Disclaimer : I do not own anything from Bleach.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. None of the non-Sternritter characters are going to be included in the harem.
Main Pairing IchigoXGiselle, IchigoXMulti
The Downfall
Muken - June 13th
"Have you come to recruit me, the King of Quincy?" A voice could be heard from a man, who actually had his entire body bound with restraints, including even his mouth.
"Indeed I have, although it is the Emperor now. It rather amazes me that you are able to speak even with all those restraints, Aizen Sōsuke. To think of it, your punishment is quite harsh for the Gotei 13 of today. They have mellowed out to the degree, that I can no longer recognize it as the same group that crushed my empire back then." Yhwach answered.
"Apparently my sentence was raised to twenty-thousand years for talking back to the judge during my sentencing... I told them that it is comical for them to judge someone of my caliber, which brought out such result. Just another proof that their so-called power was built on a fragile sandcastle."
Yhwach found it rather hard for him to read the immortal's expression when the said man's face was bound with restraints, but he didn't overly concern himself with it. This visit was merely for a show, after all. While he knew that the man in front of him's mind was one of the greatest the Soul Society had ever seen, even he could not see through their true intentions.
"I must agree with you on that subject, although I'm afraid that we should return to the more important matters, seeing that I'm working on a tight schedule. I shall offer you your freedom in exchange for your services under my banner." Yhwach offered, although he had known what kind of answer he would receive long before entering this prison.
"While I am honored to receive such an offer, I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I am a man who thrives to stand upon the heavens, and it is something that could not be achieved if I am serving under another. I also happen to be expecting my release in a few days time at most." Aizen answered with a small laugh.
"Yes, you did say that you shall stand upon the heavens while revealing your true nature... Or is it just another false mask? Hmm, I suppose it is something that no one could come up with an answer to that, including even yourself." Yhwach chuckled, while Aizen agreed wholeheartedly with the emperor. He actually had absolutely no idea about his true nature, but such was a burden he had to carry as the wielder of Kyoka Suigetsu.
"But what makes you think I will leave you be, when I know that you'll prove to be a threat to my plans, Aizen Sōsuke?" Yhwach asked out of curiosity.
Aizen laughed at hearing such words, which lasted for quite some time before he calmed down enough to answer the emperor's question.
"I just know that you will..." Aizen was interrupted by a sudden spike of reiatsu, which could only belong to the Head-Captain, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni. "It seems that one of your men has brought upon the Head-Captain's ire on himself. Should I offer my condolences?" Aizen asked dryly, in which Yhwach merely laughed as a response.
"It is of no concern. I expected such an event the moment Berci stole the 1st Division Lieutenant's Bankai... I suppose I should take my leave to pay my dear friend Yamamoto a visit. It was quite the entertaining conversation we had, even if you declined my offer. We shall meet again in due time, Aizen Sōsuke." Yhwach turned away from the prisoner, only to be stopped by his words.
"Before you leave, I must congratulate you on the success of recruiting Kurosaki Ichigo to your cause. If you wouldn't mind answering... do you think he will stand firmly on your side until the end?"
"Maybe he will, maybe he will not. But I have my ways to keep my children from stepping out of line..." Yhwach replied with a chuckle, and disappeared into the shadows of Muken.
Aizen couldn't help but feel something off from Yhwach, but he wasn't able to make out the reason... But he pushed the thought into the corner of his head. It wouldn't matter, since he would be the one to laugh in the end. Even if the way Kurosaki Ichigo had strayed off his path did bother him to some degree, he wasn't overly worried about it.
'I wonder who will come to release me when they become desperate... One of Yamamoto's pupils, I suppose?' Aizen thought to himself as the darkness claimed the prison once more.
Bazz-B frowned as a swarm of petal-like sword fragments intercepted his Heilig Pfeils that were about to pierce one of the Shinigami officers, and changed its direction towards him. It wouldn't have been enough to stop the Heilig Pfeils if he had put some more effort into the forming of those, but he wasn't about to waste his strength on some low-ranked Shinigami who were seated-officer at most. He raised his hand and swiped it against the storm of petals, trails of flames following the tip of his fingers.
"Shit..." He muttered as he felt some of the petals cut through his Blut Vene, even if he had succeeded in throwing off the blades. He grudgingly admitted that he needed to adjust his Blut. It seems that he was maybe underestimating the Captains of the current times...
"So, you've come to stop me? I wouldn't have minded killing off some more of your subordinates, but I suppose I would like someone more challenging. You think you'd be enough to take on my heat, Captain?" Bazz-B asked, causing Byakuya to arch his eyebrows.
Kuchiki Byakuya wasn't all that sure about how the enemy was wielding flames, since he did not know that much about the Quincy. The only contact he had with one, was Ishida Uryū who had no such powers. Byakuya pushed the thought away, and focused on the enemy. "I do not know of the reasons behind your invasion, Quincy... But it is my duty as a Captain of the Gotei 13 to protect the Seireitei from intruders such as you. This is where you will meet your end."
"You don't know of the reasons? Is that so, the Head of the Kuchiki Clan? Cuz you out of all people should know why..." Bazz-B scoffed, and added a moment later. "And you seem to be under the impression that you're going to win, but it ain't happening."
Byakuya didn't bother replying, and controlled his Zanpakutō Senbonzakura. As a thousand deadly petals swarmed the Quincy, he merely smirked and stomped the ground with his feet. Flames erupted from the ground around Bazz-B, and engulfed the petals. A second later, Byakuya disappeared from his place with Shunpo, barely avoiding Bazz-B's Heilig Pfeils from above.
"You that eager to fight me, pretty boy? That's fine with me! I'm gonna burn you alive, with my 'The Heat'!" Bazz-B said as he landed with a grin on his face, which widened a second later when he felt the spike of a familiar reiatsu not that far from their current position. "Oh, Miss Sparky just fried someone! What a hellcat, that girl."
Byakuya also noticed that it was his Lieutenant who had engaged the enemy, and frowned. He wasn't all that sure if his Lieutenant would emerge victorious against his enemy, considering the fact that while Renji was fighting only one opponent at the moment, there were two more enemies in that area. He would have to deal with his opponent quickly.
"Oh, is something troubling you? Maybe the one Candice is frying to death is one of your subordinates? I feel bad to tell you this, but when that guy chose to challenge Candice, his fate was sealed. Whether he wins against her or not, is irrelevant... That guy's gonna die at her hand, or her lover's hand." Bazz-B said with a smirk. He knew that the guy would end up dead if he hurt the Sternritter 'T' in any way, or any of his other girls for that matter. 'Lucky bastard...' He thought to himself.
"All the more reason for me to put you down as soon as I can, and lend a hand to my Lieutenant... I shall show no mercy towards your kind, who are responsible for the death of Lieutenant Sasakibe... The cowards who spilled blood within the walls of the Seireitei without any warning." Byakuya stated coldly, only to be interrupted by Bazz-B's furious reply.
"Cowards?! Did you just fucking say, Cowards?! Look who's talking, the Captain of the Gotei 13... A member of the accursed organization who slaughtered thousands of innocents and children in a cowardly attack a thousand years ago! Your kind has no right to accuse us as such... Ugh, why do I even bother? I'm just gonna kill you, and be done with it. Burner Finger One!"
Byakuya quickly gathered the petals of Senbonzakura in front of him, only to be surprised at the stinging pain from his stomach. He realized that the attack had penetrated his body, and scorched the flesh around the area. Byakuya disappeared with a step of Shunpo to avoid another beam of the heat or flame, or whatever the attack was. He realized that if Renji's opponent was anywhere near the level of his own opponent, he would need to deal with his opponent as soon as possible. But the problem was, the enemy could effectively neutralize their Bankai...
"What's the matter, Captain? I'm not even trying yet! Burner Finger Two!"
"Bakudō #81, Danku!"
