Izanami no Jidō: Gazō no Yomikomi

Previous Chapter

First Meetings Always Suck
The two figures were walking through a rather straight-forward building complex. One of them was shorter than the other and she had two white hair braids dangling behind her. The other had his hands in his coat pockets and stood straight up, his eyes flaring with purpose. All was quite within the seemingly empty building, the only noise being their own footsteps. The female voice broke this strange silence with a frustrated groan.

"Why do we have to go to his home? Of all other places in the city?"

The male voice sighed. "Sophie, Preacher is the only person in the city who can get us to the Human World without being noticed." She looked up towards him. "Who says we'll get in trouble for leaving?" He tilted his head slightly to the right to where he was looking at her. "No one." He turned his head back to where it was facing forward. "But I'd rather not take our chances."

She emited a heavy sigh. "If he says one word to me, I'm going to kill both of you."

By the time the words had left her mouth, they were standing in front of a white wall. Soifon walked up to it and looked at all of it's corners. After seeing nothing of interest, she turned towards her husband and briefly waved her arms up. "The hell is this? What is he the actual wall?" Taking the opprotunity to amuse her partner, she twisted around and slammed her right fist into the wall, breaking it down. Akisame looked in amazement, surprised that his wife was still just as strong as she was years ago. When the dust cleared, a couple of coughing voices could be heard, and then they saw him.

Preacher was sitting in an office chair that was facing a square shaped desk, which itself was in an oddly small room with just a bed and a small kitchen. In his lap sat two young women wearing buisness suits, trembling in fear at the two figures that stood in front of the newly destroyed wall. Preacher himself gave off a rather dumbfounded expression that made Soifon chuckle slightly. The two women quickly ran outside of the building past the two Soul Reapers, who were staring at the comical face of John Preacher.

"...I say, was that really necessary?" he calmly asked, looking at Akisame rather than Soifon. "In case you didn't notice I was in a rather important...uh...buisness meeting. Regarding my..."

"Save it Preacher, I need a favor to ask you." Akisame said, holding his left hand up. He and his wife then made their way into the slightly dusty room. "You know you could have just imputted the codes into the shorter left hand pannel that i've shown you countless times before rather than breaking down the bloody wall itself!" Preacher said in a frustrated tone. "Now i'm going to have to move back into my little sewer room."

"C'mon 'Preacher'." Soifon mockingly said to him. "I'll bet you were planning on moving away from this little panic room soon anyway. Not many girls like myself would prefer to stay in a crowded little pit like this."

"Ah Ms. Feng, I would greet you in a more appropriate manner, but I would prefer to keep my head on my shoulders." Preacher replied in an equally mocking voice, putting his right hand on his chest and bowing before her. "Uh-huh." she said, looking around his seemingly blank room.

"Preacher, I need to see the PLR." Akisame said, interrupting the conversation out of fear that it would get out of hand. "Sophie and I need to get to the Human World ASAP."

Preacher simply stared at him. "The PLR? THE PLR?! Why in God's good name would you come to me asking for an invention that i've only used one time?!" The enigmatic old man began to pace around the room in a strange manner.

"I just told you, we need to use it to get to the Human World, the Appalachian Mountains specifically." Akisame flatly replied. "I'm serious Preacher. The situation is dire."

Preacher stopped pacing and let his arms drop to his sides as he walked closer to Akisame. "Have you already forgotten what happened last time I used the device?"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Soifon. "Wait wait. What exactly is this PLR?"

Preacher sighed. "It's a device that a few friends and I invented. It was designed to get troopers to and from different planes of existance quicker than traditional methods. It takes the Spiritual Pressure of it's target and then quickly fires it towards another plane. I could go more in depth, but i'd rather not. All I'm saying is that when I first used it, we never got word from the test subjects."

Akisame's expression didn't change. "We have to try it Preacher, we need to get to the World of the Living now." Soifon nodded her head in agreement, she wanted this whole ordeal over with.

Preacher let out another sigh. There was no point in arguing with them. They were serious. "Very well. Stand over there in front of the bed." The couple hastily did so and the stood in front of the mattress that only came up to their ankles. Preacher then walked over to his desk and pulled out a small, tazer like device.

"Now this may or may not be the most painful thing that you've ever felt in your life. But since you're so desperate..."

Akisame held his left arm up yet again. "Preacher, I appreciate all the help that you've given us." he nudged his wife on her left shoulder, goading her into speaking. She simply let out a reluctant sigh. "And I'm sorry about your wall. I'll pay for it in full IF I return." Preacher chuckled before pointing the device at the two Soul Reapers. "Good luck, my friend." he said as the PLR let loose a white beam of energy that engulfed Akisame and his wife who were holding each others hands, and with a bright flash, they were gone from the room.

"Now to clean up this damn mess."

The couple then appeared atop a rather large snowy mountain overlooking a massive mountain valley. "I think we're here." Soifon said, unfazed by the cold. "Yeah, and look over there." he replied as he pointed his right index finger at what appeared to be a small town just below the mountain. "That's where we need to go."

He started to treak down the rocky face, still holding Soifon's hand. She reluctantly followed. They hadn't made it seven feet before Soifon gave a frustrated moan. "You know we could just Flash Step down to the bottom."

He stopped and looked at her in a comical fashion. "...maybe we could maybe we couldn't. What if you can't-" Before he could finish, Soifon jumped off of the ledge that they were standing on, taking Akisame with her. They both fell off of the rocky cliff face at frightening speeds.

"What the hell is she thinking?!"

Then, with lethal precision, Soifon Flash Stepped both herself and Akisame near the bottom of the mountain. The atmoshpere changed from snowy and cold, to mild and spring like. Soifon landed on the grassy ground with elegant grace, while her husband simply fell through a tree. When he landed, Soifon casually walked over to him and picked him up by his left arm. "You okay?"

"Yeah." he said in a somewhat pained groan. "It would've been nice to have recieved a heads up first before you jumped however."

She chuckled. "If I did that, then I wouldn't get to see your face." She let go of his arm and began to walk towards the town that was just beyone the short tree line. "Now come on, let's start looking for McTavish." He regained his tight posture and followed her into the secluded town. As they walked through the surprisingly primitive town. They began searching for their target. After about two hours of searching and asking other civilians, Akisame began to doubt the Oracle's wisdom.

"What a dump." Soifon said, her head tilted upwards slightly. "It's a wonder how this McTavish guy, or anyone else for that matter lives here."

"I don't think it's that bad." Akisame said. "If anything, I like it better than Yurei. It's not as crowded or noisy." He gently put his left arm around her waist as they walked down the middle of the town. She leaned her head on his chest in return. "Yeah it would fit a lazy ass like yourself." She then stopped him right in front of the building that was in the center of the town, and then turned herself to where they were facing one another. "Listen Aki, there's something I think you need to know before we go any further." She gently held his hands and lifted them upwards. "Alright, shoot." he said, curious. She hesitated somewhat to tell him. "I should have told you this before we left, but I wanted to keep it a surprise." She then brought her face to his right ear and whispered.

"I'm...i'm p-"

BOOM!

Midway through her statement, the building in front of them exploded in a brilliant cyan light. The two Soul Reapers were sent flying from the area, and they both crashed through the front of a large bus and busted out of it's back area. The bus itself was sent flying from the explosion. Akisame picked himself up to see a small figure standing in front of the blue mushroom cloud.

"What the hell is that?!"

From what he could see, the figure was short, had a round head, wore a strange garb around it's waste, and it was holding what looked to be a key. He looked over to where he thought his wife was, but she was actually behind him, grabbing him by his shoulders and picking him up off of the ground. "I think it's an Arrancar. The explosion feels like it was caused by a Cero." she said in a serious tone.

"Yeah, I figured as much." He wasn't really in a position to fight. This Arrancar was radiating a crazy amount of Spiritual Pressure, of which was higher than both his own and Soifon's. "Sophie, we need to be careful."

"Uh huh." she replied, a hint of excitment in her voice. He knew that she was raring to fight something. She hadn't done so in centuries. The last being she fought was Ultharon, and she was hopelessly outmatched by him, but she did not plan on making the same mistakes again. "You get some of these people to safety." she said, noting the many hapless civilians running for their lives. "I'll deal with this freak."

He started to object to her idea, but stopped himself. Though she may be put in harm's way, there was no convincing her otherwise when she made a decision. "Be careful Sophie, please." and with that he left to help some of the stragglers get away from the area.

Soifon stared at her opponent, a cocky grin cracking her face. "What say you Arrancar? Hm? Are you just going to stand there gawking at your little mess?" she slowly pulled out her Zanpaktou, holding it straight at the figure.

"Sting all enemies to death! Suzembachi!"

