Author's note: It's been a while since I last updated. Been quite a busy lately. But now I'm here. This chapter will tell us about how Askin and Urahara will fight, although there will some flashbacks as well. And of course, it's only how the fight happened in my story. I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. The original characters belong to me.
Chapter 46: Deadman Walking
Flashback, thousands of years ago, beneath the Sokyoku Hill, Soul Society
As a young boy, Kisuke Urahara was more talented than one could possibly imagine. The young boy, born into poverty in the Rukon District and raised as a servant on the Shihoin Mansion, had a quite perspective outlook for himself and those around him. One of his many talents was building underground places that only he and his close friends Tessai Tsukabishi and Yoruichi Shihoin knew of. One such place was built underneath the imposing Sokyoku Hill in the Sereitei. He was a cunning fox, and none of the Shinigamis stationed near the place took notice of it. The underground place functioned as many things for Urahara and his two friends: from training space to a playground. What the place also contained was healing hot springs, some of which Urahara had created only be reading some forbidden scrolls that the Shihoin clan possessed. No one, not even the clan head himself, knew of this.
Right now, the trio of friends were now enjoying themselves with practicing their abilities. And as usual, it was between Urahara and Yoruichi, with Tessei serving as the referee. Yoruichi was too fast for him and she won the match, with Urahara lying on this back in defeat.
"Heh. Looks like I'm the winner here!" Yoruichi exclaimed while posing confidentially.
Urahara only snorted while getting up on his feet. "Tch, you only got lucky. That's all!" the young boy told her.
Yoruichi was still feeling confident about herself. "Dare to dream, Kisuke" she reprimanded Urahara before sticking out her tongue at him, thus irritating the blonde-haired boy in the process.
"I think both of you did good in this duel" Tessai spoke up, trying to bridge the gap between the two competing friends. "Besides, each of you have strengths and weaknesses, right? Nobody's perfect" the tall boy told his friends.
Hearing this made both Yoruichi and Urahara smile at Tessai. Even though Tessai himself didn't know it, his friends saw him as the glue that kept the trio together. Tessai didn't possess the love for getting into conflicts as his friends did, yet whenever the situation required it, Tessai would get confrontational, mostly in self-defense. Nevertheless, he was known as the gentle giant amongst the trio of friends, something Urahara and Yoruichi valued in him.
"Thanks for the kind words, Tessai. I guess we both needed to hear it" Yoruichi thanked him before glancing over to Urahara. "Don't you agree, Kisuke?" she asked him smugly once again irritating her competing friend.
Urahara responded by waving his hand at her dismissively. "Ya don't need to remind me. Of course, I know that. Tessai's the best mediator one could possibly ask for" the blonde-haired man told her.
Hearing this made Tessai cry a little, and tears of joy could be seen running from his glasses. "Wow…didn't realize how much I needed to hear that" he remarked while sniffing a little.
Neither Yoruichi nor Urahara knew what to say to Tessai, yet something else caught their attentions. Tessai also began to feel that as well. The trio of friends all snapped once they could hear a familiar voice coming to them. And they could hear it in the training space.
"So, this is where you kids are hiding, huh?" a gentle yet cunning old voice could be heard and the three kids turned around to see who it was that had entered the place only they knew. They all snapped in astonishment.
"What the….." Yoruichi uttered out lowly.
"It's…it's…." Tessai did the same thing once he could see who that person was.
Standing before the trio of friends was a middle-aged man with long, purple hair a well as some facial hair on his chin and under his cheeks. Even his eyes were purple. He was dressed in a white, sleeveless captain's haori and wore a black shihakusho underneath it. He also had a green collar on his captain's haori. He held a wooden staff which probably served as his Zanpakutou. It was similar to the one Shigekuni Yamamoto had. These clothes and his Zanpakutou only indicated that he was a captain serving in the 13 Court Guard Squads and he was that. This man was Captain of Squad 3: Bansui Amatsuki.
"BANSUI-SENSEI!" the trio of children said together out of shock and happiness at the same time.
The long-haired man smiled wholeheartedly when seeing this. "Well met, children. Forgive me if I'm intruding here or anything like that. But I happened to sense your Spiritual Pressures nearby. So I came here and checked what it was, and here I am" Bansui told them gently.
The kids were stunned to hear what he just said. "Hold on...you're saying you found us by…but how? I mean, not even my dad has managed to find this place, and he's a captain, let alone the Commander of the Stealth Force!" Yoruichi blurted out in disbelief.
"Bansui-sensei really is amazing sometimes" Tessai admitted, the tanned-skinned boy becoming more amazed by this Shinigami captain than ever.
Bansui began looking around the training space, whistling in amazement while doing that. "I must say, this place feels fantastic. Did all of you build this?" he asked them, only to see both Tessai and Yoruichi point their fingers at Urahara, who was only standing there in his usual lazy self. Bansui smiled. "Ah, so you were the one who built this, Kisuke? Well, I must say you're quite the builder. Why didn't you tell me this before?" he then asked the young boy, who only scratched the back of his head in nervousness.
"It's not a big deal, really. I just built this place so that me, Tessai and Yoruichi could have a place to spar in, as well as having fun" Urahara answered, although he was not sure whether it was the right answer to come up with. "Ya know how Yoruichi's dad constantly stops us if we try to spar or something. So I thought about making this place so that nobody could bother us" he then added to his explanation.
Bansui's smile never faded away. "Well, then I have to tell you: you chose the perfect location to build this room. None of my fellow captains are interested in patrolling near the Sokyoku Hill. As a matter of fact, Head-Captain Yamamoto forbids it" he told Urahara before forming a frown with his mouth. "Why it's forbidden may be hard for you to understand, but I guess if I told you that, none of you would…" Bansui stopped speaking once Yoruichi began doing that.
"I know why it's forbidden. My dad told me the reason. The Sokyoku Hill is where the execution of criminals and other renegade Shinigamis takes place. And as far as I know, Yamamoto and Squad 1 are the ones in charge of monitoring the Sokyoku Hill's summit. That's why it's so secretive" the purple-haired girl answered.
Bansui clapped his hands for her, thus expressing his admiration of the knowledge she possessed. "Spoken like a true Shihoin. Quite phenomenal, Yoruichi. I see now why your father speaks so highly of you" the long-haired man told her. But he was not yet finished with speaking to them about the training space. "Now listen here, children. Normally, it would've been my duty as a captain to report such activity to the head-captain and the rest of my colleagues. But because of you being three of my students, I won't do it. Therefore, this will be our little secret between us. Doesn't that sound right?" Bansui then told the trio of friends, who were all smiling to hear how their teacher would do such things.
"Bansui-sensei…YOU'RE THE BEST!" Urahara exclaimed while running up to him and Bansui patted his messy hair friendly.
