Chapter 23: Law of revenge (Kill or be killed)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner Quincy/Yhwach speech'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
Hidden from the plain sight, Ichigo felt the toes on his feet curling up. Not being able to act on his instinct frustrated him to no end and so, for the past few minutes, he had been watching a rather one-sided conversation between an officer called Kibune and a Vice-Captain of the 3rd Division, Kira Izuru. Despite the Vice-Captain's accusations, the other man didn't seem to be getting any less calm. At least that's how it looked like. Ichigo wasn't really sure about that.
Truthfully, he had lost interest in whatever they were saying as soon as he had heard them utter the name of Gyōkaku Kumoi. In that moment, he had tuned everything out and had concentrated all of his attention on studying the one who mentioned the Kasumiōji herald first. Supposedly, the officer and the herald were acquaintances.
Though the officer could have been simply lying in order to placate the Vice-Captain, Ichigo immediately decided to trust his words. And once he did so, his breathing got heavier, blood rushed into his head and his hands began to tremble. He didn't want to admit it but, deep down, he knew he made that decision because of how desperate he felt. The date of the fake wedding between Rurichiyo and Shu Kannogi was approaching too fast and he still had no idea what to do about it. The two days he had lost because of the Valley of Screams now seemed like a horrendous error.
'…looks like he's finally leaving.'
The voice of his zanpakuto spirit promptly alerted him of the new development and caused the train of his thoughts to derail and shatter into nothingness.
'Good.' Ichigo thought. His jaw was clenched so tight, it felt like he could never open it again. He wiped his brow, only to feel some moisture on his hand. The sound of footsteps caught his attention. From behind the bush, he watched as the Vice-Captain of the 3rd Division left the premises. Then he looked back at the officer.
The man's expression changed.
A deep, ugly scowl formed on his face. It was so expressive, Ichigo easily recognized the emotion behind it. It was disgust. The officer seemed to mutter something but, since he did so very quietly, Ichigo was unable to hear it. A moment later, the man turned around and began to walk away. More sweat formed on Ichigo's forehead. The reality of the situation gripped him hard.
Then he clenched his fists and stood up.
"G-good evening." Calling out to the officer in a tone he hoped was natural, he stepped out of the bushes and forced himself to breath slowly.
For an instant, he thought he saw the man twitch but, once he turned around, there seemed to be no trace of surprise. Just a speck of interest.
"Good evening… oh, an academy student. How may I help you? Are you, perhaps, lost?"
Ichigo glanced at his surroundings and, faking a surprise, nodded.
"Actually, yeah. I was just on a little stroll around the Academy but I guess I took a wrong turn somewhere along the way because, right now, I have no idea where I am." He replied with a friendly smile. Mimicking his expression, Kibune motioned the teen to come closer.
"Ah, yes, I understand. This kind of thing used to happen to me at the Academy all the time. Don't worry, just go in this direction and you should eventually end up at the back of the 10th Division compound. You can probably orientate yourself from there, right?" He said while pointing his right hand to the south-east.
Casually taking a few steps towards him, Ichigo nodded again.
"Yeah, thanks a lot! But, say, what is this place? I though only the Great Noble Clans were surrounded with such large walls." The teen asked, trying to play the dumb card.
He saw Kibune glance at the wall behind him.
"This? This compound belongs to the Kasumiōji Noble Clan. You probably heard of it before as it is a Noble Clan that has practically the same importance as the Great Noble clans." Kibune explained with a pointed stare, quite obviously waiting for a response.
"Yeah, sure. I think I read about it in one of the Academy's books. They have female leaders only, right? But I heard that currently, the one leading them is some guy called… uhm, what was it? Gekaku... Kukaku… something Kumoi-san?" Ichigo replied. When he saw one of the man's eyes twitch, he had to suppress an urge to smirk.
"It's Gyōkaku Kumoi."
"Ah, right! Yeah, he must be quite the guy if he can handle a clan with such tradition."
To Ichigo's surprise, the officer didn't seem moved.
"I suppose so."
A short silence fell upon them and Ichigo furiously tried to think of something else to say. He could see that Kibune wanted to leave.
"Though I think I recall hearing about some kind of wedding. That there is a successor to the clan and she's going to claim her right to lead? Something like that?"
Ichigo felt the air around the officer change. It was just a minute difference but it made Ichigo feel as if something unpleasant just touched his skin. At first, he thought he was just imagining things but at a closer look, he noticed a miniscule alteration in the man's smile. The corners of his mouth were curved just a bit less than before but it was enough to change the feel of his whole expression.
"Where did you hear such a thing?" He asked. There was a slight, but definite, edge in his tone and Ichigo panicked.
"Uuuuhm, you know…" He tried to weasel his way out of it but Kibune's stare pinned him down and gave him no other choice than to answer. With his mind spinning fast, Ichigo tried to come up with something.
"It's just… uhm, a rumor."
"A rumor?"
Just when he wanted to give up on playing dumb and turn to violence, Ichigo finally thought of something.
"Yeah, I think I heard… I think I heard some kids from Noble clans talk about that during lunch."
He held his breath and waited. Fortunately for him, Kibune's stare lessened soon enough.
"Ah, I see. Well, kids like to talk nonsense. Don't believe everything you hear."
Ichigo released the breath he had been holding for the past few seconds.
'…too close.' He thought. Forming a frown, he glanced at Kibune with a surprised expression.
"You mean it's not true?"
"I mean it's not something an academy student should be worrying about." Kibune replied in a tone that clearly suggested he was done talking about anything tied to the Kasumiōji clan. At least that's how Ichigo understood the slight glare he was exposed to.
"Right. I'm sorry if I'm being nosy, I was just curious." The teen said and apologetically lowered his head.
"No harm done."
Ichigo raised his head and, for a moment, just stared at the man.
'…this guy's cautious.' He thought and weighed his options. He really wanted to squeeze out more from the one standing in front of him. Desperately so. He bit the inside of his mouth.
"Well, thanks for the help. I'll be on my way." He said and, once the officer nodded to him, turned around, prepared to leave.
'Damn it, I can't afford to create a scene. I'll have to-'
Cutting his thoughts short, he sensed some movement behind him and instinctively jerked his body to the side.
"!" A sharp pain hit him in his right side, causing him to glance down.
There was a sword protruding from his body.
"You're a very bad actor, Kurosaki Ichigo."
'Shit.'
Acting fast, the teen yanked himself forward and felt the sword leaving his body. With a grimace, he suppressed the urge to look at his side and reached for his zanpakuto. He quickly turned around. As soon as he did so, he saw a blade of the bloodied sword approaching his face.
He managed to block it just in time and then came face to face with a smirking Kibune.
"I don't know if I should applaud your bravery or laugh at your naïve stupidity. Either way, you shouldn't have tried to approach me with such carelessness." The man said while pushing his sword forward.
"Yeah well, I didn't think a lowly goon like yourself would know about me." Ichigo hissed. The pain was bearable but the amount of blood slowly leaving his body worried him a bit. In order to ease the strain on his body, he let himself get pushed back a bit.
