Chapter XCVIII: An Escaped Death Sentence

Rari and Togosari Seigyo stood mere inches from each other, both trying to intimidate the other. Rari was easily over 30 centimeters taller than the zanpakuto, but the boy did not back off in the slightest. He only stared up at Rari with his wide, sharp-toothed grin.

"You are too confident for a boy of your size." Rari mocked as he folded his arms.

"Do you really think my size has anything to do with my power?"

"No, but I know your fighting power is reflected in Lisa's, and I have a much greater fighting power than her."

Togosari Seigyo laughed. "So you think you'll have an easy time with me? I'll show you what an easy time really is!"

He launched into the air, spinning with his arms spread out. Rari looked back to his three comrades. "Get Nyoriyo somewhere safe!" He called to them. Togosari Seigyo opened his mouth wide, and let out something that sounded like a mix between a deep growl and a high pitched scream. Almost instantly after that sound hit their eardrums, collapsed to their knees. Rari felt as if his body wanted to collapse in on itself. Nyoriyo, who already couldn't breathe, started flailing around wildly, yet quietly. He was trying to scream, but no sound was coming out.

After a few seconds, Rari looked up to see Togosari Seigyo still floating in the air, seemingly doing nothing but looking down on his opponents. Soon, the crushing feeling was wearing off. At least it's not permanent. I can deal with this.

"That was a practice run!" The zanpakuto called down to the fodder below him. "Next time, I won't hesitate to wrench all of your heads off with my chains!"

Rari slowly stood up. "Who knew…" He muttered. "Who knew a little kid could cause so much trouble?" He gathered his energy, then it rose within his body and he transformed into a Super Saiyan 5.

"Impressive." Togosari Seigyo said. "I take it you're ready for the next round?" Without warning, he let out the screech from earlier. Rari once again felt the crushing feeling, but it was nowhere near as bad as the first time. He felt the urge to drop to his knees, but was able to remain standing. He looked down to the ground to see a pool of sweat being absorbed into the dirt below him. He tried to ignore the feeling weighing down on him, and looked back up at his opponent, who was now right in front of him, and closing in with lightning speed and little effort.

There was a bright flash in front of Rari's eyes as the chains of Togosari Seigyo whipped about toward his body. In front of him stood a man that he rarely saw fight seriously, who had likely just saved his life. "Yosuhiro!"

He had come in from the side. With weapons like chains, it was easy to deflect an attack from the side, however with large risk to the one deflecting. Luckily, Yosuhiro managed to avoid the blades on the end of the chains. Togosari Seigyo rolled his eyes as he retrieved his chains at once to regroup.

Yosuhiro looked back at Rari. "We found a safe place for Nyoriyo. I left Kaoren to take care of his brother."

"That's good." Rari said. "Someone needs to stay with him."

"You seem to know more about this little boy than we do." Yosuhiro acknowledged the zanpakuto, who smiled deviously back at him. "But now probably isn't the time to ask about that, is it?"

"No, but I'd like to know how you were able to avoid the effects of that screech just now." Rari responded. "You didn't seem like it affected you at all."

"I felt it a little bit." Yosuhiro answered. "So did Kaoren and Nyoriyo. But it was like a little twinge, like I was training in extra gravity or something. However, it did seem quieter this time."

"Of course it did; you were farther away…" Rari's thoughts trailed off and the two of them seemed to have the same thought at the same time. "The quieter the screech, the lesser the magnitude of the effects. It's a sound-based attack."

Yosuhiro nodded, then looked back at the child zanpakuto, who snickered.

"You think you've got me all figured out? Then let's give it another try. I'll even give you time to prepare. But this time, I really will kill you where you stand...both of you." He slowly inhaled as a mocking gesture of mercy. Both Rari and Yosuhiro covered their ears as tightly as they could. They thought about running away, but that was not much of an option because it would immediately put them on the defensive before they got the chance to attack. Then the screech came, this time with more force than the last. Much more force than the last. Both of them dropped to their knees and began panting wildly. Togosari Seigyo laughed without remorse, then began swinging his chains in circles on either side of his body. "You really thought covering your ears would stop my attack?!" Togosari Seigyo exclaimed.

Rari struggled to even keep himself on his hands and knees, and so did Yosuhiro. How?! Rari thought to himself, baffled. After covering our ears, the intensity of the screech was cut down to a fraction of what it was last time! So why did this one hurt so much more?!

