The Wrath of The Moon

 



Clash of Devastated Souls.....
stood in the midst of the Valley of the ; a place where lives were lost, minds were fucked and one Shinigami barely escaped with a battered soul. He stood, wearing his general attire, in the exact same spot where his body laid limp after being handed a decisive defeat by the Shiroyasha. The event changed his life. He always knew that there were more powerful beings and he never had the arrogance to believe that he was by any stretch of the imagination the Best in the World; however, he had always believed that he had at least a slight chance of defeating any adversary that crossed him as long as he had allies. He had a slew of people surrounding him and he still was fighting alone. If only they could have pulled together, maybe he wouldn't have been so embarrassed.

"And maybe Mukei would still be alive."

He shouted with hatred. Hatred at his own weakness. Hatred at those putrid allies. Hatred at the Shiroyasha. He clenched violently at his head, a place where the White Demon used as a playground and then tossed to the side after he got his rocks off. He had been violated in the most intimate way. He shouted at the top of his lungs, releasing a thunderous spiritual pressure around the surrounding area. Rocks, gravel, grass and trees where at his utter mercy. Mother nature herself screamed in harmony with his own pain as if she was emphatic towards him. He snatched his Shagetsu from hits sheath and swung it mercilessly as a humongous ken'natsu swept across the area, leveling it.

Three years...

It had been three years since that fateful day. He had trained day and night after disappearing from the battle field. Honed his skills to perfection and discovered his truest strengths, while destroying his weaknesses. He had been to hell and back and was ready to bring his new wrath to bear upon anyone who dared to challenge him. Then again, everyone's definition of hell was different. For instance, what if Mukei was within hell right now? Would he call what Gekkō went through hell? Well, seeing as the possibility of Mukei being in hell wasn't superfluous, it's safe to assume he'd go off about how much harder he worked than Gekkō. That sounds like him...right?

Wrong!

Whilst Gekkō was moping, pushing himself until he broke his limits, Mukei was suffering. His actions, prior to being cut down, hadn't been the greatest ones. You see, some time before he met Gekkō, Mukei was walking down a dark path. He became enticed by the ability to get stronger. He sought nothing but strength, and abandoned everything to achieve it. He also, whilst it wasn't known to Gekkō, murdered one of his kin. This, of course, wasn't something he'd easily be forgiven for. So, within the three years that Gekkō strengthened himself at his own pace, Mukei was locked away. The suffering he endured, whilst it was indeed unbearable, was still nothing to the amount of damage both he and Gekkō sustained in the fight with the Shiroyasha.

"There ain't no reason to be shoutin', brat!"

Standing on top of a hill, several meters away from Gekkō, was a silhouette. Pitch black in color, this silhouette, with nothing but his voice, shattered the wall of dust produced from Gekkō's powerful swing. In that instant, with complete disregard to how things were before, the man made everything silent. Anyone and anything, including someone like Gekkō, would be awoken from deep thought in the presence of such silence. Who was this man?

"If you want him back, say the word."

Gekkō's eyes widened in shock as he sensed a cold and dark spiritual pressure surrounding him on all sides. Who was this man? What was this..being? His eyes narrowed in resolved fortitude, prepared for whatever came at him, Gekkō tightened the grip around his Zanpakutō. "Who are you?!" He bellowed. "What is it that you want?" Though, before any response was given, the silhouette sprung into action. Within the time it took Gekkō to place his hand upon his Zanpakutō, the shaded figure began to attack. Actually, what he would attempt couldn't be considered an attack. It, more or less, could be called a means to "level the playing field". You see, in the time that it would take Gekkō to grab his Zanpakutō, unsheathe it, and attack, the man could probably initiate a number of high powered Kidō. Though, instead of doing so, he simply released a puff of red smoke. This smoke, being a Bakudo spell, quickly began to turn black. Flickering, blinking, and wavering like a flame, it began to assume a humanoid shape. Within it, was a male, possessing purple hair, with an eye-patch.

Gekkō was caught completely off guard, he had never encountered such a "shoot-first-ask questions later" kind of being in his long life. However, he was also not one to be deterred by such a low-level Kidō technique. Extending his arm out, Gekkō fired a towards the smoke in order to disperse it. What he found before him made his heart drop into his stomach.

It was Mukei. However, Gekkō could tell just by looking at him that this wasn't the Mukei Gekkō had befriended before their fight with the Shiroyasha. No, judging from the dark spiritual energy and the ominous presence the boy gave off, this was something totally different yet he same. There was no denying that this was indeed Mukei. But what happened to him?

"Mukei? Wh-What happened to you?" Gekkō asked as a cavalcade of emotions tore through him at seeing his comrade. OR, at this time, possibly former comrade.

Raising his sword over his head in response, Mukei prepared to strike Gekkō from above. However, as he knew his comrade was no push-over, he didn't expect the Shinigami to sit idly as he attacked. So, upon the tip of his Zanpakutō reaching its apex, he began to bring it down with all of his might. Though, as he had no trace of malice within his eyes, it was clear the strike had no "harmful" intention behind it. Instead, it was but a means to test the growth of his former friend. Who knows, maybe Gekkō had developed some new skills Mukei could witness.

The mere sight of an attack with no killer intent enraged Gekkō did this person not sense his power and still not consider him worthy of a true attack? "Whoever you are, do NOT underestimate me!" He yelled ferociously.

Gekkō delivered a slash of his own, however, the attack Gekkō delivered Ikkotsu-like shock waves throughout the air. Ripples of pure power sped across the horizon towards "Mukei" tearing the landscape asunder with such a force that it completely overshadowed Gekkō's former ken'natsu and ripped the surrounding trees from their roots. He then followed up with stabbing his blade into the ground. While this seemed redundant, as everything is with Gekkō, it held secret meaning. As the flames from the Sōkyoku integration he had in his Shagetsu sprung forth from the ground in no specific order and sprung innumerable columns of flames all across the battlefield into the air, eradicating anything that had the misfortune of being caught within them.

Though, if this man was indeed Mukei, there was no way he'd be easily caught. The flames, as per Gekkō's memories, would have no affect on Mukei given his ability to produce the ever-burning flames of the Wandenreich. Then again, this man was clearly far different from that Mukei. So, there is no telling what could and could not harm him. Though, as if the speculation on whether he was Mukei or not wasn't enough, the man before Gekkō began to react in an incongruous fashion. You see, instead of simply passing through the flames like the old Mukei would, this one sheathed his blade, and then unsheathed it. The force of his movements sent a concussive wave which caused the flames to ripple, spreading their heat throughout the area; dissipating the pillars.

Impressive, to say he least. However, what Mukei didn't realize was that the flames where merely a distraction. The flames provided just enough cover for Gekkō to use the forbidden Kidō: in order to teleport himself above the Soul that was allegedly Mukei and fire  upon his person. The resulting explosion was magnificent as orange and black exploded upwards in the form of a mushroom with Gekkō landing in front of it.

He then turned towards the silhouetted figure and charge towards him with lightning-fast speed that would impress even the Grand masters in Hohō. "Do you honestly think that Mukei was that weak? How insulting!" Gekkō said as he closed the distance between the two and delivered a powerful downwards slash towards the figurehead. Followed by blood, it cut deep into the Shinigami's shoulder. Wait! It hit his shoulder? Did this mean he moved within the short amount of time he had to react?

"You were just so much weaker than me...you never noticed." Curling his finger around Gekkō's Zanpakutō, Mukei held his former companion in place. As luck would have it, the wound created by Gekkō's strike wasn't as severe as it looked. In fact, the spiritual particles around Mukei's body were already working on forging the wound closed. Though, the damage to his nerves wasn't something he could ignore. It took quite a bit of effort just to grab Gekkō's sword. "You took my shoulder, I'll take your leg..." Pushing his own Zanpakutō forward in response, Mukei sent the menacing blade on a course that would drive itself into Gekkō's leg if the latter didn't manage to escape.

...Which he did, of course. Infusing his leg with the properties found in the Bakudō named Dankū, Gekkō managed to guard against the destructive sword while managing to free himself from his adversaries' grip. Now, there was no mistaking it, having heard the Soul's voice Gekkō knew that it could be none other than Mukei Tsuki. Someone who should have been dead for three years now.

Gekkō chose not to say anything. He was far too riled up and couldn't think straight; and because of it, he almost lost a limb. These..."men" where predators in every sense of the word. They picked the perfect opportunity to pounce on him; the anniversary of his "death". Nearly the only day of the year where he would give himself over to his passions and emotions and allow them to completely smear his judgment. They chose a time where he was weak.

Quieting the storm on the inside was far more easily achievable than in years past. Mastering the art of accounted for much when it came to his mastering his own emotions. His countenance changed almost completely, from an emotional wreck to that of a silent killer. Now his true powers would be unleashed. However, he would let Mukei make the first move, as always.

Nothing Really Changes....
Taking a deep breath, Mukei began to motion with his obstructed limb. The wound, which Gekkō had created, had finally healed. However, as made evident before, the neurological damage wasn't something he could easily overcome. Regardless of such, Mukei was moving rather casually. There was, as far as Gekkō could tell, nothing wrong with his body after the little clash. Then again, Gekkō was sharp. He had remained calm, used his head, and countered an ad lib attack. The three years he spent working his ass off, clearly weren't for nothing.

"Things sure are different..." Turning his figure so as to face the direction opposite of Gekkō, Mukei began to take a step forward. However, as his foot left the ground, his entire figure vanished. It wasn't until moments later that he would reappear, but at a much greater distance away. Where he now stood, was the very spot he had pointed at with his wounded arm. "Brings back memories..." Closing his eyes, he began to recall scenes of the past as he awaited for Gekkō to arrive.


 * "I'll go ahead and make the first move. Though, let me warn you. My punches shake the air."


 * Clenching his fist upon ending his sentence, Mukei pushed down upon the surface of the roof. Forcing the balls of his feet to penetrate the roof's tough exterior, he looked within the direction of Gekkō and smiled. After having claimed that his punches could cause the very air around them to shake, he felt as if he would disappoint Gekkō if he didn't go all out from the beginning. Thus, as he pushed off the surface in which he stood, he shattered the entirety of the roof. Sending debris in all directions, his only action was that of jumping high into the air. Generating a gust, strong enough to literally tear the clothes off of anyone who stood before him, he caused the air particles around him to quake in a manner that produced an extremely loud ringing sound.

"My fists once shook the heavens. Now they split them, and my Zanpakutō cuts down the gods that are revealed..."

Pushing off the ground, Mukei quickly repeated the actions of his former self. However, now that he had the power to stand above Gekkō, the outcome wouldn't be the same. Though, wouldn't it be kind of boring if he simply repeated the same attack? It would, so he'd have to change it up a little bit. Instead of creating the rippling wave with his body, Mukei would unsheathe his sword, and swing it. This, much like he intended to do three years ago, would create a concussive wave that burrowed its way toward Gekko. Though, this time, he incorporated the roof. The bits of tiles that he'd lunged himself off of, would be fired toward Gekkō along with the concussive wave. However, they were nothing but distractions as Mukei followed within the shadow of his own attack.

"..You always were annoyingly loud..." Gekkō said silently as the sharp debris cut into his clothes. He followed Mukei's movements precisely and stood a far enough distance from the rooftop to where he would be able to react accordingly to any kind of attack. "Fist that tear the heavens and a blade that strikes down gods?"

How Mukei-ish. Gekkō didn't bother using another kenatsu, it would have been pointless to be honest. Instead, he went for something that he was more comfortable with: Kidō. Using Zanjutsu as a medium, Gekkō conducted a number of Getsuga-infused Kidō spells (namely:, , and .) The energy based attacks honed in on Mukei's position and began to swirl into a vortex of magical power similar to that of a Tenran.

The vortex sped towards Mukei in an attempt to at least distract him while Gekkō prepared his "true" attack...Though, Mukei was probably not even going to bother with it. As far as Gekkō was concerned, Mukei had specialized within Kidō when the first met. The fact that he had taken up Zanjutsu now, only meant that he was now versatile in two different arts. So, how exactly would his attack turn out? Then again, did he care? The projectiles were but a distraction, and if he got to see what Mukei had come up with in three years, it was also beneficial. Though, Mukei wouldn't give him that satisfaction, would he?

