Chapter 12: Bad Standard
Morning, Karakura Town
Back in the world of the living, Isshin and Ukitake are patrolling a particular street. The bearded Shinigami suddenly pauses, prompting the other man to raise a brow.
"You wait here, Mr. Ukitake, I need to take a leak. That candy shop has a public restroom.", Isshin gestures to a candy shop that is on the side of the road, in a yard behind some buildings.
The white-haired captain frowns, "But your house is just down the road…"
The captain trails off as he notices the look on the other man's face, prompting him to nod in understanding, "I see… well, be back as soon as you can."
Isshin enters the yard, finding a black-haired girl and a red-haired boy playing catch in front of the shop.
The black-haired girl is the first to notice him, prompting her to bow after catching the ball, "Welcome, Mr. Kurosaki. Our boss has been expecting you."
Jinta turns around with a slight frown on his face, quietly acknowledging the Shinigami's presence as Ururu leads the man to the shop. Isshin gives the girl a nod of appreciation as she opens the door for him before walking inside.
Tessai, currently restocking some shelves, regards the man with a smile, "Isshin! What can I help you with?"
Isshin shrugs as he responds carelessly, "I need to use your restroom. Let your boss know I'm here. I'll want to chat with him once I'm out…"
The burly bespectacled man nods before directing the man to the restroom.
After a few minutes, Isshin walks out of the restroom and notes, "I drank too much at Shunsui's…"
A voice calls out to him, "Ah, Isshin, my good man. How may I help you on this lovely morning?"
The bearded Shinigami shifts to find Urahara wearing a jolly expression.
The Shiba's expression is a bit more serious as he responds, "I'm starting to get worried about Yuzu. I still can't go to see her, but I'd like to at least be able to maintain the front that I am around… You still have some Soul Candy? Because I'm out."
Urahara tilts his hat, hiding one of his eyes as he peers at the man dubiously, "Y'know, your daughter seems like the type to catch onto a fake immediately. Are you sure this wouldn't spook her more?"
Isshin seems to contemplate this for a moment before answering, "We can just have the Gigai write it off as my being under the weather and acting weird, what with all that's been happening to my family recently, it's not far off the truth… I just can't have Yuzu thinking that I've abandoned her…"
The bearded man clenches his fist while looking down in guilt.
Urahara hums, noting Ururu and Jinta enter the shop, "Ururu. Would you please go collect some of the Soul Candy in the storeroom that we set aside?"
The girl nods before going into the other room, unknowingly stopping at a box labeled as 'damaged goods'. She returns rather quickly and hands the shopkeeper a candy dispenser.
The shady blonde man then hands off the candy dispenser to the Shinigami, "Now, you'll want to re-enter your Gigai before placing this in your mouth, as it won't work otherwise."
Isshin nods before walking into the other room to re-enter his physical, Gigai body.
He returns to the room before pulling out his wallet and haggling a fair price with the shopkeeper, "How much do I owe you?"
The men have a brief back-and-forth before deciding on a price, after which the Shiba man wastes no time in dispensing some of the candy into his mouth. As soon as he swallows the candy, his Shinigami form is pushed from his physical body once more. His body doesn't go limp; however, instead remains standing and maintaining autonomy.
The Gigai regards Isshin in a monotone, "How may I be of service?"
The Shiba man explains with a sigh, "I just need you to stay at my house—the clinic down the road, and pretend to be me, especially when my daughter is around. You should find a picture of her in my wallet."
The Gigai nods in acknowledgment before the captain takes his leave. The Gigai; however, has no intention of doing what Isshin said.
Shopping District, Karakura Town
The few days had been quite life-changing for Yuzu, having awakened both her Fullbring and Quincy powers, as well as undergoing training in both areas. However, today, she is shadowing two fellow Quincy women through the streets of Karakura. Since she is out in the open, the young Quincy girl is not currently wearing the white Sternritter cape.
The short-haired blonde shifts nervously, "Are you sure it's ok for me to miss school?"
