Well, its official. As of this chapter, I am a college graduate. Its taken me 5 years, but I've finally done it. Because of this, Im going to be very busy trying to get a full time job, and working in one. However I want you to all be aware that I have no plans on the production of chapters for this story to slow down. This story means way to much for that to happen.
I think at this point I want to make something clear. At first, I had this story just written as something id enjoy as a side project. However, it has since become what i consider my main purpose in life. There are multiple reasons for this, but they boil down to two reasons.
1. Provide an ending that the Bleach series deserves and tell it in such a way that fans of both series can enjoy, keeping true to the spirit of the series, but changing enough to keep it unique.
2. To Give Erza Scarlet a chance to truly shine as a main character, because while she IS very popular, I don't really get to see her in a staring role in fan fiction. I'm using this story to prove not only that it can be done, but to fight back against the hatred she has recently and unfairly received. I'll admit, this reason may be petty...But its a reason none the less.
But lets look past all that. You're not here to hear me rant, you'r here to read this story. I've got three really exciting battles for you readers to enjoy this time. I think you'll like them a lot. In fact, the last fight of this chapter is one I've planned since I came up with this story. I'm so glad to finally have it down and written. I can't wait to see what you all have to say about it in the reviews. I look forward to hearing what you all have to say most of all.
Thanks once again to Greatkingrat88 (for writing) and jcampbellohten (for being our Beta)
Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and Shounen jump. Fairy tail is owned by Hiro Mashima and weekly shounen magazine. I own NOTHING. This is all just for fun.
The ringing sound of metal striking metal was all about the forest, sometimes closer, sometimes more distant, but Masaki hadn't yet joined battle. She stood at the ready, bow drawn and aimed at her blind enemy, but he seemed content to size her up for the time being.
Masaki did the same. A captain, and one of the traitors who had driven Erza from the Soul Society. Dangerous and skilled, but something of an unknown. He was injured, a slash running across his chest, but the bleeding had slowed and he seemed unaffected.
She took a deep breath. She hadn't yet had the opportunity to take on a captain-class shinigami in mortal combat, and she wasn't sad about it. She had beaten a fifth seat in their first day quite easily, and felled numerous officers since, but there was an ocean's worth of difference between an officer and his captain; Erza had taught her as much.
She went through her strategy quickly- feverishly, even, knowing battle was bound to be just moments away. Captains were skilled, durable, and possessed of special powers, veritable titans in the afterlife. She was a quincy, possessed of power but still limited by her human body.
"Do you even know what you have gotten yourself into?"
Tosen spoke, his voice calm, cold.
"She told me enough about your little scheme," Masaki said defiantly.
"I wish I could make you understand," he said, and took a stance, holding his blade low, "but there is no time. You will see when he has ascended just what sort of folly you have supported."
"I really don't care!" Masaki snapped. Deciding to not let him take the initiative, she slipped into her best hirenkyaku, while firing off one arrow after another. True to his title, Tosen immediately gave pursuit. Not even bothering to dodge, he cut the arrows mid-air as he ran after her, batting them aside like gnats. The forest became a bit of a blur as the two chased after one another, Masaki dashing from one tree trunk to another. Tosen closed in quickly, and within the minute, he had come within a hair's breadth of taking a pound of flesh out of her several times. Masaki spun round in the air, feeling the entire environment working for her. Unlike most, she wasn't helpless mid-air.
It was more than a little terrifying, but at the same time, she didn't lose focus. More than ever, she felt... powerful. The captain was pushing her to her limits, but the more she pushed herself, the more it felt like there was no limit. Quincies were manipulators of spiritual energy by nature, and drawing strength from a world that was nothing but spiritual energy meant that a skilled user could, in theory, harness infinite amounts of energy. She was running more quickly than she ever had before, and she didn't even feel like she was breaking a sweat.
Again Tosen came in close, having dashed off the top of a tree, intent on spearing her through the chest with his sword. Pulling at invisible strings, Masaki pulled herself well out of the way, and Tosen plunged toward the forest floor as she landed on a solid tree branch. Without flinching, Tosen flipped his body around, landed feet first, and came back at her within a second's time.
Masaki had already strung her bow again. With curiosity, she started to pull in energy from her surroundings, more than she had tried before, charging it into just the one arrow. As he came closer, she jumped back, into the air. He would be coming after her, going into the air for just a second, and a second would be all she needed. Aiming carefully, she let the shot fly.
Almost absent-mindedly he caught it with his blade, intending to swat it aside like the others, but as it hit his blade it ran into its metal length and exploded, spraying shards of brightly glowing spiritual matter, like a grenade made of energy. He let out a surprised cry- and Masaki liked to think there was some pain in there, too- and fell to the ground. He still managed to land on his feet, but Masaki peppered him with a hail of arrows as she fell toward the ground in a controlled descent.
Tosen let out a frustrated grunt and jumped, dodged, or parried as necessary, pushed back by Masaki's relentless stream of energy-charged bolts. Breaking her line of sight, he went into a shunpo, putting himself behind a tree. For only a moment she paused, trying to locate him, and it was enough time for Tosen to recover. Bursting out from behind his hiding place, he charged her, closing the distance with the speed of a veteran of his craft. Masaki stood still, as if paralyzed, only to move aside at the last moment, catching the edge of his blade against her bow. He had come in a little too hard and a little too quickly, barrelling past her, but he recovered with frustrating agility. Masaki, who had intended to put some space between herself and her enemy, found herself relentlessly pursued. At this close of a range, she didn't dare go into rapid speed, not without having at least a cursory glance at her surroundings- hirenkyaku would do her no good if she slammed into a tree. Furiously determined, Tosen pushed her back, slashing and thrusting at her with lightning speed.
Her mind completely focused, not a thought entering her mind, Masaki dodged, evaded, jumped back, and even parried with her bow on occasion. Despite her relative lack of experience, she was somehow keeping up with him. Even so, this would only favour him in the long run.
Not nearly finished, Tosen paused his assault briefly, only to thrust his palm forward, putting his hand only inches from her chest.
"Shou!" he cried, and the simple spell impacted her point blank. Surprised by his sudden change in tactics, Masaki was taken aback, and thrown like a rag-doll across the forest floor.
However, if Tosen had expected a quick, easy opening, he was to be sorely disappointed. Masaki was a pure quincy, inheritor of great power through her bloodline, and blessed with a talent for using it. Flipping herself mid-air only moments after it had hit her, she managed to put one palm into the ground, thrusting herself upward. Just barely, she landed on her feet, sliding back.
Tosen was already upon her, and as well as she had recovered, he was coming in too quickly. In an instant, the world seemed to slow down. He was holding his blade up at eye level with both hands, pointed directly at her. He was going for her neck, no doubt. Could she block? Doubtful; she was still reeling from the impact of his spell. Could she run? Not without getting cut badly.
But there was one thing...
She brought her bow up as quickly as she could, arrow strung, aiming it forward. Tosen's blade stopped, just an inch short of her neck, as he stared down the length of her bow, an arrow pointed just beneath his chin. If released, it would go right through the soft tissue of his jaw and into his brain stem. Frowning, he twisted himself aside, the arrow making a small cut in his neck. He skipped back, as did Masaki, who had finally recovered. The exchange had taken no more than three seconds, but it felt like hours.
"To think you had the presence of mind to counter-attack," Tosen said, his milky-white eyes narrowing, "to make sure that if I took your head, you would also take mine."
