Steven's Anger Explodes! The Rising Suns vs. Kuroheki

Ariza, Crow and Dori are running through a forest following a trial of powerful spirit energy that they believe to be Sengoku’s. Ariza is in the front with Crow and Dori a few paces behind. A big smile appears on Ariza’s face as she can sense the energies getting closer.

Ariza: You guys ready?

Dori: Do you really have to ask?

Ariza: Heh, I guess not.

Crow: So what’s our plan to take them out?

Ariza: None! Just give them hell!

Crow: (smiles) Heh… that’s my favorite plan!

The three continue to run up to the strong energies they feel as the air slowly thickens with every step. A high pitched ringing is heard throughout the forest as they get closer to the energies that seem to be waiting for them. The ringing gets louder with every step, but it is still pretty faint. Crow begins to look around as he attempts to pinpoint the location of the ringing but it sounds as if it is coming from everywhere. Suddenly Ariza accidently runs into a tree and falls to the ground, Dori and Crow stop to see if she is alright but they both lose their balance as they try to stop and fall to the ground as well. Ariza gathers herself but realizes that everything she sees is double.

Ariza: Double vision? Shit, that ringing must have been from a zanpaktou.

Crow staggers to his feet as he tries to regain his balance but its of no avail as he falls but to one knee.

Crow: We have to find the wielder of this ability or we’ll be sitting ducks…

???: Too late!

A golden sand dome rises up from the ground between the three of them and one hundred black colored scarab beetles that have a gold aura around them jet out of the sand dome towards the three of them.

Ariza: Dammit!

The beetles explode simultaneously causing a large explosion that levels the surrounding trees of the forest. Smoke fills the air as the trees that didn’t fall from the shockwave are now on fire. A large creator lays underneath the smoke with Crow, Ariza and Dori all lying face down in the dirt. Ariza staggers to her knees as her hoodie has been burnt off completely and a few burn marks cover her arms and right cheek. She sees the figure of a woman standing at the edge of the creator. Dori and Crow are both conscious as well as they try to make it to their feet. Ariza draws her blade as she stares at the woman.

Ariza: A sneak attack huh!? That’s not like you Cleo!

Cleo: I guess you truly don’t know me then… I guess we’re even with surprises now.

Ariza: (confused) Even? What are you talking about?

Cleo: Don’t act stupid, you know damn well what I’m talking about!

Crow looks over to where Cleo and Ariza are talking and is slightly confused about what they are saying. Crow looks over at Dori to see if he knows.

Crow: Hey, do you guys know that girl?

Dori: Yeah. To make a long story short she was in the same class with us in Soul Society’s academy, but she dropped out before we all graduated. I didn’t know we would run into her here.

Crow: Well I don’t care much for why she’s here; all I know is that she’s the enemy.

Crow pulls one of his guns out from his left holster and aims it towards Cleo, but as he begins to pull the trigger he hears the same ringing from before and suddenly has double vision again. Crow disregards it and still fires his gun but his aim was thrown off greatly as the shot doesn’t even graze Cleo.

Cleo: (laughing) Heh, having trouble with your aim there Crow.

Crow: (pissed) Dammit, so you’re the one causing that sound?

Cleo: Sorry Crow but my zanpaktou has no sound based abilities. All that credit goes to a good friend of mine.

Crow: A friend of yours? So all we have to do is find that friend of yours and kill him…

Cleo: You think you can find him in your condition? You can barely stand let alone walk plus you still have me to deal with.

Ariza: You guys go find that soul reaper, I’ll take care of her.

Dori: Are you gonna be alright fighting alone?

Ariza: We really don’t have a choice right now but my zanpaktou doesn’t rely on aim as much as yours do.

Dori: Alright, Crow can you stand?

Crow: Yeah I’m good.

Dori: Alright then lets get going.

Cleo: You think I’m gonna let you two go that easily?

Dori and Crow quickly get up and start to run, they look as if they were drunk by the way they are staggering around. Cleo charges towards them both as she refuses to let them leave, but a series of blades fly in towards her. Cleo stops and jumps back as the blades fly pass and stick into the sides of the trees to Cleo’s right. Cleo turns to look at Ariza as Crow and Dori fade out of sight.

Cleo: Heh, I guess your blade doesn’t need aim to still be dangerous. Honestly I’m glad those two left…

Ariza: Heh, scared of fighting that many strong opponents?

Cleo: Hell no!

Ariza: Then what?

Cleo: There are two people in this world that I truly want to kill. The second most is Miroku but my hate for him doesn’t even come close to how much I loathe you. I’m gonna savor even second of these ass beating you’re about to get, Bankai!

Cleo's eyes begin to glow black and is surrounded by a thick gold aura. The aura disperses and Cleo is now wearing a white and gold pharaoh's hat and a black Anubis mask. She also has fine linen wrapped around her from her neck to her knees and are also wrapped around her arms. The linen is white in color and is as strong as steel; it is under her regular clothes. Her Khopesh has also changed to a 5 and a half foot staff that has a foot long blade that is the shape of the Egyptian symbol Ankh. Cleo’s eyes begin to glow gold as she slams her staff down on the ground causing it to shack as cracks begin to form all around her and Ariza. Ariza lifts her blade up as she’s ready to fight but amazement fills her eyes as 20 skeletons, with black colored bones, climb out of the ground with a sword and shield.

Ariza: What the hell?

Cleo: AHAHAHAHA! Do you like my army Ariza? I invited them specifically to meet you. Oh I love that look on your face; I wonder what you’re thinking right now. Hmm, let me guess… “Why did I treat Cleo so bad back then,” right!

Ariza: Cleo I…

Cleo: The time for talk is over. KILL HER!

The eye sockets of the skeletons glow gold and they all draw their blades and left their shields. Ariza stabs her sword into the ground as the skeletons get closer and closer.

Ariza: BANKAI!

A large explosion with the force of a 100 ton TNT bomb shakes the entire land scape. The shockwave reaches Crow and Dori and sends them crashing through the forest all the way to the end of it. Crow looks back and sees that they are heading towards a cliff so he quickly grabs a strong branch on a still standing tree to catch himself and then grabs Dori’s hand as he almost flies pass him. The force of the explosion dies down and Crow catches his breath as Dori looks back at where they left Ariza, but the sound of the ringing is heard once again and his vision is thrown off. Crow looks towards the tree line and sees a man wearing a black hoodie with black pants and black Converse all-stars. His grey hair is long enough to reach the bottom of his eyes and always combed straight down. The man is holding a black colored blade that is actually split into two blades that are separated by one inch and are parallel to each other. The man is swinging the blade and at the end of each swing he hits it on a tree making the blades collide which produces the ringing sound.

Crow: So you’re the one making that noise.

Hiro: It seems Cleo’s explosions have exposed my hiding place. No matter, the trap has already been sprung.

Crow looks up to his left and sees a man with dark brown shaggy medium length hair that drops just below the eyes; he has light blue eyes that appear exhausted. He is wearing a black button up collared shirt with a pure white tie, black jeans and black shoes with white laces. The man is charging towards him and Crow sees the image of a charging ram behind the man. The man crashes down near Crow causing the ground to crumbles under Crows feet making him and the man fall down off the cliff. Crow is falling with his back to the ground as the man is above him with his back facing the sky. The man swings his blade down at Crow as another charging ram appears behind him, but Crow pulls out his two guns and crosses them together to block the swing but the force of the blow sends him crashing to the ground. Crow points his guns down to the ground and shoots to slow his descent as he makes a soft landing in the creator that was creating from his shot. Crow pulls out a candy bar as the man lands on the ground a few feet away from him.

Crow: (As he eats his candy bar) So you must be a Kuroheki member as well right?

Renik: Yep! My name is Renik the number 4 subordinate.

Crow: Number 4 huh; that must mean you’re pretty strong. Guess I better fight at full power the whole time so I can stay on time with this plan.

Renik: Plan?

Crow: That’s none of your concern since you won’t live long enough to change anything.

Renik: Oh really… Bankai!

Crow: (sigh) Bankai!

Dori and Hiro are staring each other down as the air thickens from Renik and Crow’s power. Dori waste no time as he draws his zanpaktou.

Dori: Bite Down, Tsuin Kiba!

Dori’s two small katana burst into flames and become 2 two-foot long black colored blades, the handle of the blades are brass knuckles, both black in color. Blue flames burst out of the blades as Dori’s energy explodes.

Hiro: Are you sure you can beat me after already being under my blade’s sound abilities.

Dori: Worry about yourself cause I’ll be fine.


-Deep inside Sengoku’s hideout-
Sengoku is relaxing as he has finally recovered from his encounter with Isao but he feels the energies coming from his subordinates.

Sengoku: So the Rising Suns have made their moves against me and my group… it brings back old memories of when I slaughtered the lot of them. Hmm……

Sengoku turns towards the entrance of the room as he feels a strong presence getting closer. The door opens and Steven walks in dragging both Renee and Miroku who are tied up and appear unconscious.

Sengoku: Ah Steven, I see you mission was a success. Rey didn’t give you too much trouble did he?

Steven: No, everything went smoothly.

Sengoku: Good, now my only other question to you is…did you really think I would fall for this.

Steven: What!?

Miroku: Shit he knows!

Renee and Miroku both break out of the ropes and charge Sengoku but black boxes suddenly form around them and trap the two inside of them. Steven draws his two blades as he’s ready to fight.

Sengoku: (sighs) I should have known you would learn my involvement in your mother’s death if you ran into Miroku. I should have sent Brigitte instead, but I’m grateful that you still brought me the two of them. I’ll see you later.

Sengoku turns and starts to walk away, but Steven’s blood is boiling from his anger now that Sengoku confirmed the story of his mother’s death. Storm clouds fill the room as Steven’s energy sky rockets. Steven charges in to strike Sengoku but he dodges it right before the the blade and lightning bolt hits.

Sengoku: (sighs) I guess this fight with you was inevitable Steven. Fine if you want to avenge your mom then come at me with all your might. I just want you to know that you won’t last long by yourself… your mom sure didn’t! (laughs)

Lightning rages in the storm clouds as Steven hears Sengoku’s last joke about his mother. Steven’s eyes glow purple as his power rises as if it has no limit. The air thickens to the point where a normal soul reaper would suffocate.

Steven: (pissed) THAT’S GONNA BE THE LAST THING YOU EVER SAY! THIS IS WHERE YOU DIE SENGOKU! BANKAI!!!

The End

Don't worry I'll explain everything about his mother in a later post. It just didn't fit well for this one.

Great post man. I have taken a very long break from writing, so I have nothing to post as of yet, but I will be working on that this weekend. Renee's fight is where I'll be focused on, so you'll have to wait even longer on Isao's fight.

what are the other captains doing guys ? because IDK what to post up ...other wise i'm waiting for time skip / espada fights with captains

I'm going to post this week, something that will be tear jerking. Sniff.

The time of being busy is almost at an end. Just finished a very important presentation today, and besides that, I have my next post!


Renee stood slightly outside of the storm clouds. Miroku had already drawn his sword and lunged in, and the sounds of battle were already deafening. Instinct told her to plunge in and go after him, but she knew that she couldn’t afford to make such a careless move. If she couldn’t see what was going on inside, she could end up doing more harm than good. She would have to wait for him to exit the clouds. Her eyes shifted back and forth between every little movement she could see, so much so that she almost didn’t’ notice the shimmer of light to her left.

She barely moved her head aside in time as a blade came whistled past her, launching far off into the distance. Before she could pull together what was going on, a hand pushed against her sternum. She hardly had time to look forward and realize it was Brigitte before she was slammed to the ground, the air going out of her lungs. Brigitte kept pushing her down into the ground, cracks forming around her.

Brigitte: I won’t let you get anywhere near him!

Renee tried to speak, only managing a hoarse cough. She grabbed hold of the sword at her side and swung it above her, forcing Brigitte off. The other woman quickly ran over and grabbed her own blade from where it now rested. She stood and waited on Renee who rose slowly with a hand to her chest.

Renee: *wheeze* So now you’re going to stand in my way again?

Brigitte: I’ll stop you before you get another chance at Sengoku.

Renee gritted her teeth: And what? You think you can beat me? That friend of yours-

Brigitte interrupted: Alexander is a weak fool. Sengoku killed him for his failure. I’m higher ranking than him, and I’ll be all too happy to show you why.

Brigitte lunged out at Renee, who quickly moved to swipe aside a thrust. Brigitte twisted, bringing her left leg around towards Renee’s side. Renee moved to block with her left knee, only to have Brigitte twist around again and slam her right fist into her cheek, sending her flying. Brigitte was relentless, following after her at high speed, only to see Renee suddenly disappear, reappearing directly above her. Renee brought down her blade, though the blade merely grazed Brigitte’s shoulder. Surprise painted Renee’s face as Brigitte flipped in response, slamming her own blade into the left side of her opponent. She then grabbed Renee by the collar of her shirt, spinning her around in the air several times before releasing her and firing her into the ground below, pulling her blade free. She stood on a pocket of air as Renee struggled to get up.

Brigitte’s expression remained grim: This is the great Renee Chevalier? You defeated Alexander? You’re a joke!

Renee finally stood, with one eye shut as blood ran from a large gash on her forehead. She panted with exertion. Her stab had been off, and not by a small amount. Brigitte hadn’t moved. Her right hand moved instinctively to the stump where her left arm had been. She hadn’t even thought about how the loss of the limb might have affected her balance during shunpo, and she had spent scarce little time training since their last encounter. She had been too distracted. She even felt distracted now. Her eyes kept darting to the mass of clouds nearby.

Brigitte: Not even willing to give me your full attention?

Renee’s eyes focused on Brigitte. When she saw her before, she hadn’t had much opportunity to see the changes from the girl she met so long ago. She was certainly stronger, but her eyes seemed more focused, more certain. The emptiness she remembered was still there, but far less prevalent.

Renee: What reason has he given you to follow him? Have you lost your way so much that you believe in his vision?

Brigitte: I don’t care about his vision. I care about him!

Renee: And how would Oasis-

Brigitte: DON’T YOU DARE SAY HIS NAME!

Energy poured out of her with the outburst. Renee’s gaze didn’t waver.

Renee: Are you really so weak that you need him to keep you moving forward?

The energy around Brigitte quickly regained control, though the anger didn’t leave her eyes.

Brigitte: Haven’t you ever lived for someone else? What other reason is there for someone to gain power than to protect and support those close to you? Even Sengoku aims for power to protect the world around him from people like you who would try to run it wrongly.

Images poured through Renee’s head of Isao and Mine. She remembered watching Isao’s body being torn apart in her head, remembered the run-in with Brigitte there as well. She remembered the girl, a much younger version of herself, walking around her, judging her. She remembered all of the soul reapers that had appeared, crying out to her.

Renee: You’re protecting someone who aims to cause destruction and death.

Brigitte harrumphed: And those you protect are better? Soul Society is nothing but the police of the universe, seeing themselves as the sole protectors of life with little more than an assurance that they have truly protected anything!

Renee: You truly have fallen.

Brigitte: No. It is you and your fellow captains who have fallen. It is Isao who has fallen. He’ll die out there in the sands of Hueco Mundo, and you’ll never see the light of day again. Bankai!

Her blade’s handle elongated, and the three sides of the blade split off from each other. The blades twisted themselves into thin, contorted daggers that meet at the tips, each turning pitch black with red edges. All three blades immediately became etched with quotes, activating each of her abilities as two gems floated up to her temples and her eyes went wide.

Renee sighed, an aura of high friction forming around it. She began speaking in whispers, inserting various kido spells into the blade.

Brigitte: Do you really think you can beat me without your bankai?

Renee: I can’t waste that much energy on you.

Brigitte frowned: You’ll regret not taking me seriously.

Brigitte appeared directly in front of her, swinging her blade sideways. Renee didn’t flinch as her blade moved into its path, nearly stopping its movement. Bridget was suddenly everywhere at once, sending random kicks, punches and stabs in at Renee. Renee quickly released the aura around her blade, swinging it around full circle as a large amount of energy poured out in various waves and blasts of all different colors. Brigitte quickly appeared above her, bringing down her blade, which slammed down into the broad side of Renee’s blade. Both blades shook as they both tried to force the other back, until a sudden large push forced them both away from each other.

Renee: I know everything about your abilities, just as those gems on your temples allow you to do the same. I heard the reports, I know what you’re capable of.

Brigitte: And yet you still think you’re capable of beating me like with only your first release?

Renee took to the attack, lunging out at her. Brigitte pointed at her, and Renee suddenly felt her body speed up. She couldn’t control her forward momentum, and when Brigitte stepped to the side, she didn’t have the wherewithal to change her swing in time. She completely lost her balance again, her inability to deal with the shifted balance of her body exacerbating the problem. When her acceleration slowed, she tried to regain balance and instead received a slash across the back, the wound immediately being dyed blue. She screamed out in pain as she tried to retaliate, only to come crashing to the ground before she could mount a response. Brigitte landed nearby, a boot slamming down on Renee’s head.

Brigitte: The soul reapers you got your information from never saw that little ability, did they?

Dirt and blood mixed in Renee’s mouth as she gasped in pain. She couldn’t lift her head out of the earth to take a breath, let alone respond.

Brigitte: You see now what your hubris has done? You will soon lose your ability to fight entirely, and then I’ll drag you to Sengoku myself.

Somehow, Renee managed to twist her head to the side, and get the word “Bankai” out from between clenched teeth. A torrent of energy formed around fricative energy formed around her, forcing Brigitte away. A tattered Renee stood, armor forming along her limbs and torso, partially sealing the wounds along her body, though blood still trickled from her side and back along the metal plates. The sword in her hand remained the same.

Brigitte looked confused for a moment before her look became one of pity. Renee was puzzled.

Brigitte: I can’t see any of your abilities, this must be a very recent bankai.

Renee raised an eyebrow: …And?

Brigitte huffed: It’s not even complete yet. That blade in your hand isn’t its true form. It’s pitiful that someone who pretends to be at your caliber has not even managed that. You won’t be able to beat me with so little.

Renee: It was enough for Alexander, it’s enough for you.

Renee stuck 2 fingers forward on her hand, and a blast of white light shot out at high speed toward Brigitte, who merely stepped to the side and let it pass. Apprehension shone on Renee’s face.

Brigitte: It’s not enough. My blade has gone through more iterations than any other as a result of my work on it, and I know a partially formed ability when I see one. Even that kido spell seemed half-hearted and slow. Have you really done nothing to put this bankai through its paces? Or are you just so focused on killing Sengoku that your very abilities abandon you?

Renee reduced the friction around her, lunging at the Brigitte at increased speed. Cuts formed in flashes along Brigitte’s frame, though blue scratches and cuts formed on Renee as well, many cutting through her armor like tissue paper. After a torrent of slashes, Renee pushed back away from her, plunging energy into her wounds to rid them of the energy-depleting bacteria. She then changed her armor over to high friction, and stood on guard at a reasonable distance.

Brigitte: Well, I’ve got to hand it to you: you really are a genius. Seems you learned how my bacteria work. That fricative force around you will certainly delay their reentry, but you’ll have a lot more trouble removing any other bacteria.

Renee: I’ll deal with you before that becomes a problem.

Brigitte laughed: Don’t take me for a fool! You can’t increase your speed again like that without leaving yourself vulnerable to my ability, and with the number of cuts you’ve sustained, you’ll be out of energy in no time acting like that.

Renee: You’re one to talk. You sustained quite a few wounds from that assault. *thinks to herself* But reports said that her stamina is insane, and I’m quickly running out of trump cards.

Brigitte licked one of the deeper wounds no her arm, a smile evident on her face.

Brigitte: We’ll see how much that matters!

She was gone in an instant, and Renee threw herself to the left just as a blade came down right her head had been. Brigitte landed and swung upward at Renee. This was her chance! She shifted her weight to the right, attempting to catch the blade in the armpit of her stump of an arm. The extra friction and armor protection should be enough, and then she could strike back-

A shower of blood greeted the strike as Brigittes blade cleaved through the shoulder. Renee was stunned. Was she becoming stronger, or was something wrong with her ability. Her entire left side felt hot and damp as warm blood poured over it. She didn’t yell out in pain, she simply slumped to her knees.

Brigitte: This is where hubris and thoughts of vengeance have gotten you. It’s sad. I looked up to you, you know? There are so few female captains with true power to their name. You and Mine always looked to me as gods. But you seemed even more special than her in some ways. Like me, you had no zanpakuto of your own to materialize. I felt like we were connected, until that day. Until the day you told me to give up on the one person I loved. You took away my hope. Now, with you standing so close to Sengoku, I’ll take away yours…

Brigitte raised her blade into the air, spiritual pressure pouring out of her. The aura around Renee was gone, though only the wound at her shoulder was blue, since the ability hadn’t reentered the previous wounds yet. Her eyes were empty of emotion, just as they had been before, but they seemed to speak of utter despair in this instance. The light had gone out of her. She could not even see Brigitte anymore – her mind simply replayed the scenes of her last entry into her zanpakuto’s world. She wouldn’t be able to save Isao. She wouldn’t be able to prevent the widespread massacre of soul reapers to come. She couldn’t even live up to her younger self’s expectations. The last image of Brigitte, however, played over and over again. Everything was wrong. The woman standing before her was not the woman that seemed so helpless, so frightened before.

Brigitte: Goodbye, Renee Chevalier.

Inside Renee’s head, a voice began to speak. She didn’t recognize it, but somehow, it was familiar to her. It was accompanied by the sound of a horn being blown.

???: Call them forth.

An explosion of energy erupted from Renee as that sentence ended. The energy looked nothing like Renee’s own, it was completely novel. Brigitte got the sense from it that the energy was solid, as though a horde of soldiers were erupting from her body.

Brigitte: Whatever this is, you’ll die anyway!

Brigitte brought her sword down on top of her with a tremendous clang. Whatever she had hit pushed her backward, hard. Brigitte stopped herself after skidding a few meters. The storm of energy around Renee was just depleting, revealing that Renee and her arm were exactly where they were moments ago. However, 5 new arms had sprouted out of her body, 3 on each side and 1 out of the slashed shoulder. The wound there was gone. Only her normal arm was covered in her bankai’s armor. Each of the arms were dramatically different, seeming to have their own temperament and mind. The top one on her left was tan, male, hairy and slender, and wielded a small scimitar. The next one below that was light skinned and feminine but heavily muscled, wielding an oversized flange. Below that was another male arm, this one with scales along its length and sharp claws at the end, wielding a long spear. The first one down from the normal arm on Renee’s right side appeared very similar to her own, though the weapon it wielded was a wide circle of steel blade with a handle to grip. The last was a heavily muscled and deeply grey male arm that wielded heavy arm plates along its full length.