Byakuya grimaced as he saw that his Kidō had been taken down with a single blast. Even if he had been successful in blocking the enemy's attack, Danku was a Kidō at the level of eighties, which was something he couldn't throw around infinitely. "Hadō #33, Sōkatsui!"
"Now that's more like it! Let's heat the game up a notch! Burner Finger Two!" Bazz-B yelled as Byakuya's Kidō and his flames met, resulting in an explosion that covered the whole area.
Byakuya didn't miss the chance, and appeared behind Bazz-B with a step of Shunpo. "Hadō #4, Byakurai...?!"
"Now, that wasn't very nice of you. Your actions don't go well with your words, really." Bazz-B said nonchalantly as a white bolt of lightning flashed to the sky, Byakuya's hand caught in his grip. "I'll be blunt. You're no match for me without your Bankai, and you're afraid of using it because you know that it won't work. What can you do, but face your death like a man? Hmm?"
"Bakudō #61, Rikujōkōrō." Bazz-B's eyes widened in surprise, as six beams of light slammed into his upper-body. Byakuya was standing at a distance, somehow having been escaped his grasp. "Now, how did you escape that?!"
"Why are you under the impression, that I'll explain anything to you?" Byakuya replied, and directed Senbonzakura towards the bound form of the Quincy.
He turned away from his enemy as the thousand petals of Senbonzakura ripped the Quincy apart, only to look back in surprise as he heard the laughter of the enemy. Byakuya frowned when he noticed that while the enemy's cloak was indeed ripped to shreds, the enemy had no visual wounds on his body.
"You can't wound me, Kuchiki Byakuya. Not with your feeble flower petals!" Bazz-B taunted as he laughed, although he knew that his Blut wouldn't last against the Zanpakutō forever. Well, he didn't plan on staying still until his Blut shattered anyway. "My heat, on the other hand, is more than capable of doing so...! Burner Finger Four!"
Byakuya avoided a clean hit with the flaming knife that formed on the enemy's hand, being barely able to react in time with his Shunpo to Bazz-B's Flugbildschritt. He quickly fired a Byakurai, only for it to easily avoided with a small movement on Bazz-B's part.
Bazz-B pressed his opponent to a match of speed with his Flugbildschritt, not that surprised that the Captain was more than capable of keeping up with his speed. He wondered if he could defeat his opponent without using his Vollständig, considering how he seemed to be against using his Bankai. He was fine either way, since his objective was to kill his enemy. The emperor's orders were to steal their Bankai, but if they didn't use it... then there wouldn't be a problem for him to just kill them and be done with it.
Byakuya was conflicted with whether to use his Bankai and crush the Quincy with all his might, or remain in this stalemate while the Gotei 13 was fighting a losing battle. His Lieutenant was facing an opponent clearly above his level with two more of them observing the situation, while he himself was having trouble with dealing the enemy without the use of his Bankai. But would it be wise of him to expose his Bankai to whatever the enemy's method of dealing with it is? Byakuya contemplated the situation and came to the simple conclusion.
'I have no choice...'
It would never be the best of the moves, but he could sense his Lieutenant's strength dwindling even at the moment. Hundreds of men were dying all over the Seireitei, and he was stuck with his opponent who was on the level that required his Bankai if he were to secure victory. Byakuya hastily put some distance between him and the enemy, the petals of Senbonzakura retracting to its hilt. 'I would've preferred to do this while someone was at my side to aid me, in case my Bankai is indeed sealed...'
"I will admit, that you are an opponent I cannot defeat easily without the use of my Bankai. So I shall simply crush you with all of its might before you're given the chance to seal it... Bankai, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi." Byakuya said as he dropped his sword into the ground.
Bazz-B couldn't help but grin as two rows of giant blades rose from the sidelines of the Captain, and fished out his medallion from the insides of his trench coat. Byakuya's eyes widened as the blades that were about to scatter were dissolved and absorbed into the medallion held in Bazz-B's hand.
"What...?! This is no seal..." Byakuya muttered as the realization dawned on him. He had made a grave mistake, something that would cost him greatly.
"You got that right, Captain... I didn't seal your Bankai. No, I stole it! And I wonder how it would feel like for you to meet your demise with your own Bankai..." Bazz-B replied to the Captain with a smirk, as he repeatedly threw his medallion up into the air and caught it. "Bankai! Senbonzakura Kageyoshi!"
Kuchiki Byakuya grimaced as a thousand blades rose from the ground across him, for the first time in his life.
Abarai Renji let out a growl as another streak of lightning almost hit him, knowing that it didn't miss him because he dodged well... No, his opponent was playing with him for whatever sadistic reason.
"As I said, you don't look all that strong... And you obviously aren't." Candice taunted as she flicked a few strands of hair over her shoulders. She was having quite the fun with the Lieutenant in front of her, the bastard who caused so much grief to her lover. It truly was a pity that she couldn't kill him, which probably was a shared sentiment with the other girls.
"Shut up! If only I could use my Bankai..." Renji gritted his teeth in annoyance. He was having a hard time reminding himself that he shouldn't use his Bankai, lest it gets sealed. Granted, there was no guarantee that he could defeat the enemy Quincy and the other two spectators if he used his Bankai... but he knew that he was fighting a losing battle without it.
"Hmm? You're talking as if someone's stopping you from using it. I'm obviously not." Candice said with a frown.
"I'm not stupid, you bitch! Did you think I'd fall for that and use my Bankai for you to seal it?!" Renji shouted, only for Candice to burst out in a fit of laughter. She was having a hard time breathing with all the laughing, finding the enemy's words to be extremely amusing.
"You've got two things wrong, you moron. First off, I'm not going to 'seal' your Bankai. It'd be a waste of my medallion, if I were to use it on a weakling like you. And secondly, our medallion steals your Bankai... not seal it. And it looks like some of your Captains lost their Bankai, too."
It was exactly that moment when the voice of Matsumoto Rangiku ran through Renji's head, which could only be her Bakudō #77, Tenteikūra.
'This is the Lieutenant of the 10th Division speaking! All Captains are not to use Bankai under no circumstances! The enemy has the means to steal our Bankai! I repeat, do not use your Bankai!'
Renji froze upon hearing the news, which only confirmed the Sternritter's words. They could steal their Bankai...? The thought was ridiculous, but scary at the same time.
"Did you receive some bad news, hmm? As I said, feel free to use your Bankai. Our orders are to steal the Captain's Bankai, which doesn't include a mere Lieutenant like you. If you choose not to, fine by me. I'm going to fry you anyway...!" Candice stated, sparks running all over her body. She was glad that it didn't affect her hair, since it would've been a drag to maintain her hair if that was the case.
"Fine, you asked for it! Bankai! Hihiō Zabimaru!"
Candice didn't even bat an eye upon seeing the giant snake-like Bankai, obviously not that impressed by it. She most certainly wasn't stealing a Bankai like that. She'd rather use her Vollständig, rather than be unable to use it while wielding a Bankai that was so ungraceful. There was also the fact that she had spent quite some time on mastering her Vollständig with the help of Ichigo, something he was more than happy to partake in. It would be an insult to his help if she were to give up the use of her Vollständig for a Bankai that was way under her standards.
"That baboon is a fucking moron... If his Bankai was any more useful to us than that, he would've given up his Bankai on a silver platter." Liltotto muttered as she threw away the stick of her already eaten candy, and pulled out another one from her pocket.
"It's ugly... I doubt that it's something worth to steal, and become unable to use our Vollständig. Oh... He's in so much trouble." Meninas sighed as she saw the Lieutenant actually landing a hit on Candice with a mass of reiryoku, knowing that Candice would be pissed at the outcome.
"I pity him. No, I actually don't. That bastard..." Liltotto said, as she reminded herself that the Shinigami she was talking about was someone who actually left a Quincy to die just because she was a Quincy. That was more than enough reason for her to hate him.
