Sorry for not having been around so much. I've been messing with real life, doing other crap, writing other stuff, milling over future Bleach arcs in this fanfic, and etc., etc.
FYI, I started a pretty cool Bleach RPG that uses the main storyline of this ongoing fanfic arc, which means you'll be able to encounter Kaworu and such, not that you'd want to…with some new additions that I may or may not include in the fanfic (Actually, one of the new characters I included in this chapter was conceived by me in that RPG first).
Check it out in my Author Profile, it's linked there, so any Bleach fans who like to roleplay or Bleach fans of this fanfiction in general, stop by.
Let's get this started!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters, settings, etc... Did you really need me to tell you that?
"I see…I have no choice…I was hoping to keep this a secret until I met father again…but I haven't a choice. It's a matter of survival now… Releasing final limit, INAZUMA!"
Kaworu ripped his Captain's robes aside, his body pulsating and the tattoos snaking up his arm seemingly swirling like serpents themselves as he held his palm in front of his chest. A small circular tattoo lay directly above his heart now, golden and glowing and spinning intricately like the gears of a grand clock around other spirals and circles tattooed on Kaworu's chest.
Shunsui stared down in awe, halting his preparation as he watched the madness below.
"Ye gods…so this is the power of the Dragon Inazuma…"
He stared at the spiraling dragon imprinted on Kaworu's chest, almost mesmerized as it glowed with power and might along its bearer.
The coiling dragon in the center of Kaworu's chest seemed to tighten, and he could swear it opened a single golden eye to stare directly at Shunsui. For the first time in a long time, Captain Shunsui Kyōraku could see death standing directly before him and it terrified him to levels he hadn't assumed he possessed.
Kaworu had his head down, and spoke in a booming crescendo in a voice that was his but seemed…different.
"The battle is over. Leave at once, Shunsui Kyōraku."
Shunsui smirked to himself despite the show of Kaworu's unbelievable power, shaking his head.
"Are you kidding me? You know what the answer to that is…Don't get full of yourself just yet, youngster…It's not over until I say it is!"
Shunsui grit his teeth, concentrating hard until the veins were bulging in his delicate forehead, his hands outstretching to point down towards Kaworu.
Miniature whirlwinds seem to form around his arms as they pointed down, spinning with a terrible ferocity as Shunsui seemingly concentrated the power of the wind itself into two precise blade-shaped whirlwinds around his arms aimed at Kaworu below.
"Fūton Renkūdan, Katen Kyōkot-"
"You don't understand…"
Kaworu appeared directly behind Shunsui with his glowing wings and power glimmering, grabbing the Captain firmly with both arms and interrupting Shunsui's movements.
"…I said, the battle is over…End this, Inazuma…"
Shunsui suddenly felt himself overwhelmed with Kaworu's spiritual power, feeling it washing down on him in a wave of cold chilliness.
Im…poss…ughh…oh…
After it came a debilitating numbness and stinging pain, as Kaworu sent a massive current of lightning straight through Shunsui Kyōraku's body.
Shunsui gasped, and found his gasp to be a small cloud of smoke.
Charred…flesh…I…that smell…recognizable…familiar…
He found himself floating down dreamily, at a slow almost loving pace, floating through the air as sounds and vision grew distorted.
Kaworu was nothing more than a small speck above as Shunsui finally landed, coughing up smoke and blood and trying not to black out.
Nanao…oh…oh…Nanao…Ukitake…Old Man Shigekuni…I…
Suddenly, he could hear Kaworu's booming voice above him, though in Shunsui's distorted senses it sounded like a demonic voice in his own head.
"END THIS, INAZUMA. LET THE TRUE PAIN BEGIN."
Captain Kyōraku felt the pain arcing all around his body, and couldn't even let out a scream. He only gasped and felt his body seize up in agony.
That burn…The burning…it was horrendous…it…is…horrendous…darkness…and that burn!
That burning...in every fiber and bone of my body...
"And…I don't think I'll ever forget that burn…Nanao…no…no you need to flee, immediately."
"Captain! Captain, are you alright?!"
All around Shunsui stood members of his 8th Division, including his beloved Lieutenant Nanao Ise.
Shunsui opened his eyes warily, trying not to let them close, still feeling that burn, not sure if hours had passed or merely seconds since Kaworu's attack and his Division's arrival.
