. However, we do know that the Shikon Jewel was originally conceived through the union of souls. So if we endow some kind of weapon with the power of the Sokyoku…"
A look of dawning lit her facial features. "Then there's a chance that the souls comprising that cursed object will finally pass out of existence… Thus ending the constant cycle of bloodshed and rebirth." She finished for him.
"You catch on quickly, as smart as ever, I see!" he replied with a snap of his trademark fan. He waved the object in front of his face before pocketing it once again. His cheerful façade dropped before he spoke again. "If we cannot prevent the return of the jewel, this may be the only option that we have left to stop this once and for all."
End Flashback
Bearing these thoughts in mind, she placed the bow and arrow back into the sack on her shoulder and quickly hastened her traveling pace. Pressing ahead at full speed, she silently hoped that it would not be too late by the time she arrived on the main battlefield.
Meanwhile…
Kagome gasped in horror as she looked up at the cloud of shouki in the sky. The way the mass shifted almost made it seem like it had a life of its own, but something seemed unnatural about it. After a second of watching, the priestess realized that the miasma was not only growing, but also expanding at an alarming rate the likes of which she had never seen before. In a matter of moments the smoke blotted out the early morning sun, instantly withering plant life as if some strange force were choking the life out of the surrounding landscape.
The sound of footsteps quickly caught their attention as two more Shinigami moved onto the scene. Their presence briefly diverted the attention of the main group as Kagome turned her head to catch a glimpse of Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki running towards them as fast as their legs would carry them. The young priestess let out a sigh of relief as she caught sight of two of her new friends, but Inuyasha merely shrugged off their presence as if they wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.
The Substitute Shinigami appeared to her left with a grim expression. "So Kagome, would you and your friends care to explain to us what exactly is going on."
The Fifth Division Captain silently observed the scenario in silence before giving him an answer. "The enemy plans to destroy all who would oppose him and rule everything through the power of the Shikon Jewel." He interjected.
Ichigo turned to face him before shifting his focus back to the man standing in the center of the execution grounds. "If that's the case, then I suggest we kick his ass and move on with it."
"That's the best idea I've heard all day." The former half-demon replied with a rough battle-hardened smile.
The monk stepped in between the two with a disapproving expression, holding out his arm in front of them to signify this. "Do not be hasty, or someone could get hurt without necessity…"
Without warning Ichigo spun to face the enemy and moved his sword in a vertical motion to fire a Getsuga Tenshou, but the keeper of the sacred jewel merely laughed in amusement. Raising his sword arm, Naraku effortlessly repelled the oncoming strike by materializing a cloud of poison between him body and the offending blast. After a second or two, the poison crystallized into a purple wall. Which effectively blocked the oncoming attack without any sign or damage at all.
"Did you serious think that such a sloppy technique could undo the power of the jewel?" the fiendish specter asked with an unpleasant sneer. "I admire your courage for trying to face me head on, so I will reward you all by showing you the true extent of my new powers before anyone else."
Leaping into the air, Naraku planted his sword into the ground as he touched down, infusing the blade of his Zanpakuto with the dark energies of the Shikon Jewel buried within his body. The blade turned a dark black color for a moment, but the strange glow seemed to flow from the tip of his weapon and into the ground atop Sokyoku Hill. Clouds of shouki began seeping from the ground at an alarming rate, forcing the group to retreat further back to avoid the affects of the poison's deadly fumes.
The priestess let out a small cry of surprise as an arm seized her by the waist and pulled her further away from Naraku, but a reassuring look from her beloved eased her nerves fort he moment. The others merely used shunpo to accelerate their movements as they vanished and reappeared a considerable distance away from the continuously expanding smog.
Once again strange shapes began forming in the expanding smog, but in a short time the smoke had cleared to reveal hundreds of Naraku's dark puppets. Although the armies that had originally appeared near the gates of the Seretei were of a considerable mass, this new unit was vastly larger than any of the others that he had created so far, and from the recent reports they had received there were supposedly others attacking from different locations throughout the area.
With zombie-like intelligence, the creatures slowly began closing in around their small victims like scavengers to the carcass, the masks on their featureless faces giving them a sinister presence as tainted reiatsu saturated the surrounding air.
Placing his beloved on the ground behind him, Inuyasha brandished his sword with renewed vigor and took a step towards the advancing forces. "You'll never get away with this… When I'm done, you'll wish you had gone to hell!" he called to his old nemesis.
"Even after centuries you are still a fool… My power will expand until all worlds are covered in the darkness spawned by my ambition." The devious villain merely glanced up at the darkening skies with a sickening smirk to confirm this. "Now that the barrier around this court has been removed by the invasion force, the poison you see above our heads will soon blanket the Seretei and then the entire Soul Society as my warriors destroy all who would dare to resist!"
Sango took a step backwards with a twinge of fear in her eyes as she eyed the hundreds of enemies moving towards them. Despite the idea of dying, the former demon slayer stood her ground and searched the massive unit for signs of Naraku. "You filthy demon! To think that someone like you could attain such great power through the jewel…"
Miroku twirled his blade in a circular motion between his fingers, muttering the incantation under his breath to release his Zanpakuto. The sword glowed for a moment before transforming into a long Shakujo staff, which he grasped firmly in his right hand. "I pity what you have become, Naraku. In life you could not obtain that which you desired, so now you plan to destroy what other people have worked so hard to build…"
"I don't know what kind of history you have with these guys, but Kagome is our friend. I heard that you used her powers to obtain the strength necessary to do this. People like you who would harm innocent people to do things like this have no place in any world." Ichigo added in.
