Hey guys, trying my best to write more chapters. For those concerned over action-centric stuff and not enough romance, don't be deterred, stick with it. It's just the nature of this arc right now, it's a major Soul Society invasion arc, so the focus is on fighting and such things, expect romance, drama, action, and madness among other things. And remember, at this point in the story, no Romantic Pairings are absolute or concrete, feel free to provide suggestions, but don't be turned off if your favorite pairing doesn't look like it will happen. I plan this story to be long and awesome, stretching over many arcs, many fun things will happen and love is unpredictable.
I encourage you all to read and especially review, all sorts of reviews and input get me going and boost up my energy to write more chapters.
Oh, and feel free to check out my forum, which features a Bleach RPG among other fun stuff.
www.coloholics.co.cc
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or its characters, settings, etc... Did you really need me to tell you that?
Soul Society
Seireitei
Lieutenant Momo Hinamori stumbled forward as she continued lurking through the gloomy streets of Seireitei, glad no one had managed to stop her.
I'll find you…Captain…I know it wasn't true, what I saw…that Ichimaru, he's behind this…there's no way that could have been…real…just like when I thought you had died…no…it was a trick…
Suddenly, Hinamori stopped in her tracks and stood to face the strange figure who had appeared in front of her, as if it had been awaiting her.
It was a strange woman with tan skin and spiky-blonde hair in a strange white jacket that showed off her amazingly ample breasts.
Halibel smiled at the puzzled Lieutenant, baring her white Arrancar teeth like they were fangs as they very well could be.
Everything was going according to plan.
"Who are you? Are you with-"
Halibel's smile widened, her sword at her back, in one of her hands a piece of parchment she held aloft and read from in front of Hinamori.
"Captain Aizen sent me, he says he's quite glad to see you're well and that you were strong enough to survive Ichimaru's betrayal, as he prayed you were alright. He seeks your aid and return to his Division."
Momo Hinamori gasped, her body trembling.
Hueco Mundo
Las Noches
Former Captain Gin Ichimaru smirked, lazily leaning against Aizen's throne as he addressed the former Fifth Division Captain.
"You've got a crazy sense of humor, ya know, you think she'll buy it? And what about the girl and that Shinigami representative? Ya really think this'll all work out?"
"When has it not worked out, Gin? This is all just the beginning. I must thank Kaworu senpai for the distraction, however. He can be taken care of at our leisure when Soul Society is ours."
"Boy am I glad I'm on your side."
Sōsuke Aizen gave a leisurely sinister smile, looking away from Gin and speaking a number of simple words.
"Bankai, Kyōka Suigetsu, Hanabira Utsuri."
Soul Society
Seireitei
Suddenly, the notepad in Halibel's hand melted away, revealing a sword which she held aloft in front of Momo by the hilt with one ginger hand.
It looked familiar.
Captain Aizen's zanpakutō?!
Indeed, Kyōka Suigetsu was held before her, blazing with strange energy. Lieutenant Hinamori found herself drawn to it, so by the time she felt Captain Aizen's arms wrapping around her from behind in a calming embrace, she was not surprised.
"C-Captain…"
"Yes Momo…I am glad you are well…are you ready to receive your orders?"
"Yes…Captain."
"Kill the first conspirator of Gin Ichimaru…Rukia Kuchiki…"
"Yes…my Captain…"
Shogo Kiriyama smirked, looking Ichigo Kurosaki up and down warily. The yellow eyes and massive spiritual pressure, as well as appearing so suddenly in the first place, would startle any other man, but Shogo Kiriyama was no man. Simply said, he was a beast.
"Well, well, what are you lookin' to find here, pup? A fight? Yer own death? The way you're looking at me with those eyes, you're either looking for a kill or a kiss, and I only do one of those with dudes…"
Ichigo Kurosaki stared at Shogo with fiery blazing eyes. Finally he spoke in a voice that, while not quite Hollow or quite Ichigo, would have startled his friends if any of them were around to hear.
"You never answered my question. You're one of Kaworu's goons, aren't you? I know you are…the bastard who looked down on me like that, who put Orihime and all of my friends in danger…even if it means turning myself into a monster, I'll kill all of you!"
Ichigo flashed forward with impressive speed, quickly swinging massive Zangetsu hurtling down towards Kiriyama in a simple-minded frontal slam. Shogo had remained still during Ichigo's reply, but the exiled Shinigami reacted with brutal grace now, ducking under Zangetsu's bite and blocking the sword at the hilt while simultaneously sending a hard roundhouse kick into Ichigo's gut.
The hapless Shinigami representative was quickly sent flying, hurtling into the air and into a wall behind him. He rose quickly from the rubble however, wiping the blood off of his cold lips.
Having managed to rise, Ichigo sprang forward once more, flashing towards Shogo to take the offensive despite the fact that Shogo hadn't yet drawn or utilized his own zanpakutō. Zangetsu hurtled in a wide side swing that cut through the air towards Kiriyama's right arm, only to continue swinging through the air as Kiriyama had gracefully leapt over the sword and delivered a brutal boot to the face at the fellow who had been swinging it.
Ichigo Kurosaki was once again sent slamming into the rough and unyielding stone scenery of Seireitei. His yellow eyes glinted at Shogo with everbrimming malice as he rose stubbornly once more, though he had to use Zangetsu plunged into the ground as a support this time around.
"Huh, I guess I'll have to go full power on you…No sense in wasting anymore time."
Shogo cocked his head to the side, glancing with venomously stressed disinterest at Ichigo while stretching out his arms and legs as if warming up for a footrace.
"Well you'd better show me full somethin' kid; this is starting to bore the hell out of me."
"I'll turn myself into a monster, to destroy the monsters of this world! BANKAI, TENSA ZANGETSU!"
"Hahaha, now we're getting somewhere, I suppose I'll reciprocate kid…BANKAI, ISHIGAMI KUNIKO!"
Both of them presently exploded with monstrously massive power, Ichigo Kurosaki clothed in his familiar black robes with his long and slender ebony daitō drawn, while Shogo Kiriyama was even more monstrously muscular with two menacing knuckle dusters on each hand.
The two Shinigami rushed furiously at each other, none of them sparing a word or a moment as they clashed. Ichigo swung his blade down towards the bladeless Kiriyama, only to have Shogo intercept and block the swordblow against the flat of his right knuckle duster while the left was sent hurtling hard in a vicious punch that connected into the side of Ichigo's head.
Kurosaki spat out a terrible glob of blood and saliva, skidding back a couple feet and then rebounding back at Kiriyama, the deadly black Zangetsu swung in a hard downward blow at Shogo that required him to intercept it with both his knuckle dusters. Catching the blade between the steel of both his knuckles he pinned it and stopped it there only inches from connecting to his skull.
The two Shinigami growled and grimaced in that fixed position, pushing against each other's strength.
"Hmph…you're strong kid, not bad…you almost remind me of a younger me, if I were a weak-kneed pussy!"
Shogo snarled, sending Zangetsu flying back as he connected a rough right kick into Ichigo's gut. He quickly flashed directly behind the now flying Kurosaki, connecting his left elbow in a terrible blow to the back of Ichigo's skull.
