Hello.
Chapter 18:
The giant reiatsu pillar created by the clashing of the captain-level shinigami had been astounding. Even now, as it slowly dispersed, the power radiating off of it was still strong enough to be felt from miles around. The battlefield where they had fought had been completely leveled and what had managed to escape the blast radius, had been burned to ashes due to Ash's unstable Shunko. The black and yellow reiatsu spire vanished quickly and the combatants came to view.
Kenpachi's large, muscular body was extremely burnt. Several third-degree burns graced his abdomen and the cuts he had gained had been cauterized. While those burns were quite deep, they would probably not scar; all but one. An extremely darkened "X" which had been placed directly over Zaraki's heart would be sure to haunt him.
Ash's injuries were much more grave. Blood and bruises were everywhere. Almost covering every inch of his body. A shallow pool of blood sat at his feet and he trembled violently. The left side of his body had been much more damaged than the right but Ash felt none of it. He only felt the undying exhaustion and the pain of all his muscles throbbing. The stress two Shunkos put on his body was staggering. Yoruichi-sensei had warned him that since he knew next to nothing about kido, his Shunko would pain his body until he knew how to control it better. He could feel himself losing all consciousness and hoped that the next person to find him would be someone on his side.
Ash fell backwards and hit the ground with a heavy thud and the temperature went cool. Kenpachi stared at the fallen teen with respect and his consciousness too started to fade. The tall man's eyes rolled to the back of his head and his fell forward, landing a few inches away from Ash.
-Toshiro-
"Akame…" Toshiro whispered. "Akame…"
"What Shiro-chan?! Now is not the time!" the short, purple eyed woman identified as Akame answered hysterically.
"There is no better time!" Toshiro said angrily, unintentionally making the area colder.
"Ash is possibly dying! What is it that you want to know?!"
"Why the fuck you left us?!" Toshiro's anger had peaked. Akame stopped and stared off, the question going unanswered. "Huh?! Why?! Do you know what we had to go through to survive this long?!"
"Shiro-chan…" Akame said. She tried to hug him but he pushed her away. The glare he shot at her had been extremely intense. The area had gotten far colder now, so much so that Hitsugaya's angry sigh was visible.
Toshiro said nothing further. He left Akame and Rangiku stunned in place; him going to find his brother.
-Elsewhere-
"So Ash's Shunko is fire based. Why am I not surprised?" Yoruichi said with a grin. She may not have been there to actually see the fight between Ash and Kenpachi but she sure as hell felt it. She was fairly confident that everyone who mattered in the Soul Society could feel it too. She had left Ichigo's group a while ago and now just roamed around with no real goal, but she figured she could at least ensure that the red-eyed teen doesn't die here.
She took off quickly all while keeping her presence hidden and her senses open. Every caption was accounted for aside from Kenpachi and each seemed to be closing in at a reasonably quick pace. She was glad she was so close to the battle, otherwise this would not end well. The fastest woman in Gotei's history was somewhat surprised to see the damage created by the fight. "Wow." She said with pride. Her student not only managed to beat one of the stronger captains, but also level a huge area in the process.
She got close enough to where she could see where Zaraki's body was. Yachiru probably took him to be healed but she also saw a thin layer of ice, surrounding Ash and Toshiro as the latter kneeled over the former with his eyes obstructed from view by his messy hair. She took one silent step and accidentally touched the ice. Instantly it shot up her body, past her knees and surprised her.
Toshiro looked up slightly and Yoruichi saw a thin line of tears flowing down. "Toshiro... You found her didn't you?" The question came unconsciously.
"You knew. And didn't tell us." His response was cold.
"I'll tell you all I know when we get Ash back to the base okay?" The amount of sincerity in her tone even surprised herself.
"Fine."
-Akame and Rangiku-
"So that's where they're going." Akame said as she somehow heard Yoruichi and Toshiro's exchange. "Guess I'll follow. You should head back Ran, I can handle this myself."
"Ha, as if I'll let you do this yourself Captain. I have no idea what you're going through right now, but it doesn't look fun. So I'll be there as a friend not a lieutenant." Rangiku said with a large, genuine smile.
"Thank you." Akame tried to smile but was simply too emotionally drained to do so. Who could blame her really?
They took off into simultaneous shunpos and followed Toshiro's reiatsu since he couldn't hide it as well in his current mood. At the very least she could hope for is that she can at least get a response out of them and she prayed to anyone who would listen that Ash was okay, because after seeing the devastation caused by him and Kenpachi, she was sure that either combatant wasn't really 100% alive.
