Chapter Eight – Heartbeat Imbalance
Finals week in the Seireitai's graduate school isn't just harrowing.
Downright horrifying would be a better description.
Mind, nobody has ever actually died during these things- not for the last two hundred and fifty years, and even then, that was mainly because the poor idiot overestimated his ability and leapt off the roof of the building. Not enough reiatsu equals one flat shinigami trainee.
But it's still bad enough for most. Never mind the fact that a couple dozen freshly caught, and especially incensed, Hollows're running around- you're also fresh prey for the other team!
Even with the promise that any murders'll be far, far worse than punished, it wasn't fully reassuring to the would-be graduates. Any enemy you made over the semesters… well… at least you haven't made an enemy of the Twins.
Right?
…oh you poor fool.
-----
"You know," said Gao. "This is really way too easy. Why wouldn't they give us that exception?"
Reiji shrugged, and tossed another high-velocity pebble at another poor trainee's head- then another, far faster one straight through the brain casing of a Hollow that reached for it. "They want to make sure we haven't gotten rusty, I suppose."
"Hell, if they wanted to know that, why didn't they get Kuchiki-taichou to fight us?"
Reiji gave his brother a raised eyebrow. "Kuchiki-taichou? Mr. Thousand-Razor-Petals? C'mon."
"What? It's not as if you can't just Beam right through the slivers."
"Yeah, but what about you? Ice blasts isn't going to stop a three-sixty degree attack."
"Huh. True. Komamura-taichou, then."
"…maybe. But old fox-head's got about the sheer stamina of Zakari-taichou. And both of them can knock us out the very moment we make the mistake of letting them touch us."
"Ye-ouch. Yeah. My head's sore from just remembering."
Reiji grinned. "It's not like we can even beat Ikkaku-san yet. Let's face it- anybody who doesn't have bankai has an edge on us."
Gao grumbled. "And none of the vice captains- not even Yachiru-chan- are much of a match for us."
"Eh. Speak for yourself. Yachiru nicked me up pretty good the last time we sparred."
"You still beated her, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but it wasn't exactly easy…"
Gao snickered as he tripped the shinigami trying to sneak up on them, ignoring the yelp of surprise and crashing fall to the courtyard below.
"He still alive?" asked Reiji, barely interested.
"Yeah. Just stunned."
-----
Shugo Iwate had a plan. A devious plan. A carefully calibrated mix of vengeance, cunning and stealth.
The little pinprick that made a fool of him back in Freshman year was going to PAY.
Iwate was, despite his occasional slips into megalomania and arrogance, a fairly competent shinigami. Though it is doubtful he will ever become a Vice-Captain, his skill in kidou was impressive- and, in fact, was what distinguished him from his classmates. He's even devised a unique spell- a cunning trick that had astounded his teacher, impressed his classmates… and what ultimately caused his embarrassment, as the week following, his ego had gotten so big it bothered Gao.
But now, he could use that trick against the more aggravating- more muleheaded- of the damned twins.
Iwate of the Illusions. A self-given title, yes, but a fitting one. Even the Hollows are leaving him alone, unable to penetrate the thick veil he's covered himself with.
They don't attack their own, after all. Right?
The roar of a Hollow, half-dying as it sought shelter against an unusually cunning trio of shinigami. It charged into the same alley as Iwate- and stopped at the sight of what appeared to be its kin.
Iwate shrugged. It wasn't going to attack.
Growling.
…it couldn't possibly want to attack! He was unwounded! He was greater in size!
The Hollow approached, fangs bared in a snarl.
…crap.
-----
"Huh. That sounded very much like Iwate screaming like a girl," said Gao.
"I think it really was Iwate-san screaming," said Reiji as he got up and gave a quizzical glance at the direction of the noise. "But I only sense two Hollows."
"Bah. He's in trouble," said Gao as he reluctantly got up himself and stretched with a yawn. "He's got that illusion kidou worked out, remember?"
"Ah, the one even captains have to actually try to penetrate. He's in trouble, that idiot."
"When isn't that clumsy oaf? Nonetheless, Mayuri-taichou's got an interest in him. Best to stay on the captains' good side."
Reiji shuddered. "That's one captain I hope I don't get stuck with- even Fong-taichou's a heaven-sent in comparison."
"Heh. She's cuter, at least- or, she would be if she lightened up."
"…see, now you're starting to scare me too. Now let's stop chatting and actually rack up some points with the observers."
The laugh of hunters; the scent of prey heavy in the air. It was not only the Hollows that sought blood tonight.
-----
"Iwate Shugo, I believe," murmured the First Division's vice captain as he peered through a light set of binoculars at the frenzied activities of the courtyard. "He's attracted the attention of the most powerful one we caught."
"Tsk, he's out of his league," muttered Renji. "The boy's inept with the sword, and he's been focusing too much on that experimental kidou of his. Looks like I better go and rescue him- and disqualify him from this year's graduates to boot. Dammit."
"I wouldn't go just yet…"
-----
"Ohgodohgodohgod," squeaked a very un-hollow voice from what appeared to be a towering demon just short of a Menos Grande by a few feet- to anybody else with a low enough spiritual pressure, anyhow. The Hollow, however, saw instead the outline of a shinigami in its bulk- and the scent of blood. Fresh blood, laced with the heavenly scent of fear.
It lunged. The prey screamed, sending the demon's roiling blood to boiling with anticipating as its jagged claws smashed down on the shinigami.
Well, tried.
"Oi! Iwate-san, getcher ass outta here!" yelled Gao as, with a mighty grunt, he pushed back at the Hollow's enormous hand. "Rei-kun, they brought in a good one!"
