Chapter Twelve: Unexpected
Gin watched with caution as the twister began to die down. He wasn't sure what to be expecting once the vortex went away. The swirling energy died down, showing Takeshi in his new fullbring form. Gin raised an eyebrow at what he was looking at.
"well, that's certainly something." Gin muttered to himself.
Takeshi stood there wearing a black high collar sleeveless shirt that zipped down slightly stopping just below the bottom of his neck, black pants and boots, and a black cloth covering his left leg and right arm. He has a black shoulder pauldron on his right shoulder, and his chest is covered by two black straps that also went across his back, held in place by a badge shaped like two swords making an x. he wore black fingerless gloves his hair was now completely silver except for the tips that were black. His eyes changed from their violet to a gleaming silver. Unlike his previous forms, his face was left uncovered.
Reaver had also changed greatly. Reaver now looked like an enormous broadsword. From tip to handle it was six feet long, with a black single-chisel edged serrated blade one foot wide. the handguard was grey and riveted into place. There are two holes near the handguard where Takeshi clips the sword onto his back. the grip of the sword was 20 inches long wrapped in silver cloth. The handle was separated in two sections by a flat black metal ring in the middle. The pommel was a small fist sized black circular hoop.
Gin studied the new look of his opponent, he had to admit it was rather stylish. As for the weapon he now wielded. Well he had no intentions of being on the receiving end of such a nasty looking sword. Granted the more pressing matter was the boy's new level of spirit energy he was giving off. It was certainly nothing to scoff at. At the boy's new level, even Byakuya would find the boy a far greater challenge then he was not too long ago.
If Takeshi had to describe the look he was seeing on Gin's face, it would have to be surprise, shock and uneasy at what the captain was looking at. Takeshi couldn't help but drink it in. while he had hoped to not run into a captain so early on, he wasn't going to complain too hard. It was time to show off all the insane amount of work he put in with Halibel.
Takeshi held out Reaver in both hands in a fighting stance. "hope your ready Gin. Because here I come." Takeshi spoke calmly.
In a burst of bringer light Takeshi charged forward right into the captain's face and delivered a quick slash with his massive blade. Gin jump back just in time to dodge it but Takeshi kept up his offensive assault and quickly closed the distance and continued his attacking.
Gin could only do his best to dodge at the moment, the human boy giving him no room to breathe and was quickly pushing him back across the massive courtyard. Gin knew he had to break away somehow, he could only dodge they boys' assault for so long. That much he could tell.
Thinking quickly gin took the chance when he saw it. "Bakudo #1: Sai!" Gin cried out as a small yellow rope of energy shot and wrapped around Takeshi's legs. Takeshi's was forced to stop and break the bind on his legs. Takeshi was only held up for a few moments, but it was all Gin needed.
Gin quickly put a good distance between them and drew his blade. "Shoot to kill: Shinso!" the captain spoke as his blade extended out almost too fast to see.
Takeshi was barely able to break free and throw up his blade in time to block the strike but was pushed back a fair distance before the blade retracted to its original state.
"I have to admit, you're certainly much stronger now compared to what was in Byakuya's report on you." stated Gin. "I'll admit you caught me off guard with that speed of yours, but it won't catch me a second time. I won't let you get so close to me so easily again."
"you know Gin." Began Takeshi. "if you read what Byakuya wrote about me then you should know I don't need to get close to you in order to hurt you." he finished as he brought his blade back behind him and poured energy into.
"Scatter shot!" Yelled Takeshi as he swung Reaver around in front of him in a wide arc. Before, the best Takeshi could manage was roughly 1000 shards. Now after all his training he could now launch four times that amount.
Gin saw an almost unfathomable amount, of shards flying at him at lightning speed. He did the only he could do he jumped high up into the air narrowly dodging the barrage as all the shards planted themselves into the courtyard below him.
"Click." Said Takeshi
*BOOM*
The ground erupted as the shards exploded, sending dust and debris high into the sky as the ground below was obliterated by the explosion. Gin landed down in mist of the rubble surrounded by a thick smoke from the explosion. Gin kept his senses sharp. Waiting for his enemy to make the next move.
"Getsuga Tensho!" was all Gin heard before the smoke in front of him suddenly dissipated by mass arc of silver energy. Gin quickly flash stepped to the side to avoid it and managed to avoid most of it. though the outer edge of the strike nicked him in his right leg. The blast traveled until it slammed into a nearby wall and completely obliterated it.
"that was certainly a close one." Muttered Gin as he focused on his opponent. Quickly launching Shinso to strike out again at the fullbringer.
Takeshi sot out to the side to avoid the strike. he was caught off guard when Gin twisted the blade in Takeshi's direction as it was extended, never losing its high speed. Takeshi Quickly jumped back but took a slash in his left arm.
"Your blade doesn't lose it momentum when you twist and swing it about, even when it's extended out, I see." Chimed Takeshi.
"exactly." Replied Gin as Shinso retracted "quite handy wouldn't you say?"
"no matter, it doesn't matter what tricks you have it won't stop me from winning this!" said Takeshi as he charged another getusga tensho. However he was pouring a lot more power into this one. He had an idea which may or may not have involved obliterating the entire courtyard. He jumped high into the air and hovered with bringer light. A mass cyclone of silver spirit energy whirled around Takeshi as he prepared his attack.
"he's seriously going to destroy the entire courtyard just to get to me?!" spoke Gin with some concern in his voice.
"damn right you fox faced bastard! Like I said Gin, I'm making a statement here!" yelled Takeshi.
"GETSUGA TENSHO!" Roared Takeshi with all his might and unleashed the gigantic attack.
Gin could only watch in shock as the sky above him was seemingly blotted out by a gigantic twisting arc of silver. Then the getsuga tensho collided with the ground and exploded.
The entire ground of the courtyard seemed to buckle and shake like a mass earthquake had rocked through it. the tiles that covered the ground immediately shattered and blew away, nearby buildings on the edges of the courtyard were damaged from the force.
Gin did the only thing he felt he could do and threw up a kido shield in front of him for protection.
