Children of Izanami: Assimilation

Prologue: Odyssey End
There was a minor sploshing sound as a young man with long, purple hair, a loose bodysuit with a sleeveless top. A long cape was billowing out behind him with his hair, and he had his hand on his belt, near the handle of his Zanpakutō. He stepped onto the shore of his homeland, and took in the sight with only a minor shocked looked on his face.

Yūrei Ōkoku was in a state of semi-destruction. The force-field that was generally placed around the city to keep offensive or harmful things out was halfway shattered, the man could clearly see the places it had been breached. Though he was on the shore, he could see far into the city, and got a decent view of the carnage. Buildings were destroyed and smoking. Cars were overturned, the concrete in sidewalks was shattered and broken.

Ahatake Noriko Kurosaki let out a sigh.

"Megami..." He murmured. "Midoriko...everyone...I hope you're alright." He vanished, heading straight into the lion's den that was his home region.

Frozen Shadows
The white light enveloped them all, and they felt the familiar transporting sensation, however, it was short-lived. As soon as they started to move, they felt themselves cease, the light ceased. Suddenly, there was darkness all around, and they were standing in what could only be described as a shadowy-misty void.

"Where...are we?" Miharu's voice was slow and curious. This couldn't be on of the four corners. Her reasoning? She wanted them all to split up. They were still here. Kyūmu never made mistakes.

"...please tell me that this is some sort of phase that your Zanpakutō isn't going through."

Ryūka couldn't have felt more at unease in his life than at that moment.

Slowly, he allowed himself to stand up, pensive eyes looking around him. It was clear that from Miharu's question that she hadn't meant to bring them here or that it was something that was a usual part of the transportation. He gritted his teeth slightly, naturally going on his guard in the event of potential enemies. Despite his age, the natural instinct from the 11th Division never left him.

Disregarding his first statement to Miharu out of the fact that it was a rhetorical statement, he called out to everyone else. "Oi, everyone's still here, aren't they?" He called out.

"Ryūka? Where are you?" Kyashi's tense and slightly anxious voice came from within the darkness around them. He spun his head around in the direction of her voice, but scowled when he realized that even though he was facing her, he could literally see nothing.

"The hell if I know!" The man shouted back. "I can't see anything an inch in front of me!"

"I'm fine." Midoriko confirmed.

"Accounted for." Daiyaku called out.

"Hey, Daiyaku, we need light." Miharu had a sudden epiphany. "Can't you, well, go all flashy for us?"

Daiyaku sweatdropped, though no one could see. "What a mundane use for my abilities."

"I'm afraid that just won't do."

A new voice spoke out, echoing from the very darkness itself and registering to all of their ears. The tone was calm, dry, and almost dreary. However, there was a certain way it was presented that sent a vicious chill down Ryūka's spine. It was clear that whatever trap they had fallen into, the person speaking to them was the one that set it. He gritted his teeth, his body on full alert.

"Sorry for the inconvenience..." The voice continued on. "But I felt as if I should place my two bits in, after seeing what the whole society has become as of late..."

"What the..!?" Daiyaku looked around, trying to find the source of that voice. It was like that woman from an online story he'd read, only the insanity was not apparent.

"Who are you?" Miharu called out, keeping bit of a better calm than Daiyaku and not allowing her mind to go off on wild tangents.

Midoriko sighed. Whatever had happened, they were right where this person wanted them.

"Who am I...?" The voice let out a hearty chuckle - something that did not steady the nerves of the ones who were within its grasp. "That's a good question. I have been referred to by many names, courtesy of the skills and work I've been doing, so I can't really say. I suppose I'll go with the name that I was given by my beloved parents. You may call me..."

He paused, and when he spoke again, he added a bit of a dramatic flair to his tone.

"...the Nihilist!"

No one reacted. Miharu looked up into the dark sky with a look of apathy on her face. "Alright, Nihilist. Would you like pineapple with that ham?"

