Chapter 6:
"It's about time," Iba called loudly. He marched down the street and over to the group of Soul Reapers. "You're running a little late. We expected you back here a while ago. Did you run into trouble?"
"You could say that," said one of the men.
Iba came closer. "So what did you find out? We're looking forward to your report." Iba looked carefully at the Soul Reapers standing closest to him. They weren't as lively as they were when they left. At first he thought it was because they were worn out after their trip. Now he was having second thoughts. The Soul Reapers behind them kept their heads down as if they were trying to hide. "Is everything alright?"
The Soul Reapers hiding behind the ones in the front answered, "Everything's fine."
"You're acting strangely." Iba looked from one Soul Reaper to the next. The ones in front weren't speaking and the ones in the back were keeping their heads down. Something wasn't right. Suspicious, Iba gave them an order. "I want a role-call. Now."
"Why?"
"Starting from you here in the front. Speak your name."
The Soul Reaper in the front row didn't speak. No one in the front spoke. The Soul Reapers in the back turned to each other and with a single nod, moved. The Soul Reapers in the front dropped to the ground and the Soul Reapers in the back sprang forward. Iba couldn't draw his sword in time. Two Soul Reapers brushed past him, inflicting deep wounds to his face and chest. The last thing Iba saw as he hit the ground were the Soul Reapers from the front row laying on the ground beside him. They were all dead.
"Now!"
They shed their Soul Reaper uniforms and revealed their true identities. Five Quincies cloaked in the uniforms of the Soul Reapers they had killed. They ran into the Seireitei moving swiftly like organized ninja.
"Spread out and find him!"
"Yes, sir!" They split up, each going down a different street.
By this time, several Soul Reapers became aware of what was happening and prepared for battle. As soon as they spotted a Quincy, they attacked.
"Too slow, baby!" One Quincy drew a weapon and sliced everyone in his path. Soul Reapers dropped left and right, grasping their wounds. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Come on, come on, come on! Come at me, Soul Reapers! Show me what you've got!"
"There's one!" Soul Reapers started to take aim at another Quincy. This one was a bit slower than the others and looked like he was trying to avoid a battle. He stopped as soon as he saw them take aim at his body and hid behind the small object in his hands. It was a mirror.
"It's seven against one. You can't win!"
The Quincy peered over his mirror and looked at them with a calm expression. "I never expected to. So that's no surprise to me. You, however, are in for a surprise of your own."
"What do you mean?"
Suddenly, Soul Reapers began to drop, each one with an arrow in his body.
"See? I bet you weren't expecting that," said the man with the mirror. He looked up at the Quincy hiding between buildings and nodded to him. The Quincy nodded back and moved on to his next target.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Zalya in the house, baby! Yeah!" A Quincy zoomed past them, yelling as loud as he could.
"Please, Zalya," said the man with the mirror. "You'll attract more of them. Yelling like that will only cause them to converge to our location."
"Shut it, Yaku! I'm having fun," said Zalya. "Besides, isn't the whole point to take down as many as we can? The way I see it, the more who come the more we get to kill. Fine by me."
Yaku sighed. "Sometimes, I wish you were more like Sharif. Well, half of him, at least."
"That freak-show ain't as awesome and cool as I am."
"At least he knows how to keep quiet and can take them down one by one before they know what hit them."
"Eh, I like my opponents to know who took them down. They'll die knowing it was the awesome Zalya, baby!"
Yaku sighed again. "Never listens to me. How depressing..."
"What the hell was that?"
Renji stood up tall and looked off in the direction of the racket. He saw dust clouds forming in the distance and could hear people screaming. "Something's going on down there. I think we're under attack."
Ichigo grabbed his sword. Rukia joined him.
"I'm heading over there," said Renji. "You guys try to figure out who's attacking us and try to help the injured. Report to the other Captains that we-"
"Forget that!" Ichigo charged ahead of Renji, wanting to fight.
"Hey! I said-"
Rukia jumped over him and ran off the join the fight.
"Never mind..." Renji went after them.
Linnette, who had been watching from the window, saw Ichigo and the others run off in the direction of the battle and wanted to join them. "Victor, Cedric! Ichigo needs us. Let's go!"
Soul Reapers from all over joined the fight, all converging on a single location, just as the Quincy had predicted they would. For every Soul Reaper that joined, one fell in defeat. They weren't prepared for an enemy this strong. The medics were having a difficult time trying to aid the injured amidst the fighting. Six from Squad 4 were already taken down when they tried to move the injured away from the battle. The enemy didn't want the Soul Reapers to be healed. Not a single one would be allowed to live.
One medical squad managed to make it to Iba's location and tried to treat him where he was.
"Five... Quincy..." he managed to gasp out.
"How the hell did they get in?"
"They were dressed as... Soul Reapers... They hid behind... their... corpses."
The medical team looked at the bodies of their fallen friends and began to shake. The enemy killed their comrades and used their corpses to sneak inside the Seireitei. They even went so far as to don the clothes of the dead to disguise themselves.
"Just who are these guys?"
The medical teams couldn't keep up. People were being injured faster than they could treat. There were simply too many. To make matters worse, they weren't able to get close to even carry the injured away. The Quincies would attack them every time they tried to help the injured. Some were held hostage in buildings, kept at bay by a barrage of arrows.
"One little, two little, three little Reapers! Four little, five little, six little Reapers!" Zalya danced and sang, cutting down every Soul Reaper in his path. Even ones who were running away from the battle he cut down, their backs to his arrows. He cut down those who he found hiding and even the medics who wanted to avoid fighting and wanted only to help the injured. He kicked in the door concealing the people from Squad 4 and smirked as they begged for mercy.
"We don't want to fight!" cried a woman. "We only came to carry away the fallen."
"I guess that includes you now, right, baby?" Zalya took aim at the woman.
"Please! We're not even armed!" Hanataro begged, holding up his empty hands as proof.
Zalya scoffed. "Don't care, baby." He aimed an arrow at Hanataro's chest.
"Please! Please, don't!"
Zalya was thrown to the side and his arrow lodged in the ceiling over Hanataro's head. Zalya rolled onto his feet and looked around for the person who kicked him. "Who the hell are you?"