"Really? Maybe this final exam won't be so boring after all," said Reiji as he calmly landed on the roof, eyeing the situation from above. "Hey, Gao, watch out for that spiked tail of-"
"Bastard!" yelled Gao as he barely leapt out of the way of a scorpion's tail as it smashed through the stone and dirt. "It didn't have that before!"
"Looks like somebody lobbed it off earlier. Regenerates, eh?" A flicker of motion- and the tail flailed off, blood splattering the walls of the alleyway. The great beast roared in pain and fury as it lashed out at the other brother- its blind wrath missing him by whole feet.
"Nice shunpo there," said Gao, a laugh tracing the edge of his compliments. "My turn!"
Even as a human, Gao's swordplay was always just slightly worse than his brother's- more forceful, more erratic, and less disciplined. He won his matches not through the virtue of well-timed blows, but because, well, of his sheer speed. And force. Dozens of wrists have been bruised- and at least two have been broken- by the sheer muster he can put behind a killing swing. And for every wrist, at least three shinai've shattered into a thousand fragments. He eventually learned to control his force, but there it was- of the two brothers, Gao was the more volcanic.
So, naturally, when Kali helped him construct his zanpakutou, it didn't take the form of a sword, but something more fitting for his latent style- punch-daggers. Katars. Hand-to-hand weapons, and utterly suited for his temper.
Gao moved so quickly, a stranger would believe he had mastered shunpo. A flicker here- a talon fell, clattering to the floor. Another flicker- the beast roared in pain as an eye was stabbed out, falling to the ground in a messy goop. Another flicker- two- three- and the regenerating tail, and all remaining legs collapsed. Gao stopped, grinned over his prey just before he raised his right hand to deliver the killing blow-
-and looked shocked as a blazing white line seared through his chest.
He stood there, shock and bewilderment locking him down for the first time in his afterlife. Knees buckled- one slammed into the ground- the pain didn't register. A trembling hand touched the hole- blood pulsed out in rivulets, perfectly synchronized with the heavy lurching of his adrenaline-fueled heart.
The darkening light of twilight grew dimmer yet.
"Gao!" yelled Reiji as he slashed off a regenerated stinger, and killed the Hollow at last. "Gao- kami-sama, that bastard…"
Eyes of white hate met each other.
"You son of a whore- why did you do that?" yelled Reiji as he tore a sleeve to tatter, and tried vainly to stop the flow of blood. "He saved you, you ungrateful bastard- HELP! ANYBODY OUT THERE!"
Futile. They could barely hear the roars and screams of fear and bloodlust outside of the alleyway. The odds were against anybody within earshot.
"He's… he's always taken my glory," muttered Shugo. "Always taken the limelight. I should've been the big man on campus. I should've been first in our class, not that f-fucking ryoka. I didn't need his help- he didn't save me- he-"
A flicker- not shunpo, but madness-driven speed. The front of Shugo's shirt was gripped in a vise so tight steel would've buckled. The treacherous student was slammed against the stone wall of the alleyway- slammed so hard, his shoulder blades shattered, and a crater formed.
"Listen, you bastard," hissed Reiji through gritted teeth. "If my brother dies, he will not reincarnate alone- I will hunt both of you down, to remind him of his afterlife, and to remind him of you. And when we both find you, we will tear your soul to pieces and feed them to the hounds of Hell itself. You don't believe me? You want to know how to find Hell? I know the way, Iwate Shugo- I know exactly how to cause a soul the most harm- where to cut and how deeply to send your nerves aflame. If he dies, I will make a sacrifice to him that will be whispered amongst the Seireitai for eons after your passing into the next-"
"That's enough."
A hand roughly clasped Reiji's shoulders, restraining him. Reiji twisted around, a snarl on his lips freezing at the sight of Ichigo.
"Kurosaki-taichou, this man-"
"Wounded your brother, and he will be dealt with accordingly. You are not, however, judge, jury or executioner- not yet. Your brother will be alright."
And, indeed, at the first sign of trouble, the captains had moved in. Already, a healing salve had been applied at both ends of Gao's wound, stopping the flow of blood and seeping through his body, replacing lost flesh, severed tendons, snapped neurons. He was weakened- desperately weakened- but still alive.
Nobody dies during the finals. Not if they keep a cool head, and stick to their lessons.
Sometimes, though, its consequences can be quite lethal.
-----
Two full weeks had passed. Gao was, officially, fully recovered, and considering their mutual abilities, both brothers were immediately instated as third chairs of Division Three, with Gao under Abarai-taichou, and Division Ten, Reiji under Hitsugaya-taichou.
Ayasegawa Yumichika, the third division's vice captain, couldn't be more disappointed- though he was certainly more… feminine than his fellow cohorts in his previous division, he shared their lust for battle.
And Gao hasn't challenged him once for the vice captaincy.
In fact, for two weeks straight, the only person Gao would talk to was either his division superiors, or his twin brother. No fights- no call-outs amongst his old compatriots, the ruffians that routinely trashed the academy's gym quite by accident. Never mind the fact that Iwate Shugo had been punished quite well- stripped of his spiritual powers and banished into the darkest suburbs of the Rukongai. Never mind the fact that both he and his brother had been commended for their actions in attempting to save the life of a classmate.
When that bolt of kidou lightning smashed through his chest, it shattered something inside of him- and all his energy now was spent trying to hold back the flood.
His captain- and his brother and his brother's captain- was aware of his struggles. For the captains, perhaps imperfectly- but what they couldn't understand, they could turn to an equal to inquire.
Amongst the legendary powers of the Seireitai, only one captain had broached the barrier between Hollow and Shinigami and lived- one who had touched that gray land of suffocating madness.
Kurosaki Ichigo knew exactly what it was like to live with the voice and hunger of a Hollow whispering madness into one's ear.
Fire burned within Gao.