The dark-haired form of Bambietta shrugs as she looks upon the girl from behind her pink-framed glasses, "We got a 'doctor's note', so you should be fine."
Yuzu frowns, feeling guilty, "Yeah, but… my uncle got that for therapy… I'm supposed to be going there to help get through losing a family member…"
The dark-haired Quincy rolls her eyes, "Yeah, right. Like therapy ever helped anybody with anything…"
The younger girl furrows her brows, looking ready to argue, but doesn't get the chance as the green-haired Sternritter accompanying them halts her train of thought.
"Ugh, don't any of these places have half-decent clothes?!", Candice shouts, ticked off that the fashion around here doesn't match up with her own.
Bambietta stares blankly at her companion, "You were so quiet, I almost forgot you were here. I figured you knew that Japan is a much more modest nation than most Western ones…"
The lime blonde thunderbolt woman glares at her companion briefly, "Revealing clothes doesn't mean skank by default, Bambi."
"But it does in your case. ~", the bespectacled girl replies matter-of-factly, causing a vein to pulsate out of the other woman's head.
Before she can give voice to her irritation, Bambietta sets her attention back on Yuzu, raising a finger of declaration, "If you want people to respect you, then you ought not to pull from Candy's book as far as fashion goes…"
The dirty blonde simply nods, not fully understanding what they are even talking about. Sparks crackle along Candice's body as she shakes in rage, the scene making a passersby keep their distance.
The lime blonde hisses, "And just WHAT is so bad about showing off a little skin anyway?! Especially when you look as good as I do!"
Bambietta shakes her head, "I get caring about your appearance, but you take it to an unnecessary extreme, Candy. I doubt any of our peers respect you. ~"
"That's it!", Candice tries to punch her companion, however, the other woman sidesteps, having anticipated the attack.
"Geez I was just teasing, Candy. You need to calm down.", Bambietta states condescendingly.
The thunderbolt woman snarls, "YOU'RE one to talk about calming down! Last time I teased YOU, you almost killed—"
"Um…", Yuzu decides to speak up, which causes the electric woman to calm down by a few degrees.
The bespectacled girl glances at the younger Quincy, raising an amused brow, "What is it, Yui?"
The dirty blonde explains with an understanding, objective tone, "I see where Candice is coming from. In some of the anime I watch, the lesson is always to take pride in yourself and your appearance, regardless of the way you dress… I can tell that Candice puts time into her appearance and takes pride in it too, if she didn't, she wouldn't put so much time into doing her hair in the morning."
"You know about that…?", Candice's eyes widen slightly, not believing the girl to be the observant type to keep tabs on the ways others act.
Bambietta snickers, "Candy, an anime character? That's funny!"
The lime blonde tilts her head, slightly put off by being compared to an anime character, before shrugging, "Well, if Yuzu here thinks I'm like a character from a show she likes, then that's infinitely better than being a skank, no matter what the character is… so, thanks, kid!"
Candice ruffles Yuzu's hair, causing the girl to blush lightly.
The bespectacled Quincy rolls her eyes and snorts, "Whatever…"
Picking up on an earlier point in the conversation, the electric woman questions her student, "So are you paying that close of attention to everyone, or just me?"
Yuzu shakes her head, thoroughly explaining, "I have been keeping an eye on everyone at the hideout over the last day. Riruka likes to make herself look good too, but in a cute way compared to a sexy one. She likes painting her nails rainbow colors and keeps a collection of plushies, among other things, in her dollhouse. Yukio, of course, seems to spend most of his time playing video games and acts coldly to most, but I've found he has a nice gentle side too."
The young girl pauses, taking a breath before continuing, "Mr. Ginjo likes ramen, you both know that—but he also likes to drink alcohol and watch professional sports on TV. Last but not least, Chad seems to spend most of his time helping people out around the hideout, particularly with things like moving heavy furniture, so I was surprised to find out he has a passion for music. I saw him playing the guitar late last night."
