Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann X: So this is the Heavens
Chapter Two: So This is the Heavens.
The rain was ice cold on his skin. Wet grass cushioned his body. All of this registered dully through his groggy mind as he awoke from what felt like the deepest sleep imaginable.
Kamina's eyes opened heavily. His vision was blurred but gradually came into focus. There was brooding grey sky, dashes of rain like a grainy screen and flimsy, lifeless green grass. He couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of him through the torrent of water.
"Argh. What the hell." he groaned as he pushed himself onto his knees. He expected pain but felt nothing. Groping at his side and chest he could find no evidence of any wounds. In fact, he felt better than ever.
"Hey Simon, Yoko, what happened? How long have I been out?"
He received no reply. Hauling himself onto his feet he scanned his surroundings. There was no sign of Gurren, Simon, Yoko or anyone. He was completely alone.
Racking his brains, the events of the battle came flooding back to him. "Oh crap."
He chose a direction at random and strode off, his tattered cape flowing behind him. He passed a few trees but nothing else separated the landscape. Mountains seemed to surround him in the far off background but there was no sign of any other beings.
A rustling in a nearby tree drew his attention. He changed direction slightly and stood at the trees base.
"Hey, anyone up t-"
A stone to the head cut his question short.
"Come here you bastard! Who the hell do you think I am? Fight me like a man!"
"Screw you, ya fat headed jerk!" came a high pitched voice followed by a second stone. As Kamina dodged he could just make out the face of a child hidden amongst the leaves.
"A kid? So there are other people here." he motioned up to the child. "Hey kid, come on down. I need to find anyone who can give me answers."
The kid was cautious. "How can I trust you? There are some real bad people around and if I come down they might get me."
"Trust me? I'm Kamina. When people talk about the badass and manly leader of the awesome Team Dai-Gurren, saviours of humanity, they're talking about me!"
"Never heard of ya." stated the kid in a deadpan tone.
Kamina pressed on, not letting the kid's ignorance get to him. "You shouldn't be up there hiding anyway. If there are bad guys hanging around then you need to kick their asses. Hiding will get you nowhere as it doesn't sort out the problem. Real men never give up and never back down!"
"You…you really mean that."
"Yep. As long as you keep picking yourself back up off of the ground then you can't lose."
"You're dead though. Didn't you keep getting back up?"
"I won, that's what's important. I left my legacy in capable hands. Sometimes, you've just gotta move on, I guess."
The kid hesitated a moment longer then dropped from the tree. He was about Simon's height but wore brown rags and had overgrown black hair. His skin was pale and his figure slight.
"What's your name, kid?"
"Skitter." answered the kid as he took in Kamina's details up close. The light blue hair, toned and tattooed torso, red cape and generally inspirational aura.
"So, is there a village of something?"
"My town is nearby. I'll take you there. Just be careful though, the bad men are everywhere and the villagers don't like outsiders much." He began to run off. "Come on!"
Kamina jogged after him. The rain was clearing but a light drizzle persisted to soak his clothes and skin. About ten minutes had passed before the landscape was broken up by a series of small wooden structures.
For Kamina, who had lived his life either underground or in Gurren's cockpit, the site of houses was something new to him. He stared at them with a mixture of awe at a real surface settlement and disappointment at their shabby appearance and poor condition.
The people that they passed all looked tired, worn down and generally depressed. They were all dressed in a similar fashion to Skitter.
"So this is the heavens eh?" muttered Kamina. "I was expecting more clouds, and togas. Not sure why but togas always featured heavily in my imagination. Oh, and lots of white."
"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing in our village!" came a shout from Kamina's side. There was a large, burley man with a bald head and beard/moustache combo. He vaguely reminded Kamina of his own village chief. He walked with the aid of a stick, a slight limp evident in his left leg.
"Skitter! How many times do I tell you not to wander out of the village! And now you bring back a stranger!" The man hit Skitter in the side with his walking stick causing the boy to collapse. He made to hit him again but Kamina stepped in the way, the wood hitting his shoulder harmlessly.
"Guards! Guards!" bellowed the man. Within seconds a dozen armed men surrounded Kamina.
Kamina's face lit up. "Now this is more like it." he grinned.
"Why are you here?" sneered the man who Kamina presumed was the chief.
"No idea. Answers or action, you choose." announced Kamina as he fingered the handle of his sword.
"I ask the questions around here." growled the chief. "Are you with the outcasts or those damned Black Tigers?"
Kamina slid his gravity defying shades over his eyes. "I am the mighty Kamina of the undefeatable Team Dai-Gurren."
"Never heard of them." grunted the man "You an offshoot group or something?"
"Look, I'm new here. I've only been here less than an hour so I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
"Impossible!" snapped the chief. "You have strange clothes and a sword. All people that enter the Soul Society come without memory or possessions. You appear to have both."
"Well I am." Kamina replied. He looked at his sword, taking note of it for the first time. He frowned. "It's not my sword anyway. This one is red handled, mine was purple. I just found this one next to me when I woke up."
"Stop your lies, scum. Guards, take him down. If he won't give us any valid answers then we will just have to beat it out of him."
"I will warn you." smirked Kamina. "I'm pretty good with a blade."
"Attack!" ordered the chief.
The guards dashed forward, eight in total. They each had simple wooden spears but they were more than capable of skewering the blue haired brawler. They all lunged at him but their spears pierced nothing but his crimson came, Kamina somehow managing to slip the cape off and spin away out of the ring of men.