With a red glow, her sword transformed from a short katana into a black and golden gauntlet with a small stinger on it's end that fitted perfectly on her middle finger. She stared into the weapon for a brief moment, recalling that she hadn't used it in years. But she quickly resumed her fighting pose, waiting for her opponent to strike.

The Arrancar tilted his head upward slightly, acknowledging his foe's existance. Then, with a quick Sonido, he vanished from his standing position. Soifon was ready however, as she immediatley twisted around behind her and blocked a surprisingly powerful strike from her opponent's key like sword. The attack caused her to drag her feet a little before she quickly parried his blow and unleashed a barrage of strikes upon him.

He was far more agile than she anticipated as he easily blocked or dodged all of the strikes. Not that she was too surprised of course, she wasn't putting much effort into the attacks anyway. The masked foe then backflipped towards the ground ahead of her. As he landed, he extended his left index finger towards her.

"Another Cero?" she scoffed, mocking his simple tactic. "Do you honestly expect me to just stand here and..." she stopped when she realized what his attack actually was. Rather than discharging the Cero, the Arrancar was actually enveloping himself in the Cero's energy. She spread her legs out, ready to Flash Step away from whatever this new attack was to be.

Then, without warning, the Arrancar sprang into the air after becoming fully enveloped in the cyan glow. She tried to track him, but the sun blocked her vision. Then she saw it, a blue trail of lightning was flying over her, then it quickly charged downwards in her direction. Her eyes widened in shock. Only one thought crossed her mind

"Shunko!"

Without a moment to spare, the white energy enveloped her body and she took the full impact of the attack. A large explosion ascended into the air. Akisame, who was nearly half a kilometer away, quickly turned to see the large mushroomcloud. "Soifon!" he yelled, turning around to come to his wife's aid.

When the dust cleared, Soifon awoke to find herself lying backfirst on the ground. Her body ached with soreness over the impact that she had taken. Her Shunko wasn't charged enough to withstand the attack that the Arrancar had just used on her. It was a wonder she was still alive.

Then she felt a boot stomp down on her chest, causing some spit to fly out of her mouth. She looked up to see her Arrancar foe staring down at her, unharmed, and he was raising his sword up in a fashion meant to decapitate her. She would've tried to stop him, but she was too sore. Images of Akisame began to flash through her mind.

"Goodbye, my love."

She closed her eyes and braced for the strike...

SPLURCH!

There was a deathly silence that echoed throughout the area, other than the sound of blood droplets. For a moment, time itself seemed to stand still. No one moved. No one spoke. Everything had froze the moment that the blow had been delivered. A sword was stained with fresh blood that continued to drip from the cold metal. Had one only their ears, they would've believed that Soifon had been decapitated by the Arrancar.

However, the blood did not drip from her neck.

Rather, it dripped on her face....

...for she wasn't the one who was hit.

Through De Soto's chest, a white cleaver had been punched from the back and out the front, the entire tip submerged in crimson liquid. Behind him, a hand held the hilt of the elegant and deadly weapon. It was the hand of a long-haired and somewhat aged man that appeared to be in his forties, crimson eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared into the back of the Arrancar's head. A grim smirk crossed his face. The blow would not kill him.... but it certainly would force him back, if he valued his life.

"This is what happens when you allow yourself to get distracted....." He whispered coldly, his Scottish accent making his rough voice all the more menacing.

She was too surprised to respond. Her face covered almost entirley with the Arrancar's blood, she quickly Flash Stepped away from the two and reappeared next to the newly arrived Akisame. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern taking over his face.

"I'm fine, it's nothing." she replied in a somewhat hazy voice, a result of having the wind knocked out of her. She turned her attention back to the two warriors. "Something tells me that's our guy."

Akisame looked at the one who had impaled the attacker. He gave off a certain aura that he swore he could have felt before, but he couldn't place it. Whoever it was, he was clearly an ally and he owed him a debt, one that he planned to repay soon. He then tried to help his wife while watching the inevitable battle at the same time.

The Arrancar began to chuckle. "Distracted?" He lowered his sword to the ground. "...I wasn't distracted..." he said, coughing through most of his words. "...heh, I was just having a little fun...that's all." Without warning, De Soto used his Sonido to escape the blade's deadly touch. Reappearing right behind the Soul Reaper, he quickly lifted his sword up in a position to strike his opponent from the right shoulder down.

Within the instant the Arrancar disappeared, the apparent Shinigami spun around to initiate a complete 180-degree turn. As he did so, the tip of his blade dragged along the ground, and the metal's friction with the ground caused sparks to fly up. What appeared to be smoke seemed to be accumulating around the blade itself in the duration of the swing, glowing a faint blue...

Then, when the Arrancar re-appeared behind him and swung, he swung as well.

But his own swing unleashed the energy channeled within.... to devastating effect.

An immense energy wave was unleashed point-blank at the Arrancar, continuing to visually extend to the sky itself. The bright illumination of the blue color seemed to overshadow the entire village itself. Those who had not yet been evacuated.... a few children.... as well as a few adults.... stopped to look in amazement and wonder at the lethal and yet beautiful display made.

De Soto never saw it coming.

His eyes widened with surprise. Whatever attack it was that his foe had just used, it was no simple energy blast that was just shot right off of the bat. This attack was meant to finish him off for good.

"Wow!"

This was the only thought that he could manage to think as his body began to sizzle from the immense energy. Within a few seconds, he was nearly a mile away from the smoking town, caught up in the beam of energy that sent him flying. "THIS ISN'T OVER HARRY!" he yelled as he crashed into the ground in a somewhat comical matter, not caring whether or not Haralson had heard him. Next time, he wouldn't be so careless.

Soifon and Akisame simply stood in amazement, the former more so than the latter. This Arrancar was nearly twice her own power, the power of a former Gotei 13 Captain, and this stranger came and defeated him within a manner of seconds.

Knowing Who You Are
"Checkmate....."

The Shinigami sealed his Zanpakutō sheathed his blade, closing his eyes and smirking as he spoke the last word indicating the end of that duel. The Arrancar's last shout did not reach any of their ears, so their moods were effectively isolated from each other. Basking in the triumph of his victory, he clapped his palms together and casually turned himself around to face the two, eyes glancing in the direction of Soifon for a moment. However, it was only a brief moment. He closed his eyes and gave a nodding bow to the two - a nonverbal welcoming gesture - before he lowered his arms to his sides, turned away, and started to walk in the direction from which he came. Upon seeing the duel ended, the rest of the people decided to scatter back into their own homes and idly chat about what had happened.

"...Damn."

It was all Akisame could muster. He was equally as surprised as his wife was. "He's no ordinary Soul Reaper. That's for sure." he told her. She was wiping off some of the dirt that was on her uniform. "Oh really? What makes you say that? The fact that he just made me look like a goddamn fool in front of all of these humans?" she frustratingly replied.

He simply sighed as he watched the stranger walk down the road away from them. "Well we're not going to find out just standing here. C'mon lets go get him." With that he hastily walked in the same direction of his target.

Soifon looked on in slight disappointment. She was upset that her husband had already forgotten about what it was that she was going to tell him. She gently held her wolf amulet within her left hand, debating on whether or not now would be a good time to break the either good or bad news to him.

"Hey what are you waiting for?" he said back to her, still moving.

She exhaled and quickly followed him. As they caught up to the figure, Akisame tried to approach him in the most polite way possible. "Hey ah, that was pretty impressive what you did back there." he said as he was justa few feet from the man, his hands in his coat pockets.

The man immediately stopped within his tracks... not abruptly, but in a quick and gradual manner.

Once again, he casually turned around to give a cocked eyebrow and a casual frown. "Eh.... I don't find the usual spiritual energy light show thing very impressive myself...." He said, his Scottish tone once again showing itself. "I'm pretty sure that you'd be capable of much better feats, had you not the foe that you did...." He peered slightly, looking the two over carefully and placing a hand thoughtfully on his chin. "From the looks of things and the fact that I never saw you around these parts, I can safely say that was your first battle in your travels, aye?"

He shifted his gaze to Soifon, whom he had noticed when he had struck the Arrancar from behind. "Sucks, doesn't it, lassie?" He asked in a sympathetic, yet teasing tone. "You catch a fish and you end up hooking a Loch Ness. It's a pain...." He chuckled. "But, it has to happen sometime, doesn't it?"

She blushed. ''"Lassie?" ''She found the name to be somewhat charming, wishing that her husband would refer to her as such. "Yeah, I guess so." she replied, not looking directly at him.

Akisame smiled and turned his attention back to the man. "You could say that." He held his right arm out in a position to shake his. "My name's Akisame, this is my wife Soifon."

The man closed his eyes and nodded, raising his own hand to grasp the other man's hand in a firm handshake. "Always a rarity and pleasure to see a couple who know how to handle themselves in a scuffle..." He answered, releasing the handshake and folding his hands behind his back. "My name's Jack Taylor. What can I do you for?" To keep his own polite countenance, he held a serene and relaxed look in his eyes as well as a light smile.

