Author Notes: This is mainly a Kūgo Ginjo chapter. The characters introduced are from the filler of Bleach. I wanted Kūgo's Zanpakuto to be a parallel to Ichigo's being a sun to the Kurosaki's moon. The next chapter will be focused on Kūgo's past, given in snippets as the story moves along.
Chapter 23: Light of the Sun
Rukongai- Shiba Household
A man looked up at the Gates of Hell from the outside of an odd building.
He was tall and lean-built with fair skin, brown iris eyes, and shoulder-length black hair that he kept combed back, down to the nape of his neck. He wore black pants and a white sleeveless shirt, over which he wears a black jacket that had a fur-covered collar. He also wore a thin chain necklace that had an X-shaped pendant attached to had a small vertical scar above his left eyebrow.
"Kūgo? Something wrong?," asked a man behind Kūgo. The young man was an extremely tall, with black iris eyes and wavy black hair that was at shoulder length. He wore a long-sleeved collared shirt with suspenders and dark pants. He had a long scar running vertically along the side of his left eye.
"A lot of things have been weird lately. Kyōraku's been acting weird. Not that I care for the man, but it's really odd that he's being obedient to those Central 46 geezers.," Kūgo replied.
"Maybe, he's under duress ? Such as holding his lieutenant hostage to do his order?," said a tall, middle-aged man who possesses short dark hair, brown eyes and a thick mustache. He wore a shirt and dark waistcoat with a bow tie, reminiscent of a typical bartender's outfit. Over his face, he wore a dark leather-like strap to cover his right eye and he carries a cane-like object in his hand.
"Giriko. That's some audacious assumptions you're making right now.," said the man with the black, wavy hair.
"It makes more sense than being replaced by an identical copy to serve their needs, Shūkurō.," Giriko replied back.
"Knock it off you guys. We've got an important guest coming in today. So be on your best behavior.," said a loud voice. It came from tall muscular man with wild, long black hair, a partially missing left eyebrow, and a thick face. He wore a green furred jacket over a white hakama, a red waistband, black armbands with golden swirls, a green headband with a silver head protector, pants with golden swirl markings, black socks and white kosode with black sandals.
"Ganju...I'm talking about something serious here.," Giriko told the wild haired man.
"Shut it. Tsukishima, Kūgo. Giriko. It's something you gotta do being freeloaders and all.," Ganju snapped back.
Kūgo then sighed as he signaled for the other two to follow him into the building with a large, stout jawed head on top of the structure.
"Wished your sister learned how to do architecture style.," Kūgo remarked under his breath.
Inside the Shiba Household
A youthful-looking woman of average height sat cross-legged on a red sofa. She had green iris eyes and wore bandages over her long messy black hair that parted down in half at the small of her back. She wore a white skirt and provocative red robe exposing her ample bosom. She was missing her right arm, replacing it with a wooden prosthetic and had a tattoo on her left arm. She wore bandages around her right shoulder and both ankles. She also had wooden sandals.
On either side of her were tall, muscular, mustached men, both wearing a red hat with a gold trim and white tassel on top and a light blue scarf tied at the front by a red fastener with gold highlights. The one with the kanji of Shiroganehiko on his back wore a white top, while the one with the kanji for Koganehiko on his back wore a yellow one. The only notable differences between the two were some features of their faces; the Koganehiko fellow on the right had a broad face and split chin, while the Shiroganehiko fellow had a long face and a normal chin.
"What do you want?," asked Kūgo in an apathetic tone. He and the other two had been living in the Soul Society for a little while since their respective deaths a decade back and had been living in the Shiba household, with additional Fullbringers who had also died coming to live there as well, much to the trio's slight annoyance.
"What he means to say is why is a Noble here, Kukaku?," Tsukishima clarified.
"We're guarding her since something's really bad's happened to her family last night. She and her two retainers are the only survivors.," said the woman.
Kūgo turned his gaze towards the little girl with green iris eyes, fair skin and long blonde hair. Her hair was held back by a brown hairband which often had a red ribbon with two gold-colored embellishments on the left side. She wore a formal pink kimono adorned with floral patterns. On her right side were a handsome man in a Soul Reaper uniform with a light garment underneath. He also wore gray gloves that extended halfway to his elbows. His unkempt hair was a blue-black and his eyes had an icy blue iris. On her left, was a muscular man with a small Mohawk in the shape of a lightning bolt. Under his standard Soul Reaper uniform is a light purple garment. He also wore large sunglasses and often had an unusual expression on his face.
