Chapter Six – Harmonic Discord, pt 2

Age is… flexible, when you reside in Soul Society. The traits one usually adheres to the passing of time are instead altered depending on a number of arguably more important factors. One's maturity- spiritual power- worldview. All have a much greater role that mere time.

In Captain Yamamoto's case, his sheer age does become a factor, but not, perhaps, as much as his overwhelming strength. Hitsugaya Toushirou, on the other hand, still has plenty of innate naivety and a few image-based insecurities to deal with.

As for Zakari Yachiru, formally adopted daughter of Captain Zakari Kenpachi? Despite the aging- rapid aging- she's done in the fifteen-odd years since the Seireitai was first invaded by a brash, orange-headed rogue shinigami and his allies, she remains her daddy's girl. Even keeps her perch on his massive shoulders- though when he needs the speed, she gladly removes her still-petite weight from it.

Unfortunately for the vice captain, Soul Society law does dictate that, given a certain overall maturity, she legally has to attend the Academy. Even if her kill count of Hollows've nearly bypassed that of the third and fourth seats combined- all of the third and fourth seats.

So it was with great pain and disappointment to her when loud, thunderous explosions rocked the entirety of the Society… and she was forced to stay cooped in a classroom, studying the fundamental aspects of reiatsu-channeling instead of going out there to kick ass and take names.

Ah well. She could always flirt with the upperclassmen later- though, given how often Kenpachi's been visiting the medical division for heart medication, she might want to tone it down a bit…

-----

The thunderous roar of blinding-hot, fused plasma striking the earth and carving out a ten-meter wide crater in a flash of heated rock and dirt shook the very foundation of the outer districts, causing even the larger Hollows out hunting to seek shelter.

Unlike Kali, they actually have a sense of self-preservation. Then again, unlike her, they were actually impressed by the pyrotechnics.

"Flashy shikai of yours," she said, barely glancing at the disappeared forms of Reiji and Gao, herself on the very lip of the crater. "Base Spiritrons heated and fused until they start forming new particles, then magnetically focused into a hypervelocity lance."

"That's what they tell me," said Kenpachi, still grinning through the sulfurous smoke. "Don't understand half of it myself. All I know is that Amaterasu-chan really likes a good barbeque. Your kids are quick."

"They better be. I plan to kill them myself later."

"Oh? Don't go making any plans-"

Sudden, flaring stars in the bright blue sky. Between one instance and the next, five roaring gouts of unimaginably hot heat struck around and over Kali, smiting over a quarter-kilometer of the landscape into red-hot glass.

The smoke cleared, and Kenpachi had locked blades with Kali.

"-'cuz I'm not done yet."

Kali glared as she pressed on, forcing a surprised Kenpachi onto his knees. "You're a hundred thousand years too early to beat me, shinigami."

With a great surge of effort, Kenpachi rose and knocked Kali back five feet. "We'll see about that. AMATERASU! FLARE!"

-----

"That… was not pleasant," breathed Gao as he stopped at the base of a twisted, half-dead tree for breath. "Why… are we running again?"

Reiji waved, indicating that he was too out of breath to answer. Gao kicked him in response.

"Ow, what the hell was that for?"

"You can talk now, can't you?"

Reiji glared at his twin. "Yeah, fine. Remember Dad?"

"…okay, the conversation hasn't even started yet, and I'm already lost. What about Dad?"

"He was a police officer, remember? We used to look up to him so much- and we had a bet going on as to who would become police chief first."

"Oh, yeah. I remember. I offered up my autographed baseball, and you had that genuine- but carefully blunted- katana dad gave you for your fourteenth birthday."

"Here, we're dead. The bet's off."

"Uh… okay. Thanks?"

"So we'll make a new one. Whomever gets to be a Shinigami Captain first buys the other as much sashimi as he can possibly wish to eat for a lifetime!"

"…b-but wait! We can't die after we die- I mean, we're- AH! WAIT UP!"

Reiji snickered as he disappeared deeper into the forest. Even his brother's yelling- no doubt attracting all sorts of attention by now- would only aid him further.

It was time to cast off Kali's chains.

-----

"Huh. Kenpachi hasn't been back for a while," noted Ichigo as he helped Yachiru carefully lay an enormous cake onto a tray. "He'd usually stomp in drunk by now and threaten my life. Again."

Yachiru giggled as she laid the cream gently on the cake's sugared surface. "You should really take him up on his offer, yanno. He's getting even moodier recently."

"…that is a deeply, deeply disturbing thought."

"Awww… he's really a softie, yanno. Just likes blood and such- and who doesn't?"

Ichigo glared at the pink-haired teenager. "You were raised by him. You're in no way objective when it comes to blood, guts and chaos. Tell me, how many kids did you send to the infirmary this week?"

"Can you believe I didn't send any? Class's so boring now… When're you gonna marry her?"

Ichigo coughed. "What?"

"Hey now, it's general knowledge that she pretty much spends her entire time in your bed when she comes to the human world to visit."

"What! Have you guys been spying on us? Again!"

Yachiru grinned. "Ikkaku made me promise not to name any names. So I won't."

"Why that goddamned-"

"So when're you gonna hitch up? It's not exactly respectable for a noblewoman to spend that much time with her boyfriend unescorted, yanno."

Ichigo fumed, and went to whip eggs furiously. "I already asked her brother for permission to transfer her over to my division."

"Ah… did you get a ring?"

"…yes."

"Good. She's over seventy-three actual years old now, yanno. It's about time she got married."

Ichigo blinked in surprise. "You know, I keep on forgetting that… She's always looked twenty to me."