Akisame's eyes squinted behind his glasses. Something didn't feel right about this Talyor figure. Questioning him further would probably yield better results. "Maybe you can help us." he said as he crossed his arms.

"We're looking for a man named Haralson McTavish. Do you know anyone by that name around here?"

The mention of the name wiped the smile off of Jack's face, and for a moment, he looked surprised. However, his expression immediately changed into a more solemn one. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes and clasping his palms in front of his face for a moment. For a moment, he didn't allow himself to speak, granting the existence of a somewhat tense silence. Then, he exhaled, lowering his hands and looking at the both of them with a grimly serious face.

"I was hoping that no one would have to mention old Harold after what happened here...." He said lowly. "But....I suppose it can't be helped this time. I sense a long discussion approaching, and you've obviously come quite a long way, so I think it'd be best if I showed you my home so you can rest your feet."

He shifted himself back around and began to walk away, giving them both the notion to follow him. "And I'm not taking no for an answer...."

Akisame was shocked, his eyebrows raising slightly. He began to ask what happened to Haralson, but decided not to refuse the man's kind offer, thinking that their current location wouldn't be the best place to discuss anything further. "Very well. Lead the way." he said as he took Soifon by the hand and followed Taylor

Soifon wasn't all that convinced. Her eyes squinted slightly while looking into Jack's. She knew that he was hiding something, but she couldn't place it. Reluctantly giving in, she went along with her husband.

"This is gonna be a long trip."

The Unraveled Tragedy
Shortly afterwards, the three had approached Jack's home and entered inside. With persuasion from Jack himself, they had all made themselves comfortable within his living room. Jack was sitting in a solo chair himself, a lighter in one hand, and a lit cigarette in the other. Two fingers held the cigarette in his mouth while he took a drag before exhaling the smoke in a direction away from them - just in case they disliked it. He didn't want to be rude, despite his smoking habit.

"Haralson was an old friend of mine...." He began, keeping a casual tone as he explained. "He was a bit of a loner and an anti-social fellow. Most of the neighborhood didn't like the guy because of him throwing his depression around like a ball. I was pretty much the only person he could ever consider a buddy, and it was because of him that I learned that he actually had a daughter and son.... both of whom who were enlisted within the Gotei 13."

Akisame sat alongside his wife in a large sofa that sat across from Jack's. He pulled out a cigarette of his own and lit it with a lighter that was built into his right index finger. Soifon simply sat up straight, trying her best to look sophisticated in front of the man. She took interest into his last sentance concerning Haralson's children and their service.

"Do you know who their names are? Or which divisions they belonged to?" she asked. "I'm the former Captain of the 2nd division, as well as the former Commander of the Omitsukido."

The last sentence brought Jack to smile a little. "Aye..." He confirmed. "The lad's name was Braeburn, 3rd Seat of the 5th Division. The lass's name was Brina." He leaned forward a little, keeping the cigarette in his mouth and folding his hands as he rested his arms on his lap. "You've probably heard of Brina first - she was considered a prodigy in the membership of the Omitsukidō's Punishment Force, second only to the Commander-in-chief."

She leaned forward slightly. "Yeah, Brina does sound a bit familiar. I think she was enlisted shortly after I retired though, I'm not sure." She looked down onto the floor for a brief second. "I've heard that both of them are wanted in the Soul Society. Braeburn for deserting his post, and Brina for possible murder. Though the details are scarce." Akisame stayed in the same pose, exhaling a small puff of smoke away from Jack and Soifon.

"The same on my end...." Jack closed his eyes and nodded before opening them back up again. "I'm not sure what happened to the two of them. But...." He paused for a moment, eyebrows furrowing. "Haralson? A few weeks ago and thanks to the small size of the village, the news that the man had disappeared spread real quickly. But once the police decided to send out a search party for him, they found him just as quickly...."

This was where he hung his head down, his bangs overshadowing his eyes.

"They found the poor lad hanging onto a rope by his neck, lifted off the ground by a tree. I guess his personal problems were getting to him a little too much. I couldn't really blame him, either.... with a nasty piece of work like Charles McTavish for a father, one can only take so much..."

Akisame sat straight up in response to the previous sentance, ignoring the presumed fate of his target. "Charles McTavish?" he said in a curious tone. "What all do you know about him? At least what did Haralson tell you about him?"

The sudden change of tone within Akisame's words made Jack raise his eyebrow a bit, but he humored the man. "Only he was the worst son of a bitch I've ever heard of." He answered darkly, a scowl crossing his face. "The way Haralson spoke of the abuse that the man personally handed to him...." His folded hands tightened. "It just makes me wonder why I never had to chance to meet him personally so I could rip his throat out."

Akisame's heart sank. "Oh...I see." Soifon looked up at him in concern. What Jack had just told him only furthered his anger towards his former teacher. "I apologize for interrupting. The name just kind of set me off." He leaned forward a little more, thinking that he may expose any secrets that Jack was hiding with his next statement. "You see, Charles McTavish used to be my mentor."

"That so....?"

Jack raised his head up again, peering at Akisame with a curious yet intense gaze. A small grin crossed his face, and as he turned his head to the side while still looking at Akisame, the result was similar to a comical "stink-eye". "Is this the part where I'm supposed to get up, crack my knuckles, and start beating the everloving crap out of you.... with the side effect of humiliating you in front of your mate?" He finished this off with a toothy, amused grin just for effect.

Soifon looked back at Jack with a stern glare, a sort of "Just try it" look, but Akisame simply chuckled. "Heh, after what i've seen today in the town, I doubt that would be the best thing for my health." He took is now finished cigarette butt and placed it in his coat's pocket, not wanting to flick it onto the man's floor. He then turned his curious gaze towards Jack, retracting his glasses. "Let me ask, what brought that on?"

After removing the comical look, Jack smirked briefly at the reaction he got from Soifon. However, upon Akisame's next question, he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What? That little joke I just made?" He questioned, his eyes going upwards in thought. "Well, I hate the guy. You're his apparent student. Common sense dictates that I should hate you, too. But so far, you're proving to be a decent lad. And you did help out keep the civvies safe from that maniac...."

His cybernetic eyes squinted a little more, his curiosity and skepticism ever so growing. What Jack was telling him seemed somewhat inconsistant. He states that the neighborhood hardly took a liking to Haralson, which would mean that Jack must not have been all that close to him either. Yet based on what he had just told him, Haralson must have told him enough to get Jack to hate Charles. But even Akisame knew that Charles wasn't the kind of person to abuse anyone that he was close to, with the exception of his betrayal, and Haralson would have had to have told Jack alot about Charles to incite this much antagonism.

Something was clearly not right here. But he didn't want to question Jack further about Charles, thinking that it may incite further tension.

"Which reminds me, who was that Arrancar that sacked the place?" He crossed his arms and folded his left leg over his right. "I mean Arrancars are crazy and dangerous sure, but ever since Ultharon's attack on Soul Society, I haven't heard of hardly one coming to the Human World to just randomly destroy things." He brought his sunglasses down over his eyes again. "It seems to me that he was looking for someone..."

Jack folded his arms across his chest, letting out a heavy sigh once the Arrancar was mentioned. "A manic moron." He answered bluntly, a look of annoyance crossing his face. "He comes by periodically looking for Haralson, but ends up attacking people at random. The first few times I've tried to reason with him and drive him off were nothing but failures, so I gave up trying and decided to beat his head in every time he comes by. The poor bastard's lost his mind...."

"He's pretty damn well persistant then." Soifon added, her somewhat hateful glare still eyeballing Jack. She clearly didn't like the statement that he'd made to her husband earlier, even if it was a joke. "...too persistant." Akisame tilted his head down somewhat and let out an extended sigh. "Well I guess since he's gone..."

Soifon placed her hand up, motioning Akisame not to say anything. "Hold on. Let me ask him a question." She let a slight smile crack her face on it's left side. "You're clearly a Soul Reaper, based on how you defeated that Arrancar. Since you're so experienced...I have to ask you." she leaned forward some. "Where did you learn to fight like that. Mr. Taylor?"

"Oh, boy...."

If it was one thing Jack learned, it was that when a woman suddenly transitions from a scowl to a smile, it was not a good thing for the person she was directing it to. A slightly unnerved look crossed his face before he realized it, and he suddenly found himself unwilling to answer. But if he remained silent, they would know he would be withholding too much information. Yet if he spoke, he didn't know if his words would indicate something about him he didn't want them to know.

He had to take the plunge.

