Keigo Phantom:
You do Realize This Means War
Opening theme song!
Chorus~
He's Phantom.
Keigo Phantom! Keigo Phantom! Keigo Phantom!
Rap~
YO! Keigo was just an average teen when he suddenly discovered a very strange machine!
It was designed to view a world unseen!
Chorus~
He's gonna catch 'em all 'cause he's Keigo Phantom!
Rap~
One day, he's bored and finds a lab, but Keigo has to take a look inside it. There was a great big flash, everything just changed, His molecules got all rearranged~!
Chorus~
Phantom! Phantom!
Rap~
When he first woke up, he realized He had snow-white hair and glowing green eyes. He could walk through walls, disappear, and fly, He was much more unique than the other guys!
And it was then that Keigo knew what he had to do: he had to stop all the ghosts that were coming through. He's here to fight for me and you!
Chorus ~
He's gonna catch him all because he's Keigo Phantom!
He's gonna catch him all because he's Keigo Phantom!
He's gonna catch him all because he's Keigo Phantom!
He's gonna catch him all because he's Keigo Phantom!
Keigo and Ichigo stood off against Skulker and Grimmjow. They stared at each other, one duo with mad grins, and the other two were worried. Keigo gulped nervously as his hands were glowing with a green light.
All the while, Rukia looked in awe as they stumbled upon the situation. Grimmjow let his spiritual power flow, not affecting the ghosts in the room, but the soul reapers tensed up.
"He's an Arrancar too, but he's so different from the other one I fought earlier," Rukia thought, but her eye went to the metal ghost. "And that one—I can't feel its energy, but its bloodlust is grabbing my throat!"
"So I get the ghost boy and you get the one with the big sword," Skulker said, sorting out the prey. Grimmjow smirked, enjoying the sound of that. Rukia noticed that Grimmjow moved first.
"Ichigo run-," Rukia was cut off before she could warn Ichigo. Grimmjow appeared right in front of her. She felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. Looking down in horror, Grimmjow's arm was impaling her stomach.
"I just wanted to see if you were the one with that spiritual pressure. I guess I was wrong," Grimmjow smiled madly. Ichigo and Keigo watched in terror as Rukia's eyes showed little life.
"Oh no! Not again!" Keigo thought.
"You. Pig.." Rukia said as Grimmjow pulled his arm from her body. Ichigo leaps right towards Grimmjow with his Banki out. Ichigo's blades touch the floor and make a large shockwave as the earth folds lengthwise. Keigo flew towards the two, only for his right leg to be grabbed by Skulker and tossed from the opposite direction. He landed on his back, hitting a wall.
"Not so fast, ghost boy, you and I still have to sort out business." Two large green blades jolted out of Skulker's forearm. Keigo gritted his teeth, looking behind Ichigo, seeing how he kept swinging at Grimmjow with his sword, only for the attacks to be easily dodged. Keigo glanced up at the ghost and glared at him. He had to take down this ghost and then help his friend. Yet, seeing Rukia lying on the floor limb made his blood boil.
"Get out of my way or else!" Keigo's eyes flashed a brighter green. The power cords above them began to grow even louder. Keigo leaped towards Skulker, the ghost slashed at Keigo.
The young ghost teen quickly turned intangible. He smirked, thinking that he had gotten one over his opponent. However, Keigo yelped in pain as the blades cut his skin, and he soon fell back to the floor.
Looking down at his stomach, Keigo realized that his intangibility had failed. The two slashes across his chest weren't deep, but Skulker made his point.
"But how?" Keigo asked
"I've made it a hobby to hunt ghosts, so I know how to handle the basics. So let's start this game!" Skulker slashed at Keigo again, only this time the ghost boy leaped over the attack and drop-kicked Skulker in the chest, sending the ghost crashing into the wall behind him.
Keigo glanced at Rukia, seeing that her body was being carried off by the other Rukia, the Chappy. He didn't understand that it didn't matter, but it brought him some comfort to see that Rukia was being taken to safety.
"Don't let your guard down!" Skulker shouted as he came from behind and punched the back of Keigo's head, making the young teen fall face-first on the floor. Keigo turned around to see Skulker standing over him.
Keigo could hear that Ichigo's fight was starting to tense up. Looking that way, seeing the substitute Soul Reaper sword was caught by Grimmjow with his bare hand alone. He wanted to help so desperately. However, someone wasn't going to let that happen.
"Let me go!" Keigo shouted.
"Now, where is the fun in that?" Skulker asked with sadistic glee. Keigo gritted his teeth and held out his hand to blast a beam of ghost energy. Skulker dodged the attack and threw Keigo into a house. Keigo quickly turned intangible and phased through the entire building.
Flying through the roof and getting a high position. Keigo watched below, seeing that Ichigo was being pursued by Grimmjow. Ichigo appears behind Grimmjow and slashes downward.
Despite this advantage that Ichigo had to strike from behind, Grimmjow only smirked and evaded the attack. Then let out a barrage of punches right toward Ichigo's head. The blood and bruises were quickly starting to appear.
"Hey!" Keigo shouted.
Keigo would fly toward them only to be snared in a net, then plummet to the ground, hitting the floor. He tried to phase out of it, but he couldn't pass through the rope. Growling in frustration, he began trying to pull it apart, trying to free himself, only to find the material extremely durable. Keigo looked to see a string of rope attached to the net, leading back to Skulker's arm.
