Months later in the soul society in the shimizu Mansion,a sudden crash interrupted their moment. Startled, everyone in the room shot upright, wondering what the disturbance was. Kazuma and Shinji were instantly on high alert. Anyone that could enter the Shimizu estate either unnoticed or by force could be considered a dangerous opponent for most present in the house. Takeshi sprung upright immediately, unconsciously moving himself between Akane and the source of the sound.
It soon became clear that whatever had entered the estate was headed towards the very room they were in since the shouts of people calling stop combined with the occasional crash were steadily coming closer.
Meanwhile, the rest of the seven prodigies had joined Takeshi and had formed a barrier between Akane and the door, all of them having their hands on their zanpakutÅ, ready to draw them at a moment's notice.
They didn't have to wait long. Soon enough it became evident who the intruder was, at least to Kazuma, who had begun frowning the second the reiatsu of the intruder was close enough to identify. Moments later, Shinji and Mitsuki had an identical frown on their faces as they too recognised the owner of the reiatsu.
Kazuma didn't get the chance to share his news though. A resounding crack echoed through the room before the door was blasted apart in a cloud of wooden splinters, causing the inhabitants to shield themselves from the onslaught of wood that was now barraging them.
Slowly, the remnants of smoke cleared and a lone figure could be seen standing in the doorway, sword drawn.
"Hayashi Toru, what in the world are you doing?", Shinji asked sternly.
"Yoshikune-san", Kazuma stopped him, "he's my fukutaichÅ, that means he's my responsibility".
Hearing the man being identified as the former 'near-fiancé' of Akane, Takeshi instantly tightened his grip on his sword's handle.
"Now, please explain this disturbance", Kazuma continued.
"I'd rather have you explain something to me 'TaichÅ-san' ", Toru said.
"Watch your language young man. You're already in trouble as it is, using such a disrespectful tone against your direct superior will only make it worse".
"Doesn't really matter though, not with what I'm about to do that is".
Hearing his fukutaichÅ explain, Kazuma immediately drew his sword, unwilling to risk anyone inside the room. He was too late though.
The words had barely even left Toru's mouth before he found himself being smashed into the wall opposite to the doorway by Takeshi's elbow, cracking several of the wooden planks in the hallway.
Takeshi had instantly heard the malice in the rogue shinigami's voice and had come to the conclusion that he still wasn't over his jealousy he had apparently displayed when hearing about Takeshi and Akane's relationship.
Not wanting to risk any bystanders, he quickly dragged a still dazed Toru along the wall until he had reached an exit to the garden. Knowing his opponent was a fukutaichÅ, he knew that Toru would snap out of his momentary daze quite quickly. Deciding not to waste any time, he smashed him through the panels separating the interior from the outside air, before finally letting go of Toru, causing him to sail in a graceful arc through the garden.
Kazuma, Shinji and the others had meanwhile run out of the room to follow Takeshi and, if necessary, lend a hand. The only thing they saw was Toru crashing into a tree standing near the edge of the garden.
Takeshi followed. Landing outside, intending to quickly take out Toru. He didn't get the chance though. Toru had already crawled up and drawn his sword. Now he stood upright in a combat position, ready to face his opponent.
"I assume you're the Sawada brat", he spat.
"So what if I am".
"Great, one of my targets willingly attacks me, now I can use this as legal self defence.
Takeshi frowned, the man had clearly lost it. He'd already entered private property and had made it quite clear that he would attack. Not to mention the fact that he'd done so right in front of two taichÅ, including his own superior.
"After I'm finished with you, I'll kill the rest of the scum in there, and then I can take my time with what should have been rightfully mine, after I cut out the infection of course".
Takeshi froze, he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He didn't even realise it when he drew his sword. Anger had suddenly come crashing down on him, or rather, he was now alight with a fury that had previously not been known to him. He knew that he got quite angry, even to the point of terrifying people, when they even insinuated harming Akane, but he had never felt like this. It couldn't be described as hate anymore. Instantly, he knew that this fight wouldn't be over until one of them was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Not that he was planning to let that happen, no, if he was done with that guy, he'd make sure they would have to use tweezers to pick up the pieces.
Unconsciously, his reiatsu flared brightly, so much that it had already begun distorting the atmosphere around him. Resembling a predator stalking its prey, Takeshi started to circle Toru, making sure that there was no one in the way of the fight.
"Heh, so you think you're powerful eh?", Toru sneered, "well then let's see how you handle this".
Switching his sword into a backhanded grip, he dragged the blade over the sheath.
"Ensnare him, Kuromizuhiki".