Kibune growled at the insult but, surprisingly, kept himself quite calm.
"I like to keep myself informed of potential obstacles. After everything I heard about you I thought that maybe you would be trouble but… it seems like Hanza overestimated you, the fool."
When Ichigo didn't respond to that, the man continued.
"Originally, I thought I would simply leave you go but then, an idea struck me. You are still just an academy student. What if, in reality, you weren't such a hotshot? I could just try and get rid of you here and now and get Kumoi-san acknowledgement. It's already dark, there are no witnesses and, even if I couldn't do it, I outrank you by far. Nobody would ever believe your words. " He stated and, after pushing Ichigo a fair bit, separated himself from the teen, only to lunge at him once more. As he tried to slice him up, Kibune called out to him again.
"You're a fool if you think you can prevent the inevitable. Especially when you're so weak! I don't even need to use my Bakkōtō on you. Look! All you can do is defend yourself!"
'We are working on the bleeding. It's already slowing down. You managed to move just in time, so he missed your innards. It's just a flesh wound. It will take longer to heal completely, though.'
Ichigo sent an echo of gratitude to both his spirits and then focused his attention back on the man in front of him. The man's words were enough for him to realize the situation.
"The more you talk, the more you incriminate yourself. Seems like I don't even need to ask you anything." He said and, putting all of his weight into his right leg, completely prevented Kibune from pushing him any further. The officer glanced down then up and narrowed his eyes at him.
"It doesn't really matter. You won't leave this area alive." He muttered and twisted his wrist to the side, causing the blade of his sword to slide along Ichigo's zanpakuto. Taking one step closer, he began to wave his sword in a fast but intricate fashion and, with it, forced the teen to quickly back away from him.
"Just tell me about any plan Gyōkaku Kumoi has for Rurichiyo and hand over your Bakkōtō. There is no need for this fight." Ichigo offered him and ducked under a fast swipe.
Once he registered the teen's words, Kibune stopped attacking and gave him a long-drawn stare of disbelief.
"Are you serious?"
Keeping his sword on the ready, Ichigo stopped moving too.
"Of course."
There was a brief moment of silence.
"…heh …hehe …hehehehe. HAHAHAHAHA!"
As he watched the man explode in laughter, Ichigo deepened his scowl.
"Are you completely retarded?! I'm stronger than you! I'm faster than you! I'm- !" Kibune exclaimed, only to get cut off in the middle.
*SWOOSH*
"-gah!" Blood spurted from his mouth as a powerful punch to the abdomen bent his whole body and blasted him into the wall behind him, cracking it ever so slightly.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. I admit, you got one on me but that was only because of the lapse in my judgement." Pointing at his bloody side, Ichigo said in a hard tone and pinned the crumbled, gasping man with an intense stare.
"Do as I asked and I'll let you off the hook for now."
He watched the man heave and choke on his own breath. The strength behind the punch wasn't meant to be fatal but, for various reasons, Ichigo didn't hold back as much as he wanted to. The officer deserved the strike.
"One more thing. Are you the only one from Gotei that is involved in this… let's call it Kasumiōji conspiracy?"
The man didn't respond. Maybe it was still because of the earlier punch but, fueled by his urge to learn something, Ichigo felt as if the reason was different.
'…then how about this?'
He tried to bluff.
"And you called me a bad actor. So there is somebody… let's see. Somebody that has even higher rank than you have, maybe?" He asked nonchalantly. The corners of his mouth curved upwards an instant later.
The slight pause in Kibune's gasps was enough of an answer.
"Oh, you don't say. From which division this pers-"
"Go to hell, Kurosaki Ichigo! Rage violently, Reppū!" Kibune suddenly interrupted him with a yell and released a fairly strong blue spiritual energy on his surroundings. Cautious of him, Ichigo decided to take a short jump backwards.
'Interesting shape.' He noted once he took a good look on the officer's released zanpakuto. Almost as large as the man himself, the zanpakuto took the form of a large, three-bladed weapon connected with a straight pole. Two edges extended like arrow points while the third was shaped like a fan in between them. All in all, it looked quite intimidating.
'But also impractical.'
Still, with no knowledge of its abilities, Ichigo knew he wouldn't take the risk and attack first. It had been some time since he last fought with a clear head but now, the desperate urge to finish the conspiracy notwithstanding, he felt rather calm.
'Calm enough to use your brain, at the very least.'
'Sod off.'
"Using… uff… using my Shikai on an academy student. So demeaning." Kibune huffed. His head was lowered and so Ichigo couldn't see his face but, in the next moment, that changed.
"SO DEMEANING!" Yelling, Kibune raised his head and showed the teen his ugly expression, twisted from anger and disgust. Right after that, he seemingly vanished, leaving only a light breeze behind him.
"You'll have to try harder than that." Ichigo stated and raised his sword just in time to block a fierce swipe aimed at his right side. As he barely managed to even budge the teen with that, Kibune snarled and jumped away. His sword, however, remained right in front of Ichigo.
It moved.
'Wait. What?'
Surprised, Ichigo had just a fraction of a second to utilize his Shunpo in order to get away. In a burst of speed, he landed a few feet on the left but a single droplet of blood soaked the inner part of his uniform. He glanced down, at the cut, and blinked.
'…' He was speechless.
Before he could shake off the surprise, he felt something approaching him and instinctively used his Shunpo once again. He looked at where his opponent stood, only to see the large sword flying straight at him. Spinning extremely fast, it looked like a saw.
Ichigo narrowed his eyes and raised his zanpakuto. Tightening his grip, he swung it down right before the enemy sword could hit him.
"Haa!"
With a yell, he was able to blast the spinning sword into the ground and buy himself a moment to think. At the same time, he heard Kibune calling out to him.
"You're an eyesore, Kurosaki Ichigo! Don't you see what we are trying to do?"
Ichigo glanced at the man.
"If by 'we' you mean Gyōkaku Kumoi, then all I can see are attempts to murder an innocent little girl."
Kibune, with his right arm outstretched forward, pinned him with a glare.
"Idiot! Have you seen the state of Gotei 13? Weak, powerless fools are everywhere, even in the highest ranks! Do you actually think Soul Society can survive like this? We are doomed if we do not change that!" He yelled and formed a fist, causing the blade etched in the ground to shoot in the air and begin spinning once more.
Ichigo put his zanpakuto in front of himself.
"And your solution is to kill one little girl?"
Kibune stared at him for a short moment. Then his nostrils flared.
"Tch. It's pointless to argue with somebody this stupid. To be weak is a sin. What we are doing is simply weeding them out. Once we finish doing it in the Kasumiōji clan, we move on to the other clans. Then the Gotei itself. If you can't understand that, then there is no hope for you." He stated and opened his fist.
The sword, so far hovering in the air, shot at the teen.
'Telekinesis. I hate this guy.' Ichigo thought and flashed away.
'He does have a point, though.'
Doing his best to continuously evade every strike, Ichigo pressed his lips together.
'…I know but that doesn't mean he's right.'
'Never said he was.'
