Hey everyone! Well, I had an excellent weekend. Saturday, I went and saw The Dark Knight, and to be honest, it was well worth the wait. Keith Ledger's performance as the Joker was truly the best I've seen the Joker played as, live action or cartoon. He truly captured the insanity of the character. It's a shame he died, but it is his best work thus far, and I don't doubt he'll win an Oscar for it. And Christian Bale did an excellent job once more as Batman. He was born to play that role, hehe. But again, the movie was excellent. I would advise any of you that read this go see it if you haven't yet. My poor mate though, she cried at the end, and somewhere in the middle. It was a moving set of actions that happened, but still, not a tear jerker, for me possibly, lol. Anyways, the rest of my weekend was nice. I saw my grandparents yesterday, and that was about it.
Writing wise, things are slowly moving along. I keep trying to split time between this story and other, Minutes to Midnight. It's kind of hard, but oh well.
Now then, time for reviews!
LadySalmakia: Hi there, and welcome to the reviews. Heh, one does have to wonder how things will go. The question of Iya and Lilly getting together, eh, never know. They could, although it's up in the air I'm sure, hehe. I know, evasiveness of the question sucks, lol. Hmm, someone go after Lilly you say? Never know, that could happen. I'm sure Iya wouldn't take it well. After all, he didn't react well when Ryo kissed her hand, hehe. I'm glad you love my story. I'm happy to hear that. I hope to hear from you again. I really appreciated your review. Thanks for the review.
Mitsukai – Lady of Gryffindor: LOL! I didn't know how people would react to Ed and Al being on the mages side, and I guess this answers it, hehe. Well, they seemed like they could be bad, so I thought I'd try it. True, they are heroes in Fullmetal Alchemist, but in this story, they're evil, lol. After all, I heard a quote that said the following: "Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard, be evil." I suppose maybe that happened? I know, shut up Mr. Writer man, lol. They maybe innocent and sweet, but apparently they have a bad side to them. Anyways, I hope you forgive me for the misuse of them by watching me use Sakura, Toshiro, and Anko in an evil way, lol. Thanks for the review.
Kattana: Yep, things look interesting in this upcoming fight. Thanks for the review!
Well, that's all of the reviews. Thank you each for them. I truly appreciate all three of you reviewing this past chapter. I really liked hearing what you all thought, so thank you again for your reviews.
I'm done for today, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I plan on posting some pics of what these mages look like sometime in the near future, plus a general idea of what the others are wearing and look like. Mind you they are just images I found on the net, so don't become angry due that they don't look like the people I'm showing. It's more or less the clothing or person as I think they'd look. I'll try to get that to you on Friday.
Till then, enjoy!
Chapter 38
Watching their comrade take off with Ichigo, Tōshirō looked at Iya and calmly asked "Shall we begin our little battle then?"
"Gladly." Iya commented while holding Ketsaiga in a ready position.
Removing his robe first, Tōshirō revealed he was wearing a white vest that reached his knees in length, which had black circles with lines in a pattern at the bottom of it. Underneath his vest, he wore a black kimono top and pants. Across his chest was a green strap that reached around to a blue sheath that held his sword on his back. The sword itself was as long as his body, with the hilt having a light blue cloth wrapping. On the guard of the sword was a four pointed star design.
Next to Tōshirō, Sakura removed her own robes, revealing a red blouse top that revealed her cleavage and had a pink circle on her back, a long black skirt that reached her lower calves that had slits up to her upper thigh, which revealed black shorts underneath, and a small pouch on her back.
"Sakura, stay back and allow me to handle this." Tōshirō stated while clutching the hilt of his long sword.
Glancing back and forth between Iya and Tōshirō, she finally heavily sighed and grunted out "Very well, but if you're in trouble, I will interfere."
"Fair enough, I suppose." Tōshirō dryly remarked while drawing his long sword and bringing it before his body.
Giving Sakura ample time to back away, Iya casually commented "You know, your clothing looks similar to that of Kenpachi's."
"Kenpachi and I wear similar clothing, but think nothing of it. It mostly symbolizes the fact that we were the founding members of The Thirteen. Kenpachi, Ichimaru, Byakuya, and I all four founded The Thirteen." Tōshirō remarked.
Processing and tucking the information away into his mind, Iya nodded and calmly replied "I see. So, you and Kenpachi were founding members, eh? Then that must mean you mages are taking me as more of a serious threat."
