Forging the Black Fang: Brain-washing the Demon

Kyoufu sat at his desk, reading over his research reports on his old project known as Shade Kagekyo. Not the Kensei member, but his Reigai. The Reigai had somehow become a Demon, a very powerful one at that. After the destruction of his lab, which contained thousands of copies of his one project that never was destroyed by the Shinigami or gone renegade, Shitsuren Ryougen, or X023, he needed something worthy of his status, and to better his standing among the Quads. "Damn...If only I had him on my side, I could regain my status as useful to the Quads. No, I need to do something that will give me forgiveness for my future errors." he said before pressing a button on his desk, summoning his personal pet and assassin, his project X023. "I have an assignment."

The black haired teenage killer smirked. "Sir? What must I do for you?" he asked, aware of how he must act around his creator and sole person he could depend on for sutaining life. "I will do whatever it takes for your goals to become real." he added with a bow, no trace of fear, or any emotion at all for that matter, in his voice.

Kyoufu chuckled as the chimera spoke. "I want you to bring me a man, Shade Kagekyo. He MUST be brought alive and no one can see or even know about you taking him away. Get him alone, threaten him, maybe even knock him out. Whatever you do, DO NOT KILL HIM! Understand?" he said, emphasis on making sure Shade was brought alive.

"May I see a picture of my prey, or hear his voice? I need some sort of sensory data to compare people to and therefore get a lead on him." Shitsuren said.

"You don't need to tell me why you need his data you, you Frankenstien." Kyoufu said, enraged at being treated like a fool by his creation. "I know full well every iota of your abilities and how they function, down to how to overcome them if need-be." he said before producing a picture of a raven haired teen with red eyes. "You've seen him before, have you not?"

"Project X023.2, the second itteration of my model number although he is part of a different project altogether." The assasin said, still showing nothing emotionally. He had enough abusive training to know better. Once he memorized Shade Kagekyo's face, he left without another word in any form.

Let the Hunt Begin
Shade was sitting outside his family's hideout in Mexico, resting against a slowly freezing tree. He had finally found his way home after a few months of soul searching, trying to decide what to do with his eternal damnation looming over him forever. He had talked to some other Hell-Hunters from back in the day, and they were bound to their ruler to the end. He alone escaped, as far as he was aware.

Shitsuren had just entered the mortal plane to begin his hunt, however his entry point was far off from where the tracking data said to enter, with him stuck in the Antartic wastes, far to the south of where he needed to be. "Oh for the love of...Who the hell is Bael?!" he screamed, not aware of a horrid fourth wall reference thrust upon him at the moment.

Shade silently smirked, the ground around him becoming chilled just by his spiritual power extending around him. He got up and walked inside, finding his girlfriend asleep on their coutch, his Hell-Blade resting on the floor. He nudged her awake, careful to curb is power so she didn't freeze from the contact. She looked at him expectently, watching his face for a sign that this wasn't just her dream again. "You finally decided to come home?" she asked, brushing some strands of blonde hair away from her face.

"Been home a few hours now. You need to relax, ok Loran?" the ice Demon replied, his face alive with happiness. Of all the things in this world, only she could make him smile anymore. After the deaths of his friends Margin Heart and Shiro Kujo, he lost his will to live, for the most part. Only the woman he now beheld in his gaze kept him alive, and little else.

The woman nodded and sat up. "Your body's like fire today. Everything ok?" she asked, noticing his touch wasn't even slightly cold, never a good sign. "I'll go make you some coffee, so sit down."

Shade did as he was told. "Thanks. But I'm ok. I finally figured out how to regulate my body temperture to the point it feels normal, something I'm glad for. Now I don't need to worry about freezing you while we're near each other." he replied, still smiling.

Shitsuren had tired of waiting for the Ice Lord, as Shade touted himself, to appear in his natural habitat and instead decided on tracking him down via spiritual power instead. Shitsuren was well aquanted with his processor's ebb and flow down to the micro-unit of time, allowing him to pinpoint it at vast distances. With little thought to the storms all around the ice cold land, he jumped into the frigid waters and swam and high speeds, equal to a modern sea-faring vessal, until he released his Zanpakto and sped up greatly by using his tail as a rudder. Within a matter of hours, he was already to the southern tip of Africa, from which point he simply changed direction and wound up in Brazil and thereby able to sprint up to Mexico.

Shade was glad he was home, nothing to kill or destroy, just peace. Even though he's only fought once over his travels, he had discovered his skills hadn't diminished with the years, and such a thought scared him. He was the perfect killing machine, forever trapped at his peak of skill and endless power yet to gain. While he and Loran were at peace with who has become, he had never cared much for being a Demonic being. The only good part of it, it made him unkillable by normal means, and if he did die he would just regenerate in Hell for a while. Loran had brought him coffee, his drug of choice since time imemorial for himself, and the two sat down together to watch a movie. However, that would have to wait, as Shitsuren was just outside the doorway.

