Chapter 26 – Good friends are those who try to kill each other (Now Haruka's first eye, starting immediately after they emerge from the portal to the real world)

A gate appeared in the sky of Tokyo and Haruka, Hikari, Hitsugaya, Haodong, Naomi and Matsumoto jumped out. They landed on top of a tall department store, on the roof. No one was around here, but below people crowded the streets like little ants scurrying around. Cars filled the roads moving slowly due to the packed traffic. The air smelt like car fumes, but the city looks beautiful with its many sky scrapers and breath-taking scenery surrounding it.

'Ah Tokyo, it's been so long. We should go shopping,' exclaimed Matsumoto

'We're here for a purpose, not shopping, focus Matsumoto,' said Toshiro sternly.

'Aww, you're no fun.'

Toshiro ignored her and looked over at Haruka, 'Do you have any ideas as to the eye's location?'

'Er… Well… Not, really,' said Haruka nervously. Toshiro frowned at her in annoyance.

'Don't worry Rika, you'll get it eventually. I suggest we should split up into two groups and look around for possible locations.'

'Sounds good Kari,' agreed Haodong.

'Me, Haodong and Rika will go as one group then,' she pointed at the other three, 'and you three as another.'

'Sure,' said Toshiro.

'We'll look near the hills then and you three look around in the city, meet back here in three hours,' commanded Hikari. Her group flash stepped away.

'Let's go captain,' said Matsumoto. The rest flash stepped off as well.

A second later they arrived on the streets.

'Yay, shopping time,' cheered Matsumoto happily.

'For the last time we have a mission to do. And we are going to do it.'

'Only kidding captain.' Behind Matsumoto, Naomi giggled.

'Grrr… let's go already,' growled Toshiro walking off on his own.

'Hey wait up captain.' Matsumoto ran after him, Naomi followed.

For the next two hours the three of them roamed the overcrowded streets of Toyko in search of anything suspicious, but found nothing of interest. They arrived back on the roof top but the Haruka and the other two wasn't there. The sun has set and it was dark.

'Hmm… wonder where they are,' asked Naomi, 'usually when Hikari sets a time she always abides by it. So this is rather strange.'

Unexpectedly a huge explosion lit up the sky. Toshiro automatically looked over the where it originated from.

'What the,' exclaimed Toshiro looking over at a mountain about a kilometre away. Another explosion occurred from the exact same spot on the mountain.

'That spiritual pressure, I think it's Haodong's,' said Naomi.

'Let's go,' ordered Toshiro. They set off immediately for the mountain.

--

Some time earlier

'Sense anything?' asked Hikari. They were walking around a small hill with a small forest on top.

'Not a thing,' sighed Haruka.

'Don't worry we'll get it eventually.' They rambled around the countryside for about an hour or so before something happened.

They were at the foot of a mountain and suddenly Haruka started sensing something, 'Wait, I think we should go up this mountain,' said Haruka stopping abruptedly at the bottom of a long flight of stairs going up the mountain.

'That was random,' said Haodong.

'Indeed, so let's go,' said Hikari and she started climbing the stairs first.

'Meh.' Haruka and Haodong went up as well.

Half an hour later they had reached a platform of some sort. A stone gateway stood in front of them as they reached the last step. The gate had a large label on it, but if was written in some ancient language that no one can understand.

A stone wall stood thirty metres in front of them with a large hole in the middle which resembled a cave, but the cave entrance was a perfect rectangular shape and looked very unnatural.

'In there,' she said pointing at the cave. They walked to the entrance and Hikari stopped to observe it.

'That cave looks like it only has been dug out recently, very new. You can tell by the fact that the rocks here have had no damage done to them,' said Hikari after studying the entrance. Suddenly she sensed a presence of spiritual pressure behind her and immediately turned round drawing her sword.

'What's wrong?' asked Haruka and Haodong.

'Him,' said Hikari nodding to a person who had appeared out of no where in the middle of the platform.

'You have a good eye little girl. This cave is newly dug, by hollows I might add. Usaitar ordered us here to try and find an eye of some sort. Either that or wait for you lot to turn up. So me and my team of hollows decided to try and find this eye thing, who knows what this iss about. Oops guess I said too much already, oh well,' said the person who came into view. It was an arrancar, he was wearing a great white overcoat that reached down to his foot normal arrancar trousers, blue eyes and short blonde hair, sword on his waist.

'Who are you?' asked Hikari forcefully.