"....before your time...." He admitted, frowning in slight apprehension of where this was going to lead. "When you were just a wee lassie and a possible rookie when it came to the Gotei 13... before the league of the Kenpachis rose... I was a senior Captain of the 11th Division." A smile slowly came to his face, nostalgia washing over him. "The best pack of fighters I've ever laid eyes on. Always got the job done, always did what they were supposed to, and always enjoyed their work. They served me well, they did."

His expression faded to a more curious, yet suspicious one. "Why do you ask, lassie?"

She leaned back and crossed her arms, still smiling. "Hm. Normally I would believe you right off of the bat...but..." she narrowed her eyes straight towards his own. "...You see, during my examinations to become Captain of the 2nd division, I had to memorize the names of all of the past Captains of the Gotei 13 that had came before the current ones." Her smile transformed into a grin. "I don't recall there being anyone by the name of Jack Taylor being the Captain of the 11th division, or any other division for that matter."

And from that instant, Jack's eyes widened and his pupils shrank as he heard her speak the words.

He had fallen straight into her trap, as easily as a mouse. In that instant, his blood chilled at the revelation, and he found himself cornered. A chill went down his spine, and he could only stare at the former 2nd Division Captain in a dumbfounded, amazed, and even shell-shocked expression. Despite the years, it was obvious that her mind had not faded at all, even without the influence of her division surrounding her. It was an impressive feat to keep hold of the position she had long ago abandoned for a family life.

To this, Jack smiled weakly, the shock fading and being replaced by mirth. "Only one question and an answer, and my little story comes crashing down seconds after it's built. All because someone's been doing their homework... and no big surprise, it's the woman that manages to find me out. Miss Soifon.... you are one scary girl, you know that?"

She laughed slightly. "Ah lesson often hard learned." she said, looking at her husband and then back to Jack. "You were foolish to underestimate me simply because of the time difference between now and my service years." Akisame then smiled back at her and turned his attention to Jack. "She's alot smarter than anyone would think at a first glance." He chuckled slightly. "Trust me, I found that out the hard way."

His face then became more serious. "Now." he said, leaning closer to the man. "Why don't you tell us the real story...Haralson?"

And Haralson allowed his facade to drop.

He looked back into Akisame's eyes, a serene gaze coming into his look once more. A neutral frown was made of his mouth. "Other than my name...." He spoke, his tone low. "I've told nothing but the real story, son. Charles was an abusive father to me, believe it or not, and I was driven to the edge of suicide more than once.... not something I'm proud of, but not something I'm ashamed to admit. Jack Taylor was not a previous Captain.... but Haralson... I.... was. My son and daughter were in the Gotei 13, and I truly don't know where they are now...."

His eyes shifted over to Soifon. "With your elephant memory, you should remember her...." He smiled darkly. "After all, she murdered several of the Punishment Force under your command before she fled that night...."

Soifon's cocky expression disappeared in favor of a more angered one. She clutched her fists and gritted her teeth slightly. "Yeah, she was under my command during the incident. The little bitch..." Slowly but surely, her anger was getting the better of her. She recalled how she had once viewed Brina as an aspiring successor and how she was the closest thing to a friend that she ever had, besides her husband of course. And then she recalled her betrayal, and how she actually managed to defeat her in battle.

"She...she had just..." She then loosened herself up a little bit and her face became more relaxed as it stared into Haralson's, knowing what words were about to erupt. "I don't have to explain any of this to you. You're well informed of it anyway."

Akisame's face became more concerned as he put his hand on her shoulder. "Sophie...what happened?"

The word "bitch" did not suit well with Haralson, his eyes narrowing and a scowl forming on his face. However, he remained silent. Of course, his children would not be immune to insults and angry comments said by others. They were still his children.... but by now, they were young adults who could shrug off such harsh statements. Besides, he couldn't blame Soifon for being so riled up at that. The ones killed were her subordinates....

"I only know what my daughter told me, and that is pretty much one-sided." He said, making sure to speak only the truth. He folded his hands within his lap, eyes lightening up a little to a more serene gaze. "I'm left in the dark about the rest..."

Akisame held a more firm grasp on her shoulder. "Sophie. If you're hiding anything, you'd best tell us now."

She sighed and looked back at Akisame, guilt in her eyes. "Okay. Aki listen to me. I've...I've been keeping secrets from you for a long time. Secrets that I hoped would never surface again." She looked back at Haralson with a more sympatheitc expression, and gave a deep exhale before speaking.

"I knew from the beginning that Haralson McTavish was the former Captain of the 11th division. I also knew that his wife was the former Captain of the 8th division after Shunsei was killed." She looked back at Akisame. "That's what I was going to tell you earlier. But then we were interrupted." She resumed her gaze of Haralson, trying her best to be respectful to him. "Brina McTavish was my Vice Captain after the Commander successfully defeated Ultharon, whom of which had killed my former Vice Captain." She closed her eyes, thinking about her time with Brina. "She was...a very skilled warrior. As you said before, her skills almost rivaled that of my own. Even though I was strict with her during training sessions or assignments like all of the others, there was something about her that made me feel like she could be a worthy successor to my rank, certainly more appropriate than my other Vice Captain."

She then gritted her teeth again. "But then, one day, I..." She hesitated, knowing that what she was about to tell Haralson was surely going to strain her relationship with both him and her husband. "...I recieved orders from the newly formed Gotei 13 that the Captain of the 8th Division was a possible Red Sun spy. So...without any remorse, I decided to use this as a chance to test Brina's loyalty to her Division. I sent her and several others after the Captain, and she killed her. How I don't know, but she did it. And she wasn't happy about it." She closed her eyes, her fists clenching yet again.

"She was so grieved over what she had just done that she killed the other squad members that were with her. When I got word over what happened, I immediatley pursued her and confronted her over her crime." She reopened them again. "My duty obligated me to kill her for it, and I planned to do so without remorse." Her fists were bound up so tightly, that her nails began to dig into her palms, slightly drawing blood. "But the...odds...were against me in the fight, and I was beaten. Rather than kill me like she should have, she insulted me by sparing my life and fleeing." She then relaxed herself.

"That was the last that I had ever heard of her. Until now."

What she had said rendered Haralson silent for a moment. He had his bangs overshadowing his eyes and a neutral curve for his mouth. Idly, he started tossing his closed lighter up in the air repeatedly. "So...." He said, his voice somewhat dull. "With a single move, you destroyed what innocence my daughter had, you took the life of my mate away, and you attempted to end what you yourself created without remorse for your actions."

He caught the lighter again, flicking the lid. A tooty, dark, and sinister smile that would've mirrored that of his father came to his face. "Charles would've been proud to call you his daughter, eh, lassie?"

She immediatley stood up to defend her actions. "I had no choice! I was given an order and I followed it through!" she said as she raised her left fist to strike him, only to have her husband grab it and pull it down, gazing at her in a fashion that essentially told her that she had screwed up. But she ignored him, pulling her hand away from him and resuming her statement. "I was helping her for the future. It was a test to see if she was truly capable of being a Soul Reaper Captain." She folded her arms across her chest. "A Soul Reaper must be prepared to take lives for the sake of the innocent. Even if it means taking the lives of those you hold dearest." she kept her stern gaze upon him.

"It is the way of the Gotei 13. You of all people should know this."

"That is why I quit."

The dark smile faded from Haralson's face, and his look became much more bitter and weary. The tone he spoke with was similar to that of a shell-shocked veteran who had just come out from a war. "My seeds... they both were victims of the system, puppets of nothing more than conspirators wishing for total control. I tried to persuade them not to become immersed, but they were so eager and patriotic.... my words fell upon deaf ears, and they ended up digging their own graves. Now, we're all seperate from each other, existing as the thorns in the side of the corrupt."

He closed his eyes, folding his hands and pressing them to his lowered forehead. "I want... to hate you.... for what you did to me...." He whispered. "But I can't. I'm a tired, weary old man ready to die. So I'll spend my last days on this dying earth protecting the ones who are just like me... the ones who reside in this small town safe from the influence of the sinful. Maybe before I die, the paradise Red Sun has promised us will come, and the cycle will break...but until then, I'm stuck where I am."

Akisame then looked back at him. "And that Arrancar...you said he's been looking for you as well." he leaned forward. "Why?"

"I honestly cannot say." Haralson said, opening his eyes and lifting his pupils to look at Akisame again. "De Soto was used as a tool to help me get stronger through the threatening of my life....daily. However, one day he was sealed and cast out of our lives. I don't know what he wants, now that my old man's dead. But I can guess... he wants to see if the training he put me through paid off or not. Today's supposed to be the day that one of us dies."

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Well..." He then gave a low sigh and looked towards the wooden floor. "I think it's best that we..." He looked over to his wife with a stern gaze. "...I think it would be best if my wife and I leave. I think we've done too much to you already."

"Don't be too hard on her, laddie...." Haralson said, a mixture of his weariness and slightest pleading. "She was only following orders, after all."