"Open this, Kagekyo. Or I will blast it down. In fact, I will." he said before firing a Cero that destroyed the door and allowed him entry. "Master says it's time for you to come back to him."

Loran moved behind Shade, who erected and Ice Wall between himself and her. Before the Hollow-like monster in front of him could attact, the Demon revealed his true form, white hair, blue clothing and a black mask that made his eyes glow a light orange. "Tell Bael to shove it where the sun don't shine. I'm not leaving."

Shitsuren grew comically annoyed at the remark. "Who the hell is this Bael dude? I was refering to Kyoufu-sama."

At hearing that man's name, Loran knew what was going on. "Shade, get away from this man, he's after you because my father sent him. He'll never stop chasing you, even to Hell itself." she said, starting to sob. "When you return, I promise to explain."

Shade growled like a mad dog. "Nobody blows down my door, puts my family at risk, and gets away with it. He'll be dead before I blink. Then you can tell me whatever you need to." he said, firing his own Cero, which was canceled out by Shitsuren's own, and overpowered. At that point, he already lost his Demon form, using the energy to recover himself. "Damn, he's strong. Loran, run to Hama Town, tell Van about this, might want to get Atsuya in on this too. I'm not gonna win this, this guy's too much." he ordered, coughing blood as black as the night sky, a side-effect of his service to Bael and his legions. "Tell them, I'll be back in a few hours."

Shitsuren took his chance and wrapped his tail around Shade's neck. "Oh no, I'm not killing you. I'm under orders to bring you back alive. Sorry Loran, you know how bad your father is when I disobey." he said before vanishing, a strange breaking sound rending the air as he did so.

Alterations
Kyoufu had prepared everything to re-program the Reigai's mind while still allowing some form of self control. The set up was quite like a stereotypical sci-fi film, lending a sense of forboding to the entire production that would soon take place inside it's walls. That was when Shitsuren returned with the motionless form of Shade.

"Master, as you've asked, so has it been. However, I must admit, I erred. Your daughter saw the events." the chimera said, ashamed at himself for failing a direct order of such importance.

Kyoufu laughed. "Just as I wished. Now, she will assemble all of that Reigai's friends into one place, where he alone will end them, although there will be a great many who will provide distraction. The Satanoka clan will fall by the hand of the one who saved their lives. Lay him down on that table, hook him up to the machines, and watch."

Shitsuren did what he was told. "Sir, may I ask WHY it has to be him?" he wondered, although he already had a hunch. As the last of the connections were made between the machines and the helplessly unaware Hell-Hunter, he gave up hope for an answer to his question.

While Kyoufu was making some final alterations to the proceedure, he actually answered the question. "Who better to lead an army then one who has seen the very depths of Hell and walked away? Nobody. Not only that, he's a copy of one of the Kensei, thereby granting him a great many abilities no one else on the planet could have. I made sure of it myself, killing that real Shade, and his sniveling daughter. Of course, Loran never found out I killed her family just to get her close to the Reigai version." he said with a hint of glee in his voice.

"Now, rise. The great darkness will follow at your hand. To save those you love, you must obey me. I am once again your master. Rise up! Give yourself to my cause! Open your eyes as my servent." Kyoufu chanted the incantation of a new Kido which, along with specific chemicals in the target's body, allows for near total control, leaving only enough individual personality to allow for creative thinking.

Shade's eyes snapped open, their venomous red color seemingly deeper than before. "I hear and obey Master Kyoufu." he said, sitting upright. "What must I do?"

Shitsuren smiled when he heard the Demon. "Master, I think you've won whatever war you plan to wage. I'm happy to say, not only do you have him and myself at your command, but you also have the psudo-Hogokyu. they will ensure you cannot fail."

Kyoufu just so happened to pull out one of the said copies of Aizen and Kisuke's greatest creation, which was then implanted inside Shade's body. "That will empower you further, augmenting your already above-average abilities to new hights." he said, making it sound as a reward for a job well done, which, if everything happened according to plan, it would be.

"Thank you. Now, answer my question." Shade said, cruel anger lacing his voice, not to mention telling off his creator, and now master.

"You, my Demonic soldier, will destroy Hama Town. But first, we need an army for you to command. After all, you're the perfect comander for our side, with you being able to alter the area to best suit our allies."

Shade smiled his trademark smile, a sure sign that he wants to kill, or be killed. "Perfect. So, when will we gather said army? I want to crush the opposition as soon as I can." he asked, honestly unable to recall that before, he would never have attacked the innocent, his will destroyed. In short, Kyoufu's goal was underway, and in fact, the Ice Lord's existence was defined for a moment like this.