Nanao stood looming over him with a concerned face, obviously trying to keep her composure and not be overwhelmed with sorrow for her Captain's fate and fear for the obviously powerful but exhausted man who stood not so far away.
Yes, Kaworu hadn't left in those few seconds Shunsui's division had arrived, panting and on his knees as if mortally wounded. From his body wafted a thick smoke, as if he were aflame, though he was not, a long cross-spear balanced awkwardly against his left shoulder.
True, if anyone could bring this situation to a confident and analytical situation, it was little Nanao, always the studier and proponent of logic and control.
Shunsui remembered when she had first been assigned to his division, always sputtering in confusion and indignation at his playful advances.
His laidback and flirtatious attitude had always irked her, especially for a man said to be one of the most powerful in Soul Society. But over the years they had stricken up a blissful coexistence that bordered on the professional and unprofessional, though never enough in the latter for Shunsui.
It would be a pity for such a bond to be broken now, no not with the death of Shunsui…he was wounded heavily, but he would live to fight again. Ukitake as well, after a good resting period.
No, Captain Shunsui Kyōraku worried gravely for the lives of Nanao and his division if they insisted on attempting the capture of Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai at this point in time.
True, Kaworu seemed out of it, for reasons Shunsui couldn't comprehend. Perhaps the raise in power and taken its toll on Kaworu. It was irrelevant to Shunsui, he simply knew that his Lieutenant and remnants of his division couldn't hope to win such a fight.
Nanao's firm and confident eyes broke Shunsui's heart as he stared weakly up at her.
"Don't…look at me like that…Nanao-chan…please, help me up…we must leave the area immediately…perhaps…steam up some tea back at…headquarters…and we can all forget about this…for the time being."
Her face was serious, though her eyes were brimming with tears. Shunsui hoped they were tears of love, not pity, but he figured he was out of luck. His entire division was overcome with sorrow at their Captain's condition.
"I can't do that Captain…how can you ask us to do that?! This man is a traitor to Soul Society, look at what he did to you and Captain Ukitake! He's already heavily wounded, I can see that…are you telling me you don't believe in us? That you don't think I'm capable of finishing what you started?"
Shunsui winced, staring up at Nanao with a sigh.
"Little Nanao…always…so stubborn…so…adorable…must you press…this matter? Please…I'm…or-"
Shunsui's eyes widened as he spat out a glob of blood and saliva in mid-sentence, coughing violently.
NO! BODY! DON'T DO THIS TO ME! I CAN'T ENTER THE DARKNESS NOW! I HAVE TO GIVE HER THE ORDERS! I KNOW WHAT SHE'LL DO IF I DON'T! DAMMIT…all…why can't I save…this one woman…Shigekuni…
Lieutenant Nanao Ise stood firmly over her now unconscious Captain's form, pressing her spectacles up to the ridge of her nose after they had slid because of her moist tears and trembling lip.
She couldn't let the rest of the division see such emotions, but she knew damn well they were brimming with it as well. It went against the fiber of her being to fight with vengeful anger or rely on emotional boosts in battle, she saw it as weakness, irrationality that could lead to defeat.
But Nanao Ise had her duties as well, and though in the back of her head she knew she was using them as an excuse to avenge Shunsui, she did the duty to clear up any dangers or traitors within Soul Society. All self-respecting Shinigami did. How could she simply flee from this battle?
"Kamigawa, take Captain Kyōraku! Tokishiro, take Captain Ukitake! Get them to the infirmary, immediately!"
She turned around at her assembled men, proud and firm Shinigami with their hands on their blades ready to draw. She knew damn well they weren't the type to flinch from a fight, no matter how terrible.
"SHINIGAMI OF 8TH DIVISION! PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"
Nanao Ise could find herself smirking, if ever so slightly with a slight but not overbearing confidence as she lifted the heavy book she always carried around with her and opened it up to gaze at a page.
I hold all the answers, all the moves, and all the paths available in this battle, Kaworu. All enemies who dare stand against us will be destroyed, isn't that right, Hagakure?
The threatened man in a question, one former Captain of Fifth Division Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai, rose from his kneeling position with a grimace of pain.
He ignored Nanao's shouting and the fact that the Captains he had defeated were slowly being evacuated, gazing instead at his right hand.