Midoriko chuckled from somewhere in the darkness.

It was fortunate that this "Nihilist" had a sense of humor, as the response was another chuckle. "Ah, at least I found someone who can appreciate a good laugh or two. But that face is just far too ugly for the likes of you. At least look a little bit cheery."

"We'll be cheery once you let us out of here, however the hell you got us into this..." Kyashi growled, the nervousness suppressed and annoyance showing. She already had her wooden bokken out and ready to swing against the possible attack of the stranger that had trapped them.

"Maybe if you let us out quickly enough..." Ryūka added in dryly and sarcastically. "We'll be kind enough not to go stabbity-stab-stab with our swords."

"I could do that..." The voice answered casually, not phased by the not-so-subtle threat the Injiki made. "But where would the fun be in it? After all, what reason would I have if I trapped you only to set you free afterwards? There would be no enjoyment."

"Well, you certainly couldn't have trapped us in here because you wanted company." Daiyaku said dryly.

"I suppose if he won't let us out, we could try and bust our way out." Miharu suggested, feeling around her waist for her Zanpakutō. "We do have business to take care of, and can't sit around talking with voices over a cup of tea."

"You could try... but I hope you realize that being split up into particles doesn't exactly help your cause."

It was as if the very statement froze Ryūka inside out. His eyes dilated, and he let out a huffing growl as he reflexively unsheathed his blade out of reflex. However, the voice continued on. "Yes. As of now, thanks to my little intervention, all of you are nothing more than spiritrons hanging in the air, frozen in place. It was difficult having to catch you with the distance I am away from you, but at least I know it works now. But, don't mind me. I'm only making a point here. You're free to attempt "busting out" if you wish..."

Midoriko hissed in anger. She wanted to attempt it anyway, but she knew her mother would probably attempt to stop her.

"How long do you intend to keep us here?" Daiyaku asked, irritated with this by now. The Nihilist was beginning to seem to be just as bad as that woman.

"Oh, don't enjoy my company?" The calm voice seemed to have a bit of pouting within it. "You're no fun... but, of course, I was planning to let you out eventually. The truth of the matter is, you all have been... unconscious... for a long period of time. I had to wait until miss Senkuko and her siblings finished up on their end to make it so that you actually wake up... but, at least they've done their job now."

"What do you mean...?" Ryūka muttered pensively.

"Oh, right, you were the ones attempting to stop it, weren't you? This so-called Plinian Eruption as you know it..."

"...!" This clicked with Miharu. "Wait. You've kept us out cold until the Eruption could happen!? We're too late!?"

"Eeyup. Sad, isn't it? All this effort and all I had to do was trap you within a self-made prison. Rome wasn't built in a day, but it certainly was destroyed within the hour..."

"Funny." Midoriko looked for something to throw, hoping to hit him, but found nothing. "So let us the Hell out of here then."

"...you must be the most emotionally dead people I have had to deal with..."

Ryūka could practically hear the Nihilist roll his eyes at Midoriko's bland statement. But he was still concentrated on the fact that the Plinian Eruption - the very movement to end the world as they knew it - happened. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath and trying to stead him. The only thing he could hope now was that this entity, if he could call it that, was merely lying through his teeth.

"Very well. But of course, you may not like what you see..."

Then, for a brief moment, his vision was engulfed in a bunch of white. He shut his eyes, raising his free arm out of instinct. Even then, his very vision seemed to blind him, his eyes burning with the intense light...

Then, it stopped.

Once Ryūka opened his eyes...

"....oh, god...."

From a skimming point of view, it looked as if the part of the city they were in had gone a color scheme change. The buildings were colored an ashy black, all of the ground was plantless with nothing but dirt underneath their feet. The sky was a blood-red color, and the clouds were black as smoke. Upon closer inspection, however, the buildings were nothing more than frozen piles of ash themselves, somehow standing up straight as if held up by an invisible force. The male Injiki could only stare upon the scene with dilated, wavering eyes. The smell of death and destruction was all too apparent, and the sickening aura could be felt everywhere.

