A/N: I am probably not going to upload anything after May 14 due to final exams, so enjoy this chapter

I don't own KHR or Bleach


43. Training ground rumble

Tsuna and Grimmjow moved on forward. After draining Renji's aura, Tsuna felt a little sore, but was with little injury. Grimmjow, however, looked exhausted from the battle. Tsuna offered him a chance to rest, but he refused and ran ahead. Now, they were heading north to the family garden. They had to destroy the pillar before the eclipse appeared.

"Sensei, you should rest up for later," Tsuna said with a worried tone.

"And you should shut the hell up and keep on moving," Grimmjow snapped.

"Sensei, you used up a lot of energy last time," Tsuna persisted.

"What I want to know," Grimmjow said, disregarding what Tsuna had said, "is how the hell you drained Renji's energy? I thought that zero-point breakthrough only works with dying will flames?"

"Well… I can't really explain it, but there was something inside that snake that seemed familiar. I thought that if I could go inside it, then I could take his flame."

"That was fucking reckless."

"But I really think we should-"

"Tsuna," Reborn interrupted, "leave him be."

"But Reborn!"

"He prefers it this way," Reborn said. "He wants to push himself to the limit."

Tsuna took a glance at Grimmjow. It looked as if to him there was no way that he could go on. But he knew of Grimmjow's stubbornness, so he just let him be. Tsuna could only hope for the best.

x-x

Renji was deep in thought. He didn't even notice the medical squad until they lifted him up. He had been thinking about what Grimmjow had told him and Ichigo. There was no way that their boss would do that… or could there be? However, there was no way to find out the truth, as their boss was the silent type. No one really knew what he was thinking.

"Vice-captain Abarai, are you alright?" one of the men asked.

"Yeah…"

Renji didn't pay any attention to what was going on after that; he couldn't get the words out of his head.

"Why? Because your boss is the one who is going to kill her!"

'Why would he say that? Grimmjow was lying, right? There was no way that he would kill her…would he?'

"Mr. Abarai," a voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Captain Unohana, how's Ichigo?" he asked.

"He's stable now. That was a rough battle you two had. Who were your opponents?" she asked.

"Grimmjow and Vongola Decimo," he growled.

"Grimmjow is alive, too!?" Unohana asked, surprised by the news.

"He and Orihime joined the Vongola family. They betrayed us!"

"Are you sure they betrayed you?"

"Grimmjow told me himself. And he made up lies to trick me and Ichigo."

"What lies did he tell you?"

"That our boss was going to kill Rukia! He lied to us and tricked us. I can't forgive him," he spat.

"Are you sure that he lied to you?" she asked calmly.

"Captain, don't tell me that you believe him?"

"I don't know, but I do know that there are secrets in this family that no one knows. I have a feeling that we are going to find out soon."

"He's a traitor! I can't believe him."

"Mr. Abarai," she interrupted him, "you're judging with your heart and not your head. Calm down and think clearly. If you will excuse me, I will check on Ichigo.

She left his room and closed the door, leaving Renji with his thoughts.

x-x

Hibari really wondered why he came with those other herbivores to save just another herbivore. But Reborn promised him a fight after this and that he could bite anyone to death, so he really had no complaints. However, for the last hour, there had been nothing but weak herbivores.

He could see nothing but forest all around him, but he didn't really care where he was as long as there was someone strong to fight. There was something in the air that made his blood boil, similar to the feeling when he fought Mukuro. He couldn't tell what it was exactly, but whatever it was, he couldn't wait to find it.

Hibari looked ahead and saw light coming from the cracks between the trees. The sensation he had felt before was coming from that direction. He began to move forward towards the light and, hopefully, to a better opponent. When he emerged from the forest, an open field with one large tree in the center greeted him. A few stumps surrounded him and ahead of him was a trail that lead north. He felt his hands twitch with excitement. The strong presence was close by.

"Come on out, herbivore," Hibari said calmly.

"Well, look at what we've got here; you're kinda small for a Vongola," leered a voice behind him. Hibari raised his tonfas and turned. Kenpachi stood before him with his sword in hand and a small pink-haired child with a katana on his back.

"Who are you? Answer me before I bite you to death."

"I'm your opponent," Kenpachi turned his head to the little. "Yachiru I'm gonna be fighting, don't get in the way."

"'Kay, Ken-chan." Yachiru jumped off him and climbed up a tree not to far from them. Kenpachi studied Hibari's stance and aura, feeling the murderous aura radiating inside of him.

Hibari began to get impatient and rushed forward to make the first strike. Kenpachi calmly closed his eyes and blocked his attack. The sound of clashing metal could be heard throughout the area.

