Redemption - Part One

[Chiwofen]

Thought id take a whirl at a fanfic, hoping to add parts to this each day for the next two weeks (winter break!), ill have several parts to it, as you see from the title...
starts off kinda weird, but dont worry it will be linked to bleach!
so, without further delay, heres the first part of part one:
Prologue
Heinrich Gustavan ran a hand through his matted mane of hair, more to relax his tense body than to clean up. Why was he so scared? It didn’t make sense. He’d been on plenty of missions before, why was this one bothering him so much? Calm down, you’re just nervous because you don’t know anything about this one, he told himself. Feeling less tense, he stood up again and continued his search, which was becoming more difficult as darkness closed in. Hopefully this bastard would show up soon, he didn’t want to spend the night out here. It was nearly winter, and the weather was really started to get cold. He’d heard many a tale of men going to sleep only to freeze to death during the night. He didn’t plan on being a character in one of those stories. He continued on down the path, stopped every 100 strides to try and sense his prey. He was unsuccessful every time. Finally he decided to search for a place to spend the night. Heinrich quickly scaled a tree, and looked for some sort of clearing. He was in luck, there was one not 50 strides from where he was.

After getting out of the tree, he unsheathed his weapon and began cutting a path through the forest towards the clearing. The severed limbs seemed to grab him and he slowly pushed through the thick foliage. Shadows seemed to be distorting, tree trunks grew faces and leered at him. He knew he was being foolish, that the trees were not alive in that way. But still, he couldn’t help but see the forest watching him with malice. It’s just the wilds, they do this to everybody. They screw with your head, making you see monsters when there are none, and feel at ease when there are. Heinrich nodded to his logic, knowing it to be true. He’d come here many times, and he’d always had this feeling. This time, however, it was much more intense...

He finally broke through into the clearing, but his eyes went wide and it was all he could do to keep from vomiting when he saw what awaited him. Bodies. Piles of hundreds of stinking bodies. What the hell is this... he thought, what... happened here? He stared at the sight, completely unable to figure out what had occurred here. Was it a battle? No, we would’ve known if there were forces engaging here, plus the forest is too thick for there to be a fight of this size here. This is from something... else.

He was nearly impaled by the attack that came. He sensed it a second before his head would’ve been severed. He thanked the academy and his division for the rigorous training he’d been put through, as he flipped through to air. He nearly lost his footing as he landed on a pile of rotting bodies, and while fighting down the urge to puke out his lunch, he got a good look at his attacker.
The hollow stood nearly three strides tall on its two legs, and was armored from head to toe in thick, black, steel plates, the signature white mask. If not for the hole in its chest it would’ve been hard to tell exactly what it was. It’s ornate helm sprouted two bone white horns, and two malicious yellow eyes glared out from behind the faceplate, which was carved in the visage of a leering demon. This one isn’t going to be a pushover, that much is obvious... he told himself, mostly to keep himself from getting distracted by the ornate armor the thing wore.

“Who are you, and what the hell is this place?” He shouted out, hoping for an answer. He got his wish.

“I am, as you can tell, a hollow. My true name is impossible for you to pronounce, but you may call me Draevus Soulslayer, if you would like to. This place is a stockpile.” The hollow's voice seemed to flow, and had a soothing, yet terrifying quality to it.

“A stockpile? What do you mean?”

“An army marches on its stomach, they say.” The hollow said with a bored tone.
An army!? Impossible, if an army was present here, I would surely have sensed it... the thought raced through Heinrich’s mind.

“It appears I’ve said too much, I’d best kill you before your dull wits solve the puzzle.” The hollow said, once again sounding quite bored. Heinrich laughed.

“Kill me? We shall see how successful you are with that. I’ve killed hundreds of your kind without breaking a sweat.”

“Perhaps I shall have a bit more fun with you than I had with them...” The hollow said, gesturing to the pile. “They hardly put up a fight, not a single man, woman, or child managed to even touch me.”

“Bastard... so it was you who killed them all. I won’t hold back, you worthless scum.” Heinrich raised his zanpakutoh in the air, the air around him glowing blue with gathering spirit particles. “Crush, Darkbane!” At this his sword slowed bright white, the glowing mass changing its form to that of a gigantic, two-handed hammer. “Now, hollow, you die.” Heinrich leapt forward, and the hollow began to let out an eerie, insane laugh. Heinrich brought his hammer up, and forced large amounts of his reiatsu into it at the same time, making the head glow with a blinding light. He swung his hammer down, expecting to crush the hollow’s skull with a single blow, but to his surprise, the hollow wasn’t there.

“Too slow, Shinigami.” The hollow’s words echoed in Heinrich’s head. They seemed to weigh down on him with the crush of aeons. “Now you will die for me, and the thought that shall accompany you for eternity is the name of your killer: Draevus Soulslayer, Comandante of Hueco Mundo’s Death Grip Legion.” The thought echoed a thousands times in Heinrich’s head, then with a flick of his sword, Comandante Draevus Soulslayer bisected third-seat Heinrich Gustavan, spraying a huge gout of blood and entrails across the ground.

“One down...” Draevus muttered to himself as he wiped his sword on the dead Shinigami’s shredded Shihakusho. “Only a few million more to go...”

[Chiwofen]

heres another section of part one, enjoy


Purification
Katashiro Takara, third-seat of the 11th Division, gazed out over the walls of the Wolfden Citadel with his deep blue eyes, the streets of the city stretched out for miles in front of him, ending at the base of another wall, this one longer, but less fortified than the one he now stood on. He could see men from all divisions standing guard on them, or just chatting, enjoying the last days of fall. Ten miles beyond the wall is where the Wilds began, a sheer wall of great, evil trees stretching their claws up the tear at the sky. Katashiro shivered. An evil wind was blowing from it. It reeked of death. Katashiro didn’t like it, it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up, made his muscles tense. The fact that third-seat Heinrich Gustavan of 10th Division hadn’t emerged from there in a week didn’t exactly ease the feeling.

“Ah, there you are Takara!” came a voice from down below. Katashiro looked down, and saw his old friend Kraven Vernhoff, Vice-Captain of 11th Division. The man stood just over a meter and a half tall, his cropped brown hair streaked with black. His dark green eyes had their usual friendly tone, contrasting greatly with his rough face, which looked like had been carved from granite. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“What for?”

“They found him... they found Gustavan... or what’s left of him.”

“It is as I feared then, he’s dead.”

“Yeah, he’s dead alright. Poor bastard was ripped in half. We found his torso impaled on a lance outside the city. His killer must’ve placed it in the ground last night.”

“Impaled? I don’t like the sound of that. The hollows are getting cocky it seems.”

“Yeah, I think Commander Jaeger is planning to send in our division to clear them all out again. Burn the place down, you know?”

“Yea, I get it. Another hollow cleansing. When do we move out?”

“Don’t know, I’ll have to wait for the Captain to get back.”

“Let me know when he does, I’ll get my squad ready.”

“Will do, see you around, Takara.” Katashiro turned back to looking at the forest. However, now he was looking at it differently. It was a threat now. The trees, as if now knowing what he found out, began leering at him. Taunting him with their long, twisting limbs, staring at him with murderous intent that would have caused
a lesser man to turn tail and run. But Katashiro just stared right back.

**********
“By now, I am sure, you all know of 10th Division’s third seat’s fate. Incase you don’t, I shall tell. This morning, at 08:25 hours, Heinrich Gustavan’s torso was found impaled on a lance just outside the forest.” Commander Frederick Jaeger let the message sink in for a few moments before continuing. “In response to this, I have decided to launch a cleansing and burning of the forest. All hollows within 100 miles of this city are to be destroyed, and the forest within that range is to be burned. Captain Wilhelm Klein’s 11th Division will be the one performing the cleansing. They will move out at 20:00 hours this night. Is this understood?”

“Of course, Commander.” Responded the Captains of the 12 Divisions responsible for protecting the city.

“I now open the floor to any who have addition suggestions or concerns.”

“Commander, are you sure the entire 11th Division is needed for this task? Surely
such a force is not necessary.” Suggested Bailong Li, 5th Division Captain.

“The entire 11th Division is most likely unneeded, however in the event that there is organized hollow resistance, I do not want the force sent into the forest annihilated.”

“Commander, the destruction area should be increased, 100 miles is not even enough for my Division to break a sweat.” said Captain Kageryuu Zaraki of the 11th Division, his voice full of bloodlust and battle-frenzy. “100 miles is barely enough for my officers and myself, let alone the whole 11th Division.”

“Negative, the cleansing area will remain 100 miles around the city, and your whole division will participate in the purification. I am sorry, Captain Zaraki, but you must restrain your bloodline’s frenzy once again.” Zaraki’s frenzied aura died down a little, and he bit back the angry remarks that were trying to tear themselves from his throat. “Are there any other comments to be made?”

“No, Commander.” The Captains said at once.

“Very well. Before you go, there is one last announcement that must be made. As most of you know, we have had no contact from any of the other Citadels for many months now. This is highly disturbing, but to add to this, our Hell Butterflies that have been sent have all been destroyed. After this purification is complete, one division is to be sent to each of the Citadels to find out what has happened. I regret to say it, but if the Citadels have fallen to renegades or hollows, we may have to initiate another Crusade. That is all. Captain Zaraki, prepare your division for war.”

“Yes, Commander. They will be ready within the hour.” And with this, the Captains took off. Zaraki ran towards his division’s headquarters, one of the few places he could locate in Wolfden. His eyes were alight with his battle-hunger. The blood of the Zaraki lineage pumped through his veins at a faster and faster pace. Finally, he could no longer hold back his frenzied excitement. He opened his mouth and let out the long, howling wolf cry of the 11th Division. Around the Citadel, the officers of his Division repeated the howl, alerting him of their readiness, their eagerness to kill, to spill blood, to feel the rush of battle flow through their veins.

**********
Katashiro snapped out of his daydream when he heard the cry of his Captain. So it is war, he thought. Unfortunate, but necessary. It seems Heinrich will not go unavenged. He howled out his response to his Captain, before leaping off to organize 3rd squad. The sounds of other officers howling their agreement. There will be blood spilt tonight... but who will bleed more? Them or us? The aura radiating from the forest did not reassure him...

**********
“Warriors of the 11th Division! We are once again about to embark upon a purification of this forest! Within the hour we will advance, killing and burning all in our path! None will survive our fury! Now prepare yourselves to exercise war!” Kageryuu Zaraki began his battle preparation speech, the whole division gathered around him. He went on about how 11th Division would crush their foes, burn the forest, sow righteous destruction, and so on. It was quite inspiring to be honest, but it was not something that interested Katashiro Takara. He stood at the edge of the 11th Division’s encampment, staring into the forest. He had a bad feeling about this. Night had long since fallen, and everyone knew that night was a bad time to enter the forest. But it was more than that. The forest was not just a scary, dangerous place. It was evil, it was alive. The forest had a way of making people disappear or die in some of the most gruesome ways imaginable. There were tales of men who had walked into the forest, and found days later shredded to ribbons hanging from the trees. Calm down, be rational. The forest cannot kill you, it isn’t alive. It is merely... unnerving, he told himself. He didn’t believe it though. He knew the forest was a bad place to go, and that only the men of 11th Division were mad enough to penetrate as far as they planned to.

