Disclaimer: The following is a fan-based parody. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and the late Monty Oum (rest in peace you saint of a man). Please support the official release.
Chapter 62: Rising Stakes
(Que Story OP – Hello Sleepwalkers "Hyakkiyakou")
RWBY, Senna, Renji, Rukia, Ichigo's group, and Hitsugaya and his lieutenant had rendevous with Ren and Nora that have just dispatched the rioters throughout the Rukon districts. Upon the coming morning that brought blue skies to Soul Society, they joined together into a single unit headed towards the center of all the commotion where Kariya and his Bounts had to be. They arrived in time to see the crumbling of the rioter's giant lift with thugs of all sorts sprawled on the ground unconscious. And just beyond the closing gates were the Bounts with Kariya smiling back at them as the way was closed shut with a bang.
Yang or Senna would have cracked a joke about their ugly looks if it weren't for the occasional gruesome sight of some of the rioters' bodies literally torn to shreds like pieces of cut meat. Jaune struggled to hold in his lunch at the sight of shredded limbs and torsos cut in half.
"Kariya's work." Ruby noted, her nose picking up the scent of the Bounts. "His wings can shred like the sharpest blade just like he claimed. He certainly didn't let it be clean."
"So much needless death." Muttered Blake in disgust. "I know these people weren't good, but no one deserves a fate like this."
"It's barbaric." Added Weiss.
"I guess that's what grudges does to people." Ichigo said, shifting the hold on his dual zanpakuto. "Kariya's got whole centuries of angst against the Soul Society. He think in the right, but the moment he crossed this line there is no way to justify his actions."
A deep but weak groan caught Ruby's acute hearing. Looking to the side of the wreckage, Ruby spotted a familiar hulk of a figure she knew to be Jidanbo. Beside him were his axes reduced to pieces, and the front of his outfit was torn where cuts went deep into his hide. His wounds bled down his body into a pool beneath him, but for someone of Jidanbo's size, it was not as fatal to a regular person.
"Oh no, Jidanbo!" Ruby cried.
At her cry, Rub ran towards the injured giant with Ichigo and Orihime falling behind. Those who have never been to Soul Society before like Yang, Blake, and Weiss were frozen on the spot at the sight of a 'human' that was over three stories tall. While the Remnant natives gaped at the sight of Jidanbo, Senna was looking at the giant with curiosity.
"Well, he's certainly big." Said Yang a little shakily.
"Thank you, Captian Obvious." Weiss snarked.
Meanwhile, Ruby jumped on top of Jidanbo's torso to take a closer look at his injuries, making sure not to accidentally step onto any of his open wounds. She cringed at the horrid pattern across his chest and stomach as if a pack of giant wolves took turns clawing at him. Kariya's wind attacks would have done a lot more damage than this. Yet knowing how his axes were destroyed, Ruby surmised that Jidanbo saved himself from most of the attack by shielding himself from most of the offense. Another groan grabbed Ruby's attention to Jidanbo's face where his eyes struggled to open.
"Little... red?" Jidanbo groaned.
"Stay still, alright Jidanbo." Ruby replied, turning her attention to Orihime. "Orihime, he needs your healing right now."
Orihime nodded and after an audible command, her powers activated with the appearance of a large orange light surrounding the giant. Bleeding wounds were stiching themselves closed and even the blood on the ground was disappearing. Feeling his strength return, Jidanbo tried to sit up only to wince from the remaining pain of his internal injuries.
"Hey, easy there big guy." Ichigo coaxed as he appeared beside Jidanbo's head.
"Ah... it's you." Jidanbo groaned, his eyes trailing on Ichigo. "The orange-haired meanie."
'That's how you remember me by!?' Ichigo thought with a tickmark, accompanied by a snicker from Ruby.
The orange shielding around Jidanbo faded away and Orihime's fairies dissipated back into her hairpins. Ruby and Ichigo got off as Jidanbo sat himself up, giving an appreciative groan at the lack of pain. In fact, he felt refreshed as if he just awoke from a long nap. He tested his body by rolling his shoulders and stretching his arms yet still found no pain. A thankful grin was delivered towards Orihime.