'Me? My name is of no importance to you. But I will tell you that I am known as the Shu Zi, the arrancars under the Wu Jian. I am number seventy-two,' he said as he rolled up his sleeves to reveal a number seventy-two tattooed on his arm.

'That voice, it sounds so familiar. I wonder could it be?' thought Haodong quietly studying the arrancar. 'No, that's ridiculous, what am I thinking, it can't possibly be… but maybe…'

The arrancar had started speaking again, 'I'm afraid I cannot let you three pass through the tunnel. My team has worked ever so hard to get to the end, I'm not just going to let some soul reapers come by and ruin their work.'

'Who do you think you are,' said Hikari drawing her sword. Haruka also drew hers and both readied themselves for a fight, when Haodong unexpectedly put a hand in front of them.

'Wait, you two go on ahead, let me handle this one,' he said in a serious voice.

'But, will you be alright,' asked Hikari.

'No need to worry I'll be fine. Trust me Kari.'

Hikari nodded and resheathed her sword, 'Don't you dare die on my Haodong.' Haodong smiled at her. Haruka and Hikari both ran off down the cave.

'You're not getting away that easily,' shouted the arrancar as he used sonido and appeared a second later at the cave entrance and slashed down at Haodong, who quickly pulled out his sword and blocked. The arrancar flipped back up into the air and fired a cero. Haodong jumped up, dodged it and attacked slashing and hacking repeatedly forcing the arrancar to be on the defense and moving back away from the cave. The two swords clashed violently until there was a deadlock. They both pushed away from each other and landed a few metres away from each other.

'You fight pretty well there,' said the arrancar though it was in an insulting tone.

'I don't need your compliments,' said Haodong calmly. He thought, 'that fighting style, it's so familiar, where have I seen it before?'

'Day dreaming at a time like this? Well, I'm not bothered, after all, this is your funeral,' said the arrancar and charged forwards.

'I don't think so,' replied Haodong. He too charged and their weapons clashed again. Haodong pushed the arrancar back and jumped after him letting off a barrage of slashes which were al successively blocked by the arrancar. Haodong jumped up and flipped over the arrancar landing behind it, as soon as he landed he swung around his sword aiming to slice the arrancar in half. The arrancar quickly turned his sword and body around and blocked the attack. Haodong twisted around and tried again for the other side which again was blocked. He changed his aim again and slashed upwards then downwards, left, sideways and did a sweeping movement to try and catch the arrancar's feet, all in quick succession. The arrancar had to jump back to evade the final attack.

Haodong saw his chance, 'hado number four, pale lightning,' he shouted as he pointed two fingers at the arrancar and shot a white stream of lightning at him. The arrancar didn't expect it and was instantly pierced through the shoulder. Haodong flash stepped next to it and drove the arrancar into a war with his left hand whilst lifting the sword close to the arrancar's throat with his right hand.

'You're not that tough after all are you?' sneered Haodong.

The arrancar let out a crazy laugh, 'you make me laugh so much mate, but will you really kill me?' The arrancar reached for the edge of his mask and took it off! 'Surprise,' he said as he revealed his true face, it was Matthew Richardson, former 20th seat of squad two.

'No wait, it can't be,' denied Haodong as he let go of the arrancar and backed away. 'But, but, Richo? It can't be, you're an arrancar, there's just no way. No.'

'Oh but there is, you see when I died at the hands of that other arrancar I was instantly turned into a hollow. Lucky for me Usaitar discovered me instantly and turned me into an arrancar, now thanks to him I can get my revenge. When I was killed you never even tried to save me, and you call yourself a friend, but that doesn't matter, I'm going to kill you here and now, just to see how you like being stabbed.'

'What do you mean I didn't try and save you? You got stabbed straight through the chest there was nothing I could do.'

'Save your excuses for when you're dead.'

'Bastard. You know, I've always wanted to kill you, you did annoy me a lot with that shit nickname you gave me.'

Matthew chuckled. 'Ah yes, that was funny.'

'Hmph, when we were friends you never were really strong.'

'But now that I'm arrancar, I've gained much strength, you will die. I will skewer you and prove now that you are weaker.'

'Ha, don't make me laugh, you couldn't beat me in a million years,' boasted Haodong

'Your strength doesn't come anywhere near mine.'

'Oh so all those fights we've had before, all those wins for me was just a fluke?'

'Tch, I was just going easy on you and you took me seriously? You're just pathetic lowlife.'