"Wow," Hibari said, impressed that he blocked his attack.

"Not bad kid, but can you handle this?"

Kenpachi jumped forward and swung his sword at Hibari; he blocked the attack. He could feel the vibrations from the last attack. His hand was shaking despite his urge to stop it. He looked at Kenpachi, and a smirk appeared on his face. A battle that he had been waiting for, with someone who was not an herbivore. He might possibility be the first real opponent he'd gotten since his first encounter with Reborn.

"Tell me, where is that herbivore?" Hibari asked.

"I don't know who the hell you're asking for, and I don't really care." Kenpachi took a glance at his katana before continuing. "The only thing I care about is that you are strong, for a brat."

"You're also as strong as the baby."

Hibari and Zaraki started exchanging blows, a gust of aura being emitted with each blow. Hibari swung his tonfas back and forth as Kenpachi swung his sword in perfect sync. As he fought Kenpachi, he wondered to himself, why was he doing this? He didn't really get along with her or any of the other herbivores. The only thing that mattered to him now was the addicting adrenaline that was rushing through his body. As the fight went on, only Yachiru was witness, enjoying the fight as much as Kenpachi was.

x-x

Gokudera was moving forward down the path towards the pillar. The strange thing was that there was no one in his way to stop him. He wasn't stupid and he knew that neither were they. He knew that they were probably waiting close to the pillar, whatever this pillar looks like.

"This path is taking way too long. There is no way that this area was this big," he said to himself.

He looked around at his surroundings, analyzing every inch of the land. He started to see patterns in his surrounding. The road seemed to stretch endlessly. He knew something was wrong. Gokudera took a small pebble that was next to him and threw it as far as he could. The air and the environment became distorted.

"I knew it; an illusion."

"Not bad, intruder," a voice said from above.

Gokudera quickly pulled out some dynamite and looked in the direction where the voice came from.

"Who are you?" Gokudera growled.

Gokudera heard someone's fingers snap, and the distortion that surrounded him vanished. He searched around for the woman who was watching him.

"Insects like you don't need to know anything because in a few minutes, you won't know anything at all."

x-x

Yoruichi jumped through the trees, heading towards Gokudera and Soi Fon's location. She would have never imagined that Gokudera would be the one to face her. She didn't have too much trust in his abilities, and she had secretly hoped that Ryohei or Chrome would be the ones to face her. Now, in her human form, she increased her speed. She had to get to Gokudera before Soi Fon did anything to him.

"Dammit, I was hoping things wouldn't turn out this way. I hope those two can take care of themselves," she muttered to herself.

x-x

Mayuri could feel shivers of excitement run through his back. His new specimen was very intriguing. The mist started to clear off, revealing that Chrome had disappeared. He looked around, trying to find Chrome. In his head he ran though the experiments he was going to put her through. He had to know what was so special about that flame, and at the same time, he wanted to surpass Verde and his blasphemy towards perfection.

"Kufufufu… it seems you can't see me," Mukuro's voice echoed throughout the room.

"This is interesting. I'm wondering where the girl is? That energy she possesses cannot go to waste, after all. And I made a great deal to her as well."

Mayuri felt a small cut on his right arm. He glanced at it before continuing. "I guess I have to settle for you."

"You will not touch my dear Chrome, as I am the only one can control her," Mukuro mused.

"It seems that you care about this woman, granted she is a precious specimen that must be experimented at once."

Mukuro appeared in front of Mayuri and smirked at him with his mismatched eyes. Mayuri let out a chuckle before touching one of his metal earpieces. He pulled it out and a sickle attached to red tissue. "It seems that I have to put in a bit more effort. Nemu, get up."

He looked at Nemu who was still unconscious from the wound she received earlier. He walked towards her and looked at her lying on the ground. He then took his foot and stomped on her ribs. Nemu let out a cry of pain.

"You useless girl! You won't die from this."

Mayuri glared at Nemu before focusing on Mukuro. He let out a long sigh and tightened his grip on his sword. "Now I remember: you're Rokudo Mukuro, a delinquent that escaped from the Vindice prison."

"It seems I'm still well known in the mafia world."

"Last time I heard, you were in the deepest level in the Vindice prison."

"But as you can see, I'm right here."

Mayuri threw the sickle in his hand at Mukuro. Mukuro jumped to the side to dodge the sickle, and he slammed his trident on the floor. Stones and boulders started to fly up the ground. Mayuri jumped up to dodge the boulders and noticed the smirk on Mukuro's face. The symbol in his red eye change to one, and vines decorated with flower buds sprouted from the ground. They wrapped around Mayuri, trapping him completely. The buds on the vines bloomed into lotuses. Each lotus had an indigo flame that was hard to see.