The younger Shinigami was sent floating down into the ground from the brutal and merciless chain of events, just barely managing to drag himself up to his feet as the ringing and painful slams he had received reverberated in his body.
Ichigo growled from the pain, staring up indignantly at Shogo.
"Is that so?!"
"Did I stutter? You talk about turning yourself into a beast, into a monster, but you're not there, not close enough. You're nothing but a whiney little kid!"
Ichigo sprang back up towards Kiriyama, flashing through the air and bringing Zangetsu swinging in a wide side arc towards Shogo's face; an attack that was promptly blocked perpendicularly by Shogo's left knuckle duster. Though he had intercepted Ichigo's blade with his left knuckle duster and therefore had his right fist open to attack Ichigo, Shogo Kiriyama instead spat at Ichigo's face, snarling.
"You're nothing more than bark with no bite, you tryin' to turn a rabbit into a wolf and you'll find yerself ripped to pieces."
Ichigo Kurosaki grimaced, pushing Zangetsu harder into Shogo's left fist while reiatsu swirled around him.
"How's this for bite?!"
Shogo's eyes widened as a massive blast of energy swirled around the blade he had blocked only inches away from his head. He had no time to react as Ichigo fired off a massive black Getsuga Tenshō point-blank into his face.
Ichigo was sent flying backwards from his own reckless attack, though not without some satisfaction as he watched the massive explosion envelop Shogo's upper body and send the now surely dead Shinigami hurtling down into the ground.
True, the dust hadn't cleared as Ichigo Kurosaki approached Kiriyama's unmoving form in satisfaction, but surely all that lay beneath it were the gruesome remains of Shogo's shattered skull.
It was to much surprise and physical pain however that Ichigo felt a rough hand grip his right leg. Shogo Kiriyama's outstretched right hand as he lay there covered in dust and blood, but obviously quite alive with nothing but a couple bloody scratches on his face.
"What?!"
"Nice attack kid, I barely managed to soften that power of yours with a blast of my own, care to see?"
Ichigo's eyes widened as Kiriyama's right hand kept him painfully grounded there while his left hand knuckle duster and all flew into Kurosaki's gut.
Not even Kiriyama's own hand could hold down Kurosaki then, the resulting explosion from the connected punch sending Kurosaki flying backwards.
Ichigo skidded backwards alongside the ground, smoke and rubble rising around him, though he managed to stop himself inches away from a pillar behind him.
Only a second later however, the true power of the blast Kiriyama had connected with the punch to his stomach materialized, a ragged burn in the shape of Kiriyama's fist on Ichigo's chest while the pillar behind him exploded into dust from the power of what had just been sent flying through him.
Ichigo Kurosaki fell to his knees, this time spitting up a real gruesome fountain of blood from his mouth, gasping wildly for air.
Im…possible…shit…shit…what did I go through all that for…wasn't it enough? I can't let it end here…more power…more power…
A menacingly familiar voice.
"Ya sure that's wise, yer majesty? You remember our little talk…if you can't hold the reigns, I will…"
"Shut up!"
Ichigo rose to his feet, though his body was swaying pretty unsteadily from the blows he had taken, gazing at the opponent approaching him.
Shogo Kiriyama gave a cruel merciless smile, both his fists blazing with fiery golden energy centered around the knuckle duster zanpakutō framing each fist, surely the same power he had used to give Ichigo a punch he certainly wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon.
"I forget what Ishizuchi calls that move…somethin' stupid I guess, I like to call it 'Granite's Fist of Ultimate Fuckin' Explosion Power'. Not that what it's called matters to a dead man like you, all you gotta know is the feel of my reiatsu concentrated in my punches rippin' ya to pieces. They used to call me 'Knockout Kiriyama' back in the academy, and that wasn't just on account of my looks, kid."
"Shut up, you bastard!"
"Tch, guess you're right for once, weakling. Enough talk, I'm jus' gonna end this now. You're a pitiful excuse for a 'beast', especially when yer bite can't even get past my power and send my blood flyin'."
Kurosaki growled, swaying back and forth while trying to keep his blade centered in the direction of his approaching opponent. Certainly worried about how long he could still remain conscious, Ichigo jumped back into the offensive again regardless of how risky that was because of his current state.
"How's this for 'bite', you son of a bitch!"
Flash-stepping wildly forward with speed that startled even Shogo Kiriyama, certainly because the brutal Shinigami hadn't expected this much power left in his younger opponent, Ichigo sent Zangetsu slashing viciously into Kiriyama's chest in a long-winding slash that started downwardly aimed up towards the sky.
The blow sent Kiriyama flying up into the air along with a rain of the blood that had been sent flying up from the deep cut now slashed into his chest. Ichigo watched in satisfaction as Shogo flew up, though this satisfaction was turned into confused trepidation as Shogo finally landed onto the ground on his own stable feet.
True, Kiriyama was covered in blood and sweat, but the cut on his chest was gone, as if it had never been delivered. Had Ichigo's slash even connected? The confusion sent Kurosaki into a self-doubting state of weak paranoia, wondering if his opponent's deceptive speed had fooled him.
Meanwhile Shogo simply stared at Ichigo with a superior bluster, raising an eyebrow as he spoke in his purposefully overdramatic booming voice.
"What'd I tell you, huh? You talk about turning yourself into a beast, into a monster, but it's not there, it's all for show, kid. You're still grounded, still too human, still too weak and still not strong enough to deliver that fatal blow."
Ichigo's eyes with their fierce yellow irises widened as he looked up from his own self-doubt and gazed at Shogo.
"I'm right, ain't I, ya fangless beast? You've never even killed a man, have ya, 'hero'? You talk of emotion and rage and becomin' a monster, but you've never even taken the life of another. I can feel yourself holdin' back with every fuckin' blow. You're nothing."
Ichigo snarled, flashing forward and sending Zangetsu slashing in a wild right attack which Shogo simply leapt over, gracefully landing a few feet away from Kurosaki.
"It's a rush, ya know…I remember the first kid I killed, screamed his lil' lungs out. You're no Shinigami, none of ya are! That's what being a Shinigami means, taking lives, being the Death God! The feeling of taking the life of another, that power, that's what it fuckin' means to be a God. I follow the Captain 'cuz he gives me the freedom to truly be a Shinigami."
Kurosaki snarled, slashing his blade forward across the dusty ground to send a massive black Getsuga Tenshō hurtling across the ground towards his opponent only a dozen feet away now. However Shogo quickly react, bringing both his knuckle dusters pulsing with powerful reiatsu together into a rough smashing blow that sent his fiery golden energy blasting forward in two fist-shaped ripples that quickly intercepted and canceled out the Getsuga Tenshō in an impressive explosion of mixed gold and black reiatsu.
The explosion and dust disappeared almost as quickly as it had been created, revealing Shogo unharmed standing in the same position he had been when Ichigo had fired off the Getsuga Tenshō only seconds later.
