22: Espada
Well it sure has been a while hasn't it? Sorry about that, but here's a new chapter for you. Enjoy and review!
Soul Society had faced its darkest hour, standing against an invasion by Aizen and his army of fearsome arrancar. Many brave warriors had fallen in the face of their terrifying enemy, but with new waves of reinforcements the tides of the bloody war were beginning to turn. The first waves of Aizen's troops had been beaten back and many of his generals were nothing more than corpses to be trampled under the feet of the shinigami's victorious march forwards.
The captain commander watched from the balcony of his barracks at the fires raging down below. The order to advance had already been given and now their defensive line was moving forward to press Aizen's main force back. With enough pressure Aizen may retreat, or so the captain commander thought. Aizen was a cunning fox and he would surely know when his battle is lost. He would never be so foolish as to put his head on a platter for his enemies.
Even under the face of this crushing defeat he remained in Soul Society, only bolstering the great commander's fear of a greater threat within their ranks. As the first wave of arrancar had fallen he had sensed the advance of several new warriors, those whose reiatsu stood on levels far above their previous charges.
The captain commander grit his teeth and summoned another messenger.
"Inform the captains to gather in the centre and meet the enemy's next wave. Be forewarned they shall be stronger than any opponent they have ever faced! Be on guard! Now go!"
The messenger vanished leaving the commander alone once again to contemplate the flow of the battle. With leathery hands he clenched his cane so hard it made his bones ache. The piercing eyes of Soul Society's strongest warrior scanned the red horizon with a frown.
"This battle...Is far from over..."
Heeding the call to advance, Toshiro Hitsugaya, captain of tenth squad rushed to the front line in time to spot the three lone figures marching forward across the courtyard. He scowled at the intimidating auras emanating from their incoming forms. There was no denying they were very powerful indeed.
"Be careful young dragon," a deep voice came from nearby, "They are on a different level than the others."
Toshiro turned to face Belze and nodded. Behind him, slavering like a thirsty blood-hound was none other than the death-dealing-demon of the eleventh squad, Zaraki Kenpachi. The murderous grin that spread across his face was a reminder of why the Soul Society had never fallen before. None had managed to defeat Kenpachi in his many long years in service. He was one of their most vital assets in the field of war and a most welcome gift in their hour of need.
"Which one is the strongest?" he snarled, "The big guy or the skinny one?"
The 'skinny one' in question raised a weapon the likes of which the captains had never seen. Two great bladed crescent moons created a lethal cross at the end of a long black pole. The weapon stood far taller than its wielder and seemed to even block out the sunlight.
Zaraki licked his lips and drew his serrated sword from its scabbard. "Well that cinches it! He's mine! Interfere and I'll take your heads as well!"
With that firm warning he raced off, colliding with the lanky warrior with a mighty explosion of reishi.
Belze lunged forward to face the largest of the opposing trio, a giant of a man built like a tank. That left Toshiro to face the smaller of the group, a youthful man with short blonde hair and a gleaming sabre in his gloved hand.
As they crossed swords Toshiro introduced himself, "I am Toshiro Hitsugaya, captain of squad ten. What is your name?"
"Tesla." he answered bluntly. "To know any more is not necessary for you shall not live long enough to comprehend it."
Just as Toshiro was about to retort the young man vanished from sight. Before he could even register his disappearance Toshiro felt the bite of steel in his flesh. He cursed and swung his sword in a wide arc, narrowly missing his foe who had appeared to his right. The two leapt back to a safe distance to size up the other, but the interlude did not last long and in a matter of seconds they were once again at each other's throats, fighting with intense energy.
Toshiro was easily the stronger in the duel, but Tesla's speed and cunning amounted just enough to put them on a level playing field. The young dragon was backed into a corner quite quickly and forced to go on a hasty offensive. Tesla dodged most of his attacks with ease, but the occasional landed strike dealt its share of damage.
Both men were visibly tired before long, though each tried to conceal their fatigue as much as possible, even if it was a downhill battle.
"Impressive. As much as I would expect from a captain." the arrancar stated calmly.
Toshiro frowned, "Is that a compliment or are you insulting me?"
This gave the opponent grounds to smile, though the look in his one uncovered eye remained as cold as ice. "Perhaps you only conceive my words as insults because you have acknowledged your inferiority to me?"
"Well I know for sure...That was an insult!"
"Make of it what you will; it shall make no difference to the outcome of our battle. Lord Aizen will prevail."
The name was but venom to Toshiro's ears. He glared at his foe and rushed in, pushed on by the burning rage within. His sword crashed down upon Tesla's and forced him down on one knee. Tesla cursed under the overwhelming pressure of the younger captain's attack. Suddenly his cold calculating eyes had turned wild.
"Don't ever say that name in my presence!" Toshiro snarled, forcing Tesla to the ground. The young warrior escaped at the last second to avoid losing his head but Toshiro followed through and chased his foe all the way to his new vantage point, driving his sword deep into his side.
Tesla fell back, a scarlet shower spitting from his wound. His eye widened in shock and his impassive straight face gave way to a stunned frown.
"Damn! To think I could allow such a weak child to wound me? Nnoitra-sama will not be pleased!"
The lanky warrior facing Kenpachi glanced over at Tesla and snorted. "That lowly piece of shit! I told him not to go dying on me! Oh well, it's not like I need him anyway! I am the strongest! Aha ha ha ha!"
Kenpachi rose to his feet and grinned devilishly, "Hey don't tell me you're getting bored of me? I was just getting into the feel of it." His body had already been carved to pieces and yet the fiendish captain showed no signs of registering the agony that should have crippled him.
