Chapter 54
Sorry about the really long wait, I didn't have internet for like month ( which drove me insane by the way) and I've been busy with lots of crap.. but anyways, time for the next chapter…that's what you're here for after all…
We rejoin Ichigo as he made quick work of the guards while Kenryu helped slightly in the background and in a matter of a few minutes, the guards were laying on the ground unconscious.
Ichigo place his sword back on his back and looked over and Kenryu. "Well… at least that was easy… but we should go on in now before more show up and hold us up any longer"
"Um.. Right" Kenryu stated, nodding as he followed Ichigo to the front gate.
Ichigo pushed spiritual energy into his leg before kicking the gate off the hinges and stepping inside with Kenryu right behind him. Ichigo let Kenryu direct him where to start looking at first but took the lead for when they encountered more guards, knowing that he would be able to more easily deal with them then Kenryu would.
Kenryu then directed Ichigo down a series of hallways, while Ichigo knocked out numerous guards with his sword and scared off several servants along the way using just his spiritual pressure.
Eventually they wound up in the main area of the house where Kenryu was sure that Rurichiyo might be taken by Kumoi. They opened the door and inside standing was Kumoi himself and in front of his, facing away from Ichigo and Kenryu, was Rurichiyo.
"Rurichiyo!" Ichigo yelled out. "Get away from Kumoi!.. He's the one who sent that guy after you!"
"Too late Ichigo Kurosaki" Kumoi said smugly and calmly. "Rurichiyo is my puppet now.. And won't listen to you or Kenryu"
"Rurichiyo!.. Don't listen to that bastard.. Listen to me and Kenryu!" Ichigo yelled, ignoring Kumoi though Rurichiyo was just as unresponsive to him as before. " Kumoi…You son of a bitch"
"Manners manners, Captain Kurosaki.. Wouldn't want to set a bad example for your squad now would you?.. Oh wait… you already have by breaking into the Kasumioji clan estate" Kumoi said mockingly. "As it is, your going to be arrested and will spend the rest of your life in the maggot's nest.. The worst "prison" in the Soul Society… I'm sure you'll make plenty of friends there"
"Your seriously one fucked up piece of work…you honesty think that's what's going to happen? Cause I got news for you.. The only one going to this maggot's nest place.. Will be you" Ichigo said, flaring his spiritual energy angrily. "Though I can't guarantee you'll go entirely intact…"
"Hehehe.. How amusing you are boy…" Kumoi snapped his fingers and girl dressed in similar fashioned as the last assassin appeared in a crouch next to Kumoi. "Take care of the one with the orange hair"
"Mmm… gladly" the girl said licking her lips seductively. "Too bad he's on the opposite side…he's.. Quite good looking"
"Flirt all you like…Just take care of him" Kumoi said as he turned away, put a hand on Rurichiyo's shoulder and walked away. "Have fun.. Captain"
"Damn it.. Kenryu.. I'll distract her while you go after Kumoi and Rurichiyo" Ichigo whispered while keeping his eyes on the female assassin. "Be careful and good luck… just wait my signal"
Kenryu nodded and stood back to await Ichigo to act.
"You know… I wasn't kidding when I said your were good looking… I'd love to take you for a ride if you catch my drift" The girl said winking. "By the way… how old are you?… it's impossible to tell here in the soul society after all"
"..15 years old… and I'm not from the Soul Society.. I was born in the world of the living 15 years ago" Ichigo answered narrowing his eyes. "Not that my age matters right now since I'm going to kick your ass"
"Mmm feisty. And young.. I'm old enough to be your mother.. Then again, I've heard young guys in the world of the living like older experienced women… what are we called? Milfs I believe?.. You wanna get with this milf?" She said grinning and undoing her top so that her cleavage was more exposed . "I'm betting your either a virgin or fairly inexperienced at your age…I'd love to teach you all I know.. So what do you say we don't fight and instead just go back to my place so we can have a little fun?"
"No thanks.. Already have a girlfriend and have plenty of experience" Ichigo said blushing slightly as he pulled his sword off his back and let the cloth around it fall away. "Now.. You have choice of your own to make.. Either stand aside.. Or ill take you down"
"So your saying you'll go down on me?.. Nice.. I'd see your skills with you tongue" the girl said making flirty gesture with her eye brows.
"I just told you I have girlfriend, you fricken pervert!" Ichigo yelled as he swung his sword at the girl who nimbly dodged the blade. "Damn it.. Stand still would you!"
"Ha!.. Not likely cutie" The girl said, winking at him as she did a back flip and pulled out a sword. "I wish we could just go some where and be alone.. But unfortunately, it's my job to kill you"
"You can try, but it'll be your funeral" Ichigo said as he unleashed a Getsuga Tenshou at he girl.
The girl thought she could dodge it, but was caught off guard by the size and force of Ichigo's attack as she jumped out of it's path. It grazed her arm, burning off the material covering it and leaving a painful burn across her arm.
"Son of a bitch… that really fucking hurt!" The girl growled. "I was going to go easy on you.. Maybe have some fun together.. But if this is how you wanna play.. Then be warned.. I won't show you any mercy!"