Candice stares at Yuzu quietly for a moment, not having time to digest all that information in one go.
Bambietta, however, whistles as she is thoroughly impressed, "You really are a homebody, aren't you?"
The younger Quincy sheepishly rubs the back of her neck, chuckling with a light blush, "Well, yeah. But that's the way I had to be back home."
The women each raise a brow.
Candice questions, not sure what to make of that statement, "What's that mean…?"
Before Yuzu can answer, a familiar voice calls out to her, sending an odd chill down her spine, "I spy with my little eyes, two gorgeous women and an adorable little girl!"
The dirty blonde girl turns around to see what looks to be Isshin in casual clothing.
Yuzu, temporarily shocked, does nothing as the Isshin flirts with the two women, "Oh, I daresay you are the most electrifying beauty I've ever laid eyes on!"
The man quickly pecks Candice on the cheek, leaving her momentarily stunned by how forward this older guy is being.
"And you! You're such a cutie my heart could explode!", Isshin grabs the Bambietta's hand and lightly kisses the top of it.
The dark-haired Quincy is expressionless, thinking to herself, "I feel like I've seen him before…"
Realizing it could be considered rude not to offer a response, Bambietta scoffs and levels a pompous gaze on her lime blonde companion, "Well at least some people around here can appreciate some true class!"
Candice snorts at this, "It's coming from an old creepy guy we just met, Bambi, I wouldn't say it's exactly a compliment. And who said you could kiss me?!"
The green-haired woman growls at the newly arrived man, who steps back having a bad feeling as light sparks from the woman's skin.
The Isshin raises his hands defensively, "What's the problem…? All I did was kiss you on the cheek…"
Yuzu breaks out of her trance, "What are you doing here, Dad?!"
The Isshin lookalike turns to the young girl, getting a better look at her from up close.
"Wait… she's this guy's daughter from the photo!", the man thinks to himself as his eyes widen.
The Isshin blinks and turns his head to the side, stating carelessly, attempting to play his actions off, "Oh, y'know me. I just thought I'd get out and live a little!"
The women gawk, realizing that this is their student's father, which makes the advances he made even more gross to Candice in particular.
Yuzu's eyes widen slightly briefly before she pretends to cry, wiping her eyes with her hands, "Oh no! You've moved on and forgotten about Mom! Dad, how could you—I'm not ready for a stepmom!"
The lime blonde almost hurls at the thought, "No…! Just, no! If anything, I would want to be her older sister or cousin, maybe Aunt on a bad day—but mom? No way in Hell!"
Bambietta laughs obnoxiously, finding the idea of being Yuzu's legal guardian immensely amusing.
The Isshin is quiet for a while, lost in his thoughts, "What should I do—I don't know who the mother is, or I guess was…? I don't know how to deal with this!"
Yuzu can see this man lost in thought before bringing voice to the suspicions she's had since he arrived, shifting to a serious expression, "You're not my dad, are you? He would be fawning over Masaki for sure right now!"
The Isshin raises a brow, carelessly blurting out, "So Masaki is your mom's name?"
There is dead silence before the three girls start to stare at the man with disgusted looks as if he is trash.
"Who are you?!", the young blonde girl demands of him.
Before any of them can act, the Isshin leaps off from the ground to the top of a building. Yuzu and Bambietta move to follow, intending to stop him from leaving.
"Wait, don't follow him.", Candice states in a cautious tone.
The bomb girl looks back at her companion with a fierce expression, "We can't just let him get away!"
The young blonde girl nods in agreement, not wanting someone pretending to be her dad to run free.
Candice sighs as she explains her reasoning, "You two need to keep a level head. Think. If we were to follow him, we may be falling into an enemy ambush!"
Yuzu looks at the woman with disagreement and worry, "But if we do nothing, my dad could be in serious danger!"
Bambietta shrugs, adding, "To be honest, that's his problem. Candy has a point—we can't afford to risk losing you to help some unfortunate human, no matter who he is. The mission comes first."