Swinging his blade down, he sent another wave of spiritual energy crashing down upon the enemy lines, but more just moved forward the fill the space that he had created. Lifting his arm he prepared to launch another attack, but a smaller hand seized him by the shoulder from behind. He turned for a moment to see Rukia, who merely shook her head in a solemn manner. "What the hell was that for?" he questioned.
She retracted her hand a moment later with a motherly look. "You would be wasting your energy like that, there are too many of them for us to battle head on."
While everyone seemed to agree with her statement, it didn't seem to stop the others from making an attempt to put an end to the enemy's assault. Inuyasha took hold of his dual swords and swung wildly, releasing and manipulating the surrounding wind into powerful blasts of energy, which tore through the demonic specters rather quickly. Kagome stood behind him and began firing off a number of arrows from her Quincy bow, but the number of enemies present made her attacks less effective.
After exhausting a great number of sutras in his attempt to drive back the oncoming hoards of monsters, the monk quickly gave up on the idea. "We have no choice but to pull back for the time being, because there is absolutely no chance that so few of us will be able to defeat such a large invasion force alone."
The young priestess shook her head in defiance and moved beside the man she loved to provide cover fire with her bow, the third member of their party joining her shortly afterwards. Inuyasha merely glared in his direction and scowled. "If that's the case than I say we stand and fight anyway. If these bastards are going to kill us anyway, then I say that we might as well go down fighting!"
"I believe that he's right this time, Miroku. If we can't defeat this enemy then what makes you think that running away from them will work?" Sango added in quickly. "If we try to get away now, there's a good chance that Naraku's army will eventually hunt us down either way."
"It looks like we have no choice but to team up and hope for the best. I can't say that I know you guys all that well, but if you're friends with Kagome then I won't argue against reinforcements." Ichigo decimated another group of attackers as he spoke. "The more of us there are, the more ass we can kick… It's as simple as that."
Miroku let out an exasperated sigh as he looked upon the faces of his companions and silently accepted their decision as he realized how useless it would be to argue with them. He already knew how fiery his wife could be when she believe in something, and Inuyasha's stubborn nature had remained largely unchanged even after hundreds of years The former half-demon would never turn back from a battle, and in his heart he knew that Kagome would never abandon him in the middle of a battle and would continue to fight side by side with him regardless of her dislike of fighting.
After a brief pause, he reluctantly agreed to stand and fight alongside these people. He glanced over at Ichigo and Rukia and remembered the other people that they had encountered on their way to the execution grounds. To think that the young priestess had already made new friends that were willing to risk their lives for her. Kagome was and strange child sometimes, but she was an excellent judge of character and had a knack of making good friends.
Although he silently disapproved of what they were doing, the newly appointed captain thrust his staff into the ground and sent out another wave of his sacred sutras. The spell tags landed on the ground in front of the advancing creatures and exploded after a few seconds, sending dozens of enemy soldiers into oblivion as their bodies crumbled into the dust. He smiled to himself at the sight of the small victory, but his face contorted into a look of incredulity as many more stepped forward to replace the ones that had been destroyed.
"That was a valiant effort… but quite a waste of energy I am afraid." Naraku's taunting drawl erupted from behind the enemy lines. "You would do better to lay down your weapons and resolve yourselves to the ultimate demise that awaits all worlds."
Inuyasha responded by sending a blast of wind in the direction of the noise. Even though he knew that the attack would never reach his nemesis through the growing enemy lines, he had no desire to back down after being spoken like that. "You arrogant bastard… If you're so tough, why don't you come out of there and show yourself already."
The demonic villain thought about the situation for a moment, and quickly realized the possible troubles that could be caused by putting off the destruction of his enemies until later. "I was planning on prolonging your suffering, but if you insist on a quick death I shall be more than happy to grant you that wish." He answered.
As if on cue, a small shape levitated into the air from the midst of the enemy creatures, his body giving off a tainted light reminiscent of the accursed bauble. Although a strange dark aura seemed to envelop his figure, Naraku's vindictive smile could still be seen. The members of the small resistance were forced to shield their eyes for a moment as they adjusted to the strange lighting, but the overwhelming feelings of dread seem to have been amplified by the power of the black Sacred Jewel, which radiated from his body.
Hovering several meters above the heads of his soldiers, Naraku bore down upon them with a sickening expression, his face filled with a sense of malicious happiness that only served to further the ill feelings harbored by his opponents. Raising his Zanpakuto into the air, he waved the blade in circular motion, forcing the poisonous cloud above their heads to expand twice as quickly as it has before.
