Usagi hadn't even seen the Arrancar until he was directly over her with his blade drawn. He smiled in the last second before he struck, the bored expression on his face wiped away by Usagi's terrified scream. Next there was a flash of blood all around her and the Arrancar's gleeful face twisted into confusion and pain.
The clang of Typhon's zanpakutō hitting the ground seemed to snap him out of his daze as he looked at his stump of an arm. Kenshin was next to him, a blade of searing white energy formed around his forearm. "What part of 'this is between us' didn't you get?" the shinigami asked, a cold edge to his voice that made even the Arrancar shiver. Typhon retreated but Kenshin kicked his sword up to his hand and launched it at the Arrancar, piercing him right between the eyes. The other three Arrancar stared on in shock as Typhon fell to the ground completely still.
The girls were the same, staring at their friend in complete disbelief. Once the blade dissipated they could see that Kenshin's hands were lightly bruised from Darien's hierro and there were flecks of blood on his face. Despite all that, however, he seemed no worse for wear and thus far remained uninjured. "Kenshin..." Minako started but couldn't find the words she wanted.
"You girls should get out of here before this gets worse," Kenshin said coldly. "The one I've been fighting, Darien I think they said his name is, isn't all that tough but the others are another story. That last hit was just lucky to catch him off-guard."
"But we can help!" Ami insisted.
Kenshin shook his head. "No you can't. Their leader is here somewhere waiting for the Sailor Guardians to show up and if they did he'd know who they really are and the best way to force them to do what he wants," he told them, causing many of the girls' to drop their heads. Despite the situation he grinned like a madman, a feral excitement glowing in his eyes. "Besides, this is my fight and I'm finally getting to have some real fun. On the off-chance I get to let loose I don't want anyone getting in my way."
Minako looked up just as Kenshin dashed towards the two Arrancars where Typhon had pulled the blade out of his head and regenerated his arm. With a laugh Kenshin took them both on, blocking their attacks while weaving in-between them like it was nothing. The smile on his face and the gleam in his eyes as he countered their attacks told the girls that he was truly enjoying fighting against the Arrancar.
Both Darien and Typhon moved in to strike from opposite sides but Kenshin redirected their attacks into each other, sending both Arrancar skidding across the floor. "Is that seriously all the power the two of you have?" he asked with a chuckle. "C'mon, we've been at this for a while now and I'm still warming up. At least that other guy was able to keep me on my toes."
"So it is you," Typhon growled, brushing away the trickle of blood from his lip. "You're that brat that was with the Sailor Guardians when Collus was beaten. Damn it, I knew something was off about this whole thing." He turned to Borin and Scylla who were calmly waiting by the hole in the wall. "Hey, lazy asses! You gonna join us any time soon?"
"What do you think?" Scylla answered, brushing her hair out of the way. Typhon was about to respond when Darien slammed into him, sending them both toppling to the ground. Scylla looked to Kenshin who, despite breathing heavily, looked like a kid in an amusement park. "Hmm, what do you say, Borin?" she asked as she turned to red-haired Arrancar. "Do you think we should step in before Master gets here? I'd hate for him to have to see us playing with our food again."
Borin sat on the ground with his back against the wall and closed his eyes. "You go ahead, Scylla," he said with a yawn. "I'm not interested in fighting a human unless it's one of the Sailor Guardians. Wake me up when the cute girls in skirts show up to fight." Scylla's giggle was interrupted by a large chuck of concrete tossed at Borin who calmly blocked it with his foot, shattering the block into a thousand pieces.
"Sorry to bother you during your nap, Princess, but it you seem to have forgotten that I've broken your toys," Kenshin told him, motioning to the laid-out Typhon and Darien. "I was hoping you might want to take a turn now."
Borin smirked for a brief second before standing back up and cracking his joints. "If you weren't such an insufferable ass I might actually like you, kid," Borin admitted as he cracked his neck. "You've got either some serious power locked up or you had one helluva teacher. Regardless, you have my kudos for being able to make fools of those two. Why don't we take five to figure out where we all stand? I hate fighting weaklings and would rather not waste my time on you."
Kenshin smiled as the Arrancar at his feet tried to get up. "I have a similar rule about weaklings," he said, cracking his knuckles. "The only difference is that I would rather put them six feet under."
Borin chuckled as Darien and Typhon successfully retreated, reappearing next to him and Scylla. "What did you say your name was, kid?" Kenshin told the Arrancar his name without hesitation. "That's a good strong name. You can call me Borin Stelazzo, the leader of the Youma-borne Arrancars. Now, either bring out the Sailor Guardians or we rip you apart piece-by-piece." On cue Typhon drew his katana once more and Scylla drew two short kodachi from her bandolier. Darien bore no weapon but banged his fists together repeatedly causing the air to quake with each hit. Borin's sword, however, remained in its scabbard and the Arrancar was making no move towards it.