"Bakudo #81: Danku!" cried Gin as a mass translucent barrier appeared before him just in time to catch the force of the blast as it reached him. even with a barrier spell as strong as danku, Gin could feel the sheer pressure of the blast bearing heavily on the barrier. Gin had to put his full focus on sustaining the barrier. Not wanting to risk the barrier breaking and be caught in the mass destruction of the getsuga tensho.
As the blast began to die down, Gin put his focus on detecting the fullbringer's power in order to gauge his position. However the problem was Gin couldn't detect anything at all. It was as if the boy had upped and disappeared suddenly.
"that doesn't make any sense! He shouldn't be able to completely mask such power!?" Gin thought out loud to himself.
"Don't be so sure of that one." Said a voice directly behind Gin.
Takeshi was right behind Gin with Reaver at the ready, the blade glowed a bright silver from the power being focused into it.
Gin knew he was caught. Even as he dropped his focus on the barrier and tried to move away. The boy was right on top of him with his attack ready. Even with Gin trying to move as fast as he could, he knew that he would take most of whatever it was the fullbringer had in store for him.
"Cutter" Said Takeshi with cold calmness, wanting show one his new techniques.
The first swing was a downward single-handed reap with a step forward, the second swing was a two-handed swing downward in the other direction making an x shape in conjunction with the first strike. The third part was three slashes: two ground-level slashes in a fanning motion from left to right, then ending with an outward waving slash.
The strikes tore clean and deeply into Gin. with each swing the energy on the blade left a visible arc of the blades swing from the energy. Once the final swing was done and the last arc appeared. They all exploded away from Takeshi position automatically.
Gin was thrown like a rag doll clean across the broken remains of the courtyard in a blast of silver and crimson blood. His body tumbled before skidding harshly to stop face first on the ground. His haori and the top half of his uniform were shredded. Gin was alive but was breathing heavily, the attack had knocked the fight out of him. never before had anyone ever managed to wound him in such a manner. Not mention the massive blood loss he was now suffering from, making it difficult to stay awake.
"still alive I see." Spoke Takeshi as he approached the down Gin with caution. "to be expected of someone who holds the rank of captain I suppose."
"you….won't…succeed….ya'know." spoke Gin in between breaths. "you may have beaten me, but you won't defeat all the others…..even if your friends manage….to make it in seireitei as well. You'll all fail and die here….along with the Kuchiki girl." Finished Gin with a mocking smile.
"that remains to be seen." Replied Takeshi with a glare and brought his boot down on the captain's face, knocking him out. Takeshi placed reaver on his back and looked at the area around him or rather what was left of it. the tiling that covered the courtyard was either broken or completely destroyed and some surrounding building had either been reduced to rubble or were heavily damaged. Not to mention one the massive walls within the courtyard that was meant to be a part of some pathway was also destroyed.
"Geez, between this and beating down the captain. I'm probably officially on top of the gotei 13's shit list." Takeshi mused to himself as he looked at his wrist that now had his energy concealing bracelet. Urahara had given it back to him before they left after upgrading it to account for his new power level. He had purposely kept it off wanting to use it as a surprise trick in a fight if needed. A smart call on his part in hindsight.
He figured Gin was smart enough and strong enough to keep his distance where he would have the advantage against Takeshi. Hence why Takeshi overcharged his getsuga tensho and obliterated the courtyard. He needed to do something that kept Gin's focus squarely off him long enough to slip it on without the captain noticing. Thankfully the whole gambit paid off, Takeshi had to use most of his energy in that attack. If it had failed it would have left him in a bad spot against the fox faced captain.
Suddenly Takeshi felt new power signatures approaching, while none of them felt all that strong. Takeshi wanted to avoid another fight so soon after beating Gin, especially with his strength roughly at a fifth of its highest level currently. With that he quickly took off in bringer light to find a good place to bunker down and hide. As much as he wanted to immediately search for Rukia, he knew that he would have to wait for the others to make it in seireitei. The gotei 13 would for sure be on high alert after what he had done. The others showing up would provide the distraction needed to safely move again.
A group of soul reapers belonging to the fourth division, the medical group of the soul reaper forces appeared at the scene of the fight that had ended not too long ago. What they saw shocked them, the courtyard by the gate that was guarded by Jidanbo was unrecognizable. It was as if a hurricane of destruction rolled through the area. Not to surprising, the squad had felt the fighting going on but kept a safe distance away. There were medics not fighters, after all. Not to mention they felt one of the fighters was the third division captain Gin Ichimaru. What scared them in all honesty was that the captain's opponent was also of captain level, a ryoka running around with such power was a scary thought.
Leading the group was Isane Kotetsu, vice-captain of the fourth division. She was a tall woman with silver hair she kept short except for a small braid that she had. She and group had been attending to other business, when the alarms went off and the fighting near the gate began. She purposely kept her squad back not wanting to get caught in the fighting between two powerful fighters. She surveyed the area in shock at the destruction that had been dealt out. Then her eyes caught something that made her gasp in horror.
She saw captain Ichimaru laid out on the ground severely wounded and unconscious. She immediately ran up to the downed captain and began to treat him.
"send word to the division to prepare for emergency operation, inform captain Unohana that she will be needed. Send another messenger to the head captain. Inform him a ryoka is running loose somewhere in seireitei and is strong enough to defeat a captain." Isane ordered out to a few of subordinates, they left while the rest remained to help stabilize Ichimaru for transport to the fourth division.
*Sometime later at the captains meeting room*
In the hall like room stood 12 different individuals each wearing a white haori. These were the captains of the gotei 13. The strongest soul reapers of the seireitei. They were all lined up in their respective spots waiting for the emergency meeting to commence. They all knew the alarms had been sounded earlier but knew no details beyond that except for the head captain and fourth division captain Retsu Unohana.
At the front of the group was the head captain and leader of the first division. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. He was an old man with a bald head and very long beard. Despite his old age he was still a force to be reckoned with. He had led the soul reaper forces since their inception, seeing how no one else has ever been strong enough to take the position away. The multitude of scars that adorned his body was proof of this fact. None could question the strength and authority that he commanded. He banged his cane on the floor bringing attention to himself.