"Hardly." Tōshirō dryly remarked. "You are an annoyance that needs put down, once and for all. Mage Byakuya thinks you are not worth our time, with you being a half demon, but he has agreed with me to put you out of your misery."
"I'm flattered that you think that much of me." Iya commented with a small smirk. "I think it's time you mages learn that you should fear me, because Ichigo and myself will bring you remaining ten down."
"Oh please, don't patronize me." Tōshirō irritably said. "You, a lowly half breed, could never hope to be a match for us. As for that quarter breed, he isn't even worth recognition, even though Kenshin seems fond of torturing him. He was rather angry over losing his slave to that pathetic excuse for a nuisance. The only reason he lives is because Kenshin has yet to decide when to execute him."
Smirking, Iya calmly replied "It sounds to me as if you think Ichigo is not worth The Thirteen's time, nor am I. I shall prove all of you wrong once again. I killed Kenpachi and the Elric Brothers, so you and Sakura shall be next, along with Anko. Once the three of you are dead, I believe your Mage Byakuya will take both of us more seriously."
"Unlikely." Tōshirō bit out. "Enough talk."
"You're right, enough talking. Let's do this!" Iya declared while rushing forward.
Reaching Tōshirō, Iya swung downwards at the smaller man, only to be parried by the white haired mage. Their blades clashed together numerous times, each time with neither gaining the upper hand.
At long last, the pair separated, leaving fifteen feet between the two. Neither were panting, and each eyed the other for an opening or weakness.
"I must admit, I'm impressed. A half demon capable of fighting at this level is truly amazing this day and age." Tōshirō brashly commented.
Remaining calm, Iya commented back "Thanks, I try."
Bringing his sword up to his face, Tōshirō turned the blade sideways and said "You should feel honored that I'm about to unleash some of my sword's power. I've not had to do so in quite a few years. Behold the Shikai form of my sword. Reign over the frosted sky Hyōrinmaru!"
Letting out a light blue aura, the sword within Tōshirō's hand shot a chain out from it's hilt with a crescent moon attached to it. Upon being shot out of the sword, the chain floated mid-air, seemingly holding it's own weight up.
Eyeing the chain on the end of the sword warily, Iya calmly said "Before we continue this fight, I have a question for you."
"Be quick about it." Tōshirō snapped out.
Smirking at this, Iya calmly asked "That sword, was it created by Kisuke Urahara?"
Lightly chuckling, Tōshirō shook his head and replied "No, Urahara did not create this sword, but his former apprentice, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, did. Several years ago, we contracted Mayuri to become our official sword smith. Mages Byakuya, Ichimaru, Kenpachi, and myself all received swords first. A few others have received them. Why do you ask?"
"More curious than anything." Iya commented. "The words you said to activate your sword's Shikai form, it's something that Ichigo told me that Urahara said to activate his own sword's Shikai form. He creates a spirit for each sword, and to master the sword, I heard you must commune with the spirit. I'm just surprised his apprentice could do the same thing."
"If anything, Mayuri surpassed Urahara. The swords we have are strong and powerful, while the pathetic sword Urahara created, the one that that bobcat brat carries, is weak and nearly useless." Tōshirō brashly remarked.
Chuckling, Iya pointed Ketsaiga at Tōshirō and replied "You have no idea just how powerful Ichigo and his sword are. You'll see soon enough though, should you happen to defeat me, which is unlikely."
Growling irritably, Tōshirō fired back "You defeat me!? Such impudence! Now that I have released Hyōrinmaru into it's Shikai form, I shall destroy you!"
Racing forward at near blinding speed, Tōshirō lashed out at Iya, only to be parried. A small smirk played upon his lips as he jerked the chain hanging off the hilt around, attempting to use it to capture Iya.
Realizing what Tōshirō was planning, Iya quickly leapt away to safety and glanced at the chained sword. "Hmm, the best approach to handling him would be to remove the chain, but can I?"
Iya was quickly broken from his thoughts as Tōshirō came racing in, throwing the chain scythe on the chain at Iya. With a moment to spare, Iya mostly dodged the crescent moon shaped blade, only to have it graze his left shoulder. Ice instantly formed over the small wound, covering his shoulder and shocking Iya.
Glancing at the wound, he threw a glare at Tōshirō and heatedly asked "What is this!?"
"Ice, it appears." Tōshirō dryly remarked with a smirk. "That's the power of Hyōrinmaru. If it touches you, ice will form where it touched. Interesting, no?"
