First Invasion of Seireitei: Might of the Shield

Act 1
"Head for the Reishi Pillars! That's where the enemy lies!"

Chaos.

Seireitei was under full-scale attack, possibly for the first time in hundreds of years. The sky was a bleak grey, with blue tinted clouds; a sign of a dark hour for the Soul Society. Several massive pillars of blue fire shot up from various parts of the Seireitei, obliderating all in their path and stretching up to the skies, feeling as if the heavens themselves were ablaze with this sinister, otherworldly power.

The Vandenreich had launched it's first assault. And within seven minutes, it was already winning the war.

In the 9th Division's area, things were fairing no better.

Shinigami were all preparing to face the enemy that had appeared in their district. Swords raised, sweat running down their brows, anxiety clear in their expressions. They had no idea what to expect from this enemy, and the power that this column of fire radiated was suffocating.

"Is...is it a Quincy?" one of them asked.

"It could be a Vasto Lorde!" another one yelled.

BRWOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

Before their thoughts could commence further, a massive wave of energy shot out from the pillar, ramming into them all as if it were a stampeding herd of cattle. They flew about, scattered all over the Division's grounds. Some were mainly incapacitated from the attack. Others had been completely blown apart. But in any case, it was safe to say that most all of the 9th Division was out of commision with one simple attack.

The pillar of fire cleared away to reveal it's source; a tall young man with a standard Quincy attire, along with a long white, blue interior cloak with a hood over his head. His eyes barely visible, they radiated a cold, merciless gaze upon the Shinigami before him.

He would kill them all, in the name of his king....

"Who the Hell is that?!"

"H-He killed all of them...like it was nothing...!"

"Stand your ground! We cannot let this enemy pass!" One of the officers spoke out, having raised a large hammer and sickle Shikai with his muscular hands, and a long crop of black-red dyed hair. Wearing one of the traditional "Law Enforcement" coats, privy to the special officers of the 9th Division, he kept the dozens of men from outright tearing away from the sight of the Quincy's unmistakeable power, "leave this one to me...I'll take care of this little pansy!"

"B-But 5th Seat Dankai! He just killed over a hundred men within an instant! How can you fight something like him-?!"

"He can't," a stoic voice broke out from the clearing, as the flourishing form of Captain Kensei Muguruma stepped ahead of his haughty subordinate, causing him to stop in a paled expression before falling down in embarassment. Looking over with a bland, yet cool expression of his own towards his respective enemy, Kensei spoke aloud to the others in a commanding tone, "leave this one to me! Form a perimeter around this area at a fifty meter radius! I want you to be fully alert in the event his soldiers arrive!"

"Y-Yes, Captain!" They all spoke in unison, causing the majority of the survivors to pick up what wounded there were and rush away with urgency, letting their Captain handle their enemy for their behalf.

Kensei then locked his eyes to the Quincy's stoic ones, his form calm and his breathing quiet. Observing his posture and the way he held himself he could already tell he is a veteran of warfare, as targeting that many men and obliterating them so efficiently isn't any feat less than a Captain's caliber. Kensei finally spoke aloud in affirmation, "Are you a Quincy aligned with the Vandenreich?"

The Quincy's gaze, pose, and expression didn't change. This Quincy carried the cold visage of death itself; his aura radiating like a cold winter sky that could rattle the bones of any lesser being. The way he came towards Kensei implied that he was in no mood for idle chatter, and that he would begin this battle soon...

But as he came at least ten meters from the Captain, he spoke as well in a low, slightly British-toned voice. "I am that...and I am also your reckoning, Captain Muguruma."

"I'm getting the distinct impression that you know more about me than I'd like," Kensei muttered lowly, his fists clenching down tightly, and his body faintly radiating a emerald-silver aura of Spiritual energy, causing the air to ripple of a highly potent Spiritual Pressure. Within that spiritual pressure, came a series of buckling gusts of wind that began to wrack the existing structures still intact from the Quincy's arrival, and a faint glistening glow emanating from his irises as he asked aloud, "what is the name of my reckoning, Quincy?"

Slowly reaching up and taking off his hood, revealing a pair of slightly glowing azure eyes, and short, smooth white hair, the man spoke in a slightly louder tone, just enough for Kensei to hear.

"Asumu Godai, Stern Ritter 'S'."

And this is where the battle would begin.

A single, fluid motion followed Asumu's movements. From his arm, of which was quickly moving up to face Kensei, a small Quincy cross fell down from it, his fingers gripping it's chain. As his arm came up, it manifested into it's unique, cross shaped bow.

