Chapter 19: Thunderbolts and Lightning

Baiten had once heard that everyone gets one big miracle in their life granted to them by an unknown power (perhaps what humans referred to as 'God'). If that were true, Shindou's arrival was truly God's gift to Baiten; there was no other explanation for the amount of luck contained with this single incident. Baiten still bled from the wounds his attackers had inflicted on him minutes earlier, and now, as he crouched in the desolate alleyway, pain surged through his body; adrenaline must have kept him moving up until this point, but now tendrils of suffering coursed through Baiten's body.

"Two against one hardly seems fair, especially considering that your target was in such lousy shape," Shindou taunted the attackers, his voice full of confidence and resonating a deep-seated power. "But don't worry, even with my friend out of commission for the time being, I'm more than enough to defeat you two. I'll give you one chance: turn yourselves in peacefully and I can promise that you will be a given a fair trial."

"Bullshit," the yellow-eyed fighter spat, "we'll drop our weapons and then you'll slice our heads off. I'm not so stupid as to not know how murderers are treated in Soul Society." As he spoke, he and his tall accomplice pushed their blades with increased strength against Shindou's katana. Yet, for all their effort, Shindou held firm, continuing to block their blades and skidding back only a few inches as he managed, for the most part, to hold his ground.

"Don't say I never gave you the option to avoid immediate suffering," Shindou noted, his eyes lighting up as he released his shikai. "Shingai, Denkou-deki!" Electricity began to surge through Shindou's weapon, at first only a small chain of sparks but soon transforming into a mighty current. Caught off guard, Shindou's foes had no time to pull their blades back as electricity shot through their bodies. The yellow-eyed member dropped onto his back, but the tall member stumbled backwards, injured, but still standing.

"I guess things are fair now," the tall warrior said, his voice malicious. "Let's fight like men."

"Ha, something like that can't take me down for long!" A voice cried and, suddenly, the yellow-eyed member was rushing at Shindou, the tall member beside him. Shindou jumped back, causing their strikes to fall short before slamming Denkou-deki into the ground and, grabbing the yellow-eyed fighter's collar with his left and the tall warrior's collar with his right, slammed their heads together before pulling his sword out of the ground and ramming it through the tall member's sword hand, causing this combatant to drop his zanpakuto and cry out in pain.

Those two must be special to be able to stand, let alone survive, after direct contact from my zanpakuto release, Shindou thought. In general, only Shinigami with reiatsu equal to or above fifth-seat level are able to do that; these two must be more powerful than they seem. As these thoughts crossed through Shindou's mind, he ripped his sword from his enemy's hand and raised it to block a clumsy strike from the yellow-eyed warrior; this time, after the blades connected, Shindou's opponent jerked around for several seconds before collapsing in a heap on the ground. Even if he's strong, no one is invincible; that should put him out, at least for awhile.

"You and your damn tricks!" The tall member roared, standing his ground. "I may not be smartest member of our Organization, but I still know how to analyze enemy fighting styles." It will be very annoying to fight him without being able to block, the tall member thought. When you consider my size, dodging is much more difficult and will leave me more open to his attacks. What to do...?

"Thanks Shindou," Baiten said, standing; he had been silent before, in awe of the 7th Squad Shinigami's prowess with a blade and his skill at defeating multiple opponents. Perhaps after all this is over I can ask Shindou to help train me, Baiten thought. Jaice wouldn't be happy...but then again I've got to make my own decisions if I want to become stronger.

"Thank me after I've dealt with him," Shindou replied, noting his vertically inclined adversary. The 4th Seat narrowed his eyes as he watched his enemy entering a ready stance, his sword at a forty-five degree angle with the ground, the weapon pointing away from his body. Shindou, having trained in blades almost all his life, took a counter defensive stance with his sword held at a forty-five degree angle to the ground but resting in front of his body, only a few inches from touching his robes at the closest points. It seemed to Baiten as if the two had reached an impasse: the masked man did not attack because he still feared Shindou's skills while Shindou knew little of the masked man's fighting style and realized he had already used up some of his standard tricks.