“Oi! Takara!” Katashiro turned around to see Kraven running towards him. “What the hell are you doing over here? You should be getting your men ready for the fight.”

“Seems the Captain is taking care of that. He’s taking care of it for everyone.”

“Aye, that he is. Riling them up to fight. Unnecessary most likely, however. There’s never been enough hollows in the forest to need an entire division.”

“There’s been a very small amount of them in the past, but I got a bad feeling
about this. The forest is... more malicious than before... Gah, forget it. I’m just having my usual worries about crap that doesn’t need to be worried about.” Katashiro turn and began to walk away, but Kraven stopped him.

“You seriously have a bad feeling about this? Because I’ve been feeling like that too. Something about the forest is... strange these days.”

“You mean is seems... alive?”

“Something like that. It stares at you. Taunts you.” Kraven’s eyes had a new look in them. The seemed determined, serious. It was not the look one had before a slaughter. It was the look of someone before entering a fight that could easily swing either way. “And there’s something else. There is something in there. Something big. I’ve felt it ever since the night Heinrich left. Something is gathering in there. Things could go bad, Takara. But no matter what, we fight till the end. Deal?” Kraven smiled grimly at him.

“Yeah, deal. We fight till the end.”

“Well, the Captain is waiting. Best not anger him.” Katashiro nodded, took one last look at the forest, and then made his way towards his squad.

**********
The night reeked of the imminent fight. Kageryuu Zaraki could smell it, even taste it. That was how strong it was. He looked at the warriors around him, their faces burning with battle-hunger. Every one of them was ready to fight and kill and, if need be, die. They were excited, ready to slaughter their foes. But Kageryuu knew something they didn’t. He knew this fight was not going to be easy. He knew that something big was in the forest. He knew there were many powerful opponents hiding in its depths. He couldn’t sense their reiatsu, but he could sense their presence in every possible way one could sense. Their was power was that great. Surely they would give him some enjoyment before the battle ended. Only a few more moments and it will begin. I will cut through my enemies like a hot knife through butter. No one will stand in my way, he smiled to himself. Tonight, I will kill.

As if responding to Kageryuu’s thoughts, the kidou barrage from Wolfden began. The archaic guns pumped out round after round of sealed reiatsu, the red shells quickly covering the distance between Wolfden and the forest. The forest began to explode in great rifts of fire, dirt, and wood. Craters were torn into the ground, obliterating huge patches of trees, and setting fire to those that were left. It was a brilliant display of one of the spirit world’s most deadly weapons. Kageryuu’s smile widened, and he raised his zanpakutoh in the air, before swinging it down with a mighty roar, signaling the beginning of the advace.

As one, 11th Division let out their battle cry, surging forward like an unstoppable wave towards the forest. The kidou barrage was shooting farther in now, their destructive work having already been achieved on the outskirts. Katashiro Takara lead the way for his men, shouting out the battle howl. He whipped his zanpakutoh out, hearing the sound of other men drawing their blade with him. He increased his speed, the distance between him and the forest getting smaller and smaller with each stride, until finally he came to the demolished outskirts, leapt over the burnt trunk of a fallen tree, and then landed on the side of a massive crater. Katashiro began sliding down the steep side of the hole, his men doing the same as the landed on the edge of the crater. Katashiro reached the bottom, and began to run again. Upon reaching the opposite side of the crater, he flash stepped up the steep side, and landed next to a great patch of burning forest. The flames leapt up, consuming the trees. Great cracks could be heard as trees finally gave way and broke in to. He spent but a moment admiring the sight before resuming his sprint. He skirted around the outside of another crater, jumping over giant fragments of wood from the burst trees. He began to see the mangled burnt bodies of hollows as he ran forward. Something about them was strange, but he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what. He shook the thought from his mind, and focused on his charge. He was nearing parts of the forest that had not been completely demolished, the trees too massive to be destroyed by the shells. He also saw what looked like some primitive fortifications, low wood walls, ditches with spikes poking out from the ground. Pointless, a shinigami would never be caught be such a trap, but regardless, they were there alright. He quickened his pace, determined to reach the wall and his foes.

“Forward! Soon we will tear into our enemy!” he shouted, more to himself than anyone else. To his surprise, he got an answer.

“Faster, Takara, we must get to them faster!” Katashiro looked to his right, and saw Captain Zaraki running with him. The giant man stood over two meters tall, his black, spiked hair bent back by the wind. A huge, grim smile displayed itself across his gaunt, rough-hewn face. His normally green eyes burned orange with battle-frenzy.

“Yes, let us get into the fight!” came Kraven’s voice to the right, his eyes just as alight as Captain Zaraki’s. A great roar from behind him alerted Katashiro of the rest of 11th Division behind him.

Katashiro sprinted the last bit of land to the wooden wall and ditch, then leapt over it, swinging his sword high above his head as he did so. He landed with a thud on the other side of the ditch, and cut off the top of the nearest hollow’s head, which came off with a spurt of blood. Katashiro flipped into the air, easily dodging the lazy swipe of a second hollow. He landed behind it, then leapt forward and stabbed it through the back of the head. He removed the blade, and turned to cut off the hand of a third hollow, then stab a fourth through the jaw. Kraven leapt over and decapitated the handless hollow, then recklessly charged into another pack of the monsters. Katashiro joined him, cutting the leg off a hollow before cutting another’s mask in two. He saw Captain Zaraki leap over him, landing in the midst of a score of hollows, and making mincemeat of them.

“Where?! Where are the strong ones?! I know they are here!” He shouted, his figure drenched in blood. “I did not come here to play with these weaklings!” As if in answer to his prayers, silhouettes began appearing at the edge of Katashiro’s vision. His eyes widened in disbelief. Hundreds, no, thousands of hollows were marching towards them in a steady, organized formation.

“Impossible...” he heard someone mutter, and was surprised to see it was himself. “How can hollows be so... organized... I’ve seen anything like this...”

“These aren’t just your average hollows either. They’re strong.” Kraven muttered.

“It doesn’t matter, they will all die regardless.” Captain Zaraki grumbled, then charged. Katashiro, Kraven, and all of 11th Division followed in his wake.

**********
How could there be so many? And so many that are at this level, it’s unheard of. Where did they com from anyway? It sure as hell wasn’t this forest, the thoughts raced through Kraven Vernhoff’s mind as he raced towards the enemy line. Either way, the Captain is right. They are strong, but not strong enough to kill us all. They will all die one way or another.

A moment later he crashed into the enemy’s line, cutting the first hollow in two with a single swing, then gashing another across the face with the reverse attack. He killed two more hollows before they could even react, and cleaved another one’s mask in two when it tried to strike back. He was suddenly in a clearing, the fight swirling all around him. He saw Captain Zaraki cleaving apart three hollows at a time, and laughing as he did it. He saw a kid from his squad get ripped in half by a massive hollow, just before it was stabbed through the top of its head. He saw Takara fighting against ten opponents, taking them down one by own. The young man’s face, normally calm, kind, and thoughtful, was contorted with rage and anger. His medium length, black, spiky hair was matted with blood and gore. He sported a dozen nicks and cuts, his shihakusho torn and bloody.
Just as quickly as the clearing had opened, it closed, and Kraven once again began hacking his way through the throng. His hands had trouble holding his zanpakutoh, they were so slick with blood. Soon he was no longer fighting on solid ground, but on bodies of the fallen. The smell was awful. It had the choking, sticky-sweet smell of death, and smell of the burnt wood and bodies left behind by the kidou gun’s scorching fires. Without warning, he lost his footing and fell down onto the pile of bodies. A hollow swung down at him with an arm that had taken the shape of a sword. Kraven parried, then jabbed the hollow in the groin with his knee. It seemed to work on this one he noticed, and the hollow nearly collapsed with pain. He took the opening and sliced off the right side of the hollow’s head. He stood up, and found him self on what was now, essentially, high ground. He could see the forces mashing each other, cleaving each other apart. The battle was definitely tipping in the shinigami’s favor, however. The hollows had the number, but not the power to stop the whirlwinds of death created by the Captain, Takara, and himself.

But then something drew his attention. Somewhere, on the right flank, the shinigami forces were being overwhelmed. So their own dervish of death has appeared then... seems I should pay the bastard a visit. Two more powerful warriors showed themselves, one working his way towards the Captain, the other towards Katashiro. Well, they can take care of themselves, but I’d best push back the tide on the right. Kraven flash stepped his way over to the right flank, and began hacking his way towards his quarry.

**********
Kageryuu Zaraki was bored. There may be plenty of death all around him, and he was certainly causing a large portion of it, but crushing bugs is only fun for so long. He wanted something big, he wanted an exciting fight. Not this mindless cleaving of this meat. He could feel powerful enemies nearby, but he could never get a break in the fighting to find them. It was really starting to get on his nerves.

He caught sight of a circle of shinigami fighting back the hollow tide, and a plan hatched in his mind. Perhaps with them we may be able to clear a momentary eye in this storm, then I can get to tracking down a more powerful opponent. Kageryuu hacked his way towards the shinigami, but before he reached them two of them exploded into a show of blood and mangled limbs. A third was cleaved across the chest with such force he was flung five meters in the air. Kageryuu smiled grimly. Finally an opponent that might give me some sort of challenge, he thought. He quickly covered the last meter to the remaining shinigami, and parried a blow that would have shredded a fourth man.

“So, I finally have found you.” He said to the heavily armored hollow. “Now, let’s play.” Kageryuu sent a large burst of reiatsu out from himself, throwing everyone around him several meters back. He took a moment to get a good look at his opponent. It was outfitted in black, incredibly ornate, plate armor. Even his head was covered. Two curled horns emerged from the sides of its head, and in one hand it held a double-headed axe, and the other a metal cane with five chains dangling from it. At the end of each chain was a giant meat hook.

“Play? Very well, I guess I can play with you for a little bit. I don’t have long though, I’m a very busy man.” the thing hissed out of the vented face mask of its helm.

“Only a little bit? That’s no fun. Guess I’ll just have to make the most of it and kill you quickly, won’t I?”

**********
Katashiro Takara swung his zanpakutoh in yet another arc, leaving behind the ruined remians of two hollows. Things were going well. He guessed that, at least in the center of the line, 11th Division had only lost only twenty percent of its men. Pretty good considering how many hollows they had slain. He was already unable to see the ground, the bodies were so many. Still, something was wrong. This was too easy. While a huge organized army of hollows if without doubt not a good thing, it is not what he was truly worried about. An army has to have leaders, and the leaders, at least in this world, are always great warriors. The way he saw it, it was only a matter of time before said leaders arrived. Then the battle would be decided.

Katashiro wiped his brow clean of sweat and blood, and took a sudden moment of ‘peace’ to rest a bit. The fight was swirling all around him, and by now there really weren’t anymore lines, just a swirling melee. Katashiro looked around to see if he could spot any type of leader, slaying one would certainly lower the hollow’s morale. To his surprise, he saw Captain Zaraki engaged in a melee with a heavily armed, and highly skilled hollow.

“A leader...?” he muttered to himself. He looked to the right and saw Kraven fighting his way towards what looked like another hollow officer.