Dodging a few more strikes, Ichigo quickly grew annoyed with the way the fight was developing. The next time Kibune's sword flew straight at him, he waited until the last moment and only then he flashed away.
"What?" Kibune exclaimed in surprise.
For the first time in their fight, Ichigo used his fastest Shunpo. Pushing his body to its limits, he moved so fast, he was sure his opponent had no idea where he vanished to.
'Bakudō #1: Sai!'
"!"
Once the officer's arms moved against his will and locked behind his back, Ichigo landed on the ground and leaped towards him. Slamming into him with his own body, he blew the man away from the wall and into the trees opposite of the wall.
"Gah!"
Not wasting a moment, Ichigo moved to where Kibune's sword, now completely still, lay. He gave it a short glance then placed his foot on it and shifted his weight on the foot. When he heard the man groan, he turned towards him.
"This is my second warning. I, now, more-or-less know how strong you are and let me tell you, it's nearly not enough to defeat me. Give up."
"…heh…"
Ichigo raised both his eyebrows. He expected any reaction but laughing was at the end of that list. From what he had experienced so far, a reaction like that meant one thing and one only.
Kibune was going to become a bigger problem.
"…you know how strong I am?" Kibune repeated the teen's words in a slightly amused tone only to snarl a second after that.
"You know nothing, Kurosaki Ichigo!"
In that moment, a green light enveloped the man's left arm and caused several long tentacles to emerge from within his sleeve. At a fast rate, they crawled along the arm and enveloped it completely. Ichigo took a step back.
'A Bakkōtō.'
He grimaced. The spiritual energy coming off the officer heavily reminded him of his fight with Hanza and brought back a couple of rather unpleasant memories. His hands shook, making him angry at himself, only to realize the rest of his body was shaking too. He glanced down.
It was the sword that was causing it. Enveloped in green light and furiously convulsing, it was clearly trying to get away from beneath Ichigo's foot. He tried to hold it back for a while longer but, when the green light glowed even brighter, he decided it was not worth getting his foot accidently chopped off and jumped away.
In the short distance, under the trees, he noticed Kibune getting back on his feet.
'The power-up from the Bakkōtō broke my Kido, huh?'
"You think you are stronger than me?!" Kibune yelled and hurled his spinning zanpakuto at the teen at even greater speed than before.
Ichigo intercepted it head on but his eyebrows rose when he felt the power behind the attack. Realizing it too late, he felt himself get pushed back.
'…this is getting really annoying.' He growled and let out a short burst of reiryoku that temporarily blew Kibune's sword away from him. Soon enough, though, it flew back at him.
"You Bakkōtō users are all getting on my nerves." He muttered and began to flash around the place in order to escape the flying sword.
"It's useless! You can't escape my reach!"
Fighting back the urge to roll his eyes, Ichigo poured his spiritual energy into his zanpakuto and then intercepted Kibune's sword once more. This time, he slashed at it with all of his might. At the moment of contact, a bit of black reiryoku seeped into the space between the two blades. An instant later, Kibune's sword got blasted away.
"Curse y-"
"Where are you looking?"
Before Kibune could exclaim, Ichigo appeared right in front of him and kneed him into his stomach. Right after that, he pointed at him his index finger.
"Hadō #1, Shō!" The spell, overloaded with spiritual energy, blasted the officer backwards, until his body hit the tree it had hit minutes ago.
This time, however, Kibune got on his feet almost immediately. The green energy surrounding him glowed with even stronger intensity and Ichigo saw the tentacles slither further up the man's arm. Before long, it reached as far as his shoulder.
"Ah, you know what? Don't give up." Ichigo said all of a sudden, causing his opponent to briefly change his expression into one of confusion.
"What?"
Ichigo gave him a dirty look.
"Like I said, don't give up. By all means, continue using more and more of your Bakkōtō power. I'm sure it'll only help you in defeating me. I mean, all of the guys I fought so far ended up completely fine. What's the worst thing that can happen to you? It's not like your Bakkōtō will soon consume your whole body and soul, right?"
Silence fell upon the area. However, it was not meant to last long as Ichigo saw the officer's face twisting into expression of pure rage.
"You bastard… are you mocking me?! I will never allow my Bakkōtō to consume me! I'm stronger than that!" Kibune yelled at the top of his lungs and allowed the Bakkōtō to crawl all over his shoulders until it was covering almost half of his whole torso. Not even a second later, his sword, spinning like a saw, shot at Ichigo once again.
"Die already!"
"You first! Getsuga Tenshō!" Not able to contain his ire any longer, Ichigo countered the flying sword with a crescent-shaped blast of reiryoku.
Kibune stood no chance. The blast swallowed his sword and then crashed into him with such force, Ichigo swore he saw pieces of the Bakkōtō's tentacles sailing through the air.
'…oh-oh. Did I overdo it?'
Once the energy from his Getsuga dispersed, he hurried to the officer. When he got to him, a grimace formed on his face.
"…damn it."
It wasn't clear what the final blow had been, but the man called Kibune now lay on the ground, still and lifeless. In the back of his mind, Ichigo felt a light sting of regret. Killing the officer hadn't been his plan.
On the other hand, since Kibune had been involved in the conspiracy, he was sure he wasn't going to feel that bad.
A small movement caught his attention.
"…disgusting." He muttered as soon as he noticed the cause. It was the Bakkōtō, slowly slithering away from Kibune's body and, on the right side, squirming on top of the man's sword.
'So it was covering his zanpakuto too.'
Ichigo stood there, for a moment not knowing what to do. The adrenaline was slowly leaving his body and the aftereffects kicked in, prompting him to take several deep breaths. Almost a whole minute passed until he moved again.
"Right. I finally have an evidence." He mumbled and leaned down to pick up the Bakkōtō. Careful not to let the tentacles touch his bare skin he raised it in front of his eyes and gave it a critical look.
"Seriously, it's disgusting."
Then something happened. Something that caused all the blood in his body to freeze and something that made him feel as if a cold hand squeezed his heart. He had completely forgotten about the rest of the world.
"It should be he-here… 3rd Seat Kibune?"
"Kibune-san…"
"Y-You!"
He was found by the worst people possible. The members of the 3rd Division.
…
'Huh… took them long enough.'
Strangely, that was the first thing that Ichigo thought of. Instead of worrying about himself, he realized that his fight with Kibune had lasted for quite a while and, while not too violent and explosive, it had involved a lot of yelling, screaming and blade-clashing. All of those were factors that should have alarmed the rest of the Seireitei long before they had even finished it. However, as luck didn't like Ichigo, the reality turned out to be different.
'Maybe their Vice-Captain sent them to investigate since he knew about Kibune being here?'
Even his second thought wasn't about him. It was as if his emotions briefly turned off and were replaced by cold but precise logic. Truthfully, the current evening had been filled with too much coincidence. First, he had come across Kibune, a person he hadn't heard of before but who was actually the one he needed to speak with and then, only once that man died by his hand, he was found by his comrades.
'Apparently, I can't get lucky without getting unlucky at the same time.'