The other arm reared back, pulling the Reishi from around him and forming it into an arrow. The three circles on the cross like bow contracted into the cross' center, and then the arrow was released with a powerful gust of wind, flying at Kensei with unbelieveable speeds.

He did this all within a couple of seconds.

Kensei responded in kind.

Knowing precisely the trademark choice of weaponry Quincy would use that was only confirmed by the brief brandishment of the silver cross, Kensei crouched and propelled himself towards his opponent. With a brief pumping of his legs to accelerate his movement, he only employed a single well-timed Flash Step to outmaneuver the brief discharge of powerful Spirit projectiles from the Asumu's bow.

Crouching low, just underneath the Stern Ritter's guard, and to the other side of which his bow would be too awkward to aim accurately, Kensei made his attack. Fusing a bit of his own dense Spiritual Pressure along his fist, he swung out with a perfect Karate stanced stroke towards his side, aiming for a vital organ as well as a tender point of nerves that would be deliver immense pain and brief incapacitation to his foe. The force employed he made to be generous enough to cause a man of his own caliber to be severely injured from the power of his attack.

A bright blue flash encompassed Asumu's entire body, and by the time Kensei had made his first move, the Quincy was gone, out of sight.

But within the next second, he reappeared an inch above Kensei. Using force that no other human could even hope to attain, the Stern Ritter's boot slammed into Kensei's back with force that would feel augmented by the weight of what could only be described as Spiritual Energy. The force would not only drive Kensei into the ground...

...but it would also propel Asumu into the air. Performing a quick back-flip, the Stern Ritter aimed back down at his Captain-level foe and unleased three more powerful, leg sized Heilig Pfeil from his bow, staring coldly all the while.

Kensei's eyes couldn't help but feel a fraction wider as his fist fell threw the deft employment of Hirenkyaku. Blaming himself for not having fought Quincies enough to predict their movements, he narrowly absorbed the blow to his back by flourishing a buffet of spiritual pressurized wind upon his own backside. This giving him ample amount of time to get upon his hands and knees, he pulled himself physically away from the three large arrows, before grasping his own sword sheathed at his waistline, while still hovering low to the ground.

"Blast it Away," Kensei lowly muttered, too faint for anyone of even heightened hearing could pick up, he transformed his Zanpakutō into the combat knife, witholding a violet-grey hilt and a bronze guard. While spinning around, he slashed the air to the sky of which his opponent was in as he righteously declared, "Tachikaze!"

Within a single blast of wind that would encompass nearly the entirety of the airspace of which his enemy resided within, a series of dozens of nigh transparent wind blades flourished with lethal precision and dangerously unpredictable patterns as they sought out his body, intending on cutting finite and deep wounds within his body, wherever he may retreat to.

But when he had released his Shikai, Asumu had already moved.

The buffets of wind and air blades might as well have just caused more damage to the barracks than aid his efforts, as the Quincy foe was no-where to be seen, at least from the front. From Kensei's side, on the other hand...

With a bright flash of Hirenkyaku, the Stern Ritter was directly to the Captain's right. A level of speed that was so quick and blinding, it would be within a mere second of his next move. As he was sliding on the ground away from Kensei, the man fired what could be described as a Spirit Wave of pure concussive force. Not only would this wave cause extreme damage, but it would plow Kensei right through the line of buildings to his left.

Kensei already anticipated a sudden retreat, and followed his battle heightened senses to the location of Asumu's sliding body. Flipping his left arm up and over to have his palm parallel to his head, he immediately propped his body upright and supported by the fingerless kokō gloved palm. In doing this, Kensei was able to also whip his knife up in a hyper-cutting wave to split the concussive wave that headed his way.

Not only was the immense forced to pass him by harmlessly to the row of structures to his immediate left, but allowed his own incredibly potent Shikai attack to pass through towards Asumu's position, intending on causing some hyper-cutting damage, as well as blow him back should it be dodged within its proximate distance.

However, the result of the blast connecting with Asumu would not be an expected one.

As it slammed into him, it seemed to split him in half right down the middle. However, there was no blood or signs of real damage, in fact, the body began to fade away into what could be described as Reishi. Was this the real Asumu, or was it...a clone?

Kensei wouldn't be able to ponder it long.

For as soon as his attack made contact with the supposed Quincy, the real Asumu appeared right in front of him with an outstretched fist coming right towards him. Once it came within an inch of him, however...

"Wolke"

An instant and tremendous pressurized wave of pure energy was unleashed upon Kensei. It would not only send him flying, but it would also cause concussive damage to him as well. The blast shook the ground beneath both of them, and even pushed the unharmed Asumu back slightly, but his eyes narrowed in focus as his target would be hit with the sudden attack.