'Whatever, let's just get this over with, and I'll prove once more that I'm far more superior, you pink flamingo.'

'Bring it you imbecile and cut the crap insults.'

Haodong grabbed his sword with two hands in a ready position, 'Fine you hungry hippo.' He gripped his sword harder, 'Take Flight, Hitori.'

'That old trick again? Ha,' laughed Matthew. He directed his sword at his own chest and slowly stabbed inwards. 'Slither, Negro Serpiente.' His arrancar overcoat completely changed colour, into a black and grey snake scaled pattern. A crossbow slowly manifested on his left arm.

Haodong pointed his sword at Matthew and the fiery bird swooped down and aimed for Matthew. Matthew used sonido to evade the bird and appeared in the sky. He aimed the crossbow down and shot a volley of arrows. Haodong jumped back and waved his hand upwards, the bird followed his hand and climbed swiftly. Matthew turned around and shouted, 'cero,' with his palm directed at the bird. A large beam of red light shot straight through the bird splitting it in half. Haodong flash stepped up and appeared behind Matthew and slashed targeting Matthew's neck.

'You're too predictable,' smirked Matthew. He turned around with fast reflexes and grabbed Haodong's hand immobilizing him. He reached around with his left hand and pointed the crossbow at point blank range at Haodong. 'Now you die.' He fired another volley blowing up in Haodong's face and threw him onto the floor.

Haodong was completely covered with blood, but he was still conscious. He stabbed his sword into the ground and slowly pulled himself up coughing blood everywhere.

'Is that all you have?' he panted standing up.

'You're in no condition to continue. You had your chance to kill me at the start and you didn't do it.'

'Ha, this isn't enough to kill me.'

'Go to hell,' shouted Matthew and he ran at an amazing speed pointing his sword at Haodong.

'Ha, never thought I'd use it here, but I guess it's time to pull a new trick.' Haodong raised his blade up and gathered the fiery bird back into the blade, 'Bankai.' A fiery armour of some sort flowed out of the sword and completely swallowed him. Fiery wings sprouted from his back and his sword became a beam of fire. The fiery armour resembled that of a phoenix. 'Fenikkusu gusoku.' As Matthew attacked Haodong parried it and quickly counter-attacked and slashed Matthew in the chest. Blood splattered noisy onto the floor. Haodong turned swiftly around and kicked Matthew in the face sending him flying back into the wall.

'Who'd knew the first person I'd have to use my bankai against is my old friend,' said Haodong mockingly walking towards the fallen Matthew.

'Hmph, even if it is a bankai, it's still not enough to beat me,' panted Matthew slowly getting to his feet, a trickle of blood came out of his mouth.

'You can still stand? Well done.'

'Idiot, don't patronize me. You're not the only one with tricks up their sleeves. Watch.' He waved his hand upwards and suddenly snakes shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Haodong immobilizing him. Haodong tried desperately to free himself. 'Don't even bother, even with a bankai you could never break out of this. These snakes are immune to everything except extremely high spiritual pressure that only a captain would possess. But unluckily you're not a captain. This technique was taught to me by Usaitar, but I can only use it once. You should be honored I chose you to use it on. Do you see the difference between us now? It's strength.' He pulled his sword back, 'and you just don't have enough.' Matthew's sword glowed blue and he lunged striking through the fiery armour and piercing Haodong's chest.

Meanwhile in the cave Hikari just felt a sudden drop in Haodong's spiritual energy, 'Rika, I'm going back, something just happened and I don't like what I feel. Can you do this alone?'

'Sure, no problem, you just take care of that boy you like,' Haruka carried on walking through the cave.

'Thanks, I will be back,' Hikari turned and ran back through where she came.

Back to the fight, Haodong coughed and blood poured out from his mouth just as he lost consciousness.

'Poor Haodong's about to die,' laughed Matthew as Haodong's bankai disappeared. He pulled the sword out and kicked Haodong. Haodong slammed against the ground and went flying across it. Matthew walked slowly and calmly towards him with his sword on his shoulder. 'Looks at you now, you're a bloody mess, and to think you said you could beat me.' He stopped near Haodong's feet and directed his blade and Haodong's neck. 'As they say in Italian, arreverderci,' he thrusted his sword downwards to end Haodong's life.

Note: why italian at the end? Don't ask me cus I don't know

Next chp up next week, schools finished and I'm FREE!!