a/n - *waves* Hey guys, last chapter for a little bit as i get stuck into school again -_-, gotta put my serious face on and actually attempt to pass my HSC
So the speed of my updates will slow a little, unfortuantely just as i'm getting into some of the good bits -_-
Layne and Rukia flashstepped from building to building, Layne keeping a significant hold on his speed so the slower Rukia could keep up, and listen to his explanation
"And so you think this Kira has a spy here in Soul Society?" Rukia asked, finally getting a glimpse of insight into Layne's thought process
"I know this information was probably restricted to Lieutenants and above" Layne said grimly "But if Ichigo was willing to risk all our lives to save you, then trusting you with this is nothing"
Rukia was amazed at the seeming depth of Layne's loyalty
"You really trust him don't you?"
"Ichigo? Of Course"
Joel and Daisuke faced off
Seeing Daisuke starting off released, Joel realized he'd had no choice but to follow suit and called for Riku, and the two had clashed, trading a flurry of blows before they sprang apart and stood at their original positions
"You're pretty good" Daisuke acknowledged "This might be a lot of fun" he added, bouncing a little on his feet to keep moving
Joel in contrast, stood stock still, holding Riku tightly at his side
"I don't think I'll end up having much fun at all, fighting right here while I know my friends are fighting against your friends"
Daisuke shook his head "No, no, no, you should enjoy the fight, wherever you happen to be, whoever you happen to be fighting, whatever the reason for it"
"Maybe, but the reason I became strong was so I could stand with my friends… fighting is something I'd rather avoid if it's possible"
"I'm not here to change your views, I'm just here for the fight… but since you don't like fighting… I guess I'm just going to have to force you into it"
Daisuke disappeared from Joel's sight, and the next thing he heard was a sharp intake of breath from behind him
He whirled to see Nemu gasping for breath as Daisuke's Zanpakuto was withdrawn from her stomach
"What the hell are you doing?" Joel screamed, making a mighty leap and landing at Nemu's side, narrowly missing Daisuke with a slash "I'm the one you're fighting with!"
Daisuke disappeared and once again was in his original position, this time playing with the hilt of his Zanpakuto
"Don't worry, Kaen Toreitai's blade is so hot, whatever I cut is instantly cauterized, so no messy blood leakage… she'll be fine… if you can get her to medical attention in time"
Joel ignored him and knelt down beside Nemu, grasping her hand
"Dammit Nemu… seems your always getting screwed wherever we go eh?"
Nemu looked up at him "You do not need to concern yourself with me, Joel… I will survive at least forty-eight hours without medical attention"
"That's not the point… You shouldn't have to get treatment for serious injuries every time you come out with me"
Nemu didn't respond
"Listen up" Joel said decisively, "Hang tight, here… I'm going to break this streak of horrible luck… here and now"
Joel stood up and turned towards Daisuke, who was surprised to see that Joel was seemingly unshaken by an unprovoked attack on his partner
"Finally ready to fight?"
Joel walked forwards a little, and smiled
"I suppose I should thank you"
Daisuke signaled his confusion by raising an eyebrow
"You were right… I should enjoy fighting, If I'm the one fighting, it means I'm the one that gets hurt"
"That's one way to look at it"
"And if I'm the one that gets hurt, then it's my choice to use whatever the hell I need to, to beat you"
"I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to like this"
"If I wasn't under the same power limiter you're under, then yeah, you might not like it… but as it is… well, at least you'll have a chance to fight back"
Daisuke's grin returned full force
Joel also grinned, but his was cold, like the expression of someone who just saw you kick their puppy and stand there laughing at them
"Bankai!"
Ikkaku and Renji jumped to the side at the very last second, narrowly avoiding having a white missile rip their arms off
"What the hell was that?" asked Renji unsheathing Zabimaru
"I don't know, but it's coming back!" Ikkaku shouted, ducking so the missile passed over their heads
This went on for about ten minutes, and finally, Renji had enough
"Howl, Zabimaru!"
