Disclaimer : I do not own anything from Bleach.
Main Pairing IchigoXGiselle, IchigoXMulti
The Divide
Jugram Haschwalt was not one to show his emotions lightly, which was a well known fact among the Sternritter. Therefore, the reason behind Royd's surprise when he heard Jugram's chuckles. He had sensed the exploding reiatsu of the Head-Captain, but he knew that Jugram's response was caused by the other significant event that occurred at the same time.
"It seems that Sternritter 'A' has completed his task splendidly, albeit a little late compared to my expectation. He should have arrived here already, according to our plans. Perhaps you could provide some of your insight on the matter, Grandmaster?" Royd asked.
"The SRDI was already out of the picture for quite some time, if that is what you wish to know, your majesty. Sternritter 'Z' had her own plans in this invasion, I believe... Regardless, Ichigo is more than responsible enough to remember his duties. I have no doubt that he will show up in due time." Jugram replied.
Royd hummed for a second, and turned his gaze back to the supposed strongest Captain of the Gotei 13, completely at his mercy in his grasp. When the man dumped the lifeless body of his brother in front of him, he vowed to kill the man no matter the consequences. 'The strongest Captain, not including Yamamoto perhaps. The old man could kill him in the blink of an eye if this is all he has.'
"I see... Special War Power Zaraki Kenpachi, how the mighty have fallen. It would appear, that I may have overestimated you people, if the rest of the individuals we evaluated to be a Special War Power is as pathetic as you. Rest in piece, as Soul Society is about to come to its end." Royd said, and was about to end the man's existence when he was interrupted by the firm, steely voice of the man he had been expecting.
"It has been a thousand years, Yhwach... I am here to end your life, once and for all." Yamamoto roared, with his flame-like reiatsu storming the whole area. The reiatsu itself was heating up the area, but neither the Grandmaster or the faux emperor showed any sign of being affected by it.
Royd threw the near dead form of Kenpachi to Jugram, and ordered. "As much as I would like to end the beast's life myself, I shall leave the task to you, Grandmaster."
"Yes, your majesty."
"Now then, where were we? Ah, yes. If you are here to kill me, you are free to do so, Yamamoto Shigekuni. Although I cannot help but to ask, what makes you think that you can end my life when you have already failed once, a thousand years ago? We are here today because of your failure, after all," said Royd in a nonchalant manner, only to mutter a second later. "Those pitiful fools..."
Two figures attempted to ambush the Head-Captain, only to be engulfed by the flames of Yamamoto's blade. Royd swallowed the sigh of relief as he sensed that Bazz-B had managed to protect themselves from the flame with his Schrift. But he couldn't show such behavior when he was under the guise of the emperor. If everything were to work as planned, he could not show any sign of difference in his behavior, or rather the emperor's. The enemies must not know of the change in his majesty's objectives or rather, Aizen must stay unaware of it to the end if he were to be precise.
"They should have known better than to intrude on my battle..." Royd muttered.
Yamamoto shifted his eyes from the flames that had engulfed three of the enemies, back to the faux-emperor, and narrowed his eyes more so than usual.
"What is it? You look like you have something to say..."
"Your majesty!"
Royd quickly raised his arm to block the Head-Captain's strike as soon as he heard Jugram's warning, utilizing his Blut Vene at its fullest. While the flames of Ryūjin Jakka left a nasty burn on his forearm, Royd knew that it wasn't a significant wound.
"You haven't changed a bit, Yhwach. You never did value the lives of your subordinates, but your cruel ways are about to come to an end!" Yamamoto spoke, not expecting the man to scoff in response.
"Those words would hold much more credibility if it didn't come from you, Yamamoto. Who are you to judge, when you yourself never cared for your own subordinates?" Royd retorted. "You have grown old, Yamamoto Shigekuni. But when I see you submit yourself to your anger, it's almost as if I'm looking at your old self again."
"Silence!" Yamamoto roared, and swung his Zanpakutō with all his might, determined to obliterate the existence of the monstrosity who calls himself the king of Quincy.
Royd's hand quickly found its way to the medal-like Quincy Cross attached to his trench coat, and formed an ornate reishi sword which had a bird shaped cross-guard. It clashed with the most powerful fire-type Zanpakutō in existence, deflecting the blow to the side.
"Finally, you draw your blade..."
"You speak like you were waiting for me to do so."
"And why, do you think that might be?" replied Yamamoto. "Let me tell you, Yhwach. It is so that I may shatter your blade, your soul, and your flesh into oblivion...!"
Royd grimaced as the flames surrounding the ancient Shinigami and the blade of Ryūjin Jakka vanished. He knew that his chances of surviving through this was slim, and only hoped that his majesty would recognize his services for the empire.
"Bankai... Zanka no Tachi."
Kira Izuru fell to the ground face-first, dropping his now broken Zanpakutō in defeat. He could barely stand with all the blood he had lost, much less continue to fight his opponent. He had always thought that his Zanpakutō Wabisuke's ability was an extremely efficient one in melee combat, and he still stood by the same belief. But it was useless against this Quincy, who could easily discard the weapon that had been affected by Wabisuke and form a new one out of reishi. He had attempted to strike the Quincy himself, but once the enemy realized the ability of his Shikai was not limited to weapons, he hadn't allowed a single hit on his body. Even then, Izuru knew that he had no way to kill his opponent due to his defensive ability, although he had no way to know that Cang hadn't shown even half of it.
"You fought well Shinigami. Much better than what I expected from a Lieutenant, and you have my respect for that. As I said earlier, those who lived together should stay together even in death, so you will be joining your subordinates shortly. I shall give you a painless death, as it is the least I can do for a worthy foe like you." Cang said with a nod, only to receive an answer from another person.
"I'm afraid not, Quincy."
"Captain...?" Izuru muttered out, only to groan in pain immediately.
"I see that I was not overly late, Izuru. I was held up on my way from the Captain's meeting. Now try to patch yourself up while I deal with another one of these Quincy. I'll take you to the 4th Division when I'm done with him."
Cang quirked his eyebrows at this proclamation and spoke up. "Captain of the 3rd Division, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, yes? I find it rather disconcerting that you speak as if you have already won, when you do not even know of my capability as your Lieutenant was unable to force me into using my Schrift. I must ask, though. Which one of my fellow Sternritter have you come across?"
"Some guy with teeth that were colored like piano keys, who apparently had no understanding of art. And before you ask, I killed him." Rose replied, and released his Shikai, Kinshara without speaking its release phrase.
"Hmm? That would be NaNaNa... How so?"
"With my Bankai, of course. He seemed confused that he couldn't steal my Bankai, I believe. I thought that he was joking at first, but apparently some of our Captains have lost their Bankai. I wasn't sure of what made me different from the other Captains, but I could sense that Shinji didn't lose his Bankai either. After that, it was fairly easy to guess that you lot don't get along well with the Hollow part of my Zanpakutō, which is basically a part of my soul. It wouldn't be long before our SRDI comes up with a counter-measure to your method of stealing our Bankai."
Cang adopted his usual indifferent expression, not that worried about Rose's comment. If they knew that their own Bankai was the last thing they should worry about, they wouldn't be holding onto such foolish hope. What he did know was that NaNaNa probably didn't get the chance to use his Vollständig, most likely due to the enemy's Bankai. If NaNaNa had the chance to use it, he doubted that the Captain in front of him would be standing alive.
"Well, he did warn us that there was a high possibility of our medallion not functioning properly against at least three of the Captains... But you got one thing wrong, Captain. Your SRDI won't be able to come up with a counter-measure, because they won't live long enough to do so," said Cang in a serious voice. "And while I did not particularly care about the fool, I'm afraid I can't let it slide."
Rose frowned for a second, and tensed his body to prepare for the upcoming combat. "I wasn't going to let you walk away alive either, regardless of how you killed my seated officers, which I doubt that you would be of any difference."