"Exactly. Sorry, kid.", the lime blonde states in genuine disappointment.
The young Quincy doesn't look content at this, prompting the green-haired Sternritter to let out a sigh, "You know how it is… with all these 'gangs' around here and all. I'm sure he'll be fine anyway; he is your father, after all."
Yuzu tilts her head downward, ashamed that despite her newfound powers she is still unable to use them to help anyone.
Nearby Rooftop
A black cat observes the scene from atop a nearby rooftop, panicking, "That clearly wasn't Isshin! I need to inform Kisuke about this immediately!"
The cat spares the girl a glance before leaving, musing, "Poor girl… I'll have to explain things to you another time… just hold out a little longer!"
The cat runs off in the direction of Urahara's shop.
Elsewhere in Karakura Town
The Isshin continues waltzing around the town before he considers another photo that he found in Isshin's wallet—one of him in a black kimono, a beautiful woman with light brown hair in a white dress—who must be this 'Masaki', and a white-haired bespectacled man in a white suit. The three of them stand in front of what looks like a European-style mansion, which the doppelganger can see in the distance.
The Isshin smirks, "Only really close friends can be in wedding photos, and from what I can gather—that place is that guy's home. I ought to go enjoy myself by living some of the cozy life!"
The Isshin suddenly approaches and drops down in front of the door to the mansion before knocking on it. A maid opens the door, her eyes widening in recognition of one of her master's closest friends. She promptly lets him in and guides him to the study.
The Isshin looks around for a while, possibly an hour or so, through various books.
The man snarls, "Aw, c'mon! Where's the pool?!"
Suddenly, the doors to the study open, revealing a white-haired man who regards him coldly, "One of my servants called me and told me you were here. I am quite busy at the hospital this week, so I'll keep it brief—what do you want, Isshin? I thought you said you would be completely busy as well."
"Aww c'mon don't be like that.", the Isshin walks up and slings an arm around the Quincy, carelessly, "Can't I just stop in and check on a pal every once in a while?"
The man adjusts his glasses, "I don't ever recall telling you that you are welcome in my home."
The Isshin snorts, "Well, as you say, things have been quite busy lately, and I've been overrun with stress…"
He then looks at Ryuken with a more suggestive gaze, "Can't you just spare one or two of your maids for me for old-time's sake?"
The white-haired man's eyes widen, before his expression stiffens, "For a friend… perhaps… If the maids were indeed willing… but they aren't. Besides, you aren't Isshin are you?"
This causes the Isshin to step back, sweating nervously, "How could you say that?"
Ryuken narrows his eyes, "It's simple. Because rather than ask for sexual favors from my maids, Isshin would only ever come to this place to ask about his daughter—he is much more of a doting father than you seem to give him credit for."
By this point, the surgeon's Quincy cross has lit up, revealing a bright blue bow.
"Oh shit!", the Isshin calls out as he runs out of the mansion.
On his way out, he passes a limping bespectacled teen with dark hair being assisted by a butler, looking completely confused at the sight of him, "Was that Mr. Kurosaki…?"
Near a Playground, Karakura Town
Isshin and Ukitake sit on a bench near a playground, observing various children play.
After a while of quietly observing the children, the bearded man suddenly asks his companion, "Do you like kids?"
Ukitake widens his eyes slightly, taken off guard by the sudden question, "Oh… why yes, I suppose I do. Their purity, or rather innocence, is something that ought to be cherished and preserved as long as possible… it's partly why I do this job—to ensure that families are not torn apart by the supernatural occurrences of the world."
The Shiba man's eyes are downcast at this, prompting his companion to place a hand on his shoulder, "I'm sorry about what happened to your son… I very much would have liked to meet him. From what you've told me, he was a lot like Kaien."
Isshin's gaze eases at this, "He was… damn near his spitting image, actually."
This prompts Ukitake to raise a contemplative hand to his chin, "You don't say…"
Just then, the bearded man's phone starts to ring, making him give the white-haired man an apologetic look, "Sorry, I got to take this."
