Chapter 36: Short Chapter Plus Important Note
Matthias leaned his Nodachi against his shoulder. Next to him, Wonderweiss had released his Resurreccion not long ago. In front of the two Arrancar, Ichimaru stood there. Unbeknownst to Matthias, Gin's Bankai release looked exactly the same as his Bankai release. So the tattooed Arrancar assumed that he was using his Shikai.
"B- Ban... kai..." Wonderweiss choked out.
Is this idiot trying to use a Bankai? Matthias thought. He should know better than that.
"Shoot to kill, Shinso." Ichimaru called, and his Wakizashi rapidly extended toward Wonderweiss' chest.
He's faster than before. Matthias noted. He did say he was holding back during our last bout. I didn't quite believe him at the time... but now...
Wonderweiss narrowly dodged the attack. Matthias charged at him, but Gin's sword retracted in the blink of an eye then elongated once again. This time, it hit the large Arrancar square in the forehead. The bone appeared to block the blade, but the impact knocked him back a few feet.
"Ba... Ban... Bankai...!" Wonderweiss groaned, with more urgency this time.
Still he continues? Can anyone be this stupid? Matthias thought.
In front of the palace, Runuganga had been facing off against a far more nimble opponent, Zaffon. Suddenly, Lurk appeared.
"Cirilli Lurk?" Runuganga asked. Oh, no...
The woman suddenly lunged at Zaffon and slashed down at his head. Zaffon blocked the attack with his sword, with a scowl on his face. "So you have betrayed us, have you? Oh well. I'll kill you just the same as that sand creature over there. You've never been a straight forward combat fighter to begin with."
He's right. With Matthias I could hide in the shadows and then shoot out to surprise Aaroniero. But the difference here is that Runguganga can't hold his own in a battle. If I don't fight on the front lines, he'll die. So our roles will have to be switched. He'll play support and I'll be the main brawler. Lurk thought.
"I am not going to ask why you are helping me," Runuganga said, "however, be prepared for questions after this war has come to an end."
At this point, Zaffon pulled his sword back and swung down hard at her. She managed to block the attack with her buckler, but the blow almost made her fall to her knees. Shit. He's a lot stronger than I realized. I can't take very many more attacks like that and remain standing. She thought as she leapt away from him.
"Killing the both of you won't be a problem," Zaffon said without a shred of fear in his voice.
That may be true in a normal sword fight. However, I plan to use underhanded tactics in order to win this battle. Can't survive any other way. Lurk thought as she clipped her buckler to the handle of her sword, and gripped the weapon with both hands.
Notes: I'm sorry to inform you that I'm going to take a hiatus. It's going to be a minimum of one week, but I don't have an maximum- however, I won't let it last longer than a month. I'm sure you're aware of the decline in quality (and quantity) of the last few chapters. The last two or so chapters I wrote were rather short, as well as kinda bad, in my opinion. For a bit now, my motivation to write has been very miniscule. I don't really have an exact answer for why, but that's how it is. Once again I'm sorry, and I'll get back to writing this story as soon as possible. And I absolutely will not abandon this story. I will give it an ending even if it kills me.