"I wouldn't try to break out, those ropes were made to hold things bigger than you, it appears the care you have for your friends is your downfall," Skulker said disappointingly, not finding much sport in his prey, he wasn't one to complain. A trophy was still a trophy, and this ghost boy was one of a kind.
"Just let me go, he's going to kill my friend!" Keigo cried out. Skulker expressed no care whatsoever.
"I have no care for them, I'm specifically after you, your head should do nicely over my mantle," Skulker extended his wrist with green blades. Slowly approaching the struggling teenager, it was getting close to his neck, but even with a knife, heading toward his neck. He glanced at Ichigo in terror, seeing he wasn't doing too well with his fight either.
Ichigo glanced up as the cloud of smoke dissipated. He stood there, trying to catch his breath. It was so hard to stand, but he still had his banki, and even Grimmjow was already above the air.
Grimmjow glared at Ichigo with a disappointed expression. "What a waste of time your banki only gives you average speed, hell, you're weird green friend gave a better fight."
Grimmjow glanced at the Skulker, seeing that Keigo was already captured. This only made Grimmjow disappointed in Keigo, but it did mean that Skulker just rose on his hit list.
"What, still enjoying the show?" He asked the two spectators.
"Don't mind me, I just wanna see the winner of this death match. At least I can leave this place with two trophies instead of one," Skulker smiled. Grimmjow only had a feral smile back. This ghost was so much fun; it brought out that tiger in him. However, he wouldn't be distracted for long.
"Getsuga tenshō!" He slashed his blade, creating a dark energy wave heading right for Grimmjow. The attack had made a full collision with Grimmjow, leaving only a big cloud of smoke.
"Yes! You got him, Ichigo!" Keigo shouted from the sideline. Skulker kicked the side of the net into Keigo.
"Quiet you!" Skulker shouted. Keigo growled in anger, but the power lines below began to crackle more.
Ichigo turned to see that Keigo was trapped, and he had a weak smile on his face.
"Still get yourself out of trouble, huh? Don't worry, I got this guy, and then you're next!" Ichigo said, pointing his sword at Skulker. The ghost smiled and pointed to the smoke cloud.
"Your fight's still not over."
Ichigo then felt the spiritual pressure was still there. Slowly turning into the smoke cloud, Ichigo saw it slowly disappear. Grimmjow was still standing mid-air, from the look of his right sleeve being destroyed, and his skin slightly burned. He blocked the attack with only one arm.
Ichigo's eyes shook in horror. Seeing the feral grin on Grimmjow's face.
"What was that?" He asked. "That move wasn't in Ulquiorra's report, soul reaper."
Ichigo gripped his blade and, in a determined manner, glared at Grimmjow. "Still disappointed, Arrancar?"
However, Ichigo's right eye slowly turned black. His inner hollow was starting to creep up. In the worst time of all places. He grabbed his eyes and hunched, trying to force them back.
"Not yet, it's almost over."
Keigo's eyes widened in horror; he could see that uncertainty again. His friend's eyes were the same ones he saw at the park. That darkness and yellow pupils. He suddenly got a flash of memory in his mind to that moment when his friends almost died right in front of him. Where he could do nothing, just like what happened to him back in the lab.
In the pain and darkness, Keigo gripped the ropes and started thrashing around wildly. Skulker looked down, annoyed at his prey.
"Stop that, give up already, I've beaten you!" Skulker said.
"NO! Let me out!" Keigo shouted. Skulker, annoyed, pushed a button on his arm. The net became energized with electricity. Shocked, Keigo let out a yelp of pain. However, Keigo didn't yield whatsoever all. His mind couldn't help but race back to that moment when he first got his ghost powers. The painful energy that he caused throughout his fans that night, that drove him to pain to no end.
"Stop that!" Ichigo shouted. He tried to step forward, only to find it was incredibly hard to move. He was fighting battles on two fronts. He did notice the small cuts on Grimmjow's chest, but he looked at them disappointingly.
"Crap! Those cuts are too shallow. Not even the full force of Getsuga tenshō could take him out, the black is my hollow moves, I can muster at least two more, but will it be enough?"
Grimmjow let out a statistic madman laugh.
"Well, I wouldn't just stand there, soul reaper," Grimmjow began to reach for his sword. "Now it's my turn."
Keigo was still being electrocuted, unable to do anything, not even phase through these ropes to help his friend who was standing right in front of him. Something inside of him snapped. Green electricity started to form around his hands that led to his arms, passed his shoulders, and right towards his head.
Power cords around the area snapped like wild snakes. The lights of the building below flicked on and off.
The crack of thunder shouted above them.
The cloud above began to form into a dark, cloudy sky. The moon was being obscured, and everyone's attention was drawn upward. Skulker glanced down at Keigo, seeing the ghost teen's body running with electricity that the light within made his body glow so bright that an outline of a skeleton could be seen. The crackling of electricity was so loud it whipped the sky.
All eyes were now on Keigo. Grimmjow's smile wouldn't go away after coming here to the world of the living. Finding such worthy people to kill was like a dream come true.