"Thank you, little girl." Jidanbo said, lifting himself up to his feet to fully show his massive height. "It's like I've never been injured in the first place."
"You're welcome." Orihime replied sweetly.
"...Yeah, so I am going to say that I am really scared how big this guy is." Yang commented, having to crane her neck to look at the giant.
"S-Same here." Blake muttered while her cat ears drooped close to her skull.
"I think this place is going to make me go insane." Weiss deadpanned.
"Oi, Jidanbo!" Ichigo called out, pointing to the giant gate made of sekkiseiki. "Can you open the gate so we can get back at the bastards who did this to you?"
"Sure thing!" Jidanbo answered with a grin.
Jidanbo made his way to the sekkseki gate, each footstep sending a not-so-subtle shake through the earth. He had to bend his knees down so his fingers could reach through the dirt and underneath the gate. A long-drawn rumble went out as the gate's massive weight was lifted by Jidanbo. The giant continued to lift the gate until he could support in his shoulders, giving the heroes more than enough room to move through.
Yet on the other side awaited them a gruesome scene. The local Shinigami of the Sereitei met a similar brutal fate to the rioters outside. Torn and shredded bodies were laid about over pools of blood. Shattered steel of swords joined in the mess of gore, giving the mess a sickening dazzle in the sunlight.
Again, Jaune had to hold in his lunch and not add to the mess with his vomit. Hitsugaya grits his teeth in frustration while blaming himself for failing these men as a captain of the Gotei 13. It was like he was failing Momo all over again.
The Bounts were definite in not hiding in the Sereitei. Along with the main mess of gore in the courtyard, multiple paths branched out in different directions indicated by bloody footprints and more bodies of dead Shinigami. These trails tapered off yards ahead, but it was enough to give everyone a basic direction to follow.
Before anyone could give a verbal suggestion of a plan, Hitsugaya and Rangiku were met with a hell butterfly, the messengers of the Sereitei. For a moment, those from Remnant like Yang, Weiss, and Yang paused taking in the beauty of the artificial lifeform made of reishi. Rangiku held out her finger to allow the reishi figure to land. As soon as the black butterfly touched her skin, the reishi it held transferred through her skin and to her brain to relay the message it held.
"Thirteen Court Guard Squads." Rangiku relayed. "In accordance to special order level one, all captains are summoned immediately. We will be holding a captain's hearing. I repeat-"
"That's enough, Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya cut off Rangiku, his fists clenching at his sides. "I can't believe they want to call a captain's meeting now of all times. Ichigo, Ruby, I'm sorry to burden you with this, but please hunt down the Bounts in my stead."
"No problem." Ichigo replied with a smirk. "It's why we're here anyway. We have beef with them too."
Hitsugaya gave Ichigo an appreciating nod and gestured to Matsumoto. They then disappeared in a shunpo, leaving the rest to themselves as the only ones on the trails of the Bounts. Ruby looked over her gathered friends from both Earth and Remnant, a plan formulating in her head. And as usual, Uryu went off as a lone wolf zipping away with Hirenkyaku. Jaune would have been the one quicker on the approach, but his poor reaction in the face of so much death was already putting too much pressure on him.
"Alright, you know the drill with this; we've got to split up." Ruby called. "So here's how it's done. Renji, Chad, Orhime, you're grouped together. Yang, Blake, Nora, you are the second group. Ren, Weiss, Orihime, you will be group three. Lastly, it will be me, Ichigo, and Senna to track down Kariya. Take your pick with the other trails here, but make sure to cover each other's backs. Let's go!"
With Ruby's exclamation, they sprang into action either into shunpo or some other high-speed movement. The groups took their pick of trails of blood as well as the directions given to them by Kurodo, Noba, and Ririn tracking the Bounts. And so as they spread throughout the Sereitei, the tides of battle began to rage. No sooner had Ruby and Ichigo co. separate where they were set on by the ill effects of the Bount-Shinigami conflict.