"Indeed..." Cang nodded in agreement, and vanished from the spot.
As soon as he noticed Cang's usage of Flugbildschritt, Rose jumped back a fair amount of distance, and barely avoided his throat being ripped open by Cang's reishi claws. However, he did receive a small scratch from it.
"Now, that really wasn't polite." Rose said while wiping the blood off his neck with his hand.
"Of course, this is war. Surely you didn't expect me to announce all of my attacks first hand?" Cang retorted, firing a barrage of Heilig Pfeils from his claws.
Rose quickly lashed out with Kinshara to intercept the arrows, his eyes not wandering away from the enemy at the same time, for not even a second. Just as he expected, Cang struck once more by closing the distance with his Flugbildschritt, but Rose was prepared to launch a counter-attack. Rose sidestepped, and caught Cang's wrist with his free hand, and pulled his Zanpakutō. Cang's eyes widened for a moment as Rose retracted Kinshara to impale him with the deadly tip of the whip-like Zanpakutō, but turned his attention to its wielder and lashed out with his knee.
Rose grunted as he felt some of his ribs crack upon contact with Cang's knee, but he knew that the enemy would take much more damage than himself in this position. He let out a gasp of surprise when he was proven wrong, the tip of Kinshara failing to penetrate the Sternritter's defense. 'It feels as though he blocked it with an iron shield...'
"It seems that my Blut Vene is insufficient to protect myself from a foe on your caliber, which is hardly surprising. But thankfully I do not need the Blut to protect myself, so I can focus on my Blut Arterie instead."
Cang lashed out with his hand that hadn't been caught to sever the Captain's head, prompting Rose to release his grip on him and put some more distance between them. However, Cang easily caught on that infighting was his opponent's weakness due to the whip-like form of his Zanpakutō, combined with his near impenetrable defense. Granted, Rose was a Captain even a hundred years ago for a reason, proven by his graceful steps and skillful parries with the whip part of his sword. One could even consider his skills to be a piece of art, without an ounce of exaggeration.
As they kept exchanging blow after blow, which nether of them took any serious damage, Rose had to admit that he had no hope of winning if this continued. He felt the need of change in this meaningless exchange, and attempted to constrict the Quincy with Kinshara. Cang was nearly caught off guard with the sudden change of tactics, due to the fact that Rose's Zanpakutō couldn't harm him physically. However, he did know that whatever the Captain had planned wouldn't be a pleasant experience.
Cang prided himself in his defensive ability and skills, but he was neither arrogant nor stupid enough to take every move of his enemy head-on. He knew that just because he could coat his skin with iron using his Schrift did not make him invincible, hence the reason he was wary of his opponent's Bankai and unknown techniques.
Apparently Rose wasn't expecting Cang to be caught with his move. What he really intended was to make him back off, just enough for him to change the tides of this fight. Rose raised his hand above his hand, and swung his sword downwards. Cang easily dodged the strike, only to be caught off guard at the words that came out of the Captain.
"Kinshara Sonata No.9 - Five Flower's Despair!"
Rose scratched his fingers against the whip part of his Zanpakutō, resulting in a shrieking sound to explode from the tip of Kinshara. While he did not like to use this technique due to it being hardly artistic, he would never doubt its effectiveness which was proven mere seconds later.
Cang winced, and covered his ears to shield himself from the sound, only for it to be revealed as an ineffective act. Rose did not give him any time to recover, and swung Kinshara once more. While the tip still was still unable to impale the Quincy, it wasn't Rose's intention to do so this time. Rose tapped Kinshara with his fingers, and a vibrant glow spread through it accompanied with the strumming sound of a guitar string.
"Kinshara Sonata No.11 - Rose of the Sixteenth Night!"
Cang gritted his teeth as the shock wave caused by the reverberating sound of Kinshara shook up his insides, and virtually destroyed the whole area near him. Cang ended up coughing up some blood from the internal damage he received, but he knew that it wasn't a fatal injury with his Blut Vene. He certainly did not expect the Captain to deal this much damage to him without bringing out his Bankai, which turned out to be a mistake on his part. He wiped the blood off his lips with the sleeve of his coat, and placed his fists together with their wrists facing each other.
"She Jin Zhao!"
Cang fired a pair of reishi blasts from his fists, which took a serpentine form and rushed towards Rose at an alarming speed.
Rose quickly lashed out with Kinshara, and tapped it once more. "Kinshara Sonata No.11 - Rose of the Sixteenth Night!"
Another shock wave spread from the tip of Kinshara, which collided with the serpentine reishi blast, and successfully negated Cang's technique. Cang frowned, knowing that the enemy wasn't giving his all even without his Bankai. Granted, he still had his Vollständig left in his arsenal, and he still had the upper hand in this current state. But for how long?
"I'll give you some credit, Shinigami. Even without bringing out your Hollow side or using your Bankai, you have proven to be a admirable opponent. I'm sorry to say that playtime is about to end, and I won't waste my time trying to draw out your Bankai either, since NaNaNa provided the proof of it being a waste of my time."
"Oh. You have something left up your sleeve, Quincy?" Rose asked, which made Cang to nod as his speculation was confirmed to be true.
"NaNaNa didn't show you, I see. Your Bankai must be quite dangerous if that was the case..." said Cang, and brought his hand up to his Leiden Hant. "Allow me to introduce you to the completion of our power, the Quincy: Vollständig."
Rose frowned as a pillar of light engulfed the Quincy, and made the decision to use his own Bankai, only to be interrupted by Cang's words as his changed form was revealed.
"I'm not really the type to give a name to my Vollständig, so I can't give you a name unlike you lot. The name of your Zanpakutō or Bankai is quite important, yes? I personally found the idea to be ridiculous until recently, when I learned that your Zanpakutōs were basically a part of your own soul from Ichigo."
"What...?! Gaah!" Rose yelled in utter disbelief, only to let out a pained scream afterwards, caused by an iron spike which impaled his lower abdomen from behind.
"I'm also not above using such dirty tricks to my advantage. I would do almost anything for his majesty, even give my life for him if it meant something worthwhile to the empire..." Cang muttered with a wave of his hand, causing another spike to shoot up and skewer the center of his chest. "Ichigo was born as a Quincy, did you know? He should have been raised as a Quincy, but all he got was the deception from your kind... including even-"
As the sound of a massive explosion rang across the entirety of the Seireitei, the ground beneath them shook violently in following. It wasn't all that hard for Cang to deduce the person who had caused it, due to the unmistakable Hollow reiatsu that spread like a wildfire throughout the atmosphere. Seriously, he would have to be a complete moron if he couldn't figure it out.
"That was Ichigo succeeding in his task, razing the SRDI to the ground. The very department where his mother's soul was violated in the worst way possible in the afterlife, to be dissected and experimented on. But then again, you yourself would know some of it as being one of Aizen's Hollowfication experiments?"
Rose growled at the mention of his, no, their past, even as to ignore the pain he was feeling at the moment. "You dare...? What would you know-"
"Of course I would know. It was your kind who took advantage of our declaration of war, and slaughtered innocents and children in a sneak attack. It was your kind who slaughtered the remaining Quincy in the World of the Living, and performed all kinds of sick experiments on their soul. You were betrayed by one of your own, only to be exiled by the pitiful fools who claim themselves as nobles. Why have you returned to become a Captain once more, Visored?" Cang asked as he made the iron spikes disappear with a wave of his hands, and replaced them with thick iron chains that wrapped around the Captain.
"Ichigo didn't want some of you dead, but he also said that he wouldn't hold any of your death on us. So I'll give you one chance to convince me with a valid reason to let you live-"
"Izuru! No!" Rose yelled out in warning, only for his face to be scrunched up in horror a moment later. Cang spun around, and lashed out with his claws which ripped through Izuru's already broken Zanpakutō, but it didn't stop there. Izuru's eyes widened as his body was split into half by the Sternritter, and Cang sighed as he could easily guess what would happen now. No matter though, since he would just deal with the Captain as accordingly.