"You bastard, how dare you treat me like this?" Mayuri growled.

"Kufufufu, it looks like I win."

"Lowlife specimens shouldn't get so cocky. You're only good for experiments and nothing else! I tried to let the girl live by becoming one of my experiments but that's over! Bankai!"

x-x

Ukitake and Kyoraku could feel the two auras that were heading in their direction. Ukitake could feel dread in his heart, but protecting the family came first, even if the enemy was someone he once knew.

"Are you ready?" Kyoraku asked.

"Why does it have to be this way?" Ukitake answered.

"Don't know, but it's our duty to stop this, whether we want to or not."

"I guess."

Ukitake couldn't shake off the feeling in his heart and the guilt for hiding this from Rukia, but the less she knew, the better.

x-x

Gokudera received a sharp kick to his stomach, which sent him flying backward. The large pain in his stomach made it hard to sit up. After a struggle, he stood up and saw his opponent: a petite woman with a long braid. the woman glared at him, her eyes filled with anger. Gokudera saw her pull out her sword.

"It's over…" she muttered as she charged in towards him to attack.

Gokudera's ring lit up with a red flame. He took out the pistol that Urahara gave him and placed his hand with the flame on it. The gun melted and mixed together with the flame and spiraled around his arm. When the flame died down, the gun changed form. It was attached to his right arm where his ring was. The end of the gun had a skull with its mouth open.

Quickly, he took out a stick of dynamite and stuck it in at one end and pointed at Soi Fon. The skull's mouth started to glow red. Soi Fon noticed this and tried to pull back, but it was too late.

"Eat this! Flame arrow!"

The mouth fired a beam of red flames. Soi Fon moved aside to dodge it, however, some of her hair was caught in the fire. Acting quickly, she cut part of her strand to prevent the flame from eating the rest of her hair.

"Damn you! You'll pay for this."

The air started to distort in front of Gokudera and the next thing he knew, Soi Fon disappeared from his sight. Acting quickly, he ran back, trying to find a way out of this distorted space. Along the way, he thought of a plan, but for it to work he had to use the second part of the weapon that he wanted to avoid using. His opponent was someone on a higher level. She was more difficult to figure out than Bel, but he wasn't the Vongola's tactician for nothing.

He started to plant small sticks of dynamite on every tree, bush, or anything that could hide them. He looked at his surroundings, looking for Soi Fon, wherever she may be. Although he couldn't see her, he could vaguely feel her presence. He took out a card from his pocket, a card that had the Vongola insignia with the mist ring emblem.

Soi Fon prepared to attack from behind, planning to finish this battle. A trident blocked her path. Indigo flames surrounded Soi Fon, and all she could hear as a deep chuckle.

"Kufufu… it seems the puppy needs help."

A person made out of flame appeared between Gokudera and Soi Fon. The flame bore a resemblance to Mukuro. The flame had a trident similar to Mukuro's and this trident of flame spun in the flame Mukuro's hand. He slammed it to the ground and the illusion that Soi Fon had created disappeared and vines started to wrap around her.

"What is this!?"

"It looks like the card system works after all."

Gokudera had finished training for the day when Tesai took him by the shoulder and dragged him back to the training room. Urahara was waiting in the training room with a deck of cards.

"Welcome, Mr. Gokudera, I see you had a nice training."

"Would you let me down!" Gokudera growled.

Urahara signaled Tesai to let go of Gokudera. Tesai lightly bowed and went upstairs to make dinner, leaving Gokudera alone with Urahara.

"So, what do you want?"

"Mr. Gokudera, I need to give you the second part of your weapon."

"What do you mean?" Gokudera had a puzzled look on his face.

"See, there is no other person I can trust using this." He took a glance at the deck of cards. "These cards will help you out greatly."

"So, what do they do?"

Uruhara took one card from the deck. He held it up and a bright light blinded Gokudera. When the light died down, a figure made out of purple flame appeared. Its features made Gokudera feel like he was looking at Hibari. The figure looked at the largest boulder and sprinted at top speed. With his metallic tonfas, he smashed the boulder. Gokudera stood there, dumbfounded.

"I present to you the carta di spirito ver. Vongola."

"Spirit cards?"

"These cards were made from a special technique. Basically, I scanned the data that Reborn and the Vongola had about you guys and transferred it to a card. The card reads the information and produces an image made out of the flame of the subject. However, they need to touch the card in order to make it work."