“Enjoying the sights?” came a voice from right behind him. It sounded like it was being spoken thought a metal pipe, the noise distorted and inhuman. Katashiro turned, swinging up his zanpakutoh to parry the blow he knew was coming. He met it dead on. His attacker was another heavily armored hollow, with a pair of ridged horns emerging from the sides of his helmet. The black, ornate, plate-mail shone in the light of the burning forest. The hollow wielded a great, serrated sword. Its two red eyes stared into Katashiro’s thought a small slit in its helm.

“Not particularly, the fight is too one-sided. The hollows are just so weak we’re bulldozing them.”

“Is that so? Then perhaps this will be the turning of the tide.”

[Chiwofen]

another section for ya
P.S. feel free to comment, i feel kind of stupid if its only my posts in here ><


Unwanted Surprises
Kraven Vernhoff stabbed yet another hollow through its bone-white mask, then carved through the side of its head, bringing his zanpakutoh up to parry a blow that would have decapitated him. The force behind the attack nearly caused him to lose his footing. He put his weight into his counterattack, slicing through the beasts club-like arm. It howled in pain before bringing down another lightning fast attack. Kraven lazily dodged it, then swung his zanpakutoh up, severing the hollow’s arm at the elbow. A huge spurt of blood erupted from it, and the hollow staggered back, dazed with pain and not quite understanding what had happened. Kraven took the opening and stabbed it through the jaw. It swayed from a moment, then toppled backwards like a felled tree. Kraven admired the sight for a moment, before jumping back into the fray, trying to catch his target.

This is going too slow, at this rate I’ll never catch him. No choice then, Kraven thought. He raised his arm up to shoulder level, palm facing outwards, and began to chant.

“Ruler of the skies, scourge of the impure. Creator of the sacred and purifying flame. Come down and scorch this land free of evil, destroy all in your path. Dig your fiery claws into and ground, and send forth the flames of hell! Destructive Art 43: Red Dragon’s Breath!” With this a huge wave of purging flame exploded from Kraven’s hand, setting fire to all in some place’s, exploding in huge fireballs in other. The destructive power was awesome, and it made Kraven glad he had not just practiced his zanjutsu.

Kraven saw a flicker of silver in the flames, and barely had his sword up in time to block the attack. Impossible, no ordinary hollow could... then it hit him. So, my prey has found me then.

“I take it you are... some kind of leader?” Kraven grunted over the strain of holding his sword in place. This guy is strong...

“Oh, I’m sorry. Guess I didn’t introduce myself. I am Draevus Soulslayer, Comandante of the Death Grip Legion. Good Evening.”

“Comandante...?”

“Yes, you could say I am the equivalent of a Shinigami Captain, though I think we are a bit more powerful.”

“I am Vice-Captain Kraven Vernhoff of the Wolfden 11th Division.”

“A Vice-Captain? Hmmm... so you are but a boy.” Draevus laughed.

“We will see who is a ‘boy’ after this, won’t we? Now, in the name of Heinrich Gustavan you will die!”

“Heinrich... is that his name?” Draevus asked, pulling the man’s severed head out of a pouch at his side.

“Bastard...”

“Enough talking. It bores me. Let’s have a bit of fun, shall we?” With this Draevus leapt back, and brought his sword into a ready position. “Come, boy.” Kraven’s face twisted with angry, and he leapt forward, swinging his zanpakutoh in from the side, intending to decapitate the Comandante. But he wasn’t there. Kraven felt an ice-cold hand grab his shoulder, and an armored knee jabbed into his side. Pain shot through his chest, and Kraven was sure he’d broken a rib or two.

“Do you really intend to fight me without releasing your zanpakutoh? It’d be quite boring if you didn’t.”

“Shut up! You are not worthy of seeing my shikai!” Kraven swung his zanpakutoh up towards Draevus’ ribs, but the hollow twisted his sword into an easy parry.

“Fine, but remember: Heinrich is counting on you.” Kraven’s face twitched with anger.

“Very well, if you wish to see it so bad, then I shall release it.” Kraven brought his zanpakutoh high into the air, where it began to glow white. “Purge, Crusader!” The glowing zanpakutoh burst into a million white lights, floating and swirling around him. “Sorry to make you wait, I really hate showing my release to the division. It doesn’t really suit out preferred style of fighting.”

“Interesting... so is it kidou based?” Draevus asked, sounding slightly interested.

“You will find out for yourself, won’t you?” A hollow, echoing laugh tore itself from the Comandante, and he leapt forward, bringing his sword down in a lightning fast arc meant to sever the Vice-Captain’s arm. But all it met was a shield of white lights so bright they nearly blinded him.

“What... is this?” he exclaimed, sounding more than a bit angry. “How can they do this?!”

“You forget, though it is in many pieces, it is still a zanpakutoh. Crusader grants me a defense few can equal. Only a Captain’s speed is greater than Crusader's, and Crusader can block from all those angles that a normal zanpakutoh could never block from.”

“I see, so they are like thousands of tiny blades then... I knew a shinigami with a power much like this.”

“Really? I’d have liked to meet this shinigami. That is an interesting technique.” Kraven sounded genuinely interested with the comment.

“So now I’m guessing that those blades of yours will circle around me and slice me, eh?”

“Not quite. Crusader, Holy Cutting Lance!” Draevus eyes widened in surprise as a few of the lights circled out around him, and started to glow intensely.

“What the hell...” At once the lights each discharged a beam of white light, each one landing a direct hit on their target. The lance pierced right through him, nailing him to the pile of bodies he stood on. Blood began gurgling forth from his vented helm. “Impossible...”

“Crusader, Purify him!” Kraven leapt away, landed with a grunt as the impact twinged his broken ribs. The white lights closed in around him, and began to glow with an intense light. Draevus tried to get away, but the lances held fast. “Now you die, pup.” muttered Kraven.

Draevus muttered a curse, and then the white lights exploded, sending bodies, limbs, and chunks of armor flying over the battlefield. Kraven turned and began to walk away, when movement caught his eye. He turned to see Draevus slowly raising himself out of the smoking crater he lay in. Impossible... no one can survive that... thought Kraven.

“I am not... done with you, boy!” Draevus screeched, the anger in his tone was so strong one could taste it. “Did you think I would really... die so easily?” he was chuckling now. Kraven took a look at his mangled form. Huge chunks of armor has been torn out, leaving behind burnt and bleeding flesh. His entire left arm, as well as a large portion of his torso, had been completely ripped off. How the hell can he still be alive after that... it doesn’t make sense, the thought raced through Kraven’s mind, and no matter how hard he thought, he could not think of an answer.

“How did you survive that?!” Kraven exclaimed. “No one has ever survived a direct hit from Crusader!”

“Didn’t I tell you? I’m more powerful than a Captain! Did you think... I would... die from that?” he trouble getting the words out of his mouth, and blood spilt from his helm with every word. He’s almost dead, another shot from that and he’ll easily be killed. And seeing how wounded he is, that won’t be very hard to accomplish, Kraven thought. “And if you think that I’m going to be a pushover with these injuries, then I have something to tell you.” With this he raised his right arm straight up, pointed his black great-sword into the air. Red light began to gather around it.

“SHIKAI!” Draevus shouted. Kraven’s eyes widened in surprise as the sword changed shape. It nearly doubled in size, the blade changed from black to an evil bronze. Two blades grew out from its point, and curved downwards. At the base of the hilt, three claws erupted out, holding a fiery orb in their grasp. The blade began to crack, and each piece drifted slightly apart from each other, revealing what looked like small rivers of molten metal. Draevus himself seemed to grow another meter taller, and he emitted terror. His eyes changed from golden yellow to a burning, angry red.

“Now you will die for me, boy.” With that he leapt forward so fast Kraven could barely keep up with him. Crusader barely managed to get in place to block the blow. A shikai... impossible. Only the Arrancar could release, and this region was wiped clear of the centuries ago. Kraven blocked another blow as Draevus flipped over him, stabbing at his back. Well, wait... it is obvious that these hollows do not come from here, so it is possible that he is an Arrancar...

“What are you? An Arrancar?” Kraven grunted. Draevus let out an insane cackle.

“No boy, I am not an Arrancar.” Draevus said, his voice filled with malice. “The Arrancar are weak. That is why they were wiped out all those years ago. I am insulted to even be compared to one of them.” As he said this, he flash stepped back in front of Kraven, and pointed at him with his sword. “But now I am bored, so I will kill you.” with that, his sword exploded into several twisting waves of molten metal, as well as pieces of the blade. They shot towards Kraven, and he surrounded himself with Crusader’s light, shielding himself from all directions

“A pretty display, shinigami. It will not save you, however. My zanpakutoh will break through eventually, and you will be incinerated.” Draevus taunted. Kraven’s mind raced, trying to think of a way to get out of his predicament. Well, there is always that. It could work... Kraven’s face hardened as he accepted his last resort plan.

“Crusader, Purify!” he shouted, and the white lights began glowing with an intense light. Somewhere one of them went out, and a drop of molten metal fell on Kraven’s leg, beginning to burn through it. The pain was intense, but Kraven could not get the drop of his leg. Damn it, why is Crusader taking so long... he thought. Finally, the lights reached their peak of brightness, and exploded in a blinding flash. Draevus’ zanpakutoh was scattered over the area, molten metal landing on both hollows and shinigami, setting them afire. Shards of the blade cut into member of both sides, severing limbs, ripping open chests. The scene worsened at fire spread to the mounds of bodies, giving the whole right flank the scent of burnt flesh and hair.

Draevus Soulslayer began to walk away from the sight, when a sudden burst of reiatsu alerted him of the coming attack. He turned just in time to parry an attack with the shattered remains of his sword. His eyes widened in unwanted surprise. Kraven Vernhoff stood there, a great white light in the shape of sword in his hand.

“Impossible, you should have died...” he stuttered. “That attack almost killed me, and I am way tougher than a mere Vice-Captain.”

“I shielded myself from the worst of it using some of Crusader. Instead of being dead, I only have a few shattered bones and torn muscles.” Kraven grunted in response. “Which is more than enough to beat you.” Draevus took a look at Kraven, and could see that it was just talk. One arm dangled uselessly at his side, and the Vice-Captain had trouble staying on his feet. His shihakusho was shredded and bloody, and he had hundreds of gashes and burns across his body.

“I admire you courage and daring, but it is, in the end, pointless. You are weakened, and now I will kill you.”

“With that broken sword of yours?” Kraven sneered.

“Yes,” smiled Draevus, “I will kill you, boy, with this broken sword of mine.” He wasn’t quite sure of his words, however. His sword was shattered, and he didn’t know if the scattered pieces would respond to his call. And he and the Vice-Captain were both severely wounded. This battle would be decided in the next few attacks.

“Let us finish this then.” Kraven rush forward again, swinging his zanpakutoh down in what would have killed an ordinary opponent, but no matter how injured Draevus was, he would never fall to that level. He sidestepped the attack and swung upwards with his broken blade, intending to catch the man in the gut.