He wouldn't! Instead of taking on the roaring vortex of spiritual projectiles, Mukei shoved his fingers into his own mouth. Casting, he quickly engulfed himself in blue spiritual energy. Why in the hell would he do this? Well, if Gekkō could recall the Hakuda technique known as Shunkō, he would become reeducated in Mukei's unique way of casting it. "I'll fight Kidō with Kidō..."

Maneuvering his body in mid air, Mukei circumvented the raging vortex sent his way. His speed, amplified by the lightning Kidō spell, allowed for him to close the gap between him and Gekkō in an instant. Though, the real danger, came as Mukei swung his sword, releasing the Byakurai as a powerful laser beam.

Gekkō took the blast head on, allowing the electrified energies to become his slaves instead of just absorbing it like he used to do so many times. A form of Sklaverei that he had mastered during his training. Turning towards his opponent who was now well within his vicinity, Gekkō launched every iota of energy that he had enslaved from Mukei back towards him seven fold.

"Let's see what you can do against your own attack, Tsuki." Gekkō addressed.

"Interesting!" Extending his arm, Mukei pushed his palm into the electrified projectile. Within seconds, his entire forearm was submerged in spiritual energy. His skin, even the spiritual particles that made up his being, were beginning to sizzle and oscillate. "Damn! I went and surpassed my limits again!" Curling his fingers inward, he quickly dissipated the projectile by crushing it within the palm of his hand. The immense discharge of spiritual particles that followed quickly shot forward and smashed into the ground. Releasing an explosion, the spiritronic projectile began to come to life. Flickering, jumping, and wavering like a flame, it slumped its way toward Gekkou with the intention of eating away at his spiritual reserves.

How useless. At this point the only thing Mukei was doing was expending his energy in order to show how strong he became in the past three years. "You haven't changed a bit. So immature and yet still ready to bolster your own bravado through such lackluster fighting abilities...." Gekkō stated callously, revealing just how much his own Inner Darkness was taking over. The power he chose not to run from as he had done for the past millennia. No. He would rather embrace and master his own demons; exorcise them and take the experiences for all that they where, and learn from them in order to better himself and finally become what he had been bred to be. What Ariel died for him to be; what Seireitou would inadvertently push him to be. The best.

"I mourned you, for three years on this day. Despising how I let you die, tormented by the warfare in my mind that manifested itself as my own darkness, and severing the bonds that I had in the past to protect those from the walking disaster that I am. And now....you come here flexing your muscles as though nothing has happened! As though having your throat slit and your life seep from your being wasn't enough to make you wake up to the reality of how weak you truly became since we first met!"

Gekkō roared as his spiritual pressure magnified exponentially, evaporating the meager energy attack Mukei launched at him, through the incinerating flames of the Sōkyoku that he integrated within himself in order to further amplify his abilities. Gekkō then proceeded to unsheathe both of his blades and perform a that each produced a Getsuga Tenshō that each had the capability of destroying Mukei where he stood.

"You seem to be mistaken, Kirameki. I'm not the one who is weak. If you think back to our previous fights, you'll see that I indeed didn't change. You, also, didn't change. Back then, I took every devastating attack you threw at me. Even now, I continue to take your powerful attacks. However, what can be said about you? You're scared of me. You desperately try to get out of uncomfortable positions. You aren't prepared to die!"

Curling his fingers around his Zanpakutō, Mukei began to act. The immense spiritual pressure pouring out of Gekkō's being, would be his downfall. It also, whilst Mukei didn't realize it at first, was very similar to the spiritual pressure of a man he hated. This man, being Raian, was the very man that had slit his throat three years prior. Though, how exactly did Gekkō remind Mukei of Raian? Well, much like Raian did, Gekkō gave himself over to his malice. His spiritual energy spiked, and the negativity within it reminded Mukei of a feeling he hated. So, like any man, he'd strive to banish this feeling, even if it meant killing his comrade.

"In the beginning, you were never in my league!!"

Twirling his Zanpakutō within his hand, the young Shinigami began to act. His body, shot forward like a bolt of lightning, approached the projectiles Gekkō had fired. However, with his spiritual distortions also thickening and increasing, the projectiles would be held in place by their increasing presence. Though, this wasn't what one should concern themselves with. The real danger, lying withing Mukei's hand, was the Shinigami's Zanpakutō. "When I said I split the Heavens. I wasn't boasting..."

Swinging the sword down after her spoke, Mukei cut through the projectiles that simply floated in the air. Their detonation, pushing the two opposing spiritual pressures into a single direction, caused the flow of battle to literally shift. The distortion, as well as all of the energy both Mukei and Gekkō released, all forced itself into one direction. Forming into a projectile, translucent in appearance, it burrowed its way toward Gekkō. Whether it hit didn't matter. The amount of land that it pulled up and scattered was enough to send even a giant flying. "Sekīatsu!"

"Aargh!" Gekkō exclaimed out loud as the concussive force sent him back an entire mile. The amount of force that collided with him knocked the air out of chest and could have caved it in had he not been careful. "Damn. He almost got me there. What's going on? I should be far more powerful than this." He thought to himself.

"''You are.'" A called out from within his soul. ''

"Shagetsu?" Gekkō said, "What do you want?"

"You fool. I want to live, and at this rate, it doesn't look like there is a high percentage of that."

"What are you-" Gekkō couldn't even finish the statement. He knew exactly what Shagetsu meant.

"You need to cease and desist with this petulant pride. It has brought you more harm than good ad was the reason you "died" that day. Cast it to the side; treat this fool as though he was your equal. Underestimating him will only get you killed." Shagetsu barked at Gekkō. "And enough with these simplistic attacks. Slash this, slash that, Kidō this, Kidō that. These will do nothing to him as you see he's brushing them off like they are nothing. Get creative, for God's sake?!" He yelled exasperatedly at his wielder.

Gekkō stood up and composed himself. He sheathed his zanpakutō and converted to a more comfortable art form: Hakuda. Tōitsu Seihaku (統一静迫, "Unifying Silent Spirit"). Absorbing the latent reiryoku that the two expanded, cloud-like energy products flowed into Gekkō as his eyes glowed a transparent blue of whitish blue.

He took on the Karate stance that he used against Mukei the first time they fought; then, moving with insurmountable speed, he maneuvered himself behind Mukei and delivered two swift knife-hand strikes before assailing him with a roundhouse kick to the temple that would crush he skull in if he didn't take immediate action.

Luckily, though, Mukei wasn't so flimsy. Taking the roundhouse directly to the temple, his entire body went limp. In fact, due to the force of the strike, it was as if the Shinigami had momentarily passed away as he was sent flying. Though, because of his tendency to keep coming back, like some annoying little plague, it would be safest if Gekkō assumed he took little to no damage. Then again, as the force of the kick would indeed carry through regardless of how durable Mukei was, simply brushing something like this off was impossible.

Boom!

Colliding with the earth, some odd miles away from Gekkō, Mukei's body went limp. Somewhat lifeless, it simply lay upon the ground until a burst of spiritual energy coursed through it. The bones, that were damaged within his body, were slowly beginning to heal. However, just because they were healing, it didn't mean Mukei was in any better situation. He was a Minus, a spirit capable of achieving immortality through high speed regeneration. As long as he had spiritual energy, and his wounds weren't instantly fatal, he could continue to stand.

Though, with that being said, how exactly did he regenerated with a crushed skull? Well, deep within Mukei's body, was a Hollow. This hollow had been fused together with a Quincy, and that Quincy possessed the ability to absorb spiritual particles. So, in a last ditch effort to keep his host alive, the Quincy simply drew in spiritual particles to reinforce Mukei's body. In fact, the amount of spiritual particles now existing within his blood is so immense, that his skin turned black.

"That large deposit of spiritual energy looks dangerous. Lautlos, let us do something about that..."

Taking a deep breath, Mukei raised his hand up to his face. Focusing his gaze upon the center of his palm, he began to gather a large deposit of spiritual energy. Glowing, flickering, and bouncing like electricity, the mass of spiritual energy turned into a strong current of blue light within his hand. Gekkō may be fast, but Mukei's ability to adapt was faster. The look within his eyes said that Gekkō wouldn't be able to surprise him with speed any longer. At least, not without receiving some devastating damage in return.

"Electricity, again?" Gekkō murmured to himself as the brilliant, nearly blinding energy shot forth at him. The sound of birds chirping deafeningly could be heard from the lightning attack as Gekkō could feel his hair beginning to frizz; Mukei must not have gotten the revelation that Gekkō possessed supremacy over spiritual energy. However, he wasn't going to use anymore Kidō on the boy. It was just going to be straight up physical.

Mimicking his adversary, Gekkō took a deep breath and summoned a tremendous amount of Nèijìng force into his arms and extended his fist out in a massive punch that disturbed the very fabric of reality it seemed, ripping into the electricity along with a good portion of the earth underneath them and headed straight for Mukei.

Though, such an action wouldn't go unpunished. You see, the electricity Mukei fired wasn't just spiritual energy. It was Lautlos's Sklaverei forced into a physical form. So, as it was tore apart by Gekkō, it returned to its metaphysical form. Its course, of course, was still Gekkō. Though, this time it would approach almost subtly, aiming for the Reishi absorbed into Gekkō's body.

Mukei, at that point, was just now deciding to evade via an instantaneous Hohō technique. "He hasn't yet gotten use to shameless fighting it seems."

Taking a few steps back using Hohō, Gekkō wondered how he was going to handle the oncoming threat. This was no ordinary spirit energy. How was he going to deal with it? Finally, he decided upon a action to take. Clasping both of his hands together, Gekkō spoke a short incantation before jutting his hands out in a gesture resembling a popular energy attack from a well known anime. Suddenly, a swallowed the strange energy and sent it into a.

Following up such a technique wouldn't be difficult, a Gekkō leapt forward and seemingly teleported to Mukei's unguarded backside. He then unleashed a series of slashes that where not only aimed at Mukei's pressure points, but also his very wrist in order to expend his own spiritual energy from him.

Though, as Gekkō's Zanpakutō set on its path toward Mukei's body, a massive mass of water vapor washed over it. "Let's go! Lautlos!" Within that water vapor, moving at a speed several times faster than Gekkō's Zanpakutō, was Mukei. He, releasing as much sweat as a waterfall, was narrowly dodging Gekkō's slashes by moving in all directions. Now, whilst doing such a thing would hinder his ability to retaliate, Mukei still set his sights on attacking Gekkō. So, whilst his body lurched from side to side, front to back, and up and down, he began to call a mass of spiritual energy into the palm of his hand. The energy, feeling somewhat tranquil and distilled, suddenly erupted into a flaring storm of blue light. "Even the precipice is composed or Reishi. We're now both fighting with borrowed power!"

Jumping backward, Mukei began to twist his body to the right. All of his weight, for a moment, was shifted onto the right side of his body. He was prepared to throw a devastating right. "I wonder how big Misora has gotten..."

"...Misora..."

Gekkō thought within the darkest corner of his mind. He had tried to forget about her to no avail. No wonder, how can one protect someone by trying to forget them? However, the little bastard's sly and disrespectful comment about the woman he loved set Gekkō's blood boiling and his soul burning with rage. He took the thunder shot head on and was knocked back a few kilometers until he landed into a huger boulder which "helped" in stopping his flight.

"Now, I know. Now I realize the burning desire for your blood that you can so easily instill into . You never knew when to just shut the fuck up, did you?" Gekkō growled as his spiritual pressure began to intensify as he muttered the last words Mukei would hear.

"Protect"......

A shimmering blue and orange energy sprung from Gekkō's person as it set fire to the surrounding marshes and trees and even nearly liquified the boulder he was currently seeped in.

"Shagetsu!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he flung his blade into the air and allowed the Sōkyoku-imbued flames erupt into the air, causing a great deal of rain to fall within a few minutes and thunder accompanied by lighting to strike at seemingly random intervals. The rain soaked the two individuals and cast a far darker aura around the entire landscape. Only Gekkō's Shagetsu and his brilliant lavender eyes could be seen through the darkness. Mukei had sparked a dark flame in Gekkō's soul that he would soon wish was never sparked.....

However, instead of putting on a distressed look. Mukei simply smiled. He didn't know when to shut up? Yeah, that was the truth. Though, who exactly was Gekkō to be telling him this? Oh, that's right. Gekkō was his friend. So, it's only a given that his friend would tell him when he was being too full of himself. Though, couldn't Mukei be doing the same thing right now? Gekkō looked both pained and angry. Clearly, upon bringing up Misora, Mukei had struck a nerve. Upon realizing this, his smile turned into a massive grin. It seemed, from Gekkō's outrage, that he hadn't be around Misora much.