Renee’s world quickly came back into focus, and though the pain still laced through her shoulder, she was more shocked by the presence of these extra arms. What was this?

Brigitte: *thinking* This looks nothing like her other bankai abilities, and yet I can’t see her having used it before. *speaking* That’s a neat little trick, but hardly enough to stop me!

Brigitte rushed at her headlong. Renee was so confused and concerned that she couldn’t mount a response, but she didn’t have to. The arm with the spear lashed out at Brigitte, who dodged it deftly, only to take the flying circle of steel from the other arm in the neck. A half-inch deep cut there spurt blood as she came into range, swinging her blade on Renee’s right side, only to have it blocked by the armored arm. The hand with the scimitar lashed out, but Brigitte’s instinct allowed her to dodge it, only to take the full force of the enlarged flange to her chest, sending her reeling backward. When she came to a stop, she coughed up blood, grasping at her chest as she watched the steel ring fly back to the waiting hand.

Renee stood up, slowly regaining her composure. The hands had reacted on their own. She looked down at each, noticing that she had seen several of these before…Isao? No, that was impossible, his abilities couldn’t affect other people like this.

Brigitte: Don’t think I’m through just because you’ve got new fight in you with this ability. I meant what I said, I’ll bring you down, here and now!

End Part 1.

I finally have some free time.

In the seretai

Biren: Biren is traviling to the sqaud ten barracks. Or at least what was left of them. When he arrived he walked into the rubble and opens up a small trap door. He goes down it and is standing in front of a large door. "It is time to realease what i had captured." He walks in the door only to have a women hit him right in the face. "What the hell was that for!" He rubs his cheek slightly.

????: She starts tapping her foot. "I want to leave this place. I want to return to my life." She has tears forming up.

Biren: He smiles and grabs he shoulder. "Wish granted. Now." He turns around. "Hop on my back. We need to get to where we are going without being seen." The girl is a little reluctant but finally complies. The second she does Biren shunpos outside and then proceeds to the holding cells.

In a cell

Daniel: He has finally awakened but he is still chained up. He is thinking about something that happened. "When Sengoku was fighting, his spiritual pressure just dissapered. It makes me wonder if he was killed." He thinks about this when he hears the guard speaking.

Guard: "Captain, your arrival is unxpected."

Biren: "I know it is but i need the prisinor released Kazumi."

Kizumi: "Sir, i may be your third seat but i was told by another captain to keep him here no matter what."

Biren: He starts shaking with anger and energy. "Move your ass and let me get him out of that cell. Besides, i need your help. I have a plan that involves him." Kizumi is relunctant but finally opens the cell. Biren walks in and with his sword, he cuts the chains off of Daniel. "Hello there. I hope your ready to get out of here."

Daniel: He looks up in partial confusion. "Why are you helping me escape." He has a look as though the captain is pulling his leg.

Biren: He just smiles. "Well i felt it neccesary and there is this girl who kept telling me she had to see you."

Daniel: Daniel looks behind Biren and almost can't believe his own eyes. "Tina?" She hears him and looks to him. In an instant Daniel runs over to here and embraces her.

Tina: Tina was crying somewhat. "You don't have to worry. They didn't hurt me."

Daniel: He looks over at Biren. "Thank you."

Biren: "No time, we need to get out of here before someone notices your gone." They leave the cells and head to one of the gates leading out of the soul society. "Kizumi will lead you through these gates and take you back to your world. Once there he will train you and teach you some of the more important techniques of the soul society." He opens the gates.

Daniel: He looks back. "How will i know when you will need my help."

Biren: "You will know when the time comes. Just stay alive until then." The gate closes and Biren smiles. "I'm glad none of the other captains seen what i did. They would get pissed."

I will have my next post up Friday night! Been having some writer's block but it's getting there.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE I was gonna do a pointless filler

- The Setting Sun: Part 1 -
Ariza vs. Cleo

The explosions from Cleo’s skeleton soldiers have filled the surrounding area with smoke and dust. Small fires outline the perimeter of the large crater as well as ten smaller craters that lay a few meters outside of the larger one in the center. The smoke disperses and dust begins to settle revealing eleven figures in the large crater and one on the outside of it. Cleo is the one standing on the outside of the crater while Ariza, who is in the center of the crater, is surrounded by ten of Cleo’s skeleton soldiers, who are all scattered in various spots throughout the crater. Ariza is knelt down holding ten of her blades in various spots on her body: one in her mouth that is perpendicular to her left cheek, her head is tilted to the right so her right cheek touches her right shoulder and another blade is placed between her cheek and shoulder, two more blades are being held in her armpits with the blades facing behind her, she is holding one blade in each hand with both blades pointed out in front of her, Ariza’s right knee is on the ground and one blade is stuck in the bend of her knee, her left knee is up off the ground but still bent which also has a blade in the bend of that knee, Ariza’s right arm is bent up and a blade is placed at the elbow perpendicular to her right forearm, Ariza is sitting on her right heel and the last blade is between her heel and butt. All ten blades are extended out over one hundred feet and the tips of each extended blade are right at the epicenter of the ten creators that lay outside the large crater she is in. Hundreds of other blades are stuck in the ground in various spots all around them. Cleo has an amazed look on her face as she stares down at Ariza.

Cleo: I must say I’m impressed Ariza. I’ve seen you pull of four blades at once back at the academy but TEN! And not only that, you managed to pinpoint all ten of the soldiers I sent at you and pushed them away from your body so you wouldn’t take any damage from the explosions. (sighs) I guess I should have expected this from the head of the Kuchiki Household.

Ariza: (dropping the blade out of her mouth) I had no idea those skeletons of yours could explode. I just knew I couldn’t fight all ten at once. (Ariza stands up and every blade except the ones in her hand falls to the ground.) So… what are you gonna do now that your trump card failed?

Cleo: Fail!? Overconfident as always huh; I’ve been planning this for years Ariza… I have plenty more up me sleeves or should I say going down them.

Ariza looks at Cleo’s arms and notices that the cloths around her arms have unraveled and have been borrowing in the ground by Cleo’s feet. The ground cracks under Ariza’s feet and the cloth quickly jets upwards towards her hitting her in her gut and sending her flying upwards. The force of the hit caused her to drop both her blades and have stunned her for a moment. The two cloths rise up and wrap around Ariza’s waist. Cleo pulls her arms back and the cloth slams Ariza down to the ground. Ariza coughs up blood as she violently hits the ground; the cloths start to drag her on the ground towards one of the black skeletons but Ariza grabs two blades as she is being dragged and points them at the incoming skeleton. The blades extend out towards the skeleton; one blade pierces it in its spinal column just below the ribs and the other blade pierces its cranium. The force from the blades extending pushes the skeleton towards Cleo at an incredible speed. Cleo jumps to her right and avoids the blades but the skeleton explodes and the force of the shockwave sends Cleo crashing into the perimeter of the crater. The cloth around Ariza loosens as Cleo’s concentration is thrown off and Ariza easily slips out of its grasp. Ariza lands feet first on the ground as Cleo quickly pops up to her feet. Ariza lifts up her sword as she sees the cloth begin to coil back around Cleo’s arms leaving just a few feet of the cloth still unraveled.

Ariza: Dammit Cleo; I don’t want to fight you.

Cleo: It’s a little late for that don’t you think?

Ariza: Why Cleo? Why is it too late? I don’t understand.

Cleo: Oh don’t worry; I’ll explain everything right before I kill you!

Cleo slams her staff down to the ground and twenty more skeleton soldiers rise up out of the ground to join the other ten that were already standing around her. Cleo points her staff towards Ariza and all the skeletons move to her position. Ariza quickly kicks off her shoes and run towards the skeletons with one blade in each hand. The skeletons all start to run towards her as well but just as the skeletons get within five feet of her, Ariza plants the tips of the blades into the ground and waves her legs out towards two blades lying on the ground. Ariza uses her big toe and index toe to grab the two blades off the ground, one for each foot, and throws her weight to her hands performing a handstand. The blades in her hands glow white and quickly extend and carry Ariza one hundred feet into the air. Cleo and the skeletons look up at her as she faces the edges of the two blades down towards them. The blades start to crack and shatter into hundreds of pieces; Cleo looks wary as the shards twinkle in the air around Ariza’s body. Cleo tightly grasps her staff as the shards begin to rain down at a tremendous speed. Cleo raises her staff and twirls it in her hands as she attempts to run away from the falling shards; the skeletons do the same as they raise their shields and run away but the shards are too strong and too fast as they easily rip through the fifteen skeleton’s shields who were caught in the middle of the rain. The fifteen skeletons explode and the shockwave blasts Cleo out to the perimeter of the crater, but the other fifteen skeletons dug their swords into the ground so they wouldn’t be pushed back by the force of the explosion. The skeletons look up and watch as Ariza falls to the ground and all start to move to where she will land, but a blue orb forms in Ariza’s palm and she thrust her arm towards the ground. The orb erupts into a massive wave of ice that quickly hits the ground and covers the surrounding skeletons trapping them all. Ariza lands on a hill shaped block of ice and slides down it, as if she was surfing, towards Cleo, but the two cracks form in the ice between both Ariza and Cleo. Cleo’s cloth rises up out is the cracks and lifts Ariza back into the air and suddenly slams her down to the ground where the skeletons are trapped causing them to all explode at once. Chunks of ice fly into the air as explosions go off consecutively. The dust settles and Ariza is bloody and has 3rd degree burns along her arms, legs and neck. Cleo slowly walks over to her as she relishes every moment of Ariza’s pain.

Cleo: (laughs) This is too great Ariza. (Points the bladed tip of her staff to Ariza’s throat.) Now die! (Cleo thrust her staff down to kill Ariza but suddenly stops.) Oh yeah, I did say I would explain thinks first, didn’t I. Oh well; Bakudo 99 – Kin.

Black colored spiritual fabric rises up out of the ground and ties Ariza's arms and then wrap around her entire body, several iron shafts fall out of the sky and pin Ariza down by piling on top of the spiritual fabric on the ground in an "X" shape. Ariza is barely conscious as she tilts her head up to look at Cleo’s face.

Cleo: Now listen bitch cause I’m only gonna explain this once!

TO BE CONTINUED…

Part 2 will be up tomorrow unless I get called into work.

The Setting Sun: Part 2

Dori vs. Hiro

(Occurring at the same time as Ariza and Cleo’s fight)
Bright flashes of blue light filled the forest as Dori thrust punch after punch repeated at the images of Hiro. Sweat was pouring down his face as the fatigue from his constant attacks was finally starting to get to him. Dori’s kindled anger was now a firestorm of rage. It was not only the fact that his double vision was stopping him from laying even a finger on the guy but the constant ringing that was coming off Hiro’s blade. The ringing was loud and completely filled his head; it’s even stopping him from thinking of a proper plan to counter it. It infuriated him as every image of Hiro that he struck was just another fake caused by his double vision. Hiro stood a good ten feet away from Dori with the usual somber look on his face.

Hiro: I really don’t want to be out here all day so how about you just give up and go home.

Dori: Don’t make me laugh! You haven’t done anything special to make me think for one second that I can’t beat you. The only reason you are still alive is the fact that your blade has disoriented me.

Hiro: Oh... my apologizes; from the look on your face I assumed that your resolve had changed.

Dori: Well you were greatly mistaken…

Hiro: NO, you are the one that’s mistaken! You said I haven’t done anything special right? You assume that my blade must be a one trick pony correct? I guess it’s time for me to implement phase 2 of my strategy.

Hiro holds his blade up to his face and a ripple effect forms in the air around it. Dori looks dumbfounded but falls to his knees as a tremendous sound, like a jet engine, blast from Hiro’s blade. Dori reaches up to cover his ears but the noise suddenly stops and Dori looks up to see Hiro standing in front of him ready to thrust his sword through Dori’s face. Dori rolls to his left just in time as Hiro’s blade only scratches his right shoulder. As Dori rolls away he swings his left arm in Hiro’s direction sending a thin orange heat wave at Hiro. Hiro holds his blade in front of him to block the wave and as the heat hits Hiro’s blade, the vibrations start to slow down a bit.

Hiro: So his blade gives off enough heat to distort how the sound travels in the air as well as loosen the metal of my blade. I guess I’ll have to dodge instead of block that then.

Dori is surprised as his vision starts to correct itself. He looks towards Hiro and notices that he is examining his blade for some reason, but Dori waste little time as he sees his opening. Hiro glances over at Dori as he sees him charging towards him with both his fist cocked back. Hiro side steps Dori to his right as Dori’s fists connect with the tree that was behind Hiro and a large explosion results from the contact. Hiro, only being a foot away from Dori, gets caught in the explosion which forces him back a few feet. Hiro crashes into a nearby tree and sees Dori leaping towards him with his fists cocked back again. Hiro shunpos out of the way this time as Dori crashes down at Hiro’s former position causing another large explosion that shacks the area. Dirt and rocks fill the air and slowly fall as Dori stands in the creator, 5 foot radius, caused by the explosion. Dori begins to walk towards Hiro but grabs his right shoulder as he feel a sharp pain suddenly appear there. Hiro takes advantage of the opening and lunges towards Dori and swings his blade down at him but Dori moves his left hand from his shoulder and blocks the blade but the blade still manages to slightly tap Dori on his right shoulder which results in Dori’s shoulder blade shattering. Dori falls to his knees as he feels the pain from his right shoulder. Hiro thrusts his blade towards Dori as he throbbed in pain but Dori thrust his fist forward as blue colored fire encircled his brass knuckles and a huge column of fire, shaped like a fist, launches out of the brass knuckles towards Hiro. Hiro disappears inside the column of fire as it rips through the forest. Dori stares at the large trench created from his attack as blue flames illuminate the forest around him; Dori listens closely and can hear Hiro coughing in the distance in front of him.

Dori: So he’s still alive huh. At least he’s heavily injured now…

Blood splatters form Dori’s left arm as he sees Hiro’s blade sticking through it. The blade begins to vibrate and the bones in Dori’s arms shatter from the vibrations. Dori is astonished as he can still hear the coughs in the distance yet there Hiro was standing right behind.

Hiro: I can see you’re confused so allow me to explain. My blade doesn’t only give off a high pitch ringing sound that throws off your equilibrium, but it also causes whatever it hits to vibrate at the same frequency as the blade which can cause serious damage to living things like your bones for example. And last but not least my blade can create sounds or eliminate the sounds of the surrounding area which is why you thought you heard me coughing over there when I actually flashed stepped behind you before your attack completely enveloped me. (Hiro pulls his blade out of Dori’s left arm.) Now that both your arms are incapacitated this fight is over.

Hiro lifts his sword above his head and prepares to swing it down for the killing blow. Dori hangs his head down as his eyes start to glow blue and a fierce look appears on his face.

Dori: BANKAI!!!

Hiro flash steps away from Dori as blue flames shoot out of the blades and wrap around Dori making a huge fire ball. Two large flames fly out of the fire ball and begin to circle around the area in a sporadic movement. The two large flames start to die down and soon disperse revealing two large black colored serpents in the sky. The serpents are both 20 feet long and have blue flames that constantly flow out of their mouths; they have no wings but are able to fly around. Also, Dori is now covered in a black armor. This armor doesn't cover his whole body. It has two gauntlets that cover his hands and the tips of all the fingers are sharpened like claws. The gauntlets connect to shoulder guards and a thin armor on his back. Dori also has a helmet, that’s shaped like a serpents head.

Dori: I may not have my arms, but I don’t need them when using my bankai! GO!

Both the serpents move in on Hiro but Hiro activates the ringing sound in his blade hoping to affect the serpents but they continue flying towards him without a change in motion. Hiro jumps away from the serpents as they both begin to spit blue fire from their mouths. Hiro take to the tree tops as the serpents fly after him shooting flame after flame from their mouths. The serpents fly above the tree tops and Hiro jumps back down below them and strikes the tree with his blade causing it to shatter from the vibrations. The chunks of tree fill the air around the serpents halting them for a moment. Hiro flash steps to the back of one of the serpents and hits his blade on its back but the serpent simply turns its head towards him and launches another blast of fire. Hiro jumps off of the serpent but the other serpent swings its tail at him hitting Hiro in his gut sending him crashing into Dori who was still sitting on the ground. Dori traps Hiro in a body scissors hold. The serpents both fly down to their position and start to circle around them at a high rate of speed.

Hiro: What the hell?

Hiro moves his arms and realizes that he dropped his blade when he was hit by the serpent. Burns begin to appear on Hiro’s face as blue flames start to radiate from Dori’s body. The flames spread along the ground but stop at the perimeter created by the serpent’s circular movements around the area.

Hiro: I guess I was the one that was mistaken. Even without the use of your arms you still found a way to win. I guess I should of expected this from the head of the Genryusai Household.

A large dome of blues flames that is 50 feet in radius is created. Dori watches as Hiro’s slight burns turned into third degree burns which later turned into ash as Hiro’s body was completely disintegrated. The serpents discontinued their circular motion which caused the flames to die down. Hiro’s ashes slowly fall to the ground as Dori’s serpents help stand him up. Dori’s arms are still throbbing in pain but he disregards it as he hears a loud crashing sound in the distance. Dori’s serpents quickly move Dori away as a large chunk of ice lands where Dori was standing at before the serpents moved him.

Dori: Ice!? Judging from its trajectory it came from the area Ariza was fighting Cleo. I’m nowhere near 100% but I can still assist Ariza. She’s not gonna like my help but this is no time to be prideful. Dori’s serpents quickly left him up and fly him over to Ariza’s position.

TO BE CONTINUED…

rough week of work sorry for the wait.

Sry its taking to long for me to finish my last fight its just every time i get everything taken care of and am about ready to post some new situation pops up and slaps me in the face so yeah. Hopefuly ill be able to post soon but no garentees if it takes too long and people really want an end of that fight then priate msg me and ill see what i can manage

I may not be able to post for a bit. Graduation is coming up next week and i have to get things done.

wow i get back and the thread is dead???? what happend

Not really dead, more like latent. I've been working on posts, I just need a post or 2 from jstar first.

im still working on getting time to post my piece...should be soon since i finaly am completeing lots of projects that sprang up but still yeah

Sorry for the serious delay, my little nephew got really sick and gave it to me so I was out of commission for a while. But I'm feeling a lot better and I'll have a nice long post up later today or tomorrow. Sorry again.

The Setting Sun: Part 3

Crow vs Renik

Explosion after explosion rang out as bright arrow shaped beams collide with the cliff side. Crow, with a gun in his left hand and a half eaten candy bar in his right, dodges beam after beam as he finishes the last few bites of his candy bar. Crow uses flash step and lands on the ground under the cliff; rubble from the explosions fall down the side of the cliff towards him but Crow points the gun in his left hand up towards the rubble, a soft whistle is heard from the gun as it begins to shine a bright blue color, the whistling stops and a barrage of blue bala shaped orbs rapidly fire out of the gun turning the falling rubble into dust. Renik watches as the large dust cloud settles down around Crow’s body. Crow twirls the guns in both his hands shaking the dust off them and quickly slides them back into their holsters; he then reaches up for his hat and wipes the dust off of it as well. Crow then refocuses his attention on Renik, who stands a few feet away. Renik is now holding two pitch black blades and has 12 tattoos on both his arms, 6 per arm, each resembling a symbol of the zodiac. The battlefield was still and quiet as they both stared each other down seeing who would make the next move. This type of strategy was far from Crow’s style but he couldn’t risk anything here. He knew the stacks if he didn’t win this fight and there was no way in hell that he would let Miroku hog all the glory of this battle! It upset him that the plan forced him to fight Sengoku’s subordinate instead of Sengoku himself but it fueled his resolve. Crow wanted to make sure the last image in Sengoku’s head was the barrel of his gun, but before he could make that happen… he had to deal with this man first. He fully understood the power level of his opponent and even though he was looking ahead to Sengoku he was still focused on the task right in front of him. The air began to thicken as a cobalt blue aura begins to radiate from Crows body, Renik responds by raising his spirit energy as well forcing a black aura to radiate from his. Their two auras soon became two large spheres of spirit energy with Crow as the center vertex of the blue sphere and Renik as the center of the black sphere. The spheres both expanded until their concentration of energies finally met causing the ground around them to crack. The energies forced the cracked rocks to lift into the air as shockwave after shockwave ensued. The Sagittarius tattoo on Renik’s arm starts to glow and Renik points his blades at Crow. 5 large arrow shaped beams jet out of Renik’s blades towards Crow but Crow quickly pulls his two guns out of the holsters and shoots the arrows down.

Crow: All those tattoos can’t just be for show. Why do you keep using that bow and arrow one?

Renik: Does it really matter?

Crow: Huh?

Renik: You ask me as if we are friends or something. Last I checked we are enemies so it doesn’t matter what attacks I use as long as it later results in your death. Unless you are mad because you can’t figure out my plan of attack.

Crow: (thinking) So he is that type of fighter. And if all those tattoos equal a different ability then he has many surprises up his sleeve. I better send in my troops instead of going in head on.

Crow’s entire body begins to glow blue and what sounds to be howls from a wolf pack blast from his body. Renik stares in awe as what appears to be a giant wolf with gold and brown fur jumps out of Crow’s body. The wolf’s growl shakes the sky with the sound of thunder and sparks fly out of its mouth as it grinds its razor sharp teeth. Renik braces himself as he prepares for the beast to strike. The Sagittarius tattoo glows again and Renik points his blades towards the giant wolf and 5 more arrow shaped beams shoot out towards it but the wolf suddenly separates into 100 different wolves. The 5 arrows manage to hit 5 of the wolves causing a cero-like explosion that has the power of 5 ceros. The pack of wolves all charge in as Renik prepares to dodge as many of them as he can now that he has seen them explode upon contact. Renik dodges wolf after wolf as Crow stands in the distance analyzing every move Renik makes. The Gemini tattoo on Renik’s arm glows and an exact duplicate of Renik leaps out of Renik’s arm where the tattoo was; the Sagittarius tattoo glows again and Renik aims his blades towards the ground causing a large dust cloud to fill the air. The wolves run through the dust cloud and see that Renik and his copy have split up and are running in two different directions forcing the pack to split up as well. Crow watches as both packs of wolves quickly catch up to both Renik and his clone causing large explosions of cero-like energy. Rock and rubble are forced away by the massive eruption of energy and a huge cloud of dust blows up all around the battlefield. Crow calmly tilts his hat towards the explosion and starts to walk away.

Crow: That was easier than I thought… what the hell?