Nnoitra stared at him in disbelief. "Huh? You're not even shakin! I guess I picked the fun one then didn't I? Let's see how much I have to slice you up until you squeal for me!"
"Ha ha ha! That's more like it! Let's see indeed!" Kenpachi charged blindly, hacking away like a lunatic. Nnoitra managed to counter swiftly, even with his ungainly weapon. No normal warrior would be able to handle such an awkward weapon with such ease and yet Nnoitra wielded it as if it were a mere stick.
Truly, these were not mortal men, but the most fearsome of monsters.
Close by, Belze grappled with the mighty Yammy, the thick-skinned giant. Belze had always stood above most men but even he was dwarfed by the beast he faced. With arms as thick as tree trunks the huge man slammed his fist into the earth. Belze calmly stepped out of reach and dealt a thunderous uppercut to the warrior's stomach. With a jarring crack Belze let out an agonised cry and backed away. His fingers had dislocated and his knuckles shattered under the stone skin of the beast. Staring at his uselessly disfigured hand he let out a curse but in his state of distraction fell prey to Yammy's assault.
This time Yammy's fist landed, sending Belze flying into the wall of the courtyard far behind him. Choking on dust and debris he struggled to pull himself from the wreckage, allowing his foe to barrel into him, sending a torrent of crimson spittle from between his clenched teeth.
Belze fell back into the ruins while Yammy stood tall, chest puffed out with pride.
"Ha ha ha! Is that all you got? A puny little ant like you could never hope to defeat me! I am Yammy, the strongest of lord Aizen's Espada!"
"Espada?" Belze choked.
"Yeah! We Espada are Aizen's ten most prized and powerful generals. Nothing can stop us, not even your worthless captains! Aha ha ha ha ha aha ha ha ha ha- huh?!"
Yammy's bout of arrogant laughter was cut short in the very same instant his left arm had done the same. Severed from the shoulder, his arm crashed down to earth some distance away leaving a raw gaping wound on his shoulder. Staring down at the blood gushing forth, the mighty giant roared in pain.
"Argh! What the Hell did you do?! My arm! Argh!"
From the cloud of dust emerged a wickedly curved blade emblazoned with the Roman numeral 'II'. The carved number filled with the blood of its most recent victim. From the blade was a brilliantly ornamented hilt extending into a length of black steel.
Belze rose from the debris and pointed his halberd at his foe with a stone-faced expression. "You pride yourself on being so large that your thick layers of blubber can repel any attack, but there is nothing on this earth that cannot be cut by my blade, nor is there anything on earth capable of breaking it!"
"Grr, you bastard! Don't get cocky now! That was just a scratch!"
Yammy's other arm fell off.
"Argh!"
"Furthermore, you think you are the strongest and yet you are about to die by my hand. Know this! I am no shinigami, I am a mere human!"
Yammy's eyes narrowed.
"If a human can slay one of Aizen's most powerful men with such ease, then the captains of the Gotei 13 shall have no problem crushing your comrades. This battle is over!"
Poised for the finishing blow, Belze dashed forward only to be blown back by a powerful explosion of reishi. As a cloud of dust rose to the heavens so too did a shadow so immense it drowned out the sun and imposed an eclipse upon all of Sereitei.
Toshiro stopped dead in his tracks, whirling round to observe the leviathan that swallowed the sky.
"W-What on Earth is that?! Its reiatsu is...Is..."
"That is Yammy, number ten of Aizen's Espada. He is but the weakest of our lord's strongest men!"
"The weakest..." Toshiro frowned, "So I suppose you are one of the Espada as well? Which number are you?"
Tesla chuckled at that and displayed a venomous smile. "I am not an Espada. I am merely a subordinate of number five over there, Nnoitra Jiruga."
"So I guess I have the easier opponent then. That's a relief."
"Oh don't be so sure, young dragon! Remember, all of Lord Aizen's arrancar have a secret weapon! Crush, Veruga!"
With explosive rises in reiatsu on all sides Kenpachi turned to observe the transformations of the other warriors with a thin smile. "Damn, they're having all the fun. I should finish this up quickly and join the party!"
"Hey!" Nnoitra snapped. "What are you lookin' so disappointed for? If you want to play with the strongest, then you're looking right at him! Yammy over there is a baby compared to me! If you think he's tough then guess again because I could cut that big oaf down in a second!"
"Well that sounds a little more interesting. How about you show me this great power you're so fond of babbling about?"
"Ha ha, fine! It's your funeral!" With a snarl Nnoitra thrust his weapon high into the sky and roared, "Pray, Santa Theresa!"
Mayuri observed the ressureccion of the three warriors via the monitors in his laboratory. His lips curled back to reveal a wicked grin as he stared wide-eyed at the beast on-screen. Their power was truly incredible and to obtain specimens of such worthy subjects would be a grand find. Eagerly, he clasped his hands together and awaited the bloodshed to come.
"Marvellous! I shall dig through a mountain of corpses if I must, but certainly I shall find a worthy specimen. I hope you leave the bodies intact gentlemen..." The madman howled with laughter but stopped immediately upon the unannounced entrance of his subordinate.
"Is that you Nemu? About time. You are missing the fun!"
She did not answer him.
"Silence again? I let you keep that tongue of yours for a reason! Speak woman!"
Mayuri spun around in his chair just as she stepped up beside him. It took only a moment to notice the odd sun-shaped marking on her forehead, but by then it was already too late. A long thin dagger dug through his chest and emerged from his back, slick with blood. The captain's eyes narrowed in shock as blood seeped between his bone-white teeth. Even in pain, however he continued grinning, a faint smile on his face.
"Is this mutiny? No...This is something far more intriguing!"
Mayuri resumed laughing.