"Now watch as you and the entire Seretei become the first victims of my grand scheme. Feel honored as the Shouki above our heads expands to cover the entire Soul Society." The demonic villain replied. "Yes… Once this entire dimension is firmly under my control, I shall move on to conquer the earth, and then all who draw breath shall know the meaning of eternal slumber! None can escape… None will escape the power of the Shikon Jewel…"
With this said, Naraku burst out into a chorus of evil laughter that seemed to echo throughout the darkening skies in an unnatural eerie manner. As Kagome looked up to catch a better look at her old enemy, she silently pitied him just like Miroku had moments earlier. It was as if his centuries old failure had stripped him of any reason or pride, turning him into a being of pure malice. Despite his destructive goals, the villainous spirit seemed to be even less human than he had all those years ago. It was truly a tragic sight to behold, but terrifying at the same time… The near infinite power of the Sacred Jewel was in the hands of a madman, and this time she felt a small bit of doubt deep in her soul. Could they really defeat this enemy now?
"You may have gained great power, but can you overcome the last force which stands between you and this mad ambition?" the former monk questioned their arch nemesis.
Before Kagome could react, a blast of spiritual pressure overcame her from all directions, prompting her to search for the source of this power, but as it turned out she did not have to look very far to discover the answer. Shifting her eyes from one end of the execution grounds to the next, she realized that they were still standing in the center of the field facing off against Naraku's forces, but now they were no longer alone… Her mouth slid open for a second as she spun around slowly, revealing the entire mobilized forces of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.
She felt faint at seeing thousands of Shinigami closing in around the dark forces, each of them standing at attention as they held their ground. The sudden appearance of the Shinigami seemed to have silenced even Naraku for the moment, but after a moment of two the young priestess realized that the rest of her group had diverted their attention in the direction opposite the enemy. Inuyasha seized he by the arm and to catch her attention, refocusing her sight on a select group of people.
A number of figures moved towards they in a steady procession, each of them wearing white clothing similar to the outfit that Miroku so proudly displayed on his own person. Observing them for a moment, she immediately recognized a smaller woman with short dark hair and an irate expression as the one who forcibly brought her to the Soul Society for incarceration. She recognized the much larger figure standing to her left as Inuyasha's captain, quickly leading her to the conclusion that these people were the infamous soldiers who commanded the Gotei 13.
As the regal procession approached them, the Shinigami closest to them scattered to make a path and fell to their knees. After several moments of silence, the captains parted ways to reveal the elderly form of Head Captain Yamamoto. Rukia Kuchiki knelt on the ground as she humbled herself before the supreme commander of the Soul Society's military forces, closely followed by Sango who openly expressed some small measure of respect for her former superior.
To Kagome's intense surprise, she saw Inuyasha reciprocate this gesture as the old man stopped a few meter away from their group. After a few seconds, the three Shinigami returned to their feet and stood at attention. Yamamoto eyed them suspiciously, but proceeded onward without so much as a backwards glance. The young priestess felt faint as she took a blast of his spiritual pressure. Despite the fact that he was concealing his power, she felt frightened for a moment to imagine how much strength he possessed.
The elderly general approached Miroku with a stern expression. "Captain Miroku Saito of the Fifth Division… We shall discuss your actions later…" he growled, receiving a nervous reaction from the newly appointed officer.
After a moment or two, Yamamoto shifted his view up towards the sky, his eyes opening as he caught sight of the individual responsible for the terrible things that had happened within the Soul Society. Although he had been watching the Shinigami forces with interest for the last few minutes, Naraku now found himself in the midst of a staring contest with the man whose armies he had been combating every step of the way. He looked away for a moment as the old man's iron gaze overpowered his own, but despite this he seemed to find amusement in the situation.
"Captain General Yamamoto… So at last we meet…" the demonic spirit greeted with a smile. "I must admit your guardsmen placed a valiant effort in defending the Seretei from my own forces, but I'm afraid that it was all a waste of time."
When the elderly warrior did not answer, Naraku continued speaking without acknowledging the other man's silence. "Your best efforts to thwart my plans failed, and now there is no hope for anyone to reverse what I have done. The jewel's tainted light will spread with my poisonous cloud, increasing my influence until no one can defy me. All worlds shall fall!"
"Misguided infant…" Yamamoto shouted with a sense of outrage. "I have seen countless fools like you through the thousands of years that I have served the Soul Society, and not a single one has ever succeeded."
"You old fool… trapped in the self-satisfied teachings of old which you preach. Your filthy pride will be your own undoing." The villain retaliated with equal ferocity.
The old general stepped towards the enemy, his emotionless façade giving birth to a sense of fury. Miroku flared up his own power in order to shield his friends from the massive spirit energy radiating off of the commander so that they would not collapse from the strain. It was known around the Soul Society that anyone less than a captain stood very little chance of withstanding the full force of his power, and even the newly appointed captain could feel drops of sweat forming on his forehead as a result.
Kagome watched in silence as the commander tapped his staff against the ground, causing the wooden exterior of the walking stick to burn away, revealing the presence of his sealed Zanpakuto. Yamamoto cast aside his white haori as the spirit energy surrounding his body blew the upper half of his clothing away. His well muscled and heavily scarred upper body was surprising to those who had never seen him battle before, but no one seemed eager to say anything as the man drew his katana from its sheath.
"All Things in the Universe Turn to Ashes… Ryujin Jakka!" the old general roared, causing the blade of his sword to burst into flames.