Ezra didn't seem too phased on the inside. The only sign of shock, horror, or despair he felt was expressed with the slight shaking of one of his hands. But other than that, he remained stone-faced to the environment around him. Inwardly, however, he was reacting just as shakily as Ryūka was; his heart was beating at a rate so viciously, he feared that it would burst from his chest. He remained silent, refusing to speak a word.

Kyashi, however...

Her body was shaking slightly upon the horrifying change of scenery. But what she was looking at was not at the city, but at the ocean they were beside. Massive crucifix-like structures were uprooted, with one of them almost point-blank in their faces. Every component seemed to be pulled right out of a horror movie. Human bodies, stretched out and mangled beyond repair, made up the entirety and foundation of the obelisk. She could smell the flesh decaying from here, and it was churning her stomach viciously. Right now, her bokken was the only thing keeping her from falling to the ground out of sheer shock.

"I...I think..."

But before she could finish her sentence, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell backwards...

"Kyashi!!"

Instantly, Ryūka was there to catch her with one arm, having to crouch to the ground in order to keep him from falling underneath her. Scowling, he jerked his head around, an expression of anger, pensiveness, and anxiety clear on his face.

Midoriko looked around at her home, her home that was now destroyed. While she couldn't say she had seen worse, she wasn't going to mentally vomit and collapse in horror like Kyashi. She couldn't believe it. They'd been too late to stop anything.

Daiyaku's expression was hardened anger. The Nihilist, this was his fault.

Miharu's eyes had widened at first to take in the horrific sight. "We...really we too late..." She murmured, her voice not loud enough to make it heard over a long distance. "I'm beginning to regret asking to be let out..."

"And now we see some emotion..." The Nihilist's voice continued to drawl. "Look at it... drink it in... this is what the world has become... what existence has now become. This is what humanity managed to summon on itself after so many centuries. Words weren't enough for you, but now that you're seeing and tasting it for yourselves, your mood on the matter has changed. It's quite sad, really... you mortals have a tendency not to care unless you're personally involved. It almost makes me want to cry..."

He chuckled, and this one seemed more mocking than anything.

"Almost."

''Along the horizon a ship sailed, closing in on a wide land. There weren't many passengers aboard, but there was a large group standing near the helm as a man in shades steered the boat. ''In terms of weather, it had been a pretty rough ride. The patterns were seemingly random at best, switching from sunny to stormy in several intervals of the day. Thankfully, the boat was a tough one, not one to be taken down so ''easily by raging waters. After the last ferocious natural attack on its person, it had fought its way through to where the harbor of its destination could finally be seen.

''And, of course, the passengers were very pleased to see it.

''A shirtless man with lightly tanned skin and long dark hair looked intently at land they were headed to. "I can't believe we moved just because Midori asked."

''A pale skinned woman with black hair at shoulder length smiled. "Tou-chan you always give me what I ask for."''

Midoriko was surprised at the memory that flooded into her head. Moving here with her family centuries ago. It had been such a beautiful place then, even when ruled by the King. She felt a small wetness on her face and was surprised to see a tear forming. She felt sadness for the state of the Yūrei Ōkoku. The atrocities she committed to people were like smacks in the face compared to this. Her sclera began to blacken and her irises turned golden as she looked up at the sky, speaking directly to the Nihilist.

"You want emotion?" She asked, glaring, not knowing if he could see or not. "Then appear before us now, you fucking bastard, and taste my anger." She was letting her violent personality, oh so similar to her mother's slip into view. "I'll rip your fucking tongue out."

"...I see... this surprises me..."