It was only thanks to quick reflexes and his affinity to the wind that the incoming pressure wave was dampened by the sudden raising of both of Kensei's forearms. A momentary fluxuation of his own body's Spiritual Power also minimized the initial damage, and the following crashing into the buildings far away from the Quincy's. The crash rang in his ears, and the pile of debris laying over him in the depressed landscape didn't help his pride any greater.

But then...

BOOM!

...a brief exertion of pressurized wind from his Zanpakutō, sending all of the piled up wreckage away from his form, to show a mildly scratched Captain emerge from the area of impact. Rolling his neck and arms, working out joints to pop out with relief, Kensei reevealuated his opponent from a distance while standing in a neutral stance.

"This guy...his greatest asset must be his speed. While that energy control is nothing to snuff at, this guy's about as fast as Ichigo is during his Bankai-state. If this is him not at his strongest, I'd hate to see him any faster than this, or I can't keep up with him effectively as I am now..."

As Asumu regained his posture, bow drawn at his side once more, he also analyzed his opponent with a careful and perceptive gaze. From what he could tell, this Captain was very physically capable, but also clumsy. He allows emotion and frustration to dictate his actions if a fight goes against his favor. This was something that Asumu could easily use to his advantage...

But then he felt something. It was a dark sensation, something he had felt before, but it was still an eery presence. Glancing his attention to the nearest point to where he felt the sensation, his eyebrow perked up in interest.

It was the Bankai Medallion that he and the Stern Ritter used. Four of them had just gone off, and captured their targets. To this, he couldn't help but be slightly baffled by how quick they had been used. The battle had only been going on for a few minutes, after all.

"Already...?"

Kensei would then feel a telepathic voice of Rangiku yelling into him with alarm via Kidou.

"ATTENTION ALL CAPTAINS. DO NOT USE BANKAI! THE ENEMY CAN STEAL THEM FROM YOU!"

Kensei's eyes widenned, as he briefly felt the dramatic rise and falls of Bankai-type Spiritual Pressures within the atmosphere. The only reason the Bankais, as great of power they are, would disappear so quickly would only mean two things: They were killed too quickly before they could fully manifest, or they were sealed away. Concluding from the look on his adversary's face, he knew it had to be the latter, as if he knew for certainty what had transpired and looked shocked because of it.

Placing a hand up to his face, he muttered lowly as he reared the back of his blade to his side, "Why are you getting distracted so easily..."

SHFT-VVVVMMMM!!!!

"...QUINCY?!?!?!" Kensei snarled out, as his face became masked by his Hollowfication's persona and Spiritual Pressure, greatly enhancing his powers in all forms. Simultaneously of donning the mask, he swung his knife around in a brilliant arc, sending a transparent and nearly invisible blade through the air in a horizontal mark through the atmosphere.

Because of how swift and fast it was deployed, only after his masked form would be shown, that a hyper-slash would be seen, causing several of the building's infrastructure to suddenly collapse from the cutting power that had been deployed so swiftly and masterfully.

"It's simple..."

A deft raise of his bow was all that would be required. He had read about his enemy's powers before, along with the other Shinigami that had achieved Bankai currently, and he knew how this Zanpakuto worked. By compressing wind down into his Shikai, Kensei could release it in the form of spiritually enhanced projectile attacks. And this would be Asumu's greatest asset against him.

The transparent blade of spiritually enhanced wind slammed into the three circles of the cross-like bow. However, no force pushed the Quincy back, and the wind suddenley died down. The attack had been dissipated?

"I was distracted, by how desperate you Shinigami have already become."

Asumu then released a truly massive Heilig Pfeil, composed of the very Hollow-enhanced energy that Kensei had sent towards him earlier, flying at the Captain with great speeds and destructive power.

Fortunately, Kensei had anticipated such a feat from a Quincy. Moving with incredibly heightened speeds of his own, he motioned with a pattern of indiscernable side-motions to avoid the massive projectiles, before disappearing via Flash Step...

SHFT-WHAM!

...before reappearing behind the Quincy's extended guard, slamming his left fist to the base of his spine, intending on sending enough force to shatter the human vertabrae as well as cause an internal rupture for severe organs connected to the nerve bundle he targeted. He intended it to either set him off balance or it to be a killing blow, either one would work for the vigor-filled Captain...!

The fist would fly through the Stern Ritter's chest, but no blood would spill forth. Only what would appear to be Reishi as the newly revealed clone would slowly fade away...