Zabimaru extended on a direct path with the missile, connecting just before Renji completely extended the base segments, and knocking it aside
It span in midair, and suddenly stopped moving altogether, extending its arms and limbs to reveal that weird doll thing from the fight above the store
"I must say" A voice announced from behind them "I never expected you to actually be strong enough to turn aside Sai's Missile Attack"
Renji and Ikkaku turned their heads slightly to see Takeda walking towards them, zipping up his dark green jacket and smiling at them
"So this is your Zanpakuto" Renji growled
"Zanpakuto?" Takeda asked, feigning surprise "Nothing so crude, this is my Doll, Sai!"
Sai suddenly leapt forward, but was intercepted by Ikkaku
"Go find someplace to chill Abarai" Ikkaku ordered with a crazy grin "11th Division fight's one on one… Extend, Hozukimaru!"
"Santen Kesshun!" Orihime shouted, just in time to block yet another spray of acid from the blade of Sendo Hebi
Matsumoto was keeping Tsubaki busy at close quarters, using a combination of Haineko's ash to nullify large amounts of the acid before it could touch her, and a blade consisting of countless ash particles forced together so she could ward off the actual sword strikes, though one end of her scarf was burned through, along with about fifty pockmarks on her shihakusho where she hadn't been fast enough, and let the acid through
About fifteen meters away, Chad and Orihime were acting as a mobile artillery unit, with a combination of Chad's energy blasts, and Orihime's Koten Zanshun as the ammunition, and defending themselves from the acid with Santen Kesshun
Overall, it was looking like a stalemate
The final fight currently taking place was going very badly for Ichigo, Hisagi and Uryuu
Who all just slammed into a nearby wall, one after the other
"It would have taken much less time if you had just surrendered the Quincy to me" Emi sighed, tugging on the hilt of Enkaiookami
Enkaiookami had morphed from an ordinary katana into a sword hilt, with whip ends that moved far too fast to be accurately counted
And when those whips touched you, it suddenly felt like someone stuck that part of you in an ice bath
And before the three of them knew it, they were in the icy grip of Enkaiookami, and being flung against a wall
"Dammit" growled Ichigo as he got to his feet, glancing at Hisagi and Uryuu, who were doing the same "It moved so fast"
"Oh, you guys got up" Emi said, mildly surprised "This power limiter is so bothersome, it would have finished this quickly if I'd been at full power"
"Unlucky for you then" Ichigo replied "Now that we've seen it, we won't get caught again"
"Oh really?"
Emi swung the hilt down and sent the whips flying towards them
Ichigo and Hisagi jumped out of the way, while Uryuu simply shot arrows at the ones that came his way, knocking them all out of the sky
Emi frowned; the Hisagi and the Quincy had just taken their cue from Ichigo, so they weren't of too much consequence… but Ichigo, he was able to judge the speed of Enkaiookami's movements, and jump at the precise moment and angle to avoid it, and avoid being chased by it
Emi narrowed her eyes as she pulled back Enkaiookami
I can see why Kira-san was so interested in fighting this one
"You're pretty good… Ichigo" Emi acknowledged "How about we go at it for real?"
Hisagi and Uryuu exchanged a look of confusion, and the exact same thought passed through their heads
We're being completely ignored?
"Ahh crap" Layne said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking around "I have absolutely no idea where we are"
Rukia appeared next to him, and collapsed, rolling onto her back, taking exhausted breaths
"Eh? What's wrong Rukia?" Layne asked with a trace of alarm
Rukia gestured for Layne to come closer, so he knelt down by her side
Strangely, this time when her fist connected with his face, instead of registering pain, the thought that ran through his head was "Pow!"