"Heh, so much emotion, huh kid? But not enough to be a raging monster, just enough to cripple ya and turn you into a whiney bitch though. How about I go find those friends of yours, eh? The Captain told me about 'em, maybe that nice red-headed piece with the big rack, teach 'em a thing or two about goodtimes and then cut them into enough pieces to garnish all of fuckin' Soul Society. That touch a nerve? Lookit yer fuckin' face!"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! YOU BASTARD!"
Ichigo roared furiously at the reference to Orihime and Shogo's insults, hurtling forward at bankai speed and swinging Zangetsu in a swift sideswipe at Kiriyama, only to have Shogo catch the blade with both his bare hands. A little blood seeped from Shogo's clenched fists, but he seemed at ease, holding onto Zangetsu and clearly stopping the grimacing Ichigo from yanking his sword away.
"Like I was sayin', you're no beast, just a kid play-actin'. A beast with no fangs…You don't know what it means to take lives, to revel in the spilled blood of yer opponent, you're no monster, you're a man. And a man can never beat a monster like me!"
Shogo Kiriyama released Zangetsu and sent a hard boot into Ichigo's gut, more dismissive than at full power, the kick sending Ichigo stumbling a few feet backwards.
"You talk about makin' a deal with the devil, selling your soul to save yer friends, becoming a beast, blah blah blah, it's all fuckin' useless. I'm made of stronger stuff than you, kid. You can't be a beast when ya got no bite!"
Ichigo's face seemed frenzied now as he rushed forward towards Shogo after hearing those words, as much frenzied with rage as with desperation.
"How's this for bite, you bastard?!"
Both Ichigo and Shogo's eyes widened in surprise as Ichigo's enraged blow struck home, Zangetsu sliding straight through the muscular Kiriyama's gut and out his back.
However, as the blood began to pour profusely out of the massive wound piercing Shogo in twain, Kiriyama's widened eyes of surprise slowly relaxed. A relaxation that from any other man in this position would signal death approaching. In this case however, Kiriyama's eyes were relaxing at of a pleasant relief, his hands reaching out and grabbing the sword pierced within it and yanking it out of his body as if it were a mere toy.
Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes widened even more as Zangetsu fell blooded at his feet and the wound in Shogo Kiriyama's chest began to heal, flesh growing over the bloody mess that would surely have spelled death for any other man.
"What?!"
"Like I said, I'm made of stronger stuff than you, kid."
"Shit, that can't be possible!"
Shogo Kiriyama smirked, lifting up his fist and aiming a brutal punch at Ichigo's face.
"How's this for possible you-"
Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted, bringing sanity back into Ichigo's ears.
"BANKAI, Hihiō Zabimaru!"
Renji?!
Shogo Kiriyama spun around in surprise at the strange and annoying interruption to his battle, just in time to see the massive snake-like head of the giant serpent Zabimaru bite into him.
Kaworu grit his teeth, summoning himself out of his painful revelry and back into the current situation, continuing gingerly forward on tired legs.
He had been so absorbed with his flashback he had actually imagined a girl's giggle at some point, probably Yoruichi's, though oddly enough it had seemed rather child-like and high-pitched.
Kaworu's eyes widened as he heard it again, except this time the girl's voice spoke in a cute singsong from around the corner behind him, and Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai suddenly realized he should have paid more attention to his surroundings.
"Yaaaaaay, toldja we'd find him eventually! I'm the greatest, teehee!"
A little girl? Then…what's this…what's this spiritual pressure I'm feeling?! There's someone else with her?
Suddenly, Kaworu looked down at his feet and noticed sourly that there was a shadow looming over him…a giant silhouette right behind him and the sound of…
A bell ringing? What the-
Suddenly then, a gruff voice issued from whomever had appeared, accompanied by almost demonic rough laughter.
"HAVEN'T YOU HEARD? EVERYTIME A BELL RINGS, AN ANGEL GETS HIS WINGS!"
Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai had just enough time to spin around and glimpse Captain Kenpachi Zaraki's sword hurtling right at his face.
"Kowasu, Inazuma."
And so, Kenpachi's mighty blade was intercepted just before it could tear into Kaworu's face, Inazuma the cross-spear blocking Zaraki ably though Kaworu himself was sent skidding back a few feet by Kenpachi's intense strength.
"Hahaha, so you were worth the trouble of finding you! You're definitely the bastard who beat Ichigo! This is gonna be fun!"
Kaworu grit his teeth, just barely dodging as Kenpachi slammed his blade down into the ground, finding himself scrambling wildly from each of Zaraki's vicious blows.
It was as much of a testament to Kenpachi's immense power as it was to how tired and spent Kaworu was on account of all of the battles he had been through especially the most recent one requiring the release of Inazuma's taxing final limit against Captains Ukitake and Shunsui.
The next wild swing Kenpachi sent forward was blocked by Kaworu's spear once more, however the force of the blow sent Kaworu flying backwards and crashing into the walls of the corridor they were dueling viciously inside of.
Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai quickly jumped back to his feet and raced forward, using his spear to vault up and then quickly bringing it down in a hard swing towards Kenpachi's face.
Zaraki quickly parried the blow and brought his sword sliding along Kaworu's spear so fiercely that spark flew and the exiled Shinigami Captain was sent crashing hard into the ground.
Shit…what's this guy made of? Am I really going to have to use my bankai? If my strength won't end this fight, my speed will.
Kaworu grit his teeth, flashing forward with startling nimble speed and appearing far too quickly for Kenpachi, directly behind the 11th Division Captain with Inazuma's spear point hurtling towards his back.
However, as the cross-spear crashed into its target, Kaworu noticed in disbelief that it hadn't even drawn blood. His spear was simply prodding into Kenpachi's back but hadn't actually cut into his flesh.
Zaraki cocked his head around to glance at Kaworu, a sour look on his face.
"That really all you got? Don't tell me yer power's a fluke, you're gonna need more than that speed to cut me! And I thought I'd have some fun here!"
"Fun?!"
Kaworu ducked nimbly under another one of Kenpachi's vicious swipes, the power of the blade's slash carving a mark into a stone pillar directly behind them.
Kenpachi smirked grimly.
"Yeah, 'fun', you know, puttin' your life on the line, blade against blade, cutting, killing, dying, there isn't anything better than that! Let me show ya!"
Kaworu brought his head and spear up as Kenpachi spoke, just in time to intercept and block yet another one of Zaraki's vicious sword swings with his own spear.
"Fun? You think fighting and dying is fun? You're nothing but a dog! A beast!"
Captain Zaraki Kenpachi gave a bemused disinterested grin at Kaworu's words, bringing his sword back and swinging it towards Kaworu's chest, only to have Kaworu block it with the length of his spear and skid back a few feet as he strained to contain Kenpachi's strength.
"A beast, huh? I thought you were a fighter, battling Ichigo and the other Captains like that, threatening Soul Society! You're gonna bore me with words like that, let your weapon do the talking!"
Kaworu grit his teeth, flashing backwards and using his speed and momentum to rebound against a pillar behind him and hurtle back towards Kenpachi with a vicious spear-thrust aimed at the Captain's face.
