The Heir Apparent
Chapter 43: Decider 2, Bankai and Ban-fusion

On the highest point of the battlements, the two linked oval towers of the gatehouse, Rukia ducked under a fireball. She took a stance to release one of her dances, then had to dodge again as the burning whip flicked at her along with two energy bolts. This was becoming a serious problem. She needed time to release her attacks, time that Khaan wasn't allowing her to have.

'Stop squirming,' Khaan shouted, sending another volley of bolts at her.

The man was a brute and a powerful one, that much was obvious, she had known men like him throughout her career as a Soul Reaper. Fighting him had reminded her initially of her training with Zaraki Kenpachi, but on reflection there were major differences. Besides the obvious one of his ranged weapons as opposed to a sword, Zaraki would have been pleased with his opponent putting up a spirited fight. This man was getting more and more annoyed. Did he really expect her to be an easy win?

'Hado no.33, Sokatsui,' she cried, sending a blast of blue fire at her opponent.

He blocked it with his coiled whip, and immediately his weapon's fire's colour changed to green. She gasped as she realised what had happened, he'd absorbed her attack. The fireball he sent at her a moment later was twice as large, and three times as fast as any of his previous ones.

'Fourth dance, Byatate.' she cried.

The attack exploded with a thunderous roar, the shock of it breaking chunks of ice off the front of her shield-shaped wall, and sent thin cracks dancing through the rest of it. But it held.

'So, you can turn my fire attacks back at me,' said Rukia, raising her sword to shoulder level, 'Unfortunately for you, this defense is still greater than your attack.'

'Don't get cocky just because you stopped me once,' Khaan snapped, flicking his whip at the shield. He tore more ice off it, but still it held. Angrily he swung again, while opening fire with the crossbow at the same time.

'Second dance, Hakuren,' she said, marking four points with her sword.

The ice avalanche burst forth, catching the shield in its wake and smothering Khaan's attacks. The man wisely leapt high into the air, out of its path. Only to find Rukia waiting for him.

'Bakudo no.30, Shitotsu Sansen.' Three streaks of light shot from her finger to strike her enemy, sending him flying back down. Khaan's cry of surprise was cut off by a loud 'Oof,' as he struck the thick frozen wall her attack had left behind. Her spell bound him there, and he struggled angrily.

'Damn you, Shinigami, this won't hold me.'

Rukia wasn't listening, she had already begun her incantation. 'Walls of iron sand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright, silent to the end. Bakudo no.75 Gochūtekkan.'

Khaan had just finished freeing himself when the five thick pillars came falling from the sky to pin his arms, legs and head. He cried out with pain, and struggled desperately. But the pillars, though shaking slightly, stayed in place. 'You little bitch,' he shouted, 'No matter how hard you try to restrain me, it won't work. Our Quincy abilities make it very easy to take apart these spiritual constructs.'

'Try then,' said Rukia calmly.

The pillars began to glow red, particles flowing off them. After twenty seconds Khaan stopped. His heavy restraints looked like they'd gone through decades of erosion, but they still held firm. 'How… how is this possible?' he gasped.

'That spell was originally designed to restrain the strongest Quincy. I remember learning about its background in the academy. While it is impossible for any Bakudo to be immune to your abilities, this one resists erosion more than any other restraining spell. I imagine it would take even someone of your power at least five minutes to break free. Plenty of time to finish you off.' She leapt high above him, pointing her blade down, and started to fall between the pillars. 'Third dance, Shirafune,' she cried, then she struck.

A shockwave of cold shot outwards in a ring. The pillars froze immediately, and came crumbling down. The space where Rukia and Khaan were was concealed by a thick mist, which slowly cleared to reveal the two combatants.

'What!' said Rukia, her eyes widening.

'Lay the land to waste, Höllenwut,' said Khaan, his fusion weapon already released. He had her blade pinned between his scythe and butterfly axe blade, a link of the chain between catching the tip of her weapon and preventing it from penetrating his chest. Then he raised his leg and kicked her off. Rukia flew back with a cry, and skidded to a halt some fifteen meters away. The wall of ice across the top of the towers meanwhile melted, due to its close proximity to Khaan and shattered, chunks falling down towards the walls and ground far below. Rukia hoped that it wouldn't hurt any of the Shinigami. She massaged her bruised abdomen with her free hand.

'You made me release,' he said, jumping to his feet. His body was shaking with suppressed rage. 'How can you still use your ice attacks? My tracer should have made it impossible, like it did with that boy.'

She'd forgotten about the bonfire that was burning above her head. About all it was doing was making her hair uncomfortably hot. 'I can see why it would have caused Hitsugaya-taicho trouble, but as you can see, that trick won't work on me.'

'This will,' he snapped, gesturing with his scythe.

