Author's Note: While the story has been, up to this point, from Hiroki's point of view, I've decided to give some other perspectives from here on so that various battles can be told easier.
Chapter Twelve
Invasion: Pt. One
Sadao took a long, deep breath after Sho had teleported the leader. Sadao, Sho, and the rest of the Splintered sans Makoto were now in the Soul Society.
"The air feels much cleaner here than it does in the World of the Living," Sadao said. He looked around. The group of seven were atop a tower, and behind them was a massive gate: the Senkaimon. Captain Histugaya would have come through it before Sho switched their places. Littered on the ground were four dead Shinigami with equal-looking robes and head coverings. Sho had killed them before they knew what had happened. Maiko stared at them, some pain in her eyes. Sadao placed a hand on her shoulder.
"They do not deserve your tears or sadness," he claimed. "At most, just pity them." He turned to Sho. "You can reseal your Bankai now. Everyone that needed to be transported is here now."
"But what about Makoto?" Sho asked, confused.
"We will eventually return for her, but she needs to remain to keep those three Captains jailed until we finish our mission here. With those three incapable of standing against us, the Gotei Thirteen is weakened."
"Alright," Sho said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice though he still resealed his Bankai. "Now we can move on to the next part of the-."
"Hey, who are you?" a voice called out from across the tower. All of the Splintered turned to look at a group of five Shinigami that had just come out of the door that led into the interior of the tower. They all had their swords drawn.
"What squad are you from?" the one in front asked.
"Sho, take care of them," Sadao demanded calmly before turning his back on the Shinigami.
"Of course," Sho responded. And before any of the Shinigami could react, Sho was already amongst them. He moved swiftly, his Kunai flashing, his legs and fists flying. Because he was up close, he had the edge over their longer-reaching weapons. Four of the five Shinigami fell before the fifth began to run back inside. He was met with the Kunai in the back of his head.
"We can't have you warning people," Sho said as he retrieved his weapon. He made his way back to his fellow Splintered.
"We'll launch our invasion from here," Sadao said. He raised his umbrella, and with one quick move, opened it. The inside was the same as the outside with the underside of the canopy being black. He raised it over his head. The canopy of the umbrella detached leaving behind a sword with a curved handle and no handguard. The canopy floated straight up, reaching higher and higher until it became barely visible.
"Bankai: Sora o ōu Kurokami," Sadao stated. Every Splintered had to either shield themselves with their arms or completely turn around so as to not get blasted back from the immense wave of spiritual pressure that Sadao released. At the same time, where the canopy of the umbrella had floated to, dark rain clouds began to gather until the sky for kilometers in every direction was covered. When the Splintered were able to look again, they watched as Reishi was being pulled into the clouds and rained back down on top of them.
"I feel…stronger," Sho said, looking himself over.
"My Bankai allows me to pull in Reishi from the surrounding area and use it to strengthen who I wish," Sadao replied. "All of you and your abilities that rely on Reishi will now be much, much stronger. This is how we invade. Well this and Chiyo's ability." He turned to her. "You will find that your Bankai is now much more…well, more." Chiyo nodded and pulled out her own Zanpakutō. She held it in front of her.
"Bankai: Mugen no Kokumotsu Hata," she stated, and while her release wasn't nearly as powerful as Sadao's, it was still strong enough to make a few of the Splintered turn their heads. Her sword then appeared to absorb waves of Reishi from the surrounding area before shooting out hundreds of thin beams. Where each beam landed, an exact clone of Chiyo formed complete with her Zanpakutō in its base form. There were now a few hundred Chiyo's standing in front of the Splintered group.
"Two Bankai releases means that they know we're here now," Sadao shouted. "Go forth and begin this invasion." The army of Chiyo's began to head down the stairs inside the tower, and the Splintered watched from the edges as the army poured into the streets, attacking any Shinigami they came across.