It, like all of his body was smoking and in agony. It felt like he had been roasted and cooked over a fire. Raw, burning, but his right hand was even worse.
Simply said, his pinky finger was gone. The stump, where the pinky had been burnt off bone and all, was all that remained as a testament to what had been.
Kaworu counted himself lucky.
"You must always remember son…the dragons are an honor and curse when it comes to zanpakutō…they can bring you great power, but remember we are but their vessels. No one can handle the full power of the dragon he wields, not completely, or his or her body will be burnt to ash! We can only rely on their power in emergency occasions, and even then, not fully, for anyone would be overwhelmed and destroyed."
Young Kaworu nodded blissfully, smiling up at his scarred and stern father.
"Hah…I knew…I shouldn't have released the final limit this soon, let alone used it in battle for this long, even though it was only for a few minutes…at least it's just the finger…if that bastard Shunsui hadn't been taken care of quickly I might've been missing more of my body…"
Kaworu smirked, shaking his head.
"You're a fierce patron, aren't you, Inazuma? Burn with that terrible madness, as I do, and I shall turn Soul Society into a smoldering heap. What's a few missing fingers and limbs?
"Jeez, you're definitely going crazy talking to yourself here…and what's this talk of losing body parts. Chicks don't really dig that, Cap'."
Kaworu's eyes widened at the gruff voice that sounded in his head, replying to it in a whisper out loud.
"So you've come then, Lieutenant Kiriyama? I was wondering when you'd report for duty…"
"What can I say, I got sidetracked in Rukongai, a few pimps said I owed them money and I had to beat the shit out of them."
"I told you not to bring unwanted attention to our cause…though I suppose it matters little with what I've done now…Everyone in Soul Society should awaken to the truth of our invasion now that I've defeated those two fools."
"Just barely too, huh? You look like a mess from what I can see. I reckon you'll want me to take care of the buzzing flies gathering around you. Maybe I should call them buzzards, looking at your state."
"Feh…don't talk to me like that just yet, Kiriyama…Even like this I could still rip you apart with-"
The voice chuckled.
"Yeah…yeah…with yer bear hands. I know it well, why the hell do you think I'm still following you around after all these years? What'll you do when I get strong enough to give you a black eye, eh Captain?"
The exhausted and overwhelmed Kaworu allowed himself a grim smirk at the voice's words.
"Until that day…millennia in the future, you will serve me, won't you Strong Man Shogo? Or should I call you 'Granite'? You always had such obscenely foolish introductions and nicknames!"
"Nah…that's what the ladies called me…You just move on Captain, I'll take care of your leftovers..."
The voice let out a sigh that was part nostalgia and part disappointment.
"…like always…"
Lieutenant Nanao Ise smiled firmly as the two Captains were evacuated to the closest infirmary, quickly giving her gathered men the general order to attack.
Surely this would be taken care of quickly, in fact the fastest of her men, the Fourth Seat Shige Ikari was already a few feet away from Kaworu.
Shige rushed closer towards Kaworu, the former Captain standing with his back to the attackers, a long white cloak covering his wounds and ripped Captain's uniform.
Why isn't he turning around? Overconfident bastard! DIE!
Suddenly, before Fourth Seat Ikari could get close enough to slash, he felt a rumbling underground, and two hands burst out right beneath him in the cracked earth.
He let out an almost woman-like scream of surprise as they grabbed him firmly by the ankles, crushing the bones within and making him totter.
The men that had been following him suddenly, stopped, watching in terror and surprise. Uncharacteristically, so did the surprised Nanao, watching this unknown factor in her battle plan present himself.
The ground around Ikari and the two hands from the earth suddenly exploded with a flying show of rocks and dirt. In that same instant, former Captain Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai began to flash-step far away with his consummate speed and confidence, despite his wounds.
All this meant was that when the dust and rocks thrown up had fallen back down and cleared, the battlefield had changed drastically.
Gone was the white-cloaked Kaworu, and in his place was another man in a long black cloak, clearly the man who had struck underground. This was evident in that he was still holding Fourth Seat Shige Ikari by the ankles.
Only now, since he was above ground, he had the Shinigami dangling shamefully by the ankles and screaming.