Ichigo glanced at the dead officer and then at the group of shinigami glaring daggers at him. Funnily enough, even though it was his logic that was currently controlling him, in that moment he just couldn't think of anything he could tell to them. Anything that would calm them down, at least.
"…this doesn't have to end badly. I'll go quietly so could you just lo-"
"DIE!"
Cut off in the middle, Ichigo released a heavy sigh and watched the members of the 3rd Division launch straight at him with their swords raised.
"…yeah, I thought not." He muttered.
Then he flashed to the side and watched more than half a dozen swords miss the mark.
'Look at them… you could outrun them easily.'
As the men recovered from their failure, Ichigo scrunched up his face and negatively shook his head.
'I can't. If I run, they'll just raise the alarm on the whole Seireitei. If I knock them unconscious and then run away, they will be found and the alarms will go off either way.'
Rapidly, using his superior speed, Ichigo stood his ground and danced around the second barrage of swords. In a series of rough movements, he blocked, parried and repelled every single attacker until he felt a single tip of a blade lightly touch his skin. He vaulted over the attackers and then, with a jump, created a small distance between him and them.
'…fighting while trying not to injure feels weird.'
'What's the plan?'
When two men finally decided to use their brains and tried to flank him from both sides, he quickly raised his free hand and pointed it at the one on the left.
"Bakudō #1: Sai!"
Because he felt the other guy already approaching him, he quickly raised the same hand even higher and used it to grab ahold of the man. An instant later, he flung him away.
In that moment, it seemed the rest of the men finally realized Ichigo's academy clothes didn't really match his skills and paused.
'Plan? Tire these guys out until somebody reasonable comes and allows me to talk.'
The rest of the men exchanged brief glances and formed serious expressions.
'…that's a really shitty plan.'
Ichigo resisted the urge to chuckle.
'Tell me about it.'
Four of the men roared and charged him again but Ichigo didn't miss two that remained standing with their hands outstretched towards him. Just as his blade made contact with one of the man's zanpakuto, he felt a small influx of reiatsu.
'Kido?'
He prepared to jump away, only to see the four men in front of him vanish in a burst of speed. One reappeared behind him, one above him, one on his left side and one on his right side, leaving the front open for an onslaught.
For the third time, Ichigo's first reaction wasn't a worry about his well-being. Instead, he was a tiny bit impressed.
'Not bad.'
"…march on to the south! Hadō #31: Shakkahō!"
Two crimson red orbs of energy shot straight at him and Ichigo realized that if he used Shunpo and flashed away, the man behind him would recieve a direct hit.
'Don't tell me they noticed I was trying not to hurt them!' He thought, further surprised. Then it dawned on him. His opponents' actions left with only one option.
Tank the attack.
'…I seriously hate my luck.' He thought and then, just before the spells hit him, he released a pulse of reiryoku. Hoping he managed to somehow weaken them with it, he braced himself for the impact.
In that moment, he realized another thing.
'I'm an idiot. I could have just blasted all of them to safety and t-'
*BOOM*
It was rather surprising to see just how much smoke erupted around the teen. Even the explosions themselves didn't match the power behind the two Kido spells. At the closer inspection, though, one could have noticed that the orbs of energy detonated even before they actually collided with Ichigo.
However, Ichigo himself didn't make that discovery. He was far too busy coughing and trying not to choke from the smokescreen. At the same time, he was mentally thanking his body for being able to withstand such attack without suffering any notable injuries.
'You're talking like it was something powerful. Please… my farts are stronger than that.'
'…'
Ichigo forcibly swallowed the urge to snort. Facing a group of seriously pissed off shinigami, he had no other choice. So he did the best thing he could and, for the moment, tuned his zanpakuto out.
"Did we get him?"
As the smoke around him slowly dissipated, he heard a quiet mutter coming from his right side that was quickly followed with another.
"Probably not. I can still sense his reiatsu."
The smoke vanished and allowed Ichigo to see the six men staring at him with various degree of anger in their eyes. He glanced to the side. It seemed the one shinigami he had bound with a Kido was still unable to get rid of it, while the other one he had flung away was twitching on the ground and breathing heavily. They were both clearly out of the commission.
"…how can he stand after taking both Shakkahō head-on?"
"And he's not even injured!"
"The hell is going on?"
Unsure how to respond to that, Ichigo simply returned their stares with a blank gaze. He didn't want to make them angrier but the longer he watched them, the more he felt like he needed to do something.
"Does that mean you'll stand down and let me explain?" He called out to them.
The whole group went silent. For just once second, one short second, Ichigo felt like the situation would make a good turn. He saw one man making a thoughtful expression. It looked like he was actually thinking about Ichigo's words with his brain and not his muscles or anger. But it took one loud exclamation and the fleeting feeling disappeared.
"What's there to explain?! You killed the 3rd Seat Kibune-san!"
The next moment, even the man with a slight hesitation on his face underwent a change and a righteous passion that caused Ichigo to sigh surfaced in his eyes. Truthfully, the teen couldn't blame them. Had he been in their position, he would have probably acted the same way. Strike first, ask questions later.
And so the group let out a battle cry and charged the teen once again.
And so Ichigo raised his sword and repelled them once again.
The cycle repeated itself many times. Each time, the group charged him and each time, they were fended off. However, with each new cycle, they came closer to injure the teen. The fight was different than all the fights he had had so far. Trying not to injure his opponents cost him a lot of concentration. He had to consciously focus on suppressing the speed of his swipes, the strength behind his kicks and the power of his blows. It was three minutes later when he finally felt a blade sliding along his left upper arm and droplets of blood further colored his clothes.
"Enough, damn it!" He couldn't help but to exclaim. Along with that, he let out another burst of reiatsu and forced all of his opponents to jump away from him.
It was only his instinct screaming at him that he brought up his zanpakuto just in time to block a powerful blow from his left side.
'Too powerful!' He thought and glanced at the attacker.
"What is going on here?"
It was the Vice-Captain of the 3rd Division, Kira Izuru.
Despite the obvious disadvantage, Ichigo released a sigh of content.
"Finally!" He exclaimed, causing the Vice-Captain to form a confused frown. Before he could ask the teen about it, his voice was drowned in a sea of shouts from his subordinates.
"Vice-Captain Kira!"
"This person killed 3rd Seat Kibune-san!"
Ichigo watched the Vice-Captain glance at Kibune's dead body and then look back at the teen. The man visibly frowned. From such close distance, though, Ichigo saw a myriad of other emotions playing on his face.
"Is that true? Did you kill Kibune-san?"
Ichigo frowned at the man's surprisingly calm tone but nodded nevertheless.
"Most likely."
"Most likely?"
Ichigo slightly turned his head and nodded towards Kibune's zanpakuto, covered in pieces of a Bakkōtō. Kira followed his eyes and looked at the same thing. Very slowly, he stopped pushing his sword against the teen and, once they were separated, he lowered it.
"Vice-Captain?"
Kira ignored his subordinates and gave Ichigo a hard gaze.
"I know who you are, Shi… Kurosaki Ichigo." He said, briefly surprising the teen. But Ichigo quickly recalled that the Vice-Captain had been present on the Sōkyoku Hill on the day of Aizen's departure.