"I see. So, you went and did something incredibly stupid, huh? Man, I may not know when to shut up, but you don't know how to trust others. By the looks of it, you're clinging onto something that doesn't need your assistance. You're protecting somebody that should be protecting you. Shit, she should be the one calling the shots, and you don't even realize that."

Rolling his shoulder, Mukei took a deep breath. Everything, up to this point, had been whatever he could manage. Though, as far as friendship was concerned, Mukei could no longer do what he wanted. Now, he would be forced to do what he must. "Maybe you should let her go. There are plenty of guys out there who could do for her what you can't. Now, I'm not trying to be an asshole, but you need to realize this. Whether you're intimate with her, protective, or inspiring, it doesn't mean shit if you ain't there with her."

Curling his fingers into a fist, he quickly turned his gaze from Gekkō to the sky. "I fell into your shadow, and ended up trying to picture you as my big brother. However, when we both failed, I soon realized you're no better than me. In fact, you're probably just as pathetic and worthless. Though, thats not why I hate you. I hate you, because you're tasteless. Even when I see this world as nothing but trash, I still smile and joke around. I mean, I can't even recognize you anymore."

The Things You Can't Deny....
"Now! Let us get this show on the road!" Pointing his finger into the sky, Mukei began to shout at the top of his lungs. The rain, produced by the immense heat of Gekkō's Zanpakutō, seemed to temporarily part as Mukei's voice pierced the heavens. "I'm no longer going to play around with you anymore. No more tricks. No more tasteless attacks. I'm done holding back. Let's end it, alright?"

Gekkō did well at hiding the fury he felt at Mukei's remarks. However, there was something he still needed to know. "Before we begin. Tell me exactly what you mean by you can't even recognize me anymore."

Taking a step forward, Mukei narrowed his eyes. "What do you think it means? You and I are both drowning in our own emotional carnage. Though, you seem to have it far worse. I wonder, why is that? Well, that's easy to answer. It is because you can't handle the emotions of those around you, so how in the hell can you handle your own? Since I met you, it was easy to tell you had a one track mine. Though, I ain't complaining. I'm the same way, until it fucks up my goals..."

Pushing off the ground, Mukei quickly closed the gap between him and Gekkō with what seemed like a dash. Though, instead of doing something flashy, he simply threw his fist forward in an attempt to strike Gekkō directly in the face. Now, whilst it didn't look fancy, it possessed about twice the strength Mukei had demonstrated in the past. It was simple, direct, and full of enough power to send the Shinigami flying. "You need to go back to the basics, and learn about yourself before you start throwing your Zanpakutō around. Everything you were, is gone. Everything I was, is also gone. However, that is because I wanted it gone. I didn't sell myself out to some foolish pride. Grow up, kid."

"I see." Gekkō whispered to himself as he caught Mukei's fist using his own lightning fast reflexes and heightened senses. "I must say...though my foolish pride begrudges me for it, I have to say that you are right. On this journey, while I had gained tremendous power, I lost the purpose of which I gained it. Instead of fighting for the future, I suffocated myself and as a result everyone around me with the past." He then slid his eyes to Mukei before delivering a swift kick that held just as much force as Mukei's former kick. "I have fallen to depths unseen in me before. However, I WILL be redeemed!"

Nodding his head in response, Mukei outstretched his leg. Using it to fend off Gekkō's kick, he extended his heel and applied pressure to Gekkō's ankle. This, whilst stopping the Shinigami's kick, also placed considerable strain on his joints. Now, if Gekkō attempted anything related to Hohō, his speed would be drastically decreased. Though, he wouldn't really need Hohō. Mukei didn't plan on running away.

"I'm glad you've come to some form of conclusion. Though, it doesn't concern me as much as you think it does. Thinking about Misora, has got me wondering how she's doing. I'd ask you, but you clearly ain't seen her in a long time. Any idea where I can find her?" Rotating his wrist, Mukei applied more pressure to Gekkō's body. However, this time, instead of applying it to his ankle, he applied it to the palm of his hand. Using the technique Ikkotsu, he sent a surge of power throughout Gekkō's arm, forcing him to release Mukei's fist.

"You went to all this trouble to draw your Zanpakutō. So, I'll let you use it. Go ahead, pick it up, and lets get this over with."

Gekkō released Mukei as the Ikkotsu began to tear the muscles in his arm asunder. Through the use of his Hollow powers, Gekkō was able to reconnect the muscles in his arms as he picked up his Shagetsu. "Sorry, 'bout that. Emotions got a little hectic. Seems like I have more training to do." Gekkō said to his Zanpakutō.

The storms began to erupt ferociously, a product of the two men's spiritual power mixing with their resolve to end this battle. Gekkō held his Zanpakutō before him as it began to burn viciously, preparing for one final attack.....

"Oh! So, you acknowledge me now? Good! I'll grace you with the same acknowledgement." Outstretching his arm, Mukei began to grasp at the blazing flames before him. Though, as he touched them, he soon realized what they were. At this moment, he began to smile even harder.

"Ikkotsu vs Zanpakutō"

Pulling his arm back, he snickered and took an open-handed stance. His left hand, closed to make a fist, was positioned behind his right hand, which was aimed at Gekkō. Both, however, glew with spiritual energy. The left with, and the right with Sklaverei.

"Are you ready!?" Gekkō shouted out as he charged forth with his Zanpakutō, filled with Getsuga and Hyoga Seiran, along with his Spirit Weapon, ablaze with the Heiliges Feuer. He shined like a light in the darkness as he entered Mukei's vicinity.

"I was born ready!" Rotating his arms, Mukei began to form a circle of spiritual energy. Within the circle, rotating, was another circle. However, it possessed a far more demonic appearance. "Ikkotsu Zenshin!" Pushing his hands out as both circles fully former and rotated, Mukei immersed his body in destructive energy.

"Let's go!" Roaring, much like the destructive energy, Mukei tore into the ground with his heel. Forcing rock to kick up, and then be enslaved and absorbed by his Sklaverei, he empowered himself as he charged forward. Though, upon stepping into Gekkō's guard, he pushed all the energy forward in a Ikkotsu amplified via rotation.

A Final Clash of Souls....
The resulting explosion of energy between the two persons of Gekkō and Mukei was enough to shake the very foundation of the Reikai. A humongous sphere of brilliant, potent and destructive energy that reached as far as a 12 mile radius from each side, destroying everything in it's path as the two warrior's bared the souls for what can be considered a "final" time...

Though, as their destructive might became known far and wide, it was responded to immediately. Shinigami, of all ranks, began to appear. Most of them were of the Kidō Corps, and the rest were of the Onmitsukidō. Each, however, didn't acknowledge the other's presence. Instead, they stood looking within the direction of Mukei and Gekkō.

"We're to capture them both."

Stepping forward, from the crowd of cloaked Shinigami, was a being completely covered in white. He, whilst unknown by name, was clearly a captain. Though, did it matter? Regardless of position, all the Shinigami decided to spring into action. Some enclosed the mass of spiritual energy in white cloth, and others bordered it with Kidō.

"Prepare to fight, men!"

Their attacks were all for naught as most of the men and women Shinigami were swallowed whole by the immeasurable amounts of energy that spanned outward from Gekkō and Mukei's clash; You see, Mukei's Sklaverei enslaved the oncoming attacks of every Shinigami near by, excluding Gekkō for some undisclosed reason. As such, their attacks only made the clash of souls even more devastating and spelled out their own fates. The energy sphere stopped just short of a handful of Shinigami along with their Captain, who seemingly was unimpressed by the display. "How pitiful, the fools. Thank goodness the boy's ability was only strong enough to absorb the Kidō and not break down their spiritronic matter. As though it mattered."

"Why don't you just give up and go home?" Pushing against Gekkō, within the confines of the sphere of spiritual energy, Mukei began to speak. As it would seem, neither of them held any form of hesitation at this point. So, if the battle continued at this pace, one of them would either die or come out crippled. Mukei, of course, didn't want to be either of the two. So, retracting his outstretched arm, he allowed for Gekkō's attack to press on. Though, as he also had no intention of being struck by his opponent's attack, Mukei quickly reacted by moving to the side. The result, of his dodging maneuver, caused the sphere to collapse in on itself. The explosion, which followed, blanketed the entire area in white.

Though, instead of causing destruction, the white light put everything at ease. The Shinigami, whom had attempted to attack Gekkō and Mukei as the sphere dissolved, were now slowly floating toward an empty space. The only two, somehow capable of moving within the light, were Gekkō and Mukei. Gekkō, wounded to a minimal extent, was floating off to the edge of the light's blazing border. Mukei, whom had managed to lose his left forearm due to his unstable Sklaverei, casually levitated within the light's epicenter. Both, clearly aware of the others presence, simply moved in silence.

"You should just go ahead and get out of here. I'm quite capable of handling all of these guys on my own. Not to mention, you're not so mentally stable right now."

Gekkō merely smirked with defiance and a slight hint of malice. "I am mentally unstable? Please, like you're the poster boy for mental health," He responded. Gekkō surveyed the surroundings before smirking even wider, he indicated the suspended Shinigami with his thumb. "First one to take out the Captain wins..." He then paused for a moment as though he forgot something. "Oh, yeah, and the fodder Shinigami."

Invaders Must Die
This man, however, was no ordinary individual that could be dispatched as easily as a game of tag would be conducted. Kurama Kirameki, one of the skilled few to have reached the precipice that so many aspire to reach, stood at the forefront of the Shinigami assault team; as both its leader and strongest member. His ears flickered momentarily at the words spoken by Gekkō — a familiar person he knew all too well — but his response was a stoic expression. As wave after wave of his men charged the duo, he stood with a calm stillness as he took in the sight.

His expertise was in the field of Hohō; that is, to say, at the core of body management and footwork, a craft that is best described as the relationship an individual possesses with the world itself and how that body communicates with said environment. Hakuda and Zanjutsu rely upon the self, Kidō upon the external spirits that compose the world, and the bridge that connects the Zankensoki, is none other than the underestimated craft of Hohō. And Kurama was one of those few that could boast that he stands at the top of the art of body and world communication. The beauty of communication lies in the method in which it is transmitted and the method used to translate that form of communication into something comprehensible. If Hohō dictates the communication between the world and the individual, then it is Kurama... that exists as its universal translator.

To Captain Kirameki, the men known as Gekkō and Mukei were nothing more special to him than the environment itself when speaking of his capabilities. For either of them to accomplish the task that the young Gekkō had proposed, they would first need to somehow establish a communication of violence and aggression toward him. Try as they might, it will be he, the translator, that will decide if they can reach that point.

Gekkō's eyes widened as the smile dropped from his face, upon his realizing who this unknown Captain was. His older brother, Kurama. A man who had always been three steps ahead of him when they where growing up. While Gekkō was on the brink of the Meijin Shell, Kurama had already crashed through its ceiling and reached a level of skill that hasn't been seen in over ten centuries.

"Great. Now I have to deal with him." He was so not ready for this. As the Shinigami closed in on him, he [Gekkō] used Kidō to slip past them and allowed Mukei to deal with the pest. He then transported himself before his elder brother.

With an almost mocking demeanor, the Captain clapped his hands together and began a slow round of applause. "After so long, the universe delivers you to me as an act of providence." Kurama mused as his hands went from their clapping gesture to resting at his sides. "It would be best not to waste time chatting about the old days though... Both yourself, little brother... and Mukei-kun are to come with me. Whether that means willingly or in a body bag, that is up to you." the Captain firmly stated, a feeling of disdain being obvious when he put emphasis on addressing Gekkō.

In that moment, Captain Kirameki placed his hand onto the hilt of his katana that sat adjacent to his wakizashi, pulling it from its sheath and out in the open. But this was merely to announce the start of the next maneuver. In that very instant, the meaning behind why he was considered a true transcendent of the Hohō field would be made apparent. The craft was a communication between Kurama and the world. That is the basis of Hohō. Normal people communicate with the world through movement. They transition from one spot to the next and physically change their location in the world. A Grandmaster instead can translate their location differently. If a normal person can physically exist in a single location at any given time, then the Hohō Grandmaster can translate this by establishing themselves in numerous locations at once; normally an impossibility that nature will rectify by essentially allowing the creation of multiple Kurama.