"Well, I did try Ichigo. Can't blame me for the lack of trying, with what that Lieutenant did." Cang muttered as Rose dropped his head in grief, and fury. Cang shook his head in disdain as Hollow reiatsu exploded from Rose, and a mask which resembled that of a plague doctor's formed on his face. The chains restraining him loosened just enough for Rose to become free once more, and grip his Zanpakutō.
"Bankai, Kinshara Butōdan."
Rose waved his conducting baton as the dancers of death emerged in front of him, a pair of large hands floating above him. He knew that he did not have much time with the injury he received, combined with maintaining the mask and Bankai at the same time. It was highly likely that he had only one chance to end up victorious in this battle, and Rose knew that he could pull this off.
"Sea Drift!"
The dancers of death surrounded Cang and spun around him, a strange melody ringing in his ears.
"What the...?" Cang muttered as he found himself being trapped within a whirlpool of surging water, unable to move. He could've sworn that he felt a drowning sensation, even.
"I think it is quite obvious now, that your ability is related to iron in some way. Iron's melting point is 1538 degrees Celsius, and I can not help but to ask. Can you endure such heat? I can come up with a fitting dance for you!" Rose said with a feral grin underneath his mask, raising his hand to conduct his song.
"Helios Hyperion!"
Every single dancer of death raised their hands, and a massive gathering of light formed over Cang. He gasped in pain as he felt as if his entire body was melting from the heat the artificial sun radiated, or was it a real one? Cang was one of the Sternritter with insane levels of pain tolerance, his only rival being Giselle, and maybe Gerard. For him to actually show such signs of pain, meant that he truly was in a life-threatening situation.
"Your Bankai must be an illusion inducing type... This can not be real, and I will not be fooled..." Cang said in a raspy voice, only to hunch over in pain immediately.
"That's right, but you're also wrong at the same time. My Zanpakutō controls music, Quincy. Its deceptive melodies resound in your ears, and gives me the power over your very heart. If you are caught in the deceptions of my music, I can make you drown, burn your body, stop your breath, even as to make yourself end your own life! All of it may be a mere deception, but it becomes the harsh reality to my audience. Now, for the final dance before the curtain call-"
"Ain't happening, Rose."
"What, Shinji?! What the hell..." Rose gaped at the bloodied form of his comrade, only to drop to his knees as the Hollow mask he had on his face dissolved into nothingness. He could barely keep on the mask for five minutes, and holding himself together with his Bankai active was much more taxing than he expected. He realized that he couldn't have pulled off his final dance, regardless of Shinji's interruption.
Shinji had blood all over his Captain's haori, burnt and ripped in many places. He himself had quite the injuries, varying from shallow cuts to his limp left arm. Rose could see however, that the majority of the blood he had on his haori was most certainly his enemy's.
Cang seemed confused for a moment, but he reverted back to his normal form. While he was certain that he wouldn't have lost to the Captain in front of him, he knew that it would be stupid for him to stay in his Vollständig state longer than necessary. It would only result in the waste of his stamina, and he knew that his situation was no better than before, now faced with two of the enemy Captains, even if both of them were seriously worn out.
"I wanna hear about what exactly Ichigo is doing with your lot. Reasons, objectives, relations, everything ya' can tell us." said Shinji, motioning Rose to calm down with his hand.
"And why, would I spill such information? You are not in that much of an advantageous situation, if you were under the impression of such."
"Why, you..." Rose started, only to be cut off by Shinji's stare immediately. It wasn't that often he had seen Shinji like this, but he was the Visoreds' defacto leader for a reason, and a very good one at that. Shinji's power itself was not something to be questioned as all of them knew what he was capable of, including his Bankai. Sure, Hachi or himself wasn't a joke in terms of power, but Shinji was a monster in his own right. Not that he showed it off, really. Shinji didn't disappoint in intelligence either, being one of the few who caught on Aizen's schemes earlier on. If Shinji was acting like this, he had a damn good reason on doing so. Rose sighed, and conceded with a nod.
"I've been having doubts about the whole Ichigo disappearing situation, added with the animosity between the other Captains and Captain Kurotsuchi, as I've told ya' before, Rose. If what he said had even a sliver of truth in it, I'm gonna drop this stupid war as long as no harm comes to us, as in the Visoreds. It was a stupid decision to return to our posts anyway, and ya' know it too, Rose. I'm sorry for the death of Izuru, but he shouldn't have thrown himself into a situation he can't handle. This is war, Rose. And in war, there are always losses to both sides." Shinji said to Rose, almost pleading at him to take his word and drop the matter.
Rose looked down, and closed his eyes. He was quite fond of Izuru, almost as much as one of his fellow Visoreds. He was an inspiring individual, and he would be undoubtedly spending some time mourning him. But yes, he probably could place it behind him if it was for the sake of the Visoreds. They were more than some friendly exiles who had to stick together, due to their rather unpleasant situation. They were practically a family, and family was above everything. Rose silently nodded to Shinji as an answer to his request.
"Phew, that's a relief. And as for why ya' should tell us about those information..." Shinji grinned, revealing all of his teeth as he usually did. "I ain't gonna to risk ourselves in this war, if the Soul Society is in the wrong, and I'm quite sure that they are. The other Captains received orders from the Central 46 to not even speak a word about what caused the rift between 'em and Kurotsuchi, which I'm guessing our Quincy here just told us a good enough gist of what that was about."
"But-"
"Rose, how long do ya' think it'll take before Hiyori and the others get involved with this shit? I faced these guys, and I know for a fact that I wouldn't be standing here alive if I didn't use my Bankai. Even then, I could've died just by being near 'em..." Shinji muttered as he ran his hand down the back of his hair. "Rose, family comes first. WE, are family. Our loyalty to the Gotei is long since gone, and I know that your grief is about Izuru, not your Division or the Gotei."
"I get it... You said Ichigo didn't want us dead, and asked me for a valid reason to convince you to let me live. Right, Quincy? If you explain those to us, and if we are certain that our group won't be in harm's way from this war, we'll back off from this war. Three Captains... no, scratch that. Two Captains out of this war for good. I'm sure that counts as a valid reason." Rose questioned Cang, trying to keep his anger under control.
"Ahh shit, Kensei will never abandon his Division... We'll have to think about that later. Rose, will ya' go and make sure that Kensei and Mashiro don't end up dead from this? I'll fill ya' in afterwards," Shinji turned his attention to Cang. "If ya' agree to those terms, that is."
Cang frowned for a moment, and nodded. He wasn't all that confident over his chances of victory against two Captains who could use Bankai without him being able to steal it, not to mention their Hollowfication. That would be arrogance, not confidence. "Very well."
Cang wasn't all that fond of these Shinigami-Hollow hybrids, but he could keep himself neutral. They were whom Ichigo considered as friends, and Ichigo was the successor of his majesty. His respect to his majesty mostly extended to him as well, not to mention that Ichigo himself deserved to be respected as well. He could do this, if only for him. So he started to tell the leader of the Visoreds the information he wanted, quite honestly if not outright truthful.
Shaolin bit her lower lips, as the side of her ankle connected with Yoruichi's palm. Yoruichi grabbed her ankle and hurled her to the ground, which Shaolin disappeared midair before contact. Her panting form appeared on the roof of a building, bruised in various places, but not overly injured. Shaolin was somewhat ecstatic that her Hakuda had become at least on par with her idol, and a little disappointed that she still had a long way to go before she actually surpassed her. Considering the fact that she had no one to spar with outside of Ichigo and the Sternritter girls due to an obvious reason - being a Shinigami among Quincy - she was proud of her achievement. She had to give some credit to the orange haired Quincy, though.
