Chapter 57

Xcution at Midnight Part IV – Last Xcution

Yukio's head shot up from his handheld, and he removed an earbud.

"Riruka and Jackie lost."

He expected nothing of the former, though he didn't think Jackie could go down so easily.

His attention shifted to the digital box that held Chad, Ginjou, and Tsukishima. Hopefully, the three were having a far better time. While his Invaders Must Die easily allowed him to view their conditions, he thought it more enjoyable to stay in the dark.

Besides, he had a live fight in front of him, one full of suspense and fireworks.

Aaron, though gravely injured, made a beeline for Konoka.

"Stubborn ass!" she cried. "I'm gonna kill you at this rate! Is that what you want?!"

Her golden glaive left a gash on his face this time. Sliding back, Aaron lifted his head to reveal a smile.

"Not bad. May I have another?"

Konoka snarled. She wasn't sure how many times she had to hit him until the message sank in.

"Hurry it up already," Yukio informed her.

"Shut up!"

"Can't you feel that? Something big is coming this way. Just get rid of him."

"I told you to shut up! I can…!"

Aaron pounced on a distracted Konoka. The two rolled across the ground until he managed to pin her down.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing?!" she cried as she flailed about.

"Way of Binding Number Sixty-Three," Aaron mumbled. "Locking Bondage Stripes."

Golden chains, like snakes, wrapped around them.

"What now, dumbass?" Konoka said dryly. "Neither one of us can move."

"Good, which means we can talk."

"…"

Why are you doing this?"

"Quit asking me that! I already said…!"

"You're here by choice? I don't believe that. Not for a second."

Konoka smacked her lips and leered away from Aaron's pleading eyes. "...Whatever."

"You're not fighting because you want to. When you've been in as many fights as I have, you can feel an opponent's emotions through their attacks. I know when someone is gunning to kill me.Every time we clashed blades, I could tell your heart wasn't in it."

"..."

"Regardless of what Ginjou and Tsukishima have told you, you don't have to do this, Mitsumi."

"Still talking like you know a damn thing about me, I see. Do I look helpless to you?! You think you'reso great coming here to 'save me' that you haven't once taken your head out of your ass! I am not Kana Mitarashi! I've been alone my whole life! I can take care of myself! I don't need your help! I don't need anyone's help! "

It shouldn't have been possible. Aaron, astounded, looked on as Konoka broke out of his binding spell with raw strength alone.She swung her Fullbring moments later, leaving another slash along his chest.

"I-Idiot..." she grumbled, out of breath.

"You should've done that from the start," mumbled Yukio, who shook his head. "Make sure..."

But Aaron wasn't finished just yet. Chuckling, he used his twin swords to help him stand. Blood poured out of his wounds, staining the rooftop. Even so, he continued to laugh. Hearing him wore Konoka out, almost like she was the one bleeding out.

"...What the hell is so funny?!"

"You know, I've always wondered why they called you the 'Red-Haired Beast.'"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Yeah, your hair. I thought it was because you always got into fights too. Even before I stepped foot in Hino High, there were rumors about you. I won't lie—I wasn't any better than the people talking behind your back. I thought you were scary as hell to be honest. But...I've gotten to know the real you, Mitsumi, and you aren't the sort that goes looking for trouble. I bet every fight you've been in was started by someone else. Maybe they were trying to prove themselves. Maybe they were trying to take your spot as the strongest in school. I dunno. What I do know is that it must've been hard pretending everything was okay. You must've been incredibly lonely."

Konoka's gaze shifted to the ground.

"So lonely that you'd gotten used to it. Maybe in the back of your head, you told yourself it was fine. That's why you can stand there and lie saying you can do everything on your own. I've learned the hard way though, Mitsumi, that some things in life are too much for a single person to bear. Besides, you aren't alone anymore."

"...And how exactly aren't I? Nothing has changed. My folks are still dead. Nobody gives a damn about me. You're full of it. I bet you're just doing all of this to stroke your ego! Maybe you've gotten addicted to saving people!"

"Forget me! What about Sasune? He nearly died the other day trying to find you! And what about Sado? I don't know what you and him did while we were in Soul Society, but it sounds to me like he respects the hell out of you to risk his life like this!"

"T-That's…!"

"I don't know for sure, but I bet Ginjou and his goons said something like 'stay with us or we hurt all your friends.' You're a selfless person, even if you don't realize it. Even though you didn't know Kana very well, you still risked your life to help us save her. There was nothing in it for you. You're the rich empress of a major company. You had everything to lose, and yet…"

Aaron found it difficult to continue. It had nothing to do with his anguish. He took a deep breath.

