Chapter 8: The Eternal Quincy
When Lloyd finally regained consciousness, he found himself lying down on a bed of hay in a dimly lit hut. He tried to pull himself up, but was forced back down by a stabbing pain in his chest. He noticed that his chest and arms were bandaged heavily, and his Captain's Haori sat folded next to his 'bed'.
It was then that the man from the night before entered. This was Lloyd's first real time seeing him so he suddenly jumped back when he entered
"Hold on" said the man "I'm not your enemy…At least, maybe not" he said "You stood up to that group of Arrancars last night, didn't you?"
It took a moment for Lloyd to understand what he was talking about. Suddenly, memories of last night's encounter returned to him in an instant
"…Yes…Those three…" he said, rubbing his head "…I underestimated them…I didn't realise they were Arrancars until it was too late."
"Regardless, you held up pretty well 'Mr Captain'" said the man "Tell me, what brings a Captain of the Gotei 13 out here, to the Material World on his own?"
"It's…kind of a long story…" muttered Lloyd
"We're safe here, so you've got plenty of time to explain" said the man "I'll decide whether you're my enemy or not afterwards."
And so, Lloyd explained the series of events which transpired around him, starting with his appointment to Captain, to the disappearances in the Material World to Marina going missing. However, he did leave out his 'incident' in Rukongai.
"I see…So you've abandoned your post to save this woman" said the man "A noble gesture, but have you considered the consequences?" he asked
"What do you mean?" asked Lloyd
"You've defied direct orders. What will you do if you lose your post?" asked the man
"I don't care! It's my duty to save my Lieutenant" said Lloyd. The man paused for a moment to let the words sink in. He then chuckled
"Hahaha! Alright, I like you" he said "My name is Date Shashu. A Quincy" he said, then paused, waiting for Lloyd to reply "…No comment?" asked Date
"No…You saved my life back there…I don't have time for age old squabbles right now" he said "But, can I just ask…uh…What's with your clothes?" asked Lloyd "They look extremely old fashioned" he said, examining Date's apparent Vampire Hunter outfit.
"Oh, this…well…that's also a long story" schuckled Date "But to make it short, I'm immortal"
Lloyd was stunned, but Date kept talking
"I'm over seven hundred years old. The last time I bought clothes was in the 1600's I think. I bought this in a small American Village called Salem I believe…It isn't exactly my favourite place in the world though. They accused me of Witchcraft when I fought a Hollow there. They couldn't see it, but they could certainly see the damage it caused. I barely managed to get out alive…after taking some clothes from a man named Hale, I believe. " he said
"You…You're a human, but how can you be that old!" asked Lloyd
Date grinned and moved his cloak to one side, revealing a belt which held many small vials of red liquid "I have discovered how to make the Elixir of Life, the Philosopher's Stone, whatever you want to call it." He then drew a small blade from a sheath on the back of his belt "Now that I've told you this, why shouldn't I kill you to stop word getting out?"
Lloyd gulped as the dagger was held at his throat "I…We Shinigami already live an exceptionally long life…I have no interest in extending it further." He stuttered, pancing under the stress.
Date paused for a moment before putting the blade away "Good answer…If you had said anything else, I would have had to kill you" he chuckled
Lloyd let out a sigh of relief before talking again. "So…A Quincy?" said Lloyd
"Yes" said Date as he threw his cape off of his right arm to reveal his gauntlet "This is my Bow, Chihou" he said "I prefer this to a flimsy amulet of necklace used by the others. This is much bigger and sturdier, but I can only fire half the arrows at half the speed of a normal Quincy. However, Mine are at least ten times as powerful as a normal Quincy's arrows."
"That's certainly impressive" said Lloyd "…Actually, there's one more thing I forgot to tell you about-" started Lloyd, before he was cut off by a massive tremor from nearby
"Hollows!" said Lloyd. He made a move to get out of bed, but the stabbing pain in his chest returned, forcing him back down
"You aren't well enough yet. Stay in bed and I'll deal with this." Said Date as he calmly walked outside. From an open window, Lloyd could see a gathering of several dozen Hollows outside, seemingly attracted to the shack, possibly due to the large concentration of reiatsu from a Shinigami Captain and a Quincy in the same place
"Alright you Bastards, are you looking for a fight?" asked date as he tossed off his cape and his gauntlet glew. Suddenly, a massive Crossbow appeared on his right arm. He gripped the handle tightly and aimed it at the Hollows. The Crossbow was al least the size of a human Rocket Launcher, as the Crossbow had to be supported even by Date's shoulder.
The Quincy began to fire arrows repeatedly at the Hollows. The rate of fire and the number of arrows certainly was lower than that of the average Quincy's. Date looked as though he was only firing around 600 arrows per second. However, they were ridiculously powerful. One arrow would pierce through several arrows and features of the landscape with ease and without being hindered.
In a fairly short amount of time, There were only a handful of Hollows left
"For those that remain, I'll give you a treat" said Date as he pointed his Crossbow towards the sky. Watching this, Lloyd was suddenly reminded of what Melorine predicted for him before he left oul Society. He was told that he would meet an 'Eternal Quincy' who held 'The Sign of the Heavens'. The way that Date held his Crossbow now made it look like a Cross.
Date fired several hundred arrows into the sky. They did not begin to fall for another few seconds
"Amatsu Ame!" roared Date as the arrows flew down, piercing the remaining Hollows and destroying them. Date's Crossbow disintegrated aswell.
The Quincy looked at his left hand. It was beginning to shake violently and shrivel up, as if he was aging rapidly. Hastily, Date grabbed one of the vials on his belt and popped it open. He quickly gulped down the contents. As he did, his hand began to return to normal and stop shaking. Lloyd hadn't seen any of this, as he was still in awe at Date's power.
Lloyd remained in the shack recovering for the next two days. When he was finally able to continue his search, he turned to Date
"Date, before those Holows attacked the other day, I was going to tell you something" said Lloyd "Before I left Soul Society, I was told that I would meet Four other Warriors and we would be destined to 'Defeat the Devil'. I'm still not sure what this means, if it is literal or figurative. However, I'm certain that you are the 'Eternal uincy who holds the Sign of the Heavens' that I was told about…Will you join me?" asked Lloyd
"Tch…Defeat the Devil huh…Sounds interesting" chuckled Date "Very well, I don't have anything personal against you Shinigami anyway."he said as the two shook hands. And thus, the second member of the Five Warriors was confirmed; Date Shashu, the Eternal Quincy
To Be Continued…
Weapon Translations:
Chihou – Thousand Cannon
Teachnique Translations:
Amatsu Ame – Heavenly Rain