"Renji Abarai." His Zanpakuto was unleashed and ready, twisting in the air like a snake. "I take it you're one of the morons who have come to attack us where we live. Am I right?"
"That you are, baby." Zalya straightened up and posed as if proud he had been discovered. "I am Zalya. Zalya the Blood Wielder. Like it? You want to know why they call me that?"
"Not interested."
"Too bad. Because you're about to find out, Renji Abarai." Zalya took his stance. "I'd be careful if I were you, baby."
Down several blocks, Yaku was busy try to avoid combat as much as possible while still doing his job in taking down as many Soul Reapers as he could. "There's no end to them. How depressing."
"Then might I suggest you stop and surrender?"
Yaku looked up at the Soul Reaper perched on the roof of the building behind him. Yaku took two steps back, making sure he wasn't directly under the white-haired Captain. "You're pretty small. Seriously? They made someone as young as you a Captain?"
Hitsugaya's face didn't show any sign of having taken offense. "Do you want to see how I became a Captain despite my age?"
"No doubt you're skilled. That's the only reason I can see them making you a Captain. Either that, or their standards are really lacking."
Hitsugaya's blade was drawn. "Let's test it, shall we? Then you can tell me yourself which it is."
Yaku grasped his mirror tightly. "I suppose it's unavoidable. Isn't that depressing... But I might as well have some fun with it."
In the chaos, Ichigo and Rukia managed to locate another Quincy passing from behind one building to another. This Quincy was rather large and didn't wear a cape. Rukia ran alongside Ichigo until they caught sight of him again and ordered him to stop.
The Quincy turned around once to look at them. "Isn't it strange how people order you to stop when you're trying to get away? I've always thought that was a bit stupid."
"Are you saying you're running away?" Rukia asked, keeping her tone authoritative and firm.
"No." The Quincy started smirking. "I just thought it was odd for you to order me to do something when you know full well that it is something I have no intention of doing."
"Why are you here?" Rukia asked, pointing her sword at him. "Who are you?"
"I am Mordere. And I am looking for someone." He flexed his arms, as if to intimidate her. "I have more than enough power to crush anyone who gets in my way. You're such a tiny girl so I'll be nice and let you off with a warning."
"That's considerate of you but unnecessary." Rukia's sword was ready for battle. "If you've come here looking for a fight, there's no way I'm going to let you go."
Mordere shook his head as if Rukia had just told a bad joke. "Ah... Seems a waste to use my skills on a girl. I warned you."
Ichigo held his sword tightly, ready to back her up. He looked the Quincy up and down, sizing him up. Mordere was on the large side. His muscles and size made him appear strong but there was only one way to tell for certain if they were anything but mere show. He wore a jacket with many pockets, leaving Ichigo to wonder what he could have been carrying on him and possibly use in battle. He wore jeans and a chain on his belt and had steel-toed boots on his feet. His hands were gloved with only the fingers exposed. Mordere looked ready for battle. To Ichigo, he looked like a street punk or a member of a gang whose only true power came from their ability to look tough but couldn't back it up. Even that half shaved head of his and the other half sporting a limp Mohawk made Ichigo want to roll his eyes. To him, this Quincy was trying to intimidate them with looks alone. He wanted to expose Mordere for the weak coward that he was.
"Some no mai..." Rukai went first. "Tsukishiro!"
A circle of ice appeared under Mordere's feet and he quickly jumped aside. The first attack was a failure. She tried a second time, aiming for where he was going to land. Mordere was big but he moved quickly. He dodged a second time and pointed his fist at her, knuckles first. His hand began to glow and shot off several beams of light Ichigo quickly recognized as arrows. Rukia dodged and returned with another attack. Mordere aimed his fist at her again and released even more arrows. Ichigo had never seen a Quincy use an attack like this before.
While keeping his left fist pointed at Rukia, Mordere aimed his right at Ichigo and fired an attack at him at the same time. "You like it?" he asked. "I picked this trick up a while ago. I didn't know I was a Quincy when I was a child and thought I was the only one in the world with this power. I wanted to test my limits and see what I could do with it. I experimented. When I met some other Quincies like myself, they taught me and I perfected this technique. I figured out how to bend what would be my bow around my hand so I could fire as if it were a crossbow. I learned how to do it to both hands so I could fire in two different directions. But unlike a normal crossbow, I can fire as many arrows as I please. I'm no pushover, kiddies. I'm the real deal!"
Ichigo wasn't intimidated at all. He was actually pleased. It looked like this was going to be a real fight after all. This Quincy wasn't all talk.
As Rukia moved in for another attack, Ichigo went on the offensive and unleashed his own attack. He knew how much stronger he had become. He wasn't going to use Getsuga Tensho yet; not among all these closely packed buildings. He was just going to swing. Mordere was a Quincy so he didn't carry a sword. He wouldn't be able to block. Ichigo leapt out of his hiding spot and swung in a downward motion, trying to slash Mordere's arm.
Just before his sword could make contact, something zipped by and slammed into Ichigo's blade, knocking it aside and sparing Mordere's wrist.
Ichigo jumped back before Mordere could attack him and looked around for what had hit his sword. He couldn't see anyone.
"Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" Rukia's next attack just missed Mordere by a hair. He rolled out of the way and aimed both fists at her, shooting off as many arrows as he could.
It was a perfect opportunity. His back was turned and he had Rukia running. Ichigo moved in to attack again. Something flashed and Ichigo stopped just short. An arrow was stuck in the ground an inch from his right foot. Judging from the trajectory, it must have come from the roof to his left. Ichigo turned his head, looking at the building. Everything was quiet and still, but he knew better. There was someone else here, shooting at them.
He had to find them. Without telling Rukia what he was doing, Ichigo left her to battle Mordere alone while he went off in search of the shooter. He landed on the roof but there was no one around. Something moved out of the corner of his eye and ducked behind another building. He wasn't alone. Ichigo pursued them.
Meanwhile, Rukia was left to fight Mordere alone. Ichigo had disappeared. Every attack she tried failed. She tried freezing the ground, he jumped. She aimed at his body, he moved. He kept firing arrows at her and she was forced to flee and duck in cover. Mordere moved in, closing in on her.