The girl pulled out a second sword and jumped at him as she spun around in mid air. Ichigo blocked her swords Zangetsu and pushed her back away from him. Ichigo was frustrated as the girl was very thin and flexible, managing to move out of the way of Ichigo's further attempts to cut her with his sword. Every time he swung his sword, the girl would, move to the side, bend over, do a split or back flip out of the way.
Ichigo took a deep breath and thought back to something Kisuke once told him while helping him train once.
Flashback
"Damn it, Kisuke!" Ichigo said as he got kicked into a boulder. "How do you know what I was going to do?.. Before I knew what I was going to do?"
"Think of fighting like a game of chess.. A violent, deadly game of chess" Kisuke replied, spinning his sword around his hand. "In order to win you must not only think about your immediate attack, but you must plan several moves ahead.. and you must also learn to anticipate your opponent's moves ahead of time…"
"That… seems really complicated" Ichigo said wiping fastest from his forehead. "Won't you risk getting seriously injured or killed trying to do that?"
"But of course.. Then again.. Most battles are to the death anyways.. So if you want to be the victor and live...then I suggest you learn to adapt to your enemy, and do it fast" Kisuke said with a grin as he came back at Ichigo again. "Remember Ichigo!.. Most battles you don't get many changes to do things over again if you wrongly guess your opponent's attack pattern.. So think carefully"
End flashback
"Right.. Watch her moves carefully and find any pattern that can be exploited" Ichigo thought to himself as the girl ran at him.
As Ichigo did his best to dodge her, he tried to pay attention to her moves, looking for some kind of pattern in her attack. He got cuts, and scrapes from her swords while managing to injure her back, though his main goal was see about a pattern. It took quite a while and numerous slashes to his body, that really hurt by the way, but a pattern began to finally emerge.
"I see… so she always swings with one of her swords, while keeping the other as sort of shield incase I slip by and slash at her…" Ichigo thought as he tested this.
Sure enough, Ichigo came at her and she sung back, with one sword while keeping the other with her to block Zangetsu with. He also noticed that the girl would take short swings in order to have time to keep her guard up. In addition to this, Ichigo noticed that while she was quite skilled with her swords, she relied heavily on them, making him wonder how her hand to hand abilities were.
Ichigo swung his sword again and using his quick agility, dropped to the floor as soon as she blocked Zangetsu with both swords. He spun around ,using his leg to knock her off her feet and knock her down, though she dropped her swords and did a back flip before she hit the ground.
"You may have not got knocked down, but at least you dropped your weapons" Ichigo said, kicking her swords away, behind him.
"Son of a bitch.. How the fuck could I have fell for that?!" The girl growled out balling her fists. "This is bullshit.. I call do over!"
"Do over?.. Are you a child or something? I'm not to "give you a do over"! Ichigo exclaimed with wide eyes and a outraged expression. "Either give up or end up in the hospital"
"Like hell!" The girl said, glaring at Ichigo. "I'll kick your ass or die trying .. Or my name isn't Riko Shimazaki!"
"Riko huh?.. About time I get a name out of you…" Ichigo commented. "I'm warning you though, if you stay in my way of getting to Rurichiyo,.. I will end you"
"Oh really?.. You wanna save the little brat?" Riko asked in a low voice. "she might live or she might die…but that's not really my problem though... If you want that girl bad enough, then bring it on asshole"
"It's your life to throw away, Riko.. I just hope it's worth it" Ichigo said, holding his sword in front of him. "Bankai!"
A soon as the smoke cleared, Ichigo dashed forward swinging his sword incredibly fast at Riko, who barely had time to grab onto one of her swords and block.
"That's just an ordinary sword.. Meaning it won't hold up for long against my Zanpakuto" Ichigo stated, as he pulled his sword back and sung again, knocking Riko back. "Last chance.. Give up or end up in a bad way"
"Oh really?.. Haven't you ever heard of the phrase.. Looks can be deceiving?" Riko said, holding her sword to the side. "Strike, Buredo no Rinko!"
"Wait.. That's a Zanpakuto?!" Ichigo exclaimed as her sword changed shaped so that the blade was now segmented. "Almost reminds me of Renji's sword…"
"Ready for round two, cutie?" Riko asked while grinning at Ichigo.
Ichigo sighed and gripped the handle of his Zanpakuto. "Why are things never straight forward?"
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Meanwhile, Hiyori had reached the back of the estate and taken out several guards along the way as she made her way through the enormous house.
"This is a pain in the ass…" Hiyori commented as she took out yet another guard that had gotten in her way. "I still think this whole thing is a mistake, helping some brat we don't even know"
"You didn't think twice about helping a certain orange haired brat you just met.. Did you?" Kubiriki Orochi said to her in her mind. "Remember that?"
"Sh-shut up!.. That was different… It's not like I'm not the one who gave him my powers or anything…" Hiyori argued back. "I just found him interesting, that's all…"
"Sure you did.. Especially his butt if I remember correctly" Her Zanpakuto said laughing.
