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This article, Chiaroscuro: Conclusion, is the co-property of both LordGalvatron and Stylx. |
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This article, Chiaroscuro: Conclusion, is property of Zf6hellion |
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| Chiaroscuro: Premonition | Chiaroscuro: Retribution | Chiaroscuro: Conclusion |
Part 1[]
Seireitei, at the foot of the Sōkyoku Hill. Evening.
The capital of the Soul Society, whilst drowned in the blackness of night and the thick shroud of stormy clouds, was illuminated with blazes and explosions scattered across the city. Columns of smoke were shooting toward the darkened heavens, buildings were being reduced to rubble, and the clamour of battle remained loud.
Then, two figures materialised a distance from the foot of the towering Sōkyoku Hill, arguably the most tranquil place in the entire Seireitei at the time.
"I wonder why there's nobody else here", said Ikiryō Kuragari upon arrival.
"I think it's because of them", replied Kurokawa Tadayoshi as he pointed forward.
Partially obscured by the semi-darkness and the hill's shadow, there were literally hundreds of murky figures lurking over there. Now that they no longer needed to wear the protective cloaks, their foul Reiatsu was not concealed and easy to identify.
"Crap", commented Kuragari, putting his palm on the Zanpakutō's hilt.
"After this entire ordeal, I don't think I'll be able to even spit at Usuguraiboshi when we get to him", stated Kurokawa whilst following suit.
"If we reach him", uttered Ikiryō in a stern manner.
The numerous Sinners began approaching them cautiously, though their sheer numbers boosted their confidence despite the obvious difference in power. However, before something else could happen, the two Shinigami Captains sensed familiar spiritual signatures. Shortly afterward, newcomers arrived on the would-be battlefield.
"Bankai, Kesshō Hahen Kagami", declared one of them, standing in front of the two.
"Bankai, Funshutsu no Doragon", added another one, standing beside her.
"Haruka-chan! Sakamoto-san!", exclaimed Kuragari, pleasantly surprised.
The female Captains did not react to his words. Instead, once their Reiatsu swelled and the forms of their Bankai appeared, they swiftly engaged the horde of Togabito facing them. A large water dragon and a shower of innumerable glass shard crashed down upon them, mowing down dozens within several seconds.
"Captain Mewokuramasu and Captain Risa shall take over here", suddenly stated a voice coming from behind Kuragari and Tadayoshi.
The two turned around quickly and noticed an individual approaching them at a casual pace. Nevertheless, there was something big hovering behind the figure that momentarily made them anxious.
"Unohana-dono!"
"Minazuki", the Fourth Division Captain addressed the flying monstrosity beside her.
The giant, one-eyed manta ray landed softly next to her. Subsequently, it opened its maw and disgorged something big from the depths of its bowels. Despite being covered with profuse amount of mucus, the pellet was easy to identify as a man.
"Uhm... Satō Shingen-dono?", asked Ikiryō with a wry smile.
He swept a single hand over his face to draw as much of the mucus and spit covering away from it as possible, large dollop of the the transluscent goo, dropping from his hand as he swung to the side. He had been silent but his face contorted into an expression that could only be described as pent up rage and unholly nightmares with how his features and wrinkles formed.
He waved his sword in Ikiryō's direction, dislodging saliva in the Captain's direction. "Not a word about this, boy", he demanded, clearly fuming.
"Now is not the time nor the place Ikiryō, Shingen-dono.", Kurokawa stated, turning back to the hordes of sinners battling Sakamoto and Haruka, beads of sweat rolling down his face.
"Tadayoshi-dono speaks the truth", agreed Unohana. "We cannot waste any more time."
Her Shikai dissipated into a cloud of green gas, which then condensed and reformed the blade of her nodachi. Once ready, she walked closer to the two Captains and lifted her hands, aiming each palm at one of them. Suddenly, translucent prisms of celadon light enclosed them with a quiet hum.
"I have already restored Shingen-dono to combat capability", she said. "Your combined power is too great for me to replenish completely at such short notice, but I shall heal your superficial injuries and restore enough of your Reiatsu so that you may actually fight."
Small cuts and burns vanished from the bodies of the two young Captains, larger wounds closed, and energy started to circulate through their limbs once again.
"Why don't you go, Unohana-dono?", asked Kuragari carefully. "I think you're the strongest Captain after Genryūsai-dono..."
"That may or may not be true", she replied in an arcane tone. "However, I know Zetsubō Usuguraiboshi well. I used to be like him once... a monster."
Both Ikiryō and Kurokawa widened their eyes.
"Only Man can defeat the Monster. This is why you should go. Shingen-dono will assist you", she continued.
"Should we know something particular before we fight him?", asked Tadayoshi.
"He feeds on fear. No matter what transpires, you must remain collected", explained Unohana.
Then, the healing Kidō subsided.
"That is all I can do for you. Now, go."
The tone of her request was polite, but something underlying prompted the two to straighten up abruptly.
"Let's put an end to this", replied Ikiryō with a nod.
Afterward, the two Captains and the Royal Guardsman used Shunpo to pass by the heavily occupied ranks of Togabito and climb up the Sōkyoku Hill.
The peak of the hill was consumed by a raging tempest of swirling darkness and crackling electricity. A huge whirlwind appeared above it, immersing the entire area in its loud hum. In the meantime, an intricate web of gleaming cracks was gradually marking the darkened sky, the sound of thunder accompanying the appearance of each new fracture.
And in the middle of this madness stood Zetsubō Usuguraboishi, straightened up and his arms lifted. Black energy with amethyst outline was constantly leaking from his muscular body, nourishing the storm with his immense power.
Suddenly, three Shinigami materialised a medium distance from him, immediately drawing his attention. Usuguraiboshi lowered his head and gazed at the unwelcome guests through the single eye slit visible on his ivory white mask.
"We meet again", he uttered gravely.
"You know each other?", Ikiryō asked Satō with an eyebrow raised, despite the fact that his face expression was rather tense.
He gave a single nod in response to the Captain, already drawing himself into a stance fit for combat. "I ran into him the night before, he has a thing for theatrics", he elaborated, undercutting the obvious display of power he'd shown off in their previous bout.
"Why did you come here", barked Zetsubō, the pent up rage in his voice obscuring any potential inquisitive vibe.
"You've endangered not only our close ones and the Soul Society, but the entire World", replied Kurokawa whilst drawing his Zanpakutō. "We're here to stop you."
"Fools", retorted Usuguraiboshi, something intense in his voice sending inardvetent chills through the backs of the Shinigami facing him. "You've seen nothing. You know nothing. You've lived secure lives in luxury, supported by family and friends, whereas people like me are damned to suffer throughout their entire existence."
Crimson currents began wrapping around his body, and his scarred muscles flexed noticeably. He shook his left fist at the ones opposing him, veins bulging out on its imposing biceps.
"Sorry, but we haven't come here to argue", replied Ikiryō in a grave manner.
What happened next was too abrupt for the other two Shinigami to grasp apart for a loud clang, and all they could see was the aftermath. Kuragari was suddenly sliding toward them crouched, his Shikai active and a fresh wound on his left arm. On the other hand, Usuguraiboshi slanted forward, and his ebony nodachi had materialised in his left hand.
A large fragment of his mask was chipped away, revealing the upper left side of his face. The Togabito lifted his head and stared at the Shinigami menacingly. The crimson iris of his blood-outlined eye was blurred, and its pupil seemed split, as if two separate ones were overlapping.
"I'll show you what is suffering", he bellowed. "I'll show you what is fear."
Alerted by his tone, the Shinigami plunged at him simultaneously. However, it was too late.
"Bankai, Mugen Kūgeki."
Liquid blackness erupted from his figure in all directions, immersing the entire world and drowning it in black-and-white semi-darkness. His Zanpakutō transformed into a large, spiky scythe. Both Captains and the Royal Guardsman were frozen on the spot, momentarily suspended mid-air.
Usuguraiboshi's figure began moving away, and swiftly vanished in the ocean of pitch black. The Shinigami looked around helplessly. Then, they noticed the distance between them started increasing rapidly, and there was nothing they could do.
Soon, they were all separated, lost in the boundless void.
Part 2[]
Darkness.
Ikiryō was standing in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by impenetrable blackness. His body became utterly colourless, but his senses seemed to work properly. Not that there was much to be perceived, though. He took a deep breath, but felt nothing. He did not suffocate, however, and despite the oddness of the situation remained composed.
Suddenly, Kuragari heard some whispers. One, two, several different voices were muttering something, at first too silently for him to understand. Over time, though, the whispers got louder.
"Wuss."
"Heeey, Princess!"
"Look at his hair! He looks like a girl!"
"What did you say? Preposterous? Is that even a word, you pansy?"
Ikiryō closed his eyes. He did not detect any spiritual presence. Nevertheless, the voices were very much there, constantly mocking him.
"Come here and say that to my face", he said calmly, lifting his clawed gauntlets in a fighting stance.
Then, the voices were all silenced abruptly. A period of complete silence followed. Kuragari was waiting, but for a time nothing happened. All of a sudden, he heard quiet footsteps. Still, the warped acustics of the place did not allow him to locate its source properly. He looked around, but did not see anything.
White sphere materialised above him, immediately drawing his attention. It burnt his eyes when he glanced at it briefly, so he quickly averted his gaze and covered his face with his armoured palms. Wary of the approaching entity, he rapidly looked around again. Even though his sight was briefly blurred, he noticed a single silhouette walking in his direction. Soon, its shape became clearer to discern.
Ashen complexion. Emaciated limbs. Hair like pads of dust. Empty eye sockets and rotten teeth exposed in a lip-less smile.
"What are you?", asked Kuragari, lifting his hands higher.
The decaying entity halted several metres in front of him. It swayed from side to side, lazily turning its head in various directions. Initially, it did not seem to notice Ikiryō's presence. Then, it plunged at him viciously with a shrill howl.
Kuragari was quick to react, and as the corpse-like wraith was descending upon him, it was stopped as he pierced its sternum with the armoured gauntlet on his left palm.
"Ikiryō..."
The aforementioned man widened his eyes so much that veins bulged out on his temples.
"M... Motoko...chan...", he gasped.
"Why... Ikiryō...?", she murmured, blood flowing profusely from her mouth.
Kuragari instantly removed his gauntlet from her and caught her when she was falling, lifting her in a shaky embrace. Motoko supported her head on his chest and closed her eyes.
"No", said the Second Division Captain. "This isn't real. This isn't real. This is not real."
Without a warning, he heard something was approaching him from behind. Alerted, he hugged his Lieutenant with one hand and turned around rapidly, swiftly attacking with the freed one. He slashed the opponent's throat with one swift motion, prompting the living corpse to fall to its knees.
"Ghh... khk..."
Haruka Mewokuramasu looked at him with her eyes glazed, her shaking hands reaching toward the gash in her throat. Then, she fell limply to the ground. A pool of blood began expanding on the featureless, black ground, gleaming faintly in the unnaturally white light provided by a mysterious source.
"No... no...", whispered Ikiryō, shaking his head.