"You got everyone to touch it?"

"Yes, including Orihime who fills in for Rukia. Since she was in her body, she should have some of her aura in her."

Uruahara handed him a small case with the cards. Gokudera looked over them and saw all the emblems for the guardians and a sword emblem for Grimmjow. He put them neatly in the case and put it away in his coat pocket.

"One more thing, these cards are prototype. They are good for one use, so use them well."

"I guess that lunatic's inventions aren't so useless after all," he muttered to himself. And now, he had a chance of winning.

x-x

Red mist bubbled out into the lab. The katana leapt out of Mayuri's hand and started to grow at an exponential rate. It grew centipede arms and the jizo head grew to a colossal size. A metal ring hung above this head with five bells on the front. The baby jizo's had blank eyes and his mouth breathed out purple mist.

"Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo…"

The Jizo head started to breathe out purple gas from its mouth, filling the entire lab. Mukuro covered his mouth as soon as he saw the gas. Mayuri started to laugh.

"It's no use. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo's poison is made out of my blood. Anyone who is in the vicinity gets poisoned immediately. Even if you cover your mouth the poison with still enter through your skin."

"Oh, it seems that you are underestimating me, captain."

Mukuro's eye changed to kanji number 4, a faint flame flickered on his red eye. Mayuri sensed Mukuro's aura rise quickly, and the vines that were constricting him were getting tighter.

"Go Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo!"

Blades popped out of the centipede's body, and Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo rushed at Mukuro ready to attack. Mukuro let out a smirk and stood still. The centipede crashed into him, impaling him deep onto its blades. The vines that held Mayuri captive disappeared setting him free.

"Pity they would have made such interesting specimens," he shrugged.

Mayuri was about to call back Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo when a familiar chuckle resonated in his ears.

"Kufufufu… did you think that you could get rid of me that easily?"

Mayuri looked at Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo. The body that was impaled on the centipede's blades had turned into a ball of indigo flames. The body then turned to dust.

"Now it's my turn."

Mukuro spun his trident in his hand and it extended until the tip of each side touched the walls. The room started to become distorted and broke apart. The room got larger by the second. The large cracks between the walls had red clouds passing by. Konjiki Ashisogi Jizo fell into a hole made by the illusion. Mayuri called him back before it fell any further.

"You bastard, these aren't normal illusions. Where did you learn such powerful illusions?"

"From hell," Mukuro responded.

"Fascinating," Mayuri said, grinning. "I can't wait to experiment on you."

Mukuro disappeared from Mayuri's sight, taking him by surprise. He looked around for Mukuro. He couldn't sense anything in the distorted space that Mukuro created. He could still hear Mukuro laugh.

"Do you know the basics of illusions?" Mukuro asked. "Illusions are images created when the victim loses perception. And when they lose perception then they are no better than a helpless infant."

"How dare you insult me!"

Mayuri finally caught sight of Mukuro. He was heading towards him with his trident ready and with his indigo flame in his red eye. Mayuri was no fool; he knew that flame was trouble. However, its powers were beyond his expectations. This battle was proof of its power. Even if he lost the battle, the data he received was priceless.

"Kufufufu… it's over."

"I am not giving this data up."

Mayuri raised his aura to his limit. He had to know more about the flame that Verde was talking about. He wanted to control and know its limits; he wanted to remake the mafia world based on this flame. Their weapons clashed, and a bright light burst in the entire room, and strong waves of aura spread throughout the manor.

x-x

Zaraki let out a big grin. He had found someone strong enough to entertain him. As he looked at Hibari, he couldn't help but think that he had potential. After all, there weren't many people who could stand their ground against him. But he still needed a little push, and he would mold him until he was good enough to go all out. Vongola or not, he didn't care. All he cared about was that he was a strong opponent.

"What are you smiling about, herbivore?"

"I'm having fun. You're not half bad for a brat."

Hibari didn't respond; instead he rushed forward and clashed his tonfa against Zaraki's sword. Hibari's Vongola ring started to emit purple flames. The flames snaked through his hand and lit the tonfas on fire. Zaraki felt the power emanating from Hibari; it seemed that he got stronger only by activating that flame. Zaraki was no fool and he knew that there was more to that flame that met the eye. What surprised him more was that Hibari was actually pushing him back.

"Heh, kid you're something else you know that?"

"Wow, you're strong. I'm enjoying this"

Zaraki pushed Hibari back and jump a few feet back. He held on to his eye patch, with a grin that said it all: he was about to take this battle to the next level.