"He's the one that I have to watch out for," Kenshin thought as he dropped into a fighting stance. "He's smarter than the rest of them. Well, smarter than the other guys at least." His eyes darted to Scylla briefly. "She's gonna be the quick one with a focus on thrown weapons. The broomstick-head guy seems pretty balanced between speed and strength while the muscular one is definitely the strong but stupid type." Despite the fact that he was grinning worry gnawed in his gut. "I don't have the girls coming in for back-up any time soon and to make matters worse I can't get out of this damn gigai because I don't have any gikongan." He took a deep breath and let his muscles relax, his eyes closing in the process. "I guess in a situation like this," he said, still grinning from ear-to-ear, "the only thing a guy can do is have fun."
Darien was the first to attack, his straight jab deflected and countered with a hard strike to the back of his knee, sending the bald Arrancar to the ground. Scylla came at him next with kodachi swinging. Kenshin deftly dodged her swings, his eyes still closed, which caused the female Arrancar to growl in anger and launch several kunai at him. Kenshin spun, grabbing the kunai by the ring as he did so, and threw it back at Scylla. She screamed in pain as the kunai plunged into her chest, the force of the impact pushing her into the wall.
Typhon was next, his blade nothing but a blur as he came at Kenshin. The shinigami kept his eyes closed, focusing on the movement of Typhon's reiatsu as he swung around wildly. Kenshin clapped his hands together, catching the blade a fraction of an inch away from his head. He twisted the blade until it was torn from Typhon's hands, quickly flipping it and moving into an overhead strike. The same arm Kenshin had cut off once before fell to the ground again in a spray of blood. This time, however, Typhon kept his wits about him and focused his reiryoku around his hand, forming a blade identical to the one Kenshin had used against him. He threw a jab only to have Kenshin bend backwards and let Typhon stab a charging Darien in the gut. As soon as Typhon withdrew his arm Kenshin kicked his legs into the air to latch onto Darien's head. With a loud grunt Kenshin lifted the heavy Arrancar off the ground and threw him into Typhon, sending both of them crashing into a nearby wall.
Several more kunai zipped past him but these were attached to long threads as Scylla twisted her arms around, changing their vector to converge on Kenshin. He deflected a few of them but one scored a hit on his side, eliciting a spray of blood but no other reaction from the shinigami. "It's about time we managed to hit you," Scylla shouted, her voice a mixture of irritation and pride. "Let's see how quickly you move when injured."
"If you think a scratch like that is enough to slow me down then you have another thing coming," Kenshin replied with a smirk, causing Scylla to seethe. She tossed several more kunai but Kenshin's eyes were open now. He sidestepped the kunai and grabbed the threads, yanking Scylla off her feet and towards him with Typhon's katana pointed straight at her.
It was here Borin stepped in, planting a solid kick into Scylla to knock her off course. Kenshin moved from a thrust to a dodge as Boris came at him swinging. Based on how he was moving Kenshin picked up that he was favoring a boxer's stance. Each time Kenshin swung the katana Borin would knock it away and counter with a jab of his own which Kenshin dodged with relative ease. "You're quick for a human," the Arrancar complimented Kenshin after he dodged another set of punches.
"Should I be flattered that someone trying to kill me is complimenting my form?" the shinigami asked, half-joking. Borin let out a short laugh before trying out a punch-kick combination that Kenshin deflected. He countered by swinging his left arm out and bringing the sword down into Borin's shoulder.
"Were I anyone else that would have hurt," was the Arrancar's response, the blade having cut through his shirt and stopping with a clang against his skin. "Unlike my comrades my hierro is quite well-developed. You won't be able to cut me with something like that."
Kenshin started to chuckle, piquing Borin's curiosity. "Something like this happened to my boss once," he said when asked what was so funny. He reached out with his right hand and gripped the tsuka tightly with both hands this time. "I'll tell you the same thing he told his opponent: A sword strike is twice as powerful when swung with both hands." With that Kenshin brought the blade back up and swung down with all his might.
The force of the attack was so great that it formed a visible shockwave, cutting through the floor as though it was nothing. Borin was quick to dodge but not quite fast enough as blood poured down his arm. "How?" he asked through bared teeth, barely holding his rage back. "How can a human not give off an ounce of energy and yet fight the way you do?" Kenshin didn't answer as he allowed his body to relax. "Well? Answer me!"
"I might believe you were pissed off if you were actually giving it your all, Borin," another voice said, echoing through the cafeteria. A cloud of energy formed behind the Arrancar, taking the form of a blonde human in a dark grey military uniform. Even from where he stood Kenshin could see the malice in his eyes.
"Lord Jadeite," Borin said startled, his outrage temporarily forgotten.