Clenching his left fist, Iya sank the blade of Ketsaiga into the ground before him and proceeded to reach up with his right hand and gently touched the ice. His clawed hand glowed for a moment before the ice vanished, making Tōshirō frown at this action.
"How could you do that to my ice?" the ice demon questioned with a frown.
Softly chuckling, Iya grabbed hold of Ketsaiga's hilt once more and dragged it back out of the ground and placed it in a ready position once more before his body. "You're not the only one around here with ice powers." Iya casually commented. "My mother passed her own power over ice onto me, thus granting me access to it. True, I am not as skilled as you probably with power over the cold, but I'm more than capable of defending myself from ice attacks."
Growling softly, Tōshirō launched his body forward with his sword swinging along with the chain and scythe. Reaching Iya, the two blades clashed while the chained scythe came swinging around, attempting to wrap around Iya.
Calculating how fast the scythe was moving, Iya quickly evaded the chain from wrapping around his body at the last second. Backing away slightly, Iya raced forward and brought a downward slash at the chain, only to have it yanked out of the way at the last moment with Tōshirō backing away himself.
"So, you've learned that to beat me, you'll need to destroy my chain, eh?" Tōshirō smugly commented. "Easier said than done. It's highly unlikely a half breed like you could ever cut through the chain."
Smirking, Iya cockily replied "Really? Then let's put that to the test!"
Rushing forward, Iya came in fast at the smaller ice demon with Ketsaiga swinging in a side slash. Tōshirō quickly countered, only to have Iya pull the sword back and slash out again with Ketsaiga. Again, Tōshirō parried the attack, but Iya quickly brought his sword back around again, attempting to slash at the chain. Time and time again, Tōshirō managed to parry Iya, but Iya's attacks quickly became more and more fierce, sending sparks from the two blades flying constantly.
After nearly fifteen minutes of fighting, the two finally broke apart, neither still out of breath or visibly tired. Staring at one another, both examined the other to for flaws or an opening.
Finally, Tōshirō smirked and spoke up, saying "Impressive. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. You are a bit of a worthy adversary. Perhaps that's why Kenpachi actually finished the fight with you, only to die in it."
"Perhaps, or perhaps you mages don't realize just how strong I truly am." Iya countered calmly.
Sneering, Tōshirō smugly retorted "Doubtful. No half breed could ever be a match for our true power."
"Is that so?" Iya candidly questioned.
Tōshirō was about to respond when Iya suddenly vanished. A moment later, he reappeared before the ice mage with Ketsaiga coming down fast. The sound of metal meeting metal sounded. A rattling sound was then heard as the chain that held the scythe to Tōshirō's blade fell to the ground.
Retreating, Iya smirked at Tōshirō and smugly asked "Didn't you say I couldn't remove the chain on your sword?"
Glaring at the remains of the chain on the ground, the ice demon threw a heated glare at Iya and roughly bit out "You managed to cut off Hyōrinmaru's chain… No more games. It's time I finished you."
Glowing with a bright light blue aura, Tōshirō growled out "Bankai!"
Ice instantly began traveling up Tōshirō's right arm from the guard of his sword. The ice quickly ran over his back and to above his rear and over to his left arm. His left arm gained a claw like structure made of ice while on his back, a pair of ice forged wings spread out and a tail sprouted from below the wings. The long tail whipped out while three four star shaped golden objects appeared floating behind him. At long last, the sword in his hand grew another four pointed star, making the guard have eight points on it.
Casting a cold glare at Iya, Tōshirō coldly said "Daiguren Hyōrinmaru."
"So, that's what a Bankai is." Iya murmured lowly. "Interesting, your sword's spirit seems to have come out more visibly and taken the form of armor for you."
"No more talk. You've said your last words, Iya Taisho." Tōshirō coldly remarked. "I will take great pleasure in ending your life."
"We'll see." Iya answered while readying Ketsaiga.
Spreading his ice wings, Tōshirō lifted his body off of the ground and went sailing towards Iya with his sword extended out and ready to plunge it into Iya. Seeing the oncoming attack, Iya managed to evade with a quick leap into the air.
"YOU WON'T ESCAPE ME THAT EASILY!" Tōshirō shouted while taking to the air himself.
