Flames of Reason

I wasn't impressed. "Become one, Shinka Hakkejin!" I proudly declared as my Zanpakutō became a giant zanbatō- which was almost double my height- with a revolver chamber, which serves as the hilt for the blade. The blade is curved and notched, with a noticeably sharp edge. The crossguard is coloured in silver and black, with numerous checkered designs adorned upon the guard. This was my Shinka Hakkejin's Shikai; and to be honest, it was all I really needed.

"Look into those flames, child! Raise your head, look! Is that what you wish to hold, supplicant? Is the shaping of flames what stirs your heart? Know that flames can burn, and if you would learn their power, you must suffer their touch." Yamamoto certainly seemed high on his power or something like that. Of course, I was gonna bring him down a notch. "Reduce all creation to ash, my Ryūjin Jakka!" Yamamoto's domineering voice resounded throughout the barracks as I steeled myself. This Hanako Suzumega wasn't going to go down so easily.

For him to release the moment he decided to face me…this certainly is unexpected. Nevertheless, I can't let it affect me too much—WHOOSH! Wait-wait, this wasn't expected! Yama-jii shot forward like a bullet at me, Ryūjin Jakka aimed at my throat. "Onibi." His cold words rung in my mind as he used a powerful thrust in an attempt to kill me right here and now! Of course, knowing me, I wouldn't let that affect me.

SKREE! The blade only managed to pierce my skin ever-so-slightly; Yama-jii looked up at me; his expression basically said 'why?' Oho, of course you senile old coot, I wouldn't tell you anything! You know how the Quincies have an ability called Blut Vene, right? Well, what I did here was mimic that with my reason—By making reason flow directly into my blood vessels, I was able to drastically increase my defensive power. While it was a Quincy-exclusive technique, anyone with a sufficiently advanced mind could replicate the mechanics to forge an ability with the exact same power!

"But how did you…are you one of them!?" Yama-jii howled at me.

I grinned. "Analysis, you shitty old geezer. Analysis."

However! The old bastard took me by surprise as he spun around and waved his sword at me at close range; releasing an overwhelming wave of flame at me point-blank.

"Bakudō number eighty-one, Dankū!" I quickly snapped as I instantly charged and expanded my reiatsu outwards before solidifying it, erecting a translucent barrier in the form of a rectangular wall to shield me from that shitty old geezer's attack. Good; no damage taken. This was my prime change right now; the collision of flame and my barrier had caused a significant amount of smoke to be generated, clouding Yama-jii's vision.

"Hienrenkyaku." I whispered; of course calling your attack names at the top of your voice was mandatory—but it ruined the element of surprise in a battle, which would be a deciding factor in any fight. Plus, it felt fulfilling to at least mutter the names of my techniques, so this was good enough. Either way, I dashed from the smoke shield, before catching that elderly coot by surprise. I swung my foot upwards with all of my might and kicked him sky-high with a pillar of reason that extended up to the heavens, knocking him through the roof of the 13 Division Imperial Guard barracks.

Yama-jii caught himself in mid-air and utilized his Shunpō that enabled him to stand in the scarlet skies. Me, expelling reason outwards, shot after him while utilized that harnessed energy as a rocket booster of sorts, jetting upwards with incredible velocity. The bastard declared, "Taimatsu." and he created a great inferno with the simple wave of Ryūjin Jakka. The fire generated by the attack; darn, it was so hot that I was sweating! It felt like it'd turn me to ashes after a few minutes—so I used the strategy I utilized before—By making reason flow directly into my blood vessels, I was able to drastically increase my defensive power.

By using the flames soaked up by Blut Vene, I was able to install the flames in my reason and shoot it outwards out of my feet, using Yama-jii's flames as extra propellant, rocketing towards him like a space-shuttle taking flight, and from there, my offense only increased. It was only for a split second, but my Blut disengaged as it switched types—I allowed the reason to flow directly into my blood vessels once again, this time gearing it towards offense; this was known as Blut Arterie supposedly. The flames carried me even more as I caught up to Yama-jii!

"Satsugeki…" I proudly declared as I unleashed a furious and exceedingly powerful barrage of slashes, striking the shitty geezer from multiple angles at incomprehensible speeds. Each time a slash connected with the Captain-Commander, a fiery explosion was unleashed, racking up the damage at a shockingly fast rate.

After thirteen slashes, I spun around, blasting through Yama-jii with sound barrier-breaking velocity –"…Bukōken!"- utilizing an incredible powerful twirling slash, sending Yamamoto careening towards the ground with tremendous speed and force. I'm pretty sure if that this was a videogame –a fighting game specifically- I'd have racked up literally over nine thousand points from that impressive display.

Despite all that, the bastard stood to his feet, growling in a stern tone; "Foolish child…For you to attack the Captain-Commander of the 13 Division Imperial Guards is so brave yet so audacious simultaneously. But in my eyes, a child such as you is only a picket fence which will subside to the flames of my ace in the hole." He gripped Ryūjin Jakka tightly. "Bankai. Zanka no Tachi."

In an instant, the flames produced by Ryūjin Jakka was absorbed into his blade as it transformed into an ancient and worn katana that honestly looked like it was scorched by fire! I remained completely stagnant in this heating up (ha, ha) situation; even though I was sweating like crazy—this heat was a pain in the ass—I had to determine what this Zanka no Tachi did. Let's start with the basics: Bankai vary according to the wielder's strength and training. But in general, one's power can grow 5 to 10 times greater. Only the strongest Shinigami can use it. It is also the ultimate technique of a Zanpakutō.