Ichigo's Hakuda was nowhere close to her standards at first, but he caught on quickly over the months under her tutelage. She had been somewhat jealous at his progress, but Ichigo's hardworking demeanor made it hard for her to stay that way. Her progress basically depended on Ichigo's, and Ichigo had become somewhat of her equal in barely three months. She had no doubt that he would've progressed much faster than that, if he wasn't busy with his other training.
If there was one thing she learned today, it was that Yoruichi herself hadn't neglected her own training. Her Shunpo was still a little faster than herself, and her own speed wasn't something to scoff at, which was really saying something. Yoruichi was out of shape the last time they had fought, but she seemed to be at her top condition now, due to her position as the Captain of the 2nd Division. But there was one thing she knew that she was better at than her idol, and she intended to show it before their time was up.
"Shunkō!" Shaolin roared, as the Kidō energy she emitted from her shoulders and her back encircled her form infinitely like a vortex. "As much as I would like to say otherwise, you're still faster than me, Lady Yoruichi, albeit barely. But if there was something I surpassed you during the last year, it's my mastery over Shunkō!"
To say that Yoruichi was shocked, would be an understatement. She had known for quite some time, that Sui-Fēng... No, Shaolin had the potential to become much more greater than herself. When she had partook in the rescue mission of Kuchiki Rukia in the Soul Society, she saw for herself the potential her pupil held. She expected Shaolin to master her Shunkō, but not this early, no. She was thinking of a couple hundreds of years, or decades at the least. But to actually master Shunkō already?
'I may have underestimated my little bee...' thought Yoruichi.
It wasn't an unpleasant surprise, though. If anything, she felt immense pride in her pupil for perfecting a technique, which she had failed to do so... At that time.
"My, my, Shaolin. You've certainly come a long way from the little bee I used to take care of." Shaolin couldn't hide her scowl at this remark, which didn't go unnoticed to Yoruichi. "But I'm afraid you may be a little misinformed, my little bee. I can't afford to be outdone by my pupils, after all... Shunkō!"
Shaolin gasped in realization at that point. Lady Yoruichi had mastered her Shunkō! Of course, what was she expecting? Her master was the absolute best, and surpassing her wouldn't have been her life goal, if she were to accomplish it this easily.
When Yoruichi's Shunkō took the form of a pair of lightning wings sprouting out from her back, Shaolin grinned. She charged with a rush of wind, winding back her fist. As her arm lashed out to the mocha skinned Captain, Yoruichi slammed her own fist into it, already prepared since the moment Shaolin moved from her spot. A torrent of wind was released to both sides, and an explosion followed immediately, causing both of the women to fly backwards.
Yoruichi was the first to recover. Yoruichi appeared directly above Shaolin, and sent a kick with the heel of her foot, only for it to pass through Shaolin's abdomen. Realizing that it was an afterimage, she spiked up her senses, and barely caught Shaolin's reiatsu behind herself. She raised her arm, and redirected her punch to the side with a grunt.
"You've gotten faster." Yoruichi said with a cat-like grin.
"And I can go faster." Shaolin replied while smirking.
"As expected from my little bee! Let's take this up a notch!"
Gusts of wind and flashes of lightning collided, and a small explosion followed each and every time they met. They were nearly equally matched, but Shaolin knew that their Shunkō was not the same. Shaolin could maintain her Shunkō as long as she deemed necessary, while Yoruichi could not. Yoruichi's Shunkō was much more destructive, evident from the way Shaolin was pushed into the defensive. She knew that outcome of this fight would've been her victory if she had more time, but sadly there was a time limit for this.
"Shunkō: Raijin Senkei!"
Yoruichi's wings of lightning shifted into a circle of lightning that took the shape of Raijin's drums, making her intentions clear that she aimed to end this fight with this technique. Shaolin was more than happy oblige, even though she knew that this wouldn't end up in her favor.
"Mukyū Shunkō!" roared Shaolin.
Shaolin launched a blast in the form of a horizontal column of wind as she thrust her fist, meeting Yoruichi's vertical column of lightning. It seemed like the wind was about to pierce the lightning at first, but the lightning did not back down, and engulfed the wind, resulting in a massive explosion.
Shaolin stared up at the sky as she laid on her back, and chuckled as she accepted her defeat. The circumstances were not in her favor, but she still accepted the result regardless of it. Only because she was her Lady Yoruichi. Yes, hers. She looked up at the outstretched hands of her idol, beckoning her to grab it. And she did.
"Wh- what?! Shaolin?" Yoruichi stuttered as Shaolin grabbed her hand, and pulled her down instead of pulling herself up. Her cheeks flared as she gazed into the grey eyes of her apprentice, knowing fully well that Shaolin had harbored feelings for her, not so subtle if she might add. But had she really worked up the courage to act on it?
"Lady Yoruichi..." Shaolin reached up with her hand, and cupped her cheek, and muttered. "I would've won if we had more time..."
"I know..." Yoruichi answered softly.
Shaolin took a deep breath, and blurted. "I love you. I've loved you for a long time..."
"I know, my little bee..." Yoruichi said with a small smile, and leant down, capturing her lips with her own.
It didn't last long, as both knew that their situation was hardly proper for such a moment. They broke the kiss, and stared at each others eyes for a moment without speaking a word.
Yoruichi was proud of her apprentice, of her progress in skills and a person.
Shaolin was ecstatic that her feelings were requited, and how her master had acknowledged the improvement in her skills.
Shaolin sighed happily, and tried to steal another kiss, going against the voice of reason in her head. She uncharacteristically pouted, when she was stopped by Yoruichi's finger on her lip, a sly grin forming on her own.
"Now, now, my little bee. While I know that I am an irresistible beauty," Shaolin almost scoffed, as she thought that beauty was a downplaying word for her. Yoruichi was a goddess in her eyes, and most people would agree on her sentiment. "We have to talk, Shaolin. What are you going to do now? No, what do you want me to do? If we let Yhwach win this war, it could end up in a worse situation, compared to letting Aizen make his way to the Soul King's Palace. This isn't about the Gotei, but the world, Shaolin."
"Lady Yoruichi, all you need to do, is to say this to that man..." Shaolin scrunched her nose in distaste as she thought of Kisuke. "And you know who I'm talking about. Just tell him 'replacement', and he'll figure it out. I can't say much more than that."
"I see..." Yoruichi closed her eyes for a few seconds, and nodded. "By the way, my little bee... You shouldn't be calling your lover 'Lady Yoruichi', wouldn't you agree? Hmm...?"
Shaolin blushed madly at her teasing, the red coloring of her cheeks quite prominent. "I, I guess... So... Yoruichi...?"
Yoruichi rolled her eyes, and pecked Shaolin's lip once more, She stood up while muttering. "One step at a time, I suppose."
Shaolin quickly followed suit, and turned to the direction where the blazing reiatsu of the Head-Captain spread out all over the Seireitei. While she was a relatively young Captain of the Gotei, well ex-Captain to be exact, she knew that such a phenomenon could be caused by only one thing.
"Is this the Head-Captain's Bankai...?" Shaolin asked, and received a nod from Yoruichi. "Well, as much as this reiatsu is overwhelming, he's going to die today. Ichigo is a monster in his own right, and even the Head-Captain would have a hard time against him, not to mention Yhwach himself."
Yoruichi's head snapped at her direction at this. "Wait a second, are you serious?"
"For one, he's faster than you, La- I mean, Yoruichi. His skills in his sword is about second best in the Wandenreich, and I doubt that any of the Captains would be able to overpower him. His Schrift, which is a special ability bestowed to the Sternritter by Yhwach, is much more ridiculous than Aizen's Zanpakutō in my opinion. I don't know really know about the other Sternritter, but Ichigo's Schrift is just..." Shaolin shook her head, not really able to find the proper word to describe it.
"And just what is this... ability?" Yoruichi asked hesitantly.