Akisame simply nodded, while Soifon crossed her arms and scoffed, looking away from Haralson. "Thanks for telling us what we needed to know." he turned to leave the house, his wife following. Before stepping out the doorway he turned and held up his two right fingers. "Peace."

This made Haralson smile a little. In response, he raised his left hand and pointed two fingers right back at him - a gesture similar to that of a revolver. "You, as well...." He answered back. "Try not to meet the Arrancar on the way out, all right?"

And with that, he smiled a little bit and then they both left the house, gently shutting the door behind them. When they got outside, Soifon tried to speak. "Aki...listen I..." She was cut off when he held his left hand up near her face. "You don't have to say a word." He turned to face her, a gentle expression crossed his surprisingly mild face. "You told the truth, and that's all you needed to do." With that, Soifon smiled and held Akisame's hand as they both walked back to the town.

The Shaking Hands of Devils
De Soto had crashed nearly two miles away from the secluded town that he had been propelled out of. He landed in an oddly clear and flat area, a giant meadow in the middle of the great forest. The snowy mountains seemed to reach up to the heavens themselves as they kept their gaze on the wounded Arrancar, who was struggling to pick himself up.

"So...Son of a...bitch."

While his chest wound was still healing, courtesy of his specially designed suit by Charles McTavish, the blast that Haralson had used on him was far more powerful than he'd anticipated. His body ached from the burns that he'd sustained, fragments of his black mask were falling off like glass, revealing some of his facial expressions. Despite his grave condition, he was still managing to crack a smile for some reason. He managed to sit himself up using his sword, sweat pouring out of his hair.

"Little Harry isn't so little anymore." He said in a fashion that would make one think that he was speaking to someone else. His smile then turned into a slight frown as he looked upward somewhat. "Getting the fragment isn't going to be as easy as we thought."

He slowly turned his head behind him, looking at his shadow. He then watched it slowly rise from the ground in the shape of a human, and then it manifested itself in the form of a being that he knew all too well.

"Hi boss." he said in a jokingly depressed tone.

Sure enough, the being was the Prophet. His arms were crossed and his face was dissapointed. "Had I known that this would be so difficult for you, I would have killed you when you were found and used someone else to do the work." He casually walked around to where he was facing De Soto, who was acting like a dog that had just been punished, trying to annoy his "boss" further.

"It looks like you took one hell of a beating. Perhaps Haralson is far too much of a challenge for you." He then pulled out a solid black cutlass out of the sheathe on his left hip, and then pointed it at De Soto's neck. "I think it's safe to say that you are of no longer of use to me."

De Soto simply chuckled, turning his gaze slightly to the left, towards the tree line. "Hey boss, you sure you wanna kill me where our company can see us?" He then pointed his left hand towards the direction that he was looking in. The Prophet at first believed that the Arrancar was using this as a means of escape, but he couldn't help but glance in the same direction. Sure enough, the two villains weren't alone after all...

"Ah, you caught me already? I must've been more relaxed than I thought..."

A British-accented female voice of a young woman came from behind one of the trees. Following that relaxed statement, the girl who had spoken to them stepped out to reveal herself to them, leaning against the tree after walking around it. One leg was shifted over the other, and her arms were folded across her chest. She had long, brown hair and was wearing a Shinigami uniform, but sported nothing that would mark her as one of the Gotei 13 soldiers.

But the most notable thing was her polite gaze and a moderate smile, even as she faced down what was apparently dangerous criminals.

De Soto chuckled some more, his lazy voice still present. "Heh, hey boss I think i'm in love."

The Prophet kept his interested expression on his face as he turned to meet the figure, sheathing his sword. "I think it would be best for your own safety if you came out here to us." he said to the young woman. "Talking while in shadow hardly ever boads well for those that speak to me." De Soto decided to add on, waving his left hand at her. "Hey don't worry, we don't bite that much."

"Of course...."

Pushing herself off of the tree, the brown-haired girl began to walk over to them in a slow, deliberate manner. Her gaze focused itself on the two as she spoke. "I happened to be passing by the Appalachian Mountains today when I picked up the signatures of battle, and I was just in time to see the light show. Pardon if I seemed to be eavesdropping, but curiosity is too much of a disease when it comes to me."

The Prophet gave a light chuckle. "It is perfectly fine. Curiosity is a sure sign of potential." De Soto simply scoffed, using his sword as a crutch to pick himself up. His black mask began to slowly dissappear. "Yeah...light show she calls it." The Prophet then stood himself straight up, putting his left hand on his chest and then bowing slightly. "You may call me Prophet, this is my...partner, De Soto." The Arrancar cracked a strange smile and waved his right hand in a rapid manner, pretending to be a six year old. "And to whom do we owe this pleasure?" the Prophet kindly said.

"The name's Brina, sir...."

Once the girl stopped walking towards them and stood with enough distance to keep a lock on both of them, she took a light bow. When she caught De Soto's waving, she giggled mirthfully and placed a hand to her mouth. She couldn't help it - such behavior was rather cute.... in a weird sort of way.

De Soto nudged the Prophet's shoulder in a "hey buddy" kind of manner. "Heh, boss I like her, can we keep her please?" The Prophet then comically shoved De Soto to the ground with his left hand, ignoring his plea. "Brina eh?" He then placed both hands between his back and his cape. "So tell us Brina, what would you ask of us?"

"A role."

The girl cleared her throat, looking at each of them with a level gaze that kept its serene nature. The smile faded from her face temporarily. "You see, your plans co-exist with my own, even if we are not aiming for the same thing." She said, using one of her hands to gesture and emphasize. "As yours is with an object, mine is with the people who carry it. We're in a perfect position to help each other, by where I'm standing."

The Prophet's gaze became more interested, using his left hand to brush his beard. "Plans? My my, you are certainly well informed." De Soto, picking himself up, also became more interested, albeit slightly confused. "Who exactly is it that you're looking for?" he asked in a nervously curious manner.

"The woman that you would've killed, had it not been for timely intervention." The smile returned to Brina's face. "She is the former 2nd Division Captain and former Commander of the Gotei 13's Stealth Force." Her gaze turned towards De Soto as she spoke the next words. "I have to commend you for having enough power to easily overtake the likes of her. You certainly have been taught by the hands of professionals, eh?"

De Soto looked downwards and gave a sinister chuckle. "Yeah...you could say that."

The Prophet's interested gaze became less intense. "I'm afraid that you have us confused with someone else. We do not seek this retired Captain that you speak of. Rather, we seek the one that had saved her." He then lowered his head, giving the young woman a tense stare. "We are trying to get a certain...item from the one known as Haralson McTavish."

"That is why I said our plans to co-exist, while not having the same objective in mind." Brina's eyes squinted into the upside-down U shapes, though not to a comical extent. "I give you the chance to obtain what you said before to be a "fragment".... and you give me the chance to kill her. All I will ask of you is a role you would like me to play...."

Despite the pleasant tone that she was taking with them, the nature of her words created a sinister aura around her.

"...nothing more."

The Prophet resumed his interesting glare. "Hm...it sounds rather ideal. The less interference that we have, the better our plans will succeed." He looked over to De Soto, nodding at him, to which he nodded back. "I was just about to head back out to the town to finish Harry off." He looked at her with a charming smile. "Don't suppose you'd like to go with me eh?"

"I would...." Brina opened her eyes just in time to catch the smile, blushing a little and lowering her head. "But in truth, I just came by to seal this deal. I'm a very busy woman and have many places to go. But, I do wish you the best of luck."

De Soto almost whined. "Aw geez that's a darn shame." He kept his smile and his mask slowly began to reform over his head. "I was looking forward to the company."

The Prophet lowered his arms down to his sides. "Since you're a busy person, I won't trouble you over coming with me or allowing me to accompany you." He gave a slight grin. "But I insist that you eventually come meet me in New York City, the Empire State Building more specifically. That way we can become more...acquainted with one another." He looked at De Soto and signaled him to get ready to go, to which he reluctantly nodded back, and then he turned, walking away from the pair. "I'm certain that there is much we can learn from each other." With that, he sank into the ground in a shadow-like puddle. De Soto put his sword up on his right shoulder and then gave the young woman a "Call me" signal, before using his Sonido to vanish from her sight.

At both of these motions, Brina half-lidded her eyes in a look that seemed to be amusement as she stared at the Prophet. "Don't worry, though. Consider me a "behind the scenes" worker if it comes to anything else, Mr. Prophet. So if anything unexpected happens and is within your favor, you are free to blame me..." The last sentence was somewhat of a light-hearted joke. But she paid no heed as to whether he humored her or not on it. She turned her back on him, giving a wave behind her. "I'll see you later!"

Then, with an impressive Flash Step, she disappeared as well without a trace.