"If I could I would strangle you with your own intestines!" Hiyori growled while barring her teeth. "I'm busy so just go bug someone else"
"Like who, smartass?"
"Don't know, don't care"
With that Hiyori ran on, ignoring her Zanpakuto that decided to call her various swearwords, including ones even Hiyori had never heard before.
After a few minutes of running around the halls of the huge house that was a bit confusing, she came to a stop in a large room that appeared to be almost entirely empty, except a man standing there holding a scythe and dressed in the same clothes as the assassins that came after Rurichiyo in the world of the living. He was very strange looking with pink skin, almost no hair, bizarre widely spaced square teeth and long scare going down across one eye that, combined with a black piece of material going sideways across his nose, made a cross pattern.
"Another assassin? Give me a break…" Hiyori commented, with a annoyed tone. "Hurry up and come at me so I can kill you and get on my way"
"Aren't you confident, little boy" The man said, staring at Hiyori as he gave a crazed grinned. "The only one dieing here is you though… don't worry though.. I'll kill you slowly so we both enjoy it!"
"Do you know how many people have used the "you look like a boy cause your flat chested and act boy like" joke on me?.. Too many to count, to be honest" Hiyori commented stand in still and holding her sword in front of her. " Now enough of the shit and fight me!"
"As you wish…" The man said, grinning even wider. "Let's have some fun, bitch!"
"You got some serious problems, shit bag.. And I don't just mean the way you look either" Hiyori said, shaking her head. "Let's go already"
"Fine with me, short stuff!"
The man threw his scythe at Hiyori, with it connected to a chain that he held onto in his hands. Hiyori grunted slightly, knocked the scythe away with her sword as she ran at him. Hiyori jumped as she ran and swung her sword down at the guy, who managed to move out of the way.
The man growled and, to Hiyori's confusion, took a bit out of the scythe's blade, causing his skin to become jagged and blades to grow out of his back. The man grinned and turned around, somehow firing the pieces of blades from his back at Hiyori.
She managed to dodged most of them, though several of them tore through her right leg, side and shoulder. She held her hand to her shoulder and blood dripped out of the wound, making her hand wet and sticky.
"Fuck, that hurt" Hiyori commented, cringing a bit. "You better get ready for me to return the favor, you ugly mother fucker.. Butcher that son of a bitch, Kubiriki!"
"Oooh.. Nice sword, dead girl" The man said, grinning widely. "I might as well tell you my name bitch.. You can either call me your killer or Jinnai Doko"
"I'd rather call you my latest kill" Hiyori said, using flash step and slashing her sword into his back, causing blood to spray out and him to howl in pain. " The sooner you surrender or die, you sooner this will be over for you, freak job"
"You little bitch!" Jinnai yelled swinging his sword blindly in her direction, after she had already flash- stepped out of the way. "Stand still!"
"Fuck off" Hiyori replied, glaring after she reappeared and was wrapping a piece of her jacket's sleeve she had torn off, around her bleeding shoulder. "Because f you, my favorite sweat jacket is ruined.. The shop I got this at closed down like 45 years ago, how am I suppose to replace it!?"
"Don't know , don't care .. And that has little to do with the plot of the chapter ,so shut up shrimp!" He yelled in response as he bit into and ate more of his scythe that re-grew after he finished. " I'm gonna carve you into shreds blondie!"
His skin became even more spikier after he ate his scythe and more blades grew out of his back again. He licked his lips and grinned wildly at Hiyori as he began swinging his scythe around by it's chain. Hiyori however, was unimpressed and just stood there looking bored before using flash step to launch herself at him and swing her sword at him again. This time however, he pulled his scythe up and blocked her attack, sending sparks flying. She began repeatedly swinging her sword at the man, who managed to block her every time despite her using flash step to appear in different place around him with each swing.
This trading of blows went on for nearly ten minutes, before they both jumped back away from each other.
"This is a lot of fun, but I'm use to my prey being dead by now" Jinnai stated, growling. "This is becoming more a nuisance then it is fun…"
"Not my problem, asshole" Hiyori countered, glaring at him. "Your in my way.. So I'll say it again.. Surrender, or die.. Just get out of my way already"
"Not likely kid"
Jinnai ate more and more of his scythe, growing more blades on his back and when he was done his skin barley resembled skin anymore, due to it's jagged, spiky appearance. In addition, his scythe re-grew, but was bigger, slightly twisted and seemed unstable with power.
Hiyori saw this and figured if she pushed him to his limited he'd over load his weapon and pretty much defeat himself. Hiyori dashed forward, swinging her sword at him meeting the blade of his weapon with a loud clang sound. She stayed on the offensive, and repeatedly struck at him, without stop, though she had to lower her guard and got more and more slashes as a result.
Sure enough, as Jinnai relied more and more on the power of his weapon, he acted more hastily and acted more irrationally. Eventually, he came to a stop and Hiyori observed him from a safe distance as he started lashing out wildly. The chain he held on to in one hand, began to fuse with his hand causing him to yell out in pain,
As Hiyori watched, the chain seemed to seem under Jinnai's skin, while he thrashed around . The scythe and chain glowed as it began to consume him, and Hiyori knew that what ever was happening , it would mean Jinnai's end. Knowing that, Hiyori returned her sword to his sealed form and stood back, cautious but relaxed.