"That is the only reason I'm lowering my zanpakuto. Don't make me raise it again."
Ichigo nodded.
"I won't. I only fought these guys in self-defense. They wouldn't listen to reason."
"Can you blame them? Death brings out our worst emotions."
Ichigo blinked. The tone of the Vice-Captain's voice felt… meaningful.
"It does and no, I don't blame them."
Kira looked around.
"I said I'm lowering my zanpakuto, but you will still have to explain yourself. Killing a high-ranking officer of the Gotei 13 is a serious crime. I hope you realize that."
Ichigo glanced at the other members of the 3rd Division and, seeing no more danger, sheathed his sword.
"I do. There is a very good reason behind this but… I'm afraid I can't tell it to you."
Kira's fairly gloomy expression turned thoughtful.
"Whom can you tell?"
"Captain Commander would be the best option."
After giving him a long stare, Kira nodded.
"Very well." He said and turned to his division members.
"Help Inose stand up. The rest of you, take Kibune-san's body. We're leaving this area." He ordered.
"But… but this guy-" One of his subordinates tried to speak out but he didn't let him.
"This guy just said he's willing to face the Captain Commander for his actions. And, from what I can see, he tried not to injure most of you." He stated and then glanced at Ichigo, while pointing at the one man, still bound with the teen's Kido.
"Could you release him, please?"
Without a word, Ichigo moved to the man and, putting his hand on him, let his reiryoku reach out for him. The Kido spell broke instantly. After that, Ichigo walked up to Kibune's zanpakuto and picked it up.
"This is evidence." He said when he felt intense stares.
"Anything else? Everybody ready to go?" Kira asked.
Nobody answered him.
"We're leaving, then."
…
The walk through the night was disturbingly silent. Only a few minutes ago, the sound of clashing metal had been echoing through the empty corridors of Seireitei's labyrinth of a landscape but now, the wind was the only thing making any noise. Ichigo noticed it despite being deeply immersed in his pool of thoughts. Though it wasn't actually that surprising. Even though the general atmosphere of the convoy was fairly peaceful, stares burning into his back were palpable. However, as the one leading all of them was the Vice-Captain of Gotei 13, none was brave enough to break through the silence.
'…moon is shining brightly tonight.' Ichigo mentally remarked while squirming his eyes at the heavenly object, hovering above the Seireitei like its silent guardian. Ever since he had found out about the meaning behind his zanpakuto, about its name, he felt a strange connection towards the moon. Its light was one of the few things that could calm the chaos within him. To Ichigo, it was like staring into a mirror that reflected his own soul, making it easy to read and understand his own self.
'Sometimes, I feel like it's watching my every step and misstep.'
'Mm. I know what you mean.'
Ichigo fought the urge to smile. It was nice, to hear that even his complicated zanpakuto spirit was able to relax and ease out of the troubles and worries the two of them encountered on almost daily basis.
But even if he wanted to enjoy such a rare occasion, the reality always came back to kick him in the shin.
'As they say, what goes around… comes around.' Ichigo thought when one of the men coughed and, in the process, completely destroyed the serene state within Ichigo's mindscape. The teen could almost feel his zanpakuto spirit resisting the urge to growl.
He wouldn't have minded it. He felt the same.
"Hello there, fellas. Going somewhere?"
Unlike the rest of the group, save for Kira, Ichigo only twitched at the sudden intrusion of a familiar voice.
'I'm getting too used to this shit.' He thought. While outwardly calm, his inner alarms went off as soon as he realized who the newcomer was.
"Captain Amagai?!" One of the men exclaimed in surprise when the man is question popped right in front of them.
Amagai seemed to be in quite the good mood. A smile was playing on his lips and even the look in his eyes seemed to be rather lively.
"There has been a… incident. We are on our way to the Captain Commander, as it seems it's something for his ears only." Kira replied to him, causing Ichigo to briefly close his eyes and tighten his jaw.
'…I know I'm repeating myself, but I seriously, really, truly hate my luck.'
Responding to Kira's words with a raised eyebrow, Amagai looked behind him, at Ichigo, and then at the dead body of his 3rd Seat. Then he moved his attention towards the zanpakuto in Ichigo's hands. For a few seconds, the Captain of the 3rd Division just stared at it.
There was no sudden shock nor surprise in the man's eyes. No hidden hint of worry or ire. Not even a small twitch of a brow. The Captain just stared and stared, his expression never changing.
"I see." He said after a while and then turned to his Vice-Captain.
"Why don't we go to the 3rd Division barracks and wait until morning? It's already night and the Commander is most likely in his quarters. I'm sure none of you wants to wake him up with this kind of information."
Standing behind Kira, Ichigo felt a bit of color drain from his face. He opened his mouth to quickly reject the idea but others were faster.
"But sir! It's Kibune-san!"
"He must be punished as soon as possible!" The men yelled. Even the Vice-Captain of the 3rd Division disagreed.
"Sir, with all due respect, that's exactly why we must wake the Commander up. I don't think he would want us to wait. This is a serious matter."
"Well, you could have fooled me, Kira-kun!" Amagai exclaimed and placed one hand on the Vice-Captain's shoulder. Right after that, he continued, albeit in a subdued tone.
"I insist, Kira-kun. I will deal with the Commander if he gets angry but, for now, I really want us to return to our barracks." He insisted and briefly glanced over Kira's shoulder, at Ichigo.
"Kurosaki is alright with it, aren't you, Kurosaki?"
"Well, actually I'd l-"
"See? Nothing to worry about. I'll keep an eye on Kurosaki in case he'd want to run but, knowing him, I have nothing to worry about." Amagai continued and completely ignored Ichigo's attempt at disagreeing. He just shifted his attention back to Kira and gave him a long stare.
Meanwhile, Ichigo was mentally cursing.
'Damn it to hell… this is bad.'
…
Twenty minutes later, locked behind bars, Ichigo watched as the Captain of the 3rd Division sat on a chair positioned right in front of him. Stripped off Kibune's and also his own zanpakuto, the teen felt powerless and quite vulnerable. Nothing was preventing the man from simply killing him on the spot. Just the cell bars.
And Ichigo was sure the man could slice through those without any problem. He blamed the Vice-Captain, Kira, for surrendering to his Captain so fast.
"Nervous, Kurosaki?"
Ichigo took a shallow breath.
"Should I be?"
Amagai chuckled.
"I don't know. You tell me. I'm not the one who killed my 3rd Seat." The Captain said with a smile, though Ichigo could feel the coldness emanating from his voice. While the man didn't seem particularly angry, he also wasn't as calm as he had pretended to be twenty minutes ago.
"It was an accident."
Amagai continued to stare at him.
"I see. An accident." The man repeated and Ichigo suddenly felt as if the man was eyeing his injuries.
"Yes, an accident." Ichigo reaffirmed his words.
Amagai then sharply stood up and turned to the table right next to him. Both Ichigo's and Kibune's zanpakuto were placed on it. The Captain visibly focused his attention at the latter, making Ichigo subconsciously clench his jaw.