Keigo turned his head so fast that it mimicked the movement of a marionette being instructed by an insane puppeteer. Skulker stood there with his jaw wide open. His net was slowly burning away as the electrical power burned the rope away. A crack of lightning from above struck Keigo.
"Oh no!" Skulker said. Keigo's body spewed out green lightning, hitting random things, buildings, and not even trees were safe as they were split in two by the wild green bolts. Grimmjow even had to avoid one of the attacks.
"KEIGO!" Ichigo shouted. A bolt of ghostly lightning struck Skulker's body. The mechanical ghost was in complete disarray as his body began to steam and smoke, and then completely blew up from the energy overload. His parts were scattered across the ground below. A great cloud of smoke was made. Grimmjow couldn't feel any spiritual pressure from the smoke, but his instincts told him to be careful.
Ichigo felt goosebumps appear on his arms, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Even his inner hollow had shut up as the fear was like a static haze.
The smoke disappears only to show no one was there. Grimmjow was confused until he felt the back of his hair stand up. Feeling the presence of another was behind him.
Grimmjow spun around only to see nothing, clenching his teeth in frustration. He wasn't one to be messed with. Grimmjow paused, feeling a hand touch his shoulder. Slowly turning around, he saw Keigo floating right there. His eyes showed no remorse, expressing the face of a possessed monster. Keigo's eyes lacked pupils, being entirely white.
"Die," A faint whisper quietly directed towards Grimmjow.
"AH!" Grimmjow yelled.
Arrancar's body was electrocuted, his muscles tightening, his heart beating out of control, and his eyes burning. Grimmjow felt the end of his nerves were engulfed in an inferno of heat.
The paralysis that constricted and twisted his limbs. Yet the worst had to be Grimmjow's heart, it felt like it was going to explode.
Ichigo watched in horror seeing this display of brutality. He couldn't see his friend any longer, but a corpse seeking revenge.
"KEIGO! STOP!" Ichigo yelled, only for his words to fall on deaf ears. This wasn't fighting anymore; this had become a torment.
Grimmjow's arms slowly began to try and grab Keigo, but the pain was becoming unbearable as he let out a cry of pain. Grimmjow was surprised to catch a glimpse of the unrelenting rage in Keigo's eyes. The young half-ghost's face was shaking violently.
The Arrancar couldn't feel any more pain outside his nerves became numb, and the only thing was static, like if you slept on your arm too long and all you would feel was the departure of your blood from that part of your body. His spiritual power did nothing to protect him. His body is being attacked by a terrifying power.
"What the hell! Is this power!" Grimmjow yelled in his mind.
Then, his heart began to beat uncontrollably, not because of the electricity but because of a foreign motion that ran through his mind.
Fear.
Keigo's face twisted in terror. The numbness spared Grimmjow's body. He is afraid because it is an overwhelming power that forces him to do nothing as a snake wraps around its body. It was an anonymous feeling that he didn't know what he was looking at.
Keigo glared at the Arrancar. This thing had killed people, and he wouldn't just let an animal run around doing whatever it wanted. Without care or punishment for his actions. This terrible pain he inflicted on Grimmjow needed to happen, or… did it?
Keigo truly looked at the man he was… killing. He could finally hear the outside world around him.
"Keigo, Stop!" Ichigo shouted. That realization finally hit Keigo, this wasn't a heat-of-the-moment choice. He had gone out of his way to hurt someone.
Killing, that word kept repeating in his mind, was this the right thing? The young teen looked at Grimmjow and wanted to hate the face that had tried to kill him and hurt his friends. Keigo's hesitation stopped the electricity, and his face turned normal. What he had done wasn't right.
Keigo let go of Grimmjow, who almost fell to the ground, but he quickly composed himself, gaining some spiritual pressure, still holding himself up in the air. Keigo could see what he had done; all over Grimmjow's body were burns, blood leaking out of his ears and nose. The worst was his eyes being completely bloodshot.
"Why… did you… Did you stop?" Grimmjow asked. "This is a fight to kill or be killed!"
Keigo paused and looked at his hand. He wasn't a killer, but that didn't mean he wouldn't unleash hell upon those who hurt his friends. Knowing this type of torture, it wasn't right. Keigo smirked instead of giving any more courtesy to this Arrancar.
"Just wanted to kick your ass the old-fashioned way!" Keigo answered. Getting into a fighting stance and having a new resolve in his mind, whatever happened would be the result. Grimmjow smiled back and gripped his sword.
"You know I was gonna kill your friend over there. Looks like he was about to kill over any minute, but I'll make an exception, let's see if you can handle my second form," Grimmjow said with his warrior smile. Keigo's hands hummed with electricity. He was gonna get used to this new ability. Why not have some practice with it? He never expected lightning to be his special power, but Keigo wasn't complaining.
"Bring it!" Keigo said with a smirk. "What's the matter? Did I fry your brain too much?"
Grimmjow was going to unsheathe his sword, but that never happened.
"Enough," said a man wearing the same style of white clothing as Grimmjow. he had dark skin and dark purple hair, which was formed into braids, long and clean. He wore a purple visor and an orange cloth ring around his neck. He had his Zanpakutō in its scabbard hanging off his right hip.
"Sheath your sword, Grimmjow," He said strictly.