As she figured the weapon raged out of control and Hiyori took the cue to leave the room with flash step, coming to a stop outside the room, while Jinnai screamed inside it for a few minutes before an violent explosion was heard that actually made Hiyori cringe slightly.
Although she didn't exactly understand entirely what happened, she didn't really care. Hiyori then checked her wounds, tightening the sleeve piece that was currently acting as makeshift bandage around her arm, and continued on her way to meet up with Ichigo and find Rurichiyo.
While this was all going on at the Kasumioji clan house, Rukia , Chad and Enryu were dealing with the several assassin's that had come after them. Rukia was taking the lead against one of the assassins with her released Zanpakuto.
"Tsugi no Mai, Hakuren!"
Rukia build up spiritual energy at the tip of her Zanpakuto and after a moment, released an avalanche of ice and snow at her enemy. The assassin was not the strongest and despite trying to escape, got his arm, leg and most of his right side, caught in the ice and was flash frozen.
Not waiting for him to free himself, Chad immediately shot a El Directo at the assassin, creating an explosion that to finish him off. It was then down to only two more assassins that were both ruthless with their attacks, not waiting for a moments notice to attack, even as their teammate was destroyed.
"Damn Soul Reaper.. I'll kill you!" One of them yelled, as they swung their strange sword at Rukia, who managed to barely move out of it's path. "Hold still little girl!"
"Not likely!" Rukia retorted as she focused her Reishi. "Hado 4, Byakurai!"
"Not this time, brat!" The male assassin said, as he held up his sword which created an energy shield around him, defelecting the lightening attack. "Nothing can get through my shield!"
"Don't worry Chad, no defense, no matter how strong, is truly invincible" Rukia said as she jumped back by Chad and Enryu. " If theirs a way through, we'll find it"
Chad nodded and gave a simple reply in return. "I hope so.."
The other remaining assassin had a Bo staff weapon and dashed forward at them, spinning the staff like a helicopter blade as he swung it at them. Chad blocked the staff with the armor on his arm, while Rukia came at him from the side with her Zanpakuto. However, the other assassin intereviened, and slashed his sword into Rukia's back, stopping her for following through with the attack.
Rukia fell back and had blood running down her back, which made her cringe in pain as Enryu ran forward, punching the assassin and sending him flying into a nearby wall.
"Rukia!.. Are you alright?!" Chad somewhat yelled as he pushed the Bo staff wielding man back.
"More or less" She replied painfully. "I'm still alive at least.. But I shouldn't have been caught off guard so easily.. It's disgraceful for a member of the 13 court guard squads"
"I'll say.. But at least your not giving up. That would be far more disgraceful" saida male voice from above them. "Extend… Hozukimaru !"
Down jumped Ikkaku with his Zanpakuto transformed into it staff like form, that he swung at the staff weilding assassin with all his might.
"Ha! Glad I decided to skip guard duty... Seems like every time I do, I find a great fight" Ikkaku said grinning. "First with Ichigo and now this!"
"Sigh.. Ever the brute Ikkaku" Yumichika said as he appeared next to Rukia. "As for you miss Kuchiki.. You look a bit under the weather with nasty back wound"
"Ehh,… medical treament can wait.. We need to stop them first" Rukia said, standing up cringing.
"Agreed.. But stay out of Ikkaku's way as he deasl with the staff weilding assassin" Yumichika said, in his normal flamboyant tone. "Just stick with the other one"
"As long as we stop both of them, it will be fine" Rukia said, taking a deep breath as she readied her weapon again. "We have to find a way through that shield"
"I'll distract him… you get him while he's open" Chad said in a low voice.
"Right.. Be careful though" Rukia said nodding. "I'll need to get this attack just right"
Chad activated his armor over his arm and ran forward, swinging at the assassin who block his fist with his sword. They continued to parry each other, Chad's fist with the assassin's weapon, for quite some time. With each clash, Chad pushed the assassin back more and more, causing him to go on the defensive more and more.
"Damn it...this strange human.. He shouldn't be able to push me like this" The assassin growled out in frustration. "Just die human!"
"Ok, Sode no Shirayuki.. I know you said I wasn't ready to use this technique.. But I have no choice" Rukia whispered to her Zanpakuto. "I know the risks but I need to do this"
"Please don't Rukia.. You know the dangers of using this technique when your not ready" Sode no Shirayuki pleaded in Rukia's mind. "I hope this is worth it"
"It is, Sode no Shirayuki.." Rukai whispered as she closed her eyes and gathered all her spirit energy. before slashing her glowing sword across the air in front of her, making an x pattern.
The air around Rukai and the whoel as well, all rapidly dropped in temperature, as ice crystals form on the skin of the assassin. Chad ran to cover, and ice tried to cover him as well.
The air chilled and theat when Rukia opened her now glowing eyes and stabbed her sword into the air, through the x pattern.