"Ikiryō..."
He turned abruptly to Motoko. Suddenly, his eyes met the empty stare of two bottomless pits that had replaced her green eyes. He screamed and cast the decaying body aside. Without a warning, he was consumed by darkness.
Nothing.
His body seemed to had become immaterial. He did not feel a single thing. Everything was pitch black. After a period of absent-minded stillness he finally realised he had been keeping his eyes closed. His eyelids opened.
He saw his armoured fists, clenched, even though he did not remember to do that. They moved, again without his intent to do so.
"This must stop now, Ikiryō."
He wanted to lift his head immediately, and it did, but he had no control over the protracted motion. Then, he spotted Kurokawa, surrounded by the boundless void, standing in front of him with his Zanpakutō unsheathed.
"You're my best friend, but I can't let you do this", stated Tadayoshi sternly.
Kuragari wanted to speak to him, but his lips would not move. His body did, instead, as it leapt at the Kidō Corps Commander in a ferocious attack. He observed with horror as his Shikai clashed with his friend's sword.
"Please, don't do this, Ikiryō!", exclaimed Kurokawa, struggling against him in a deadly lock.
Kuragari's mouth remained closed in spite of his strenuous efforts. However, his body continued acting on its own, as it freed itself from the lock and began showering Tadayoshi with lightning-fast strikes. After several seconds it seemed to let Kurokawa's sword pass by the flurry of hits. His blade, aimed at Ikiryō's left shoulder, was intended to immobilise the arm. However, it merely phased through it, bringing an expression of shock at the Kidō Chief's face.
Right afterward, the claws of Kuragari's other hand sunk into it.
"NOOOOOOO!", resounded within the man's psyche.
The desperate scream appeared to escape the confines of his mind and leak into the black dimension, echoing throughout its endless depths infinitely. Darkness devoured him once again.
Without a warning senses returned to his body. He rushed around, but noticed he could not move his arms. He realised that they had been constrained with something and bound tightly to his torso. Moving restlessly, he looked around with fury glowing in his pale blue eyes.
"Where the fuck are you, Usuguraiboshi!?", he yelled. "I'll fucking murder you!"
He flexed the muscles of his arms to the extreme, but his fetters did not yield. Wrath swept across his mind like fire, purging it of any rational thoughts.
"HAAAAAAAAA... ghrk...!"
Something brutally interrupted his furious roar, choking him. His eyes bulged out and veins swelled on his forehead as he was struggling to clear his throat. He coughed sickly several times; saliva and blood were leaking from his mouth.
Then, without a warning white and thick liquid erupted from his mouth as he bent backward in a paroxysm of pain. Upon reaching certain height, the substance suspended itself in mid-air and hovered above Kuragari. When the exhausted man gazed upon it, it started to gain shape.
An expansive cityscape had formed around Satō, every building the same dull gray and lifeless surface with blackened windows that were impenetrable to his gaze. There were roads, pointing in every which way with yellow lines as the only identifiable trait amongst an otherwise lifeless little pit.
He had decided to wander the realm that formed around him, attempting to find anything that stuck out amongst the dead skyscrapers that surrounded him.
To his surprise, he did come upon an oddity in this little dimension. A person, of rather recognisable appearance. It was Katashi Hamasaki. "Sat-", before he could even finish his first word, Shingen was upon him, his battered tachi having cut a clear path right through the man's body.
The sound of chains rattling could be heard to the side, following that Satō changed the trajectory of his cut, allowing it to exit from the side of his fellow Royal Guard's body. A series of chains battered the ground that the man had previously stood on. "Satō, what are you doing!?", cried Duo Wen Tian with obvious shock. He had ignored her, much as he did with Katashi, in favour of simply cutting her down with another clean cut that bisected the poor woman before she could react.
There was a presence to his side. Satō drew his blade from its arc, reversing the edge and then pulling it down in an overhead swing that chopped right into the neck of Ayumu Nakahara. "Why, Satō...", a splatter of blood burst from the man's wound to leave more than a couple of droplets on Satō's face.
The bodies fell to the ground when the life drained from their bodies. Satō took the oppurtunity to clean his blade with a simple flicking motion to rid itself of the red liquid. The weapon remained drawn, in anticipation of an appearance from Kimiko Kōtaku, but she never arrived.
"This won't work Zetsubō, I told you already", though not raised his voice echoed through out the landscape and Satō fully believed that his opponent could hear him. Though nothing happened initially, the moment Satō sheathed his Zanpakutō each and every window across the realm's many skyscrapers burst open, oozing out an ink black liquid that flowed freshly made tar.
It was a slow moving wave, consuming everything around it, from all directions it closed in on Satō, attempting to swallow him whole. The Royal Guard took to the sky in retreat, though it was a temporary solution, the air would serve as a good gap between him and the pool of murky black below. At least, until the sky began to bleed as well. A massive flow of the dark ooze washed over him, an unbearable weight ripping him from the sky.
He crashed into the rising sea of darkness, his limbs tossing in every direction in search of a foothold but all it accomplished was a quicker plummet into its depths. Pulled under, Satō's mind went blank for a moment before his senses shut themselves off.
Moments later he could feel the wind on his skin which awoke him with a start. He found himself in a room of pure dark, its density made it easy to tell just how large the room was, which was, to say, pretty small.
He removed his Zanpakutō from his side before sitting down in a cross legged position, placing the sheathed weapon atop his legs. He attempted to wait the illusion out, though it wouldn't be so simple as that.
"Say...", spoke a voice from behind.
The darkness was replaced by a view of Soul Society in all of its splendor. They were positioned at such a height that they could even see the Royal Palace sitting above the Seireitei. For a moment Satō felt at ease seeing it all.
"Don't you kind of hate this?", the voice spoke again, shattering what little peace Satō had gained from seeing the Soul Society as it always was. He turned his head to face the voice, which belonged to a young man, that somewhat resembled himself.
"Looking at it, this static world where nothing ever changes, don't you wish you could do something?", asked the man. Satō climbed from his position, sword in hand, he opened his mouth to answer, but the man had ignored him in order to continue. "Everything is just recycled and used again, over and over, it has plenty of dead ends but no way to advance or progress, its a pretty sad construct, huh?", he gave off an exaggerated shrug before raising up his forearms and shaking his head in disapproval.
Satō's brow dropped slightly. "What are you getting at?", he questioned with barely contained irritation.
The boy pointed a finger past Satō, causing him to turn around. He was pointing at the peak of the Royal Palace. "The Soul King?", Satō murmured quietly.
"That's the cause of all this, the lynchpin, it has the power to change all of this, yet it just sits there atop the throne, content to simply watch this boring and dead reality", when Satō returned his sights to the young man, the world around them was once again enveloped in darkness.
"You should kill it, Satō".
"You could take its place, as the rightful guardian of this realm", Shūgetsu manifested next to the young man with words of his own to add to the situation.
His eyes widened at the suggestion. "Killing the Soul King wouldn't fix the world, it would just end it, the world can't operate without the Soul King", he argued, his voice quickly growing panicked.
The young man started to laugh. "Man, whoever told you that? No one said that its the first of its kind, did they?".
"Satō, if you slay it, you can set the world on a new course, as the next Soul King", Shūgetsu joined in once more. "No", he responded to them both, his voice clear with aggression and distaste. But something clicked with what they had been saying, the tiniest of feelings in the deepest parts of his mind.
"Alright then, let's go!", that minor little touch was all that was needed. The darkness receded, slinking away like curtains to reveal the interior of the Soul King's domain.
His blade was drawn, the bodies of the Royal Guard's laying around them in various states of death, each of them with the same wounds he had inflicted before. His blade was soaked with their blood, droplets ran down the length of his sword before dripping from the tip.
Kimiko stood in front of him, Murasakiseuinōhi having covered her body in a shard-like suit of armour. She was the only thing standing in his way, a simple staircase of pure white laid behind her that rose towards the throne of the Soul King. "Why would you do this, Satō?", she questioned, her voice shaking with anger and... fear.
The Royal Guard reacted to that, that same pinging sensation from the back of his mind wrung out... "Distract". His eyes widened and every other part of his mind banged against the notion, his thoughts screaming "No!". His body moved against his will, with effortless speed, he grabbed the upper half of the split apart Wen Tian, throwing the woman's body at Kimiko. She froze up when her eyes caught a full view of Wen Tian's dead and lifeless eyes.
"Strike", the subconscious commanded. Eliciting another demand that he stop himself from everywhere else, again it was denied. He drew a quick diagnoal cut, cleaving through Wen Tian's body yet again to deliver a gash to Kimiko. The cut did nothing to break through her armour, but it left behind his signature golden scar over the point that he struck.
"You monster!", Kimiko screamed, her crystalline blade lunging forth at Satō with immense speed. "Counter", "Kimiko! No!", Satō tried to stop her, but nothing escaped his lungs, his words simply became thoughts that did nothing. A second of his golden crescents formed in front of Kimiko's path, absorbing her blade when it got close, forcing her to stop on the spot.
A river of blood gushed out of her stomach, forming a pool on the floor. Her armour dented inward, fractured and broken, her blade having stabbed through herself.
Satō moved onwards, ignoring her final moments. He ascended the steps slowly, each movement creating booming echoes through out the room, Satō continued his futile raging in an attempt to stop himself until they reached the top of the stairs. He was on a circular platform now, a ring with a gap at the center filled by the floating throne of the Soul King who occupied the grandiose chair at present.
"Why have you come, Satō?", it asked.
"Kill", commanded his subconscious.
Control returned to his body, a flood of electricity running through it to make him aware of that fact. "Its not too late, I can still turn back, I don't have to do this", he thought to himself.
"Satō, what are you doing?", it asked again. The Royal Guard had already closed the gap, his body looming over the deity-like figure. His blade dangled in a precarious fashion, "Kill". Before he had even realized it, his blade pierced the heart of the creature, eliciting a burst of light from its form that consumed everything in white light.
Like before, the Shinigami found himself waking to the feel of air on his skin. He appeared to have aged a millenium, his body had grown pale, old, with several pronounced freckles and wrinkles. His left eye had glazed over and his hair had gone gray, though dead, his hair had grown long enough to reach the bottom of the throne he rested in. When he raised his head to look around he found his fellow guardsmen, lying around the outer ring of the throne room, still as they were before. When he attempted to raise his arm he found that it wouldn't lift, the power was beyond this decrepit body. Numerous screens lit up around him, containing every facet of the realm. Soul Society, the World of the Living, Hueco Mundo, Hell, the Dangai, even the Valley of Screams. Those worlds played out for him on the screens.
Time picked up, accelerating rapidly, leaving Satō with the impression that he was experiencing all of these realms millenia at a time. Once they played out, they repeated, again and again.
At last it grew to be more than he could handle. He screamed, but nothing would come.
Kurokawa was surrounded by darkness, the only discernible thing he could make out was the small brick platform he was standing on. He started to scan the area around him, however it seemed there was nothing to see. There were numerous voices exclaiming harsh comments, their voices echoing around the vast emptiness.