The man simply tossed the Fourth Seat away, letting the crippled man slam into the distant ground, at the same time allowing his opponents to get a good look at him as he threw aside his cloak.
He was lean and muscular, with short-cropped grayish hair that seemed dyed, not brought by age. He had smooth tanned skin complimented by intensely menacing yellow eyes, a face that could be called lady's man handsome but rather annoying with its haughty grin and overwhelmingly apparent self-confidence.
He wore a long black cloak much like Kaworu's white cloak, under it a simple short black jacket and long black trousers, definitely not Shinigami uniforms.
At his hip was a short combat knife tucked into the belt of his trousers, simple and unimpressive compared to his muscular body.
This man seemed sure of himself past the point of impressiveness, rather it became perverse and annoying. This was clear in his movements, laughing heartily as he threw away his cloak and stared at the assembled remnants of 8th Division.
"I am Shogo Kiriyama, Strongman Shogo, Granite, The Mammoth Terror, The Golden Pheonix, The Unkillable Ineffable Invincible Beauty, Terror of the 11th Division, Lieutenant of 5th Division, Commander of the Special Forces, General of the Shinigami Militia, Captain-General of Division YOUR MOTHER, Lover of your Women, and last but not least, Deliverer of Your Skins to The Infinite And Marvelous Abyss of Darkness Known As Destruction."
All the Shinigami assembled gawked in annoyance and embarrassment at such clearly idiotic words, forgetting for a moment this man's terrible strength and the fact that he had allowed Kaworu to escape their judgment.
Only Lieutenant Nanao Ise had stayed calm and collected during this newcomer Shogo's introduction, sneering a bit in distaste at the man's foolishness and Kaworu's escape, but not much else.
Suddenly, she spoke up, turning the Division's attention from Shogo Kiriyama, which clearly displeased the man.
"You…you…yes…I've seen your face before… Hagakure!"
She opened a page in the book, trying to stop the trembling of her hand as her men stood behind her.
The page opened to reveal an image and a few paragraphs of information, which Nanao promptly read out loud. The image was that of the man who stood before them.
"Shogo Kiriyama, former Lieutenant of Fifth Division under Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai and simultaneously Commander of the Special Forces and Executive Militia previous to Captain Soifon. This must've been before the Special Forces were assimilated as 2nd Division…Past history included a stint as Fourth Seat in Eleventh Division, top of his class in Shinigami Academy despite a marked record of behavioral problems and violence with classmates."
Shogo moved his tan neck side to side and then cracked his knuckles, sneering condescendingly.
"What is this, huh? An intervention? An interview? It's all old news…don't know why you're repeating it to me…trying to get me impressed over your stupid magical book? Feh, I hate bastards who think they're better than me just because of their brains."
Lieutenant Nanao Ise stared imperiously at Shogo, closing Hagakure.
"Silence, filth! I hate traitors and thugs, most of all. What are you doing here? Working for your old Captain? The record says you were executed centuries ago."
Shogo chuckled, pointing a firm finger at Ise.
"Just why I don't like those stupid record books…you can't learn everything through sentence and page, you've gotta experience it, fists first! I hate you coddled student Shinigami. As for why I'm here, I wouldn't call it anything noble. I ain't got any real urge for revenge like the Captain, I just have a pretty good excuse to smash some stuff up, maybe do a little raping and looting. It's my prerogative, and Captain doesn't really mind as long as I don't get in his way."
"Silence! And don't refer to him as 'Captain'! It disgusts me that you were ever a seated officer of the Gotei 13! Your attitude and manner of speech is pathetic and perverse…You're nothing but trash to be eliminated."
Shogo cocked his head to the side and let out a coarse chuckle.
"Baby, you keep talking dirty like that to me and I might just give you a little fun after I destroy your Division."
Nanao stammered, growling to herself and trembling with fury.
"I said SILENCE! Men! Eliminate this traitor immediately!"
Her men, having been staring at Shogo with trepidation during his exchange with their Lieutenant, immediately steeled their will and drew their own steel ready for battle.
"Yes, Lieutenant!"
Twenty of her men rushed forward, twenty more standing as a reserve behind her.
Shogo flashed towards the closest one, sending a kick at him, which snapped the man's blade and landed on his chest with a crescendo of pain and noise.