Unable to evade the oncoming attack, Iya quickly repositioned his body so that nothing vital on his body would be hit. Tōshirō's attack managed to graze his left shoulder, making Iya slightly hiss from the pain of the cold steel passing over his shoulder. Falling to the ground and landing on his feet, Iya quickly moved away from the ice demon and gazed at his injured left shoulder. Ice had sprouted onto it the moment he had been struck, and coated his entire left arm.
Darkly chuckling, Tōshirō landed on the ground and smartly said "It looks like you're about to lose this fight. With only one arm, no mere half breed can beat me. Your death is imminent."
Remaining calm, Iya remarked "I'm not any mere half breed though. You mages have yet to figure that out, but I'll show each of you what I mean. Your comrades Kenpachi, Ed, and Al all three underestimated me, and you are no different."
"Enough you mangy cur!" Tōshirō bit out. "I shall avenge my comrades today, ending your pitiful assault against The Thirteen."
Closing his eyes, Iya calmly replied "Very well, come and let's end this."
Racing forward on his ice wings, Tōshirō attempted to stab Iya, only to have his sword graze off of Ketsaiga. Whipping around with blinding speed, Iya slashed out at Tōshirō, managing to land a small cut on the ice mage's back, who lightly hissed in pain.
Turning back around, the mage lashed out at Iya once more, this time attempting to stab him in the chest once more. Iya again dodged by parrying the attack with Ketsaiga, using the broad side of the blade to hold back Tōshirō's sword. Pushing the attack back, Iya swung the sword at Tōshirō one handed, only to miss.
Glaring at the ice on his shoulder, he flicked his glance back at the young ice mage. "No way I can win this with only one arm. If I had a few moments to free myself, I could beat him probably."
Clasping the hilt of Ketsaiga tightly, Iya swung the blade to his right side, causing it to pulsate and coat itself with ice. Icy steam poured off of the blade as ice crystals formed.
With a mighty swing, Iya cried out "Shard Storm!"
Hundreds of small razor sharp ice crystals went flying at the short ice mage, who glared at the oncoming attack. Without a word, his wings suddenly pulled inwards, forming a shield before him. The ice crystals slammed into the wings, but they didn't penetrate through. Instead, they managed to dig into the wings, but still jutted out.
Removing his wings from his face, Tōshirō examined one of the wings and saw the ice crystals sticking out of them. Casting a hard glare at Iya, he growled out "You will not kill me with my element!"
Not having time to reply, Iya watched as the small ice demon raced towards him. Pulling Ketsaiga into the air, Iya slammed it into the ground, yelling "Ice Barrier!"
Forming before Iya instantly was a twenty foot tall wall of ice, which was seemingly three foot thick. Tōshirō quickly stopped his advance and leapt off to the side, eyeing the wall carefully.
With his wall obscuring his movements, Iya quickly sank Ketsaiga into the ground and reached over to his left shoulder. Placing his hand on it, he called forth his abilities over the cold and began removing the ice. The ice quickly receded, releasing his shoulder and arm from it's icy tomb.
Grabbing Ketsaiga, Iya stepped out from behind the ice wall to see Tōshirō standing there waiting. "So, you removed the ice on your arm?" Tōshirō questioned while examining Iya's arm carefully. "Foolish move, because even two arms won't save you."
Racing forward at near blinding speed again, the ice demon slashed out at Iya, who barely dodged the attack. Swinging around, Tōshirō sent his ice tail ahead and slammed it into Iya's back, catching the half demon off guard.
With Iya's attention diverted, Tōshirō plunged his sword into Iya, coldly saying "Ryūsenka."
Ice immediately began forming on Iya's body where the sword was plunged in. Within a few seconds time, his entire body was encased in ice.
Removing his sword, the ice demon smugly commented "I told you that you wouldn't win against me. I am an ice mage, thus I have far more power than you could ever hope to defeat. I will give you this, you made me draw out my full power, but in the end, you lose."
Glowing with a light blue aura, the ice on Tōshirō's back broke off and fell to the ground, along with the ice on his arms. Turning and casually walking away, the mage sheathed his sword and calmly said "Sakura, deliver the killing blow. I tire of this fight."
"That's rather lazy of you." Sakura commented with a frown. With a heavy sigh, she moved from her spot to where Iya's ice statue stood. Holding her right gloved hand up, she sent blue glowing energy into her hand, saying "This is no fun."
Pulling back her arm, she readied to deliver the blow when suddenly, the ice broke apart, forcing the pink haired mage to leap backwards while covering her face from the ice shards.