"this emergency captains meeting is now to begin at once." he announced.
"head-captain." Spoke up a tall man with long white hair. The captain of the thirteenth division, Jushiro Ukitake. "Captain Ichimaru is still not here, should we not wait for him?"
"I'm afraid captain Ichimaru will be unable to attend the meeting." Cut in a woman with long black hair, tied in a thick braid that went down her chest. The captain of the fourth division, Retsu Unohana. "I'm afraid to say that captain Ichimaru is at intensive care at the fourth division. Following his fight with one of ryoka invaders."
"are you saying Ichimaru lost and was nearly killed by some ryoka!?" spoke up a small black haired woman with a very serious expression. Second division captain Sui-Feng. Unohana merely nodded her head in response.
"what of the ryoka itself? What are its current whereabouts?" questioned a short, white haired child looking boy. The captain of the tenth division Toshiro Hitsugaya.
"we don't know I'm afraid to say." Replied Unohana. "the ryoka was already gone by the time my vice-captain arrived at the scene of the battle. All she found was a nearly dead captain Ichimaru and the whole courtyard by the gate guarded by Jidanbo, destroyed beyond recognition. As of now me must assume the ryoka is hiding out somewhere in the seireitei awaiting to make its next move."
"just how much do we know at the moment?" wondered a man with straw hat, wearing a pink kimono over his haori. The captain of the eighth division Shunsui Kyōraku.
"only that a group of ryoka tried to enter seireitei and were stopped by Jidanbo, who was then subsequently defeated. After the gate was opened by Jidanbo, captain Ichimaru was there at the scene. He attacked Jidanbo and the ryoka using his shikai. While he knocked Jidanbo and one of the ryoka outside before the gate closed, one of them was trapped inside seireitei. The ryoka subsequently fought and defeated captain Ichimaru, leaving him for dead." Explained captain Unohana.
"do we have idea what this ryoka looks like atleast?" asked a very large man wearing armor including a helmet. The captain of the seventh division Sajin Komamura.
"indeed we do. my sensors in my division went off once the fighting began. Knowing that this meeting would be about this. I took the liberty of taking an image of our ryoka in question from the security footage." Spoke a strange man covered in black and white body paint. The captain of the twelfth division, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. The captain pulled out a small device and activated it, which projected an image on one the nearby walls.
The image was of Takeshi in his full release state staring down Ichimaru right before they fought. Byakuya narrowed his eyes at the image. Despite the change in appearance he knew who it was.
"I know who our ryoka in question is." announced Byakuya. "it's Takeshi Kurosaki, the fullbringer boy from the living world whom I engaged in my mission to retrieve Rukia."
"from your report, you left him and his brother both for dead after dealing them critical wounds?" questioned Toshiro.
"indeed, I know not how he survived or become this much stronger in a such a short time, but I believe his intentions are clear. He must be aiming to somehow save Rukia from her punishment as he attempted to in the living world." spoke Byakuya.
"how do you wish to approach this situation head captain?" asked Sui-Feng.
"as of this moment I am putting all of the seireitei on high alert. Captains are permitted until further notice to carry their zanpaktuo with them. return to your divisions for now and attend to things until further word is given. Should you run into this ryoka, use whatever force in needed to bring it in. be cautious, this ryoka is not to be underestimated. He has already proven capable of defeating a captain. Dismissed!" finished the head captain with a bang of his cane and authority in his voice.
As all the captains began to file out, one in particular was in deep thought to himself. He had remained quiet throughout the meeting. Aizen mused to himself mentally.
'my, my Takeshi Kurosaki, I must admit you beating Gin was unexpected. I'll need to make some adjustments to my plans, but it makes no difference to their end. It seems your potential maybe as high or perhaps even higher than your brother, most surprising. Once I manage to get my hands on you, we will see for sure just how accurate that train of thought is.' he smiled to himself as he walked alone back to his division in thought about the eldest Kurosaki.
*Elsewhere with Ichigo and friends*
Ichigo and the others went searching for information for the one who could help them get into seireitei. A person by the name of Kukaku Shiba, as Yoruichi mentioned to them. they had some trouble with some ugly idiot who hated soul reapers but that was about it. eventually they found their way to Kukaku.
Surprisingly to everyone not already aware of the fact, Kukaku was a woman with a fiery personality. Her grand plan to get them into soul society was to launch them from a special canon directly into the place. The explosive's loving woman taught them they would have to create a special sphere around themselves for it all to work. Though for it to truly work they would have to bring someone of Kukaku's side with them. which turned out to be the soul reaper hating jerk from earlier. Now known as Ganju.
Eventually they all learned how to properly create the sphere for transport. As everyone began to settle down for the night for the assault on seireitei. Ichigo was still on edge about his brother having been trapped inside the heart of the soul reapers home on his own. While he had faith in his brother to be ok, he couldn't help but worry.
Ichigo was in a room with the others when his musings were cut off once Kukaku walked in.
"I got some news on your friend who got stuck in seireitei without you guys." Announced Kukaku.
"Really!?" Ichigo practically yelled out. Everyone else in the room were also listening intently as well at this point.
"yeah, Yoruichi mentioned your friend. So I pulled some info from what few contacts I have inside seireitei. I'll say this Ichigo, your brother knows how to make one hell of a statement." Spoke Kukaku with some glee.
"just what happened Kukaku?" asked Yoruichi still in her cat form.
"well he more or less obliterated the entire courtyard by the gate and a fair chunk of the surrounding structures in his fight with Ichimaru. On top of that he actually took down the fox faced asshole." Explained Kukaku.
"Takeshi killed Gin Ichimaru!?" exclaimed Yoruichi in genuine surprise.
"well" began Kukaku "he might have. All I know is that Ichimaru was hauled off to emergency care in the fourth division barely hanging on. whether he's managed to survive or not I don't know I'm afraid."
"how much does this change things for us?" asked Ishida
"hmmmm" hummed Yoruichi. "well, at this point seireitei will be on high alert. They'll certainly be on the lookout for any sign of Takeshi. If I know him like I think I do, he'll have been smart enough to find a good place lay low for the time being. If everything that Kukaku has told us in indeed correct, he will be seireitei's number one priority. Even when we gain entrance tomorrow into seireitei, Takeshi will still be their top target. Anyone hiding out in there who has proven capable of defeating a captain is a massive red flag for them. it's something we can use to our own advantage."