Ukitake merely nods, still consumed by his thoughts, as his companion steps away.
Isshin answers his phone, "I thought I told you not to call me on duty… what? Are you sure?! … Alright, I'll keep an eye out."
As he hangs up the phone, the other captain gives him a curious look.
Isshin sighs and elaborates, "I think it's time you met some of my allies, Mr. Ukitake…"
Ukitake looks at the man with a friendly expression, "In that case, how about you call me Jushiro when it's just the two of us? I assume this is off the books?"
The Shiba man nods, "I'd appreciate your secrecy in this matter."
The two give each other a look, before Isshin takes off, Ukitake following closely behind.
A Few Hours Later, Karakura Elementary School
The two captains followed the trail of troubled individuals the doppelganger left in his wake, leading them to find a Hollow on the roof of a school. They see Isshin's Gigai attempting to battle the beast but is struggling to do so, taking multiple wounds. Isshin uses Flash Step to close the distance and appear in front of the beast, parrying what would have been a fatal attack with his still-sheathed Zanpakutō. The man prepares to unsheathe his blade to finish the Hollow off, however, he is unable to as the beast sends one of its centipede-like legs through his chest at a speed he is unable to keep up with.
"Damn…!", Isshin states as his wounded, bleeding form recoils and is forced to back away.
The Hollow lunges at the captain for a follow-up before it is suddenly split in two from behind and turns into particles of light, having been purified.
The Gigai is shocked by what he just witnessed, looking at Ukitake standing in front of him in amazement, "I didn't even see him draw his sword…"
The white-haired captain kneels down to Isshin, chanting a Kaido spell.
After the healing spell is complete, the bearded captain rises to his feet and wears a look of appreciation, "Thanks… it seems my powers are still returning… not to mention my being rusty."
Ukitake waves his hand, "Don't worry about it Isshin. I'm sure you'll be back to your full power soon enough."
Isshin nods before walking around the captain and picking up his doppelganger by the collar, beginning to shout at him, "You fool! First, you hijack my body and use it to mess around with women, and now you're trying to fight a Hollow?! Are you trying to get me killed?!"
The Isshin looks away, "I was just trying to help those kids…"
The bearded man follows his gaze and sees three children, around his daughters' age, being chewed out by a woman who he recognizes, "Wait… she's one of the teachers…"
His expression is one of slight surprise, nearly all the anger in him dissipating.
The doppelganger elaborates, "…from my earliest memories, I can recall being in a test tube, alongside many others who were just like me. One by one they were all destroyed by the Soul Society, and I was left to wonder when it was my time to face a similar fate…"
Ukitake's eyes widen in shock at this information.
"You're… a Mod Soul?", the white-haired man nearly gasps out.
Isshin's doppelganger nods, "Yes. By all means, I shouldn't even exist right now, but by some small, twisted change of fate, my container was confused for normal Soul Candy. As a result, I was able to evade the fate that befell so many of my brethren. After that point, I decided that nobody has the right to take the life of another living being."
Ukitake gives the Mod Soul a conflicted look while Isshin looks off in the distance. Suddenly, a gloved hand bursts out from behind the Gigai's back, leaving the body to fall limply to the ground while the small candy rolls in front of the feet of the two captains. The white-haired man eyes the culprits curiously. He can see a small girl with black, twin-tailed hair and a boy with spiky red hair, both wearing casual clothing.
The girl walks over to where the candy had rolled, picking it up from the ground, "Sorry for selling you damaged goods. We'll replace it immediately."
The small girl does a quick, polite bow.
Ukitake gives Isshin a questioning look, "What are they talking about? They sold that to you?"
The bearded captain doesn't look back at his peer, "I'll explain it to you later…"
Just then, the boy snorts, "See you around, Goat-chin!"
The two turn around and start walking away.
"Hold it!", Isshin calls out, prompting the duo to pause in their stride, "What do you plan on doing to him?"
