Disclaimer: But of course, I don't own Bleach.

Heart of Wind

Chapter 4: What kind of city is this anyway?

Homorue frowned as he stared at the now soul-filled body of Takai Ito. ("What caused him to pass out like that? And more importantly, why do I have this horrible feeling that there is something dangerous in the distance. This kid shouldn't exist, and yet I watched him with my own eyes.") An image flashed in his mind of when Takai had simply swung his sword from over fifteen feet away and cut one of the Hollows in half, though the blade of his Soul Slayer never touched them. ("What was it? Was it Shikai? No…that can't be the case. Despite the fact that his spirit force was strong, it was still within my range. His skill is similar to mine, but he was acting strange during that whole fight. His method of dodging was impossible, even for a Death God. He bounced from spot to spot, easily avoiding those attacks because it seemed like air was his stepping stone. Such a manner of fighting isn't possible on any level except for the highest class of Death Gods, which this kid isn't near.")

Then he realized that he was standing around doing nothing when he needed to go heal his wounds. ("I'm still on duty, which means that I'd better go do something constructive.") With that he turned away, doubting he would run into Takai again. ("How you turned into a Death God is your own business, but if Soul Society finds out that there is a renegade Death God with such power as him running around, I'll probably be ordered to hunt him down. If that is the case, let us hope we never cross paths again.")

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The next afternoon…

"Earth to Takai!" There was a loud clang noise as someone slammed a bucket onto the head of the sleeping boy.

Takai calmly brushed the dented container aside and lazily looked up at his assailant. "Oh it's you Asura. What do you want? Here to ask for more money from me?" He rested his chin on his palm and rested the elbow of that arm on his desk so that he was facing one of his more questionable 'friends'. "I'll never pay."

Asura Auruze was as strange as they came. He had arrived at the school near the beginning of year, and since then never wore his school uniform. It didn't match well with his super-spiked long black hair and his rather strange fascination with wearing leather clothing. That, and the fact that his eyes were a strange green-gold color, which all in all made him the school's scariest guy. He always had a rather crazy grin on his face, like he was constantly amused by the fact that people were naturally scared of him. "Don't be like that, Ito. After all, if you act too melodramatic then people will start…"

Takai sighed. "Not that it really matters, but I think you used the term melodramatic in the wrong context. Anyhow, what did you feel was important enough to wake me up from one of my catnaps?" He still had that perpetually tired look on his face, showing he wasn't really afraid of Asura in the slightest. Honestly, he found him more annoying than threatening.

"Oh, I just wanted to ask you whether you were really asleep or if you were just toying with us all." Asura sneered and leaned in close to Takai's face. "Whaddaya think? How does it look?"

"How does what look?" Takai dead-panned. "You cut your hair or something weird like that?"

"No, just looking for a reason to get nice and close to your face." Asura was slightly surprised that Takai could act this calm while he was so close. "You really don't get unnerved easily, huh?"

"What's the point of me freaking out? It isn't like I find you scary." Takai leaned back in his seat, breaking the ridiculously close facial contact with Asura. "So, what period is it?"

"It's lunch right now, you slacker." Asura shoved his hands into the pockets of his black leather pants. "God, even I stay awake through periods. How is it that you get such good grades when you aren't even awake during the classes?"

"You've known me for four months and you don't know already?" Takai yawned. "Apparently I'm a genius, or something like that." He just knew that all of this school work was child's play to him.

"Shaddup." Asura hated that such a lazy punk could be so damn smart. "Do you study while you sleep or something?"

"No, I dream while I sleep." Takai smiled wryly, his tired expression breaking just a little. "Besides, what's the matter? Can't live with the fact that this lazy guy is smarter than you?"

Asura glared darkly right into Takai's eyes. "I'll light you on fire while you sleep, you know that."

Takai shrugged. "Do what you need to do."

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Homorue sighed and looked at his reflection in the water of the lake. ("All the damage I had taken is gone. That's good, I feel much better now.") Standing up, he knew that his spirit energy was rather depleted though. ("I need to spend a little bit of time regenerating my lost…")

His receiver beeped. "Damn it all to hell." Pulling the little silver device out of his robes, he flipped it open and went over the screen's contents. His eyes widened in surprise. ("What?") Closing the device and pocketing it, he turned and leapt up onto a nearby rooftop. ("Very well, I'd better hurry.")

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Homorue landed onto the designated rooftop calmly. ("I wonder why I need to make a field report from here? Whatever, it won't take more than a few minutes…")

He was instantly brought to attention by the sound of footsteps from the other side of the rooftop. "I'm glad you hurried here. It will make this little thing so much easier to deal with. I though we were going to have this long and ridiculous game of cat and mouse too."

Homorue slowly placed his hand on his sword's hilt and turned around to look at the speaker. "And who are you?"

At the other end of the roof, which was about the width of a city street and the length of a soccer field (giving room for the author's inability to perceive scales very well concerning landscape) there was a single black-robed form that was obscured by shadows, which was strange because it was broad daylight out and there were no sources of shade near him.