The fires split into four separate pillars and shot towards the four gates. The walls of fire expanded at an alarming rate until the perimeter of the Seretei was completely surrounded, but after a few moments the towering inferno expanded into a dome like structure, which expanded to the skies, effectively preventing the poisonous cloud from expanding outside of the boundaries.
The drunken captains of the Eight Division titled his hat back as he observed the magnificent flames, which now filled the skies. "Wow… It looks like old man Yama is in a really bad mood right now." He commented to his old friend.
"It seems like he's actually going to get serious for a change… this could battle is going to become quite dangerous." Jushiro Ukitake merely commented with a nervous expression. He watched the spectacle unfold, yet even though they had both known the commander general since the early days of the Shinigami Academy, the power of his released Zanpakuto was truly a breathtaking sight.
Kenpachi Zaraki merely grinned with anticipation. "So, it's finally about the start…"
For the first time in a while, Naraku was rendered utterly speechless by the prospect of what had just happened just like many of the people present. "What do you think you are doing?" he shouted at the old man.
"Your dark power will not expand outside of these sacred grounds so long as I contain it." Yamamoto explained in his low growling tone. "Ryujin Jakka is the oldest and most powerful fire-type Zanpakuto in the entire Soul Society. Not even the power of the Sacred Jewel will pass so long as I draw breath."
The enemy leader sent waves of miasma towards the outer walls of fire, but the flames merely dissipated his poisonous assault without showing any sign of weakening. He scowled for a moment, but a truly evil smile lit his face as he noticed the sweat forming on the commander's face. "That annoying fire wall remains so long as you are present, but as soon as your spirit energy runs out, nothing will be able stop me…"
"We shall soon see about that!" the old general announced with unwavering confidence.
"Perhaps the power of your Zanpakuto prevents me, but no matter how powerful you are it appears that maintaining such a powerful technique strains your power. Let's see how well you defend yourself while trying to hold back the power of the jewel at the same time…" the enemy observed with a confident expression.
Naraku paused again before sending a larger wave of shouki towards his elderly nemesis, but the surrounding captains reacted before the poison could even draw near. Leaping into the air with a well-placed flip, Shunsui Kyouraku plunged his hands into the opening of his captain's haori and simultaneously unsheathed both of his swords.
"Flower Wind Rage and Flower God Roar… Katen Kyokotsu!" the Squad 8 Captain shouted, causing his blades to transform into a pair of Chinese Falchions. Clicking the two swords together, he generated a large blast of wind, which scattered the oncoming smog with his own attack. Two more poisonous clouds closed in on the elderly general, but he found it unnecessary to act.
Retsu Unohana drew her own Zanpakuto and placed her hand over the surface of her weapon like a mother comforting her child. While the tranquil expression she wore remained unchanged, her normally hidden spiritual pressure came to the surface. "Purify the Flesh… Minazuki!" she stated calmly, causing her blade to morph into a gigantic one-eyed ray.
The creature took flight as she mounted it's back and tore through the skies as remarkable speeds. Opening its gargantuan mouth, Minazuki began to release a large amount of mist-like vapor, which instantly enveloped and neutralized the incoming clouds of shouki. Once the immediate threat was eliminated, the Fourth Division Captain closed her eyes for a moment as if she were breathing a sigh of relief.
"You meddlesome witch!" Naraku hissed with annoyance, sending another wave of his miasma in her direction. "How did you possibly manage to stop my poison?"
Although she did not seem to hear him, the head of the medical squad opened her eyes and tapped Minazuki's head, prompting the ray to repeat the same technique it had used moment before. Once she had foiled him for the second time, Unohana shifted her view so that she was making eye contact with her adversary. "I created an antidote to your pestilence from the samples found in Captain Hitsugaya's bloodstream not very long ago. Combining the new medication with my Zanpakuto's healing abilities has allowed me to counteract your attacks." She explained with a stern expression.
"You should not have underestimated the Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Companies." Byakuya Kuchiki added in a cold, emotionless tone. "That mistake will be your defeat."
"Arrogant fools…" The villain scowled in annoyance as he glared at the offending captains, but no matter what happened from this point on, he would surely outlast them. As powerful as they were, even the mightiest warrior had limits, but the energies gifted to him by the power of the Sacred Jewel were nearly infinite. Still, at the moment it would be no good to attack the old man, as he was far too well protected.
Changing his course of action, Naraku raised his sword to signal the soulless creatures comprising his army of darkness. "Kill them!" he ordered loudly. "Now go forth and enforce my divine will by any means necessary!"
As if driven by his words, the thousands of puppets that had remained motionless so far suddenly sprang to life like a legion of zombies and raised their weapons as they charged to attack anything in their path. The protectors of the Soul Society seemed to be taken aback for a moment by this sudden movement, but none backed down.
"Do not let them pass!" Yamamoto thundered, his voice carrying to the ears of his loyal subordinates. "That is your duty! Do not allow these filthy manifestations of dark magic to strike fear in your hearts… Destroy them all and show no mercy!"
Before the general had even given the order for them to attack, Inuyasha had already left his post and was running towards the opposing force with his released weapon poised for battle. Leaping into the air he came down upon his enemy and smashed clean through the creature's head with his foot. A group began to surround him in an attempt to strike back, but the Fourth Seat dealt with them instantly by releasing a powerful blast of wind from his twin blades. Spinning around, he jammed his left sword through the face of an oncoming puppet and used his second sword to impale another through the chest.
