Hitsugaya Toushirou
Hajime had transformed into—what I assumed was—his final release. Monstrous wasn't quite the best word to describe him anymore; he had lost all the grotesque traits of his previous release to a more simplistic form.
His mask seemed as if it was made of some type of thick latex material; as he grinned up at me, it was like he wasn't even wearing a mask. It moved with his facial features, but didn't necessarily look merged with his skin. It was almost as if it were a projection on his face—as unrealistic as that sounded. His teeth were on the outside of his mask—similar to Azumi and Kurosaki—and he had a horizontal opening clear across his entire mask at eye level that was spaced enough for his entire eye to be seen.
I tried to get out of Hajime's hold, but to no avail. The pressure on Hyourinmaru was tremendous and I already knew that if I didn't get out of the hold quickly, he'd try to snap Hyourinmaru in half.
I pulled back, and used the movement to pull him down with me. I swung Hyourinmaru's ice tail underneath the two of us and back-flipped; sending him flying behind me as I back-flipped. I came up from the flip, and quickly turned around to begin an attack.
Before I could even execute anything—or even take a moment to fully turn around—Hajime was already up and headed toward me.
He crashed into me like a bullet train before I could even dodge. I flew back into one of the tall buildings; my left ice wing cracking into two pieces upon the collision.
No faster than a blink, I had several hundred blood spikes above me, ready to pierce through me like a needle through cloth.
"Danku!" I shouted, palm out-stretched forward.
The rectangular, invisible shield appeared in front of me just in time. The blood spears crashed against it, shattering and spraying fine shards in all directions along it.
I got up and flashed out of there.
Hajime wasted no time in catching up to me.
"Where're you running off to, Hitsugaya?" Hajime shouted with heavy playfulness in his tone.
I ignored him and focused my energy trying to prepare my next attack.
"Are you scared, Hitsugaya? What happened to 'I'm going to kill you. Hajime?' At this rate you're only proving that you're a coward! What's that little whore going to think of you when she finds out that you ran away and abandoned her? What is she going to do when she finds out that you're not even a man—when she finds out you're nothing but a boy playing pretend?" Hajime shouted.
He appeared in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. He swiped at me and hit me straight across my face. I flew down toward the ground as he cackled and flash stepped after me. I used this opportunity to create an ice clone of myself and flash out of there. I lucked out—it worked.
I flashed into a nearby building through a broken window, and made the final preparations for my attack. Hajime took the bait; he attacked the ice clone I'd left behind. As soon as he stabbed his arm straight through my clone's chest was when he realized just what it was. By that time it was already too late. I jumped out from my hiding spot, and swung Hyourinmaru out before me.
"Sennen—!"
He cut me off by appearing in front of me and slashing down again at me. I blocked last second, but the force of the attack still sent me back down toward the ground at an incredibly fast rate.
Hajime was too quick; he was already on me mid-descent.
Quickly, I shielded myself with Hyourinmaru's wings and took in Hajime's blows along with the crash into the concrete below.
I reinforced my ice wings quickly, and created a full ice barrier around myself to take the crash. Nevertheless, I hit the ground forcefully, my head knocking back against it, and the rest of my body slamming against it. I had but a brief moment to recuperate before Hajime was back.
I was so drained that it was hard to not just lay there—it was all I wanted to do. My ice flowers lingering about behind me had dwindled down to 1 ½ petals. At the rate I was going; I wouldn't last 5 more minutes. Sleep sounded so good; letting everything go and drifting off to sleep...
Azumi's face flashed through my mind.
My eyes shot open—heavy from the pain of my broken ribs, torn muscles and alike. I had to keep them open; I had to keep going. Azumi's life was on the line; everyone's life was on the line. With this sadistic, twisted demon around, no one was safe. Beside him, there were the other 3 that still needed to be dealt with; the other 3 ruthless, malicious, bastards that threatened all lifeforms in existence.
I couldn't just give up and die.
"Growl,"
That voice…
"Haineko!"
Rubble tumbled down toward me; Hajime's hurried footwork to dodge Matsumoto's attack the cause of the rubble to roll down and hit my ice barrier.
I took a deep breath, and got back up. The ice shield around me cracked and shattered to the ground as I emerged.
"Taichou!" Matsumoto called.
Hajime was up above; Haineko's ash surrounding him. He didn't move, and wasn't fazed at all by the ash around him; he moreover looked amused than panicked.
Matsumoto flashed over to me; troubled by my appearance.
"Taichou, what are your orders?" She asked.
Without even having to say it, we both knew she was outmatched. Even so, Matsumoto was willing to give it her all and try to attack him anyway if that's what I wanted her to do.
I looked her straight in the eye for a moment. Her determination was present, her willingness and loyalty to me never more clear than it was at that moment. I owed this woman; although most of the time she was a pain, when it came down to it she was the most reliable Fukutaichou I could ask for.