For a moment it seemed like nothing had happened. Then the inferno above her grew, and began dancing with different colours in its tendrils. An instant later three flames separated from the mass, and came spinning down until they were at her breast height. Kyoraku had told her about this ability, if he struck through any of the flames it would have some sort of effect, though the only one he'd known for sure was the explosive blue flame.

'So, this is your true power,' said Rukia.

'Most of it, but don't get the wrong idea. I'm just tired of this taking so long. I didn't have to use all my tricks to get the boy, and you're weaker.'

'If this was the level you used to beat Captain Hitsugaya on Bankai,' she said, 'Then it doesn't make sense for me to face it on Shikai.'

'You're talking like… Bah, you don't have a Bankai.'

'Really?' said Rukia, lifting an eyebrow. She spun around, her sword's ribbon followed her motion and formed three progressively wider circles around her. The movement finished with her blade raised directly above her head. 'Bankai, Heiya no Shirayuki.'

Her ribbon began to pulse erratically, once, twice, then settled into a steady rate. The very air around her seemed to change colour. The flames around her started to flare, as though resisting sudden change. And Khaan felt a chill touch his spine that wasn't just emotion.

'What did you do?' he said.

'I hope you've made peace with yourself, because its time to end this,' she said, pointing her blade at him. 'This is my Bankai.'

x

Ichigo dodged a flying javelin, and moved past it to attack Takumo, who immediately formed another in his hands. Ichigo slashed, was blocked, and slashed again. All the while he was forcing his way through the air, which felt like moving through water thanks to Takumo's ability. With his speed inhibited they were roughly on par, Ichigo thought he might have a slight advantage in strength, but Takumo had a greater one in his longer weapon.

'Your friend Sado screamed when I cut him,' said Takumo, sending a three-stab slash combination at him.

'Shut up,' Ichigo growled.

'Like a woman.'

'I said, shut up!'

'And the real girl, the one with the red hair and huge jugs, what was her name? I visited her in prison, she was very eager to trade favours. Want to know what she did?'

Ichigo could feel his temper rising, so much so that his vision was going red. But losing his cool wouldn't help him, quite the opposite. At the same time, he was no good trying to be analytical. It was like Kyoraku had taught him, he had to channel his emotions into his fighting, allowing them to lead him, but not control him.

'She was a real treat,' said Takumo, licking his lips for effect.

'Give it up already,' said Ichigo, evading the spear and stabbing at his enemy. Burning desire to kill fired his blood, but he resisted its grip.

Takumo flicked his rattle, creating another Nage-yari while he still had one in his hand. He flung both on either side of Ichigo, who glanced from one to the other uncertainly. Then the two javelins changed direction, shooting towards each other in a pincer movement. Ichigo charged forward, the blades opening cuts in his side before clashing into each other, and slashed at Takumo. The Rache formed yet another blade to block with and tried to pull back, but Ichigo wasn't letting him get away, and sent a flurry of attacks at him while keeping up. Takumo defended desperately, his teeth gritted together, but couldn't prevent Ichigo's blade from opening several deep cuts in his abdomen, arms and legs.

'Getsuga Tenshou,' he said, swinging his blade in an arc.

The black energy crescent sent Takumo flying back skimming over the ground, even though he was blocking it. Ichigo tried to catch up, but with the air as thick as it was he couldn't, and the tail of his attack was sending sand spraying into the air. Another moon-fang would cancel out his first, how else could he attack at range? The answer came to him, and as it did he began to mutter.

'Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man. Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south. Hado no. 31, Shakkahō.'

The red orb shot left his hand just as Takumo ripped his spear upwards through the black crescent and skidded to slow. The fireball hit him in the chest and exploded, sending him flying back even faster than before, he smashed through three large trees before he was able to halt. Ichigo caught up with him a moment later.

'Looks like this Kido thing is quite useful after all,' he said, 'Byakuya and the others would be glad I got it right.'

He leapt at Takumo again, who hadn't yet risen, and slashed. The other man pulled away just in time, but not before Ichigo's blade had sliced off the rattle dangling on his arm.

'Damn you,' cried Takumo, his uniform ripped, black and bloody. The material on his torso had been burnt off, revealing a firmly muscular, scalded body. But the truly significant damage was his gauntlet, with the rattle gone he could no longer summon any more javelins.

'Time to finish this,' said Ichigo, raising his blade with one hand, 'I've so been looking forward to killing you.'

Takumo began to laugh, a triumphant but somewhat hysterical sound. 'Oh this isn't over,' he said, 'Not by a long shot. You haven't yet seen the full extent of my power.' He raised his right hand into the air. 'Oh Wind, the breath of Heaven's lung. Oh Wind, sing now of Death to come. Ban-fusion, Toedlich Aufschneidensturm.'

'What the-!' Ichigo began.