Ururu turns around to look at him, stating passively, "We must destroy it."
"He's done nothing wrong.", the bearded man argues, with a fire in his eyes.
"Shiba…", Ukitake warns with a cautious tone.
"Mod Souls are illegal, Goat-chin! Everybody knows this! Are you seriously expecting us to break the law in front of one of the court guard captains?", Jinta questions in an unamused tone.
Isshin shakes his head, "No, I'll spare you and your boss from that. Give me that Mod Soul back."
Both Jinta and Ukitake look at the man with stunned expressions.
"You do realize I would need to take you in for that…", the white-haired man murmurs.
The bearded man shoots a look at the older captain, "I don't think you will, though. I can tell, Jushiro, that your sense of honor aligns with the plight this Mod Soul faces. He has a conscience and was protecting those kids from the Hollow. If he weren't here, those children may have very well died. Sometimes, doing the right thing means you have to break the law."
Ukitake's gaze softens at this, acknowledging that Isshin is correct about that.
"Well, we're not going to break the law in front of a captain!", Jinta and Ururu move to walk away, but Ukitake uses Flash Step to cut them off.
Isshin walks up to Ururu and snatches the candy out of her hand, "I'm satisfied with the product I bought and would like to keep it. Last time I checked, your boss didn't have a policy that the owner is allowed to recall goods sold at any time… am I going to have to leave a bad review?"
Jinta sweat drops as Ururu shifts uncomfortably, eyeing the Squad 13 captain worriedly, "Are you sure you're fine with this, sir?"
Ukitake nods, "It may not be lawful, but as Captain Shiba stated, this is the correct course of action based on honor."
The red-haired boy scowls, "You didn't get it from us, got it?"
"Fair enough.", the white-haired man chuckles with a nod.
Jinta picks up Isshin's Gigai before summoning some kind of magic carpet, taking both him and Ururu away from the school.
1 Hour Later
The two captains walk down the street late in the evening, discussing the events that transpired.
"So, what will you do with that Mod Soul now, Isshin?", Ukitake asks the other captain dubiously.
"Not sure…", the man muses, as he looks at the piece of candy in his hand curiously.
Isshin casually looks at a pile of trash someone left on the side of the road with a stuffed lion lying at the top of it. His companion raises a brow when the man grabs the plushie and carelessly stuffs the candy in its mouth.
After a moment, the plushie starts coughing and yells at the bearded man, "Come on, let's go! I can take ya! Wait, why am I so small?!"
Ukitake sweat drops at the ridiculous display of a stuffed lion threatening a captain of Isshin's caliber.
Isshin picks up the doll, glaring at it, "Now listen here, Kon, you have caused a lot of trouble for me today. You also owe me for saving you from destruction, so I'm going to need you to do something for me."
The Mod Soul, now named Kon, nods briefly, "I understand, but do I really need to be called Kon? It sounds lame."
The bearded man explains briefly how he came up with the name as a pun for what Mod Souls are called in Japanese before explaining what he wants Kon to do, "I'm going to leave you as a present for my daughter. You are going to watch over her closely in my stead while I'm busy. Make sure she stays out of trouble."
The stuffed lion tilts his head, "But she can't see spirits, right? Won't she get spooked if I talk?"
Isshin grumbles, "Well obviously you should play dead at first. I would prefer her to know as little as possible. But if it comes to that, just tell her you're one of Don Kanonji's sidekicks undercover or something, she'll probably buy it."
Kon nods as the captains head toward the clinic to drop off Yuzu's 'present'.
Hueco Mundo
A certain orange-haired dragon rests within a particular cave in Hueco Mundo. Assaulting the dragon's thoughts are more hazy, fogged images—perhaps visions of the past, whether they be from his own or the countless souls that make up his being. Eventually, one memory in particular comes into focus.
White's Dream
White's view of the world around him is framed from a much different perspective than he is used to as if his body has shrunk drastically in size.
He looks around, briefly taking in his blurred surroundings, "For some reason, I think this is… a park…? Why is everything so fuzzy?"