"Watch my back," I responded.
"Hai, Taichou!" She replied.
I turned around and looked up at Hajime.
He stood there, smirking down at the two of us.
"Oh, are you both done chatting?" He asked playfully.
I flashed up to him, Hyourinmaru ready for the attack. Hajime pumped out a wave of reiatsu and successfully dispersed Haineko's ash with the blast.
As soon as I was above him, I faked him out with a kido attack.
"Shakkaho!" I shouted, blasting the attack at him.
As he dodged, I followed up with a wave of ice and a Sokatsui. The ice slowed him down just enough for the Sokatsui to make contact. He flew back from the attack, and Matsumoto came in with an unexpected attack.
"Haineko!" She commanded.
The ash encircled Hajime with absolutely no openings. The ash was so thick that visibility inside it was lost, which was perfect for a quick combination.
"Taichou!" Matsumoto shouted, reading my mind.
I raised Hyourinmaru up and pointed him at Hajime.
"Shinku Taso Hyoheki!" I shouted.
Small particles of Hyourinmaru's ice combined with Haineko's ash, and continued to swivel around Hajime. Once there was enough ice within the ash, I waved quickly for Matsumoto to call back her attack. She called it off, and all that remained was a layer of snow-like shards of ice circling around him. With how fine they were, I could easily control and create almost anything I wanted, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
In honesty, I was surprised Hajime hadn't already broken out or made an attempt of getting out of the attack. The only thing I could think of was that he assumed the attack wouldn't end up hurting him, so it was pointless to waste energy in trying to make an escape—smug, overconfident, bastard. Regardless, it was still a shot in, and I wasn't about to just let it slide.
With a quick wave of my hand, I commanded the swiveling ice to stop abruptly. As soon as it did, I waved my hand once more to morph the snow into what would hopefully deal a great bit of damage. Within one second, the ice changed into my version of an iron maiden; spikes on the inside of the sphere that impaled the demon trapped inside.
After an audible transformation, it seemed as if time stood still for a moment.
The spikes definitely formed and impaled him, but there was no clarification on whether or not Hajime took in the damage. I literally had them emerge from each and every inch of that sphere, yet there was no gasping, screaming, blood, or anything. Just what the Hell was going on?
I held out my palm in front of me, and curled it into a fist; commanding the sphere to shrink and curl inward. As it began to do as instructed, Hajime pumped out his reiatsu, and immediately the sphere exploded; the ice particles splattering everywhere. The spikes got him all right—that much was for certain. However, even though his body had been stabbed pretty much everywhere, he didn't seem fazed.
"That was a weak attack, Hitsugaya—even for you," Hajime began coolly.
"Rich, coming from the one full of holes," I retorted.
Hajime looked about himself, that stupid smirk still plastered across his face.
"Oh you mean these mosquito bites? Hah! As if this could really slow me down now," He replied.
I went for it—I tried yet again at a frontal attack.
As I made my way toward him, I launched off a few Hado attacks in combination with some sword techniques. About 40% of my attacks actually caused damage while the other 60% were deflected. The two of us hopped back, assessing each other briefly before our next attacks.
"All right Hitsugaya, let me show you why I'm superior to you; the reason why I deserve to be feared and respected as a ruler. I'll give you just a brief taste,"
Hajime outstretched his hand and aimed it at Matsumoto.
"Matsumoto!" I shouted, but it was already too late.
She screamed and hunched over in pain, holding her right arm. Blood sprayed out of her like a mist and into the atmosphere above her.
"What the Hell did you just do to her?" I shouted venomously at him.
Matsumoto's arm hung limply at her side, all the blood seeping out of it immediately rising up to the air.
"The look on your face is priceless, Hitsugaya! Oh man—I love it!" he chuckled with a huge grin on his face.
After one flash-step forward, all control of my body was gone once again. My arms were thrust outward, and my legs straight together; making my body like a cross.
Hajime caught his breath from his chuckling and continued.
"A nice little trick this form grants me is what you just saw. In my previous forms, I could only steal blood if there was already an open wound somewhere on the body. Now, I can create that opening internally by making the blood burst your veins, and then making it erupt through your pores; it's such a useful technique—you have no idea! So on top of control of your entire body, I can literally make you explode—isn't that exciting?" He explained giddily, stepping closer to me.
I looked down at Matsumoto.
Her right arm was done for; it was all shriveled and seemed as if all control was gone. She was panting in pain, wincing as she tried to look back up at me.
I grit my teeth and looked back at Hajime.
"You're going to pay for that, you bastard," I growled.
"Hey, hey, is that something that you should really be saying in the situation you're in, Hitsugaya?"