"Tōsen," Grimmjow said his name with hate. Ichigo's eyes widened, realizing that was one of the captains who had betrayed the Soul Society. Despite his injured state, he glanced at his friend, wondering if he would be able to take on a captain.
Grimmjow lost all interest in Keigo, and Ichigo turned to face the man and yelled at him.
"Why are you here?"
"Why you ask, I think you know why," Tōsen said plainly. "You invaded the world of the living without permission. You also mobilized five Arrancars without permission, These are serious offenses."
Tōsen began to slowly walk behind Grimmjow. "Let's go, Grimmjow. Your punishment will be decided.
Grimmjow glanced at Keigo and then back at Ichigo. He scoffed and ignored them, now following Tōsen. "Hmph, fine."
Ichigo was surprised at the news. "W… wait!" he shouted.
Grimmjow gave an uncaring glance at Ichigo. "Shut up, we're going back to Hueco Mundo."
Tōsen opened a portal into Hueco Mundo, which was the same exit that Ulquiorra used when he dragged back Yammy.
"That's it, you guys just come here and attack people and don't expect consequences. No, no, not today!" Keigo shouted, gaining the attention of Tōsen.
The blind man recognized the voice immediately from the information that was displayed in the throne room. He held his zanpakuto, awaiting any brash attacks. However, he couldn't feel this person's spiritual pressure. It was true what Ulquiorra said in the throne room of Aizen.
"You are the stranger who injured two of our comrades. You are dangerous, but lord Aizen wanted to personally invite you to Hueco Mundo; he finds you quite interesting, and so do I. Not a single amount of spiritual pressure, and you can injure our top Espade, most interesting," Tosen noted. "Tell me, why do you fight?"
"Easy, I fight to make sure powerful jerks like you don't hurt innocent people," Keigo said with a heated tone of voice.
"Hmmm, can you call these soul reapers innocent?" Tōsen pointed out.
"Like you guys are saints, Yammy killed so many people at the park, and you just stand there judging, who is the real asshole now," Keigo asked. Tōsen frowned at the young man's answer and began to walk to the portal.
"Hey, before you go, tell this Aizen jerk that my town and friends are off-limits! Because I have had it up to here with his bullshit!" Keigo yelled. Tōsen simply stood in silence, waiting for Grimmjow to follow. Ichigo still wasn't through with that Arrancar.
"Come back here! We're not finished yet!" Ichigo shouted.
"Not finished?" Grimmjow asked mockingly. "Gimme break Tōsen and you're stupid friend over here saved your ass! Soul Reaper."
Ichigo couldn't argue with those words, but he slowly fell to his knees from exhaustion. Grimmjow smirked at him arrogantly. Keigo growled in frustration, but wouldn't attack him out of the blue. His enemies were retreating, and that's all that mattered.
"It is obvious that move of yours takes a huge toll on you. You'll be lucky if you can do it three more times today." Grimmjow cast a disappointing glance at Ichigo. "But even if you could do it a hundred times. You still couldn't defeat me when I'm in my release form."
Ichigo and Keigo paused at the information.
"Release form," Both of them thought. Grimmjow smiled as the portal around them began to close.
"Don't forget my name and pray for you and your friend over here. You don't hear it again… My name is Grimmjow Jeager-Jaques! The next time you hear that name, you're dead meat!" Grimmjow said with a crazy smile, promising that he would kill Ichigo. However, before the portal closed entirely. Keigo flew to the open part and glared back at Grimmjow.
"Pray you don't hear my name again, because if you do, I'm gonna fry what's left of your sorry butt," Keigo said, challenging that crazy stare. Gimmjow only smirked and glared back at Keigo.
"Careful, if you go swimming in the ocean, don't be surprised when a shark catches the scent of your blood." Those were Grimmjow's final words as the portal closed, leaving nothing. Keigo stood completely bewildered.
"Okay, I think I totally may have fried his brain too much," Keigo said out loud, yet quickly remembered his friend. Flying to the ground, and walked towards his beaten friend, who was still trying to hold himself up with his sword.
"Ichigo man, are you okay? That guy was nuts!" Keigo said but quickly walked over to his friend and held his arm, putting it over his shoulder. Ichigo was reluctant to try to stand on his own.
"Keigo, stop I can…"
"Aw, relax big baby, let me help you. Besides, you went through the wringer," Keigo jokes. Which didn't bring much relief to Ichigo.
"Geez, tough crowd," Keigo remarked. Ichigo looked sadly at the ground.
"I lost," Ichigo said. Keigo could see how emotionally wounded his friend was.
"It's fine, I mean, we both kind of lost, it seems like they were pulling their punches, am I right?" Keigo tried to joke, but Ichigo still looked at the floor.
"I lost, not you, you were still willing to go toe to toe with all of them. Grimmjow beat me," Ichigo said. Keigo could see that he couldn't argue or convince his friend any other way.
"Come on, let's get you fixed up," Keigo said, turning around toward Kisuke's shop, only to stoop when seeing another beat-up soul reaper with spiky red hair. He looked completely lost at what he had just seen.
"Oh hey, you look… wait a minute, aren't you from our school?" Keigo asked. Ichigo also looked awkwardly at his friend. There's no way he was able to lie out of the situation, so he needed to tell the truth.