"Well now, another reason for why I came here was to pick you three up and go to take with you to my study in the Rukon District. The other students may be on their way as we speak. So what do you say we go and meet up with the rest?" Basnui then asked them before turning around to walk away.
The trio of friends immediately followed him like dogs chasing a cat. And so, they headed out of the secret training ground and onto the Rukon District, where the class was waiting for Bansui and the others.
Inside a hidden study underground, outside the Rukon District, Soul Society
Near a tree outside the Rukon District, Bansui Amatsuki had set up a secret underground study that he would often come to in order to have some peace and quiet. While he did also have a study in the Squad 3 Barracks, this place was perfect for him, as he wouldn't be bothered by stressed subordinates or piles of paper. Whether other Shinigami captains knew of this place, remained unanswered. However, only Bansui and the students he had knew of it, yet it was only Bansui who could open the entrance, which then showed them stairs that lead to his study.
Inside the underground study, Bansui was now having his class in session. Not only was Urahara, Yoruichi and Tessai present to this meeting. Other young children, who would later go on to play a big role in the Soul Society were also present. There was a young boy with blue, messy hair and orange eyes dressed in a purple kimono. Although he didn't wear his paint as a child, that boy was in fact Mayuri Kurotsuchi, future Captain of Squad 12 as well as second President of the Department of Research and Development. There was a young brown-haired boy with glasses, who was dressed in a black shihakusho. That boy was a young Sosuke Aizen, who would later go one to become a Captain of Squad 5, as well as one of the biggest threats and traitors to the Soul Society. Other students included Shinji Hirako, future Captain of Squad 5, as well as one of the Vizards, Rabu "Love" Aikawa, future Captain of Squad 7 and one of the Vizards and Kaname Tousen, future Captain of Squad 9, as well as one of the traitors of the Soul Society. Besides Tousen sat a young girl with black hair named Kakyo Tengan, who was the childhood friend of Tousen. She was the only one to befriend him due to his blindness, and as such Tousen valued her greatly. But this was the same friend that would later die, which would lead to Tousen becoming a Shinigami bent on vengeance.
All these people were as children students of Bansui Amatsuki, yet none of them knew what they would become later. Some of these kids were orphans and lived in orphanages, such as Mayuri, Aizen and Shinji. While some had been taken to noble families to work as servants similar to Urahara and his friends. As a matter of fact, only Yoruichi and Kakyo were those children of noble houses, whereas the rest were either street boys or servants on noble houses. But it was one thing these children had in common: they all participated in the lessons Bansui had offered them.
Bansui, being a captain in the 13 Court Guard Squads, so this as his duty to guide the children into the next generation. He insisted that not all denizens of the Soul Society should be neglected, including the children. Most of his fellow captains saw his ideals as meaningless, saying that Bansui should be more concentrated on fighting Hollows rather than to waste time educating these children. The few close colleagues he had was Yusuke Shihoin of Squad 2 and Retus Unohana of Squad 4.
As all the children were settled and Bansui smiled once he saw that everyone was present for the lecture. "Welcome again, my dear students. How glad I am to see everyone of you. Each time we meet, none of you are neither sick nor absent. I'm proud of you all" the Shinigami captain told them, his smile only signalizing his enthusiasm.
"Tch, yeah. Like, we don't have anything better to do outside the class" Shinji spoke up, the young boy possessing the same lazy personality as he would later carry on with as an adult.
"Are we still going to read what's written on that stupid blackboard?" the question came from Mayuri, "Knowledge shouldn't be all about what you tell on that blackboard. Knowledge should be about us finding it on our own" the blue-haired boy added, his expression holding no enthusiasm of this subject.
Bansui only chuckled to hear this in return. "Now, now, Mayuri. There is no need to get impatient here" the long-haired man assured the little boy. "But on the other hand, there is something that I agree with you on. And that is about you and the others discovering knowledge on your own. It's true. In the future, the Soul Society may require more than a single person to take care of those denizens who are neglected and forgotten. That is what I hope to achieve with having you all gathered here" Bansui told them.
The girl named Kakyo smiled when hearing her teacher's words. "When I grow up, I wanna become a Shinigami, but not just any Shinigami. I'll become a Shinigami who fights for justice and those who are defenseless!" the girl told Bansui, who mused to himself in return.
"Now that sounds very ambitious of you, Kakyo. Perhaps you should pursue that goal. After all, you are a great guardian towards your friends. Wouldn't you agree, Kaname?" Bansui asked the blind boy, who weakly nodded his head as a yes in return.
"Yes! C-certainly, Bansui-sensei" young Tousen told him while trying to come up words to say it.
Bansui moved over to stand beside the blackboard. To his students' surprise, he pushed it away. To them, it was a strange thing for him to do, as Bansui would always rely on the blackboard to write down something while explaining the facts to them. But this time, he wouldn't use the blackboard. Why, they didn't know yet?
"We won't be needing the blackboard for today's lesson. Rather, we are going to have talk between ourselves. And by that, I mean me asking questions and you answering them. So, what do you say, children?" Bansui cheerfully asked them.
The majority enthusiastically responded by saying yes in return. Knowing that, Bansui told them to gather a ring in his study. All of them were now sitting on the carpet in a ring, and this only enabled the students to get better acquainted with one another. But the question that dwelled inside those children's heads was what kind of subject their teacher wanted to share with them. They would soon find out what it was.
"Listen well, young ones. What I am about to tell you is of great importance to us as denizens of the Soul Society. But we must never forget that our world does not only consists of the Soul Society. We have the Precipice World, the Human World, Hueco Mundo and other smaller and unique worlds that not so many Souls know about these days" Bansui began telling the young students.
"Bansui-sensei, what is Hueco Mundo? Is that the place where the Hollows live in, like us living in the Soul Society?" Tessai asked, eager to know more about that place.
Bansui nodded his head at the young boy with glasses. "Correct, Tessai. Hueco Mundo is where the Hollows dwell. But let us not forget that their lifestyle and culture is different from that of ours here in the Soul Society. The same thing can be said for the Human World and Hell" the Shinigami answered while making sure the other students heard what was being said.
"You're saying that Hell actually exists?" Shinji asked causally, as he usually did during his days as a child. "Now that's just messed up. I wonder what kind of wackos live there" the blonde-haired boy wondered smugly.
"We will talk about Hell some other time, Shinji. But now, I would like to ask you kids a question. What lies above the Sereitei? Or more specifically what lies in the Royal Realm? Anyone of you wanna answer those?" Bansui asked them with his smug smile, trying to give his students a challenge.
"The Royal Guard and the Soul King!" two voices could be heard at the same time and they came from the two boys, who were considered to be the best listeners of Bansui's glasses. The first boy was Urahara, but the other boy was Aizen, who was sitting across from the blonde-haired boy's perspective.