“Destructive Art 31: Red Flame Cannon!” Kraven yelled. He did not have the strength to put much power into it, but it hit Draevus’ blade, knocking it away. Kraven landed, the sprung back into the attack. He caught Draevus off-guard, and cut a gash across his burnt chest. But Draevus was quick, and swung his blade up in a counterattack, cutting a chunk out of Kraven’s shoulder. Kraven landed, and almost collapsed, but managed to turn to face his foe. Both were breathing heavily, and blood poured in a steady stream from their mouths.

“Good attack, boy, but you needed more power in it.” Draevus gasped. “Pity we don’t have more energy, this was starting to get fun.”

“Yeah, but no point in wishing for what we can’t have, right?” Kraven replied.

“This next attack will finish it, boy. Are you ready?”

“Might as well get it over with.” Kraven sighed. He raised his zanpakutoh into an attack stance, and braced himself. Draevus did the same, and as one they charged at each other. Kraven’s sword glowed more intensely that ever had before, and Draevus’ blade melted into a molten, flowing blade. With a swing the two swords met, light and fire collided, and for just a moment it looked like they had stopped each others’ attack cold. But just for a moment. Draevus’ sword flowed around Kraven’s, then hardened into a bronze blade, stabbing him through the chest. Kraven’s blade cut up through Draevus’ side, and finally stopping midway through his torso. Draevus swung his blade sideways, cleaving through the right side of Kraven’s chest in a spurt of blood. Kraven’s sword faded, and then extinguished. Only the hilt remained. Kraven sunk to his knees, staying conscious only by pure will.

“A good fight, boy. You are clearly ahead of your fellow Vice-Captains. It’s a pity you will die here.” Draevus told him, almost kindly, “In these last moments of your life, I shall tell you what I am. I am an Extremo, as is every hollow in this army, to some extent. Do you understand, boy?” Kraven tried to respond, but only blood came out of his mouth. “Of course not, you have no idea what an Extremo is, do you? You and your friends have no idea what is coming...” Draevus said the last line with a hint of pity, and walked away. Behind him he heard Kraven Vernhoff collapse into darkness. A pity, the kid was strong. Well, life is full of unwanted surprises, they say, he thought as he cleaved his way through the fray, and then disappeared into the night.

[Chiwofen]

another update for you guys, hope you like it


Death’s Fist strikes;
11th Division Destroyed?
Captain Kageryuu Zaraki eyed his opponent with excitement. The creature was about his height, and covered from head to toe in black, ornate, plate-mail. The axe he carried looked large enough to fell the giant trees around them, and the serrated edges told Kageryuu that even a small cut could turn into a massive wound. But that axe wasn’t what excited him. It was the hooks. Five meter long chains dangled from a pole that looked about half the length of its appendages. And attached to those were five massive meat hooks, the kind you could hang a whole cow from. The hollow itself was massive, its lumbering steps crushing bodies as they circled each other. Its shoulders were the size of boulders, the chest as big around as an oak. Even the legs were as big as Kageryuu’s chest. Most men would have quailed at the beast, but Kageryuu was not most men. An enormous grin split his face, revealing his bone-white teeth.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to kill you quickly like I’d thought. You look like too much fun to kill right away.”

“You must be Captain Kageryuu Zaraki, of Wolfden’s 11th Division. I have heard of you. You are said the be the strongest of your line in centuries. I am Drogan Enrogan, General of the Death Grip Legion’s 2nd Battalion. Pleased to be of your acquaintance.” Drogan’s metallic voice boomed over the battlefield.

“You seem to know me already, so I see no need to introduce myself. But enough talk, I’m itching to cross my blades with you.” Kageryuu shouted out his challenge, his grin widening as he did. His eyes seemed to glow with his hunger to fight.

“I whole-heartedly agree with you, it would be an honor to cross blades with such a fine opponent.” The giant bent his knees slightly, and drew his axe back, ready to strike. His left arm was held as his side, the flail dangling from his loose hand. “May the most honorable warrior win.”

Kageryuu leapt forward, swinging his body length zanpakutoh in a downward arc, using both hands. Drogan met it with his axe, catching it where the haft met the head. His swung up with his other arm, attempting to hook the Captain’s back, but Kageryuu flipped upwards, sliding his sword over the axe and slicing a hunk of flesh out of Drogan’s forearm. The giant barely noticed it, and immediately went into the offensive, turning and bringing his axe crashing down on the spot Kageryuu had been a moment earlier. The axe tore through bodies, rending off limbs and causing blood to gout out of the shredded corpses. Kageryuu charged Drogan again, but the enormous hollow brought up his flail haft and blocked the blow, swinging his axe from the right at the same time. Kageryuu ducked the attack, and drew back before sending another attack flashing in towards the giant’s legs, but it was met with the beast’s axe. Kageryuu dodged an attack from the flail, but was hit from the return attack. The captain was sent flying across the makeshift arena, and landed on a mound of bodies. Good thing the return attack hit me with the backside of the hooks, he thought, otherwise I’d have a bit more than a bruise on my shoulder. He barely had time to stand up before Drogan crashed into him, swinging his axe in a potentially decapitating arc, Kageryuu ducked underneath it, and sidestepped the attack from the hooks. Kageryuu leapt into the air, then dived down into the attack. Drogan met the attack with his axe, and swung the flailing hooks up at him. Kageryuu pushed himself away from the deadly swipe, and landed slightly behind the giant, and stabbed upwards with his zanpakutoh, catching Drogan in the side of the ribs. The massive hollow let out a low grunt as the pain registered, and swung his axe down with such force even Kageryuu had trouble parrying it.

The second attack from the flail never came, as Drogan did not have the mobility to swing it. So that’s his weakness then. If I can just attack from places he get his flail in then I can easily take him down, Kageryuu thought. But then, of course, it wouldn’t be any fun, would it? His huge grin spread across his face again, and he ripped his sword through Drogan’s chest, sending a spurt of blood and bone chip from the great breach in the armor. The giant twisted his chest and made a clumsy swipe with his flail, and Kageryuu easily dodged it, then swung his zanpakutoh down on the outstretched arm. It cut into the upper portion of Drogan’s arm, and Kageryuu twisted and pulled upwards, ripping a huge chunk out of the limb. Drogan let out a bellow of pain as his arm went limp, the flail rolling out of his useless fingers. He made a lightning fast blow with his axe, but Kageryuu jumped over it, and swung down with his zanpakutoh, putting all his strength into the attack. He achieved his intent. The zanpakutoh met the axe just below the head, snapping the wooden haft in two. He quickly drew back to admire the damage he had done. Drogan’s left arm lay dead and useless at his side, blood pumping from the wound. His chest gushed even more blood, his entire breastplate was soaked with it, as well as the ground below him. The giant dropped his broken axe haft, and picked up the flail that lay on the ground.

“I am not done yet, taichou.” Drogan said, a note of reassurance in his voice. “These wounds will not hinder me much at all. You will see.”

“Taichou? It’s been a long time since I was last referred to as that.”

“My apologies, Captain Zaraki. I am just a bit old-fashioned.”

“No, stick with ‘taichou.’ I think it suits me better.”

“Very well, Zaraki-taichou. Now I have a favor ask you.”

“And what favor would that be?”

“Bring out you shikai. I would like to fight you with mine.” Kageryuu’s eyes widened in surprise. His Shikai? Is he an arrancar? I thought they were wiped out ages ago...

“I’m guessing I won’t get to see yours until I release mine, right?”

“You would be correct in thinking so.”

“Then I shall show you.” Kageryuu brought his sword into the air, flipped it over, and then stabbed it into the bodies below him. He gripped the hilt with both hands, twisted his face into a snarl, and with a roar he pulled his right hand up. For a split second the air around him lit up, it exploded in a wave of fiery reiatsu. When the air returned to normal, Captain Kageryuu Zaraki stood there, a body length sword in each hand. The blades were notched and battered, but something about them told of the blood they had spilt over the ages. If one had the ability to hear their murderous screeching, they would go insane in a matter of moments. Only Kageryuu could hear them, and like the rest of his bloodline he’d never had any sanity to begin with.

“Interesting, you did not even call your zanpakutoh’s name. However, I will not delay this clash.” Drogan raised his right arm, pointing it at Kageryuu. His slowly raised his mangled left arm, and placed his hand on his right forearm.

“Utsu, Katana no Gekido!” He shouted. The whole forest echoed from his booming voice, and then he was nearly knocked flat by the incredible burst of reiatsu. He braced himself against the incredible explosive force, all the while waiting for the cloud of debris to clear out. Damn, this reiatsu is incredible. It’s certainly powerful enough to rival my own. This fight is about to get interesting, an excited grin spread across his face, and his eyes glowed intensely. His blood howl through his veins, and his swords screeched their desire to rend his enemy.

The smoke and debris cleared away after a few moments, and there stood Drogan Enrogon and his promised shikai. Drogan had more than doubled in height, and spikes adorned his pauldrons, each one over a half-meter in length. His armor had turned from black to a dazzling gold, and fiery symbols played across it. The wound in his arm had mostly healed up, and he seemed to have use of it again. His chest wound remained, however, much to Kageryuu’s delight.

The most stunning thing, however, was the sword that Drogan now carried. It was over four meters in length, and the blade was just less than a half-meter wide. It maintain this width for the whole length of the blade, and ended in a razor sharp tip. Two blue, entwined dragons wound their way up the blade on each side, and their shade seemed to flow and change. The rest of the of the sword was a reddish brown, and the cross-guard was carved in the shape of two fire-breathing dragons. The hilt spiraled down for a meter before ending in a fist sized sapphire. The whole sword exuded a majestic, yet angry, aura.

“I hope you are not disappointed, Zaraki-taichou.” Drogan boomed.

“Not at all, your reiatsu has skyrocketed, and that sword of yours looks powerful. Things may get exciting after all.” Kageryuu leapt forward with lightning speed, swinging his first sword down, which was lazily parried by Drogan’s massive zanpakutoh. A zanpakutoh that changed its shape, not that is something that was never mentioned about the Arrancar, Kageryuu thought as he swiped down with his second sword, colliding with Drogan’s armor. To his astonishment, the blow did not even scratch the ornate plate-mail. Drogan took the captain’s moment of surprise to swing his spare hand at Kageryuu’s chest, but at the last second he flash stepped out of the way, coming to rest a few strides behind him. He immediately went back into the attack, attempting to stab the giant in the back, but Drogan parried the blow with his zanpakutoh, then plowed his fist into the captain’s chest before he could react. Kageryuu flew thought the air, and landed on a pile a broken trees, but immediately stood up, a huge grin splitting his face as blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes burned with excitement.

“So strong! It has been ages since I have been able to enjoy myself this much!” Kageryuu rushed forward with blinding speed, shooting forth a massive wave of reiatsu at the attack Drogan made, delaying him just enough for Kageryuu to get by. He jumped up, ducking the fist that was thrown at him, and then descended on the inner part of Drogan’s shoulder. His blades passed through the armor this time, and cut a massive gash from Drogan’s shoulder to his lower chest. Blood spurted forth, and Kageryuu’s insane laughter could be heard. Drogan was not slowed, however, and he swung his massive sword down upon the captain. Kageryuu dodged the blow, and cut upwards through Drogan’s forearm, leaving another gash. Drogan knocked Kageryuu away with his fist, and jumped backwards several strides.