"Hey Renji…" Ichigo awkwardly paused. "This is… is Keigo, and he's a ghost."
"Sup! Dude, don't tell my secret identity to people, gosh, what part of ghost superhero don't you understand!" Keigo said, glaring at his friend, then giving a wave. Renji gawked and waved back. Ichigo raised an eyebrow at him.
"That's what we're going with?" Ichigo asked
"Yes, and it's super cool," Keigo said proudly back.
"Hey," Renji said back. Then, before any words could be truly said, the three of them heard a distant yell above them. They all looked up, wondering what it was becoming closer and closer, until all of a sudden, a shout fell right in front of them.
The object bounced up and down a couple of times and rattled, trying to land. Keigo glanced at the object, realizing it was the severed head of Skulker, who still had its glowing green eyes.
It blinked a couple of times and glared at Keigo.
"Alright fine, I guess we call it a draw, ghost boy!" Skulker admitted.
This looked to be a long night.
Rukia and Renji were on top of an apartment building. After the Arrancar were defeated one by one, many had to recover from the battles.
Orihime was hunched over, healing Rukia, who lay on her back as the orange light healed her body. Rukia mod soul Chappa was worried, staring at the soul reaper the entire time. They all had a tired front, but they immediately sensed the presence of two soul reapers approaching them. Flash stepping in front of the group was Ichigo, whom Renji was holding.
They quickly saw Ruika and ran to her side.
"How is she holding up?" Renji asked. Orihime put on her confident smile.
"Don't worry, I know she'll pull through, as a matter of fact, it looks like she's coming around," Orihime chimed happily. Rukia's eyes slowly opened, and the little fairies soon returned to Orihime's hairpin. She shot back up in surprise.
Renji was shocked too. "You're all better?"
"Yes, I'm fine. That was incredible," Rukia said, marveling at her condition. Thanks, Orihime. Your abilities are getting stronger all the time."
Ichigo appears in front of them all, he looks down at Rukia with a sad expression. Rukia scoffed at what she assumed was pity.
"What's that look for? You're feeling guilty because of my injuries. Give me a break!" Rukia lightly criticized Ichigo.
"My injuries were my fault, I don't need you to protect me, now stop sulking," Rukia ordered, but that didn't change Ichigo's mood.
"Okay," He quietly said. Rukia was annoyed seeing Ichigo behave like that.
"If you're worried about that Hollow, that's inside you, just talk to Kisuke. He trained you, he might know something," Rukia pointed out.
"It's no use… talking to him," Ichigo said sadly. "Kisuke already knows about me. Besides, if he knew how to fix me, you should've said something before we left for the Soul Society. So he probably doesn't know how to suppress my hollow."
Ichigo gripped his hand in frustration. " he trained me and I'm grateful for that. I don't wanna bother him with more of my problems."
The silence that was in the air hung like a broken clock. It was a painful truth, but Ichigo didn't want to face it.
"Yo, Ichigo is what you're thinking," Keigo said. Rukia and Renji became more tense as Keigo flew over them and landed on the roof. In his right arm was Skulker's head. Rukia and Renji both wearily looked at Keigo. However, Renji cast a glance at Ichigo.
"Care to explain?" Renji asked. Ichigo let out a tired sigh.
"Sorry for lying to you guys, but Keigo is one of the ghosts you're looking over. I just didn't want you to hurt my friend. I know you guys are under pretty strict orders from Soul Society, but I just couldn't let him be captured," Ichigo said. Renji rubbed the bridge of his nose, saying how stressful his night had been. However, he was there to witness Keigo fighting off Arrancar. This still wasn't going to be
"Well, if it makes you guys feel better," Keigo then transforms back into his normal self. "I'm only half ghost, see and Ta-da!"
Renji and Rukia both felt more uneasy seeing. Ichigo even slaps his forehead.
"Geez, common guys, don't be party killers," Keigo said. Ichigo stood up and started to walk away.
"Keigo, explain your situation to them. They'll understand they just wanna know the truth. I have to go," Ichigo said, disappearing in a flash step. Keigo paused and didn't know what to make of his friend.
"I hope he's okay, I mean, I fought that Arrancar, we should be celebrating," Keigo said.
"Hmph, it's clear to me. You don't understand the way of the warrior!" Skulker said. Trying to nudge his head free from Keigo's grasp, only to fail miserably. The teen narrowed his eyes and looked at Skulker.
"Quiet you, I'm not gonna take advice from somebody who just tried to kill me, what would you know, why would he be sulking? I can take care of these Arrancar goons," Keigo said confidently as he spun Skulker's head on top of one of his fingers.
"Stop it!" Skulker scoffed at him. Keigo stopped holding Skulker's head still. "That's exactly the point. How would you feel if you worked your entire life to hunt something only for somebody stronger than you? They just come in and steal the moment, that's called poor sportsmanship."
"Hey, I don't know if you know this, but people are dying out there. I'm not going to stand around and let these innocent people get hurt, got it!" Keigo shouted. Skulker only looked disappointed but smirked.
"You say that, but I saw when you almost had that Arrancar, if you just held him longer, he would've died. Why did you stop?" Skulker asked, acting like you already knew the answer. Renji, despite being injured, stood up and looked at Keigo.