Both Urahara and Aizen stared at each other after saying the answer at the same time. While Urahara simply glanced at him curiously and raised an eyebrow, Aizen only stared at him in return with a huff. From the look on Aizen's face, he seemed to be bear some form of resentment towards the easygoing boy. The two boys were often considered to be rivals, as they were the smartest among the students in Bansui's class. Sure, others like Mayuri, Yoruichi and Kakyo were intelligent as well, but they were dwarfed by Urahara and Aizen when it came to such subjects. But while Aizen and the other students considered Urahara to be his rival, the blonde-haired boy never saw Aizen as such. He was only confused by all this talk about him having a rival.
"Spot on, Kisuke and Sosuke! I salute you both!" Bansui interrupted the boys' staring contest, when he commended their knowledge. The two students looked at him with curious eyes. "Yes. The Royal Realm is where the Royal Guard is residing. It is also the location of the Soul King's Palace, where the Soul King himself resides, watching over our realm, as well as regulate the souls that travels from here to the Human World. Quite fascinating, don't you think?" the Shinigami captain told them.
Neither Urahara nor Aizen opened their mouths to respond to him. However, they did return to glance at one another. Aizen was still giving the blonde-haired boy a dirty look, something which Urahara himself didn't get why.
"But Bansui-sensei, we all know that the Soul King doesn't govern the Soul Society" the stern and bored voice came from Mayuri, the young boy trying to correct his teacher's assessment. "That's Central 46's thing. They are like the highest judiciary authority that exists here" the blue-haired boy added to his statement.
Shinji only shrugged his shoulders when hearing this. "Tch, you always have to act like you're a smartass?" he asked Mayuri with such foul language.
Mayuri simply glanced at him in return. "I was simply stating basic facts, Hirako" he responded.
"But there must be more to Central 46, isn't it?" Tousen asked his classmates curiously. "I mean, is the assembly fair to all denizens of the Soul Society?" the blind boy asked those around him.
His close friend Kakyo smiled at Tousen. "Of course, it is fair to all denizens, Kaname" the young girl insisted to him. "As a matter of fact, not even the most high-ranking nobles are above the law, as well as the judiciary authority Central 46 possesses" she added to her explanation.
Bansui smiled when hearing Kakyo tell those things. "Spoken like a true optimist, Kakyo. I admire it" the long-haired Shinigami told her, forcing Kakyo to giggle in return. "Now let me tell you children about how the Soul King came to be. As a matter of fact, the Soul King's origins would be described as a fairytale" Bansui told them while the children were listening to what was being said. The Shinigami suddenly put a ball in the middle of the ring and started to tell them a story.
"Eons ago, the Gods created this world, which included the realms which the different people would live in. The Gods were proud of their accomplishments, yet there was something they were not satisfied with. It was all the negativity, depression and hostility that had arisen in world and among its various inhabitants. Because of all this, the Gods had decided to eradicate the world, deeming their creation a failure. But as everything was about to turn into oblivion, one God had started to take pity upon the world and its creatures. This God believed that it was unforgivable to simply destroy the world because of mere negative symptoms. As such, he decided to save the world. But to save it, the God would have to sacrifice himself in order for him to accomplish that. His power would be sealed, and portions of his power would be severed from his body. This became the result of the one we all know today, as the Soul King. He watches us, takes care of us and makes sure that the balance of the world is never disturbed" Bansui told them the story.
While this story may have not been a clear coverage of the Soul King's past, it was a perfect story to tell small kids. At that time, literature about the Soul King and the creation of the world was largely vanished. Not even students at the Shin'o Academy were thought of this. No, all that they had to know, was that they would grow up to defend the Soul Society, as well as its sealed king and its laws.
Back to the present, in the icy cityscape of Wahrwelt, Royal Realm, Soul Society
Urahara had taken notice of Yoruichi gradually weakening. This was partly due to Askin's poison returning to affect her. The immunity drug he had injected into her had now worn off. It was time for him to officially cure her of the poison. But before he could even start, something happened that stunned both Urahara and Yoruichi.
They both felt an incredible amount of Spiritual Pressure all around them. It happened when a giant bubble suddenly erupted all around them, creating something of a forcefield in their location. This giant forcefield was big and it took a portion of the icy cityscape. The two Shinigamis was completely caught off guard, and didn't know what kind of mess they had stumbled upon.
"What the hell!?" Urahara cursed, feeling that his surroundings had changed drastically. He watched as Yoruichi felt motionless, yet she wasn't dead. But still, how could he possibly cure her now that he was trapped in this forcefield.
Urahara's worries increased once he could hear the voice of Askin Nakk Le Vaar: the Sternritter whom Yoruichi had presumably defeated. To Urahara's shock, Askin was alive, albeit in a different form.
"Gift Ball Deluxe. This is the largest poison ball I'm capable of making" Askin said, although he could see that Urahara was more focused on the fact he was still alive and breathing. "Oh, that's not what you meant now is it? Knowing you, you're far more interested in this new form of mine, right?" the Sternritter asked him smugly.
Askin's new look was stunning. He had gained wings composed of circles connected by beams of Reishi and shaped like molecular sequences. The same material surrounded his waist as a belt, and he now wore a visor, one bracelet on his right arm, and three on his left arm. Circles hovered over his arms and chest, and his Heiligenschein took the shape of the Quincy Zeichen with circles at each point of the star. This was without question Askin's Quincy: Vollständig.
"It's called Hasshein. A pretty morbid name, don't you think?" Askin revealed the name of his new form which in the Quincy tongue meant God's Poison Taster or Poison of God. The Sternriter floated above the ground while facing Urahara, who had so far, not moved an inch of his body to make a move. Askin eventually descended upon the ground beneath him. "A Spiritual Pressure that changes 48 times per second. In other words, I'm absorbing 48 different types of patterns per second. Basically, in my Vollständig, if I can spend one second without attacking and only receiving attacks, I have then been exposed to all 48 different types of patterns" Askin began explaining this new form of his.
As he explained all that, Urahara found himself sweating intensively. Apparently, both he and Yoruichi had underestimated Askin and his extraordinary survival skills. What more tricks did he possess that the Shinigamis had yet to figure out? Urahara only sat still and listened to the Sternritter's explanation.
"All that's left is analyzing and developing the immunity, which is only a matter of time" Askin said before pointing a finger towards Yoruichi, who was still lying on the ground getting paralyzed by the poison of Askin. "Now, now, there may well still be other ways to change one's Spiritual Pressure up, but that's all…...moot now. In order to ensure we can end this without you having to waste any more of your time, and this is purely from the kindness of my heart by the way, I'm going to share with you the properties of my Vollständig" the Sternritter then revealed to the Shinigami.