"how so?" asked Chad.
"simple, once we arrive. It will give Takeshi the freedom he needs to move about. Once he does and reveals himself, the soul reapers will detour the bulk of their strength to him. we will be unknowns, but Takeshi is a known threat. They'll aim to deal with him first, considering how dangerous he has proven to be." Finished Yoruichi.
"essentially my brother is going to hopefully be bait for the soul reapers while we do our own thing." Cut in Ichigo.
"more or less" replied Yoruichi.
Ichigo growled in response, he didn't like the idea of having his brother be bait like that. he understood his brother was plenty capable, but he just didn't like the idea on principle in all honesty. Though he knew there wasn't much point in trying to argue it.
"fine, let's get to bed and be ready for tomorrow." Spat Ichigo.
*Back in seireitei at night*
Momo Hinamori the vice-captain of the fifth division was traveling attending to her duties. She was a small girl with brown hair she kept in a bun. She was known for being gentle and kind-hearted, along with a strong talent in kido. She was dedicated to her duty and is a close childhood friend of the tenth division captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. Whom she affectionately called "shiro-chan" much to the captain's annoyance.
The seireitei had gone to high alert after a ryoka invaded and even managed to defeat captain Ichimaru. While the captain of her squad Sosuke Aizen had called his subordinates together and assured them everything would be fine. Momo still had her reservations about it all. Someone who was capable of defeating a captain was someone she didn't want to run into.
With everything on high alert that meant round the clock guard shifts until further notice. It also meant making sure everyone stuck on the shifts had what the needed to make the long guard duty tolerable. Momo was on her way to a storage warehouse where supplies were kept meant for the guard post's. while she had already insured all of the fifth division posts were stocked up. She wanted to stock them with a little extra just to be on the safe side of things.
Sadly the storage warehouse closets to the fifth was too low on what she wanted. So he she had to go to the next closet one, which was all the way by the seventh division. Momo reached her destination and made her way to back of the storage area. The supplies she was looking for should be located in the back.
"ahh here we are." She said joyfully as she gathered the wanted supplies. As she did so she suddenly had a shiver go down her spine, like something was watching her. She put her hand to her blade, waiting for any sign of foul play. After a few minutes of nothing happening she moved away her hand and relaxed.
"this whole situation with the ryoka must have me a little overly stressed out." She muttered to herself.
"perfectly understandable." Rang out a voice she didn't recognize.
Momo's eyes widened in shock but before she could do anything. She felt something collide with the back of head harshly and everything went black. As her body began to fall to the floor, she was carefully caught and gently laid down. Standing over top of her was the man of the hour himself, Takeshi Kurosaki.
"well, that was a close call." He mused. He had found this place as somewhere to hide and rest. He noticed the place seemed rarely visited, just his luck of course someone would come barging in while he was hiding in it. when he noticed the person in question was a vice-captain, he decided to make a move to capture the girl. A vice-captain should certainly have the answers to the questions he had.
He took the girls blade away and bound her up and covered her mouth. Now it was just a matter of waiting until she woke up.
Momo woke she didn't know how long she had been out, but when she started to come too the first thing that hit her. Was the splitting headache she had, she tried to move but quickly realized she was tied up. Her eyes shot wide open as what had happened came rushing back to her. She tried struggling with her binds but no avail.
"you're awake at last little miss sunshine." Said a voice she recognized as the one she heard before she was knocked out.
She could only watch and realize in horror who was standing before her. She knew who he was from the description that was passed around seireitei. Silver hair, a black outfit and massive black blade. It was the ryoka invader that had left captain Ichimaru for dead after a destructive battle.
Takeshi bent down in front of the clearly scared girl. While he hated having to do this sort of thing to someone. That fact was he needed info and saving Rukia mattered more to him than some random soul reaper girl.
"so I'm gonna break this down for you." spoke Takeshi as he bent down directly in front of Momo. "I need to know where Rukia Kuchiki is being held and you're going to tell me." Then he reached and gently held Momo by the chin to make her look directly at him. "otherwise you'll force to me use more persuasive measures, if you don't want to talk willingly." He finished tapping the hilt of Reaver with his hand.
Momo's faced visibly paled at the supposed implications of a failure to comply. She albeit somewhat nervously nodded her head in agreement. She knew that she was at the ryoka's complete mercy, might as well not tempt fate.
"good, now I'm gonna remove the gag and you're going to calmly tell me who you are." Said Takeshi and the girl simply nodded.
"I'm Momo Hinamori, vice-captain of the fifth division." she said once the gag had been removed.
"Takeshi Kurosaki, human and fullbringer." Replied Takeshi. "so where is Rukia Kuchiki being held?"
"she was being kept in the sixth division cell block but after your attack at the gate. Orders came down form central 46 not long after a captains meeting to move her to the senzakyu to be held until her execution." Momo explained.
"just what and where is that by chance?"
"it's a massively tall white structure overlooking sokyoku hill, the execution grounds. You can't possibly miss it; you can see it from practically anywhere in seireitei."
"I see." Mused Takeshi as he thought to himself, then a thought crossed his mind. "what's this central 46 you mentioned before?"
"Central 46 is a collection of law makers of sorts in soul society. there a mass panel of individuals who make decisions regarding laws, crimes against soul society and so on. once central 46 makes a decision, no one can argue against it, not even the head captain." Stated Momo.
"I'm going to assume they're the ones who ordered Rukia's execution."
Momo nodded her head. Takeshi took a moment to think about what he heard.
"may I ask you a question?" the small girl piped up.
"shoot."
"why is it that you're so determined to save Rukia?" Momo inquired.
Takeshi was quiet for a few moments but decided it was best to explain himself to Momo.
"you see, it was only because of Rukia giving her powers to my brother the night that she did. That my family and Rukia herself mind you weren't all killed by a hollow. that's why I'm here trying to save her, she did more than I could probably be thankful for with that one single action. Now that she needs help, I'm going to help her no matter what. For both the debt that I owe her and the fact I consider her a friend." Finished Takeshi.