Instantly, the sword morphed into a glove fitting snugly around his hand, a faint glimmer appearing in the air around him.
His grin faltered a bit when he noticed Takeshi's expression hadn't changed, but soon enough it was back in full force. Twitching his fingers slightly, he launched his attack.
Takeshi jumped aside just as the attack came tearing through the yard, leaving nothing but deep cuts in its wake. The trees that had been standing behind him suffering a similar fate.
Toru laughed.
"I must congratulate you on dodging that attack, though you probably never even saw it coming, you must've reacted to the slight movement of my hand, nevertheless, you didn't dodge it completely".
"A cut like this is nothing", Takeshi said as he ignored the small cut that had appeared on his left shoulder.
"Besides, to me, your attack is more than visible", he continued, "your weapon is that glove, which has a thin strand attached to each fingertip. It's quite obvious you know".
Growling madly, Toru again launched an attack. Takeshi watched calmly as he saw five separate strands sail through the air. As opposed to the previous attack, this time Toru had made sure that the strands didn't touch anything while they bridged the gap between the two combatants.
He couldn't help but grin as he used shunpÅ at the very last moment to dodge the attack, which again gave the gardeners something to worry about.
"How", Toru steamed as he watched his second attack miss.
"Didn't I tell you?", Takeshi replied as he reappeared behind Toru, "I can see your attacks".
Takeshi struck, his sword creating a whistling sound as it cleaved through the air. Toru reacted on instinct, moving his gloved hand in between his body and Takeshi's zanpakutÅ.
The resulting clash sent a shower of sparks into the air.
"So you do deserve the title of fukutaichÅ", Takeshi remarked calmly as he engaged in a power struggle with Toru, each trying to push the other back with their respective weapons.
"Fool", Toru shouted as he moved his fingers again, "your weapon is occupied, but I only need my fingers to attack".
Noticing the strands settling themselves around his body, Takeshi broke away, again using shunpÅ to move out of the way, just before the trap closed.
Takeshi growled in irritation before he threw himself at Toru again. Showers of sparks soon began erupting all over the garden as the two combatants began clashing with increasing frequency.
Shinji whistled as he witnessed Takeshi weave through the intricate pattern that Toru's shikai had formed in mid-air.
"Care to make a bet?", he casually asked Sakamoto, who was standing next to him together with the rest of the group.
"No use in doing that", he responded casually, "and it's no use trying to make a bet with anyone else here. Takeshi's everyone's favourite in this fight, and besides, with that look on his face, I'd say his opponent doesn't stand a chance. I hope he's made his will".
"Alright", Toru fumed as Takeshi kept dodging attack after attack, "You've asked for it".
"Bankai".
The second Toru released his sword for the second time, Kazuma and Shinji had begun to move. The fight had begun to go out of control at that point. What surprised them, was Takeshi moving in front of them, his back turned towards his superiors.
"Please, leave this to me", he asked, keeping a wary eye on the cloud of smoke that had gathered around his opponent.
"Are you sure Takeshi?", Kazuma asked. He'd seen Toru's bankai before, and while it was immature and somewhat incomplete, it still held a lot of power.
"I'm sure", Takeshi answered calmly. He knew the fight would be over within moments if he let the two taichÅ behind him take care of it. But he felt that would be almost the same as giving up, something he had vowed he would never do when he was protecting Akane.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Kazuma turned around to see Shinji standing there. Nodding in acknowledgement, both the taichÅ moved back to the group of people still standing near the gaping hole the fight had left in the door.
"Don't worry Akane", Shinji smiled as he saw Akane standing there, hand firmly clasped together, "He'll be fine".
Just at that moment, a wave of reiatsu came crashing down over them. Toru had finished releasing his bankai.
Takeshi watched with mild interest as the smoke slowly cleared bit by bit. His eyes widened when he finally got a full view of his opponent.
Where there once had been a glove with a thin strand attached to each finger, there now was a single wire, or rather, cable. The glove had disappeared completely, the end of the cable completely covering Toru's lower arm. It was however, the size of the cable that worried him. He'd heard stories about bankai being extremely powerful, but also extremely large in order to maintain that power. It was said that after a shinigami achieved bankai, he would need at least another ten years of training to fully master the complex movements behind it.
The cable was easily twice the width of Toru's arm and laid at his feet, curling around his body several times in wide arcs. He estimated it was at least twenty meters in length, though he knew things such as length could chance in a moment's notice.
