Chapter Forty-Five
"How did you like those chickens?" Steve taunted even as he jumped back, away from the raging Hollow monstrosity trying to tear his spine out. Kurotsuchi had given the beast very specific orders.
The disgraced Shinigami watched from a safe distance, his thin lips stretched pale across his teeth in a wicked smile. His golden eyes gleamed in vicious anticipation.
"Chickens?" he replied snidely, though Steve had trouble hearing him over the nonsense going on across the street. "I don't recall ever encountering any chickens. They must not have been very interesting."
Steve pressed his own lips together in frustration and thrust out both hands to grab the Hollow in his Ningyozukai's puppet-strings. The thing strained and roared in anger at the invisible bonds, but he had kept the first experimental Hollow still with only one hand; he could keep this one down with both.
"Hiding behind your pets, again," he said, changing verbal tactics as he put on his best sneer. He really had not had a lot of practice sneering recently... when this was over, it would have to go in his training regimen. "Too scared to meet me face to face, Kurotsuchi? Rival to rival, scientist to scientist. I owe you a hundred thousand years of torment."
Kurotsuchi chuckled, high and thin. "Rival? Scientist? Who are you, exactly? Because I remember you like I remember your 'chickens'."
Irritated at being ignored, the Hollow screamed and began charging a blood-red Cero. Steve let it, then yanked the creature around just before it was released so the cero blasted towards Kurotsuchi. The Shinigami flickered out of range, still smiling in an infuriatingly self-satisfied way.
"Did you really think I'd design slaves who could kill me? And the way you puppet them around... so clumsy." He clicked his tongue against his teeth. "I was curious about how Arrancar powers work with human limitations – it seemed an interesting research subject – but at this point it looks like I'm already beyond your capabilities simply by hand-selecting and enhancing Hollows."
Steve ground his teeth together, but there was nothing he could do from this distance to slash that smug face into ribbons. His powers were not designed for two-on-one at his disadvantage; he needed backup.
Yylfordt!
But, no, his one-time brother was busy, trying to keep a random lieutenant away from their Quincy. Dikayumi's partner was gone, distracted by some other battle elsewhere. The moment enemies showed up, his whole partner-system had just been tossed out the window, and now here he was with two opponents and no way to fight back.
He let out a sharp breath between his gritted teeth, frustration growing by the second.
"Thanks a lot, team."
.
Nnoitra strained at his leash, screaming to be given control.
"This is a captain, you idiot human! You are going to get us both killed, but I can take him!"
"No, you can't," hissed Charles to the voice in his head, leaping with a helpful tug of backwards-gravity away from the spinning whirlwind of death. "We both know you would leap right into that blade-storm, and now you're distracting me. Just shut up for a minute."
The captain pushed forward, slamming his scythe down a hairsbreadth from Charles' foot as the latter flung himself to the side. Even with gravity itself at Charles's disposal, it was becoming increasingly difficult to avoid his opponent's attacks, much less strike back.
"Are you sure we can't talk about this?" he called, but the howl of wind drowned out his voice almost immediately. The clouds of smoke that had hung over Seireitei since the fighting began in earnest were beginning to funnel, and the dust and bright, but brief, sparks of burning wood from current fights whipped in tight, dramatic circles around Charles and his opponent. The chains he had practiced with and incorporated into his fighting style were next-to-useless, the force of the growing hurricane easily overpowering gravity in regards to the thin metal links.
I want a bankai, he grumbled to himself, flinching as sharp bits of debris slashed across his cheek. Nnoitra laughed at him, but Charles was beyond caring.
Keeping track of his companions' reiatsu was the only way to keep his bearings in the chaos. It was hard, trying to sense anything other then the raging death-scythe of a bankai right on top of him, but he could sense Herald and, to a lesser extend, Steve. The Fourteenth Division's lieutenants were in battles of their own, but Steve's was almost buried under some other enemy reiatsu Charles could not place. Dikayumi, Yylfordt, and Kitsune... if they were even still in the area, they were in no position to help him. This captain was beyond any of them.
An idea struck him, then a scythe did. The scythe hit harder.
His wrist snapped as he tried to block the blow, his Zanpakuto flying out of his grasp almost before he realized what had happened. He smacked into the ground and immediately rolled to try and avoid an inevitable follow-up, wheezing for breath through gritted teeth.
An eight-foot scythe blade slammed into the ground hard enough to shake the street, jarring Charles' bruised ribs. He grabbed gravity and desperately yanked it sideways, pouring two, three, times as much strength into the pull. His robes shredded beneath him as he fell along the pavement, then he pushed off and twisted in midair. The debris thinned and he cast a frantic glance around him.
There!
There was no subtlety to his control now. His stomach lurched as he yanked gravity around again, putting as much energy as he could into the fall. The world blurred, but he used the combatants' reiatsu as his compass.
Sorry, Steve, I'm crashing your fight.