"Get out kid!"
"Who the fuck are you little fleas!?"
"I hope you die ya fuckin' theives!"
Kurokawa merely ignored the comments from the voices, he continued to look around, after a while he attempted to cast a Kidō spell however nothing happened, sighing, Kurokawa then drew his blade, holding it firmly by his side, the voices grew in hostility and volume.
"Go to hell!"
"You deserved this!"
"May the fangs of heaven bear upon us, Ookami no Shoukan.", Kurokawa stated quietly, oddly enough, his zanpakutō did not respond, however, the voices suddenly stopped, creating a very eerie silence. Running out of options, the Kidō Corps Captain knelt down, placing his hand on the platform, he closed his eyes in an attempt to feel any spiritual pressure, however despite his best efforts, he wasn't able to sense anything, even his sense over his own spiritual energy seemed muted.
"Could this be merely an illusion in my mind?", Kurokawa mused, he stood up, as he did he was greeted by the twisted smile of a decaying Ikiryō Kuragari, the presence of it causing Kurokawa to jump back in shock.
"No matter what I see, I need to keep the mindset that it is all fake.", Kurokawa stated, his expression becoming calmer, as he spoke, the corpse of Kuragari plunged at Kurokawa, opening it's mouth to produce a gurgling battlecry, however it was cut down by Kurokawa instantaneously.
As the corpse fell to the ground, it's form melted into a black liquid, spreading across the platform Kurokawa was on, after it covered the platform, it started to eat away at the floor. In response to the sudden event Kurokawa tried to jump from the platform, however as he did he found out that he was unable to move his body. As the last part of the platform melted Kurokawa fell down into the black abyss of the darkness, his limp body in free fall as he felt the only sensation presented, the wind, rush past. A fair while later, Kurokawa suddenly landed heavily on what looked like nothingness, he groaned in pain as he attempted to get up, he the noticed that while in control of his body, he felt sluggish, suddenly, a hand was presented to him.
"Come on, you okay Kuro?", a disembodied voice stated, Kurokawa looked up to see the concerned face of Ikiryō, the 2nd Division Captain pulled up Kurokawa, straightening up, Kurokawa backed away from Kuragari slightly, his sword raised.
"Kurokawa?", Kuragari said, confused.
"This place is unpredictable, I have no way of knowing if you're an apparition.", Kurokawa stated, his voice shaky due to his abrupt landing.
"It's the real me, I assure you, I'll prove it to you, if I was an apparition I wouldn't know that me, you and Haruka all joined the Shinō Academy together, I also wouldn't know that you were the 2nd Division's 4th seat either.", Ikiryō explained, his explanation made Kurokawa relax slightly.
"It is you, Usuguraiboshi wouldn't know my past that well.", Kurokawa said, lowering his sword.
"Yeah, I understand your concern, I could barely tell what was real or not for a while.", Kuragari uttered, he turned around to observe the surrounding area while Kurokawa remained still, pondering about how they could escape. Then suddenly, his body locked up against his own will, shocked, Kurokawa tried to call out to the oblivious Kuragari, yet no words came out of his mouth.
"Ikiryō!", Kurokawa tried to speak, yet no words issued from his mouth, instead, his body began to move of it's own accord, silently walking towards Kuragari. Drawing his sword, Kurokawa could only look in horror as he thrust his sword through Ikiryō's chest, the Captain looked around to meet Kurokawa's emotionless face, his eyes wide with shock and his mouth filling up with blood, he managed to gurgle one last word.
"Why."
Kurokawa tried to scream yet his body did not respond, he cast Ikiryō's lifeless body aside, the blood leaking out from his body, looking bright against the black floor, Kurokawa's body knelt down beside, he autonomously raised his blade, looking in horror as his uncontrollable body started to carve the corpse that was Ikiryō. His body slowly drew his zanpakutō's blade across Kuragari's neck, he was forced to watch as the blood spurted out.
"STOP!", Kurokawa screamed in his mind, he closed his eyes, denying what he just experienced, as he tried to block out the sight of his dead friend he felt his body swing around of it's own accord, he felt his blade pierce something, however he kept his eyes shut, fearful of what he attack, despite his intention, the voice of his victim forced them open.
"Bro-"
"NOOOOOO!", Kurokawa screamed, his eyes bulging at their sockets, he found his blade piercing the neck of Akimoto Miharu, Kurokawa was left speechless, the 5th seat was making horrible gasping sounds as she was choking on her own blood, tears flowed from her eyes as she finally ceased breathing, falling limply, being supported by Kurokawa's blade.
She fell to the floor, her body looked broken, Kurokawa could only watch in despair as his body once again moved against his will, kneeling down beside Akimoto's lifeless body, the Kidō Corps Captain was once again subjected to watching his body dismember his sister, however, to his horror, his body started to get incredibly aggressive, casting aside Kurokawa's sword and ripping her apart with his hands.
Staring upon the now slaughtered Akimoto, Kurokawa quietly sobbed in his mind as his eyes widened of their own accord, forcing him to watch his bloodied hand gouge out one of his sisters eyes, all he produced was a pathetic sob as he completely broke down, he fell to the ground, his body back in his control, however, no movement issued from the man, he lay face first in his sisters blood until the floor disappeared from underneath him, causing him once again to fall. When he landed, he oddly was on his knees, staring into nothingness. Suddenly, he was broken out of his dissociative daze by a sharp pain in his back, he turned around to see a clawed, white hand extending from out of his back, he buckled in pain as the creature clawed it's way out of his body.
"What....", Kurokawa started, he turned to see a large, white figure, it's body covered with boney armour plates, it raised it's arm to remove the apathetic looking mask that concealed it's face, shocking Tadayoshi in the process.
"Long time no see."
Part 3[]
Kuragari fell to his knees and then slanted forward, supporting himself with his hands. Afterward, he spat blood on the immaculate black ground. He took several frantic breaths and looked upward.
"You...", he seethed, seeing a figure standing several metres in front of him. "I've dealt with you already."
"Wrong", replied the individual whom he addressed.
It was a young, tall man with toned physique and a large scar on the left side of his face, or, in short, his near-exact likeness. However, the individual had grey complexion, white hair, piercing eyes with black scleras and purple irides, and his uniform sported inverted colours when compared to that worn by Ikiryō.
"I'm you. You're me", stated the Inner Hollow grimly. "I'm an essential part of your personality. The part you've come to detest and suppress. But I've always been here. I'll always be here."
In the meantime, the true Kuragari stood up slowly, swaying in the process before regaining his balance. Then, he assumed a fighting stance and tried to control his shaking hands.
"You quench your anger. You never act on impulse. All of your pent up hatred swells deep within you. I am your hatred", continued the white doppelgänger.
As he was speaking, he moved his slender fingers armed with long talons, tendonds cracking audibly.
"I know what you are", replied Ikiryō. "I know how to subdue you. You don't scare me."
"Wrong."
He swayed again. His sight became temporarily blurred. Even though he strenuously attempted to focus and regain his shattered composure, something was obfuscating his thoughts.
"I don't want to be imprisoned here any longer", uttered Hollow Ikiryō, his tone calm yet at the same time menacingly tense. "I'll claw out my way and become free."
Kuragari began breathing rhythmically. Whereas his mind remained hazy, his sight concentrated on the white figure in front of him.
"I won't let you", he replied in a composed manner.
"Then, I'll take over control of your body", continued the apparition with a deep voice.
"I won't let you", repeated Ikiryō calmly.
"And then, I'll murder your close ones."
A single burning emotion surged through the Second Division Captain's clouded mind. The Hollow lifted his right hand outstretched toward him, as if wanting to show him something. It took him a while to focus his stare on the object his doppelgänger held in his clawed palm.
Motoko's head.
"I'll chase after them, one after another", declared Hollow Ikiryō when he dropped the disembodied head to the ground. "Motoko. Kurokawa. Haruka. Datemaru. Ōotoki. Fumiko. Hotaru. Father. One after another, I will murder them", he added as he stepped on the head with his right leg.
Subsequently, with a swift motion he cracked the skull.
"Then, I'll..."
But he did not finish the next sentence. The Hollow slanted rapidly to the side, the claws of Kuragari's Shikai leaving a small cut on his cheek as they were passing by. With a loud hum of Sonído he vanished and reappeared a medium distance away.
The real Ikiryō turned abruptly to look at him, delivering him a death stare.
The two disappeared suddenly, only to re-emerge in a shower of sparks and blurred limbs. Kuragari pressured his Inner Hollow with a barrage of rapid jabs, but the apparition blocked all of the innumerable hits with apparent ease. Increasingly more infuriated, the Shinigami grabbed his opponent by his wrist and attacked with the free hand. However, the doppelgänger simply defended himself with his own unconstrained arm.
They were briefly locked in a struggle of strength. Nevertheless, the true Kuragari quickly interrupted it by throwing his body backward and lifting his legs in a shearing motion to deliver an abrupt Kazaguruma to his enemy's chin. The kick connected and launched the Hollow in a short flight before he landed on the featureless blackness. When Ikiryō had finished his somersault and was crouching in preparation to stand up, he realised the doppelgänger had already plunged at him. Shortly afterward the white, clawed fist smashed into his face with a loud thud, knocking him to the ground.
Hollow Ikiryō attempted to pin his host by piercing his chest with his other hand, but it was deflected by the original's leg. Then, Kuragari tried to kick him into the face with another one, but the Hollow grabbed it and promptly tossed him aside with incredible force. Ikiryō rotated several times as he was flying uncontrollably and regained balance only afterward. He sensed the doppelgänger following him fast, and as such turned around without a warning, a blade of split reality sprouting from his left palm.
"Bunkatsu Genjitsu!"
"Bunkatsu Genjitsu."
The two blurred edges of pitch blackness clashed briefly, and then dispersed into nothingness. Still, the force of the collision was sufficient to reduce the Hollow's momentum. Kuragari used that opportunity to deliver an abrupt Ikkotsu.
His hit missed. He spotted his enemy's ashen face to the right before a brief flash obscured his sight. Pain came quickly afterward, and he swayed backward. Subsequently, he utilised Shunpo to move away from the doppelgänger. Even though their fight was short, he had been already breathing heavily, as if severely exhausted. On the other hand, his Inner Hollow's tranquil fury seemed unperturbed.
"Bankai", he blurted as he clasped his armoured palms. "Sonzai no Yūgure!"
Black-and-purple Reiatsu enveloped his shaking body with its cold might. The clawed gauntlets expanded, and a light plate armour covered his trembling, sweaty body. Cape of semi-tangible darkness fluttered behind him.
"Bankai", stated Hollow Ikiryō. "Sonzai no Yūgure."
The real Kuragari was watching in shock as his double mirrored his actions. Nevertheless, his transformation was not nearly as similar. Bony plates emerged from the Hollow's body to mimick the black-and-silver armour. His palms grew severalfold, and the talons it was armed with followed suit shortly. But there was no cape; a mask appearing like a grinning skull with spiral patterns slid on the doppelgänger's face, and an additional pair of skeletal arms burst from his sides.