One minute passed...then two...then five...then ten, and yet still neither of the combatants had done more than shift his stance slightly. The dust rose is curls, kicked up by the light wind, adding a gritty quality to the air of the oncoming conflict. The soft sound of birdsong could be heard from somewhere nearby, perhaps less than a hundred feet off and then, without warning, the silence was slaughtered. Like an arrow from a composite bow the masked man lunged at Shindou, sword aiming for his enemy's chest. Shindou raised his own weapon to guard while subsequently sidestepping to ensure the blow missed. The masked warrior pulled his sword back at the last second, avoiding Shindou's strong block which, instead of connecting with a solid object, cut only the air and went wide. A startled expression crossed Shindou's face as he attempted to turn his sword and bring it back to deflect the second blow, but his first stroke had too much inertia and he could only grunt as the disguised fighter rent a gash in his chest, an upward stroke going from directly below his right rib and continuing to his left shoulder.

Shindou pulled back in time to dodge a third blow, a horizontal assault that would have claimed his head had he not moved. This time, it was his opponent who was confused, as he tried to bring his sword back for another blow only to see it buried in the alley wall. Shindou smiled and jumped in the air, extending his right leg to kick his foe directly in the jaw. Blood and broken teeth flew from beneath the mask as a crack appeared on the disguise's surface.

"Shit," the masked assailant cursed as he clutched vainly at his mask with both hands, attempting to hold it together. If they see my face I'm screwed.

Shindou took advantage of his foe's awkward positioning and lack of a weapon to slash at his enemy's stomach. The fighter stepped back as the attack was about to land, but Shindou was still able to hew a shallow gash near his enemy's solar plexus.

"You're finished, convict," Shindou declared as he rushed beside his foe, standing at a right angle to his foe's left side. "You have no weapon and you can't hope to defeat me without showing your face. Either you turn yourself in now or I kill you." To show his intentions, Shindou raised Denkou-deki to the man's neck. Electricity still crackled around the blade, loose sparks singeing the man's skin now and then.

"Fine then, I've no choice," the man conceded, still holding onto his broken mask. "I'll come quietly."

"Good then," Shindou said, a smile of satisfaction on his face. "Way of Binding...

"Shindou, no!" Baiten yelled as his ally began the kidou, but it was already too late. Shindou fell to the ground, his legs swept out from under him by the yellow-eyed man who had somehow regained consciousness in the past several seconds. Baiten watched as the tall man shifted his hands so that his left could sufficiently support the mask while he gripped his zanpakuto's handle with his right and pushed off the wall with his right foot, freeing the weapon.

He'll be killed! Baiten thought as he tried to gather the energy to rise. I need to do something!

Shindou, however, had handled the situation. As he fell, the 7th Squad member drove Denkou-deki into the ground to prop himself up. Using his sword as a fulcrum, Shindou spun, once again kicking the tall man and sending him spiraling downward. The yellow-eyed man, however, was readying his zanpakuto for an attack on Shindou's exposed back but before he could swing the weapon he felt something slam into his lower back. He turned to see Baiten, on his knees, right hand extended with smoke coming from the finger tips.

"You really shouldn't count me out, Shindou," Baiten said, a sense of difficulty in his voice. "I may be badly injured, but I can still help you win this."

"Bastard," the yellow-eyed man said as he looked at Baiten, forcing himself to stand despite the concentrated reiatsu that had just collided with his body. "Come, let's withdraw for now, we're in no condition to continue this. The Master will only get angrier if another one of us dies."

"Fuck you," the tall fighter said as he tried to push himself up. "We can kill them, I know it!"

"Do you honestly want to risk releasing our zanpakutos?" The former inquired. "That's more information we risk giving away."

"Who the hell cares? We've been under wraps!" The latter answered, annoyance hanging on ever syllable.

"That doesn't make tracking us impossible, only difficult," the first answered, yellow-eyes narrowing beneath the mask. "Besides, I'm in charge. Follow my orders or you will be punished later."

"Go running home if you're scared," the second said. "I'll finish these two off and take the glory myself."

"It's not cowardice, merely tactics. It will be hard to explain to the Master why you made such a choice and, in the long run, it will only make things harder. Before I go, you may want this," the yellow- eyed member tossed a new mask to his colleague who put it on rapidly enough to as to only reveal one of his blue eyes. "Always carry a spare." And with that, the yellow-eyed warrior vanished in a puff of smoke.

Shunpo? No, couldn't be, he would've used that in our fight, Shindou thought. It must have been some sort of teleportation-based kidou. Regardless, I'd better finish this guy off or, better yet, weaken him enough so that we can ask him a few questions.