"His Schrift is 'The Amnesia'. He has the ability to make you forget nearly everything he wants you to, but it's much more than that. The keyword is forget. He can make you forget how to breathe, or forget the name of your Zanpakutō. He can make your Zanpakutō to forget its own ability. If he were to be injured, he can make his body forget that he was ever injured... Not that he would need to do. He actually used this ability to negate my Nigeki Kessatsu."
"That... that's how they made you lose your loyalty to the Gotei! But then... why did Ichigo take you as his captive?"
"He said he spared me for the debt he owed to you, Yoruichi. That's the reason I'm still alive... And he provided me protection from the other Quincy in their empire, so I was treated more like a guest, rather than a captive. I want you to join us, Yoruichi. Please think about it. If I wasn't going to join them before, I will join them soon enough. If you worry about being cast to the side after all is done, Ichigo will guarantee that you won't. If not, please stay out of the war at the least. I hope that you would give me a positive answer the next time we meet." Shaolin spoke softly, and disappeared from the spot with Shunpo.
Yoruichi rubbed her eyes, and sighed. 'It never gets boring when you're involved with Ichigo.' She thought to herself.
If she had doubts about Ichigo being somehow under the control of Yhwach or something like that, she had her answer now. Ichigo joined the cause of the Quincies on his own accord, and seemed to have a good enough reason for it. What Shaolin suggested to her was to basically betray the Gotei, but would it be horribly wrong for her to do so? She really held no love for the Soul Society after how they forced her to take back her Captain's post, and Kisuke was never the type to be overly loyal. If Shaolin's words were true, Ichigo would be in a position with quite the influence if he could guarantee the safety of them. She could just choose to stay out of the conflict, which might be a little more preferable to her tastes.
"Till next time, my little bee..."
Quilge annoyingly stared down at the fallen form of Kisuke, only for it to pop like a balloon. Seriously, just how many of these portable Gigais did this man have in his possession? It's not that it would be able to let the man actually harm him, but he couldn't tell the difference between the fake and the real deal by absorbing the reishi of it, due to his masterful skill in switching his body with the Gigai at the last second.
"You're not taking this seriously..." Quilge muttered, firing another blast of reishi.
"Nake, Benihime!" Kisuke yelled, forming a crimson barrier in front of him, and added. "Bakudō #81, Danku!"
Kisuke didn't have that much experience with opponents who could rip apart his Chikasumi no Tate easily, and Quilge was one of those occasions. After almost taking a clean hit for the first time when Quilge's reishi blast destroyed his barrier to smithereens, he made sure to dodge if possible, and use a Bakudō along with his Zanpakutō as well, if he couldn't.
"My, my! What gave you such an impression, Quilge-san? After all, I'm not that eager to show you my Bankai when I haven't had the time to come up for a solution to your medallions!" Kisuke spoke jovially.
"How would you know of- I see. It must have been one of those filthy Arrancar Vanguards that gave it away, since none of the Sternritter are stupid enough to reveal one of our war plans before the war has commenced. But no matter. If you do not want to take this seriously, so be it. It is your funeral." Quilge said with a dramatic sigh, his finger set between his eyebrows.
"Well, I beg to differ. Licht Regen!" Uryū muttered as he fired hundreds of arrows simultaneously.
Quilge sighed once more, and held out his hand. To Uryū's surprise, all of his arrows instantly dissolved when it neared him, and was absorbed to Quilge.
"Sklaverei. It is the perfection of a Quincy's ability to gather reishi, allowing the user complete control over foreign reishi. Unless you yourself is in your own Vollständig, your reishi based techniques cannot harm me, Ishida."
"La Muerte!"
As Chad winded his Brazo Izquierda del Diablo to strike from the behind, Quilge did not even look at his direction while swinging his sword. Chad was soon engulfed in a massive wave of reishi, mostly powered from absorbing Uryū's own reishi arrows.
"Sado-kun!" Orihime screamed, and quickly ran off towards the direction where Chad was falling down, smoking and charred.
"Now this is getting pitiful... Did you think that you could catch me off guard, when I'm in my Vollständig?" Quilge scoffed. "One can't even take his fight seriously, the wayward child knows that he can't do anything, and the last one is just too weak. Why are you even bothering to resist? I would not harm you overly so, and all you have to do is just stay put where you are. Nothing will change even if you make it to the Soul Society, seeing how you cannot deal with just one Sternritter."
Quilge was about to fire another reishi blast towards the young Quincy, when he felt the concentration of reiryoku. Quilge's head quickly snapped towards Kisuke who held his palm towards him with his other hand gripping his forearm, his Kidō ready for fire.
"Hadō #88, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!"
A massive concentrated beam of electric reiryoku engulfed Quilge, resulting in an equally massive explosion. The dunes of Hueco Mundo parted in the path of one of the most destructive Kidō, cast by one of the most sufficient practitioner of Kidō. Orihime's eyes lit up with hope, while Nel clung to Pesche tightly, peeping behind his shoulder.
"Now, let's not jump to the conclusions. I never did say that I was fooling around, didn't I?" said Kisuke. He steadied his posture and grip on his Zanpakutō, knowing fully well that the enemy would've had enough time to shift between his two types of Blut. If he was to be honest, they were in a tight spot. He wasn't completely sure that he would be able to defeat the Quincy, even if he could use his Bankai freely. If only Yoruichi was here with them, he could've found a way, but regrettably they were on their own. Well, he still had a few tricks up his sleeves though.
Quilge's form was revealed with some burns covering parts of his body, his uniform a mess. If anything, he looked absolutely pissed. Kisuke didn't even bother to strike up another conversation, and took a step of Shunpo.
Kisuke appeared above Quilge with his Zanpakutō swinging down, which was easily intercepted with Quilge's reishi sword. He disappeared once more as Quilge fired a blast of reishi, and struck the Quincy from a different angle. Quilge blocked the second strike with as much as ease as the first one, but Kisuke didn't stop there. He continually swung his Zanpakutō from various directions, each aiming at a different part of Quilge's body. He shifted places with his Shunpo between a few strikes, catching Quilge off-guard for a few times. Quilge had his own plans, though.
He struck like lightning, and beheaded Kisuke. He wasn't all that surprised when it made a popping sound and deflated once more, the exact same way it had happened before.
'Another one of those blasted Portable Gigais!' Quilge thought in annoyance, and flew upwards using the wings of his Vollständig.
He started to absorb the reishi of Hueco Mundo, from the sand to the boulders, and even Ayon who was still incarcerated in its jail. He most certainly did not want to take such tainted reishi under his control, but he was determined to kill this annoying man-child for making a mockery out of him. It really was a good thing that the former Shinigami didn't know of the flaw that the medallion held. One could not use Vollständig when in possession of a Bankai, and he could not steal a Bankai if he was in his Vollständig.
"You're getting on my nerves, Urahara Kisuke!" Quilge roared, and unleashed a hail of reishi blasts. There was no precision, nor accuracy in his attacks, but only his intent to crush his enemy.
"Well, that was enlightening and all, but..." Kisuke suddenly appeared behind Quilge, and whispered while placing his finger on the back of Quilge's neck. "I really must get going, before everything gets out of control. So if you would stay put, Quilge-san, I would be quite grateful."
Kisuke's reiryoku blazed throughout the Quincy's body, and five lines of light connected his head, hands, and feet in a pentagram. Quilge struggled to move his body, but the Kidō didn't even budge.
"What is this?!"
"Well, that would be one of my own personal Kidō. It was one of the prototypes I came up with to use on Aizen, but I figured that this one would be my best bet against you, Quilge-san. You see, each time I switched myself with my Portable Gigais, I planted the foundations for this Kidō. Shibari, Benihime!"
Kisuke slashed his Zanpakutō, which formed a crimson red net, which wrapped itself around Quilge. Kisuke wasn't about to stop there.