He was cut off by the blast of wind and power that emitted from the shorter man. Takumo's bracer began to glow, then it melded into a long staff. There was a loud 'Shing' as a spear blade emerged from the tip, and another as two slightly curved ones emerged from either side of the still glowing weapon. Then the Rache swung the weapon down with one arm, the colours formed and the power rush stopped. His wounds had all sealed, though the outlines of the cuts and blackening remained.

'That's a Hozoin spear,' said Ichigo, 'I saw a documentary on TV about them.'

'TV?' said Takumo, 'What's that? These weapons were made to beat samurai with katanas. It is said that even the great Musashi had trouble against the Hozoin-maru spearmen. So how do you think you'll fare against the most versatile weapon of feudal Japan, Kurosaki Ichigo?'

'What's with this anyway,' said Ichigo angrily, 'I get your fusion, that's the Shinigami blade's Shikai mixed with your Quincy abilities. So how did you pull this power-up out of your arse, eh?'

'That's right, the fusion does come from the Shikai. What you probably don't realise is that in fusion form, our primary power is still Quincy based. However, both me and Bismark have blades that came from Shinigami captains, meaning that-'

'You have access to their Bankai,' Ichigo growled.

'You catch on quickly. The maximum power we can ever access from our liberated blades is the limit that its previous owner had. In the case of Ban-fusion, we allow it to lead our Quincy abilities, creating an opposite effect to fusion.'

'So you took your weapon from a Shinigami captain. Who was it, Shihoin Eiroshi?'

'How did you know?' said Takumo with some surprise, 'You weren't around at that time, so-'

'Kyoraku told me everything. Told us all. Shihoin Eiroshi was the only other captain that disappeared around that time, besides ol' Yama's son, but your leader Bismark has his sword. If you two are the only ones with this Ban-fusion, it has to be you.'

'Smart boy.'

'Yoruichi, his daughter, was one of my mentors. I guess I've now got another reason to kill you,' said Ichigo, raising his left hand in front of his face, 'This time, you'll see my hollow powers as well.'

'Bring-it-on.'

x

Kyoraku stood facing his opponent, silently, neither making a move. He used the time to clear his mind, thinking hard would distract him. But thoughts still came to him unbidden. Physically Bismark was everything he was, but so much more. Kyoraku was tall and decently built, Bismark was nearly a head taller and seemingly made of muscle. Kyoraku was good looking in a roundabout way, Bismark was a beardless Norse God. Kyoraku's twin blades were imposing, Bismark's-

'Are you waiting for me to do something?' said the golden haired man.

'Yes,' he said simply.

'Use your Bankai, the one you used to destroy the Quincy order.'

'No.'

'If you don't, you won't stand a chance.'

Kyoraku sighed, 'After I killed Daiken, I promised myself I would never use it again. My Bankai is sick, really sick. Once it's unleashed, either me or my opponent will die. Horribly.'

'Then you will just die, and I won't have beaten your true power,' said Bismark, 'But suit yourself.' He swung a massive blade at Kyoraku. He blocked with both blades, there was a blinding flash of light as the weapons collided. The force was so great that he nearly lost his grip on them.

Bismark's Ban-fusion release had split and morphed his golden bow into two silvery white swords, each long as the man was tall, triangle shaped, double edged, and at the base wider than his thigh. The hilts were gold, and each long enough for five hands. With their size they should have been impossible to wield, yet the other man had no trouble. The edge of each sword was surrounded with yellow light, and at the base of the blade it extended further, like a bright cross guard.

'Down to one knee already?' said Bismark, 'I had expected more.' He stabbed with the other blade.

Kyoraku leapt back, the humming sword slicing the space where he'd been a moment before. 'Those are powerful, really powerful,' he said, 'But I train with someone who also uses a big blade of raw power. It would take four of his weapon to make what you have there, but the long and short is that I know how to take it.'

'I really, really doubt it.'

'I'll prove it to you. Your speed hasn't improved, and you've lost your ability to fire at range. So what will you do to stop this? Hado no 75, Kuroi hi taihou.'

The roaring black fire shot from the tips of his outstretched blades towards Bismark, who calmly raised a white sword. The flames hit the tip, which flashed, and immediately they started fading. It was only a dark mist that hit the Rache's body.

'Did I mention that my ability is to negate any other that my blade touches?' said the giant.

'How is that- I saw nothing on that in the archives!'

'Of course not. You Shinigami don't trust even your record keepers, no one ever allows their Bankai to be documented. It is your secret weapon. So secret that you can't even tell your friends, regardless if that knowledge could save their lives. I'm surprised you were even able to find out the Shikai abilities.'

'So, Kido is no good now,' said Kyoraku. That wasn't quite true, it would still work, but only if the other man didn't block it. And he couldn't see any way to do that right now. 'But what about my games? Takaoni.'

