Hollow King - Chapter Fifteen.
Life in Eleven.
My scorpion's name is Sasori! Like the late Akatsuki member! And Tite Kubo owns Bleach.
Gondra sat down on his bed with the duffel bag that his gigai had brought back from the living world. He had given the mod soul instructions to bring back some of his personal affects before leaving. The duffel bag contained the remains of his human life. Gondra unzipped the navy blue bag and began to rifle through it when he heard a knock at the door. He opened the door and Yachiru came flying in at him at top speed. If Gondra hadn't duck when he did she would've drop kicked him in the face. Yachiru went sailing past him, landing with ease on a chair in the corner of the room.
"What's up, squirt?" Gondra asked her, leaving the door open and siting back down on his bed.
"Blacky, did you forget?" Yachiru asked, slightly tilting her head and giving him a sad puppy dog look.
Gondra tried to remember what she was talking about, knowing well that the look was only a front and he would incur the wrath of his pint-sized lieutenant if he didn't remember what it was.
"Oh yeah, your souvenir. I got it." Gondra said, once again rifling through his bag. "Here it is, Yachiru." Gondra chimed as he pulled a black Game Boy Advance SP from the bag and handed it to her.
"Oh, pretty! What is it?" Yachiru asked, flipping the screen open.
"It's a video game system. You can play all sorts of games on it. Here, I have about six of 'em right now." Gondra said, showing her how to power it up. Yachiru's face lit up as she played the strange device.
"When it stops working just ask Nemu or Captain Kurotsuchi to recharge it. He will if you say it's a favor from me." Gondra said, handing Yachiru the extra games.
"Thanks, Blacky!" Yachiru cheered as she started to get the hang of the game.
"You're welcome, squirt. I owe you at least that much for helping me hit it off with Isane, after all." Gondra stated, remembering when she told him to go say hi and then accidentally made him kiss her the first time. Gondra then sensed a powerful reiatsu approaching and looked up in time to see Kenpachi stick his spiky head in through the open door.
"There you are, brat." Kenpachi stated as he walked into the room.
"Hey, Kenny! Look what Blacky gave me!" Yachiru cheered as she waved the Game Boy in the air.
"What the hell's that thing?" Kenpachi asked, eying the device with mild interest.
"It's a game. I promised to bring her back something from the living world." Gondra said.
"Whatever. So did ya hear?" Kenpachi asked as Yachiru leaped through the air landing on the Captain's shoulder, still playing the game.
"Hear what?" Gondra asked.
"Renji and Rukia went off to help Ichigo in Hueco Mundo."
"What? Seriously? Damn. Wish I could've gone with em." Gondra grumbled.
"You're not strong enough to survive there. Not yet anyway. You should go by the training grounds. Ask Ikkaku to spare with ya." Kenpachi stated, visibly annoyed by the beeping sounds coming from Yachiru's new toy.
"Don't you want to spar, Captain?" Gondra asked.
"Can't. The Old Man's called all captains and lieutenants to a damn meeting about the arrancar." Kenpachi grumbled.
"That means Isane will be there." Gondra thought to himself, feeling the envy of not holding the same rank as his girlfriend.
"Damn it! I'm sick of being an underling." Gondra blurted out in front of his captain and lieutenant.
"Then get stronger." Kenpachi stated as he looked down at Gondra with his lone eye, full of determination. "Tell ya what. Tomorrow I'll spar with ya. But I wont be holding back, so get your ass over to the training grounds and find Ikkaku."
"You're on. See you there, captain." Gondra stated as he stood up, giving Zaraki a determined look as he held his fist in front of his chest.
"Yay! Kenny gets to fight Blacky again!" Yachiru cheered.
"I'm looking forward to it. I've been wanting to go up against that crazy cannon zanpakuto of yours again." Kenpachi stated with a hint of blood lust in his voice as he walked out the room with Yachiru still playing the game boy on his shoulder.
"It's not a cannon!" Sunaryuu grumbled, on Gondra's back.
After Kenpachi and Yachiru left, Gondra went rifling through his bag one more time before leaving.
"Hell yeah! I found it." Gondra cheered as he pulled his iPod out of his bag and went running off to the training grounds.
XXXXX
"So you want to have a sparing match to toughen you up enough to fight the captain? Alright, I'm game. How can I resist a good fight?" Ikkaku chimed, as he got up from where he was laying.
"Hey Ikkaku, mind if I ask you something? What's with the hair?" Gondra asked, looking at the gray mullet on his comrades head and trying not to laugh.
"Damn Yachiru super glued it to my head while I was sleeping." Ikkaku grumbled as he made another failed attempt to yank it off.
With a laugh, Gondra set his iPod down on a nearby bench, hooking it up to a portable speaker system and selecting a new playlist he created specifically for fighting, full of songs by Korn, It Dies Today, Slipknot, and Norma Jean.
"What the hell's that device?" Ikkaku asked as he limbered up for the fight.
"In short, its a music player. I brought it back from the living world. Should help set the mood for fighting." Gondra stated with a proud grin, happy as hell he had got his iPod back.
"Sounds like a plan then." Ikkaku stated, grinning as he jumped into the middle of the training ground, unsheathing his zanpakuto while Gondra did the same.