"Yeah, I was wondering the same thing," Renji said. Keigo paused and awkwardly looked away from them.
"Because, because… that wasn't the right way to take him down. I let my anger get the better of me, and I was gonna kill him by electrocuting him. I didn't wanna be a monster, so I thought about doing it the right way," Keigo said awkwardly. Renji nodded and found some respect for that.
"Look, I get it, but I think right now there are still more pressing questions to be answered," Renji informed Keigo. Rukia nodded and stood next to Renji.
"Like how you got this way, and where are the ghosts coming from?" Rukia asked. Keigo let out a sigh and walked to Orihime, politely handing Skulker's head to her.
"Do you mind if you could hold him real quick, careful, he does tend to bite," Keigo asked. Orihime paused but kindly accepted.
"Uh, sure," Orihime sat down and setting Skulker's head next to her. Skulker glanced at the girl.
"This is an awkward question, but could you scratch my nose?" Skulker asked, for obvious reasons. Orihime cheerfully smiled and nodded.
"Of course," She scratched the left side of Skulker's metal nose, which was more than satisfying.
"Thank you, I won't forget this kindness, and she'll never hunt you for sport," Skulker said.
Renji and Rukia both snapped out of the weird moment that they were watching and glanced back at Keigo.
"Alright, spill," Rukia asked in a threatening tone.
"Okay, this is going to be long, so let me give you guys the short version." Keigo took a deep breath and began to explain. "Let's start like this, over this summer break, I snuck into a bound building, which turned out to be a house to a scientist and his family known as the Phentons, I was messing around in there, and I ended up walking into some weird tunnel. Turns out I accidentally turned it on. It was supposed to lead to another world, called the ghost zone, and standing in the middle of it when it was activating kind of messed me up. Turned me into this half-human and half-ghost. I'm guessing Skulker over here came from the portal that opened in the Phenton building."
"So, you're telling us that a human-built machine that leads to the ghost zone, they're not gonna like this," Renji said, thinking about what the soul society would do. They had done the most unspeakable to keep the balance, but how would they punish mankind?
"So you know where this Phenton building is?" Renji asked.
"Yeah, I can lead you to the portal. The building is owned by somebody I know. if you're here to stop these ghosts, I'm with you; it's my responsibility to make sure that thing doesn't let out any more Skulkers… or annoying box ghosts,"
Skulker was holding in its laughter. Rukia noticed this and narrowed her eyes at the severed head.
"What's so funny?" Rukia asked.
"It's fun how none of you understand that the door can't be closed," Skulker said with a smirk. Keigo pauses after hearing that word. It was the first thing he heard when he had that vision of that strange monster. The one in chains and crystals.
"You're not making any sense, there's only one portal that opened," Keigo said.
"Is that what you think? Well, I'm glad to inform you that you're wrong, now knowing that you're the cause of freeing all of the ghosts' zone. I didn't even come out of the portal you're talking about. Thousands, maybe even millions of doors were opened, each one leading to a different part of the world. Ghosts are now free to do whatever they want," Skulker said with a smirk. Renji and Rukia both glanced at each other with concern.
"This is bad," Renji said.
"We have to take this to Kisuke," Rukia sternly said.
They began to gather their thoughts and looked at Skulker's head.
"Keigo, is it alright if we take this skulker to Kisuke?" She asked.
"Hey, what do you think my next stop is gonna be?" Keigo said. Renji walked to Orihime and offered to take the head off your hands.
"Wait, you can't do this, I have my right!" Skulker shouted. Rukia then put a hand on Orihime's shoulder.
"Please, would you be able to come with us? There are still many more injured who need your healing," Rukia asked which Orihime nodded happily.
"Of course, Keigo, I'll see you tomorrow at school," Orihime cheers.
"Later," Keigo lazily waved. Rukia left, taking Orihime in a blur with a flash step. Renji was the only one left and glanced at Keigo.
"Thank you for your help. It's clear that you're an ally, but be warned. Your powers may be more dangerous than you can imagine. Just keep yourself safe and leave those Arrancars to us. It's our job as soul reapers to handle the afterlife," Renji said, disappearing in a flash step. Keigo sighed, being the only one left alone.
"Well, they seemed nice, too bad I'm not gonna be able to show that Isane girl around, she seemed nice," Keigo said. Slowly, he stood at the edge of the roof and turned into a ghost. Leaping from the building and soaring in the sky. He wanted to head home and get some shut-eye. He then swiftly stopped, realizing if he returned now empty-handed with no juice, he was going to be royally screwed over by an ass beating by his sister.
"Aw man, my sister is going to kill me if I don't bring home any juice, I left that bag!" Keigo paused as a cold wisp left his mouth. His fist tightened, and his eyes scanned the area in front of him. A ghost was nearby and didn't wanna deal with it right now. However, it was still his responsibility to capture the damn thing.
"Is this your juice?" A voice cheerfully said from behind. Keigo spun around to see a familiar ghost. The same ghost that captured Striker. He was floating in mid-air, crossing his arms in his right hand with the bag of juice that he was sent to get.
"Uh, hey," Keigo awkwardly said.
"Hmm," The mysterious ghost said, humming at the introduction. "Yes, we have met before, you can drop any formalities. Here, I think this belongs to you."