Momo looked shocked for a moment before her face softened. Hearing his explanation it actually made a lot of sense.
"I think I can understand." Said Momo "hearing the reason for Rukia transferring her power like she did. It only makes her whole sentence all the odder I have to say."
"what do you mean?" said Takeshi with a raised eyebrow.
"well her being executed let alone by the sokyoku seems very overboard for the crime she has committed. The sokyoku is normally reserved for captains who committed the highest of offenses. Normally for what she did, would only generally be punished by a loss of pay and duty restriction. Not even a captain would be punished by execution for doing what she did." Finished Momo.
Takeshi didn't say anything and merely let all this new info sink in. he raised whole bunch of new questions. Suddenly everything about this situation with Rukia was a lot more suspicious. Too suspicious for him to overlook, perhaps he would need to go see this central 46 for himself.
"just where is this central 46 located at by chance?" he asked.
"they have their own compound near the center of seireitei." Momo replied.
Takeshi simply nodded his head before slipping the gag back over Hinamori's mouth.
"well I'm gonna get some sleep, so should you. tomorrow is going to be busy." Was all he said before he found a comfy place to sleep.
Momo was rather annoyed by the action but decided to listen. Not like she was going anywhere anytime in the current situation.
Takeshi woke up hours later to the sound of alarms going off. He quickly jumped up wide awake.
"sounds like the others have made their way in." he muttered to himself.
He looked and noticed Momo was had already been woken up by the alarms as well. He quickly grabbed her and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She grumbled in response through her gag at the action.
"oh please don't be that way. Did you really think I would just let you go or leave you here?" he asked.
All he got was grumbling in response. He just shrugged as made his way out of the door of the storage area. Making sure there were no soul reapers nearby he hoped up on a nearby rooftop to try and gauge where the others were. To his surprise he picked up everyone's signature's as well as one he didn't recognize coming from the sky. He looked up and saw something he honestly never would have expected.
He saw everyone in some weird cannonball like structure of reiatsu. They had passed through the barrier surrounding the seireitei.
"well then, once they all land, I'll just meet up with them and explain what all I-" his words died in his mouth when he saw the cannonball like structure begin to crack and then blow clean apart. He watched as everyone inside was seemingly scattered across all of seireitei in various directions.
"sweet fucking kami." Deadpanned Takeshi as he face-palmed at what he just witnessed.
Takeshi reached out and tried to decipher just where everyone was. He picked up Ichigo and someone he didn't recognize the farthest away. They had already encountered couple of soul reaper's, but Takeshi could tell that Ichigo could handle it. Everyone else seemed to be somewhere in between except Yoruichi. She was the closest to his current position, so he headed off to her. After a few minutes of carefully traveling around he spotted a familiar black cat.
"OY!" Takeshi cried out to grab Yoruichi's attention.
Yoruichi, quickly looked behind, worried she had been caught but was relieved when she noticed it was Takeshi. She stopped and allowed the fullbringer to catch up.
"ah, Takeshi good to see you're ok. I heard about you defeating Ichimaru. Well done I have to admit. You made quite the impression on seireitei." Stated the werecat.
"thanks Yoruichi, though I'm pretty sure I'm officially at the top of the soul reaper's hit list for the time being." Retorted Takeshi as he stopped.
"that's certainly true." Said Yoruichi as she then noticed what Takeshi was carrying. "who may I ask is your friend?"
"this is fifth division vice-captain Momo Hinamori." He said as he plopped aforementioned soul reaper down in front of him. "she happened to come stumbling into where I was hiding. So I knocked her put, tied her up and got some information out of her."
"good thinking but what will you do with her now?" Yoruichi wondered.
"I was wondering if you could take her off my hands and stash her somewhere safe. I imagine you and Kisuke being the people you are have a hiding hole or two around here. From your days of living in this place." Spoke the fullbringer.
Yoruichi chuckled a little in response before speaking. "quite right, very well I'll take her off your hands. I know just the place. I suggest you go help the others however you can. Whether it be helping them directly or causing some more chaos of your own to draw people away from them."
"will do!" Chimed Takeshi as he took off, leaving Momo with Yoruichi.
Takeshi traveled for a little a bit before finding the entrance to one of the divisions.
"Seventh division eh? Well then, time to cause some chaos of my own." Piped the fullbringer with some glee.
*Inside the seventh division*
Sitting at her work desk was seventh division third seat Kayda Takagi. She was a woman of average height with a soft round face, long black hair that flowed all the way down to her waist, with some that covered the left half of her face. She had Violet eyes and somewhat pale skin and large breasts.
She was busy having to deal with all the paperwork that Captain Komamura and vice-captain Iba couldn't do at the moment. Besides the one ryoka that successfully invaded and defeated captain Ichimaru yesterday. A whole new group managed to invade today!
Now her captain and vice-captain were busy dealing with mobilizing alongside the rest of seireitei in response. Which meant she had to do all the associated paperwork since she was the next most qualified to do so. Not that she didn't mind per-say it was just insanely boring. As she worked on the mountains of paperwork, it made her reflect on her past to help pass the time as she worked.
It had been almost 17 years since she arrived in soul society. she didn't remember much of her past human life other than she had been married and died in childbirth after being attacked by what she came to learn was a hollow. she remembered only living just long enough to give her newborn son his name, Takeshi. the only other thing she remembered was being very good friends with a woman by the name of Masaki Kurosaki. She couldn't remember why they were such good friends, only that they were for some reason.
When she first arrived in soul society, she soon heard about the soul reaper academy and immediately signed up for it. she wanted to do whatever she could to deal with hollows. She had no love for damn monsters all things considered. As far as she was concerned, any and all hollows could go ahead and die.
She pushed herself to the extremes at the academy and managed to graduate in only three years. Then she threw herself to the extreme in her work and training upon joining the seventh division. She managed a seated officer spot in eight years and just four months ago she managed to become third seat of her division. She was liked by those above and below her in her division for her dedicated work ethic and code to upholding the laws of soul society.
