• • •
Cutting my eyes upwards I took in the tall, lean Shinigami that had attacked me.
Short dark black hair and sharp deep gray eyes. Three scars ran down the right side of his face; starting a bit above his right eye and trailing down the rest of the right side of his face. The familiar sixty-nine tattooed on his left cheek, as well as a gray colored stripe running across his left cheek above the number and continuing across the bridge of his nose.
The number nine printed on the Fukutaicho badge that was tightly tied around his bare arm.
Of course I knew this reiatsu.
"Hisagi-Fukutaicho…"
"Kokawa Junko," Hisagi evenly said, "Ryoka."
My lips twitched up into a smirk. "You could say that. What gave me away?"
"All Taicho's and Fukutaicho's were warned that you would probably be among the Ryoka. You had disappeared in the World of the Living. It was clear that you'd align yourself with the humans." Hisagi explained, his eyes narrowing a bit as he looked down at me. Skillfully, he pushed against my sword, sending me flying back a bit as he stood his ground.
Grinning up at him, I nodded. "Missing? I don't think I ever went missing. Throughout my time in the World of the Living, I recall sending in reports before the assigned deadlines."
"Falsified reports," Hisagi coolly challenged.
"Reports nonetheless." I sighed, removing one of my hands from Ankoku-Tatsu's hilt as I carelessly waved in the air. "I did find Kuchiki Rukia, but she was not in the proper shape to return. What else was I expected to do?"
"Report that you had found her!" Hisagi-Fukutaicho ordered, sinking down a bit as he readied his Zanpakuto. "That was the mission that you, Kokawa Junko, had been assigned: Find Kuchiki Rukia and bring her back to the Soul Society as soon as possible."
"Friendship outranks orders." I evenly said, feeling my eyebrows narrow. "Rukia asked for my help. Who am I to refuse? She's helped me out plenty of times; I thought that it was time that I returned the favor."
"Look how that turned out." The Fukutaicho answered, "Kuchiki is in jail, waiting to be executed. The other Ryoka are ordered to be hunt down. It was reckless of you to even come and attempt a rescue."
"It might have been reckless, but we'll succeed in the end."
"We'll see about that." Hisagi challenged, slightly angling his body towards me in an offensive maneuver.
My left hand gripped my Zanpakuto's hilt tighter, my right hand grabbing onto the hilt once more. I was thankful for the time that I had spent training with Ankoku-Tatsu; I could easily read his movements.
Hisagi charged, running towards me at full speed. I swiftly angled my Zanpakuto and charged as well. Metal clanged against metal once more, sparks flying.
I narrowed my eyes in concentration as I pushed against his sword, testing how strong of a grip he had. Hisagi-Fukutaicho slid back a few inches, his own eyes narrowing as well.
As quick as I could, I took the offensive. Again and again, I began attacking. Hisagi was forced to defend, bringing his sword up to block my countless swings.
One of my swings connected, leaving a shallow cut across his left arm.
Hisagi blocked my next swing, forcibly shoving me back.
"Your swordsmanship has improved," Hisagi noted, lightly panting.
"Heh," I scoffed, taking in deep gasps of air to try and regain my breath. "It's not much, but I did get a bit better at handling my sealed Zanpakuto…"
"I've never sparred against you before, but I've heard people talk about how bad you were with your sealed Zanpakuto… I figured that I'd end this quickly by using that against you, but…"
"I've gotten too good for you to just end it by using a sealed Zanpakuto." I finished for him, cheekily grinning. "I'm warning you now, Hisagi-Fukutaicho. Release your Zanpakuto. Especially if you want to survive."
Hisagi's eyes narrowed. "You sound confident."
"I am." I answered, "I believe in my Zanpakuto. That's why I'm concerned for you; I know that Ankoku-Tatsu's abilities can easily take someone down if they haven't already released their own Zanpakuto."
"Ankoku-Tatsu… Is that your Zanpakuto spirit?"