Candice frowned as she was engulfed with the reiryoku launched by her enemy's Bankai. She could've evaded it with her Flugbildschritt easily, but apparently her current position was lined up with the other girls. While she knew that they wouldn't be harmed in the slightest by this attack, considering the fact that they were stronger than herself... Well, maybe not anymore? Candice was well aware that she had gotten a lot stronger due to Ichigo's help, so she probably wasn't that far off from her friends.
Regardless, she claimed this fight for herself, and she wasn't about to let a stray attack bother the girls. She knew that they would never let her hear the end of it if she did. So she tried to crush the mass of reiatsu with her hand, not expecting it to explode immediately on contact.
"Heh, how's that you bitch?!" Renji shouted with a smug look, which dropped instantly as the cloud of smoke cleared from the burst of reiatsu of his enemy. Candice wasn't harmed from the attack, not even in the slightest, much to Renji's horror. Hikotsu Taihō was the strongest attack he could manage in his Bankai, and if that was ineffective against the Quincy...
"You... You...!" Candice growled as she touched the tip of her hair, which was apparently a little singed from Renji's attack. Her hand immediately moved to the one that had her Leiden Hant on it, intent on crushing the red-haired Shinigami with all her might. "You fucking ruined my hair! I'm gonna kill you!"
Renji frowned as the girl threatened to kill him for ruining her hair, something he really didn't see what the big deal was. What he actually cared about, was the fact that the enemy was pissed at him. He blinked as some kind of wings that looked like thunderbolts appeared behind her.
"I didn't really like the idea of stealing your Bankai in the first place. Why would we need to do that, when our Vollständig stands far above it?" Candice said as she grabbed two of her wings in her hand. She was fucking pissed. No one, and absolutely no one except Ichigo can mess with her hair and live to see another day. She pulled her right arm, and flung one of the thunderbolts at her enemy.
"Galvano Javelin!"
"Hikotsu Taihō!" Renji yelled, only to gasp as the thunderbolt ripped his attack apart and blasted his Hihiō Zabimaru to pieces. Suddenly, the green-haired Quincy appeared in front of him and slammed her fist into his face. Renji flew backwards and slammed into a wall, only for the wall to collapse immediately.
Renji groaned as he felt the enemy plant her foot on his chest. Candice grabbed the tail of Renji's hair and pulled his head up, and almost growled out the words. "I fucking hate you, Shinigami. And it's not due to the fact that you're my enemy. I hate you for causing so much grief to Ichigo's life!"
"...What? What do you mean?! How the hell do you even know Ichigo? What do you mean I caused grief to his life?" Renji asked in disbelief and confusion. Just how did he wrong Ichigo?
Candice scoffed at the red-haired Lieutenant and sent a jolt of electricity at him, displeased at the fact that the offender was oblivious to his own sin. Renji groaned as the pain sent him to the brink of his consciousness.
"Since I'm not gonna kill you, I might as well tell you. Nine years ago, you left a Quincy woman to die at the hands of a Hollow." Renji's eyebrows rose as he remembered that day. "Of course. And it's a good thing I did, seeing how you Quincy attacked us without warning."
"The woman you so graciously 'allowed' to die, her name was Kurosaki Masaki. You, are the one who killed Ichigo's mother. Do you get it now, you bastard?" Candice said with a sneer, causing the Shinigami to become silent.
Candice knew that if it wasn't for him, Ichigo probably wouldn't be fighting on their side. She would've been fighting against her beloved in this war if everything hadn't happened the way it did. But it didn't mean she liked the fact that Ichigo had to go through such experience at that age. It probably was hypocritical of her to be mad at the Shinigami, but she didn't care really.
Renji didn't know what to say at the moment. The Quincy he left to die at the hands of a Hollow was Ichigo's mother? Then the child with her at the time... It was then, he realized that the child in his memory actually had bright orange hair.
Ichigo was the one who had rescued Rukia from execution. Ichigo was someone he acknowledged as a friend, even a rival. And he was the one who practically killed Ichigo's mother. 'And Ichigo is a Quincy, one of them now. I can't let my guilt cloud my judgement when hundreds of Shinigami are dying. I would've committed Seppuku in front of Ichigo for that if I had known this earlier, but I can't do that now... Not when we're in the midst of war.' Renji thought to himself.
Unfortunately for Renji, Candice had noticed him steeling his resolve. She was still very much pissed at him for ruining her hair, but she wasn't going to kill him no matter what. Even if Ichigo probably wouldn't care that much if one of the girls killed him in his stead, she was going to keep him alive until Ichigo tells her otherwise. The choice regarding the Shinigami was Ichigo's, and only his.
Renji attempted to escape his current position, only to fall unconscious a moment later. Candice rolled her eyes at the obviousness of his intentions. Even a child would've caught on his attempt on escaping. She picked him up and appeared in front of the other girls, getting out of her Vollständig state as soon as she landed. Candice rolled her eyes at the sight of her friends leaning against each other leisurely.
"Your Vollständig was an overkill... I thought you were going to kill him." Meninas commented.
"I know, I know... I wouldn't have used it if the bastard didn't ruin my hair... And my hair wouldn't have been ruined if I just let his attack hit you two." Candice said in a tone, which Meninas recognized as her pout. "And don't say it, Lil! I know that it could never scratch you."
Liltotto opened her mouth to respond with a foul word, but closed it without saying a word a second later. She shrugged and returned her attention to her candy.
"Well, I'm surprised that you showed that much restraint to someone who messed with your hair. I doubt that you would let even Ichigo go if he singed it."
"I'm not sure how I would feel about it if he actually did that to me, but it's something that would never happen. Ichigo knows how much effort I put in my hair, and respects it too much." Candice replied with a shrug, although she couldn't help but feel a flutter in her stomach when she thought of it.
Meninas nodded in agreement to both notions, and frowned as she set her sight on the unconscious form of the Lieutenant. "I'm not really sure if we should let Ichigo deal with him. I mean, he could..."
"Whether Ichigo forgives him or not, it's supposed to be his choice, Meni! I'm not gonna assume what's best for him and just kill that bastard with my own hands. You know how important this is for him." Candice nearly growled out the words, which caused Meninas to flinch. Candice sent an apologetic look for her harsh tone when she noticed the flinch.
"You're right... But I can't help but be worried about him. He's supposed to be a close friend to that Kuchiki girl, you know." Meninas said with a small frown.
"If she chooses one friend over another even if the said friend wronged the other one, she doesn't deserve to be considered Ichigo's friend. She can choose to side with the Shinigami, that's fine. But I'll kill her if she dares to take his side over Ichigo's..." Candice said as she waved at the unconscious form of Renji, emphasizing the word 'his' with a look of disdain.
"What do you think we should do now? Not all of us can fight a Captain, since we outnumber them easily. I'd rather not needlessly slaughter every Shinigami I come across..." Meninas sent a questioning look to Liltotto while twirling a strand of pink hair with her finger.
Liltotto stared at her for a moment, and answered. "Don't really care. We can either join Bambi, or Ichigo." She thought to herself for a second, and added. "...Or just slack off."
Candice concentrated on sensing the reiatsu of both her friend and boyfriend, sticking out her tongue out of the corner of her mouth while doing so. Meninas stifled a giggle, finding her friend's habit to be funny.
"Where is Gigi, anyway? I can't really sense her anywhere... And it looks like Bambi's fighting a Captain and obviously winning, while Ichigo's playing with someone... probably a Lieutenant?"
Liltotto stared at Candice in confusion, while Meninas couldn't hide her surprised expression at hearing that. It didn't go unnoticed to Candice, not that the other girls even bothered to hide anything from her.
"What?!" Candice yelled in frustration.
"Nothing..." Liltotto replied, only for Candice to growl at her in annoyance. She rolled her eyes, and answered with a huff. "Fine, I didn't expect you to be able to sense them."