"I told you to use whatever methods were necessary to draw out the Sailor Guardians and their shinigami ally and what do I find?" Jadeite looked at Kenshin with disgust. "You're wasting your time and energy on this piece of trash."
"He's more powerful than he seems, sir," Darien answered as he and Typhon appeared next to him. Both had taken a knee and Scylla quickly joined them. "We've been giving it everything we have but-"
"Don't give me that!" Jadeite snapped, the air shuddering as he swung his arm. "Why the hell haven't the three of you used your resurrecciónes already? And you, Darien, why haven't you activated your Anti-Human Mode? With all of that at your disposal killing this child should have been simple."
"So Darien doesn't have a resurrección? That's different," Kenshin thought, taking the distraction to try and catch his breath. "Maybe he traded its power for whatever this Anti-Human thing is. It's not like we know anything about Arrancar born from youma. I should try and bring him in to Captain Kurotsuchi, see if we can't learn a few things from him." He looked at Jadeite who was still scolding the Arrancar like they were children. "It wouldn't hurt to bring him either. He's definitely in charge based on how he's ordering them around." His flexed his hand around the tsuka of Typhon's sword, trying to get used to its feel. It was no Hisan Kusari but at the moment he didn't have the luxury of accessing his zanpakutō.
"You gonna stand there all day bitching at them or are they going to do their jobs?" Kenshin asked, tired of waiting. Jadeite turned to the shinigami to see him with Typhon's katana resting across his shoulder. When asked about the sword Kenshin replied, "If he wants it back he'll have to earn it. As far as I'm concerned this sword is mine now."
Typhon snarled but was silenced by Jadeite. The Dark Kingdom general stared at Kenshin, trying to get a read on the boy that he assumed was human. When he tried to feel out Kenshin's reiatsu he was surprised to come up with nothing. "Just what are you?" he asked after a moment. "No, never mind that. There's no point in knowing really." He turned to the Arrancars. "Kill him."
His servants didn't hesitate, all four surrounding Kenshin immediately with either their fists or blades drawn back. With almost unnatural ease Kenshin jumped up, flipping around to land behind Typhon and thrusting forward with his sword. The broom-haired man snapped around quickly to try and disarm Kenshin. The shinigami's response was to twist the blade and move into a slash, cleanly cutting through Typhon's hand. When Scylla came at him he parried her thrust with his free hand, disarming her in the process and taking the tanto she was using. He twisted his body, the katana now clear of Typhon, and using both blades make an 'X' across Scylla's back. Kenshin then planted his feet and drove both elbows back. Borin and Darien doubled over in pain with Kenshin's elbows in their guts though only Borin kept the presence of mind to duck when Kenshin spun again. He scored a deep cut across Darien's face, eliciting a roar of both pain and anger from the bald Arrancar.
"You've done this before," Borin noted as he let loose a flurry punches against Kenshin. The shinigami didn't answer, choosing to focus his attention on the flying fists instead. Borin felt a bit of relief knowing that he was keeping Kenshin on his toes but knew that with Jadeite watching them he needed to step his game up. With a little burst of energy he sped his fists up. Kenshin's response was to start blocking with his stolen weapons and the clamor of metal against hierro soon filled the cafeteria.
"Even at this speed his hierro doesn't give," Kenshin thought as one of the fists grazed his cheek. At the same time though one of his blades nicked Borin's neck, a small victory considering not even a second later the wound was gone. He blocked another jab with the tanto to have the blade finally give, snapping near the tang. Kenshin dropped it quickly, using his now-free hand to deflect Borin's right hook and counter with Typhon's sword. The boxing Arrancar was too quick though, jumping back to just barely avoid being cut. Kenshin pushed forward with a combination of slashes and jabs, scoring several deep cuts on Borin's torso.
"Trap, Araña," was the next thing Kenshin heard before having Scylla's reiatsu slam into him. He instinctively jumped back, avoiding several strands of webbing. He turned to their source: a fully transformed Scylla. With the release of her resurrección she'd grown a thorax that had a second pair of legs tucked into the bottom. Her normal limbs were now bone-white with several posts running up the length of each. Another pair of arms had grown out of her back and still had the webbing hanging from the palms. Her face was the most shocking change of all, having grown a large pair of spider fangs around her mouth. She'd also grown a third eye between her two other and the three of them moved separately as she took in her surroundings.
"I always did hate your resurrección, Scylla," Borin said as he relaxed for a moment. "Still, a little help in slowing this guy down would be greatly appreciated." Scylla just hissed at him before letting loose another salvo of webbing. Kenshin did what he could to dodge it but his left arm was quickly caught in a sticky mess. He slashed at the webbing, freeing his arm and causing the separated strands to dissolve. Borin took the opportunity to land a straight drive into Kenshin's chest. When Kenshin went to counter he felt resistance from the blade and turned back to see what the problem was.