"Yes." I nodded, focusing on my reiatsu as I made it rise to the highest level I could with the seal on my lower back still in place. "And I'll show you her powers. Get ready, Hisagi-Fukutaicho."
The dark haired Shinigami braced himself against my reiatsu, wincing a bit at the amount that I was releasing. I smirked when his eyes widened; even though I hadn't released her yet, the shadows were beginning to swirl around me.
"Sorera no ue ni kagekyasuto, Ankoku-Tatsu!" I commanded, flicking my wrist a bit so that the light glistened off of the blade one last time as the shadows slowly began crawling and wrapping around the blade. I couldn't fight the smile off of my face when I saw how wide Hisagi-Fukutaicho's eyes were.
"Shadows…" He murmured, his eyes narrowing to slits once more. I was sure that he was trying to think of a plan; I could almost see the gears whirling behind his dark gray eyes.
My icy blue eyes narrowed as well, intently watching the scarred Fukutaicho for any signs of attack. "Of course; Ankoku-Tatsu roughly translates to 'Shadow Dragon'."
Hisagi-Fukutaicho's eyes widened once more when the shadows began lifting from the ground, winding their way around me and gracefully circling around my arms. Removing my left hand from the hilt of my Zanpakuto, I let him watch the shadows twirl around my arm.
"You should never underestimate the shadows, Hisagi-Fukutaicho." I lightly warned, smirking as the shadows wound themselves around my fingers a couple of times before forming a small sphere in my palm.
The scarred Fukutaicho charged, not wanting to wait to see what my attack could do; he wanted to take me down quickly. However, I didn't even have to voice a command as the shadows shot out from my palm, interweaving and forming a net that wrapped around his Zanpakuto. Dodging his attack, I wrapped my fingers around the main shadow, tugging with all my might and slinging Hisagi's Zanpakuto from his unsuspecting hands.
With a resounding clanking noise, Hisagi's sword skid across the tiled ground. His eyes widened at the prospect of finding himself without his Zanpakuto this early on in the fight. Right hand clenching into a fist, the Fukutaicho watched as the shadows around his discarded sword began to dissolve like smoke, gathering once more around me.
"You're not taking me seriously, Hisagi-Fukutaicho." I half pouted, my left hand resting on the hilt of my Zanpakuto once more. "I warned you that Ankoku-Tatsu was powerful. Too many people underestimate shadows."
Hisagi's eyes narrowed, jumping back a few feet to increase the distance between us. His eyes darted to his Zanpakuto, which was a few feet away from me. I was about to rush forwards and attack while I saw that he was distracted, but the Fukutaicho suddenly raised his two hands. I didn't really recognize the triangle symbol that he made with his hands, but I could feel the increase in his reiatsu; I could tell that he was about to cast a Kido spell, but I had no clue which one. So instead of charging, I raised my guard and watched him closely.
"Bakudo #62! Hyapporankan!" {Way of Binding #62: Hundred Steps Fence}
I felt my eyes widen at the name of the Kido.
Bakudo?
Weren't those normally binding spells?
Not to mention that he just surpassed all the incantations on a level sixty-two Kido spell! No wonder he was a Fukutaicho…
Hisagi pulled his two hands apart, reiatsu sparking to life and taking on a solid blue/white glowing color. As he pulled his hands further apart, the light kept on stretching, forming a long rod. Pulling his arm back, he literally threw it at me; it looked much more menacing flying through the air and headed straight towards me.
Lightly cursing, I felt my eyes narrow when the single rod split. I couldn't even count how many had formed with them sailing at me that fast through the air. From the name of the spell, I could only guess that there were now around one hundred of those rods flying towards me.