"Saigo no Mai.. Hyotenka!"
Intense ice, snow and cold flooded the area where the assassin stood as he screamed in pain from the intense subzero cold. When Rukai cold stand the cold, that also began to envelope her, she pulled the sword back, causing an implosion of ice and snow, that froze the assassin down to his very molecules. It was then that Ruka collapsed to the ground with a thud, from the overuse of her powers.
Chad ran over to Rukia to check on her as soon as he could, but found that she was unconscious and decided to pick her up and take her off to either find Orihime or take her to the Squad 4 medical barracks. This left Ikkaku to deal with the Bo staff weilding assassin, and he looked to be having a lot of fun, even though the assassin looked more and more pissed by the second as Ikkaku toyed with him.
"Stop playing around you, bald freak!" The assassin shouted at Ikkaku.
"I'm not bald you idiot! I just like to shave my head!" Ikkaku retorted, as he fought using both his Zanpakuto and his sheathe. "By the way.. What's wrong with having a little fun while we fight? We should enjoy this, make it last as long as possible.. I've personally got all day, so why rush things?"
"In fact.. Why don't kick things up a notch?" Ikkaku said as he put the tip of the handle of his Zanpakuto against the opening of his sheathe. "Extend.. Hozukimaru!"
"Now.. Let's have some real fun!" Ikkaku said laughing as he swung his weapon's new form at the assassin. "Make sure to give me a good fight now.. I want this to last!"
"I'll end this fast, Soul Reaper.. With your death!" The assassin yelled as he traded blows with Ikkaku.
"Ha!.. Talk about a clichéd thing to say" Ikkaku retorted, shaking his head as he flash-stepped around the assassin to further piss him off. "Try coming up with something more original"
The assassin swung his staff around, trying to hit Ikkaku while shouting at him. "Shut up, you asshole!"
"Why so mad? Getting pissed that you can't hit me?" Ikkaku grinned wildly. "This really is fun.. But try a little harder would you? I skipped guard duty for this, so make it worth it"
"I'll make it worth it alright.." The assassin growled. "By killing you fast!"
"What did I say about being cliché?" Ikkaku asked, as he flipped behind his opponent and knocked him off his feet with his staff. "Be more original with your taunts, dead man"
Chad meanwhile, managed to get the unconscious Rukia to the squad 4 barracks with a little help from some Soul Reapers who pointed the way.
Chad arrived at the barracks where the captain of squad four, Captain Unohana was standing with her lieutenant Isane.
"Chad!.. What happened to Rukia?" Isane exclaimed.
"She used some attack with her Zanpakuto, I've never seen before" Chad said, as Unohana and Isane led him inside to a room for Rukia. "As soon as she was done with defeating the enemy, she collapsed"
"Do not worry, Chad.. We will take care of Miss Kuchiki" Captain Unohana said calmly as she and Isane got started on a examination. "If you wish to stay, you many, however, you must wait out side till we have changed miss Kuchiki into a hospital gown and gave her full examination to determine what is wrong with her"
Chad, as expected, gave a simple response to them before going into the hallway to wait. "Ok"
Nearly a half hour later, the door opened and Unohana and Isane walked out, both looking a bit unsettled.
"I'm afraid she overloaded herself by using a technique with her Zanpakuto that she wasn't ready to use.." Captain Unohana stated calmly. "As a result of the backlash.. Miss Kuchiki is in coma and I'm am uncertain when she will awaken"
"I see… what if Orihime took a look at her?" Chad suggested, visibly worried.
"I would recommend against that, for the time being" Unohana said, glancing at the comatose Rukia. "It will be far safer for her body to recover slowly, rather the all at once.. At least until her body heals on it's own at first"
"Do not lose heart" Unohana said with a small smile. "Rukia will recover.. It will just take some time"
"I see… I wonder how Ichigo will take this?" Chad asked, looking over at Rukia.
"Indeed… by the way.. Where is Ichigo?" Unohana inquired. "There have been reports of a fight in the upper-class area of the Soul Society… should we assume that he is involved?"
"Um.. Kind of.. It's complicated" Chad replied, neutrally.
"It usually is, when Ichigo is involved" Unohana replied with a small laugh. "I do hope he's not over head"
"Which is also something that happens often" Isane pointed out.
"Yeah.. It does" Chad said with nod. "Hope he's ok"
Speaking of Ichigo again..
Ichigo was still dealing with Kumoi's assassin Riko and had finally gained the upper hand thanks to his Bankai and him donning his Vizard mask.
"Just give up Riko!" Ichigo shouted as he flash stepped behind her and gave her shallow, but painful wound. "I don't wanna hurt you, but your not giving me a choice!"
"Blah, blah.. Just fight to win!" Riko retorted, slightly in pain. "Winning is the only thing that matters!"
"Not to me.. To me.. The only thing important right now, is getting to Rurichiyo and saving her from Kumoi!" Ichigo yelled back, as he swung his sword at her, clashing against Riko's sword and pushing her back.
"That's not my problem!" Riko said doing a cartwheel out of the way.