"Dance, Revólver," Typhon commanded, blood running down his arm from gripping the blade of his sword. The katana vanished in a cloud of energy and swirled around Typhon as his resurrección began to take form. His hair turned jet-black and his glasses morphed into goggles, completely obscuring his eyes. Bandoliers formed around both of his wrists, each with six cylinders embedded in them, as his coat opened to reveal a body riddled with scars. Along the seams of the jacket bars of white began to form, creating a faux body armor, effective against a sword but not much else.
He aimed his right fist at Kenshin, smirking as he did so. The cylinders lit up one-by-one and fired off balas into Kenshin's torso, eventually causing him to cough up blood. Typhon braced his left arm, aiming his fist at Kenshin, and fired six rods of energy into the shinigami. They exploded the moment they hit him, rocketing Kenshin across the floor before he rolled back onto his feet as he stopped. "Six light bala and six heavy bala and he's still vertical," Typhon said as the cylinders around his wrists started smoking. "This kid's built pretty solid. How 'bout you now, Borin? You gonna use yours?"
Borin sighed as Kenshin tried to regain his composure. "No, it's not really suited to this kind of combat," he said. "Besides, it's clear that he doesn't stand a chance now. He's lost his only weapon and, even if it wasn't at full power, that last salvo should put a hamper on that speed of his."
Still observing the fight were the Sailor Guardians, seemingly forgotten by the Arrancar. It was taking the girls all they had to not transform and join the fight in addition to trying to physically hold Minako back.
"Let…me…go!" she growled at her friends, struggling to get away.
Makoto planted her feet and locked Minako into a hold, keeping her center of gravity low. She was glad she did because Minako's first instinct was to try and throw the brunette. "If we let you go out there you'll just get yourself killed," she said through gritted teeth. "Besides, we're no good like this. As long as we can't transform we'll just make matters worse."
Haruka stared at Jadeite, her nails digging into her palms in anger. The Dark Kingdom general was calmly watching Kenshin deal with Scylla and Typhon's resurrecciónes while still keeping his senses trained on the girls. With a snarl she slammed her hand into the wall, drawing the girls' attention to her. "To hell with just standing here doing nothing," she said, her transformation rod appearing in her hand. "He might be an ass but I'm not about to let Kenshin die for us."
Before Usagi could protest Michiru put her hand on the blonde's shoulder. "Even if he were to discover our civilian identities we don't have families here for him to threaten," the Guardian of Neptune assured her. Michiru held up her own transformation rod as both girls were wrapped in energy and within seconds they were raring to go.
Jadeite's attention was drawn to the sudden spike of energy, turning to where he could see Sailors Uranus and Neptune running around a corner. "No Sailor Moon it seems," he said to no one in particular. "But the fact that they're here at all must mean the other Sailor Guardians are close by." He was about to call for Scylla when the arachnid-woman was hit by a sphere of orange energy that tore across the floor with surprising speed. "Why do I even bother with these idiots?" he asked, massaging the bridge of his nose.
Michiru and Haruka stood their ground in front of a bruised and bloody Kenshin. "We will not let you harm this boy any further!" Haruka announced as the Space Sword formed in her right hand. "If it's a fight you bastards want then we'll gladly take you on."
"Well, two out of nine is a start," Typhon commented to a very bored Borin. "And where there's one…"
"…there's bound to be more?" his leader finished, a note of skepticism in his voice. "I suppose it would be safe to assume that. But why would only these two choose to come out and not the rest of them?" He rubbed his chin in contemplation, briefly wondering where Darien had wandered off to but just as quickly writing him off.
A shrill scream from behind him cued the two men to quickly move as thousands of spider threads tore through the air at Uranus and Neptune. Michiru reacted first by raising her hands above her, allowing the energy in the air to coalesce into waves. She threw the gathered energy at the incoming threads, dousing them and making them worthless. Scylla didn't relent, however. She opened all four hands towards the Outer Guardians and glowing violet threads reached out.
"You'll have to do better than that!" Haruka yelled as the Space Sword began to glow. She began to swing down when the threads reached the blade, covering it completely in the blink of an eye. "What the...?"
"If you have any sense about you I'd let go of that thing now," she heard Borin say. Haruka was going to ignore him until she could feel the energy of the sword being drained away rapidly. She dropped the sword and jumped back before the threads wrapped around her ankles, wrists, and neck. "Then again, the two of you pissed her off so I suppose there was no point in warning you anyway."
"Let…me…go!" Haruka growled as she struggled against the Arrancar's grasp. Her protests were silenced as a shock ran through her body.