Now the voice was taking on more of a curious and intriqued tone, though maintaining its calm and dry manner. "Unlike the others... you, girl, have a particularly nasty side, don't you? You smell of blood... not just from your enemies, but also from innocents. Funny... you call me a bastard, when you clearly aren't any different. It's the way of a hypocrite, little Mido-chan..."

Voom!

And that was when he appeared a fighter's distance away.

Short, black hair. Caucasian skin. A rather lean and slim figure. Eyes with small pupils leering like a snake glaring down at its prey, with one of them covered up by a bandage. A purple yukata with yellow butterflies. This made up the figure of the one who had essentially trapped them until the end of the world had arrived. The serene look he was giving them was enough to put Ryūka and even Erza on edge immediately, with the latter immediately gripping his sword.

This was the Nihilist, standing before them without hesitation and remorse.

"And here I was expecting something spectacular." She said, her blackened eyes glaring at him. "And true, I have gone around killing alot of people. But I came around. And even my recent kills were never on a scale as large as this." She placed a hand to her face, drawing on her Hollow mask.

"Now, let's see you bleed!" Her hand crackled with energy, and she released a massive, golden Cero from her hand at shocking speeds, the blast tearing up the already ruined ground as it moved towards the Nihilist.

"...oh, please..."

Shifting his eye to the side, the Nihilist slowly extended one hand and positioned it in the universal signal to stop, waiting ever so patiently.

BOOSH!

The powerful Cero collided with the skin of his palm and instantly dissipated, leaving him unscathed. His palm, aside from a bit of smoke blowing off it, didn't even have a bruise on it. "If you're really going to kill me..." He said lazily, lowering his hand. "Then at least put a little bit more effort into your attacks."

"What the...!?" Midoriko looked shocked, her eyes widening under her mask. She gripped her Zanpakutō. "Bankai." Red and gold spiritual energy erupted around her, obscuring her from view only shortly. She quickly cut through it with her new, spear-like weapon. Midoriko's appearance had changed decently. Her hair itself was shortened, Midoriko's attire could now be considered similar to that of a seductress, being made up of a fine silk, black-skirt which goes down to her thighs and having various devil-tail patterns on it. Along with this, she gained two similar concepted stockings, high-heeled shoes and arm bands. As mentioned before, her weapon itself took on the form of an unusual, scythe and devil-tail protrusions were coming out of her back, the left having blue devil tails, the right, red scythes, which both seem to function as additional weapons.

"Hanshakō Yaburetayume." She gripped her blade, her spiritual pressure flowing out of the area. "Let's see if I can alter his emotions." Seen by now one, a small pulse was emitted from her blade in all areas, releasing fear and hesitancy into the hears of anyone near. If she could manipulate his emotions, she may have a chance.

"Fear...?" Miharu shuddered. "Am I feeling fear from my own sister's release? How?"

Miharu wasn't the only one who was feeling the effects.

When Ryūka lowered his wife, the feeling washed over him immediately. His pupils dilated, and he was forced to keep himself on his knees. "W...what in the hell is she doing...?!" He thought to himself, fear instantly seeping into him. His heart started beating at a rapid and steadily increasing pace, and he found his body shaking more and more as time progressed. "Risking us just to get him?! Knock it off, already!!"

"....oh, now look what you've done."

Despite the affect it had on her allies, it was doing nothing to her enemy - other than make him roll his eyes again. "I thought the goal was to make your opponent fear you... not your own pals." He folded his arms across his chest, tilting his head to the side. "You need to get your Zanpakutō checked out, my dear."

Midoriko's eyes narrowed and she retracted the emotion she'd sent out. "Figures you'd be immune to my abilities." She vanished, appearing behind him in one swift movement, and swung her weapon at the back of his neck in the other. "Then let's dance."

It was at that very second that time itself stopped.

The Nihilist's eye shifted as Midoriko moved behind him, catching each and every movement that she made. A move of a lone arm was all it took to allow him to catch her sword hand by the wrist, his own arm not moving from the force that she put into the attack. All in all, it seemed as if he had not been bothered at all... as he was merely brushing off a fly.