"As for me…look, I don't have any magic words that are gonna fix this. I...I just can't stand the thought of never seeing you again. Maybe I'm being selfish, and maybe you're right to call me out for trying to help you. It's just...I've learned I can only do what I can. I can't worry about every little thing. Right now, I don't wanna do anything other than bring you back. I'm not doing it to stand out or because someone asked me. I'm doing it for me. I need you by my side, Mitsumi."

Konoka stood in place, her jaw widening by the second. Her face became as bright red as her hair. Her heart got in on the action, pounding away behind her rib cage.

"...How the hell can you say all that with such a stupid face? That's why I said you're dense, Higuchi. And...you'd have to be an idiot to care so much about someone like me."

"Maybe. But I..."

Konoka struck while the iron was hot. Aaron parried her glaive, only momentarily stunned she still yearned a fight. Her continued assault informed him to step it up if he valued his life. Fending her off, he could feel the desperation in each of her swings as clear as day.

She was not only trying to make a point to him but herself.

"Sorry, Mitsumi," he stated, pushing her back. He then moved his hands in front of his face. "I'll give you what you want."

"It's Konoka."

"What?"

"Enough of that Mitsumi crap. You make me sound like a grandma. If we're gonna fight on equal ground then call me Konoka."

"Alright then. It's Aaron."

Konoka flashed a smile. "Alright then, Aaron. Before you die, show me what you can really do."

"Who said anything about dying?"

Bringing his fingers down, Aaron formed his Hollow mask. His first order of business entailed launching a massive, blue Cero. Shell-shocked by the sight of it tearing apart everything in sight, Konoka barely darted to the left. She didn't have time to regain her balance when Aaron appeared before her. She blocked his twin blades on instinct alone. Aaron didn't let up, bringing his Zanpakutou down one after the other. Each blow rattled Konoka to the core.

Even though my Fullbring is this strong, he…!

As if standing in quicksand, she sank to her knees. The position enabled her to trip Aaron up with a leg sweep. She back flipped to safety while he sprang to his feet. A wave of green energy, large enough to shroud the entire rooftop with its shadow, made its way toward Aaron. He held his ground, bringing his swords above his head.

"Shingetsu."

He spun them until they were a blur. An energy field grew around him. Not so much as a single crack formed in it as Konoka's blast met it head on. The fact left her speechless due to her putting every ounce of her strength into it.

"Hangetsu."

Aaron pointed a sword at her, and silver energy spawned around it, tripling its size. He swung it downward. Konoka, wide-eyed, didn't bother to brace herself.

No force on earth would have been able to stop it.

She slammed her eyelids shut. Death never came, however. When she gathered the courage to look up, she saw Aaron's blade retreating. It shrunk down, allowing him to sheathe it.

"I win." Aaron removed his mask, giving her a toothy grin. "Guess we're even for the sports festival. Let's do this again, Konoka."

"...You win?" The phrase felt strange leaving Konoka's lips. Her Fullbring shattered, signaling a formal end to hostilities. There was no point in fighting any longer. Her pride aside, she saw she never had a hope of winning. It made perfect sense now how Aaron had come out of Soul Society alive and well. She laughed to herself, unfamiliar with the bitter taste of defeat. "Yeah, Aaron. I lost fair and square. Can't argue about that."

She sat confused. She didn't feel nearly as bitter as she would have assumed. A hand appeared in front of her. Taking it, she allowed Aaron to help her to her feet. They stared at one another down.

"Are you just gonna keep comin' after me?" she asked.

Aaron nodded.

"Even though Ginjou and the others will keep comin' after you?"

"I don't care. I'll fight them as many times as I have to. Both of us will."

"Then," Konoka sighed, "I guess I'm comin' back with you. The idea of havin' you stalk me for the rest of my life is too much to stand."

The prospect didn't sound so bad despite her griping. She blushed at the fact, having no clue what she was wasting her time thinking about.

"So, you're going to betray us then. I should've known."

Aaron thought Yukio rather brave for speaking up given the boy had nowhere to run.

"'Betray you?' See, you Fullbringers just don't get it. Konoka was never on your side, so how could she turn on you? Real friends don't go around blackmailing people!Real friends wouldn't put her through so much crap!And real friends wouldn't have to screw with her memory just to get her to stick around! You were just using her! I'm taking you all down right here and right now!"