In other words, now surrounding Gekkō were at least twelve clones of Kurama himself; the only issue being, they were not mere illusions, but living and breathing replicas of Kurama. It wasn't a trick of splitting himself up but rather breathing life into the meaning, "being in two places at once", by willing himself to exist in multiple locations. Such is the beauty of the universal translator that is the Hohō Grandmaster. There was no hypnosis to dispel nor trick to unravel; Gekkō would have to dispatch every single Kurama he saw before his very eyes if he wished to truly defeat the Captain.

With the stage set, the fight could commence. Captain Kirameki would show his foolish young brother no quarter. Twelve replicas of Kurama stood before Gekkō; each with their own intentions, as four on either side of Gekkō immediately held their hands out toward him. Between the eight of them, began to surround the space between them, which included that of Gekkō. However, that was an odd coloration. Why such a brown color? In most normal cases, this spell would consist of a red color, due to the spell's explosive methods. However, that was only the case for a normal execution of the spell. Kurama demonstrated an advanced method of kneading together spells to perform an even more complicated task. This brown was obtained from a mixing together of green and purple, together with the foundation of red, which was a result of kneading together three different spells. The green came from, a spatial manipulation spell which was imbued into the net in order to prevent Gekkō from attempting any Kidō-style escape attempts. In addition, the purple came from the implementation of ; a spell designed to inflict its target with a very potent poison. Because it was within this thread, any physical contact with the net would result in the poor victim being inflicted with a ravenous poison that would undoubtedly cause them immense turmoil. This was designed to prevent Gekkō from attempting a physical escape either.

While his clones had set this entire maneuver, the center-most Kurama that stood from the front of Gekkō held his sword up toward him. And within the same instant that the Kidō network had been set up, this Kurama was speaking an incantation to prepare for a devastating spell... But nothing had yet happened.


 * "I'll carve them up now... all of them."

Swish...The shinigami dropped, with little warning, to the ground. Their heads, colliding with the floor, caused a feint thud to echo through the sky. Btoom! Following that feint echo was an explosion. Mukei's foot, reinforced by a large mass of spiritual pressure, connected with one of the Shinigami's severed heads. Blood, sprinkling across the battlefield, dyed the white void a bright red. "I'm sorry, Raian. I'm borrowing this, you pathetic bastard." Though, before the blood dripped to the ground, Mukei's body was in motion. His speed, as well as his lowered stance, allowed for him to slip in between the drops of blood in the form of a blur. The strength he had demonstrated, second in comparison to the speed he was now showing, were all derived from his anger. Hell, even the use of this technique was something that was brought about via his anger. Never, in his life, would he willingly use such a technique. Though, in the face of such a skilled opponent, he would need to reach new heights. So, pushing all of his disgust aside, he made his move. Sheathing his sword and then striking quickly, in a display of iaido, Mukei cut through the white void in order to send a projectile rearing through Kurama's net of spiritual energy. Sekīatsu.

Though, in the off chance that the Kidō had been laced with other spells, Mukei abandoned his sword after performing the attack. The sword, which he had taken off a dead Shinigami, spun through the air like a disk. "Don't stop. Carve them up. All of them! Go!...Go!...Go!!" Taking a deep breath, Mukei then began to reach for his own Zanpakutō. Swish...Unsheathing the blade and striking quickly once more, he performed yet another display of Iaido. Though, unlike his prior show of skill, this technique was his own. It also, instead of producing a single Ken'atsu, produced two. Both, reinforced by Mukei's malefic intentions, made their way toward the Kurama Clones in an arched manner.

The move would yield no actual benefit to either side. In fact, if Mukei's move were to do anything, given its trajectory, it was right on course to strike down the young Gekkō. One of the spells imbued into the patchwork composed by Kurama was a spacetime spell. Its original purpose was to neutralize any attempt by Gekkō at escaping via similar spacetime spells, but the secondary effect gained by the magical network of threads was to allow Kurama to essentially alter their location in spacetime momentarily. He allowed only the parts of the patchwork that would've collided with the Sekīatsu to fade away in obscurity as they disappeared from that spot in spacetime, allowing the Sekīatsu to flow freely and undisturbed, until it would finally make its way toward the trapped Gekkō and no doubt cause tremendous damage onto the Kirameki if it made contact; which, given the fact that this web of Kurama's design would still serve to hinder his movements.

With those ten clones continuing to hold up and maintain this web, and the frontal Kurama preparing his next move, the final twelfth Kurama that stood on the opposite side was facing where Mukei had finally appeared following the latter's victory over his henchmen. In an attempt at firing two sword pressure techniques, this Kurama merely responded with a raised arm. "." the man uttered softly, as a powerful mirror wall appeared before the two attacks. However, this mirror wall was different than those composed by your run of the mill Shinigami. At the instant the sword pressures collided, the shield actually curved inward slightly; almost as if it were comprised of a rubbery substance. And then it was clear why this was. A master of spells like Kurama would undoubtedly be capable of altering a spell's properties to better suit the situation. If the standard rigid shield of Dankū served as mere protection, this almost rubbery version of the shield could serve to rebound the attack back at its castor. Once it stretched out slightly, the rubber-like Dankū snapped back into shape and fired off the two sword pressure attacks at an incredible speed back at Mukei with the intention of cutting him down. However, this Kurama had not finished. Given the direction of the sword pressures, Mukei would have one of two options: either to cut them down or to dodge them. And regardless of his choice, the next move would ensure his capture. The Dankū before Kurama shattered into pieces and began to reform, as several were created in their place; another skill that one that had mastered the art of spell casting would be capable of performing, allowing him to immediately shift any of his existing spells into another spell. The golden chains would erupt outwards and surround Mukei from all sides. Whether the man dodged the returned attacks he threw earlier or managed to fend them off, these chains would pounce on him immediately, before he'd have a chance to decide upon a better course of action.

All the while, the Kurama standing in front of the enclosed Gekkō continued speaking his incantation.

"Godammit." Gekkō swore as he was entrapped by his brother's Kidō spells. How embarrassing.... If Mukei could manage to set him free, he wouldn't be so hasty the next time. However, Gekkō knew of the spell Kurama was conjuring with such an incantation. He had to figure something out, or this could get ugly.


 * "Children should not mock their elders with falsities. You're an embarrassment."

Swish...Pushing off the ground, Mukei began to move. His body, lowered in the same manner as before, became a blur as he dashed between his returning projectiles.Btoom...Hearing them collide with the ground behind him, he continued on his path toward Kurama. In fact, he was picking up speed as the echoing explosion washed over the battlefield. Swish! Crack! Though, as soon as his foot connected with the ground, yellow coils ensnared him.Thwap Hitting the ground, Mukei's entire body began to contort. The speed, which had carried him a great distance, had also caused him to roll across the ground upon being captured. "You're an embarrassment."

"I'm an embarrassment? Get real, Battōsai. I wasn't the little crybaby that fell into such a dark life. You ain't know anything about me. How dare you haunt my peaceful existence with your shitty voice."

Slowly raising his head, Mukei forced eye contact with Kurama. This man, a denizen of the same domain as the Manslayer and Yaksha, was pushing his last nerve. Though, what could he do about it? This man was nothing but perfected talent. Mukei, who faught recklessly, knew nothing of the meaning of skill. Though, regardless, seeing the man stand within the precipice was pissing him off. "I'll pry open those damn doors, and drag you out of your little domain."

Narrowing his eyes, Mukei began to inhale deeply. The spiritrons that made up his bindings began to flow as a steady stream into his mouth. For those like Kurama, who had witnessed Mukei's Sklaverei earlier, this was no shocking feat. Though, the action, in which succeeded such a notionm would be a surprise. "You're an embarrassment."

"I'll show you. Just you wait..."

Even though Mukei was utilizing a technique designed to absorb reishi, by enslaving the will that composes them, it would require time to dissemble a spell cast by a master of Kurama's repute. After all, Kurama's will within the spell would first have to be neutralized, and that would be no easy task. Given this moment of opportunity, the replica of Kurama that cast the spell toward Mukei immediately dashed forward — a speed that was seen by the Tsuki boy once before, when he fought against the Battōsai — as Kurama immediately closed the gap and drew his sword; his wakizashi. Kurama aimed for Mukei's neck, aiming to slice his head clean off.

Bingo. Suddenly, Gekkō thought of a solution that was rather simple. He wasn't going to absorb the energy set forth by his brother's Kidō; he learned that lesson from his fight with the Shiroyasha. Instead, he would utilize the technique Mukei used earlier; Sklaverei, but a much more perfected version. One that could transpose the will from Kurama, as Gekkō possessed the ability to insert his own will over any form of energy. As such, the trap Kurama set upon Gekkō dissolved the completely the moment he made a move towards Mukei and his "Will" was placed elsewhere.

His foolish older brother neglected to recall Gekkō's area of expertise: Kidō. By the time Kurama's clones conducted their aforementioned actions, Gekkō was already far out of their line of sight. A surprising testament to Gekkō's Kidō-enhanced Hirenkyaku. Now that the spells Kurama's replicas tried to enslave Gekkō with had backfired, he used their momentary obliviousness in order to launch twelve toward the clones. Afterwards, he used the Kūkanten'i to teleport right before his elder brother and deliver a series of innumerable frontal slashes that far outstripped the speed and power of Senmaioroshi as the attacks would sever him limb from limb. The Chaos in Gekkō's soul was reemerging.

Though, as it was reemerging, it wasn't just Gekkō who was affected. Those that survived, the Shinigami lucky enough to have avoided Mukei, were beginning to act redundant. Their hearts beat furiously, their bodies began to heat up, and their minds raced. However, they were not the ones who had it bad. Mukei, who was silent, was the one who was suffering the most. The memories of his death — those involving the Battōsai — played again and again within his head. Though, instead of just reliving specific scenes, he was forced to witness the entire fight. The beginning, the middle, and the end. Hell, even the parts he wasn't there to see appeared within his brain. That, however, wasn't the worst of it. Kurama was approaching, and nothing within his manner of moving showed any signs of him stopping.Gekkō, who had managed to do what Mukei intended, was the one now taking action. He sprung in front of the Minus, and delivered a flurry of strikes that would intercept Kurama's original patth. Mukei, though indirectly, was saved.


 * "You sure talk big for someone who hasn't managed to land a hit."

The words, echoing in his head, caused Mukei to rise. The look within his eyes, corrupt with the same malice present within Gekkō's very soul, was that of a man prepared to kill. Though, who exactly did he have enough skill to kill? His speed, strength, even his ability to manipulate spiritual particles, proved useless against Captain Kurama. So, what exactly was it that led him to believe he could win his little bet with Gekkō? Well, the answer is right before him. The one who would help him win the bet, was the very same man that he was competing against; Gekkō. "Secure his movements..."

Placing his hand upon the ground, Mukei began to spread his spiritual energy throughout the rock beneath him and Gekkō. Badump!....Badump!Resonating throughout the ground, the pulsing spiritual energy rang out like a heart beat as it spread throughout the battlefield. The ground, soon becoming black, was slowly submitting to Mukei's will. "If he communicates with the Earth via those legs...I'll just have to carve them up..."

On both fronts, Kurama would further demonstrate his skill. Each of the replicas adorned their katana and slashed through the Byakurai that charged toward each of them, rendering the electric masses onto nothing but harmless sparks. The replica being struck by a flurry of strikes from Gekkō had vanished with the first strike, as if he were nothing but air — after all, these replicas were real but also falsities, as in truth, only one Kurama Kirameki existed in this reality — but in the wake of Gekkō's sword attack, which carried such strength that he would have had to submit all of his body into the strike, which meant he'd be open from the back. And in the same instant that Gekkō swung down his sword to strike the false Kurama, two more of his replicas appeared on Gekkō's blind spot: one thrust his sword for Gekkō's neck and the other fired at the small of his back, both conducted at tremendous speeds.

With two replicas having now disappeared, and two honing in on Gekkō from behind, the remaining eight encircled Mukei as he was imbuing his will into the ground beneath him. "Even the most powerful being has a limited sphere of strength. Draw him outside of that sphere and into your own, and his strength will dissipate." the Captain's replicas all remarked in unison, as they all raised their arms to the skies above. The power gathered and kneaded together by the Kurama that disappeared following Gekkō's assault had now transferred to the other replicas and the preparations for this technique would now be accomplished.