Candice's gaze changed its direction to Meninas, who gave out a nervous chuckle. "Same..."
"Well... for your information, I actually trained with Ichigo instead of jumping into his lap in all of my free time!" Candice scoffed, causing Meninas to giggle. "Jealous much, Candi? Ichigo wouldn't have found it necessary to train you, if you actually spent more time training instead of fussing over your hair before you met him. And you could've had some more fun with him instead of training if you did."
"Hey! Ichigo is absolutely in love with my hair! He always helps me with it in the morning, in case you haven't noticed!"
"Don't you think he would do the same for us if we asked?" Meninas asked with a tilt of her head, resulting in the loss of words for Candice. "We, well... Yeah, but... But...! UGH! I hate you!"
"No, you love me." Meninas replied with an innocent expression.
"Whatever. Let's go see Bambi first, since she's closer to us." Candice said with a sigh.
Hitsugaya Tōshirō shivered as he felt coldness...? It was probably the first time he had felt such a sensation ever since he had learned the name of his Zanpakutō. No, actually it was a little different from that. Maybe the enemy's thorns of light he uses to attack possesses some kind of poisonous properties?
"It seems that you have begun to notice... Perhaps you're thinking that this is the effect of a poison? You're wrong. This sensation, it is something I'm sure you have cast aside long ago." Äs Nödt drawled, eliciting a frown from the young Captain. "Since you became a Captain, and built up your strength to overwhelm your enemies... I am sure that you would not have felt this sensation for a long time. Yet, this sensation very well could be the most important thing a person could feel... It is fear."
Tōshirō froze upon hearing those words, coming to the realization that he was indeed afraid. Even as Rangiku voiced her disagreement on the matter, he knew that it was true. "Matsumoto... I am going to use my Bankai..."
"Captain?! But the enemy..." Rangiku protested, only to be silenced immediately.
"Yes, I'm aware that they are capable of sealing our Bankai. But that is precisely why I am going to use it when you're with me... Our enemies are not the kind of opponent we can defeat without using our Bankai. We must see how they seal our Bankai, and come up with a way to counter it. When he seals my Bankai, fight with me and aid me in finding a way to break the seal!" Tōshirō said, ignoring the fear that was trying to hold him back. He was not going to back off from battle just because of some fear, never again.
"Yes, Captain!"
Tōshirō turned to the Quincy, and shouted. "Despite your belief, fear isn't something I'm unfamiliar with. I've simply overcome each and every one of them, that's all! Bankai! Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!"
Äs' expression did not change as he brought out his medallion, and activated it. Tōshirō's expression, on the other hand, turned into a one of sheer horror. The fear that had been plaguing his mind increased drastically as the wings of ice that formed with his Bankai dissolved into nothingness.
"What happened...?! Captain!"
"I, I can't feel anything... Hyōrinmaru...? Hyōrinmaru! Answer me, say something! Anything... Hyōrinmaru!" Äs stared impassively as the young Captain desperately called for his Zanpakutō. He knew that it would only take a slight push for the Captain to be swallowed in despair.
"You've said that you overcame all of your fears of the past... You may believe that to be true. But fear that comes from reason is kind..."
"Matsumoto! Use the Tentei Kūra, quickly! We must inform all the other Captains of this. Tell them not to use their Bankai, or they will steal it!" Tōshirō hastily ordered while desperately subduing his fear, which Rangiku followed without hesitation. To his surprise, the enemy remained still until Rangiku had finished informing the other members of the Gotei 13 of the situation.
"Perhaps you are wondering why I let your Lieutenant inform the situation to the other Shinigami? It is quite simple, really. The outcome of this war was sealed even before it started, hence I saw no need to interrupt you. Bankai, Daiguren Hyōrinmaru... Hmm, this will need some time to get used to it." Äs said as wings of ice started to form behind his frame. Tōshirō bit his lip at the sight of his Bankai responding to the hands of the enemy, the coppery taste filling his mouth.
"Now, where was I...? Ah, yes..."
Tōshirō's eyes widened in shock as the enemy's thorns of light flew at a speed even he had trouble following, and impaled his Lieutenant. It wasn't fatal per se. What made him call out her name in fear was the scream she let out, which almost caused him to scream like a frightened child overwhelmed with fear.
"Matsumoto!"
"As I said, fear that comes from reason is kind. It is something that can be conquered with sheer will, or through experience. But true fear is without reason. It is not an emotion, but an instinct. And you cannot escape from instinct..." Äs spoke, only for Tōshirō to let out an incoherent scream and charge at the Sternritter. Äs caught the Captain's blade in one hand with ease, not even budging in his place. He noticed the fearful look in the eyes of his opponent, and commented. "Your blade has become dull from the fear... Do not worry, I do not think any less of you for it. After all, how could you hope to defeat your own Bankai with only your Shikai?"
Tōshirō gasped as ice started to form from the spot Äs had stabbed, restricting his movements. He suddenly realized that he was surrounded with numerous ice pillars, with no way to escape. "Sennen Hyōrō..." Tōshirō muttered.
"It is a fitting name for such a fearsome technique, indeed. Your Bankai shall prove to be a good enough spoils of war for our first strike. Farewell, Captain Hitsugaya."
'Matsumoto... Momo...' Tōshirō thought to himself as he was encased by the ice of his own Bankai.
"Captain..." Rangiku groaned, unable to move due to the fear that was overwhelming her body. Äs Nödt barely spared a glance towards the Lieutenant before he left without another word.
"You are pulling punches on me." Rukia stated, glaring daggers at the orange-haired Sternritter.
"I suppose I am." Ichigo replied without breaking a sweat. Rukia wanted to kick his shin for that cheeky admission, but had to remind herself that this Ichigo was not her best friend she could roughhouse with. "Take me seriously, you idiot!"
"Whoever said I'm not taking this seriously?" Ichigo answered with a scowl. "No offense, but your Kidō can't break my Blut Vene... especially when I'm using it with my Hierro. I know your Zanpakutō's abilities all too well, and you can't land a hit on me with those when I'm way too fast for you to follow. As far as I know, you haven't achieved Bankai yet. I know what you're capable of and what not, so don't accuse me of not taking you seriously."
"Fine, be that way!" Rukia seethed, although she admitted that Ichigo was indeed right on all of his points.
Rukia couldn't help but notice the way Ichigo parried each and every single one of her strikes with ease, and even some grace. He wasn't joking when he said that he had spent most of his time on training, considering the noticeable difference of his combat style compared to three years ago. She wasn't all that happy to admit it, but Ichigo was actually better at Zanjutsu than herself. Rukia chose to go on the offensive once more and lunged at Ichigo, only for Sode no Shirayuki to fly out of her grip and embed itself into a wooden wall near her.
"Sorry Rukia, but I'll have to cut this short. Apparently there are things I need to do in this invasion, you see. I really can't slack off any more than I already have, given my position..." Ichigo said with a frown marring his face. He could sense that a few of the Sternritter have fallen or was about to fall in battle, while none of the Captains have yet to be defeated. He knew that it was only a matter of time, if the Bankai their opponents had stolen from them was any indication. Two of their owns death was caused by a Special War Power, so maybe he was needed over there? Well, it wasn't his intention to emerge near the 13th Division Barracks in the first place anyway.
"So you could've ended this whenever you wanted... I'm not sure if I should feel insulted." Rukia muttered as she stared at her empty hands. Her Kidō wasn't even capable of leaving a scratch on his skin, and he outmatched her in both skill and power. But then again, she shouldn't be surprised that much, since Ichigo was more than capable of matching Captain-level enemies even three years ago. Rukia knew that she was nowhere near a Captain in both sheer power and skill... yet.
"But I...!" Rukia opened her mouth, only to be interrupted with a voice that rang inside her head.