Rukia sat up; eyes closed and held her fist up, veins pulsing on her forehead
"You bastard… after you explained you started flashstepping faster… I only just recovered my reiryoku and even if I was in top form I wouldn't have been able to keep up"
Layne started laughing "Ahh, sorry, sorry, I guess I just didn't notice, it's hard to constantly minimize or maximize my speed so I probably just went back to middle ground"
"Middle ground?" Rukia asked "Just how fast can you go?"
Layne thought for a second "I'd probably need to be feeling really unlazy, and be in Bankai… but I don't think it would be too much of a stretch to assume that I could go supersonic"
"Mind you" Layne added "I think my definition of supersonic is different to supersonic in this place… Ichigo's Bankai isn't as fast as mine, and I'm pretty sure he breaks the sound barrier regularly"
The sound of a jaw hitting the floor was audible
Around the corner, Ren Kashira appeared, panting from his exertions
To think I would of expended so much reiatsu just chasing him down
He stole a glance around the corner of the alley and saw that they hadn't moved, Layne still waiting for Rukia to recover
First Rule of Assassination: The Weakest dies first!
"Henryuuki" Ren whispered unsheathing the Zanpakuto at his side "Shall we go?"
"It's been a while Ren… hopefully this time you're not going to stomp on some boring hollows"
Ren smirked "No, I believe you might enjoy the challenge of executing a Bankai wielder"
Ren glanced around the corner again "But first…"
I'm only going to get one shot at this…if I don't disable her before the kido fails, then I'll be fighting two on one
Ren stepped around the corner, though wasn't seen as both Layne's and Rukia's backs were turned to him
"Disintegrate, you black dog of Rodan!! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat!" Ren shouted "Bakudo No.9: Geki!"
Both Layne and Rukia heard the shout too late
Normally Layne would have been able to draw his Zanpakuto and at least attempt to block whatever was coming next but… he'd never been bound by a Bakudo before
Rukia on the other hand, turned slightly, and only just heard what was coming next
"Become the Variable: Band"
The only part of Layne that could move was his eyes, so he strained them to the corner and was horrified to see a large amount of blood spurt out of Rukia's back
Ren jumped back "Yade yare… if I'd known it would have been this easy I would have let that idiot do it"
Rukia fell backwards, barely breathing, with blood leaking out all over the flagstones
Try as he might, Layne couldn't break out of the Bakudo
What the hell is this?!
Ren walked around to the front of Layne, prodding him a couple of time's with the tip of Henryuuki
"This is really weird" Ren commented "That's only a level nine… a hollow with an eighth of your reiatsu could of broken out of it easily"
Ren lifted Henryuuki up "I'd be interested to know why my Kido has such a great effect on you... but I should finish this off"
"Enact Justice: Cameron!"
Ren's Zanpakuto morphed from a double edged broad sword into an absolutely huge lance, which he twirled around with ease
"I wonder if Kira knew she was just wasting her time on you" Ren asked rhetorically "Oh well"
Ren aimed the tip of the lance directly as Layne's unguarded heart, and thrust forwards
Even with the enhanced physical prowess afforded by his Bankai, Joel was still having a tough time against Daisuke
"Earth's Power: Magnetize!"
Joel formed the reiatsu disc on his left arm, just in time to rebound Daisuke's Zanpakuto, before it sliced clean through his wrist
But it still burned
Joel cried out in pain and jumped back
What the hell is this?
"Whew" Daisuke said with a grin "That was the closest thing to a cut I've made on you, very nice work"
Joel grit his teeth, and waiting for the other shoe to drop
"But it seems that Kaen Toreitai can burn you even through your weird Magnetize ability"
Joel raised an eyebrow and looked at his arm
The hair was gone and the area where Daisuke's Zanpakuto had nearly touched was developing a shiny red burn
"Dammit" Joel growled "I've got to finish this"
Daisuke overheard him
"Why would you want to finish this?" he asked, sounding horrified "I'm having a lot of fun"
Joel stole a glance at Nemu, who had somehow moved to the side of a building, and was sitting up against it, holding her hand over the hole in her stomach
Joel was galvanized
Even if I didn't want to, now is the time to use 'that'
"Oi" he called out to Daisuke "What's your name?"