Beginning Of The End
Akisame and Soifon walked through the southern end of the small town, now almost completley deserted following De Soto's previous attack. They looked almost peaceful from a distance, but up close, the two Soul Reapers were both somewhat depressed. Akisame was upset over having failed the Oracle's instructions, mainly due to not learning anything assuring or helpful. Soifon was angered over having an old and well healed wound that she had sustained nearly 600 years ago reopen within just a few minutes. Her face was red with anger and frustration, she was squeezing her husband's hand so tight that he twitched slightly.

"Hey...do you want to talk about what happened?" he asked her quietly.

She stopped and sighed, pulling him over to a small bench that was to their left and sitting both of them down on it. She leaned forward and held her wolf amulet within her left hand, looking into it's diamond eyes, before speaking. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. Had I known earlier that he was alive..." She felt his hand run across her back. "Would it really have mattered if you did tell be before?"

She exhaled. "No, I guess not." She put the amulet back within her shirt and looked back at him. "Why was finding Haralson so important anyway? I thought you didn't want to fufill the old man's last request?"

He sighed, deciding to give up his secrets as well. "You remember that night I left? Well, I went to investigate the building that had been covered in graffiti over night. Inside, I met someone." He paused, debating over whether or not he should go into detail about the creature's appearance. "She was affiliated with the Red Sun."

Soifon scoffed at the last statement. "I swear i'm going to kill whoever came up with them."

He continued. "She told me that a great danger was coming and that if I wished to keep you alive, then you and I had to come find Haralson McTavish. She said that he is where it would all begin." He sat himself back up. "That's how it all started anyway. Some good it done for us." She was looking at him in a sense of confusion, albeit charmed that he had gone through this much trouble for her safety. "...What do you mean "keep me alive"? And what kind of danger was she talking about?" He turned towards her. "You remember how gramps used to talk about the Plinian Eruption? And how Haralson said something about the Red Sun and their paradise?"

She nodded, dread covering her face. "Apparentley we are amoung the ones that will survive it, and exist in the ruined world produced afterwords." He pulled out a cigarette and prepared to light it. "At least, that's what..."

Before he could finish, a bright light shined in his eyes. He turned to look in it's direction, only to see a blue mushroomcloud ascending into the sky nearly half a mile away from them. Then, a massive force of wind followed it and completley swept both Akisame and Soifon off of their bench and sliding onto the ground. He pulled out his Scarab pistol, ready to fight whatever it was that had just attacked. But then he saw it. The same Arrancar that had attacked earlier was standing just a few feet away from them, his sword in hand.

"Ah christ..."

Without warning, the being jumped in front of him and landed a successful kick to his chest, sending him flying away. Soifon quickly retaliated by kicking the Arrancar across the side of his face, spinning him around. Taking this opprotunity, De Soto grabbed Soifon by her ankle and threw her into a small building to his left. As he turned back around to face Akisame, he saw him standing with his gun aiming straight at him. Before he could react, the gun flashed and his vision went dark.

"Bullseye." Akisame said, lowering his gun. The kido bolt that he had discharged had gone straight throught the Arrancar's helmet, right between his eyes. He could see the blood emerging from his mask and landing at his feet...

...but he was still standing, wobbling around as if though he'd just awakened from a hangover of sorts. What he saw next almost made him drop his gun to the ground. The Arrancar turned it's head to where he was looking back at Akisame and spoke. "You idiot." it said in an almost casual tone as it's mask began to slowly decipate, revealing his face, a red hole in the center of his forehead. "There's only one being in existance that can kill me."

"Haralson..."

Akisame knew that further fighting would be useless. He realized then that this Arrancar was the "De Soto" that Haralson had told them about earlier. Normally he would pass the last statement off as a form of boasting...

...but he had just shot him in his head and he was still alive. He had all of the proof he needed. But how to get word to Haralson in time.

He would have to wait, De Soto sprung straight for him. Using quick thinking, Akisame extended both of his arm blades and held them up in an X shape, blocking the sword strike. The power of the attack caused a car behind him to flip over horizontally. They then set in to exchanging sword blows, Akisame's being more defensive, while De Soto's were more ruthless and unending. Before either of them knew it, Soifon then Flash-Stepped behind De Soto, her Shunko radiating all around her, and then dug her right fist into the Arrancar's back. Akisame quickly Flash-Stepped away from the spot to avoid the Arrancar's downfall. He reappeared on top of a building just a few feet behind his previous position just as De Soto smashed into the ground in a great column of dirt and dust. Soifon looked back at Akisame through the cloud, signaling him to be ready, to which he agreed.

Just as she turned back to face De Soto, a blue trail of lightning sky rocketed into the air at amazing speeds. Soifon smiled. "Not this time, De Soto." She then pointed her right fist into the air, trailing the now bluish fireball that was her opponent. Then, with amazing accuracy, she unleashed a white energy beam that almost instantly connected with De Soto, causing a massive midair explosion. She gave a satisfied smile, albeit keeping her Shunko up.

SPLURCH!

All of a sudden, a sharp pain quickly worked its way up her back all the way to her left shoulder. She turned around to see that De Soto had survived the attack, and used a powerful swing to actually pierce her Shunko and cut her slightly across her back. She Flash-Stepped away from him on a building adjacent to Akisame's, whom of which quickly came to her aid. De Soto, grinning as always, then used the same Hyper Cero technique to ascend into the sky again. When he stopped about 500 meters above them, he bit down on his left index finger and then pointed his left hand at the couple. A large cyan energy sphere began to charge in said hand, lightning radiating all around it. "I'm afraid that I can't give either of you the chance to live. This is between me and Haralson." he said, charging the sphere even more.

Soifon and Akisame looked up just in time to see the attack. Akisame couldn't recognize it, but Soifon could almost instantly. "That's, that's a Gran Rey Cero!" She widened her eyes in surprise and horror. "But only the Espada were capable of using it! How..."

De Soto unleashed his attack just as she was talking. The large energy sphere then headed straight for them. If it was to connect with either of them, or if it crashed into the ground, then the town would surely be destroyed...

It would never meet its target.

Boom...

A soft booming noise was heard between both parties. The Gran Rey Cero was stopped halfway, splitting into several massive tendrils of energy that extended briefly over the town. The Cyan energy illuminated the entire mountainside once again - a rather beautiful and lethal display. Under where the Cero had stopped, a lone figure was floating. Its more detailed features were overtaken by the bright light that shadowed them in darkness. However, there were two glowing red eyes that seemed to be glowing down at the two below. Behind it, an equally silhouetted cleaver blade was put between it and the blast in order to keep itself from being injured.

Haralson had once again come to their rescue.

The blast dissipated, and Haralson's face was revealed to have a cold and angry expression on it as he turned to face De Soto. "Damn right. So I'd appreciate it if you kept those two, as well as my town, out of our vendetta...." He said, balancing his cleaver blade over his shoulder.

Akisame chuckled. "I think you may have gotten to him Sophie."

She wasn't as amused, but rather more shocked. After all that she had done to him, he had come to rescue her and her husband once again. Guilt slowly worked it's way up her spine...

...Unless he was just protecting the town of course.

The Arrancar emited a hideous cackle that echoed throughout the mountainside. "How else would I get you to leave that little shack of yours!?" His cyan eyes met the red ones of his opponent's, like the sun and the moon on the eve of an eclipse. This is where their fight would be finished, this is where years of searching would end.

This is where his true purpose would be fulfilled.

To De Soto's statement, Haralson remained silent. However, he turned his head over his shoulder to look at the two from down below. He was close enough to see the shock and slight guilt within the former 2nd Division Captain's eyes, but only reacted with a serene and seemingly apathetic look. He knew that she believed that he hated her, and that he had no reason to rescue her. She was assured that he wasn't doing this for her or her husband. It was the logical thing to think, considering that she was the one that separated her family.

But he had been true to his word. It was too tiring to hold a vendetta against them. It caused a lot of pain within his heart.... but it was in the past. Nothing could be done about what had happened then. In reality, he had to thank her for forcing him to confront his own isolation. It was true that his family was separated from him now. But all the elements still existed and were only scattered in different locations. He understood now; if he won this battle, he could find those elements and have the hope of reuniting what had not been destroyed.

So, in order to confirm this in one swift move...

He smiled.

It was a weary, battle-worn smile. But it expressed his own forgiveness without him having to resort to words. He didn't know about her husband.... but it would be obvious to her.

Soifon managed to catch the sympathetic gesture that Haralson had given her. She realized then that Haralson had indeed forgiven her for what she had done. She smiled back at him, and nodded her head.

The Frozen Blood Line
Her smile turned into an open frown. She lifted up her right index finger and tried to yell at him, not knowing whether or not he could hear her, as if though she had seen something. Had Haralson simply relied on his vision, he would not have realized that De Soto's boot had successfully connected with his head, with enough force to send him plummeting to the ground...