The air above the replicas grew heavy with reishi: reishi reigned in by Kurama. Flames of a purple color began to flicker forth at their fingertips, a trait reminiscent of, as the heat flooded upwards toward the skies. It was almost beautiful. Purple flames began to flood from their hands and gathered above their heads, forming a collective mass that began to appear as though it were an ocean of flames floating in the air. The heat being given off was absolutely immense, causing any plant life to immediately burn away onto ashes simply by existing in its presence; even beings as powerful as Gekkō and Mukei, masters of the craft themselves, would definitely feel the pressure from such a massive collection of flames. And in an instant, as the flame ocean's formation concluded, the replicas backed away to a safe distance and thrust their hands downward toward Mukei in the same instant. The ocean of purple flames quickly followed the direction of the hand gestures and descended toward Mukei like a meteorite: the heat at this point being so truly immense that even the earth that was turning black from Mukei's will began to melt onto mud in its presence without even being in contact. Moving at such a speed and packing such might, with its encompassing range, nothing short of a miracle would be able to save Mukei from this technique; even if he attempted to absorb even a small piece of it, the heat would eradicate his body long before he got the chance.

Gekkō wasn't at all surprised by his brother's speed; ever since they where children Kurama had always displayed a speed that belied physique or physical superiority. For the life of him, Gekkō could never catch up with his brother no matter how much he tried. Even his skill in Kidō was to be expected, they where born of the Kirameki Clan- a family that was notorious for their intimate connection with Kidō. However, using all of these in succession was where Gekkō had trouble in counter acting, but he would try nonetheless.

First up, where the replicas that existed on Gekkō's blind spots. Contrary to their belief, Gekkō was not working alone. Ariel was their with him and she alerted him of the false Kiramekis that existed behind him. Gekkō passed through the intangible Kurama that his sword swing had opened the door to. Despite this, while he manged to dodge the fatal sword jab to the neck, he was still hit by the Sōkatsui and his left arm was covered with bruises and burns. Score one for older brothers, huh?

Well, he'd might as well rack up another one as he beheld the serene purple ocean above his head. In stark contrast to it's appearance, it gave off a considerable spiritual pressure that reminded him of 's Reiatsu when he was ticked about something. It was clear that absorbing this wouldn't be easy, if possible, as the flames would no doubt incinerate a person from the inside out knowing Kurama. How was he going to deal with these apparitions and their combined spell might?

The answer, of course, lay within Mukei's malice. It, spreading through the floor like a corrosive acid, took command of the very ground beneath them. Though, after it imposed his will upon it, it didn't vanish. Instead, further expanding Mukei's command over it, it began to convert the ground into black particles. Swirling, bursting, and flickering like flames, the particles made their way up into the air.

"I can't send all of it away, but I can minimize the damage we receive."

Liquified, thanks to the immense heat of the meteorite of purple light, it shot like a geyser into the air. Though, despite possessing the consistency of liquid, it possessed enough surface tension to flatten a missile upon impact. So, during contact with the meteorite it would halt it. Though, this was only for a split second for the geyser quickly turned into a spinning disk. Opening up, it revealed chains, and a distinct pathway into a fiery pit. All in which touched it, was sucked in, and everything that didn't, was pushed in the form of an arch to the ground.

As the ocean of purple flames descended, and the duo attempted their individual approaches toward escaping certain death, the remainder of the massive flames that hadn't been fully brushed aside touched ground eventually and the resulting explosion shook the land in a truly magnificent show of light. But just as suddenly as it took form, so too did it fade away as the land was swept in these illuminating flames; the fates of Gekkō and Mukei were still to be ascertained.

In the wake of the overwhelming blaze, Kurama alone stood facing downwards at the battlefield that was now rendered onto fire and ash. "If such a maneuver is not enough, then... I shall be forced to engage in truly violent means." the man spoke with a coldness in his tone of voice. The sheer darkness of his voice would send chills up any normal individual, but it would be proven that this was a feeling that was well-deserved, for what happened next was truly a frightening dilemma. In the beginning, twelve Kurama stood before the two rivals.

But now...

As the smoke ascended to the skies and more of the battlefield became visible, the despair would begin to sink in. A literal hundred replicas of Kurama — the upper echelon of his limits — all stood as an army of the damned before the resultant of his prior spell.

The upper echelon indeed. This was the very limit of Kurama's abilities; while it may have seemed dire to some, this was an opportunity for Gekkō to strike his brother when he was at his most vulnerable per say. "I was saving this to kill Sei with. However, you would be a perfect guinea pig for this technique wouldn't you brother?" Gekkō snarled as he opened the Garganta. He simultaneously released his Saigetsu and unleashing a flurry of invisible slashes on the group. By the time the group realized what he was doing, it would be too late. The slashes of wind were both silent and intangible, coming completely without warning.

Now, unto the Garganta. A massive black hole-like casahm tore through the skies above the "three" combatants. Every attack or form of energy Gekkō had encountered during his three years of grueling training, including Mukei's Sklaverei that was forced into a physical form. Great lightning struck as fire rain down from the skies with a concussive force of miniature thunder claps.

Pure energy came down and caused an explosion that far out classed those seen at the Opposition and even the current one produced by the clash between himself and Mukei. The area was rendered asunder as the constant bombardment of multiple forces of nature rain down from the heavens with all the forces of hell. Both Mukei and himself would need to evacuate the premises immediately, less they both be done in by one of Gekkō's attacks and never have a rematch with their most hated enemies.

Though, if such a thing were to happen, Gekkō would be the only one receiving the blame. In fact, due to his flashy display, he may have opened up a number of possibilities for Kurama. If, by some unknown means, this was true, Mukei didn't want to stick around and suffer also. So, upon placing his hand upon the ground, he tore at the rock beneath him with his own will. Coating it black, lacing it with negativity and malic, he deconstructed it within his Sklaverei. Though, instead of drawing it into his person, he formed it into chains, and redirected it toward Gekkō's flashy display of energy. Forcing the Garganta, which apparently existed above the entire battlefield, to cnnect with his chains, he pushed the lightning being produced into using his spiritual construct as a medium. So, instead of firing pure destruction in random directions, Gekkō's energy was no traversing throughout the chains Mukei created. Though, of course, the amount of destructive power it possessed wasn't hindered.

"You won't be allowed to do as you please, Kirameki."

Drawing his Zanpakutō, and then pointing it to the ground, Mukei took a deep breath. The stoic expression of Kurama, which he had not forgotten since the beginning, was gradually starting to mirror itself upon his face. "The strong are cocky, but not foolish." Swinging his Zanpakutō, Mukei began to redirect the chains. Imbued with Gekkō's spiritual energy, they shot across the battlefield in random patterns. Though, instead of striking at the clones, the chains weaved inbetween them until each one was within their own closed off space. "Bow before me, and I won't kill you." Turning the Zanpakutō upright, as he mused, Mukei gave the chains an abnormal command. The command, silent as a whisper, forced the chains to vibrate until a black fog began to spread throughout the air. The fog, a product of both Mukei and Gekkō's regurgitated Chaos, was simply their malefic intentions clinging to the particles within the air. Anybody, other than Mukei and Gekkō, to come in contact with it would suddenly feel their will being forcefully stripped from them.

"I haven't quite developed a special move, but I guess you could consider this it. It is the pinnacle of my powers, without the aid of my Zanpakutō, and I'm proud to show it to you. Since, you know, you seem to be getting serious....and with a bunch of kids!"

Motioning to Gekkō, Mukei redirected his gaze. Opening his mouth to speak, he spoke in a cocky and egocentric tone. "Your will to capture us, isn't near as strong as our will to harness our hatred and kill the Yonkō..."

"How foolish..." spoke the head of the Kurama army as he stared upwards at the shower of powers dropping down like meteorites. But before anything, it was time to reveal a secret.

Earlier in the fight, Kurama managed to strike Gekkō with a powerful Sōkatsui. But in truth, what was the point? Why did the two Kurama replicas not simply both attempt to strike him down with his respective blade, since one had already done so? Why deviate from the same action? The answer was simple. A trap was hidden within that spell. And upon allowing it to injure him, the trap had been set. In a similar vein, when Mukei so foolishly enslaved the reishi used by Kurama's spell, he failed to account for the fact that in enslaving those wills, he was also taking in the will of Kurama himself. Enslaving a will as strong as Kurama's is simply not so easy a task, and because Mukei hadn't accounted for that, it would be too late now to rid himself of the situation. A trap, therefore, could also be set at that time as well.

Instantaneously, Kurama revealed the traps. erupted from the chests of both individuals — the source of reishi for these spells being taken from Mukei and Gekkō themselves, in their moment of allowing chaos to seep from their souls and thus their emotional states were compromised, allowing some small part of their reishi to be "taken" by Kurama's will to form this spell; thus connecting their souls to the actual spell — as they wrapped themselves around the two in order to restrain them and the chain tips rushed for one another, colliding, before wrapping around themselves and tying into a perfect knot. At this time, reishi began to transfer between the knot point. Gekkō and Mukei were interlocked by this spell's completion. If either of them tried to absorb the reishi of this spell, they would be, in effect, enslaving the reishi of each other and this would result in one of them killing the other. Such was the danger and flaw of the almighty Sklaverei. In this moment, the main Kurama dashed forward and took advantage of his trap's awakening, pointing his fingers at the both of them. "Number 61... !" he called out, further paralyzing them in order to add to the dire situation. Once he accomplished this, he backed away to a safe distance, so as not to be affected for long by Mukei's chaos-inducing mist. The additional benefit of this was to tamper with Mukei's hold on the chains, and as such, this moment of weakness would allow the replicas a chance to free themselves from this prison.

Meanwhile, the other ninety-nine replicas of Kurama had taken to the skies to meet the incoming assault of Gekkō's last move. Each of them quickly called forth in front of them, forming these bounce-off point versions of the spell as they had did before and curving them in a such a way that their intentions could be made possible. As a source of power struck the individual shields, they bounced off and were all redirected one by one by these clones to fall directly toward the entrapped Gekkō and Mukei. Even if by some miracle, they found a way to escape their trap, which was currently in the process of squeezing the life out of them like a boa constrictor, the incoming barrage storm that Gekkō himself created would batter them into oblivion.

With the goal accomplished, the ninety-nine Kurama replicas disappeared as the original Kurama landed to his feet a ways away; taking a moment to regain his breath. After all, this was no ordinary feat he had just pulled off.

Darkness...
Energy.....

Energy...

ENERGY!!!....

"FOOLISH OLDER BROTHER!!!" Gekkō snarled at Kurama as the Chaos within his soul took its full effect as he unleashed a form similar to Mukai; The golden chains that protruded from his chest began to disintegrate into gray nothingness as the pure darkness that was taking over Gekkō began to truly began to grasp a foothold in the outside realm. "AAAAARGH!!!" Gekkō cried out as a massive torrent of black Yōryoku sprung high into the air; the air became chilling and could even provoke thoughts of foreboding and feelings of angst.. White and wispy, skeletal in their appearance. pierced the veil of a now crystallized spiritual pillar. As the cracks in the castle of glass began to give way and crumble onto the ground below, a monstrous new form of "Gekkō" was present. A gaunt figure, adorned in black robes and armor now stood in the absence of Mukei's former comrade and Kurama's "former" brother.

Before a single though could be processed, The Dark One as he was called, cast Mukei to the side with a thunderous backhand across the face before charging Kurama. He appeared behind him with a speed that was akin to teleportation. What was worse for Kurama was that the beast was a master of manipulating its own Yōryoku; a simultaneous usage of both Shōki and Kashaku would prove this to be fact. Firstly, as the beast flew toward Kurama, it left behind a Yōatsu that was spread throughout the area and was also imbued with the will-stealing power of Kashaku. This caused the Kurama replicas to contort their faces in agony as they were the very will of Kurama himself. They were also very severely hindered and nearly rendered useless. Until they transformed into exact replicas of Gekkō himself and became extensions of the Dark One's Will.

Secondly, each replica along with their master each produced a omni-directional Shōki that ate away at the will of everything around it that was composed of Reishi; seemingly a more powerful version of the Sklaverei. It ate at the spiritual body of Kurama at an alarming rate, one could see that his skin was beginning to turn purple as he would soon cough blood up and fall to his knees in pain of having his very existence attacked by an ominous threat.