"Scylla may not be able to use Cero or Bala but she makes up for it by using her threads to drain others of their energy," the red-haired Arrancar explained, keeping a close eye on Kenshin and Sailor Neptune. "Once she's got you trapped you can pretty much guarantee that you'll be dead in seconds. After all…" He paused to smile as he saw Sailor Uranus' expression of horror. "…that's how spiders feed."
Sailor Neptune's eyes narrowed in rage as she saw what was happening to her partner. She held her hand up in front of her as the Deep Aqua Mirror materialized. She was able to quickly see the weak points in the Arrancar's hierro and several tendrils of water shot out from around her. Typhon quickly jumped in front of his comrade, blood spraying out where the tendrils tore into his body. With a bloody grin he aimed his left arm at Michiru. "Enjoy, you little bitch," he spat at her as the cylinders on the bandolier began to glow.
His attack was interrupted by a flying kick to the head from Kenshin who promptly turned and yelled, "Now, Sailor Neptune!" The Outer Guardian acquiesced, releasing another round of water tendrils that found their mark this time, ripping off both of Scylla's left arms. The sudden shock caused the spider-Arrancar to drop Haruka who fell to the ground in an exhausted heap.
Kenshin came to skidding halt next to the two of them as Michiru supported Haruka's weight. "I owe the two of you big time," the shinigami said, letting out a long breath. "Unfortunately, a hard kick to the head or ripping off a couple arms doesn't seem to really do much to these guys." Haruka asked if he had any suggestions. With a nervous smirk Kenshin explained, "What we need to do is interrupt the flow of energy within their bodies. It's not a complete solution but it should slow down their regeneration big time."
"Again, do you have some way of pulling this off?" Haruka asked, worried that he was about to try something stupid.
Kenshin took a deep breath, standing straight up as he did so. "I do. But you two need to keep your distance," he answered as he clenched his fists. "This technique is extremely dangerous to use in my current state and there's no guarantee that I'll be able to fully control it." Before either girl could question what he meant energy started to rise from his arms in legs like steam.
"Not this trick again," Typhon muttered as he pointed his right arm at Kenshin. "Unless you want the kid for yourself, Borin, I'm just gonna kill him and end this game now."
Borin's expression was pensive as he stared at Kenshin. "Kid, huh?" he said as Kenshin's sleeves and bottom half of his hakama were torn to shreds by the energy rising from him. "This 'kid' has made us look like a bunch of fools over and over, all the while we can't even feel out his reiatsu to figure out how strong he really is." His eyes narrowed as curved violet blades formed on Kenshin's arms and shins. "No normal human should be able to fight like this and yet that's exactly what we keep saying we're up against."
The girls stared at Kenshin in shock as the blades of reiryoku stabilized around Kenshin. "Hang on a sec," Minako said as she spotted the limiter on his arm. "Wasn't that on the front of his shoulder?"
Makoto stared at her friend for a moment before saying, "I'm not sure if I should be worried that you've seen him with his shirt off or that he has a tattoo that magically moved." She took another look at Kenshin as the air around him rippled with power. "Actually, I might be a bit more freaked out by all of him at the moment."
"Something's not right about this," Ami said, her computer out and her visor over her eyes. "The human body can't withstand what he's putting it through right now. If he were unharmed and fully rested then maybe but like this…" She gulped nervously. "At the rate he's going, even if he wins, he'll-"
"Please don't finish that thought, Ami," Minako interrupted her and there was a general sense of agreement with the others and Ami nodded.
Kenshin flexed his arms and legs, trying to adjust to the technique. In shinigami form this wouldn't have been necessary but he didn't have the option at the moment. He also silently thanked Urahara for giving him a redesigned gigai capable of withstanding all the punishment he was enduring. "If I don't release my limiter I should be fine," he thought as his eyes darted around the battlefield. "Although with their resurrecciónes active I don't think I have a choice in the matter." He swallowed nervously as he glanced at the yarrow on his shoulder. "I can't take it back if I do this. Killing them and Jadeite should break the barrier down and by now Urahara is probably close with a gikongan."
He looked over at the girls who were all but piled on top of each other watching the fight. Minako's eyes were quivering with fear and he felt something tug inside of him. "Haruka, Michiru," he said quietly, catching the Outer Guardians off-guard. "I need you to do something for me." When they tried to deny their names Kenshin just stared at them. "I'm not an idiot and neither are you two," he replied. "No matter what happens to me here promise me that you'll make sure that Minako makes it to safety. If someone else that I care about were to die because I was too weak I don't think I could live with myself." He looked over at Minako for a moment before looking at the two of them again. "Promise me that you'll protect her."
Haruka and Michiru looked at each other for a moment before turning back to Kenshin and saying in unison that they promised. "Thank you," he said, briefly smiling. "Well then, I think it's about time I stopped playing around and got serious about this fight." With a single thought he released the limiter, causing it to flake off his shoulder.