Then, he tightened his grip and pulled her wrist down.

A horrible crunching sound could be heard when the woman's arm snapped in two, the broken bone jolting up through the skin. Throughout this, he had an amused smile on his face, his eyes simply continuing to watch her.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Midoriko's cry of pain resounded quite quickly after the crunch.

It was clear to Ryūka now that this individual was far too dangerous to contend with individually. "Midoriko!!!" He shouted. "Get back here with us, right now!!" His voice was sharp, commanding, and desperate. Normally, he would've gladly let the Kurosaki did as she please. But this just wasn't the time...

Midoriko, with all her might, pulled her arm out of the man's grasp and jumped back, skidding back to where her family was.

"Dammit..." She muttered, on her knees at the moment checking her arm. "When..." She was breathing only a bit heavy and let her mask fade. "When did I get so weak...?"

Daiyaku was shocked. He had never seen Midoriko fight, and therefore hadn't expected it to end so fast.

"Midoriko..." Ezra was quick to re-appear beside Midoriko and kneel right beside her, his eyes focused on the wounded arm. "Can't you heal that with your Hollow's powers?" He was certain - or at least hoping - that the Hollow's regenerative abilities would work in this situation. He had to keep a cautious eye on the Nihilist as he worked out the hand that had easily snapped the woman's arm like a twig.

Midoriko frowned. She hadn't thought of that. Focusing her Hollow powers onto her arm, her eyes blackened over as a sickening crunch alerted them that her arm was back in working order. "Not that it does much." She muttered dejectedly.

"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself, dear..."

The Nihilist lowered his hand back down, his teeth showing with the mocking grin that he was showing them. "You just happened to attack an opponent who's clearly better than you, despite his looks. At least you had the courage to do it, while your so-called friends didn't even lift a finger to help you. But, then again... I don't think I would be so eager as to help a killer, either..."

A vein throbbed in Miharu's head. "Be quiet!" She hissed, her hand on her own blade. "I don't know what killing my sister has done, but look around you! How can you criticize her for being a killer, when you are partially responsible for this!" She drew her blade. "Why don't you take me on? You'll find me at a different level than my sister!"

At this, the Nihilist tilted his head to the side in a slow, deliberate manner. "Is that so...?" He asked, the smile fading away from his face once he saw Ryūka and Ezra step forward to flank both sides of Midoriko.

"She may be a sociopathic moron with no social skills..." Ryūka said bluntly, grasping the hilt of his Zanpakutō and drawing it slowly. The sword itself scraped against the scabbard in an ominous manner, and once it was fully drawn, he grasped it in both of his hands with a foreboding click. "But Midoriko's someone I consider to be one of the family, and I'll be damned if I stand here and let an injury like that go by me so easily. You hurt her, you're asking to be dealt with by all of us!"

Ezra said nothing. But the fact that he had one of his hands resting on the hilt of his Zanpakutō indicated that he felt exactly like Ryūka and possibly Miharu at that moment. His eyes were narrowed at his enemy, ready to strike him down when given the order to.

Midoriko was very surprised by this. Everyone was lashing out in her defence. She smiled for a moment. Perhaps these guys were why she wasn't as "sociopathic" as she used to be.

Daiyaku gripped Miharu's shoulder. "Steady yourself." He muttered. "I don't need you getting cut in half."

"I know what I'm doing." Miharu replied carefully. "Isn't it usually the woman's job to nag the man?"

Daiyaku let out a low chuckle, before being covered in a burst of electrical energy, his hair spiking out and lengthening well past his waist.

Midoriko stood up, readying her weapon. If everyone was going to fight, she wouldn't be left out. She drew on her Hollow mask once more.

Daiyaku vanished, launching himself forward, visible not as a moving human, but as a blur. He made it quickly to the front of the Nihilist, swinging his fist forward. His actions were followed up by Miharu, who had moved herself quickly behind the man, swinging, upward, and overly large hammer.