"In that case, you have my thanks for not accidentally killing more of my men."
Looking at the man's back, Ichigo narrowed his eyes but reminded himself to keep calm. He opted not to react to that and waited.
"My men said you were trying not to harm them."
The teen blinked.
"So they did notice it." He muttered and a slight amount of acknowledgement seeped into his tone, causing Amagai to turn around and look at him.
"I'm sorry?"
Ichigo returned his stare with a thoughtful gaze.
"You should praise them. They were fairly quick in picking up on it and, once they did, they changed their tactic and caught me in a little trap. Sure, it didn't work and they were left with no other choice but to charge me head-on but still… they knew what they were doing. I think they deserve some praise."
For a moment, the two of them continued their stare-off in silence.
"You know, Kurosaki, sometimes I don't know what to think of you. Sometimes, it feels like you really are just a young academy student but then, you go and do or say something surprising that makes me think like I know nothing about you."
Ichigo gaze turned confused.
"What?"
Amagai circled around the table and sat on the chair once again.
"You say my men's actions were praiseworthy and I agree. But why is an academy student capable of saying stuff like that so easily? Why is it that you can already speak like a Captain, like somebody who's in position to judge those that should rightfully be above you? How is it that you already have this kind of mindset? It's almost like you have no concept of respect towards your superiors."
For a brief moment, Ichigo blanked out. His mind was unable to process Amagai's words.
"I don't understand."
Amagai shook his head and released a short snort.
"Yeah, I suppose you don't." He shifted on the chair and gave the teen a pointed stare.
"Try to get some sleep, Kurosaki. As soon as the sun comes up, you will be going to the Commander and trust me, you want to be fresh."
Ichigo glanced on his left, at the bed located near the wall, but knew sleep was impossible for him. Amagai was clearly far too involved in the Kasumiōji conspiracy and Ichigo didn't want to risk him meddling with the Bakkōtō, the only piece of evidence the teen had managed to acquire so far.
"…heh, praiseworthy…"
He looked up, only to see the Captain mumbling from his sleep. In that moment, staring at the expression on the man's face, he couldn't shake the feeling that Shusuke Amagai maybe really cared about his division.
…
Early morning, office of the Captain Commander
"Now, Kurosaki Ichigo… what do you have to say for yourself?"
Ichigo felt a shiver running down his spine. Forced to face an upset Captain Commander of the Gotei 13 early in the morning, he wished to be anything else but there. The Commander's reiatsu was barely above its ordinary state, yet the teen was already sweating bullets. It was his first time being in such close distance to the man and it was in that moment that he understood just why Yamamoto had been the leader of the Gotei for such a long time.
'This gramps… is dangerous.' Ichigo thought and, for a few seconds, felt very small and insignificant. Like a kid facing an adult. Like a lamb staring in the eyes of a predator.
Like a sinner staring into the depths of Hell.
A sound of a door closing caused him to flinch. Immediately, he shook his head to try and clear his thoughts. He noticed that they were left alone. Focusing his attention back on the Commander, he fixed his gaze and reached for the man's table, where a large cloth was wrapped around a rather large item.
"This should explain everything, sir." He said and slowly removed the cloth, allowing the Commander to see zanpakuto of the late 3rd Seat of the 3rd Division.
Yamamoto's mostly closed eyes slowly opened.
"What is this?"
Ichigo pointed at the tentacles, still squirming along the blade, and leaned forward.
"These are the remnants of the 3rd Seat's Bakkōtō."
Ever so slightly, Yamamoto's expression changed.
"What are you implying, Kurosaki Ichigo?"
Under the intense gaze, Ichigo felt his throat getting dry. Nevertheless, he took a deep breath and steeled his nerves.
"A conspiracy, Captain Commander. Conspiracy involving the herald of the Kasumiōji Noble clan and his illegal practices, as well as his attempts on life of the heir to the Kasumiōji clan, Rurichiyo Kasumiōji. Along with it, an illegal creation and distribution of weaponry known as Bakkōtō."
"…"
When the Captain Commander didn't react, Ichigo clenched both his fists and took another deep breath. He had no intention of saying anything else, though. It was just that the silence that quickly spread across the whole office was suffocating.
It took the Commander a whole minute to finally respond.
"…that old, arrogant fool."
Immediately, Ichigo felt the man's reiatsu inflating and so he took a step back.
"Captain Sui-Feng mentioned you were working on something for her. I assume this is what she meant?"
Ichigo blinked in surprise. He had thought the Captain of the 2nd Division marked their investigation as unofficial.
"Yes, but she is unaware of this development. As I was detained, I was unable to contact her." He replied.
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes.
"I'll take care of that. Sasakibe!"
Immediately, the office door opened and the Vice-Captain of the 1st Division stepped inside.
"Yes, Commander?"
Yamamoto glanced at Ichigo.
"You can leave now, Kurosaki Ichigo. You have acted under the pretense of uncovering evil deeds that could have thrown the Soul Society into chaos and so, for now, you are free to go."
…
A few minutes later, outside the office of the Captain Commander and while walking towards the exit of the building, a booming voice reached Ichigo's ears.
"Attention! We have discovered evidence that leads us to believe the Kasumiōji Noble Clan has committed the severe crime of treason! All divisions from the Gotei 13 are to break into the Kasumiōji manor! Gather all evidence found!"
It was the Captain Commander.
'That went better than I predicted. I honestly expected more skepticism from him but it seems this isn't the first time Bakkōtō became a problem.' Ichigo thought and placed one hand on his zanpakuto. After they had arrived to Yamamoto's office, Amagai had returned it to him.
'Speaking of Amagai...'
Right after he got out of the 1st Division's barracks, Ichigo jumped on one of the roofs and took a long look around with an intention of locating the man. However, when he saw the large mass of shinigami moving through the Seireitei, a deep scowl formed on his face.
"There's no way I can find him like this. The guy can move like a ghost." He muttered.
Then something in his mind clicked. Pieces of a puzzle shifted and created a solid picture. A mixture of emotions crossed his face and changed his expression into one of anxiety.
'If he really is a part of the conspiracy that means the Commander's new order can destroy him. If there's even a tiny evidence of his collaboration with the Kasumiōji conspirators, his cover will be blown and…'
A sudden realization dawned upon the teen.
"Oh."
…
Near the gates of the Kasumiōji compound, Ichigo finally slowed down to catch a breath. In order to get there as fast as possible, he had been continuously abusing his Shunpo skills and it left a mark on his stamina. Gasping for a breath, he got to the gates when a pair of shinigami officers held out their hands and prevented him from entering the compound.
"Where the hell do you think you're going?! Leave! This is no place for an Academy student!"
Blinking dumbly, Ichigo glanced down, at his clothes, and grimaced.
'Of course they wouldn't let a student in. Damn it to hell!'
Giving the pair one more glance, he turned around and silently walked away. Once he was out of their sights, he climbed a nearby tree with a view on the compound and sat on one of the thicker branches.
"Damn it."