"It's over for you." Togosari Seigyo sneered. "I'll finish you weaklings off, and then I'll go find Lisa and kill her as well."

Blood rushed to Rari's head as he filled with rage, but he was still unable to move. The zanpakuto ceased spinning the chains and flung them right at his victims, and they were just about to hit their targets just as two identical chains came in and tangled with those of Togosari Seigyo, throwing them off of their path. Togosari Seigyo scowled at yet another inconvenience until he saw exactly what just stopped his attack. Then, his toothy grin returned.

"So, I didn't even have to go looking for you." He mocked. "You came right to me, Lisa."

Kujako had no choice but to watch as Dominick was brutally beaten by Jinseiou Hikari Seigyo. Dominick was absolutely no match for the bankai he once used to defeat Liomara Tsubasuke. And Jinseiou Hikari Seigyo was not even using a blade. He was beating his opponent, who was armed with two blades, with his bare hands.

Kujako could not tell if Dominick was conscious at this point. He was still maintaining his Super Saiyan 6 form, but Kujako had no idea how much longer he could hold out.

Dominick was then lying on the floor. Jinseiou Hikari Seigyo picked him up by the hair and held his head at face level. Now that they were still, Kujako could see that Dominick was still very much awake. Then, Kujako froze in fear. The zanpakuto looked directly at him. His black sclera stabbed into his soul, and his slight yet cunning smile, pierced into his mental defenses. Fear engulfed the saiyan.

"You don't think you should help your friend here?" Jinseiou Hikari Seigyo asked. Then there was complete silence. Kujako had to force himself to stop shaking. He'd never seen eyes like this before, besides when he died all those years ago, not too long after the majority of the other Saiyans here died. But that was 7,000 years ago. He'd been taken in by Kashito and Shinrou for training since they saw potential in him. Then Shinrou died almost two years ago. Even when he came face to face with Liomara just a few months ago, it couldn't compare. In Liomara's eyes, there was some element of remorse. In the eyes of this man, there was nothing. He was pure evil. Kujako's sweat ran cold.

What would Kashito do? That was a stupid question. There's no point thinking like Kashito. He's nothing like me. Kashito is the strongest, and I'm just some fool that likes to play games. I can never live up to…

He then caught Dominick's eye, looking through a bloodied eyelid. "Kujako...run. Get out of here."

Jinseiou Hikari Seigyo looked down at Dominick, then looked back at Kujako. "You can run if you want. I won't stop you. I have other priorities."

Kujako's breathing began to speed up. With every fiber of his body, he wanted to obey Dominick and run. But what would that make him? It would make him useless. A coward? Maybe. He didn't care about that. But he would be useless to Kashito, the man to whom he owed his life. I haven't known Dominick that long. He's not that close of a friend to me. I could run away, and it wouldn't make a difference to me. But then...how the hell...would I be able to face Kashito?!

"I'm going to end this." Jinseiou Hikari Seigyo pulled back his sword, preparing for a jab. It didn't matter where it hit its target. If it pierced all the way through, it was over. Kuajko yelled and turned into a Super Saiyan 5. He shut his eyes tight and charged blindly out toward Dominick and his zanpakuto.

He was scared. He was scared of what came after the Otherworld. He was scared of where Shinrou had gone.

He opened his eyes and felt a cutting pain in his hand. He was holding the red blade of Jinseiou Hikari Seigyo in his hand, with blood dripping onto the floor.

"You surprised me." The zanpakuto scoffed. "I honestly thought you'd actually run away. Honestly, you probably should have."

The blade slashed, and blood splattered from Kujako's hand. He yelled out in pain, and before he had time to react, the blade came slashing back down, but this time across his chest. He fell back with a scowl on his face. Kashito...I'm sorry.

Kashito glared at Akamusa with a gaze that would have frozen anyone else. "You were the one?"

Akamusa nodded. "I killed Shinrou Sanji."

Kashito was trying his best to contain his rage. "I should have known as much." He snarled. "Two years ago, he felt the same power as Jason and Liomara, and went to go fight it with them. He left me here and told me to stay put no matter what. I obeyed. And to this day, it is my greatest regret. If I had gone with him...If we'd fought you together, he would be alive today."