Urahara still didn't open his mouth to speak. But sooner or later, he would have to make an effort to help Yoruichi. However, listening to Askin would perhaps give him an advantage over something. Hoping to learn more from this powerful Quincy, Urahara decided to listen to Askin's boasting.
"My Vollständig: Hasshein, adepts to the changes in the properties of the poison. No matter how much, the surface layer of the poison changes. As long as the base remains the same, the immunity acquired will adjust as well and render the poison instantaneously ineffective" Askin explained the details of his new form, only to see Urahara pant so deeply. It would seem to him that the Shinigami was struggling to follow through the explanation. "Was that too much of a longwinded explanation? Hopefully it didn't go over your head. Because from here on out, no matter how much you, or her, try to change your respective Spiritual Pressures, neither of you will be able to land a single scratch on me" Askin told him smugly, taking pleasure in seeing Urahara struggle amidst this confusion.
"Damn…..I sure got myself dragged into quite a mess, didn't I?" Urahara noted in his head.
Askin was beaming with confidence while being in this new form of his. The Sternritter was confident that he had the upper hand against his opponent. It gave him satisfaction, considering that Urahara was one of the 5 Special War Potentials.
"Now then, there are more surprises right, Kisuke Urahara? I mean, there's no way that you've exhausted every trick up your sleeves…and played your cards already?" Askin smugly asked him as he began sending something in the barrier they were currently stuck in.
Urahara became cautious as Askin's Reishi Wings began creating cells that spread across the gigantic ball of poison. It was Reishi, and it spread so quickly for him to realize that.
"Don't look so surprised. This is just to be on the safe side. I've set up a Gift Bereich" Askin told his opponent while stretching out his arms to show Urahara his work. "I'm not a fan of using really tough sounding words. Dudes who merely talk the talk just come off as jittery, all bark and no bite. I want to look like a real deal so I try to come across as perpetually calm and composed. But I'll say this once just for your information. Breaking out of my Gift Bereich….is absolutely impossible" the Quincy went on telling Urahara about this "Gift Bereich" of his.
After having remained silent for a long time, Urahara finally decided to speak up, even forming a cunning smile in the process. "If you wanted us to stay so badly, you could've just asked…." Urahara told him.
"Riiiight. Do I look that dumb to you? We're enemies, after all" Askin replied, not amused by Urahara's choice of words.
"Okay, then let me put this in another way. From my standpoint, it doesn't exactly look to me as though you're acting out of pure loyalty, your heart definitely isn't fully committed to it anyway" Urahara then spoke up his mind.
Hearing this made Askin cook and eyebrow, indicating that he was slightly surprised by Urahara's assumption. "How very presumptuous. If it's pure loyalty you wanna see, then I'm saturated in more of it than a Pomeranian pup. But your assessment isn't exactly off base, it's true that there's much more to this while story" Askin replied, although he was confirming Urahara's assumption to some extent. This only encouraged Askin to let him in on this secret of his. "The truth is…His Majesty intrigues me. Does it come off as very haughty of me to declare such thing? Of course, that's not what I meant by that" Askin admitted to Urahara while holding up three fingers for him to see. "The World of the Living, Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society. Annihilating all three worlds and trying to make something out of it after the destruction. Is there anyone who would dare attempt this other than His Majesty? If hypothetically, I overlooked this chance with His Majesty this time round, when do you think the next guy like him is going to come along?" the Sternritter began asking questions to Urahara.
Urahara was listening to what the Sternritter told him. He had to admit, he had never really understood why Yhwach had such great ambitions. While he knew that the Quincy Emperor desired the fall of the Soul Society, he never knew the specific goals he had. And now, Askin was now revealing some of the details he had desired to know about.
"Kisuke Urahara, you are a wise, well-informed individual. You have the face of a man who has seen all there is to see in this world. In that case, can you see where I'm coming from?" Askin asked him another question. "Whatever His Majesty will create, after destroying these three worlds. Aren't you the least but curious to see it, too?" the Sternritter was more direct in asking Urahara about those desires of his.
Instead of opening his mouth to answer, Urahara opened his mouth to activate his Zanpakutou. "Awaken. Benihime!" Urahara activated his Shikai and suddenly swung his blade at Askin, who was quick to dodge it with his newfound speed. He fled backwards and could see that Urahara was not standing on his feet.
"You can still move with such an agility? That's an impressive feat in the Gift Bereich" Askin noted while glancing at his opponent.
Urahara was still sweating intensively despite being able to stand. "I'm afraid I'm not the least bit interested…" he told the Sternritter.
"Oh, that was a reply to my last query. Well, it's a grand shame. And here I was so sure you'd see eye to eye with me on the matter" Askin told Urahara, feeling a bit letdown by the fact that Urahara wasn't the type he had thought he would be.
The blonde-haired man clutched onto his Zanpakutou. "If it were Mayuri Kurotsuchi, you may have found a cohort who shared you demented vision" Urahara said to Askin.
Askin raised an eyebrow when hearing this. "Mayuri Kurotsuchi…you mean that disgusting and perverted clown who cosplays all the time?" he asked before waving his dismissively at the Shinigami. "Oh please, don't insult my intelligence by pairing me up some sociopathic wackjob! It's just so…cynical" Askin told Urahara.
Urahara only smirked in return. "A wackjob he may be, but Kurotsuchi is still a genius. However, by no means, would that have meant that he desired to see whatever Yhwach is thinking of creating" he pointed out to Askin. "If something that no one has ever seen before is about to be created, then he's the type of individual to who would want to create that with blank canvas with his own two hands. That's what it means to be a true scientist" the blonde-haired man went on to tell Askin why Mayuri would perhaps be more interested in this than him.
Hearing this made Askin laugh and he found himself grinning with satisfaction over hearing Urahara's story. "I see. Now that's a pretty damn good answer" Askin said before fixing his smug look on Urahara. "I bet Bansui Amatsuki would've been soooo proud of you" he then said to the Shinigami in a taunting manner.
The moment Urahara heard that name coming out from Askin's lips, he froze completely. His grey eyes widened as a result of this. The young man's mind was drifting back to the past, back to the time when he was a child. His teeth began gritting with slight anger, something the Quincy seemed to notice of.
"You sick, despicable bastard….." Urahara uttered out those words before he swung his Zanpakutou in anger. "KAMISORI, BENIHIME!" he yelled as he fired a wave of red energy from Benihime and it headed directly towards Askin.
Askin narrowly managed to dodge it with the help of his Hirenkiyaku. The wave of energy proceeded to head towards a ruined tower, thus destroying it completely. Askin stood and watched the results of Urahara's attack. He was stunned to see the tower bring reduced to ashes.
"My God…...that attack almost took me. If I hadn't been in my Hasshein, I would've been taken by it for sure" Askin noted lowly. He soon turned around to face his opponent with a smirk running across his mouth. The Quincy could see how infuriating the usually laidback Urahara was right now. "What's the matter? Did I ruffle some feathers here?" he tauntingly asked the Shinigami.