"Mixing kido and fighting flawlessly," Masaki said, commending him in turn, "you're a dangerous man, Tosen Kaname."
"Master Aizen spoke of you as a housewife," he said, shaking his head. "It is clear now that I cannot underestimate you."
Spinning his blade in one hand for a powerful swing, he charged forward. Masaki jumped into the air, somersaulting over him, unleashing a barrage of bright arrows. Two found their mark, but the captain barely even winced. It did, however, give Masaki the moment she needed to move away. Bursting into the fastest sprint she could, she burst through the trees, dashing from one tree to the next. Tosen was hot on her heels, and Masaki dashed to the side, trying to put him off her trail. He changed course almost immediately, and in that one moment, Masaki unleashed another hail of arrows, landing by the trunk of a thick, aged tree. Tosen sneered, taking them head on, batting most of them aside- but one or two hit, at least glancing him. If she could keep this up... her energy would be nearly limitless here, after all.
Landing on a thick tree branch, Tosen pointed two fingers at her.
"Bakudo thirty: Shitotsu Sansen!" he cried. His hand came aglow and he drew a triangle in the air, glowing with the same golden light as his hand. Instantly, the spell closed the distance with Masaki, splitting into three flat triangular projectiles. One slammed into her neck, another into her bow arm, and a third into her left leg, pinning her against the tree. Tosen followed after immediately, sword raised.
"This ends now," he said coldly, holding his sword out. "This close, you will not resist the power of my shikai. Soon, you will wake up in a jail cell, powerless and awaiting judgement. Cry, Suzu-"
There were four quick thuds as four glowing arrows impacted in his gut almost point blank, and Tosen reeled back, gasping. Masaki was holding her bow pointed his way, with some effort. Straining against the spell, she ripped her leg free, then calmly gripped the piece pinning her neck. A second later, the spell shattered.
"You said you wouldn't underestimate me," Masaki said firmly, "and you still try and pin me down with kido? I am a quincy. Undoing that hasty work is child's play when you are at my level. You should have just skewered me when you had the chance."
Tosen clutched at his abdomen; it was bleeding profusely. Still, this was far from over.
"You are right. I was a fool to think this could be resolved without giving it all I have."
He scowled, and held out his blade. "It is good fortune we are quite a ways from the others now. I would not want them caught up in this."
Masaki strung her bow. Would this be...?
"Bankai," he said, holding his sword up in his right hand, placing his left palm against the ring by its hilt, and Masaki could feel his reiatsu pulsating, changing, "Suzumushi Tsuishiki: Enma Korougi!"
The ring began to spin as its energies were released, and grew bigger and bigger, large enough to surround his body. Then, it split into ten other glowing rings of the same size, forming a circle around Tosen. He slashed his sword forward, and the rings flew outward immediately, forming a circular perimeter around them, for an area of at least fifty yards. Before Masaki's eyes, each ring formed a black void, rapidly expanding- first to fill the rings themselves, then to fill everything outside of it. In a few moments' time, she was surrounded by darkness.
Masaki nearly went into shock. One never realized how much sound there was in what one thought of as quiet until one was robbed of all sound. There was only darkness- no, not just darkness, a sheer, impenetrable mass of nothingness that hurt her mind. She was vaguely aware of her arms, legs, and body, but she could feel nothing, see nothing, hear nothing. What the hell was this? What-
Now she felt something. Pain, as she felt a blade cut her from shoulder to hip. She staggered back, not even sure if she was standing or sitting. What the hell was this? How could someone fight something like this?
Again the blade came, running her through. Masaki clawed at the hands stabbing her, and blindly put one hand on Tosen's, her wrist briefly touching the blade itself.
"This is my bankai," Tosen said, and in the complete soundlessness, his voice sounded like thunder, "and in it, you are helpless. You should have surrendered."
He pulled out the blade, and Masaki felt another spike of pain. She clutched at the injury, but she couldn't feel it bleeding, couldn't sense her own body...
Almost panicking, she tried to force herself to connect her thoughts. Whatever this was, it was still made of reishi, of spiritual energy. There had to be a way. Taking a deep breath, forcing herself to ignore the pain, she tried to sense it. It was difficult, like wading through tar, but... as if looking at something in a distance, through a keyhole, she could feel something. She could feel its base particles, its spiritual atoms, moving about like ants.
Sure, whatever this was had robbed her of her sight, most of her ability to feel, but it hadn't stopped her from functioning. Sensing energy wasn't like looking or breathing, it was something one learned. She took another deep breath. Sense. Sense, damn it.
There was something, like a ripple in the air- except not at all; Masaki could never have explained it to anyone but a fellow quincy- and she threw herself to one side, ignoring the pained cries of her body. There was a sharp pain as she felt another cut, this time to her shoulder. But this, she knew, had been meant for her head. She had managed to get away from it. There was hope of a kind.
Tosen frowned to himself as he halted, sword at the ready. His bankai was meant to be a realm where he had absolute power, where whoever was trapped was a helpless victim in an inescapable hell. Trapping the quincy inside had negated the most challenging aspect of the fight, that damnable speed, that refusal to get stuck in close. He had expected her to die after the two first cuts. Why wouldn't she? She was only human.
But still she stood, and what was worse, she had avoided his coup de grace, the finishing blow. Could it be that quincies could control their own bodies, too? Surely she had to be limited by the frailness of human physique.
Quincy sorcery aside, it was much more troubling that she could have somehow sensed his coming. Enma Korougi was supposed to rob everyone but him of any and all sensation except touch. They were supposed to be as blind as he, helpless to know what was happening before it was too late. Could it be that even here, even without her speed and her infernal arrows, she was a threat?
No. No matter what, whether it was luck, quincy sorcery or something else, this was his realm. Nobody else could prevail in it. Time was on his side now, and she was wounded, too. Victory was his to grasp. Holding his blade low, he charged. It was time for her to die.
It wasn't like seeing. Sight couldn't possibly describe it. It was more like... echolocation, like the sonar of a bat or a dolphin. Particles of spirit energy bouncing around chaotically, refusing to be sensed as easily as they usually would, painting a very vague, muddled picture. The picture itself was frustratingly difficult to decipher, jumping in and out of what passed for 'vision' in this sightless hell, but slowly... slowly, Masaki was starting to pick up on it.
She could make out an object of sorts, very, very vaguely in the shape of a man- more like a mass of dull blue pixels blinking in and out of existence, no taller than a man, but nothing else. No arms, head, legs, nothing of the sort she could sense.
There was one thing, though. Something jutting out, a mass of pixels standing distinct from the rest.
Masaki drew a sharp breath. She could see where his sword was coming from! Or, at least she hoped that's what it was. Waiting till the last second, she jumped back and dashed to the side. Her body screamed in protest, blood pouring from her wounds as she did so, but it was do or die, and when it came down to it, Masaki was very keen on doing rather than dying.
The blurry shape shot past her, and Masaki wished she could hear. But she was still as helpless as ever. She took another deep breath, trying desperately to make sense of the world around her. She could visualize some things. There was the shape of Tosen, which she could swear had become just a little more distinct as she focused. There seemed to be a floor of sorts, and one spherical wall, like they were trapped inside a very large ball. It was all very hazy still, but as time went on, she started to get a better grip on it. Carefully, she strung her bow.