Crow is dumbfounded as he sees a large weighing scale hovering above the entire area. Chains suddenly fall down and before Crow can react the chains are already wrapped around his limbs. Crow struggles to get free but it is no use as the chains lift him up and place him onto one of the scales. Suddenly Crow’s scale elevates a bit as it appears that the chains have placed something on the opposite scale. As the dust begins to settle Crow can see the body of Renik lying on the opposite scale. Crow looks over and sees that Renik is badly bruised with a few burns and cuts in various places on his body. As Crow examines him more he notices that Renik is missing a tattoo.

Crow: So this is your doing?

Renik: (breathing rather hard) Yeah… it’s my… Libra ability! I don’t normally…use it…but it can be…quite devastating!

Crow is suddenly overcome by a tremendous heat as burns begin to appear on his entire body followed by a few cuts appearing on various spots of his body. Crow yells in pain as what feels to be powerful concussive blows hit his body repeatedly creating large bruises all over his body. Crow’s scale falls until it’s even with Renik’s.

Renik: The ability is nice to the already wounded, but if you happen to be the healthy individual then you won’t find it to be so nice. The scale evens the playing field by evening our injures but it can’t heal wounds therefore it has to inflict them.

The Scale vanishes and both Renik and Crow fall to the ground but Renik’s Virgo tattoo glows and a young woman holding a veil comes down and wraps the veil around Renik gently placing him on the ground as it starts to heal his wounds. But Crow falls violently to the ground which causes his ribs to crack. Crow yells out in pain as he tries to move but his body won’t react. Renik, who now appears to be fully healed, laughs as he walks over to Crow’s heavily battered body.

Renik: You were a worthy opponent but today just wasn’t your day Crow… huh?

Renik raises his swords but is too late as a black and pink whip which has thorns protruding on its sides comes flying in hitting Renik in his chest. The thorns on the sides of the whip cut Renik across the chest and on his left forearm. Renik jumps back as Kuesu kneels down beside Crow.

Crow: Kuesu? Why are you here?

Kuesu: I came with the Squad 4 Captain Yasashiku. According to the records from Soul Society, we are missing 30 percent of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad’s members. I was helping her investigate but then I sensed that you were in trouble so I came here.

Crow: Well be careful; that guy has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

Kuesu: Oh I’m not worried about him. He’s already dead anyways.

Renik: (with a confused look on his face) Already dead? You need to get you vision checked sweetie. All you did was cut me.

Kuesu: If you think that way then come and finish me off. You should be able to tell that I’m not nearly as powerful as Crow is so I should be easy pickings right?

Renik: (thinking) She’s baiting me but she is nowhere near Crow’s level. Nothing feels different about me and I can’t sense any kido traps. I better keep my distance to be safe.

Renik raises his spirit energy just as he did before when his fight with Crow began. A black aura flows from Renik’s body as his Sagittarius tattoo glows again and Renik raises his sword but suddenly stops. Renik suddenly feels a severe pain in his chest and left forearm. He stands confused as his heart begins to race and his breathing becomes sporadic. A thin line of blood drops out of the side of Renik’s mouth as small flowers begin to bloom out of Renik’s chest and left forearm.

Renik: (coughing up blood) What an unusual zanpaktou you have. Your name is Kuesu correct?

Keusu: Yeah.

Renik: Sneak attack or not all is fair in the time of war! You were the smarter warrior today Kuesu it’s just too bad that I won’t have a tomorrow to best you!

Renik falls back as a bouquet of flowers bloom from his body. Kuesu rolls up her whip and latches it to her belt as she continues to heal crow’s injuries.

Crow: Normally I would be mad with anyone interfering in my fights but I’ll let it slide this time.

Kuesu: (smiles) You men and your pride.

- In the ruins of Soul Society-
Yasashiku is examining a trail of soul reaper outfits left in the streets right in front of Squad 4’s barracks. But her attention changes as she feels a spike in spirit energy inside her abandoned squad barracks. Yasashiku walks into her captain’s room where she feels the strong presence and kicks the door down. Seating in her captain’s seat is a woman with blonde hair that is tied back into a ponytail. She has bright blue eyes and is wearing a regular soul reaper outfit.

Yasashiku: I already know you aren’t a soul reaper so who or what are you?

Omen: I’m a very unique hollow call a Fantasma (phantom) Hollow. Most of my species dies off rather quick since we all need to takeover a body in order to live. The majority of Fantasmas end up getting scared and takeover a weak hollow and therefore get killed but I decided to take a risk come to Soul Society to find a “proper” body.

Yasashiku: A “proper body?” What do you mean by that?

Omen: All Fantasmas have the same abilities of regular hollows so we retain all the spiritual energy of any hollow or soul reaper we “eat” or “takeover.” But unlike regular hollows, we don’t have a hierro so we end up having the same weaknesses of the current body we possess. For example: if I have taken over hundreds of souls but then takeover a person with an illness, then I would be stuck in a sickly body with a large amount of spiritual energy which is actually not a good thing.

Yasashiku: Then why are you trying to “takeover” a soul reaper knowing that you run that risk?

Omen: Because, hollows know of our existence and can prevent us from taken them over. But you soul reapers know nothing about us and therefore can’t counter our tactics. I’m actually shocked that I’m the first of my kind to think of this. Oh yeah there is another reason why I need a powerful soul reaper.

Yasashiku: What is it?

Omen: It’s simple actually; something that was discovered by a famous soul reaper name Sosuke Aizen. He figured out that one can become a perfect being if they destroy the boundary between Soul Reaper and Hollow. Of course his plan failed since he needed some object to grant his wishes but in my case it’s my own ability allowing me to shatter this boundary. So now that you know my plan, what do you plan to do Squad 4 Captain Yasashiku?

Yasashiku: How do you know my name?

Omen: Oh it must have slipped my mind. I also gain the memories of the bodies I take as well as the abilities of the current body I’m in which is why I can’t takeover anymore weaklings. So I know all about you captain as well as this amazing man name Isao. That’s the type of body I need and I’ll be going after him once I’m done with you!

Omen points its right index finger towards Yasashiku and a dark purple colored cero quickly forms and fires at Yasashiku. The large cero rips through Squad 4’s former barracks as the building begins to collapse.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Sorry this took so long but I hope you like it!

So i guess ill finally get to posting rest of the fight i started

Among the sands of Hueco Mundo

Satoshi and Gekido are standing several yards apart staring each other down as they gasp for air. Both look exhausted and battered but neither looks to be winning. Occasionaly one shifts their weight or adjusts their stance slowly as the other matches the movement maintaining a delicate balance that has been found in their distance.

Satishi:(Thinking To self) It doesn't make sence. One of the first lessons i learned is everybody has a patterin. A rythem in how they attack and finding that is key to finding a plan in defeating ones opponet. But nommater how i watch it this arrancar has no patterin. He attacks wildly and without hesitation. Through out this battle his attacks have become more focused in the sence of the amount of energy released but not in a rythem. I am unsure how to match him any longer if i cant be sure of his next move. Even expecting the unexpected isnt working because there are too many possiblities to proscess in the battle at one time.

Gekido: (Thinking to him self towards the end of Satoshis thinking) Damn this is getting boreing.

Gekido vanishes and appears infront of Satoshi. Satoshi is barly able to pull his blade up inbetween the two of them when Gekido suddenly vanishes and reappars to Satoshis right punching Satoshi in the side of the head sending Satoshi tounbling across the sand. Gekido catches up to Satoshi and catches his legs and starts toumbling making what looks like a wheel of sand and limbs as he accelorates the spin and slams Satoshi into the ground. Satoshi is barly able to use the wind from the throw to slow him self down and shift next to Gekido releasing the wind from the back of his blade and swinging at insane speeds. Just before Gekido's skin is cut he twirls and dodges the blade and kicks at Satoshi who shifts out of the way of the foot and is forced to block an incoming punch with his blade sending the two combatants flying apart. As they settle to a stop the two stare at eachother again.

Satoshi: (in his head) That is the 16th time hes attacked and not even close to any other time. (Extending his sences out towards Isao's battle) I hope his battle is going better but its hard to tell.

Again Gekido gets more impaitent and charges at Satoshi. The two exchange attacks without being able to land any sizeable hit and seperate to stare at eachother.

Gekido: Damn it. Whont you just commit to a fight instead of always jumping back. This is getting more boreing than fallowing Rey arround as he rants about his "Master Plan"

Satoshi: *Smirking* if you find it boring your welcome to leave me to standing by the portal.

Gekido: Portal?

Satoshi and Gekido both look arround and realize they are miles away to the exit that Satoshi was suppose to be guarding for his and Isao's excape.

Satoshi: *Slowly rolling his eyes over to Gekido*....Yeah...About that....

Satoshi vanishes and starts running back to the portal.

Satoshi: (In His head) How could i have let him drag me so far away from it. It better be open,


Suddenly Satoshi's head is smashed down into the ground and ground across the sand for several yards then he is thrown and bounces landing next to the open gate to the soul society.

Gekido. First you keep backing away from a fight when it gets good and now you run. Im going to kill you and see if i can find a better opponet through there. Maybe one of the Captains will put up a better fight.

Satoshi rolls his head over and shoots a deadly glare out of his one expose eye. Remembering Zane's death along with all the injured and dead shinigami from the recent attacks on the soul society. Then jumping to his feet. The air becomes thick as Satoshi's spirit pressure sky rockets. Gekido almost feels as if blades are being swong to attack him hitting every vital location on his body but then realizes it isnt real. Its an extenshion of Satoshis intent to kill. Gekido starts smiling.

Gekido: Now this is what im talking about.

Satohsi's vision seems blured or maybe double. It looks as if there are two Gekidos. One is only a few inches off of the other. They both are doing the same thing but one seems to be a little behind the other. THe key difference between the two is one is a breath behind the other and when Gekido shifts or adjusts his weight one catches up a little bit after that. Satoshi is starting to wonder because doubled and delayed vision are common results of long battles and exhaustion but the images both seem perfectly clear. Not only can clear but he seems to be able to easly notice openings in Gekido's stance. Openings that he never noticed before. ALl of this is starting to give Satoshi a head ache. Gekido notices Satoshi flinch a little from a twinge of pain and jumps forward. Satoshi feeling the pain just above his right eyebrow causing him to close the eye. When he notices Gekido appear infront of him he sees two. One is a few feet away still charging and the other is next to him getting ready to punch forward. Satoshi attempts to dodge the fist when suddenly it vanishes and the other gekido moves forward and kicks satoshi back and fallowing him. Satoshi finaly opens his right eye and sees again two Gekidos. One is coming in for a elbow drop while the other is getting a little farther back still gaining hight from a jump. At the same time Satoshi notices a unsual clerity in his vision. Ther are factors such as shadows and dust from wind that should be inhibiting his vision but everything is perfectly clear and again causing satoshi to feel a pain in his head and causing him to close his left eye. When the eye closes elbow droping Gekido vanishes and only the gekido in the air exists. This one is charging one of his punches and throws it forward sending a powerful punch propelled by green flames out of Gekidos's shoulder at Satoshi. Satoshi is easly able to see that if he rolls to the right he is able to dodge the attack and have an open shot for a quick slash at Gekidos's left arm. Satoshi Slashes leaving a gash from Gekido's shoulder down the side to his elbow. This time is Gekido who makes some distance to reassest his opponet.

Gekido: Somethings different. Either the fights getting to you and you are getting lucky or you are pulling a new trick out of your sleve.

Satoshi just sits in silence as he slowly opens his eye. He again sees two Gekidos both staning in the same place with one less than a second behind the other but doing the same action. And everything is crystal clear. Quicly thinking on whats happened recently Satoshi slowly closes his Right eye. The clerity in the vision leaves but the dual image stays.

Satoshi: (THinking to self) Maybe i can see what he is going to do next. I dont know why but now is not the time to worry about that.

Satoshi sees one of the gekidos quicly fallowed by the other make a firm stance and pull his fists back and punching forward. Just as he sees a green energy leave the hands of the first one Satoshi jumps up and above Gekido and swinging down with his blade. He keeping his right eye closed and sees the first Gekido jump away from his energy blast to dodge the slash but then the second one reaches up and grabs Satoshi's blade. Again he sees the first one back at its spot swinging up for a green flame charged punch but the second one reaches up and grabs Satoshis right wrist and pulls Satoshi down to head butt him and throw him a few yards away.

Gekido: So now you wanna get in my face...Figures.

Satoshi: So now you are afraid to be up close? (Thinking to him self) It was right about the energy blasts but has been wrong about several other scenarioes....May--

Gekido seeming angry at Satoshi's last comment charges forward swinging wildly. Satoshi sees what seems like 5 or 6 different Gekidos all steming from the same footing but swinging at different times and different angles. Satoshi is able to dodge a few of these that are accurate but most he is to busy watching the first fist to realize his vision is wrong and the real fist is coming from a different angle and taking a several punishing blows resulting in being knocked back.

Satoshi:*caughs* (Thinks to self) its only basing the images off of whats most likly...but Gekido is too umpredictiable making this random gift useless

Satoshi closes his left eye as he opens his right eye. The Second image of Gekido vanishes but Everything becomes more clear. Satoshi is still kneeling down as Gekido appears above him and launches several balla down arround Satoshi kicking up sand then charging in for a kick. Satoshi sees clearly through the sand Gekidos foot and easly sees the angle its coming in without any motion blur from the speed. Satoshi shifts down and under the leg and slashes Gekidos left calf and slides back. Gekido pivotes on his left leg and starts punching with a series of bala and powerd fists in the mix. Satoshi sees each and every one clearly. As if there is no sand arround him in a perfeclty lit room without any motion blurr. Taking away many of the factors that inhibit the ability to proporly judge distance and attacking angles quickly Satoshi is able to easly dodge all of the attacks with a combination of normal dodging and his shifting winds moving him arround. Also he slashes Gekidos limbs occasionaly leaving several small cuts. Gekido ends a series of punches with a strong jab. Satoshi side steps it and slashes his sword forward sending a torrent of wind at Gekido's chest and sending him flying violently away.

This series of attacks and dodges and counter attacks continues with Gekido slowly getting less and less wild and angry to Satoshi's Supprise. Usualy in this situation a fighter will loose his cool but it seems with every faild attack Gekido calms down and focuses harder making his attacks more and more percise with more and more power. Thats when it hit Satoshi. Gekido comes in for another attack and satoshi is able to notice a patterin. Recalling that the name for Gekidos Resurection was Focus. Satoshi realizes its real meaning. He thought it ment it focused the power behind his punches but realy it focuses everything about Gekido.

Satoshi sends a few gusts of winds at Gekido who dodges them in the way that satoshi predicted he would then with out even relying on his new found ability satoshi is able to guess how Gekido next combination of attacks will play out. Gekido punches forward with a hard green flame propelled punch as Satoshi thrusts his blade forward and releases the wind from the tip causing an explosion of green energy and wind sending the two combatiants to opposite sides of a large depression in the sand. Gekido charges at Satoshi and swings this time he lands every hit almost like he suddenly got faster.

Satoshi: (Thinking to self) So he finaly got to the point where his focus is able to penetrate my defence....Oh well

Satoshi Closes his right eye and opens the left now seeing the dual Gekido.

Satoshi(Thinking to self) i have a good idea of how he attacks and hes become less spurraditc...maybe this will give me enough of a warning to keep up with his attacks.

Gekido charges in for another attack nolonger having his smile on his face just a cold hard glare almost like he is now a robot flailing his arms at his opponet. Every attack is predictied by Satoshi's eyes but a few come from angles that satoshi cant see and suprise him. The two exchange blows for several minutes untill they are on their last resurves of endurence. Satoshi spins three times as he moves forward. The first two spins throw out bursts of winds the second sorrounds Satoshi in a tornado that is as wide as tall as him. Satoshi keeps the tornado spinning as Gekido dodges the wind bursts and steps in for a punch and swings at the center of the tornado with his right fist sending a large burst of green flames out of his arm and shoulder making a devisting blow. During this both of Satoshi's eyes are closed. When he feels the wind from Gekido's punch he moves him self forward and to Gekido's right. Still mid spin Satoshi holds his blade horizontaly and releases the wind from the back of the blade pushing the blade forward and intence speeds and cutting straight through Gekido's stomach. Satoshi then plants his foot and spins again raizing the blade up and slashing from down below Gekido's arm up through above his shoulder in the back. Satoshi pushes off the ground and angles the blade down for a final spin cutting through Gekido at eye level splitting the head in two horzontaly. Satoshi still spins as he crashes in to the ground and toumbles for a few feet.

Satoshi: Now Its your turn

Satoshi passes out in the sands of Hueco mundo slowly regaining some stamana in his sleep.


Notes: Yeah I do not wish to go through and fix all the spelling errors and such becaus i dont have a word proscesing program on the computer i am using an to do it would be difficult. I am sorry if its horrible in spots. If theres something i over looked that doesnt make sence do to typos or wrong word usage or such let me know and ill fix it.

Great fights guys, glad things are moving forward again. I'm still working on my two pieces at the moment, and there's just one more post by jstar left before I'll be able to post them.

i feel bad for in my fight just using parts where i say they continue a patterin of fighting but i didnt want to leave it out and i didnt wish to type out every attack and defence of the whole thing

The Setting Sun: Part 4

- In the ruins of Soul Society –
A flash of purple filled the area as Omen’s cero dissipated. Crashing sounds ensued in a matter of seconds as Squad 4’s barracks fell apart completely. Yasashiku quickly jumped out of the building before it came down as the right half of her captain’s jacket was burnt off by Omen’s cero, she also has a few burns which are on her right arm and the right side of her face. Yasashiku watched as her barracks fell to the ground; anger filled her eyes as she saw the blonde haired woman (Omen’s current body) walk out of the rubble with a purple aura pouring out of her eyes and mouth. Yasashiku drew her sword as Omen walked closer; she waited to see what this monster was gonna do next as she wasn’t planning on being its next victim. Omen stopped for a moment as “she” opened the palms of her hands which soon started to glow purple. Yasashiku braced herself as she was expecting Omen to launch an attack. Omen cocked both hands back as “she” prepared an attack.

Omen: Cero Dilatoria

Omen thrust “her” left hand forward and a small orb (size of a basketball) shot out of “her” palm towards Yasashiku. The orb moves in fast but Yasashiku is able to leap out of the way just before it strikes her. The orb hit the ground where Yasashiku was crouched down at and a small explosion later ensues but to Yasashiku’s surprise, a large wave of energy blast out of the explosion towards Yasashiku. She had no time to react as the energy launches her backwards. Omen quickly moves to Yasashiku’s position, in front of her, and quickly thrust “her” right palm towards Yasashiku firing off another orb but Yasashiku flash steps into the air and just as she thought would happen, the orb fires another large cero into the air after her. Yasashiku faces both her palms towards the incoming cero.

Yasashiku: Hado 32 – Ōkasen

Yasashiku unleashes a fierce blast of yellow energy towards the incoming cero and they both collide causing a tremendous explosion. Omen has a smile on his face as Yasashiku lands a few feet away from him.

Omen: I must say I’m impressed. According to this woman’s memories you are not the fighting type, but here you are launching off powerful kido spells without an incantation.

Yasashiku: As you said I am a captain! You shouldn’t have underestimated me.

Omen: I guess I shouldn’t have…which is why your body will suffice.

Yasashiku: You should be able to tell that even though you absorbed all those soul reapers, you are still nowhere near a captain’s level. So you can’t beat me which means you can’t take my body.

Omen: That would have been a problem if I ran into you before I absorbed this woman.

Yasashiku: What does she have to do with our current levels of spirit energy?

Omen: (unsheathes “her” sword) I did mention that I can use the abilities of the current body I’m in right? Bind Them, Andromeda!

Omen’s sword turns black and the ground underneath Yasashiku’s feet turns black as well. Black chains lift up out of the ground and wrap around Yasashiku’s body. The chains soon change color and our now green as they start to absorb Yasashiku’s energy.

Yasashiku: What the hell? My energy is fading!

Omen: I was surprised at the fact that this woman didn’t use her blade against me when I tried to take her over but then I realized that she just learned how to unlock her shikai and couldn’t completely control her abilities. Thankfully my power is far greater than her’s was so I can easily use her abilities.

Omen slowly walks up to Yasashiku, who has now fallen to her knees, as her energy as almost completely faded. Yasashiku looks up at Omen’s “face” as “her” eyes are now glowing black.

Omen: Now I can easily take your body since you are now considerably weaker than me now. (looks down at Yasashiku’s face) Oh don’t look so upset captain! At least you’ll know that your power was used to create the perfect being.

Omen stabs his hand into Yasashiku’s chest as “her” body turns completely black in color. Yasashiku’s eyes turn black as well and Omen’s body seeps into the open stab wound “she” made on Yasashiku’s body. Omen’s sword and soul reaper clothes are left behind as its body has now completely fused with Yasashiku’s. The chains that were wrapped around Yasashiku fall off and disappear as Omen’s former sword breaks. Omen (now in Yasashiku’s body) slowly gets up as he feels a far stronger power coursing through its veins.

Omen: Now this is power! Finally I have a captain’s body! Now I can make this my permanent body…

Omen pauses as Yasashiku’s memories pass through his head revealing her past and all her friends.

Omen: (with an amazed look on his face) Crow! Miroku! Isao! And Sengoku! Now those are fitting bodies. If I could just get one of them; heh I’m already salivating just thinking about it! Hmm, my next target is…

TO BE CONTINUED…

Alright, here's my next post.

Brigitte: *huff**huff*

Brigitte was in shambles. She was crouching on the ground, crimson dripping from innumerable wounds. Her right femur and ankle had been shattered, the leg was useless. Blood poured from a large gash across her forehead, and she had to constantly wipe it away from her eyes. Her body was covered in other wounds of various sizes, worst among them being a long, wide gash reaching from her right shoulder to her abdomen. It had nearly sheared her sternum in two.

She looked up at Renee. She hadn’t managed to cause any real harm to Renee beyond a few bruises here and there since this new ability activated. Renee, on the other hand, had managed to cause more than her fair share, and not just with the new arm. Afterimages of a wide variety of kido spells danced in Brigitte’s vision, and energy crackled in the air around her. It was insane that she could use so many so quickly, especially in her state. Renee had purged the bacteria and activated that aura once again, but she had still lost a generous amount of energy. She couldn’t use her most secretive techniques, not now.

Brigitte stood from her crouched position, putting all of her weight on her left leg. She stumbled forward slowly, her left arm carrying her blade. That arm was the most damaged, the ligaments in the wrist were torn and her biceps severed, so the blade dragged on the ground, scoring the stones beneath her lightly with a rasping sound. She had briefly stopped wiping away the blood from her eyes, but she didn’t blink as the red liquid mixed with the vitreous liquid. Tears formed there, and salty, reddish liquid poured down her face, creating rivulets in the caked dirt and dried blood.

Renee: What did I do to you that you hate me so much?

Brigitte spoke through the tears: You took him away! You took everything away!