He lashed out, smacking the closest guard across the back with his still sheathed sword. The guard lurched forward, knocking into another guard as the men turned around to face Kamina. He knocked several spears aside as they sped toward him. He delivered a few well aimed slashes that knocked a few of the men back before unsheathing his blade.
Kamina slashed, cutting the ends off of three of the spears. Flowing from that move he slammed the sword's handle into another man's face then thumped another in the stomach with his left hand. With a few deft movements, several pairs of trousers fell down to the men's ankles as Kamina hacked through their rope belts. A few more blows with the back of his blade and all eight men lay on the ground in a dazed heap.
With a sigh of satisfaction, Kamina turned to the chief. "I expected more. Whatever happened to their fighting spirit?"
The chief looked about to attack Kamina himself when a young woman ran up to him panting.
"Lokly!" she pleaded. "Those Black Tigers are coming again! They look like they mean business."
"Damn it! We only just fought them off last time." chief Lokly scowled.
"Well arm your men and fight! With enough determination you can't loose" stated Kamina proudly.
"You just took out all of our trained men!" howled Lokly.
"Ah." said Kamina. He thought for a moment. "Well, then I'll fight them."
"Are you crazy?
"Highly possibly." grinned the warrior. "Just arm everyone that you can, including women. I knew a woman in life who could have seen this rabble off single handedly." He became quiet for a second as he remembered the fact that he had left Yoko without carrying out his promise. Well, no time for regret now.
Retrieving his cape he strode off in the direction that the woman had fled from. He crested a hill and witnessed the approach of about twenty five men in black robes with white stripes. Each had a sword.
"You can't hope to win them." said Lokly solemnly at his side.
"Who the hell do you think I am? Team Dai-Gurren has always pulled victory out of certain defeat. It's what we do. Being dead won't stop that."
"What do you plan then?"
"Plan? We attack head on!" blared Kamina, pointing at the band of miscreants.
"You really are crazy!"
Kamina didn't answer, instead watching the approaching force with a devilish smile.
000
"Hoorah!"
"We'll get 'em good this time!"
"All that food!"
"All those women!"
The Black Tigers marched in a disorganised fashion through the bleak countryside. The men all shouted loudly about the rewards that they would gain after their next ransacking and spirits were high. Their leader, Vydo marched at the front, a large, jagged sword slung over his shoulder.
It was going to be easy pickings. The last time they had assaulted the village they had been repulsed by a hail of stones flung by every villager, this time they had brought along shields to negate that problem.
The village loomed on the horizon, sat atop a small hill like a hen over a nest.
"Ready yourselves!" commanded Vydo. "We'll move in quick and hard and take them before they can prepare a proper counter. Victory will be ou-"
He was cut off as a streak of crimson shot past him, opening up a wound on his side. He span around to see a blue haired man with a red cape plough through his men on what looked like a door. He was surfing down the slant of the hill, cutting the surprised men to ribbons with his blade.
A stone striking his head returned Vydo's attention to the village. Every villager stood above them hurtling stones down at the men while they were distracted with the caped man.
"Forget him. Take the village!" Vydo shouted to his men.
The Black Tigers stomped their way toward the villagers but rather than fleeing like expected, the Villagers actually charged them. They only just outnumbered the Black Tigers but their weapons and training were far inferior. They'd simply fall onto the tigers' swords.
A scream from behind him caused Vydo to turn. The caped man was assaulting his men from behind, splitting the force into two.
"Kill the Villagers! I'll handle this bastard." The Tiger leader strode through his men towards the trouble maker with pure murder in his eyes.
"So you're the head honcho, eh?" questioned Kamina as he matched Vydo's stride. They met and were instantly in combat. Kamina dodged the heavy weapon and struck out but was parried and forced back by another savage attack.
Kamina had been in Gurren too much these past few weeks, he thought to himself. He might have now been an ace pilot but his sword skills were getting rusty. Tiring of being on the defensive he pulled out his shades and threw them at the Tiger's foot. They pierced his shoe, pinning the foot to the ground. Vydo's momentum kept him moving though and he began to fall forward. Kamina smashed his own head into Vydo's, sending the man sprawling across the floor.
"How?" hissed Vydo as he clutched at his bleeding head.
"Nobody is as thick headed as the mighty Kamina!" boasted the brawler proudly.
"That's nothing to brag about."
Kamina picked up the fallen man and began to carry him toward the waiting villagers who had just finished massacring the bandits. Vydo managed to kick off and landed painfully on the ground. In one quick movement his sword was back in his hand and was rapidly closing in on Kamina's head.
Kamina ducked under the attack, spun and slashed at the bandit leader. Blood sprayed from the wound and Vydo toppled to the damp earth. Sheathing his sword, Kamina recovered his shades and slipped them on.
Lokly appeared at his side, a weeping cut across his forehead. "I never thought this would be possible."
"You've just gotta believe. That's all it ever takes. Always believe in yourselves."
"We trust you, stranger. For your help we will show you to the elder in the hope that he can aid you. Just be respectful is all that we ask."
"I always am." Kamina informed the chief.
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AN/ Second chapter finished. I hope you liked it. Yep Kamina is dead and in the currently brooding Soul Society. He got a good welcoming committee in the form of a large group of men to kick the hell out of.
Things will begin to move forward more next chapter as I hope to introduce some actual Bleach characters as soon as conveniently possible but remember that Soul Society has changed…a lot.
Hope you enjoyed it, please review. Any questions or suggestions, just say.
-FWF