In general, the Shinigami were stronger than the clones, being capable of cutting down a few before they were overrun. But when the clones were killed, they burst back into Reishi which was then sucked up into Sadao's storm clouds and rained back down on top of the Splintered. Chiyo then used that to strengthen herself and make even more clones. The supply was never-ending as long as Chiyo willed it. They could hear screams and shouts from the streets below. The Splintered then sensed much higher spiritual pressures than the normal Soul Reaper. The Captains and Lieutenants had joined the fight. Though it appeared that none of them had released their Bankais.
"With Chiyo's army, it won't matter who stands in our way," Sho chuckled. "They'll just be overrun. Isn't that right, Chiyo?"
Chiyo, who had an uninterested expression, replied, "Yes."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Unlike you, I'm not a fan of killing people. Don't get me wrong, I have no love for the Soul Reapers, but unlike the rest of you, I don't hate them either. I'm only doing this because Sadao promised we'd find my mother after I've helped him. She's the only person I truly want to kill."
Sho rolled his eyes, "Whatever. As long as you're on our side, it doesn't matter."
"Stop your quarreling," Sadao interrupted. "At some point, those Captains are going to come up here to try and stop us, and I need all of you to be ready to fight them. Even with my Bankai, it'll be difficult for most of you to stop Captain level opponents, so they can't take advantage of any infighting."
As soon as he was finished speaking, all of the Splintered sensed three presences on the other side of the tower. They looked over and saw three Shinigami with Captain robes. Two were male and one was female. One of the men was the blonde-haired Captain of Squad Five while the other was the gray-haired Captain of Squad Nine.
The female Captain was a petite woman with gray eyes and black shoulder-length hair. She wore the normal Shinigami robes with an orange obi tied around her waist. Her Captain's haori was sleeveless and had the kanji for "two" written on the back marking her as the Captain of Squad Two. Also instead of the standard Shinigami sandals with white tabi, she wore traditional Chinese shoes with white socks.
"Well, well, well," the blonde-haired Captain said with a grin. "Look who we have here. You all must be the intruders."
"Really? What gave it away?" Sho shouted back, sarcastically.
"We don't have time for jokes, Shinji," the gray-haired Captain shouted at the Captain of Squad Five.
"Sheesh," Shinji rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Kensei. But I guess you're right. Though we seem to be at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to numbers right now."
"That doesn't matter," Kensei said, pulling out his Zanpakutō which, instead of the normal Katana like the majority of the others, was a wakizashi. "They need to be stopped."
"Oh, very well," Shinji sighed, pulling out his own sword. The Captain of Squad Two did the same, and she also had a wakizashi.
"Maiko," Sadao commanded. "Take care of the Captain of Squad Two. Takeo, you should be able to handle the silver-haired Captain. And Hitoshi, now's the time you prove yourself. Go and stop the blonde-haired one."
"Are…are you sure?" Maiko hesitated. "My sword doesn't exactly have a useful ability at the moment."
"Your sword isn't your main weapon though, is it?" Sadao asked. "Your speed is your greatest strength, and it is now being strengthened even more by my own Bankai. I know you can defeat her. Show me and Sho just how strong you've become."
"Alright," Maiko nodded confidently. "I can do this."
"And don't worry," Sho added. "I'll interfere if it doesn't look good. I have your back, sis." Maiko nodded again and then, along with Hitoshi and Takeo stepped forward so that they were in between the Captains and the other Splintered. They were each directly across from their assigned opponents.
"So I get some invader who doesn't even want to fight?" the female Captain asked.
"Oh calm down, Suì-Fēng," Shinji said. "At least you have an adult?" He raised an eyebrow toward Hitoshi. "How old are you?"
"That doesn't matter," Hitoshi resplied, pulling out his own sword. "All that matters is that I defeat you like Sadao requests."
Shinji sighed, "Well, we should at least do this somewhere else, or we might get in the way of the others." Hitoshi hesitated and looked at Sadao, who nodded.
"Agreed," Hitoshi answered before using Hirenkyaku to move to the top of another building with Shinji quickly following.
Hitoshi attacked as soon as Shinji set foot on the rooftop. Shinji was able to block the strike rather easily, but that didn't stop Hitoshi from repeatedly swinging his blade at both Shinji's head and his body. The Captain continued to counter.
