Twelfth Release- Void

"If you can dodge a gigantic boulder, than you can dodge a Zanpakutō swing!"

"A-Argh…Dammit…"

Kisuke Urahara swings his Zanpakutō, Benihime, at Gai Nagareboshi. Nimbly dodging his assault, Gai attempts to block his blade with the remains of Kakusei, only to be thrown through a tree. Holding his head in pain, Nagareboshi slowly stands up.

"Come on, Mototsu. Is this all you have?"

"Tch…" Clicking his tongue in irritation, Gai attempted to block Urahara's next strike, only to be knocked to the ground. "D-Dammit…" Standing up once again, Gai began to become fatigued. Leaping at the young Mototsu, Kisuke slammed down on Gai's blade, pushing him to the ground, struggling to hold his own against the former Captain. Eventually giving up, Gai lays on the ground, exhausted.

"Is that all? Disappointing." Kisuke began to walk away. "D-Dammit…" Gai hissed.

"Well, well…Looks like you just cannot compare, Gai Nagareboshi." Eienrai said as he walked over to Gai.

"H-Hey, you…Give me a hand."

"Nah." Eienrai retorted as he began to kick Gai's head. "Ow…!" Gai winced.

"What? I am not a very nice person." Eventually getting bored of kicking Nagareboshi, Eienrai walks off.

"Damn bastard…" Gai hissed at Eienrai. While he was a cold person, Eienrai must have an ulterior motive to joining Gai's side, he thought. Gekkō ran over to Gai and helped him up.

"Gai, are you okay…?"

"Y-Yeah…Thank you, Kōzuki."

"Hihihihi~"

Nika motions to Eienrai, seeing this as an opportunity to find out more about the Sōrai no Kishi.

"…Hm?"

"Hello there~! Sōrai no Kishi~"

"Oh, it is you. …What do you want?"

Nika places her hands on her hips and glares Eienrai down. Eienrai responds with one of his apathetic stares.

"Oh, don't be so cold…Sōrai no Kishi~ Why did you decide to join Gai Nagareboshi~?"

"The one called Gai Nagareboshi…is a peculiar individual. I want to learn more about him." Eienrai responded in his emotionless tone.

"Yes indeedy~ Gai Nagareboshi truly is unique~" Nika replied, ever cheerful. "You could say that he's the knot that ties us all together~"

"Hmmhmhmhmhm…You're not as dumb as you act, woman."

"'Ay! That's mean!" Nika retorted.

"And why should I 'care'?" At that moment, Eienrai began to leer at that devil woman's large bust.

"Oh~ I know what you're thinking~" Nika took her top off, smiling at Eienrai, much to his horror as he saw what was underneath. Several slimy, black dripping tentacles adorned with toothy grins and slitted red eyes, once wrapped around her chest, extend from around her body and surround Eienrai.

"That's something I did not expect…You are a surprising one."

"Indeedy~"

"You are not a normal Arrancar, are you?"

"Hehehe, nope! Fifty years ago, Kisuke Urahara Arrancarified me from my Vasto Lorde form using the Hōgyoku by accident. I'm the template for all of Sōsuke Aizen's Arrancar, a prototype, so I'm not perfect. Though…"

Nika arrogantly smirked. "I do have awesome skills, that's for sure~"

"Vectoriales…That's right…Envoy of the Organic, Nika…The origin of an entire race…"

"Uwehehehe, that's me~" Nika cheerily replied. "Well, I've fun talking to you, Sōrai no Kishi~ But I've figured out what other people haven't about you."

"…Then what is that…?" Eienrai indifferently stated.

"You don't feel anything. You lack empathy." Nika stated in a serious tone.

"…Your assumptions are correct." Eienrai continued, in a chilling monotone. "Those people always go on about the concept called 'emotions'. I do not understand. What is love? What are these 'emotions' that people say that they experience? I cannot understand. Why do they mourn? Why do they scream? If I rip out their souls and stop them from reincarnating with my Bankai, will I find their feelings there? Will I find them if I tear their bodies apart, limb by limb? What if I devour them alive? Still, there is no change. There is a void where my 'emotions' are supposed to be. Nothing can fill it. There must be a way that I can become like them so that the void will disappear. Gai Nagareboshi…He is different. These past three days have been the only time have I ever 'felt' something. It is like I have a soul when I am around him. What is it about him? I cannot comprehend it. Why does he make me 'feel' these 'emotions'? What makes him so different from everyone else? That is the reason I want to learn more about him."

Taking a deep breath, Eienrai finished, "He is the only reason I do not massacre you all. Witnessing his application of the 'emotion' called 'devotion' to you all makes me rethink my actions. I want to find out why he 'believes' why my actions are wrong."

"Well~ Good luck with that." Nika happily retorted to Eienrai's terrifying speech, not scared in the slightest. "You're a real bore."

With that, Nika skipped off like an excited small child.

"I remember something…"

"Kōzuki, what is it?" Gai replied. "Gai…My older sister. Beautiful, elegant, gentle…But there's something else I can't put my finger on about her. I can't remember…" Gekkō stated, unsure of herself.

"It's okay. Take your time, I'm sure that it'll come to you soon enough, Kōzuki."

Gekkō held her head. "Mn, you're right."

"Mototsu. Come on, you're not finished yet! If you want Kakusei back, then you need to try harder!" Kisuke Urahara's voice boomed.

"Agh…Alright, I'll be there in a minute…" Gai applied his palm to his forehead in exasperation. "Such misfortune…"