"Come on out, little girl. I'm just getting started. Is this all you've got? You Soul Reapers are a joke. I can't believe you're the ones we have to wipe out. You're so weak!"
Rukia spoke to him, but remained hidden. "Wipe out? What do you mean by that?"
"It's what we want. What our leader wants. He wants all of you dead so that we can take over. We'll rule this world and the World of the Living properly. The torch has passed to us so you might as well give up. I mean, you can't even take on the five of us. I almost feel sorry for you."
"You said you thought you were the only one in the world with this power. Does that mean that you think you're better than everyone else?"
Mordere scoffed. "Kind of hard to argue, isn't it? I always knew I was special. Not my foster parents, though. When I first started using my Quincy abilities, they were scared. They sent me away to be cured, as if I were sick or something. I'm grateful I was found by my own kind. They showed me the way. They raised me without fear. They encouraged me. They are my people. Why the hell wouldn't I be proud of a race that's superior to all others? I show humans for the weaklings they are. I'm better than them. Better than my foster parents who knew nothing of Quincies and thought I was a threat. They were scared of me. I'm sure if my real parents were alive, they would have encouraged me just like the others did. But not my fearful, weakling foster parents. In fact, when I..."
Something was wrong. His legs were freezing. Mordere looked down and saw his legs slowly being encased in ice. He stopped shooting and tried to pull himself free. The ice was creeping up his legs. It was already past his knees and climbing.
While he was busy running his mouth, Rukia had used her Zanpakuto to freeze him in place. She just had to keep him distracted until the ice managed to find his body from her hiding spot. Now that he was trapped, Rukia came out of her hiding place and stood beside him with her sword to his neck.
"I wouldn't move if I were you," she warned.
Mordere looked annoyed more than afraid.
"And don't bother raising your hands. The second you do so, I'll cut them off. I know what you're planning."
He would shoot more arrows at her. She knew he would.
Mordere stood quietly, keeping his arms at his sides. The ice was traveling up his legs to his waist now. His body was freezing. He was starting to shiver.
Keeping his arms at his sides, he made two fists and fired straight down into the ice.
Rukia jumped back. Ice flew in every direction like popping popcorn and mist clouded her vision. She felt his boot in her back and was sent into what remained of the ice trap. When she tried to get up, he stepped on her arm, holding her Zanpakuto down. He was so heavy! Rukia couldn't move an inch.
Mordere bent down and touched his knuckles to the back of her head. "Nice try, girl, but it's not happening today."
Rukia squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't move. She couldn't even use Kido. She would be dead before she could try.
"I tried to be a gentleman but you had to- Ugh!"
Mordere wasn't standing on her arm anymore. She got up and spun around to confront him. Mordere was on the ground clutching his shoulder.
Rukia turned and smiled a silent 'thanks' to the man standing beside her. Cedric had come to her rescue.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Thanks for the help. I don't know where Ichigo went."
"I saw him over there. I think he's tracking someone down. He was sneaking around." Cedric glanced her way. "Should I help him?"
Rukia looked from him to Mordere. "I actually might need some help with this one."
"Consider it done." Cedric moved in.
Mordere looked Cedric up and down. He quickly got to his feet and fired off a barrage of arrows from both hands. Cedric knocked them aside as if they were made of foam. Realizing he was outmatched, Mordere stopped firing and opened his mouth to speak. Cedric grabbed him by the jaw and started squeezing, lifting Mordere off the ground.
"Hang on!" Rukia called out. "Just a minute, Cedric. We need him alive. He seems to have some information we could use." Not only that, but he was a bit of a blabbermouth. Rukia knew if they took him in as a captive, he would talk, whether or not he meant to.
Cedric stopped squeezing but continued to hold Mordere off the ground by his jaw.
"You bruised the bone..." Mordere whimpered.
"Like you weren't asking for it."
Rukia had to ask him something. "Cedric, you're taking my orders into account. I thought you only listened to Linnette. I didn't think you would be so compliant."
"I didn't take your words as orders, but merely something that had to be done." Cedric watched Mordere struggle against his mighty grip, failing to free himself. "Linnette said she wanted to assist in this fight. I'm only doing as she wishes. She said that she doesn't want Ichigo or any of her Soul Reapers friends to get killed. You are one of her friends. At least, she considers you to be."
Cedric would fight for them. All for Linnette's sake. Because she liked these Soul Reapers, she didn't want any of them to die. Cedric was merely carrying out her wishes.
"Of course..." Cedric went on as if he could read her mind. "I have no issue with you and think you make a good friend for Linnette. I wouldn't want you to die either."
So it wasn't just what Linnette wished. He considered her a friend and ally, too. At least, that's how it appeared to Rukia.
Further away, Renji was having a difficult time battling Zalya. His Zanpakuto cut into buildings and tore up the ground but missed Zalya every time. He was too quick. Zalya fired a barrage of arrows his direction and Renji managed to dodge all of them. By this time, the Soul Reapers hiding in buildings managed to clear out so they were no longer in danger. Renji could attack freely without putting anyone's life at risk.
"Yah!" Renji flung his Zanpakuto at the Quincy. He flicked it left and right and its long flexible body coiled like a twisting snake. Finally, it made contact with Zalya's body. His left leg was bleeding.
Oddly enough, this didn't seem to bother Zalya in the slightest. He actually seemed pleased. Didn't he feel pain? Something wasn't right.
"I have to admit, I've never seen that reaction from an injured person before. You seem almost happy I cut you."
"I sort of am, to tell you the truth."
Renji lowered his sword but not his guard. "Why? You get off on pain or something?"
"No." Zalya smiled. "You've just given me a chance to show off another ability of mine. That's all. You're going to regret cutting me."
Zalya held his hand over the wound and Renji's eyes widened in shock. The blood from the wound lifted into the air and coiled around his hand. The blood flowed in a continuous motion, forming a circle in the air. With a flick of his wrist, Zalya sent the blood flying like a discus and into Renji's cheek.
"Ow!" Renji clasped a hand to his wound. He could feel the warm blood flowing down his face. Then, just as suddenly, the blood left his face and his hand, flowing through the air like a red serpent over to Zalya. He held the blood in his hand as if it were a ball.