Another man he lifted up over his head and slammed on another approaching man, then caught a sword strike with his palms and sent a vicious punch into a Shinigami's face.
He did this all gracefully, in a matter of seconds, his moves all coordinated with terrible and decisive punches and kicks and the occasional flip or tauntingly smooth jump to evade the Division's attacks.
In a little over five seconds, all twenty men that had attack Shogo lay on the ground, screaming and moaning in pain. The lucky ones were screaming, the unlucky ones were simply silent and dead, their faces in gruesome but nearly perverse hilarious expressions of terror and unimaginable pain.
Their Lieutenant watched this all with a steely calm, then made her own move.
Lieutenant Nanao Ise flipped opened her heavy book, and sighed.
Truly the loss of twenty men and such stubborn resistance and haughty treachery was a blow to her will and prestige, but it mattered but little when it came to the final outcome of the battle.
Isn't that right, Hagakure?
She stared at one of the pages of her heavy book Hagakure, putting a hand over it and turning back to her men.
"Begin Shiyubiwa Plan, Formation 6. ELIMINATE THE TARGET IMMEDIATELY."
Shogo Kiriyama only sneered as the remaining twenty Shinigami of 8th Division filed out from behind Nanao and began to circle Shogo in a firm ring of men.
"More of you? What is this? A school dance? A fucking parade? I hate fighters like you! Die already!"
Shogo flashed forward, swinging a devastating punch towards the closest man standing in the ring.
Suddenly, a voice, Nanao's, the Lieutenant standing a good distance away from the ring.
"SHINJI, DUCK, LEFT SLASH!"
The man Shogo had swung his fist towards ducked gracefully under his punch, as if following Nanao's orders, and then sent a sword slamming into Shogo Kiriyama's gut.
WHAT?!
Ishida barely dodged the massive wave of blood that sent itself spiraling at him again, gasping for air in exertion as he leapt away and stared in calculation and anger at the calm form of Captain Shūhei Hisagi.
Even now blood flowed from the two red blades each connected to one of Shūhei Hisagi's arms like bracelets. They had quite an odd ornamental design, like small short swords connected to black metal choker bracelets much like the one around Hisagi's neck, except these held the swords to the underside of Hisagi's wrists and palms.
The blood drops didn't fall and pool to the ground, instead flowing and swirling around Hisagi in epic streams and clouds he seemed to control. Truly a grotesque and bizarre sight.
Even worse, Ishida found himself unable to absorb the blasts through his Ginrei Kojaku.
"Feeling overwhelmed? Close to death? Put down your arms before even more of your blood enters my arsenal…You know how simple it would be to kill you now?"
Hisagi appeared suddenly behind Ishida, bringing his hand towards the Quincy's face almost in a caress.
"I only need one open wound on your body, you know…to make your blood broil, to make your vessels explode…it's a fascination condition, young Quincy. But I daresay I have no reason to explain more of it to you. I'm sworn to protect my comrades, and I will. DIE!"
Ishida's eyes widened, unable to get out of the way or draw a Seele Schneider in defense as Hisagi flashed in front of him and brought his arms wrist-down towards the Quincy.
One of the wrist-blades managed to slash into the Quincy's uniform, leaving a small and innocuous cut.
Captain Shūhei Hisagi smiled, trying to avoid the overbearing specter of his brother that always intruded in his memories when he fought. It had almost overwhelmed him when he had fought Yumichika, part of the reason he had given up that fight…
One cut…more than enough…to end it, eh brother Yakedo?
Chad sighed distantly, having taken temporary quarters with the crazy spikey-headed man, the whiney young Shinigami, and the pink-haired little girl who constantly berated them and played pranks.
Truly, he wished to be at the side of his friends, feeling battle after battle shaking Soul Society, and normally he would be able to track them and get there with ease. He had the feeling something was interfering with his usual logic and sense of direction.
"Tomorrow we go THATAWAY!"
Yachiru giggled, pointing wildly in what seemed to be a random direction as they sat in the small Shinigami warehouse they were resting inside of.
Hanatarō Yamada let out a sigh of abject exasperation at her words.
"What?! You're just picking another random direction! At this rate I won't even be able to get to my own division! Do you guys always do this?!"
Yachiru twisted her little face in demonic annoyance that seemed quiet disturbing on such a cute child.