"Is that so? We'll have to take you up on that offer. It looks like your friend can't play with us anymore."

Ginjou tossed a bloodied and still Chad at Aaron's and Konoka's feet. The seconds ticked by. Neither could process what their trembling eyes told them.

"Perhaps we went too far," a smiling Tsukishima mused with a shrug.

Yukio's black box faded as he muttered, "You two always go overboard. It was hard keeping that thing up."

"Our bad," said Ginjou earnestly. He hoisted his giant claymore over his shoulder, taking in the sight in front of him. "What's this? Playing for the wrong team again, Konoka?"

The Red-Haired Beast, still eyeing Chad, grit her teeth hard enough to draw blood. "Go to hell, Ginjou! You're gonna to pay for this!"

"It's not like we wanted to resort to violence," said Tsukishima, "but your friend here didn't appear to be in the mood to talk."

"Funny. Neither am I."

Attacking from their rear, Aaron readied to cut them to pieces.

However, his body hung in midair. Leering around, he realized he could only move his eyes.

"And pause," said Yukio. He held up his handheld for all to see. "Heh. You look stupid. My Fullbring can do this too. You didn't realize I left a tracking bug on you after you and your friend captured me. I can pause anything its attached to. Of course..."

Tsukishima deflected an attack Konoka aimed at Yukio's backside.

"...I can only use it on one person at a time. That's why it's nice to bring a raiding party."

"Damn you!" hissed Konoka. As much as she yearned to slice Yukio to bits, Ginjou and Tsukishima barred her path.

"See where getting nice gets you?" Yukio sighed. "If this guy had just killed me when he had the chance..."

Aaron glared at him with pure, unadulterated hatred. A small part of him agreed.

"Works for me." Ginjou lifted his Cross of Scaffold. "See ya, kid."

"W-WAIT!"

Ginjou, about to chop Aaron's head off, did indeed stop. A pale-faced Konoka breathed a small sigh of relief.

"L-Let him go! It's me you want, right? Let him go, and I'll do whatever you guys want!"

Try as he might, Aaron was unable to protest.

"Sorry, kid. That ship has sailed."

Konoka grew even whiter at Ginjou's harsh words.

"These guys will just keep coming after us," he went on. He slapped Aaron's cheek. "Not that I blame him. If I was you guys, I'd do the same. And it looks like you don't have any intention of joining us seriously. Better to kill you now before you get in our way."

"Over my dead body!"

"That's idea," said Tsukishima, using Bringer Light to close in on her. "It's unfortunate it had to come to this."

Konoka never got the chance to defend herself. Tsukishima's blade cut her down in the blink of an eye.

"I never trusted you from the start," Yukio informed her. "That's why I told Ginjou we should have—what? You can move even that much? That shouldn't be possible, but..."

Aaron's right arm twitched, enough to attract his captor's attention.

"You must be really pissed off."

"Tell me about it. What a creepy look," remarked Ginjou. He lifted his blade again. "Sorry about this, kid. You know, I was starting to come around to you. You remind me of myself when I was younger."

Konoka, losing consciousness, could do nothing more than watch on in horror.

"Yeah, if it's alright with you, we'd like it if you let him go. He's no good to us hacked to bits."

In an instant, the rooftop filled with people. Shinji Hirako, while sounding casual, shot Ginjou a commanding stare. Flanking him were the other Visored. They had the Fullbringers surrounded. Aaron could hardly believe what he was seeing.

"So, yeah," Shinji went on. "We'll just take him and go on our way. Hiyori can't live without him, after all."

"What was that?!" the person being spoken of hollered, turning as red as a tomato. "I-I only came because the rest of you idiots did!"

"Even though we did so at your insistence," said Rose with a chuckle.

"Or are you going to pretend you didn't bitch and moan the whole way here?" added Lisa for good measure.

Steaming like a teapot, Hiyori lowered her head. "S-Shut up…!"

"You're telling me we can't even do this seriously," grumbled Kensei.

"Say, how come Chocolate-tan is just floating there"" wondered Mashiro, wowed by what she presumed was a trick on Aaron's part. "Teach me! Teach me!"

"Shut up already! You're giving me a headache."

"...Stupid Kensei is just mad he can't do it."

"What was that?!"

"Now, now," said Love, unable to contain his laughter at Kensei chasing Mashiro around. "We're being rude to these guys after we showed up out of the blue like this."

"My, it would seem we're in trouble, Ginjou," said Tsukishima as if only pointing out the warm weather.