"Looks like he's going to get himself killed… He can't do this alone!" Miroku commented with a small sigh, his somewhat hesitant expression became deathly serious.
"I'm on it…" Sango tapped her weapons together as she ran alongside her husband, a sense of adrenaline pumping through her veins. "Rage… Benzaiten!" she shouted, releasing her short blades into a pair of small tridents. She quickly ran after their ill-tempered friend in an attempt to provide backup.
As if they were inspired by the sudden display of courage set down by Kagome's group, the thousands of Shinigami present drew their swords and armed themselves for battle as they ran forward to meet the enemy forces. The two armies clashed with intense ferocity, grappling and tearing at each other as they swung their weapons in a terrifying exchange. Naraku watched in dismay as his soldiers were slaughtered, but at the moment it did not directly concern him.
"The man responsible will require a strong adversary to defeat him." Yamamoto explained to the surrounding captains. "Captains Ukitake, Kyouraku, and Unohana will stand on the defensive lines and protect the rear units… The rest of you are to advance forward and destroy the source of this menace. Go!"
No sooner had the old man finished speaking that Kenpachi Zaraki began his attack. Charging forward aggressively, his spiritual pressure flashed brightly like a raging fire as he came down against the enemy lines. He effortlessly scattered countless numbers with each swing of his sword as more and more soulless drones vanished into the dust beneath his blade.
"Bankai…Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!" Komamura bellowed, causing a gargantuan behemoth to appear behind him. The humanesque giant wielded a large blade in its right hand, bringing the end down upon the attacking forces while crushing many of them.
The relatively diminutive commander of the Stealth Force advanced forward next, using her Shunko ability in much the same manner as Yoruichi Shihouin. Moving at incredible speeds she quickly thinned the enemy forces while exerting the combined force of her Kido skills and combat abilities simultaneously.
"Bankai… Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!" Byakuya Kuchiki muttered quietly, dropping his Zanpakuto from between his fingers as he spoke. The sealed katana sunk into the ground at his feet in an eerie manner, reappearing seconds later as several larger blades began protruding from the ground surrounding him. Seconds later, the many blades shattered into millions of shards, which began dancing in the wind like countless cherry blossoms.
Mayuri Kurotsuchi rubbed his hands together with delight as he thought of the idea of adding the jewel to his collection for study and screamed "Bankai… Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo!"
His verbal command causing his weapon to mutate into a monstrous beast with the body of a caterpillar and the head of a baby. The red robe adorning the creature's shoulders flapped around in the breeze as it slip forward and crushed many of the enemy monsters, finishing off another squadron with a blast of powerful poison. More attempted to attack from the side, but a series of retractable blades shot out from under the monster's skin and impaled those around it.
As the battle raged on it almost appeared as if there was no end to the enemy's numbers, only this time it was much worse. While she had made the same observation during her earlier encounters with Naraku's soulless puppets, she had at least seen those armies defeated or driven back to a certain extent during those battles. This time, even the presence of the captains seemed to be ineffective when she considered how powerful they all seemed to be.
Firing off a fistful of arrows from her bow she managed to destroy another group of advancing soldiers, but three more creatures jumped her from behind. Unable to react fast enough she closed her eyes and braced herself for the strike, but once again she found that the gesture was not necessary.
Inuyasha came crashing down from the sky with an angry look as he flattened the enemy creatures with another blast of wind. Even more began closing in around the couple, but he quickly chopped them to pieces by solidifying his spirit energy into wing blades and infusing them. Releasing another twister from his dual blades, he managed to destroy their attackers, leaving them clear for the moment. More groups of Shinigami ran forward to hold back the enemy lines, allowing them a brief exchange.
"Hey, you need some help?" he asked, while offering to help her stand. "You and I should stick together if we want to make it out of here alive."
She quickly took hold of his hand with a shadow of a smile as a lifting sensation filled her stomach. Bending over towards the ground, he put her into place on his back and readily accepted her arms and legs as they assumed the position they had used for traveling back in the feudal era. "I'll watch your back and provide some cover fire from behind so the two of us don't get caught off guard."
The former half-demon nodded as he felt her arms wrap around him and instantly felt more secure knowing that she would be with him during this fight. "I don't want anything happening to you, so from this point you had better stay close to me." He ordered.
Although she wanted to argue for her independence, the look on his face spoke for itself. He was noticeably worried about something right now, and she instantly knew that he would never forgive himself if she were hurt during this fight. Trying to see things from his side of the story was rather difficult at first, but sparing a moment to take in his appearance was all it took. If something happened to him she would certainly feel the same way. Before she could continue this pattern of though, he moved into battle with renewed ferocity. As they re-entered the battle, Miroku and Sango were having some troubles of their own.
Surrounded by an entire squadron of troops, the old married couple stood back-to-back while sending an array of powerful attacks towards the enemy fighters. The former demon slayer flipped forward with an effortless flare, impaling one creature with the end of her tridents. Stabbing the second fork in the dirt, she kicked off the ground and performed a spin kick by maneuvering her athletic form into an offensive move.