Take Yama-jii's pyrokinesis and amp it up to ten times the strength….A high enough level of reiatsu can be used to disrupt the rhythm of a Bankai. The biggest flaw of Bankai lies in the overwhelming power it releases. But anyway, back to the subject! Then Zanka no Tachi should incorporate the full power of the shitty old geezer's flames into the blade; and with that, it should set ablaze anything it touches! Turning up the temperature of the flames, the release of Zanka no Tachi should clad both his blade and his body in the flames of the sun if he used certain techniques. This is very, very bad news.

Of course, I wasn't gonna reveal my ace in the hole. Shikai would be enough. Nevertheless, Yama muttered, Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin." The intense flames were concentrated along the edge of the blade. By analyzing how the flames weren't burning or erupting, I guess that they were compressed—aha, so Zanka no Tachi was a Compression-type Bankai! Compression equaled drastically increased power. So, going by that logic, my Blut Vene wouldn't be able to defend against it. That meant—I had to be quicker than ever on my feet!

GOOOOOOOOON! I rushed forward with my top-speed, swinging my fist forward—Kyaaa! Damn it all! Why did touching him burn me!? …This must be another of Zanka no Tachi's special abilities. Going by how "Higashi" means "West"; that means…This was possibly "Nishi" aka "East". East and West are polar opposites after all; and both being permanent abilities would make perfect sense. Alright, alright…so attacking him with my fists is ruled out. Luckily, I have another plan…

Leaping back in a swift motion, I began to put my other plan into motion. There were four directions. Going by that, there were only two attacks he had left. Hmm, going by how the name of his Zanpakutō changed so drastically from the Shikai to Bankai transition, Ryūjin Jakka must play a part in one of those abilities… I heard that Yamamoto decided to kill all the Clone-Type mod souls that were turning into Hollows, after the problem was already over a long time ago. That's right, Yama just wanted to watch. Before murderous, he was lazy. Apparently watching things die is his favorite pastime.

….!! That was it! One of his two abilities involves reviving whatever he turned to ash using Ryūjin Jakka's flames! Well, technically speaking, he was calling upon the ashes of the dead who were killed by his flames to come forth and fight on his behalf. That's definitely something to look out for.

And hell, note the name of the discipline he founded. "Shinigami". So one day he up and decided "there isn't a God of Death. I think I've found my life's calling." That seems absolutely legitimate. ANYWAY, moving on! As he swung his katana at me, I wildly veered to the left side in order to evade that wave. He kept swinging his sword violently at me; "I am the strongest Shinigami. There is none above me in power—there is a reason I am Captain-Commander, child!"

Yama-jii's infinite number of fireballs showered down on me like rain drops. I just danced around quickly using my light footwork, evading each and every one with minimal effort—while Yama may be stronger, I am much faster than the shitty old geezer. For whatever I didn't evade, I reflected the flames with Shinka Hakkejin, and I closed my distance with him.

When I shot right in front of him, Yama stopped attacking and tried to make a distance.

GON!

I expelled reason outwards from my feet, using it as a rocket caught up to Yama immediately. Then he created many defensive barriers using Bakudō; going by the shape and composition, it was Dankū. "It looks thinner than my own Dankū." I calmly commented as my blade pierced through all of the Bakudō with relative ease.

HIT!

Then a reverse-blade strike to his face! I finally did it! There isn't a hit which makes me feel better than this! Because of the impact of being hit, Yama-jii collapsed to the ground. His face was bleeding, though unlike most other people he wasn't crying like a little girl after I hit him.

"I have higher reiatsu than you! There is no way that an insolent child can defeat me. Zanka no Tachi, Kita: Tenchi Kaijin!" In that instant, Yamamoto unleashed a slash of concentrated fire and heat that looked like it could kill me immediately.

I then used the power of my Shikai in front of Yamamoto, who was slashing forward with his attack. "…How about I show you the power of the insolent child then?!" I roared; the moment our blades met I used Shinka Hakkejin's special ability; fusion. Swiftly, my Zanpakutō collected the flames of Tenchi Kaijin and absorbed them to the point that my own blade was on fire.

"What, is that…!? Did you…steal my attack!?" Yama roared. In his current state of disbelief, he was an open target. Breaking the lock for a brief second I then violently counterattacked!

I smirked and merely declared, "Kasshinkon: Tenchi Kaijin!" I swung forward with all of my might, blowing the shitty old geezer away with the might of his own attack! That was the end of the battle, right then.

My Tenchi Kaijin blew through along his side. My reason which went past him created a huge hole on a section of the barracks; it pierced through the wall and shot outside. Even so, he still tried to gather reishi…

DOOOOOOOOON!

I slammed my Zanpakutō against the floor. The barracks itself vibrated. His eyes twitched when he saw the giant crater on the floor, with my blade inches away from his head. Yamamoto was at a loss for words. I missed on purpose. I could have killed him with it. ….Darn. I'm too soft hearted…

I walk to him, and pull him up, glaring at him with my teeth exposed while emitting my red reiatsu aura violently. "Don't you dare try and try and wipe out that species! I know you're not gonna listen to me—so the next time you show yourself before me, then that time I really will blow you away!"

With that, I left without a word. My warning was issued; that was all I could do. As for whether the old fart would heed my warning, I didn't know. I was at a loss for actions; only time would tell.