HALCYON DAYS
Volume Four: Thirteen Blades
Chapter Three
Ikkaku Madarame did some stretches at the center of the ring while glowering at Atau Rindō. He cupped his hands over his mouth to further amplify his voice.
"HEY! DON'T THINK I'M GONNA GO EASY ON YOU JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HEAR, UNDERSTAND?"
"Does Madarame not understand what being deaf means?" Kira groaned from the stands. "Screaming won't help."
Rindō squinted at Ikkaku's lip movement and responded by signing 'I'd be insulted if you went easy on me.' He saw Ikkaku's flummoxed look and realized the bald Shinigami didn't understand a lick of sign language. He sighed and resorted to a thumb's up: 'OK!'
"Alright, that much I understand," Ikkaku grinned, resting the sheathedHōzukimaru on his shoulder.
"Are both fighters ready for battle?" Chiwa asked.
Ikkaku gave a nod while Rindō repeated the thumbs up.
"Let the second match of the Jūsankentaikai begin!"
The stadium echoed with fanfare, the taiko drummers picking up a furious beat to accompany the action.
Ikkaku, needing no further prompting, unsheathed Hōzukimaru and assumed a Jodan no Kamae stance. Rindō responded by unsheathing his Mumeikusaji, a Zanpakutō with a lens-shaped cross-guard. He took on a Waki Tori stance, his face placid as ever.
無名草地 Mumeikusaji (Nameless Meadow)
The two combatants slowly inched towards each other, wary of being the first to strike.
Ikkaku won't admit it, but he knows he has a lot to prove today, Yumichika thought while watching his comrade intently. Let's see if that week of intensive training paid off.
The swordsmen came within two yards of each other, studying the other's body language wordlessly. Ikakku felt a twinge. Now!
He launched forward and brought his sheath swinging down toward Rindō's head. The mute didn't take the bait by reacting to the scabbard, instead ducking to the side just in time to catch Ikkaku's blade coming in from the right. The swords connected and locked in a dead heat, their owners trembling from physical strain.
"Ah, I figured," Ikkaku chuckled, quickly sussing out Rindō's physical strength. "You're a lightweight!" He exerted his full might, pushing Rindō back.
Rindō, on the verge of being overwhelmed by pure brawn, artfully twisted aside to let Hōzukimaru grind off his blade and lunge forward. He whirled in a rapid spin and brought Mumeikusaji up for a swipe, only for Ikkaku to catch the edge with his left bicep.
Rindō let out a silent guffaw of surprise, his sword lodged deep in the bald Shinigami's coiled muscle.
Ikkaku jerked up his sword and smashed the pommel against Rindō's chest, sending him stumbling back along with Mumeikusaji. The katana's edge raked off from the meat of Ikkaku's limb like a serrated saw.
Rindō threw up his hand to sign 'Take to the skies / Dive within the cresting wave / Kiss the air and rejoice, Funshachōyaku!' His palm pulsed out a blast of wind and launched him back with great propulsion until he was skittering to the far edge of the ring.
噴射跳躍 Funshachōyaku, Hado #19 (Jet Jump)
"How come Rindō's hugging the edge of the ring like that?" Rangiku wondered. "Won't that just make it easier for Ikkaku to knock him off?"
"He knows he has to put distance between them," Tetsuzaemon surmised. "If that cut is the best he can do, he doesn't have the strength to defeat Madarame in close combat. He'll lose if they continue fighting at short range."
Ikkaku inspected the gash on his bicep; it was bloody but shallow. Not so bad.
"It's nice to finally become acquainted, Atau!" he chuckled before hocking a wad of spit. "You've got a good handshake."
He broke into a crouch and smashed the butt of his katana against the backside of its scabbard. "Grow, Hōzukimaru!"
In a flash, the blade and sheathe merged into a long Kikuchi-yari, the combined blade and haft taller than his person. Jutting the spear forward, he broke into a sprint.