Renee: Took who away?

Brigitte screamed: OASIS!

Renee: I did no such thing! You’re lying to yourself!

Brigitte: Don’t you pretend you had no role in this! You told me yourself that he was gone and dead!

Renee: But I did not kill him!

Brigitte: No, you did worse! You took away my hope! You took away everything he meant to me by eliminating what remained of his presence! I had always believed he was there beside me, invisible and everpresent! How could I believe that after what you said? How could I not be forced to search for answers from someone else? Sengoku offered me more than Soul Society ever would!

Renee: And you cared so little about his memory, about the people he had sworn to protect to his death, that you would join someone like Sengoku who wants to tear that dream apart?

Brigitte: Oasis had a dream of peace, so does Sengoku! I’ll follow that dream to my death for his sake! I’ll protect it for as long as I am able!

Renee: He’ll never return that devotion to you. Is that what you want to follow, a man whose dreams are more important than the people closest to him?

Brigitte: He’s become my beacon in an endless sea of darkness, and I won’t let you do the same thing to him that you did to Oasis! The hope he represents is everlasting, even you cannot break it!

Renee: You’ll stand by him? That man did horrible things to me, has done worse to others, and will do far worse if he survives. I don’t care if you agree with him or not, we will bring an end to him today.

Brigitte: OVER MY DEAD BODY!

Brigitte lunged at Renee with newfound strength, only to be blocked by the Renee’s blade and the scimitar of another arm. Tears still flowed down Brigitte’s face, and she was gritting her teeth so hard that blood poured from her gums.

Renee tisked: This is what you’re reduced to? I’ll end this, and then end him, to save those people who depend on our success here. I wonder: what will you do if you’re alive when he dies? Will you lose all sense of self again?

Brigitte: It won’t happen! I won’t let you lay one finger on him!

Renee shook her head: You’re so dependent on him, you can’t even see life beyond him. Pitiful.

She pushed Brigitte back with a swing of both arms. Brigitte once again fell to the kneeling position, skidding back several meters. Her body shook, the toll of countless attacks getting to her as she tried to stagger to her feet.

Renee: You would do all this for him, and leave everyone else behind? Wasn’t Yasashiku important to you?

Brigitte: She chose her path.

Renee: And you feel nothing for her?

Brigitte stopped shaking. She shifted her blade to her right arm, which held steady as she rose from the ground in one fluid motion. A shadow covered her gaze as she stood in place, features unreadable. Renee raised an eyebrow.

Brigitte: I always cared. It was because of her that I felt torn between Sengoku and Soul Society. Only because of her.

She raised her eyes, and Renee barely stopped herself from taking a step back. An imperious gaze seemed to bore a hole into her skull, and an odd smile adorned her face.

Brigitte: I have to thank you for bringing her up. You’ve reminded me of what side she stood on, a side I no longer care for. She’s become no more than an impediment to Sengoku, and therefore an impediment to me. Just like you.

Brigitte reached her arm out in front of her, twisting her wrist so that the blade was exactly horizontal 10 inches in front of her eyes.

Brigitte: I had some concerns about using this before. It’s the only ability my blade and I disagreed upon, an expansion of another, in fact. But it seems that it’s my only option now.

Raw power exuded from her in waves. One of the three blades on her sword lit up, glowing with tremendous intensity. The letters were reshaping themselves, forming new words, though Renee could not see them through the blinding light. As the light died down, Renee’s vision still seemed blurry and odd. All of Brigitte’s moves seemed sluggish.

One last pulse eddied out of Brigitte, bringing with it a wave of dust-like light particles. They expanded out, forming a sphere around her, before collapsing down into her like a neutron star.

The smile didn’t disappear from her face as she suddenly appeared in front of Brigitte. She couldn’t react fast enough as 2 of the arms on her left side were cleaved off completely, the energy that remained of them at their stumps dispersing with them. She quickly dodged backward, allowing only a small cut into the remaining arm on that side. Sweat poured down her face and pain laced through her side. It felt as though her own arm had been cut through, though no arm was there to feel it.

Brigitte: My blade found that the same power I was using to make my opponents faster was capable of increasing my speed by even more. The problem was that the eyes didn’t come with the bargain. But that really doesn’t seem to matter, does it? Those other arms of yours sure as hell don’t have those eyes, and not even close to your reaction time. I suppose I was nervous about giving you them for nothing.

The same pulse eddied out of her. Renee quickly shifted her armor’s aura to its lowest fricative level; it was the only way she could keep up. The light powder collapsed again, and though Renee was better prepared for it this time, the pain in her nonexistent limbs slowed her movements, and the other woman’s blade cleaved through the armored arm lowest on her left side, treating the armor like little more than tissue paper. Renee clenched her jaw against the pain and returned a strike at Brigitte, her other arms being far too slow to react. Her blade slashed Brigitte’s left temple, cleaving through a little bit of bone and bringing on a fountain of blood. Brigitte’s pushed herself back, and she turned extremely pale.

Renee fought to keep the pain from being apparent, though it was extremely difficult. The pain was intense. She could barely keep her legs from shaking. Thankfully, Brigitte looked shaken by the counterstrike. She seemed to be in a state of shock.

Renee made the quickest recovery, appearing behind Brigitte in an instant. She reached both hands forward, and without a word, a compressed black box of energy formed around her opponent almost instantaneously, dozens of black spears slamming into her in moments.

To be continued…

If the ending feels a bit haphazardly timed, it's because the rest is already written, and I couldn't find a good stopping point in the middle. Suffice it to say, you'll have to wait.

finnaly got caught back up good posts guys

Okay so my computer is now 100% virus free and I finally can get back on the internet. I'm in serious writing mode right now so my post will be up tomorrow. Sorry for the long wait; it just seems like everything that could stop me keeps coming up but barring any other random events my post will be up monday!

Sorry about the wait on this post, guys, just been a lot of stuff going on. Anyway, I figured people were interested in seeing where the Rey v. Isao fight was going, so here's the next portion. There's only one more beyond this, and I've started work on that, so don't fret, it'll be up sometime later this week (hopefully).

Isao had taken a beating. Rey hadn’t stopped an onslaught of strikes for quite a while now. Isao had stopped feeling the pain minutes ago, though the blows still fell. Rey had been screaming insults at him almost continuously, dramatically disgruntled as he was bat losing

The sun far above them had crumbled in a big way. Sparks continued to fall as each of the hits landed, and all but a quarter of the faux star above them had dispersed to nothing. He could feel the ability beginning to fade from him, and that brought on the only feeling he truly felt: fear. Fear of who else would have to die with him.

Rey: Your desire to protect those you cherish is pitiful, Isao! Look where it’s gotten you!

Isao: What would winning this fight mean for you, Rey?

Rey’s fist stopped just in front of Isao’s face. He raised an eyebrow.

Rey: Such a foolish and trivial question. Protection, victory, pride-

Isao smiled and interrupted him: That’s your problem, Rey. You never truly cared about anything but your damnedable pride.

Rey frowned: That’s quite the remark for someone of your caliber. Do you feel none yourself?

Isao: Pride? Of course I feel it. I feel pride when I save someone. I feel pride when I am successful at defending my home. I feel pride when I defeat an opponent who threatens us.

Rey: And you never feel joy just from knowing your strength, knowing your true pride? Do you not think that I feel something from defending my home?

Isao: I used to feel like you do: that pride was the end goal. Even back when I was captain, I often felt a kind of joy at being victorious, for its own reasons. It didn’t matter whether the opponent was a sparring partner or an actual enemy, I felt pride. Pride was everything to me. It was the reason I defended others, the reason I held the world on my shoulders.

Isao paused for a moment. He thought back through the sparring matches he had consistently with Mine, remembering how she never relished in victory.

Isao: You have taken that to a whole new level. Everything simply feeds your pride. Those around you are only worth defending for the sake of protecting your pride. The Espada are no more important to you than the throne you sit in; they merely function as enhancements of the image you’ve created for yourself.

Isao paused again. He pushed himself back to his feet, legs unsteady. A large amount of ash spilled off him from healing wounds, though many of the wounds across his body were still there, healing slowly though inexorably.

Isao: The importance of that pride disappeared a long time ago for me. My pride disappeared from me. I don’t feel pride for my own sake anymore, I feel pride for theirs.

Rey guffawed: HOW ABSURD! Pride isn’t meant to be shared!

Isao: And what has that done for you, Rey? You’ve rebuilt Las Noches into a gigantic palace, created a throne on which only you can sit, gathered the strongest arrancar around you, and increased your own power level, all just to maintain your pride? You fight for no one but yourself, and even then, you fight for something so trivial? You’re alone Rey; alone inside your own head, dreaming of something you have already hold in your hands but always seems to slip between your fingers every time you grasp it.

Rey’s face contorted in a grimace. He began marching towards his prey, every step increasing the itch to kill the man in front of him. Isao stood up straighter, awaiting another onslaught as one would an oncoming train.

Isao: You could never trust in others to contribute to that pride. You could never even fully trust yourself!

Rey grabbed his throat. Blood formed immediately around the fingers as he clenched them like a vice around his windpipe.

Rey: I trust myself enough to be able to end you, once and for all!

Rey threw him, launching him into a nearby sand dune. As the sand settled, Rey was shocked to see what he thought was Isao standing at the site of impact. It took him a moment to realize the figure was more imposing, actually larger than Rey himself. He couldn’t make out his features from that distance, and began walking forward, wary of who this might be.

???: That trust is misplaced. You have no idea what you’re up against.

The figure quickly came into view. It was an elderly looking man lacking one eye with lengthy grey facial hair. He was wearing odd clothing thick with furs and heavy woolens, seeming to be more prepared for the arctic tundra than the desert.

Rey: And who might you be to tell me as such?

???: You’ve brought the wrath of all of the 9 worlds upon you. The Norse gods conspire against you. Yggdrasil itself comes to his aid.

Rey grinned: We’ll just have to see which is stronger: Greek or Norse. Care to try your hand, Odin?

Odin’s face remained flat, his stare imposing, though the rest of his form changed quickly. His skin seemed to merge with his clothing, turning deep brown and hard. His arms and legs extended tremendously, the legs forming together with the torso, while the arms split many times upon themselves. His fingers turned to green and multiplied innumerably. Soon, his form became indistinguishable from a gigantic tree, one with 9 main branches. 6 of those branches housed large orbs of various colors, each large enough to house Odin himself inside with ease.

Rey looked on with contempt. He thought it laughably absurd that anyone would challenge him like this, much more so for a tree. He charged forward, intending to crack the tree in two with one hit. His fist slammed into the trunk, though he felt no solid force. Instead, the tree merely disintegrated, its bark and wood turning to nothing but ash in moments. The orbs above remained where they were.

Rey: This…this is what you bring, Isao?

A crumpled Isao was crouched on the other side of the tree. He looked shaken, both physically and mentally. What little hope he’d had left had shattered with that tree. Rey had had enough. He’d broken Isao, and shattering what little of him remained was enough. Every second he dragged it on would just be a blow to his pride now.

Isao could only look on as he was pulled up by his neck. He could see the black charge of a cero in Rey’s right hand, extending out from his spearhead. He closed his eyes, and Rey snarled at him.

Rey: Such a failure! When I kill you, I’ll make sure to let out my frustrations on those peons in Soul Society. Who knows? Maybe I’ll make that my new citadel.

He brought his arm forward, unleashing a torrent of black lightning that echoed thunderously across the landscape. Isao opened his eyes, confused. The arm had stopped a foot from his face. His eyes drifted slowly to Rey, whose eyes were locked on a large figure obscuring him. A body, almost Rey’s same height, had its arms wrapped around his outstretched one. It was clear that he was male with thick, heavy muscle, and he was pitch black in color. Ribbons of darkness eddied out of him all over his body.

Rey: What the hell-!?

The muscles on his arms tensed, and Rey was thrown backward, a huge wave of sand erupting from the site of impact. The black figure turned back to Isao, and though he couldn’t make it out, Isao could feel him beaming at him.

Kaori: Looks like…I could be of some use to you after all.

Isao couldn’t speak. Shock drained him of his words. The man standing before him was impossible, and yet here he was.

A roar erupted from the area Rey had landed. Water flowed over the sands, creating a new wave that he stood upon. The impact appeared to have done no additional harm to him; however, black ribbons covered the area that Kaori had grabbed him. Rey looked to them with a scowl, pulling them out in one fell swoop.

Rey: I received reports of this ability, though apparently, they were overrated. Your blows feel as weak as Isao’s when he arrived here, and these ridiculous black ribbons are draining my power at a pitiful rate. Are all of your allies such failures Is-!

A golden leg materialized in front of his eyes. He had no time to dodge or block as it slammed into his forehead, sending him head over heels across the sand. He brought himself to a stop after a short while, growling at the glowing apparition who stood where he once was.

Oasis: For failures, we sure are making this difficult.

Rey spat: As if you or anyone else could be a real threat to me!

Water gathered around his body as he aimed to lunge out at his new foe. As he sprang forward, his right leg from halfway up the calf down erupted in blood. He gritted his teeth and forced the water around him towards the site of the injury, just as a silvery figure sprang forth. He reformed quickly form metallic liquid into anther familiar figure: Hideaki.

Rey: Insects!

He plunged his arm down into the water below him, and a massive boiling tsunami sprang forth, moving in all directions at intense speeds. All three of the new arrivals stood where they were, not reacting to the oncoming tide. Isao couldn’t move out of the way, still shocked into silence and stillness. Before the waves could hit any of them, one third of the waters in each direction stopped. One was completely frozen in place, another boiled into nothing but steam, and the last pounded down into the sands.

The waters had nearly hit Isao, though he hadn’t seen them because the person standing in front of him was exuding such intense heat that he had to shield his eyes. After the heat died down, he opened his eyes, only to go sprawling across the sand behind him, landing on his back after several bounces and coughing to get air back into his lungs. A fiery figure was above him in moments, looking down on him with a disappointed grin.

Moriko: And here, I thought you could handle it.

???: You can kill him later, focus Moriko.

She huffed and walked back to where she had stood before. Isao raised himself on shaking arms, still bewildered. He looked around to where the voice had come from, and saw the darkening figure of Ayumi standing off in the distance to his right, the sand around her compressed intensely. He looked to his left, and the diminuitive figure of Mine, icy in appearance, stood just in front of a wall of frost.

How was any of this possible? Was she really standing here, were any of them? Had he gone out of his mind with grief and hopelessness?

Rey had his eyes fixed on the frozen waves, a smile returning to his face as he let the wave collapse. There was a gleam in his gaze as Mine became apparent. He let out an uproarious cheer.

Rey: Well, if it isn’t the former Captain Commander herself! When I heard you perished during our fight out here, I was beside myself. The one person whom I had heard was unmatched in battle, and I had missed my chance to test that myself!? Maybe this loser is good for something after all.

Mine matched his gaze levelly. Her eyes met him with the same iciness her body exuded. She closed them, scratching her head.

Mine: You remember me so well, but I hardly remember you.

Rey snarled: Don’t play dumb with me!

Mine opened one eye, placing a pinky finger in her ear.

Mine: I remember a spoiled brat aiming to conquer this desolate land followed by insolent nobodies. I had more respect for you then than I do now. Claiming the power of Death for your own and pretending there’s strength in that. How pitiful.

Rey was beside her immediately. Her stance didn’t change as he swung his fist downward directly on top of her. She appeared on his right side, slamming both open-handed palms together at his side, sending him reeling backward. He cringed as the large area under his skin froze, cracking under the force of the blow.

Mine: I may only have Isao’s bankai reiatsu level, but I can utilize it for faster speeds than he ever could, and with this body, I don’t have to worry about causing undo harm to myself. You are far from my equal, Rey.

Rey attempted to rush at her again, only to stop just short as a beam of fire erupted across the ground in front of him. He shifted his anguished gaze to Moriko, who was waving a finger at him.

Moriko: Tisk, tisk! Did you forget that she’s not the only one here?

Rey roared at her, and a hail of black lightning crashed all around him. Each blast was dodged and Moriko moved Isao with her to prevent him from getting hit. They quickly obscured any vision of him, preventing any of them from seeing what he was doing.

Rey let out a tremendous bellow, the very earth beneath them seeming to vibrate with his voice. Many of them didn’t notice the cracks expanding from the cloud of dust. Mine, Moriko and Kaori spotted them quickly enough, stepping away from them before they reached them, but Oasis, Ayumi and Hideaki all were caught, quickly sinking down to their knees. Each of them struggled to get out, though none would budge.

Three glass lances shot out of the dust as well, each heading for one of the three targets. The others could not reach them in time, though they did not need to. Ayumi’s was crushed when it got within 5 feet of her. Oasis merely changed his form to allow it to pass through, also realizing that he could free his legs in the same way, and managing to stand out of it. Hideaki made a metallic shield to block it, trying to liquefy his legs to escape, though it seemed to have too strong a hold on his physical body to manage it.

Rey wasted no time. He launched himself out of the dust cloud, attacking Ayumi. The gravity around her didn’t appear to slow him, and he brought his full weight down in a kick on Ayumi’s chest. She rocketed backward into the landscape, the ground exploding around her. He quickly spun, deflecting metallic spikes that protruded from Hideaki’s right forearm. Hideaki tisked as Rey brought both hands to the ground, sparks flying up as the sand around his hands turned to glass. The sparks continued forward in a line to Hideaki, threatening to turn all the sand around him to spikes of glass. Hideaki’s entire body turned metallic, and he placed his hands on his chest just before getting stabbed by dozens of glass spikes.

Rey smirked: Two down, four to g-!

Golden blades arose from the crack beneath him where Ayumi had once been, inflicting dozens of small cuts. He lunged away from them, splattering the sand around him with blood as he landed. A golden Hideaki emerged from the crack.

Rey: Using my own attack to your advantage?

Hideaki: We came prepared with how to use our abilities, Rey. Even if our power level is far lower than yours, these powers speak for themselves. You’re facing 6 of the 9 worlds, and all you bring to the table is a few measly god powers? None of them can save you.

Moriko, Mine, Kaori and Oasis made their moves. Moriko landed several scorching kicks, Mine a multitude of frozen punches, Kaori covered his entire back and shoulders with black ribbons, and Oasis landed several deep slashes with materialized blades. Rey attacked back instead of attempting to dodge, leaving black scorches across Moriko’s arms and damaging holes in Kaori’s body, though neither appeared to bleed, they just seemed weakened. He stomped, causing another crack to open in the earth ahead of him, and then placed his hands on it. A tremendous number of stone blades appeared out of the wound in the earth. Oasis took a slash that went through his head, sheering off a large portion of the right side. Another fearsome slash took off Kaori’s whole left arm, and a third caught Mine in the abdomen. They were forced to retreat, all of them moving to Isao, each of them breathing heavily.

Isao finally found his tongue: You guys...

Hideaki: Just shut up and help us. I don’t want to hear anything but plans of attack. This guy’s a monster, and we don’t have much energy left to us.

Isao raised an eyebrow at him, smiling for what felt like the first time in an eternity.

Isao: Well, I guess it’s good I have one then.

To be continued...

*sigh* hate when it doesn't register the post. Hopefully, this one does.

Edit: YAY!

The Setting Sun: Part 5

- Miroku’s Perspective -

Miroku looked conflicted as he was down on his right knee with his left hand placed on the ground in front of him and his right hand gripped tightly on the handle of his sheathed blade. Miroku had a chose to make; help Renee who was in a heated battle against what seemed to be a powerful subordinate under Sengoku or help a desperate Steven who was holding nothing back as he fought Sengoku. Miroku wasn’t stupid. He knew Renee could handle herself, but he also knew that Steven’s mind was unstable after hearing the true about his mother and that he could get hit by accident out of Steven’s rage. Miroku stared at the large storm cloud in front of him that surged with electricity, swirling winds knocked the hood of Miroku’s jacket back off his head but Miroku quickly pulled it back up as heavy rains suddenly fell from the clouds. The rain was unusual as it all would evaporate right before it would hit the ground. Miroku looked confused as he let go of his blade and held his right hand up to feel the rain drops, but Miroku quickly pulled his hand back as the water was boiling hot; Miroku also noticed a few singe marks that covered his right sleeve and a large burn mark that covered his right hand.

Miroku: (thinking) The temperature in the area has not changed but all the rain drops are hot and evaporate before they hit the ground, as well as my arm and hand burning when I quickly moved it. Time for an experiment.

Miroku slowly unsheathes his sword and digs out a rock from the ground. He slowly clenches his right fist and gently places the rock on his thumb and flicks the rock up into the air as if he was flipping a coin. Small sparks fly off the rock but stop as it reaches the height of the toss, but the rock quickly burst to flames as it falls back down to the ground.

Miroku: Dammit, it’s just what I thought…friction. His bankai acts like Renee’s… I need to be careful. Maybe I could…

- Sengoku’s Perspective -

The situation was looking bleak as Sengoku felt the energies of his subordinates fading. First was Hiro, who is now dead, shortly followed by the death of Renik. Brigitte wasn’t doing well I her fight either but at least she still had a fighting chance. Cleo on the other hand was the only one that seemed to be doing fine but Sengoku knew that wouldn’t last with so many others out there about to converge on her. Sengoku couldn’t believe that his handpicked unit of fighters was being picked off one after another, but to make things worse, here was his number one subordinate Steven staring him down with a heart full of revenge. Sengoku squinted as a bright purple aura flowed out of Steven’s body as if it was water flowing out a fountain. The look on Steven’s face intensified as the surges of lightning began to fill the cloud up above. Sengoku looked up towards it as rain fell from the clouds hitting his face; each drop felt like fire as a small 2nd degree burn appeared wherever the rain hit his skin. Most people would cry out in pain after feeling the constant burn from this rain but not Sengoku. He knew that the path he carved out for himself was going to be a painful one, but he has worked too hard to let a little rain stop him as he formed a black box above his head to stop the rain from hitting him. He soon averted his attention away from the clouds and stared straight into Steven’s eyes. Was this really the same emotionless man he ran into all those years ago…

FLASHBACK

- In the Rukon District -
Sengoku (who appears to be in his early 40’s) is hastily walking down the streets of the Rukon District. He is being followed by a young Alexander (who appears to be in his late 20’s) and trailing a few feet behind them both is Boa (who appears to be around 13 years old). Boa appears to have been crying for some time now as she continues to wipe the tears from her face. Alexander doesn’t appear to be too happy at the fact that she is following behind them as he has a ticked off look on his face every time he looks back at her. Sengoku sees an open café just a few feet away and decides to relax for a few moments.

Alexander: (a little confused) So why aren’t we hiding?

Sengoku: Hiding? Why would we hide?