"Spare me your crappy taunts, Sternritter!" Urahara snapped at Askin, which was unusual for him, given how calm he was during a battle. "I could care less about your insults, but I sure as hell don't wanna hear you speak that name in front me of ever again! That man has a special place in my heart" the green-robed Shinigami told him sternly.
Still, Askin was not impressed from what he was hearing from him. "Geez, don't act like I'm some clueless detective. I've done my homework! I understand that you, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Yoruichi Shihoin, Sosuke Aizen and other Shinigamis were students of that man. It's a great shame that he's dead, though. Perhaps he would be interested to see what His Majesty will create" the Sternritter said, much to the fuming of Urahara. "Which leads me to this question, Urahara. Are you even aware of what will happen now?" Askin smugly asked him.
Urahara narrowed his eyes beneath his hat while resisting the urge to cut his opponent down. "What the hell are you rambling about?" he rudely asked the Quincy.
Askin mused to himself. "You know, every great event, like the one I just told you, has a fantastic process, not to mention a prelude. I'm certain you know what it is I'm talking about right?" Askin could see that Urahara was not responding to him. "Very well, then allow me to fill you in on the matter. Times are dire, Shinigami. The winter is coming. But I'm not talking about just any ordinary winter with snow, ice and celebrations. I'm talking about a winter of war, battle, conflict and power. That being said, it's a war that will dwarf the White Invasion" the Quincy revealed to Urahara.
Urahara was confused when he heard this, yet a part of him couldn't help but to be curious to know more. He knew what the White Invasion was. It was when the 13 Court Guard Squads along with the Vizards battled Sosuke Aizen and his Arrancar Army in the fake version of Karakura Town. Two years had passed since that event, which had almost cost the Shinigamis their lives. But still, the Soul Society was only experiencing a more disastrous event with the ongoing invasion of the Wandenreich.
"With us claiming the Soul Society as our own, you Shinigamis are all but a pack of leaderless ants. None of you will survive in the upcoming battle. Especially since there are three mighty empires who will convene on this battle" Askin told him before showing Urahara his fingers once again. "The first empire is the Wandenreich. Now that we no longer hide in the shadows, he will reclaim what is ours and make the Soul Society our domain. The wisest Shinigamis will soon disown the Court Guard in favor of His Majesty. Well that was one of the three. Do you know who the two others are, Kisuke Urahara?" Askin asked him smugly.
Urahara's grey eyes widened when he realized what Askin was truly getting at. "The Imperio de Hierro…" Urahara uttered out the name of the resurgent Arrancar empire in Hueco Mundo. Somehow, Urahara knew that the Imperio de Hierro would get itself involved in this upcoming battle. "But if the Imperio de Hierro is also involved in this battle…who are the last empire…no.….does that mean…." Urahara soon got a realization of who the third player was.
Askin grinned. "You guessed right with the second empire. And I believe you now see who the third player is. An empire is emerging in the Soul Society. Another empire is emerging in Hueco Mundo. But the World of the Living does not have one. But there is a small realm that has already made gains in light of the Soul King's death" the Sternritter told him smugly.
"Hell…" Urahara uttered out the name of the realm in which the unforgiven and sinned dwelled in. Something suddenly hit in his head. "Shit! The death of the Soul King….it enabled Hell to….." the Shinigami was filled with so many thoughts and they were too much worrying for him to bear.
The Sternritter chuckled to himself when seeing Urahara getting all stressed. "Know you see why I look forward to this, Shinigami!? All these events will change the course of history!" Askin said before pulling out the ring around his right hand. "That said, I simply long to see His Majesty's creations! Gift Rring!" he exclaimed while raising his hand in the air. The ring around it began floating up while becoming larger.
Askin proceeded to throw the ring at Urahara, who was still standing his guard with Benihime. The blonde-haired man was about to swing his Zanakutou to destroy the ring, only to see the ring disappear before his eyes. Urahara was stunned.
"The ring…...it disappeared!?" Urahara wondered as he could see nothing before him.
Unbeknownst to Urahara, the ring itself hadn't really disappeared as he thought it had. Rather, it had simply shrunk in size and continued floating until it reached Urahara's right eyeball. The moment the ring hit it, his eyeball exploded.
"AAARGHHHHHH!" Urahara screamed as blood began pouring endlessly from his eyehole. He tried to stop it by holding into the bleeding with his handpalm. Apparently, the ring had also spread itself to his other eyeball as well, thus rendering him completely blind.
"Gift Ring is extraordinarily strong and only used on the troublesome ones whom the Deathdealing doesn't work too well on. How it works is it focuses all of the Deathdealing's into one focal point, pinpointing it on the part of the body that currently bears the piercing and forces an "Instant Death" as I call it" Askin began explaining the nature of his Gift Ring as Urahara continued to suffer serious bleedings from his eyeholes. "I'm sorry but you're just way too strong. I can't lower the lethal dose, nor will I just nullify all this. In this light, mutilating your internal organs one by one, is the only option you've left me….and with it, your demise" Askin told Urahara who was now on his knees while breathing.
But even though he was on his knees, Urahara still had enough strength to speak. "Very well…...you leave me no choice…if you wanna defeat me so badly then I might as well return the favor...but don't say I didn't warn you…" Urahara said between his panting, which only made Askin confused. "Bankai….Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame!" the blonde-haired man did something he hadn't done in a very long time. He activated his Bankai! Out of nowhere, a giant woman with dark, braided hair arranged in loops on her head and mannequin-like arm and a revealing robe appeared behind Urahara's location, standing watch over him.
Askin froze when seeing the giant woman appear. "What the hell am I looking at?" the Sternritter asked before something hit in his head. "Hold on, did you say Bankai? That can't be true. There wasn't anything on your Bankai in the intel His Majesty gave me" Askin told his opponent, recalling what he had learned from the intel.
"This is the first time I've ever used it in front of Quincies" Urahara answered.
"I see. On another note, I was also told that your friend Yoruichi didn't possess a Bankai, only for that to be proved by her. I guess I'm just repeating the same mistake here" the Quincy told Urahara while studying this Bankai. "May I ask, just in case, exactly what kind of power does it possess?" he then questioned the Shinigami.
Urahara formed a smug smile when hearing this. "Asking me such a personal thing. That's more of a second date type of question if you ask me" the blonde-haired man pointed out to his opponent.
Askin merely shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? I like to move fast. Either way, I figured I'd try seeing as how facing that thing head on is enough to make me soil myself" he responded to Urahara.
"Very well, I'll tell you about my Bankai. The thing is…even if I didn't tell you, you would be up close and personal with it soon enough" Urahara then revealed to Askin.