Borin was about to order his subordinates to move in when Kenshin's reiatsu slammed into them, forcing both Typhon and Scylla to the ground. "What…the hell…is this?!" he asked, struggling to stand up straight. "Is this…coming from Kenshin?"
"No…way," Typhon commented between labored breaths. "He's only…human."
Even the girls were overwhelmed by the mass of reiatsu now bearing down on them. "Holy cow," Rei said having been forced onto all fours. "Is this Kenshin's full strength?"
"I feel like…someone's dropped a house on me," Usagi complained.
Makoto and Ami reported similar feelings while Minako, who was still standing, just looked at them in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she asked, looking between her friends and her boyfriend. "I barely feel anything. It's not all that different from normal really."
"Maybe…because you spend more time with him than we do," Ami offered as she forced her way back onto her feet. "It might just be a matter of…being used to it." Minako just stared at her friends, still thoroughly confused but unable to offer a better explanation.
Kenshin wasted no time, flash stepping past Borin to attack Typhon. With a swing of both arms Kenshin sliced off the gunslingers hands in a spray of blood. Typhon stared at the stumps where his hands had been for a second or two before letting out a hysterical scream. Before Kenshin could strike again Borin had his sword drawn, the kidō blades grinding against the arrancar's zanpakutō. "I suppose this is what we get for playing with our food," Borin said, struggling to stand his ground.
Kenshin said nothing though he locked eyes with the Arrancar for a brief moment before disengaging. Hardened webs cut into the floor where he'd been. Scylla was panting heavily, her right arms doing all the work while her left arms regenerated. She let loose another round of webs, twisting them through the air. One-by-one they homed in on Kenshin but he dodged them with ease, vanishing just as several threads tried to surround him. He reappeared in the air above Scylla, much to the Arrancar's shock, and formed a stepping platform to rocket himself towards her. Scylla was quick but not enough to avoid the brunt of Kenshin's attack, the blade on his arm tearing into the left side of her torso. Her blood washed over him but he barely seemed phased by it. With one swift motion he brought his arms up in a cross and slashed, cutting cleanly through Scylla's neck.
Her body vanished, as did the blood covering Kenshin. He pondered what had happened for a second when he felt a fist bury itself in his back, tossing him across the room and into the wall. He quickly turned to see no one where he'd been standing. "How the-" he started until a hard blow to the gut silenced him. He could feel his face being gripped as the invisible force slammed him into the wall again before letting him fall to ground.
"God I've been waiting to do that since this fight started," Kenshin heard Darien's voice say. The shinigami stood up and looked around to now see Darien with darkened skin standing next to Borin. Scylla also stood with him, no sign of the injuries that Kenshin had inflicted on her. Typhon, though, had just finished regenerating his hands and the look of fury in his eyes was unmistakable.
"I never thought I would have to say this, Darien, but I owe you my life," Scylla said, her fangs clicking as she did.
Kenshin closed his eyes, taking a moment to think while trying to shut out the pain his body was in. "So that's this 'Anti-Human Mode' you kept talking about," he realized, opening his eyes to stare down the Arrancars. "You can wildly alter the perception of any human caught in the range of your reiatsu, making them experience whatever you want them to." Darien's smug smile was replaced by a searing glare. "Glad to know I'm right."
Borin chuckled, earning stares from his comrades. "Not even a minute into your technique and he has it figured out to a tee, eh Darien?" he said. "You really are something else, Kenshin. A pity we have to kill you."
Before Kenshin could reply a flurry of black hair flew in his face and a woman in a black shihakusho stood between him and the Arrancars. "Hasn't this gone on long enough?" Minako asked. "You've made it obvious that Kenshin can't beat you. Why do you insist hurting him like this?"
Darien was about to growl a response until Borin held his hand up, silencing the bald Arrancar. "Are you offering to take his place?" he asked and Minako shook her head. "Then this has nothing to do with you. Either get out of the way or die before him."
Minako stood defiant before the Arrancars, though truth be told she'd never been more frightened. After seeing what they were capable of she knew that she wouldn't have a prayer unless she transformed into Sailor Venus. Even then it would be a one-on-four fight, two-on-four if Kenshin could still fight. When it became clear to Borin that she wasn't going to move he just sighed and let Darien at it. The Arrancar gave her a vicious smile as he held his open hand towards her. Black and red energy began to coalesce in his palm, the signature screech of the Cero filling the air.
Kenshin stared at Minako's back as the Cero continued to charge. For a brief moment he could see another blonde woman standing there as the jaws of a Hollow came ever nearer. "No, not again," he thought as he ground his teeth. "I refuse to let my weakness be her death!"
