ch.17

Goku's Inner Demon

Goku faced off against the Captain of Squad 12. He remembered the M all too well. He remembered how it had controlled Vegeta into a monster. Goku knew that he had to defeat the Captain, but he still hated it. As he started thinking of his next move, he sensed more spiritual pressure coming his way.

"Ah, my puppets have finally arrived." Mayuri said with a smile.

Goku looked around and seven new Soul Reapers had appeared.

"I introduce you to my subordinates. I hope you enjoy fighting them almost as much as I enjoyed creating them."

"You. You created them? What do you mean?"

"Before they were just your average insignificant Soul Reaper. After a little lab work, I removed their brains and turned them into my slaves."

"You sick bastard. I'm going to make you pay for what you did to them."

"Sticks and stones will break your bones, but I will kill you."

Goku watched as two of the Captain's subordinates flew at him. One of them came at him from above, and the other came at him from behind. He was able to see their movements with ease. He sent a kick flying at the one above him. Goku then turned around and threw a spin kick at the one behind. Both of his opponents fell to the ground and didn't get back up. Goku then faced the Captain.

"You're going to have to do better than that. Why don't you come out here and fight me?"

"A Soul Reaper should never drop their guard."

Goku watched as Mayuri took out a small remote from his uniform. He pressed a button on the device. Goku looked around and kept his guard up just in case. Suddenly, two explosions came from the fallen subordinates. Goku used his flash step and got out of the way, but not without a few bruises on his body.

"I can't believe it. First you turn your subordinates into robots and then you kill them. Babadi really has turned you, hasn't he?"

Mayuri laughed at that comment. "Turned me? What makes you think I'm not always like this? Babadi just showed me how much better I can be when I have given into the darkness."

Goku watched as two more of of Mayuri's subordinates flew at him. Goku made sure to keep his distance this time and he fired a Getsugatensho at them. His opponents were hit and they collapsed onto the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mayuri running towards him. Goku tried to turn around, but it was too late. The Captain kicked him in the back and he was sent flying into the ground. He landed right next to the fallen subordinates.

Goku tried getting out of the way, but it was too late. He watched Mayuri pressed the button on his remote and the subordinates exploded. He put his guard up and tried to block the explosion as much as possible. The shock wave sent him flying through the air and he landed on the ground with a thud. He tried getting up, but the explosion had injured him too much.

"Time for the grand finale!" Mayuri said with excitement in his voice.

The last three subordinates came at him and surrounded him. It took all of his will power, but Goku finally got up.

"Getsugatensho!"

He swung his sword around and killed Mayuri's subordinates. Mayuri pressed the button on his remote and they exploded. Goku used his flash step and escaped the blast. As he appeared, the Captain appeared in front of him.

"Unfortunately, that fun display of fireworks is now over. I guess I will have to step in."

Goku got into a fighting stance.

"I wish I could use my Bankai, but your son destroyed it. I guess I'll have to settle with my Shikai. That should be enough to finish you off."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi held his sword out in front of him. "Claw out, Ashisogi Jizo." His sword then appeared in Shikai form.

Goku managed to block the first few swings of the Captain's sword, but it was too much for him. The Captain was way too fast. The sword came at him again, and this time he couldn't block it. The sword pierced his right shoulder, and Goku fell to the ground. Mayuri then pierced Goku's leg.

Goku screamed and tried to get up. He found out that he couldn't move either of his two injured limbs. He had been in several tough situations before, but none were like this. No matter how bad the injury, he had always been able to move his body through sheer will power. Now, it didn't matter how much will power he had.

"Your arm and leg are paralyzed. You have no chance of defeating me."

Just then, everything blacked out for Goku. His instinct had taken over and he had no control over his thoughts. He could see what was going on, but it was a blur to him. He remembered how Gohan used to lose control when he was younger. This must have been exactly what it felt like. Unknown to Goku, his inner hollow had appeared and was fighting against Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Unknown to Goku, the hollow was winning.

Goku tried everything he could to take control of his own thoughts. The evil inside of him was extremely strong. He had no idea where it had come from. Ichigo had never mentioned anything about this during the time he trained with him. Using his will power, he was able to break free from the evil inside, and was himself again.

He looked and saw Mayuri Kurotsuchi. The Captain was on the ground and wasn't moving. Whatever happened, it must have been pretty bad. He slowly walked over to Mayuri and saw that the M on his forehead had been removed. Goku focused and tried to sense Babadi's energy, but it was now gone. Goku tried standing up longer, but his energy was completely drained from him.

"I'm glad that's finally over."

Goku then collapsed on the ground.