Her blow shattered the mask of a nearby soldier, revealing the featureless face of the demonic spirit. She faltered for a second in surprise, but the end of Miroku's Shakujo came down upon the creature's body and cleaved it in two.
The monk turned to face her, only to see that more enemies were beginning to flank their location by the second. "Behind you!" he warned.
Having already sensed the threat, she quickly repelled them by repeating her previous technique. Sensing that there were too many to stop all at once, she paused a moment before deciding to take the situation more seriously. Pulling her second trident out of the terrain, she muttered a few incantations under her breath and slammed the end of her two weapons against the ground, thereby opening a large fissure at her feet. Gallons of water began gushing onto the battlefield from the opening she had created before forming a gigantic wave seconds later.
"Ultimate Wave!" she cried. The currents headed her commands as they swallowed up the ghoulish soldiers, scattering the enemy lines as they buckled under the raw amount of pressure.
"So you have a water-type Zanpakuto…" Miroku questioned as he destroyed another group of the villain's drones.
She straightened her glasses with an amused look. "That's right, I have a weapon that manipulates and controls water. It's also considered to be one of the few double Zanpakuto in the Soul Society because it exists as two separate weapons. I am proud to wield it…"
Twirling his staff in a circular motion, the captain fired off a powerful blast of lightning from the end of his shakujo. "Mine works with lightning and wind, so I together the two of us are actually a raging storm of passion." He commented a second before his attack split into multiple bolts and decimated another group of enemies by raining down blasts of lightning upon them.
Reassuming their previous stances, the two fighters prepared to face another group of attackers. "Damn it… It's like there's no end to these things!" Miroku observed with a weary expression.
Before his wife could answer him, a volley of arrows destroyed the closest enemies as Inuyasha landed a few yards away with Kagome in tow. "Hey guys, sorry we're late." She greeted with an awkward expression. "I know this sounds crazy, but there sure are a lot of those monsters. It's almost like they keep multiplying every time we destroy them…"
"You know, I was just thinking the same thing." Sango answered with a grim expression. "I think Naraku is trying to eliminate the offensive power of the Soul Society's military by sending out his drones to kill as many guardsmen as possible."
Inuyasha growled dangerously. "If you're right about this, then how the hell are we going to get close enough to Naraku?"
The former monk generated another blast of lightning to drive back the surrounding enemies so that they could have some breathing room. "Not sure about that, but the real problem that I think we have to face is the reality of the jewel. It's not possible for us to destroy it by ordinary means, and I don't think he'll just allow us to take it back…"
"Then we'll just have to kill him and rip the damn thing from his corpse once he's dead!" the ex dog hanyou interjected.
Kagome grabbed his shoulder like an adult berating a child. "After seeing this, I don't think it's going to be that easy. To make it worse, I think he may have gotten even stronger than he was before, meaning that this battle is going to be much worse than it was the first time we fought against the jewel's power."
The newly appointed captain paused for a moment in thought before finding an answer. He hesitated for a moment, but after a few minutes of "If I release my Bankai, I might be able to hold back the enemy forces long enough for us to attack Naraku's body directly."
"If he's really that strong, we should save our energy and battle our way through slowly, then hit him head on with everything we've got later." Sango argued.
"I do not believe that such a course of action will be wise in any case. Since the invasion forces sent to attack the walls destabilized the barrier, the only thing preventing Naraku's plans from succeeding right now is that gigantic wall of flame surrounding the Seretei." The monk explained with noticeable concern. "Head Captain Yamamoto is exerting all of his effort into maintaining that barricade, but even a man of his power and magnitude cannot sustain such a large task forever. No doubt that the strain will eventually kill him if we don't stop Naraku fast enough."
Despite her previous proposition, the former demon slayer realized that he was completely right about this situation and raised no further objection. "All right then, so you want us to let you handle this so we can head in for the kill?"
As they spoke, the young priestess of the group fired off another round of arrows, but an ominous feeling garnered her concern as it shook the ground beneath their feet. "Umm, guys… I can feel something heading in this direction fast. What's that loud rumbling noise?" she asked with a wary look in her eyes.
Inuyasha's human ears perked up in a way reminiscent of the way they did when he was still half demon, but it only took him a second to realize what was going on as he felt a powerful spiritual pressure flaring up wildly. His eyes widened as he sensed the oncoming presence, prompting him to shout a warning. "Look out!" he screamed.
Seizing Kagome by the waist like a child, he kicked off against the ground, propelling himself into the air. Miroku and Sango copied this action, barely avoiding the oncoming waves of spiritual energy as Kenpachi Zaraki ran through with incredible speed and tenacity. Taking a closer look at him, Inuyasha noticed that he was mowing down enemies with the sheer force of his reiatsu.
"Isn't that your captain?" she questioned from her place on her beloved's shoulders.
The former half-demon nodded with an unreadable expression as the group landed on their feet a few meters away, but they soon found themselves shove sideways as two more figures shot past them and followed after their leader. A small glance at the first man's bald cranium basically gave away who it was, but they took not notice.
"My captain seems to be intent on taking care of this situation himself, so I say we hurry up and follow his lead while the way is still open." Inuyasha suggested.