"If you won't stand down.. Then I'll have no choice but to end you, right now" Ichigo stated as his eyes glowed while black and red spiritual energy gathered around his Zanpakuto. "This is your chance.. Give up.. Or die"
Riko said nothing as she advanced on him, despite, missing every swing as Ichigo used his considerably faster speed to out maneuver her.
Ichigo sigh before a large wave of black and red spiritual energy swirled around his Zanpakuto as he prepared to finish her off.
"Ultimate.. Getsuga...Tenshou!"
A enormous wave of spiritual energy was sent from Ichigo's sword and despite Riko's best efforts she could not escape it's size, speed and power. She screamed but it was quickly drowned out as the wave over took her, vaporizing her, along with a wall of the mansion, and a mile long path of destruction was carved out.
"I hope… that's .. not taken out of…my salary" Ichigo said taking a few deep breaths between words. "I need to find Rurichiyo…and that bastard Kumoi"
Ichigo ran out of the room still in Bankai form to go looking for Kumoi. He had quite some time to escape though, meaning Ichigo wasn't really sure where look and knew he'd end up nowhere with out some idea.
"Ichigo!" Hiyori called out flash stepping over to him. "You didn't find the brat…er...kid yet?"
"Her Rurichiyo.. And no.. I didn't Kumoi has her.. And she's kind of .. I guess in a trance or something.. Not really sure.. But.. Kumoi has control over her mind" Ichigo answered looking at his short girlfriend. "Not to mention the fact that I had to deal with an assassin that he used to delay me"
"Same here.. Some freaky guy with spiky skin.. He was totally fucked up looking" Hiyori replied, nodding. "I managed to deal with him after a while"
"Yeah, lets go.. Hey.. Your injured.. Are you ok?" Ichigo asked seeing blood on her back. "You wanna rest for a minute or.."
"No.. I'm fine!.. Sigh.. I mean I'm fine Ichigo, really.. It's not that bad" Hiyori said taking a deep breath, and giving him a brief hug. "Let's just find Kumoi, the girl and end this whole thing once and for all.. I'll get my back looked later.. Besides.. Your injured too"
"I'm fine too.. So let's get going babe" Ichigo said with a smile as he turned to go track down Rurichiyo.
"Right" Hiyori said before, kicking him in his ass lightly with grinning. "Just don't call me babe…it's almost as sappy as calling me honey, or sweetie.. Just stick with snaggletooth.. Got it, strawberry?"
"Sure.." Ichigo said nodding with a light smile. "Baby"
"Get back here!" Hiyori yelled as Ichigo ran out the room with her in hot pursuit. " Call me baby again and no sex for a week! You hear me strawberry!"
After tracking down Rurichiyo and Kumoi to an outside garden area, which took some time, Ichigo and Hiyori tried to be ready for anything. Rurichiyo was standing by Kumoi, looking as puppet like as the first time Ichigo had confronted Kumoi, only this time a third individual was stand there as well. The man was tall, Soul Reaper with messy chin length black/bluish hair and was wearing a captain's coat. Kenryu was also there, and was mildy woned and crouching near the door.
"What the?.. Another captain?" Ichigo commented, just as the man turned around.
"Oh.. Hello there.. I see you're a fellow captain" The man said in a rather friendly tone. "I don't recognize you two…What's your name?"
"Kurosaki.. Captain Kurosaki of squad 5 and this is my lieutenant, Hiyori" Ichigo said, keeping his grip tightly on his Zanpakuto. " Who are you.. And why are you with that bastard Kumoi?"
"Kumoi?.. That's quite simple really.. There was a report of a situation going on here involving Soul Reapers and the 13 court guard squads were informed" The man replied calmly. "I was the nearest to the this area and said I'd check it out.. Oh and my name is Shusuke Amagai, just appointed captain of squad 9"
"Oh really?.. I thought the 13 court guard squads didn't get involved with affairs of the nobles" Ichigo said, never taking his eyes of the captain. "But that's not the point.. That man Kumoi is a trader.. He sent people after Rurichiyo there to assassinate her in order to get power over her clan.. He's also brainwashed her.. He's the only one that's causing a problem here"
"Assassination?. Hahahaha. This boy has quite the imagination Captain Amagai" Kumoi stated with a grin. "He's clearly mistaken…. Would you be so kind as to escort this trespasser and his female associate off of the premises, captain Amagai?"
"No problem, Kumoi.. Come Ichigo and Hiyori.. No point in troubling them anymore" Amagai said as he started walking. "Let's go see the head captain"
"No.." Ichigo said firmly as he narrowed his eyes. "I don't care if your fooled by Kumoi.. But I'm not.. And neither is Hiyori, nor my friends from the world of the living, including Kisuke Urahara, Rukia Kuchiki, the younger sister of the head of the Kuchiki clan and Yoruichi, the head of the Shihoin clan.. We all know the truth, so I'm not going anywhere without freeing Rurichiyo from that mad man Kumoi"
Amagai looked over at Kumoi, who seemed to cower slightly before he flash stepped behind him and stabbed his Zanpakuto through him. Both Ichigo and Hiyori were at a loss of words at this since it was out of nowhere.