Midoriko was only a fraction slower and her attack was distant oriented, appearing above the man, Cero in her hand. She thrust her arm forward, launching the golden beam downward.

Ryūka and Ezra were not too far behind.

Woosh!

In an instant, they were both at the man's sides, effectively cutting him off from escape. Their blades swung when everyone else's did. It was an omni-directional attack, all of them carrying immense speed and power behind their attacks. The Nihilist could not make any move to counter any of these attacks.

Or rather, he didn't.

At least... not immediately.

But when he did, he grabbed the hilt of his sword, unsheathed it, and vanished from his spot.

The next moments had shattered time once again, slowing it down to a crawl for the attackers. Their target appeared in five consecutive bursts. Each and every time that he did, he could be seen in a different pose either behind or beside his respective targets. Each and every one of them got this treatment one time.

He re-appeared a distance away from them with his back facing them, flinging the blood off of his blade before sheathing it.

SPLURCH!

At the very instant his hilt connected with the scabbard opening, the gash wounds made by his blade finally opened up on each and every one of them, their blood spilling onto the cold and hard ground underneath them. "And here, one of you had the audacity to say that they were on a different level than me..." He said mockingly, turning his head to look over his shoulder. "Well, obviously, you're not on my level, kid..."

Daiyaku and Midoriko were easily crumpled, their wounds taking more of a toll on them than the others. Ryūka and Ezra were quick to fall as well.

Miharu coughed up blood, keeping herself standing on pure willpower, her hammer reverted back to a sword, and it was also helping her stand up.

"N...no!" She muttered, her legs wobblings. In fact, her body was beginning to shake from blood loss. "I...will..." She coughed again, blood spattering. "...fall here!" Before she could make another move, she felt yet another hand on her shoulder. She looked behind her to see her father standing there, looking absolutely livid.

"T...Tō-san!" She spluttered. "Y...you're here! You're gonna save us."

Ahatake looked around at the state of his fallen family. "Saved is rather subjective here..." He murmured. "Don't worry. You can fall back now."

Miharu sighed with relief, and she quite literally fell, out cold.

Ahatake walked slowly closer to the Nihilist, his eyes locked on him. "Tell me...what do they call you?"

This time, the Nihilist had to pause in order to take a look at the newcomer that arrived. Reaching out with his senses, he could feel that this time, the strength and power was obvious. This one was enough to perk his interest, and he had to turn completely to face the individual. A smile crawled onto his face, and he folded his arms across his chest once more.

"They call me--"

"--DEAD!!"

He was promptly interrupted by the sound of a new voice.

WHAM!

Followed by the subsequent fist to the side of his face.

CRASH!

Followed by him being sent flying into a row of buildings, each of them collapsing under the force the living construction ball had used to get through them.

"MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!!"

Followed by the comical, yet maniacal laughter of the one who had brutally attacked the Nihilist.

It was none other than Kibō Injiki, with a face that just exuded one message: Problem?

Ahatake was slightly surprised by this and his eyes widened only slightly to take in the sight of the younger Injiki child. "I'll give you credit for an entrance kid." Ahatake said, repressing a chuckle. "I am going to assume, since you're here, you got stronger as well?"

At this, Kibō lowered his fist and blinked owlishly, easily diverting his attention from the destruction that he had created to the older man. "Blame your kid for it." He said, a calm but innocent tone lacing his voice. He turned his head back towards the wreckage, his body tensing up slightly. "If I hadn't nearly gotten my jaw knocked off my face just for making a point, I wouldn't have bothered."

"I'm not complainin'." Ahatake replied, his hand on his sword. "I wouldn't be so high and mighty as to say I could beat this guy on my own. I got a feel for his reiatsu before I even made my way here. Your help would be very much appreciated."

They weren't the only ones to be within the area.