Tosen felt a little stunned as an arrow sailed past him. It didn't come close to hitting, a full two feet past his head, but there was no doubting it. She had aimed, knowing roughly where he was, and fired. She was fighting back, and that shouldn't have been possible. Dashing to the side, he held his blade low. Damnable quincies!
Masaki somersaulted over him as he came at her, raining down a hail of arrows, hoping that, this close up, she might hit if she just fired enough shots. It was as good a plan as she could think of.
It was weird. Through all the pain, she was starting to feel... sharp. Focused. In the back of her head, she still felt the same fears and concerns she had felt ever since they first had prepared to leave for the Soul Society, but here, here and now with an enemy intent on taking her life, with bleeding injuries only slightly stymied by her reiatsu control, she felt a sense of clarity. Like she knew everything she had to do the next second, like her very body was made for fighting. She had sometimes wondered what life would have been like if she had been a warrior rather than a housewife. Was this it?
She landed on her feet, Tosen closing the distance. He was less of a blurry mass now, more of a man-shaped thing with legs, arms and a barely discernible weapon. Dashing back, she fired her bow, cursing inwardly as she knew they went wide of their mark.
Then her dash was abruptly cut short as she slammed into the wall of the dome, stumbling and losing her footing. Immediately, she pushed her hand into the ground, shoving herself to the side, and not a second too late. Desperately, she crawled to her feet, unleashing a hail of poorly powered shots as she did so.
She couldn't run and shoot here. The hundreds and hundreds of yards they had travelled before were not available to her. She had fifty yards to work with, at most, and that was that.
Tosen came at her again, setting into a series of quick stabs and slashes. Masaki dodged, evaded, and blocked as best she could.
One the one hand, the picture before her was becoming clearer and clearer, like a vision of black and light blue. Tosen's face and body was featureless, but she could make out his limbs and weapon clearly now, able to evade his attacks with precision.
On the other hand, she was bleeding and in pain, and he showed no signs of stopping.
She stumbled, nearly losing her footing, and Tosen kicked her. She caught her fall with her hands, propping herself up, but she felt his blade cut across her shoulder blades as she got up. She let out a soundless yelp and spun around, letting out a hail of arrows. This time she knew some hit home; she could feel them. She could feel... everything.
Gritting her teeth with desperation, she pulled up the bow string, charging a shot. It was time to win or to lose, because if she didn't find a way, if she couldn't try now, then it was a sure loss as time went on. Skipping back as far as she dared, she waited for him to come to her.
Not a second later he was upon her, stabbing his weapon forward. Masaki took one last deep breath. This... had better work, because she had all of one tries.
As the blade came forward, precise and aim for her heart, she let go of the bow string, holding the shot back for just a moment through sheer force of will. Sensing the blade, she grabbed it with her free hand. The edge cut into her palm, adding yet another injury, and she hoped it would work.
It wasn't impossible, she knew, but it was almost unheard of to directly influence the reiatsu of another being. Drawing power from a passive environment was one thing, but to change power already harnessed by the will of somebody else?
Then again, it only needed to work partly...
She held on to the blade furiously as it came in and pushed it aside, ignoring the pain. Then, as Tosen came in, she let the shot fly, point blank. She could see and hear him now, hear the gasp he let out, the sound of pain. It had taken all of a second, but she knew it was over. Around her, the dome was collapsing, and the world was becoming normal. The return of sound felt unbearably loud for a second before she became accustomed, and the return of light almost blinding, but she needn't have worried about being disoriented. As she blinked, bow at the ready, she made out the shape of Tosen, bent down to one knee. As badly injured as she was, she had given him worse, it seemed. Blood flowed freely from a large hole in his chest where the shot had hit home, and he was breathing feverishly, clutching at it.
"You can't blind a quincy," Masaki said firmly, "not here, not like this. It looks like you underestimated me after all."
Tosen didn't reply, seemingly lost in shock. Masaki strung her bow, aiming it at his head. Here and now, it would be easy. Let the bow straighten, the string loose, and an arrow would strike square into his skull. Even a shinigami couldn't survive that.
Her hand trembled a little, and her eyes narrowed. Then she sighed, and lowered the bow. At the end of the day, she wasn't a warrior. She was a wife and a mother, and she wasn't here to kill people.
That wasn't to say she was going to be nice about it. Quickly she stepped closer and slammed her bow into his jaw, knocking out the captain. Taking a couple more steps, she sunk to her knees and rested herself against a tree. Her injuries were catching up with her.
Well... at least I did my part.
As he felt the thrums of battle resonate across the forested area around the foot of the hill, Gin stood face-to-face with the grinning, demonic figure of Zaraki Kenpachi and felt... something.
Ichimaru Gin was, contrary to what some believed, anything but insane. In his own way, he was a very rational person, as tended to be the case when one wasn't held back by pesky emotions like empathy for others. With a mind like a very sharp, crooked knife, he viewed the world through a lens of logic, personal drive, and the occasional homicidal urge.
He was not afraid. Fear was an emotion that had never come naturally to him. It was one of the many ways he had noticed early on that he was different from the others, singular and alone. But staring down the madman, he felt... concerned.
He was used to being feared. Even Kira Izuru, who idolized him, was a little uneasy around him. It was an effect he had always had on people around him, one that he had gladly cultivated. Being feared meant one had power, power over people's minds, and when one had that, one could do almost anything one wanted. Only a handful of people in the Gotei were unimpressed by his down-low antics. The senior captains, of course. Rangiku, the only person to see the inside of him and not recoil in terror. Aizen, who was just as cold and ruthless but hid it behind the pretence of righteousness.
And Zaraki Kenpachi, a monster who knew no fear, because he was fear incarnate, too blood-maddened to ever fear for himself or those close to him.
Gin didn't like that, because people without fear were irrational and dangerous, and beyond the reach of his favourite weapon- his tongue. Not to mention that the man was insanely powerful. Gin had been hailed a prodigy in his time, and had earned his captaincy without even needing Aizen to help him, but Kenpachi...
Kenpachi was a liability, a danger to his real goals. He was not keen on taking him on, at all, but Aizen had given him a command, and outright refusing was not an option. Playing into the man's ego wasn't difficult; he was far from above manipulation, but that required obedience. He had no tolerance for insubordination, and Gin was not keen on being cut down. Not yet...
"See," Gin started, "I ain't sure I'd be a good fit fer ya, Cap'n Zaraki. Jus' like ya said, I'm all scrawny. Wouldn't last a minute against ya, me."
"Good," Kenpachi rumbled. "See, I don't give a fuck about ya, but ya stand in the way of me gettin' what I want. Helluva weird thing for me to say, but I don't care about fightin' ya. But she won't give me a rematch if I don't. So..."
Done talking, he brought his blade down fiercely, intent on taking Gin's head off. With casual ease, Gin skipped back a step, avoiding the blade, quickly bringing up his own. Kenpachi followed up with another slash, and another, and Gin dodged and evaded, eventually forced to block with his short zanpakutou. Kenpachi's strength was tremendous, and Gin felt the impact shake him down to his very bones. Launching himself into the air, he somersaulted, and took aim with Shinsou in a split second.