Askin didn't get what Urahara meant by that. However, that was about to change. He felt something unusual happen with his left arm and looked to see what it was. Askin became shocked when he saw his left arm being split open and it caught him by surprise.
"WH-WHAT THE FUCK!?" Askin yelled as he began flying up to the air, making sure he also had his distance between him and Urahara. As soon as he was far away from the Shinigami and his Bankai, Askin could feel his arm getting regenerated. Still, he had a lot of question for Urahara with regards to this ability of his Bankai.
"As cool as the other side of a pillow, most people would be shocked and panicked at the sight of their arm being split open. But just as you have ascertained, my Bankai's effect has a range" Urahara began telling Askin while his Bankai began doing something on him.
Askin had taken notice of this as well, and the Sternritter remained cautious about the Shinigami's tricks. "Heh, I just don't have the backbone to sit back and let my arm get torn apart" the Quincy responded to what Urahara had said to him.
The gigantic woman was still moving her hands around Urahara's face, and it only made the Quincy more curious to know what she was really doing to him. "You may have seen through that attack just now, but Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame's ability…." Urahara stopped speaking as the gigantic woman finally removed her hand hands from his face, this enabling Askin to get a clear view of what she had done to him. "Is the power to restructure anything it has touched" Urahara revealed the nature of his Bankai, thus sending chills running down Askin's spine. It was horrifying for him to watch. Urahara had used his Bankai to restructure his eyes to restore his vision. Even now, part of his faces was covered by sewing patterns running across it. In a way, he almost looked like a zombie.
Askin had been frozen by this view, and he was too distracted by Urahara's new look to even realize his opponent launching an attack on him. Using his mastery in Shunpo, Urahara managed to slash the Quincy with his Zanpakutou, whom he still retained despite his Bankai being activated. Askin was too late to bolster his defenses, but he was quick enough to defend himself from Urahara's attack from behind. The two clashed blades, with Askin using a blade made out of Reishi. As they clashed, Askin was finally given a clear view of Urahara's face. But on the other hand, something else hit in his head.
"WHAT!? YOU CAN SEE!? BUT YOUR EYES…THEY WERE DEAD ON THE SPOT!" Askin blurted out in disbelief.
Despite hearing this, Urahara smiled as usual. "Oh, I can see! After all, they've been "restructured" as well!" he told Askin as he began showing his left arm, which had gradually been cut due to Askin. To the Quincy's horror, Urahara's left arm became restructured. He became disgusted over seeing the Shinigami's hand being sewed into whole again.
Feeling cornered and panicked, Askin felt himself getting overpowered by Urahara. The blonde-haired man won the clash and succeeded in sending Askin flying through the icy cityscape. Still, Urahara pursued his opponent, intending on winning against Askin once and for all. But he stopped as he could see Askin emerging out from the rubbles.
"No, no, no, no, no! I won't let it end like this! Anything but this! This is just turning into a battle of brute force versus brute force" Askin's angry voice could be heard as he was now gathering powerful Reishi to his side. The Quincy faced Urahara, still feeling smug over his process in the battle. "Even after I was kind enough to let you drag me into your field and then let you set the pace for a minute there, you didn't even capitalize on that? Instead, we are here just duking it out. That's coldblooded, Kisuke Urahara" the Quincy told his opponent.
But Urahara was growing weary over hearing Askin's diarrhea in his mouth, so he proceeded to charge towards the Sternritter. In response, Askin only felt like doing the same thing, but not before reminding him about who held the power inside this Gift Bereich.
"But no matter what you throw at me, you're still far from perfect! Or have you forgotten already? THIS GIFT BALL DELUXE IS AN INESCAPEABLE POISON FORTRESS!" Askin revealed to him as the ball was now beginning to grow smaller by the minute. "THE ONLY REASON YOU'RE STILL BREATHING INSIDE HERE, IS BECAUSE I'M STILL DIALING IT IN TO JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT!" the Sternritter added to his statement.
Urahara proceeded to charge towards his opponent. "Correct me if I'm mistaking, you can increase the concentration inside this Gift Ball Deluxe even further? Even now, it's taking all my strength to just crawl about the ground" the Shinigami asked his opponent.
Askin began floating in the air as he saw his opponent coming for him. "That was pathetic! Like I would fall for that! And even if you were just crawling around the ground, your Bankai is not something I want to trifle with!" the Quincy replied to the Shinigami's words.
"You got me there. Perceptive as ever. But you missed one little thing" Urahara told Askin.
The Sternritter didn't know what his opponent was saying and was about to make an attack, only for him to feel something pierce through his chest. Someone had just taken out his heart. The one who had just done that, was none other than the Legionario, Grimmjow Jeagerjacquez. The Arrancar was now in his Resurrección: Panthera. He seemed to have no regret for what he just did to Askin.
"What happened!?" Askin wondered as he felt his heart getting taken away.
"It's been on my mind this entire time. This Gift Ball Deluxe of yours, you kept saying it was inescapable, but you never mentioned it was impenetrable. So I thought I'd give it a try" Urahara told Askin as he looked up at the now heartless Quincy. "And from the outside of the ball, I was able to create a path to infiltrate it. Thank you for the aid, Grimmjow" the blonde-haired man thanked the Arrancar while Askin was stunned to hear how he had succeeded with those means of his.
Grimmjow only huffed as he grasped Askin's heart before proceeding to throw Askin away on a rooftop of a building. The Sternritter was lying on his stomach. But somehow, he still had the ability to speak. Truth be told, Askin was surprised that Grimmjow was still alive.
"So…..you're actually able to move now? That's rather remarkable. I had completely underestimated you…" Askin admitted while seeing Grimmjow standing behind him.
The teal-haired man only glanced down at him with a sneer. "The hell's this? I skewer you, yank out your heart, and you're still breathing? You're one tough son of a bitch" Grimmjow remarked.
Urahara appeared on the rooftop where Grimmjow and Askin were on. "I healed him while he was on his way here" the blonde-haired man told Askin as he began sitting down on his knees. "There is something intriguing about Arrancars. When resurrected, their Spiritual Pressures is completely transformed into the Spiritual Pressures of Hollows. So I thought that bit of information might prove useful during battle" Urahara added to his explanation.
"You're saying..…..you were anticipating that far ahead?" Askin asked between his panting.
Urahara shook his head. "Not at all. Like I just said, I simply thought it might prove interesting. That's why I was prepared for it. I always come expecting 1000 what-if-scenarios just so I'm never caught with my pants down. Ready for an able to act on any fathomable possibility that may occur" he answered the Quincy.
Askin found himself chuckling to himself. "That's…..way too extreme" the Quincy noted.
"What's that now?" Urahara asked as he looked directly at Askin's face. "We're talking about war. If you lose, you're dead. Preparing and pushing yourself to the brink so you give yourself the best odds of survival. It's no different from what everyone does" the blonde-haired man told Askin the meaning of his methods.