"You like?"
Renji wasn't sure what he was seeing.
"Not impressed? Then how about this?" Zalya cut his own hand and drew blood from the wound. The ball in his palm grew bigger with every drop of blood. He then threw the blood on the ground where it splattered. With another flick of his wrist, the blood rose from the ground and returned to his hand. "You see? This is my ability. This is why they call me the Blood Wielder. I can control blood. Any blood that comes into contact with air is fair game for me. Even yours."
He threw the blood at Renji who blocked with his sword. The blood separated in the air and moved around his Zanpakuto and sliced into his face and arms, drawing more blood. The new blood danced in the air and sliced Renji from behind. Blood splattered the ground, only to rise and return to Zalya. The blood he now held in his hand was the size of a basket ball. It coiled and twisted and flowed from one hand to the other, wrapping around his back like a crimson scarf.
"Do you get it now? The more blood that is shed in battle, the stronger I become. I use blood as a weapon. I'd think twice before attacking me again. If either one of us gets injured, I can use that blood to attack you."
This wasn't good. Renji had to be careful. Every cut, no matter how minor it was, could be used against him. Zalya meant to attack him with his own blood. Not just his, but any blood. Even Zalya's. This made battle even more difficult. If he cut Zalya, the could then used that blood against him. How was he supposed to attack if he couldn't inflict a wound on his enemy? To make matters worse, Zalya didn't seem to mind cutting himself in order to inflict injury on Renji.
"I call it Rising Corpses," Zalya told him. "It's the same move I used to get us in here. I used the bodies of your dead Soul Reaper friends to help sneak us in. They were very useful in death, I have to say."
That's how they got in. No one noticed that they were dead and let them inside. The Quincy must have done all the talking for them so no one would notice a thing. How awful. It was sickening.
"Well, come on, baby!" Zalya thinned the blood into a long whip and cracked the air with it, taunting Renji. "Are we going to fight or not? You can't keep all that blood in you forever, baby. Share it with me!"
Renji shivered. Not from fear but from the battle happening in the next street. Hitsugaya was busy battling Yaku, who, for someone stating his unwillingness to fight, was doing an excellent job of keeping Hitsugaya on his toes.
Hitsugaya threw pillar after pillar of ice in his direction but he dodged every single one. Clinging to his precious mirror, Yaku moved quickly, keeping out of range of Hitsugaya's attacks. Since he wasn't getting caught in the ice, Hitsugaya decided to try something a little different. He would bring the fight closer to his opponent. Zipping around a fallen barrel, the Captain swung at Yaku's neck. He ducked rather than pull backwards. Hitsugaya couldn't understand the reason for that move. It took more energy and time to duck, plus ducking down like that caused him to lose sight of Hitsugaya. He couldn't understand. Nevertheless, he swung again and Yaku moved away.
"Why aren't you fighting back?" he asked Yaku. "You're just ducking everything I throw at you."
"It's not like I have a sword, you know."
"Yes, I suppose a Quincy wouldn't." Hitsugaya jumped back and swung his sword, trying to force Yaku to step backwards and give him more room. He wasn't trying to make contact this time, but Yaku blocked anyway. The tip of his sword passed through the air in front of Yaku's body, cutting the air and nothing else.
Something wasn't right. Why would he try to block such an attack? He was too far away to make contact.
To test it, Hitsugaya purposely swung his sword, standing six feet away from Yaku. Yaku hid behind his mirror, blocking the attack that would never reach him.
Yaku blocked everything. Even attacks that weren't going to hit him.
He wasn't going to waste anymore time with these non-contact attacks. He was going to hit him this time. Hitsugaya moved forward and swung at Yaku again and again, trying to cut him. Again, Yaku either ducked or blocked. He never once tried to move backwards to avoid it.
Yaku tried to kick Hitsugaya. He swung his leg outward but missed him. He took several steps back and held up his mirror, attempting to use it as a shield.
"Are you even trying to hit me?" Hitsugaya finally asked.
"Of course I am," said Yaku. "I just have poor depth perception. That's all."
Hitsugaya's shoulders slumped. "What? You can't see well? Is that what you're telling me?"
"I can see just fine. I just have trouble with depth perception, that's all I'm saying."
No wonder he was ducking and blocking everything. Yaku couldn't accurately judge the distance of any of Hitsugaya's attacks so he didn't know how far away he was or how far he should be.
"Even if that is the case, why aren't you attacking me? I know you said fighting wasn't your thing, but surely you can make an attempt. Draw your weapon or something."
Yaku held up his mirror. "This is my weapon. In fact, this mirror is my only weapon. I can't even shoot an arrow. I don't know how. As a matter of fact, I suspect my comrades don't trust me to use them with my lack of depth perception."
"So that mirror is all you have to fight with." Hitsugaya was thankful for the information but it still left him with an uneasy feeling. Why would Yaku admit that he was practically powerless to an enemy? That mirror wouldn't protect him from his attacks. He was just hiding behind it as far as Hitsugaya could tell.
Yaku stood in the center to the battlefield, waiting for Hitsugaya to make a move. Hitsugaya still had an uneasy feeling. Something was telling him not to attack because that was what Yaku wanted. Still, he couldn't just stand here and stare at him. He had to do something.
Taking a chance, he swung his sword, unleashing a stream of ice towards Yaku. Yaku saw the ice coming and held up his mirror to block it. It was a poor move on his part. The ice would freeze the mirror, encasing it in ice along with his hands. Surely Yaku knew this would happen yet still he chose to block. Hitsugaya watched closely, wondering what was going to happen next.
The ice went straight for the mirror as intended. The ice made direct contact with the mirror's surface and was absorbed. The ice was sucked inside the mirror.
That mirror was no ordinary mirror. It was a weapon after all. It could absorb attacks.
Yaku looked up at Hitsugaya. "Want to try that again?"
Hitsugaya was smart enough not to attempt the same thing twice and expect different results. As long as his attack wasn't absorbed by the mirror, it should be fine. Hitsugaya figured that as long as he didn't try to make direct contact with Yaku, the mirror could not be used to block the attack and then absorb it.