Alexander: We just sent Maya and all the South Wing Rising Sun members to wonderland and…

Sengoku: Wonderland!? Heh, you really need to stop reading those books from the World of the Living.

Alexander: What’s wrong with reading books?

Sengoku: Nothing. It’s always good to retreat into a book, but you are one of those people that can never find their way back into reality.

Alexander: Maybe reality is no fun…

Boa: Or maybe you’re just an idiot!

Alexander: (angry) What did you say girl?

Boa: (jumping up in Alexander’s face) I said you’re an idiot.

Alexander: Why you…

Sengoku: Calm down you two. You’re making a scene.

Boa: Sorry dad

Alexander: My apologies sir; you’re not gonna cry are you brat?

Boa: Shut-up. I was only upset because I didn’t get to see Miroku at the orphanage. I didn’t know he joined Soul Society and it was under the recommendation of Squad 11 Captain Isao, that’s incredible… (SNAP) (the edge of the table snaps off as Sengoku’s grip tighten on it) Are you okay dad?

Sengoku: Don’t ever mention that man’s name around me again! Do you understand? DO YOU!?

Boa: (shocked as she stares into Sengoku’s enraged eyes) Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. (thinking) Why did he get so mad after hearing Isao’s name?

Alexander: (leaning over to whisper in Boa’s ear) It’s a long story between your dad and Isao so it’s probably best for you to never mention Isao’s name again… what the…

The sky grew dark as large clouds began to fill the sky. A large tornado sudden sprung up a few hundred feet away from their location. Boa jumped up out of her seat and Alexander tightly gripped his blade as they felt an incredible spiritual pressure coming from the center of the tornado.

Boa: Is that a hollow? Dad?

Boa turns to look at Sengoku but notices that he is gone. She turns back to look at Alexander and sees that he has started walking towards the area of the tornado. Boa quickly runs to catch up with him; they both notice that the tornado has now died down and that Sengoku is somewhere near the other powerful energy.

- In the area of the tornado -
The winds die down and a young teenage boy who is carrying two blades; (both are dark gray in color, but the grain, tempered line and handle of the blades are different. The right blade has a curved tempered line making it look like a round bump design on the blade, the color of the grain is red and the handle is also red and has the letter "W" on both sides of the handle. The left blade has a pointed tempered line making it look like a triangle design on the blade, the color of the grain is blue and the handle is also blue and has the letter "C" on both sides of the handle.) There are around 10 dead bodies on the ground around him and he has the look of disgust on his face as he looks down at the dead bodies.

Steven: Stupid bandits thinking they could just barge in to my house and take what they want. You all deserved to die… (Steven stops and turns around as he hears someone clapping in the distance.)

Sengoku: Bravo young man, I’ve never seen someone of your age having so much spiritual pressure.

Steven: Who are you?

Sengoku: Just an admirer of talent. Join me and I’ll help teach you how to control and truly harness that power.

Steven: Control!? I’ve been using my zanpaktou for years, I don’t need to learn control.

Sengoku: You sure about that?

Sengoku extends his arm out and waves it to his left, Steven looked around and to his horror he sees the wreckage of all the surrounding houses and then notices the dead bodies of random people cut up into pieces.

Steven: What the… but this has never happened before… oh no YARI!

Sengoku: Who?

Steven ran off as fast as he could towards a completely destroyed house. He stopped for a moment as he continued to yell out the name “Yari.” Sengoku slowly walked up behind him as Steven started to dig and pull rubble. Tears flowed down his face and blood dripped from his hands as he continued to dig while yelling out Yari’s name. Sengoku, who is now behind him, gently placed his hand on Steven’s shoulder.

Sengoku: I’m sorry but there’s no one left…

Steven: Shut-up! She has to be alive!

Sengoku: JUST STOP! You think any of these average people could survive a spiritual pressure like yours? I’m sorry to tell you this but whoever it is that you’re looking for is gone. Now you need to get out of here because the 13 Court Guard Squads will be here any minute and arrest you for murder.

Steven: (in shock) Why did this happen? Where will I go?

Sengoku: Come with me boy and we’ll put that power to good use.

Steven is deeply sadden but agrees to go with Sengoku as he grabs his hand, but Steven sees something out of the corner of his eye and sees that it is his family photo of his mom holding Yari and Steven holding his mother’s hand. Steven reaches for the picture but Sengoku feels two large energies moving towards them at an extreme speed.

Sengoku: We need to leave now! (looks back at Alexander and Boa) Let’s get out of here!

Boa and Alexander both vanish as Sengoku pulls Steven’s arm which forces the picture of his family to rip in half with Steven get the piece that has his mom and Yari on it, the other half with Steven on it is sticking out of the rubble but caught under a piece of wood. Sengoku and Steven vanish into the wood as the two strong energies close in on the area Sengoku just left. The two soul reapers crash down at the site, one of them is a very tall and built man while the other is shorter but has an athletic build. The dust clears and reveals the soul reapers to be Squad 11 Captain Isao and the 3rd Seat Miroku (young teen). Isao appears to be furious as Miroku is trying to catch his breath.

Miroku: Why the hell did we have to move so fast? We’ve been training all day man, I’m tired.

Isao: He was here!

Miroku: Who was…

Isao: Keep your guard up Miroku. The enemy could be hiding.

Miroku: No they’re gone. I can easily sense other energies so I know they are nowhere near us. You sure are worked up more than usual, what’s up?

Isao: That energy could only have come from one man. He was a friend of mine back in the academy but then he sudden changed after not getting a Captain’s seat and he soon left after that. I thought I could finally catch him; that’s why I wanted you to move fast.

Miroku: Did he leave by himself?

Isao: Yeah he did.

Miroku: So he’s forming a team now?

Isao: I guess so. I don’t know why he decided to kill all these people out here though.

Miroku: Maybe it’s a warning.

Isao: No if he wanted to give us a warning then he would of killed soul reapers not regular souls. We need to go back and inform Mine about what has happened.

Miroku: Hold on… do you hear that?

A faint cry was coming from the rubble of a destroyed house. Miroku quickly runs over towards the house and starts digging up some of the debris and finds an overturned crib under the debris. Miroku lifts up the crib and finds a little girl who appears to be around 2 years old sitting there crying. Miroku gently picks her up and walks over to Isao.

Isao: (confused) Is that baby alright?

Miroku: Yeah she is but it is weird cause I can’t feel any energy coming off her. It’s like she doesn’t exist.

Isao: That is very unusual but if she is alright then we need to take her to the orphanage and maybe they can find her family.

Miroku: Alright well let’s go… huh? (Miroku looks on the ground and sees a torn picture in the rubble of the house. Miroku picks it up and shows it to Isao.)

Isao: Hmm, give that picture to the orphanage. It might help them find the child’s family. Now let’s hurry!

Isao and Miroku vanish with Yari in Miroku’s arms.

- Back to the present -

Steven charges at Sengoku and begins to rapidly clash his two blades together sending a series of tornados in Sengoku’s direction. Sengoku swiftly dodges the tornados as Steven points his blade at Sengoku and a large jolt of lightning fell from the clouds towards Sengoku. Sengoku quickly stopped and raised his blade as the lightning hit it; Sengoku quickly points his blade at Steven and the lightning fires out of his blade towards Steven but Miroku quickly flash steps in front of Steven and the lightning hits Miroku but gets absorbed into his body.

Steven: What the… you’re not hurt?

Miroku: Elemental attacks can’t hurt me in my Shikai form so I’ll be fine. You’re strong Steven but you can’t beat him by yourself.

Steven: This is personal for me but I have to admit that you might be right and if your Shikai protects you from elemental attacks then it would be best if you stayed in that form.

Miroku: Sounds good on paper but my other shikai abilities aren’t exactly team friendly. My Bankai is the better option but we’ll see how it goes.

Sengoku: So the two of you are going to fight me together? Two on one is a little unfair is it not.

Miroku: Well as the old saying goes, “all is fair in love and war” and this is war so we aren’t cheating.

Sengoku: If that’s how you want to be then I’ll gladly make this six on two then!

Miroku & Steven: What!?

Sengoku: Bankai!

The rings on the top of Sengoku’s blade glow and the staff changes into a black and gold monk’s ring staff above the ring is a nagiata like blade and on the ring hangs the six gold rings from the previous two stages. Also Sengoku immediately enters a meditative coma like state he is sitting in the traditional monk’s meditation pose. Around Sengoku appears 6 different bodies each one is dress similar to Sengoku himself but there are different variations in terms of hair and facial wise. The bodies are named: Dōbutsu represents the animal realm he has long orange hair that goes down to his back it appears to be messy and wild he also has eyes similar to a cat, Jigoku represents Naraka realm he has medium length orange hair that is very spiky similar looking to Ichigo’s hair and kind blue eyes, Ashura represents the Asura realm he has short military style orange hair and steel gray eyes, Deba represents the Deva realm he has bushy orange hair and golden eyes, Hyūman represents the human realm he looks the most like Sengoku except for a long orange beard, and finally Gaki represents the Preta realm and is fat and has an orange Mohawk and green eyes. Steven and Miroku looked concerned as they stare at these six people who appeared out of nowhere. Hyuman walks up in front of the other bodies and speaks.

Hyuman: Now the real fight begins! (extends his arm out towards Steven and Miroku) COME!

TO BE CONTINUED…

Great post. I'm still working on the next post, I have a total of 3 pieces that'll be posted together remaining, and one of those is done.

But I would like to see if people are still around at this point. The posts have been few and far between of late, but we are coming up on the end of the arc, and what's happening thereafter will involve anyone and everyone who is interested, so if people could just post something saying that they're still around, it would be a big help in terms of setting things up at that point.

Yeah im stilll here bro...just havent had anything to post after i finished my last fight

I haven't seen many of the others up here like I used to. Hopefully they will come back but if not we could just post something on the Make a Zanpaktou forum to get new people. Just an idea.

We'll work something out. We can get something in the works as we finish up the arc.

YOU KNOW I AM STILL HERE -thumbs up- no way in hell i'd give this RP up

Im still here. Shits been crazy.

The Setting Sun: Part 6

Neon blue light continued to flicker on the battle field as the lightning flashed in the dark clouds. The feeling was ominous as Miroku and Steven stared into the eyes of these six new opponent’s that stand before them; each one slightly different from the other but all quite similar to Sengoku in appearance. Miroku looked perplexed as he stared past the six bodies towards Sengoku’s, who appeared to be in a meditative state. Miroku looked back towards Steven whose anger seemed to intensify with every passing second. Miroku knew they were at a disadvantage against these guys; they had no idea what either of them could do let alone wither their different appearances meant they had different abilities. Miroku looked over at Steven and sees that he is obviously tense. Steven’s grip on his swords tightened as he stared at Sengoku’s meditative body which was floating a few hundred feet behind the new six bodies. Miroku and Steven take a readied stance as the six bodies all begin to move into what appears to be a formation. Dobutsu and Ashura are both at the front standing side by side; Hyuman is standing a couple feet behind them with Jigoku crouched down behind him. Deba and Gaki are both standing a few yards apart right in front of Sengoku.

Miroku: (looking at their formation) It appears to be a tactical formation. The two up front must be the main attackers while the one behind them must be for surveillance and strategy. The one that’s crouched down is either used for traps or healing purposes while the two near Sengoku must be for defense.

Steven: So all we have to do is throw off the formation and we win, right?

Miroku: Well that’s putting it in simple terms but yeah. You take the front and I’ll try to get to Sengoku.

Steven: As long as it ends with Sengoku dying then that’s fine with me. (Steven places his hand on Miroku’s shoulder and a purple aura wraps around his body.) That aura should protect you from the friction.

Miroku: Thanks, now let’s go!

Steven leaped towards Dobutsu and Ashura striking his two blades together which launched another horizontal tornado in their direction. Ashura stepped in front of Dobutsu and clasped both his hands together. Steven looked surprised as both of Ashura’s hands turned a metallic gray color; suddenly his hands grew and took the form of a large shield which easily took the force of the tornado, blocking the attack. A blur sped past Steven, which he saw out of the corner of his eye. Steven turned to his right and saw Dobutsu, whose arms have both turned into large eagle wings. Dobutsu’s changed his arms again to take the form of two large gorilla arms; Dobutsu clenched his fist and slammed them down on the back of Steven’s head sending him crashing to the ground. Miroku, who has been running towards Sengoku, looked back and saw Steven crash violently onto the ground. Miroku, realizing the situation, hurried as he raised his right hand in the air towards Sengoku’s body.

Miroku: (sigh) "Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky; the road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, and grey fortress tower. Aim far away; scatter brightly and cleanly when fired" - Hadō #91. Senjū Kōten Taihō!!!

Ten large pink points of energy manifest around Miroku’s body. Miroku stops running and points his finger towards Sengoku which makes the pink points of energy all fly towards Sengoku, but Gaki flash steps in front of Sengoku and the pink points of energy all get absorbed into Gaki’s body without doing any damage to him. Miroku looks shocked but prepares for another attack to launch but suddenly feels a heavy pressure on his body as he sees Deba thrust his hand towards him which sends him flying back a few feet. The pressure vanishes and Miroku quickly catches himself but a pink glow fills the area as the kido he just finished launching is now heading towards him. Miroku moves to avoid the brunt of the attack but is still caught in the explosion. The bodies all go back into formation as Steven and Miroku stagger back to their feet.

Steven: (panting) Dammit, these guys are tough.

Miroku: (also panting) Tell me about…no really; tell me about them.

Steven: The one with the long and messy hair can change his arms into random animal parts. I’m not really sure but I wouldn’t be surprised if he can also change the other parts of his body.

Miroku: And the other?

Steven: I’m not sure about his but I know he can turn his body into metal and make a shield for protection, but since he was in the front instead of near Sengoku then I’m betting that he can make weapons too! What about the two near Sengoku?

Miroku: The fat one is able to absorb Kido attacks and then fire them back at the caster. That’s at least what he did to me so he might be able to do more. I’m still confused about the other one but he was somehow able to blast me backwards without even touching me.

Steven: I see. Did the other two do anything?

Miroku: No. The one that’s crouched down hasn’t moved an inch and the one standing up has only been watching us so he’s probably just for analyzing and coordinating attacks. I know we can handle ourselves but we really need to work together to succeed.

Steven: My thoughts exactly. What do you have in mind?

Miroku: This is a long shot but I think we can throw off the other 5 bodies if we take out the one with the beard.

Steven: You mean the guy that’s been analyzing us?

Miroku: Yeah…he seems to be important to their coordination and is also trying to analyze us so he should be the main target.

Steven: Fine by me, what’s the plan?

Miroku: I’ll have to use my shikai abilities so you’ll be at a disadvantage, but if things go like I think they will then you should be fine.

Steven: Okay…so what’s the plan?

Miroku: Just lock-on to the one with the beard and react when you feel the time is right.

Steven: (sighs) Alright, you know they all have the same spiritual pressure so it’s gonna be hard.

Miroku: The ones that move the least are the targets so go for one of them. Ready?

Steven: Yeah!

Miroku starts to run towards Sengoku and the six bodies quickly turn their attention to him. A dense black aura starts to ooze out of Miroku’s body and fills the entire area. Steven stays focused on Hyuman as everything around him is covered in total darkness. Hyuman is looking around to confirm the areas of the other five bodies but quickly switches his focus as Miroku’s body begins to glow pure white. Hyuman mentally informs the other bodies to focus on Miroku as he is heading in the direction of Sengoku’s body. Miroku, who is now running at twice his normal speed thanks to his shikai, leaps towards the position of Sengoku’s body but Miroku feels the same pressure on his body that he felt earlier and is violently forced back away from Sengoku. Miroku hits the ground with tremendous force but springs back up and swings his leg sending a large white energy wave in the direction that he felt the push come from, but he watched as the wave of energy was absorbed the same way his kido spell was absorbed.

Miroku: So that fat guy can absorb more than just kido huh…

Gaki unleashes the energy Miroku’s attack and launches it back at Miroku who thrust his fist forward launching another equally powerful blast of energy to counter act Gaki’s. Both attacks collide causing an explosion of white energy which reveals the locations of everyone in the area. Steven quickly pin points Hyuman, who has only moved a few feet away from his original position. The light fades and it is completely dark once again. Miroku thrust his fist forward again but this time his fist hits nothing and simply disperses after travelling for a good distance. Miroku is perplexed as he expected Gaki to absorb it or to at least be pushed back by Deba, but nothing happened. Miroku quickly called back his abilities and the pure white glow that his body emitted faded away and the darkness receded back into Miroku’s body. Miroku was stunned to see all of Sengoku’s bodies just standing around, but his shock quickly turned into relief when he saw Steven standing over Hyuman’s bloody body.

Steven: Two slashes across his chest was all it took? I thought he would be tougher than that…not that I’m complaining or anything.

Miroku: Great! Now they won’t be as coordinated as before.

Steven looks at Jigoku who is crouched down beside the injured Hyuman. He lifts his sword readying it to strike down at Jigoku but Ashura flash steps behind Steven and his right arm turns into a large blade which he swings down at Steven. Steven quickly dodges the attack and flash steps next to Miroku. They are both surprised as the other 3 bodies join Ashura and surround both Jigoku and Hyuman.

Steven: They’re protecting both of them? Why?

Miroku: Shit! The one that’s crouched down must be a healer instead of a trapper! We need to stop him. BANKAI!

The ground beneath Miroku’s feet cracks apart and a huge blast of energy emits from Miroku’s body. Dust is thrown into the air around him and Miroku is now holding a black meter long katana and is also wearing a black belt that wraps around his waist. The belt is about an inch wide and there is a small sword attached to the left side of the belt by a spinning dial, the handle of the sword faces the front with the blade pointing behind the wielder. This sword is only a foot long and sits perfectly parallel to the belt. The blade of the sword is unique because the tip of it is shaped like an arrow head. Miroku also has 4 bright rings made of platinum on the fingers of his right hand. Each ring has a different symbol on it: a Thunderbolt, a Trident Head, a War Helmet, and a Lyre.

Miroku: Let’s go!

Steven: Hold on!

Miroku: What?

Steven: My blade’s atmosphere is about to change into the Thermoshpere so there will be drastic differences in the temperature of certain areas. Also the light scatters so you might see after images of your opponents.

Miroku: Well damn! Thanks for telling me.

Steven: No prob, now let’s go!

Steven and Miroku both sprinted towards Sengoku’s six bodies, but Ashura’s stretched his arms out towards the two and pointed all his fingers towards them. Suddenly all his fingers turned into arrows which began to rapidly fire out arrow after arrow with a new arrow forming after the previous was fired. Miroku turns his dial blade up and large pillars form in front of Miroku and Steven which blocks all the arrows. Dobutsu charges the pillars and Deba thrust his hand towards Dobutsu’s back sending him flying towards the pillars. Dobutsu’s head quickly changes to that of a rhino’s and he collides with the pillars easily destroying them. Miroku and Steven jump back and cover their faces as rocks from the collision were blasted everywhere. Dobutsu charges towards Miroku as Steven quickly moves towards Jigoku’s location. A large white orb forms in Miroku’s left hand as Dobutsu continues charging and Miroku throws it at Dobutsu who quickly changes his head back to normal and changes his back into that of a turtles which he retreats into. The white orb hits Dobutsu but thanks to his shell he is unharmed. Miroku charges in to strike but Dobutsu changes again and now turned his legs into that of a cheetah’s and easily dodges Miroku’s downward swing. Dobutsu flash steps away and Miroku follows with a flash step of his own. Steven was getting closer and closer to Jigoku and Hyuman but Deba quickly steps in-between them and extends his hand out and quickly pulls it back; Steven suddenly feels a tug on his body and is then pulled in at a moderate speed towards Deba. Ashura jumps in front of Deba and turns his arms into two large 3 foot blades which he extends out so that they will pierce right through Steven’s body. Steven throws his red blade towards at Ashura which causes it to spin as it heads towards Ashura. Ashura strikes the sword down which causes a huge bolt of lightning to rain down on him electrocuting and stunning him. Deba thrust his right hand towards Steven and the ground begins to rip apart as the force of Deba’s repel pushes the very ground under him. Ashura is caught in Deba’s repel due to his paralysis and Steven’s red sword is also caught in the force as well. Steven drives his blue sword into the ground to stop from flying back and quickly grabs his red sword as it almost flies by him. Ashura , who is still paralyzed, is next to reach Steven and he fiercely jabs his red sword into Ashura’s gut and pulls his blue blade out of the ground which causes him to be pushed back along with Ashura. Steven kicks up of the ground with his right foot as his red sword is still imbedded in Ashura’s gut which makes Ashura spin to the point that his back is now facing the ground and Steven is now above him. Steven quickly pulls his red sword out of Ashura and swings his blue sword across Ashura’s gut cutting him in half. Steven then kicks Ashura’s two halves away from him and drives both his blades into the ground to fight against the force coming from Deba. But Miroku suddenly appears behind Deba with his sword held high above his head ready to strike but Deba is unwavering and thrust his left hand towards Miroku but is stunned when he sees that Miroku is unaffected by the force of his repel. A bright white light appears to the right of Deba’s face and he is stunned to see Miroku, with a white energy orb in his hand, about to slam it into his face. Concern appears on Deba’s face but Gaki flash steps next to Deba and catches Miroku’s orb in his hand, easily absorbing the energy of Miroku’s orb. Gaki opens his mouth and unleashes the energy of Miroku’s orb which blasts Miroku back sending him crashing onto the ground. Dobutsu flash steps next to Miroku, as he tries to get up, and changes his legs to that of a horse and kicks Miroku in his chest collapsing his left lung and forcing him to cough up some blood. Miroku staggers to his feet as Dobutsu charges in at him once again with the head of a rhino. Miroku quickly turned his dial blade down and the ground in front of him split open and two large black hands rose up from the trench and grabbed Dobutsu. Dobutsu struggled to get free as the hand started to sink back into the ground but he was unable to as he faded into the darkness of the trench. The trench slammed shut with Dobutsu in them leaving only 4 of the bodies left. Miroku lefts his right hand up to his face and the ring with the war helmet symbol vanishes and black flames begin to pour out of Miroku’s body. Steven is running up towards Deba and Gaki as they both look towards Miroku and his flames. Deba looks back at Steven and prepares another repel but Steven slams his blades together and sends a huge tornado at Deba. Gaki quickly moves in front of the tornado and slowly absorbs the entire thing. As Gaki attepts to release the energy, Miroku flash steps above Gaki and places one hand on the top of Gaki’s head and the other on the bottom of Gaki’s jaw clamping his mouth shut. Gaki moves around violently as he tries to unleash the energy from Steven’s tornado but Miroku’s grip is rock solid and he is not letting go. The flames from Miroku’s body are building up around them both and Gaki’s body continues to absorb the energy from Miroku. Gaki is slowly growing in size as his body is quickly becoming unstable from all the energy. After a few seconds of wrestling, Gaki’s body has began to glow in a bright reddish color and white cracks are starting to appear on his belly. Deba moves in to repel Miroku from Gaki but Steven flash steps beside him and tackles Deba down to the ground. Flames burst out of the cracks in Gaki’s body followed the complete destruction of his body as he explodes in a fiery eruption that rocks the entire fortress. Deba repels Steven off of him and Steven lands a few feet away from Miroku. Both of them brace themselves as they await Deba next move but are shock as blood begins to pour out of Deba’s mouth. Steven looks at both Hyuman and Jigoku and realizes that they are also bleeding from their mouths. Both Miroku and Steven look over at Sengoku’s body and see a small katana pierced through his chest and blood running down his mouth. Sengoku’s eyes have opened and he swiftly reaches back behind him and grabs something on his back.