Still she couldn't help but wonder at times what became of the child she had to leave behind in the human world. she remembered she had been very excited about being a mother. raising children had been something she had always wanted to do. it made the fact it had been ripped away from her before she truly was able to be a mother, all the more painful. she was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a loud explosion coming from the division training grounds. Which was soon followed by men yelling out in panic. Acting quickly she sent out a hell butterfly to captain Komamura who was elsewhere attending to things and headed to the training grounds with her zanpaktuo in hand.
She charged out to the training grounds and stopped once she saw what was taking place. In the middle of the place was one of the ryoka, the same one that beat captain Ichimaru no less. Kayda was no coward but she understood that she was no match for this ryoka, at the very least she had to try keep him busy until captain Komamura's arrival.
Looking around she noticed there was already a fair amount of men of the seventh knocked unconscious all over the place. It made her furious that a mere ryoka could do so much damage to them.
"Halt ryoka!" she yelled out, gaining the ryoka's attention. The silver haired and black clad ryoka turned to her in with an inquisitive expression.
"just who are you by chance?" he asked.
"Kayda Takagi, third seat of the seventh division!" she spat.
"Takeshi Kurosaki, a pleasure to meet you." he retorted back, then he seemed to look more closely at her from a distance. As if he was trying to figure some difficult equation.
'wait a sec!' Kayda thought to herself. 'did he just say his last name was Kurosaki!?'
Takeshi looked at the woman in front of him in curiosity. he couldn't put his finger on it but something about her felt….familiar. yet he had no idea why, after all he had never met the woman before as far as he was aware.
"look lady." He suddenly spoke. "you're not a captain or a vice-captain, you seem to know who I am, then you know you can't beat me. So I'm gonna take off." He began to turn to leave but then the woman suddenly cried out.
"are you related to a Masaki Kurosaki?"
That sentence made him freeze dead in his tracks. He slowly turned back around to face the woman in question.
"what did you say?" he asked needing clarification.
"I said are you related to a Masaki Kurosaki by chance?" Kayda stated once more.
Takeshi was stunned wondering how this random soul reaper knew his adopted mother. wanting answers himself now, he decided to answer.
"she was my adopted mother she took me in when I was only a few weeks old. After my birth mother died in the delivery room. They were very good friends." He explained.
Now it was Kayda's turn to be to be stunned by shock. 'no way in hell!' she thought to herself. 'no way in hell, this is really happening right now!'
"your mother….did she die from childbirth after being attacked by a hollow?" Kayda asked.
'ok just what the fuck is going on here!?' Takeshi yelled mentally trying to grasp this turn of events. 'how does this woman know all this!?'
"isn't obvious war pup?" cut in Reaver.
"what do you mean?" he retorted back.
"deactivate me so she can see your true appearance, and everything will become clear."
Takeshi wasn't sure where Reaver was going with it but still felt like she was onto something none the less. So despite some hesitation he decided to deactivate his fullbring.
Kayda watched as the ryoka seemed to deactivate his powers and then showed his true appearance to her. She almost fell over from surprise.
Black hair and violet eyes like hers, though his skin was a slight peach color compared to hers. Then she saw the necklace around his neck. While she would admit she didn't remember much of her husband from her human life. She did remember he had a necklace exactly like the one hanging on the neck of the person in front of her.
"that necklace….it was…it belonged to your birth father before he was killed by a hollow the day you were born." She spoke.
"ok, just how the hell do you know all this!?" Takeshi roared at Kayda, now he was really getting freaked by all this.
"I'm your real mother." she simply replied.
"NO! NO! NO!" he yelled in response. "there is absolutely no way in all the seven levels of hell this is actually happening right now! This can't possibly be right!"
"calm down Takeshi!" he started to regain himself right away, Reaver never used his real name unless she was very serious. "I know this's hard to believe but you know deep inside, that it is the truth. Don't try to deny it, you will only hurt yourself if you do."
"I can't fucking believe it, this actually happening right now. I mean holy shit; this is beyond nuts." He muttered to himself lost in thought. So much so, he didn't even notice Kayda had moved right up to him. he locked eyes with the woman in front of him, violet to violet. Nothing was said as the two stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Until Takeshi broke the silence with a single word.
"….mom.."
With that one single word, Kayda forgot about her duty and station as a soul reaper. The only thing she cared about in that singular moment was to embrace the child he she had long thought lost to her forever. She took her son in her arms and hugged him tightly, tears running down her face. Takeshi hugged in return, tears of his own flowing form his eyes.
The moment lasted until suddenly a knew presence began to near them. one that Kayda knew all too well.
"oh kami! Captain Komamura is almost here! You need to leave now!" she spoke with urgency as she broke away from her son. "you can't fight him; you may have beaten Ichimaru but captain Komamura is an entirely different combatant."
"come with me! I know places we can hide, there are things I need ask you." he replied.
"there's no time to argue this Takeshi, you need to get moving right now!" she demanded.
But it was already too late when the presence of said captain appeared in the training grounds.
"Third seat Takagi, good work on keeping the ryoka busy. Now stand back, I shall handle this from here." Ordered Komamura.
Takeshi turned to take a good look at the captain front of him, to put it simply. He was fucking massive. He stood almost ten ft tall and wore armor on his arms, legs and big bucket like helmet. The guy was definitely the "I can take whatever you dish me and give it right back" type of fighter. Takeshi grit his teeth a bit, it was gonna take more than just a single well placed attack to bring the giant down, unlike Ichimaru. he was gonna have to wear him down a bit first before he could give a decisive finishing hit.
He looked to his mother; he knew he had to keep up appearances in order to keep her safe from her captain catching on to things. So he quickly activated his fullbring a drew Reaver and pointed it directly at her. She looked visibly surprised by the sudden motion, Komamura had his hand on his hilt ready to draw at a moment's notice.
"you should do what he says and get the hell back. you'll only get in the way of this fight." He said with a quick wink of the eye, trying to hint Kayda in on his act. She seemed to catch on as she quickly used flash stepped to Komamura's side.
"Takagi are you alright?" asked Komamura.
"yes captain, I'm fine." Kayda replied.