Ikiryō stood there in silence for a short period of time. Then, veins bulged out on his temples and he plunged at the monstrosity with an animalistic roar.
In an instant whatever force had Satō pinned to his seat vanished, he rose up with sudden force, his form having returned to its usual middle-aged state. The Soul King's throne room sank away into the darkness, as if drowned in ooze though where Satō stood remained solid. He turned away from the impenetrable darkness only to find himself surrounded by more of it.
As he took his first step forward, a sword appeared from nowhere to cut him down. It was a hard, flat strike, drawing no blood but clearly echoing with force through the darkened area. The attack pulsed through Satō's body, forcing him down on one knee.
"What can you change?", asked a man that looked remarkably close to Satō though a white mask, not unlike that of a Hollow, obscured his face.
Before Satō could respond or attempt any kind of retaliation, his other side was struck, bringing down on both knees. This time it was the young man from before. "What purpose do you have?", he asked.
Finally a third blow was struck, bringing Satō's body down and lowering his head as if to force him to prostrate himself before those that had attacked thus far. The third attacker of course representing a manifested Shūgetsu once again.
His spiritual energy flared up, an aura of blue emerging from his body. Satō struggled against whatever unseen force was holding him down, breaking it apart in seconds to stand once again.
"Erase the Flow, Shūgetsu!", he roared with resounding triumph in his voice.
"Erase the Flow, Shūgetsu", his manifested Zanpakutō repeated calmly.
"Open the way Forward, Kigetsu", said the young man with a tone that verged on audible glee.
"Rip apart, Mugen Shūgetsu: Cambio Andanza", the masked copy spoke, lifeless, but somehow strong.
The entirety of the voided space erupted in a series of explosions, the air was obscured by plumes of golden smoke that slowly cleared to reveal that the space was a mixture of white and black, a twisted and distorted place.
Satō shot forward with amazing speed, smashing his sword against that of his manifested Zanpakutō, and pushing him a considerable distance forward. The other two approached on either of his flanks, but he was quick to respond. Kicking his spirit back, he quickly drew his sword into a horizontal spin that generated a powerful shockwave, bisecting them both in a single motion.
The upper halves of their bodies continued to move despite this, closing the gap in an instant to deliver two powerful strikes that knocked Satō into the ground below.
"You are insignificant", they taunted, their bodies having reconstituted with little issue after the attack. Satō climbed from the rubble that he had been buried in to find Shūgetsu looming over him. The metal of its gauntlet struck him in the stomach only to propel him several miles into the distance. His flight only stopped when his back impacted against another boundary of the twisted abyss.
"Nothing will change, what do you hope to accomplish by fighting?", asked Shūgetsu.
Satō ignored him, ripping himself out of the wall and forming his strongest swing, in the attempt he could feel his strength declining, becoming weaker, though the crescent he formed was of formidable size, it was easily dwarfed and just as quickly snuffed out by the opposing swing presented by his manifested sword spirit.
This repeated over and over and over.
Each time Satō stood up and tried again, he was immediately struck down by any of the three opposing him. Each time his strength lowered until he could barely stand on his own two feet.
At last his masked copy went in for a killing stroke, Satō continued to defy his circumstances, his body moving reflexively to activate Shunpo, but nothing came of it. Instead he did little to escape the oncoming attack which resulted in having a duplicate of his Zanpakutō piercing through his chest.
This time the wound was real, the sword struck right through him, eliciting a deep blood filled cough from the man, droplets running down the corners of his mouth. His duplicate twisted the blade inside his wound, causing splatter after splatter of the red liquid to pour out of him.
Life drained from his eyes and this time, nothing called for him to continue.
"You.", Kurokawa whispered, he staggered up, visibly reacting to his now bloodied back, he turned to his now maskless hollow double, the hollow bore an uncanny resemblance to the Kidō Corps Captain, only differing in skin complexion and hair and eye colour.
"You've been subdued for 12 years, you shall be subdued again.", Kurokawa uttered, however as he attempted to approach his hollow, he slanted, groaning in pain.
"Not any more, I'm not passing up the chance of free reign over what I maul.", Hollow Kurokawa growled, his voice, while being extremely similar to the real Kurokawa's voice, was very hoarse and rough. The hollow bore a sickly grin as Kurokawa observed.
"I...always wanted to know who you inherited your dominant characteristics from.", Kurokawa started, he slowly walked towards the hollow, raising his zanpakutō.
"I finally realise that she lives on in you.", Kurokawa finished, he scowled at his double, who merely grinned in response.
"I have little trace of Lascivia in me, only that of DNA from her spawn, I was born...from you.", he replied, pointing at Kurokawa, before the Kidō Captain could retort the hollow continued in his speech.
"All them repressed emotions, everything you contain in your unconscious, your anger, your arrogance and your lust for violence, I am all of that, you can not deny the undeniable truth, I am you, and you are me..."
"...partner."
Kurokawa charged at his hollow self, plunging his blade toward the grey clone, Hollow Kurokawa merely grabbed the blade, stopping Kurokawa in his tracks. As he did so, the armour on his body shattered, revealing the Hollow in an inverted Shinigami shihakshō. Using his right hand, Hollow Kurokawa drew his own zanpakutō in a reverse grip, he slashed upwards, Kurokawa barely dodging the attack.
"How dare you speak them words.", Kurokawa snarled, he lowered his body and squeezed his zanpakutō, causing electricity to flow through it. He clashed with his hollow, however the electricity violently dissipated, forcing the two back.
"Your anger.", Hollow Kurokawa muttered, a small frown on his face.
"We are like heaven and hell!", Kurokawa shouted, once again he charged at Hollow Kurokawa, locking blades with his clone, Hollow Kurokawa's frown transformed into a smirk.
"Your arrogance.", Hollow Kurokawa clearly said.
Kurokawa, ignoring his double's words, started to press the hollow back, his attacks getting increasingly more ferocious, finally after producing a small cut on his chin, Hollow Kurokawa's smirk progressed to a psychotic looking expression of glee.
"AND YOUR LUST FOR VIOLENCE!", he screamed, the hollow knocked away Kurokawa's block and kicked him far away, causing the Kidō Captain to fall out of his emotional stupor, he looked on as his hollow raised his zanpakutō.
"May the fangs of hell bear down upon thy enemy, Ookami no Shoukan!", Hollow Kurokawa said, the real Kurokawa, now fully broken from his spell, sprang up, ignoring the pain from his back wound, he performed a diagonal slash, his sword glowing slightly.
"May the fangs of heaven bear down upon us, Ookami no Shoukan.", Kurokawa declared, both zanpakutō transformed into a curved elegant blade with a noticeable semi circular groove. Kurokawa placed his hand on the groove while his hollow made a claw life gesture in the air.
"Hadō #31, Shakkahō.", Kurokawa stated, the red ball of fire like energy was absorbed into the blade, causing it to erupt in bright red flames, "Tenma Jumon no Douka.", Kurokawa followed up with, positioning himself in a fighting stance.
Meanwhile, Hollow Kurokawa had formed a red ball of humming energy, he pushed it into his zanpakutō, causing the blade to gleam a bright red.
"Cero no Douka.", he said menacingly, he licked his lips as he also got into a fighting position.
The two seemed to wait there, as if preparing for the other to strike, they both gritted their teeth as they finally charged at each other, their voices resonating in the darkness, Hollow Kurokawa's insane laughter merged with Kurokawa's own impacting shouted caused the black space to be finally filled with sound. The two swung down their blades, their respective powers released, the darkness had become a scarlet red.
Part 4[]
Ikiryō and his eerie doppelgänger once again clashed in an exchange of countless rapid punches. Nevertheless, the original was largely pushed to defend himself, as he had to struggle to keep up with his opponent's extra pair of arms. After several seconds of intense beating he seemed to pierce through the flurry of the Hollow's attacks. Unfortunately, the latter ducked, just narrowly avoiding a hit that could swiftly decapitate him.
Right afterward Kuragari groaned and trembled as his double's fist struck him in a strong uppercut to the abdomen. The Inner Hollow quickly followed with two hooks to the original's face and then launched him into a flight backward with a kick to the chest. Ikiryō somersaulted mid-air and landed heavily on the black floor. He noticed his enemy had been already approaching him rapidly, and as such attempted to counter with an abrupt punch. However, the doppelgänger vanished with the loud hum of Sonído. Subsequently, he jump-kicked into Kuragari's side, once again lifting him off the ground with his inhuman strength.
Increasingly more infuriated, Ikiryō halted his flight through sheer willpower and landed in a controlled manner. Once again, the Inner Hollow was following him closely. This time, though, the Second Division Captain did nothing. The white-haired double realised something was amiss, but it had been to late; he phased through his host's temporarily immaterial body and flew farther. In the meantime, Kuragari had already turned to him and lifted his left hand oustretched.
"Ōkasen!", he exclaimed.
An arc of bright yellow energy erupted from his armoured palm and struck the enemy's back, causing a medium-sized explosion. The Hollow fell to the ground, smoke trailing behind him. Eager to utilise the opportunity, Kuragari plunged at him, preparing to pin him to the ground with a powerful punch. Nevertheless, the doppelgänger eluded him and materialised behind him, ready to strike back. His hit missed, though, as it passed through a flickering afterimage of the Shinigami, who had swiftly moved away and leapt at him.
The Hollow had disappeared. Ikiryō could only widen his eyes when he noticed a blurred silhouette closing in on him from the side.
"Shit...", he cursed right before being struck with a powerful straight to the cheek.
He slanted and took several swaying steps, as if drunk. Still, he lifted his guard as fast as possible and barely blocked the impending follow-up. Then, he jumped backward to gain some distance and, consequently, some time to think. The Inner Hollow was relentless, though, and aimed all of his four palms at him immediately afterward.
"Cero", he declared.
"Shōkyo Taihō!", retorted Kuragari hastily.
The air in front of him undulated briefly before the incoming beam of jet black energy was violently dispersed into glittering particles of Reishi.
Damn it, thought Ikiryō when his double charged at him. I fought with him several times long ago, and he never was that strong... I can't defeat him like that!
"You're weak", stated the doppelgänger gravely whilst showering him with another volley of lightning-speed hits. "If you aren't strong enough to protect your close ones, they'll die."
"Shut up!", yelled Kuragari in response.
This time his attack passed right through the Inner Hollow's assault and struck him into the face with incredible force. However, much to the original's horror, it seemed to barely affect the double.
"Pathetic", commented the latter.
Then, he shot a black Bala blast into his host's abdomen, prompting another loud groan of pain.
He's right. Why don't you try to focus and calm down a little?, a female voice resounded deep within his psyche.
Who... who are you?, thought Ikiryō as he was evading a volley of spiritual energy blasts.
You don't even recognise me? Idiot.
Shi no Hōyō?, he expressed in surprise whilst launching Kyomu no Ibara at the enemy.
Usuguraiboshi's Bankai meddles with your mind. Ignore the visions and ignore that jerk for a while. Focus.