“I compliment you on your strength as well, taichou. You are indeed the first true warrior I’ve had the chance to wield my power against.” Drogan said, genuine admiration in his voice. “If we were not enemies, I’d buy you a drink.”

“Shut up, there’s no need to stall.” Kageryuu cackled. “Besides, you’re making me thirsty.” He leapt forward into the attack again, this time diving towards Drogan’s mid-section. The hollow easily blocked the blow, and returned the attack with his fist. “Are you ever going to use that zanpakutoh of yours?” Kageryuu taunted as he ducked underneath the chest sized hand.

“If you so wish.” Drogan gave his sword a shove, pushing the captain back a few paces, and then sent his sword crashing down on him. Kageryuu easily dodged the first attack, but barely escaped the next swing. He attempted to flip out of the way of a third attack, but was too slow. The sword’s tip sliced a ragged gash across the captain’s chest, and sent him flying into a small pile of bodies. Drogan then bounded forward, reaching out to grab the seemingly dazed man. But Kageryuu had too much adrenaline pumping through his veins to be dazed. He flashed a zanpakutoh at the outstretched hand, severing two of the fingers. Drogan drew back his hand in a bellow of pain and rage, swinging his sword down at the captain. Kageryuu met it with both his swords, stopping the blow cold.

“Sorry, Drogan, but I must end this now.” An insane amount of reiatsu suddenly burst forth from the captain, and he flashed forward so fast Drogan could barely see him, let alone defend against him. One sword flashed in and stabbed Drogan through the chest, the armor there parting like water before Kageryuu’s reiatsu. The captain landed on Drogan’s shoulder, and turned, bracing himself on the embedded sword. He then severed the giant’s spine with his second zanpakutoh, before pulling out his first and leaping off the massive hollow.

“What... the hell... was that?” Drogan gurgled as he swayed, barely keeping himself upright. “How did defeat me so easily just now? Were you toying with me earlier?”

“Of course not. I never have patience to toy with my foes. Besides, it is insulting to their honor.”

“Then where did that reiatsu come from? How did your speed and power increase so much? It just doesn’t make sense.”

“It makes perfect sense, considering my bloodline. The Zaraki lineage is know for their prowess in battle, how they seem to never die. This is because, for most of us, our reiatsu is sealed away in our bodies. That is why we become more powerful when we are wounded. The sealed reiatsu is released from our bodies, the bigger the wound, the more reiatsu that pours forth from it. Anything more than this I cannot tell you. I have not the patience nor the desire to know why it is. Knowing it is is more than enough for me.” Kageryuu said, his tone bored and uninterested.

“I see... well, I thank you for the chance to test myself against you, taichou. It has been an honor.” Drogan toppled over, crashing down to the battlefield. His armor and sword cracked, then shattered, the pieces turning to dust, then fading away. Drogan’s normal form lay on the ground, horribly wounded, but slightly alive. “If we both survive this, I promise I’ll get you a drink.”

“Ah, I look forward to it.” Kageryuu said, then leapt into the fray once again.


**********

Katashiro Takara threw his weight into his sword, pushing the hollow back a few paces. He then raised his sword up, and brought it down in a swift arc. The hollow met the attack with its own blade, and the two blades screeched against each other, sparks flying off them where they met. The hollow tried to jab Katashiro in the stomach with its knee, but the attack was sidestepped, and Katashiro withdrew his blade as he jumped into the air. He came down at his opponent head first, and his and his opponent’s blades met in a shower of sparks for a moment, then Katashiro pushed himself away with his zanpakutoh, and flipping over to land on his feet.

“Quick... strong too. This fight could be a slight challenge...” the hollow was saying to itself, “the punk won’t last long if I release though...”

“Release? So you are an Arrancar then?”

“No, I am not an Arrancar. I am an Extremo, if you really want to know. Now quiet, you are interrupting my train of thought.” the hollow sounded extremely annoyed. It stood there, one hand resting on its sword’s pommel, which it had planted in one of the bodies it stood on, and the other hand was thoughtfully stroking its armored jaw. Katashiro took the opportunity to get a good look at his foe. It stood just over a meter and a half tall, and two red eyes could be seen shining from behind its helmet. The hollow was lean, one could even say skinny, but it didn’t look weak. An aura of power and authority radiated from it, and one could easily sense its abnormally high reiatsu. The hollow was armored from head to toe in black plate-mail, and strange symbols flowed across its surface, giving it an eerie appearance in the light of the burning forest. Two ridged horns sprouted from its helmet, and curved forward, like a the horns of a bull. Its sword was roughly body length, the blade edged with razor sharp teeth. The blade itself was black, and hilt and cross-guard a dull gold. In all, the hollow looked like he wasn’t going to just roll over and die.

Without warning, the hollow ripped his sword out of the corpse it was impaling, and charged Katashiro. He brought his zanpakutoh up and parried the blow, then forced their swords towards the ground. They stayed that way for a moment, blades locked, each unable to see any opening is the other’s defenses. The hollow suddenly withdrew his sword and jumped back, crouching down as it landed, then rising a second later. It stood there for a moment, not doing anything, appearing to be in deep thought. Then it seemed to make some sort of decision, and it raised its sword straight up in the air, and exclaimed a single word.

“Shikai!” For a moment nothing happened, then the sword suddenly burst into blue flames, the black blade disappearing. The flames shifted into some sort of shape, then began to extinguish. In their place they left the same black metal as before, but in a different shape. Instead of a great-sword, the hollow now held a spiked mace. He twirled it in his hand a few times, took a practice swipe, then leapt at Katashiro. He brought his zanpakutoh up and caught the mace as the base of the head, one of the spikes stopping an inch from his chest.

“Shoot, Darksphere!” Before Katashiro could register what was happening, three of the mace’s spikes shot out of the head. One embedded itself in his left shoulder, another in the center of his chest, and a third wound up stuck in his side. Pain whipped through Katashiro’s body, and he felt blood flowing out of the holes the spikes had made. Somehow, he managed to push the hollow away again, then he sunk to one knee, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“Hurts, doesn’t it?” the hollow sneered, “You should be honored though, you are one of the first Shinigami I’ve used it on. What rank are you anyway?”

“Does it really interest you? Or do just want to know so you can gloat?”

“I am genuinely interesting in knowing your rank. Are you a Vice-Captain?”

“No, I’m the 11th Division’s third-seat.” Katashiro answered. He didn’t really know why, but it distracted him from the pain for a moment.

“Third-seat? What a fool I am. I should not have used my Shikai on you. You are too weak to even see it.” the hollow sounded upset with himself, and Katashiro nearly laughed at his opponent’s quirky nature. Almost. Instead he rose to his feet, holding his zanpakutoh in both hands.

“Soku, Ankoku!” he shouted with grim determination, another mouthful of blood pouring from his throat as he said it. The hollow looked at him, and cocked his head slightly to the side, like a curious animal. Katashiro’s zanpakutoh extended until it was nearly body length in size, and the blade turned the darkest black. In contrast to the blade, the hilt took on a bright silver hue, and a small chain poured out of the bottom of the hilt. Katashiro leapt forward at his opponent without warning, catching the mace on the haft and twisting it down, then slicing upwards. The hollow stumbled back, a huge gout of blood spurting from the new gash in its chest. Its eyes visibly widened behind its helmeted face. It barely had time to raise its weapon to block the next attack, which it caught with the head of its mace, and then swung down, attempting to create and opening in Katashiro’s defenses. Katashiro, however, slid his zanpakutoh out from under the mace, and blocked the upward swing aimed at his chest. The hollows eyes narrowed, giving off an angry impression.

“Shoot, Deathsphere!”

“Kage Aruku.” Katashiro simply stated. The hollow’s mace shot out four more spikes, but Katashiro was suddenly engulfed in shadow, and then disappeared. The spikes thudded uselessly into a pile a bodies. The hollow glanced around in a panic, unable to sense the shinigami. It calmed itself down, and slowly began to scan its surroundings. Nothing. Where did the bastard go!? The though shot through the hollow’s mind. He was here, just a moment earlier... this must be his zanpakutoh’s ability. The hollow was about to give up, and return to the fray, when something grabbed his shoulder.

“Looking for me?” smiled Katashiro, thrusting his blade into the hollow’s back. His zanpakutoh passed right through the hollow, erupting through its chest in a burst of blood. Impossible... how could I be defeated by this weakling? He isn’t even a Vice Captain... the thought burned itself in the hollow’s mind. And what was that ability he used earlier?

“Kage Aruku,” explained Katashiro, as if reading the hollow’s mind, “it engulfs me in shadow, then I ‘vanish,’ so to speak.”

“You are...” the hollow struggled for some words, “strong for a third-seat.” Katashiro laughed.

“I’ve been offered a promotion several times, but I’ve always denied it. I hate paperwork.”

“What is your name, shinigami?”

“Katashiro Takara.” Katashiro answered. The hollow tried to say something, but it merely coughed up a lungful of blood, and then went limp. Katashiro sighed and withdrew his zanpakutoh, and the hollow’s body become just another in the pile. He was about to jump back into the melee, when a familiar chant began to reach his ears.

“...great heavens...” he looked around for the source, trying to remember where’d he’d heard it before, “...release your rage...” his eyes settled upon the source of the noise, a robed figure on top of a small ridge, just 50 strides away. “...burn the earth with your anger...” suddenly, he remember where had heard the chant. Oh shit. He bounded towards the figure, knowing that is was too far to reach in time. “...I call you down, fury of the gods...” Katashiro noticed Captain Zaraki charging towards the figure as well, both zanpakutohs ready to kill. “...Destructive Art 71...” I’m too late, the thought repeated itself a thousand times in Katashiro’s head. This is bad, he’s going to cast...

“Firestorm!” The figure finished his chant, Katashiro was still five strides away. For a second time slowed to a crawl. Katashiro could see small, fiery lights begin to appear all across the battlefield. They glowed with a dim, orange light, as they slowing floated down from the sky. It was, at first, quite beautiful. It was like orange, fiery snow was falling from the heavens. For a moment Katashiro forgot the destructive power they were soon to unleash, and he was lost in wonder and amazement at the sight. But the next phase of the kidou snapped him out of it. The lights began to expand, and glow brightly. They soon lit up the whole battlefield like flares, a small taste of what would happen next. Finally, one of them burst into flame, and time sped up again. Across the battlefield, and the surrounding area, the fiery lights exploded into great scorching fireballs. Their lashing heat burned through hollow and shinigami alike, the force ripping off limbs, sending bodies soaring through the air. A light less than ten strides from him caught his eye, and he didn’t even have time to utter a curse before the light exploded into its deadly promise. Katashiro’s was thrown to his left with jarring force, and he could feel the heat scorching his body. He pictured himself flying through the air alight, his skin burning, a scream trying to tear itself from his burnt throat... He shook the thought from his head, and turned back to reality. His vision was going black at the edges, and the pain he felt was becoming distant. He knew consciousness was leaving him, and there was nothing he could do.

The last image he saw before darkness took him was that of his bloodied and battered captain laughing maniacally on the top of the ridge, holding something up in his clenched fist, just as he was engulfed by flame.