Steven: (shocked) Yari!

Miroku: Why does she never listen to anyone?

Steven sprints over to Sengoku and Yari’s position but Miroku looks at Sengoku’s 3 remaining bodies and realizes that none of them are moving. The flames from Miroku’s body quickly wrap around the 3 remaining bodies and turn them into ashes. But a dark purple aura begins to form around Sengoku’s body, the aura starts to slowly spread and fill the entire area around them. Yari, who is being held tightly by Sengoku, starts to scream as her energy is slowly being drained out of her body.

Yari: AHHHH!

Steven: YARI!

Sengoku: Yari? That was the name that you were yelling out when you joined me. Don’t tell me this child is that baby from back then. Heh, it all makes sense now. You left me for her. What a great brother you are.

Steven: Let Yari go!

Sengoku: Let her go? You think I would miss the chance to kill off both of Mayas kids at once. I’m not stupid Steven. I don’t know what it is about your genetics but your bloodline has created some potent fighters. I can’t just let her go knowing that one day she could surpass even me. For god’s sake she actually suppressed her energy and cut me without anyone detecting her. Do you realize the potential she has? If she didn’t know the true about me killing her mother then I would of taking her over you.

Yari: Damn you…if my energy wasn’t almost gone…I would kill you.

Sengoku: AHAHAHA! A tenacious little one aren’t you.

Steven: I said to let her go!

Sengoku: Oh calm down Steven! I’ll make sure that the both of you will have an eternity to get to spend time together…

Yari: In hell.

Sengoku: What was that?

Yari: You were gonna say “in hell” right? I’ve read enough books with villains in it to know that was how you would finish the sentence.

Sengoku: What an amusing child you are. It’s a shame that I have to kill you…

I large white orb strikes Sengoku and he sudden shock causes him to drop Yari but Steven catches her after flash stepping to the spot of her fall. Sengoku is barely damaged as the energy from Miroku’s attack was absorbed into Segoku’s aura.

Sengoku: Oh thank you Miroku! That blast combined with Yari’s power and the energy from your flames has given me more than enough power to attain my final form.

Sengoku holds his ring staff up and begins to absorb the dark purple aura in the ring of his staff. The entire area is completely cleared of all the aura and the rings of his staff suddenly explode. A large mist that formed as a result of the explosion falls and hides Sengoku in the large smoke cloud; the smoke clears and Sengoku’s form has change dramatically after absorbing the energy taken by the aura. Now his size has doubled and his arms are very muscular; the once slim figure he had has been replaced with a large gut which now makes him resembles an actual Buddha statue. The rings of his staff are now around Sengoku wrist and for some odd reason Sengoku is now ominously shadowed in this new form. Sengoku stared menacingly at Yari.

Sengoku: I think I’ll start off with you little girl.

Sengoku cocked his fist back and swing down as hard as he could towards a weakened Yari. Sengoku’s attack is only inches away when at the last second Steven pushes Yari away and takes the blow on his back while in a completely defenseless position. Yari rolls a bit due to the force of Steven’s push but she stops herself and quickly looks back at he brother.

Yari: STEVEN!

Miroku: Dammit.

Yari quickly runs over to Steven to see if he is okay. Sengoku cocks back once again to launch another attack to kill both Yari and Steven at the same time.

Miroku: FLASH CRY!

Miroku’s entire hoodie explodes off his body as what appears to be white lightning surges from his back. His eyes glow pure white and he leaps towards Sengoku with a tremendous amount of force, so much that it causes the ground under his feet to crumble apart with every step. Miroku kicks Sengoku’s hand away just before he is able to connect a second hit onto Steven’s body. Miroku then claps his hands and launches an incredible shockwave the knocks Sengoku back a few feet. Miroku and Sengoku stare each other down.

Sengoku: Ah, the great Miroku. The boy everyone has been trying to keep me away from. I really wanted you alive, but that doesn’t even matter to me now. I wonder how strong you are without your blades abilities.

Miroku: Oh so that was your doing. I wondered why my blade and I was having so much trouble connecting all of a sudden, but that’s what I have Flash Cry for. I’ll end this quickly.

Sengoku: Oh will you now?

Miroku and Sengoku both cock back their fist and thrust them towards each other causing shockwave after shockwave. Yari, who is kneeling beside Steven’s battered body, could care less about the ongoing fight taking place just a few yards away as she realizes that the brother she has just found is slowly fading away.

Steven: (in a soft whispering voice) Yari.

Yari: (very attentive) What is it?

Steven: I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to take care of you like I should have been. I honestly thought you died back then. I would have never left you if I thought you were alive.

Yari: (crying) I know you wouldn’t.

Steven: I wish I could tell you that after all this…me and you would go to a nice beach and then a fun amusement park, but I have to be honest…I’m not gonna make it. (Yari’s tears thicken)

Yari: (jumps on top of Steven and hugs him) Please don’t die! You’re all I got.

Steven: Don’t be silly Yari. You still have Miroku and his friends and I know you will make more friends down the road. But always remember that I always loved you and I always will. Even in death. Be safe Yari…

Yari: Steven…Steven…STEVEN! AHHHHH! I SWEAR I’LL AVENGE YOU! BAN KAI!

Yari’s blade shines in a bright white light and suddenly disappears. With the light now gone, it reveals that Yari’s blade handle has thickened, resembling a light saber from Star Wars, and has VCR buttons going down the side of the handle. List of buttons: Play, Stop, Rewind, Flash Forward, Eject, Pause and a red Record button. Instead of a blade being at the end of the handle, there is a video camera lens that records the surrounding area.

Yari: My blade responded to me!

Sengoku: (Noticing Yari’s new found power) How could she activate bankai with my negating ability still in affect?

???: That would be my doing!

A rapid fire of cero-like lightning bolts hit Sengoku in his chest causing him to stagger back a bit. A big smile appears on Miroku’s face as he knows all too well whose attack that was.

Miroku: About time.

Crow: Sorry I’m late, but you don’t have to worry about his negating abilities now since my Ambición Resuenan counter acts it, so your connection with your blades is back.

Yari: He’s right, I can feel the power from Sunappu Tama.

???: (a voice appears in Yari’s head) You mean Riariti Edita. My name changes when I go into Bankai.

Yari: Riariti Edita…thank you for helping me!

Rairiti: No problem we are partners after all.

Yari: I want to help them win. Please tell me you have an ability I can use!

Rairiti: I don’t know how much this will help. But I do have an ability that allows you to absorb any form of energy and then relaunch it at twice the original power. Just press the “record” button to absorb the attack and then the “eject” button to launch it at whatever you want.

Yari: How am I supposed to use that in this situation?

Rairiti: You’ll figure something out.

Crow continues to hold Sengoku back as he fires shot after shot at him. Miroku flash steps next to Yari to see if she’s alright.

Miroku: Are you okay?

Yari: Yeah.

Miroku: And Steven?

Yari: He’s gone.

Miroku: I’m sorry Yari.

Yari: It’s okay. I know he loved me but he also wanted me to live on so we have to win.

Miroku: Don’t worry, Crow and I will handle it.

Yari: But I can help though…I’m just not sure how. My bankai said it can absorb any type of energy and relaunch it at twice the power.

Miroku: Twice the power and any energy. I have an idea. I’m not sure how you absorb energy but be ready. Crow!

Crow: What?

Miroku: Keep shooting at his chest.

Crow: Not a problem.

Miroku: Yari, you’re gonna absorb me!

Yari: WHAT!?

Miroku: It sounds crazy, but it will work.

Miroku holds his right hand to his face and the ring with the thunderbolt on it, vanishes which turns Miroku’s entire body into a human-sized self-sustaining electrical current.

Miroku: You ready?

Yari: Yeah!

Miroku flies at full speed towards Yari as she hits the record button on her blade which results in Miroku’s entire body being completely absorbed by Yari’s blade. Yari quickly points her handle at the spot where Crow has been hitting Sengoku with his rapid fire lightning shots. Yari hits the eject button which fires Miroku’s body with so much force that it knock Yari to the ground. As Miroku gets closer to Sengoku, his body begins to absorb the electrical energy from Crow’s lightning shots which gives him even more power. Sengoku places his hands in front of him in an attempt to block the attack but Miroku spins to and more power to the attack. Miroku hits Sengoku’s hands and the force of the blow easily rips through both of Sengoku’s palms and eventually rips through Sengoku’s chest. Sengoku coughs up a large amount of blood as Miroku lands on the ground behind Sengoku causing a huge crater in the ground. Miroku summons the final 10 of his white orbs and combines them together creating an enormous orb of energy which he launches right at the hole he created in Sengoku’s chest. The orb hits and a bright flash of white light fills the room followed by the complete destruction of Sengoku’s room. Yrai watches as Sengoku screams in agony as his body slowly disintegrates into ashes. Suddenly Yari gets scooped up by Crow and he flash steps away from the room they were in. Yrai looks back at the room and sees Miroku holding Steven’s lifeless body over his shoulders. Both Crow and Miroku continue moving away from the building until they reach Kuesu who was waiting outside for all of them. Miroku softly lays Steven’s body on the ground and Yari runs over to him as soon as Crow sits her down. They all look back at Sengoku’s castle as it starts to crumble away.

To be continued…

Sorry it took so long for this post to go up. I've been travelling a lot this summer and my work schedule has been a bit sporadic. But I finally got it done.

wow its been so long sense ive been on fallout my deepest apologies guys work has been taking alot of my time i am sorry ill think of something at least if i cant ill wait till the time skip?has that happend yet?um if eny of u could use my chrecters in ur storys if u want ill try to shake the rust off my post and get one goin

The time skip hasn't happened yet. We've got something that's going to happen when this arc is over that you'll want to get involved in (we're not far from the end).

Alright, now that that post has been made, I can do mine. There's just one post left for me in this arc, and I hope you guys enjoy this one (been working on it for a while).


Blood seeped underneath the box as it collapsed on itself. As a slumped Brigitte came into view, her arm with bared blade in hand darted out, slashing off the remaining arm on Renee’s left side. Renee barely had time to move away as she lunged backward, though as the remains of that arm dissipated, a fountain of blood began pouring from the reopened wound there. Renee staggered heavily, falling backward in a heap. She was paling visibly, blood loss fogging her brain and slowing her movements. Her one remaining foreign arm pushed against the ground, attempting to right her beaten body by itself, but the rest of her body refused to cooperate. It kept landing back on top of it, shortening its range of movement.

Brigitte only just started to move towards her, lurching this way and that as she moved. The wounds across her body were many, her torso a mess of red so thick that all presence of clothing. Most of the remainder of her body was dyed in narrow streams of scarlet. Both eyes kept their gaze on Renee, glaring out of dead sockets. She seemed barely alive, but the determination, the anger, they were still there.

Brigitte: I…told…you…*huff**huff* DIDN’T I!?

Each step made her question how she could keep moving forward. The pain was excruciating. The only thing keeping her putting one foot in front of the other was that presence she kept in the back of her mind. Sengoku was always there, and he always would be!

Brigitte slashed with her sword, lopping off the final additional arm. The world around Renee was fading, the damage from the injury not even registering through the numbness that now pervaded her body. She could no more move than will the ground to swallow her opponent whole. Brigitte brandished her blade in a shaky arm, voice wavering as she spoke.

Brigitte: This is the end for you, the end for those that would defy him! I’ll make his wish a rea-

A flash of shock crossed Brigitte’s face. Renee had felt several tremendous energies disappear not long before, but it was only that look that let her know who it belonged to. A surge of relief and pleasure ran through her and a smile crept onto her face, though she still couldn’t move.

Meanwhile, Brigitte, who felt that she should be a hurricane of emotions, felt empty. It was similar to the emptiness she felt after being told Oasis had died; all of the emotions that had filled her mere moments ago fell away. Suddenly, the fight seemed absurd. Her anger, her determination, they all were worthless now. She took one look at the helpless Renee, still on the ground before her, and turned and started walking away.

Renee: *cough**cough* It’s over.

Brigitte didn’t look back again, nor did she stop hobbling a good distance away. Tears ran down her face in a continuous, thin stream, but her eyes seemed hollow and empty. She opened the garganta, and stood there a moment before responding.

Brigitte: You’ve taken everything from me, and in the process, you have deprived yourselves of the future Sengoku promised. Soul Society will be the ones to suffer under that mistake…all of you will suffer for this. My suffering will end soon enough, I’m sure – yours is just beginning.

As garganta closed, and enveloped Renee’s world. Her last thoughts as she lost consciousness were of Isao.



Rey stood a good distance away, waiting for some his regeneration to take effect. He couldn’t keep moving that quickly on his bad leg, and he needed to give it some time. He wasn’t happen about it, though. They had made a fool of him, and he was outraged. How dare they do this much damage to him?

It didn’t matter, though, the fight was his to lose at this point. These allies of Isao would eventually be defeated, just as easily as he would, though it was disconcerting that one was now fighting with only half a face. Still, none of them were a real threat. Even that tiny Captain Commander could do little to harm him – her speed was of no consequence if she couldn’t do enough damage.

Still, this was problematic. These ants were not to be underestimated. Their abilities hadn’t done much harm on their own, but they were organized, and that by itself was dangerous.

He glanced over at the group gathered together on a far dune. Isao was making weapons for 2 of them, and they appeared to be arguing with him over it. He would show them that this fight was still his to lose.


Mine: This blade is too light.

Isao: … “This blade” was wielded by an insanely strong berserker with both hands!

Mine: The weight is distributed oddly, and it’s too long.

Isao: *sigh* some people can’t be satisfied.

Kaori: It’s not big enough.

Isao: Damnit, you too!?

Kaori: Look, it barely covers my chest! And even then, it’s not thick enough to block-

Isao: It’s the best I’ve got! You both will just have to deal with it!

Kaori and Mine exchanged chagrined gazes, but stopped arguing. Isao was impatient with them, but thankful for the time. He needed to gather a bit of his strength if he was going to make this work. The other 4 gathered around them, keeping an eye on Rey in the distance.

Isao: You sure none of you want something to fight with?

Oasis: I can create whatever I need with this ability.

Ayumi: The gravity around me is too intense for me to wield one effectively.

Moriko: When have I ever needed a weapon?

Hideaki: Not worth my time.

Isao: And you’re all clear on the plan?

Mine: You mean clear on the fact that Kaori, Moriko and I have to do almost all of the work? Yeah, I think we get it.

Oasis and Ayumi scowled at her. They both had important jobs to do, but they would have to wait on them.

Rey started to stir in the distance. The gate opened behind him, though he was too far away for them to tell what came out or went in. A black, electric aura surrounded him as he drew upon all of his remaining power to make a more fearsome presence.

Isao: Looks like our time has run out. Go, now!

Oasis disappeared into the air around them in a golden flurry. Hideaki turned himself to liquid, slipping between the grains of sand and out of sight. Ayumi unleashed the force of her gravity straight down, pushing the sand beneath her out of the way till she too vanished from sight. Kaori, Mine and Moriko lunged out towards their target, who appeared all too eager to face them. Isao sat on the ground beneath him, continuing to gather energy and strength back into himself. The sun overhead seemed to be shining brighter despite its small size, as though anticipating the apex of the fight. It would have to be enough.


Rey wasn’t concerned as the three of them surrounded him. The hefty shield he was holding would be enough – it made that pitiful one wielded by the large black figure in front of him look ridiculously small. However, Rey wasn’t concerned with him. The two women near him launched themselves at him, Mine dragging her sword in one hand across the ground. The edges of the shield turned to spikes, extending out in both directions at his attackers. Both of them dodged each of the spikes, getting closer to him as they went. Rey suddenly smiled, using his other ability to rush forward with tremendous speed at Kaori. The spikes around them pushed Mine and Moriko along with it, each of them surprised by the sudden change in strategy. Kaori braced himself for impact, taking the full brunt of the strike, but being forced back dozens of meters. The shield he wielded cracked as he strained. Rey’s smile widened as he sent tremendous amounts of black voltage through the shield, electrocuting and partially paralyzing Moriko and Kaori who couldn’t get away. Mine’s response was instantaneous, cutting through the spikes around her and rushing around to Rey’s back. Rey slammed his fist down, bringing up a tremendous number of glass spikes to block her path. The spikes slammed into Kaori and Moriko, riddling each of them with tremendous holes. Kaori gritted his teeth, but held his ground. Moriko screamed, her fingers coming alight with beams of fire that cut through all of the spikes around her and grazed across the shield. Rey returned his shield to normal and turned to ram it in her direction, only to feel the ground fall out from under him as icy sand cracked beneath his feet, sending him tumbling towards her. He barely had time to look back and see Mine crouched on the sand nearby before taking a savage kick to the neck from Moriko, sending him sprawling with singed flesh back towards Mine. Mine quickly slammed the tip of her blade down into the sand, doing a hand stand on top of the hilt. Huge, icy cuts appeared on the front of his body going from each of his shoulders going down his sides, only a quick twist of his body saving his arms from being cut off. He managed to turn his body around, slamming the bottom of his shield down into the sand to bring himself to a stop, noticing too late that Kaori’s fist was mere inches from the side of his head. He barely managed to snag his shield out from the sand as he was sent crashing down the side of the dune, coming to a stop near the bottom. Black ribbons covered the side of his face, but he ignored them as he created innumerable thick glass pillars around him. Almost all of them quickly fell as a rain of attacks collided with them.

Mine: What’s wrong, Rey? There’s only three of us, and yet you’re having this much trouble?

Mine stood at the head of the trio, looking down on him, blade hefted by one arm. She was the least injured of the group, and still presented the most danger. Still, this would be over soon enough. He tore the black ribbons of his face, tossing them in her direction as they dispersed.

Rey: Whoever said I was in trouble?

Moriko: Did we hit you too hard or something? You’re not exactly in a good position.

Rey smirked: On the contrary…

Large white slabs of stone rose out of the sand around each of them. Before they could respond, they surrounded them in thick white cages made of the same material as the dome of Hueco Mundo, and just as thick. Rey had remembered that a large number of the pieces were sent flying over here by the explosion that Mayuri had engineered all of those years ago, and now, he could control them.

Rey launched himself towards Isao. All he had to do was end the Captain Commander once and for all, and they should all disappear. He was only a few meters away from him now. The three cages he’d created would soon disappeared, the first cracking under the strain of extreme frost, the second melting to the ground, and the third crumbling as black ribbons sapped it of its strength. All for nought. This would be over soon…

He had no warning to prepare him. A hand reached out from the sand beneath him, and all of the sand beneath him, sand he hadn’t realized was compacted by intense gravity, and his movement slowed to a crawl. Golden chains appeared all around him as if by magic as the yellow figure of Oasis flashed back and forth across him, each feeling as though its weight was 1000 times more than normal. A sheath of golden metal slowly covered his flesh, increasing his weight even more intensely. A mere foot away from his target, and he couldn’t move.

Isao: I knew you would target me.

Isao stood, looking at him square in the eyes. Moriko and Mine appeared at his sides, Kaori appearing behind Rey and grasping him in a full nelson and stopping any chance at an out. Oasis watched from a distance.

Isao: You alright down there, Ayumi?

The sand around her head parted to reveal the old woman. She merely frowned at Isao.

Isao: …I’ll take that as a “yes.”

Rey snarled: You can’t kill me with the little power you have left!

Isao: In your own words: on the contrary…

The metal of Hideaki’s body moved away from Rey’s chest. Mine dropped her blade. She placed both hands at her side, charging forward at Rey and slamming both at his chest. He could feel the ice spread through him, covering a large portion of his torso. Moriko ran forward as well, making a violent double kick at the same area. He could feel the skin crack under the pressure and sudden heat. Only then did he realize what was happening.

Isao walked forward slowly, cracking his wrists. He looked up at the sun fragment up above them, talking as he went.

Isao: It seems fitting that this sun should set on both of our lives, Rey (he set his gaze on Rey). Let’s bring an end to this.

He thrust both hands forward, and as the pistons pushed forward, a tremendous shockwave slammed into Rey’s chest. The already heavily damaged and weakened tissue gave way to the tremendous pressure, flinging blood, bone and tissue out behind Rey, and forming a massive hole in his chest. He coughed up tremendous amounts of blood as the chains disappeared from him, Hideaki sloughed off of him, and Ayumi’s hand fell from his leg. Rey staggered back, falling to his knees. Sparks fell in a massive wave from the sky as Hueco Mundo was plunged back into darkness, stars casting the only light upon the sands.

Isao: Your reign is finished, Rey. You will-

Rey had started to chuckle. With his body in tatters, every laugh brought pain, yet he continued anyway. He stood from the ground, his body groaning against it.

Mine: This is pointless. You can make any kind of show you want, but it will do you no good. No hollow can regenerate from that.

Blood had started pouring from Rey’s ears. He had heard only the last sentence of what she had said, and his vision was fading fast. He could feel darkness and death closing in on him.

Rey: *hack**cough* But…I’m not all hollow…

A black cloak started to form around him, covering the wound. A hood covered his head, and the spear in his hand extended and became a long scythe. Everyone was shocked into silence, but Isao quickly broke it.

Isao: You can’t! You’ll lose yourself if you do this, what point is there in that?

Rey spoke, but the voice seemed to waver, as though it was 2 separate people speaking interspersed words of the same sentence.

Rey: You said it yourself, Isao: all I’ve ever cared about is my pride. I won’t…no, I CAN’T lose in battle, and I will do whatever it takes to win, even if I must lose myself.

Isao: What victory is there in that!?

Rey: The only one that matters…

Isao could only watch as the energy around him changed, turning somehow darker and more sinister. The eyes within the cloak turned an inhuman deep red, glowing through the shadow. The wounds along his body became sheathed in darkness as well, mending themselves in a blanket of blackness.

???: Well, well, it was about time. I suppose I should be thanking you all for bringing him to this point. His personality would not let me in unless he was forced to.

Mine growled: Now that you’re in control, what will you do?