The Quincy mused to himself. "I see…...you've got quite frightening drive…I'm also beginning to finally understand your…" Askin was interrupted in his speech when Grimmjow stabbed through him once again with his claws. It finally made Askin stop speaking.
The Arrancar sneered at the dying Quincy once again. "That should shut him up for good. His talking bored me to death" Grimmjow said as he rose up to his feet. He was then turning around to walk away, only for Urahara to stop him.
"Wait. Where are you going, Grimmjow?" Urahara asked the Arrancar.
"Tch, what does it look like? I'm gonna go after Ichigo and the others. I pretty much helped you with killing this bastard, so I see no reason for us to be hanging around here anymore" Grimmjow replied to him.
Urahara narrowed his eyes slightly in return. "You'll have to wait before we can regroup with Ichigo and the others" the blonde-haired man told him sternly. "I first need to cure Yoruichi and then…" Urahara was interrupted by the angry voice of Grimmjow.
"Oh for fuck sake! I told you already! I repaid your healing on me by dealing with that ugly bastard! Quit barking out demands from me!" Grimmjow berated the Shinigami. "And for the record, you're not in power to command a Legionario, cause you're technically in the service of Allowin!" he added to him with a psychotic grin directed towards Urahara.
Feeling weary over hearing Grimmjow's mouth run without breaks, Urahara decided to teach him a lesson or two. "I wouldn't threaten me so lightly, Grimmjow. You may not believe it, but I'm more than capable of teaching you some manners the hard way. Or is it that you're afraid of making an ass out of yourself in front of former slaves of Aizen like Gantenbainne, Yammy…or perhaps him?" the blonde-haired man tauntingly asked the Legionario.
Hearing this made Grimmjow furious, especially when Urahara mentioned "him". He knew who that was, and it was not Allowin. No, it was someone Grimmjow really resented in the Imperio de Hierro. Someone who along with him, Nelliel, Harribel, Gantenbainne and Yammy, had served Aizen and his loyalists in the past.
Gritting his feral teeth in a rage, Grimmjow was ready to fight Urahara, regardless of how powerful the Shinigami really was. "You sanctimonious piece of shit! You think you're cool just because Allowin has you as his servant!? Well, I sure as hell don't care! So I'm gonna rip you to shreds and leave you blowing in the….." before the aggressive Legionario could even attack the Shinigami, both he and Urahara felt an enormous burst of Spiritual Pressure at their location.
The burst was so powerful that it forced Grimmjow down to one knee. Urahara tried his best to compose himself. It didn't take long before both of them figured out where that Spiritual Pressure came from. It was from Askin. But the two even got more shocked when they saw the Sternritter stand up to his feet. But something drastically had changed in Askin's skin. It had turned into purple, yet his hair and eyes remained the same. The Quincy chuckled as he could see the reactions of Grimmjow and Urahara.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL ALIVE!?" Grimmjow cursed as he could see Askin standing on his two feet feeling so confident in his abilities.
"There may be a final thing I have forgot to mention to either of you. Among the Schutzstaffel, only three of us have a second form of the Quincy: Vollständig, which only activates when die. Unfortunately for you…I am among those three!" Askin revealed to them, his maddened grin never disappearing. He watched Urahara sitting on his knees struggling. "Another key part to understand is the fact that I'm completely radioactive inside my body. Now that your pet Arrancar tore out my heart, he has unleashed the radioactivity that was formerly restrained by my heart. I have now transcended into my second form, which I myself have personally named it Grafenrheinfeld!" the Sternritter told Urahara.
Before either of them knew it, Urahara and Grimmjow began coughing up chunks of blood, and they couldn't even breathe. Even their skin was gradually affected by whatever plague Askin had unleashed in his Gift Ball Deluxe.
"FUCK! WHAT'S HAPPENING!?" Grimmjow yelled as he couldn't stop coughing up blood.
"Kisuke Urahara, I'd really love to say you've earned my respect. But I'm afraid all you've done here has been for naught. I assume you also knew from headstart, that escaping from my Gift Ball Deluxe or me specifically, was going to be a try or die situation. Either way, you may want to figure something out now before you die. And don't worry about me. This is all a part of not getting caught with my pants down!" Askin told Urahara, who had so far, not done anything to retaliate against the Sternritter.
Grimmjow was trying his best to attack Askin, but it was no use. "SHIT! I'M NOT GONNA LET THIS BE THE END OF ME!" the Arrancar yelled before coughing out a pool of blood.
As Askin stood there feeling very certain that victory was finally his, Urahara thought that it was the end of the road for him. Somehow, he himself lamented over the fact that Ichigo would go up against Yhwach without him being present. Part of the reason was obvious, he knew that Ichigo had not been the same man as he was before, especially after knowing the truth of his mother's death. But hopefully, something good would come out of this upcoming battle.
"I'm sorry for leaving everything to you again…Ichigo" Urahara said as he was on the verge of collapsing.
But in the minute of all this commotion, a piercing bullet suddenly appeared above the Gift Ball Deluxe. It had appeared from the sky and dived straight towards the ball. The ball of poison's ceiling was destroyed and the piercing bullet proceeded towards the building where Askin, Grimmjow and Urahara were on. All of them were too slow to take notice of it, and as such, they were taken by the explosion that appeared, thus sending them flying,
Askin was sent crashing towards a pile of rubble, yet he managed to get up on his feet. The Quincy stretched his neck as he stood. "What the hell…what is the meaning of this outrage!?" Askin angrily asked, but it was impossible for him to see as the dust around him hadn't settled just yet.
All of a sudden, an evil chuckle could be heard amidst the dust. For some reason, Askin recognized that voice, yet he was furious to hear how taunting it sounded.
"Stop it! Just who the hell are you!? And what's so damn funny!?" Askin asked one more time.
"You ask who I am? That's unusually presumptuous for a self-proclaimed genius such as yourself. The years must have been unkind to you" the voice come up once again. But now the dust settled and Askin could be given a clear view of who it was. His eyes widened. "But then again, it would be rude of you to forget a dear classmate of yours, wouldn't it?" the man who was now revealing itself spoke up.
"What….you're…..it can't be….Luddenwig Van Gogh?" Askin uttered out the nickname he had given to someone he knew from before. That's right. The man standing before the Sternritter was one of the Dechados of the Imperio de Hierro, the white-haired man in an armor: Luddenwig Van Gogh.
Luddenwig smiled when hearing this. "So, you still recognize my face and name? Good. Because I still remember yours, Askin Nakk Le Vaar. How could anyone ever forget a face so fragile and a name so treacherous as yours?" the white-haired man replied to Askin's question.