Miroku tapped his staff against the ground and exchanged glances with his wife before agreeing to go along with the aforementioned plan. Once Kagome had tightened her grip on his body, the Fourth Seated officer ran after his teammates, closely followed by the rest of his old traveling group.
"Even if Captain Zaraki manages to reach Naraku, he might not be able to handle this situation by himself." the monk commented.
Inuyasha sighed. "Don't bother trying to interfere if the captain tries to defeat him because that's not how we do things in Squad 11. The unspoken rule of our unit is that all battles are to be fought one-on-one, and interference is not permitted. It's either killed or be killed, and if a warrior survive after losing, they also lose their honor."
"You people have to be crazy to fight like that all the time without any exceptions." The priestess on his back replied. "After all, is some macho sense of pride really worth your life?"
Miroku took his turn to speak. "Ludicrous and primitive behavior to be sure… I agree that it is unwise to fight like that all of the time, but there are certain moments where warriors are forced into battles of pride during which it would be foolish to intervene on wither side. A man may fight for his honor even if there is nothing else to be gained or lost."
The former demon slayer smiled as she caught sight of Kagome's puzzled expression. "Perhaps one day you will understand it, but if you actually consider it for a moment, I'm sure that deep down you already know exactly what he's talking about."
Unable to fully spare the time to think about what had just been said, the young priestess resume her lookout duty as she watched for attackers in case they emerged from the rear of the group, but it seemed like the path was relatively empty. Although she could see Shinigami fighting with Naraku's soldiers close by, it appeared that the members of Inuyasha's division had done a remarkable job at eradicating the opposition. The ones that came to replace their fallen comrades were quickly dispatched by Miroku and Sango, making the procession through the enemy side much swifter than it had been before.
There were very few specters that managed to draw close enough to pose an actual threat to the group, but she easily disposed of them just the same with a quick twang of her Quincy bow. Things almost seemed too easy for the moment, but a strange feeling in her stomach refused to go away. Even though she was a young high school on the surface, Kagome knew on the inside that something terrible was going to happen soon. In her personal experience, nothing she had faced had ever been as easy as it seemed.
From a distance Naraku had already sensed the approach of his old enemies as well as a number of the captain level officers and the stronger elites of the Soul Society. An amused smile lit his face as he prepared for he oncoming struggle. Unsheathing his weapon, the demonic entity focused the powers of the newly reborn Shikon Jewel into his body and prepared to execute his ultimate scheme. Seconds before the energies had fully infused him with the power he needed, a shape shot forward and stabbed a blade through his gut.
"You must be really stupid to have let your guard down believing that no one would be able to breach your defenses…" Kenpachi Zaraki hissed with an insane grin. Pulling his blade back, he slashed the villain with the full force of his Zanpakuto and his spiritual pressure. "That's pay back for blind-siding me during our last fight."
Naraku doubled over in pain for a moment as his new adversary moved away to observe the damage, but an unpleasant smirk graced his handsome features as he felt his wounds close instantly. "You'll pay for that… Shinigami…"
The Captain of the Eleventh Division looked a little surprised, but the sight of the villain's new powers only caused his own smile to deepen. "Whoa, it seems that your little gem did make you a lot stronger. That is good news… I was hoping for a better fight and it looks like I don't have to hold back this time to enjoy it!"
"Impressive… You have power but it is truly a shame that you have no idea how to use it properly." Reaching down, the former demon retrieved his sword from the ground and took a defensive stance. "Unfortunately for you, this fight will not last very long."
"Strange how I was just thinking the same thing!" Zaraki proclaimed with a look of pure elation. Reaching up, the captain tore off his eye patch, releasing his uncontrolled spiritual pressure into the surrounding atmosphere. "Let's see what you can do!"
The captain swung his blade down where his adversary had been standing mere seconds ago, creating a large smoldering crater in his place. Levitating his body into the air and out of reach, Naraku quickly worked to refocus the full power of the jewel within his body, unlocking yet another ability through the near-infinite magic of the accursed object. Concentrating his poison into a jet-like blast, he sent an even stronger concentration of shouki towards his opponent.
Flaring up his untapped power, the Eleventh Division Captain easily managed to dull the effects of the venom, but the smokescreen created by the fiendish villain also served to conceal his presence as he moved through the deadly smog.
The technique greatly angered the berserker Shinigami, who became quite annoyed by the strategy his adversary had employed. He reacted by increasing his own power in order to repel the surrounding clouds. "You cowardly bastard… Where are you!" he exclaimed murderously. "Filthy… Come out into the open and at least fight like a real man."
Floating high above the battle below, Naraku used the time he had brought to finish his next spell. Although he could have went back down and slain the captain, the villain chose not to bother for the sole purpose of saving some time on the chance that it would take too long. After all, the entire Soul Society would soon be kneeling before him if things continued the way that they had been going so far.
Moments later, Inuyasha burst onto the scene alongside his friends and the two, seated officers of his division who had been accompanying the captain earlier. Kagome remained silent for a moment as she got off of his back, but gave her beloved a quick jab on the back as she caught sight of their archenemy floating several meters above their heads.
He turned his head just as she thrust her free hand over his shoulder. "Naraku is right up there!" the priestess alerted him.