Panting lightly, Iya fiercely glared at the ice mage that had his back to him. The short mage stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to face Iya with a heavy frown on his face. "How did you survive that attack?" he questioned.
Still panting, Iya smirked and breathlessly said "I told you before I have power over the cold. Your attack, it was aimed at freezing my body and killing me, but I managed to stop that with my ice powers. True, I'm just a half dog demon and nowhere nearly as skilled as an ice demon, but I still have the ability to keep the cold from killing me."
"Still, that didn't stop the damage you did to my body. I obviously have a gut wound now, but it'll heal." Iya commented while holding his hand over the wound. "But you could have beat me. You had time to kill me, but instead, you walked away. That will be your undoing in this battle."
Clenching his fist tightly, the ice mage coldly retorted "I should have known you'd survive that attack."
Calming his breathing at last, Iya smirked and silkily replied "You should have, but failed to. And it will cost you."
Racing forward at blinding speed, Iya swung Ketsaiga at the white haired ice mage. The ice mage almost completely evaded Iya's attack, but the tip of Ketsaiga cut into his left shoulder, ripping through cloth and scratching his bare skin. Settling in his new position, the mage glanced at the light red dot forming on his shoulder and grabbed hold of the hilt on his sword.
"That was your last attack. Reign over the frosted sky Hyōrinmaru!" Tōshirō declared while drawing his sword. It instantly transformed, shooting the chain and it's scythe blade out.
Remaining calm, Iya charged forward, making the white haired mage prepare for his oncoming attack. At the last moment, when Tōshirō was anticipating Iya to come at him with a downward slash, Iya vanished and reappeared behind the mage with Ketsaiga out to his side. A moment later, blood sprayed out of Tōshirō's right shoulder where he had seemingly been cut.
Falling forward and slamming his weight into his sword, Tōshirō lightly panted while throwing a glare over his shoulder at Iya. Clutching his sword tightly, Tōshirō icily remarked "I see now. Your speed is greater than I first thought. Then I have no choice but to release my Bankai once more."
"Go ahead, I'll wait." Iya calmly replied.
"Tōshirō!" Sakura cried out while running to his side. Reaching him, she brought her hands up towards his wound, but he knocked her hands away. Confused, she asked "What's wrong with you!? I need to heal you!"
"Stop Sakura." Tōshirō icily commanded. "I don't need any help in dealing with this mongrel. I'll kill him with my own strength and that alone."
Shaking her head rapidly, Sakura quickly replied "No Tōshirō, remember what Byakuya said…"
"I DON'T CARE!" Tōshirō roared. "I have disgraced myself by failing to kill this half breed when I had the chance, and to make up for it, I will kill him on my own! So stay out of this!"
Shocked by his words, Sakura began to heatedly reply, but stopped. With a heavy sigh, she backed away to where she had been watching, casually saying "Fine, I'll stay back, but if you die, you die due to your own foolishness."
"I won't." Tōshirō dryly remarked. "It will be that half breed who dies here today."
Alone once more, the ice demon ground out "Bankai!"
Like before, ice began coating the small ice mage's body, with icy wings forming on his back, ice on his arms, and ice on his shoulders. The tail of his ice formed, along with the three four pointed star shapes.
Fiercely glaring at Iya, Tōshirō coldly said "You will pay with your very life for making a fool out of me."
Raising Ketsaiga to a ready position, Iya calmly replied "You are the fool for coming after me once more and refusing help."
With a heavy beat of his wings, the ice mage lifted off the ground and went racing towards Iya with his sword ready to pierce through him. With only a few feet before him left, Iya slammed Ketsaiga into the ground, crying out "Ice Barrier!"
Before Iya, a large ice wall formed, forcing the ice mage to stab his sword into the wall of ice with a gasp of shock. He didn't have long to look at the wall, for a moment later, Iya was behind him and said "This is the end."
With that said, Iya slammed Ketsaiga into the ground, yelling "Wind Slash!"
Racing a few feet forward, a white beam of demonic energy slammed into the white haired ice mage, who could only scream out in pain while the beam cut through his body, sending ice and blood flying through the air. The scream soon was silenced while the towering wall of ice crumbled to the ground in massive chunks.
Walking a few feet away from the debris and blood, Iya turned and faced Sakura. In a cold as steel voice, he said "You're next, Mage Sakura, unless you wish to surrender and leave The Thirteen."
Placing her hands on her hips, she venomously spat back "I could never betray my brethren! How dare you make such an offer after killing Tōshirō! You will pay with your life, you half breed."