"You know, you have some potential," Shinji chuckled. "It's unfortunate that you feel you have to attack us to live up to it though. Tell me why are you so against us?"
"Because you are Sadao's enemies. He rescued me, so I owe him my allegiance."
"Well that's stupid."
Shinji watched as rage flared up behind Hitoshi's eyes, and his strikes became stronger yet uncoordinated. Shinji actually winced a little as one of the strikes sent vibrations through his own sword and into arm. The Captain used one of the strikes to push back against Hitoshi and managed to put distance between the two of them.
"Alright, I really should have done this from the beginning to make the fight end quicker," Shinji said and spun his sword so the tip of the blade was facing toward the ground. "Collapse, Sakanade." His sword's pommel became a large ring and five holes appeared in the blade. Shinji put his hand within the ring, and the sword started to spin around it though he never actually grabbed the ring.
Suddenly pink mist began to fill the area. Hitoshi, when he breathed it in, realized that it had a pleasant aroma. When he looked back at Shinji he was shocked to see that the Soul Reaper was standing upside down. Then Hitoshi realized all of his surroundings were upside down.
"I take it this is your Shikai ability," Hitoshi called out. "It doesn't matter. I can still see you."
"Can you though?" Shinji replied and then moved to strike Hitoshi. Hitoshi moved his blade up to block his right side where the attack came from, but then a cut appeared on his left shoulder.
"What the…?" Hitoshi began to ask and then put up his blade once again to block a strike from above, but then he suddenly felt pain in his leg and saw there was a cut there now as well. Shinji was now back where he was before he attacked, and still upside down.
"That mist you breathed in," Shinji explained. "It causes you to see an inverted world. Up is down, left is right, forward is backward. I strike at your right side, then your left is injured. Do you understand? Surrender before I have to do something we both regret." Hitoshi was silent for a moment before a wicked grin formed on his face much to Shinji's surprise.
"Is that it?" Hitoshi asked. "I see an upside down world? That's all you can do? That's fine because I don't need to see your exact location. Only my sword does." Hitoshi raised his Zanpakutō directly in front of him so that the flat of the blade was facing Shinji's direction. "Bankai: Kyōki ni Kussuru Maigo." Along with the release of Spiritual Pressure, Hitoshi's sword shortened in length and straightened to resemble more of a Roman Gladius. His handguard became spherical. Then it opened like an eyelid, revealing an eye with a green iris that stared directly at Shinji, ignoring the inverse world.
Shinji stared at it for a few seconds, and in those moments, nothing happened. Then suddenly, he began to receive flashes of memories. Bad memories. He watched as he relived the night that he and his comrades were betrayed by the traitor Sosuke Aizen. Shinji flashed between the real world and his friends hollowfying. He heard their angry shouts and screams as if they were in front of him. All of this coalesced and hit Shinji causing him to shout in frustration, anger and fear. He fell to his knees on the top of the building, dropping his sword and holding his head.
"Just as your pink mist affects my senses," Hitoshi said, making his way away from where he saw Shinji land, "the eye in my sword directs a fine stream of Reishi into who makes eye contact with it, and that Reishi messes with the brain causing you to relive memories you hate. Because it can't breathe, it's not affected by your ability, therefore if I watch where the eye is looking…" Hitoshi walked up to a spot on the roof that appeared to be empty. "Then I can find where you actually are." He lifted his blade to strike the area.
As he brought down his blade, it was suddenly struck to the side by another blade though it wasn't Shinji's. Hitoshi turned to see another Captain with a painted face standing there with a mask over his nose and mouth.
"Well, well, well," Captain Kurotsuchi said. "I wonder if you'd agree to be my test subject." Hitoshi jumped back in surprise.
"Another Captain?" he asked before smiling. "No matter. My sword will just drive you insane as well." He held up his sword to face the Captain of Squad Twelve. After a few seconds of the blade and Captain staring at each other, Kurotsuchi cocked his head to the side.
"Was that supposed to do something?" he asked.
"What?" Hitoshi replied, horrified. "But it's supposed to…why aren't you seeing memories you hate?"