"Alright! Tense up and you're dead." Ikkaku shouted as he crouched into a fighting stance, holding his blade in his right hand and his sheath in his left. He then leaped up, spinning through the air and clashing his blade against Gondra's on the way down. Gondra gripped Sunaryuu tight with both hands, forcing Ikkaku back with the recoil effect. Ikkaku came in for another horizontal slashing attack. This one was aimed at Gondra's head. Gondra ducked down just in time as the blade clipped some off his hair. He then took a swipe at Ikkaku's legs, but Ikkaku jumped just in time, evading the attack. Gondra planted one of his palms on the ground, pushing up and drop kicking Ikkaku in the chest while he was still in the air. He sent him flying back a few yards before he flipped in the air and recovered in time to land on his feet. Now it was Gondra's turn to be on the offensive. He charged at Ikkaku, swinging Sunaryuu down at an extreme angle, causing him to twist out of the way. Ikkaku was barely able to deflect the blow with his scabbard as the blade grazed the side of his bald head, letting loose a trickle of blood. Ikkaku shunpoed back, twisting open the hilt of his sword and slathering the clotting ointment kept in it, on his wound.
"Not bad, Gondra. Not bad at all." Ikkaku commented as he rubbed the salve into the cut.
"Had enough?" Gondra asked, mockingly.
"Hardly!" Ikkaku yelled as he sped at Gondra for another attack.
With a battle cry, Ikkaku swung his blade up diagonally at Gondra's neck. Gondra sidestepped just in time as Ikkaku's blade cut a vertical gash into his eyebrow. With blood trickling down his face, Gondra swung his blade, aiming for Ikkaku's chest, but the attack was deflected by the purple scabbard. Gondra then utilized Tyler's move again, spinning around at high velocity on his heel. This time he added an extra spin. The first strike clashed with the scabbard again but with the recoil effect knocked it back. The second time around it hit it's mark, being Ikkaku's arm. The sword tore through the black fabric of Ikkaku's kimono, slicing into his bicep.
"Time out." Ikkaku stated after Gondra's attack.
"What's up?" Gondra asked curiously, withdrawing his blade.
"Here. Try using some of this. You can't see with all that blood in your eyes, can you?" Ikkaku asked as he once again twisted the cap off the hilt of his zanpakuto and offered some of the miracle ointment to Gondra.
"What is that crap, anyway?" Gondra asked suspiciously.
"It's a cream I made that helps clot wounds. Use it on your eyebrow." Ikkaku stated, holding the hilt of his sword towards Gondra. Ikkaku started singing a strange song about being lucky while posing as Gondra rubbed the salve into the cut on his eyebrow.
"Time in!" Ikkaku shouted as he lined up the purple scabbard with the hilt of his zanpakuto-to.
"Grow! Hozukimaru!" Ikkaku yelled as his sword and sheath transformed into a yari.
"So thats your shikai, eh?" Gondra commented with a grin on his face.
"That's right." Ikkaku shouted as he dashed at Gondra with a lunging attack. Gondra evaded the thrust of the yari by dropping to one knee then swinging his blade upward at Ikkaku's ribs. The attack would've hit it's mark but Ikkaku shouted,
"Split!"
This caused Hozukimaru to split into three sections, held together by chains that were snaking around Gondra's blade and stabbing him in the shoulder.
"A fuckin' three sectioned staff?" Gondra shouted as he pulled the blade out of his shoulder and jumped back.
"Unleash yours too, I want to fight that cannon of yours." Ikkaku laughed as he spun one end of the spear by its chain.
"Its not a cannon. Sunaryuu shouted. "It's a rocket cleaver with a mounted gun."
"I'll hold back on the full shikai form. Can't pull out all the stops." Gondra thought to himself.
"Alright. You asked for it and you got it, Ikkaku. Target locked. Sunaryuu!" Gondra shouted as his sword morphed into that form we all know and love.
Right then the song, Freak On A Leash, by Korn started playing. Gondra braced himself and fired a smoldering blast of flame at Ikkaku. The bald man charged through it, shielding himself the best he could. The blast singed his shihakusho and wig, giving him several burns. Gondra shifted into a defensive stance right before Ikkaku launched the bladed section of the staff at his opponents head from the air. Gondra deflected it and came in with a rocket powered swing.
Ikkaku shifted in mid air as to not be cut in half by the crazy weapon but still being grazed by the sharpened flat edge at the end of the blade. He pulled back, using his body weight to change the direction of his staff and sent the red tufted end of the weapon at Gondra, blinding him momentarily. Gondra staggered backwards, rubbing his eyes. Ikkaku took the opportunity to rush in with another attack. As he lunged forward, Gondra regained his senses in time to partly evade the spear, taking another hit. Then he spun around quickly, taking another swipe at Ikkaku. Leaping back, Gondra placed his left hand on his metal sword strap. He unlatched it and let it fall to the ground with a metallic clang.
"Time to turn it up to eleven." Gondra roared as his spiritual pressure surged with cobalt blue reiatsu. Behind him the song, Like swimming in Circles by Norma Jean, started. Startled for a moment, Ikkaku grinned and said,
"So you got Kurotsuchi to give you a power limiter like the Captains, eh? Now let's really cut loose."
The fight concludes in the next chapter.
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Sandragon out!