All he had to do was trap his opponent. Hitsugaya aimed carefully at the ground, testing his theory. He wasn't going to waste a more powerful attack just in case this didn't work.
The ground around Yaku's feet began to freeze and a dome of ice began to encroach around him. Yaku remained where he was, seeing no escape. It seemed Hitsugaya's theory was correct. As long as he didn't aim any projectile attacks at Yaku's body, he couldn't use the mirror to absorb it.
The ice had almost completely enclosed around Yaku. Just before he was sealed inside, Hitsugaya saw his smile. Suddenly, the ice started to retreat... inside the mirror. Yaku was exposed to the open air once more, the ice completely gone.
"You don't seem to understand the power of my mirror," he said calmly. "It's not what you throw at me so much as it is what it catches in its surface."
Hitsugaya understood what he meant. "In other words, whatever that mirror catches the reflection of, you can absorb." It wasn't a question of aim or contact. It was about what the mirror could see. Even if the attack wasn't aimed directly at Yaku, he could still absorb it.
"Yes, that's true. But there's more," said Yaku, turning the mirror slightly to one side. "Since you were so willing to show me your attacks, I'm willing to do the kind thing and return them to you. Reflect."
The mirror began to glow and an instant later, Hitsugaya found himself on the ground, surrounded by his own ice. It all happened so quickly he barely had time to realize what was happening.
"Not only can my mirror absorb your attacks, but it can also send them right back at you. A mirror image, wouldn't you say?"
The ice surrounding Hitsugaya were the remnants of his ice dome. He had tried to dodge and block at the same time, seeing the attack coming right for him. As a result, the ice broke apart before it could encase him.
"Let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine. I bet it's cold." Yaku unleashed Hitsugaya's first attack, sending a stream of ice his direction.
He couldn't block in time. He had to run for it. He ducked behind a building and peered out only when he was certain it was safe. Yaku was there waiting for him. He had to attack, but if he could absorb his Zanpakuto's attacks, he could reflect it right back at him. He had to try something else. Maybe Kido would work. "Hado 31, Shakkaho!"
Yaku jumped aside as the red ball blasted a hole in the wall behind him. He didn't absorb it. It must have only worked on Zanpakuto abilities.
Hitsugaya started to rapid-fire kido at Yaku, Shakkaho after Shakkaho. Yaku held his mirror straight out in front of him and absorbed the attacks. Hitsugaya quickly stopped, realizing that it was a terrible mistake. He could absorb Kido after all. Him jumping aside before must have been him either taken by surprise or trying to lure Hitsugaya out and make him use more attacks.
Now Hitsugaya was running from Kido attacks. Yaku pointed his mirror directly at Hitsugaya and unleashed every attack he had stolen. Bits of gravel and stone pelted the back of Hitsugaya's legs as he ran from the attacks. He jumped behind a building and hid. He had to rethink his approach once again.
What could he do? Any attack he used would be absorbed and sent right back at him. Kido, as well. Maybe an attack from up close could do the trick. He wouldn't be able to absorb a physical attack, could he? It was worth a shot.
"Come out, Captain. I'm getting bored."
Hitsugaya stepped out from his hiding place and confronted Yaku. He held his mirror at the ready, waiting for him to make another move.
He was waiting for him. Hitsugaya frowned. This wasn't right. He remained where he was and waited for Yaku this time. When he didn't make a move, Hitsugaya ran in a complete circle around him, trying to provoke him. Yaku turned his body, making sure Hitsugaya was never out of sight. He still wasn't attacking.
"I've got it."
"Got what?" Yaku asked him.
Hitsugaya stopped running. "You can only reflect the attacks you've absorbed. No more, no less. In other words, you can't send back an attack exceeding the number of times you've absorbed it into that mirror."
Yaku smiled. "You're right. That is true. If I've only taken in five attacks, then I can only send back five."
That was why Yaku was waiting for him to make a move. He had used up all the attacks he had absorbed and was waiting for Hitsugaya to replenish his stock. He couldn't attack him yet. Not until Hitsugaya attacked first.
"Thank you for telling me. Now I know not to attack you. Not in the way I have been, at least."
Yaku started to smile again. "You think that I can't attack you unless you attack me first? Well, you're right. But only if I use that ability. My mirror can do a lot more than simply absorb attacks. For instance, my mirror has already caught your reflection. What do you suppose that means?"
Hitsugaya was dreading the answer.
"Now this... is a Mirror Image." Yaku turned his mirror sideways. The smooth surface bubbled and gleamed. Something began to rise from the surface. A head. Then an arm. A whole torso. It was a glass version of Hitsugaya, joined at the waist to the mirror in Yaku's hands. "You like? I personally don't like to fight, but I certainly don't mind letting you fight yourself."
Hitsugaya had to fight his own reflection. It truly was a reflection of himself. Everything was reversed. The way his hair parted right down to the sword held in his left hand. It was a perfect reflection.
"Go on," urged Yaku.
The reflection held up its sword and swung at the original. Hitsugaya blocked. They were perfectly matched. It swung again and again. Hitsugaya was just able to keep up. He didn't want to use any attacks from his Zanpakuto, fearing they would be used against him again. He was uncertain if Yaku could absorb his attacks while using this method but he didn't want to take the risk.
While fighting his reflection, Hitsugaya noticed something about this ability. Yaku never took his hands off the mirror. Then again, why would he if it was his only weapon? That wasn't the odd part. He had to keep the mirror pointed at Hitsugaya the entire time. He also had to move with the mirror. The reflection never stepped out of the mirror. It was joined at the waist to the mirror's surface. This gave Hitsugaya an idea.
He stepped to the side to avoid his reflection's swing and tried to stab Yaku instead. Yaku quickly turned the mirror so the reflection could block. The reflection couldn't turn itself. It had to rely on Yaku to turn it. Yaku was vulnerable. He had to stay close to the action in order to use this attack since the reflection couldn't do it on its own. It was constantly attached to the mirror and could not leave it. This put Yaku close to the action. Understanding this, Hitsugaya no longer attacked his reflection but instead moved to the right constantly to attack Yaku directly.
"Fight your reflection, damn it!" Yaku yelled, turning the mirror to keep up with Hitsugaya's movements.