Immediately upon completion of his comeback, all the blood inside me circulated violently; it was as if my blood literally began to boil inside me.
"I didn't think so," He said melodically, that huge grin still growing every passing second.
"Well, it's been fun, Hitsugaya. You were almost a worthy adversary," He chuckled.
Before he could even make a move, I made mine.
His body completely stiffened and straightened out like mine; his arms spread out in a straight line as my own were.
The initial panicked expression he made had me smirking right back at him.
"What the—!" He stammered. "What the fuck did you do?" He shouted at me, furiously.
Words can't even begin to describe how much I reveled in that moment. His confused, and almost desperate tone in his voice was absolutely perfect.
"What happened? I thought you claimed to be more intelligent than I am? Surely you haven't forgotten what 75% of the body consists of, have you?" I continued. "If you can control blood—a substance made almost entirely of water—then it's safe to say that it's something I also can control. Not so smug now are you?" I retorted.
Hajime grunted at my comeback. The fact that he wasn't so calm and collected anymore created a huge opening. In truth, I didn't know if I could control his body; it was a last ditch attempt that surprisingly worked. The idea came to me from my previous battle with Harribel; if it wasn't for her reminder, I wouldn't have thought of it in this situation. It took a lot of reiatsu to keep the control, however; I couldn't keep it up for long, but at the very least it bought me some time to figure out how to get out of this before he took action.
Before either of us could make a move, a huge amount of reiatsu spiked next to the two of us. We both zeroed in our sights, and just as soon as we did, a huge purple Cero was heading straight for us.
I cringed for impact, but the Cero just barely missed me.
Hajime took the blow entirely, crashing down to the ground beneath us. As soon the attack hit, the hold he had on my body was gone, and I caught myself before gravity took hold. I looked back up at the one who executed the attack.
Floating above me—wings outstretched and a slender white scythe held proudly at her side—was a bloodied, familiar female.
"A-Azumi?" I stammered out.
She looked completely different, but I knew just by one glance that it was her.
She had two, full wings protruding out of her spine; boney, white and sharp. They had sharp protrusions from the joints of the main bone, and the bones were connected by thin, white flesh—much like bat wings. Her body for the most part looked normal, however, her forearms were shielded by sharp Hierro. The guard on her forearms reminded me almost of her tonfa; the armor covered every inch of her forearm in an elegant look, and the top by her elbows curved outward in sharp points.
Her mask changed as well. It wasn't like Hajime's in the sense that it looked projected onto her face, however, it was similar in the sense that it was plain compared to their other masks. Hers outlined her face, and allowed her bangs to cover part of her forehead. There was no mouth or nostril openings; just the two eye openings that showed her completely blackened eyes.
Without another moment passing, she dove past me, tucking her wings in for a quick downward descent.
Her demeanor was different than I'd ever seen it before.
Azumi had always gone through different emotions when she fought. However, even when she was beyond furious at something—or even very concentrated—there was always something holding her back. It wasn't necessarily fear or reason, however, the best word that I can think of to describe it would be hesitance. Even when she was completely uncontrollable and running rampant, she always gave me that impression.
Now, with just one look at her, I could already tell that her hesitance was gone. Something within her seemed like it finally snapped; could it be because of this new form?
With a multi-toned screech, she crashed down straight at Hajime. She didn't even swing her scythe; she literally banked on damaging him solely by landing on him. The earth beneath them hollowed inward with the attack—Hajime roaring in pain from the blow.
He pumped out his reiatsu more than I'd ever seen before.
Azumi spread her wings, and let the force of his reiatsu blow her up into the air. She stopped herself when she was a good distance away from him, and I snapped my head down at Hajime.
He panted harshly, and wiped his mouth from the blood that seeped out of it. He smiled up at Azumi—the mere gesture of it strangely eerie—and cracked his neck loudly without even using his hands.
"Well look who was able to reach her final form! I'm impressed, Eve; I honestly didn't think you had it in you. From awakening into your true self not too long ago, and already at this level—fascinating. However, it's still next to nothing compared to my power," He paused to chuckle.
"So, this is what it would've been like coming from the womb, eh? I could only imagine what the one growing inside you will be like once he's out. Like father like son, hopefully; a healthy craving for carnage and violence preferably," He concluded.
He waited for Azumi to respond; waiting for her to play into his mental games.
She remained silent.
Suddenly, the thought that it might not be her slapped me in the face. Was Azumi the conscious one, or was Imuza running the show? The two of them shared the same personality traits of chattering and letting their emotions get the better of them, yet she was just silent.
Just what was going on here?
Azumi gingerly rose up her palm up to about shoulder height. With her wrist bent and palm facing upward; a black, energetic sphere appeared floating on her palm. It pulsated in slow, almost even beats while it swiveled around. At first I thought that it was another form of Cero, but the way that it pulsated like that left me completely uneasy.