Kuragari leapt to the side, narrowly escaping a large Cero beam.
Thank you, Shi no Hōyō, he thought as he straightened up and looked at his opponent with an intense stare.
"Oh, you're welcome. Again."
The Inner Hollow landed right in front of him and launched a rapid Ikkotsu. The punch struck Ikiryō with all of its destructive might; although, the Shinigami Captain did not even flinch.
"No", uttered the double with what could be interpreted as mild surprise.
"Yes", replied Kuragari firmly.
Then, he hit the doppelgänger with a devastating left hook, shattering the ivory white mask. Right hook followed immediately afterward. Subsequently, he kneed the Hollow into the stomach, prompting him to bend forward abruptly, black liquid erupting from his mouth in the process. Ikiryō clasped his armoured palms and struck him into the back, and then followed with a powerful middle kick. Its raw power swept the double away and launched him like a projectile. After he bounced off the immaculate black ground several times, he at last landed limply a long distance from Kuragari.
The Shinigami was breathing heavily, and spat blood to the side.
"I don't care that much whether I win or not", he stated sternly. "But I'll never let anyone threaten my friends."
All of a sudden, the doppelgänger rose up rapidly and plunged at him with the use of Sonído. The long talons of his right hand extended toward Kuragari's face, intent to pierce it and tear his head to ribbons. That did not come to be, however, as all they cut was air. The Hollow widened his purple eyes slightly, and right afterward the large gauntlet on Ikiryō's left arm swiftly punched a hole in his chest, literally splitting him in half.
His upper body and legs fell to the ground separately, spilling profuse amount of black ichor that blended with it seamlessly.
"I'll always be here", spoke the Hollow in a hoarse voice.
"And I'll always be ready to kick your arse", retorted Ikiryō in a collected tone.
Then, the doppelgänger dissolved into murky liquid. The Second Division Captain remained where he stood, breathing heavily in the aftermath of the strenuous confrontation. Later, he looked around with uncertainty, not knowing what to do next. He did not have to wait long, in the end, as the mysterious source of white light disappeared, drowning him in the black void.
Suddenly, he felt as if he was falling.
Drip, drip, drip.
The faintest droplets of blood continued to form on the blade running through Satō's body, a red liquid line raced across the edge, forming tears that gained weight and fell from the metal that they clung to, joining yet more blood in the pool that had amassed at the man's feet.
His eyes had dimmed, becoming little more than empty pools that hinted at nothing beneath the surface. His head fell forward, enough that it was obvious he was fading out but his neck retained enough strength that also pointed towards him not quite yet dying off.
There was a ping of life in his eyes, like a quick flash that vanished as quickly as it emerged. His mind drew a picture as best it could whilst the loss of blood continued to shut down more and more of his body.
It had been a very long time ago, Satō had been sent out on a mission to Hueco Mundo, and somehow ended up surrounded by a small army of its natural denizens, try as he might, getting through them by himself was impossible, their numbers were at a point where raw strength could not exceed it and he was left, trapped, at the center, beaten and bloodied, his options quickly thinning out. He relied on something other than himself, untested, unprepared, he drew his sword towards the bleak skies, putting all of his faith in his sword.
A light of gold shot towards those skies in a display that could almost be described as heavenly, Satō would emerge free of his wounds and donning a set of armour plates alongside a blade that could easily be described as a mythological lightsaber. His bond with his Zanpakutō had reached its peak the moment he decided to trust that blade with his life, as it had done time and again each time they entered battle.
The dream-like memory faded out as Satō plunged at his first Hollow.
"I do, I remember", he stated firmly, his head held high and a vibrant light shining in his eyes. He clenched the sword that impaled him, easily ripping it from a wound that should have been fatal. He didn't immediately let go either, instead, he clenched further, his strength having not only returned but grown, the blade exploded under the pressure, scattering every which way into millions of shards.
The double didn't stand idle of course, the moment of shock passed and he attempted to retaliate with his free hand, balling his hand up into a fist and throwing it with all the might he could muster. It was brushed away limply but the lightest flowing tap from his opponent, a simple sweeping gesture from Satō had redirected the hand away from himself leaving it harmlessly swinging at the air. The Royal Guard quickly drew his sword overhead, both hands grasping the hilt of his blade before pulling it down in a powerful strike on his opponent.
The voice reverberated through out the entire illusory realm, though the two remaining foes ignored it and continued as they would to prove how weak Satō was, how little he could do to change a world that had already stopped moving.
But he railed against that even so. The three swordsmen flew through the air, blades clanging as they clashed, sparks flying everywhere from the fury of their blows. The duo had caught Satō from either side, expecting to deliver a simultaneous pincer attack only to find that they had struck some sort of double.
Satō stood far below them, two of his fingers outstretched, a blue light concentrating on their tips. The young man, and Shūgetsu, swung their blades with tremendous force, generating massive crescent shaped blades that flew towards the target, Satō had fired his attack at the instant they did, causing the three to intersect on their individual flight paths.
The blades exploded against some kind of invisible force, whilst Satō's Kidō spell seemed to vanish without a trace. His free hand rose up before gripping the air and pulling downward, the motion generated a massive light across the entire surrounding area, as if he was drawing a massive curtain to reveal something.
Indeed, the entire area was layered with his crescent blades floating all around the two that had so easily trounced him before. A blue light emerged from each of them to surround and impale all sorts of body parts on either figure. "Byakurai", Satō spoke as if chanting.
Their bodies faded out into the darkness whilst a vortex of nothingness attempted to swallow Satō, for a moment he felt like he was moving only to be deposited in the same place, that distorted black and white void.
"You will not be rid of me", spoke his masked copy, emerging from nowhere to clash blades once again.
"I am that which you despise most, what you fear, what you hate, what you rage against", it spoke again, its voice a booming noise that rattled the bones in Satō's body.
"No", the Royal Guardsman denied following an assortment of sword strikes between either party. "You are little more than a shadow", a swift sword stroke came out from the side, cleaving the copy's mask in two to reveal Satō's own face behind its white protection.
"You are what I had attempted to cast off in the past, that which I must accept as like any other part of myself", he spoke to the air then, the masked figure having already disolved into a cloud of black.
The process repeated again, the young man showing up this time, though the two did not clash as had previously been done. They sheathed their blades, the battle having already ended.
"I suppose you know what I am, huh?", the younger man asked with enthusiasm.
"A path. One that may still be open to me", the elder man responded rather vaguely so, but the grin on his counterparts face made it clear he understood and accepted what had been said.
Again it happened. And the young man was at last replaced by Shūgetsu.
"It took a lot to wake you up this time", spoke the animate suit of armour.
"Forgive me, I get forgetful in my old age", Satō jested with a rigid chuckle that made it painfully clear how faint the laugh lines on his face really were.
"Shall we go then?", Satō replied to that with a nod of his head. The realm around them collapsing into a deep hole that Satō didn't so much fall into as he did fly towards its depths, intent on meeting whatever lay below.
Smoke covered the darkness that was the battlefield, as it dissipated, two figures emerged, one of them standing, one of then on the ground. Kurokawa Tadayoshi, struggled up, his clothes were singed and torn, the Kidō Captain took several deep breaths, finally standing up. His hollow double merely chuckled quietly to himself.
"Damn it.", Kurokawa panted, he raised both his sword and his arm, both pointing towards the hollow.
"Hadō #33, Sōkatsui, Hadō #54, Haien.", Kurokawa stated, he fired a pale blue cascade of fire towards Hollow Kurokawa, who fired a small Cero to counter the spell. The two attacks clashed, causing a blinding explosion, Hollow Kurokawa jumped back slightly to avoid the blast, however as he did, Kurokawa appeared above him, his zanpakutō ablaze with purple flame.
"Take this!", Kurokawa shouted, as he attempted to attack, Hollow Kurokawa swung his blade towards Kurokawa, firing off a fast arc of energy at the Kidō Captain. Shocked, Kurokawa blocked the attack with his own enhanced blade, however the culminating explosion caused him to cascade down to the floor, smoldering.
"You're weak. Why should I have a weak partner.", Hollow Kurokawa said, his voice had a hint of disappointment in it.
"Shut it!", Kurokawa shouted, he sprang back up, getting into a stance.
"You don't get it do you.", Hollow Kurokawa stated, smirking, "You're weak! Bankai!", Kurokawa looked on as his hollow's blade transformed into a large, elegant longsword. The hollow then put his hand the the blade, forming two balls of energy.
"Cero no Yūgō."
Kurokawa didn't have time to block as a hyper fast pillar of red energy careened his way. The Cero/Bala blast hit him dead on, causing him to fly further back, landing heavily on the floor.
"Shit....losing consciousness.", Kurokawa thought, he looked at his double started to walk towards him before he passed out.
"Kurokawa."
"What is this, grass? Where am I", Kurokawa thought, he tried to open his eyes, but he had no strength to do so, he felt a powerful gust of wind blow past.
"Kurokawa,", this time Kurokawa's eyes flew open as he got up from the ground, Kurokawa looked at the landscape, he was in a large plain, he looked at the waning number of withering Sakura trees, he looked to the sky, it looked like night, with the first drops of rain falling down. Finally, as it started to rain harder, Kurokawa fixed his eyes on a pure white wolf patiently waiting for him.
"Ookami no Shoukan.", Kurokawa said quietly, a fork of lightning came down nearby, creating a deafening sound. Kurokawa stood up and walked a little closer to the wolf.
"Kurokawa, your inner world is in turmoil, you know what this means...don't you.", Ookami no Shoukan stated, it's voice was dual tone, a female voice and a male voice resonating with each other.
"Usuguraiboshi's bankai has skewed my perception of reality, and my hollow is adding to my confusion, I'm lost Ookami no Shoukan.", Kurokawa said, he thought back to the horrendous visions he saw beforehand, as he did the weather of his inner world worsened.
"Kurokawa, I am always by your side, Usuguraiboshi's visions may be overwhelming to one, but together we can ignore them.", the zanpakutō explained.
"What about him...", Kurokawa paused, lost for words.
"Your hollow is the culmination of your worst aspects, the aspects you keep inside, however, even if he is the worst of you, he is still a part of you, denying him makes him more powerful, the only way to beat him is to accept him as part of you.", Ookami no Shoukan replied, the zanpakutō's words caused Kurokawa to flinch slightly.
"I see...", Kurokawa whispered, his head held low, the rain finally stopped, and the sun started to rise over the pagoda in the distance.
"No matter what the turmoil, I shall always be by your side.", Ookami no Shoukan repeated.
"Thank you."
"Oi, you still alive?", Hollow Kurokawa asked, the real Kurokawa found himself on the floor back in the darkness, his hollow was standing over him, his blade resting on his shoulder as he looked down on his host. Kurokawa, groggy from the direct hit he received, staggered back up, using shunpo to gain some distance.
"Lets finish this...shall we?", Kurokawa said wearily, his vision was blurred, however he saw his double recoil slightly.
"Heh, whatever suits you best partner.", Hollow Kurokawa said, he straightened up, clawing his hand in preparation to create a Cero. Meanwhile, Kurokawa, steaded his blade, raising it.