"I am Rurichiyo Kasumiōji of the Kasumiōji clan. I am grateful for your aid.," she said with an aloof, uncaring tone of voice.
"I'm grateful to help.," Kūgo said with subtle sarcasm.
Heh, Ichigo would've been much more disrespectful if he ever met her. This guy knows the ins and outs of the nobility., thought Ganju.
"To be honest. I don't like the nobility. The Tsunayashiro clan killed my comrades and made me think it was the previous 13th Captain did it for years. Forgive me for being a little hesitant to trust you to not be the same.," he added, revealing his true feelings on the matter.
"How dare you?!," shouted the black haired man as he and his mostly bald colleague rose up.
"Kenryū, Enryū, calm down.," said the blonde girl to quell their anger.
Kukaku grabbed tha back of Kūgo's head and forced him down.
"I don't care about that. These guys were attacked last night by something strange. They're basically outcasts now. So clean up your act.," she said in annoyance.
"What kind of strange thing?," asked Giriko.
"Black creatures alit with purple lights resembling stars in the night sky. They slaughtered our clan and only we survived.," Kenryū said to the man with a bow.
Kūgo then lowered his eyes, he didn't think nobles suffered the same tragedies as he did.
"We had spoken against the Tsunayashiro clan, which had inexplicably revived itself after Tokinada's treachery and Nārākū's dealings on the Rukongai. And this was followed by this attack. The two are connected and those monsters are likely to attack again. So please protect us.," Kenryū begged.
Tsukishima turned to Kūgo and thought-
What will you do? Are you going to protect others again? Even if it causes the same pain as it did before?
Kūgo then sighed and nodded, reluctantly.
A Few Hours Later...
Rurichiyo was sitting by herself when Kūgo sat beside her.
"Get lost, this is my seat.," she snapped.
"It's usually mine.," Kūgo said back, not willing to play the childish games.
"Leave me alone.," Rurichiyo demanded
"Don't you have your bodyguards?," the black haired man asked.
"They'll be taken out by those monsters. Like they took Shū...That little runt...always scared of his own shadow, but he went down protecting me...," she shouted before she started to cry into Kūgo's chest.
Kūgo looked up at the sun and recalled the night he lost his comrades. Remembering what the head assassin had said to him when Kūgo spotted him-
Time always goading from behind to mock your eventual downfall, raising a growl before one's eyes at the inevitable demise, Altruism is wholly washed away. Let halt your steps towards justice! Time shall wash you away to the beautiful past, and how it shall pare the fangs due to the pain it causes. Don't look ahead! Your hope approaches to the rear only within a dark, turbid stream of despair and nostalgia to escape the pain.
"Hey...it's alright to talk about this in order to let things off your chest and not letting it consume your future...I should know about letting the past rule you.," he said reluctantly.
"What are you?," asked Rurichiyo with tears in her eyes.
"A former protector that went astray. He's somehow getting back on his feet.," Tsukishima said behind a tree.
"Knock it off.," Kūgo said back as Rurichiyo walked away, feeling a little bit better.
After a brief pause, the two began to speak.
"...That was nice for you to say that.," Tsukishima said with a chuckle.
"I didn't like that look. It reminded me of myself back then...and I doubt she'd be able to pull off the things I did to get it...Say Kukaku said something interesting.," Kūgo replied.
"About the Kazui boy?," Tsukishima remarked.
"About me training him on Fullbring. Apparently, that's what he's got. Ichigo's probably not keen on me training him...after what I did.," said Kūgo.
"Ichigo never learned about the Fullbring...and what it actually is...," Tsukishima responded.
Kūgo's eyes narrowed.
"If he actually knew, then he'd even more stubborn to not let the kid know about it, let alone learn it himself. He's stubborn that kid...," Kūgo said back.
Ganju walked by and then saw something very unnatural a figure rising from Kūgo's shadow. A well-built man light purple hair and the scar across his face. He wore a mask that concealed his mouth and nose and had ornate red armor with golden trimmed-lining with a black cloak over his body.
He raised a sword of black posed to kill the man from behind.
Ganju leaped towards the man arisingKūgo's back, much to Tsukishima's confusion as he wasn't aware of the purple haired man that was about to kill his associate.
"Seppa (Stone Wave).," he said as he moved his left hand in the same pattern as the trembling current, the sign of the Shiba clan, emitting a red stream of Spiritual Power onto the figure, reducing him to sand.
Kūgo looked behind to see Ganju and said-
"What are you doing?"
"I saw a guy that was just there.," the green jacket wearing man said in response.