"Shut up Whiney-Chan, or I'll give you another black eye!"
Hanatarō whimpered in abject fear at the little girl, making Chad sigh and look away.
Are all these Shinigami so bizarre? I'm beginning to think Ichigo joining them wasn't such a good idea.
Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he noticed the other singular member of their party…the more menacing one…he knew Ichigo had fought this man once before, and now he found himself terrified despite himself and surprised Ichigo had actually won.
Captain Kenpachi Zaraki sat a few feet away from the others, his sword drawn as he shouted fiercely at it.
"You! What's your name anyway?! All those other idiots have fancy voices and shit, why aren't you saying anything?"
Zaraki smashed his sword into the side of the building viciously, cutting a few wooden support pillars in half.
"Dammit! Don't give me the silent treatment, you bastard! I'll cut you apart!"
Kenpachi then began to viciously punch and grapple with the sword he was holding, truly an overwhelmingly daft and incomprehensible scene.
Chad looked away in an utter stupor, glancing at Yachiru again.
Uhh…is he threatening to kill his…sword?
"W-What's he doing?"
Yachiru giggled, gazing at Kenpachi's growling form.
"You don't wanna know, big brown-head."
Hitsugaya found himself in the dark abyss, his eyes whirling about in anger and confusion.
"Dammit! I should've known better than to trust that bastard Mayuri's idiotic games. Where the hell am I?! MAYURI!? LIEUTENANT?! MOMO?! ANYONE?!"
His voice echoed in the emptiness of the black void, and he sighed in exasperation.
Spinning around he found himself face to face with a massive blue dragon, covered in scale with tall protruding spikes made of ice and water swirling in an aura all around him…along with piercing red eyes.
"Hyōrinmaru?!"
He barely managed to let that out as the beast hurtled itself at him.
Quickly he looked for his own zanpakutō at his hip, only to find it missing, letting out a yelp as the massive dragon snapped at him.
He quickly leapt onto one of the ice scales on its head, gasping at the enormity of the attacking beast and trying to stop it from shaking him off and crushing him.
"What is this?! Damn it all! Destructive Art: 33, Blue Fire, Crash Down!"
He pressed both palms directly into the dragon as he spoke this, satisfied with his own great power as the energy blast slammed from his palms and bore straight through the dragon's skull and out his jaw.
The great creature let out a dying groan and exploded in a cloud of thick dust, Hitsugaya finding himself alone in the void once more.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Can I dream alone?"
"That would not be a dream. It would just be a projection of reality."
"Then... where is my dream?"
"That is the extension of reality."
"My... where is my reality?"
"That is at the end of the dream."
Suddenly, footsteps behind him. He whirled around to find himself face to face with a man he had never expected to see, and inside he admitted, hoped not to see for a while.
Former Captain Sōsuke Aizen smirked, staring at Hitsugaya with his calculating eyes of mirth and menace. He was the Aizen of the past, his spectacles still on, his hair not brushed away.
"How disgusting…Hitsugaya…you are ever the weakling."
Uryū Ishida gasped, on his hands and knees now, his vision and senses swirling, his body feeling contemptibly weak and pained.
An attempt to stand made him totter and fall onto his back.
Captain Shūhei Hisagi stood solemnly above him, surrounded by an aura of swirling blood particles that was now connected stubbornly and flowing into the cut he had dealt to Ishida's shoulder.
"There you go…stay down…just be quiet, let it ease up on you, this cold death. All I needed was one cut to win this foolish battle."
Ishida tried to breath, finding the process terribly painful and exhausting.
Not…like this…not as some…pitiful weakling…I'll show you…Ichigo…I'll show you…Shinigami.
"There there, it's over Quincy. It's unfortunate it had to end this way. Even now I'm controlling the blood inside your body. Right now you're going through an extremely severe case of anemia…in a matter of seconds I'll simply explode all the blood cells inside your body out of your orifices. I control the very blood that flows through all living things! Surrender to the inevitable, you pitiable fool."
Kaworu smiled.
"This phase demonstrates a consummate ability to manipulate spiritual particles, something elemental in Quincy combat. They are volatile particles, dangerous and easy to use for construction and destruction…Think of yourself as the tailor and of the soul particles as the threads of existence…when you realize this, you'll understand the true danger of the Quincy which my father tried to eradicate, and the new evolution of warrior I will demonstrate to you."