[Chiwofen]

another update for anyone who is interested.
also, please post some feedback if you read this, it helps (if this story sucks id like to know, then i can stop desecrating the boards...)

The Battle Ends;
Memories at the Day’s End
“Sir, are you okay?” What the hell, where’s it coming from? Everything is black.

“Sir, can you hear me?” the voice sounded young, and more than a bit worried. Am I dreaming? Am I dead?

“Out of the way, I’ll get the lazy bastard up.” This voice was different. It was low, and rough; like two stones being ground upon each other. What the hell is going on? “Takara! Wake up or I’ll knock your head in!”

“Sir, you really shouldn’t do that...” said the first voice. I have a bad feeling about this...

“Get your ass up, Takara!” shouted the second voice. Katashiro felt a strong hand grab his shirt, and lifted him up. He jolted back to full consciousness, and let out a yelp of surprise when he found his Captain staring him murderously in the face. “Good morning, I hope you got your beauty sleep, sunshine. We got lots of work to do.” Kageryuu tossed him a few feet, and Katashiro groaned as he skidded on the hard ground.

“Good to see you too, Captain.” he managed to say as he slowly stood up. He stretched out his arms, grimacing as the pain shot through his stiff limbs. He took in his surroundings, feeling confused when he did not recognize the burnt and battered forest around him. Then the smell hit him. The smell of rotting bodies, dried blood, and burning flesh. He felt a light breeze blowing against him, and then his began to sting as a cloud of smoke momentarily engulfed him. What the hell is this? He stepped out of the stinking cloud, covering his nose and mouth so he would not inhale the fumes. His eyes widened in a combination of horror and awe, and he saw the source of the smell. Most of his division were carrying bodies of hollows to hundreds of different piles, and the few others were constructing great funeral piles to burn the bodies of fallen shinigami. His eyes drifted to a massive pile of rock, at the top of which his Captain was sitting. He was lazily swinging one leg through the air, and the other rested on a hooded head. Suddenly it all came back. The death, the fire, the battle. He remembered his own fight with the hollow, and looked down at his chest. He found it swathed in bandages, and stained with blood in several places. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around to see a young, brown-haired shinigami looking nervously at him.

“What is it?” Katashiro asked.

“Are you alright sir? We found you badly injured under a pile of upturned earth after the Firestorm ended. We healed most of your injuries, but I just wanted to make sure that you were really alright.” Katashiro recognized the kid’s as the voice he’d heard earlier. He smiled slightly.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ve suffered worse. Go tend to some shinigami you really need your help.” The kid bowed low, then turned around and ran off to a hastily set up field hospital.

“Oi, Takara! Get your ass over here. I didn’t wake you up for nothing.” Katashiro turned to the voice, which had come from his captain. He let out a low groan. Just what I need after a fight like that: work. Despite his mind’s protests, he set off towards the rocks his captain was lounging on.

“What do you want?” he asked bitterly upon arriving at his destination, then wished he’d used a more respectful tone. Kageryuu cracked Katashiro on the head with the hilt of his zanpakutoh, and the third-seat nearly lost his balance on tumbled off the hill of broken rock.

“Until you become a captain, you’d best not disrespect me like that.” Kageryuu growled. Through his swimming vision, Katashiro swore he saw a massive grin momentarily split his captain’s face.

“Of course. What do you need me to do, captain?” Katashiro asked, his voice so respectful it edged on sarcastic.

“Nothing special, I just need you to check with all the squads and get their casualty reports.” Kageryuu flatly responded. “From the looks of it, we suffered some heavy losses.”

“Yeah, it sure as hell does.” Katashiro looked out over the battlefield. His heart sunk when he noticed that only a half-thousand shinigami were up and about. The field hospital also looked alarmingly inactive. “The hollows seem to have gotten it worse, at least.” Katashiro said, trying to brighten the moody conversation.

“Fool, we should have lost half as many as we did. That Firestorm at the end turned out to be devastating. It never should have happened.” Kageryuu sounded extremely angry with himself, too angry even for this. It gave Katashiro a foreboding feeling.

“What happened after the hollow cast Firestorm, I was knocked unconscious by the blast?” Katashiro hastily asked, trying to change the subject.

“Not too much. I leapt up the ridge through the flames, and decapitated the bastard. Didn’t help though, the kidou was already cast.” Kageryuu sounded distracted, his mind barely in the exchange.

“So the kidou just eventually ended and we killed the remaining hollows?”

“Tch, after the spell ended there were no hollows, and, as you can see, very few of us.” Kageryuu voice carried more anger, his whole body was tense. What the hell is wrong with him? I’ve never seen him like this. He can’t be this upset over the loss of almost his entire division...

“Captain, is there something else?” Kageryuu didn’t respond. His eyebrows tensed, and his eyes sharpened. His whole body irradiated a barely controlled anger. He sat like that for a minute, before standing up and thrusting something into Katashiro’s arms.

“Congratulations.” He said, and then flash stepped away, leaving Katashiro bewildered. He looked down at what his captain had given him. It was a hard object, a bit bigger than Katashiro’s hand. It was almost completely covered in shredded white cloth, only the object’s upper right corner showed. The thing was obviously made of some type of hard wood, and Katashiro really didn’t want to take it out of its wrappings. But in his heart he already knew what it was, and it would cause more trouble not to remove it from its trappings that it would to unwrap it.

His heart sank into his stomach as he brushed off the cloth, revealing the wooden badge within them. The Japanese character for ‘11' was painted on the front, and a white, cloth armband was attached to the back. Kraven’s Vice-Captain insignia... he thought, he’s dead then... one part of him assumed. No, Kraven can’t be dead! It’s impossible. He’s too strong, a second piece protested. But no matter what excuses he came up with, the proof was still there, sitting in his hand. He’s dead... the thought raced through his mind a thousand times, before he finally accepted it. He slipped the badge onto his arm, and set off towards the far left end of the line, stopping in at the field hospital on the way. The station was maintained by a squad from the 8th Division; the 8th were specialized in healing, but, unlike most of their counterparts in other citadels, were perfectly capable of holding their own in a fight. Katashiro lifted up the flap that served as the massive tent’s door, and was almost knocked over by the strong incense. He put his head back out the makeshift door, took a last breath of fresh air, and then plunged into the intoxicating sweetness.

As he covered his nose and mouth with his tattered shirt, he looked around at his surroundings. The tent was huge, 100 meters at the widest, and 30 at the peak. Katashiro could not tell the natural color of the walls and ceiling, the sweet incense made them appear to be a sickly yellow. The floor was originally covered by a huge white cloth, but it had been stained red by blood in most places. Hundreds of mattresses covered the ground, with narrow paths between them. As Katashiro had expected, the tent only contained a few hundred wounded, confirming the suspicions he and his captain had held. The death rate was going to be very high indeed. But this was not why Katashiro had come. He’d come to see Franz Heiderman, the officer in charge of this particular squad of medics. He saw him at a small, bloodstained, wooden desk, filling out some papers. He swiftly made his way over to him, being careful not to step on anyone, and greeting a few of the men he recognized. One man in 3rd squad, Weijian Dong, asked him the question he’d been hoping no one would.

“Sir, why are you..” He stopped for a moment and glanced around, then lowered his voice and continued, “why are you wearing the Vice-Captain’s badge?” His voice sounded like he really didn’t know, but the man’s rugged face told him that he already understood.

“Well,” Katashiro sighed, “Kraven is...” he gritted his teeth and hissed out the last word, “...dead.” Weijian nodded his head, his apprehension confirmed, then looked back up at Katashiro.

“I look forward to working with you, Vice-Captain Takara.” the man said after a moment, unable to find any words worthy of comforting Katashiro. The new Vice-Captain half-smiled at the shinigami.

“Thanks, and I’ll push for O’Brien to take over 3rd. The man might not be as good a fighter, but he’s a damn fine leader.”

“Thank you, sir.” Katashiro waved goodbye and walked the last few feet, his heart sinking even further down his chest. Despite trying not to look at the man’s wounds, he hadn’t missed the gaping hole in the man’s chest, or his missing legs. It was obvious the man would be dead within the hour. He shook the dark thoughts from his mind as he reached Franz Heiderman’s desk. The man was just a bit shorter than Katashiro, his curly, dark brown hair falling just past his shoulders. He was currently scribbling something on a piece of parchment.

“What is it, Takara?” the medic said without looking up. “I’m very busy right now, so it’d best be important.” his voice carried a hint of annoyance.

“What are you talking about, Heiderman? Even a fool could tell you’re doodling right now.” Katashiro said to his old friend. Heiderman looked up, an amused smile playing across his young, smooth face. His eyes were a sparkling emerald, and looked jovial as usual.

“Caught again, I see. You don’t miss a thing, do you?” he said, sounding just as amused as his face suggested.

“I didn’t even have to look, anyone who’s known you for a fraction as
long as I have knows you never do any work.” Heiderman outright laughed this time, his rich laughter causing some medics and wounded men to look in his direction with puzzled expressions.

“Oops, guess I’m disturbing the peace.” Heiderman said with a chuckle. Katashiro turned to see what Heiderman was talking about, revealing the insignia on his left arm. Heiderman’s face fell as his eyes landed upon it. “So you know...” he mumbled.

“What?” Katashiro said as he turned to address his friend, then realized what he meant when he followed the medic’s gaze. “Yes, Captain Zaraki told me...”

“I suppose you’ve come to see him then.”

“Yes, and there’s another thing I need to do afterwards.”

“Follow me.” Heiderman stood up and began making his way to a closed-off section of the tent. He stopped before entering it. “I’m warning you though, Vice-Captain Kraven did not die a pleasant death.” Heiderman pushed the door-flap aside, and stepped in.

“Those deaths are rare these days.” Katashiro sighed, and followed his friend in. What awaited him was worse than he’d thought. On a small mattress in the middle of the room, lay Kraven Vernhof, but Katashiro only knew this because Heiderman pointed it out to him. The former Vice-Captain wasn’t recognizable, his body and face were so badly sliced and burned. There was a huge gash from the middle of his chest to his right side, where a blade has obviously been ripped out. Clutched tightly in his right hand was the hilt of his zanpakutoh. He lowered his heat, staring at the ground.

“I’m sorry, Takara. It should not have ended like this.”

“No, this is how he would have wanted it do end. Death in battle, at the hands of a mighty foe.” Katashiro remembered the promise the two of them had made the night before, and clenched his teeth when he realized how Kraven had kept it, while he had not. “I hope I meet whoever gave him that wound,” Katashiro said, gesturing at the huge rend across his friend’s chest, “because when I do, I’m going to murder the bastard, and burn his body till it’s nothing more than a pile of charred meat.”

Katashiro left the medical tent, completely forgetting to get any casualty reports they had, and made his way to low, wooden wall that had marked the start of the battle. He sat on it, his legs braced against two large, wooden spikes. He gazed out over the demolished landscape, the complete destruction of it making a small part of him a bit happier. The kidou guns certainly did their work here, he thought, his face cracking into a small, grim smile. Then he noticed something. The kidou guns were silent. I thought they were supposed to fire for three whole days. He brushed the thought away. Most likely ran out of shells, 3rd Division is never really prepared for anything. He continued viewing the scene, the shattered trees, broken trunks, charred branches. He spied out a few dead hollows, some burnt, others shredded by fragments of the sealed reiatsu’s case. It didn’t do much for him, whenever he found something that he found slightly amusing, or would normally slake his thirst for revenge, the image of Kraven’s marred body would appear in his mind. After ten minutes of this, he stood up and went to check how the division was holding up.