"Bankai, Shoukan no Mikoto.", Kurokawa stated, his sword, like his hollow's, transformed into a elegant broadsword, as he did so, he saw Ookami no Shoukan's human form, an elegant female, appear next to him, seemingly immaterial and only noticable to him.
Ookami no Shoukan, Kurokawa telepathically said.
Your own power has waned due to the stress of Usuguraiboshi's bankai, I shall assist you., Ookami no shoukan said, it summoned it's bankai form immediately.
In that case, you have full reign over my power, Kurokawa replied, the two nodded, and then merged together, Kurokawa statically straightened up, being helped by Ookami no Shoukan.
"Cero no Yomi.", Hollow Kurokawa said, the hollow had completed the dense Cero during Kurokawa's chat. The hollow started to force the black Cero into his bankai, which started to resist it, however as he continued, it slowly started to sink in. Noticing this, Kurokawa placed his hand on his blade, as he spoke however, Ookami no Shoukan's female voice resonated with his.
"Hadō #73 Sōren Sōkatsui!" "Hadō #73 Sōren Sōkatsui!"
The zanpakutō absorbed the double powered Kidō spell, Kurokawa took a deep breath as he began to cast his next spell. Hollow Kurokawa looked up in mild interest as he approached forcing his Cero halfway into the blade.
"You, who have faltered! You, who have lost faith! You, who have chosen cowardice over glory! Know the wrath of the Judging Eye and perish at once! Hadō #87 Kōdai Tōta!" "You, who have faltered! You, who have lost faith! You, who have chosen cowardice over glory! Know the wrath of the Judging Eye and perish at once! Hadō #87 Kōdai Tōta!"
The Kidō spell glowed orange slightly before being absorbed by the blade, suddenly as the Kidō started to merge the blade of Kurokawa's bankai glowed a bright blue, which a bright orange outline surrounded it. Just as he cast his second spell, Hollow Kurokawa finally forced his Cero no Yomi into his bankai, causing it to become overwhelmed by a dark reiatsu.
"Tenma Jumon no Yūgō." "Tenma Jumon no Yūgō."
Hollow Kurokawa smirked as he replied, "Izanami no Hanketsu."
The two charged at each other, their blades screeching as they struck each other. The two blades seemed to be equally powerful, locked in limbo, however after a while, Hollow Kurokawa started to push Kurokawa back, feeling desperate, both Kurokawa and his manifested zanpakutō spirit released the combined Kidō.
"HAAAAAAAAAAH!", the two shouted at their highest, the Kidō created a blinding flash as it exploded around the two figures, the explosion's sound reverberated through the darkness.
As the dust settled, Kurokawa landed next to a now defeated Hollow Kurokawa, who was lying face down. The Kidō Captain knelt down as the hollow started to fade to black.
"Having a pain in the ass like you isn't easy you know.", Kurokawa started. "But you were right, you're me, and I'm you, so I guess we'll have to put up with each other a little more..."
"...partner.", Kurokawa finished, his hollow turned it's head slightly, his face sported a large grin.
"Tch, you don't half piss me off.", he said as he finally merged with the darkness around him.
Kurokawa stood up, unsure of what was going to happen next, just after he sheathed his sword he started falling downwards again, however unlike last time, he was ready for anything.
Part 5[]
The sensation of falling endlessly into a bottomless chasm was rather disturbing, but this time Ikiryō made a point of remaining as calm as possible. Then, suddenly, the feeling faded away, and he realised that he was standing on firm ground. This time, it was actual ground, or rather an ancient pavement made from worn-down, cracked bricks. He straigthened up and looked around attentively. His wounds seemed gone, but the pain still lingered within his tired body.
The area he had apeared in seemed boundless. There were no trees nor buildings in the line of sight, only the pavement and very distant horizon. As such, he lifted his head. The sky was occupied by a vast nebula of amber, scarlet and crimson colours intertwined with one another in a myriad of patterns and shapes. An unknown source of light lit the surroundings with a distinct, reddish hue.
All of a sudden, Kuragari felt something familiar.
"Kuro!", he exclaimed, seeing his friend unexpectedly materialising relatively nearby. "Shingen-dono!", he added as the Royal Guardsman appeared out of the thin air.
"Kuragari.", Kurokawa said, his vision was still slightly blurred, shaking his head, he approached the 2nd Division Captain, rubbing his head.
"I can easily sense your reiatsu, so it's definitely you this time.", Kurokawa stated, he turned to face Satō, who had just approached the two Captains.
"It seems faith has been well placed on you both", said the Royal Guard, complimenting the two Captains though rather back handedly.
"But, it seems we're not out of the thick of it yet", though the area they were in was more detailed than the black pits they had been in before it was a far cry from the summit of Sōkyoku Hill.
"Stay ready, I doubt he can pull any more mind tricks on us like he did before since we're together.", Kurokawa stated, he knelt down to examine the bricks that they were currently standing on.
Then, he suddenly noticed a pair of small boots. He lifted his head and realised there was someone standing in front of him; seemingly, a six year old girl clad in a hooded robe. Her face was completely concealed by a shadow.
"Hi", she said to Kurokawa.
Satō's Zanpakutō enveloped itself in gold light, assuming the girl to be an illusion he was ready to strike it down but a thought at the back of his mind restrained him for the moment, perhaps something else was at play here.
Kurokawa stood up, taking a step back, the girl merely stood there as if the Kidō Captain hadn't moved. He made his way nearer to the other two, who were attentively staring at the strange girl.
"What do you guys think?", Kurokawa asked both Ikiryō and Satō, noting the girl's stoic behaviour, Kurokawa relaxed his body, however he kept his right hand on the hilt of his sheathed zanpakutō.
Kuragari, whose Bankai was still active, was as such more confident and stepped slightly in front of his friend.
"Who are you?", he asked, ready to assume a fighting stance at the slightest notice.
The girl giggled.
"I'm Mugen Kūgeki", she had replied after a short while, and then took of her hood.
She was indeed a little girl of presumably Asian descent, with medium-length, straight black hair and silken complexion. However, her lips were sewn with crude stitches just loose enough to let her speak, and writhing feelers emerged from her otherwise empty eye sockets.
"How are you?", she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Mugen Kūgeki? Then this is...", Kurokawa started.
"Appropriate for a reflection of that man's soul, I'd think", mused Satō.
"Is it simply another illusion, or the real thing I wonder", he remained ready to unleash his attack, but was reluctant to pursue the notion just yet. Killing Zetsubō's Zanpakutō would be a boon for their side, but an illusion could be a lead in to a trap of some kind.
Meanwhile, the girl began circling them with a dancing skip.
"You can't tell what's real and what's not in here", she said. "But I'm as real as it gets! And I know what you're thinking, Satō-chan", she added as she suddenly halted and smiled, pointing at the man's sword.
Her already unnerving face became even more disconcerting as the not-so-friendly expression stretched her sewn lips.
"You're strong", she commented, already fooling around again in an oddly carefree manner. "Few guys made it right here. Only Yama-jii, recently. But he didn't take well what he'd seen here."
Without a warning she swayed as she was jumping, which prompted her to stop. Then, she glanced again at the three Shinigami observing her.
"He's mad", she stated anxiously.
The pavement started shaking, at first barely perceptibly.
"Get ready, all of you.", Kurokawa said, he put emphasis on the last words he spoke, ringing them telepathically to his inner counterparts, who responded to it. The ground started to shake more violently, causing the three men to lower themselves to stay balanced, with Kurokawa now drawing his sword.
"Here it comes.", Ikiryō said.
"He's such a party pooper!", complained Mugen Kūgeki. "I wanted to play with you some more..."
Suddenly, the worn-down pavement started cracking underneath their feet.
"He's coming! He's coming!", exclaimed the little girl, and then she began running away.
The attention of the Shinigami was quickly drawn to the bizarre sky. The colourful nebula was swirling violently, and a gradually growing black hole opened high above the lifted heads of the Soul Reapers, sucking the yellow and red gases inside. The powerful tremors continued, and dust began rising into the crimson-hued air.
Then, they heard a reverberating hum, initially just barely audible, but strong enough to cause vibrations to surge through their bodies. With each consecutive second the sound was becoming ever more intense. Suddenly, the black hole expanded substantially, and the Shinigami could see a flash of light in its centre.
"...ooooooooaaaaAAAAAAAARGGHHHH!", an earth-shaking roar swept across the entire area.
Within a split second something crashed nearby with tremendous force, causing an immense explosion. Its force punched a huge crater in the pavement and with the ensuing shockwave brutally launched all of the Soul Reapers into the air, surrounded by a shower of stones and blocks of several-metre rocks.
"Guys!", yelled Kuragari as he was meandering amongst the barrage of rubble. He eventually found Tadayoshi making his way out of a pile of rubble.
"I swear if I get one more concussion.", he grumpily mumbled, however his semi-lighthearted nature disappeared as he got up and focused upon what caused the shockwave. His face looked grim and ashen as he turned to Ikiryō.
"So even Genryūsai-dono couldn't face this.", Kurokawa murmured, the two Captains exchanged grim looks of anxiety whilst Satō freed himself from his own little mess of rubble not far away.
His eyes hunted for familiar ground, attempting to map out the landing point of whatever caused the shockwave. When he did, his eyes grew focused though now he was beginning to curse his own shortsightedness, relying on Rimen to defeat that Quincy was going to make this next battle far more protracted than it had already been.
Without a warning, he noticed amethyst sparks surging through the air. Then, he felt a wave of chilling coldness, and the debris scattered across the area began rising into the air. Pebbles, rocks and dust were levitating upward at a steady pace, the crash site visible in-between. A towering column of ash was shooting up, but suddenly dispersed in a potent gust of wind that swept across the area and tousled the hair of the Shinigami.
Part 6[]
Zetsubō was standing there. He held his nightmarish scythe in his left arm, its muscles flexed to the point of bulging out, swollen veins covering them with a purple web. His left eye was shining intensely like a little, menacing star. In the meantime, the right side of his body seemed to dissipate into a writhing, shadow-like form, his right arm extending into a number of lashing, black tentacles.
"SUFFER", his voice boomed.
Then, he made a rapid movement and the tendrils darted toward the Soul Reapers. Seeing that, Ikiryō faced them promptly and slanted in preparation to defend.
"Bunkatsu Genjitsu!"
A long blade of split reality burst from his left palm and clashed with the appendages as they were about to strike violently. However, rather than swiftly cut them, he merely managed to deflect the attack. Unfazed, Usuguraiboshi leapt at the three Shinigami with animalistic ferocity, charging through the rocks on his way unhindered.
Satō fired the pent up energy that clung to his blade, allowing it to launch out as a devastatingly massive crescent. The light from it engulfed the entire area, dawning over the perpetual dark as it flew just a hairs breadth from hitting Ikiryō. Though it flew over the man, its path quickly corrected, coming down in front of Usuguraiboshi as a radiant wall.