???: I don’t speak to those who are already gone from this world.

Mine snarled at him, barely restraining herself from lunging at him.

Isao took the hint: You have a purpose in taking control. What is it, Death?

Though they could see no facial expressions, all of them could feel the smile on his face. It was dramatically unsettling, as though it sucked any latent joy from them.

Death: I will bring an end to you Soul Reapers once and for all.

All of them stood shocked by that statement. Each of the people around him shouted threats at Death, though none was acknowledged. Isao gritted his teeth before responding.

Isao: Why? What do you have against us? Is it because we imprisoned you?

Death: ….And here I thought you were the Captain Commander. Do you know nothing of me? I do not seek revenge – it is an empty emotion, one that leaves nothing behind. The fact that Yamamoto imprisoned me all those years ago is of no concern to me anymore.

He paused a moment, lifting the scythe till the blade was directly in front of his eyes. His other hand ran its fingers down the sharp edge of the blade, blood pouring down his hands.

Death: No. I will bring an end to you because you have mistaken yourselves for the masters of my domain, expanded your purpose beyond your bounds, and defiled the Hollows.

Everyone gagged at that last one. Defiled the Hollows? Was he mad?

Isao: We have defiled nothing! The Hollows sought out nothing but destruction! And we have dealt with death fairly in your absence, is that such a harm?

Death’s eyes narrowed. When he spoke again, his voice sounded like a blade itself.

Death: None of you know… How sad. Yamamoto imprisoned me because the Soul Reapers had made it quite clear what their intentions were. You sought complete control over the human and spirit worlds, and to disallow the natural transition many souls made to Hueco Mundo. The battles between Hollows and Soul Reapers were the result of your own desires to gain complete control of the transition of life, when I had set the system in stone. You fought against my structure. Hollows were supposed to be the final iteration! They found lost souls that Soul Society had given up searching for and sent them to rest! I never cared where those souls went – Hueco Mundo was merely a different end than Soul Society. You were the ones who set them out to be diametrically opposed, hunting hollows who found these lost souls!

All of this confounded Isao. He couldn’t understand what he was hearing. The Hollows weren’t supposed to fight Soul Reapers? He had always been taught that Soul Reapers were the only arbiters of death, that they and they alone shepherded souls into the next world, and that Hollows debased that process, corrupting souls that had not yet passed on. This couldn’t be true.

Death: I never thought you would fight the very creatures meant to replace you, so much so that they have practically gone to extinction!

Isao found his voice: Re-replace us!? Those creatures!? They eat their own, convert souls to attack human beings and kill Soul Reapers! And you wanted them to replace us!?

Death sighed: You don’t understand, do you? They’re above you. Soul Reapers were meant to fade away because…you were supposed to become hollows.

No one could speak. Those words sat like a blanket over their minds. Even when Isao found his voice, he could say little.

Isao: What…

Death spoke in response to the unfinished question: Evolution. Hollows were supposed to be the natural evolution of Soul Reapers. The only ones of you who ever fully realized that were Urahara Kisuke and Aizen Sousuke, but the former chose to suppress it, and the latter was stopped before he could prove it to the world. Both were treated as little more than raving maniacs for their views, but both were correct. I intend to ensure that evolution takes its course – by annihilating Soul Reapers and allowing Hollows to flourish!

Isao: We won’t allow it! You’re talking about wiping out innumerable lives and putting everyone at risk to Hollows!

Death: Oh come now. The Soul Reapers will have their chance to become Hollows themselves, and when the Hollows are unthreatened by your kind, they will become less violent. It will be just as I planned it: a new, more effective way to deal with death. It will ensure proper balance is restored, and bring an end to these repetitive and useless conflicts.

Isao: We’ll stop you!

Death: It’s too late for you to stop me. It was always too late.

Death pointed with a bloody finger at Isao’s legs. He looked down, only to see that most of his legs were nothing but ash in the form of his body. His lower torso was slowly changing to the same. He fell to his knees, feeling a sudden and extreme weakness in all of his limbs. Everyone gathered around him, trying to support him, but he urged them away.

Death: Don’t worry, their end will be swift. It will be the start of a new era!

Isao was breathing heavily. He was having trouble getting air into his lungs. His world started to blur.

Isao: You think you know what’s best? *huff* You never cared about desires or destiny! *huff* All you’ve ever known is the shadows you live in, the fates you instill!

Death: What need is there for me to care about them?

Isao: *huff* That is the only thing that lives beyond death.

Death guffawed: This is how you’ll go to your grave? Spouting absurdities like this? How pitiful!

Isao smiled: *huff* Better that… *huff* then to live forever… *huff* with nothing to believe in…

Death harrumphed as the last words eddied out of Isao’s mouth. The 6 forms around him quickly dissipated into nothingness, snuffing out the last remnants of the lives that he had held onto. He turned away, feeling across the expanse of sand for the Senkai Gate that would get him to Soul Society. It was his moment, the opportunity he had been waiting more than a millennia for – to bring order to this world, once and for all.

To be continued...

Well that was quite a plot twist! Great post!

Thanks! Enjoyed yours as well, always interesting to see the end of such a central character, and the fight was amazing!

Thanks man.

I posted a description of a character i added to the forum. Tell me what you think.

So here is my final post for the arc, I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Onix, I'll review your blade and send you an email with the details tomorrow.

Titus ripped off his bandages in huge swaths, grimacing as each of his wounds reopened – he had endured this pain before, he would have to do so again. They had done a thorough job stitching him up, but their efforts would have to be in vain. It would be his only chance at survival, small though it was.

He was walking towards the high power level just a block away. He could tell that it was a captain, though he was unsure which. He had been there for quite a while, his reiatsu surging at regular intervals. Titus was sure that would be where it was.

He walked into a small room, taken up almost entirely by the large white doors of the Senkai gate. Nabimaru’s solid figure stood directly in front of it, the remains of a couple of hollow disappearing around him. He had barely even broken a sweat in his defense of the gate.

Nabimaru looked around as Titus stepped into the room, sparing him only a glance as he braced himself against another possible onslaught.

Nabimaru: I don’t need help here, especially not from someone with injuries like yours. Leave, go with the others to the human world with the rest.

Titus: I can’t do that, captain. My duty is here as well.

Nabimaru smiled: A man of duty, eh? I’m surprised you weren’t put in my sq-!

With his focus on the gate, Nabimaru hadn’t noticed Titus moving up behind him and slamming him in the back of the head with his unreleased weapon. He fell in a heap.

Titus: I’m sorry, Captain Nabimaru, but I may be able to bring an end to all of this, and I can’t have you getting in my way.

Titus looked into the blinding white light of the gate, hefting the cloth-wrapped package in his hand. He still didn’t know what purpose it would serve – hell, he didn’t even know how it was still here, none of it made any sense. Its wielder had died not once but twice, and yet here it was. It didn’t make sense that he was standing here on the whims of a dying Fate. It didn’t make sense that he was risking his life to do something he didn’t even know with no certainty of success. But then, his life had never made sense.

He activated his bankai, the blood flowing from his wounds turning to heavy red gems that quickly covered his body. He gripped what remained of Chiyo’s blade hard in his hand, only sparing a bit of sorrow for the fact that he could no longer feel Isao through the gate.


As Death rushed towards the glowing gate in the distance, he mused over what to call himself. The idea of becoming the “Grim Reaper” again felt like homage to the very people he was now aiming to snuff out once and for all. He would have to give it some thought.

Still several meters away, he brought himself to a stop. His eyes narrowed as he watched a Soul Reaper step out from the gate, hand wrapped tightly around a piece of cloth with something hard inside.

Death: Have you come to meet your fate?

Titus: You look a bit like Rey, but you don’t sound like him. It doesn’t matter, I can’t feel his energy out here.

Death looked at him quizzically. Whoever this was, his energy was not consequential.

Titus: As for fate, yes, I suppose I have come to meet it. It looks like you’ve come to meet yours as well.

Death let out a harsh cackle. Titus shivered visibly; he really was weak. Who was this fool to stand in front of him, to tell him of fate? Fate was his domain!

The fool didn’t even have the capacity to respond as Death appeared in front of him, blade going through the cloth package and into his heart, slicing through the gems on his chest with only limited effort. Shock painted Titus’s face as he removed the scythe, pulling it free of the wound-

The world around them both wavered. Everything became blurry in an instant, the sky mixing with the sand around them and turning their worlds grey. Death’s expression didn’t change, but he was completely perplexed by what was going on around him. The world was morphing into something else…something…

Titus dropped to the ground, falling without catching himself as the blood gems all over his body dropped off and turned back to blood, his weapon returning to its normal state and beginning to disintegrate. The bundle he carried in his hand unfurled, and out slipped what was little more than a tattered and damaged hilt, with only a small amount of the metal blade attached to the end…

The world around them began to form into solid pieces – a white floor with pillars cut off cleanly above 7 feet. No ceiling covered them, and the floor itself expanded only 20 feet in all directions, the tile that made it up warped and contorted. The sky around them was a light grey, lit by some unknown and unseen light source, as though they were in the middle of a dense fog.

All too late, Death realized where he was. He had never actually been inside of one of these worlds before, never sought to utilize a zanpakuto like a Soul Reaper. His strike must have somehow created a connection between them and the world inside this blade.

He quickly scanned around, looking for an exit. He would find a way out of here and begin on to his assault of Soul Society.

Titus: Looks like this is the end for both of us. When this place collapses, it will take both of us with it.

He spoke weakly, the life draining quickly from him in a pool of crimson that eddied out of his chest. It was apparent that he couldn’t move.

Death scoffed: A foolish thing to say. I will find a way out of here.

???: There is no way out.

Death whirled around, scythe pointed at the source of the voice. Before him stood the shimmering image of a woman in red armor that covered all but her upper arms and head. She had long, blonde hair that extended below her shoulders, black eyes with yellow pupils, and held an imperious gaze.

Death: Don’t fuck with me. I know these words well enough to know that there’s always a way out.

???: You know nothing. Your attack destroyed the exit, removing the last impediment this blade had to disappearing once and for all.

Death snarled: You think this place can hold me? You’re nothing but a foolish spirit who hasn’t realized that she’s already dead.

???: And you proclaim to understand fate? I am not the spirit of this blade. I’m Atropos, one of the true masters of fate. Your power is worthless against the tapestry we’ve woven.

Death would have none of this. This fool talked of superseding his domain? He would never allow it! Black lightning shot out in every direction from his scythe as he tried to find some way out.

Atropos: Don’t waste the effort. Sheer force may have offered you a way out before, but this world is already too degraded to allow it now.

Death: DON’T MOCK ME! Death is MY domain, it is what I control, and fate along with it! This place is nothing but a brick wall erected in my path, and I will blast it down!

Atropos: No, this isn’t a wall. You’ve trapped in a room of your own creation, one without windows or doors, and you chose to batter it until the roof caved in on top of you. All because you felt yourself the master of the end.

Death was hysterical. He launched blast after blast at the image of Atropos, doing little more than distorting her for short periods of time. She began to laugh, a sound that resonated around the disappearing ruins. He kept right on blasting, even as the man behind him breathed his last breath, even as the floor fell out from under them, even as her image and laugh faded to nothing. The grey world completely encircled him, forever holding him in its dispassionate embrace, while he launched attack after attack at nothing.


Brigitte staggered along her path, tracking blood and dirt behind her. She hadn’t decided on a location, the garganta had let her out somewhere she had never seen before. She had no idea where she was going, and she didn’t care. Her life had once again lost meaning, except this time there was no one here to pick up the pieces. The only urge left in her was to keep moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other; even pain had lost all effect on her, though the damage to her muscles and bones made it difficult to move straight.

Brigitte: If even I can sense your energy, you’re not trying to hide.

A slender man with silver hair appeared behind her. He wore a blue crushed velvet shirt and long black slacks with purple sandals. A band of purple velvet covered his eyes and ears. He didn’t look like the serious type, but his face was set in a flat expression, his hands clasped behind his back. Brigitte kept plodding forward as they spoke.

Brigitte: So are you going to try to recruit me to some new organization now? I’ve been disappointed before by someone like you, I don’t need to experience that again.

Takuma sighed: No. I felt any attempt to do so would be worthless. I know you’re ties to Sengoku make you even less amenable to my point of view.

Brigitte was briefly surprised, but the emotion was quickly subdued, absorbed into her depression.

Brigitte: So you know me then. That’s of no consequence to me. I have no reason to fight anymore, not for or against you. Just leave me be.

Takuma slowly eased his shortsword out of its sheath, beginning to follow her at an equal pace.

Takuma: Unfortunately, I cannot allow that. Your life represents a constant danger, one which myself and my compatriots cannot ignore. If you have no will to fight, I will make your end as quick and painless as I can.

In an instant, his blade was out and at her throat. In that same instant, Brigitte’s blade flashed into her hand clashing with him and pushing him away. A small trickle of blood eddied from a shallow cut he made there, though she couldn’t feel it.

Takuma looked surprised: Still have some fight left in you? I thought you had nothing to live for.

Brigitte: My life has been one of coincidence. I met Oasis in the Rukongai all of those years ago, and he made me want to become a Soul Reaper. He rescued me from my pointless existence. I met Sengoku when I was drowning in despair from his loss. Perhaps my having met you is a coincidence. If you manage to end me, that will be the point of it. If I survive, I’ll know my life is still worth something.

Takuma smiled. Despite the fact that he was her opponent, the smile reassured her. It reminded her of Oasis.

Takuma: So be it. Such a view is something I understand all too well. I will honor you by bringing the full strength of my shikai to bear. Obstruct their worlds… Eclipse!

An intense pressure settled on the battlefield. His sword elongated to 5 feet, and appeared to crack just to the right of the middle in one long crack. Metal rose up on one side, angling one side of the blade differently from the other and making 2 deviated stabbing points on the end of the blade. Sparks of blue energy flew out of the pieces of the cracked blade.

Brigitte wasted no time releasing her bankai, each of the blades of her sword immediately etched with the words that symbolized each of her abilities. She could feel the intensity of his power, and it was stronger than hers. She would need everything she had to survive. As the gems went to her temples, her eyes widened in shock. The air quickly filled with mist and what looked like the sparks of striking blades. Two steel slices struck out as if from nowhere, one cutting across her abdomen and the other deep into her right thigh. Though she knew what was coming, it was still alarming to see the cuts appear as blind areas across both of her eyes.

Takuma: You rely too much on eyesight. Seeing which abilities I have will do you no good if you cannot counter them.

Brigitte gritted her teeth. She refused to give up here, even though she felt completely outclassed. She saw flashes of him out of the corners of her eyes, each time feeling as though a monster was bearing down on her. If this was to be her end, she refused to go quietly.


Takuma stood two feet away from the splayed out body of his foe. A halo of red encircled her, her eyes empty and long since sightless. A light rain had begun to fall over the scene as he wiped the blood from his blade. He felt no joy in ending her life, especially with her already so close to death.

???: So, this is what you do to keep the peace? Killing a heavily wounded woman in cold blood?

Takuma’s sightless gaze landed on A, whose face was set in a chagrined stare. He could sense Ogodei off in the distance, taking in the whole scene with narrowed eyes.

A: What’s next, small children?

Takuma: I never said anything about this being easy or noble.

A: Is chivalry simply beyond you, then?

Takuma: Chivalry is an outdated excuse for actions that don’t speak for themselves. What we’re doing is right, I don’t need such a flimsy excuse for what I know to be true.

A sighed: I suppose there is no room for a sense of humanity in this organization of yours then?

Takuma snarled, barking his response: Humanity? HUMANITY!? Tell me, where’s the humanity in obtaining such great power as these people had only to push the weaker among us into the crossfire? Where’s the humanity in bringing wars over power to places like Soul Society and Hueco Mundo, places and people that never asked for such a conflict, never asked to be involved? Those same people who you call “captains” used you as little more than foot soldiers to fight against monsters of their own creation, where’s the humanity in that?

A seemed taken aback, clenching his jaw shut. Ogodei had appeared nearby a short time ago, looking at Takuma levelly.

Takuma: Will you question my mentality as well, or the way I implement it?

Ogodei: It is not my…position…to question.

Takuma was surprised. Much as he had become aware of Ogodei’s general inability to speak coherently, he had understood that the young man thought more clearly than his compatriot.

Takuma: Nothing then?

Ogodei raised a hand, holding up solely his ring finger. It was an odd gesture, something of which Takuma was completely unaware.

A: He means to test you and your theory. He only gives that gesture when he is really mulling over it. You will find out soon enough whether he feels what you’ve said is worth anything.

Takuma harrumphed: I don’t need your approval. You’ve made the decision to come to me. You can leave just as easily.

A smiled: He and I have both made our decision, we do not plan to change it. He means to test ourselves with what you said. We will both understand him in time.

Curiosity bloomed in Takuma. This young man may be worth more than he thought.

Takuma: Come. Your training begins now.

End.

i have one more post to make before the arc is over. it will be up later tonight.

I realized after I made the post last night that I still had a couple of things I wanted to post about. They wont be extensive and they'll come together sometime later today.

My final post before the timeskip will be up tomorrow folks. I would also like to say thanks to you guys for making this such a fun forum and for helping make such a great story! Lets make part 2 even better!

Biren was moving towards the squard four barracks, he knew that rake should be feeling better by now. But as soon as he arrived at the barracks he was shocked. The were in complete rubble. Biren did not understand what could have done this. He quickly began to dig the wreckage back looking for his vice captain. After what seemed like forever, Biren could not find him. As biren fell backwards, he began to grow sad. "It seems i have lost both of the Marima sibilings. They were both to young." He looked down, sulking about this. A hand then presented its self to the captain.

Rake: "Ive never seen my captain in such a manner except when he is presented with tons of paperwork." Biren looks up to see Rake standing before him, with his usual serious look.

Biren: Biren smiles and takes his hand and stands up. "I dont know what your talking about hahaha." He starts laughing, his usual hyper active energy restored. He looks around a bit more. "What the hell happened here?" A confused look about him

Rake: His look was of anger. "I was still in the place they left me. I could feel all the turmoil that was going on. Quite honestly I barely made it out. While i was passed out an evil energy came over the area and woke me up somehow. Thats when i felt a massive energy coming my way. I was able to get out and see what was happening. The fouth squad captain was in a major battle with what looked like another soul reaper. I could only watch for i expended the last of my energy on getting out of the building. The fighting was fierce but...." He paused as tears slowly came to his eyes. "But she fell, and was absorbed by whatever the hell that thing was. After that happened, the damn thing took not only her sword, but her apperence as well.

Biren: Rake was beggining to break down but biren put his hand on rakes shoulder. "Understand, if you were to have done something, you would have died as well. I mourn the loss of a captain. And i swear that if we ever run into this beast, we shall kill it in her name." Biren looks out. "I still have an ace in the hand that could very well turn the tide against the arrancars and their servants."

In the path way leading from The Soul Society to the Human world

Daniel, Kizumi, and Tina are all running along the path. Daniel is holding Tinas hand leading the way. A smile on his face that they have been brought together again. "So Kizumi, why were you left behind to guard me?"

Kizumi: He doesnt look back. "An order was given for all shinigami to leave the soul society except for captains. As you can see, my captain told me that i could stay behind so as to keep you locked up. To think you were able to stand toe-to-toe with captain Ryuu."

Daniel: He doesnt respond but thinks to himself. "In all honesty he was weaker than his usual self. He sustained heavy injuries from a previous fight. If he would have been at full strength, he would never had to use his powers. "He was a powerful opponent and i would like to fight him again in the near furtue."

Kizumi: "You may get your chance after all of this chaos is over." They continue to run when kizumi just stops. Biren looks in question. "Captain Isao, his energy is gone. It was there and now its just gone.:

Daniel: "Who is Isao." Worried that something may have happened.

Kizumi: "He is our captain-commander. The most elite of our fighters." HE begins to shake his head when his eyes grow big.

Daniel: He looks in confusion at this. "Whats wrong Kizumi?" Kizumi is still stunned but daniel turns around just in time to see a huge blade come straight for him. Daniel pushes Tina to kizumi and he then ducks. After this he throws a powerful straight punch and knocks his assailant back. As he Looks at him, he sees there are three of them. Thinking to himself "Who the hell are these guys?" He then sees that they all have fragments of hollow masks.

Kizumi: He quickly fires a question. "who are you and what are you doing here?"

Unknown: The shortest one steps up first. "My name, is the Unknown. I am one of the most powerful arrancars in hueco mundo. These are my subordinates, the smaller one is named Trim, and the big one here is named Harim." He looks over at Tina. "As a good show of faith to the ruler of our world, i will need the girl that you have with you.

Daniel: His teeth become barred at the enemy. "You so much as touch her, ill rip your heart out." The unkown just begins to laugh. "Whats so funny?"

Unknown: "Its funny because we dont actually have hearts. We are just empty shells of our former beings." He looks at Harim and Trim, who both disseaper. "It has begun."

There will be a part 2 to this.

Nightfall, A New Beginning When The Sun Rises!

Miroku is still heavily wounded as he walks around Sengoku’s crumbling castle. Miroku knew how bad his injuries were but this was important to him. No matter how much his bones cracked or how severe his cuts bled, he had to keep going. He continued to push on one step at a time because he had to; he needed to find her, he had to find her. But it wasn’t love that compelled him to move against his body’s anguish; it was his promise and his memories that forced every step. As he pushed on he thought of everyone and everything that got him to this point. He remembered playing with Boa in the orphanage before she was adopted by Sengoku… getting Kuesu to loosen up as he helped her adjust to being an orphan… the first fight he ever got into against his long time rival Crow…. the mysterious boy named Hidan that he met in the library one day who proved to be a great friend and ally… his sister Moriko who always came by the orphanage to check on him… the day he first summoned Chaos and killed his first arrancar… suddenly waking up in Soul Society soon after the fight with his father’s blade… meeting his friends Ariza and Dori as well as the noble families… meeting the great Mine and being put in Squad 11 under Isao… meeting Zane, Renee, Ryuu, Yasashiku and many others in the 13 Court Guard Squads… that fateful night that got him sent to prison… meeting his good friend Coran and how Sunny helped break them out… running down the Rukon District and meeting Sunny’s granddaughter Asoka… training under Coran and starting his generation of the Rising Suns… meeting with Isao for the first time in years after his prison break… the short time he spent with Titus, Chiyo and Hideaki… his first encounter with the powerful hollow Rey… his reunion with his old friend Crow… the slow death of his father’s blade Ketsueki Karite and the rebirth of his blade Chaos… mourning the death of Coran… the fierce battle against Isao… the death of Asoka, her brother Cai and her cousin Vulcan… his mother knocking some sense into him when he was depressed… reforming the Rising Suns with the help of his old friends… seeing Yari again and deciding to take her with him… joining the fight against Kuroheki… helping Crow in Hueco Mundo… The self-sacrifice of the quincy name Joshua… going up against powerful opponents like Steven and the hollow Omega… meeting that strange man named Takuma and hearing the words he spoke… finally settling his differences with his former captain, Isao… leading his team with the help of Renee and Steven against Sengoku and Kuroheki… watching Sengoku die in a flash of white! All these things kept cycling rapidly in his head. He realized that Renee was one of the few people he had left out of these memories. He personally told Isao that Renee was the future Soul Society needed instead of him. He couldn’t let those words go in vain. He had to find her; not for himself but for the future of countless soul reapers that will create the new 13 Court Guard Squads. Suddenly he felt it… the opening of a gargunta. It concerned him. He rushed as much as he could to the area of the gargunta arriving just as it closed. Miroku prepared for battle but soon calmed down as he say that Renee was the only one in the room lying unconscious on the floor. Miroku knelt down beside her patting her on the face as she slowly gained consciousness. Renee smiled as her blurry vision cleared revealing Miroku looking down at her.