"Shoot to kill," he whispered, and the blade shot out, eager for blood. Sure enough, the blade found its mark, running through Kenpachi's shoulder, but like a juggernaut the wild captain charged forward as Gin retracted the blade for another strike, ignoring the wound entirely, laughing with excitement as he brought up his arm for a wide, strong sideways slash. Gin landed on his feet, bending his knees, feeling the rush of air as the slash passed less than an inch over his back as he dodged low. Letting his blade extend, Gin leaped to the side, Kenpachi already coming in with another slash. Again his blade found its mark, and again, Kenpachi showed no sign of it affecting him, despite the blood gushing down from where Gin had cut him.
"Come on, ya pansy!" he bellowed excitably at Gin, "Stop hittin' me with those pinpricks and hurt me, or I'll just kill ya!"
Gin's face was expressionless as he let Shinsou extend a little and parried a series of quick slashes before finding an opening, sliding under Kenpachi's guard, and raking his blade across the berserker's side while moving past him.
Where was this supposed to go? Against almost anyone, Gin could hurt them badly enough that his superior skill would let him gain an edge over time. His zanpakutou was built for quick, nasty stabs, and against almost anyone, that would be more than enough.
But Zaraki Kenpachi wasn't anyone. Zaraki Kenpachi shrugged off damage like it was the sting of a mosquito. Keeping his head level as he evaded another set of attacks, Gin thought it through.
Could he beat him? Undoubtedly. The difference wasn't even close to being so vast that it was a hopeless fight. However, it was a fight of a kind Gin had no experience with, against a fearless, ludicrously durable opponent. His bankai wouldn't necessarily do that much. There was always that ability, which was bound to kill even a demon...
...but on the other hand, Aizen might be watching, and even the off chance that he might see Gin's ace in the hole meant it was off the table entirely. For now he had to fight, at least for a while, but since Aizen's plan was drawing to a close, he'd have a good excuse to bail in due time. As it stood, he could perhaps draw it out... but that might cause some questions, and Gin was not in the mood to play that game. There was nothing for it.
Gracefully dodging under another slash, Gin skipped back a good twenty yards, using shunpo. Looking amused, Kenpachi put the blade over his shoulder, slowly walking toward him.
"I don't got a clock on me, but I'm bettin' this is more than a minute."
Gin sighed. "It looks like I have no choice but to fight, then. I'd say something else, but... it would be wasted on you."
He let his reiatsu surge, and held out his Shinsou under his sleeve.
"Bankai: Kamishini no Yari."
At one-hundred and seventy-five thousand meters per second, his blade extended, cutting through Kenpachi's chest with ease. Its power had increased tenfold, and Gin felt a small pang of satisfaction as Kenpachi's mouth turned into a smooth 'O', clearly shocked by the impact.
"I'd explain it to you, but it'd be a waste of my time," Gin said, cheerily, his voice calm and clear, dropping his thick accent, "so just do me a favour and die, okay?"
The blade retracted and sped back at Kenpachi, hitting him square in the chest. The blade retracted again. Giving him these injuries hadn't taken a second, all in all, and the berserker staggered. Shocked from the impact, he nearly went down to one knee.
Then his mouth turned back into a wide grin, and Gin knew it had been too early to gloat.
"That's more like it," he snarled happily, and reached for his eyepatch. He pulled it off, and even Gin felt overwhelmed by the explosion of spiritual energy. The trees around Kenpachi uprooted or flat out broke, spraying splinters across the forest floor. This was what he had kept back, all this time?
Glowing yellow with power, Kenpachi put his free arm to his neck, casually stretching it, as if to ease a cramp or swat a fly.
"Don't reckon I had cause to take that thing off so soon after using it already before," he said, sounding pleased, as he slid the eyepatch into a pocket. Deliberately slowly, he held his sword out to the side, before making a quick cut. There was a rush of power, and some hundred yards next to him, tree after tree was cut off, falling to the forest floor. Gin looked carefully, feeling very concerned.
Letting out a happy roar, Kenpachi charged with the unstoppable force of a juggernaut, the earth seeming to tremble under his steps. Gin simply threw himself aside as Kenpachi came in, unwilling to take him head on, and as he nimbly landed on his feet, he let Kamishini no Yari surge out.
The blade hit well and true, but unlike before, it wouldn't penetrate, only piercing an inch or two before it stopped. It felt like his zanpakutou had slammed into a metaphorical brick wall.
"Ain't gonna cut it!" Kenpachi bellowed, and with surprising agility he turned on a dime and charged right at Gin. "Come on, scrawny, ya call that a bankai? I know old women that hit harder than that!"
Gin let his blade elongate as the demon closed in, letting him at least counter the man's superior reach. His every sense on edge, he dodged the first cut and skipped back, only to find Kenpachi already upon him again. Gin parried the next slash, diverting the power aside, and felt his arms go numb with the shock of raw power from Kenpachi's strike. Working off of muscle memory alone, he parried, dodged, and evaded, using every bit of his prodigious skill set to simply survive.
As the battle settled into the more familiar territory of slashes and stabs, as Gin begun to adjust to the overwhelming power of Kenpachi, he collected his thoughts.
Compared to his own, Zaraki Kenpachi's swordplay was pitiful. He swung his blade like a club, like some blunt murder instrument, with neither technique nor any kind of finesse. He had a crude kind of skill with it, certainly, and there were no wasted moments, his attacks relentless, but even so... Gin wasn't being touched.
Bending back, evading a stab that would have skewered him, Gin flipped into a backward handspring, letting the length of his blade surge out as he was mid-air. It impacted well and true, and Gin let the force of the strike propel him further back, landing on his feet, sliding a little.
Another wound had cut into Kenpachi's chest, a little deeper this time, but the demon seemed unaffected. Howling with joy, he charged at Gin again, more quickly than a man his size had any right to do.
That was the most damnable thing. No matter how skilled Gin was, no matter how he dodged and outperformed his enemy, Zaraki could still take the hits and keep coming. Unleashing a storm of blade shots, his sword extending and retracting over and over, Kenpachi still came forward, heedless of the dozen or so stab injuries he suffered before reaching Gin.
Gin dodged under the first attack, a wide slash, and stabbed upward, intent on running the demon through. The blade went into Kenpachi's gut, and grabbing the blade with both hands, Gin pushed upward, determined to make it count.
Inside Kenpachi's guard, with Gin's sword sunk to the hilt into his body, the demon had no way of easily swinging back. However, Kenpachi was far from helpless. With his free hand he made a fist which he slammed into Gin's jaw with authority. Still holding on to his blade, almost unconsciously letting it retract, Gin reeled back, losing his footing. He quickly propped himself up, the world spinning from the hit he had taken, and only barely avoided being cut in half. He rolled back, getting to his feet, but he was unable to dodge as Kenpachi came in again. The blade raked across Gin's chest as he got up, the cut shallow but powerful, and he felt a surge of pain. It was like lightning, reminding him of crueller times, and he only barely got his guard up in time to fight back. Fighting against the pain, the hot sensation of blood pouring down his chest, Gin knew it would only be a matter of time until bad went to worse, and worse went to catastrophic.
"Come on, come on, come on!" Kenpachi hollered, slamming his blade down like a smith's hammer on his anvil. "Faster! Harder! Hurt me more, ya little shit! Don't tell me that creepy face ya keep was all for show!"
Dodging under a fierce horizontal slash, Gin crouched and went into a roll, ignoring the shot of pain as he did it. He got to his feet just as Kenpachi spun around, and Gin skipped back, dashing to the side. His opponent was as relentless as ever, mowing down a tree in yet another charge, but Gin wasn't looking to fight. To hell with this. Legendary feats, like beating the demon of Zaraki, that was best left to heroic suckers like Erza Scarlet. Gin had a role to play, and dying in this forest wasn't it.