"good, attend to the wounded, while I deal with the ryoka." He commanded.
Kayda seemed a bit hesitant but none the less left to do as ordered. Leaving Komamura and Takeshi alone staring each other down.
"you rampage ends here ryoka, you'll pay for what you did to captain Ichimaru and to my division Then the rest of your friends will join you." proclaimed Komamura.
"man, aren't you the high and mighty type, spare the little speech for someone who actually cares. I'm just here to rescue my friend, outside of that. I could give a shit less about what the hell you people here think about me or the rest of friends for that matter. Now lets' go to work!" retorted Takeshi as he took off in bringer light appearing above the giant captain.
He swung reaver down with all the force he could muster. Komamura quickly put up one his armored arms up to catch the massive blade. It caught Reaver and the huge blade sank into the armor with enough force to push the arm down allowing the blade to cut into the helmet a fair-ways before stopping. Komamura using his free hand quickly drew his blade to swing at Takeshi. Takeshi quickly moved just narrowly avoiding the strike, settling back a fair distance away.
His strike did more damage to the helmet then he had thought, since the helmet broke away in two pieces revealing the giant captains face. Takeshi had to actually do a quick double take at what he was looking at. Cause he was pretty sure he was staring at some dog man. Yep he was definitely looking at some giant dog man.
"you know out of all the things I was thinking I could see while I was here, a furry was not one of them. tickle me surprised in that regard." The fullbringer chimed.
Komamura just growled in irritation. "I'm not going to waste time with you ryoka. Captain Ichimaru made the mistake of not using his bankai against you when he should have. I will not make such a mistake. Bankai: Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō!" roared the dog like captain.
Takeshi couldn't help but stare in shock and awe as the whole ground shook and broke as Komamura's bankai appeared and took shape. In the form a gigantic armored samurai!
"you know the fact you're going to try to kill me using this thing aside. I have to admit this is way cooler and badass then Byakuya's bankai in comparison." Stated Takeshi still looking at the giant Bankai.
Komamura simply huffed in response apparently not in the mood for such things. Before swinging his blade, which caused his bankai to do the same. In a much faster manner then Takeshi would of thought something so massive capable of.
Takeshi barely managed to jump out of the way as the giant blade collided with the ground, practically causing a mini earthquake. Takeshi wanting to see if he could disable the giant suit or armor in some manner. He ran up on the sword and used his cutter technique on it. only to see it barely scratch the armor.
"fuck this thing is tough!" he cried.
"surrender ryoka! You cannot defeat my bankai!" exclaimed Komamura.
"sorry but I'm not a quitter. Besides as impressive as you are Komamura, I've been trained into the ground by someone far more powerful then you!" retorted the fullbringer as he took up into the air using bringer light.
"scatter shot!" Takeshi yelled as a giant barrage of silver shards slammed into the armor and gave the command to explode. The whole chest of the armor was engulfed in an explosion of energy and smoke. Sadly Takeshi learned it didn't do much of anything when a giant armored fist suddenly flew up through the smoke and plowed right into him.
Takeshi was launched down and into a wall smashing clean through it and skidding a fair distance away until he came to stop.
"Ughhhh…..ok now that really did fucking hurt. I really need to thank Halibel for training up my, harden ability as much as she did. Otherwise that hit would have probably knocked me cold." Spat Takeshi as he stood up and wiped blood from his chin ignoring the soreness in his whole body.
"I think it's time test one of the other new tricks I learned." Spoke Takeshi as he took off back towards Komamura. He stopped while hovering in the air with his bringer light.
"so you still stand I see. Few can take such a hit from my bankai and keep going." Commented the dog man.
"like I mentioned before, I had a great teacher!" replied Takeshi as he focused energy directly into Reaver's blade edge and held it there. The idea for this trick was simple, he would focus and concentrate his energy into the blade edge in order to greatly increase his blades cutting power.
He got the idea for it when Halibel mentioned just how powerful things like hierro can grow to be. He decided he needed something to counter such powerful defenses should he ever come across them. now it was time to see if it was all going to pay off.
Takeshi took off in bringer light now that he was more aware of the giant bankai's speed, Komamura wasn't going to hit him so easily like before. Takeshi wouldn't deny that it was quite fast especially for its' size. However Gin's Shinso was faster, he could deal with that, then he can deal with this.
Komamura swung with his sword arm and the bankai did the same. Takeshi quickly dove down; he could feel a mass rush of air from the blade as it passed over him. Takeshi quickly shot forward until he was at where the sword arm and the shoulder of the bankai met. Using Reaver's empowered edge he swung down with all his might right into.
Reaver sank into it managing to cut into the armor this time. while he didn't get as deep as he wanted, he still sunk Reaver in a decent amount. he quickly ripped reaper out and moved back. he suddenly felt his energy drain at work, but how? He only cut the bankai not the captain, making a quick look at Komamura. He quickly realized just what it was that had happened.
Komamura had a good slice in him right where Takeshi had cut the bankai, it suddenly made sense to him. the connection between the dog man and his bankai worked in such a way. Whatever damage was done to the bankai would reflect directly onto Komamura as well in the same manner. Takeshi could certainly use this to use advantage.
Komamura grit his teeth and did his best to ignore the pain of the wound in his sword arm. Komamura swung with the blade of his bankai. Takeshi quickly dodged to the side, then a fist from the other arm came at him. Takeshi shot downward to avoid the fist. Takeshi still keeping Reaver's empowered edge, made an upward thrust into the fist. He sank Reaver in a good distance before ripping it out.
Komamura couldn't hold back the audible growl of pain from the hand stabbing. The boy had figured out his bankai's key weakness and he was going to exploit for all it was worth. It mattered little to the seventh division captain. he was just as tough as he looked. It would take more than some cuts and stabs to bring him down. Komamura roared in defiance as he struck out again at the fullbringer.
Takeshi moved up and to the side avoiding the strike and sped forward right to the chest of the giant bankai. He swung at a downward angle with all his might and left a gash right across the chest of the bankai. The same wound immediately opened up on the captain.
