Chapter 16
I tried to avoid the Arrancar as best I could until I could come up with a plan.
Nothing came to mind as I leaped from one building to the next.
His ceros instantly annihilated the rooftops, leaving me nowhere to hide.
"Making me release my true form, you have be very special indeed. But no matter how special you are, you'll never be able to defeat me!"
"We'll see about that!" I yelled. I jumped into the middle of the street.
"What are you doing Saidō? You're going to get killed!"
"If I am Jikan, then it definitely won't be in the air. I have to fight him on the ground."
Sure enough, he accepted my challenge and appeared on the opposite side of the street.
"Let's go Partner!" I raced toward the Arrancar.
Still the Arrancar preferred to use his brute strength rather than his zanpakutō.
I jumped and raised Jikan high, hopefully giving him the impression that I'd attack him head on.
The Arrancar then used sonido to dodge, just as I planned!
I swung Jikan behind me and caught the Arrancar by surprise.
I would have cleaved his arm off, but I underestimated the strength of his hierro.
He countered with a powerful backhand that sent me flying through the air.
I was unable to react as he quickly sonidod his way to the top of a building, and then flew down into me from above, slamming me into the ground.
Blood filled my mouth.
My eyesight was fading. I wasn't going to last too much longer. The fight would soon be over, I reached to grab Jikan off the ground- his foot went into my stomach, lifting me into the air and into a building.
It was over!
I was losing my consciousness and my opponent was far stronger than me. Kidō wouldn't help me and there was no way I could escape. His last blow tore me open, leaving a trail of blood behind me.
"I guess it is the end," I thought.
The only thing I could do is struggle until the very end... the world suddenly faded to black.
10 years earlier.
There was ash still floating in the sky. It was heavy, hanging amongst the smell of death. It was the only thing Hirako Shinji could smell, it was all he could see.
Sitting up in the middle of the rubble, the Vizard clutched his shoulder, looking at his palm, blood staining his hand. Shaking, he cursed, looking up into the sky, the usual blue burnt and scarred red. His eyes faded in and out, his vision blurry, his blonde hair falling down over his eyes as he breathed in deep, grasping his wounds.
"Damn it…" he thought to himself, sweat running down his cheek as he shuddered. "…these wounds of mine, they would have killed any ordinary Shinigami."
He clenched his hand into a fist before slamming it down onto the stones in front of him, looking around the area. Standing to his feet, the Vizard attempted to brush himself down, choking up more blood as it splattered onto the ground in front of him. Swaying back and forwards, Hirako sighed heavily, taking a small step forward.
"What the hell happened here…? How did we get into this? The battles I watched, helpless on the ground…" shaking, he looked around, noticing his zanpakuto on the ground some way away.
There was blood on the once shining blade and he recognised it as the blood of his greatest foe.
"…again…again…defeated by that bastard…!"
Shinji cursed under his breath, an image of Aizen flashing into his mind, the man's cruel leer on his face, mocking Shinji as always. Slouching back on a rock, Hirako spat blood again before reaching for his face, summoning his mask with his last ounce of strength. He could feel its power flowing slowly into him and it rejuvenated him at an alarming rate, his wounds healing.
Two hours passed and Shinji was ready to fight again, flexing his fingers around the hilt of his zanpakuto. However, looking around, he shook his head, the shadowy figures of the other captains lay on the ground, releasing no spiritual pressure at all. It was already clear to him they were dead.
"Isn't there anyone left…?" he thought, looking around. Urahara and Yoruichi were spread out across the area, but there was a tiny bit of reiatsu drifting from their defeated bodies. Yet, he couldn't feel anything from anyone else.
"We weren't allies…not at all…but ya know, I can't help but despair at their deaths…maybe that's all I'm feelin' now…" he thought to himself, sighing. "…maybe it's cause they were our friends once…".
"Yo, Shinji…" came a voice from behind him, Hirako turning slowly, raising an eyebrow. Kensei was the one speaking to him, Mashiro carrying him over her shoulders.
The white haired man was drenched in blood and Mashiro had a strange look on her face. It was sad…almost…something completely new.
Shinji's eyes widened at the sight and he stepped over to them.
"You're alive!" Shinji exclaimed, smiling weakly, Kensei scoffing as Mashiro struggled to hold him up on her back.
"What happened to you?" Hirako asked, Kensei's lip curling up into a snarl as he coughed violently.
"The damn retard kid pulled somethin' crazy out of his ass. I was fighting him with my Bankai, I landed a few hits, next thing I know, there's fire and crap in the sky and my Bankai disintegrates. I didn't even have time to summon my Hollow mask." he muttered, turning to face Shinji again.
Underneath him, Mashiro squirmed, covering her mouth with her hand, making a flamboyant wave with her hand.
"Eeew…what's that horrid stench!" She squealed.
"It's cause of him…" Shinji muttered, gesturing towards the smoking crater, the remains of the captain commander incarcerated in a burning plume of smoke. Kensei sighed, wiping some blood from his chin with a weak motion, the smoke thick in the air around them, the stench of death rising.
"Damn bastard nearly killed all of us." Kensei spat, Shinji looking over to him.
"Who are you talking about?" he wondered, a crashing noise being heard behind him, Hirako turning round to see Love, Rose, Lisa and Hachi stepping down onto the rubble, their clothes tattered and torn, ripped and burnt, Love rubbing the back of his head.