"Daisuke Hayato, former 4th seat of Squad Zero"
Joel smiled "I've had it beaten into my head by a certain bald dude, that you should know the name of those you are going to defeat, and they should know the name of the person that will defeat them"
Daisuke chuckled "Let's hear it then"
"Joel Bluzer, Lieutenant of Squad Thirteen"
"Ahh, so your one of those Lieutenants with a Bankai" Daisuke said "I'm impressed"
Joel began glowing yellow as he hardened the reiatsu around him
"I've only ever done this once… so you'd better hope I still can't use it that well"
Daisuke leapt forwards "I didn't come here to watch you charge some stupid move, it was more fun when we were just going at it!"
Joel raised his wall of earth and Daisuke's Zanpakuto clattered uselessly against it, so he jumped back and waited
A flat chunk of the earth Joel had raised suddenly went flying at Daisuke, who dodged it easily, but wasn't prepared for the staccato of other chunks that caught him in the chest, legs and arms
He hit the floor, and rolled over attempting to catch his breath, catching sight of Joel as he emerged from the earth cocoon, flexing his strangely thickened left arm
"Ahh this is troublesome" Joel complained "As soon as I show this to someone I have to think of a name for it"
Daisuke pulled himself to his feet, and got a good look at Joel
His left arm was completely encased in rock, similar to Chad's Right Arm of the Giant in that it fit perfectly to the contours of his arm and had all the flexibility of the arm without the armor
It even had the two spurs at the top
"I got this idea from Layne's friend Chad" Joel explained "So I have to name it something to do with my arm…hmmm"
Joel's eyes lit up "I know, I'll call it Fist of the Mountain!"
Ren felt the resistance as soon as he thrust Cameron into Layne, so he looked up and was incredibly surprised to see that Layne had managed to cross his arms in front of the tip of Cameron, leaving him with a rather large hole in his right arm, but he was still alive
"Lucky" Layne breathed, pushing Ren away and drawing one of his Zanpakuto, letting his now useless right arm hang limply at his side
Ren was completely shocked, was he only pretending to be caught in the Bakudo?
No, that would be completely dumbassed… His friend was disabled, and if he could move at that speed to defend himself, then if I hadn't bound him to start with I wouldn't have been able to strike her at all…
While Ren was thinking, Layne had torn off the sleeve of his Shihakusho and started wrapping it around his useless arm, no mean feat considering he could only just bend the arm at the elbow
The only plausible explanation is that when I used my reishi to propel Cameron, it acted like a fan, and blew away the Bakudo binding him… but to block in that split second, such speed and force of will!
"Drift, Roxas!" Layne intoned, throwing his Zanpakuto to the side, where it disappeared in a flash of white light
Oathkeeper appeared in his left hand "Come on, It's obvious that you're the spy I came looking for, so let's get this over with"
Even as he said that, Layne was cursing his inability to escape from that Bakudo
Busted Arm, Rukia's alive… but bleeding out…don't think I can use Bankai without Oblivion and he isn't hurt at all, this situation doesn't look good at all… but anyways
Ren smiled, "I see that I was wrong about you, you are most definitely worthy of Kira's attention"
"Become the Variable: Band!"
Ren's zanpakuto shifted back into the double edged broadsword with the smaller blades twisted halfway up the blade from the tsuba
"Now then, should we start this for real?"
Layne sighed "I've been ready since you stabbed me, don't know what you were waiting for"
a/n - Whew, finished xD
Yes, Joel is a complete copy cat, but Fist of the Mountain promises to be epic (at least in my head .)
I realized a little to late that Layne was getting a little god moded, so i decided to make him super weak to kido in all it's forms
R&R =D