He leapt above the other man's head, and slashed down as he fell. Bismark didn't even bother to manoeuvre, he blocked with one huge blade. Kyoraku smiled as he struck, the damage would push through to his foolish opponent. But besides the flash as the swords struck, nothing happened, and the big man pushed him back with a shove of his blade. He stared at his enemy wordlessly.

'How did I not get hurt?' said Bismark, 'It's simple, your sword is the source of the ability, by striking it I negated the power.'

'Then this, Irooni, gold.'

He didn't bother to block Bismark's stab, it deflected harmlessly off his black shihakushou. But when his return attack was caught by the other sword there was another flash. He leapt back, using his senses to confirm what he already suspected. His game had, once again, been negated. So, none of his abilities would work if they involved him crossing blades with his enemy or sending a projectile of power. Kenoni might, but the man had as much Shinigami reiatsu as Kyoraku himself at the moment, plus he also had Quincy. It would be nearly impossible to overcome his spiritual pressure. He should have used it earlier.

'Use your Bankai,' repeated Bismark.

'No,' he said, 'I'll just do this the old fashion way, sword on sword.'

'You're mad, you can barely block one of mine with both of yours. But, as you wish.' He charged, one blade like a lance, the other held high.

Kyoraku started forward, glancing aside the stabbing blade, but shimmied away as the other swept down, smashing a rent in the ground. He'd hoped to have an opening then, but Bimark immediately swung both swords at him. He jumped over and aimed a cut at his head, which the other man ducked under while swinging an uppercut. They fought on and on, Kyoraku was the more experienced swordsman, but Bismark had much greater reach and strength; he couldn't even get close to hitting him.

'Give it up!' Bismark shouted.

'Kenoni,' Kyoraku replied, using all his power to suppress his opponents.

For a second it seemed like it might work, he had taken the other man by surprise and that gave an immediate advantage. Then Bismark slammed the hilts of his two weapons together, and as they merged his power soared, ripping easily through Kyoraku's attempted suppression. The glow around the blades trebled in volume. His weapon wasn't two swords, Kyoraku realised, it was a bladed staff. A staff made of blades though would be a better description.

'You could block my swords with difficulty,' said Bismark, 'But this is its true form, you won't be able to block this. Now die!' He surged forward.

Kyoraku closed his eyes. He was right, he knew. Just his opponent's power level that he could detect made victory impossible on Shikai, leaving him with no alternative. 'Bankai, Onikamishiai Katen Kyokotsu.'

The weapons faded from his hands, he heard Bismark's cry of alarm as the same thing happened to him. Meanwhile the colours would be melding into black around them, on the outside spectators would see a dome forming. He didn't have to open his eyes to know, and had no wish to see it again. He would sooner have died than use this again, but it wasn't just his life on the line here.

'Is this it, is this what destroyed the Quincy order, your Bankai?' said Bismark.

'Yada yara, that is what I said,' said Kyoraku, keeping his eyes shut. There was nothing to see now anyway, that would only come after the drum sounded. 'I think you could have negated it too, had you tried. But you didn't, because of your foolish fantasy at beating me in this. You have your way, you will regret it, but not for long. So let us play now: the games of death.'

x

From his vantage point on the battlements, Marx watched the dome form. He had just checked on Takumo's battle, and now he turned his head towards the top of the gatehouse, where a thick mist had formed and ice droplets kept falling. He smiled, all was going according to plan. A pair of low level Shinigami attacked him, he shot them down almost negligently.

He then flash stepped back down to the courtyard, where Ikkaku was still struggling against his penetrating bonds, causing his wounds to bleed. It was a pity that he would only have this fool to witness his great triumph, but it couldn't be helped. His own people were all busy. Idly he wondered if he should take some more Shinigami captive the same way, to have a bit more of a crowd.

'Soon, very soon,' he said, balancing his large four-shot crossbow on its base on the ground, taking the weight off his shoulder.

'You stupid shit, do ya really think that whatever tricks you've prepared will get the captains, eh?' said Ikkaku, blood running from the side of his mouth.

'I know they will. They will be weak after fighting the other members of the Prima Kreis. Then I will be number one, the Lord of All Things, heaven and earth' he spoke calmly, it was fact after all, no need to get all excited about what was inevitable.

'You know what happened to the last guy who thought he would do that?'

'He failed. I won't. Just shut up and watch.'

x

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, relocating has taken up a lot of my time. I'm also working still, doing summer camp.

Heiya no Shirayuki , Rukia's Bankai, means Field's white snow.
Toedlich Aufschneidensturm , Takumo's Ban-fusion, means Deadly slicing wind. Gah, german doesn't do things in short form, like Japanese.
Onikamishiai Katen Kyokotsu , Kyoraku's Bankai, means Demon-God game Flower-Wind Crazy-Bone.