"Why?.." Kumoi struggled out. "I did everything you asked of me"
"You mean you tried to do everything I asked of you, but failed miserably most of the time" Amagai said with his eyes narrowed. "I asked you to do simple tasks for me and you messed up nearly all of them… I had you poison Rurichiyo's father, and it took far too long for him to die… I had you bribed the mid wives to ensure Rurichiyo and her mother would die at birth, but Rurichiyo survived… I asked you to kill the little girl while making it seem like an accident ,but she survived every attempt.. I even gave you assassins with powerful weapons and they we defeated by a group of humans and a pathetic substitute Soul Reaper, who's status of being a captain was not made aware to me… face it Kumoi.. You were a complete failure in the end"
"Amagai.. You were behind this?.. All of this?.. Including killing Rurichiyo's parents!?" Ichigo roared as his spiritual pressure flared around him. " I don't even wanna hear your reason.. Your as good as dead!"
"So naive boy… and so outclassed" Amagai, shedding away his friendly personality he had moments ago. "I've been planning my vengeance for long then you've been alive.. Even with all of these setbacks.. I will still win.. If you and your friends want to die, then by all means get in my way.. It's your choice"
"You have no idea who your dealing with Amagai" Hiyori said as she released her Zanpakuto. "Your ass is as good as dead.."
"I guess I should kill you two since you helped ruin things for me" Amagai said as he held up his Zanpakuto. "Sever.. Raika"
His Zanpakuto took the form of a white long sword with a hook at the tip of the sword and a pipe at the hilt.
"May the flames of my sword burn you both from existence" Amagai said as he swung his sword and a large ball of fire erupted from it, shooting at Ichigo and Hiyori.
Ichigo stood his ground and stabbed his sword into the ground as he unleashed a Getsuga Tenshou, which created a wall of black and red edged energy that blocked the fire from reaching him or Hiyori.
"Like the lady said… you have no idea who your dealing with Amagai" Ichigo stated as he pulled the sword out of the ground and held it front of him. "Wanna try again?"
Amagai looked at him and gave a nasty half grin "Gladly"
Amagai flash-stepped at Ichigo, swinging his sword at him, which Ichigo blocked with Zangetsu with a clang. Hiyori jumped behind Amagai, swinging at him, only for him to jump out of the way at the last second. But Ichigo and Hiyori made sure to keep up the pressure on Amagai, and Amagai was forced to defend against both of their Zanpakuto's simultaneously.
Amagai's sword alternated between clanging against both Ichigo and Hiyori's Zanpakuto's as they jumped around the garden. Ichigo made sure that to keep the battle away from the still hypnotized Rurichiyo in order to keep her safe, though it wasn't easy with Amagai's recklessness.
As Amagai felt him self being pushed back by the combined onslaught of Ichigo and Hiyori, he flashed his spiritual pressure to signal his third seat, Makoto Kibune, to join him in battle.
It wasn't long before Makoto showed up and landed near Amagai, with his word already released.
"This is unexpected, sir… not at all the way you planned" Makoto remarked.
"I agree…" Amagai agreed grimly. "This former Substitute Soul Reaper, his little girlfriend and that useless fool Kumoi have all messed up my plans… we need to eliminate these two obstacles, so that I can still succeed with my goal"
"What exactly is your goal?" Ichigo demanded angrily. "What does killing Rurichiyo have to do with it?"
"I have no reason to explain things to a dead man…" Amagai said narrowing his eyes. "All you need to know, is that the Kasumioji clan is far from innocent"
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Hiyori inquired.
"Doesn't matter girl, neither one of you will around much longer for it to matter" Makoto said with a laugh. "So.. Shall we continue?"
"By all means…" Hiyori answered, hold her Zanpakuto up. "Bankai!…Tsuin Kobura-Tou"
As soon as her Zanpakuto and clothes changed slightly( she kept her usually track suit but had the black and red hand guards on her wrists that were connected to her twin Kusarigamas), Hiyori flash-stepped forward swinging one of her scythes at Makoto by the chain.
Makoto barely blocked her weapon with his bizarre 3 bladed Zanpakuto, called Reppu.
"Damn you, you little brat" Makoto said as he shoved Hiyori's Zanpakuto off of his. "You're an annoying mosquito!"
Hiyori retorted as she threw both her scythes, one after the other, at Makoto with one of them cutting deep into his shoulder. "At least I'm not over-compensating!"
"Oh yeah?.. Then I bet your boyfriend over there must be really small, given how big his released Zanpakuto is" Makoto yelled, before throwing his Zanpakuto, which spun like a saw blade at high speed as it flew at Hiyori.
Hiyori held onto the part of the chain connected to her wrist guards and spun one of her scythes in a high speed circle in front of her, to block Makoto's Zanpakuto. Though the two blades that spun in opposite directions grinded against each other frilly for a moment, Hiyori managed to push Makoto's weapon away from her.
"Not bad for a kid" Makoto remarked, as his weapon retuned to his hand. "But how long with your luck last?"
