Crosscurrent

The Foundation
. Morning.

Several days had passed since the encounter with Hiromasa Ishikawa, the Zanjutsu Grandmaster who hailed from the period of time when the Gotei 13, the military organisation supposed to protect order in the, was founded. The same crucial period of time that shaped Kentarō Akiyama, or rather Tōsō, to be the man he currently was. Or rather used to be until recently, up to the brawl he instigated with another relic of the distant past, fellow supreme Hakudaka Seireitō Kawahiru.

So much changed during the last couple of weeks. Substantially more than during the nearly thousand years of mindless, misguided wander that had preceded them. Tōsō deliberated upon that for some time. Once he had exacted his vengeance he became a wreckage of his former self. While well-intentioned, both his goal and the methods he was ready to resort to decayed over time, turning him into a twisted abomination, a lunatic, a doomsayer, one who hoped to save the world through utter destruction. He had seen the error of his ways already, and he knew he had to change his attitude radically. He acknowledged that he could, and should, let this world be. At the same time, his desire to protect the world from dangers comparable, perhaps far greater than his former self was ignited anew. Mentally, he was ready to return to the Soul Society, to the, and become a again.

But what about his capacity to protect the world?

Not so long ago he deluded himself with the ability to crush any kind of opposition with the weight of the primordial chaos, the realm of quasi-existence from time before time. However, the two recent battles had proven him wrong. His former colleagues showed they were more than a match for anything he deployed against them. In the many centuries that followed his departure from the Gotei 13 he had succeeded to master Yugameyo, the expression of his true self and greatest asset. Unfortunately, that might have been the only change for the better that occurred during that time. After all, he was too preoccupied with observation and ill-conceived, futile attempts to convince people to his skewed worldview. Any training he did was out of habit, basic and mechanical, barely capable of maintaining his skill, much less so of improving it. If the threat he strove to oppose was as grave as he believed it to be, he would stand no chance.

Instead of relying on pure chaos in combat, yielding control to it and depending mostly on its otherworldly aspects, he had to become a Hakuda Grandmaster once more. With the ability to finely control that uncontrollable primeval element restored he could indeed become a worthy ally to the modern Gotei. He had recognised lately that he was neither a man of order nor an instrument of chaos. He was a bridge between two worlds that held them together and sustained the current state of existence, a perfect balance between order and disorder. Now, he had to reinforce that bridge, tighten his grip, and stabilise them to the best of his ability.

That was time for Kentarō Akiyama to return.