"My friend may have been a cop-out, but I'm going one-hundred percent from here on," the tall fighter laughed, somehow managing to stand; judging by the wisps of smoke exiting his wounds, Shindou and Baiten assumed he had been healing himself during the prior conversation. He readied himself, pointing the tip of his zanpakuto at the ground behind him as he held the weapon down at his side. "Scorch, Feusi!" As the declaration ended, the masked man's katana shifted forms: the weapon changed into a single edged, curved sword. Four holes appeared along the blade's length: three were circles but the opening closest to the hilt resembled a crude flame. Heat seemed to radiate from the weapon as small sparks began a somber dance around the tsuba.

"I'm glad I got an opponent with an element-based zanpakuto," the masked warrior said, his voice indicating that behind his guise he may have been grinning. "You're thunder, and I'm fire. Both our weapons use sparks and release energy in the form of heat. It's just like us, we're not so different." He paused, seeing the expression of disgust on Shindou's face, before continuing. "We both want to defeat the man in front of us because we both have a mission we hope to achieve. The purpose of that mission is not what matters, it's how we get there that counts."

"I disagree," Shindou said. "The end results are what truly counts, regardless of the means used to reach them. You're a murderer and I'm a representative of order and justice. Yes, our means our the same, but our ends our totally different. I do not know exactly who you are or what you've been planning, but at least part of it is going to end now."

"In any case, only one of us is going to walk out of here alive," the rogue stated bluntly, running his finger along the length of his sword. "And by the way, once you're dead, your little friend is next."

"Since you plan to kill me, it's only fair that I fight alongside my companion," Baiten said, struggling to stand.

"No! Don't interfere," Shindou exclaimed gruffly, swinging his right arm behind him with his hand live and splayed outwards. His eyes narrowed as he continued: "This is my fight. If I fall, I leave it to you to finish this bastard off." This shouldn't have taken this long, Shindou cursed in his mind. I should have brought him down long before it ever had to come to this. Either I'm getting sloppy or these men are not your average Shinigami.

Shindou advanced cautiously towards his enemy, shifting his sword nervously between his two hands, unsure what to expect from his rival's zanpakuto. Shindou did not have long to wait, however, as his foe slammed his blade point-first into the ground.

"Scorch!" The disguised fighter declared before Shindou came within striking distance. The 7th Squad Shinigami was barely able to react as a jet of flame erupted from below his feet, lighting his clothes on fire and burning his skin. Shindou jumped back so as not to stay too long in the blaze, but was forced to drop to the ground and roll to stifle the flames.

Shindou soon realized that rolling was to his advantage, as he continued to narrowly avoid the tongues of fire licking at his body. Every second a new hole seemed to erupt from the earth and belch out a gout of heat or several small fireballs. Seeing his opponent's unorthodox, yet effective, dodging tactics, the masked warrior rushed forward, fire dancing around his shimmering sword as he charged at the prostrate form of Shindou. As the tall man swung his weapon at his grounded foe, Shindou swept his feet across the man's legs and pulled him down to his own lower level, an ironic mimic of the yellow-eyed warrior's earlier assault on Shindou.

Surprised by the attack, the man was unable to stop Shindou from standing, reversing the battle's perspective. Shindou stepped back to ensure his opponent did not attempt the same offensive maneuver he had just utilized while also giving himself a moment to assess the situation. That was Shindou's fatal flaw.

As Shindou stood, raising his weapon to strike the killing blow, a jet of fire erupted from beside him, catching his hair on fire and causing him immense pain. Shindou stumbled backwards, Baiten's worried cries echoing in his ears, as he slapped wildly at his scalp in an attempt to smother the flames.

Baiten, who had watched the event unfold, was astonished by the ingenuity of this opponent. Earlier in the battle, the masked combatant had slashed at Shindou, only to miss and have his katana become embedded in the alley's wall. Now, that enemy had used the same hole as a point through which his fire could escape. Shindou had conveniently stepped backwards to stand beside this opening while his opponent had subtly stuck the point of his weapon into the paving stones beneath their feet. Now, Baiten looked on in horror as Shindou's head was ablaze. Already, he saw skin blackening and heard Shindou's screaming in agony.

I've got to save him!

No, this is his fight, he doesn't want me to interfere!

If I don't do something, he's going to die!

He told you not to get involved until that happens!

I can't just watch him die so horribly!

What's worse: death in battle or living with the knowledge that you couldn't save yourself?