"I am but a simple messenger of your demise, dear boy." The voice was regal and haughty, carrying itself with the strength that can only come of a strong ego. "My name is Kemura Ushudan, but you may only call me Vice Captain Ushudan."

Homorue froze, not scared of what he heard as much as what he realized. When he had landed on the rooftop, he had been alone. ("At least…I thought I was alone.") "How did you manage to sneak up on me like that?"

"Sneak? Fool…" Kemura's shadowed form slowly drew his sword out of its sheath. "Prepare yourself, this will be quick. I don't intend to play with you, I intend to kill you." And then a lead weight of spiritual pressure came crashing down on Homorue's shoulders, nearly forcing him to one knee.

Homorue somehow kept his footing and drew his Soul Slayer. ("He said Vice Captain…but out of the Gotei 13 I've never heard of him. Who is he?") And why couldn't he see his opponent's face or body even though they were standing in daylight?

"If standing around is how you prepare…" Kemura disappeared from Homorue's range of sight. "You won't even be able to follow me with your eyes, weakling."

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Asura finished consuming his lunch in about ten seconds flat, and Takai quickly responded by slapping Asura's hand away from his lunch box, which he was lazily eating out of. "You're a vacuum cleaner, you know that?"

Asura snickered and wiped some rice from the corner of his mouth. "And you're a snooze button on an alarm clock, but you don't see me mocking you for it."

Takai was about to throw out a rebuttal, when he felt his entire body get pushed towards the ground by some kind of invisible weight. ("What's this horrible feeling?")

Asura lifted an eyebrow at the fact that Takai was starting to lean forward in his seat. "You okay?"

"Uh…yeah…" Takai shakily stood up. "I'm just going for a little walk…clear my head and all that." Without waiting for a reply he rushed out the classroom door, gliding around the groups of chatting students without wasting any time.

Asura frowned slightly at Takai's reaction. ("He felt it? Poor guy must be confused as all hell then.") However, whatever was giving off that horrible spirit was right above their heads. ("It felt way too murderous intent-wise. There's no way I can ignore it.") Standing up, he brushed his jacket clean of food crumbs and walked towards the classroom door, ignoring everyone that literally scuttled out of his way.

In a corner of the classroom, from behind an open magazine, a mind was calculating just what this sudden development meant. ("Kemura…it's you…") This was something completely unexpected, and it didn't bode well at all for anyone.

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Homorue stumbled back, his arms shaking from blocking such impossibly hard sword strikes. ("What is this guy? Could he really be Vice Captain class? No…someone from the information division would have noticed him and Soul Society would have sent an appropriate force to deal with him.")

Sliding into a defensive sword-fighting stance he knew fairly well, he could feel his mind starting to get a grasp of how his opponent moved. ("He's incredibly fast, but my eyes are getting adjusted to it. At this rate I should be able to counterattack before my strength level gets badly affected by such drawn out fighting.")

Kemura sighed, the shadow around him pulsing in response to the breath. "You're a stubborn stain, you know that?"

"Hey, I do what I can to cause arrogant people problems." Homorue always liked how he could do things like that, and considering his opponent his strange 'skill' might just save his life.

"Despite that…" Kemura held up one hand. "Way of Destruction 45, Akahonoo." There was a loud noise like something gas-based being lit, and then Homorue disappeared within a rising pillar of flames. "If you can't even last against a weak level version of one of my weaker Demon Arts, then how will you possibly…" His ears picked up someone talking within the flames.

"…unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Way of Destruction 33; Sokatsui!" Then a raging blast of blue lightning exploded out of the fire pillar, swallowing up Kemura in its crackling rage. As the fire died out, Homorue snickered weakly. "Don't get cocky, you bastard. I'm far from finished just because you cast some half-ass spell at me."

"And yet you think that…" The lightning, which should have dissipated, pulsed and imploded inwards around Kemura's sword, instantly disappearing. "…that your full power incantation could damage me? You picked the wrong element, dear fool."

"Wrong element?" Homorue's best Demon Art was Sokatsui, and what was this fool spouting about him choosing the wrong element. "What are you…?"

"Demon Arts are powerful, but they are not the strongest power of a Death God." Kemura's sword started to glow blue along the edge of the blade. "Even with your limited power, you should at least understand what I am talking about."

Homorue gritted his teeth. "Your Soul Slayer…its lightning element…"

"Exactly right." Kemura's sword was now a shimmering nova of blue light, and yet the shadows that obscured him were unaffected by the bright light so close to his body. "Every seated member of the Gotei 13 needs to know the power of their Soul Slayer, and I am no exception."

"You called yourself Vice Captain…but you're not any of the Vice Captains I know of." Homorue was fairly well versed in the politics of Soul Society, and he had good informants to make sure he never fell behind in the information department. And yet this guy was claiming to be a Vice Captain, which was impossible. "Who are you really?"

"Do you think I would tell you the complete truth, you insignificant little worm?" Kemura disappeared in an explosion of blue sparks that blinded Homorue.