He slammed straight into the monstrous Hollow, feet first. The force of his sideways fall knocked the creature off its feet and sent Steve, still latched onto the Hollow with Ningyozukai, stumbling sideways.
"Finally!" Steve called impatiently, but Charles didn't spare the moment of concentration to reply. The captain was right on his heels, the chains of his bankai clattering audibly within the wind and storm.
He ducked behind the barely-restrained Hollow, his eyes flashing from the captain to Kurotsuchi Mayuri, then back again. The Hollow tried to slash at him but only managed a few inches of movement; Steve had steadied himself and regained control.
"Kill the Hollow!" Steve screamed. "Then we can take the others!"
No, we can't.
The captain's scythes swung in from either side, trying to catch Charles between them. Charles dropped and scurried backwards, getting the Hollow between himself and his opponent. This time, he did spare a glance for Kurotsuchi. The former-captain was watching now, his golden eyes narrow with malicious disdain.
Don't you dare, his expression said, but Charles was the only one watching him. Steve's eyes were fixed on the air-splitting bankai as both scythes sliced right through the Hollow, one a few inches above the other.
"Captain..." warned Kurotsuchi darkly. "That was mine."
The captain's dark eyes fixed on him for a moment, and the look was murderous. "Should have stayed banished, Kurotsuchi. Get out of my way."
Charles took advantage of the momentary lapse of focus to flee to Steve's side. He glanced around, hoping to see other allies as he struggled to catch his breath, but the whirling clouds of dust and debris had followed him here.
"Where is Dikayumi?"
Steve rolled his eyes, flexing his fingers as though wrestling with the Hollow had made them stiff. "That was your job, remember? I have been busy."
Charles took another pointed look around. "So... where is Yylfordt?"
"Touche."
"Can you help me-"
There was no time for more discussion. The metallic sliding of chains against the ground betrayed his approach, but Charles still had only a split second to jump away before two huge blades smashed into the ground where he had once been standing. Steve, a heartbeat slower, staggered back with his long robes tearing at the edge where he had gotten caught, but the captain barely looked at him before charging back after Charles.
"I'll help as soon as I've taken care of Kurotsuchi!" called Steve, but even as he spoke the roar of wind overwhelmed his voice. Whatever Charles screamed back in response to that promise was drowned out completely.
With a shrug, Steve returned his gaze to Kurotsuchi. The evil scientist had crouched over his unequally-trisected experiment, both hands tucked into his sleeves, hmming to himself. He was paying so little attention Steve almost felt it would be cheap to take advantage of the golden opportunity.
The thought pleased him. A smile crept across his lips as he threw out both hands like a twisted conductor, each finger trained on his rival.
"You are mine."
Kurotsuchi glanced up briefly, unimpressed.
"After using the same power on Primary, essentially handing me the blueprints on your release, did you really expect that to work?"
Steve tried anyway, twitching his strings just in case. Kurotsuchi did not so much as flinch.
"Maybe not," Steve admitted, but his smile did not fade. "In fact, I've been working on something of my own for just such an occasion... something no one has ever even heard of before. Lucky you!"
He lowered his hands but not the theatrics, holding them out at his sides almost like some welcoming statue. Kurotsuchi rose from the chopped-up remnants of his personal monster and reached for his Zanpakuto.
"Ningyozukai..." Steve began, slowly and clearly, gathering his release back into his core. Kurotsuchi drew his Zanpakuto, a soulless piece of metal, and pulled his other hand out of his sleeve bristling with needles, one clutched between each knuckle.
But then, Steve hesitated, his Zanpakuto's combat name hovering on his lips. Time seemed to slow down.
Somewhere out there, everyone was fighting someone. His allies were all taking care of themselves for now - Charles certainly had everything under control. He had lost track of Yylfordt, but his once-brother was probably fine. He was fighting some nameless lieutenant with Dikayumi and probably Kitsune for backup. He'd be alright.
Regardless, something was clutching at his chest. Something heavy, with sharp claws. He knew his brother was in danger.
Edward.
He could almost see Ningyozukai standing between him and Kurotsuchi, his knee-length braid of violently pink hair unmoved in the tempest-level winds. The spirit of his sword said nothing, but held out his long, claw-like hands in a mirror of Steve's. His gesture, though, was not for theatrical purpose. With one hand, he indicated Kurotsuchi Mayuri, their killer. With the other, he pointed out into Seireitei. Towards where Steve knew his brother was fighting for his life.
"He can take care of himself," Steve whispered. Ningyozukai smiled; a wicked, eager smile.
"Then say my fighting name, Master."
An image of Edward on the ground flickered through Steve's mind. It did not even have any blood, just Edward, still and limp. He took a breath and the slowness vanished. Kurotsuchi stepped closer, his eyes gleaming gold.
Steve's hands fell to his sides.
"Sorry, Mayuri," he muttered bitterly, casting one more hateful glance at the man. "Someone else will have to kill you."
And he whirled around, flickering away as he ran as fast as he could towards his brother's battle.