Zaraki for his part brought his blade slamming hard against the attack, sending Kaworu's spear off-target, and then sent his sword swinging up along the spear towards Kaworu's face.
Kaworu stumbled backwards from the blow that he hadn't been completely able to miss, his face bleeding from the cut Kenpachi's sword had carved into his left cheek.
"Heh, looks like I drew first blood."
"Fighting? Fun? I kill because I have to, I fight because I have no choice. This isn't pleasure, this is my duty as a Captain. I shall avenge those my father killed, including me, and I shall bring balance to Soul Society, even if that means burning it to dust!"
Kenpachi sighed in disinterest, his long sword cradled lazily against one shoulder.
"Tch, cut all that boring bullshit about duty and not having any choice. Fighting is all about putting your life on the line and enjoying your blood flowin'. All the other stuff is just bullshit yer usin' to get the fights going! ALL OF LIFE ITSELF IS JUST AN EXCUSE FOR BATTLE!"
Zaraki Kenpachi rushed forward once more, not out of rage or necessity, more of a great need to have that massive battle he thought he deserved. Kaworu quickly sent his spear stabbing towards Kenpachi's chest, only for the massive Captain to block the shaft of the spear with his sword and then send his other hand forward in a fierce punch at Kaworu's face engineered the wake him up and get him going already.
Kaworu skidded backwards, his lip bleeding as he just barely managed to collect enough attention to bring his spear's shaft up laterally to the ground to block a hard downward slash from Kenpachi's sword.
The sword was intercepted and blocked and both Shinigami strained their strength and power as their weapons pressed into each other. Kenpachi however, clearly had the upper hand, Kaworu's eyes widening as he suddenly realized that the stone ground beneath his feet was cracking from the pressure of Kenpachi pushing down against him and his spear.
By the second he looked back up, it was too late to react, Kenpachi's sword cutting clear through Inazuma's shaft, rending it in two and slashing viciously into Kaworu's body.
Shit!
Kaworu fell to his knees, his spear zanpakutō cut apart along with his body, blood pouring out of the wide slash that had been delivered to him by the tall spiky-haired Captain now standing before him.
"Tsk, don't tell me you're gonna die already! And here I was thinkin' this was gonna be a fun fight."
Zaraki Kenpachi sighed, turning around and sheathing his sword as he continued speaking in genuine disrespect and disinterest.
"No fun in fighting you, I guess the strength I sensed was just a fluke. Killing isn't fun when it's taking the life of someone not strong enough to take yours."
Suddenly a faint whisper behind Kenpachi, though he didn't heed it enough to turn around, Kaworu still sounded weak and on his knees and Zaraki never cared about words anyway.
"Killing is never fun…"
"Would you? Leave this place, this land of duty and law, this land where you were raised…leave this land where you hold such supreme position…leave this land for your heart and mine?"
Yoruichi trembled, tears running down her face.
"I know what I have to do…my Kaworu…my Okami…"
Kaworu smiled lovingly, taking this as an affirmative response, his hand reaching to pull her in a kiss.
Suddenly, however, his brow furrowed, and he sighed, shaking his head.
"I'm sorry."
"I…understand…but…did it have to be so…ruthless, Ichi-chan?"
The young man fell to the ground and coughed up violent streams of his own crimson blood, staring at the blade sticking out of his chest. The blade Yoruichi had stuck into him.
"Fighting, is never worthwhile…"
"Shut up! SHUT UP! It's not like that, Kaworu!"
Kisuke Urahara rose angrily, his hand reaching to his hip, though it halted as Kaworu smiled and spoke.
"I SEE how it is. You would draw Benihime against me, would you? Either way, you have no problem with killing me where I stand."
"Kaworu…please…I have no choice. Think of your actions, I do not wish to draw my blade against you. But you give me no choice."
"…but I, a dead man with neither a soul nor a heart, I can fight and kill if only to redeem this broken world. If you want…to truly understand the price of death and battle, then I will show you."
"Wait…are you not curious who dealt me such a wound?"
Kaworu glanced away at his old dying uncle's probing eyes, as if he wished to hide something or didn't want to say something in response.
"Ah…so you already have an inkling who did it to me, is that it? I can see sadness in your eyes, despite the brutality of your strength and the crimes done unto you…I can feel from the spirits in that battlefield far away that you killed no one! Tell me boy, even now you feel a flinching mercy and emotion for that bastard Urahara and that wench Shihoun, is that so?"
Kaworu's fists trembled as they clenched and unclenched, and he looked down at his uncle silently.
"BAN.."
"Must we fight like this, Kaworu?! Is there no other way?"
Kaworu stared down coldly at Yoruichi Shihoun, his tattooed hands trembling around his spear. He seemed to leak danger and spiritual power.
There is no other way, my Yoruichi. Only through destruction can I create paradise…
"KAI."
Lieutenant Renji Abarai's eyes narrowed, pleased by the fact that he had managed to strike former Lieutenant Shogo Kiriyama with a surprise attack, even now Zabimaru had Kiriyama in its mouth and was dragging and slamming the exiled Shinigami across the walls of the corridor, surely dealing major damage.
However he was still weak and tired from the previous events in Soul Society and he had witnessed at least a glimpse of Shogo's strength against Ichigo when he had arrived.
For Ichigo to be so helpless against this bastard…even if Ichigo's a punk, this guy has to be strong…Can I really win this, Rukia?
Suddenly Renji's eyes widened as he noticed Zabimaru had stopped its rampaging route, halted entirely as Shogo Kiriyama had finally brought his feet down into the ground and was actually holding the massive serpent's mouth at bay with his bulging muscles.
"This all you got, you punk!?
Shit! I've got to give this all I got…he's right next to Zabimaru, I can do this point-blank!
"Hikōtsu Taihō!"
Shogo barely had time to react as a massive pulsing ball of energy grew within Zabimaru's mouth and swept right at him.
The explosion rocked the area, but when the dust cleared, Renji was sent into a hopeless stupor at the sight that awaited him.
Shogo Kiriyama stood there as stubbornly as the massive serpent Zabimaru, still gripping the mouth of the beast that had just blasted him, his straining tan muscular body covered in scratches and dust but not really any worse for wear.
Renji's eyes widened as he tore Zabimaru's skull-head right off the segmented serpent body, hurling it wildly at Lieutenant Abarai.
Renji instinctively dodged it and let it slam into the ground below, but both he and Ichigo quickly learned this was a mistake as Shogo Kiriyama appeared right next to the now distracted Lieutenant.
"Hahaha, got ya punk!"
"Shit!"
"Renji!"
Ichigo Kurosaki flashed forward to aid his comrade, but was far too late, Shogo's powerful fist slamming into Renji's gut and a subsequent kick sending the Shinigami Lieutenant flying hard into the wall behind him, clearly knocked out.
"Dammit! Renji!"
"That was a nice distraction, but you should worry more about yerself, kid."
Ichigo's eyes widened as Shogo Kiriyama appeared directly behind him.
Kisuke Urahara's eyes narrowed at the familiar spiritual pressures raging about in the distance, trying desperately along with Captain Sajin Komamaru to detect Ichigo Kurosaki's position.