The dragon looks down, noticing that he now walks on two feet. Further, he then looks up to find small, humanoid hands holding onto larger ones belonging to two other figures, each walking with him. The figure to his left grins dumbly at him—a man with black hair who looks to be in his thirties with stubble growing on his chin.
White narrows his now brown eyes with normal white sclera, "I don't know why… but I really want to call him 'Goat-chin'…"
He then looks over to the figure to his right, walking slightly in front of him. The figure looks to be a woman wearing a long dress and having long, wavy, light brown hair tied in a ponytail. Despite not seeing her face, the dragon can feel a warmth coming from her, which makes his eyes soften in response.
White murmurs, instinctually, "Who are you…?"
The woman begins to shift her face to regard him, however, just as White is about to get a good look at her, the vision begins to fade, appearing as if it is tearing apart. The Hollow then screams loudly as he clutches his chest, falling to his knees. His screams continue to get louder and more monstrous until they become akin to a dragon's roar.
Hueco Mundo
White awakens, finding himself once more in the cave. He continues to scream as Barragan's Respira eats away at his chest, prompting him to clutch at it with his clawed front paw. After a few more moments, the pain subsides as the dragon now breathes heavily, worn down from the assault.
The dragon grits his teeth in rage, "Damn you, Barragan! Once I'm a Vasto Lorde, you'll pay!"
White then rises to his feet before leaving the cave, beginning to make his rounds. After a while of flying, he is suddenly assaulted by a blast of sand that shoots from the ground, slamming into his body and knocking him out of the air, spiraling into a nearby dune.
As White gets out of the dune, he stares with blood-lusted golden eyes with haunting black sclera at the massive, sand Hollow before him. The dunes around the Hollow seemingly shift, as if it controls the very desert itself. It wears a unique-looking mask, which the dragon doesn't bother to take note of.
The Hollow bellows, "You there, Dragon! Barragan has been looking for you! I, Battikaroa, one of the guardians of Las Noches, have been sent to put you down! Resist, and this will only be more painful for you!"
White begins to cackle madly, causing the sand Hollow to become put off, cocking his head to the side, "Do you find your death so comical?"
The dragon settles an even more vicious blood-lusted gaze on the other Hollow, "No… I just thought... you talk an awful lot... for food!"
Battikaroa tenses as White pounces at him with immense speed, clipping the Hollow in his left shoulder and taking a chunk out of it, which soon sends its arm to the ground. The wound begins to heal somewhat as White is once more in the air with a crazed look in his eyes. The sand Hollow then slams his right arm on the desert floor, shooting torrents of violent sand spiraling up at the winged Hollow.
White in turn, roars, "You think that will impede me?!"
Countering, the dragon flaps his wings with a great amount of force, sending a shockwave of air at the sand, which serves to completely and utterly destroy the attack. Battikaroa roars as it opens its large mouth, which soon extends into an even more massive mouth down into its lower chest. A massive, red Cero begins to form within its mouth, poised to launch at the Adjucha. White counters this attack as well, charging a massive Cero of his own between his horns. As the attacks collide, the dragon's Cero struggles briefly before immediately overpowering the other Cero, crashing through it and flying into the other Hollow. Thereafter, Battikaroa's body turns to glass due to the intensity of the Cero blast.
Spurred on by the pain in his chest, White acts quickly and lunges, ramming his body through the glass form of Battikaroa, making its body shatter into shards that fall on the dunes below. The dragon circles back in the air before swooping in and devouring the sand Hollow's remains before any scavenging Hollows can steal his meal. He can feel the Respira wound in his chest beginning to close slightly as he howls toward the moon in the sky, a declaration of his victory.
Author's Note:
I decided to add Kon to the fic, because I think it will definitely need the comic relief later on.
I must stress, as I will continue to do in these Author's Notes, that Hueco Mundo will get its spotlight during the next arc, so Hollow enjoyers please be patient—this background stuff is building towards that.