"Make sure she keeps on looking so. She's morose enough as it is!" said Yachiru scoldingly, waving a spatula in his face.

"Heh, yes ma'am-"

A black butterfly floated by. A harbinger of troubled waters.

-----

Kenpachi laid dying.

It was an excruciating feeling, tempered by adrenaline and the remnants of white, all-consuming rage. It was also exhilarating, beautiful and fascinating.

"You're not bad," said Kali as she bandaged a singed arm. "For a brute. No finesse, no style… but damn if you aren't tough as nails."

Kenpachi grunted. It was hard to retort when he was coughing up blood every few minutes.

"Shall I put you out of your misery?" asked Kali as she stooped over the fallen, bloodstained giant. "Your hamstrings are butchered, your arms mutilated, and you still look like you want to fight. You sure you don't want it to end?"

"Go... screw yourself."

Kali glared, and shrugged. "Fin-"

Kenpachi's eyes widened as his opponent unexpectedly froze, fell to her knees and started shuddering.

The violent, erratic staccato blasts of reiatsu emanating from her was, perhaps, even more alarming.

But none of that can compare to the way she raised her head at him, teeth narrowed to razor-sharp points and the howl of a Hollow echoing from her lips.

-----

"Wait," said Gao as he stopped his brother in his tracks again. "Do you feel that?"

Reiji glared at the second interruption. "It's Kali. Looks like we're just in time."

"…she snapped? Already? But she never snaps, unless-"

"-somebody managed to injure her."

"…huh. There really are some tough guys in the Seireitai."

Reiji nodded, and glanced at the source of the reiatsu explosions. "And we're within two kilometers of Kali-san."

Gao blinked in realization, and paled. "Uh, right. Way too close. Run for it?"

"Run for it."

"Actually, you're running nowhere," said a third voice as a flash of orange and pink crisscrossed, and trapped the twins in reiatsu-enforced rope. Reiji struggled to free himself, and immediately found himself tripped onto his back, and two giant blades at his throat.

"Hell!" swore Gao as his muscles bulged against the ropes in protest. "What's the meaning of this!"

"That's my question!" snapped Yachiru as her sword, almost twice as tall as the dimunitive shinigami, pressed painfully against Reiji. "Why can't I feel Ken-chan's reiatsu anymore! What did you guys do too him?"

"We didn't do anything!" shouted Reiji. "We're trying to get away from the woman that did- GET DOWN!"

Fire and ashes. The dissonant cry of a bird far too large to be real, its voice echoing throughout the landscape and back upon itself, crashing against eardrums like a thousand glass needles.

Everything burned.

-----

Silk sleeves, singed. Pale face, marked by ashes.

"Zakari-san."

"Oi. Amaterasu. I'm dying- think I'm burning as well."

"It's too early to die. Don't you want to fight some more?"

"Meh. Of course. Kurosaki still won't relent."

"Zangetsu wouldn't mind another fight. You sure you want to die?"

"Didn't say that, did I?" Kenpachi growled as a burning limb clutched tighter, despite the pain. Blood seeped from charred flesh and down the length of his blood-red katana's hilt. "Oi, Amaterasu-sama. I think I'm gonna need some help on this one."

Dark eyelashes narrowed. Sakura-pink hair nodded.

"Live."

-----

She lacked control.

At the back of an enraged, fire-consumed mindscape, there was still Kali. A tiny portion of her, untainted despite all these eons. Most of the time, it was the one in charge, dictating orders, moving the limbs, channeling energy where it was needed most.

Most of the time.

Every once in a while, however, the dam broke. The twisted, cancerous growth in her soul stirred, and in that stirring, crushed the carefully constructed jail she's placed around it. The howl of the Hollow buried deep within her roared through and shattered her barriers like a boulder through a thin sheet of fine glass.

Only blood could sate it. Only blood drawn from flesh could stall it just long enough for her to wrest control back, however temporarily.

What remained of a lost, lonely girl, the last of her ancient tribe, wept tears of fire in the back of a monster's mind.

-----

"What the HELL was that!" yelled Ichigo through the roaring flames as Zangetsu split the gouts of flame away.

"Kali," coughed Reiji as he got off Yachiru, helping her back onto her feet as he shook loose the burnt remains of the ropes. "Our mentor. You've felt this reiatsu before, of course."

Ichigo's eyes widened, then narrowed. "You were there, when the Gilian broke through."

Gao nodded, and drew out his katars. "Reiji, what was that deal you wanted to make again?"

Reiji turned to face Ichigo. "As a Captain of the shinigami forces, you have the authority to make treaties and agreements on behalf of the Seireitai, do you not?"

"Uh- oh. …what is it that you want?"

"We turn on her. We disable her, tie her down, and lock her up. We will betray our own surrogate mother- as long as you instate us into your ranks, Kurosaki Ichigo. Also, Urahara-sama wishes to congratulate you on your upcoming wedding."

"…Kisuke has something to do with this. Great. Just bloody great!" muttered Ichigo. "Well, fine. If Urahara had something to do with this, then I really have no choice but to accept. Welcome to the fourteenth division- now get rid of that crazy bitch!"

Gao grinned as he pulled off the last of the ropes that bound him. "Interesting. It's been almost two years since we tried against her. You think you can handle it, Reiji?"

The brother snorted. "It's you I'm worried about. Rise, Winter's Moon."

"Howl, Snow Fox."

Yachiru and Ichigo covered their faces as bursts of reiatsu kicked up the ash and dust around them.

"Bring back Ken-chan!" yelled Yachiru after them. "I want Ken-chan back!"

Only the ominous roar of fire replied as the two slinked off- a moment in front of her, another disappearing amongst the flickering shades of orange red and black.