Rukia Kuchiki walked along as well, nearly as worried about the fact that she had felt Renji Abarai's spiritual presence appear fullblast and then subsequently disappear almost completely.
Renji? Ichigo? What have you gotten yourselves into now? Don't tell me it's HIM…
Orihime accompanied them but seemed rather distant as she stared off into space, her mind and heart clearly dwelling on Ichigo and the strange things she had felt inside of him. She, a young woman who could sense Ichigo's scent, feel his heart, she could definitely tell that something was wrong inside of him.
Chad could only look on at his friends in concern.
Suddenly Sajin's Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba appeared alongside the massive captain in a quick flash, not taking much note of Kisuke or the two girls.
"Iba."
"Captain…the Captain-Commander has issued a direct order to all Captains and Divisions to cease any battle they're involved in and immediately return their headquarters. Supposedly anyone engaging the intruders will be convicted of treason immediately."
Komamaru's brow wrinkled and he glanced silently at Kisuke, who seemed to give a shrug in response.
Rukia's eyes widened as she digested this and the preposterousness of the Captain-Commanders decision. Was he trying to hide the situation or meet it headlong himself? How would they ever find Ichigo with these conditions?
Komamaru sighed, shaking his great head.
"I suppose we haven't much choice under the circumstances. We shall return to headquarters for now, Iba. There are many yet wounded it is better we return and contemplate the next prudent move."
"Yes, Captain."
"You had better return to your own Captain, Miss Kuchiki."
Rukia looked up, still engrossed with worried thoughts regarding Renji and Ichigo.
"But, Captain Koma-"
Kisuke Urahara interrupted her with a sly grin.
"Orders are orders, you know, don't bother old Sajin about that. You'd better follow them. There are some who can work for the good of Soul Society outside its orders and laws, an old friend of me once taught me that."
"Urahara…"
Kisuke turned around, taking note of a black cat prowling about a dozen feet away.
"I suppose Yoruichi and I will violate the Captain-Commander's orders and continue our pursuit of Kaworu and search for Ichigo. Sometimes ya gotta break the rules to get things going."
Urahara quickly flashed away, as did the ebony feline, leaving Lieutenant Iba to turn to his Captain curiously.
"Uh…Captain, are you really gonna let them do that?"
Captain Komamaru looked down solemnly at Iba, Chad, Rukia, and Orihime, and then resolutely at the Shrine of Penitence in the distance, his fox ears twitching slightly.
"Let who do what? Unfortunately, my ears seem to be failing me today."
Rukia Kuchiki smiled, it seemed these days there were people one could count on.
Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai sighed as he sat atop his command throne in his executive chambers, feeling the weight of centuries of brutal and absolute decisions on his shoulders.
His fierce, powerful eyes showed no real emotion, simply an unyielding sense of justice and inevitable fate.
He knew the inevitable would occur, the traitor, his son, Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai would manage to reach him. To put more of the Gotei 13 between himself and his son would ultimately prove destructive. There was no reason to make others suffer for his mistakes, he would wait and he would defeat his raging son personally and permanently…for the good of Soul Society.
He would have to wait and bide his time, he knew that familiar face would soon walk through those massive chambers doors as he had so many times centuries ago…as he had that final time.
Kaworu strode forward determined towards his father, who in response rose as well, reaching for the sword at his own hip.
"You will realize that life is complex and unfair. That sometimes, lives must be taken for the world to be balanced!"
A massive burst of flame hurtled all around them as the old man spoke these words, but Kaworu seemed mostly unharmed.
"It's called slaughter!"
"It is called order, boy! This isn't show and tell! This isn't a child's game! This is ORDER. THIS IS PUNISHMENT!"
Kaworu only smirked, charging forward to meet his father's outstretched blade.
Yes…some things you have to do yourself…
Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes widened and then shut in agonizing pain as Shogo Kiriyama delivered yet another high-powered punch into his body.
The blast sent Ichigo flying, coughing up more blood, the blows all having hammered into his internal bones and organs.
Shit! Shit! Don't tell me I'm STILL NOT STRONG ENOUGH! He took care of Renji that quickly?!
Ichigo flashed forward as he felt his body racked with pain and weakness, sending a slash of his black blade into Shogo Kiriyama's chest.
Once again, it sliced through, cutting into Kiriyama's flesh, but only seconds later the flesh healed itself as it had been doing dozens of times over the last few minutes after Ichigo's hapless and wild attacks.
"How?!"
Shogo Kiriyama sneered as Ichigo screamed out that reasonable question and attacked once more, slamming his right hand directly through Ichigo's Zangetsu so it was pierced by the blade. Letting it impale his hand, he slid it down and clenched Ichigo's right swordhand and the hilt so hard that it shattered every bone in Ichigo's fingers.
"AUGHHHHHHHHHH!"
"I told you, I'm made of stronger stuff than you, punk. This is nothing for a man who has taken more lives than God and the Devil combined! My bankai gives me this power, the power of a god, regeneration! A weak mutt like you can't cut my body! A mutt like you has no fangs, so maybe you oughta be neutered!"
Ichigo Kurosaki let out a horrifying scream as Shogo Kiriyama pulled his right arm right out of it socket, the man's unholy strength breaking the bones of Ichigo's shoulder and then simply tearing it off, flesh, nerves, bone and all. He let it and the black blade still clutched in its hands slowly fall to the floor as Ichigo continued to scream and descend into unconsciousness because of the pain and horror of suddenly getting his arm pulled off as if Shogo had been leisurely eating a crab.
NO! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I don't wanna die…I don't wanna die…
"I don't wanna die…I don't wanna die…I don't want TO DIE!"
"Neither do I, punk."
Ichigo Kurosaki grimaced looking up to see his almost identical white counterpart. At least in this world his right arm was still connected to his body.
"You remember what I said, yer majesty…This king and horse relationship ain't gonna work anymore."
"I said I'd give up my soul, but I'm no horse, you bastard!"
"Still, ya can't continue on without working with me, can you? You've been feelin' the changes, seeing them even. Even if your personality and mind are still intact, I'm slowly taking over as much territory of your body and soul that I deserve."
Ichigo grit his teeth, looking down at the side of the building they were standing on, while Hollow Ichigo continued speaking menacingly.
"So you need me as much as I need you kid. I understand you ain't in the mood to be a horse, and that's fine, you've proved you're worth more than that at least. But I'm sure we can come to a…coexisting agreement…"
Ichigo looked up, trembling.
"Coexisting, huh? And will that be enough power, enough power to save them? To save Orihime?!"
"Heh…more than enough…"
"Then…"
"We have an agreement…you won't be my horse, but don't count on me being yours either, kid. Instead, let's have one king reign this place…let a shadow descend upon your heart and soul…"
Clouds loomed over the two Ichigos, draping the land in their ominous shadows and covering while the two figures stepped closer to each other and stabbed their blades into each other's hearts.
They both fell to their knees, both of them having finally lost and won their own private battles, sacrificing their own differing issues to become something different, something stronger.