He knew he could force his way in. However, he also knew that doing such a thing would only result in chaos and he didn't want that.
'I seriously hope Captain Sui-Feng is in there too.' He thought.
Sui-Feng was the only other person in the whole Soul Society that knew about Amagai being a suspect. Nobody else knew that and so Ichigo was worried. Worried that nobody would dare to get in the man's way.
'What do I do…?'
With one of his fingers, he frantically tapped on the tree branch. Then he realized something.
There was nothing he could do.
At last, not being a member of the Gotei 13 reached him. Situation like that was new to him and it unsettled him greatly. It was the first time that such restriction actually prevented him from making a difference. It was disturbing and made him feel powerless.
Ichigo didn't like being powerless. He despised it, yet it seemed to follow him like a plague. First, it was his mum. Then his sisters. The Boss. Now this. What was waiting for him at the next turn?
A pained expression crossed his face and he shook his head.
'I'm just overreacting. This is nothing like all those time before. Nothing bad will happen.' He tried to convince himself.
His left eyelid twitched. A familiar spiritual energy appeared below him.
"What are you doing there?"
It was Isshin.
Ichigo jumped down. Immediately, he wanted to explain the man his intentions but then he blanched. The last time he had spoken with Isshin about the Kasumiōji conspiracy, was when the man suggested hiding Rurichiyo in Karakura Town. Currently, Isshin had no idea about the small collaboration between his son and the Captain of the 2nd Division and that Amagai Shūsuke was a suspect. And it would take too much time to explain everything.
When Isshin narrowed his eyes, as if he sensed some distress in the teen, Ichigo made a split-second decision.
"Dad, do you trust me?"
"Yes."
Isshin's answer was so instantaneous, it left Ichigo blinking in surprise.
"I think you are still a naughty teenager that causes too much trouble for his own good but, if we're talking about serious stuff, I trust you completely. You are my son. If I can't trust you, then I don't deserve to be called your father."
Feeling something in his throat, Ichigo forcibly gulped.
"…why do you always say stuff like that when I'm trying to hurry, damn it…?" He whispered and, before Isshin could interrupt him, continued in a louder tone.
"I need to know where Amagai-san is right now."
Isshin narrowed his eyes even further.
"Captain Amagai? I don't know. I didn't see him today and I certainly didn't see him in the Kasumiōji compound."
Ichigo tensed.
"You were in the compound?"
"Yeah. Just got back. They are putting up quite the resistance but, in my opinion, it's completely pointless… what is it?"
Ichigo returned his curious gaze with an anxious expression.
"What about Gyōkaku Kumoi? Did you catch him?"
A rare hint of true annoyance crossed the man's features and he released a deep sigh.
"That's actually why I came out."
"What do you mean?"
Isshin formed a grimace.
"Gyōkaku Kumoi is dead. Somebody got to him before we did."
…
"Shit, shit, shit, shit…"
Pushing his Shunpo to its utmost limits, Ichigo was unable to stop cursing. Once he was told about the death of the Kasumiōji clan's herald, he immediately turned in the direction of the 1st Division barracks and began to flash towards it as fast as he could.
'I knew it! He's disposing of anything and anyone that can incriminate him… Amagai-san, what is your involvement in all this? What is your aim?' He thought, a bit of bitterness seeping into his thoughts.
'I doubt he'd go to the Human World to kill Rurichiyo. No, the situation in Seireitei is too chaotic for that. Moreover, I'm not sure whether the restriction on the use of the Senkaimon is gone or not.'
Recalling the weird, unsettling look in the Captain's eyes when he had looked over the Bakkōtō-covered zanpakuto of his 3rd Seat, Ichigo gritted his teeth.
'He wanted something with that zanpakuto. If I'm right, and I hope I'm not, he's going to try and take it from the Commander's office. It would be a stupid thing to do, especially if gramps is still there, but it's also the only thing I can think of. If he's not there, then I really don't know where he could be.'
Just for Amagai's sake, Ichigo prayed he was wrong. If, by chance, he went against the Captain Commander, then Ichigo didn't think the man would last long enough to see the light of the next dawn.
However, when he finally reached the hearing distance to the Commander's office, he understood that once again, nothing seemed to go as he wanted.
"Misguided fool. Reduce all creation to ash, Ryūjin Jakka!"
…
Minutes before
Ever since Ichigo had left his office, Yamamoto had been staring at the Bakkōtō-covered zanpakuto with a more than just small amount of anger. Outwardly, the emotion couldn't be seen on his face. However, the reiryoku seeping out of him was enough of an indication.
Yamamoto was angry.
'That wretched fool.'
Gyōkaku Kumoi. Just thinking about the man caused Yamamoto to squeeze his cane more.
'I was forced to overlook your actions once but you repeated the same mistake. This is your end.'
He was angry at himself for not being able to handle the man all those years ago, when the term 'Bakkōtō' first came to life.
He glanced at his table again. To Yamamoto, it was almost mind-boggling to see two items that existed as polar opposites lay innocently in the form of a single weapon.
'A bastardized and hazardous version of zanpakuto placed on a zanpakuto itself. If he saw it, he would kill Gyōkaku Kumoi with his bare hands.' He thought, an image of a dark-skinned man wearing an odd choice of sunglasses popping into his mind. Feeling himself drifting into the memories of the past, Yamamoto walked to the balcony and looked outside. He needed something calming, something that could rid him of the foreign emotions flowing within his veins.
But when a light breeze washed over his face, he briefly closed his eyes and sighed.
"My office has a door for a reason, Captain Amagai." He said just when the man in question appeared next to the Commander's table, looking extremely serious and determined.
"What brings you here?"
Amagai didn't reply immediately and, for a short moment, simply stared at him. The stare felt meaningful, as if the man was trying to insinuate something.
"You don't know?" Amagai finally replied with a question.
Yamamoto barely opened eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Other than that, the Commander didn't react.
"I guess you don't. You are a man that would never consider there might be people in Soul Society who would murder you if they had a chance."
For just a second, Yamamoto felt a bit of amusement. The very notion of somebody being able to kill him was ridiculous.
"Murder me? To what end?" He asked.
"Kisaragi Shin'etsu."
Yamamoto mentally paused but didn't even have to search his memories to remember a person to whom the name belonged. He didn't have to strain his mind. The image of that person had appeared within his mind just minutes ago and so the memory of him was fresh.
"Kisaragi…" He muttered quietly, causing Amagai to take a few steps towards him
"Yes… you haven't forgotten. How could you?" The Captain of the 3rd Division stated and, with his right hand, touched the handle of Kibune's zanpakuto, so far innocently lying on the Commander's table.
"I've come in his stead to end your life."
Yamamoto slowly opened his eyes and watched as the man picked up his 3rd Seat's zanpakuto.
"What do you plan to do with that, Amagai?"
Amagai gave him a short glance before reaching for an eye-thing part of Kibune's Bakkōtō and ripping it out of its socket.
"This. This is a Bakkōtō's nucleus. During all the previous fights, they were set to devour the reiatsu of their wielders. And…" He unceremoniously dropped Kibune's zanpakuto and reached for the sword on his right hip.