These two conflict voices echoed in Baiten's head as he watched the entire scene seem to slow down. Shindou continued to attempt to beat out the flames, sword still in hand, while his enemy slowly pushed himself to his feet and rushed at the 4th Seat, flaming shikai striking towards Shindou's throat.

"I'm shocked that someone so strong would die so easily!" The tall warrior laughed, his clown mask looking evermore wicked with the flames leaping about his body and the smaller flares still smoldering in the holes his previous onslaught had created. He truly appeared like a demon, his entire form accentuated by the vivid light of hideous tongues of fire, the shimmering orange, vibrant crimson, and igneous yellow waltzing about his blade and forming a dire path around his feet as he advanced on his adversary.

"Burn in hell, you bastard!" Shindou growled, gripping Denkou-deki tightly stabbing forward. In the same instant, the two blades rushed passed one another and through the respective chests of the two fighters. Baiten watched the horrific scene as the tall Shinigami shuddered and spasmed wildly as electricity coursed through his nerves while Shindou screamed as fire entered the hole in his chest. Sheathing his own weapon, Baiten rushed forward and grabbed Shindou's arm, pulling him back and off his enemy's sword. Shindou's sword grip was vice-like, and thus Baiten's action caused Denkou-deki to exit the chest of Shindou's nemesis.

Shindou's opponent crumbled as Baiten pulled his friend away from the flaming strike. Seeing the fire on his comrade's chest, Baiten removed the outer layers of his kimono and threw them onto the fire, acting as a deterrent and halting the flames.

It was at this point Baiten perceived the extent of Shindou's wounds: most of his hair had been burnt off and a good deal of the skin on his face was blackened. Baiten assumed he would see similar signs if he removed Shindou's clothing, but thought against this, at least for the moment, for fear of the fire gaining new fuel in the presence of oxygen.

A deep stead rage and hatred flowed through Baiten's veins, a malice welling up in his heart that he had never felt before. He had suffered terrible wounds in his own fight, but nothing to the extent of what Shindou had just experienced. He turned towards the downed form of the enemy and walked over to his body, noticing that the chest rose and fell sporadically.

"You're a damn lucky one that Shindou's attack didn't fry all your organs, but I'm sure a blade through the skull will end anything you've got left." Baiten muttered.

"Then...kill...me...already...asshole," the fallen foe mocked, his voice weak and hoarse. "But...first...worry...about...him..." though the defeated man was not laughing, his chest shook awkwardly denoting that he would guffaw had he been in better shape. Baiten cursed as he noticed the man's sword in the ground and, upon turning, saw another horrific site.

Shindou's body was surrounded by a half-sphere of flames that danced around his body and, before Baiten could react effectively, the fire raced towards Shindou's body, engulfing it in a dire inferno. Baiten abandoned his opponent and charged towards Shindou, jumping through the fire, tackling his friend's body to push it out of the blaze. Baiten's clothes now smoldered, but a quick few seconds of rolling and the fire had died down, allowing him to stifle the flames on Shindou's body with the second layer of his kimono, leaving his bare chest exposed.

After ensuring that his friend was free of fire, Baiten turned his attention back towards his enemy to see that he had somehow managed to stand and was running out of the alley. Baiten chased after him, turning right, following the trail of the murderous assailant.

"Don't bother with me!" The man called back to Baiten. "You've got a tough choice to make: chase me down and kill me or save your friend's life!"

As much as I want to kill that pyschopath, he's right, Baiten noted, turning around grudgingly. The nearest medical center is in the opposite direction, and every second I waste sends Shindou closer to death. Also, I'm not even sure if I can defeat this guy: I'm still not sure how he was able to take so much punishment and still run like that.

Baiten returned to the alleyway and hefted Shindou onto his shoulders; his ward was heavy, but Baiten forced himself to go on, moving as quickly as he could towards the 4th Squad's sector. Please Shindou, hold on for just a little longer, Baiten thought. If you die, your sacrifice surely was in vain.

HES: And so, another chapter comes to a close! Sorry that I didn't update as early as I originally planned (or would've liked) but a few things came up. I will do my best to update quickly this week! This chapter went through quite a few changes in my head as I was planning and writing it. Please review, I highly value all reader input!

P.S. I know I made the villain quite powerful and resilient, but just bear with me, all will be explained and justified in the coming chapters (plus, if he was weak, there wouldn't be much true conflict, would there?).