Ishida smirked, even as he could feel his body failing. All he had to do was kill this Shinigami Captain before the bastard made his body implode within.
Easier thought than done.
"Sew me a dream, Ginrei Kojaku…"
Ishida groaned, slowly standing and raising his white spider-web like bow and glowing with a burning white spiritual presence that shook the air around him
"Still talking?! I told you to just stay down and die quietly. Move around too much and the pain is horrific."
Ishida knew this was true, feeling his body weak and in agony, but he had no need to worry. Before him glowed threads of power, millions, connected to his fingertips and to everything around them. Buildings, the ground, Hisagi's clothes, everything.
Hisagi gasped and Ishida smiled weakly.
"I…control…the very spirit…that flows through…all existence…Surrender to the inevitable, you pitiable fool…"
The threads spiraled from his web-like bow, making it appear as if Ishida stood in the middle of some brilliant concentric spider web of power he himself had spindled as an arachnid.
Captain Shūhei Hisagi's eyes widened, unable to even express his awe at the sight before a massive explosion overtook his very being, sending him screaming in terribly agony.
Lieutenant Nanao Ise gazed at the battle confidently and then back at her book.
All going according to plan, huh Hagakure? This battle is already mapped out and predestined. All the cards lay in my hands.
Hagakure seemed to flash in response, the large book showing an illustration of a man roundhouse kicking another man with kanji under it.
"MOKIWARA, DUCK!"
I will bring honor to you, Captain…Shunsui…
Shogo grunted in evident exasperation and surprise, thrusting his fist forward only to have it ducked under.
He sent a quick spinning kick at the closest man, only to have the man evade to the right while another sent a precise slash to his back.
"TOSHINORI, DUCK! GATTS, JUMP! YOSHIAYA, RIGHT FEINT, STRIKE!"
The twenty men around him were working like a precise, viciously accurate machine. Every move he made was predicted as Nanao called out in her monotone commanding voice, almost as if in prayer.
Truly this was a terrible instrument of power and war, and Shogo found himself almost impressed, if not annoyed. He hated double-handed shit like this.
He sent another vicious punch towards the closest man, only to have the Shinigami duck and then deliver a shallow slash into Shogo's stomach.
"MEN, BACK! READY POSITIONS!"
In an instant, before Shogo could counterattack, the twenty 8th Division Shinigami were back in their ring around the former Lieutenant, swords readied for another conflagration of wills and blades.
Still, Shogo had not drawn the combat knife at his hip that was evidently his zanpakutō. Obviously this former Special Forces Commander preferred to get down and dirty.
"So you can read my moves, huh? Disgusting…I call that perverse…that sort of cowardly fighting…Disgusting! I hate you pathetic users of tricks and spells, too weak to settle things like real Shinigami warriors!"
The twenty men rushed towards him again, while Shogo rushed right at the closest Shinigami, roaring with relish.
"Toshi, right! Kazou, duck! Kawada, strike! Gin, jump! Moki-"
Toshi had been pummeled with a crushing punch to his throat, and Kazou and Kawada had had their arms simply snapped and broken. Gin let out a terrified scream, trying to jump but finding Shogo's powerful fist slamming into his abdomen and sending him flying away into the distance with a trailing spiral of blood.
What?!
Shogo let out a fit of laughter, grabbing another Shinigami and throwing him like a toy ball into the wall.
Nanao's eyes widened and she trembled with anger and disgust.
"No! Kensei, jump! Mokiwara, RIGHT!"
The men she had given orders to had no time to react, Shogo flashing in between the group of remaining Shinigami with methodical ease, groups of them falling with broken bones and snapped limbs.
All his moves dealt
In an instant, he punched another, and flashed away under the slash of another Shinigami only to grab his head and one of his compatriot and smash them together with skull-crushing strength.
As they fell to the floor, Nanao suddenly realized there were only five Shinigami left from her Division around Shogo. All of Kiriyama's physical combat moves had been dealt with almost marvelous technical excellence that Nanao might've studied or been awed by in a textbook had this not been her brutal enemy. Pressure points slammed, limbs and tendons snapped, men totally taken out of action with precise blows and moves.
The former Lieutenant turned to the current Lieutenant, noting her expression and chuckling coarsely as he wiped some blood from his forehead.