Shogo Kiriyama's eyes widened in surprise as a curtain of dark shadowy reiatsu burst out of the torn bloodied stump at Ichigo Kurosaki's shoulder where he had yanked the latter's right arm right off.
Ichigo Kurosaki stared coldly at Shogo, the dark shadow slowly materializing and forming into a new right hand, the shadow finalizing into Ichigo's actual flesh and muscle, including the black sleeve that had been ripped off along with Ichigo's arm.
"What?!"
Ichigo looked up at Shogo with his eyes, and it was then that Kiriyama realized they were no longer yellow or brown, instead they were two pure murky black iris-less pools that seemed to reflect no light at all.
"You're sounding pretty confused for a bastard who can regenerate his wounds. If you've got the power of a god, then I've got the power of the devil. This is the devil's deal."
Shogo grit his teeth.
"Shit! Whatever, fancy trick, but it won't mean a fuckin' thing, you punk!"
Kiriyama sprang forward, punching through the air in Ichigo's direction despite the fact that he was dozens of feet away. The punch send a massive rippling wave of golden energy flying out towards Ichigo.
However Kurosaki flashed away from its path effortlessly, reappearing directly behind Shogo and sending Zangetsu slashing viciously into Shogo's back.
The blow sent Kiriyama skidding away in confusion, but the wound Ichigo had slashed into him was already healing by the time he turned to look back at Ichigo in confusion.
His speed is up?!
"What?!"
Ichigo smiled.
"You're the Death God, aren't you? You wanted a beast to battle…"
"Tch! Shut yer fuckin' mouth!"
"You see, it may have looked like I was unconscious in there for a couple of minutes…But for me, it was a century. And during that time, I killed. I killed myself, Ichigo Kurosaki, over and over. There's your taking lives, here's your beast."
Ichigo flashed forward once more, his speed growing steadily each second, leaving shadowy afterimages with each step.
Shit! I can see you, you punk!
Shogo increased his speed as well, the two blurry figures flashing and speeding alongside each other along the stone roofs of Seireitei, Shogo finally noticing he was backing Ichigo up along the edge of one of the buildings despite Kurosaki's increase of speed.
This is it…I've got you trapped, ya fuckin' worm!
Shogo Kiriyama sprang forward, both fists pulsing with spiritual energy as he cornered Ichigo Kurosaki at the edge of the stone roof.
Only to have Ichigo Kurosaki's entire shape twist to avoid the vicious punching blasts, his entire shadow form twisting itself and warping around to Shogo Kiriyama's back just in time to plunge Zangetsu into the exiled Shinigami's back.
"Tch, I told you punk, I'm made of stronger stuff than-"
Shogo Kiriyama stopped talking as he suddenly noticed something. His feet were hanging out over open air. Ichigo had thrust his sword into Kiriyama's back and sent him off the edge, the only thing stopping Shogo from falling being the blade in his body hanging him off the edge like a fish on the hook.
Shit?! Was he planning this? I thought I cornered him on the edge?!
Shogo Kiriyama spat blood as he looked down at the sword pierced through his chest. This time, the cut was not regenerating.
"Shit! You fucking bastard! How did you-"
Ichigo Kurosaki smirked, holding Zangetsu's hilt steadily in both hands as the black blade held his opponent dangling.
"I noticed earlier…it was only a few seconds long, but it was enough…the time I slashed you and you flew up in the air…I noticed you didn't actually heal until you landed onto the ground."
"So-"
Flash-stepping wildly forward with speed that startled even Shogo Kiriyama, certainly because the brutal Shinigami hadn't expected this much power left in his younger opponent, Ichigo sent Zangetsu slashing viciously into Kiriyama's chest in a long-winding slash that started downwardly aimed up towards the sky.
The blow sent Kiriyama flying up into the air along with a rain of the blood that had been sent flying up from the deep cut now slashed into his chest. Ichigo watched in satisfaction as Shogo flew up, though this satisfaction was turned into confused trepidation as Shogo finally landed onto the ground on his own stable feet.
True, Kiriyama was covered in blood and sweat, but the cut on his chest was gone, as if it had never been delivered. Had Ichigo's slash even connected?
"Yeah, I figured it out. You said you had the power of a god, I remember hearing about that in class…the labors of Heracles…the son of the Earth, Antaeus, whose strength would regenerate as long as his feet remained on his mother. I'm not all muscle, you know, I have some brains."
"Tch…you fuckin' kid, I'm gonna tear you apart…"
Once I get myself fixed up…gotta get off this fuckin' sword.
To Shogo Kiriyama, the fall off the edge was irrelevant, he'd survive it and regenerate to fight another day. What mattered was getting off the sword stopping him from touching the ground, and he could feel his body weakening already. To think a sword through the chest would finally have some effect after all the men he had killed and fatal wounds he had brushed off because of his extraordinary abilities.
He grasped Zangetsu's black blade with both unsteady hands, viciously trying to push himself off the blade and let himself fall to the welcoming ground below. However each time he tried, Ichigo would simply lift him higher on the blade, gravity settling him down deeper onto Zangetsu.
Shit…not like this…not against some…fucking twerp…
For once, his wounds were not healing, and his great muscular body so toned and trained was finally reaching its limit, his breaths growing strained.
Former Lieutenant of Fifth Division under the great Captain Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai, Commander of the Special Forces, Shogo Kiriyama felt his eyes fluttering as he looked down at the blade piercing his body. Blood seeped down and dripped through the air to the distant ground he so yearned to touch. Even his abilities wouldn't regenerate him now.
lubb-dubb…
"Hey Shogo! Did you hear? That new Captain, the Captain-Commander's son, he's taken an interest in you!"
Shogo Kiriyama gave a foul smirk to his fellow Shinigami academy student, clenching his knuckles.
"Heh, glad that spoiled brat sees something in me, let's see if I can't pound some sense into his skull..."
lubb-dubb…
Kaworu stood dominantly over Shogo's charred body, offering the Shinigami a helping hand up.
Shogo coughed, struggling to stand even with Kaworu's help.
"Lightning? You...cheap sonnuvabitch..."
Kaworu smirked, helping the Shinigami up and surveying his wounded body.
"Come now, Shogo, you're a promising fellow, but it's clear who won this battle. What say you come drinking with me and Kisuke and we discuss your future in my division?"
Shogo gave a foul curse on Kaworu's mother, spitting on the ground, but his eyes were full of mirth.
lubb-dubb…
"Shit...Captain...did you have to do that? You fucking...bastard."
Shogo stood with Kaworu's cross-spear pierced into his gut and the Shinigami Captain quickly slid him off the weapon, making the Shinigami Lieutenant fall to his knees and spew blood from the hole in his stomach.
Kaworu gave Shogo a calm friendly smile, those same confident eyes that had just outclassed Shogo in power now offering his Lieutenant friendship and a promise of power in the future. This was all Shogo cared about, after all, getting stronger...stronger than his Captain, stronger than all these bastards...
"Come now, Shogo...your abilities are quite a marvel, you're the only one here other than Kisuke who can duel with me and come out of it alive."