As Kenpachi came in, Gin aimed low with his bankai, and let the blade surge forward. It ran through Kenpachi's left leg, just above the ankle, anchoring him to the ground.
"Think that'll stop me?" Kenpachi said, leering madly. Gin was just out of his reach, and had no doubt the man was mad enough to sacrifice a limb if he had to.
"Doesn't have to," Gin said, letting his evil smile return to his face, as he quickly muttered an incantation, "Bakudo sixty-one: Rikujokoro!"
Around Kenpachi, six glowing rods of kido energy formed, holding him in place. The spell was well executed, as Gin had been more than competent in all the shinigami arts, but he knew it wouldn't last long. Already, it groaned as it strained to contain Zaraki's raw power.
"Ya gotta be kiddin' me," Kenpachi said, sounding like somebody had just told him a good joke. "Kido? I don't need more'n a few seconds, punk!"
"More than enough," Gin said, and gave Kenpachi a mocking salute. "Buh-bye, Kenpachi. See ya 'round."
With that he skipped back into the forest, leaving the demon as far behind as quickly as his injured body would allow him. Kenpachi could be fast, sure enough, but he would not be able to track Gin; it was well known he had little to no skill outside of raw fighting.
"Hey! Come back!" Kenpachi snarled, and the kido cracked, breaking only a second later, "I ain't finished with ya! Get back here'n fight!"
But it was too late. Gin was out of sight, already at least a hundred yards away. Kenpachi swore. Damned coward!
Erza charged forward, the black, two-handed sword Render held in both hands. She leapt through the air, slamming it down on Komamura. The giant captain blocked it, straining just a little. Moving her arms as quick as the greatsword would allow her, Erza pushed him relentlessly, trying to overwhelm him through sheer force.
That, unfortunately, was rather like trying to drown out the sea itself. Komamura was nothing if not powerful, weathering her swings with stoic precision, blocking and parrying. This close up, he couldn't use his giant's blade, but the captain was not left wanting in terms of close quarter combat.
Erza let out a loud cry, swinging her blade low. With surprising agility, Komamura jumped over the slash and lashed out with one massive foot, catching Erza in the chest. She staggered back, losing her footing, the air pushed from her lungs. She lost Render, and as she got to her feet she was disarmed, struggling to breathe.
Komamura, however, was not taking advantage of the opportunity. Quietly he towered above her, as she desperately fought to regain her breath. Drawing in air forcibly, she stood uncertainly on her feet. Render was some two feet away, and he was closer to it than she was...
"Pick up your sword, Erza Scarlet."
There was no mistaking the commanding tone of his deep voice. He wanted to fight her head-on. Keeping an eye on him, still uncertain, Erza took hold of her blade and held it up. As soon as she had taken a stance, Komamura came down on her furiously, and she was hard pressed to parry. The blade was slowing her down, too heavy to be an effective defensive weapon. Rolling to the side under a sideways cut, she let the zanpakutou shift its form, changing to two longswords again. She had hoped to fight fire with fire, one heavy blade for another, but he had proven too strong. Now, she had to play to another strength entirely.
With agility she jumped back from a wide, heavy swing, then closed the distance, working her two swords in tandem, lightning-quick. They didn't have nearly the same cutting power, but under the vicious barrage of quick attacks, Komamura began to get pushed back.
Sensing an opportunity, Erza stabbed high, and as Komamura parried she cut low, intending to cut his leg. That was how to beat somebody that much bigger-
But no. The blade sheared through the fabric of his hakama pants easily enough, but there was a clang as her blade hit something solid. Komamura lashed out with his foot, catching her in the chest, sending her flying back.
Armour! He was wearing armour underneath! As much as it frustrated her to have the air knocked out of her lungs again, Erza couldn't help but feel impressed.
"Not bad," she said after landing on her feet, panting heavily.
"I will cut him at the knee, and weaken him, allowing me to gain the advantage in the long run," Komamura said, his voice surprisingly soft, "is that not what you thought?"
Erza nodded. "About right."
"Size comes with strengths and it comes with weaknesses," Komamura said, assuming a stance, "in my case meaning that I am easier to hit. I learned the hard way what spots my enemies favour. A soldier must not only strive to be the strongest he can be, but to find his weakness and purge it."
He raised his blade, and from above the giant's blade came down on her. Erza jumped aside, the shock of the blade's impact nearly throwing her off-balance. As she landed, a mailed fist the size of a truck slammed into her from the air, but Erza was ready, blocking it just barely. She was thrown to the ground, and her knees screamed in protest as she flipped around in the air and slammed into the ground feet first. The blade came down again, just as Erza had expected. This time she waited for it to come close, then dashed to the side and jumped up, using the blade itself as a spring board to move forward. Knowing she had only moments, she dashed forward, up the blade's length, then jumped through the air, blades at the ready. Komamura frowned and took a step back, readily facing her aerial assault. He blocked the first strike, not even flinching as Erza impacted, and the second strike bounced harmlessly off his shoulder guard. However, Erza was back in close, just where she wanted to be. Bouncing back to the ground, she nimbly set into a quick series of thrusts and slashes, testing Komamura's defence to its utmost.
He let out a loud rumble, stepped back, and caught one of her blades with the armoured plating on his forearm, his sword arm lunging forward in a quick slash. Erza somersaulted forward, both blades aimed at his head. He was much too dangerous to hold back, she realized, and if that meant killing him... well, she couldn't afford to lose.
Her twin blades slammed into his helmet, and Erza realized she needn't have worried- it was sturdy enough that both her weapons clanged harmlessly off it. Erza quickly put a foot into his shoulder, launching herself back.
However, as she landed, she saw that it wasn't as sturdy as she had expected. The helmet was breaking. Parts of it were falling off, and cracks spread around it rapidly. Despite its imposing look, it was clearly not meant for combat. Then, what?
"Damn!" Komamura said, distractedly reaching for the failing piece of armour with his free hand. It crumbled at his touch, like old and frail pottery, and as the pieces fell to the ground, Erza saw his face for the first time. She blinked.
"So, you see my true face, then," Komamura said, through gritted teeth, staring at her with anger.
Erza blinked again. She had expected perhaps the square-jawed face of a warrior, perhaps too scarred and ugly to want to show his face to the world, perhaps too dedicated to his role as a leader and a soldier to want to draw attention to his features. Instead, there was what looked like a fox's head, but with the stockier, heavier features of a dog. Red-brown silky fur cut off at the cheeks to give way to white fur. A long snout, framing two rows of sharp teeth. It looked rather elegant, actually.
"Oh," she said.
"Struck mute by it?" Komamura said angrily, sounding different, a far cry from the composed, stern warrior he had been a minute before. "This hideous form is not my choice, Erza Scarlet."
"Hideous?" Erza said, blinking. "Um. Just so you know, where I originally came from, we had talking cats. Actual talking cats. Or one, at least. As far as I'm concerned, this isn't all that weird."
"...Oh," Komamura said. "That is... that is good, then. Talking cats?"
"Yes. Really," Erza said, needing to remind herself that this was, in fact, a battle.
Komamura seemed to have remembered it, too, and grasped his sword firmly.