"Thank God the garden is so large", Takeshi said to himself as he estimated the distance between Toru and the mansion. It was enough, just as long as he made sure he lured his opponent away from the bystanders. Not that it would prove to be a problem, with Toru in the psychotic state he was in at the moment.
Takeshi was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed a faint shadow suddenly appear on the ground. Instinctively throwing his body to his right, Takeshi felt something big move past his body. His brain instantly recognised the object, Toru's zanpakutÅ. With a loud crash, the cable smashed into the ground, its sheer weight causing it to sink several inches into the soft earth.
"Damn he's fast with that thing", Takeshi muttered before ducking to avoid the cable again as it snapped towards him with surprising speed. The crash behind him indicating that it had felled a few trees.
"Why can't I hit you", Toru shouted as he pulled back his zanpakutÅ for another attack.
Takeshi didn't answer. His mind too focused on dodging the massive cable as it came flying towards him. It was surprisingly flexible, whipping this way and that, destroying the environment whenever it was in the way. This easily convinced Takeshi that is was not a good idea to get hit even once by his opponent.
Finally, Toru stopped attacking, still fuming because of his inability to hit Takeshi. He was too caught up with his own madness to notice that Takeshi had not even launched a single attack. He had been too busy dodging to do anything else.
Takeshi looked straight in Toru's eyes as he settled down after having been forced to dodge attacks for at least five minutes straight. Small sparks were already beginning to run down his entire body from irritation.
"Thanks", Takeshi grinned as he grabbed the sheath of his sword. Placing one end on the earth, he raised his zanpakutÅ.
"Scorch the heavens. Slash the sky", came the release phrase for his sword.
Instantly, lightning flashed around Takeshi, the blast clearly more controlled than before. As the light faded from the garden, Takeshi stood there, his zanpakutÅ firmly gripped in his hands.
"Zanraiden", Takeshi said, right before he released his full power into the atmosphere. The distinct smell of ozone filled the air as stray sparks shot off him. Most of them were contained to his body though, arcing all over him. The wind added to the pure force of the reiatsu radiating off of his body.
"Holy, ...", Kazuma muttered, a perplexed look on his face. Shinji couldn't help but agree. The release itself was a lot less impressive than before in terms of being a flashy show, but the amount of reiatsu currently radiating off Takeshi was incredible. It was stronger than even Toru's with his bankai released. It was so powerful that it was literally influencing the atmosphere around Takeshi without a conscious thought.
Toru on the other hand was completely oblivious to the power coming from Takeshi. He was cackling madly as he prepared to attack again, his earlier frustration completely forgotten.
"You think releasing your zanpakutÅ will make any difference concerning the outcome of this battle? You're a mere third seat, what could you possibly do against a fukutaichÅ that has a power equivalent to that of a taichÅ", he laughed.
"For your information, it won't change the outcome of this battle", Takeshi whispered.
Toru froze, the voice had come from right behind him. There was no one in front of him anymore.
"You bastard!", Toru shouted as he turned around, whipping out his free arm in the process. He hit nothing but air.
"You have no hopes of defeating me, with that kind of speed", Takeshi said.
Toru's head whipped around towards the source of the sound. There he was, standing no more than ten meters away from him.
"Damn you, I'll kill you", he yelled, raising his arm.
"With what if I may ask?", Takeshi replied calmly.
Confused by his opponent's words, Toru finally noticed the slight difference in weight on his arm. There, in front of him, laid his bankai, completely severed from the small stump that remained on his arm.
"How ...", was the only word he could speak, confusion and disbelief overtaking him.
"Simple actually, when two separate entities of reiatsu collide, the weakest will receive damage", Takeshi replied before bringing his sword, raising them to chest-level.
Feeling the sudden surge in reiatsu, Toru swallowed
"It can't be, you have also achieved bankai?".
"No", Takeshi replied, "far from it. This is simply my real zanpakutou".
A overhelming wave of energy flashed. Leaving everyone temporarily blinded.
When they opened their eyes again, the blade Takeshi's sword had vanished. His daito had disappeared too. In their place was now a single zanpakutÅ, a White and dark blade coming out of the purple Hilt on the end of it two purple riboons, sparks violently arcing in between them.
"What the hell is that", Toru breathed.
"This is simply my real zanpakutÅ Sugetsu can have", Takeshi explained.
"My soul was reboot and transecend for focus best my spirit power and was more compressed, Just so you know, this form focuses on meleeâ.
With that, Takeshi vanished.
Toru's eyes widened as a trail of dust came racing towards him. Not even succeeding in raising the stump that remained of his zanpakutÅ, he was flung violently backwards, crashing into a rock.