Komamura was getting very annoyed by all this. Not to mention he felt like he was getting much weaker than he should be. He didn't understand then he suddenly remembered! 'of course captain Kuchiki wrote in his report the boy had some energy drain ability that activates when he cuts his targets.' He thought to himself. 'due to the unique connection I share with my bankai, that ability activated upon him being able to cut it and in turn me.'
"that draining ability of yours is infuriating ryoka." Spat the captain.
"caught on to that at last, did you? took long enough I suppose, I should mention that the more I cut, and the larger said cuts are. The more I can drain from you at a time." Takeshi stated as Komamura growled in response.
"I think it's time to end this battle captain Komamura." Takeshi simply said as he began focusing a getsuga tensho.
"I agree Takeshi Kurosaki!" yelled Komamura in response as he readied himself as well. Komamura charged with his bankai at Takeshi. Takeshi held his position in the air calmly focused while he continued to charge his attack. With all the speed and strength he could muster, Komamura attacked the fullbringer. However Takeshi was ready for his charge.
Takeshi shot upwards as the blade of the bankai missing him so closely. he could have practically touched it with his feet as it passed under him. he darted right to where he had cut into the shoulder of Komamura's bankai earlier.
"Getsuga Tensho!" he yelled as he swung down and released the blast directly into the pre-existing cut. The silver arc hit the already existing wound dead on and dug deeply into it immediately. Takeshi gave a yell of force as he fed power into the strike then the arc cut clean through, taking the arm of the bankai clean off along with it!
Takeshi heard a howl of agony, he turned to see that the same arm that had been sliced off the bankai had also been so on Komamura. The Seventh division fell to his knees as he gripped the gushing stump of where his sword arm and shoulder had once been together.
Takeshi dropped to the ground and stood there as he watched the captain grip his bloody stump trying to cease the massive amount of bleeding.
"Captain Komamura!" yelled Kayda as she ran up next to Takeshi, seeing the aftermath of the battle.
"look after your captain so he doesn't die, we'll meet again before me and my friends are finished in seireitei I'm sure." He said with some sadness in his voice and left. Kayda quickly ran over to her injured captain to help him.
Takeshi stopped after putting some distance between him and the seventh division it had turned out to be far more than he had anticipated. Fighting another captain and meeting his birth mother of people as well. He shook the thoughts from his head for the moment, deciding to figure out where the others were. Reaching out he picked Ichigo being the closest, he also felt another soul reaper he didn't recognize and the same mysterious presence that entered with the rest of the group earlier. He also felt who was unmistakably Renji. He quickly took off, not wanting to waste time.
By the time he got there all he found was his brother looking a bit beat up but standing over a beaten and bandaged Renji. As well as a small and meek looking soul reaper and some dude in a green, white and black outfit.
"nice job on kicking Renji's ass again little brother." Chimed Takeshi as he approached. "also who the hell are these two?"
"oh that's Hanataro he's a healer from the fourth division I sort of picked up along the way." He said pointing at the small soul reaper. "and that's Ganju Shiba, he helped me, and the others get in seireitei." Explained the orange haired soul reaper.
'Shiba!' Takeshi thought to himself in surprise. 'that's was the clan dad oversaw when he was still in soul society. that makes him our cousin of sorts I guess.'
"so you've been up to a lot from what I understand." Asked Ichigo.
"I'll explain it all but first I think we should get some where not so out in the open." Retorted the fullbringer.
"I know where we can hide." Cut in Hanataro, gaining everyone's attention. "we can go into sewers. I know my way around them and it's built with special material that will keep our energy from being detected."
Everyone just nodded and followed the small soul reaper, once safely in the sewers. They traveled for a while before deciding to hunker down for the night. Hanataro went to work on healing Ichigo and Takeshi explained that all that had happened since he was by himself in seireitei.
He told of his fight with Ichimaru, catching and interrogating Hinamori, running into his birth mother and then fighting Captain Komamura before meeting up with him. by the time he was done telling his tale, everyone looked dumbstruck.
"so let me get this straight." Spoke Ichigo. "you captured a vice-captain and got a bunch of info about Rukia's situation."
"yep"
"you ran into your birth mother who's a soul reaper now?"
"yep"
"and then you fought another captain and killed him."
"I didn't kill him, I just simply relieved him of his sword arm. There's a difference, he should be fine. I think anyways, as long they could treat him before shock and blood loss got to him." replied Takeshi casually.
Ichigo just shook his head as his brother's attitude. "kami, Takeshi you're gonna have the whole soul society hunting you down by the time this is over."
"eh, I'm not worried. I survived four years in hueco mundo from when I was 11 to 15. I doubt this place can throw anything at me worse than what I dealt with there." He chimed back.
"you survived that long in hueco mundo that long as a young kid!" exclaimed Ganju, while Hanataro simply looked at Takeshi with amazement.
"yeah, I did but it's a long story, I tell you later. We should get some rest, we're just as busy of a day tomorrow I'm sure."
"oh one thing first." Piped Hanataro. "I found this on you Ichigo as I was healing you." he finished as he pulled something out of his bag. Ichigo and Takeshi froze up at what it was.
It was a hollow mask.
It was white with red tribal like striping and the visage was something akin to a sort of demon.
"just where the hell did that come from?" wondered Ichigo.
"you didn't know you had it this whole time?" asked the violet eyed teen.
"no, it must have somehow just showed up."
"let me see it." demanded Takeshi.
Takeshi looked over the mask, there was no mistaking it was a hollow mask alright. The question was where did it magically appear from and why with Ichigo? Not too mention just looking at the thing, let alone holding it gave Takeshi a bad feeling and put him on edge.
He'd seen plenty of hollow mask's in his time in hueco mundo but something about this mask in particular just felt….wrong for some reason to him. though he had no idea as to why that was. Takeshi's made his decision and chucked it into the sewer water.
"best just to get rid of it, something about it just rub's me wrong." He explained.
"yeah I agree." Said Ichigo. "come on, we might as well get some rest for tomorrow."
With that said everyone settled down for a somewhat uneasy sleep.
'I don't know why but I can't help shake the feeling things are going to get way more out of control then we ever could have anticipated.' He mused mentally to himself before drifting off to sleep.