"Let me tell you something kid, there are two things that I like about fights. They have to be strong to last for a second and the battles need to last, I want to savor each and every moment. And if I die, then I will die with no regrets."

Zaraki ripped off his eye patch, the moment that he did, a thick amount of aura emanated from his body; a pressure so strong, that Hibari could feel chills of excitement. Zaraki wasn't just any herbivore; no, this is the same as that first time that he felt like this with Reborn. Yes, he had now found a carnivore.

"Let's go all out!" Zaraki laughed.

x-x

The indigo flame disappeared and the card that was in Gokudera's hand turned black. Soi Fon cut herself free from the vines and kept her distance, but she was interested in the card that Gokudera used.

"I'm not done yet! Rocket bomb!"

Gokudera threw his dynamite at her and smoke came out on one end of the dynamite. They ricocheted through the air, picking up speed in the process. Soi Fon cut each dynamite with exact precision. She was so busy taking care of the rocket bombs that she did not notice the bombs that were floating over her.

"Double bombs and Flame arrow!"

He aimed at one of the bombs and fired a red flame that flew at a tremendous speed. The flame soon came into contact with one of the bombs, causing a chain reaction. A huge explosion erupted in the area.

When the flames and smoke cleared, he saw Soi Fon in a small barrier that she had made, however he could still see the burn marks on her arms and face.

"Damn you!"

Soi Fon took her katana and stabbed it into the ground. Suddenly, hundreds of men dressed in black with different masks on their faces appeared out of nowhere and surrounded them.

"When the head of the execution squad places her sword in front of her, it is a signal of her subordinates to kill anyone she wishes."

Soi Fon felt a familiar aura heading their way. She raised her hand and signaled the other members to attack. All of the executioners jumped forward and attacked. But, in a second, all of the members fell to the ground, unconscious. A blur flew around Soi Fon and Gokudera. The blur was knocking down every squad member, leaving only Gokudera and Soi Fon standing.

A female figure stood in front of Gokudera and Soi Fon. The figure had all of her face covered. The only thing that stood out of her face was her yellow eyes.

"Who are you?"

"Now, now, has my old vice-captain forgotten my face already?"

The figure took off the scarf that hid her face, revealing a tanned woman with long purple hair. Soi Fon's eyes widened when she realized who that figure was. All the memories from before returned. The person who betrayed her trust, and the person she admired the most.

"Goddess of Flash, Yoruichi…" she growled.

"Hey there, Soi Fon it's been a while." She waved at her.

"W-wait you're Yoruichi!?"

"Of course."

"But you're a cat."

"Cats don't talk, use common sense."

Soi Fon disappeared and reappeared behind Gokudera. She held her sword close to his neck. Gokudera couldn't move; if he did then she would most likely slice his throat.

"Sting all your enemies to death suzumebachi."

Her sword let out a white glow and shrank down in size. When the light vanished, her sword vanished and in its place was a black and gold gauntlet with a small chain linking the stinger-like blade to it. Gokudera knew that change in weapons was not a good sign. He had to get away or he was finished. Gokudera pushed himself away from Soi Fon and moved as fast as he could. However Soi Fon was much faster than that and moved behind Gokudera. She stabbed him with her stinger right on his back. Gokudera stumbled a bit before touching his stomach. He looked down and saw a crest painted on his stomach. The crest looked like four hornet stingers creating an X.

"Gokudera!"

"My suzumebachi has a special ability; it's a 2 hit kill. If I hit my opponent in the same spot twice in a row, then that person will automatically die by my poison."

Soi Fon moved quickly behind Gokudera again to deliver the final blow, but before she could deliver it, Yoruichi got in the way. The stinger pierced her flesh and drew a crest just like Gokudera's across her skin.

"Yoruichi, must you get in the way? I am the strongest, not you, I'm the one who controls the execution squad. So why do I feel so empty?"

"Soi Fon, I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to repair the chaos you caused when you left!"

Soi fon had had enough. She jumped up and dove in to finish off Yoruichi. Her aim was on the crest on Yoruichi's stomach. Right when she was about to touch the crest, a sword covered with blue flames blocked her and pushed her back. Right in mid air, Soi Fon noticed the ground glowing white. A vortex of ice and snow trapped Soi Fon, She managed to move out of the way before the vortex turned to a pillar of ice.

Soi Fon looked at who blocked her attack and she saw three figures. One figure looked like Yamamoto that was made out of blue flames. The other one looked like Rukia that was made out of white flames. Each had a sword that resembled the real weapons. Gokudera stood behind them, holding up two cards high in the air.

"I'm your opponent!"


chapter 43 end

Beta-ed by: Hokkyokusei