Takeshi didn't waste any time. By the time Toru had slammed into the rock, Takeshi was already standing over him. In a flash,
Takeshi intercepted Toru's whip and blocked it easily with his own new sword, and gathered spiritual pressure in his Sugetsu. "Kyodan Tensuga!" he declared, firing off a crescent wave of energy that ripped through the ground towards Toru's back. Toru's entire body quickly ignited into flame and disappeared. He reappeared combustingly behind Takeshi and swung his whip down at his back, He struck the ground with his blade and announced, "Kyodan Tensuga!" With that, white energy burst from beneath Toru's location. As Toru attempted to use his shunpo technique to escape it, it hit directly under his body. There wasn't even a hint of emotion as he flipped hi sword into a backwards grip and drove it down into Toru's chest.
Chapter 17 Stunned, Shinji and Kazuma watched as Takeshi slowly withdrew his new blade from Toru's chest before turning his back on the fallen fukutaichÅ. Almost casually sealing his zanpakutÅ, flicking the blood off of the blade and returning it to its sheath.
"He's not dead", Takeshi answered their silent question as he approached his friends and family, "I merely destroyed his Hakusui Soul Sleep and the Saketsu Chain link. He'll live if treated within half an hour, but he'll never be a shinigami again".
"Good", Kazuma growled, "those vultures in room 44 will be happy to have another shinigami to pick apart".
Kazuma had never been a big fan of room 44, the governing instrument that even the SotaichÅ had to obey. This was mostly because they had put up the biggest opposition to getting the Shimizu clan to join the ranks of the higher clans. They'd even gone as far as to accuse him of plotting a rebellion against the upper echelons, but they'd been forced to drop the charges in light of insufficient evidence. Not that it had any effect on his career in general, it just annoyed the hell out of him when people made false accusations.
He hated them for being incredibly stubborn and conservative, but when they were right their punishments were quite suitable for the offenders in question.
He was also glad that Takeshi had been able to refrain himself from killing Toru. Room 44 would have his hide if he'd taken away a new plaything of theirs. As it was now, he was quite safely out of their reach while still having dealt with the problem in a decisive manner.
"Go and take Akane home Takeshi", Kazuma said, placing his hand on Takeshi's shoulder just as he passed his father-in-law, "you've had enough excitement for the day".
Nodding in agreement, Takeshi held out his hand to Akane who, after saying goodbye to her parents, placed her hand in his, intertwining their fingers.
Not a word was spoken as they took off towards their house. Glancing sideways at Takeshi, Akane sighed inwardly. It was hard for her to see Takeshi like this. She knew he was having a bit of problems with his thoughts. She wanted to help, but at the same time she realised that while he would appreciate the help, he needed to work out his problems on his own. Unless people were confronted with their personal demons, they'd never get over it. She knew that from experience.
Shinji sighed deeply as he watched a squad from the fourth division tend to the fallen fukutaichÅ, thanking the gods that he hadn't been killed by his enraged third seat. Nevertheless, the show that Takeshi had put up had been more than impressive. Even counting the fact that Toru had been inexperienced in wielding his bankai, to defeat one with simply a shikai was almost unheard of. He didn't doubt that he or any of the other taichÅ would've be able to defeat Toru while in shikai, but for a third seat to do so. It was simply unbelievable. Not only that, the sheer amount of reiatsu he had been radiating when he had released his zanpakutÅ was staggering. It was just as high as his own when he released his zanpakutÅ.
Noticing the frown on Shinji's face, Kazuma broke off the conversation he had been having with Tetsuo, who had come to investigate the disturbance.
"What's wrong Shinji", Tetsuo asked his friend, "something bothering you?".
"As a matter of fact, it's not really bothering me, I'm just thinking whether or not the course of action I'm about to follow is the correct one".
"What do you mean?", Kazuma asked, wondering exactly what Shinji was thinking about. There was no doubt that it was something concerning Takeshi, but what exactly was still unclear.
"I had planned for Takeshi and Akane to be trained by myself, Tetsuo, Fukuda TaichÅ or Fukazawa TaichÅ. But now I'm thinking it might be best to take a somewhat different course of action".
"What do you mean Shinji?", Tetsuo asked. He'd agreed on teaching Takeshi, for as much as it was necessary.
"I'm saying that while Akane will continue the normal training schedule I've put together, I'm thinking of having Takeshi follow something different. Do you remember your time together with Fukuda TaichÅ?".
Tetsuo shuddered involuntarily at the memory that was forcibly brought to the surface, just before he straightened up, eyes wide.
"You don't mean?", he exclaimed.