"Tsss, you call this alive, you fucker?! I've got a...shit...hole in my gut..."
Kaworu smirked, offering Shogo a helping hand to stand.
"Eloquently put as ever, Lieutenant Kiriyama."
Shogo smirked, taking his Captain's hand and rising once more.
lubb-dubb…
Shogo hung there pierced and bleeding, his vision blurring as his trembling hand reached out towards a spectral Kaworu that only he saw, waiting for his Captain to help him up to his feet and laugh it off, like always.
"So...this is how...it...feels..."
Shogo Kiriyama's heart stopped beating.
Captain Zaraki Kenpachi's eyes widened. This level of power, he had heard of such things, dreamed of such things, perhaps like the Captain-Commander's.
"Hahahaha! This is gonna be fun as hell!"
Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai stared Kenpachi down stoically, the trident-like bankai form of Inazuma held grimly in one hand.
"Tch, why're you lookin' so serious! This is gonna be fun as hell, let's see who dies first!"
"To think I'd have to use bankai against you. You're nothing but a mere beast, a monster, the lowest level of existence. You might as well be a Hollow. A monster cannot beat a man, not a man like me."
"Ugh, cut all that bullshit and show me your talkin' with your weapon!"
"So be it."
Kenpachi's eyes widened for the first time. Those last three words had been directly behind him, the Kaworu Yamamoto-Genryūsai in front of him was gone…suddenly, searing pain.
How many blows had Kaworu delivered to him in that split-second? How long had it taken for him to do so and then gracefully land behind Zaraki Kenpachi without the giant man registering it fast enough to respond?
Kenpachi stumbled, a giant spiky-tower whose foundations had crumbled, the Captain barely managing to stop himself from falling over completely as blood splashed freely from the cornucopia of wounds all over his body.
"Shit?! What?!"
"Can even a beast with a self-professed lack of heart and lack of care about anything other than killing and fighting feel fear, I wonder?"
"Tch, don't get so fuckin' overconfident!"
Kenpachi replied brazenly, using his sword to bring himself back to his feet and laughing wildly at the top of his lungs.
"All this means is I can finally go full-power! It's just starting to get interesting!"
Kenpachi let out a boisterous laugh, tearing off his power-inhibiting eye patch with one hand, his massive reiatsu finally released to its full potential swirling around him in a wild hurricane of power that it seemed nothing could pierce through.
Kaworu however, watched Kenpachi with a marked disinterest and disgust, as one would stare at a dying wild dog.
"Is that your full power, dog? Even now, I can hear your zanpakutō crying, you don't even know its name, do you? Relying on pure bestial strength like that…it's doable, but ultimately all it means is your death."
Kenpachi laughed wildly, slashing his sword in the air, the pure power of the slash slicing apart one of the pillars around them and sending it crashing a few feet against Kaworu who remained unmoving.
"I don't need any fancy tricks like that, they're bullshit! All I need is my beating heart and my sword, if anything stands in front of it I'll cut into it and let it cut into me until it stops moving! Cut your crap and show me you're worthy enough for me to kill ya!"
Kaworu clenched his fists, staring resolutely at Kenpachi, his own reiatsu suddenly bursting forward at this bankai level, swirling violently around him.
"And, thinking like that, like a beast, like a monster, how long do you think you can win? What happens when you fight a bigger monster?"
"Tch, then I'll die after I take him down with me, reveling in the glory of the fight!"
"I see…"
Kaworu continued talking as he resolutely began to move forward towards Zaraki Kenpachi and his swirling spiritual power, surrounded by his own heavy reiatsu as well.
"…the difference between our strength is like night and day…You call yourself a Captain? Your job is to defend Soul Society and your Division, I don't care if you're some blood lusting monster, abandoning your duties and sanity because of that…I shall warp and erase this existence and create a more perfect one lacking such mongrels such as you. You're nothing but a spoiled child, thinking death is some irrelevant thing…You have to win and fight for what you believe in, even if it means stepping down on a fight or relying on the power of others…"
Kenpachi sneered.
"That's for cowards…using the powers of allies or zanpakutō, talking about reasons for fighting or retreating...that shit is complex, cowardly, bullshit. It's simple, zanpakutō are nothing but tools of war, no better than the fuckers who wield them…nothing matters but cutting and killing and fighting, and the feeling of the fight. Death is just the final battle!"
"I see…"
Kenpachi's eyes widened as Kaworu strolled forward as he muttered those words, his hand piercing directly through Kenpachi's fiery hurricane of reiatsu and slamming into the Captain's face in an open-palm push that smashed Kenpachi's head effortlessly into the wall behind him.
"What?!"
"You're nothing but a fatalistic cliché…a reckless fool who strayed too long in the land of beasts, not realizing that depending on nothing but your bestial strength puts you in a bit of a dilemma when you meet a bigger beast. If all you have are your muscles, I shall tear every one of them asunder."
Kenpachi spat out blood, not sure if this excited or enraged him, Kaworu delivering a vicious punch into his gut and then slamming his head back into the wall.
"A mere beast not worth the price of that fine haori weaved to symbolize your leadership. Men like you who turn themselves into monsters are the lowest of the low. He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man? Pain and empathy are what tell us we are alive and worthwhile, a beast may not care about anything or feel pain, but a beast is also utterly…"
Kenpachi's eyes widened once more, not having time or strength to react as Kaworu lifted up his great spear Inazuma and slammed it straight through Zaraki Kenpachi's chest. The three-prongs of the spear pierced straight through and out Kenpachi's back, Kaworu slamming it forward and into the wall behind Kenpachi so that the 11th Division Captain was left pinned a few feet off the ground into the wall by the mighty spear.
Shit!
"You act so detached and full of bloodlust, so brazen and bestial, but you must realize that the path of the beast is the path of impotence…no evolution, no flexibility, nothing but pure strength and madness. If you're a beast, you need to be stronger."
Kenpachi hissed in frustrated anger, trying desperately to pull out the spear impaling him to no avail.
"Besides…despite your hackneyed exterior, you have things to protect, even if you don't realize it."
Kenpachi's eyes widened as Kaworu turned to face little Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi, who had been watching loyally this entire time. Zaraki had no time to react as former Captain Kaworu lifted a single arm up in Yachiru's direction and muttered phrases in a tired voice.
"Destructive Art: 95, Lighting Genesis, Crash Down."
Even without the incantation it was clear the bolt of lightning was quite fast and powerful, and neither Yachiru nor the hopelessly pinned Kenpachi had any time to react as it ripped straight through little Yachiru's chest, sending the Lieutenant flying backwards and limp onto the rubble.
Kaworu smirked in a self-congratulatory fashion and then turned back to the Captain who he had trapped like a pinned butterfly.
"Killing requires reason, slaughter requires strength, and while you may have had the latter, there is always another stronger than you…brute. To live and fight as a beast as you do, is to live in a world of blindness and congratulate yourself for it."
For once, the boisterous and wild Kenpachi gave no response, in fact he hadn't even heard Kaworu's words.
Inside Captain Zaraki Kenpachi, a war was raging.