Renee: (in a soft voice) We won.

Miroku: Heh, it was hard but yeah… Sengoku is gone for good.

Renee smiled for a moment as she was glad to be rid of that dreadful man, but her happiness slowly vanished as a look of discomfort took over her face.

Renee: I felt it when the gargunta opened. I’m sure you noticed too, right?

Miroku: Yeah, Isao’s energy is gone.

Renee: (sighs) I knew the chance of him coming back was slim, but I just couldn’t come to terms with it. (sighs again) Soul Society is in ruins, many high level captains have died and now they we are without the Captain-Commander.

Miroku: Are you?

Renee: What do you mean?

Miroku: I had the luxury to speak with Isao right before he left to face Rey. He asked me the same things that you are currently questioning, but I gave him a vote of confidence.

Renee: A vote of confidence? What is it that you have confidence in?

Miroku: You! He asked me who I thought would be best suited as his successor, and the only name that came to mind was yours. There is no one else that can fit the position but you.

Renee: Heh, you really think that or did you just not want the guy to talk YOU into taking the position?

Miroku: My time as a member of Soul Society has long passed. Squad 1 Lieutenant Miroku is history and Captain-Commander Miroku is a fantasy that should never come to pass. You’ve learned under Mine and Isao as well as got to see the mistakes that those two and myself have made as being the heads of an organization. You’re the obvious chose… no… the only chose!

Renee: Wow, if you truly believe that, then there is no way I could say no. It will take a while, but I’ll get Soul Society back on its feet.

Miroku: Heh, I know you will. Now let’s go! This place won’t stay up for long.

Renee: Agreed.

Miroku helped Renee to her feet and they both slowly walked out of the crumbling castle together. A light appeared at the end of the long hall as they were close to being outside and they were greeted by Crow and Kuesu, who was tending to Yari’s wounds. Renee looked over at Steven’s body, which was just a few feet away from Kuesu and the others. Renee slowly walked over to him and placed her hand on his sword making it glow. Yari, who was upset with Renee for bothering Steven’s body, ran over to her but Renee gently placed her hand on Yari’s head making her entire body glow. The glow around Yari’s body disappears and Steven’s sword has vanished. Yari looks down at her blade and sees that the hilt has changed and is now split into two colors going up horizontally towards the blade, the two colors are red and blue!

Yari: What did you do?

Renee: It was a favor that your brother asked me to do if he fell in battle. All I can say is that it’s a way for him to always be with you.

Even though she didn’t understand, Yari still smiled after hearing Renee say those words. She couldn’t explain it but for some reason she felt stronger as if her raw power and spirit energy suddenly increased. She looked up at Miroku, who was standing beside her, and gave him a big smile as he looked down at her with a smile of his own, but the smile on his face quickly changed as well as the smiles on everyone else’s face. Yari felt two huge spiritual pressures fall over her. Renee was astonished by the sheer force behind this energy but Miroku, Kuesu and Crow knew this power all too well.

- On the battlefield where Cleo and Ariza’s battle took place -
Swords are everywhere on the ground as well as large chunks of ice. Ariza is heavily wounded as blood has stained more than half of her outfit and she is barely able to stand and has to balance herself with two swords, using them as canes. Cleo, whose white and gold dress has now become a red and brown dress due to her blood stains and is standing a few yards away from Ariza holding her staff as blood continues to slide down the linen of her bankai. Dori, who has reverted back to his shikai, is standing a few feet away from Ariza as he looks at Cleo.

Dori: Stop this Cleo! We don’t want to kill you! I know you felt it! Sengoku is dead! This fight has become completely pointless now!

Cleo: (enraged) Shut-up! This fight may be pointless to you but it means everything to me. I never gave a damn about Sengoku and his plans! I just knew he wanted Miroku dead and so did I, so I joined him in hope of killing that man!

Ariza: I…I don’t get it…why do you want…Miroku to die?

Cleo: You of all people should know Ariza! You and I were the best of friends. You were perfect… strong, smart, beautiful and the soon to be head of the Kuchiki Household. I looked up to you. I did everything I could for you. But then he came and you threw me away. Suddenly your life revolved around the new kid, Miroku Kizume. I didn’t understand it until Sengoku told me the truth about him. The fact that Miroku was really a noble just like you! Then it hit me, you accepted Miroku and still kept Dori as a friend but I was tossed aside. The only thing I didn’t have that all three of you had in common was the fact that you were all NOBLES! You all don’t give a damn about anyone unless it’s another Noble.

Ariza: That’s not true! Miroku was an unusual case.

Cleo: (angry) I SAID SHUT-UP! You wanted to forget about me? Well I’m gonna make sure I’m the last thing you ever remember!

Cleo charged towards Ariza with everything she had and Dori moved quickly to stop her until out of nowhere, four cero beams pierced through Cleo’s chest, each a different color: white, red, black and yellow.

Cleo: (thinking) What the hell!?

Cleo turned her head as she begun to fall to the ground and sees the image of two figures. A woman that had a fair complexion and hazel eyes. She has long black hair that goes past her shoulders and bears a resemblance to Halibel in terms of outfit except for her top. Instead, she wears a tight long sleeve jacket that she keeps opened. She doesn't wear a shirt under her jacket but the opening is only wide enough to expose a small portion of her breast. Her mask appears to be a necklace that has four small jewels on it. Each jewel is a different color: Red, Black, Faded Yellow and White! Her hollow hole is right under her neck and just above the jewels on her mask. And the other a man that has a tan complexion, like a Samoan, and has a bald head. The man is huge with muscles on top of muscles. He doesn't were a shirt but only wears a large pair of white arrancar pants. His mask is very unique, it appears as many one inch spikes on his body, ten around his head and three on each shoulder. His hollow hole is in his chest, right where a person’s heart would be.

Cleo: (thinking) I never got my revenge!

Cleo died right before she hit the ground. Dori ran over to her but was cut off as Omega suddenly appeared in front of him with his large zanbatō in hand. Omega swung his zanbatō fiercely as it hit Dori in hi upper torso crushing his ribs and rupturing his internal organs. Omega’s zanbatō suddenly appeared to burn like fire and he swung it while Dori was still in contact with it causing him to take the brunt of Omega’s large burning cero. Dori was thrown a few hundred yards away as third degree burns cover his body from head to toe. Omega quickly turned his sights to Ariza who was way too weak to fight back against any attack they could throw at her. Omega thrust his fist in Ariza’s direction firing a large bala at her but a quick shot of lightning deflects Omega’s attack away from her. Crow suddenly appears with one gun pointed at Alpha and the other pointed at Omega. Kuesu is the next to appear followed by Miroku and Renee. Yari watched the events from behind a tree as Miroku didn’t want her to be seen by the two.

Alpha: You must be Miroku. I don’t think we’ve ever met. My name is…

Miroku: Alpha right? Takuma has told me all about you.

Omega: AHH, Miroku! My body itches from just the sight of you. What a battle we had!

Miroku: You only won that round because I had to fight both Rey and Steven before you showed up. Had I not fought them you wouldn’t be here to talk about it.

Omega: Heh, what a different demeanor you have. Why the sudden change?

Miroku: Because back then I thought you were just some mindless hollow following Rey’s orders but now I know what you are really after.

Alpha: So Takuma told you of our plans?

Miroku: That’s right. He even gave me a time span on when you will begin this “purging” process. It’s all a bunch of crap.

Omega: You think so?

Miroku: Of course I do! Claiming that the world’s problems are because of strong men like Isao, Rey, Sengoku. You even included me in that category. You really think you can pin everything on such a small number of individuals?

Alpha: Of course we can. It’s every living creature’s instinct and dream to be the strongest of their generation. Even without direct influence on others; your power alone causes indirect influence on everyone. As your powerful names spread throughout the world, so does the thought of becoming stronger than you. That thought leads to others seeking a way of becoming more powerful than you which will lead to battle after battle after battle just to see who truly is the strongest. It’s a never ending circle of violence.

Renee: You make a valid point but you are going about it in the wrong way. What if no one else listens to your beliefs? Do you continue to kill of the quote on quote strongest people? Do you continue in your circle of violence?

Alpha: That’s quite the counter question you threw out there. From your looks I would have to guess that you are Renee Chevalier. We have you pretty high on our list as well, but you say we make a valid point though. Does that mean that you would be willing to help our cause?

Renee: Hell no! I have my own things to get in order and it doesn’t involve joining some misguided group of hippies.

Omega: So you got jokes? I guess you wanna die too!

Alpha: Stop Omega!

Omega: But we were sent to take out all our future targets while they were vulnerable.

Alpha: We were told to take them out quickly, but to avoid long drawn out fights. I know you don’t look up information so you probably don’t recognize the guy with the guns! That man is Crow and he will be more than troublesome if we fight him. So for now we retreat.

Alpha opens the gargunta and prepares to leave but Miroku flash steps between them and the gargunta.

Miroku: Hold on!

Omega: What is it now?

Miroku: 100 years! Takuma told me that it would take 100 years for his plan to come to fruition, right?

Alpha: That is correct. Operation Purge begins 100 years from today. What’s your point.

Miroku: My point is that there will be a power far stronger than any of you once those hundred years pass.

Alpha: Well if you continue to grow at the rate you have been then you will be an unfathomable force to be dealt with…

Miroku: I’m not talking about myself! (everyone except Miroku has a shocked look on their face) Trust me, in 100 years she will be far stronger than you can even comprehend!

Renee: (thinking) She? He couldn’t be talking about me, but who then… Yari!

Omega: Stronger than we can comprehend! Interesting, I’ll enjoy the day I get to see this unfathomable power you speak of.

Miroku: Oh you’ll see it! And you’ll wish you were on her side when you do!

Alpha: Well then, I’ll make sure to report this claim of yours to Takuma. Just know that when those 100 years are up… you’re the first on our list Miroku!

Miroku: I’ll be waiting!

- Inside a still stable laboratory in Squad 12’s Barracks -
Hidan is analyzing the spirit particles on the cross that Akihiko’s body was hanging from. The door of the lab suddenly opens and Yasashiku (Omen) walks in.

Hidan: Hey what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the world of the living helping the injured?

Yasashiku (Omen): The majority of them have been stabilized and I needed to investigate what was happening to the vanishing soul reapers.

Hidan: (typing away on the computer) Oh, any leads?

Yasashiku (Omen): None! That’s why I came here. I was hoping you could help me.

Hidan: Sorry but I’m busy with my own investigation right now.

Yasashiku (Omen): Then maybe I can help you?

Hidan: Naw I’m good. I should be done in a…

Yasashiku (Omen) grabs the arm of Hidan’s chair and quickly spins it around to wear she is looking him right in the face. She softly places her hand on his leg and uses her index finger and her middle finger to “walk” up his thigh.

Yasashiku (Omen): I don’t think you understand my meaning of “help.”

Hidan: (overly nervous) This is a joke right?

Yasashiku (Omen): (rips off her top) Is this a joke?

Hidan opens his mouth in shock as Yasashiku (Omen) sits in his lap and aggressively kisses him. Hidan closes his eyes as he indulges in the long kiss but this great pleasure suddenly turns into pain as Yasashiku’s eyes turn pitch black and her body turns into a black aura that forcefully flows into Hidan’s mouth until it has enter his body entirely. Hidan’s eyes turn black and Omen claims it as his own.

Hidan (Omen): The easiest way to catch a geek of guard is to seduce him with a good looking woman! Good thing you weren’t like your father Mayuri or that would have never worked!

Hidan (Omen) turns back around to the computer and starts typing in a sequence from Hidan’s memory. Eight videos appear on the computer screen; all of Isao and all of them are of him using a different form of his final bankai.

Hidan (Omen): Isao’s final bankai abilities! This should come in handy in the future!

- At the Sōkyoku Hill Training Grounds -
Miroku and Yari are both sitting in the middle of a very rocky terrain. Yari is looking around in amazement as she waits for Miroku to tell her why they are here.

Yari: Um, what is this place Miroku?

Miroku: This is the secret training grounds that was built under Sōkyoku Hill by my grandmother and her friend Kisuke Urahara! They used it to perfect their combat skills as well as their zanpaktou abilities.

Yari: So you want me to train here?

Miroku: (smile) Yep!

Yari: Why me? Why do you think I can beat those strong arrancar we saw yesterday?

Miroku: Because. I was just like you when I was your age. I was a “prodigy.” Everyone said so. It’s a bit overwhelming but you’ll get used to it.

Yari: Hold on. You say I’m a “prodigy.” Well I don’t feel like one, even though I don’t know what that would feel like.

Miroku: I never understood it either until I meet you. “IT” is what they say. They always said I have “IT.” Still to this day I don’t know what “IT” means. I don’t even know if “IT” has a meaning. But when I meet you… I saw “IT” for myself! You have natural abilities Yari, something that you just can’t teach others no matter how hard you may try. That is “IT!” That is why I know you can surpass me. I hate to put all this pressure on you but you are like family to me and I want to protect you. And the only way to do that is to make you stronger than I am.

Yari was confused. She always looked up to Miroku as this measuring stick that she would always fall short of, but now this same man that sits on a pinnacle that she could only dream of attaining claims that the one on the pinnacle is actually her. Yari smiled.

Yari: I don’t know what to say other then I’ll do my best Miroku!

Miroku: (also smiling) Good, that’s what I wanted to hear. Just know that I’m not going to go easy on you…Bankai!

THE END

See you after the time skip!!!

And thus, I bring you my actual final post of the arc. It's been a pleasure writing these and seeing the story develop in conjunction with you guys, I just wish that Lobos and Brokensun were still around to see it.


Satoshi had pushed himself to the edge and back in his fight, and yet here he was, dragging himself across the sands of Hueco Mundo towards the source of that massive energy surge he felt earlier. Yeah, he’d be a whole lot of help to Isao now – his body would barely move normally. Of course, Isao didn’t need his help, he’d have the fight won before he even got there.

At least, that’s what he told himself. He had felt Isao’s energy disappear several minutes ago, but he refused to believe it. No…it wasn’t a refusal. It simply wasn’t in him to think of Isao as dead. Isao was his mentor, his captain, and, more than that, his surrogate father. He always felt that the man was invincible, a feeling he clung to for dear life.

That singular focus pushed away other thoughts that lingered in his mind. That immense power that appeared and vanished in mere minutes troubled him, but more than that, the voice that lingered in his head shook him to his very core. He could only remember bits and pieces, but the voice was cold and piercing, and spoke to him as if by telepathy. Some of the voice’s words seemed too impossible to be true; nonetheless, they had taken root in his mind, and refused to disappear.

“Soul Reapers were meant to fade away…”

He pushed those words to the back of his mind. He had no time for them now, he couldn’t parse the words of that disembodied voice when what was most important lay so close…

As he crested the last dune to where he felt Isao’s spiritual pressure, his breath caught in his throat. He could see a figure kneeling on the ground in the distance, and he believed with every fiber of his being that it must be him. He must have just lost consciousness.

Satoshi slid down the dune, stumbling and falling as he went. His injuries were partially to blame, but so was the tremendous increase in reishi he felt in the air. It was insane! He could feel that belonging to Isao and Rey, but he felt others…it was odd how familiar some of them were.

He managed to half-crawl, half-stagger over to the site. Much as he tried, he couldn’t even raise his head until he reached it, placing every ounce of his concentration into moving towards Isao. Panting from the effort, he used what little stamina he had left to force his head up, bringing him face to face with…

It was Isao alright. His face and body were clear and easy to identify. His clothing moved ever so slightly in the breeze, and wounds covered much of his body.

However, concern mixed with horror quickly as he examined him further. His skin and clothing all looked to be the same texture – they didn’t look normal. He looked like he was covered in flecks of glass and stone, all in varying shades of grey, black and brown.

But something else frightened him still more. Perhaps it was the defeated posture, the closed, tired eyes, the frozen expression or perhaps it was the small smile on his face that held no mirth or warmth. It all seemed so wrong.

Satoshi reached out to him. He just needed to feel him there, to know that the indomitable man he had come to know and love dearly was still able to stand by him. His hand brushed his cheek, nails scraping across nothing but dry ash.

The wind picked up, and Satoshi could only watch as what remained of his fallen commander vanished in a flurry of cinders around his outstretched arm, carrying with it the tears welling in Satoshi’s eyes.


The sands of Hueco Mundo had long since fallen silent. Nothing stirred out in those deserted wastelands – Hollows of every level had hidden themselves in the wake of that tremendous battle. Only a few had ventured out of the desert, in the hours following the close of the Senkai gate and the last Soul Reaper’s exit.

Boido had been as careful as the rest, but he suddenly felt emboldened. He strolled through the halls of the now empty Las Noches, empty eyes scanning the cavernous dome as he walked. The hallways echoed with each step, sound resonating off of the bare, white stone. Not a sound could be heard beyond his own, not a soul could be seen.

He smiled, though as per usual, it didn’t touch his eyes. But this time, he truly felt it. Perfection stood around him, something he thought he’d never see. All around him was vacant; all was empty. The tremendous damage to the palace was, if anything, more endearing – it spoke of ruins, as though they had been vacated for years. It was as though an unfathomably large beast had been killed, and all that was left was broken, sun-bleached bones.

He walked into the throne room. The room was strewn with rubble, and the throne itself had lost most of its back. White dust covered the entire scene. Boido walked carefully, avoiding pieces of the ceiling and walls as he walked. For some reason, he found it necessary not to disturb a pebble if he could avoid it; everything just seemed to have been placed there by divine hands. He quickly dusted off the seat of the throne, seating himself on it, and resting his head on his right hand. He stared at the far wall, as if trying to bore through it with his focus alone.

???: Is this what you were after all along?

It irked him to have to look at an aberration in the room. Reina stood directly in front of him. She had disturbed several bits of rubble on her way in… No matter. The room still had the same ambience.

Boido: I was “after” nothing. I never sought leadership, and I still don’t seek it.

Reina: No, you always sought things that were just as empty as yourself. Dormirarbol never fit into that, did he? Rey certainly didn’t.

Boido sighed: They were free to do as they wished. The first stomped on my dreams, the second destroyed his own. They both lived worthless lives.

Reina: So, what will you do now?

Boido closed his eyes: Nothing. There never was anything to do. Everything has been done. All I want now is to be left alone in my sanctuary.

???: And should I leave you as well?

Ketsuki strode out from a side room, kicking large bits of rubble across the room. Boido watched him and grimaced, annoyed that he would make a deliberate effort to disturb this calm.

Boido: I don’t care what you do.

Ketsuki smirked as he began to ease his blade out of its scabbard. He looked thirsty for blood. The greedy bastard always wanted an opening, and with Rey dead, this was his best chance.

Boido raised an eyebrow: I defeated Dormirarbol, do you think you’re capable of ending me, Ketsuki? Does a broken palace mean so much to you that you would roll the dice trying?

Ketsuki’s smile receded, the movement of the blade stopping halfway out of its scabbard. Unlike Reaper, he could be taught some measure of reason. He let the sword slide in to its full length, twisting around and beginning to walk away.

Ketsuki: Hmph, I don’t care what you do either, so long as you leave me alone. This palace was a relic anyway, hardly befitting someone like me.

He quickly disappeared from view, all sounds of him vanishing shortly thereafter.

Boido: And you?

Reina: Moments like these are where a girl can truly understand her place in the world, and I think I’m fine with the “alive” and “powerful” statuses I already have. Ruler over a broken wasteland hardly seems like something I need to add to the list. My lust can be sated elsewhere… But just know that you are not alone. You are NEVER alone.

She vanished. Boido sighed again, trying to regain focus on the wall ahead of him, but all in vain. He cursed, closing his eyes. Those two were nothing but headaches. He wished he could be alone, but she was right, with them around, he never would be. Still, it wasn’t worth the trouble of killing them. He could still relish the home death and destruction had built for him. Yes…a cornucopia of nothingness suited him just fine…

End.

After Onix's final post, we'll be making some posts to give you guys information on where we see the story going and perhaps throwing something out there as preface (still working on that).

Alright, well, I know that Onix still has one post left, but with the arc near its end, I think we should think about the future - the near future in particular. I'll be making a post about this at some point soon, but Renee will basically be torn between a desire to become Captain Commander and her knowledge of her own weaknesses and inadequacies. She wont accept an automatic assignment to that seat as a result.

Instead, we will be holding a tournament for the role. In terms of rules (and these may be expanded upon), anyone with a character in Soul Society may participate. You can have a maximum of 3 characters involved, but each Soul Reaper you include is one you'll have to be committed to (i.e. you cannot just discard them after the time skip). Matches will be randomly selected from the pool (so yes, one of your characters could match up against another), and this will go in bracket format. We will go until we have one winner.

With regards to how the rounds would go, this is how I see it: each participant will write a small piece of the fight (one writing the start, the second writing a continuation). You can write them however you please. Everyone will vote for a winner, excluding the people involved in the match. The bases for a vote would include: who people think would win the match, which blade/character they like better, and which they think is more suited towards a strong leadership-type role like the Captain Commander. People can weight each of those as they like, but I would appreciate if everyone would consider all of them.

This obviously wont start immediately, so what I want people to do in the meantime is to go ahead and post 2 things. First, post all of the characters you would like to involve. Make sure they're in the character forum as well so that we can easily look them up. Second, post your character for Squad 0. If you haven't come up with one yet, now's the time. Make sure that's also posted in the character forum.

If anyone has questions (or if jstar or Hadez have anythign to add that I haven't addressed), please feel free to post them.


One more thing. If anyone wants to join the forum, or knows anyone who does, this is the time to do it. Any character you create and plan on hanging onto for Soul Society can get involved, and this is a great foot in the door.