"Look," Erza said quickly, "you don't have to do this. I'm not here to destroy the Gotei, or whatever. I'm only here for Rukia, and you know she doesn't deserve to die. You're an honourable, er, person, Komamura Sajin. Stand down. Let me pass, and you have my word all I'll do is get Rukia."
"Your word," Komamura said, looking her in the eye.
"Yes," Erza said firmly, and nodded.
"And what happens when another captain tries to stop you? Will you not fight to defend yourself? To end their lives if necessary?"
"I..."
"I trust your word," Komamura said, shaking his head. "No matter the charges against you, you act like a woman of honour. But nevertheless, I cannot stand down. I owe a debt of fealty and gratitude to venerable Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryuusai, and I could never face him knowing that I let the enemy escape, regardless of whether I find them sympathetic or not. If you understand honour, if you understand loyalty, you will not ask me this again."
Erza sighed, and nodded. "It was worth trying. It always is."
Komamura gave her an odd glance. "Would that our viewpoints were not opposed, Scarlet. You would make a better captain than some I could mention."
"You have no idea," Erza muttered.
"Enough. We both know, I think, that this battle cannot be resolved without the both of us going all out. We must both release our bankai. Neither of us could reasonably expect to beat the other without it. Call yours forth, and I shall do the same in turn."
Erza gripped her blades tightly. "I agree."
She let her reiatsu surge, and held out her blades. She was only a little worn from fighting as of yet; this shouldn't be a problem.
"Bankai! Tetsuken Yoseitama!"
As she cried the words, she was encased in light, and as it faded away, she was clad in magnificent plate armour, a silvery grey covering her from top to toe, leaving only her face bare.
"Good," Komamura said, giving her a respectful nod, "Bankai! Kokujo Tengen Myou'ou!"
There was a rush of power, and behind him the giant manifested. She had seen its hands and feet, but seeing it tower over her, some hundred yards tall, was something else entirely. It looked like a bulky samurai, clad in full armour. It had a horned helmet, and over its face was an inscrutable red mask, half of it covered by a strip of cloth- although as far as Erza knew, that was its face. She swallowed. Well... that was fitting, at least.
The giant raised its blade, and with surprising speed, its attack came down. Erza jumped back, trying to get away, but she underestimated its reach and speed. The blade slammed into her, and panicking, she brought her blades up to block while trying still to get out of its way.
She had thought that, having beaten Zaraki Kenpachi, weathering the worst of his strength, she had seen the worst the Gotei could throw her way, bar old Yamamoto himself. As the giant's blade impacted, she found she had been very, very wrong. She had managed to avoid being hit directly, the blade glancing her, but it was still enough to almost knock her unconscious. She was sent flying into the ground, a crater forming around where she had impacted. Blood trailing down her forehead, she forced herself to get up, her body trembling something fierce. Komamura wasn't striking again, and she knew she was lucky he wasn't more ruthless.
Her blades were ruined. Both of them were a sad mess, broken off an inch or two above the hilt. Her armour was all but destroyed, small little pieces of it still hanging onto her waist. Half her shihakusho had been torn off in the impact, blood trailing down from a nasty injury on her left shoulder. She was covered in dirt, blood, and small pieces of metal, and she struggled simply to remain standing. This was power, awesome and terrifying power, of a kind that put even Kenpachi to shame. She was breathing raggedly. The world seemed a blur. She had dirt up to her ankles, and wanted very much just to fall unconscious.
But, she knew she couldn't. Pain was your body lying to you. Pain was a lie, because it stood in the way of what you could really do if you put your mind to it.
With determination, she marched out of the crater, putting one foot in front of the other. She took a deep breath, fought off a wave of haziness, and called upon her zanpakutou. Singing with approval, Tetsu no Tama changed her armour according to her will. On her body, the resplendent scale mail that was Heaven's Wheel materialized, its wings spreading behind her back, and she felt herself uplifted. In her hands, the great axe Breaker manifested, and she spat at the ground.
"Good hit," she said. Then, she let her wings flap, and she took to the air. Kokujo Tengen Myou'ou swung at her again, but its terrifying sword swung past her as she nimbly jinked out of its way. Soaring around it, she got a closer look at it. The thing was truly massive, a giant as true as there could ever be, and as powerful as it looked. It swung again, and again, but Erza was too agile, soaring around it like an annoying little fly, too quick to catch.
Spreading her wings, she let a rain of spikes fly down, aiming for Komamura. Hundreds of sharp blades came down upon him in a matter of seconds. The captain quickly moved his hand, and responding to its master's call, the free hand of the giant shielded Komamura, the hail of blades clattering harmlessly against its armour. Sailing through the air, Erza frowned. The giant was tough- not that her blades could be expected to do all that much damage, but it had shrugged them off like they were nothing. Flying under yet another swing, she decided to change her strategy. Heaven's Wheel was good enough to keep moving, but she needed to do some damage. Surging upward with a mighty push from her wings, she let the armour shift mid-air, the shimmering scale mail giving way to the black and orange plate of her Flame Empress armour. Letting out a gust of fire, the pushback of it briefly keeping her from falling, she quickly changed back to Heaven's Wheel. The fire impacted with the giant's head, but it seemed barely to notice it. Its armour was a little scorched, but nothing else seemed to come of it.
Well, that was that. She had tested its defences, and had found it too strong for normal ranged attacks. Once more she let her armour shift, this time into black plate, the form of Purgatory coming manifest. Breaker held firmly in both hands, she let herself fall downward, toward the giant. The bankai swung its gigantic blade at her, anticipating her descent, but Erza was ready. Charging one fist with raw kido energy without even bothering with an incantation, she let it explode, increasing her speed just a little. The blade passed over her, much too close for her liking. Knowing she had just the one chance before she hit the ground again, Erza gripped the great axe firmly, let out a loud cry, and slammed her weapon into the giant's chest. The impact hurt her arms, and she feared her weapon would break under the pressure. However, as she bounced off the giant's chest, toward the ground, she could see her weapon whole- and a crack in the giant's chest plate. It reeled back, and Erza smiled as she landed.
It was big, all right, but not invincible. The giant had lost its balance, seeming not to have expected such a powerful attack, and took two steps backward before collapsing into a large pond Erza hadn't even noticed before. Komamura let out a loud cry, and turned to face the giant, concern written on his canine face.
The giant hadn't fallen over entirely, having caught its fall with its free arm, and was already propping itself up, slowly. A thought came to Erza, and she raced toward the pond in her swiftest shunpo, her armour shifting into the white and gold of her Lightning Empress. Launching herself into the air, she let her form crackle with electricity, and drawing from the core of her own reiatsu, she let out a large blast of electricity. There was no need to aim; all she had to do was hit the pond's surface. As the uncontrolled bolt of lightning struck, Kokujo Tengen Myou'ou twitched and trembled, his form ravaged by electricity.
As Erza stood back, she watched it weather the storm and slowly raise its leg, taking a step out of the pond. Erza let out another blast of electricity, and again it trembled and shook, but steeling itself, it nevertheless found the power to step out of the pond.
"You think that is enough, Erza Scarlet?" Komamura bellowed. The hairs on his head- and, well, entire face and body- stood out on end, as if he had shared the shock of his bankai. Wait a minute...
"If so, you are sorely mistaken. Kokujo Tengen Myou'ou! Show her your strength!"