He said, handing the bag of juice to Keigo. The young half-ghost gladly accepted it and wiped the sweat off his brow, which was from his nervousness.
"Thanks, I never really got your name, that time we met," Keigo said.
"We've met before, you might not recognize me in this form," Vlad said with a smirk. Keigo paused and could've sworn he heard that voice before. In a sudden realization, his eyes widened, sure the hairstyle was completely different, but the ghost's face exactly matched Vlad Masters.
"Wait, no… You can't be Vlad master, that guy is still alive," Keigo said in bewilderment. Vlad slowly floated to the young man and extended his hand in the form of a handshake.
"Young man, let's start over. I have seen your past endeavors, and they made me question things about even my outward existence. But I know that you need help handling your ghost powers. I'm exactly like you, I'm half ghost."
Keigo was completely shocked at the information that was given. "What! I have so many questions!"
"And all of them shall be answered, my boy, but first I need you to trust me. Please come back to my lab and I will explain everything," Vlad said.
"How can you trust yourself? What is the first time we've met? You've lied to me. That doesn't seem like a trustworthy person to you, does it? Also, the cape and the vampire vibes you're giving off don't exactly give you good guy vibes," Keigo spoke honestly. Vlad narrowed his eyes and anointment.
"I don't expect you to get it right away. You're a teenager; you're still figuring out mathematical equations! Besides, the cape looks cool and fashionable." Vlad, realizing he was quickly getting off the top, cleared his throat and readjusted himself to a more businesslike stance. Now, please, young man. I only want to help you and show you how to use your gift. Your display last night showed that you lack discipline and control. Please let me help you."
Keigo looked at the hand and took a moment to realize that he wasn't getting any better with his powers and that any teacher would be a help to him.
"All right, but I get to tell my ghost friends about you, OK? I'm not going to keep anybody in the dark," Keigo said. Vlad nodded and accepted the terms. Keigo let out a sigh and shook Vlad's hands.
"Great to hear, meet me at the Phentons building tomorrow, we have much to discuss," Vlad said as he let go of the young man's hand and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Keigo was a bit speechless, saying how cool that power was.
"Maybe this day wasn't too bad after all," Keigo said, flying straight home.
Aizen sat on his throne, looking down at two people who had just walked into his royal chamber. He glanced down at Grimmjow and Tosen.
Aizen smiled calmly. "Welcome back, Grimmjow."
Grimmjow said nothing as he looked at Lord Aizen. Tosen glanced at his side at Grimmjow.
"Well… aren't you going to apologize, Grimmjow?" Tōsen asked.
"No," Grimmjow simply said. Tosen tensed up and grabbed the handle of his blade.
"It's alright, Kaname," Aizen said, immediately calming down his general. Aizen still didn't have the smallest hint of dissatisfaction on his face.
"I'm not angry," Aizen said calmly.
"But Lord Aizen!" Tosen begged.
"I take Grimmjow's actions to be an overzealous display of loyalty, am I wrong, Grimmjow?" Aizen then had a downcast at Grimmjow. For once, his calm mask broke, showing a stern look in his eyes. Grimmjow looked at Aizen and nodded.
"No, my lord," Grimmjow answered, but the collar of his jacket was grabbed in a steel-tight grip. Tosen desperately looked back at Aizen.
"Lord Aizen, please let me execute him!" Tosen shouted. Aizen wasn't surprised and didn't even move from his chair as he calmly said.
"Kaname."
Grimmjow arrogantly smirked. "This is personal, you just don't like me. Is this how any general should behave?"
"I believe anyone who disrupts the peace should pay," Tosen calmly said.
"Who's peace, you don't mean those tiny brats that I was messing around with?" Grimmjow asked.
"You are disturbing Lord Aizen's peace," Tosen said. Grimmjow scoffed at the answer, thinking it was ridiculous.
"Ha, fine, hide behind the cause if you want," Grimmjow said. Tosen stood in silence before slowly pulling out his sword.
"Exactly, it's all about the cause. Your little raid lacked purpose. Killing without purpose is just killing, on the other hand, killing with purpose is justice, it's how you almost died to that ghost boy." Tosen, in a flash, sliced off Grimmjow's right arm so fast that I took the Arrancar a couple of seconds to realize what had happened to him.
Grimmjow let out a howl of pain. As the arm hit the ground. Rosen pointed a finger at it.
"Hadō number 54 haien," Tosen shouted as a burst of flame shot from his fingertip and exploded the arm. I'm leaving nothing but cinders. Grimmjow ground and frustration as a severed limb was bleeding uncontrollably. He grabbed his arm and cried out.
"No, No, No!" Grimmjow glared at Tosen. "You cut off my arm, you rat, I'm gonna kill you!"
Grimmjow stopped as an immense spiritual pressure bore down on him. He slowly looked up, seeing Aizsn had a displeased expression.
"If you attack one of my generals, I'll be forced to reprehend you." The order was swift and stern, yet behind it would be a punishment worse than death. Grimmjow gritted his teeth and turned around, leaving the room. Aizen smiled slowly, returned, and brought his attention to his general.
"Tosen, was there anything else you needed to report, especially about our special concern?" Aizen asked. Tosen tensed up thinking about the encounter with Keigo.
