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This article, Tadoku Getsueikirite (Chapter), is property of Ten Tailed Fox |
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Plot...![]
Deep within the First Division's barracks, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Kirio Hikifune met in the darkness of night. The full moon's rays shone through the large window in Yamamoto's personal quarters, bathing Hikifune in light, while casting the Captain-Commander completely in darkness.
"The balance is off again, Genryūsai." Hikifune commented gravely. "Something must be done. Hollows are too scarce, so while the number of Soul Society citizens rise from growing Human deaths, the number of Hollows and Humans being reincarnated have gone down dramatically."
"We've been over killing them." Yamamoto replied in his booming voice, "Though they are our mortal enemies, we cannot kill too many Hollows. It seems I have failed in this regard."
"The only way to resolve this issue is to reduce Soul Society's population to match the Human and Hollow populations." Hikifune added. "But that would mean..."
"We smear the name of the Gotei 13 if something isn't done." Yamamoto replied sharply.
"But, who would we kill? I refuse to order my men to kill at random. We're warriors, Shigekuni, not murderers." Hikifune snapped angrily.
"We will eliminate the ranks of the Getsueikirite. Thin them out, if you will." Yamamoto replied, almost too quickly. "They have been eyesores for a thousand years."
Hikifune curled her lips into a snarl, "You still hold a grudge for your defeat at the hands of that man, don't you, Shigekuni?" she growled in a low tone. "Hyakuoku Getsueikirite."
"Speak not his name in my presence!" Yamamoto roared in anger. "Even in his victory over Lucifer, he defied the very principles of the Shinigami. He is a disgrace! An insult!"
"Have you forgotten, Shigekuni? The name 'Shinigami' was caused because of that man. You held such a name in such disdain. Now, you use it as if you are proud of it." Hikifune retorted.
Yamamoto remained in anger-induced silence for many moments before speaking again, "Do you refuse my orders then, Hikifune?" the ancient captain hissed.
"No." Hikifune sighed, turning to leave the room, "But I will carry it out with much venom in my heart. This mistake will soon come to haunt you, mark my words, Genryūsai-dono."
With that, she left, and cast the room into complete darkness...
Celebration![]
Tadoku ran into the complex ahead of his parents. A large amount of the rest of the clan was already gathered there, despite the fact that the celebration was to take place the following day. His older brother, Tōsan Getsueikirite, broke away from the crowd, carrying a small infant in his arms. Tadoku was nearly sixteen to seventeen years younger than his older brother, who already had his own kid. Despite the age difference, however, Tadoku got along with Tōsan.
"Elder brother!" Tadoku shouted, running up to meet Tōsan. "Who's the baby?"
"Ah, Tadoku." Tōsan replied with a smile, "That's right... you haven't met him yet! This is your nephew... Raian."
Tōsan lowered the silent infant down, letting the young Tadoku take Raian into his arms, cradling him with care. Tadoku looked down in bewilderment at his infant nephew, slowly rocking him back and forth. The little Raian slept softly, the only hint that he was still breathing being his rising and falling chest.
"He's so tiny!" Tadoku exclaimed. "Hey little guy!"
Tōsan smiled and took his son back carefully, "Well, he's not even a year old yet. He'll be as big as you soon enough."
Just then, Tadoku and Tōsan's parents arrived, having put their supplies away in their home.
"Come, Tadoku." his father said. "We have preparations to make."
"Alright!" Tadoku shouted excitedly, waving goodbye to his brother and his infant nephew before bounding into the house while the adults continued to talk and admire the baby.
Birth of the Evil God[]
Hikifune stood high above the Rukongai as midnight approached. The Getsueikirite had each gone into their homes for the night. The female captain shook her head in disgust. She couldn't believe she had to preform such an atrocious act. Nevertheless, it was her duty and her orders. The spiritual realm's balance was more important than a clan of spirits. Members of her Twelfth Division had gathered with her, prepared to do the evil deed. Bowing her head, she silently gave the signal for them to commence the operation. As her men descended like vultures to a corpse, she remained in the air, head bowed, praying for the soon-to-be dead.
Meanwhile...
Tadoku couldn't sleep. He was too excited for the day to come. He had been allowed to stay with his brother and his wife for the night, since it was rare for Tōsan to come to this particular district of the Rukongai. He lay next to his nephew's crib, who was still sleeping peacefully. Tadoku watched him, a faint smile on his face as he watched the baby breathe in and out.
The peace, however, was soon disturbed. Shouts and cries of pain began to rise, like a banshee's scream in the dead of night, throughout the compound. Akujin was immediately on his feet, his tiny heart racing in his chest. The sudden sounds of metal clashing could be heard from outside and the screams and battle cries became louder and louder. An explosion ripped through the front doorway of Tōsan's house, causing Tadoku to spring behind his nephew's crib. Several Shinigami, swords drawn, stormed the building and, upon noticing the now terrified infant, rushed to end its short life.
Without knowing what to do and acting purely on instinct, Tadoku flashed from his spot, grabbing Raian from his crib and landing just beyond the Shinigami on the other side of the room, cradling his now screaming young nephew in his arms.
"Go away!" Tadoku roared. "I won't let you hurt him!"