"You can't attack me, can you?" Hitsugaya swung, clipping the cuff of Yaku's wide sleeves. "You have to hide behind that mirror and let the image do the fighting for you. Isn't that right? It can't leave the mirror which makes you an easy target."
Yaku swung the mirror to block and jumped backwards to avoid another attack. The reflection dissolved back into the mirror's surface and became smooth once again. "Yeah, you're right."
He knew it. "Plus, it seems the reflection can't use any of my Zanpakuto attacks. Is that also correct?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Seems like a dangerous ability, don't you think?"
"I never expected a kid to figure it out so quickly. Here I thought you'd be stupid. But I suppose you being a Captain at such a young age must mean you had something going for you. That or you cheated."
"No, I'm just that good." Hitsugaya pointed his blade at Yaku's chest. "This battle will go on forever if we keep going the way we are. I won't use any Kido or any of my Zanpakuto attacks, so there will be nothing for you to absorb. I'll keep out of range of that last attack you used or I'll just keep trying to get around it and get to you instead. It would seem we've reached a stalemate."
"When you put it that way, I guess so."
"Since you're unwilling to fight and said you don't like to, it would seem that your best option is to surrender."
Yaku nodded. "That would certainly appear to be the best thing to do. But I won't." Yaku looked down at his beloved mirror. "Though I find it utterly depressing and a complete waste, I cannot surrender. I came here with my group and I'm going to leave with my group. If I were to give up so easily, how would it look to the rest of them? I'm not surrendering to a child. That would make it look even worse. I'd never hear the end of it. Now that's depressing."
"Then what will you do?"
Yaku's eyes darted to the street behind Hitsugaya. "While you may be aware of my powers, are they?"
Reinforcements. Have they come already? Things had quieted down so they must have thought the battle was over and came to assist. Hitsugaya turned his head slightly to warn them but there was no one there. "Damn." By the time Hitsugaya turned back, Yaku had grabbed his arm and was bending it backwards. "Ahh!"
Yaku forced Hitsugaya to kneel. "This is better. Shouldn't children listen to their elders? I'm bigger than you. In terms of age and body. I believe that gives me every right to-"
Hitsugaya snapped his head back, bashing his head into Yaku's stomach. He didn't try to pull his arm free. Instead, he bent his body to line up with his arm and flipped backwards over Yaku's back. Then he pulled his arm free and slashed Yaku across the back with his sword.
"Ahh!"
"I am not a child!" Hitsugaya snapped and slashed him again, drawing blood from his right leg.
"Ow!" Yaku was on the ground, holding his wound, pressing his mirror to his chest with the other hand.
"Captain Hitsugaya!" Now reinforcements had come. "Do you need any assistance?"
"No, stay back!"
"Captain, Renji Abarai seems to be having trouble is his fight with the other Quincy. Should we assist him or subdue this one?"
Renji was having difficulty? Who was he fighting? This Quincy was weak. His mirror was the only thing that posed a problem. As long as he warned the others, he saw no reason why he couldn't leave to help Renji.
Yaku flipped the mirror around and pointed it at the Soul Reapers gathered at the opening for the street. "Negative Image."
"What?" Hitsugaya wasn't in the mirror's path. They were. In an instant, they had all fallen to the ground and were motionless. None of them had used any attacks and they weren't close enough to have been struck down by their own reflections. "What did you do?"
Yaku was smiling. "I haven't told you everything my mirror can do. Where's the fun in that?" He started to chuckle. "Since when did you think you had to attack me in order for me to attack you?"
Was he lying about his ability the whole time? Hitsugaya thought he had Yaku figured out.
Yaku started to turn the mirror toward Hitsugaya.
Thinking fast, Hitsugaya conjured up a wall of ice to block the mirror. Now that Yaku was hidden behind the wall of ice, he quickly ran to the fallen Soul Reapers.
"Are you alright?"
They weren't cut. Not a single one was injured. They were all awake and aware. They were just on the ground, unable to move. Was this some sort of paralysis?
"Get up. You have to move away from here," Hitsugaya warned them.
"What's the point?" asked one of the men in a dreary tone.
"Huh?"
"Why bother? We're dead anyway."
Another Soul Reaper moaned into the ground with a sad look on his face. "Just leave me alone."
"What's wrong with you?" Hitsugaya gave them a shake. "Get up!"
"I don't deserve your pity, Captain."
"What he said."
"Just leave us alone."
"Leave it up to fate. If I'm to die, then so be it. Why fight it? It's fate."
"We're going to die anyway so why struggle to live for who knows how much longer? It may be a week, it may be an hour."
"Who cares?"
"Leave me alone."
Hitsugaya couldn't reason with them. "What's gotten into you? Why are you like this?" It was as if they didn't care about what happened to them. More than that, actually. It was as if they were all depressed.
"Don't they sound pathetic? Isn't it depressing?"
Hitsugaya slowly turned. Yaku was standing right behind him, the ice wall gone. He gripped his sword tightly, ready to defend himself.
"That's another one of my mirror's abilities. It can drain a person of their Spirit Energy. But that takes a while to do and frankly I don't like doing it because it takes a while. So I use its other ability."
"Which is..?"
"It can absorb a person's positive energy, draining it from their bodies until there nothing left but negative feelings and depression, rendering them helpless and unwilling to do anything anymore. They won't even defend themselves if I put a knife to their throats. They won't fight for their lives. They'll just lie there and let it happen, motionless and defenseless."
What a horrific power. It didn't sound so terrible on the surface, but once the realization set in about what damage it could cause, it truly was terrifying. To render someone so helpless that they would not even defend themselves if their life depended on it was a frightening ability. If Yaku used that power on him, he would be defenseless. Under no circumstances could he allow that power to reach him. If he did, it was all over.
"See for yourself its terrifying power. Negative-"
Hitsugaya blocked with another wall of ice. He couldn't get caught in that mirror's reflection. He ran before Yaku could move around the ice. He pointed the mirror at him and Hitsugaya blocked again. If only he had a shield he could use to protect himself. Or find some way to hide the mirror so it couldn't find him. But if he attacked the mirror directly, it would absorb his power and send it back to him. If only there was a way for him to attack the mirror from behind and encase it in ice. In order to do that, he had to get behind Yaku. However, Yaku kept his body turned so he was always facing Hitsugaya. He knew better than to keep his back open. This was going to be difficult.