As the wind whipped around Kurama, his hair fluttering in the breeze as his face remained stoic, following Gekkō's wild transformation and the subsequent "bitch-slapping" of Mukei. In his chaotic rampage, Gekkō had forgotten that there were no replicas of Kurama to corrupt, since they had disappeared after the Kirameki Captain's last maneuver. But still, even while he faced this rampaging beast of hatred and rage alone, his expression remained unchanged. In fact... He was oddly calm. Almost as if this was to be expected.

"Just as always, you are a blank canvas that can be easily dyed any color, little... brother. And now, in your naivety, you allowed hatred to color the canvas of your heart... a deep jet black." Kurama mused, his attention momentarily drifted toward Mukei, who had been brushed aside by this monstrous amalgamation of Gekkō's internal conflicts, and in the same instant he did so, he held his hand up; his index and middle fingers remaining stretched out. The remainder of the chains surround Mukei, most of which was shattered in Gekkō's rampage, glowed brightly and began reforming using Mukei's reishi and reishi from the surrounding, surrounding Mukei's unconscious body and even snaking its way around his neck; to ensure his capture. But now, there was this wild beast of a brother to deal with.

Kurama had been given advanced notice through his network of intelligence; such was a luxury that only Captains were in possession. And he had known how far his brother had fallen after his defeat at the hands of the Shiroyasha. Chaos ran rampant in his heart; it was only a matter of time before the body would reflect the madness within and his soul would transform as a result of the overgrowing chaos. This was a form akin to Hollowfication, and similar to that, it could be handled with a special spell.

Privy only to a few Captains and Lieutenants, the latter of whom were given special permission under circumstances of dire consequence, there is a spell designed to shield those from the corruption found in. In the depths of that dimension, chaos composes the entire land and fills the atmosphere; it permeates the air so intensely that those known as simply can not survive long enough without succumbing to their internal darkness and their masks manifest, their powers out of control. After all, it is chaos that is responsible for souls becoming Hollows. One famous case was when Lieutenant forced the Hollowfication of  to shatter as he was propelled safely out of Hell. To many, this was a spell that simply allowed safe departure from Hell. But how is such a thing possible? How was the Hollowfication of Kurosaki forced to end when he was carried out of the dimensional space? Simple. This spell, at its core, operates by momentarily activating the reishi of a specific target and enhances one's internal resistance to the force of chaos. In doing so, one's chaos can be pushed back inwards as they are freed from its corruption, as chaos is pushed away from them. When used on a target in Hell, the chaos that fills the dimension is repelled, allowing the target safe passage away. And in a being like Kurosaki, their Hollowfication, fueled by the chaos force, is also repelled and forced back inwards.

With Gekkō's current situation, he wouldn't have the mental focus to prevent Kurama from executing this spell; especially since he was rampaging forward without thought nor worries. Furthermore, just as in the case of Mukei, residual chain links still existed around Gekkō's body; even after he had shattered them. And just like before, one hand of Kurama's focused on activating the residual golden chains; causing them to regrow instantaneously and slowly wrapped around the monstrous being. Of course, this would only hinder Gekkō momentarily. In his current state, chains would not be enough to hold him down. But this was just a precaution. While Gekkō's monstrous persona would be forcing himself to fight these chains from his body, Kurama put into effect. A blue diamond-shaped charm appeared in front of his palm and then the same appeared on Gekkō's body. Golden hues would snake down Gekkō's body, like that of a full body tattoo, repealing the chaos controlling him and slowly pushing its corruptible influence back inside him; thus ending the transformation and shattering apart Gekkō's monstrous features to reveal the man hidden inside its shell. Once the spell would end, Gekkō's body would respond to the damage done to it during the transformation and the stamina lost as a result, undoubtedly causing him to collapse once he fully broke free. And once he did, he too would collapse and be chained up by the regrown golden spell chains surrounding his body, just as his comrade Mukei had been.

With any luck, this fight would be over. And Kurama would succeed in capturing these two, as he had planned.

The Dark One merely laughed mockingly at Kurama's desperate attempt to seal him away; a pathetic charm that an insolent Lieutenant used on his orange haired friend? Did he really believe that that would be enough to stop him? FOOL!

However, that was his take on the fact before he felt a powerful presence in his mind. It wasn't Gekkō, that welp was slumbering in his own consciousness. Since that was the case, there was only one other person who could be doing this.

Ariel.

That bitch!

Somehow she was operating in unison with the force that was produced by the elder brat's Kidō; she was forcing him back, but where? He had no intention of finding out as he shattered the charm that was before him and sent the replicas of Gekkō' he crafted from his won will towards Mukei to distract him. They each drew their Zanpakutō as they began their assault.

Now, with him out of the way, The Dark One appeared within Gekkō's inner world to see what his pesky roommate was up to. The first thing he saw was a massive Reishi fist to the face. He was sent hurling back, trying to regain his ground hie was hit by another.

And another.

And another.

And another,

"What are you doing?!" He snarled. "Don't you know that our lives could be in danger? Gekkō could die if he is captured!" He tried to sneevil out of his predicament. Although Ariel said nothing as she manifested several massive interlocking torii to bind The Dark One up and seal him away; thus ordering his Chaos. The result would be Gekkō collapsing to the ground and the sealing chains surrounding him, capturing him and securing a victory for Kurama and the Circle of Gods.

Las Noches, Hueco Mundo. 12:00 AM.
The Circle of Gods had their top scientist running too and fro from the observation room they held Gekkō in into Kurama's Throne Room which he obtained from overthrowing the previously installed Wandenreich. Their equipment and medicines where so far ahead of the Soul Society's he could not bring himself to destroy them.

"Your Majesty!" One of the scientist exclaimed to him as he fell to the floor in exhaustion. "There appears to be a hostile spiritual anomaly dwelling within your brother's Reiatsu."

Kurama slowly walked towards the Doctor as he descended from his throne. "Relax, Dr. Kosuda. It is only his Chaos. As of now, continue your examination. I have already saw to it that it would not pose any significant problems to the mission. Now, what I want you to do is try to isolate said anomaly and remove it, now that you have found it. " Kurama reassured him.

Kosuda merely bowed low and went back to his observation teem. Kurama plopped down on the floor, not really wanting to walk up all those stairs to sit on that uncomfortable thrown. How Aizen dealt with it was beyond him. However, that was not the point. He had to try and berid his brother of that wretched disease he was left with. The only way to do that was to bring it to the surface, which is why he provoked him so much.

Hikari Raiotto flashed into the Throne Room. "Mr. Kurokami. I have some news for you." He said as he looked slightly confused as to why his master was sitting on the floor indian-style instead of ontop of his throne.

"What is it?"

"It appears as though we have found one of the Eleven Supernovas. It is a man by the name of Kaiba Ashiya. I assure you, he is as powerful as they come. However, that is precisely why I may need your assistance in his recruitment in case things go south. Which they often do for us."

Kurama couldn't help but agree. "Fine. But who will watch this place while We're gone?" He asked as he began to get up from the floor.

"May I recommend Shiratori? She's as powerful as I and only second to you. She would do nicely." Hikari said as he stuffed his hands into his pocket. Kurama just narrowed his eyes at him. "Drop the act Hikari, you're just saying that because you have a crush on her." He teased.

Hikari's professional persona dropped at those words. "Hey, hold up! I never said that!" He exclaimed as he was blushing so hard his whole face became scarlet. "Yeah, you just did. Anyway, we need to go. I, myself have been looking for this Kaiba for some time now, it's great that you all have him on the radar." After his spoke, Kurama vanished. Hikari soon followed, still on the whole Shiratori deal.

Negal Ruins, Hueco Mundo. 12:20 AM.
"Alright, Cap'n, I'm going to need you to be honest with me. Can you do that?"

"To be honest with you, it all depends on whether or not it's the truth you actually want. I mean, as far as I'm concerned, we're about to make a massive breakthrough. If you can't come through, and you end up holding me back, then I'll just get rid of you. Though, we both know damn well how important you are, and what you're capable of. Failing me isn't an option, Kodokuna."

Shaking his head, rather provocatively, the Raijū began to sigh. It was one thing, after having abandoned an egotistical Mukei Tsuki, to feel at ease around another egocentric, but to be faced with an iron-fisted opportunist? That was something Kodokuna just couldn't handle. Though, this was for the sake of his young lord, and thus he was forced to cooperate. So, as Bermuda commanded him to take action, the Okami was forced to respond. In fact, he made sure to reiterate each of his individual objects as he began to execute the first stages of Bermuda's plan. You see, Kodokuna's biggest objective was to free his young lord. To reach said objective, he had to complete the individual preparations, all of which Bermuda set forth for him.


 * First off, whilst the entirety of Hueco Mundo seemed to be under close watch, Kodokuna was to make a scene. This scene, no odubt destructive, was to draw the attention of all political and military figures within the area. Now, much to Bermuda's disdain, Kurama Kurokami had already left the scene. So, whilst the opportunist's goal was to dispatch Kodokuna as a means to incapacitate the Captain-Commander, he was going to have to accept the fact everything was going to have to move smoother than he planned. Though, with Kodokuna acting as the distraction, things were still bound to get interesting. The main point of this assault, of course, was Kodokuna. So, albeit very interesting to watch the Raijū go all out, Bermuda had to keep a close eye on him, and make sure he didn't get severely wounded.


 * Second off, whilst Kodokuna caused destruction, Bermuda was tasked with infiltrating Las Noches. His goal, the same as Kodokuna's, was to rescue Mukei. However, the actual reason Bermuda chose to lend a hand was for the military power Mukei could provide by becoming a soldier of the revolutionary army. You see, unlike Kodokuna, Bermuda cared more about his own goals and affiliations rather than the well-being of others. At least, however, that is how he tried to make things seem. The truth, of course, was that Mukei was a huge resource for their cause. Yes, without a doubt, there were probably hundreds -- if not thousands -- of people better suited for the job. Mukei's habit of staying alive, and taking from others to survive, was what Bermuda needed most.


 * Third off, after having infiltrated Las Noches, Bermuda was to free Mukei and take as many data files as possible. Kurama was known for his research, and he had taken over one of the most resourceful bases within all of Soul Society. The Quincy, without a doubt, were advanced. Bermuda, with access to the same knowledge and files, could very easily recruit a number of unorthodox soldiers. Though, that was only a "do it if you got the time to get there and get out" kind of situation; Bermuda wasn't going to waste precious time trying to collect data he could come across in the future.

Kodokuna, now prepared, began to draw his blade. He, and Bermuda, had both went over the three part plan. Kodokuna's part, of course, seemed like the hardest of all three. Though, y'know, the Raijū didn't actually mind; he was un-kill-able in a sense. So, as he was instructed to begin his assault, the Okami lunged high into the air, and burst into an electrical discharge. The discharge, white in color, began to quickly ascend into the clouds. This, for anyone of average intelligence, was a phenomenon never before seen within Hueco Mundo. You see, as far as anyone knew, Hueco Mundo didn't have clouds. There was, however, now a massive storm cloud resting high above Las Noches. It wasn't just any ol' storm cloud either; it was a massive, nebula of Kodokuna's reiatsu. It expanded, completely drowning Las Noches in it's shade, and then fired a massive electrical discharge into the center of the palace.

"Ha...I told this bastard just to cause a scene..I didn't think he'd go straight for infiltration..."

"What the fuck is that?....." Gabriel looked up, confused and bewildered at the sight he was seeing. Hueco Mundo didn't have clouds. But, by what he was sensing this wasn't some strange weather. This was an attack. He stood on the white sands along with three just outside of the Palace. "Shit!" He swore. "Hey, lugnuts! What are you just standing there for?! Gather the rest of the troops and prepare for an all-out attack!" If the saw that they where being attacked, they would no doubt want to join in on the fray.

"Yes sir!" The Arrancar said in unison as they saluted their commander. They eached used Sonido of varying speeds as they alerted their comrades of the impending war with the mysterious spiritual being. Gabriel just looked disgusted. He had to go get that dead beat Shiratori so that they could handle the situation as properly as anyone could with her in charge. Didn't she even notice the attack they were under, by the time the clouds rolled in she should have had those soldiers ready for war. "Jesus. I just got back and I already have to play Commander. What the hell are you doing?"