Rindō, his heel kissing the arena's edge, assumed a Seigan no Kamae stance and traced his fingers along the side of Mumeikusaji's face, inscribing a command: 'Give Birth!' He swiped his Zanpakutō forward, the katana transforming into a segmented whip comprised of Shikigami talismans.
"What is that?!" Kiyone cried out.
'Usagi,' Rindō signed before slinging the line of charms like a lash. The talismans transformed into dozens of hares and surged forward, their buck teeth bared.
What the – ?!Ikkaku halted and beheld the small troop of bunnies barreling towards him. He instinctively jutted his spear forward, but to no avail.
The audience watched in gobsmacked awe as the rabbits collided against Ikkaku, one by one, and burst like confetti upon impact.
Rindō relaxed his posture, his Zanpakutō recoiling back into a solid katana.
"Not bad, right?" Shunsui chuckled to Yamamoto and Sasakibe.
"Damn," Renji marveled from the stands. "That got him good."
Ikkaku drove Hōzukimaru's blade into the ground and held onto the haft for support, his breathing haggard. His was crisscrossed with deep lacerations and purpling bruises, his Shihakushō obliterated around the torso. A steady stream of crimson was dripping down onto his white sandals.
"So your advantage is at long range?" he huffed, struggling to control his breathing. "I should never have let you get so far away from me. Damn."
Kenpachi, watching from above, spotted the subtle smile spreading across Ikkaku's cracked lips.
"Looks like Ikkaku's finally getting excited," the captain grinned.
"Just in time for him to lose," Hitsugaya remarked dryly. "Is this the sort of battle you wished to see, Tenrai-chō Yūshirō?"
He looked back to the Tenrai-chō's throne to discover it was empty.
"What?!" he yelped, stomach dropping like a stone. "Zaraki, where'd he go?"
"How'm I supposed to know?" Kenpachi mumbled with disinterest. "I haven't been paying attention to that brat all morning."
Hitsugaya leapt up and grabbed him by the collar, looking him eye-to-eye.
"If anything happens to that brat, they'll throw us into the deepest pit they can find! Help me find him!"
They both ducked out through the curtain and looked in all directions. Hitsugaya spotted Yūshirō dashing down the leftwing of the curving hallway. The welp was so far away he looked like a speck.
"There!" Hitsugaya cried out, breaking into a sprint after the Tenrai-chō.
Kenpachi remained behind. Can't be bothered.
Meanwhile, Ikkaku was charging towards Rindō once again, hoping to bridge the space between them. Rindō responded by prancing along the arena's edge, trying to maintain his distance.
"Just as I thought!" Ikkaku laughed. "You need time to recharge that attack of yours. Well, I'm gonna catch you first!"
Powering through the pain with sheer adrenaline, he galloped at full speed until he came within six yards. He leapt up, readying to thrust his spear downwards.
Rindō planted himself firmly in place. I've got you. He traced his command across Mumeikusaji and swung the whip of talismans upwards.
'Taka.'
Ikkaku's eyes widened with shock as a flock of hawks shot up to meet him at point-blank range, their beaks squawking and wings flapping.
The crowd let out horrified cries when the winged beasts tore through Ikkaku like bullets, lifting him higher into the air before he slipped through their onslaught and fell down onto the tile with a crash.
"It's over," Isane ruled somberly.
Ikkaku lay on his back with chunks of tissue nicked off from his body, tiny gouges the size of coins peppering his shoulders and legs. Blood seeped out from under him, forming a puddle.
Rindō looked down at the bloody baldie with a glassy expression that could have been mistaken for indifference.
"Damn it!" Tetsuzaemon cursed. "Madarame should have bided his time. Instead, he just charged headfirst into a trap."
"You think so?" Yumichika rejoined with a skeptical grin.
Inside the innards of the stadium, Hitsugaya was hot on Yūshirō's trail. How the hell is he so fast?he wondered while dashing at full tilt alongside the stone-carved pillars.
"Tenrai-chō, please come back!"
"Try and catch me, Captain Hitsugaya!" Yūshirō giggled, kicking up such speed that his footsteps were punctuated by crackles of lightning Reiatsu.