At a distance, and sitting Indian-style on top of a miraculously intact building...

"Falcon punch, dynamic entry, maniacal yet fitting laugh... why couldn't my student do that?"

...were none other than Hanzei Kurosaki and Seireitou Kawahiru, and the latter of which had spoken in an exasperated and tired manner. The former of which turned his eyes to give his associate an annoyed glare.

"You're honestly focused on such trivial aspects of your students?" He said sternly, regarding him for a second more before turning back to the cloud that had been kicked up in the Nihilist's wake. He closed his eyes for a moment. "Then again, I wouldn't be surprised. You are the very same man who holds "SHONEN JUMP" as highly as Shin Tzu's "The Art of War".

This rendered Seireitou silent, his eyes darkening and a tick mark on his cheek.

"As well as the same man who is convinced that drawings of women with bosoms the size of truck tires are real."

Another tick mark.

"So it would be natural for a moron to pass his knowledge on and make another moron out of his very student. Maybe in time, he'll learn to post a SHONEN JUMP magazine on his wall and offer burnt sacrifices in its holy name."

"SHUT UP SOSHITE DIE!!!"

When the cloud start clearing up, the Nihilist calmly strode out of it. The back of his hand was rubbing the slight scratch on his cheek, and he was regarding the two with what seemed like boredom once again.

"So it seems that you've got a partner... and at the very least, one who knows how to throw a punch." He commented, tilting his neck from side to side. A slow grin came across his face. "It seems like I won't have to go as easy as I thought I would...."

He gripped the hilt of his blade and unsheathed it, readying it in one hand. "Come at me... Shinigami."

"Already done." Ahatake replied, not having moved an inch. However, under the ground, the white flames, a specialty of Seireitou Kawahiru, erupted. Ahatake manipulated them to surround the man, covering all but one spot, and then crash like a wave.

Kibō himself was preparing to move.

His eyes narrowed, and he spread his legs apart in a stable stance. He had not drawn his sword yet, but his hand was perilously close to his hilt - a sign of an iaido strike. His body was concentrated, waiting until the best possible moment to strike. He waited, watching as the flames seemed to close in on the unmoving Nihilist. He waited, reaching out with his senses.

He saw it!

When the Nihilist swung his sword up in order to blow away the flames, his lone eye widened when he saw the young boy - without the use of Flash Step - appear behind him in the blink of an eye. He twisted himself around, raising his blade in order to counter the swift uppercut that would've hit him otherwise.

CLANG!

When their blades were forced to their sides, the resulting shockwave decimated several buildings unfortunate enough to remain standing and be near them at that moment. All of this had been done with pure physical power. The Nihilist was surprised as he looked at the smirking face of Kibō. "Impossible...! All of that speed was his own physical movements! Never before have I seen a Shinigami, of all the species, attack with such speed and power before!"

Then, he remembered the flames... and his smile returned full-force.

"I see... so you aren't just some challengers out of the blue. You're students of him, aren't you?"

"I don't know who the hell you're referring to as "him"..." Kibō commented, lowering his blade but still keeping it ready. "But my teacher was Hanzei... and by god, he was one mean son of a bitch, I'll tell you that much."

"I can only guess you are referring to Seireitou Kawahiru." Ahatake's voice was behind the Nihilist, but not close enough to be physically within reach.. "And as much as it pains me to admit it, yes, he was my master." He swung his arm, mixing his own demonic black flames with the holy white flames of his teacher, manipulating them to form a large spear above the Nihilist. He swung his arm down, and the spear descended, crashing down and releasing flames in waves.

BOOSH!

Once again, the flames enveloped the Nihilist from view. From what Kibō could sense, his enemy hadn't moved at all. It was a clear indication that he wasn't being moved by the attacks directed towards him. That made him scowl a little, knowing that his opponent was going to be a tough one. He would have to play it serious, knowing that anything less would've been fatal.