Raising blue glowing fists, she sharply said "I won't hold back just because you're tired or worn out. I'll kill you and avenge all of my fallen comrades."
"Then come and get me." Iya flatly replied.
--
Dodging a few lightning bolts, Ichigo found cover behind a rock while panting lightly and glancing over his body. He already had a few minor wounds from Anko's kunai, but he also had a few burns on his body where she had managed to strike him with her lightning attacks.
"Damn it, that woman is infuriating. Every time I try to get close to her, she uses her lightning to push me away." he grumbled within his mind. "And if that wasn't bad enough, when she gets close to me, she's able to use her lightning to her advantage, shocking me or attempting to while slashing me with her kunai."
"What's the matter Ichigo?" Zangetsu questioned within Ichigo's mind. "Aren't you capable of defeating her? If you fail here, you fail Rukia. Is that what you want?"
Clutching the hilt of his sword tightly, Ichigo roared back in his mind "No! I will defeat her, and move on to avenge Rukia by cutting down Kenshin!"
"Then you had better call for my Shikai, because in my normal state, you will never defeat your enemy." Zangetsu remarked with a small smirk.
Smirking at the spirit of his sword, Ichigo closed his eyes and summoned up the transformation of his sword. The blade quickly glowed with a light blue aura and instantly changed into it's cleaver blade shape.
"Ichigo, do you remember what Kisuke Urahara taught you?" the sword's spirit questioned.
Thinking back, Ichigo heard the words of his former master ringing in his ears. "When you counter, you don't let them cut you. When you protect someone, you don't let them die. When you attack, you kill. Understand? Can't you see, my sheer resolve to kill you is reflected in my sword."
Remembering the lesson now, Ichigo clutched the hilt of Zangetsu tightly. Standing up from his hiding spot, he walked out from behind the rock that hid him. Seeing this, Anko smirked.
"So, you pulled out that big sword of yours. Too bad you still can't figure out how to use it correctly." Anko mischievously remarked.
Still gripping the hilt tightly, Ichigo took a deep breath, causing his eyes to turn light blue in coloring. Pulling his sword up so that it sat on his shoulder length ways, his whole body began to glow with a light blue demonic aura, while the blade of Zangetsu did the same thing.
Calmly, he said "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I've finally found my resolve. This time, I will get you."
"We've been through this before Ichigo." Anko smugly remarked. "To beat me, you'll need to get close range, which is impossible for you apparently, unless you like being struck by my lightning."
Radiating more of his demonic aura, Ichigo suddenly lunged forward with Zangetsu still sitting on his shoulders. Smirking at the oncoming figure, Anko pointed at the quarter bobcat and released a stream of lightning from her finger. With quick reflexes, Ichigo dodged the attack, surprising the thunder demon.
Pointing again at her target, Anko fired another beam of lightning at the hard charging Ichigo, only to again have him dodge at the last moment. Firing off a few shots at the same time, Anko smirked till Ichigo managed to dodge each of the attacks.
He was at long last within five feet of Anko and brought Zangetsu above his head and let out a loud roar. "DIE!" he screamed while gripping the hilt with both hands and attempting to slash her in half.
Just as his sword was a couple of feet away from Anko's head, a barrier of lightning formed, stopping the attack from hitting her. Ichigo's eyes instantly widened in shock and lost the light blue coloring, returning to their brown color.
Smirking at the results that her barrier had, Anko pointed a finger at Ichigo's right shoulder, making his eyes widen even more. Lightning flared to life out of her finger, piercing straight through his shoulder.
Screaming out loud in pain, Ichigo quickly backed away, dragging Zangetsu mostly with the aid of his left arm while his right one was in great pain. Reaching a distance of fifteen feet, he hissed in pain while looking at the wound in his shoulder.
"Didn't I tell you that you can't beat me?" Anko smugly reminded. "I told you that for a reason, due that if you get past my lightning blasts, you still have to deal with my lightning barrier, which will protect me always. You have no chance at beating me, little bobcat. If I was you, I'd just surrender and die in a somewhat peaceful way."
Panting heavily, Ichigo glared at the thunder demon and muttered "Why you…"
Eyeing the female thunder demon warily, Ichigo glanced for any openings, but saw none in her defenses. Falling to one knee, he closed his eyes and attempted to catch his breath once more. "Damn it, what now!? She has the ability to fire lightning at me from her finger tips, is more than capable at wielding that kunai knife in her hand, and has a barrier of lightning just in case I make it past her lightning attacks. So how am I going to beat her!?"