"Hiasobi, Beni-" Sadly, Kisuke didn't get the chance to finish his technique.
"Enough of this!" Quilge roared, and broke himself free from the binding Kidō with sheer power. He then simply ripped the net that tried to bind him, and launched himself into the air with his reishi wings. "Urahara Kisuke, this is your end!"
"I don't think so, dumbass." A rough voice growled over Quilge, and Quilge quickly retreated with his Flugbildschritt. He realized that he was a little too late. Much to his chagrin, he stared up at his Heiligenschein which was split clean into half.
"You...!" Quilge glared at the blue haired Arrancar, who smirked in return.
"Figured the disc on your head had something to do with your freaky ability... Looks like I got it right, huh?"
"Who the hell are you, Arrancar?!"
"Former Sexta Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez," he muttered, and stretched his neck. "Seriously, can't a guy catch some sleep around here?"
Quilge's eyes widened for a moment, and narrowed into a slit. "I see. Another filthy vermin to put down, then."
"Huh? Who are you calling a vermin, you fucker? Hey, Shinigami. After I deal with this moron, we're going to have a talk about that punk Kurosaki." Grimmjow said over his shoulder.
"Oh, of course, Grimmjow-san! Whenever you're ready!" said Kisuke, his jovial voice returning once more. He quickly retreated, and grabbed Uryū on his way. Orihime was done patching up Chad, and was now trying to heal the 'Tres Bestia'.
Kisuke swept some dust away from his hat, and fixed his gaze on Uryū. "Ishida-san, if all of our enemy can use this... Vollständig..."
"I won't be able to do anything against them," growled Uryū. He felt useless, like that time when he faced the Menos with Ichigo near three years ago. Just like when he tried to stop the Hollowfied Ichigo from doing something he might regret over the domes of Las Noches. "I'll have to talk with Ryūken. He has a lot to answer for... But Urahara-san, do you think the Arrancar can deal with him?"
"Well, in case you haven't notice yet, he can only use his Blut in one type at a time. I'm unsure if it is just a way to fool opponents, but if he can't use both, Grimmjow-san will be able to overpower him. Ishida-san, you fought against the Octava Espada, right?" Kisuke asked.
Uryū nodded to his question. "I didn't fight him alone, but yes."
"Kurosaki-san fought Grimmjow-san and won, using his Hollow mask in his Bankai. I'll assume that he is stronger than that time at this point, and an Arrancar's physical prowess isn't remotely comparable to Shinigami or Quincy. So his speed will be able to press the Quincy to the point where he cannot shift between his two Bluts. The only problem I think, will be his ability to imprison someone, but he has only used it once. I'm not sure about how it works, or its limits and whatnot." Kisuke explained his theory, observing the ongoing fight between Grimmjow and Quilge. Indeed, Grimmjow was much too fast for Quilge to slip between his Bluts, and he was pressed to the point where he had to maintain his Blut Vene to protect himself from being killed.
"Die, you vermin!" Quilge sneered, releasing multiple blasts of reishi with a slash of his sword.
Quilge's expression turned into the one of shock, when Grimmjow didn't even flinch upon taking the blow, and kicked him in his nose which sent him flying back a good few meters. Quilge snarled, and wiped the blood off his face.
"That was really lame, punk. And when I say lame, I mean it! Seriously, that all you got?" Grimmjow raised one of his eyebrows.
"A scum like you-"
"Is your better." Grimmjow replied in an uncaring manner, a red sphere forming near instantly at his palm. "CERO!"
Quilge snarled at seeing this, and quickly switched to his Blut Arterie. He fired his own reishi blast, expecting it to overpower the Cero. Red and blue collided, resulting in a massive explosion.
"Tch, lucky bastard." Grimmjow muttered, and brought up his arm to block the reishi sword of the Quincy.
"You are a hindrance!" said Quilge, and fired a reishi blast from point blank. There was another explosion, resulting in a cloud of dust obscuring the whole area.
As the dust cleared, the Arrancar and Quincy observed each other from a distance. Grimmjow had small burns on his skin, although they weren't a serious injury.
'I can penetrate his Hierro if I am using my Blut Arterie, but any wounds I receive during that time will prove to be fatal...' Quilge thought to himself. He shouldn't have let his guard down. If he still had his Heiligenschein active, he wouldn't have had any problems overpowering the Arrancar, but that was not to be. Not right now, anyway.
'That bastard, what's it with those damned blasts? The first one barely scratched my Hierro, and now he completely overpowered it?' Grimmjow growled in annoyance.
"Grimmjow-san~ He has a technique called Blut, which can power up his defensive of offensive abilities! Oh, and it can't be used at the same time!" Kisuke yelled from a distance, hiding behind Orihime's Santen Kesshun.
"I didn't need your help, Shinigami!" replied Grimmjow, as he rolled his eyes.
"You're welcome, Grimmjow-san!" Kisuke yelled once more, a sly grin threatening to form on his lips. He tried to stop it for his sake, and failed miserably.
Grimmjow just proceeded to ignore him, and turned his attention to the Quincy. He drew his blade for the first time after he sliced Quilge's Heiligenschein in half. "I'm not in a rush, mind you... But I'd rather take my time with Kurosaki than some pussy like you."
Quilge frowned at the insult for a moment, which turned into a smirk. "I almost feel sorry for you. You can stare up at the constellations for all you want, but you will never reach it. You'll just end up dead at the flick of his finger."
"As if!" scoffed Grimmjow. "I'll crush you, and then make that bastard Kurosaki fall on his knees in front of the real king! Grind, Pantera!"
Quilge grimaced at the change of the enemy's reiatsu, as the more beast like form of Grimmjow showed itself. It became even more violent than it already was, and it became a near pure Hollow reiatsu instead of the Hollow-Shinigami hybrid reiatsu. "Resurrección..."
"Heh!" Grimmjow smirked as he pounced the Quincy, his claws aimed to kill. Quilge couldn't afford to go on the offensive as Grimmjow's current speed was too fast for him to shift between his Blut. If he tried to use his Blut Arterie, his head would drop to the ground in an instant. "Not so tough now, yeah? I can see why you think Kurosaki's that much above you. You're pathetically weak!"
"You don't understand anything..." Quilge muttered with a chuckle, and instead of backing off to dodge the Arrancar's attacks, he charged in. It was a calculated move, one that might have worked if Grimmjow hadn't released his Zanpakutō. Grimmjow easily read this move, and planted his knee into Quilge's chest. As Quilge gasped, Grimmjow grabbed his neck, and threw him into a pillar.
"Whatever you say, I don't really care, asshole!" said Grimmjow, firing five dark-green projectiles from his elbow towards the Quincy. It exploded upon making contact, burying him under the debris of the pillar.
Grimmjow sealed his Zanpakutō, but didn't sheathe it yet. He had loosened his Pesquisa to the point, where he was too late to realize that the fight wasn't over yet. Quilge stood a good few meters behind him with his sword tip aimed at the Arrancar, forcing his body to move beyond its limits with one of the most advanced technique in a Quincy's arsenal, Ranso Tengai. His Blut Arterie was powering him at its limit, a desperate attempt to change the outcome of the battle. When Grimmjow realized that something was wrong, Quilge had already gathered up all of the reishi he needed.
"Die, you impudent filth!" Quilge released the crackling beam of reishi, which engulfed the Arrancar almost as soon as he realized the danger he was in. The reishi beam packed enough force to make Grimmjow let out a scream of agony. Had he maintained his released state, he would've got out of the situation relatively unscathed, but he had sealed his Zanpakutō already.
Grimmjow was absolutely livid at the enemy, but at himself at the same time. It wasn't all that easy to sense a Quincy with his Pesquisa in the first place, but he slipped and then made the mistake of sealing his Zanpakutō. There was only one way to make up for this failure he brought on himself, which was destroying the enemy who was responsible for this. He was about to draw up some blood, when he realized that he was covered with more than enough of it.