One of the larger Shinigami bellowed in laughter, "Yeah right, kid! What are you gonna do about it?!" he barked, lunging for Tadoku.
Again acting on instinct, Tadoku shifted Raian in his arms over to his left arm, raising his right arm in defense of them both. Light filled the room as a sword materialized in his hand, blocking the blow.
"Is that a...?!" the large Shinigami began, "Zanpakutō?!"
"This kid's a Shinigami!" another Shinigami snapped. "So that speed earlier... that was Shunpō!"
"Shinigami or not..." the large one grumbled, getting up. "I'll kill him!"
The large Shinigami leaped, aiming to impale the small Tadoku and end his life. Clank! Steel on steel. Tōsan had bust into the room, drawn his own sword, and blocked the blade. The two men parried each other, blow for blow, for several minutes before Tōsan managed to cut the large Shinigami across the waist, spilling his blood and innards all over the ground. Rushing forward without hesitating, Tōsan began to take on the other Shinigami.
"Tadoku! Take Raian and get out of here!" he roared over the sound of clashing steel.
Tears began to stream from seven-year old Tadoku's eyes as he clutched Raian closer to his chest. Then, with one last look at his brother, he bolted from the room and out into the mayhem. With all the fighting, no one noticed him as he ran straight into the woods on the edge of the compound. He ran for several minutes, though they seemed like hours, until his little legs gave out, collapsing behind a large tree. Raian was still crying wildly in his arms, so he embraced the infant tightly, tears falling from his eyes onto Raian's tiny face.
"Don't cry..." he told the baby through tears of his own, his arms quivering in fear and exhaustion. "I'll protect you. I promise."
For hours, the pair sat beneath the large tree, the moon now at its full height in the sky. They were too far from the compound to hear what was going on there. Tadoku hoped with all his might that everyone was okay. Before long, however, he could no longer resist the fatigue he felt. Little Raian had fallen asleep in his arms and so, cradling the baby as close to him as he could, Tadoku slipped into the void of unconsciousness.
When he awoke, the sun was just peaking over the horizon. He quickly realized, however, that he was no longer in the forest and his infant nephew wasn't in his arms. Shooting up, he realized he was back at the compound, in a small tent. Panic rose in the young boy's chest, and he quickly shot to his feet and bounded out the entrance to the tent. In doing so, he bumped into his brother, quite literally. Tōsan merely looked down out his younger brother, deep sadness apparent in his eyes.
"Brother..." Tadoku whined, his eyes unable to produce tears after his deep sob the night prior, "What happened? Where is everyone?"
Tōsan sadly looked out at the compound. Many of the buildings had been completely reduced to rubble. Bodies of both Shinigami and Plus alike dotted the ground.
"They're gone. We all did the best we could, but the Shinigami were just too powerful." Tōsan admitted with great grief. "Even Mom and Dad perished."
Tadoku's inability to produce tears suddenly vanished as they streamed over his cheeks. The loss of his parents was more than he could bare. He was soon on his knees, sobbing at their loss. In his heart, the black seeds were planted. Hatred soon replaced grief. He hated the Shinigami. This hate came alive rather quickly in the young boy as he wiped his tears and slowly got to his feet.
"I'll make them pay for this..." he snarled to himself. "All of them..."
Preparing the Trump Card[]
Back at the compound, Akujin's eyes came back to the present as he finished telling the masked man his story. The memories had clearly affected Akujin, as he gritted his teeth and looked down at the floor, hatred flooding his eyes.
"A compelling story indeed." the masked man chimed, his deep voice ringing off the walls in the large room. "Yet your dear nephew; you plan to kill him now. You seemed to love him."
Akujin's eyes snapped back to glare at the masked man, "He is one of them now. Ignorant of the past, he walks the path of a Gotei 13 captain. The blood of his own grandparents now lie on his hands too!" he shouted. "I will destroy him with my full power, no matter how it pains me."
Suddenly, the door to the large chamber opened again and Muramasa Neikan entered the room, a snake-like grin on his face.
"We're ready for war, sire." he chirped, bowing to Akujin and casting a glare at the masked man. "Since Tiro con L'arco was defeated, I've...accelerated our plans a bit. Our trump cards are ready!"
Akujin narrowed his eyes, "So, your research is complete then. Our army can now move forward." he hissed.
"Yes, sire." Muramasa replied, almost happily. "We can unleash them on the world."
"Very well." Akujin sighed, beginning to walk towards the room's exit; the masked man and Muramasa following his lead. "Let's commence our plans at once."
Moving Out: Soul Society vs Impero Nascosto![]
Raian Getsueikirite stood on the edge of the Seireitei's highest gate, overlooking Soul Society in its entirety. Seven days had passed since he had merged with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and in those seven days, he had become the Regimental Commandant of the newly formed Spiritual World Army. At the same time, he and the other leaders had arranged the various forces of their new army into many divisions, focused on skill, to take the war to Impero Nascosto.
Behind him, millions of soldiers were gathered of Shinigami, Arrancar, Hollows, and Human origin. All cheered as the other leaders of the army gathered around Raian. With a battle cry, Raian gave the signal to begin and the army, with thunderous vibrations riveting through the earth beneath their feet, began flooding out Seireitei's gates and onto the battlefield. The War of the Worlds had finally begun...!
End...