"That thing was able to almost incapacitate Grimmjow; it appears it's developed a new power, electricity, quite a dangerous problem, indeed," Tosen said. Aizen's smile broadened more.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Anything else?" Aizen asked.
"Yes, but his words sounded so naïve. I believe if we were to show him the truth of soul society, he would join us in our pursuit."
Aizen smirked, "Do you truly believe that?"
"Yes, I believe if we show him the true corruption of soul society, he will change sides," Tosen said.
"If that's what you believe on the next raid, will you please go with Harribel and her fraccion," Aizen ordered.
"Of course, I will, my Lord," Tosen said. " I shall notify her immediately, I shall be off."
Aizen nodded and watched Tosen walk out of the room. Now completely alone, he sat on his throne, pondering his thoughts. Did this new being interrupt his plans at all?
No, in Aizen's eyes, this ghost child was interesting, but to him, a differently colored bug is still a bug in the same way. However, I did not excuse him for not wanting to study this ghost, seeing those electrical burns on Grimmjow made me more excited. There was an eagerness in him that wanted to meet the ghost. He stood up from his throne. I was going to walk down to a special area. He turned around, his back facing away from the lobby, and took the first step.
"You have a beautiful palace."
Aizen paused slowly, turning around, seeing something like no other. It stood very tall, taller than him. Its body is ethereal yet displays the cosmic wonder of a night sky. While it's piercing, red eyes only looked at him. Aizen smiled and faced this intruder.
"I didn't know, I was having guests today," Aizen said as he flash-stepped right in front of Nocturne.
"Please, forgive me, I was in the neighborhood and I wanted to introduce myself, tell me what you dream of?" Nocturne asked.
"Out of all the questions to ask me, why that one?" Aizen then responded by unleashing his spiritual pressure, trying to make this being kneel before him. However, nothing happened as the spiritual power only bounced off Nocturne.
"Inserting, this spiritual pressure that you demonstrate feels a little soft, but I wouldn't threaten. It's just something my kind. Don't react to it." Nocturne never lost his smile as he hovered across the floor around Aizen.
"How interesting, for what reason did you come here though?" Aizen asked.
"To make you a simple offer, just allow me and my compatriots to do what we want in Hueco Mundo, and we shall stay out of your way, and your wonderful palace shall never see an ounce of our touch," Nocturne offers. Aizen held his zanpakuto and slowly brought it out of its scabbard.
"Would like to know the name of my zanpakuto, it's called-"
"Kyōka Suigetsu, Yes, I've heard of your blade and I am fully aware of its capabilities, completing total hypnosis of the five senses. Incredible, but don't take me as a fool," Nocturne said, narrowing his eyes at Aizen.
"Tell me, is there anything truly that I can get you?" Nocturne said. Aizen thought for a moment but slowly put his zanpakuto away.
"It appears that you've been here for a while to know about my abilities, which tells me you must've been spying on me, which is impossible because I would notice even if you do not give off any spiritual pressure. I still noticed that there's an absent space within it," Aizen said, pointing out Nocturne's flaws. "Truly, completely unnoticeable to anybody, but the very special select few can tell the difference."
"Avoiding the question, or Have you made up your mind?" Nocturne asked with a smirk.
"I've made up my mind the moment you stepped into my throne room, there will be no partnership. Unless you share the same goals that I do. Do you truly wish to overthrow the soul society and change the world?" Aizen asked. Nocturne glanced at Aizen for a moment and shook his head disappointedly.
"Hmph, not as good a liar as you think you are, I can tell what your true dream is, what you desire, and equal like no other. Yes, you decided to change everything but yet I can feel that loneliness within you that is devoid of knowing that you are alone," Nocturne answers, which made Aizen grip his sword in anger, even though his face didn't show it, his hand was gripping his weapon.
"I don't want to change the world. I want to change everybody else's desires and give them the desires that they truly want. The dreams in their heads will be a reality for them for eternity, I can do that for you, just close your eyes and let the dream come."
Nocturne slowly raised his hand toward Aizen's face, which was met with a quick slash that left Nocturne with a step for his right hand. However, the ghost showed no reaction as the limb quickly came back. Aizen glared at the ghost and raised his hand, wanting to unleash a Kiddo spell. Nocturne didn't move and smiled at the open palm.
"Then, let it be war," Nocturne said as he vanished without a trace, leaving Aizen alone. That couldn't help but Marvel at what had happened. Such a rare moment to feel a tiny ping of challenge.
Aizen stopped when he heard the sound of thunder. Gin had run into the room; his usual snake-like smile was gone, instead replaced with a strange frown.
"Lord Aizen, it's raining. It's raining Hueco Mundo!"
"Well, this is going to be Interesting," Aizen said.
Notes: Hey guys, long time no see. I hope you enjoyed this week's chapter. I'm just really happy to get this fight out of the way and start getting into the meat and potatoes. The Hallow and Ghost War is about to begin. I also hope you like Keigo's new ghost powers, which I thought would be a great new start for electrokinesis. It was kind of fitting because when Keigo died, electricity was running through his body. Don't worry, you'll get your ghostly whale and scary face soon. Other than that, I'm finally happy to introduce Vlad as Keigo's new teacher. Anyway, the next chapter I'm posting is going to be Slug Terra's New Beginnings. I hope you guys enjoyed it and have a good day.