He started towards the far right flank, greeting men as he came past them, and being forced to inform them of Kraven’s death. They would all look away for a moment, remembering their good times with the late Vice-Captain, and then turn to Katashiro and tell him ‘I look forward to working with you,’ and then Katashiro would get a casualty report from whoever was in charge of that particular squad. He was astonished by the amount of seated officers that had died, nearly 80% of them had fallen in the fight. It appears that the hollows that the Captain, Kraven, and I fought were not the only leaders in the army. He laughed at his stupidity. Of course there were others, every fighting force is like that, even the divisions. Upon arriving at the far right end of the line, he sat down, leaning against a felled tree, and began skimming through the reports. The casualties were appalling.

18th squad Officer: Sergeant Milkar: died from injuries after a fight
with a hollow ‘officer.’ Unseated Shinigami status: Dead: Walker, Kurzen, Diedrich, Kameyashi, Heise, Aljerik, Erit, Meyers, O’Keeth, Wang... Katashiro flipped to the next report. The officer was dead, as well as 80% of the men. There were five wounded. The division is in worse shape than I thought. At this rate we’ll be taken out of combat for years... The next report was better, the officer had slain a hollow leader, and his squad had suffered only 40% casualties. He flipped through a couple more reports, both officers had survived, both squad suffered about 70% casualties. Then there was a missing report, Katashiro flipped through his pile for a minute, then gave up and went to the next one. 12th squad Officer: Sergeant Hayes: slew hollow officer (perhaps an Arrancar, it released some sort of shikai)... Katashiro skipped down to the summary, and found they’d suffered 75% casualties. No wounded. There was a note at the bottom of the report, and Katashiro had to read it several times to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. In the absence of 13th squad’s officer, I have filled out the squads casualty report. After careful searching of the squad’s sector, and I regret to inform you that all squad members were found dead. There were no wounded or missing. Katashiro let the reports slide out of his hands, where they fell onto the ground, a few pages blowing away in the wind. And entire squad!? Impossible. That can’t be. For a whole squad to be slain... that’s... that’s 500 men! Katashiro put his head in his hands, and stared at the ground. He was realizing exactly how much the battle how cost them, how of the 10,000 men they had set out with, about a thousand remained. How did this operation turn into such a disaster? An image of the hollow he’d fought flashed through his mind. And what are they? Arrancar? He reviewed everything he’d learned about the Arrancar, and the wars that had been fought to purge them from this world. They seemed to fit the description of the Arrancar, but Katashiro somehow didn’t believe that they were. Damn, if only Kraven were still alive. He’s spent more time studying them than anyone else in the division. Katashiro sighed. No use wanting what you can’t have. He stood up, and began the arduous task of collecting the reports he’d dropped, and chasing after the pages that had been blown away in the wind.

**********

Katashiro finally arrived at the newly erected 11th Division Field HQ in the late afternoon, carrying a large stack of battle reports. The HQ was smaller than the medical tent he’d visited earlier, only about twenty meters wide and ten tall. It was a dull, tan color. At the back a huge tree jutted out of the roof, the reason the tent had been set up there Katashiro didn’t know, but he didn’t really care either. He just wanted to get rib of these reports and go relax somewhere, tell some Kraven stories with his friends, and drink to the man’s memory.

He stepped through the door-flap, dropped the reports on the floor, and looked at the back of the tent, planning to say something smart to his captain, before hightailing it out of there. Instead he shouted out in a combination of fear, surprise, and confusion at what he saw. Sitting at the back of the tent, chained to a giant tree, was a hollow. Not a small, average hollow, but a giant. It was a little over two meters tall, Katashiro guessed, and clad from head to toe in black, ornate plate-mail. It had several giant breaches in its armor, but the wounds underneath had somehow healed up. Sitting next across from it in a giant, padded chair was Captain Zaraki. One hand rested on his sword’s hilt, the other held a giant mug, most likely filled with beer.

“Is something wrong, Takara?” Kageryuu asked. He sounded as if he really didn’t see a problem.

“Yes! What the hell is that? You’ve done some crazy stuff before, but keeping one of those alive is by far the most insane!” Katashiro was almost deafened when the giant hollow replied.

“Those? You speak of me as if I were an inanimate object, Takara-fukutaichou.” A look of surprise spread across Katashiro’s face at the last part.

“Takara-fukutaichou? How the hell do you know my name? And how did you know I’m a Vice-Captain?”

“That’s a foolish question, but I will answer it nonetheless. Zaraki-taichou just used your name, and you are wearing a Fukutaichou’s insignia, are you not?” the beast said flatly. “I merely use my head.” it added at the last second. Katashiro turned slightly red with both anger and embarrassment. His shade only deepened when his captain began laughing.

“Captain, why is he here?” Katashiro said, trying to change the subject. A sense of relief filled him when Kageryuu played along.
“He didn’t die from the wounds I gave him, so we took him prisoner after the battle.”

“I see, hoping to get some information about what we’re up against?”

“Personally, I just took him prisoner because the bastard owes me a drink. But I guess we can pump him for information as well.” Katashiro imagined the hollow buying Kageryuu a drink in one of Wolfden’s bars, but just ended up laughing from the thought of it.

“By the way, I am Drogan Enrogan, Former General of the Death Grip Legion’s 2nd Battalion. I am pleased to be of your acquaintance.” Katashiro’s ears were ringing after the statement, and it took him a moment to respond.

“Why so formal?” he managed. Kageryuu cracked him on the head with his mug, causing Katashiro’s vision to swim for a second.

“It was an introduction, dumbass. And any honorable person would introduce themselves after that.” Kageryuu grinned as he said it. Trying to humiliate me, as always, Katashiro thought at he massaged his aching head. Well, I’m not really in to mood to end up getting my ass whooped by him, so I’ll play along.

“I am Katashiro Takara, Vice-Captain of the Wolfden 11th Division. Pleased to meet you.” he said bitterly.

“That’s better, but be more enthusiastic next time, or I’ll break your arm.” Kageryuu coldly threatened.

“Thanks for the advice, captain.” Kageryuu mumbled something in response, but Katashiro didn’t catch it. Something smart most likely. He turned his attention back to the hollow, Drogan. This one is... strange. He seems to have some sense of honor, and appears to be very formal and traditional. The use of the Captain’s and Vice-Captain’s traditional names shows as much.

“Takara-fukutaichou, I heard from Zaraki-taichou that you are the one who defeated Rodrick Kleiner. Is this true?” the giant thundered his question. Katashiro took a few moments to run through his memories of the battle, but no where in it did he remember fighting a ‘Rodrick Kleiner.’ Unless... does Drogan mean him? An image of the armored warrior flashed through his mind.

“Do you mean the mace wielding hollow? The one with the rune-etched armor?”

“The very same. His name was Rodrick Kleiner, General of the Death Grip Legion’s 1st Battalion. He was quite a foe.” Drogan said, his voice booming with a mixture of admiration and hate.

“You sound as if you had a grudge against him.”

“He had no sense of honor, the fact that he did not introduce himself show as much. But it is nothing important, especially now that he is dead. Still, he was a strong warrior, I’m sure you had a tough fight with him.”

“Not exactly, he got me once with his mace’s ability to shoot spikes, but he was overconfident and I easily destroyed him with my shikai.” Katashiro said, his voice dull and uninterested.

“I would like to hear the tale of your fight, if you would like to share it.”

Katashiro sighed, and was about to say no, but the look his captain was giving him told him it would be painful to stay silent. Reluctantly, he told his story. Kageryuu, for once, actually listened to him, his face showing some slight interest. Drogan just nodded his head every once in a while, as if confirming something in his mind.

“You are strong, Takara-fukutaichou. Most men would have died from Deathsphere’s ability. And the technique you used is interesting indeed. How does it work?”

“That I cannot tell you.” Katashiro quickly answered. He rarely told people how exactly his shikai’s abilities worked, and he certainly was not going to tell a hollow about it. He braced himself for a jab from his captain, but it never came.

“You can leave now if you like, I can’t think of any tasks for you.” Kageryuu said instead. Katashiro stood there for a moment, not sure if he wanted to find out more from Drogan, or drink with his friends. Kageryuu glanced at him, and added: “I can still change my mind.” Katashiro quickly left the tent.

He took a look around, looking for something to do, but couldn’t see anything interesting to look at. Might as well go find Heiderman, he’ll have some booze locked away somewhere. He never goes anywhere without it. He smiled and set off in the direction of the medical tent once again.

*********

A few hours later, Katashiro sitting around a campfire with the remaining seated officers, drinking and fondly telling stories of Kraven, or some of the other veterans that had died in the fight. He sat across from Heiderman, who was so drunk he had trouble sitting up. The equally drunk 6th seat, Fujio Suzuki, was trying to force another mug of liquor down the man’s throat. Katashiro found himself genuinely laughing for the first time in months, both at his friends’ antics and the mountains of stories being told.

“Oi, Takara, do you remember when we shaved Drutman’s hair a few years ago?” asked Norman Hayes, the division’s 12th seat. An image of Charlie Drutman, the late 7th seat, conjured itself up in his mind.

“What did you guys do to Drutman?” asked one of the newer officers, the 20th seat Katashiro supposed. He didn’t yet know the man’s name, and cursed himself for not paying attention at all those officer induction ceremonies.

“Drutman, as I’m sure you all know, had this long, black, well-groomed hair. He loved it, for some reason it attracted tons of women. So one night, after he’d gotten drunk down at the Hog’s Head Inn, he stumbled back home, where he passed out immediately after collapsing on his bed. A few of had been waiting for him, though, and once he was out we snuck in through one of the unlocked windows. We had several pairs of these huge scissors,” Hayes said, showing the size of them his hands, “and we had four men hold him down while three others cut his hair. You should have seen him struggle! But the four men we had holding him down were far stronger, and we managed to cut off almost all his hair.” A few of the men who’d been involved, Katashiro being one of them, were laughing as they recalled the prank.

“The best part was the next day,” Katashiro picked up the story were Norman had left off, “there had been an officers’ meeting called for the 11th Division, and he showed up. He must’ve gone to the barber shop that morning, because he had completely shaved off what had remained of his hair. At first no one recognized him, but then someone shouted ‘Holy shit, it’s Drutman!’ After that the whole assembly cracked up.”

“I think he ended up brawling with a few of the officers after that too,” Suzuki piped up, “Beat the crap out of three of them if I remember correctly.”

“No, it was four of us, we were telling the story in a bar and he walked in. Head shining like the moon,” said Miller, the 4th seat, with a slight chuckle, “he bashed one of us, Vernhoff I think, over the head with a chair, and went after the rest of us with a vengeance.” Miller massaged his jaw as if remembering the pain from his beating. The men laughed for a while, and then stared into the fire, a strange silence filling the area as they paid their respects to the dead officer.