"Isane…Lieutenant…wake up…"
Isane…Isane! Isane!
Kiyone…no…anything but her…anyone…Kiyone was the reason that Isane would allow these things, these injustices to be dealt to her, for her little sister's sake…so that they could have a roof over her head, so that these injustices were spared from Kiyone herself. As long as that cruel man's pain and lust could be spent on her, then they would not be spent on Kiyone, or so Isane had thought.
She threw open the door just in time to see her father with his youngest daughter, a knife held to Kiyone's trembling little throat as her father's other hand tried to reach into her clothes.
"No! No! Please…no!"
Isane rushed forward, just as her father did as well, tears mingling about them, powerful slaps resounding against the two girls, coupled with drunken shouts of anger.
Isane had no idea what came over her as she grasped the knife out of her father's hands.
She had no idea what came over her as she watched her father topple over and out of the front door, blood flowing from his cut throat. Could it be sorrow? Miserable regret? Relief at freedom? Or realization at their future foolish fate?
She watched the snowflakes slowly absorb the blood pooling onto the ground, piling and gently sprinkling around her father's dead body.
She could hear Kiyone's tears in the background; she could hear herself shouting for Kiyone to stay inside.
She could feel the snowflakes giving her the tears she could not produce herself.
The nightmares had begun since then…but she always simply attributed silly causes to them, trying to forget, belittle, and walk past her misery.
It had slowly worked over the years, Kiyone had come under Ukitake's division, been promoted, seemed happy. Seemed to have forgotten.
But for Isane Kotetsu…she could never forget the bruises and who had dealt them…and those snowflakes…all around…comforting her hot and weary face…protecting her…forever...
The madness inside her head…
It was shattered by a cool warm influence above her, a healing force of love and power that was unmistakable. Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu opened her eyes to see her Captain Retsu Unohana standing over her with a slightly concerned face, one of her warm hands on Isane's forehead.
"Captain, I-"
Lieutenant Kotetsu tried to rise and apologize for her defeat and for everything, as she often did, but Unohana only smiled kindly and eased Isane back into the hospital bed.
"Enough of that, Lieutenant, you need rest. The hospital is full as of late…Captain Kuchiki, Soifon, Ukitake, Hisagi, and even Captain Shunsui…I'll be in need of your help as the 4th Division is overloaded, but for now you should rest."
As she continued to speak, two 4th Division Shinigami rushed in, reporting immediately to their solemn and gentle Captain.
"Captain, we've discovered and returned Lieutenant Abarai as well as the intruder it seems he slew as there was no one else in the area, former Lieutenant Shogo Kiriyama."
"Good work, and what is Lieutenant Abarai's condition?"
"Stable, Captain. Though there are some strange properties of the intruder Kiriyama's body we'd like you to see…possibly regenerative, despite the fact that he is quite clearly deceased."
"I see, put him in a secure containment area for now…"
"Ma'am?"
"We had better ensure Captain Kurotsuchi not find his hands on this specimen, my mind reels at what illegal experiments he'd perform on it."
Unohana's Shinigami smiled solemnly, saluting.
"Yes, Captain."
"Is there anything else?"
The rest of their words put concerned and confused looks on both their Lieutenant and Captain.
"Well, miss…Lieutenant Hinamori is not in her room…"
Nemu Kurotsuchi trembled, feeling what could very well be emotion, something her creator and master certainly did not encourage in her or his other expendable subordinates.
She knew very well she wouldn't be able to move fast enough to stop the Quincy's arrow from slamming right through her Captain's head…and she had an inkling her Captain wouldn't be able to react fast enough either.
Nemu blinked, slowly, feeling her body tremble. The loss of her creator? Her purpose? What could she-
The explosion of reiatsu rippled through the laboratory, shattering the windows and sending glass sparkling through the air like so many stars in a cool clear night sky.
Uryū Ishida's eyes widened. He had released his arrow, yet that despicable slaughterer of Quincy remained standing.
It was then he realized that those sparkling stars weren't just shattered glass. Ishida could see it now…
Snow…flakes?
It was then he realized that the cold chill he had felt up his spine had been something other than just surprise.
Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya stood there calmly as the sleet sprinkled down around him, to the two other Shinigami and Quincy's surprise.
Hitsugaya's eyes were resolute and as cold as the ice that surrounded him.
"Releasing first limit, Hyōrinmaru …"
Ishida did not recognize it, as he had had no previous encounters with Tōshirō Hitsugaya, but Captain Kurotsuchi surely did recognize the change within Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
The second Hitsugaya spoke those words, he seemed to pulse with pure spiritual energy.
He held the great sword Hyōrinmaru in his left hand and pressed the tip into his right palm. As if made of air, it sank straight through his palm as if his palm was an endlessly deep pool of water and then simply disappeared.
Hitsugaya clenched his right fist, his eyes bulging and the veins at his forehead straining with obvious difficulty as his right arm trembled.
Suddenly, the bright blue-white tattoos spelling the phrase "Spring Snow" ("Haru no Yuki") across both hands that had grown on his knuckles with his bankai started to contort against his skin.
The bright blue lines began to crisscross and grow, as if the tattoo was somehow sprouting like a vine. They grew up his hand and began to snake and crisscross all around his right arm, these glowing golden lines and symbols searing into his skin as if they were being branded on or tattooed.
It all stopped at his right shoulder, and as the smoke cleared, one could see the intricate and beautiful lines and runes all around his right arm with a new surprising addition.
There seemed to be a swirling wing of ice sprouting out of his right shoulder, a single ethereal wing of massive spiritual presence.
The power potential in his bankai had certainly been achieved, at least partway.
Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi smirked.
Ah, so my calculations were correct. Splendid…it is not fully matured, but he seems able to control it to a degree…Now to take care of this pesky Quincy who simply refuses to submit to dissection!
However, before Hitsugaya could send his powerful ice swirling against Ishida, a Hell Butterfly fluttered onto his shoulder, and he promptly listened to it.
"What?! Hinamori's gone missing?!"
The Quincy moved quickly, taking advantage of Hitsugaya's distraction and emotion from this sudden message to flash forward in front of Captain Kurotsuchi, tackling him in a rough surprise attack that sent both of them flying out the laboratory window and into the streets of Seireitei below.
After all, Ishida had no interest in fighting Captain Hitsugaya, especially at that level of power. First things first, killing the man who had murdered his people and his grandfather.
Zaraki Kenpachi spat blood as he rose from the ground, confused and enraged, not sure where he was or why Kaworu wasn't in front of him.
"Shit, where the hell am I? Don't tell me I died!"
Suddenly a booming voice surrounded him, and he looked up to see a massive swordsman, a giant the likes he hadn't seen since…his battle with Komamaru?
"I think you know who I am, Zaraki Kenpachi…"
Well, that's this chapter, hope you enjoyed it…Hope it's not too messy or slow for you guys, I'm just getting back into my writing groove. Expect more awesomeness and expectations on the various drama going on in this chapter, as well as more surprises, romance, and action.
As always, I extremely appreciate input and reviews. See you guys next chapter!