I do not own Bleach or any of the characters.
Last Time
Ichigo crashed down hard and groaned. At first, he had been able to keep up with Kariya, even when Kariya summoned his true Doll, Messer, which turned his right hand into a silver crest symbol with a blade of wind. He had preferred that to trying to fight the wind itself. Kariya, having brutally murdered Ichinose who had survived Kenpachi, had then revealed his Doll's true power. It could form and control lightning. For a couple seconds, he could keep up, until the lightning blasted him in the back.
"Oh my, are you done?" Kariya scoffed.
"Shut up!" Ichigo spat, pushing himself up and switching back to Shikai. "I'm not done. Just getting started."
He grinned, gripping the sword by the cloth and beginning to spin it. Kariya snorted and Held the sword out, firing another bolt of lightning. Ichigo released the sword, launching it skyward and darting forward. Sure enough, the lightning arced upward, hitting the sword and firing out of the tip, blasting the ground behind Kariya. He flew forward and Ichigo smashed his fist into Kariya, then put two fingers against his forehead.
"Sai!" Ichigo shouted and Kariya's arms jerked backward in response.
Kariya staggered away and Ichigo held his right hand out.
"Bones of beasts scattered far and wide," Ichigo began, working off memory. "Stable crimson crystals. Steel wheels. Wind in action, and the sky at rest. The sound of flying arrows. Hado Sixty Three, Raikoho!"
A ball of lightning formed in his hand then fired outward, blasting Kariya backward and badly burning him. Kariya stood, sprinting forward and slashing at Ichigo but he spun past the blade and smashed his elbow into Kariya's face, making him stumble away. Ichigo caught him by the back of the shirt and yanked him back, driving his knee into Kariya's back. Kariya spun, slashing at Ichigo who ducked under it. Ichigo smashed his fists into Kariya's torso several times then grabbed his arm and hurled Kariya. As Kariya flew, Ichigo sprinted to hiss word grabbing it in time to throw it into the air. A blot of lightning arced up to it then blasted the ground and Ichigo caught the cloth attached to the end of his sword's grip, spinning it then spinning, the blade whipping around at Kariya. Kariya blocked it just before ducking as Ichigo passed under him, yanking on the cloth. The sword twisted and flew back to Ichigo, tip carving a shallow gash in Kariya's right shin as it did. Kariya swore and fired a blot of lightning at Ichigo. As he did, the blade spun around Ichigo, flying at Kariya as the bolt of lightning hit it. Kariya dove sideways from the blade as the lightning blasted the ground below it. Ichigo caught the cloth, still spinning and the blade whipped sideways, tearing a gash in Kariya's back. He staggered away and began to absorb Reishi but after a moment, the Reishi that had almost reached him returned to its place and there it remained.
"That bitch!" Kariya spat. "That's why she stabbed me! It was a time-delayed poison! Fine, allow me to show you the power of the Jokai Crest, don't worry, detonating a single one will have no effect on the others."
He raised his sword, a bolt of lightning launching out and arcing toward the Seireitei. Just as it neared it, however, a cloud of what looked like Sakura Blossom petals formed in front of it, blocking it. Then, they flew over, crashing into Kariya and smashing him into the ground before clearing as he slashed at them.
"Byakuya," Ichigo sighed.
"Damn you," Kariya growled.
"It looks like I came just in time," Yoruichi spoke up, appearing to Ichigo's opposite side from Byakuya.
"Yoruichi!" Ichigo smiled turning toward her.
"Yes," Yoruichi nodded. "Sorry it took me so long to get here. Anyway, right now Ukitake and the other Soul Reapers are busy sealing all of the Crests in the Seireitei. However, it's going to take a while to finish it. So, the question now is will they be detonated before we have time to seal them?"
"Or will I defeat him before he sets them off?" Ichigo smirked raising his sword again and switching back to Bankai. "I get it."
"In either case, it'll be a race against time for us," Yoruichi stated. "Kariya, what are you planning to do?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Kariya snorted. "I'm going to kill all of you. Every last one!"
He fired a bolt of lightning at Ichigo and it sped up, attracted by his sword. Before it could hit, Byakuya's Bankai blocked it and Ichigo leapt over it.
"Up here!" Ichigo shouted as he fell toward Kariya.
Kariya grinned, spinning and firing a bolt at Ichigo. The bolt hit hard, launching Ichigo skyward before he rolled over and fell at him again, this time firing a Getsuga Tensho. Kariya blocked it with a lightning bolt before blocking Ichigo's sword. The force of the collision shattered the ground at their feet. They began to flash around, the ground shattering and massive chunks of rubble raising up as they did. Finally they stopped, both breathing hard as they stood on opposite pieces of displaced rubble.
"Is that it?" Ichigo grinned.
"Shut up boy!" Kariya snapped before he glowed green for a moment then red.
Then, he appeared in front of Ichigo and blasted him at point blank range with a lightning bolt. When the smoke cleared, Ichigo was standing in the distance, a massive chasm stretching between them then splitting at Ichigo where his sword had blocked the blast.
"You bastard," Ichigo growled. "You're using the Jokai's power. Doesn't matter though, you're finished."
"That sounds like an empty threat," Kariya smirked. "Especially from someone as beaten down as you."
He appeared behind Ichigo and kicked him, sending him crashing into the base of a chunk of rubble that was sticking up in the air. He groaned, trying to push himself up without success.
"Too weak," Kariya laughed. "Let's see how you handle this."
He fired a massive bolt of lightning at Ichigo but just before it reached him, it curved upward and into a Zanpakuto in the top of the piece of rubble.
"That's...Ichinose's," Ichigo realized.
When the lightning was finally finished, the sword fell away as dust and the rubble crumbled. Ichigo stood, taking a breath before gathering what strength he had left for one final strike. Red Spirit Energy began to fly off of Kariya as the two charged. The moment their blades met, the ground below them shattered.
"The power of the Jokai is backed by the strength of all of the Bounts, can you withstand it Ichigo Kurosaki?" Kariya growled.
"What did you ever do to help the Bounts?" Ichigo spat. "You used them and left them to die and planned to kill them in the end anyway!"
"You will never understand!" Kariya shouted as the crest began to glow white.
He shoved Ichigo back, Ichigo landing almost fifty feet away and flying forward again. They both slashed at each other as he passed. Then, they stopped. After a moment, Ichigo fell to one knee, blood falling to the ground below him. Kariya smiled and looked up at the sky, the Spirit Energy fading from around him.
"I guess it's all over with now," Kariya smirked as he turned around to face Ichigo. "I am a little disappointed. I guess I won't get to see whether or not you walk down the same path that I have. Ichigo...I-"
He exploded into a cloud of dust before he could finish and Ichigo sighed. It was over.
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