Furiously, the giant swung down on Erza, who tried to jump out of the way. It was quicker than anything its size had any right to be, and Erza was too close. As if guided by some unseen hand, the sword came at her, and it was only by the barest margin that she avoided being struck head-on. Flung like a rag doll as the blade's edge grazed her, the Lightning Empress was shattered and broken as badly as her base armour, and Erza gracelessly slammed into the ground, tumbling across the ruined forest floor, thrown several hundred yards. The giant was already walking toward her, closing the distance with titanic steps, the ground thundering under it, Komamura following close by it.
Breathing heavily, Erza forced herself to stand. That damned thing... one good hit, and she would be dead. It had already destroyed two sets of armour, and Tetsu no Tama was not pleased, shouting indignant cries in her head, calling for the giant's execution.
"Do you see now?" Komamura said, having closed the distance along with his bankai. He'd have to have used shunpo just to keep up with it, Erza figured. "Do you see that it is useless? You are strong, Erza Scarlet, but you are inexperienced. What point is there to futility? End this madness. Surrender. Seek penance for your crimes. I will guarantee you humane treatment and a fair trial. Give up, or I will be forced to kill you."
Erza took a couple of heavy breaths before she answered.
"What was it you said before?" she said, grasping her axe firmly, slowly standing upright in front of her foe. "That you owe a debt of loyalty to Yamamoto? That this is why you cannot step down?"
"I did," Komamura said, and nodded.
"Well," Erza said, her broken armour coming aglow as she started to call upon her zanpakutou, "I owe the same kind of debt to my friends. I may not be sworn to serve anyone, but for them, I'd die if they needed me to. Suffering, death... it's worth it if it's for the right people. I can't back down, so don't ask me to."
Komamura's eyes narrowed. "A commendable answer, Erza Scarlet. It truly is a shame."
He raised his blade, and in tandem with its owner, so did his bankai. The blade was coming down and Erza, still shell-shocked from that last hit, knew she had only one option. As the giant's sword fell, her armour shifted and changed, settling only moments before the weapon reached her.
There was a thunderous clap as the blade slammed into her, the ground rumbling under the raw power of its strike. A cloud of dust and debris rose, and Komamura stoically stood there, waiting for it to settle. Had it been enough?
But as the dust sunk back to the ground he saw something both relieving and frustrating. Erza had endured the hit head-on, having donned a thick, bulky armour. Coloured white and blue, it had a thick shield erected over it. His bankai's blade had dented it, and it was cracking from the blow his bankai had dealt, but it was holding nonetheless.
Erza breathed a sigh of relief. She had eschewed her weapon for defence, the Adamantine Armour being the only choice left. The shield cracked and broke as the giant pulled back its blade, and she took another deep breath, feeling dizzy. That hit was ridiculous, and she suspected Komamura hadn't expected her to defend it- if he had, he might have tried harder, and then she really would have been an unpleasant stain on the ground.
Still, it wasn't over. Not for as long as she was standing. At her command the armour changed once again, this time into the yellow Giant's Armour, huge pauldrons adorning her shoulders and a simple black cross across her chest.
Giving her no more time to react, the giant struck again, and Erza skipped back, just barely missing the enormous weapon as it bore down, the shockwave of it impacting the ground nearly throwing her off-balance. She let the armour's lance manifest in her arms, landed smoothly on the ground- or as smoothly as circumstances allowed, at least- and dashed to the side and forward. Already the giant struck at her again, but she was closing in quickly. Kokujo Tengen Myou'ou's reach was immense, but a weapon that size was also that much more difficult to use up close- a fact Erza was counting on. Coming in closer, she readied her lance, and standing some forty yard away, she let its jet-like thrusters loose.
"De-Malevo Lance!" she cried. Flying forward, the spear impacted with the giant's chest. Being that large, it was not a difficult target to hit.
As the lance struck, it exploded, and once again the bankai reeled back. Knowing her opportunity was now, Erza switched once more into her Purgatory Armour, Render manifesting in her hands. Taking a moment to charge a bit of energy, Erza knew she only had so long to act. If she could hit it just once, with all she had left...
Jumping upward with all her might, she held her sword up high, putting all the energy she dared into it. Letting out a battle cry, she waited until she had reached its midsection, then slammed Render into its armour.
"DRAGON STRIKE!" she roared, the energy discharging at once like a bomb, tearing through the giant's armour. Reeling back again, it lost its footing, and Erza lost her balance as she fell to the ground. Hitting the ground with a thud, she fervently tried to find her footing, to get up, knowing Komamura could be anywhere, could be coming for her any time now...
But as she stood up, she realized he wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. The captain lay on the ground, and Erza could feel his bankai dissolving behind her. There was a nasty slash across his chest, right where she had struck Kokujo Tengen Myou'ou. He was still holding on to his sword, but seemed to lack the power to raise it, and he stared at her defiantly.
"So, that is it, then," Erza said, as she walked up to Komamura. Her legs felt heavy, and she was sure she had broken a few ribs, and quite likely fractured her right arm, too. "Your bankai is immensely powerful, but you share any damage it takes."
"All things... come with strengths and weaknesses," Komamura said slowly, his voice a wheeze. "All power has its price. As you well should know... Scarlet."
She nodded. "You are right."
"Enough," Komamura said, and coughed. "I will waste no time on dramatic last words. Do as you must."
Erza's armour glowed briefly, then dissolved as she sealed her bankai. Demonstratively, she sheathed her sword.
"I didn't kill Zaraki Kenpachi, and he is a right bastard," she said, shaking her head, "so why should I kill a good man?"
"I am no man," Komamura said disdainfully.
"Because you have fur? Because your face is long and your teeth sharp?" Erza said dismissively. "Zaraki Kenpachi has fingers, teeth and a nose, and he is a horrible person through and through. So is Ichimaru Gin, or Kurotsuchi Mayuri. With a spirit as noble as yours, why would you ever be ashamed? When you are a better man than any of the monsters who wear the face of a man?"
"I..." Komamura said hesitantly. "Are you sure you can't just kill me?"
"Not a chance," Erza said, shaking her head.
"You are remarkable, Erza Scarlet," Komamura said quietly. "I regret my own weakness, that I was unable to defeat you, but in defeat... there are worse ways to fall."
"Back in my old home, when I was alive," Erza said, and took a step forward, "where we had talking cats. I think you'd have fit in, and not on account of your fur. Stiff as you are, you would be Fairy Tail material."
"...Thanks?" Komamura said.
Erza shook her head again, and despite the pains running through her body, she smiled.
"It's as big a compliment as I can give, even though you don't understand. For now... I have to go. Make sure to live, Sajin."
The captain nodded, exhausted and in pain, and Erza walked forward, up the path toward the hill. She had only gotten some twenty paces before she collapsed, falling to her knees, the world spinning. The fight had taken a lot out of her, and she was injured. She really hoped Tatsuki and Orihime would be on time... healing would be pretty useful right now.
"Um, Captain, are you sure this is where we should be?"
Isane was fidgeting nervously, which in itself wasn't unusual, but she had been particularly on edge the last few days. It wasn't too strange, Unohana had thought, given the circumstances. Right now, though, as the two of them headed into the bowels of the Central Forty Six's headquarters, she needed the both of them at their best.
"At ease, Isane," she said soothingly.
"It's just, um, we were supposed to be at the execution..." Isane muttered.
"This is more important," Unohana said, her voice quietly firm. Yamamoto was a stern old man, but if he had a soft spot for his students, then he knew better than to try and put Unohana Retsu in her place.