Following the angle of her arm with his eyes, the former half demon immediately caught sight of his adversary's tiny form ascending further into the sky, but it was Miroku who spoke for the group. "He's rising towards the sky towards that gigantic cloud of shouki, but why?"
"Damn it, since that bastard is floating around in the air I guess that means that we need to find some way to get up there." Inuyasha exclaimed loudly.
"Forget about the sky, what about this mess on the ground. The captain is probably trapped inside there." Ikkaku Madarame added in with an irritable expression. "
The feminine Fifth Seat merely shrugged with a look of concern, but otherwise seemed to be quite unhelpful. "It's quite an ugly sight, but what should we do about this?"
Ikkaku relaxed his sword arm for a moment as he took a brief moment to observe the billowing poisons and ponder the situation. "It's tempting to get into the fight, but I'm sure that he wouldn't want us to get involved, so there's not much more we can do until this fight ends."
"If you two idiots are done talking, we have bigger problems right now." The former half-demon interrupted.
As he said this, the Eleventh Division Captain came bursting through the wall of smog, eliciting some bewildered looks from his own subordinates as well as the members of Kagome's group of friends. His face glowed with an irritated expression as he caught sight of his adversary who had safely managed to move out of reach by floating into the skies above their heads.
"What an idiot… He thinks this'll be over he just runs away." Zaraki commented with a look of disgust.
Inuyasha turned to face his superior. "If that miserable coward is trying to make a run for it, we've got to go after him now before he manages to escape!"
Before the members of Squad 11 could move out, Miroku stepped forward and seized his colleague by the shoulders with each hand. "Don't be too hasty Captain Zaraki, I don't know exactly what he's up to but I doubt that the enemy is just planning to retreat. If you remember the information from the reports, he would probably have left by now if escaping was his plan."
Kenpachi turned around and swung at the newly appointed captain with his blade, forcing him to retreat backwards using shunpo. "Have you completely lost your mind!" the monk retaliated by taking a defensive stance.
"Don't waste my time with all that static! As far as I'm concerned, what I have to do remains the same and either way he's going to be dead…" the leader of the Eleventh Division replied stubbornly. "Stay out of my way, or I just might kill you next."
Sango stepped forward aggressively, but the former half-demon merely held out his arm to stop her from proceeding. She prepared to address the situation, but a brilliant glow quickly diverted everyone's attention towards Naraku once again. Staring into the darkened skies, the group watched in shock as he the tainted light engulfed his form. They were forced to shield their eyes for a moment, but when the flash had finally subsided, something much more terrifying had begun to unfold.
"Witness the full power of the Sacred Jewel!" he shouted to the heavens, causing the surrounding miasma to emit a loud crashing noise similar to the magnificent burst caused by rumbling thunder.
The villain's body became engulfed by a second cloud of miasma that had begun to form, completely concealing him from the fighters down below. After a few moments the purple gases began to expand much like his first miasma cloud, only this time it stopped after a certain point and began to change shape. Kagome gasped as the smog cleared, revealing a monstrous spider floating where Naraku had been moments before.
"Now, you shall all suffer for defying me…" a much deeper voice issued from the creature's fangs along with more billowing clouds of miasma.
The members of Kagome's group immediately recognized the form that Naraku had taken, prompting a sense of déjà vu among the nakama. Rather than back down, the newly appointed captain braced himself for the upcoming struggle. He knew that this fight was about to get even tougher now that their enemy had taken his ultimate form, but if things worked the way that they had before, then there was a distinct possibility that they could employs a similar strategy to attack him this time as well.
The only other major problem right now was that none of them could levitate while within the boundaries of the Seretei. Fearing that he had no other choice, the former monk wondered if his plans would work, or if they would ultimately cost them all their lives.
Across the battlefield, Commander General Yamamoto observed the phenomena from a distance even though he was unable to directly act, he was rather worried behind his iron facade. "It appears that this situation is about to become far worse!" he observed loudly.
Jushiro Ukitake nodded with a solemn expression. "Sensei, I sense a drastic change in the enemy's reiatsu… That tainted power blurs the line between spiritual energy and demonic aura… If one can step over the boundaries between Shinigami and hollow, is it possible that this man can do the same with human and demon?"
"Where the Shikon Jewel is concerned, anything is possible." The old general replied.
Captain Kyouraku focused his powers carefully as he made another attempt to scatter the poisonous fumes in the sky using his wind manipulation abilities. "In any case it seems like we're in deep trouble if the others take too long to end this fight, isn't that right old man?"
Yamamoto paused for a moment as he channeled even more energy through his Zanpakuto, causing the fiery dome surrounding the Seretei to flicker. "We can only hope that the other captains can handle this while I contain the power of the jewel within this hallowed ground."
"I just wish I was as confident as you." the lazy drunk replied with an uncharacteristic look of concern. "If we fail here, then the Soul Society is doomed…"
Note to Readers: Phew… another one down. Sorry that it wasn't big on epic fights but this was only the initial stage of the fight. As you can probably guess, the real battle begins next chapter. I hope there aren't too many spelling and grammatical errors, and I hope everyone was in character.
PLEASE REVIEW! It's almost done so I need some good support to struggle to the finish. It helps motivate me to write more chapters and update faster.