Suddenly, Zetsubō halted on the spot in spite of his immense momentum, and seemed to subsequently recede out of existence as the wave of energy had been approaching him, evading the attack completely. Kuragari had noticed something with the corner of his eye and managed to turn his head as all three Soul Reapers were unexpectedly struck from the side, swept away by the bundle of long tendrils and launched upward amongst the abundant rubble suspended in mid-air.
Ikiryō rotated rapidly around his axis and landed heavily on one of the levitating rocks. The force of gravity was warped, as he was facing downward, but did not need any conscious effort to remain attached to the stone. Crouched, he quickly looked around, attempting to spot the enemy, but to no avail.
Then, a pitch black shadow appeared on a big stone hovering behind Kurokawa, and Usuguraiboshi emerged from its liquid darkness with his scythe slashing toward the Kidō Chief. Before the curved blade struck him however, Kurokawa unexpectedly blocked the strike, despite his lucky save the impetus of the strike sent him flying back, he corrected himself as he expressed a look of shock and relief.
"I owe you double now.", he quietly stated to his sword. He put on his hollow mask swiftly, firing a surprisingly fast Cero towards Zetsubō, who used his shadowy tendrils to practically rip the energy blast apart. Kurokawa retreated to a safer distance, removing his mask.
"May the fangs of heaven bear upon us, Ookami no Shoukan.", he uttered, releasing his blade, just as he went to place his hand on his zanpakutō Usuguaiboshi once again struck Kurokawa, sending him flying backwards into one of the many levitating rocks.
"Crap.", Kurokawa groaned, he barely got up in time to block another strike from Zetsubō's scythe, before he was knocked back again, Kurokawa placed his hand on the curved groove of his blade.
"Hadō #35, Aikadan!", Kurokawa shouted, his blade briefly glowed purple before the Kidō Captain slashed downwards, causing a large cylindrical mass of energy to push Zetsubō back. As he took a sigh of slight relief, the tendrils broke through the Kidō spell, once again striking Kurokawa, causing him to go flying into another rock.
Usuguraiboshi seemed hellbent on pursuing Tadayoshi. However, Kuragari's abrupt strike from the side stopped him in his tracks as the punch to the Togabito's face pushed him off his course. Still, the wraith-like being recovered instantly and countered with a powerful swing of the nightmarish scythe, which Ikiryō blocked with both of his armoured gauntlets. Afterward, he was targeted by the whip-like tentacles, but managed to avoid them thanks to a rapid Shunpo leap backward. Then, he aimed one of his hands at Zetsubō.
"Hadō #58, Tenran!", he exclaimed.
A potent whirwlind burst forth from his palm and darted toward the enemy. Nevertheless, Usuguraiboshi once again appeared to sink into the plane of existence, and the spell ultimately destroyed nothing but several large rocks. Kuragari widened his eyes. Then, he was unexpectedly attacked from behind, the force of the hit prompting him to plummet toward one of the big stones, which he subsequently shattered upon collision.
Zetsubō's glowing eye turned to Satō.
The Royal Guardsman twirled his sword upside down before planting it into the earth. "I think we need a bit more light in here", he spoke casually, an aura of golden reiatsu forming around his body and slowly it extended from his form turning into a pillar as it rose up.
Usuguraiboshi attacked without a second thought. His black tentacles shot toward the Royal Guardsman with considerable speed, seemingly expanding on their way. As they were about to reach their target, their tips assumed the shapes of howling faces with nebulous features and empty eye sockets, and slender hands suddenly oustretched in the direction of Shingen. Before the hands reached the off guard Satō, they were sliced off by Tadayoshi's overly large bankai, which was glowing with orange reiatsu. He made a slash at Usuguraiboshi, however once again the Togabito melded into the shadows, evading the attack.
"We need to beat him quickly, we won't hold out much longer against him.", Kurokawa stated, apart from some minor injuries he looked seemingly fine, however he was exhausted from both Zetsubō's relentless attacks and the previous ordeals he faced. Before Satō could reply, Zetsubō reappeared, separating the two with his tendrils.
Satō hadn't even attempted to stop the snake-like appendages from doing as they would, that Kurokawa had intercepted the initial attack was a damper on the trick, but he would go through with it regardless.
"I agree", he said to the air in reference to the previous words spoken. "Bankai", following the flatly spoken word, his power expanded rapidly, culminating in the formation of a massive pillar of light.
Everywhere the ground began to rumble and rock before gargantuan stone towers and battlements ripped through the stone-ground, an ever-shining ruin of a great Western-style castle had ripped its way into this Inner World. The light shining from them pushed away the darkness of the area, illuminating whatever was closest to them so heavily that no shadow could form nearby, though they did not have the strength to illuminate every part of the Inner World.
Emerging from the light that had knocked the tendrils away with its force, Satō was now clad in the white-stylized robes of Keijō Shūgetsu, his light soaked sword giving off a clear hum when he swung it reflexively.
"I apologize, Keijō Shūgetsu is a little pervasive", he remarked before moving. It was only a single step of Shunpo that he needed to close in on Zetsubō, his blade coming down on the man's head like an executioner's axe.
Then, he was engulfed by impenetrable blackness. The insanity of the crimson world around him vanished in an instant, entirely replaced by silent darkness not unlike the one the Royal Guardsman had faced earlier.
A single red light appeared in front of his now paralysed body.
"This is my world", uttered a grave, raspy voice. "My pain. My solitude. My fear. FEAR!"
Something wrapped itself around Shingen's body, constricting it with bone shattering strength that quickly put him to the limit of durability. However, something blurry and slightly lighter than the pitch blackness suddenly emerged from below the red light, and the immense grip disappeared at once. The quiet blackness subsided, revealing the nightmarish red dimension and Ikiryō Kuragari right in front of the Royal Guardsman.
"Pardon the intrusion", said the Captain with a smirk.
There was no time for a reply, though, as a gut-wrenching noise dampened any other sound. Subsequently, all three Shinigami glanced down, only to witness the fortress summoned by Satō's Bankai crumble and collapse. A vast portion of the worn-down pavement that constituted the Inner World's ground had vanished, replaced by a swirling whirlpool of crimson, orange and black similar to that which was looming high above them. Until then motionless, the suspended rocks and dust began swirling madly in-between the two black holes.
"ACCEPT MY PAIN!", a thunderous voice reverberated through the hellish dimension, the sheer fury it expressed rivaled by only by despair.
Usuguraiboshi materialised once again, this time barely resembling his Shinigami self, and appearing more as a giant, writhing shadow with a head suspended amongst its living darkness. Something plummeted toward Ikiryō, and the man was repelled with great force, disappearing somewhere in the tempest of ash and rocks. Right afterward, a wave of blackness swept toward Tadayoshi and Shingen.
In vain Tadayoshi non-verbally put up a Dankū spell, however the darkness effortlessly smashed through the Bakudō, promptly sending both Kurokawa and Satō soaring into the rubble also.
"ACCEPT THE SUFFERING THAT I PERSEVERED!", the voice bellowed, the whole inner world seemed to tremble as the three men got up.
Satō had ripped Kurokawa from his place, dragging the other Captain through the sky as he made several flash steps towards Ikiryō. His sword lit up with a vibrant flash before the Inner World froze still, as did the two Captains, Tadayoshi was pulled through the air with no reaction for the most part. Satō grabbed the other Captain with his arm, his hands already occupied by his sword and comrade. He landed on a clear spot before glancing knowingly at the sky.
Then a single sleeve of bandaging emerged from his sleeve to quickly encapuslate the trio when his arm moved. "Sentan Hakuja", he called as that single bandage expanded to eventually encapsulate and consume the three. Time returned to normal when the spell activated transporting them from Zetsubō's Inner world back to the darkened skies above the Sōkyoku Hill.
"Let's stop with the games shall we?"
They materialised in the Soul Society with a loud "pop", several metres in front of Usuguraiboshi. Since the time freeze had ended, the three Shinigami glanced upon the Sinner with more or less apparent shock.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!", he yelled as his body began contorting violently.
Something black started gushing out from his forehead, destroying his Togabito mask. Electric currents swiftly connected him to the orange-gleaming cracks that had appeared on the stormy sky. A powerful gust of wind swept across the Hill's peak.
"This can't be good", remarked Kuragari with his eyes widened.
The darkness leaking from Zetsubō's mind started wrapping itself around his twitching body. Meanwhile, the reality itself seemed to undulate like hot air, more shining fissures forming here and there. Large parts of the leaden clouds above were falling off and shattering like shards of glass, revealing ominous glow behind them.
Ikiryō slanted and waved his hand in front of his face, summoning his Hollow mask. That action seemed to attract Usuguraiboshi's attention, in a way, at least, because the tendrils of semi-liquid darkness lashed at the Soul Reapers abruptly. They evaded their powerful strike, which saw the tip of the Sōkyoku Hill split in half. Kuragari plunged forward.
When he was rapidly approaching the Sinner, the writhing appendages darted toward him. Nevertheless, rather than deflect him, they merely passed through his body. Suddenly, he was right in front of Usuguraiboshi, looking into his gleaming eyes. However, due to the speed of his manoeuvre and his haste in general, Ikiryō had no time to take a good look at his now exposed face. Instead, he forced his left armoured palm into it in a potent hook that prompted the enemy to sway to the side.
Then, something blurry sliced the air and smashed into the Captain; Zetsubō's scythe collided with his other gauntlet in a shower of sparks and brutally pushed him away. Ikiryō staggered slightly due to the strength of the strike, Usuguraiboshi slashed at the defenceless Captain, only to be blocked just in time by Kurokawa, who was promptly cast to the side after blocking the attack.
Ikiryō, his composure regained, got behind Zetsubo and fired Cero at the writhing Togabito. To his shock however, the Cero was rendered harmless by a suddenly appearing dark liquid mass which absorbed the attack nearly effortlessly. In retaliation, a number of tendrils shot towards Kuragari, forcing the Captain to use Shunpo to avoid them.
"Reiatsu Douka!", the reverberating voice of Tadayoshi shouted, the mask wearing Kidō Corps Commander brought his blade down on Zetsubō, who promptly used one of his tendrils to block. Despite the tendril holding out for a few seconds, it ultimately succumbed to Kurokawa attack. However before he could strike Zetsubō directly another tendril came careening from the side, violently smashing into the left side of Tadayoshi's face, breaking the half of his mask and causing him to once again be sent flying backwards.
Large crescents embedded themselves in front of where either Captain landed, Satō had leapt forward his blade coated in a further wave of gold. He brought his sword down atop Zetsubō like a hammer, though he too was blocked by the Togabito's arsenal of liquid and tendrils. His crescents had formed in every direction, latching on to whatever knocked him back.
"Fire, now!", he roared to the open sky, attempting to direct the two Captains.
"Shōkyo Taihō!", exclaimed Kuragari, launching a powerful disintegrating beam from his left palm.
"Hadō #88, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!", Kurokawa shouted, he fired the abnormally massive beam from his right hand, his other planting his zanpakutō in the ground and supporting his right arm.