"Ichigo, there is a way." the voice of his sword's spirit called out in his mind. "Every demon has a limited amount of power. True, she uses lightning, but like other demons, she has a limit. If you can force her to reach her limit..."
"Then I can crush her!" Ichigo declared while cutting off the spirit. Smirking, he mumbled back "Thanks Zangetsu."
Flashing his eyes opened, Ichigo stood back up quickly and smirked slightly. Seeing the smirk, Anko curiously asked "What's the smirk for?"
"I know what I must do to win." Ichigo calmly remarked while pulling his sword up onto his shoulders with his weakened right arm. He slightly winced at doing so, but remained calm.
"This isn't going to be easy, but I can do it, I know it." he declared in his mind.
Charging forward, Ichigo watched as Anko sighed. "You'll never learn, you fool." she muttered.
Raising a finger, she fired a stream of lightning at the quarter bobcat demon, only to have him dodge the attack. Irritated by this, Anko fired another shot, only to miss her target once again. Again and again, she fired shots, only to have Ichigo dodge her.
Finally with only five feet between them, Ichigo drew Zangetsu and slashed downwards at the female mage, only to strike her lightning barrier like before.
"You never learn." Anko remarked while pointing her finger at the quarter demon. A few sparks started flaring to life at the tip of her index finger while she let out a cruel smirk.
Just before the shot was fired, Ichigo moved out of the way, surprising the female thunder demon. Not far from where he had been, the young quarter bobcat slammed his sword into the barrier again, making the eyes of Anko widen a little.
"You little…" she began, only to watch Ichigo leap away when she began to fire a blast at him.
Rushing forward once more, Ichigo slammed Zangetsu into the barrier again and again, making Anko frown. "Enough of this!" she growled out in frustration.
Pointing a finger at him, Anko smirked, but suddenly frowned when nothing but a few sparks sputtered out of her finger. "What the!?" she questioned with a gasp of surprise.
Leaping away, Ichigo charged forward once more and slammed his sword into the barrier again. This time, the barrier began to give under the weight of his sword, making Anko's eyes widen in surprise.
"What the hell is going on!?" Anko questioned aloud.
A moment passed and her barrier finally shattered. Reaching out, Anko used her kunai to parry Ichigo's attack just as her barrier collapsed completely.
Chuckling softly while grinding the full weight of his sword against the kunai, Ichigo calmly said "This is a surprise. I thought you'd have realized that the more of your lightning you used, the weaker your barrier would get, and vice-versa. That's why I dodged so many of your attacks and slammed into your barrier. The more pressure I put on you to defend yourself, the more energy you burnt up. And now, I'd be guessing that you've nearly exhausted all of your power."
Eyes widening at Ichigo's declaration, Anko let out a furious yell and began pushing back, only to find her blade couldn't push Ichigo backwards. Trying to call forth some of her lightning powers to bring her barrier back up, Anko gasped in shock when she found she had no more energy left.
"It's over mage." Ichigo declared. "Surrender and your death will be quick."
Pushing herself away from Ichigo, Anko venomously spat back "NEVER! I am the lightning mage of The Thirteen, Anko Mitarashi, and I shall not be defeated by a quarter bobcat brat!"
Shrugging, Ichigo calmly replied "I gave you a chance at life. It's your choice to throw it away naturally, but how are you planning on beating me as you are? You have no power, so you're defenseless."
Clutching her kunai tightly, Anko glared at Ichigo and let out a battle cry while charging forward at him. Watching her movements, Ichigo summoned up his demonic power, causing his light blue aura to surround his body. His eyes instantly turned light blue in color while he raised his sword up.
Slamming it downwards at the charging Anko, he released a beam of bright white energy, which swallowed Anko completely. Her blood curdling scream filled the air as the blast engulfed her completely.
The blast slowly cleared off, while dust and smoke filled the air. On the ground, the blood soaked body of Anko was revealed.
With a heavy sigh, Ichigo collapsed to his knees while panting and leaning heavily on his sword. In his mind, he felt the presence of Zangetsu, who was smirking.
"Well done Ichigo."
Feeling his eyes growing heavy, Ichigo mumbled "Thank you Master Zangetsu…" With his words said, he passed out and fell to the ground while his sword returned to it's normal state.