Minako watched the sphere of energy compress down into a ping-pong sized ball. Just as Darien called out the name of his attack she heard Kenshin yell, "Saihana!" She started to turn towards her boyfriend only to have him shove her out of the way. Darien fired the Cero, the wave of energy cutting right between the couple and slicing right through the exterior wall. Minako fell to the ground, her skin still stinging from the heat of the energy wave, and she desperately looked towards Kenshin. He was shrouded from the steam of the attack but from what she could see his was still vertical and alive. A wave of relief washed over her until the smoke cleared. Her eyes widened and she let out a piercing scream.
"Close but no cigar," Borin commented as he stared at Kenshin. The shinigami's right arm had been caught in the Cero and the heat had seared the skin around his ribcage, filling the air with the smell of cooked flesh. "I don't know how he's even conscious let alone standing. Still, that injury should make killing him much easier now."
"Ken…Kenshin," Minako stammered, trying not to stare at his injury.
"As long as you're safe then I'm willing to put up with any injury, any pain," he told her. For someone with such a serious injury Minako couldn't help but think he was unusually calm. "My weakness has already cost one person I love her life. I'd never be able to live with myself if that happened again." He looked over at her and gave her a sad smile. Despite the front her was putting up Minako could see the agony he was in. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do," he told her, knowing that he had no other option.
Minako watched as he dropped into a fighting stance, somehow ignoring the severity of his injuries. "Kenshin, please don't do this," she begged him, tears starting to form in her eyes. She reached into her shihakusho for her transformation rod.
"Don't you dare," was Kenshin's response, catching the blonde off-guard. "If you transform then they'll know the easiest way to get to you. Most likely they'll be able to figure out the others from that alone." When asked what he was talking about Kenshin glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "You know exactly what I mean...Sailor Venus." He turned his attention back to the Arrancars. "Trust me, Minako. When this is all said and done none of them are going to be walking away. It's a little drastic but I know what has to be done in order to get there and unfortunately that means doing something I don't think you'll ever forgive me for."
Before Minako could ask what he meant Darien was behind Kenshin. "I hope I'm not interrupting your little lover's reunion but I need to finish the job I started," he said simply, spinning in place and aiming a punch right for the small of Kenshin's back. The shinigami did a quick backflip, dodging the blow and briefly landing on Darien's arm. After a second he jumped again, letting Typhon's Bala barrage slam into his comrade. As Kenshin landed he didn't have time to dodge or block the punch-kick combination the Borin threw at him. He managed to land a solid hit on Kenshin's right side, eliciting a pained grunt from the shinigami. He didn't go down, however. Kenshin braced himself before switching to kenpō with his remaining arm. His attacks missed by a wide margin, allowing Borin to land a powerful hit right into Kenshin's chest with the force of the blow causing Kenshin to cough up blood. Despite that he remained standing, earning a growl from the Arrancar leader.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed at this point?" he asked as Kenshin tried to regain his bearings. "Don't get me wrong; we're happy to oblige you on that front. I'm just trying to get a grip on your thought process."
"That might be your problem," Kenshin replied, giving the Arrancar a bloody grin. "What you call 'suicide' I call 'a plan'."
As Borin went to ask what his plan might be Scylla's threads blew past his head, cutting deep into Kenshin's leg and earning another pained grunt. Several Bala breezed past him as well though Kenshin managed to dodge them with seeming ease, eventually driving his open palm into Borin's chest. The impact pushed the Arrancar back but dealt no damage to him. Kenshin, on the other hand, felt sharp pains running up his remaining arm. He assumed it was from the hierro but when he saw the miniscule cracks in his arm he knew he was quickly running out of time.
Not intending to give him time to attack again Darien appeared in front of Kenshin, landing a driving punch into the shinigami's gut, sending him flying across the room to slam into the wall. The force of the impact created a spiderweb of cracks around the impact site. Still Kenshin stood, refusing to fall before the Arrancars. "What the hell is this kid made from?" Darien asked as he seethed.
The sound of building laughter threw them all off. Kenshin threw his head back, laughing uncontrollably despite the blood running out of various wounds. "You have got to be kidding me!" he said, bringing his hand to wipe his face off. He turned his gaze to Darien, his eyes filled with fire. "Is that the best you've got, you little bitch? If you want me dead you'll have to stop screwing around and fight like a man!"
Darien let out a feral roar before charging Kenshin, grabbing the shinigami's head and slamming it into the wall, creating a crater. More racks ran up the wall as the force could be felt through the entire cafeteria. Kenshin began to laugh hysterically again, prompting Darien to wrap his arms around the shinigami and squeezing his body tightly. Kenshin's laughter quickly devolved into a pained scream as the Arrancar angrily tried to crush his body.
"This doesn't make any sense. It's almost like he wants us to kill him," Borin thought as Kenshin's screams continued. He thought back to what the shinigami had said, trying to decipher what he had planned.