Rukia's eyes widened as she received Rangiku's Tentei Kūra, and turned to Ichigo. He raised his brows when he saw her head snapping towards his direction, although he could easily guess the reason. "You... You can steal our Bankai?!"
Ichigo didn't bother answering that question and shrugged, expecting it to be a rhetorical question. Rukia bit her lips, realizing that her brother was one of the Captains who lost their Bankai. "Nii-san..."
"I doubt that he'll die today." Ichigo stated, instantly gaining Rukia's attention. "He's too stubborn to die just because he lost his Bankai. Byakuya's gonna make it out alive for your sake, Rukia. I won't forgive him if he let you down again."
Rukia stared at the scowling face of Ichigo for a moment and let out a sigh. "I guess. You said that you'll tell me about your mom... I want to hear the details, Ichigo."
Ichigo scratched the back of his head, and frowned his brows as he thought about his mom. He had let go of most of his anger during the past year, but there was one man he could never bring himself to forgive. Just the thought of the bastard made his blood boil with rage.
"My mom... she was purified when my old man dealt with Grand Fisher. Later on, she was found in one of the lower districts of Rukongai by the 12th Division, or SRDI... or whatever. Do I really need to say more on the matter?" Ichigo gritted out the words, loathing the subject with all his being. The only reason he was actually saying it, was the fact that he had promised to do so.
"Oh... I suppose not..." Rukia muttered, understanding exactly why Ichigo would side against them. She knew that the Soul Society held a lot of flaws, given her past experiences. She was from the Rukongai, adopted into a noble house later on. Other people's attitude towards her changed drastically because of it. Well, she had been almost executed due to the plot of Aizen after all.
"All the Captains knew what that bastard did to my mother, although they were banned from speaking about that subject by the orders of the Central 46. I don't really hold any bad feelings on them anymore, but I can't forgive that bastard Kurotsuchi no matter what. Hell, I don't really hate Abarai that much now, and that's saying something." Ichigo said, not realizing that he hadn't spoken about Renji's involvement in his mother's death to Rukia yet.
"Wait, Abarai... You mean Renji? What did he do?" Rukia asked with a small frown.
Ichigo contemplated on telling her about it, not really wanting to inform Rukia out of all people in person. He knew that Renji was friends with Rukia even before they became a Shinigami, which made him uncomfortable to break the news. He sighed, coming to the conclusion that it was an inevitable subject, be it now or later.
"Abarai was the one who left my mom and I to die to Grand Fisher almost nine years ago. While there was another factor to my mom's death, if he actually chose to do his job, my mom would've lived that day. She wasn't someone who deserved to die, and suffer at the hands of Kurotsuchi even after her soul reached Soul Society... Just so you know, I'll probably kill him when I see him." Ichigo said, with a scowl. He didn't hate Renji as much as he did when he learned the truth, but he still held a grudge. And he had more than enough reason to kill him, compared to the unseated-level Shinigami he had killed.
"I... I don't know what to say... Renji wouldn't have... But..." Rukia stuttered in disbelief and confusion. Ichigo sighed and lifted his reishi sword. "Anyway, I have my own tasks to do. We'll meet again soon enough, Rukia."
Rukia looked like she wanted to protest, only to fall unconscious in Ichigo's arms a moment later. He carefully laid her against the wall where her Zanpakutō was embedded, and placed his hand on the blade.
"You know, I think she's ready to wield you properly. You should give her a chance to prove herself..." Ichigo muttered as he ran his hand down the blade, and vanished from the spot. Seconds later, a beautiful woman wearing a kimono appeared and pulled out the Zanpakutō from the wall. She had an unreadable expression on her face as she walked over to the unconscious form of Rukia to sheathe the sword. The Zanpakutō spirit picked up the petite Lieutenant in her arms, and sighed.
"We will see if the boy was indeed right, Rukia..." Sode no Shirayuki said as she thought of the orange haired human. While not as strong as the bond she shared with Rukia, there was a solid connection between herself and Ichigo which had formed when Rukia had transferred her powers to him. Apparently, Ichigo had found out that she was withholding Rukia from using her Zanpakutō to its full potential, just from a short time of clashing his sword against her. Maybe he saw through it, since he himself had the same experience.
Rukia had improved immensely over the short span of time after she had met the Substitute Shinigami, more so than the decades before that. Sode no Shirayuki knew that she would've allowed Rukia to wield her properly soon enough, but the time had come much sooner than she thought. She could tell that Ichigo was purposely holding back from using most of his powers during the whole fight, even including his physical strength. Rukia would have to become a lot more stronger than she was now, in order to survive through the enemy's next invasion. It's not like she was that far off from achieving Bankai, considering how Sode no Shirayuki could manifest outside of Rukia's Inner World on her own with some effort.
Sode no Shirayuki disappeared from the scene carrying her wielder, heading towards the 4th Division Barracks. While she wasn't grievously injured, there were some small wounds that needed to be treated. Also, Sode no Shirayuki wasn't about to leave her wielder in the middle of the battlefield in her unconscious state.
"What the...?!" Shaz Domino muttered as he walked through the empty halls of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute. No, empty would be a wrong word, considering the bloody stains on the walls and floor along with a few corpses. He wasn't expecting this when he came to the SRDI to seek out the information, which would allow him to create his own Hōgyoku in order to turn himself into a Hollowfied Quincy. He thought that his Schrift, 'The Viability' would be more than enough for him to survive Hollow poisoning, which led him to gain such an objective.
What he really didn't expect was to meet zero resistance in one of the enemy's most important departments.
Shaz took his time to search the department's labs, and came to the conclusion that the data he was looking for would be most likely placed in the department president's lab. Shaz eagerly entered the lab, only to freeze at the sight of a black-haired girl wearing their own uniform.
"Took you long enough... It was sooooooo boring waiting here all alone! Hmm? Oh, you aren't the clown... but I somehow know you. I wonder why...?" Giselle said, tilting her head to the side.
"Sternritter 'Z', Giselle Gewelle? Why are you here? And I feel insulted that you don't even recognize one of your fellow Sternritter..." Shaz said through his gritted teeth.
Giselle raised one of her eyebrows, and started to giggle like a child. Shaz frowned, not understanding her reaction. "Why are you laughing?"
"Oh, it was just... so cute that you think of yourself as my 'fellow Sternritter', as you put it! There are only twenty-seven Sternritter... and you certainly aren't one." Giselle said through her giggles.
"I am a Sternritter! His majesty gave me the letter 'Ϛ'..."
"Which isn't even an English letter... Oh, I recognize you now! You're one of Gremmy's dolls!" Giselle cut off his words, causing Shaz to frown in irritation. He decided to ignore the girl, and search for the data he wanted.
"Jazz... Your name is Jazz, right? What brings you here...?" Giselle asked.
Shaz bit his lower lip, and yelled at the girl. "I'm Shaz, not Jazz... And why would I even tell you that in the first place?!"
"Because... I'm gonna kill you if you don't?" Giselle said in a not so joking manner, not in the best of her moods. Shaz was about to retort with an insult, only to bite his tongue when he saw the malicious gleam in her eyes. 'She's fucking serious!'
"I came here to find some information on how to create my own Hōgyoku." Shaz replied quickly, not wanting to give any reason for her to actually try to kill him. He knew just how much of a crazy bitch the Sternritter 'Z' was.
"Hmm..."
Shaz could feel the sweat rolling off his forehead as Giselle stared at him in a calculative manner. 'The Zombie' herself wasn't stronger than him, but there was a reason she was one of the most feared Sternritter to the soldats and even the other Sternritter. While it was true that she had mellowed out considerably over the past year, Shaz wasn't about to be fooled at her mask. One's nature didn't simply change over a short time, the apparent massacre of the SRDI at her hands being a solid proof of it.
"I don't like the way you're looking at me." Giselle stated while playing with a lock of her hair. "You're looking at me like I'm a crazy, sadistic bitch."
