Chapter 25: Hollowfication
"Neil…What has that man done to you?" asked Zero as he stood before the man who used to be his Lieutenant
"Kehehehe, he's given me power. The ultimate power" laughed Neil "With this, I can finally beat you and prove which of us is the better fighter" he said, before he dashed towards Zero with his newfound speed. Even for the 2nd Squad Captain, this speed was too much, and he was sent hurtling through the forest outside Seireitei. He landed on the ground in a clearing deeper in the forest, where Neil quickly arrived.
"You see!?" said Neil "I'm stronger than you, faster than you…You can't hope to beat me while I'm like this!" he laughed "Even now…I'm getting stronger…More power…MORE!" he shouted as the bone-like mask seemed to envelop more of his body, down to and including his neck.
"It would appear that he Hollow inside of him Is trying to take control o f his entire body." Thought Zero "This is bad…At this rate, he'll become a full Hollow, and who knows what the limits of his power will be."
"Very well." Said Zero, standing up to face the man before him "It would certainly appear that you are both stronger and faster than I, but you never were able to master the more 'mystical' arts of the Shinigami, were you?" he asked
"Keh, you think a few Kido spells will stop me?" asked Neil "Keheheheheh, Go ahead and try it." He laughed.
"I do not speak only of Kido. Do you recall your time with the 2nd Squad?" asked Zero "I have my own techniques as well. Using all of my skills, I will defeat you!"
"Bring it old man! You're nothing before me now!" laughed Neil as the mask consumed his body down to his shoulders.
"Very well." Said Zero "Let us continue. Ninja Art: Vanishing Technique!" he called as the immediate area around him was hidden in smoke. He quickly fled to the trees were he began to formulate a plan.
Moments later, he began his attack. Zero leapt from the trees and lunged at Neil with his Claws
"Ha! What the hell is that!?" laughed Neil as he launched his mouthed tendrils at Zero
"Did you forget?" asked Zero "My Zanpakutou, Kagesochi, can cut through your tendrils!" he shouted as he cleaved the heads off of each of the remaining black snakes. He then began a series of attacks on Neil at high speed, but none so fast that the ex-Lieutenant couldn't dodge or parry thanks to his Hollowfication.
"Is this it? Your great plan is to get in close and fight like this?" mocked Neil "Weren't you listening earlier? My speed and strength far outclass yours, now die!" shrieked Neil as he swung his scythe and cut Zeros body in two.
The Ninja's eyes widened as the scythe cut his legs away from his torso. No words came out of his hidden mouth as all he could do was stare into the cold black eyes of his killer.
However, just as the limp halves of Zero's body hit the ground, they disappeared in a pop and a cloud of white smoke, being replaced with two halves of a straw man, made up to look like Zero
"What…What the hell is this!?" shouted Neil
"What you were fighting until now was my Clone, another one of my Ninja Art Techniques that you were never able to master." Explained Zero, whose real body was nowhere to be found
"Where are you! Come out and fight you coward!" roared Neil as the Hollow Mask quickly began to cover the rest of his body, spurred on by Neil's anger.
"Another reason why you were never fit for my Squad. You do not understand the concept of stealth and you were constantly noisy. Frankly, I never did believe you were a suitable Lieutenant for the 2nd Squad. You always wanted to be part of Ganseki's noisy 8th Squad, didn't you?"
"Shut up, Shut up, SHUT UP!" screamed Neil as the Mask accelerated its growth once again
"Regardless…I enjoyed having you, and I will kill you before you lose the last of your sanity to that horrendous mask.
Zero's real body was not far from the battlefield. He stood, surrounded by trees and aiming his palm at Neil. His palm held a ball of energy, aimed squarely on Neil.
"I had to hide so that I could complete the incantation for this technique. It would be unwise to use any attack against you unless I was serious." He explained "Farewell, my old friend. Hado 88: Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!" he called as an enormous blast of pure energy was fired at Neil. The Shinigami screamed as the blast hit him at full power.
When the beam disappeared, it had left a long crater, gradually getting wider the further it went.
Zero let out a sigh of relief as he sat down.
"Now…I don't have much energy left…But the Head Captain is fighting that fiend Damon Akuma all alone…I must go and-" he started, before he was cut off by a low growling sound coming from the smoke around the crater.
"No…It can't be…" he said, standing up and staring into the smoke. Eventually, a huge monster emerged from the smoke. Neil's body was entirely transformed into a Hollow by the mask. As a result, he had also grown horns on his back and his hair was significantly longer.
"This is impossible…" muttered Zero "Did the mask protect him as it engulfed the rest of his body?" he asked himself "No matter. It seems I need to finish this a different way." He said as he formed a sign with his hands
"Bankai! Fukaikuroikagesochi!" he called as a bright light enveloped the area. When the light faded, Zero was once again nowhere to be seen. The Fully Hollowfied Neil became confused, not knowing where his enemy was
"Fufufu, looking for me?" asked Zero, once again a disembodied voice "Why, I'm right here." He said as Neil looked down, to find he had two shadows!
"Right now, you seem to be a mindless beats, so it may be pointless to explain the situation to you. However, if you can understand me, listen well. My Bankai allows me to attach myself to my opponent as their shadow. Thanks to this, I will never lose sight of you, nor will you be able to attack me. However, I can easily give form to my body again and strike, but the most intriguing aspect of my Bankai is this; I can attack your shadow as if it were your real body." He explained
"For example, If I do this-"he started as a black arm with a claw attached to it rose up out of the second shadow and stabbed Neil's shadow. The monster grunted and fell to its knees.
"You see. Like this, You cannot defeat me." explained Zero "Just as it has always been between us. I wanted to kill you while you still had your humanity, but that seems to be impossible now. It is definitely goodbye this time, friend." He said as he plunged both of his claws into the Hollow's shadow and tore him apart from the inside.
Neil fell to the ground, face down and finally reverted to his original appearance, bearing deep wounds made from Zero's attack on his shadow.
Zero's body returned to it's original physical form and he turned to walk back to Seireitei.
"Now…I must…ugh…" he groaned as he too fell to the ground "It seems…That I used…Too much energy…" he groaned "Head Captain…I hope you are alright."
To Be Continued…
Zanpakutou Translations:
Fukaikuroikagesochi – Deep Black Shadow Step