WOOSH!

The Nihilist swung his sword again, the flames blowing away and dissipating completely. "You may be his student..." He said, his tone directed towards Ahatake but his gaze on Kibō. "But you attack in such a simple-minded and direct fashion. You may have his flames... but you certainly don't have the methods he used when he fought me."

Even Ahatake had to admit he had a point. He wasn't the most open-minded to new types of attack patterns, he worked best in a situation where he could fight violently. Howevever, the last thing the man said had not escaped his notice. He had fought Seireitou? That didn't bode well, but he wasn't going to let it discourage him yet. He had his family to protect. With these thoughts, he drew his sword. His new sword was a standard katana with a pink guard that is reminiscent of a mobius strip shape, and had on it black inscriptions which read out "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him." Certainly a frightening scripture to behold for the average man, but the Nihilist wasn't average. The handle and inscriptions began to glow gold.

"Fall...Harukīro." Spiritual energy erupted into a column around him, but it quickly dissipated. Ahatake wasn't for show right now. His blade hadn't altered itself much at all, however, its blade becomes jet-black while the handle became into a greyish silver color, the golden inscriptions on it beforehand disappear. The mobius strip-like guard retains its shape, but its color is a form of grey now.

Ahatake raised his blade to his side, releasing a massive wave of red spiritual energy around it. The force of the energy was generating whirlwinds around them all. Ahatake's eyes hardened as he glared at his target.

"Getsuga Tenshō." He swung his blade down with force, releasing from it a mighty blast of pure red spiritual energy that covered all as it passed over, heading directly to the Nihilist.

That was when the Nihilist moved, and when he did...

"GEEZER!! BEHIND YOU!!"

Kibō's shout came in alarm upon realization that their target disappeared. It wasn't the immense speed that had shocked him... but rather the fact that he had did it without being picked up by his or Ahatake's senses. His eyes dilated, and it was only out of instinct and reflex that he managed to pick up the figure of the target right behind his other ally.

But it was too late.

With a swift kick, the Nihilist treated Ahatake to the same punishment that Kibō had treated him with - a force to send his opponent flying through several buildings in a row. The resulting shockwaves given off caused other buildings to go down via collateral damage. As a cloud of dust and smoke once again enveloped the area, the Nihilist lowered his foot and turned to the anxious, brown-haired boy.

"He may have been Kawahiru's student..." He said dryly, the smirk never leaving his face. "But such power is worthless without a mind to guide it, and I prefer to test my mind as much as much as my physical form. Now..." He leveled the sword towards Kibō with one hand. "I'd like to see what the skill of Hanzei Kurosaki is all about."

The rubble that covered Ahatake with began to move, and Ahatake's arm came up first, pressing onto the rubble and pushing the rest of his body up. He didn't look too damage, perhaps scratched from his collision. He rubbed the back of his head, which was where the kick had been delivered.

"I should have been focusing." He muttered, his eyes on the Nihilist. "I won't give you another hit like that." He raised his blade, which began to become covered in black spiritual energy.

"Onogoro." He swung his blade down, directly at the ground before jumping back. The energy blast that hit began to split, forming waves of spiritual energy that moved much like snakes.

"Go." Ahatake ordered mentally, and the waves of energy charged down at the Nihilist, having "eyes" only for him.

"Come at me with yet another long-range attack. Oh, how very smart of you." The Nihilist rolled his lone eye and brought his sword back, swinging in the direction of the blasts once they were close enough.

Woosh...

With that single slice, the attack immediately dissipated into the wind within seconds. "I sure feel as if I'm being underestimated here, and that's somewhat of an insult considering that I'm facing the student of Seireitou..." He commented, though the amused smile was still on his face. "I'm beginning to wonder whether or not what you said was nothing more than a bluff to get me shaking in my sandals. If it is, then I feel very sorry for you... perhaps it would be better if you just dropped your sword and ran?"