Focusing my reiatsu to my feet, I flashed stepped out of the way of the first couple of rods. Angling my head so that I could look behind me, I felt my eyes widen once I saw that those rods had already fallen had embedded themselves in the tiled ground, cracking the tile in the process. They had to have had a lot of force behind it. I'd be in bad shape if I got hit with one of those…
Maybe the spell could read my mind; those rods were gaining on me even with my Shunpo. One whizzed past my leg, managing to rip my sock and leave a pretty long gash across my thigh. Hissing, I tried to keep my balance as I continued to Shunpo, but it really hurt to put too much pressure on the wound.
This area wasn't too big, so I was soon caught by the walls surrounding us with nowhere else to dodge. The final rods were flying towards me now, making it much more difficult to dodge them when my back was pressed against a wall. The last rod flew towards me, managing to pin the material of my right Shihakusho sleeve to the wall. I managed to rip my sleeve, some of the material still pinned to the wall. My Shihakusho sleeve was now rather ragged, barely meeting the crook in my elbow.
Wincing a bit, I pulled myself up and stood on top of two of the rods that were embedded into the wall; there were a few more at random spots in the wall, and countless others pinned to the Earth.
My ears twitched when I heard movement from my far right side. I spun as quickly as I could from my position on top of the still glowing rod, pointing my left index finger towards Hisagi's approaching body.
"Hado #4! Byakurai!" {Way of Destruction #4: Pale Lightning}
Reiatsu gathered at the tip of my index finger, bright blue sparks dancing around before a huge bolt of lightning erupted. Still in the air, Hisagi had to bring his recently reacquired Zanpakuto up to try and block the huge bolt of lightning. I didn't expect such a lower level Kido to have any effect on him; my reason for casting it was to throw him off target. Because Hisagi brought his Zanpakuto up to deflect the Kido, he was pushed back several feet in midair and roughly landed on the tiled ground.
"Kido against Kido, huh?" Hisagi-Fukutaicho questioned, rising up from his kneeled position he had landed in.
"Just to keep you on your toes," I teased, lightly chuckling only to wince once my hand brushed against the large gash on my thigh. These socks were ruined…
Hisagi's eyes trailed upwards, noting the low hanging position of the sun in the sky. "This is your forte, correct? The setting sun casts the most shadows."
"Light from the moon casts shadows as well." I answered, shadows once more twirling around me. I wanted to get as many of them under my control now as I could; Hisagi-Fukutaicho was correct about this being the best time for my Zanpakuto. However, not too many knew that shadows can also rise from the surrounding darkness under a nighttime sky.
Hisagi's eyes narrowed, only to close as he released a pent up sigh. "Then I guess I'd better get this over with…"
Opening my mouth to question what he had in mind, I was cut off when Hisagi raised his Zanpakuto and looked deep in thought. Was he finally going to release it? I'd never heard anything about his Zanpakuto, other than the fact that he rarely released it. I was under the impression that he and the Zanpakuto spirit didn't get along; which I didn't really understand because a Zanpakuto was supposed to be a part of yourself.
"Kare… Kazeshini." Hisagi-Fukutaicho uttered, finally releasing his Zanpakuto into its Shikai. {Reap, Wind Death}
As soon as those words left his lips, the wind began kicking up. The hair that had fallen from my pinned back ponytail flew in my face, blocking my vision. Scoffing, I raised my hand to hold my hair in place as my eyes scanned the area for any sign of the Fukutaicho.
A gasp left my lips as my icy eyes landed on Hisagi's released Zanpakuto. There was a blade in each hand, although they weren't swords. I was faintly reminded of a scythe. Only, on one side of each weapon the blade was inverted. It kind of reminded me of a pinwheel, only this looked a million times more deadly. These blades were connected to a spiked rod, and both rods appeared to be connected together by a long chain.
"You've finally released your Zanpakuto… It's nothing like I pictured it would be," I observed, steading my hands on the hilt of Ankoku-Tatsu just in case Hisagi were to attack. "I would have never guessed that you wouldn't want to release such a beautiful blade."
"Beautiful? How can you call it beautiful?" Hisagi-Fukutaicho scoffed, his deep gray eyes narrowing in what could only be called disgust. "Look at its shape. Doesn't it look like something that reaps lives?"