"Reflect!"
Hitsugaya's body came to a sudden stop. His leg was frozen to the ground. Of course, he had been using ice this whole time to block the mirror. Yaku had absorbed several attacks and could now send them right back at him. Hitsugaya wrapped himself in ice while he struggled to free himself. If he left himself exposed, the mirror would find him before he could escape. It was all over if that happened.
He hacked away at the ice enclosed around his ankle with the hilt of his sword until enough ice crumbled away to free him. He created an opening in the ice and dashed into a building.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" asked Yaku from outside. "If you hide or run away, there's nothing stopping me from killing your friends out here."
Those Soul Reapers were still laying on the ground out in the open. He couldn't abandon them.
"Come on out."
He was baiting him. It was a trap. He knew it was.
Maybe he could trap him with a trick of his own.
Yaku stood outside the building he knew Hitsugaya was hiding in. He inched closer and closer to the Soul Reapers, tempting fate. He was trying to lure Hitsugaya out of the building, thinking his comrades were in danger. Then he would attack.
The air had grown even colder. Yaku could see every puff of breath leave his mouth. It was freezing. The Captain must have been close by, preparing an attack. It was getting colder and colder. He felt as if his feet were freezing to the ground. When he looked down he realized they were. It was a trick. The Captain meant to freeze the ground and trap him that way. Yaku angled the mirror down to try to absorb it. It was unclear whether or not this was an actual attack so he may have been unable to do so.
"Hah!"
Yaku's arm was slashed. Unable to move his feet, he fell backwards onto the sheet of ice and snow. The blood spilling from the wound onto the snow, looking like strawberry syrup on shaved ice.
That was the trick all along. Hitsugaya wanted Yaku to turn the mirror away and spring out when he did. He was waiting for Yaku to angle the mirror downward so he could attack him from above.
Hitsugaya kicked the mirror out of Yaku's hands and stood above him, sword pointed at his neck. "You should have given up when I told you to."
Yaku held his wound tightly, trying to stop the bleeding. He looked to his mirror, kicked aside and slightly on its side from the pile of snow underneath. Yaku looked back at Hitsugaya. "Commendable, Captain. It would seem that you've won."
Hitsugaya, not wanting to take any chances, started to freeze Yaku's hands in icy handcuffs. With Yaku's feet frozen to the ground and his hands bound in ice and with his mirror cast aside, he was helpless.
"I said 'seem', Captain." Yaku smiled at him. "Reflect."
Ice burned Hitsugaya's arm and leg, freezing him to the spot. Yaku didn't need the mirror in his hands in order to use its power. The mirror was angled just enough to find Hitsugaya's body and unleashed its stolen attacks. Now he was trapped in a wall of ice, the very same ice wall he had used to block the mirror before.
Yaku started to bang his hands against the ground to free himself. Hitsugaya punched the ice surrounding in arm, attempting to free his arm and the sword frozen to it. The ice barely cracked. In the meantime, Yaku was almost free. He struck the ice against the ground, slowly chipping away his restraints.
"Hado 31, Shakkaho!" Hitsugaya blasted away the ice and stumbled away. His arm and leg were bleeding and burned. Using Kido at such a close range had caused him some damage but at least he was free.
Yaku had freed himself at the same time and reached for his mirror. Hitsugaya tried to freeze him where he was but the mirror absorbed his attack before it could reach Yaku. "Reflect!"
Hitsugaya turned to run but the ice grabbed his leg in a frozen grip and wouldn't let go. His body was still in motion, turning away from the ice while it held onto his leg. This caused the bones to crack and break. He fell onto his other leg and winced from the pain.
Yaku grabbed his mirror and angled it down to Hitsugaya. "Reflect."
The Captain was frozen in his own ice wall. He looked like a science exhibit on some laboratory shelf.
Yaku let out a satisfied sigh and smiled at his work. "Fighting isn't so bad when you win. I could do without the pain, though." He looked down at his bleeding arm and leg. "I don't see why Zalya enjoys it so much. It's painful. How depressing."
Yaku turned and started to walk away. He could hear the sounds of battle all around him. He could clearly hear Zalya's battle from the next street. It sounded like Zalya was enjoying himself. Yaku could hear him gloating from where he stood amongst the tall buildings.
Crack. Crack.
Yaku turned around. The ice behind him was starting to crack and crumble. He turned away as the ice shattered in a violent blast and Hitsugaya sent shards of ice soaring in every direction.
"You're harder to keep down that I thought," said Yaku.
With his leg at an awkward angel and obviously broken in three places, Hitsugaya managed to stand and point his sword at Yaku's body. He wasn't giving up.
Meanwhile in the next street, Renji was running for his life. The blood Zalya wielded had grown exponentially in the past few minutes. Any Soul Reaper that showed up to assist him was instantly cut down and their blood was drawn immediately to Zalya's hand. He rode the blood like a surfboard in the air, chasing Renji up and down the street. Renji had to avoid getting cut above anything else. Anymore blood Zalya collected would only make him stronger.
Zalya used the blood like daggers and sent them after Renji's fleeing body. The blood returned to Zalya and he molded them into large sickles which he then used to slice through buildings. Renji dodged them left and right, stumbling over the corpses of his dead Soul Reaper comrades. Renji was thankful the number of casualties wasn't higher but this was too much to stomach. He had to stop Zalya.
"Rising Corpses!"
The bodies around Renji started to twitch. They rose from the ground like puppets on strings and stood. They were dead, every single one of them. They picked up their swords and came after Renji.
"How does it feel having your backup try to cut you down?" asked Zalya. "You see the irony, baby?"
Renji blocked their blades and tried to make a run for it. He couldn't get cut. He didn't want to fight his dead allies. What was he supposed to do? How could he win?
"This is the same technique I used to sneak us in here, baby. I used their bodies just like this. Useful, no? I think so, baby. Yeah, I'm awesome!"
"I'm gonna smack that ugly smirk of your right off your sorry face!" Renji snapped. He pushed the swords away from his body, but more came at him from a different angle. One sword entered his back, drawing blood. "Damn it, no!"