She should be at the site of the execution- which should be over by now, anyhow; it was well past noon. This excursion wasn't out of rebelliousness, tardiness, poor planning, or disdain for the act itself. It was because something wasn't right.
The more she had examined Aizen Sosuke's body, the more she had felt... off. Something about it had smelled, literally and metaphorically, and that smell had turned into a stink. It was all too neat. The evidence of her eyes could find nothing wrong with it- but the machine had kept finding little variables well off where they should have been. The closer she had looked, the more strongly she had felt that nothing could possibly wrong.
In the millennia she had lived, Unohana Retsu had seen and learned many things, including a mastery of kido... kido, and the magic only a zanpakutou could provide. Such effects read like the work of an enemy zanpakutou, subtle but direct. This in itself was mysterious, but not much of a cause for suspicion- she could just be wrong.
But then she had taken a closer look at the Central Forty-Six. For the last week or so, they had been almost entirely silent. Not entirely unheard of, but odd. The only decrees they had made were with regard to Kuchiki Rukia's execution.
It was almost as if they were fixated on her. As if her dying was the only thing they cared about...
The Central being petty, obsessive and unfair in their application of justice was nothing new. They were what happened when black-and-white thinking met too much power, the crankiness of old age, and absolutely nobody to challenge them. But, it was plain as day that Rukia's punishment was completely unjust by the standards of their law.
Unohana's first thought, back when she heard of it, was that there was some sort of example to be made. Then, looking at it more closely, she had wondered if there was a grudge against the Kuchiki. But that made no sense- the members of the Central were chosen by the Soul King's representatives directly, heedless of political affiliation, and neutrality was a core trait that was looked for.
Not a grudge. Not an example. And Aizen Sosuke...
Was it possible that he had faked his death? But, why would he?
All of this was circumstantial. It was nothing nearly strong enough to bring to the attention of Yamamoto, who would never consider investigating the council of sages without very good reason. So, on this day when she knew the old man would be busy, she had taken Isane with her and headed to the Central Forty-Six as soon as the morning's work was wrapped up. All she needed to know was that the council, which had been isolated from the world for a while now, was all right. All she needed to do was confirm that her hunch was wrong.
"Captain, we're really not supposed to be here," Isane hissed, whispering the words out urgently. "These are off limits for anyone but the judges themselves!"
"Aren't you wondering why there are no guards here?" Unohana said calmly.
"I... I suppose it's weird," Isane said nervously, "but that's the main chamber right there, and we can't- we can't just barge in, captain-"
Heedless of her vice-captain's protests, Unohana opened the doors to the great chambers.
The stench preceded everything else. Washing over them like a wind of pestilence, it was the familiar smell of decaying bodies. Isane gagged, nearly retching, and Unohana felt a tinge of nausea herself. Stoically she walked into the chamber proper.
It was a massacre. Kneeling by one of the corpses, she kept herself objective, focused on the issue at hand. Judging by the state of decay, they had been dead for at least a week- probably closer to two.
"Oh my goodness..." Isane said weakly. "What the hell happened here?"
Unohana looked around. It was the work of a sword, clearly. Somebody had taken the time to stab, slash, and hack their way through each member of the Central Forty-Six. At least two weeks ago. This... meant a lot of things were clearer, if rather a lot darker.
"Isane," she said calmly, "I need you to set up a wide-range kido. We have to alert the rest of the Gotei."
It was just before noon, and Rukia stood dressed in white, left before the weapon that would end her life.
She had told herself she was at peace. She had told herself that death would come, if not as a relief, then as an acceptable, final end, a penance for her sins. She had told herself that she was ready to die.
Standing before the Sokyoku, the massive, magical executioner's halberd, she knew she had been lying to herself. Behind her was the contraption that would raise her into the air, holding her in place until the halberd had burned her very existence away.
She felt nauseous, weak and barely able to stand, and the prolonged weakness of being kept in a cell with reiatsu suppressants for weeks was only part of it. Staring up at the blade, sealed but deadly, she was filled with regret. Regret that she hadn't done more with her life. Regret that she had outlived so many friends. Regret that she had let her house down and burdened her brother. Regret that her still living friends were going to their graves for her sake.
She felt the tug at her wrists as she was hoisted into the air by the magical force of the execution device, held aloft like a woman crucified. She didn't resist, didn't struggle, didn't say a word, but inside, she felt like throwing up.
It couldn't end like this. Why? Why was life like this? Why hadn't it been better? Why were they all chasing after her when it was useless? Why couldn't she live just a little more, just a few more moments?
She looked down at the captains. There was Yamamoto Shigekuni Genryuusai, watching her expressionlessly. There were Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro, her captain, both looking sympathetic. In silence, she watched them, and in silence, they watched her.
"Unseal the weapon," Yamamoto ordered, and two attendants, executioners trained to handle the weapon, undid the wrapping that held it in place. Free of its bindings, the weapon rose to the air, where it burst into flame. It levelled up, aiming toward Rukia like a spear.
"Kuchiki Rukia," Yamamoto said, loud enough that she could hear, but without any trace of judgement in his voice, "for your crimes, you have been judged, and today face the full consequences of your actions. In the name of the Thirteen Court Guard Divisions and in the name of the Soul King, I sentence you to die."
The halberd began to move through the air, painfully slowly. Rukia wanted to scream, wanted to shout, wanted to curse them, but couldn't find the energy. All she could do was breathe, quickly and unevenly, sweat running down her forehead. She tugged at her restraints at last, futilely wanting to break free.
Not yet! I'm not ready! I don't want to die yet!
Don't worry Rukia, if all goes according to plan, you'll be just fine!...This is assuming all goes well of course.
I have to say I'm very happy to see how things turned out. Since I bothered to keep Masaki around, it was best i really did something with it,and I personally feel having her taking on Tousen was a good way to go about it. She'll have more to do in the story for sure, but i can at least be happy to know I've given her at least one proper battle.
But since Tousen was taken by her, and Konamura was going to fight Erza, I had to find SOMEONE to give to Kenpachi. If I didn't he would jut fight Erza again, and as cool as that would be, no need to have the same fight in the same arc. Gin really doesn't do much in this portion of the series, so i decided now was as good as a time as any to use him.
But now for my personal favorite scene of this chapter. Erza vs Konamura. While she didn't end up as hurt with her fight with Kenpachi, I had no intentions on making this an easy fight for her. In terms of Physical might, I feel that Komamura, in his Bankai atleast, is phiscially the strongest captain with the exceptions of Head Captian Yamamoto, Aizen (if he counts) and Kenpachi once he obtains his zanpaktou. Erza is strong, but she's not THAT strong. To have her win with pure brute force didn't feel right.
Thus, I decided to have her use her other strengths. Her speed, intelligence and versatility. These factors, added to her immense physical power, is what truly makes her a deadly warrior. Its not all about power levels, its about skill and intellect. More or less when it comes to this story, I'm going half way in terms of what matters between power levels and strategy/skill.
One last thing I wish to make clear. The scene with Unohana takes place in the future. It has technically hasn't happened yet. I'm just giving you all a small taste of what is to come once shit hits the fan.
And trust me, shit WILL hit the fan.
But that's enough out of me. I highly look forward to reading what you all have to say about this chapter. We're so close to getting 900 reviews, Id like to see if we could get past that mile stone before the next chapter.