'Because you are one!' Shaz almost blurted out the words, but wisely kept them to himself. It was too bad for him that she was very sensitive on that subject. Giselle knew that she was in fact both crazy and sadistic, but it had become one of her insecurities nowadays. No matter how much Ichigo showed his love towards her, she feared that he would leave her one day because of it deep down inside.
Giselle hadn't killed or seriously harmed anyone for more than half a year, and today was the first time she had let out her more bloodthirsty nature ever since she started to date Ichigo... excluding Tsukishima. She wouldn't have overdone it if she had stuck with Ichigo, but she wanted to deal with this accursed department. He had directed most of his hatred towards the clown who controlled this department, but she wasn't going to let any of them off the hook. She was petty as hell, and she would never forgive anyone who had hurt the love of her life. Ichigo probably would never guess that she had purposely informed the soldat who was in charge of the Gate of the Sun, to send Ichigo near the 13th Division Barracks instead of the SRDI... 'Although I'll probably confess it on my own...'
"I am a little crazy, and I may be a bit sadistic. But I'm not a bitch... well, not to you." Giselle added, letting out a perverse giggle at the thought of all the naughty things she would do with Ichigo. Shaz dropped his guard at the girl's act, only to feel the cold sensation of steel penetrating his flesh.
"Good doggy..." Giselle complimented the red-skinned man who stood tall behind Shaz.
"Can, can I... get some... blood, master...?" The zombie-fied form of Tsukishima asked hopefully which Giselle didn't even bother to answer.
"Ha! You can't kill me with this...?!" Shaz's eyes widened as more and more zombies rose up from the shadows, almost reaching a hundred in number.
"I've always wanted to make one of Gremmy's dolls into a zombie..." Giselle said with a dopey smile, and snapped her finger. The zombies responded instantly, and swarmed Shaz like the zombies in the movies do. "If you live through this, then maybe I'll leave you be... If you happen to die, well... Welcome to my collection."
Shaz screamed in rage and started to fight off the zombies, but he wasn't strong enough to hold his own against a near-hundred army of Giselle's zombies. Despite his own belief, he was nowhere near the level of the other Sternritter. It was the limit of Gremmy's 'The Visionary', even if Shaz had managed to become a being of his own by using his 'The Viability'. Shaz's Schrift was 'imagined' by Gremmy while the other Sternritter's Schrift were bestowed by Yhwach, which was a major difference.
Giselle wondered if she would ever get the chance to see the clown during this invasion, humming as she watched her zombies rip apart Shaz each and every time he regenerated himself. She wouldn't have killed Shaz if she was in her usual mood, but she was in a sour mood due to the 12th Division Captain's absence in the SRDI.
It didn't take any more than five minutes for Shaz to drop dead as he reached the limit of his regeneration. Giselle walked over towards the almost mutilated corpse, and was about to spill her blood on it, when she coughed up some blood. She looked down at her stomach to see a hand sticking out of it, and turned her head to be greeted with the sight of a busty girl with short black hair.
"Oh... So the clown finally decided to show up! But don't you think it's a little rude to stab an innocent girl like me as a greeting?" Giselle asked, not even showing a hint of being in pain from receiving such an injury.
"Hmm? Such remarkable pain tolerance... I shall look forward to having you on my operating table. Nemu, capture the subject alive. She'll pay for the damage she did to my department with her body." Mayuri ordered, only to frown when Nemu didn't move an inch from her current spot.
"Nemu, you foolish girl! I gave you an order!" Mayuri gritted through his teeth in irritation, but Nemu didn't respond. "...Nemu?"
The sound of Giselle's giggles echoed all over Mayuri's lab. If there was something that every single one of the Sternritter agreed on, it would be the fact that Giselle was insane. Even Ichigo couldn't bring himself to say otherwise, not that she really minded. As long as he loved her like she was the most precious girl on earth, she was okay with almost anything. Of course, that was exactly what he did to her, with Ichigo being Ichigo and all. That single act itself was enough to act as a leash on her insanity.
But Ichigo wasn't here with her. Not that just being separated from Ichigo would make Giselle go mad and kill everyone in her sight.
She was using this situation to her advantage, with being in war with the Shinigami and all. Ichigo probably would've wanted her to spare most of the Shinigami she had killed here, seeing how this department was basically under the clown's dictatorship. She simply despised them for their acts concerning Ichigo's mother, and she had loathed the Shinigami even before hearing what they did to Ichigo. The first war, the massacre, the experiments. Would it be wrong of the Quincy to utterly hate the Shinigami for what they did to their race?
So Giselle had simply separated herself from Ichigo, came straight to the SRDI. She killed half of the men she came across, and the other half was now a part of her army of zombies. As long as Ichigo was alive at her side, she was very confident that she could keep her sanity in check. But not to anyone who worked at this accursed department, not to mention the clown who was behind everything.
"So your name is Nemu... Hehe, will you be a good dear and bring the clown on his knees for me?" Giselle spoke, a sadistic grin adorning her face.
Nemu pulled her arm out of Giselle's stomach, and turned towards the scowling Captain. Mayuri noticed that her skin was visibly red, and her eyes barely showed any sign of life with its dullness. Granted, Kurotsuchi Nemu was never that much of a person who could be described as lively, but the way she looked at him was disturbing for some reason. "Hai..."
Mayuri gritted his teeth in anger as his Zanpakutō lashed out, intercepting Nemu's kick, which packed enough power to blast a boulder to pieces. He was pissed over the fact that someone had taken control over his creation. He didn't really care that he would have to deal with Nemu himself. She was replaceable, albeit the task being a troublesome process.
"You insolent girl... I will promise you, that I'll make sure to find about everything about your capabilities on my table in the most painful way possible. It is the price you will pay for daring to take control of my project." Mayuri seethed in fury, even as he dodged another punch from Nemu.
Giselle was about to retort in the most sassy way she could come up with, when a familiar voice could be heard. "I'm afraid not... The day you lay your hands on her will be the day you die in the most painful way possible, as you put it... Although I was going to do that anyway."
"Hiya, Ichi-chan! Did you miss me?" Giselle greeted with her usual smile.
"As much as I want to say yes... I'm going to punish you for messing up with my plans, Gigi." Ichigo said as he rolled his eyes. He had figured out the fact that Giselle had a hand in the change of his emerging point as soon as he saw what she did to the SRDI. The only reason he wasn't pissed off at her, was the fact that Giselle had done it mostly for him. Needless to say that he wanted to be mad at her, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. 'A major downside of being in love with a mentally unstable girl, I suppose.' Ichigo mused to himself.
Ichigo wasn't ignorant. He knew that Giselle was unstable, so it was easy to deduce that a part of the reason she was doing this was to let out her more sadistic tendencies. Ichigo wondered for a moment if he would've been okay with her behavior a year ago. 'Obviously not...' He admitted.
"Aww, fine..." Giselle whined with a small pout.
Ichigo turned to face the Captain, who was busy dealing with his own Lieutenant. A sudden surge of cold fury erupted from his insides, but he pushed it down for now. It wouldn't do for him to lose his calm against a foe who specializes in his intelligence. Granted, he wasn't at the level of Aizen or Kisuke, but it didn't change the fact that the man was extremely intelligent.
Mayuri cursed to himself, as he regretted installing all the counters to his own abilities to Nemu. She was immune to most kind of poison, including the one of Ashisogi Jizō. She held not only the antidote to the poison of his Bankai, but the girl who took control over his creation had the means to steal his Bankai.
Of course, he had a fail-safe. He could easily destroy the seventh of his Nemuri project, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to do so. It was then he realized that he had unwillingly become attached to his own creation.
"You insolent fools... Do you have any idea how much time and effort it will cost me to create another one of her?!" Mayuri drawled, the assault of Nemu coming to an abrupt stop at the same time. He visibly showed his anger at the situation, something that could only be brought out with the mention of Kisuke in his presence.