"That's simple: I have none. Well, that's not entirely true, but I'd categorize them as more inconveniences than something to hate." He turned to where Shinji was. "Will you stop this damn mist? This mask is uncomfortable though I am proud to say that it worked on its first try. Unfortunately, I'll still have to make some adjustments so that it sits a bit better. Oh well."
The mist began to disappear and now Hitoshi could see Shinji kneeling on the ground though he was no longer holding his head. He was gripping his sword in his hand now. The Shinji that Hitoshi originally saw fall to the rooftop disappeared. The Captain of Squad Five slowly stood back up.
"What is wrong with you?" Hitoshi called out. "How can anybody not have anything they hate in their past?"
Kurotsuchi shrugged, "There was no reason to, I guess."
"You're monsters!" Hitoshi suddenly yelled and charged at the two Captains. "For Sadao's dream, you need to die." Since he was striking out wildly, Captain Kurotsuchi simply stepped to the side and pulled out what appeared to be a syringe before injecting it into the back of Hitoshi's neck.
Hitoshi stopped, "Wh…what did you…" he staggered a little then fell to the ground, letting go of his sword which reverted back to its sealed state.
"What did you do?" Shinji asked. "He's not dead, is he?"
"No," Kurotsuchi replied. "It was only a paralyzing agent specifically tailored to these so-called Splintered."
"When did you make that?"
"I started working on it as soon as I was able to get some blood from that Hiroki guy."
"Then couldn't we use this on the rest?"
"This was my only dose. Why waste resources making more of something that hasn't been tested yet?"
"I guess that makes sense," Shinji turned to the unconscious Hitoshi. "So what do we do with him?"
Maiko's and Suì-Fēng's legs collided in midair. The Captain then quickly grabbed Maiko's leg and threw her to the ground. Maiko used Hirenkyaku to avoid full impact though after she moved, she found herself a little off balance. Suì-Fēng took advantage and kicked at the back of Maiko's head who just barely ducked it.
"You're pretty quick," Maiko smiled. "It's fun to finally fight somebody as fast as me."
"Why are you smiling?" the Captain replied. "You're an invader. You're killing other Soul Reapers down below. This isn't a joke."
"I know," Maiko's smile faded. "But there's nothing I can do about it. I'm the weakest one of our group. I can't turn against Sadao, and I certainly can't betray my brother. So I'm sorry, but that means I have to fight."
"Then treat it as a fight." Suì-Fēng attacked again, but this time with her sword. Maiko brought her own blade up to block just in time. There was a clash and it appeared to be even. But then Maiko took a breath and felt the Reishi from Sadao's Bankai flowing to the bottom of her feet. It was more than she had ever felt. Before Suì-Fēng could react, Maiko was behind the Captain, bringing her fist down on the back of the Captain's head. Suì-Fēng took the blow, fell to the ground, rolled then stood back up.
"I told you to treat this as a fight," she shouted.
"I…I am," Maiko shouted back.
"Then why didn't you go for the killing blow? You had it if you had just used your sword instead."
"I…I don't…I don't know."
"Well that doesn't matter because I won't hesitate to kill you." She grasped her sword firmly with her right hand. "Sting all Enemies to death, Suzumebachi." The sword glowed white then shrunk. When the glow disappeared, she now wore a black and gold gauntlet that had a small chain linking it to a stinger-like blade twice as long as her middle finger which it sat upon.
Suì-Fēng quickly moved to strike at Maiko who moved her sword up to block the stinger. But Suì-Fēng planned on that as she twisted her hand and the stinger glanced off Maiko's blade and still struck the Splintered member in her arm. She cried out in pain and moved back. She glanced at her arm and saw a black symbol resembling a butterfly appear. It reminded her of her own marking. She wasn't sure what it meant, but she knew that it wasn't good.
"What does that symbol mean?" She asked.
"Don't worry about it," Suì-Fēng replied. "Because you'll be dead before you realize it." She moved again and Maiko realized the Captain was directing her blade at the exact same place as where she struck before. Maiko moved to get out of the way but suddenly her opponent was behind her and she felt a pain in the back of her shoulder. She didn't need to look as she knew that the mark had appeared. She glanced down at her arm and saw that the first mark was still there.