"You are wrong about that." Akamusa said. "You have no idea...the full scope of my power. You have no idea what I am truly capable of. Even when I trained you...I showed nowhere near my true capabilities."

"Prove it."

"No. I have no need to."

Kashito found it strange that Shinrou was saying nothing this whole time. "Is it true, Shinrou?"

"I am sorry, Little Cousin." Shinrou responded solemnly. "With the way you are now, you may be better off joining Master Akamusa."

Kashito finally could no longer hold his rage, and it all exploded at once. He yelled and let out his energy, and suddenly every tree within a half-kilometer radius had turned to ice. Akamusa and Shinrou had disappeared as well. The effects of the Akurai Forest had subsided since many of the trees were frozen. Kashito put a hand on his forehead. "Damn." He muttered. "That was just a nightmare. Not even I'm immune to the induction of the nightmares." Then he flicked his head around. Oh no! Dominick and Kujako are still fighting! And it seems like they're in trouble!

He flew up above the forest and made a beeline back toward his home. Dominick's fighting energy was decreasing, but Kujako's energy had just skyrocketed. He'd turned into a Super Saiyan 5. Damn it! He cursed himself. These invaders of Otherworld are stronger than I had imagined. He flew faster. Clearing the forest with his home coming into view, Kujako's energy suddenly dropped off to almost nothing. Kashito scowled and kept going. His time was severely limited. He landed outside his front door and sprinted in the house to see Kujako lying on the floor with a massive gash across his chest. He then watched as Jinseiou Hikari Seigyo plunged his blade through Dominick's right hand.

"NO!" He cried out, lunging at the zanpakuto.

Jinseiou Hikari Seigyo turned around and was kicked straight in the face, sending him flying right over Dominick's body. He did a few flips in the air, then skidded and landed while kneeling on the ground. "You came too late." He smirked. "My bankai's effects have already started to work on the boy. He will be dead in less than a minute."

"You bastard!" Kashito yelled.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be. There's something I've been wanting to take care of for a while now." He nonchalantly began to walk out of Kashito's home.

"I won't let you get away with this." Kashito scowled.

"You should be with your student before he dies." Hikari Seigyo returned to his shikai state and proceeded to leave the scene, knowing that Kashito wouldn't come after him with Dominick dying in his arms.

Kashito picked up his student, whose face was bloodied and had multiple broken bones.

"Kashito…" Dominick muttered.

"Don't speak." The Naga consoled him.

"Quick…" He managed. "Cut off...my arm."

"What?" Kashito stammered. "Would that even work?"

"I don't...know...but even if it doesn't...I'm going to die...either way...so we have to try…"

Kashito cursed. He shut his eyes. A split-second idea came to his head. If it worked it would be better than cutting off the arm. But he didn't have any time to think. Dominick's life energy was escaping through the wound in his hand. He hovered his hand over Dominick's, and extended his energy out.

Dominick was watching Kashito. "Hurry...up...I can...handle it…" His vision was getting blurry as he was losing consciousness.

He thought he heard Kashito sigh. "I think it's working…" He heard a muffled voice say. Then his vision went black.

When he woke up, the first thing he did was look down at his hand. Did I die again? He thought. His hand was covered in ice. He still felt woozy, but most of the pain was gone. "What happened?" He muttered. "How did I survive?"

"You're awake already? That was fast." Kashito called. He was in the middle of treating Kujako's wounds.

"How long was I out?" He asked.

"Only about a half hour."

"How did you save me?"

"I infused a barrier-type energy with my ice and froze your hand. It's keeping your life energy inside, which is keeping you alive."

"I can't believe that worked."

"You should be careful." Kashito warned. "I don't know if you'll ever be able to remove that ice from your hand without losing your life energy. If it cracks, assume that you're dead. Also, your life energy hasn't fully recovered."

"I see." Dominick muttered. "What about the others? Are they okay? Did they win?"

"As far as my senses tell me, the only fight that hasn't concluded is that between Lisa and her zanpakuto." Kashito explained. "Soriyamo, Shirako, and Kasae are all seriously wounded, but their life forces are stable. Kujako is hurt pretty bad as well, but he'll live. Everyone else is relatively unharmed so far."

"Dalton is okay?" He asked, and got an affirmative response from Kashito. He smiled. "Thank you, Kashito. For saving me. I can't afford to be killed just yet."