"Seems like it. Let's..."

"I'm afraid you cannot escape," said Hachigen. "I have placed a barrier around this building. Of course, we would like to avoid hostilities. If you release your captives..."

"Then we get to run." Ginjou shrugged. "Seems like a fair deal. Yukio..."

"Fine," said Yukio somewhat grudgingly. He hit a button on his handheld, and Aaron dropped out of the air like a brick. "Can we go now? I've done a good job of staying alive today, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Her too." Shinji pointed at Konoka. "We'll take her while we're at it."

Ginjou answered, "...And I'm guessing that's nonnegotiable. Whatever. We're done with her anyway."

Kensei, keeping a cautious eye on the trio of Fullbringers, hoisted Konoka over his shoulder. He then nodded for Aaron to come along. With some reluctance, the latter did. While doing so, he never took his scornful eyes off of Ginjou. His target, amused rather than intimidated, raised his arms innocently. A strong urge to slice him apart fell over Aaron. His hand reached for his Zanpakutou.

"Hurry up, stupid mutt, or we'll leave you here!"

Hiyori's shrill voice returned him to his senses.

"Don't come near Konoka again. Otherwise, you're dead."

His threat toward Ginjou was concise, and yet, the man simply laughed.

"Oh, so you do wanna get left behind!" Hiyori snapped. "Hurry it up before I break your legs!"

"But then how would I follow you…?"

"You say somethin'?!"

"N-Nothing..."

Aaron Flash Stepped to her side. Still a bit pink, she moved her head out of his line of sight and let out a small sigh of relief.

Shinji muttered, "Hacchi..."

Hachigen nodded and clapped his hands. The moment he did, Ginjou, Tsukishima, and Yukio disappeared with a flash of green light. Aaron could no longer sense their spiritual pressure. As much as his instincts told him to chase after them and ensure they never went after Konoka again, he balled his fists and forced himself to remain put.

"Thanks, you guys. Konoka and I would've been dead if it weren't for..."

A sandal to the jaw not only cut him off but sent him spiraling to the ground. Looking ready to kill, Hiyori stood over him. The other Visored made haste the look away, not interested in witnessing a slaughter.

"What the hell were you thinking?! You could've been killed! You would've been killed!"

Even as Hiyori shook the daylights out of him, the others couldn't help but snort at her sounding like an overprotective mother.

"I mean, he's gonna die anyway if you keep doing that," warned Shinji. He crouched down to the dizzy Aaron. "She's right though. You pulled an Ichigo. You're not as dumb as him, so think next time you wanna tango with a group of bad guys. Besides, you're one of us now. If you've got a problem, we all do."

The Visored nodded. Touched, Aaron felt like an idiot for not confiding in them in the first place. They had gone out of their way to save him, and…

Wait. How did they know I was in trouble, and how did they know where to find me?

A chill, for whatever reason, shot down his spine. Something told him the explanation was rather nefarious.

"Don't pull this sort of crap again!" hissed Hiyori. With his teeth chattering, Aaron nodded.

"So, who were those guys anyway?" asked Shinji, gazing off into the distance. He didn't sound all that interested, but Aaron knew better than to assume when it came to Shinji Hirako.

"...Trouble. Hopefully, we won't have to..."

"Where are you, little girl?! The Green-Haired Devil has come for a rematch! I won't lose this time!"

Emi Otomi suddenly jumped up to the roof, landing in front of a bewildered Aaron. Kicking him out of the way, she checked high and low for her prey, only to groan at the sight of her unconscious form.

"What a cheap trick! Pretending to be out cold and bleeding all over the place just to avoid me! Well, I didn't come all the way to this crummy world for nothing! You're dead whether you like it or not!"

Crossing her arms, Emi planted herself on the ground. A grown woman throwing a tantrum would have been more than enough to weird Aaron out. The same woman pouting about not being able to commit a murder made it ten times worse.

"She's...uh...probably not gonna wake up for awhile," he felt compelled to say.

"Oh, is that so?" Fire burned in Emi's eyes. Aaron shrieked at her drawing her sword. "Then maybe you can entertain me until she does, boy. Aren't you a cutie?"

She licked her sword and then giggled. The contrasting acts prompted Aaron to scream again. While having no clue who this woman was, every nerve in his body shouted at him to avoid fighting her at all costs.

He would much rather take on the Fullbringers again.

"What's the matter, boy? Are you afraid? Tell me you're afraid! Yes, I just love that expression!"

END