...and the real Asumu would appear in front of Kensei, next to his fist with an extended arm, and a Gintou tube pointed right at the Captain.

"Wolke." he stated calmly, as he released a point blank concussive wave of pure Reishi at the Hollowfied Captain. So great was this blast, that it would blow the Hollow mask his foe donned away like glass, and send the Captain careening into a wall right across from Asumu's direction.

Their battle had raged for several more minutes following that attack. While Kensei was a hardened and strong fighter himself, so far, he hadn't been able to properly match his Quincy opponent all the way. And from the sound of things, his other Captain comrades weren't doing any better.

"Shit..." Kensei murmered under his breath as he breathed slightly heavier than usual, his Quincy opponent slowly getting closer and closer. "Each time he fires an arrow at me, it almost always seems to hit...even in i'm dodging it...!"

Asumu at first had no words for the Captain as he came forward. Bow in hand, and with his other hand ready to draw the finishing, kill shot arrow, he decided to grace his enemy with his power's focus before killing him.

"Do you know why I am called "Stern Ritter S'?" he asked, calmly. Kensei initially gave no response to this, allowing Asumu to continue. "Surely, you've noticed how accurate my arrows are when I fire them? It is because I was gifted with the greatest accuracy of the Stern Ritter. My aim always holds true. It is because of this, that his Majesty has given me the title of S..."

He then aimed his bow at Kensei, speaking lowly. "The Sharpshooter."

However, before he could finish the fight, he felt the loss of three familiar Spiritual Pressures. This caused his eyes to widen and briefly turn in the direction of them.

''"As Nodt...Najahkoop....?" ''he thought inwardly with a slightly worried tone. An immense burst of heat had come from their direction, the same that Juhabach was in? Were they honestly trying to intrude on his Majesty's affairs? Alas, he was saddened by their loss, but he couldn't feel too sympathetic for them. They had come into an area where they weren't needed, after all...

And then, Kensei found his opening. Leaping forward, the Captain slammed his fist towards Asumu, causing the latter to cross his arms across his chest and let his Blut block the majority of the attack's force. This still managed to send him skidding into a wall behind him with a loud crash.

Still their fight went on for several more minutes, with Kensei's renewed spirit allowing him to hold a better chance against Asumu, even managing to land a few hits on him as well. But then, both of them felt a strange sensation, as if the humidity in the area had been sucked dry.

"Well..." Kensei said with a slight smile, despite his wounds. "Seems like the Commander has activated his Bankai. Your "King" is going to bite it hard now."

As he spoke, Asumu cast a half-lidded, annoyed glare towards Kensei's words. He thought it was preposturous that a Shinigami could ever defeat his Majesty, regardless of rank or power.

Still, this Bankai was....unsettling...

Their fight had gone on for a little bit longer after that, and the effects of Yamamoto's Bankai was starting to wear down on both warriors.

Certainly, Asumu had underestimated the effects of the Commander's might. This Bankai would be utterly devestating if it were left active for an extended amount of time, definately to become a drought-harbinger. It could destroy all of Seireitei if he desired.

But then, the rain began to set in, and he could no longer feel the effects of the Commander's Bankai. However, he could feel the fading Spiritual Pressure of his Stern Ritter comrades, Royd Lloyd, disappear. The Commander had killed him, but he couldn't feel Juhabach's signature...

And then he felt the 1st Division Barracks be destroyed, which caused him to inwardly resolve that this war would be over quickly. His opponent was distracted by the sudden outburst of energy, and wide open.

Without hesitation, Asumu reared his bow up, and released a powerful arrow from it's center. By the time Kensei saw it, the only reaction he could muster was bringing up his arms in an x-shape. The arrow exploded and sent the Captain flying back through several buildings.

Asumu then held his arm out towards the wall next to his left. His shadow began to expand and form along the wall in the shape of a cross.

"Advance, Soldat." he said calmly, as his masked troopers poured from the shadow and began to attack the remants of the Shinigami resistance.

Victory had been assured.

But just a few minutes after his troopers had been deployed, Asumu could feel his King and right hand man preparing to leave, and his shadow was beginning to tug on his ankle, it felt like. This was a sign that they had all overstayed their time here, and that they had to leave.

Placing his two fingers on his shadow, he managed to communicate with his subordinates. "All 'S' units, fall back to me immediately. The Vandenreich are pulling out."

With that, his troopers quickly came back to him, a hefty amount of dead or wounded Shinigami in their wake. Once they had all entered the shadow portal on the wall next to their leader, Asumu himself stepped inside, and with that, he and the other Quincy had left Soul Society in shambles.

END