Welcome to another chapter of BotS! Sorry for the late upload, my work schedule changed and now I work about an hour after I'm supposed to upload for you amazing people so it'll be about an hour or two off from the original time you're all used to. I bring another longer chapter and we see Tatsuki vs Kenpachi and she will not have plot armor this time. I hope you all enjoy the chapter and always feel free to comment what you liked and disliked. Always receptive to criticism.
Now onto our feature presentation!
Tatsuki awoke with a jolt. The quick movement forced her to curl on her side and dry heave for a minute before she remembered her fight with Renji. Giving herself a once over she frowned. She had more injuries when she got down but she also didn't remember falling asleep. It appeared like someone had healed her but she tested where her injuries should have been and felt no alien reiatsu. This was more natural, whatever it was she was just glad that her previous injuries were gone. Pulling herself against a wall she relaxed for a minute before something caught her eye.
Looking over fully she saw something that surprised her. Picking up the mask she turned it over and raised a brow. It was a simple fox mask, white with a few red lines that curved around the edges like water. Weird. Putting the mask down she slowly pushed off of the ground and steadied her shaky feet. While her injuries seemed to be gone, she was still under the effects of blood loss. She wasn't winning any fights soon but she had to press forward.
Climbing back up the ladder well that she came down from after finding it again, she gazed upon her previous battlefield. Renji was gone, she let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding in at that knowledge. He would live if he had been taken away, she had been told stories about the captain of the 4th and she trusted she would face the pineapple again.
She hurried around the damage to the ground and ran up the stairs. It took a minute and she could still feel her friends. They had taken a rest a few minutes away. Walking through the web of buildings it was quiet. Eerily so. Something in the distance, a small ringing. Ignoring the sound she pressed on.
Why weren't there any shinigami here? Twisting around, Tatsuki attacked the space behind her only to find nothing. What was that? She could have sworn she felt a blade at her neck. Gazing at all the rooftops and alleyways she couldn't find anything to validate her senses and their cry that she was under attack. Confused, she started sprinting out of there. Maybe she could get away from this feeling but it, and the jingling, followed her, no matter how fast or how far she went. The feeling of cold steel against her neck kept strong. She turned around with her body tense and in an advanced Hakuda stance.
"Come out and face me you coward!" She shivered as chuckling rolled over the area. It was deep, dark. Like a predator that had found their prey, cornered. Sweat beaded at her brow as she twisted around to block but found nothing once more. She would be lying if she said she wasn't scared but she was starting to get pissed that they wouldn't come out.
"You wanna fight so bad, let's fight!" Something heavy landed behind her and she spun around and lashed out with everything she had only for the bare-chested man to grab her by the fist and throw her into a wall.
The wind knocked out of her as she hit the wall, sliding down and struggling to stand before the monster of a man. He stood over her with a wide smile and spiky black hair that had been braided into spikes with little bells at the end. He tilted his head and hefted his blade onto his shoulder.
"What a pity, I found the weak one." That struck a nerve and Tatsuki was up and had him on the defensive for a split second as she attacked with everything she had. There was blood, she could tell, she felt it. The man pushed her away and he didn't stop grinning, why, WHY won't he stop GRINNING! She then looked closer at him and her heart stopped for a moment. He was unharmed. Markless, not a single drop on him. There was blood though! Where did all that blood go!?
The shinigami tilted his head and sighed. "You look confused so I'll help you out. Look at your hands." She did so and she found bloody and torn skin. Why were her arms so bloody? "When there is a clash of two spiritual bodies, the stronger of the two will overcome the other and reflect all damage. In your case, our power difference is so vast that you ended up tearing your hands to shreds trying to cut me. Now release your zanpakuto so I can see you at your strongest."
He just stood there, waiting for her to draw her blade. She didn't want to humor him but if what he said was right then she didn't stand a chance otherwise. Her face set in a mix of anger and determination, she drew her blade and called to it for support. Taking a slow breath to calm herself Tatsuki held out her blade and let it dissolve.
"Let the ground swallow you whole, Chikyū no haha." The gauntlets took form on her hands and there was a noticeable rise in her spiritual pressure that came with a burst of red reiatsu as it radiated off of her. "You wanted my Shikai, you got my Shikai you sonofabitch!" Without incantation she summoned 5 walls of stone to lock the man in and then slammed a chunk of roof down on the trapped captain. Of course, nothing is ever that easy. The box exploded with yellow reiatsu and the stone turned to dust which returned to Tatsuki.
She stared, dumbfounded, as Kenpachi shoved aside the walls. His grin never left his face as the trap collapsed and they locked eyes.
"To some, that may be impressive for a Shikai but you'll have to try a hell of a lot harder if you want to trap me Ryoka. Are you really the strongest you have?" Tatsuki still hadn't gotten her bearings after watching her strongest sealing technique fall to pieces under just the captain's reiatsu. He was a monster and she didn't think she held a candle to him.
"Show me more Ryoka!" He charged her and Tatsuki swore to herself before dropping to the ground, allowing the earth to swallow her body into its depths. She needed a second and could feel concern from her zanpakuto. Seeking its power she got a slight boost in reiatsu but it seemed slow. Not like her power was being given to her but something else. She decided to dwell on the thought later and focused on the fight. Not a second too soon as the ground around her exploded outward and she was face to face with Kenpachi again.
Insane laughter filling her ears as something screamed at her. Dodging on pure instinct she landed a few feet away and slammed her hand against the ground as golems made of the rubble and debris lumbered towards the captain. He frowned at the golems and just swung his zanpakuto in an arch and all of the golems fell to pieces before the scared teen.
"I'm growing bored of this. You're not even worth taking my eye patch off." Her eyes widened with shock at the knowledge he wasn't even at his full power. He could kill her without even trying.
She didn't see it coming and she reacted to the strike on instinct again but she was too late. Blocking the attacking blade with her own, she felt steel pierce flesh and her eyes widened. Blood flew into the air as she gasped for air as blood filled her throat. Coughing some blood onto the offending blade she took a gaze at the damage and cringed with what muscles still responded to her call.
The blade stuck out of her chest after puncturing her unreleased blade. Merely standing in the man's presence was taking everything she had and without feeling it out, she knew he had punctured her lung as more blood filled her mouth. His bored expression, drilling itself into her mind as he pulled the blade out and her zanpakuto shattered into shards that littered the ground at her feet.
Gasping for breath she fell to her face. Trying to grip the ground she felt her conscious slowly leaving as her vision blurred. This was a whole other level to Renji. This monster wasn't human. She clawed at the ground with blood soaked hands as the thick, red, liquid pooled underneath her. She couldn't die. She felt tired but she pushed it away. She couldn't give up, not when she was so close. She needed to save Rukia, she needed her closure. She needed to beat this monster. She had to get up! She had to kill him! She had to stab him in the back for standing in her way.
Slowly pushing off the ground she could feel her shihakusho sticking to her abdomen as the blood ran down her body. She stared at Kenpachi as he raised his blade to his shoulder as he walked away from her body. He had to pay, he would pay. She had to win. She had to win! She hAD TO WIN! She screamed but everything seemed to grey out as something appeared. A tall, slender woman, appearing to be in her mid 20's. Her blood red hair rolling down her shoulders to her waist. Her piercing brown eyes stared into Tatsuki's. The familiar blade at her waist. The woman walked up to the downed Ryoka and knelt down beside her.
"You have a desire and I will answer it but first you must do something for me. Inside." Tatsuki didn't understand and flinched as the unknown woman touched Tatsuki's forehead and everything faded to black.