The Sternritter was too stunned to see this man standing before him. "This doesn't make any sense….." Askin said, feeling very insecure. "How are you still alive!? You're supposed to be dead!" the slick-haired man demanded an answer out of Luddenwig.
The Arrancar only chuckled to himself, this time, his voice sounding deeper than usual. "Fool, did you honestly think that Hell itself would be the end of me? You are as foolish as that false god you worship!" Luddenwig told him before revealing something for the Sternritter to see. He removed his cape and removed a plate of his silver armor. It showed his stomach, where there was a hole at the bottom. "Unfortunately for the two of you…..I survived" the yellow-eyed man revealed to Askin grimly.
Askin was mortified over what he had just seen. "A Hollow-hole!? Not to mention that cape…as well as this Spiritual Pressure…" he quickly stopped speaking and looked at Luddenwig in a mortified manner. "You've become an Arrancar!? But how!? When a Quincy's blood gets mixed with a Hollow's blood…the Quincy dies! Is this the work of Augustus Zod Allowin? IS IT, DUMMKOPF!?" Askin demanded an answer while addressing Luddenwig by his usual nickname for him.
Luddenwig growled when hearing this. "NEVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN! THE ONE WHO IS THE DUMMKOPF AMONG US IS YOU! YOU, WHO FOOLISHLY DID ANYTHING TO BECOME YHWACH'S MOST LOYAL PET BY BETRAYING THOSE WHO WERE YOU FRIENDS, INCLUDING ME!" the white-haired man lashed out against Askin. But his sneer was soon turned into a smug grin. "But on the other hand, I must actually thank you, Askin. I thank you for leading me to the true God of this world! A true God, who knows the truth about the weakness of your emperor. As such, I feel both resentful and grateful towards you" Luddenwig revealed to Askin.
Askin had only stood still and never opened his mouth to interrupt Luddenwig. "You're such a delusional psychopath, Luddenwig! I don't know how you became this…monstrosity. But I sure don't regret the action I did!" the Quincy told his former friend before gathering power with his Reishi Wings. "That being said, it's time that I finish you off personally! If Hell wasn't enough to kill you, then I might as well be your executioner! As a matter of fact, you arrived here just in time, Luddenwig. My Grafenrheinfeld will be more than enough to kill you" the Sternritter exclaimed as he was prepared to attack this Arrancar.
Luddenwig could feel himself loosing his composer, yet he wasn't brought down to his knees. Apparently, the Gift Ball Deluxe was also affective on him. But the Dechado would now unleash his power in this zone. As such, he pulled out his blade and aimed it at Askin. The Sternritter was confused on whether Luddenwig was attempting to shot something out of the blade. But that wasn't the case here.
"You think your powers are stronger than mine? Allow me to open your eyes as I transcend into my form, bestowed upon me from His Highness himself. That will make you see how your emperor is a fraudster compared to mine!" Luddenwig exclaimed, feeling very delightful in demonstrating his power in front of Askin. Hopefully, this would shatter the Sternritter's spirits. "Die…. Caìdo!" Luddenwig exclaimed the name of his Zanpakutou, thus activating his Resurreciòn.
Without delay, Luddenwig shot out a black aftershock and it darkened almost everything. But the most important part of it was the fact that the aftershock managed to shatter the walls of the Gift Ball Deluxe itself. Askin was left devastated over what he was just seeing. His own creation was now gone. But he was more mortified over the Spiritual Pressure that Luddenwig was unleashing.
But Askin was not the only one to feel this. Both Urahara and Grimmjow, having both emerged from the rubbles, where stunned to see Luddenwig standing there, as well as having destroyed the Gift Ball Deluxe. Luddenwig's Spiritual Pressure was so intense that even Grimmjow was feeling intimidated over sensing it, not just Urahara.
"Such malicious aura….." Urahara remarked lowly as he watched Luddenwig transforming himself. "For some reason, Luddenwig's Spiritual Pressure seems so different from the other Dechados. I don't whether it's because he's both Quincy and Arrancar….or it's some kind of evil power" the blonde-haired man wondered as he continued to observe the ongoing confrontation.
As soon as the aftershock was finished, Luddenwig was floating slightly above the air, wearing black armor and a blade that was glowing white. However, white feathered wings had now sprouted out from his back and there was tints of darkness on these wings. His yellow eyes were fixated upon Askin, who was too shocked to even move. Seeing his reaction only felt so satisfying to Luddenwig.
"Normally, I wouldn't have come here to this mess between Shinigamis and Quincies. But when I was informed about you being one of Yhwach's new bodyguards, I couldn't pass this opportunity to make you suffer. As such, His Highness gave me permission to come here in order make sure the Arrancars helping Ichigo were protected. And that is how I ended up finding you" Luddenwig explained while moving his wings before landing on the ground. "Tremble and despair before me, Askin Nakk Le Vaar! The fallen angel has now come to exact its vengeance upon you!" Luddenwig exclaimed before flying towards his target.
Askin avoided getting slashed using his Hirenkiyaku. But instead of fighting Luddenwig, the Sternritter made a run for at. "FUCK! STAY AWAY FROM ME, MONSTER!" the slick-haired man told him. But that wasn't enough, since Luddenwig was still pursuing him. "GODDAMNIT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!? Askin asked once again, this time deciding to make his stand in order for him to face Luddenwig.
Luddenwig was laughing sadistically as he continued chasing the Sternritter. "What's this? Wasn't it you who always said I was a coward and a weakling!?" the white-haired man tauntingly asked Askin. "It seems that the only coward among us now….IS YOU!" he added before resuming his chase of Askin.
To be continued…
Author's note: Now that was a great chapter! It started with a flasback part with Urahara, Yoruichi and Tessai as kids. I also wanted to show them how they came to know other Shinigamis. Yeah, in my story, they're childhood friends with Shinji, Mayuri, Aizen, Love, Tousen and Tousen's friend, whose name is actually Kakyo. All of these young kids were stuends of Bansui Amatsuki, who is actually a character from a Bleach game, yet he's designed by Tite Kubo himself. It's a shame that he's never been used in the canon story. Most of the fight between Urahara and Askin is loyal to the canon story, but I decided to add some input, considering it's my version of the story. Also, I didn't wanna have Askin just die because of Grimmjow grasping his heart, so I decided to come up with a second form of his Quincy: Vollständig. The name Grafenrheinfeld comes from a real-life nuclear plant in Bavaria, Germany. I thought it would match Askin pretty well. I will write more about the story between Luddenwig and Askin, as well as how Luddenwig became this Arrancar. But that will have to wait. Askin deserves to see how this upcoming battle between the empires will unfold. I don't want to spoil what the next chapter's about.
Fun fact: Yes, I used the phrase "winter is coming". It is similar to how it's used in the Game of Thrones-franchise. I have only watched a few episodes of the series, yet I plan to do so.