"Kid?.. Oh please, I'm probably old enough to be your grandmother" Hiyori said shaking her head. "Though if you were, I'd say you were a grandson that needed his ass kicked"
"Then come at me.. Grandma" Makoto said with a sneering grin as Hiyori launched her self at him with both Kusarigamas held tightly.
At the same time, Ichigo had resumed his fierce clash with Amagai not far away. Amagai was good, but he was surprised that Ichigo managed to keep an even pace with his fighting abilities against him despite only being a Soul Reaper for a short time.
"Your pretty good for a amateur, Ichigo Kurosaki" Amagai remarked, swinging his sword sideways, which Ichigo blocked with ease. "Tell you what… I'm willing to make you a deal… you agree to stay out of my way and go to the world of the living where you belong so I can go through with my plans of killing the head Captain… and I'll let you, your girlfriend and.. Heck even Rurichiyo can live"
"Kill the Head Captain?.. That's what this is all about?" Ichigo asked in confusion as he dodged Amagai's sword. "What does Rurichiyo have to do with trying to kill old man Yamamoto?"
"Tell you what… since you've done so well I'll let you in boy" Amagai said with a evil grin as he locked swords with Ichigo. "The know the strange swords that the first group of assassins had? ..they're called Bakkoto.. Rate and extremely powerful swords similar to a Zanpakuto"
"A Bakkoto?.. A sword that's like a Zanpakuto?.. You mean their alive?" Ichigo asked in shock. "How come I've never heard of the before now?"
"Yes they are alive.. Similar, yet different to a Zanpakuto.. I that a Zanpakuto works through symbiosis, leading to cooperation between it and it's wielder" Amagai said as Ichigo pushed off of him and got some distance. "A Bakkoto however is parasitical, feeding off of the soul of it's wielder and slowly killing him he longer he or she uses it until it takes over and destroys the host."
"That's… not insane… and nothing like a Zanpakuto!.. A Zanpakuto is a partner that you work with and trust.. Zangetsu is nothing like a Bakkoto!" Ichigo yelled, swinging his sword at Amagai multiple times and meeting with Amagai's sword each time, sending lots of sparks flying. "That still doesn't explain how the Kasumioji clan is involved"
"Fool.. Poor naive fool… the Kasumioji created the Bakkoto swords!" Amagai said caching Ichigo of guard and kicking him into a pillar in the garden. "If not for the Kasumioji clan creating the Bakkoto, then my father wouldn't have died... Wouldn't have been killed by that bastard head captain Yamamoto!"
"What?.. So let me get this all straight.. Your saying that Rurichiyo's clan created the Bakkoto.. And it some how led to the head captain killing your father?" Ichigo asked slightly confused and annoyed. "This is insane.. You drop all this crap at once and expect me and the readers to sympathize?.. Sheesh.. Maybe you should have come in during an earlier chapter"
"I couldn't… some guy name Johnny Bosch said I was the one was bootlegging his band's music CDs" Amagai said, groaning in annoyance. "I never even heard of a music band called.. What did he call it?.. Eyeshine?.. Who names a band that?.."
"Hey… I happened to think that band is good and it's leader singer Johnny Yong Bosch is pretty good" Ichigo said, in annoyance. "In case.. You suddenly bringing up some father being killed thing doesn't excuse you trying to kill an innocent little girl.. Even if her family did something, it doesn't mean you should blame her"
"There's no such thing as a true innocent in either your world or the Soul Society.. Everyone's guilty of doing something bad, Ichigo Kurosaki" Amagai said bitterly. "You , me.. Everyone… the thing is.. Some of us do bad things willingly.. Because it's the only way we can live"
Ichigo didn't respond with words, instead he charged forward, putting Amagai on the defensive with brutal strikes with his Zanpakuto.
"Your just an insane asshole, that's trying justify murder!" Ichigo roared, as he pushed his spiritual energy into his sword and managed to cut into Amagai in multiple places. "I don't care what your reason is, I'm not going to stand here and let you get your way!"
"This boy… how can he be so strong?" Amagai thought to himself as Ichigo pushed him back. "Do I really have to resort to that?"
"You leave me no choice" Amagai said as he pulled put a small weapons resembling a curved tuning fork. " This is MY Bakkoto.. The weapon that I will end you with, before I use it to kill Yamamoto…"
With that, Amagai held it upside down and tapped it against his Zanpakuto. This caused a tendril to shoot from the hilt of the small weapon, wrapping around his arm, covering it up to his mid-shoulder, before creating a claw where his hand was. A energy like blade shot out of the claw and finally a segmented tail appendage formed, hanging from behind him that was attached to the back of the black armor covering his arm.
"What the fuck?" Ichigo asked with raised eyebrows. "That thing is your Bakkoto?.."
"Yes it is.. And thanks to my strong will, I am in control of it and will use it to it's fullest to achieve my dream" Amagai said, pointing his new weapon at Ichigo. "Let's see how well you do against me now"
"Fine.. I'll still stop you" Ichigo said, flaring his spiritual pressure around him. "That's all there is to it"
End of chapter 54
To be continued….