"No, he's here...," said a voice arising in front of them, it was the same purple haired man, fully restored as if nothing had occurred.
"Hanza Nukui's body has reached its limit...imbécile put up such a struggle that he couldn't last very long. That's why Gigai are more valuable...they don't fight back.," he said as his form fell apart to reveal an odd form.
A brass skinned, stout yet muscular ogre with a single horn on his head. He had two prominent tusks emerging from the sides of his lower jaw, a pointy ears, red sclera eyes with horizontal black pupils like a goat, and a tube like piston growing from his elbows. He wore a segmented, metallic, sleeveless toga that ended around his waist, baggy dark gray pants and dark gray leg-bands with red iris eye shaped knee guards. A pair of black wings covered in purple star-like lights grew from his upper back.
"You have seen Foras, President of Hell, capable of manipulating logic and ethics in all their branches, the virtues of all herbs and precious stones, making men witty, eloquent, invisible/invincible, live longer than normal lifespans can allow, divine treasures and recover lost things. Therefore you must die.," he spoke eloquently as he rose to the air as generated a fire ball in his right hand.
"Orbe de L'enfer (Hell Orb).," he declared as he threw it down in order to kill them. Kūgo pulled out his pendant and declared-
"Cross of Scaffold."
His pendant turned into a large, two-handed broadsword. The crossguard consisted of a small red gem at the center and two straight ornate arms ending in simplistic version of a fleur-de-lis. The sword's handle ran through its guard, continuing on through a gold hollow space at the base of its blade. The handle was almost the same length of the blade itself.
This made Foras' eyes narrow, observing the sight.
"I'll send that thing back at you.," the man declared while Ganju rushed forward.
Ganju grabbed Tsukishima and Kūgo, using Seppa to create a hole in the ground to hide from the blast.
"What're you doing?," the man with slicked back hair demanded.
"This guy just said Hanza Nukui- he was one of the big guys protecting the Kasumiōji clan as assassins. If he took out him, then he's too dangerous. Plus I don't know about that guy. It's better to wait and hide away.," Ganju responded.
Suddenly Foras' head jutted from the side of the underground.
"Just like a Shiba to walk away from battles that aren't cockfights of honor and pride.," he said as he began to charge a red flame from his eyes.
Tsukishima grabbed the collars of both men and leaped upwards with Green Spiritual Power at his feet.
"Whoah, Whoa! What're you doing?!," Ganju shouted.
"Bringer Light...you are Fullbringers.," Foras said to himself as he flew upwards towards Tsukishima.
He then noticed Rurichiyo and stopped his flight mid-motion.
"Excuse me. I have a lingering wench to kill.," he said as he flew downwards towards the blonde, unaware of the danger.
Kūgo gritted his teeth as he used Bringer Light to speed towards the monster and block his path with his sword.
"Get back here! Tsukishima lemme go!," Ganju demanded.
"He's doing something to
"I just made a promise to protect her. I can't let her down.," Kūgo said as he generated green energy from his sword, pushing Foras back.
He then gripped the handle near the base of his broadsword's blade and swung the Cross of Scaffold around, generating a green Spiritual Power around the blade, which then projected outwards in a sword slash towards the winged monster, releasing an explosion.
However, the dust cloud cleared as Foras appeared unharmed.
"A mere Fullbring won't hurt me...," he said to Kūgo.
Kūgo then placed his right hand open palmed much to the winged monster's confusion.
"You gave me your name. I should return the favor...I'm Kūgo Ginjō. Former Substitute Soul Reaper.," he said to the creature.
"Are you calling out some other ability of your Fullbring? It won't work.," Foras snorted.
"It's been a while...Radiate Hiyoke (Sun Protector).," he said as golden light generated a large broadsword with a sun-shaped guard, a long golden handle and a pommel with an orange string attached. The sword was as tall as he was.
Foras' eyes widened and his mouth was agape in astonishment.
"That sword isn't in Oetsu's data banks for Zanpakuto! You're! You're!-," Foras shouted, having lost his composure.
"I said I was a Substitute Soul Reaper once. It's been a while since I last had it. It's going to be tough to use in Shikai let alone Bankai. I might end up damaging the Rukongai. If I hit the ground below.," he said as he had Cross of Scaffold to its previous state as he put both hands on the sword.
"Jigokutaiyō Tsumefūsa (Sun Claw- Blockade of the Hells).," he said as he swung the sword, emitting a golden solar flare at the creature who looked stunned in horror.
The monster was then engulfed in a huge explosion of Spiritual Power that spread across the horizon.
Next Chapter: The Blackberry and the Soul Reaper