"He's talkin' about Yamamoto." the man grumbled, Shinji smiling meekly at the sight of them.
"I see you're still alive." he said simply, Aikawa punching his chest heartily.
"Did you expect anything else?" he smirked, grinning proudly. Sighing, his smile dropped and he looked over to the smoking crater, lowering his eyes.
"Unlike some…" his eyes moved away, falling slowly on another spot.
Shinji swallowed hard, unable to turn around to face what the man was looking at.
Behind him was the torso of Hiyori.
The girl had stopped breathing a long time ago, aid unable to reach her.
Tears began to swell in Hirako's eyes, the Vizard turning slowly to her and reaching down.
Her blood was sticky on his fingers and he gripped her body tightly in his arms.
"Her blood…it's already cold…Hiyori…" he whispered, choking on his tears as he leant into her.
Away from them, Mashiro piped up behind Hachi, the large man turning to her slowly.
"Wait…" she said daintily. "…I'm confused, what happened?" She wondered, a finger to her lips.
Resting Hiyori's remains on a long, tablet like rock, Shinji stood to his feet, looking back at the green haired girl, his eyes dark and lonesome.
"Let's just say that Yamamoto went out with a bang." Shinji said grimly, neither honorific, nor respect coming to mind as he spoke about his fallen comrades.
"Aizen and Gin…those bastards got away." he hissed, clenching his fist tight.
"So what do we do now…Shinji?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow to the man.
Suddenly, beside them, Captain Retsu Unohana appeared, her white haori billowing out behind her as she touched down delicately onto the rocks, the Vizard's eyes widening in shock as she looked up to them, a solemn look on her face.
"You're a bit late to the party. Care to explain?" Shinji scowled, the woman closing her eyes in response.
"Don't worry. I've seen the devastation." she said simply. "I arrived with Kurosaki Ichigo and, while I may not have experienced what you did, I can assure you Hirako-san, I feel for you."
"That the sort of thing a high ranking captain like yourself should be saying to a criminal like me?" Shinji said bitterly, Unohana staying silent. Finally, she turned and walked away from him, looking down at the crater and then over to Hiyori.
"So much death. I never would have thought Aizen's plan would have come to this." she whispered, the sadness underlying her voice.
Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light behind her and she turned, a Senkai gate appearing in the sky, its wooden doors sliding apart, revealing a shimmering passageway.
The Vizards all stood in front of it, their backs to Unohana as they went through the doorway, leaving finally only Shinji behind.
"I don't regret trying to fight him. Nor do I regret siding with ya for this round…" as he spoke, his reiatsu began to flare out around him, churning up the ground beside him as he stood, chunks of rock and stone being thrown aside. He looked up at Retsu with sad eyes, dropping them upon Hiyori again before turning back to the doorway.
"…if yer are lucky, maybe ya can save some of them…" He whispered before stepping into the doorway, the Senkaimon closing shut tight behind him before disappearing into the cloudy sky.
The Present.
The Hollow Lord walked victoriously towards the Soul Reaper. Sadly, the dying warrior wasn't in any condition to provide information.
"Hmm... spill his guts." A cruel and ironic metaphor. What really mattered was that the soul reaper had given him a really good time, even though the fight was cut short by his demise.
The Soul Reaper lay there, in a pool of his own blood. Pity. He was still struggling and had a very low spiritual pressure that would last a few minutes at the most. The last vision the Soul Reaper would see would be the face of his enemy, gloating in victory. He stood over the Soul Reaper and with two of his fingers prepared the finishing move.
"Any last words, Soul Reaper?" he asked as he started to laugh maniacally, happy that he hasn't lost his touch.
The man was still struggling to move and he was too injured to even speak.
"Pity, be proud that you met your end by the Hollo-"
Slash!
He looked down: his arm was cut off!
Impossible!
His head turned to see the assailant!
It was him!
The same soul reaper! But how? He's still right-
"Hi pal! Miss me?"
"No- IMPOSS-"
His head was cleaved into by Saidō.
I whistled at my victory!
"That was a close one Jikan, thanks for the help... oh, right."
"What the hell was with that vision?" I blacked out for a second and.. hell whatever, I grabbed Jikan and spoke.
"Play! Doboro no Jikan!"
It was a new technique that Jikan and I developed while fighting with Kagine. I began the technique as soon as it looked like I was going to die on the ground. Jikan used his power to create a loop of me going through the motions of struggling to get up, over and over. Before the Arrancar could figure it out, I moved to hide in a hole in the roof above him, and took the advantage to cut him down.
However, I was still injured, and it was close to impossible that I could still make it to Soul Sanctuary alive.
My worst fears were realized as I looked outside; Hollows, Menos Grandes, and Arrancars, all ready to face me.
"Dammit! There's no way for me to beat them all!"
"GETSUGA TENSHO!"
Instantly my enemies were engulfed in bright blue light! It left nothing but a huge crater in its wake.
What power!
It came from a man who descended behind me. He literally came out of nowhere. He wore a tattered soul reaper uniform and had spiky orange hair.
"Hey! You okay? You look like you've taken a real beating." The stranger said.
He looked familiar. "His name is a the tip of my-"
He stretched out his hand with a smile.
"My name is Ichigo, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Special thanks goes out to Tommo2304 for his help with the 10 year earlier scene