"Ha-ha!" Zalya gladly took the blood and added it to his collection. "Thanks, baby. I have tons of blood I can use now."
Renji pushed the bodies away and tried to get somewhere safe. He had to distance himself from Zalya and anything sharp. "How the hell am I supposed to stop him if I can't cut him? Damn it, he's even willing to cut himself." Maybe if he strangled him it would work. It wasn't really his style but he couldn't use his sword. He had to try something else.
"Quit running, baby! I'm just getting started!"
Renji ducked as pieces of building began to rain down overhead. Zalya turned the blood into bullets and used them to shoot into the wall. As quickly as it happened, it stopped. Zalya had moved somewhere else, his eyes on something other than Renji.
"Need a hand here, Renji?" Shinji had appeared to assist him.
"Captain Hirako. Be careful. Don't cut this guy and don't let him cut you. He uses blood as a weapon."
Shinji went to stand beside Renji. "Thanks for the heads up."
Zalya didn't seem at all worried about making this battle two-on-one. He seemed to welcome the idea. "How will you defeat me if you can't cut me down? How will you manage not to get cut? Not a single scratch." Zalya was laughing at them. "There's no way you can win. It's impossible against me, baby."
"Not really. There are other ways to attack a target," said Shinji. "Bakudo 61 Rikujokoro!"
Before Zalya could react, he found himself pinned between five thin boards of light. He couldn't move his arms or anything else. He was trapped.
"See? Now you're caught." Shinji turned to Renji. "I don't understand why you didn't do that in the first place."
"My Kido isn't very good."
"Ah." Shinji turned back to Zalya. "As long as you're just standing there I have a few things I want to ask you."
Zalya was very compliant. "Sure. What do you want to know, baby?"
"First, it's about your powers. I understand that you can control blood, correct? I saw you moving those corpses just a minute ago and saw you shooting blood at my friend here. But I also noticed that even though you can do that, you cannot control our bodies. Otherwise you would have done it. So is it safe to assume that you can only use that power on a dead body?"
Zalya chuckled. "Totally. I can only use that power on a dead person. As long as blood is flowing in a living body, I can't control it. The blood has to be either still or exposed to the air. That's fair game for me. So you're right. I can't control your bodies. Not until you croak."
"I see. So I was right." Shinji seemed pleased with himself. "Next question. Why are you here? What are you planning?"
"That's two questions, but whatever." Zalya was all too happy to tell. "My cousin brought us here to find someone."
"Why all the killing?" asked Renji.
"Because he doesn't like Soul Reapers and frankly not too many of us do. If we kill a few people along the way, who cares? We heard he was here so we sneaked inside and were going to flush him out." Zalya raised his brows since he couldn't shrug his shoulders. "The way we see it, you Soul Reapers are doing a poor job running the world. We could do better. So if we end up killing a bunch of you, so what? Makes taking over a lot easier."
"So you're trying to kill us?" Renji was ready to cut his head off right there.
Shinji's next question stopped him before he could. "Who are you looking for?"
"Some kid called Ichigo Kurosaki."
Shinji and Renji grew tense.
"So you know him?"
Shinji didn't answer the question. Instead he asked, "What do you want with him?"
"Not me. My cousin. He's the one running the show. But since this is a group effort, he's let me and a few others off the chain and told us to have some fun."
This didn't sit well with either one. Shinji turned to speak with Renji. "We have one captured. I say we lock him in a cell and turn him over to the Head Captain. He'll take it from there."
"Who said I was captured?"
Blood wrapped around Shinji's legs and suspended him from the air. Shinji dangled upside-down, pushing his Capatin's jacket out of his face so he could see what was happening. Zalya was still bound. The blood was still moving, without Zalya having to do a thing.
"I don't have to move to control the blood. It just makes it easier. But since I practice so much, controlling it is a breeze. I don't need to even try." The blood separated and half went to Zalya's side. Turning into sharp projectiles, they blasted the Kido restaints and freed Zalya. The other half held Shinji in the air. "Now what to do with you. Oh, I know."
Shinji was thrown into the air and slammed into the ground. His body was lifted off the ground and slammed into a wall. He was thrown into the wall again and again. The blood beat him against the building like a dusty old blanket.
"Stop it!" Renji demanded. "Stop!"
Shinji's head was cut open and he had a bloody nose. Every drop of blood he lost was added to the mass holding his legs. Shinji held his arms in front of himself to soften the blows but he was thrown so violently every time, it did little to help. He sent Kido flying behind him, blindly trying to find Zalya and stop him. Kido shot in every direction, missing Zalya completely but coming extremely close to hitting Renji. Shinji stopped firing and tried to push himself away from the wall. The skin from his hands were getting scrapped off, causing him to bleed more.
To stop him, Renji whipped his Zanpakuto at Zalya. He blocked with a wall of blood and from there the blood turned into a mass of daggers and flew straight at Renji in retaliation. Renji hid behind a building and ran around the other side to attack Zalya from behind. Zalya was waiting for him and stabbed Renji with a blood spike. The blood he shed was added to the spike, causing it to grow twice its size.
"Blood's life, baby. You have it flowing through you. As long as there's blood, I cannot be stopped." Zalya drove the spike deeper into Renji's chest, forcing more blood from the wound. The gathering blood formed a second spike which hovered over Renji's head. Renji tried to pull back but whips of blood had wrapped around his waist, holding him still. He couldn't escape. "See? The very thing that keeps you alive is the very thing that's about to kill you."
Renji gave a sidewards glance at Shinji who had taken a severe beating from the wall and hung limply in the air, his breathing hoarse and ragged. Blood dripped from his mouth and nose and the gaping wound on his forehead. His arms and hands were sheared of their flesh, exposing the tender red muscle beneath. The blood hung him like a dead animal to be drained of its blood. Every drop was taken and used to form new weapons and restraints. All Renji could do was watch and lean away from the sharp blood spikes pointed at his body.
Renji was afraid for his life. Normally in situations like these he could find a solution and summon up enough strength to break free and fight back. This time, Renji could find no way out. He was dizzy from blood-loss and his panic-stricken mind could no longer think.
Now we get into the action!
Please review!