The Bount Mabashi had taken to causing chaos through the ranks of Soul Society. With the use of his Doll, Ritz, he sowed discord throughout the Sereitei by turning many of the Shinigami into zombified puppets to control. This led to RWBY, JN(P)R, Senna, Ichigo, and co. distracted in dealing with the waves of mind-controlled Shinigami, and it was especially difficult as they had to not kill them as they were doing this against their will. Well, for Yang she was having a blast at meeting her fists with faces she was more than happy to punch.
Across the Sereitei, the decisive battles were being set for the stage. Mabashi would come in direct battle with Soi Fon the captain of Squad 2. At the same time more in the center of the Sereitei did Mayuri and the Bount is known as Sawatari engage in battle. As powerful as the Bounts were with their capacity of absorbing roshi, they met their ends by the captains. Soi Fon's victory over Mabashi freed the zombified Shinigami from Ritz's control while Sawatari met a gruesome end to Mayuri's poison fashioned from his Bankai.
Ruby had to give them credit that when it came to the captains they were efficient in dealing threats directed to Soul Society. The Bounts had just entered the Sereitei and already two of their number are dead. On the other hand, no one had come close to finding Kariya, much less finding out what his plans for the Sereitei were. She didn't even know where Uryu went off in his usual lone wolf approach to things. Unknown to them, Kariya was making a one-man assault at R&D center of the Sereitei. Sawatari's battle with Mayuri served as the perfect distraction for the Bount leader to infiltrate by force in order to further his plans of the Sereitei's destruction.
Only one of the group had thus far engaged the Bount. Yoshi, who had her fun of killing Shinigami like cattle, was attacked by the lone wolf, Uryu Ishida. Thus it became a battle between Quincy and Bount, with Uryu keeping a distance with his Hirenyaku combining his destructive ranged attacks. The Bount showed her new strength attained within the Sereitei that kept the Quincy on his toes. Her right arm formed armor that went up to cover the lower half of her mask and her blade became a chain of swords boasting destructive prowess, making Uryu in his own offense.
Despite the pace of the fight, Uryu would be the one to admit he was on borrowed time. The Quincy artifact he was using was not a permanent fix for his powers. He knew when he was first given the item, but he did not imagine the consequences until he met Rantao. According to the Shinigami scientist, there was no telling when the artifact will break and the result would be a explosion spanning thousands of meters. Uryu was basically holding a miniature nuke that could go off at any moment the more he used his powers with it.
Yet Uryu pushed down those concerns. As long as he can still fight, he'll do to right the wrongs he did. So he must defeat the Bounts with all the power and skill as Quincy has. It was a matter of pride on his part.
He released another reishi arrow, one of many before and certainly not the last. Yoshi dodged out of the way at the last second by pivoting herself off the wall of a tower. The Quincy arrow continued on like a comet across the Sereitei till it felled one of the mountains in the distance. He launched another in the same second, but that is when his problems started.
As he gathered reishi into the Quincy construct to create the arrow, his reiatsu fluctuated without his control. The arrow he let loose this time had far less power behind it, allowing Yoshi to simply deflect it away with her fan. Uryu clicked his tongue in frustration; yet another problem to add with the Quincy construct. The more he used it, the more he was losing control of the arrows he released. At the pace the battle was going, Uryu didn't see it going in his favor if his own powers wouldn't last.
Another fluctuation in his reiatsu caused Uryu to mistep in his Hirenyaku, leaving him open to a full attack from Yoshi. He leaned back to mitigate the damage, but it was already done as the resulting attack from the Bount sent him to the ground like a crashed plane. His whole body hurt all over and through the dust cloud Uryu saw the shadow of Yoshi land right before him.
"It's been fun, Quincy." Yoshi mocked. "But now I get to enjoy the taste of a Quincy."
As she was about to swing the deathblow, her eyes caught an incoming blur. A golden blur at that heading for her with a prepared punch. Yoshi's eyes widened in alarm and hastily switched to her defensive form of her Doll. It was going to be close with the...