"I see that you leave a mark in more than one place," Maiko said. "Are you still not going to tell me what it does?"
Suì-Fēng's answer was to attack once again without saying anything. Maiko managed to completely block it this time then put up her arm to deflect Suì-Fēng's incoming leg. The Captain then pushed off of Maiko's arm, spun around, bringing her other leg toward the other side of Maiko's body. This one managed to collide and sent Maiko flying to her left.
Maiko hit the ground, dropped her sword upon impact and rolled. She came to a stop and coughed, trying to regain her breath. She groaned in pain as she attempted to stand up, and her eyes widened as she saw Suì-Fēng already less than a meter away, coming in for another attack. She glanced over to her sword lying a few meters away and realized she didn't have time to move.
Suddenly Sho was behind Suì-Fēng and managed to put a scratch on her back before the Captain reacted and moved away. Sho, holding his kunai, stood next to Maiko. He motioned with his head toward her Zanpakutō.
"Go get your sword," he said. "I'll distract her." And before Maiko could reply, Sho was already headed for Suì-Fēng. It became clear, quite quickly, that the Captain was the faster of the two of them. Everytime Sho attacked, Suì-Fēng would dodge it and strike him. She managed to get three strikes on him with her stinger, though all at different locations including in the exact same shoulder spot where Maiko had been struck.
Maiko had picked up her blade and used Hirenkyaku to get behind Suì-Fēng. Maiko used her leg to kick while Sho went in for a stab. They both connected, but their relief was short-lived as Suì-Fēng seemed to shimmer and disappear.
"What the…?" Sho began to ask.
"Behind you!" Maiko yelled out and used Hirenkyaku to block an incoming attack from Suì-Fēng that was directed at Sho's back. Maiko pushed off and there was distance between the three combatants again.
"How did you do that?" Maiko asked.
"It's a Shunpo technique that creates Speed clones," Suì-Fēng replied. "They don't last long, but I can make several at a time." Suddenly there were fifteen Suì-Fēngs in front of Maiko and Sho. And they all seemed to charge at once. Sho snapped.
Sho was now amongst the clones and Suì-Fēng found herself next to Maiko. Maiko immediately struck at the Captain who just barely managed to block it. Suì-Fēng moved to counter-attack, but Sho snapped again, and the two of them were back where they originally were.
"Just another annoyance," Suì-Fēng spat "But you only have one snap left."
"How do you…?" Sho began to ask.
"The one named Hiroki gave us information regarding what he knew about you all."
"Once a traitor, always a traitor."
Suì-Fēng created more speed clones and once again moved toward the Splintered twins. Sho snapped again and the two switched places. Maiko went to block again, but Sho's eyes widened as he saw another Suì-Fēng coming from behind Maiko, aiming at her shoulder. Without thinking, he threw his kunai at Maiko which cut her. She winced and Sho snapped. The two switched places, and Suzumebachi struck Sho…in the same spot where he had been struck before.
He reached out toward Maiko who had a horrified look on her face. Suddenly a larger version of the butterfly crest quickly spread out to cover the entirety of Sho's body. It appeared to pulse once before Sho's body was completely destroyed. There was no blood or gore. His body was just gone. Maiko was silent for a moment before letting out an unearthly scream at the realization of the death of her brother.
Five minutes before Sho died, on the other side of the tower, Kensei and Takeo faced off against each other.
"You seem strong," Kensei said. "So I should probably go ahead and use my Shikai. Hopefully I can get this over with quickly. Blow it Away, Tachikaze." Air currents swirled around him before enveloping his Zanpakutō. His wakizashi transformed into a combat knife with a bronze guard, gray leather grip and a small ring on the guard's blunt side.
Kensei cut through the air, sending arcs of wind toward Takeo. Takeo put his arms in front of himself to block, but when the arcs hit him, they didn't just cut him. They also exploded, sending Takeo back a couple meters though he was still standing. He sighed and gripped his own sword with his right hand.