Darien flexed his muscles, earning another scream from Kenshin. "I never get tired of hearing that sound," he told the shinigami with a smile. Kenshin stared at the Arrancar through one eye, giving him a pained smile and a quick laugh. Darien growled at him and was about squeeze tighter when Kenshin drew his upper body back as much as possible. With a roar he slammed his head into Darien's, forcing the Arrancar to drop him. Darien reeled for only a second before snarling and grabbing Kenshin's neck and lifting him into the air.
"When a human dies their soul is expelled from their body," Borin thought, now oblivious to what was going on around him. "But what good would being a spirit do him? Unless he's actually…!" Borin snapped back into reality as realized what Kenshin was trying to do. He looked at Darien to see him holding Kenshin parallel to the ground. "Darien! Stop!" he yelled but he was too late.
Darien brought Kenshin down on his knee, a sickening crack filling the air. Kenshin's eyes snapped open for a brief second before the life drained from them. From their vantage point the girls watched in horror as Darien held Kenshin's body like a ragdoll. He turned to Minako who was still sitting on the ground in shock. "Hey, girl," he told her, smiling smugly as he held Kenshin up. "I think this is yours." He tossed Kenshin across the room where he landed just a few steps from Minako.
Minako crawled over to Kenshin's body, tears running down her face when she finally reached him. She lifted him up to rest in her lap. "Kenshin? Come on, this isn't funny," she told him, her mind refusing to accept what she had just witnessed. A sharp crack sounded, prompting her to look around until she saw the cracks running across Kenshin's skin. They spread quickly until his entire body was riddled with them. Minako ran her fingers across his cheek and Kenshin disintegrated, clothes and all. Her eyes widened with horror as the dust that was Kenshin slipped through her fingers.
Turning away from Minako Borin couldn't help but sigh in relief. "Looks like we got lucky," he muttered. The other Arrancars just stared at him though Borin just waved their questions off.
Darien was too busy staring at his hand as his Anti-Human Mode began to fade to notice anything that Borin had said. "I didn't know I could do that to someone," he admitted once his skin was back to its normal color. "Then again, this is the first time I've really used it." He turned to Borin next. "What do you we mean we got lucky?"
"It doesn't matter now," their leader replied. "Now, I think we should do what we came here to do in the first place: draw the Sailor Guardians out of hiding."
He was about to walk away when a wall of reiatsu slammed into them. The Arrancars turned to see an orange flame-like aura around Minako. On her forehead was the symbol of Venus, shining so brightly that it was near impossible to see. "You…bastards," she said, tears still running down her cheeks. "How dare you do that to Kenshin." She stood up and the aura doubled in size. Her eyepatch disintegrated in the wave of energy and her hair was restored to its original color as it flowed wildly around her.
"Well this is unexpected," Borin said, only slightly uncomfortable. "Not quite as impressive as Kenshin but still not bad." The Arrancars didn't move as Minako raised her right arm and pointed with her index finger. She brought the arm down, bracing it with her left as streams of orange light focused on her fingertip. The gathered aura around her flowed into the point of light as it began to shine brightly.
"Crescent Beam," she called out. A beam of light shot out towards the Arrancars. Realizing its potential power all but Darien jumped out of the way. Darien just smiled as he stopped the beam with his bare hand, the energy pouring through his fingertips.
"Aww, are you sad that I killed your boyfriend?" he mocked her despite the warning from his comrades. Minako said nothing as her pointed finger turned to an open palm. Darien's eyes widened as the beam suddenly expanded, cutting through his hand and much of his torso. When the attack relented there was a large groove cut into the floor but had managed to miss anything structurally important. Darien, though, hadn't been so lucky. Where the left side of his torso had been was just a smoldering wound. It took a moment before the pain registered and he let out an animalistic roar of pain.
"Will you just shut your damn mouth and regenerate already?" Typhon asked, idly picking his ear with his pinky. Both he and Scylla had exited their resurrecciónes and, despite their advanced healing, had clearly seen better days. Darien, though, focused his attention on healing and the missing flesh quickly grew back, leaving the Arrancar breathless. "Gotta say, not a bad shot from her. You think she's one of those Sailor brats?"
"I don't care who she is! I'm gonna kill that bitch where she stands!" Darien roared in anger. He held his hands in front of him, palms facing each other, as a deep red Cero began to form. The screech that filled the air caused even the Arrancar to step back while crimson light began to pour out from Darien's hands. Borin debated stopping Darien but after seeing the look of rage in his eyes he doubted anything he could say or do would even reach him.
Minako fell to her knees, the orange aura gone as she stared helplessly at the Arrancars. "I'm sorry, Kenshin," she said as a tear ran down her cheek. "I wasn't strong enough to stop him either." She closed her eyes as Darien let out another roar and fired the Cero at her.