"That's exactly what I mean. I think it's time for Takeshi to begin his training to achieve bankai".
"But only fukutaichÅ are authorised to have bankai training with one of the taichÅ", Kazuma interrupted.
"Well, I thought you would be needing one, seeing that your former fukutaichÅ is in that sorry state right now", Shinji casually pointed to the still form of Toru, still lying on the same rock Takeshi had slammed him into.
"I see your point", Kazuma nodded. He could agree with the idea. He was lacking a fukutaichÅ right now, and to have Takeshi take that place would not be a problem. He had in fact already filled the prerequisites for being granted a promotion to fukutaichÅ. He had defeated the former officer in a one on one battle with the division taichÅ witnessing the fight. Normally, one would need another thirty or forty members of the same division watching too, but he figured that the presence of Shinji as another taichÅ would more than make up that small problem.
"I'll report the situation to the SotaichÅ immediately", Kazuma smiled before turning around and using shunpÅ.
Tetsuo grinned as he looked at Shinji.
"You still know how to get things done your way", he chuckled.
"Nah, I've just had a bit of luck with how everything turned out", Shinji grinned, "I actually hadn't expected Takeshi to demonstrate such growth. I suspect he's been training while out on his expedition to the real world".
"Well then", Tetsuo returned Shinji's grin.
"I'd better go inform Fukuda TaichÅ that he's going to get a new student soon. I almost pity Takeshi".
"I seriously doubt he'll have any complaints about it. He's been waiting for a chance to fight Takeshi, and while I know training with him is not entirely without risk, it is the most efficient way to get some people to achieve bankai".
Tetsuo couldn't help but agree. His own training period with Naoki had been extremely scary at times, but he had no doubt that it had helped his training enormously. He estimated he'd have spent around five times the amount of time on achieving his bankai had he done it the traditional way. The major drawback with having Naoki help with bankai training was the enormous risk involved. Naoki always balanced precariously on the edge between controlled bloodlust and a battle frenzy that bordered on the insane.
"Don't worry Tetsuo", Shinji reassured his friend, "I'm sure Fukazawa TaichÅ will be there to keep her husband in line.
Tetsuo chuckled again as the word 'whipped' shot through his mind. It was almost comical at times to see the infamous leader of the eleventh division cower before the wrath of his wife.
"Well, since that takes care of most of my worries, I'd better be off then", Tetsuo smiled.
Shinji kept smiling until his friend had moved out of sight. Only then did he let another frown indicate his troubled state of mind. Things were beginning to move at an accelerated pace, more so then he had ever anticipated. To make matters worse, his contacts were either giving him some very disturbing information about the mysterious organisation that had apparently targeted Soul Society, or they were falling completely silent.
Given the abilities most of his contacts possessed, the fact that they were being taken out was disturbing to say the least, especially given the rate at which it was happening. Their enemies were planning something, and whatever it was, it was both big, and they didn't want anyone watching it.
He shook his head after nodding to the fourth division medics who had begun moving Toru's body after making sure his vitals were stable.
It was just so much coming together right now, he really needed some relaxation.
Another smile came over his face as he thought of his house, and the relaxation Mitsuki would probably be able to provide for him.
It took the entire trip back to their house for Takeshi to finally work through his thoughts and speak again.
"I don't know what came over me there", he confessed as he opened the door to their house.
"What do you mean Takeshi?", Akane asked, wondering what he meant with that statement.
"You probably felt the reiatsu out there as I was fighting", Takeshi sighed as he leaned against the wall in the living room, slowly letting himself slide downwards.
"It wasn't what I normally feel whenever I fight. I had a bad feeling about that guy the moment he broke through that door. But when he threatened you, I just snapped. Everything that happened afterwards is a bit like a blur, but it still concerns me".
"Why Takeshi? It's normal to feel angry whenever someone threatens people precious to you".
"Not in this way Akane", Takeshi shook his head, "I had to hold myself back from killing him. At first, I had planned to tear him to pieces, literally. And I think that if Yoshikune TaichÅ and your father hadn't tried to step in when they did, I would have killed Toru. It wasn't just anger anymore, it was rage".
"Well you've always felt quite a bit protective of me", Akane smiled as he kneeled down in front of Takeshi, placing her hands on his cheeks, "and personally, I think it's one of your good points. It doesn't matter if you're angry or enraged when someone threatens loved ones, it's perfectly normal".
With this, she leaned forward slightly, kissing Takeshi lightly before taking his hand and pulling him up.
"Come on", she grinned, "no sense in brooding for the rest of the day".