A small capsule embedded in Nemu's heart cracked, and spilled its content into her blood the moment Mayuri reached out to it with his reiryoku. The capsule was designed to break only when it came into contact with his own reiryoku, only after he removed the defenses that were installed into her body as a safety measure. It was supposed to destroy Nemu's body, the only exception being her brain, which could be used to jump start the process of creating his 8th Nemuri.
"Why, hello to you... Kurotsuchi Mayuri." Ichigo managed to not spit out the words, but he couldn't keep it void from his negative emotions. "Seeing how you aren't that surprised to see me, I suppose Yama-ji told you? I'm rather flattered that he took the effort to actually remember my reiatsu signature." Ichigo said coolly.
"You're different, boy..." Mayuri eyed the Sternritter carefully, noticing that he was completely different from the naive young ryoka he remembered. He knew that humans tend to overtake changes in a short span of time, while the souls usually didn't. But it wasn't even three years since the boy had lost all connection with the Afterlife. Associating himself with the Quincy had molded him into a soldier, something he doubted to ever happen under the Gotei 13. The boy was a wild beast, an untameable being who held some, if not many similarities to the beast of the 11th Division.
"How could I not be different? I was a school boy back then." Ichigo responded with a scowl, and spoke again just a moment later. "Now? I'm a soldier. I'd rather skip the needless details, since you of all people would know better than anyone of the reason I joined his majesty. I would've joined him regardless of what you did, but it did strengthen my resolve."
"Hmmph. And the Head-Captain was hanging it over my head as if I were to blame..." Mayuri muttered in disdain, and turned his attention to the zombified-form of Nemu who had started to cough out her blood. "Whatever that insolent girl did to Nemu, it made her immunity much stronger than it initially was. She should've collapsed in mere seconds, but for her internal organs to survive this long? I simply must see the extent of her abilities with my own eyes."
Ichigo scowled at Mayuri's implication of dissecting Giselle. He wanted to strangle him to death, right then and there. If he dares to lay a hand on his girl, he would find out that his fate would be an unpleasant one. But then again, his fate was already sealed when he dared to do so with his mother's soul. He was brought out of his darker thoughts that involved killing Mayuri in various ways, by the said person's following words.
"But I suppose you are a far more interesting specimen than she would ever be. A human that was born with all three major aspects of the soul? The infinite possibilities that would come with it! It is no wonder that Aizen held such interest in you, and even prided himself in having a hand in your creation..." Mayuri muttered as he picked up the brain of Nemu, who had finally collapsed into reishi. Ichigo's scowl deepened as Mayuri placed the brain of the girl into a glass tank, disgusted at the act. A safety measure on his own subordinate, really?
"Gods, I'm done with acting all civil with you. You'll die today, and that is all that matters." Ichigo muttered darkly and appeared behind Mayuri with a buzzing sound, his reishi sword in a downward slash aimed to split the man in half. Mayuri intercepted the strike with his Zanpakutō, which wasn't something that surprised Ichigo all that much. Kurotsuchi Mayuri was not a Captain for no reason, and even if he was more of a researcher than a fighter, he could hold his own in a fight fairly well.
Ichigo pressed the Captain to a defensive stance with his sword, each and every slash of it being perfectly connected to his next movement. This time, Ichigo actually found himself surprised at Mayuri to the fact that he was able to keep up with this with ease. No one, and absolutely no one, other than Jugram and the emperor had been able to do so. He knew that Mayuri wasn't on the same level with Jugram in terms of swordsmanship, but he was proving to be a surprisingly competent opponent.
There was a time when he thought of Mayuri as the weakest Captain excluding Unohana Retsu, since he was defeated by Uryū with the use of the Letzt Stil. Of course, he didn't have that much of a high opinion regarding the Quincy back then, but he probably should've known better than to downplay Uryū's achievement. Letzt Stil was a sacrificial technique after all... Ichigo's thoughts regarding a Quincy's strength began to change when he started his holy training, and he had realized that a Quincy held as much potential or even more than that of a Shinigami later on. That was when he learned how to use the Quincy: Vollständig.
The Quincy: Vollständig was the epitome of a Quincy's strength, the perfected version of the Letzt Stil. It held much more potential than the Letzt Stile while losing the sacrificial part of the said technique, thus 'Quincy: Complete' being its name. It was then he learned that Uryū's Letzt Stil must have been powerful enough to overpower a Captain, coming to the realization that even the weakest Captain was not to be underestimated if he survived through it. Jugram's reminder before he joined the ranks of the Sternritter served to enforce the thought.
"I see that you are surprised. Perhaps you're wondering why a mere researcher like myself is able to read your attacks so effectively?" Mayuri questioned with a small smirk. Ichigo raised a brow, prompting him to continue on. "I installed a number of sensors in my Ashisogi Jizō a few hours ago, something I have been working on for quite some time. I've programmed it to detect any kind of blade that enters within two feet of my body, and intercept such blades at an angle of sixty degrees or greater."
Ichigo stared at him for a moment, and let out a chuckle. "Consider me impressed. But you really shouldn't tell such information to your enemies, especially when they're just playing with you. You'll find yourself in a tight spot for that, such as this."
Mayuri was stopped from retorting to such a comment when he saw the crimson red ball forming from the former Substitute Shinigami's sword tip. 'A Cero?!'
As the red beam was released, Mayuri reacted in time and raised his hands. His hands turned into a barrier of some sorts and negated the Cero, if barely.
"Good job blocking that, but that was me not even trying... Cero Oscuras." Ichigo yelled, his voice distorting into one similar to that of his when he was using his Hollow mask. His irises had become golden, with his sclera being black and held a more cruel gleam.
Mayuri grimaced and tried to shield himself with some kind of Kidō, not trusting his hands to block the much more potent variation of Cero. He almost sighed in relief as the Kidō seemed to hold its ground fairly well, only to Shunpo out of the way when he heard the cracking of his defensive Kidō. He gritted his teeth in rage when the Cero Oscuras destroyed a good portion of his lab. More work for him to do to restore the department back to what it was, with nearly all of his researchers being either permanently incapacitated or becoming a mindless slave of the other Quincy.
"Don't be so angry with such insignificant matters, Kurotsuchi. You have no right to show any hint of anger for whatever reason in my presence..." Ichigo hissed, and bit his thumb. Red markings appeared on his skin, using his Blut Arterie which reinforced the flowing blood with reishi. An almost blinding white colored sphere formed at his fingertips, drawing power from the extremely potent blood.
"Gran Rey Cero!"
Mayuri instantly realized that he probably couldn't survive this technique, even with his ability to shift himself into a liquid form. The liquid would be simply incinerated by such power, exactly like how he would be if exposed to the flames of Ryūjin Jakka. But he wasn't going to let himself fall without putting up a fight. Everything he did was for the good of Seireitei, and he knew that it would be doomed if he were to fall in battle to the former Substitute Shinigami.
Mayuri put up the best protective Kidō in his knowledge, even the ones that would be banned if the Central 46 learned the existence of it. Those that involved the sacrifice of a part of his own body, not that much of a risk to him when he can either regenerate or create it. Those that would result in the permanent loss of a portion of his reiryoku, a rather unwelcome sacrifice, but much better than the death of himself. Some would say to him that he was being over-dramatic, but Mayuri knew that he wasn't. Someone needed to come up with a solution to the enemy's method of stealing their Bankai, to exploit the weaknesses of the Quincy. If he faces his death at the hands of Kurosaki Ichigo today, no one would be able to save the Seireitei.
No, there was one man. The man he loathed with all of his being, the most intelligent man to be born in the last few centuries. The one who was superior to him in every way... He wouldn't have loathed him if he did not care about such petty things such as morals, rather respected him even. But Urahara Kisuke rarely ever dropped his morals, which led to him loathing the said man for being able to do something he wasn't. Kurotsuchi Mayuri was never able to come up with a result better than Kisuke, even when he had no such qualms of sticking to more humane methods regarding his research. It made him feel that much more inferior to the man.