"HERE'S THE YANG BANG!"
A wild hurling Yang with her mane of golden hair lit up like fire was what came crashing down her fist aimed at the Bount. The sound of a tolling bell rang out on impact as Yang's fist met something that was not exactly flesh and bone. The force behind it was enough to create a wind pressure to blow away the dust cloud, revealing not only Uryu but also the shield Yoshi managed to manifest in time to block Yang's blow. The armor had disappeared on her right arm and seemingly switched to her left arm where she held a shield that could fold back into a larger version of her Doll's fan. Even so, after blocking the blow, Yoshi's feet had skidded back by a few inches to hold back Yang's strength.
"You're strength is... an annoyance." Yoshi grit through her teeth. "That strength is wasted on a human like you."
"Waste this!" Exclaimed Yang, and with the fist planted on Yoshi's shield fired a point-blank shot of Ember Celica.
Yang expected her opponent to be blown away. What she wasn't prepared for was the power of the shotgun blast to be entirely thrown back at the brawler, sending the Xiao Long flying off. The blonde quickly righted herself in midair by performing acrobatic flips and thus landing safely on her feet. An irate scowl was present on her face as she glared back at the Bount.
"I hate defensive types." Yang commented, standing back up straight. "Especially when I can't punch through that shield."
A tap of feet lightly touching the ground brought Uryu's attention to the newly arrived Faunas he knew as Blake. His eyes locked onto her nearly glowing golden ones. He knew the look well, and somewhere in those eyes, he found himself as well.
"How did you find me?" Uryu inquired.
"You blew up one of the towers dotting the horizon." Blake deadpanned, pointing her thumb to said tower in the distance. "How could we not find you?"
"Don't sass me." Uryu replied with a twitching brow.
"We can do some sassing when we can get out of this mess." Yang cried, readying herself for combat. "So since archer boy over here is out for the count, I guess it's up to us. Ain't that right, Blake?"
"I suppose." Blake replied, coming to her partner's side with both Asauchi and Gambo Shroud in her hands.
The sound of an unfurling fan and rattling chains drew their attention back to the Bount. There she stood not a scratch on her person. Her Doll, Nieder, was returned to its standard form of a jian and fan. There wasn't an annoyed expression at the sudden intrusion of Yang and Blake, but instead a look of bloodthirst of having more to battle her
"Oh, I certainly don't have a problem with this." Yoshi said, licking her lips. "My blood is boiling. Give me all that you have in this dance of death!"
"Dramatic much." Yang said.
Blake rolled her eyes, and in sync the duo of black and yellow charged down at the maddened Bount.
Meanwhile, at the other side of the Sereitei, another confrontation was coming about. Ruby, Ichigo, and Senna had caught on the trail of Kariya, leading them to the Sereitei's Center of Research and Development. They arrived in time to see the devastation of Kariya's assault as the Bount had blown a hole through the wall and left most of the staff buried in rubble, including the lieutenant of Squad 12. The three members of SIRR delved deeper into the base via following Kariya's path of destruction.
It is only they came upon a strange chamber surrounded by paneled walls. A hole was blown into the floor revealing an entire cavern where a humongous device shaped into an egg three stories high lay below. And there by the hole stood Kariya oddly shirtless. An ominous tattoo had grown across his torso and pulsed a deep crimson like the beat of a heart. Ruby's eyes widened when she stretched out her senses and felt each pulse made Kariya's power jump up.
"Okay, what the hell is this!?" Ichigo exclaimed, threateningly raising the white Zangetsu khyber blade towards Kariya.
"Where it all started." Kariya said, simply giving the trio a side glance. "The experiment that caused the great catastrophe and forced the Sereitei to shut it down. The place that birthed the souls that would become me and my people. And now with all that destructive power it still has from that day, our birth will be the instrument of my revenge."
I did not know what to do this one halfway through. By the time I got further in, there was no room to put in a proper fight scene. Hopefully, the next one will be focused on the fights between the Bounts and most importantly the awakening of the zanpakuto from RWBY.
Up next is Chapter 63.
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