The blinded Death God knew this was it…this opponent was too fast to try and block without the use of his eyes. ("Damn…and here I thought I was starting to get the slight chance of…") A loud clang noise came from right behind him. "Hm?" As his vision went from white to normal with bright spots in his eyes, he caughtsight of a familiar head of black hair and black robes. "Takai? Wait…why are you…"

Takai's arms were shaking as he tried to hold his ground, blade to blade, against Kemura, who had gone silent. "Let me give you a little advice. If you don't want me to get involved in your little Death God work, how about not fighting people on top of my damn school?" Then he pushed back against Kemura, barely managing to break away from the man's incredible strength. ("My arms are quivering from stopping that blow. What kind of monster is this guy?")

Kemura frowned, though it was barely apparent from within his shadowy sheath. ("It's the terrifying one.") He felt no mental prescense this time, and that turned his frown into a slight smile. "It seems that your luck has run out, boy." Then he disappeared from sight.

("He's gone?") Both Takai and Homorue were caught off guard by how fast that movement had been, and Homorue had seen Kemura move beforehand, which meant that this type of speed was even faster than what he had been using against Homorue before.

Kemura appeared right between them both, his back to Homorue and his sword poised to stab right into Takai's spine. ("I won't give you the chance to use your bizarre fighting style!") Then the blade dove towards Takai's unguarded back like a missile.

Right before the sword found its mark, another sword suddenly was there to block it. "Hey now," Homorue whispered into Kemura's ear. "You're fast, but that doesn't make me slow…" Then he was silenced by an elbow right into the mouth, which sent him bouncing along the rooftop until he crashed into the overhang.

Takai felt so slow, and he wasn't sure why. ("Why…why's it gone? That skill isn't here, the skill that helped me beat those Hollows…") He turned as fast as he could on one heel, but by the time he was facing the other direction Kemura was already gone again. ("This is bad…I had it a second ago, when I blocked that attack. Why is it gone now?")

"I must have been mistaken before, you aren't that much of a threat. But still…" Kemura, who was standing right behind Takai again, drove his sword in for the kill. "I cannot allow you to live." Then he stopped his stabbing motion to move the sword to his side just in time to block a roundhouse kick that might have hit him otherwise. "Another one? Like damned cockroaches…"

Takai felt like time was moving normally again as he turned his head around to look athis savior. "What the hell? Asura?"

The spikey-haired boy seemed just as surprised as Takai. "Wow Ito, just when you think you know a guy he turns out to be a Death God." Then he had to jump back to avoid getting his guts slashed open by Kemura. "Yeah, I'd explain why I can see ghosts and all that, but first how about we kick this guy's ass?"

Homorue stood up, a couple of veins bulging out of his forehead. "I don't care anymore about where you people are coming from. I agree, this guy has to go."

Takai felt a tingle run up and down his spine, and suddenly his spirit force flared up in strength. "Heh…sure, let's get him."

Kemura took one step towards the corner of the rooftop farthest away from the rest of them, and was at that point instantly. "It seems that you three believe your sudden increase in numbers will be able to defeat me." He turned to face all three of them, who were now standing in a strange, almost back to back formation. "And it also seems the three of you want to go down fighting then?"

"Go down fighting? No no no…." Asura tsked and wagged one finger back and forth. "It's called 'throwing down', buddy. Don't try and sound cool if you can't get it right."

Kemura aimed the blade of his Soul Slayer up into the air above him. "I'm not interested in your stupid slang…however, I will admit that three on one might be challenging considering that one of you has an untapped well of power."

Asura winked. "There's no need to flatter me, mystery man."

"Shut up." Blue lightning crashed around Kemura's body. "Shogeki, Aoihekireki." There was an explosion of blue lightning that came from his Soul Slayer's blade as it warped, the edge becoming serrated and the body of the blade curving until the weapon assumed a scimitar-like shape. "This is my Soul Slayer's true form. I'm sure the blond-haired weakling understands what that means."

Asura glanced over at Homorue, whose angry look was replaced by one of panic. "Hey, what's the deal? Why are you so scared? His sword changed shape, so what?"

"Shikai…" Homorue's hands started to tremble. "The unsealing of a Soul Slayer's abilities. Such an ability normally strengthens the wielder's power exponentially."

"Eh?" Asura rolled his eyes. "His sword changed and he got stronger? Are you stupid?"

Takai had left the conversation, his eyes wide in recognition. ("Not again…not this again. Why can't I move? Its Shikai…just like the bizarre encyclopedia of new words I have in my head, it shouldn't surprise me this much…but I can't move…why?")

"You seem to misunderstand what a Soul Slayer is, boy." Kemura pointed the edge of Aoihekireki at Asura's chest. "A Soul Slayer is a Death God's spiritual power in solid form. When the Soul Slayer changes…" He disappeared again, only to crash into the ground right in the dead center of their formation with his swordaimed into the grounda matter of seconds later. "…that means the Death God has become more powerful. Shogeki, Aoihekireki!" Then everything disappeared in an explosive blast of blue lightning.

End of Chapter 4

To seal-chan: And I thank you once again for your kind words.

To Time Mage: I suggest you don't mock Kemura. Lest you wish to be shocked to an early grave.