But he didn't.

WHUMPF!

In a timely manner, Haralson once again put his blade between De Soto's attack and himself, the boot colliding with the flat edge. Upon impact, a vicious shockwave rocked through the metal and the hand holding the blade. As if that was enough to set him off, an immense level of energy was exerted across the area courtesy of Haralson. Only the true masters such as Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushiro Ukitake would have been able to exude such powerful reiatsu such as this.

This was a testament to Haralson's abilities.... and what was to come to De Soto.

As the man's pressure was exerted, he narrowed his eyes once again and gritted his teeth in a scowl directed towards the Arrancar. "Listen up, De Soto!" He said, putting forth his fury and anticipation of the battle ahead. "There'll be no more chances for you after this. My old man may have spared you out of some misguided sense of mercy. But you will find that I go by no such rule when it comes to my former nightmare. I fear you no longer, and there is only one thing I want when it comes to you!!"

Then, with a vicious swing, he shoved De Soto aside. Then, he threw himself at the Arrancar, his cleaver blade raised and ready to begin what was the first strikes. His final two words were etched in a dark, furious, and frightening scream that fully exposed his intentions.

"YOUR BLOOD!!!!"

SWACK!

Using his left hand, De Soto had caught the blade dead center, struggling to keep it from cutting through his hand entirley. His grin only widened. "Fear? Heh heh heh, no one ever said that you were to fear me Harry." As the words left his mouth, his body began to glow with a faint blue and lightning began to crackle around him. "I want you...TO HATE ME!!!!"

With that, the Arrancar sped away in a trail of lightning, quickly moving above Haralson and then quickly charging back down towards him, zip zagging like a lightning bolt.

Haralson did not hesitate to mimic his movements.

Once De Soto zig-zagged at him, Haralson used several Flash Step movements to match him move for move, quickly closing the gap between himself and his opponent. Once again, he swung the blade in an effort to cut his opponent's Hierro when the target was close enough. If his opponent attacked him, his Shikai would assist in his defense with its own special ability. It was something he liked - a weapon that hid its own true nature.

"Predictable."

Just as he'd hoped, Haralson was preparing to meet him head on, his sword preparing to cleave him in two. With blinding speed, De Soto's lightning attack whirled around his target just as he was about to make contact with the sword. Returning to his normal form, De Soto held his left hand up and began to charge a Cero. Instead of firing however, he brought the hand down towards Haralson as if though he was going to clasp down on his head.

"Hold still!!!" Haralson snarled as soon as De Soto had whirled around. His narrowed crimson eyes followed his enemy the whole way, and his body twisted around to face him. His sword movements were fluent, his swing changing from one direction to the other without having to make jerky or abrupt movements. It allowed for a much faster and efficient move than anything else he might have done at that time.

If De Soto had followed up with a physical strike instead of the charging of a Cero, then he would've kept the fight at a physical stalemate. But by choosing to charge a Cero over initiating a punch or a kick, he had left himself wide open for attack. Haralson remained true to his word.

SLICE!

That mistake allowed Haralson's sword to cut De Soto's arm right down the middle, the force splitting it all the way down to the shoulder.

De Soto's insane expression remained present, even in the face of the blow that he'd just recieved. "Heh, you're doing pretty good." he said with a chuckle. His smile then grew. "But not good enough."

STICK!

Taking advantage of Haralson's focus on his left arm, De Soto managed to stab his foe in the stomach with his own sword, which was in his right arm.

If it wasn't for the fact that he had been somewhat disturbed by De Soto's unchanging expression, Haralson would've moved or attacked again. But karma had turned on the McTavish.

Pain shot through his body, and he let out a pained grunt as the wide weapon tore into the flesh of his stomach. Blood spilled onto the weapon as well as from the Shinigami's mouth, and he ended up spitting it on De Soto's clothing. Letting out a groan of frustration, he jerked himself back before he could be welcomed to yet another strike on his person. One of his hands clutched his stomach while the other held his cleaver blade in clear defiance. Blood trickled from his mouth, and he briefly raised his free hand to wipe it away before returning it back to the injury made to his stomach.

"You remember our previous engagements?" De Soto snickered as the wound on his shoulder became enveleoped in the web like material that was his suit, presumidibly healing it. "Yeah, those weren't the real deal, not like this fight." He raised his sword to where it was pointing at Haralson. "This time, I'm fighting for good."

Haralson closed his eyes for a moment, cooling down his mind for a moment to think. Though he was still breathing slightly hard due to the stomach wound, his tone was still defiant. To add to the effect, he even put a smirk on his face just to spite De Soto. "Is that so? Well, I'm not impressed, laddie. You're going to have to do better than that if you want to convince me that you mean this."

De Soto laughed slightly. "Oh don't worry, brother, I intend to."

With that, he reached his sword up behind him, and then threw it towards Haralson in the same manner that he'd used in their first battle. But this time, instead of staying in the same place, De Soto used Sonido to disappear from view...

This was a matter of sensing out his opponent.

Haralson closed his eyes, and time seemed to slow down as the weapon flew towards him. Then, he used a Flash Step to vanish from his spot and right beside the weapon as it was flying through the air. Timing his reach, he stretched his arm out and caught the weapon by the hilt. Immediately following that motion, he twisted his body, arched his arm, and hurled it right back at where De Soto had re-appeared.

Sure enough, Haralson had thrown the blade in the exact direction that De Soto was to re-appear. The Arrancar quickly caught his blade with his right hand, the force of the catch caused his arm to almost wrap around his neck, before quickly throwing it back at Haralson and vanishing from view yet again.

"What in the bloody hell is he trying to do, play catch?!"

Getting annoyed with the games De Soto was subjecting him to, Haralson decided to change his tactics. Once again, he performed the same movement and grasped the hilt of his opponent. His senses allowed him to do the rest, picking out De Soto's path and providing a good idea of where he was going to appear next.

But he didn't hurl the weapon.

With another Flash Step, he re-appeared right behind De Soto and swung the blade in a rotational strike, aiming to use the Arrancar's own weapon against him.

But the blade stopped just before it could touch the Arrancar, who was floating in an almost slump matter. De Soto's grin became even more sinister as he slowly turned his head to stare down his foe. Had Haralson been looking, he would have noticed the key like sword slowly turning to where the blue eye at the top of it's blade was facing his own. De Soto simply said two words.

"Arrebatar Vacio."

The eye then began to glow...

Haralson's eyes widened and his pupils shrank in shock at the trap he had fallen in. He knew the ability all too well; it had been the main source of his depression, the main reason why he had wanted to kill himself all those years before. It occured to him that De Soto may have not been wanting to fight him all along, but simply torture him without having to lift a finger. He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth in animosity, the crimson irises wanting to glare a hole right through his enemy's chest.

"You can't even give me the honor of a real fight...can you?!"

He knew it was too late to look away.

He braced himself for what was coming.

A Destiny
Suddenly, a bright light enveloped the old Soul Reaper and kept him sustained in the air. Should someone had known what was inside of the light, they would have seen that, deep within Haralson's subconcious, the warrior was inside of a solid white void, completley at the mercy of the visions that were to be produced from his own imagination. Should he have been looking, Haralson would have noticed a tall, hunched over figure standing just a few feet away from him, it's arms folded across it's back.

"Haralson!" Soifon said in a surprisingly worried voice. Akisame, who had been speechless throughout most of the battle, clutched his fists in anger.

He knew that he was in the vision, and anyone else would have probably know it too, considering that Haralson's body had gone limp and was now standing still in mid-air. It was a rather disturbing sight to see.

But as the Haralson within his mind stood there, eyes falling on the man who had brought him into this world and was now standing a few feet away from him, he felt.... negativity. There was bitterness due to the fact that Charles had neglected him. There was bitterness that he had gave Akisame the treatment that he deserved. There was sadness out of being reminded that the real Charles had died, and that he had never had the chance to speak the last words. The sight of his father rendered him speechless and nearly paralyzed, and he was barely take the few steps forward in order to come close enough to his father.

He could only speak one word.

"D...dad....?"

The figure walked over to him and extended his right hand to help Haralson to his feet. "Haralson." he said in a raspy british toned accent.

This only shocked Haralson even further.

He had never expected his father to help him out, but rather he expected him to stand on his own two feet. But, hadn't Haralson already done that? As of here and now, he was standing up against the nightmare he had feared so many years ago. Did that give justification to the man's actions? Slowly, he allowed himself to grasp Charles's hand and be pulled up onto his feet. "Of all the visions.... that I've expected to see.... I'd never thought I'd see you...." He spoke, his voice incredulous. "But...but why?" He wasn't sure what to do here, or what to say to his father.