With a swipe of his palm on his bloodied torso, he stretched the now blood-covered arm, and held its forearm with his other hand for support. A blueish Cero formed on his palm, waiting impatiently for its release.
"Gran Rey Cero!" Grimmjow yelled with a smirk.
As soon as he fired the stronger version of the Cero, he disappeared with his Sonido. He didn't expect the Quincy to get caught in his Gran Rey Cero at all. When Quilge moved out of the path of destruction with his Flugbildschritt, he was caught in the chest with a kick from Grimmjow, which sent him flying downwards. Grimmjow disappeared with a buzz, and appeared directly in front of Quilge. Grimmjow grabbed Quilge's head with his hand, nearly crushing the man's skull in the process.
"Remember this as you die, Quincy..." Grimmjow rolled the word in his mouth with disdain, and whispered. "No one crosses the king, and live another day."
"A king cannot stand up to an emperor..." Quilge retorted with a small chuckle, and coughed up some blood.
Quilge knew that he was going to die, but he found himself surprisingly calm about the whole situation. At first, he felt as though he didn't serve his majesty well enough, and he would've been miserable to his death if it weren't for one person that crossed his mind.
Kurosaki Ichigo.
With the successor of the emperor on their side, he didn't doubt their chances of winning this war.
"Ugh, whatever." Grimmjow rolled his eyes, and strengthened his grip on the man, intent on crushing his skull.
'A young man deserving of the title of the future emperor of the Wandenreich, indeed.'
It was the last thoughts of Quilge Opie as his skull was crushed brutally.
At some distance Orihime choked up a sob at the sight, while Uryū turned his head with his eyes closed. Kisuke wasn't overly bothered with the scene, being a former member of the Onmitsukidō. Well, he was bothered somewhat with the brutal method of ending the Quincy's life, out of concern for the teenagers that were with him. True, they have been through some of their own unsettling events, but such blatant display of violence wasn't really good for their mental health.
"Urahara-san, are you really sure we can trust him? He was our enemy back then, and he- well..."
"Well, at least you'll be useful against a fight with him, Ishida-san!" Kisuke joked. "That being said, what is your business with Kurosaki-san?"
"Yo." Grimmjow smirked as he kicked Uryū's ass from behind, his hands in his pockets. "Well Shinigami... ain't that obvious? To kill him, of course! What else would it be? And you really should relax, four-eyes. No offense, but I'm not interested in a weakling like you."
"What was that for?!" Uryū yelled indignantly as he got up, and adjusted his glasses. "And I take offense to that, Arrancar."
"Heh! At least you've got the balls, then. What's with all these losers, though? Oh, you're here too, princess?" Grimmjow raised his brows as Orihime finished healing the last of the Tres Bestia.
"Oh! Hi, Grimmjow-san..." Orihime answered warily, due to his brutal method of ending Quilge's life. But she was too much of a kind soul to let it stop her from healing a injured person. "Do you want me to heal your injuries?"
Grimmjow stared back at the orange-haired girl who was too kind for her own good, and shrugged. "Eh, if I'm going to fight Kurosaki, might as well fight him in top condition."
Orihime nodded, unsure of how to react to his declaration of fighting Ichigo. Normally, she would rather not heal someone who wanted to harm Ichigo, but he did save them from the other Quincy, so... "Sōten Kisshun, I reject!"
As Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka started to do its job, Grimmjow asked the million dollar question. "So, where's Kurosaki?"
"Most likely Soul Society at the moment," Kisuke scratched the back of his neck and replied. "Apparently, he joined the Quincy, and they're currently invading Soul Society."
"Huh? Wait, what?" Grimmjow let out a dumb sound upon hearing that. "What the hell?"
"Well... Kurosaki-san's mother was a Quincy, so it isn't as surprising as you think, really. Since his father never told him that his mother was a Quincy, I'd say that he would've been quite pissed at us."
"And what about him?" Grimmjow pointed at Uryū, who scowled in response. "If Kurosaki is with those Quincy, why is he not with them?"
Uryū refused to answer Grimmjow's question. Whatever their reasons, it still stung his pride that they didn't bother trying to recruit him. He might've had the chance to foil their plans from the inside, and get his revenge if they did.
Grimmjow shrugged at the lack of response, and nodded to Orihime in thanks, which surprised the girl. She didn't think he would actually thank him, really.
"Well, what're you waiting for? Might as well kick some Quincy ass till I find the bastard." Grimmjow muttered, opening a Garganta. "Oh, and you losers stay here."
Neither Pesche or Dondochakka objected, and Nel readily agreed, while Kisuke thought of a project of his own.
"Do you have any last words? It is the only mercy I shall willingly grant to a villain!" Mask asked, as he held up the grey-haired Shinigami with his neck.
"Piss off...!" Kensei retorted, forming his Hollow mask instantly, and snapped Mask's arm.
"Arrggh!" Mask howled in pain, and retreated with his Flugbildschritt. "A cowardly move, as expected from the epitome of evil! But heroes, especially a star like me, will never bow down to the likes of you...! "
"Yeah! Mister will not stop until he purges the world from the evil! I believe in you, Superstar!" James chipped in.
"OF COURSE, JAMES! I AM OVERJOYED BY YOUR BELIEF IN ME, THE SUPERSTAR!" Mask bellowed, his broken arm functioning as if it was never broken in the first place. He disappeared from the spot, only to appear right above Kensei, and slammed his fist downwards. "This is the Smite of Justice!"
Mask didn't stop there. He stomped his foot on Kensei repeatedly, each stomp causing the ground in the vicinity to shake mildly.
"THIS! IS! THE! ENFORCING! OF! JUSTICE!" Mask nearly screamed each word every time he stomped his foot, and kicked Kensei's side as he finished. Kensei's battered form collided into a wall with his Hollow mask crumbling into pieces. "Well, it seems that he was just another obstacle on our quest for justice. Maybe we should skip the celebration for our victory, if the enemy was a weak low-class villain! Wouldn't you agree, James?"
"You're right, Mister! But I would like to see you count to ten!" James chirped.
"Very well, James! I shall count the numbers, and we shall leave to seek out the more dangerous villains that threatens the peace of the world! Ten! Ni-"
"Fuck you... and your pathetic mask of heroism... We'll see if you can say the same, when you're about to die. Bankai, Tekken Tachikaze!"
Mask scratched the top of his head with his finger for a moment, and glanced back to James uncertainly. "James, was he a Captain? I thought only Captains were capable of using their Bankai..."
"Yes, the white haori is only worn by the Captains, Mister!"
"I see..." Mask placed his fingers on his chin to think, and just as Kensei was about to beat the Quincy to a pulp, he pulled out a medallion. "But if he cannot use his Bankai, he is nothing more than a mere thug... Hmm?"
Mask shook his medallion, and flicked it with his finger in confusion. It wasn't reacting to the enemy's Bankai at all. Did he receive a malfunctioning medallion or something?
"Don't you ignore me, unless you're that eager to die!" Kensei growled, and punched Mask's abdomen.
"Ngghuh?!" Mask let out a cry of surprise, which turned into a one of agony soon enough. "Ooohhhgh! Arrghah!"
As Mask slumped down to the ground, Kensei kicked him over on his back, and placed his foot on Mask's chest. "My Tachikaze's ability is to cause the path of the blade to explode. In its Bankai form - Tekken Tachikaze - the strength of those explosions is concentrated into my fists. As long as you're in contact to my fist, the force of those explosions will continue to assault you... endlessly."
Kensei pulled back his fist, and slammed it into Mask's chest. Mask didn't even get to let out a scream of pain, as the explosions disrupted his insides, and ruined it beyond repair. Kensei kept his fist in contact for quite some time, and lifted it when he thought that Mask was probably dead. "Seriously though... You should've taken after All Might if you were going to proclaim yourself as a hero. He's way cooler than you."