A truly humungous explosion occurred, sending forth a powerful shockwave, stunning the 3 fighters briefly. Panting, Tadayoshi grabbed his Zanpakutō and a blue spark emerged from his hand.
"Hadō #86, Shinsei Namida, activate.", Kurokawa uttered. The ground beneath where Zetsubō was started to glow a bright blue, after a second a massive bullet of bright blue reiatsu emerged from the ground, completely engulfing the rising dust cloud before exploding itself.
"That...ought to have...done it.", Kurokawa wheezed, his mask crumbled to dust as he returned his sword to it's shikai state in order to conserve energy.
As the cloud of smoke and bits of earth fell to the ground, Tadayoshi, Shingen and Kuragari all looked in shock as all they could see was a massive ball of liquid darkness, circulating quickly around in a circle. As it dispersed Zetsubō reappeared, his form was indubitably damaged by the two Captains attack but was still far from defeated.
"Feel...feel...feel...", Usuguraiboshi started muttering, catching the attention of his three opponents.
"...Feel...my...PAIN!!!", the Togabito suddenly screamed, clenching his head in apparently pain, he buckled as the liquid black mass that had surrounded him suddenly broke apart and flew towards the three men, forming into sharp spikes as they did so.
"Hadō #81, Dankū.", Satō stated confidently, the transparent wall materialised just in time as the numerous spiked masses plummeted into it, they sank deep into the shield, piercing it in several places, however the shield successfully stopped Zetsubō's attack, shattering shortly afterwards.
Kuragari assumed a fighting stance, but his Hollow mask had cracked and dispersed on its own, and his arms were visibly trembling from overexertion. His face expression became tense as he was looking at the vicious enemy.
All of a sudden, Usuguraiboshi charged at the three in blind fury, rising his spiky scythe high like an executioner's guillotine.
"MY... P-...!", he exclaimed.
Without a warning his advance was abruptly halted when a black chain materialised out of thin air and wrapped itself around his Zanpakutō. He jerked violently when stopped, and then glanced at his scythe, confounded. He quickly turned his head and looked back, and within the same instant many more chains burst forth toward him, rapidly constraining his body.
Equally bewildered, the three Soul Reapers lifted their heads. What they saw was unexpected enough to cause them even greater shock.
A large gate adorned with two mirror-image skeletons and flame motifs had appeared some dozen metres above the Sōkyoku Hill, its door opened. There was a bulky, shadowy figure standing at the threshhold, holding the chains that had bound Zetsubō, its head surrounded by a collar of flames and two bright lights shining in its eye sockets.
The entity yanked the rusty chains, brutally lifting the Togabito into the air. Rather surprisingly, he did not offer any resistance, and the Shinigami who had fought him fiercely could do nothing else but stand and observe.
"You may think of me as a monster", seethed Usuguraiboshi as the mysterious being was pulling him up. "But know that no Soul is born evil. It is the society which creates its own monsters."
Then, with a final jerking movement the dark entity pulled Zetsubō inside the gate. The doors closed immediately afterward, and the gate crumbled into dust that quickly dispersed in the strong wind blowing at the peak of the hill.
The horrific electric currents and reality distortions vanished without a trace. The gleaming cracks in the thick shroud of stormy clouds disappeared as well, and then the clouds themselves began slowly moving away, patches of the night sky peeking here and there.
The insanity was over. The fight had ended. Zetsubō Usuguraiboshi was gone, and the three Soul Reapers were just standing there in utter silence.
Part 7[]
Seireitei. First Division Barracks, Captain-Commander's office. Three days later; afternoon.
"I'm glad you've all come here", stated Ayako Fukushima.
She was sitting behind her desk in the spacious room of her office, Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe standing silently beside her. In front of her gathered in a row several Shinigami: the entire Royal Guard, Second Division Captain Ikiryō Kuragari and Grand Kidō Chief Kurokawa Tadayoshi. Except for the elderly Katashi Hamasaki, each Soul Reaper displayed a varying extent of healing injuries, sticking plasters and bandages.
"I know you must return to the Soul Palace soon, so I wanted to express my gratitude for your invaluable contribution during the defence of the Seireitei", said Fukushima when addressing the Guardsmen. "We wouldn't have succeeded without your support."
"Oh, man, you make me feel embarrassed", said Ayumu Nakahara, looking to the side. "You're welcome, I s'pose."
"All in a day's work", replied Hamasaki with a smirk.
"Yeah", barked Kimiko Kōtaku.
"Anytime!", saluted Wen Tian before immediately recoiling her arm in an exaggerated reaction to the pain. Perhaps most over the top out of the Royal Guards, the gauze wrappings covered her from near-head to toe, making her look like a mummy.
Ever a sour face, Satō didn't much return the feeling of gratitude and instead focused on other matters. "What happened to Hikari Maebure? He couldn't have just up and disappeared", he questioned aloud.
Ayako turned to him with one eyebrow slightly raised.
"Hamasaki-dono and the Kidō Corps have conducted a thorough research for any traces of his Reiatsu in the entire Seireitei", she revealed. "But they've found nothing suspicious. According to Kōtaku-dono, he simply used some kind of portal to disappear after the fight. He hasn't been seen nor sensed since then. Speaking of which."
Then, she stood up and walked around the desk in order to directly face the people she had invited to the office.
"For about 200 years the Gotei 13 had been remaining in a state of false security and stagnation. The events which have occurred during the last decade have made us realise how lacking our defences are, and how unprepared we are to protect our own home and its inhabitants. As such, serious reformations have to be made. Hopefully, I..."
"I beg your pardon, Fukushima-dono", interrupted her a man that suddenly materialised beside her with the use of Shunpo.
Ayako had looked at him with comically widened eyes before she nodded.
"What is it, Okikiba-san?", she asked the kneeling man.
"I have an urgent message from the new Central 46 for you", he said as he passed her an envelope.
Fukushima took it and broke the seal. She subsequently read the message, and a frown appeared on her face.
"Congratulations, Fukushima-dono", said Sasakibe with solemnity.
"Oh, well, it seems I'm here to stay", she grumbled as she gave the envelope back to the Third Seat Officer who had brought it. "Anyway. Hikari Maebure still poses a serious threat to the security of the Soul Society, but there are, and will be, many others. Consequently, uhm, I intend to negotiate the range of Royal Guard's duties with the Soul King's advisors. Your primary task is of utmost importance, there's no doubt about that, but we must admit that your invaluable skills are simply being wasted most of the time."
"However", she continued, "I don't want to place this responsibility solely on you. It is the primary duty of the Gotei 13 to protect the Soul Society, so we will reorganise and conduct a series of special trainings in order to restore and improve our combat capability. As the new Captain-Commander and in recognition of the invaluable help they have provided, I hereby officially restore Ikiryō Kuragari-san and Kurokawa Tadayoshi-san to their former positions, and Kaoru Shōki-san will obtain my former position as the Captain of the Eighth Division."
"Thank you very much, Captain-Commander Fukushima", replied Kurokawa and Ikiryō in a perfect unison, bowing politely.
"Unfortunately, now I have a lot of paperwork to do", said Ayako with a grimace of histrionic despair. "The most urgent matters've been discussed, so you may leave now. You'll be immediately informed about any new developments."
The Shinigami bade farewell to each other with formal bows. Then, the Royal Guardsmen and the two Captains left the spacious office together.
"I can't believe it's finally over", stated Kuragari whilst scratching the back of his head. "In a way, I suppose..."
"It'a never over Ikiryō, the past 12 years have been an example of that.", Kurokawa rather joyously replied, rubbing his head, which was wrapped in bandages from the last battle. "There's always something out there, like Tinieblas or Maebure, however next time someone like them shows up, we shall be ready.", he finished off, he grimaced slightly before lightheartedly laughing, much to Kuragari's surprise.
"Are you sure Usuguraiboshi didn't scramble your head? You've been way too upbeat ever since we won the battle.", Kuragari asked.
"I guess I'm just happy we won.", Kurokawa said thoughtfully, he regained his collective nature as he replied. "We lost men but we managed to push Usuguraiboshi back to hell, where it seems he will stay for some time. Also the rest of the higher ranked Togabito seemingly perished, with no major casualties on our end, Kyou-san and Tanaka-taicho got beat up pretty badly however we managed to repel them.", Kurokawa finished.
"It's just weird seeing you so jovial all of a sudden, that's all.", Kuragari replied, rather abashed.
Making creative use of her one free arm and her limber form, Wen Tian flipped through the group of reinstated Captains and Royal Guards to stand in front of them. "Say, why don't we throw a party to celebrate?", she postulated an idea to the group. "Us Guards don't have long before we gotta go back, and Ki-chan and Wa-kun just got their jobs back!", she came up with reasons on the spot, fairly lucidly at that, for why they should've thrown the party, mind she'd appropriated the idea from the two Captain's talk of having won.
"Wa-chan likes the idea, don't ya! Don't ya!", Wen Tian asked excitedly, she excitedly pulled Kurokawa into a one armed bear hug, however despite only using one arm, Tadayoshi's injuries screamed in protest.
"We-Wen Tian-sensei....please...", Kurokawa wheezed, she suddenly let go of the Captain, shocked as he comically fell to the ground.
"Gaaah Wa-chan your injuries!", Wen Tian shouted, she immediately picked up the nigh unconscious Tadayoshi with ease, dusting him off and placing him next to Kuragari.
"I guess we're all bit worn out at the minute Captain.", he said politely, slightly chuckling at the swaying Kidō Captain.
"My bones...", Kurokawa mumbled, he staggered slightly before collapsing onto Ikiryō's shoulder.
"Duo-chan's right. It's been quite some time since I'd got an opportunity to boogie. And we haven't even celebrated our great victory at all!", said Nakahara.
"I could provide some pyrotechnics", stated Hamasaki whilst stroking his beard.
"Don't forget we've got our duties", reminded Kōtaku in a surly manner.
"Oh, come on, Kimiko-san! Cheer up!", Ayumu reproached her lightheartedly.
"She's right, we do have a lot of work to do", said Satō agreeing with Kimiko.
"But, it has been a long time since I drunk you under the table Ayumu", quickly the thought turned devious, though the older man retained the surly look on his face.
"Yeah...I think we should have some sort of small celebration, something less taxing, just no more bear hugs until we've recovered, okay Wen-Tian-sensei?", Kurokawa said, finally recovered from the former 2nd Division Captain's unwittingly powerful gesture.
"Okey dokey Wa-chan.", she happily replied, doing a goofy salute towards the Kidō Captain.
"Very well, then", said Ikiryō, looking at the others with a wry smile, but then became sligtly more serious. "There's something I can finally talk with Motoko-chan about, and I suppose this will be a good opportunity."
"Then it's settled!", cheered the shortest woman of the group, clearly excited by the prospect of celebrating.
The Shinigami had left the First Division Barracks and were walking through the alleys of the Seireitei. Even though the city was devastated, and the ranks of the Soul Reapers decimated, the Soul Society was saved once again, and its valiant defenders were stronger than ever before, ready to repel any new threat to its security.
And new threats would come.