"I don't like to talk," he said in a deep, yet calm voice. "But it seems I'll have to make an exception. Protect, Sōkō Hebi." The hilt of his Zanpakutō began to wrap around his right arm much like a snake until it formed a large arm covering that resembled a giant scale.
Kensei shot more arcs of wind toward Takeo who raised his newly-formed arm shield to block the attacks. The wind hit and while there were still explosions, they seemed to have no effect this time. Takeo remained where he had been.
Kensei moved forward quickly behind his attacks, trying to take advantage of Takeo having his guard up. The Captain struck forward with his knife, hoping to get in between the shield and the Splintered member. He managed to slide the knife into a gap and produced more wind. At the same time that the wind made contact and exploded, Takeo had managed to use his left fist, as his right was occupied, and punched Kensei in the stomach. Both combatants flew backwards. They each landed on their backs and slowly got to their feet.
"You're tougher than you look," Kensei shouted. "I guess this won't be as quick as I originally thought. I'm not going to ask you to surrender. Just by looking at you, I can tell how loyal you are. But that means I'll have to stop you by any means necessary. Bankai: Tekken Tachikaze."
An explosion of wind erupted from where Kensei was standing, and when it dispersed the Captain was standing there holding not his combat knife, but a pair of large knuckle blades. Both blades had a curved, silver edge which tapered off to an outward point on either side. Segmented purple bands wrapped around the entirety of his arms, much like armor, while a thicker purple band arched behind him, over his head, with its ends protruding from under his shoulders.
"Ah, I see you'll make a perfect opponent," Takeo calmly responded. Kensei raised an eyebrow in confusion. Takeo put his blade in front of him. "Bankai: Sōkō Shenku no Hebi." Just as there had been an explosion of wind from Kensei, there was an explosion of Reishi from Takeo. But then the Reishi started to come back toward Takeo and solidify around his body until it appeared that he was wearing a suit of Samurai armor made from crimson scales while a slightly curved blade was attached to each wrist giving the impression of a pair of fangs.
Kensei charged toward Takeo who put up his arms, ready to fight back. Kensei punched with one of his knuckle blades, and Takeo put his arm up to block it. Where the punch connected, there was an explosion. While Takeo felt it, there was no damage done to him or the armor. Kensei continued to punch and each one produced an explosion, yet there was still no damage occurring to the armor around Takeo. The Splintered member finally raised his left sword to strike Kensei who had to put up his own blades to block the attack. The attack, while very strong, didn't have anything special behind it. Kensei realized that Takeo's Bankai's strength came from its resolute defense.
"It seems that we actually are the perfect opponents," Kensei said after moving back to give himself some distance. "My offensive capabilities against your defense."
"It appears so," Takeo agreed. They both moved to attack again, but suddenly stopped as they heard Maiko's scream. Each combatant looked over to the other side of the tower and saw that Sho was no longer there. Takeo feared the worst which was then confirmed by Kensei.
"It seems as if your companion is dead," Kensei said. "My condolences."
Takeo could feel anger pouring into him. He had seen Splintered killed before. Those memories came soaring back, and he began to absorb more and more Reishi from Sadao's Bankai. He turned his murderous stare toward Kensei who put his arms to ready himself for the incoming attack. But the attack didn't come from the front. Takeo used Hirenkyaku to get behind Kensei. Kensei turned and punched, but Takeo just grabbed the incoming fist. Explosion after explosion rang out against Takeo's hand, but he remained unmoving. The Splintered member then lifted his other hand and stabbed his blade straight through Kensei's chest.
The Captain dropped his fist from Takeo's hand and fell to the ground. His Bankai disappeared as he held his hand now to the severe wound in his body. Takeo stood above the fallen Captain and raised one blade, ready to bring it down, ending the fight.
"Hey!" a gruff voice yelled out behind them, interrupting the killing blow. Takeo slowly turned to look and saw Zaraki standing there, his own sword in hand and smiling wildly and wickedly at the Splintered member.
"You look like a fun fight," the Captain of Squad Eleven stated.