The elder Soul Reaper chuckled slightly as he lifted his son onto his feet. "I'm glad to see that your caution has not wavered over the years." His face became somewhat more stern. "My son. Before you ask, yes, I am your father. Before I sealed De Soto within Hueco Mundo, I managed to transfer a small amount of my own mind into his Zanpaktou, as I designed it to." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "He's not here to torture you Haralson. He is here to help you."

"Help me? How?"

Following that skeptical statement, Haralson took in a deep breath and exhaled to cool himself down for easier speech. His eyes narrowed, a slight scowl forming on his face. "Didn't he have enough "helping" me to the point of me wanting to kill myself?! He seems real bloody set on making me suffer, if not anything else!"

Charles lowered his head, expecting his son to say something of the sort. "That was the point of his creation. In my arrogance and pride, I initially designed him as a weapon to be used against you, a tool to make you stronger for the future. But then..." He then began to pace around Haralson while continuing his explanation. "There is a powerful darkness coming Haralson. De Soto is helping you prepare for it. He is doing as I had programmed him to do."

He stopped and turned his attention back to his son. "He is trying to see if you are ready to face your destiny."

"My...."

For a moment, the angry skepticisim faded away from Haralson's expression, and he shifted his body to his father in order to face him. He now looked upon Charles with confusion. "My...destiny, you say?" He repeated. "What is my destiny, then?"

Charles simply held up his right hand, signaling his son that he would say no more. "Keep fighting De Soto for now my son." he said as he turned and walked back into the empty void. "He will reveal more to you as you progress." With that, the area around Haralson began to crack and fall apart...

"....damn it...."

Despite this, Haralson had to smile. Despite everything, Charles had spoken to him like a human being. There was no cruelty, no hostility... only a calm mentor paving the way for him. Maybe he didn't have to explain himself, and maybe Charles had already knew from the beginning how he felt.

He closed his eyes, allowing a tear to escape and fall to the cracking, shattering ground. The interaction between him and his father was enough to lift his spirits and hold them in their place. Any hopelessness he felt was suppressed, and any doubt in his mind had been wiped clean. "All right, Dad...." He whispered, not caring if Charles had heard him or not. "I'll see this through to the very end. I'm not going to let you down.... not this time...."

He took in a deep breath, preparing himself for the return.

As the void shattered and returned him to the clear blue skies that surrounded the Human World, De Soto was nowhere to be seen. But if Haralson had looked up, he would have seen the menacing Arrancar charging towards him, determination set in his mind...

But he did.

Crimson eyes met cyan once again, and the Scot grit his teeth as he raised his blade over his head. Then, he swung down, unleashing the immensely powerful and illuminating energy blast at his close-range opponent. His eyes were narrowed as he stared into the blast, the radiating winds rippling his clothing. However, there was more concentration and anticipation more than anything. He wasn't angry to the point of bloodlust anymore, for it was now clear to him. De Soto was nothing more than a tool with the ability to speak and information passed down as his father's last rites. It was the cold truth - something he was willing to accept.

So, if he wished to learn the destiny that his father spoke of, he would have to follow the last order.

Seeing the gaze of Haralson's eyes, De Soto countered the energy blast with a Cero of his own. The two beams clashed and numerous sparks and lightning bolts emerged from the impact. De Soto grinned with intensity as his larger blast slowly began to over power that of Haralson's.

It made the difference between Haralson's energy attacks and De Soto's. Once Haralson's attacks were initiated, they left the blade, while De Soto's could still be connected to his hand and be fed more energy. However, because Haralson did not have to keep feeding energy, he could move freely without having to stay in one spot. This was something that he could take advantage of.

Using the light as cover, he used a Flash Step to appear behind his opponent, pushing his blade forward in order to mirror the attack he had performed on De Soto - the strike that had saved Soifon from before.

De Soto could only turn around just in time to see the attack pierce his chest. As it made contact however, De Soto's face became somewhat pained as blood spat out from his mouth. But the biggest difference was his face itself. His left eye color changed from cyan to yellow, his smile fading from his face...

Now it was Haralson's turn to chuckle, a smirk planted on his face at the blow. He didn't even allow himself to flinch when the red liquid splattered his face. But he did allow himself to speak, triumphant at finally having caused the manic Arrancar pain.

"Doesn't feel good to have pain inflicted on you, does it?" He jeered, glaring from the blade buried in his opponent's chest into the color-shifting eye. "You finally have a taste of what you've been giving me all these years. But I'm not done yet, mate.... not by a long shot."

De Soto simply looked back at him with the same expression. While his cyan eye was full of hatred and anger, the yellow eye gave off a sense of fear and innocence. It was as if De Soto had split into two different beings in one strike...

"What the....?"

Blood Brothers
As Haralson caught this, his concentrated look was lost for a slightly surprised look, though he still held his defiance. "What did I do now...?" He wondered, initially curious in the gaze that the yellow eye gave him. However, the more he stared into it, the more the fear and innocence actually began to make itself aware within his mind. Curiosity started started to give way to apprehension, and his cautious attitude was starting to come back to the surface. He jerked back, ripping the blade out of his opponent's body and leaping back to the traditional fighter's distance.

"Was this what Dad was talking about? When I progress...."

The strange Arrancar staggered back for a bit, holding the left side of his face with a pained expression. He held up his sword as if though he was preparing to strike at Haralson, but he quickly dropped it and it descended towards the town directly below the two fighters. "Don't worry." he said, slowly looking upwards towards Haralson. As his face became more visible, one could notice that his yellow eye was now slowing turning into its' natural cyan, but a black, tear like substance slowly began to emerge from it. "Nothings wrong...I just had a...little internal intervention is all." He then stood back up, holding his right arm out to grab his weapon that had now flung itself back up towards him.

For the first time in a long time, De Soto's face became dead serious, no smile, no insane glare, just a stern stare down with his foe. "It's time we finish this." he said as he began to float back towards the town.

Soifon and Akisame were still in shock over the battle that had just taken place. They watched as De Soto floated to the ground without looking at them. They prepared themselves to face him, but he simply looked upwards, waiting for Haralson to come down to his level.

Haralson, out of instinct, floated down with De Soto and kept at level with him. It was logical to assume that this was indeed what his father was talking about. The tear-like substance that had fallen from his eyes, the odd shift in colors, and the sudden mood change was enough to convince him that much. It seemed that De Soto, despite having been the one to inflict the vision, had no knowledge of what transpired between Charles and Haralson. This did nothing to lessen the belief that De Soto was a tool that had been manipulated without remorse by Charles.

But Haralson did not feel sorry for him. He couldn't, not at this point in time.

Once his feet touched the ground, the Shinigami raised his blade in the air and summoned his energy forth. Once again, the very air around the town seemed to fill up with his spiritual pressure. However, the effects were much more destructive than normal. An energy pillar, blue and blinding in brightness, erupted from the ground around him and extended to the sky. Shockwaves radiated from the pillar, and it seemed as if the town was in the midst of a hurricane. The empty houses shook, and some even collapsed on themselves.

Through the power, Haralson spoke one word.

"Ban...kai...."

Upon that command, the pillar and its effects disappeared within seconds. Haralson was revealed standing with two elegantly designed cleaver blades, one black and one white. Each one was in each of his hands, and he brandished them in a defensive and ready position as he leveled a narrowed-eye stare at his foe.

"Gutaika no Inga."

De Soto gave a slight smile that worked it's way across the right side of his face. He was ready to fight his nemisis with his maximum power. He held out his sword to where both of the eyes were facing Haralson. De Soto looked through them and said one word.

"Stupify"

With that word, De Soto became incased in a thin diamond like material that slowly made him float up in the air somewhat. The area around him began to change and distort itself. The ground randomly shot off pieces of rocks into the sky. The houses that Haralson had just collapsed slowly rebuilt themselves, only to be brought down again. The clear blue skies then became dark and cloudy, a perfect mood for the inevitable battle. Then, without warning, the diamond shattered, revealing a cloaked, taller version of De Soto in it's wake. Cyan lightning crackled around his new form. He wore a hood, his eyes were still cyan albiet more piercing and menacing. He had several pieces of armor around his body and his sword was now more straight forward, though it still possessed the blue eye at the top of it's handle.

"Vacio Fabricante"

"I'd better end this quickly....I'm not sure how long I can keep fighting, what with my stomach bleeding and all..."

As Haralson lowered to a defensive position, beads of sweat were falling down his face. By now, the lower torso of his clothing was stained a dark red. His vision was starting to grow fuzzy around the edges, and he knew he had only a limited time before his body finally gave out on him. These next moves had to decide the fight and nothing could be wasted. This would be the final stage of the battle.

"Here we go...." The Scot whispered, pulling his blades back in a rotational manner before swinging them in the same manner.

Though it was only the physical strength that he had put into the swing, the effects were destructive. From that one swing, a powerful wall of wind came forth towards his opponent with the capability of doing severe blunt force trauma if it connected.