"That may be so, but it can still be beautiful." I answered, shaking my head as my eyes trailed across the blades once more. "No Shinigami should be disgusted by their own Zanpakuto. After all, Zanpakuto are a part of us."
The Fukutaicho merely shook his head, removing his right hand from the rod of the blade in his right hand and grabbing the chain instead. "Kazeshini is different."
His words fell upon deaf ears; I was in a trance as I watched him skillfully swing the blade by the chain. It was a like a giant fan, just waiting to slice something. Maybe that's what Hisagi meant when he said that he doesn't like the shape of the Zanpakuto. With its shape, it seems as if it flies like the wind itself.
Makes sense, when you think about the Zanpakuto's name:
Kazeshini.
Wind Death.
Hisagi swung his Zanpakuto cleanly though the air, aiming it directly at me. I snapped out of my trance when I saw the blade headed in my direction and heard the wind whistling as the blade sliced the air itself. I narrowly missed the Zanpakuto, having to duck out of the way as it hit the wall instead of my neck.
In a flash, I appeared before Hisagi; one of his blades was at the wall where I had previously been, so he was only left with one. I figured that would be the best time to strike.
Hisagi blocked my incoming Zanpakuto with his own, metal clashing against metal. I didn't even really get the time to appreciate the artistic effect of black against black; it wasn't often that a Zanpakuto's release turned the blade a different color. One of Hisagi's hands darted towards the chain of the scythe, pulling it. I heard the slight whistling of the wind, eyes widening.
"Gah..!" I cried, wincing as his other blade flew forward and collided with my shoulder. I could feel the blood freely flowing down my arm, warm against my cool skin. The pain was searing, my vision darkened for a few seconds before I shook my head and knocked the blade away from him once more.
As I listened to the metal slid across the tiled ground, I manipulated the shadows to constrict around the chain of the Zanpakuto. The long, dark red ribbon attached to the hilt of Ankoku-Tatsu coiled around my arm as my eyes began glowing red as well. This was 'Sousa,' my true shadow manipulation technique.
Shadows wrapped out the chain of Hisagi's Zanpakuto, cracking the tiles and embedding into the Earth while I fought for control over his real shadow. The Fukutaicho began to try and struggle once he realized that his movement was restricted; but by then it was already too late.
I had control over his shadow.
Hisagi's eyes widened as my reiatsu spiked; at the same time, his arm moved of his own accord and threw his Zanpakuto in the opposite direction. My shadows continued to crawl up Kazeshini's chain, wrapping themselves around the second blade and pining it to the ground as well.
While Hisagi was immobilized, I took the opportunity and slashed him. A deep gash was left diagonally across his chest; beginning at his left shoulder and traveling across his chest before ending above his right hip bone. The Fukutaicho gasped as blood leaked from his wound.
Deep gray eyes met icy blue, before dark purple flower petals began falling from the sky. My blue eyes were tainted a very deep purple for a few seconds, as the Bakudo known as Hakufuku {White Crawl} was cast. Hisagi's eyes widened even more, his pupils dilating before they lost all their light. The petals stopped falling once he lost consciousness, and I released my hold on his shadow. Lifelessly, Hisagi-Fukutaicho's body fell to the ground in a heap. As soon as my shadows left his Zanpakuto, it sealed itself back into its regular katana shape.
"I'm sorry, Hisagi-Fukutaicho." I apologized, kneeling next to his body as I gently closed his eyes. "You put up quite a fight; I'm really gonna have to spare a few hours to heal these wounds up before I can get to Rukia…"
Shakily standing up, I winced as the motion aggravated the gash across my upper thigh. Blood was still pouring from the wound, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the blood oozing from my shoulder.
"Again, I'm sorry, Fukutaicho." I said, bowing at the waist at his fallen form. "I hope we'll be able to meet again under better terms."