The one that wasn't his zanpakuto.
"…when I feed them to my Bakkōtō…" He unplugged the end of the sword's handle, revealing a bizarre eye, similar to the nucleus in his other hand, and threw the nucleus in its direction. Immediately, the eye-like handle of his sword shot out and, forming a miniature mouth, snatched the nucleus from the air. A moment later, a sound of a gulp was heard.
Amagai then took out his zanpakuto too.
"…that's when their true power activates."
In a short flash of green light, the handle of Amagai's Bakkōtō extended and wrapped around his whole arm. Another flash of light later, it transformed into an armored black gauntlet, shaped like a dragon.
Yamamoto stared at it and felt like sighing. It had been a long time since anybody tried to take his life. He had forgotten what it was like.
After all, it was impossible to remember every ant he had crushed so far.
"Misguided fool. Reduce all creation to ash, Ryūjin Jakka!"
…
Present time
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ichigo felt stumped.
'So much reiatsu… and such temperature. This old man is ridiculous.'
The weight of the situation fell on him soon enough. It forced him to shake off his stupor and move. Move towards the Commander's office before something bad could happen. Somehow, Ichigo felt that Amagai Shūsuke was worth saving.
However, when he reached the office and heard the men speaking, his legs froze and didn't allow him to go any further.
"Prepare yourself, Amagai, for you are about to get punished."
Ichigo felt the Commander's reiatsu increasing and the flames of his zanpakuto began to wildly swirl around the office like a blazing tornado, released from the hell itself.
But then, a peculiar, extraordinary thing happened.
The flames vanished.
All of them
Not even a small spark was left.
It caused Ichigo to blink in bewilderment. However, he was sure that his surprise was nothing in comparison what the Commander must have been feeling. Seeing his own flames, the reflection of his own soul, withering away like a dusty corpse was more than just unexpected.
"…what have you done, Amagai!?"
Ichigo slightly leaned from his spot, so he could see the shocked expression on Yamamoto's face, and noticed, for the first time, Amagai's Bakkōtō that was covering his whole right arm. Its blade was embedded into the office's floor and was radiating soothing waves of green light from its center.
"Complete negation of shinigami powers. That is the power of my Bakkōtō. Of course, I'm left unaffected." Amagai stated and yanked the Bakkōtō from the floor. Right after that, he raised his zanpakuto and released a wave of large reiatsu.
"Prepare to die! Bankai! Raika Gōen Kaku!"
The air around the Captain erupted with overabundance of reiryoku in form of flames. Through squinted eyes, Ichigo saw the man spinning his zanpakuto above his head.
With a mighty roar, Amagai released a massive wave of flames straight at the defenseless-looking Commander.
The whole office exploded.
'This is madness! He's really trying to kill gramps.' Ichigo thought while shielding himself from the debris.
An irrational thought formed in his mind.
'I have to stop this.'
Ichigo didn't care that was most likely over his head with this. He felt, for more reasons than he was willing to admit, that he needed to step into the fight and force the Captain of the 3rd Division to stand down. At all costs.
At any cost.
Once the smoke and dust settled down and he could see the destroyed battlefield clearly enough, he forced his body to move and flashed in front of Amagai just when he was about to charge the Commander.
"Stop this!"
*CLANG*
Under the weight of the blow, Ichigo felt his whole body tremble. He realized it too late, but he just charged a Captain-class fighter that was wielding a Bankai. From this up close, the reiatsu pouring out of Amagai left him sweating profusely.
"Kurosaki…?" Amagai blinked in a brief surprise. Then his features hardened and a grimace formed on his face.
"Out of the way!"
Ichigo felt him pushing but he clenched his teeth and used all of his might to try and endure the pressure.
"Kisaragi Shin'etsu…"
A quiet voice came from behind him, causing both Ichigo and Amagai to briefly stop their efforts.
"…how do you know that name, Shūsuke Amagai?"
Ichigo watched as Amagai's features warped further, making his grimace downright terrifying.
"Is that a hint of shame I sense in your voice, Genryūsai Yamamoto? Or is that guilt? Can't forget the face of a man that you have murdered with your own hands, can you?! The man that faithfully served under your command until you betrayed him and killed him?!"
Stupefied, strength left Ichigo's hands and he slightly turned his head to glance at the Commander.
"…is that true?"
He saw Yamamoto closing his eyes.
"Yes. He speaks the truth."
Ichigo stared at the Commander only for an instant.
'Who am I to judge him… my hand are too dirty for that.'
He looked back at Amagai and saw the man gritting his teeth.
"Kisaragi Shin'etsu… was my father. I'm here to avenge him."
A heavy, pregnant silence fell upon the battlefield. All three combatants were caught up in their swirling emotions.
Shock.
Guilt.
Anger.
But when the sky above their heads exploded in the familiar phenomenon, one that had appeared only days ago, they were all forced to abandon all of those emotions.
The threat, hidden in the Valleys of Screams, emerged once again.
End of chapter 23.
Early Christmas gift just for you guys!
But because I just barely managed to finish this chapter in time, there might be few sentences that have odd wording. Forgive me.
There's also not much I can say. The story is progressing nicely. I have to admit though, I used up almost all of my free time for this story and, because of that, I managed to create and write down detailed outlines for almost 15 chapter into the future. Crazy, right? Although, those outline are not final. I may not take the story in their direction.
I'm thinking about it, though. With them, I may be able to advance not just the story or Ichigo's development, but also several different plotlines. On the other hand, it'll take time.
I'm officialy announcing a short hiatus. I got myself a new PC so I'm planning on playing all those games I missed. I also have finals and work. That means absolutely no writing for a month. I'll probably scribble a bit but, until the end of january, I won't try to write seriously. Honesly, I'm also so freaking tired. Haven't been able to kick back and just relax for the last 9 months. That kills the man.
Next chapter, I should be able to finish both Amagai and movie arc and, after that, we move on to something with a bit more... class.
To reviews:
*Takei_Daloui - it's Hyperion. I didn't pick the name randomly and so, its meaning has soemthign to do with the project itself.
*Accursius - yeah, Mayuri is fun to write. I now understand why Kubo likes him.
*Blackseal84 - well, I try to make it that way. Glad it Works.
*Kragh50 - no, no. There is still time for Quincy. Yep. Wasn't even planning on answering :D
*Dinner - yep, I hope I can do that with Mayuri too.
*Guest - interesting pairing. Veeery interesting.
*Harbinger_of_Kaos - oh man, you have no idea. (That's an answer for everything)
*MugetsuIchigo - as an author, I am glad you feel that way :D
*HeavenAsunder15 - thank you. For now, I have some abilities planned for Ichigo, but they are nothing groundbreaking. I want them to be in character with Ichigo and his style. Suddenly giving him something like complicated Kido-based stuff wouldn't work in my opinion. Senna won't appear though, sorry.
*Rajo - I'm glad you kept going too!
And that's it for now, guys. Merry Christmas (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever else you are celebrating) and Happy New Year. See ya all sometime in February!