"No, don't give in, Mister! You can't lose like this!" wailed James.
"Wow... Now he's making me feel like I'm really the bad guy here..." Kensei deadpanned.
"Please get back up, SUPERSTAR!" James yelled, and Kensei suddenly had a bad feeling.
When Kensei turned his gaze back at where Mask was, there was nothing there. He instantly brought his guard up, only to receive a drop kick to his back. He rolled and bounced on the ground, eventually coming to a stop, sprawled on his back.
Mask grabbed Kensei's haori, and pulled him up, bringing the Captain's face close to his own. "My designated letter is 'S'! I am 'The Superstar' Mask De Masculine! The cheers of my fans are all the strength I need... And now, embrace your defeat, villain! Star Headbutt!"
Kensei's vision blackened for a moment, and when he opened his eyes he was greeted with Mask's knee to his stomach. "Star Eagle Kick!"
"Urggh, goddamn..." Kensei coughed up some blood, and slammed his fist into Mask's torso. "Don't you get cocky...!"
Mask seemed to let out a groan of pain for a moment, until another cheer was heard from James. After that, Mask easily shrugged the pain off, and grabbed Kensei's head. He slammed him into the ground, resulting in a massive crater around the two. He repeated it a few times, and dropped him to the ground.
"Hmmph. Even with his Bankai, he was a nothing more than a lowly villain until the end. Now, let us see if someone needs the help of a hero! Come along, James!"
"Yes, Mister!"
It didn't take long, before Rose came upon an unconscious Kensei. Rose let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that Kensei was still breathing, albeit shallow. Rose placed Kensei's arm on his shoulder, and carried him off to the 4th Division.
Jugram Haschwalt sighed as he flicked the dripping blood off his blade. Killing an opponent who couldn't resist was not something he would usually do in his own conscious, but at the moment Royd was the one making the calls. He could refuse if he found it to be an irrational order, but sadly he did not.
End the life of Zaraki Kenpachi.
He was lying on the ground in a heap, unconscious, unarmed, waiting for the death blow. As much as the act itself was distasteful to Jugram, he knew that Zaraki Kenpachi was too dangerous to let him live. He also knew that the reason Royd wanted Zaraki Kenpachi to be dead, was due to the fact that his own brother had been killed in the Captain's hand.
And so he did.
Zaraki Kenpachi, the Special War Power was no more.
"Zanka no Tachi... North, Tenchi Kaijin!" Yamamoto roared.
Royd knew that this would be the end for him. As Yamamoto slashed his sword upwards, Royd hoped that his majesty would recognize his services for the empire. He could at least rest in piece, knowing that Jugram would've dealt with the one who killed his brother.
"Hey now, sorry if I'm a little late."
Royd's eyes snapped up, as a Sternritter with dark vapor-like wings stood firmly in front of him. He had the hood of his Sternritter cloak lowered, mostly due to the heat caused by the release of Zanka no Tachi.
Yamamoto was surprised at the sudden appearance of the former Substitute Shinigami. The golden irises which stood out from the black scelra in his eyes shone with power, and the dark vapor-like wings reminded everyone near the area of the Final Getsuga Tenshō. There was a black crown with five protrusions on his head, the Heiligenschein of his Vollständig, not that Yamamoto recognized it by any means.
Despite his appearance, Yamamoto doubted that the young boy would survive his most powerful attack. His willingness to protect his leader was admirable, but Yamamoto also didn't believe that Yhwach would appreciate his sacrifice even if the Father of Quincy lived through it. He truly was a cruel man, after all.
Yamamoto didn't think that the boy would be able to negate his Tenchi Kaijin, unlike when he was able to stop the flames of his Shikai. He expected both the boy and Yhwach to fall in this single strike.
"Heiliger Blitz."
If anything, Yamamoto was not expecting a pure white Cero from a Quincy. He most certainly did not expect it to be so powerful, that the very space near the boy would distort from it. Even then, he still didn't believe it to be capable of matching his Tenchi Kaijin, much less overpower it. He was soon proved to be wrong.
The white Cero collided with the single slash that contained the flames and heat of Zanka no Tachi, and it seemed to be overpowered by the concentrated flames at first. Yamamoto narrowed his eyes when the Cero flashed, and kept on holding its own against the flames. He noticed that the Cero had started to diminish, just as the flames were about to be extinguished. Somehow, Kurosaki Ichigo had blocked his most powerful attack in his Bankai.
"Worry not, Sternritter Kurosaki... You are right on time." Royd muttered in gratitude.
"You should return to Silbern for medical attention. I'll take it from here." Ichigo replied, and formed a Heilig Bogen. It was neither his usual reishi weapons, but a bow that looked like it was made out of dark vapor. "I've been itching to have a go at the old man ever since I met him in his office."
"Very well... I wish you good luck."
Yamamoto leveled his glare on Ichigo, as he digested the current situation. Somehow, it looked like Yhwach was taking orders from the Kurosaki boy. Just what exactly was going on?
"I can see that you're confused, but you really shouldn't be," said Ichigo. Yamamoto narrowed his eyes at the former ally, now enemy of the Soul Society. "Because if you don't focus properly on the fight, I just might end up killing you on accident..."
"Insolent brat..." Yamamoto growled.
"Hmm... Maybe I did word it a little arrogantly." Ichigo admitted. But then again, it really wasn't arrogance if he was just stating the truth. "But I still stick with my words."
"If you are so eager to be burnt to ashes, then so be it!" Yamamoto growled, as he advanced on the Sternritter.
As the giant prison of ice shattered, the unconscious form of Hitsugaya Tōshirō dropped to the ground. A grievously injured Ukitake Jūshirō sighed and sheathed his Zanpakutō, and picked up the young Captain along with his buxom Lieutenant. He coughed up some blood, but ignored the dizziness and kept on moving towards the 4th Division. He briefly wondered if they could win this war, before the Head-Captain burns the Soul Society to ashes himself.
If one thing was certain, the situation was not going well for the Soul Society. Not at all.
Finally another chapter done. It took a long time to finish this, but I have my excuses, being mainly real life reasons. Anyway, in case anyone is wondering... I won't abandon this without at least posting an A/N which states that this fic is discontinued. I am unsure of how much free time I will have next year, so I am going to try to complete this story within the year.
Thank you all, for all your positive responses to this story, and for reading it.
The first invasion is about to come to its end, probably in the next chapter!
Rose's Kinshara Sonata #9 is my original, cuz it seems odd that Rose only had one Sonata he ever used in his Shikai. I'm hardly an artistic person, nor creative, so I don't think I'll try to add more. I think his Bankai can come up with pretty much everything, since it is an illusion in its nature.
Cang's Vollständig isn't flashy or anything. I personally don't think it's Cang's style. He would've won against Rose if Shinji didn't interfere, in case you're wondering. I think Shinji dropping out of the war was hinted quite frequently over the earlier chapters too.
As far as I know, only Love and Rose read the Jump Comics in the Visoreds, but I just wanted to make a My Hero Academia reference, and it was too much tempting. Maybe Kensei really did read the Jump, and we never knew it. Please do ignore that My Hero Academia wasn't on the Jump at that time, really.
Heiliger Blitz : Holy Flash. It is a technique Ichigo can use in his Vollständig, a combination of a Cero with the complete control over reishi that comes with the Vollständig. Ichigo's Schrift can affect this technique if he wants.
Sternritter Deaths : The Jail - Quilge, The Love - PePe, The Overkill - Driscoll, The Question - Berenice, The Roar - Jerome, The Underbelly - NaNaNa, The Yourself - Loyd
Shinigami Deaths : 3rd Division Lieutenant - Izuru, 11th Division Captain - Zaraki, 12th Division Captain - Mayuri, 12th Division Lieutenant Nemu
There will be more deaths coming to both sides in the near future, but probably not so many in the rest of the first invasion.