Hitsugaya reached out, his fingers coming within inches of grasping the nobleman's robes. Yūshirō gave a squeal of delight and clacked his heels together, bounding beyond the captain's reach again. He zipped out of sight in an astonishing display of Shunpo.
You've got the be kidding me!
Hitsugaya rounded the corner and spotted a fluttering curtain. He followed inside, only to find himself barging into the Tsunayashiro loge.
"Captain Hitsugaya?" Tokinada sneered from his plush seat. Yūshirō was beside him, bouncing up and down like an over-caffeinated toddler.
"I was giving chase to the Shihōin Tenrai-chō," Hitsugaya panted, his cheeks flush with embarrassment. "It isn't safe for him outside of his loge."
"Are you implying that my loge isn't safe?" Tokinada countered before placing an avuncular hand on Yūshirō's shoulder. "He was just telling me how bored he'd become with your company. He'd prefer to watch the games with me."
"Nothing personal, Captain Hitsugaya!" Yūshirō giggled bashfully. "Can I please watch with Tokinada-san, please?"
Hitsugaya shot a helpless look at Komamura, who could only offer a sympathetic grimace in return.
"But, Your Highness, your Shikōtai Guardsman must be worried about you – ?"
"I can watch him from here, it's fine."
Hitsugaya looked back and saw Hinashi Yokio emerge through the curtain.
"Well then it's settled," Tokinada said. "How about you fuck off back to the Shihōin loge, Captain Hitsugaya? Mine is becoming crowded enough as is."
Hitsugaya turned bright pink and gave Yokio an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry."
Yokio studied the diminutive captain and leaned down to whisper into his ear.
"He's a speedy lil handful, isn't he?"
Hitsugaya offered a sheepish nod of agreement and exited the enclave while Yūshirō rested on the arm of Tokinada's throne. The lad excitedly grabbed his fellow Tenrai-chō by the shoulder and jostled him around.
"This is gonna be so rad! Have I missed anything?"
"It seems that the bald warrior from Eleventh Division has been laid out," Tokinada answered. "Let us watch the countdown together, shall we?"
"Six!" Chiwa chanted into his microphone. "Seven!"
Ikkaku lay motionless on the ground while Rindō loomed over him.
"Eight!"
Rindō sighed. It pained him to have so grievously injured a fellow Shinigami. I hope you can forgive me, Madarame –
Ikkaku's eyes snapped open, his irises blazing with demented delight.
"Nine!"
"Split, Hōzukimaru!"
He launched back up onto his feet, his spear disconnecting into its true form: a Sansetsukon. The three sections whipped around and latched onto Rindō's torso like a triangular vice, keeping his arms pinned to the sides. Ikkaku grasped the interlocked chain and pulled his opponent in close, meeting him with a devastating head butt.
Rindō's head snapped back, his nose crushed and geysering jets of blood and snot. The force sent both of them over the arena's edge and onto the sand below.
Chiwa trotted over and inspected the two unconscious fighters: while both out of bounds, it was Rindō who was touching the ground while Ikkaku rested safely atop him.
"Winner by ring out, Madarame Ikkaku!"
The audience broke into cheers and gasps at the reversal of fortune. Yūshirō could be heard over the din shouting "That was awesome!"
"See?" Yumichika grinned to Tetsuzaemon with a hint of sass. "Looks like it was Madarame who was laying a trap all along."
"You'll never convince me that was planned ahead of time," Tetsuzaemon grumbled. "At least he found a way to use that hard head of his."
"I guess it's about that time," Hisagi whispered to Kira. "We're up next. Be a little more courteous than Ikkaku and try not to bust my nose, alright?"
He realized he was talking to an empty seat: Kira was already up and heading off to get ready.
"Hey, what's the rush?"
Kira stopped in his tracks, hesitating before turning to give Hisagi a look.
"This grand prize changes things, Shūhei. You get that, right?"
"What're you talking about?"
They studied each other for an awkward duration while the audience cheered around them. Kira's eyes turned somber.
"I'll see you in the ring."