Screams suddenly broke the silence; loud, violent, and pleading screaming. I didn't even have to look around to know that they came from the sphere in her hand; it was now jerking around violently, and then in an instant expanded around Azumi.
It slithered around her like darkness incarnate; still screaming as it caressed her entire form provocatively. She turned her wrist—the back of her hand now facing upward—and pointed her index finger straight at Hajime.
The darkness stopped; raising completely off her and rising up into the air, lumped together. Immediately, it speedily threw itself down at Hajime. He hurriedly dodged the black mass, however it didn't let up with just that initial offense. It chased him fiercely; not letting up even for a second.
It reminded me of Kurosaki's Getsuga Tensho, and Kuchiki's Senbonzakura with only two major differences. Theirs were not as fast as this for one, and two—the aura given off by this strange mass of energy was absolutely frighteningly malicious. The aura it emitted alone would've already subdued any weak-minded individual, and the screams would've sealed their demise. My question was; just where the Hell was this coming from?
The Azumi I knew wasn't like this, and neither was Imuza for that matter. Imuza was sadistic and evil, but she didn't quite meet the criteria of just what was going on right now.
I looked up at Azumi.
Her hand was now down at her side, her scythe still proudly at her side. She stared down at Hajime, watching his every movement intensely.
"Azumi," I called.
No response; not even a slight acknowledgment.
I quickly gazed back at Hajime; making sure to keep an eye on what the situation was below. I only glanced down for a second, and when I turned my head back to Azumi, she was already gone.
Her speed—it was unreal.
She was on the ground with Hajime; attacking him alongside the darkness she controlled.
While she handled things temporarily, I flash-stepped to down to Matsumoto.
"Matsumoto!" I ran over to her.
She still was slightly hunched over, her arm still limp and lifeless at her side.
"T-Taichou," She managed.
I took hold of her arm and inspected it closer.
The pores on every inch of her arm were widened; the coloration of her arm paler than her normal skin tone. Her flesh was loose and withered; like the stem and leaves of a flower just before it hardens and crumbles to dust.
"We'll get Orihime to fix it; please try to bear the pain a little longer," I told her.
"H-Hai, Taichou," She complied.
The two of us both looked toward Azumi and Hajime's battle; the screams and impacts audibly reverberating on the earth.
"W-What happened to her?" Matsumoto asked.
"I'm not sure," I trailed off, distracted by the darkness branching out briefly into the sky before crashing back down at Hajime.
"I have some good news; she regained her memories." I told her.
"S-She did? That's great news; I'm so happy to hear that," Matsumoto replied.
I could tell that Matsumoto wanted to jump around and celebrate like she normally would, but her injuries prevented her from doing anything.
She suddenly stepped forward, taking heavy steps toward the battle.
"Matsumoto,"
"I don't care what's going on with her," She paused, taking more strained steps. "I'm going over there to help her."
"Matsumoto, in your condition I don't think it's wise to—"
"No, Taichou." She promptly cut me off, stopping in her pace for just a second.
"I'm not going to just stand here like all the other times; I refuse to stand here and not help either of you. With, or without an arm; I'm going over there to give it all I have." She concluded, taking a moment to turn around and look at me sternly.
There was no helping it.
I walked over to her, put her arm atop my shoulders, and took off skyward with her. I stopped above the scene playing out below to assess the situation.
Azumi was—without any doubt—far stronger than she was before.
However, even with this newfound strength, she still took in more damage from Hajime. She dealt quite a bit of damage to him as well, but with comparing the two of their reiatsu, Hajime had a higher amount than she did.
Granted, in many cases, even with a lower reiatsu victory was still possible. The key is reading your opponents moves, finding a weak-spot, and going in with everything you have. Hajime was already fairly weakened, and with the three of us here, there was such a low percentage that he would actually win. However, if the proper precautions aren't taken, he could very well kill one of us before we can get the jump on him.
I was reaching my limit; I literally only had one flower petal remaining behind me. I needed to act quickly, and finish him off. With how weakened he was, I could possibly have a chance to…
"Matsumoto," I began.
She looked up at me and I continued.
"I don't want Azumi to go through with this. You and I have already been through the 'ins and outs' of battle; we both understand and accept that death to an enemy is vital. No matter what has happened, Azumi isn't ready to take the plunge just yet; do you agree?" I asked.
"Whole-heartedly. I don't want her to finish him off; she's been scarred so much already," She replied.
"Then we're in agreement," I stated.
She nodded as I continued.
"I'll finish him off while you get her out of there. Think you can manage?"
"Hai, Taichou!" She quickly responded.
"Go."
She took a breath to ready herself before raising the hilt of her Zanpakuto with her left hand.
"Growl, Haineko!"