"Oh, your book is fun and all, but what happens when I raise my speed a bit? You've never had an opponent like me, I suppose. I'm almost flattered by your weakness."
Nanao Ise bit her lip, trembling with rage and exasperation. It was true, despite Hagakure's abilities and the smooth organization of her division; she had never calculated having to handle speed and skill of this level. It was only something that…
Something that…only…Shunsui…could match…
She bit her lip, trying to overcome the tears at such a realization, trying to stay strong and defiant.
Don't be so goddamn weak! Relying and leaning on another person has made me weak…an embarrassment…I suppose I have no choice but to use shikai…
However, her thoughts were interrupted as the remaining five Shinigami of her Division proceeded bravely without her orders or Hagakure's assistance. Certainly Nanao hadn't expected them to act, and apparently neither had Shogo.
The five trembling Shinigami let out a gasp as former Lieutenant Shogo Kiriyama took their zanpakutō attacks without even moving.
In an instant the five Shinigami that had surrounded Shogo had slid their blades into his gut from all sides, making the man's stomach look much like a porcupine.
They stood there, trembling in fear despite the fact that they had their swords plunged in the enemy. Perhaps terrified by their so-called 'victim's' perversely calm appearance.
He gazed at them, hissing and gasping as blood dripped from his stomach and lip.
"Ooooooh yeah…that's what I like…now we're talking…ughh…you sure stabbed me up good…Reckon I've got myself in some deep shit."
Lieutenant Ise looked away in evident disgust, shaking her head in shame that such a man could've ever been appointed an officer of Soul Society.
"End this fool's death moans immediately. Finish it!"
The five Shinigami nodded, about to take their swords out…only to have their actions preceded by Shogo Kiriyama.
The former Lieutenant let out a whooping scream that was half laughter and half rage, and brought his hands down in flurried motions. The blades inside him were broken apart into fragments, no longer connected to their hilts.
His fists hammered the swords impaling them, and then grasped out the pieces still left inside, letting them clatter onto the ground except two, one sword fragment held in each fist.
In a few seconds of swung hands and punches with an aftertaste of steel blade, four out of the five men who had surrounded him fell to the ground with broken bones and decapitated heads that rolled down a few seconds later.
One man stood alive, behind Shogo, letting out a tremulous gasp of terror as he reached for the secondary sword at his hip and thrust it into his enemy with his eyes partially closed in trepidation.
The blade slid deep into Shogo's side, but the bronze man didn't even move, grasping the 8th Division Shinigami's sword with one hand and keeping it firmly inside of himself despite the blood from both the gripping hand and stab wound coupled with the other wounds dealt to him.
In one fluid motion he slashed the sword out through himself, yanking it out of the Shinigami's grip, and slashing the man in two with his own sword despite the blood pouring out of Shogo's own exacerbated wound as he did so.
Shogo Kiriyama turned, his lean muscled body entirely slick with blood, and gave a brazenly perverse smile to Nanao, his golden eyes glittering with promises of death and violence to come.
"Behold the power of the Letztes Division, the last division; betrayed and slaughtered by its own society! Don't cry just yet, bitch, the fun is just getting started!"
Lieutenant Nanao Ise's widened in what could only be terror. This was not in any books she had read.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, hope it wasn't too fuzzy or weird because of my absence, and I hope it wasn't too long/short.
Anyway, I introduced Kaworu's Lieutenant, surely you must've been wondering who he was. Hope it wasn't too abrupt or weird.
Expect more action next chapter, as well as where Kaworu has slinked off to and what the other people around Soul Society (And maybe Hueco Mundo) are up to.
Also, don't count Nanao-chan down and out just yet, keep in mind she hasn't even used her shikai. Damn, that Shogo can get a bit annoying sometimes. Hope she takes him down a peg.
Anyway, looks like things are getting really intense, hope you're enjoying the fighting so far…for those who tire of it and want to see more of the other characters, worry not, all things come with patience…Keep in mind, I plan this epic, you will see tons of Ichigo, tons of Rukia, Kenpachi, Orihime, Ishida, Chad…I'm not making this just one arc. It'll continue even after Kaworu's story resolves, and I've got tons and tons of plans.
Hope you guys stay along for the ride.
See ya next chapter.