All hopes of surviving disappeared from Mayuri's mind when the Sternritter formed a black Heilig Bogen that was similar to Bazz-B's crossbow, complete with its handgun-like handle. Ichigo fired a single Heilig Pfeil, but it wasn't the same as the ones the other Sternritter could fire. The power it held was not even remotely comparable to the very first Heilig Pfeil he had fired at Yhwach.
The white sphere of light collided with Mayuri's protective Kidō and was stalled for barely a second when the Heilig Pfeil was added, and simply annihilated it and kept going. Giselle knew that whatever backlash that would come from the technique would be extremely dangerous to herself, and hid herself behind Ichigo, the very place she felt most secure. She watched in morbid fascination as the sphere shrunk into a dot when it made contact with the clown. 'Did Ichigo's attack fail or something?'
Her thoughts were proved to be wrong when Ichigo pulled her into his embrace and cut his palm open, spilling out his blood. The jagged blue lines of the Blut formed a protective circle around them, and soon rose a blue barrier he had learned from Old-man Zangetsu. He could've just pulled her into the shadows, but he wasn't about to take any chances when he used his Blut-reinforced Gran Rey Cero with his Heilig Pfeil at full power.
"Blut Vene Anhaben." Ichigo muttered, and soon the whole SRDI was engulfed in light. Giselle shut her eyes as an explosion that even Bambietta would've envied washed over the barrier, completely annihilating everything in the vicinity save for themselves. If there were any survivors in the SRDI after she had gone through it, she was certain that they wouldn't have survived the explosion.
As the explosion died out, she realized that the whole SRDI was grazed into nothingness, with a giant crater replacing it. She had to admit, Ichigo had style.
"You didn't have to pull me into your arms if you were going to use that, Ichi-chan... Another proof of your true nature, taking advantage of the situation to hold an innocent girl like me! I always knew you were a sly dog." Giselle gushed, only to yelp when she felt Ichigo spank her.
"Gigi... You've been behaving like a bad girl. If it was anyone else, I would've... nevermind. You're just lucky, that I love you too much to do anything." Ichigo groaned, causing the girl to giggle.
"You can always punish me in bed... I'm all for it." Giselle answered through her giggles, and quickly added a moment later. "I promise it won't happen again. Ever."
Ichigo pulled his hood up, and sighed. Well, it wasn't like he expected any different from her. Ichigo released the girl from his arms, only for her to quickly claim her place on his back with her arms enveloping his neck.
"Always so eager... I'll hold you to that promise, Gigi. Not that I'd be all that mad if you do break it." Ichigo wisely kept the last part to himself. Giselle responded by burying her head into his neck, even if there was no way she could do so more than it already has.
Ichigo tried to search for the reiatsu of the bastard who wronged his mother, and sighed when he couldn't. Probably the first blood of the enemy Captain on his hands, and preferably the last if he could help it... He quickly pushed the thought out of his mind with a scowl. He was on the Quincy's side, and the Shinigami were their enemies. While he'd rather see his old friends... live through the war, he would take his fellow Sternritter's side any time of the day. Well, most of them, actually. He had known what he was getting himself into, and he shouldn't cloud his judgement with such thoughts.
Ichigo abruptly left the now ruins of the old SRDI to his next destination with Giselle hanging on to his back. While he may have not approved how Giselle basically massacred the entire department, he felt some relief that this accursed department was no more.
"Chōjirō... You must be rolling in your grave for this... I understand your anger, all too well, Chōjirō... Your Bankai, the Bankai you honed with all your might..."
Flames. That was all Driscoll could see at the moment of his death. The fury of the feared Head-Captain of the Gotei 13 Yamamoto Genryūsai, released into the form of his very nature. The overwhelming flames.
"WAS FAR GREATER THAN THIS PATHETIC IMITATION!" Yamamoto roared.
As the charred remains of the Sternritter fell to the ground, Yamamoto was finally able to send off his fallen Lieutenant properly.
Farewell, Sasakibe Chōjirō... I shall forever remember you, for all you have done for the Seireitei... For myself...
Hisagi Shūhei could only blink as he felt the Head-Captain's rage through the blazing reiatsu. The massive flames behind him was portraying his fury, not only for his Lieutenant, but for all the fallen, and to be fallen.
"Fear not. I shall strike down every last one of these invaders... With my own hands." Yamamoto assured Shūhei as he passed by the lieutenant, and launched himself into the air. As the blazing red reiatsu of the Head-Captain trailed behind him, the whole Seireitei came to the realization.
Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni was furious, and the tide of the war was about to change...
Or was it?
That's all for Chapter 8.
I've gotta say, it took almost double the time than usual to write this damn chapter, and I still feel like I should've used another week for this.
I'm skipping out a lot of the fights, mainly the ones featured in the canon. Not every event is in chronological order, as you can clearly see that the start of the Chapter and the end's events occurred at the same time. I'd rather not think it took a long time for the Wandenreich to lay waste to the Soul Society, so both chapter 7, 8 is taking place in the span of time of less than 3 hours at most.
How many Captains are dead so far? Only Mayuri, and no I won't just revive him by some miracle and let him strut back into the story. There are two reasons for this. One, I don't like the character. I've never been a fan of him since the Soul Society arc. Two, I have absolutely no idea of how to feature him a fight, nor even a normal situation. I'm probably gonna have the same problem with Kisuke, 'cuz apparently I have no idea how I am going to write a character who is supposedly much more intelligent than the rest of the world. Seriously, I'm a normal guy in my twenties.
Oh, and I'm sure all of you guys would know what would happen to Tōshirō, being trapped in his ice and all. Zanka no Tachi can even make Daiguren Hyōrinmaru melt... Obvious, really.
How many Sternritter are dead? PePe, Driscoll, Jerome, Berenice, and Loyd? Or Royd? Well one of them is dead, and the other will die soon enough. Or maybe not. I'll just count that as one. So that makes five deaths in the Sternritter, but I'm not purposely letting the Shinigami side gaining the upper hand. As I said, there will be deaths in both sides and it just happens to be that I removed some Sternritter out of the story in this chapter.
Those that died in canon too early died the same, and PePE is dead 'cuz he's a sick bastard. I know my limits, and I'm not a good enough writer to handle near thirty Sternritter much less ten.
Also, someone asked me about Shaz Domino, and Guenael Lee. They are both creations of Gremmy's 'The Visionary', and Shaz's background in this chapter is pretty much official since it came from the novels. Neither of them were major characters in the canon, and I have much less reason to let them live and participate in the story when I'm reducing the numbers of the Sternritter. No offense, but I really don't see any point in giving them any bigger roles when there's like two digit numbers of characters that are waiting to be introduced to the story which I'll obviously have trouble in doing so.
In terms of Ichigo's power levels in this fic...
He's currently far above Yamamoto's Shikai, and can win easily if he steals Zanka no Tachi. If he fights head on with his Bankai, it'll probably result in a draw or a little close to Yama-Ji's favor. Of course, this is obviously not counting Ichigo's Schrift. While one's reiatsu level is the absolute standard when it comes to the Bleach-verse, Ichigo's reiatsu was always well above Captain-level. Ichigo's 'The Amnesia' is as much as dangerous as Kyoka Suigetsu, or even more so.
Ichigo will ultimately become god-like, as he was after the Dangai training and how he should've been after forging his real Zanpakutō. He went through much more training than he ever had in canon, and with his unique potential? It'd be wrong of me to even try to make him weak.
Keep in mind, that he has at least one more power-up coming his way.
I can't make any promises on any weekly updates, but I aim to keep the pace at one chapter in two weeks at the least. Have a good day, ya' all!