Shiratori was rocking out to some Thousand Foot Krutch while slamming a few cold ones. She was a bit dazed but not so much that she was unaware of what was going on around her in her immediate vicinity. As for outside, that was another story as she usually drunk with her eyes closed to strengthen her awareness.

"Madam! We're under attack!" One of the Arrancar who was with Gabriel exclaimed so loudly as he santhced the headphones from her head. She took the bottle from her lips as she almost choked on the liquid. "What the shit is wrong with you Rafael?" She exasperated in annoyance that her tunes were taken from her. Couldn't she just enjoy having a little fun after her temporary promotion?

"I'm sorry madam, but we're under attack. A strange thunder cloud made up of a powerful Reiatsu is striking down our troops as we speak." He said. She rose and went to the window and opened the curtains. "Holy shit..." She said lowly to herself. Their soldiers weren't faring well at all. One by one they where struck down before they could even attempt to confront the creature responsible. She hung her head low, some Commander she was. If she has been vigilant then their lives would have been spared. However, it was no time to be gloomy now. She had soldiers to avenge and a war to win. She grabbed her Kidō pistol and materialized her Spirit Weapon; a large claymore. Then, she headed out to the battlefield.

Gabriel begun swinging his Doll at the massive currents of spiritual pressure that hurled down at him in the form of lightning. Whoever this guy was, he was powerful. Almost more powerful than Gabriel himself, Shiratori had better haul ass over here. 'Cause he didn't know if he could handle both this assailant and his partner on his own.

Holding his own, as he thought, wasn't going to be the problem. His soldiers, as proclaimed moments ago, were falling one by one. Though, to some degree, they didn't all seem to be dying. In fact, those with considerable control over their own reiatsu managed to survive; they were only incapacitated. So, perhaps, knowing this would allow Gabriel and Shiratori to calm down a bit. Kodokuna, not particularly interested in their internal affairs, paid no mind to those who were left standing; he wasn't going to use more energy than he needed. If people managed to remain standing, then they could consider themselves above basic tier in this little shit organization. Who knows? Perhaps, after all of this, they'll take precautions against lightning strikes in the future. Ha! Kodokuna doubted it.


 * "Are you even trying to be subtle, you ignoramus?!"


 * Off in the distance, with his hand held up to his temple, Bermuda watched as Kodokuna's chaotic assault unfolded before his eyes. It wasn't the smartest of charges, but it was getting more than just the job done. Hell, it was even making Bermuda's parts easier. You see, as the Okami went on his rampage, the Shinigami began to traverse across the sands. He, being on foot, had more distance to travel than Kodokuna did, and thus was forced to break out into a full sprint. If he went to making foot holds, dispersing his reiatsu so as to create footholds by gathering reishi, he was sure that he'd be detected. He also heard that Kurama was skilled in utilizing Hohō, and was sure the Captain-Commander could tell the location of others simply through the way in which he communicated with the ground. So, a part of him decided to run to see if he could lure the Shinigami back to his base.


 * "You're going to need to just dive in, and start hacking and slashing. You already messed up the original plan. Take them out, or keep them busy! I'm going for the files! You can release Mukei on your own. Be careful, though. I hear we have some people from the Gotei on their way. It's suppose to be some Spirit Detective? Stay on your toes! They seem to be sending only him."

Rolling his eyes, as his descending lightning continued to be intercepted and pushed back by Gabriel's fruitless efforts, the Okami sighed. This was annoying, but very enjoyable all at the same time. Kodokuna hadn't gotten a fight this interesting since Yorokobi, and that was only possible due to the level ground they shared. The Shiroyasha, who mocked Mukei after the Hitokiri slit his throat, couldn't be considered an enjoyable fight; battles born from rage weren't fun. Though, now, faced with a slightly formidable opponent, the Raijū's blood was flowing. In fact, confident in his skills, he began to descend from his cloud in one of his lightning strikes. If Gabriel tried to deflect it, or intercept it with his Doll, the Shinigami would descend with a powerful downward slash; the doll inevitably being cut in two if it were to engage in a head on collision.


 * Meanwhile, as the fight between Kodokuna and Gabriel engaged, there were indeed signals being sent too and from Soul Society. It seemed, as Bermuda had said, that there was indeed going to be an individual coming to investigate the place. As to how long it would take him to get here, nobody truly knew.

Gabriel was blinded by the sudden bright light that far outshone the rest. Before he knew it, he got a taste of what mortals called "divine retribution" as the metallic feeling lighting hit him hard across his chest and sent him hurtling into the sands of Hueco Mundo. Damn that was fast. Or was it. Reishi began flooding into his body at an unprecedented rate, which far surpassed the speed and efficiency of most other Bounts and even the Quincy themselves.

Instantly, his wounds were healed and he stood on his feet to finally get a glimpse of his opponent. "A wolf cloaked with lightning? You must be a Raijū." Gabriel observed as he readied himself with a battle stance; pointing his exaggerated two-handed sword at Kodokuna with his right hand. "This shouldn't be too hard, now."

As Bermuda was running towards the data files a shot at his throat. At the other end of his passage stood shiratori with her trademark Kidō pistol. "You're the Wolf Boy's friend aren't you? Mind telling me what you're doing here?"

Bermuda's body doubled over, and the Shinigami smashed into the tranquil sand with his eyes locked on Shiratori. The Byakurai hadn't pieced him, thank god, but the stun was something he wasn't to used to. Being along Kodokuna, of course, allowed himt o build up some immunity to electricity. Sadly, this immunity only prevented his throat from being punctured; it did nothing for the paralyzing shock that came afterward. So, laying in the sand, he began to rotate around in a panic. He had expected them to counter-attack as quickly as possible, but he hadn't expected an advancement in technology like this. Then again, just because Bermuda had never seen such a weapon didn't mean it wasn't already in circulation. He didn't have time to admire it, and ask questions, though.

"....."

His mouth remained shut, however, as he simply took to his own thoughts. This woman, as far as he could tell, was the one in charge. How was he going to handle her? Kidō, for reasons that shall go unannounced, wasn't the strongest of his Zankensoki. Though, of course, he was skilled enough to tell nature and power of the spells fired his way. So, aside from his agility and the paralysis that washed over him, he was sure he could avoid this woman if it came to a full out brawl. So, taking his time to answer, Bermuda continued to analyze the situation. He was down, with barely any feeling in his body, and still a considerable distance away from their base. This, so far, wasn't favorable.


 * Off to the side, some kilometers away from Shiratori and Bermuda, a figure began to ascend into the sky. It wasn't anything abnormal, as it retained a basic humanoid appearance, but it was far higher than any of the individuals current within Hueco Mundo. In fact, standing at the same level as Kodokuna's cloud, it was the only being that was currently within the sky. Someone like Kodokuna and Shiratori, who currently descended down upon their opponent, wouldn't see it. Gabriel and Bermuda, who were forced to look up, would probably be the only ones. In that instant, Bermuda realized what he needed to do.

"What do you mean!? It is I, Bermuda, who should be asking you that question! You infiltrated us, and attacked our base! You're lucky the Spirit Detective isn't here yet! He'd destroy you all."

Due to the shock he had received, Bermuda's words came out pained and stressed. This, of course, was his intention. You see, anyone standing as high as that being was clearly trying to observe and analyze the situation. Bermuda, who used similar tactics, could easily pinpoint and estimate the range in which said individual's listening skills stretched. He also, as a former soldier of the Gotei 13, knew the kind of words the being would be listening for. Hopefully, of course, pleading would make the inspector believe Bermuda was the one who issued for reinforcements.

In that very instant, as the opportunist had hoped, the figure began to descend from the sky.

Shiratori lowered her pistol a tad. Did the electricity from the Kidō make him delusional? Until Gabriel shouted at her. "Shiratori! Lookup!" She did exactly that. Lo and behold, a silhouette was speedily approaching ground level at break neck speeds that would make Kurama proud. This must have been one of theirs. She cursed under her breath. This Bermuda character was down for the count and Gabriel was holding off the Okami, so, she could focus on whoever this figure was.

Gabriel sneered at Kodokuna. "So, I take it that's another one of your friends. Exactly what are you playing at? How many of you are there?" Gabriel repeatedly asked as with every question came a resounding sword slash that caused tremors across the sands of Hueco Mundo.

"I have absolutely no idea who that is; don't try and confuse me."

Swiping his hand to the side, with his sword housed comfortably within the palm of his hand, Kodokuna performed a simple Kyūshasen; it, unlike the rest of his skills, was a simple strike. However, as the sword cut cleanly through the air, it collided with Gabriel's sword in a resounding Smack! How could a swing, so simple in execution, result in such a powerful strike? Well, the origin of the strike came from the flick of Kodokuna's wrist, as well as the swift swipe of his arm. So, as it smashed into Gabriel's blade, it would use momentum to force the Bount's sword from his hand. This, as many practitioners within Zanjutsu would call it, was a parry. However, the parry itself was not the focal point of Kodokuna's aggressive assault; it was what came after the parry, the Riposte, that would become deadly.

Kodokuna's sword, upon smacking Gabriel's to the side, quickly shot forward with intensity. In fact, it traveled in the opposite direction of the Kyūshasen, and resulted in a powerful sweep from left to right. This technique, within Zanjutsu, was known as Sōjihōki. Kodokuna, having possibly left Gabriel wide open, attempted to cut him across the chest with an intensity similar to the Okami's initial strike. Though, this time, there was a forceful discharge following the tip of the blade; Gabriel wouldn't only be cut, but electrocuted to an abnormally large degree.

"Though, I assume he has something to do with Cap'n."


 * In the distance, around Shiratori and Bermuda, the being pointed out moments ago began to touch down. His eyes, narrowed, were focused on Hueco Mundo's scenery rather than the ones who stood before him. He looked relaxed, as if he was only here to sightsee, and he released a yawn from his parted lips. Bermuda, still conscious of the situation, looked unto the black silhouette until it made a move toward Shiratori. It was as he expected; this man was the Spirit Detective that had been issued to the scene. Though, as to looking like a real detective, this man didn't exactly seem fit for the job. His power, however, clearly said otherwise.

"Keep your eyes on our fight, cause I may very well end up killing you in this game."

Rotating his wrist, drawing back his Zanpkautō, Kodokuna sighed. Holding back, so as to not destroy this place, was tough. Then again, could he even destroy it? If he tried, as a means to delve into his own curiosity, Bermuda would more than likely give up on releasing Mukei. So, keeping himself under control, he readied his sword and prepared for and attack. Wait, in the middle of issuing an assault upon Gabriel, how could he ready his sword? Well, as he attack the Bount with Shōjihōki, the Okami readied his second sword; he always came with three in his possession.

"Tell me where you're hiding someone named Mukei Tsuki."

"It seems as though we both like sporting multiple swords!" Gabriel shouted with a surprising exuberance. The vibrations from the clash of blades would have easily either shattered the opponent's hand or simply knocked them back a few blocks. However, Gabriel never stepped into battle without reinforcing himself with Blut Kelch which supplied his muscles and bones with an exceptional boost in strength and durability. He reached behind his back where a saw-toothed edged sword was kept as he flung it with his enhanced strength at Kodokuna's secondary strike. The fist may have knocked his right arm away, but it would not be enough to slow him down.

As the two mighty beings clashed against one another the sand around them began to disperse as their combined Reiatsu pushed it away. "Mukei Tsuki? He is the one that Kurama captured, no?"Gabriel inquired of the Wolf man. However, he wasn't quite finished yet. He withdrew from the struggle and took residence three yards from Kodokuna. He then, with an incredible speed raised his sword and flung it down creating a massive shockwave with winds so sharp and fierce that that tore past the normally indestructible sands of Hueco Mundo straight toward Kodokuna."If you think I'm going to betray my comrades by divulging precious information to you, you have another thing coming."


 * Shiratori looked on silently at the young man. While he was far from intimidating, he had a Reiatsu and Presence not unlike their two recent inmates. Geez, what's with these dark and foreboding types anyway? She then turned her pistol towards him. "If you're here to start a fight, I suggest you reconsider. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to end you."

Kodokuna's body shifted to the right, allowing the shock wave to shimmy past the left side of his face. Gabriel was quite clever, choosing to utilize a shock wave when neither had the ability to move freely in the sand beneath them. However, the Kodokuna was rather quick on his feet; he didn't exactly need as much maneuverability as everybody else. Though, the distance in which he shifted to the right wasn't enough to completely put him out of harms way. The shock wave, vibrating the air as it passed, cut a rather thin gash within the Raijū's cheek. Blood, charged with electricity, began to slowly drop down onto the floor.

"Hm. If that is how you want to be, don't feel bad after I kill you."

Running his hand across his face, swiping the blood away from his cheek, the Raijū rushed forward. His feet, despite being submerged in sand, quickly traversed the floor of Las Noches. His body, rather swiftly, dashed from left to right. Within a matter of seconds, faster than one would naturally perceive, the Okami completely converted his entire being into electricity. The electricity, white in color, began to travel along the walls. If Gabriel was capable of matching the speed of the electrical discharges fired at him during the first part of this infiltration mission, responding to this wild display of static diffusion would be a simple task. However, as the electric jumping continued, the discharge branched off into five separate pathways. Each pathway, of course, jolted and bounced around Gabriel.

Ikkotsu! In the blink of an eye, approaching from the left, a pure white fist came flying. It was solid, whilst being intangible, and was within the shape of Kodokuna's right arm. Clutched within its palm, pointing off in another direction, was the sword the Okami had readed to combat Gabriel's response to the parry. "Are you sure you don't want to tell me?" Approaching from the opposite side, pointing directly at Gabriel, was the first sword Kodokuna had brandished during the beginning of the fight. Hirazuki!

Negal Ruins, Hueco Mundo 1:00 AM
"Eh? Do you actually think you can shoot me before I shoot you? I mean, we can try! Haha! Yeah! Let's try!"

Extending out his hand, forming a gun with his index finger and thumb, the Spirit Detective pointed at Shiratori. Now, for anyone who was sane, this didn't look like an intimidating stance. Though, as reiatsu began to build at the tip of the silhouette's finger, it was clear that his finger-gun wasn't just some hysterical toy. It, instead, was on the verge of becoming a deadly weapon. Though, as one would began to assume it held some considerable amount of power, it quickly discharged five narrow shots of Cerulean colored energy. Each discharge, narrow and rounded off like a bullet, attempted to gather at a single point; Shiratori's chest.

"Oh! I shot first! You shouldn't have bothered trying to warn me, Kyōkai Namikaze!"

This kid must have thought Shiratori was an amateur. As the amount of time it took for the boy's Reiatsu to build around his finger and discharge, Shiratori had already moved on the defensive. Dealing with the Reiatsu bullets where simple enough even though they where probably as strong or stronger than any she had come across due to his immense power. In an instant she reached behind her back and fired only one shot that branched off into five different paths, each parallel to the paths shot at her by Kyōkai. These where no ordinary bullets however, as they where each made from  (殺気石, Spirit Reducing Stone) which repelled all spiritual forces that came into contact with it.

The bullets eviscerated the Reiatsu attacks with no effort whatsoever and where heading straight for Kyōkai. But she knew that it wouldn't be that easy as much as she wanted it to be. So, she clasped her hands together after putting her gun away and manifested a wall with absorption-repelling properties imbued into it as she began to chant: "Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness!"

"!!" Shiratori yelled. However, it was not the traditional Kidō that manifested itself as a well of gravity. Instead, encased themselves around Kyōkai. These held nearly three times the amount of power and strength as either spell alone as she had combined the restrictive aspects of Bakudō with the destructive aspects of Hadō. which would result in a nearly inhumane way of dealing with one's opponents.

....Elsewhere....

"Shit!" Gabriel shouted as he was flanked from every side by a substantial amount of elemental force. He couldn't block this using physical means. If the pure striking force didn't kill him the electricity surely would. Instead, he brandished the two blades he had in his hands once more. "This is gonna make you dizzy, I just know it." He said to himself as within each hand he began spinning his blades in a cyclone like fashion. With inhuman speeds wind began to gather in a which blew from either side, dispersing the lightning attacks. After this, he leaped off of the ground by forming spiritual platforms for him to stand atop. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna tell you." He spoke While Kodokua was still elemental, he couldn't do much other than that until push came to shove. Right now, he would analyze him to see what his next move would be.

Kodokuna, having been blown away by the fierce gale of wind, quickly began to re-materialize. However, unlike before, the Okami stood with a single arm. The other, wrapped around him in the form of an electrical discharge, filled the entirety of Las Noches' entrance with a bright white glow. As it would seem, Kodokuna hadn't suffered at all from the dispersion of his electrified particles. In fact, it probably just made him angrier. He, of course, wasn't going to show it so openly. Instead, with a calm expression, he began to raise the sword within his left hand; he was ready to attack. "Don't blink, alright?" Swiping his sword downward, he created an incredibly dense gust of wind to project itself forward. The wind, retaining the thickness of a concrete wall, cut through Las Noches with an unnatural intensity — nothing but a vacuum left within it's wake.

"Do you know what makes me so fierce? Not only am I wolf, made entirely out of lightning, I can take on a humanoid form; my ability to regulate my strength is on par with you humanoids. I've also managed to blend in with society, learning as much as I can in the category you people call Science. I mean, would I have ever guessed that electricity traverses faster through a vacuum?"

Extending out his right arm, which was still nonexistent, Kodokuna projected the electrical aura around him in a straight line. The dense wall of air, which the Okami had fired at Gabriel, was not the entirety of his attack. In fact, it wasn't even meant to be an attack; it was a prerequisite. You see, by pushing all of that air within a single direction, Kodokuna created a vacuum that encompassed the entirety of Las Noches' entrance; turning their battlefield into a space void of air. In this vacuum, where his electricity would flow several times faster, was where Kodokuna had hoped to put an end to this. Gabriel was fast, to an extent where he could perceive Kodokuna's initial lightning strikes, but this was taking his original strikes world above what they already were. Kodokuna wasn't firing electricity at him. He, instead, was creating a powerful discharge that would more than likely result in a massive eruption erasing the entrance to Las Noches.


 * Kyōkai, with his eyes narrowed, allowed for Shiratori to take advantage of his recklessness. Though, could it really be considered a counter attack if the Mazoku initially saw it coming? Who exactly knows. Though, what was known, was that binding Kyōkai wasn't going to be a simple task. Shiratori, who took precautionary measures, was even aware of the difficulty it would take to contain the Spirit Detective. She laced her Hadō with Bakudō, and tried to restrain him with a layered Reiatsu technique. Though, completely calm in the face of such an assault, Kyōkai simply brought his hands together slowly. The spiritual energy, residing within his core, flared up momentarily. The amount of reiatsu that his body was producing naturally increased, and a blue light shone brightly through unnoticed cracks within the black coffin.


 * "Yo~ Kuniharu-dono! Do you think I'll blow Las Noches away with this? I'll hold back a little."


 * In a flash, or an immediate blink of the eyes, a bright blue projectile pierced the center of the restraining coffin. Thick, like a steel rod, it continued on until it shot past Shiratori's face. It, in no way, was meant to harm the female. However, as it passed by, it cut a slit in the woman's face. It also continued on, going as far as Kodokuna and Gabriel, and blew an immediate hole within the wall that housed the two's fight. The wind, that flooded in from said hole, quickly removed the vacuum Kodokuna had created, and thus only added onto the impact of the projectile the Okami fired at Gabriel just seconds before Kyōkai broke out of his restraints.


 * "Oh-ho! That actually went a few meters fart than I what I thought it would...Oh well! Are you done trying to combat me with Reijutsu, though?"


 * Placing his hand onto the back of his head, rather casually, the Mazoku began to snicker and laugh energetically. The dark energy he was letting of, in no way matched his behavior and personality. In fact, one could go as far as to say the two were completely opposite of one another. Bermuda, who had just began to regain mobility, stood in shock as he watched the trail of blue light continue upon it's path. Kyōkai was no fool, and it was becoming harder and harder to believe the Spirit Detective actually bought Bermuda's gambit. Though, as the Shinigami rose to his feet, Kyōkai pointed his finger at him and shook his head.


 * "You need to sit down, Mr.Kurosawa. I only stepped in to help you, because both of your parties are in trouble. Kurokami's gang isn't suppose to be here, by any means, and we've been looking for your group for some time, Kurosawa-san! Shishishi~ I have you both right where I want you, tora!"

The concussive force brought forth from the winds hit Gabriel with a deafening force. he hit the ground with a crash that upturned that sand beneath them. The impact left him temporarily immobile. "Damn it," He said. This guy was pushing his Blut Kelch to it's max. He needed more training. His began to absorb even more Reishi into his body in order to speed up the healing process before the Wolf got jumpy and decided to kill him while he was down.


 * Shiratori saw her comrade fall out of the corner of her eye. Her Reijutsu wasn't working on this..thing and his ally was beginning to move again. This wasn't good.

Negal Ruins, Hueco Mundo 1:30 AM
Many lay on their faces. Researchers, doctors and examiners. Dr. Kosuda was badly injured due to the explosion that happened not five minutes ago. He crawled painfully towards the body container that held Gekkō Kirameki. The color drained from his face as he saw it shattered and moist footsteps which led to the outside of their laboratory. He reached for his communicator before he was quickly struck through the throat by a Zanpakutō.....

"I think you're being a little hard on them, Gekkō..."

Off in the corner, some odd distance away from the butchered doctor, stood a figure. It was a figure, without a doubt, the one could easily recognize. It stood at average height, with purple hair, and a revealed only one of its eyes. It, without a doubt, was the silhouette of Mukei Tsuki. However, the only man capable of confirming that was dead on the floor. So, oh well! Though, as of right now, none of that really mattered. Mukei, as well as Gekkō, was now free. The only difference, between both of their escapes, was their reason for breaking free. Now, whilst Mukei couldn't speek for Gekkō, he could speak for himself. Kodokuna's energy was close, and engaged in combat. The entity in which the Okami fought, seemed to be incapaciated the very instant that Mukei was released. What a shame~

"I'll be going to check out that high ass level of power. Stay out of my way, shitrag!"

Lunging forward, with his darkened figure lowered, Mukei quickly flew over the doctor's corpse as he disappeared into the foyer. Taking a sharp left, in the blink of an eye, his body became a blur as it zipped around corners. In a matter of seconds, no greater than half a minute, the brooding soul stood a the entrance of Las Noches. His eyes, focused on Gabriel, were menacing. He didn't know who this man was, but he could feel Kodokuna's reiatsu on it. The fact, though, that he couldn't see Kodokuna only made things worse. Did this man, in getting knocked down, manage to dispatch Kodokuna? No! In the blink of an eye, materializing fully alongside Mukei, the loyal Okami appeared. It was to be expected, of course, as Kodokuna was Mukei's loyal subject.

Smiling, with little to no movement, the two souls mashed their knuckle together; they were finally reunited. However, within the instant that their knuckles touched, another strong power was felt in the distance. Actually, instead of one, it was two massive powers! One of them, belonging to Kyōkai, towered over the other with little to no effort. The one, which seemed to be closing in on Kodokuna and Mukei's location, wasn't that far off from the other massive one. What in the hell was this? The gathering of the elite "fuck you" force?

"We seem to have company. Are you ready...Kodokuna?

Narrowing his eyes, Mukei began to pour an abnormally large amount of spiritual energy into his eyes. Within the form of Kaidō, which also made use of spiritual pressure, the Kidō forced his left eye to take on a red coloration. Kanshume!


 * Shaking his head, as he watched Shiratori fly off in the distance, Kyōkai began to snicker. Was this girl serious? She couldn't get away from him. In fact, if he so much as tried to be quick about caputring her, he'd have already had her in handcuffs if he was serious. Though, she still insisted on resisting arrest. So, as she took a step within the direction of Kodokuna and Gabriel, so did Kyōkai. His step, however, was only after a thousand of hers. So, around the time she'd be reaching the two battling individuals, the Mazoku would begin his pursit.


 * Don't think Kyōkai had forgotten about Bermuda, though! The Shinigami, who stood rather camly before the Mazoku, was quickly detained by an overbearing reiatsu. It, red in color, was set to stun the sword bearing soul with fear. Now, whether or not this would actually work, Kyōkai had no idea. He, on a mission, simply took off the moment he saw Bermuda's body spasm and crumple to the ground. Even if it didn't put him to sleep, it would by the Spirit Detective enough time to get the fugitive that attempted to run.