“Good times...” one of them said, trying to get another conversation going. No one played along, and silence filled the gathering for another couple minutes.

“You guys remember the time we walked in on Milkar with those three girls from 2nd squad?” asked Hattori, the 9th seat, trying to lighten the mood. This time it worked, and the entire group burst out laughing, the memory shattering the dark mood that had been engulfing the group. A few of the men began telling the story of what happened, of course making a few exaggerations, like how it was five girls, not three, and telling what nasty stuff they’d seen them doing. The night was filled with uproarious laughter, and some more shinigami began to gather around, adding in their own stories, as well as their own liquor. An hour passed by, and Katashiro stood up, said goodbye, the officers began protesting, insisting he stay for another drink. He told them he’d be back later, and walked off into the night.

Good times... he thought, and smiled as he remembered a few of the stories that had been told. He found an nice, dark, quiet place and sat down on fallen tree. He looked up at the clear, starry sky, and let out a laugh when he thought of what Kraven would say if he found him here. ‘You better not get all emotional on me, you little pussy,’ is what he’d probably say. He was tired. He hadn’t really noticed it before, but now that he was alone, he could feel the bone-deep ache. I’ll get some good sleep tonight, he thought, and began nodding off. Just before sleep took him, however, something jolted him back to alertness. A shout. Katashiro looked around trying to find the source of the noise, but didn’t see anything. Just your imagination. He tried to fall back asleep, but the same shout woke him up again. He stood up, and hopped onto the broken tree trunk he’d been sitting on. He scanned the area, and saw someone running towards him. He was wearing a white captain’s jacket, and he was waving his arms frantically.

“What do you want?” Katashiro shouted, a little annoyed that he was being deprived of his precious sleep. The man flash stepped, and wound up next to Katashiro. He looked down at the captain, and recognized him as Bailong Li, the 5th Division’s commander. The gaunt, raven-haired man looked up at Katashiro, his pale blue eyes cutting him to his core.

“Where is Captain Zaraki? There’s trouble.”

[Chiwofen]

sorry for the delay, some stuff came up and i actually wound up busy over break xD
since break is over, ill try to get a new 'chapter' out each week, if possible.
so heres the next part to Redemption, enjoy.

Reunion;
Wolfden and the Gotei
Warning, ryoka have breached the outer wall. Prepare defensive measures, defend the fort at all costs! Repeat, hold the ryoka back, they must not take the fort!

Dragmor Uthiel tensed as he heard the alarm sounding. Damnit, we don’t have much time... If they’re already at the outer wall, then it’ll be mere moments before the reach us. We have to hurry this up.

“Heinz, Yamara, hurry up and get the Flash Amplifier ready! The guards can hold the beasts back, but not for long.” he shouted at the two chief technicians.

“Yes, sir. It will be ready for release in a few moments.” Yamara replied, his face tense. Dragmor looked back at the entrance. He swore he could hear noises coming from outside it, and the guards’ ready stances confirmed his suspicions.

“Yukira, Ethil, Fon, get onto the platform. We have to be ready to leave the moment this thing is running.” Dragmor yelled at his companions. Yukira and Ethil got on immediately, but Fon didn’t seem to be listening. Dragmor marched over to the black-haired youth, and lifted him up by his collar.

“Get on the damn platform, Fon. This is no time for your daydreaming!” Fon looked at him, his green eyes looking slightly confused, then he spoke.

“Ah, fine, just put me down, old man.” Dragmor let go of the kid, and watched him mount the small platform before turning his attention to the door. He could hear the monsters outside bashing it with all their strength, and he new it wouldn’t hold much longer. He glanced nervously at the machine that was supposed to save them, and then at the technicians preparing it. They were frantically running around the room, throwing levers, typing commands into consoles, and a few were charging the contraption with their own reiatsu. The machine seemed to be glowing with a pale blue light, which was quickly intensifying.

“Sir, the Flash Amplifier is almost ready! Just a little longer...” Yamara shouted over his shoulder. Dragmor was about to respond, when a deafening crack filled the chamber. He looked in the direction of the sound, and swore when he saw the source. The door had given way, and broken open. Scores of hollows began swarming into the room, breaking through the line of shinigami that were supposed to hold the invaders off until the operation inside was complete. One man stabbed a beast through the chest, then screamed as his arm was sheared off by a second monster. A moment later a third pulped the man’s head with an iron club. Another shinigami was torn in half by the crab-like claws of a giant hollow. Dragmor swore, told the technicians to hurry up, then leapt into the fray. He cut through a hollow’s thigh, and was rewarded with a bestial howl of pain. He then stabbed the creature through the throat, reducing its scream to a gurgle. He pulled his sword out of the corpse, and lifted it up to block a jarring blow from another hollow, its arms rippling with huge muscles. Dragmor rolled backwards, then leapt up, intending to cut the monster’s head in two. But the beast had other plans. Its fist caught him in mid air, and threw him back ten strides, where he painfully collided with a wall. He looked up, and shook his head to clear his vision. He hauled himself to a standing position, his chest burning with pain. The Flash Amplifier looked as if it had begun to work. The platform was rising, and blue reiatsu was shooting off it in bolts. Dragmor sighed with relief, and was about to offer a thanks to the gods, when something went horribly wrong. It started like a low, far off thunder, but quickly grew in intensity. The ground under his feet began to shake, and it was all he could do to keep his balance. Somehow he wound up looking at the ceiling, and he saw the stone began to crack and sag.

“Oh, shit.” Dragmor mumbled, and then a large chuck off stone broke off the roof. It crashed down a few paces away from the Flash Amplifier, crushing an unfortunate technician that was running by. A second piece fell down, this time landing in the middle of the melee. Dragmor winced as he heard the noise of breaking bones and the squelch of crushed bodies. A crash to his right caught his attention, and he looked to see what had been crushed now. He swore as his eyes caught sight of the victim. The stone had landed on some of the equipment that the Flash Amplifier operated on. The machine began to shoot off more bolts of reiatsu, which exploded when the impacted with anything. One bolt blew a chuck out of a wall, blasting out chunks of stone. Another bolt crashed into the ongoing combat, reducing both hollow and shinigami to chunks of burnt meat. The room began to shake even more violently, stone was raining down from the collapsing roof. The blue glow radiating from the Flash Amplifier intensified, reaching a nearly blinding brightness. Dragmor raised his hand to shield his eyes from the light, and out of the corner of his eye he saw hollows being cut down as the tried to do the same. With the light to their backs, the shinigami gained the advantage and began to push the invaders out of the room. However, in the grand scheme of things, it did not matter. At that mattered was that the Flash Amplifier did its job.

“Yamara, is the Flash Amplifier still operational?” Dragmor shouted at the techinician.

“We’re having some problems, sir. There isn’t enough reiatsu to power it, and the main generator was crushed by that falling stone.” Yamara replied, gesturing to the crushed machine behind Dragmor.

“Then we’ll just have to power it manually.” Dragmor said, and began stumbling towards the machine, squinting against the painful light.

“But sir, that might overload the machine, and could cause harm to the passengers!”

“If there is any chance this will make the Flash Amplifier work, then we will take it, no matter the risk. Understood?” Yamara nodded in reluctant agreement, and Dragmor raised arm, presses his palm against the machine’s core. It felt like putting your hand in a fire, and Dragmor almost pulled his hand off, but he knew that if he did, all hope would be lost. He bit his lip to keep himself from screaming, and soon the salty taste of blood filled his mouth. He concentrated all his reiatsu into the core, and was rewarded a few moments later as it began to whir. Through the blinding light, he saw a vague image of the platform rising again. Good, this might work after all. He continued pouring his reiatsu into the machine for what seemed like an eternity, his whole body was shaking with a combination of pain, and lack of energy.

“That’s enough sir, the Flash Amplifier is charged and ready!” Dragmor vaguely heard Yamara shout. He pulled his hand off the core, and stumbled back a few paces. Looking up, he saw that the platform was locked in place, and the intense glow had partially faded. The gears in the core began to whir faster, and black smoke belched from it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yamara throw one last switch, and then the Flash Amplifier exploded.

Time slowed down, and Dragmor watched as the blue blast slowly expanded. The metal framework of the machine melted away as the concentrated reiatsu hit them, and the reiatsu resistant stone floor was torn up in great chunks, and sent soaring through the air. The blast kept expanding, and soon it reached the slow-motion combat. Man and monster were both vaporized, they did not even have time to scream. Not like it would have been heard over the roar of the explosion.

Dragmor turned his attention back to his oncoming doom, and he let out a deep sigh. So this is how I meet my fate, he thought sadly, I have failed in the most important of missions, and doomed all of Wolfden to death... or worse. Time began to speed up, and Dragmor managed to spit into the bluish death a moment before it incinerated him.


**********

“Matsumoto!” Rangiku jolted upwards, and frantically looked around the room for the source of the noise, her eyes eventually coming to rest upon the face of her enraged captain, who was standing began the couch.

“What’s wrong, Taichou?” she asked with a yawn.

“You said you would get the work done! The whole stack is still on the desk, it hasn’t even been touched!”

“I’ll get it done, I was just taking nap after a hard day of work.”

“Matsumoto, it’s almost noon.” Rangiku glanced at the clock above the office’s desk, and saw that Toushiro was telling the truth.

“Oops, I guess I overslept...” she managed. Toushiro looked at her, and was about to yell, but sighed instead.

“Whatever, we’ll just have to do some extra work tonight. But right now, we need to leave.”

“What for?” Rangiku asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

“Apparently 7th squad found something outside rukongai. A shinigami, it seems. He’s currently in 4th Division’s infirmary.”

“Why are we going? Unless he’s a member of 10th Division, I don’t see any reason.”

“That’s where it gets weird. He does bear a division symbol, but it doesn’t belong to any of the Gotei divisions. What’s more, he says his name is Fon Weinan.”

“Fon... So he’s a noble? Wouldn’t Soifon-taichou know him then?”

“We’ll found out when we get there, so let’s get going. All taichou and fukutaichou have been asked to come. Something big is happening.” Rangiku nodded her agreement, and hauled herself off the couch. She took a minute to stretch her tired limbs, and let out another yawn, before walking over to the door. She grabbed her coat off the hanger on the wall, then opened the door. Toushiro walked out of the room, and Rangiku followed him, closing the door behind her.

Rangiku felt a burst of cold as she exited the 10th Division Headquarters. Winter is coming fast, she thought, and let out a sigh as she shook off the cold. She began walking down the steps from the building, and felt a pang of jealousy when she saw how her captain was unaffected by the chilly weather, despite his lack of warm clothing. She brushed the thought away, and returned to thinking about this shinigami that had been found. She ran through every scrap of information she knew about the Noble Family Fon, their history, traditions, everything. However, no matter how hard she thought about it, she could not think of any reason for such a big commotion to be occurring over this incident. If there is not obvious reason for this, then it must be something big. And most likely something bad, she thought.

“Is something wrong, Matsumoto?” Toushiro asked. Matsumoto erased the negative thoughts from her mind, and cleared her face of worry, resuming her usual cheery expression.

“Nothing, Taichou. Nothing is wrong.” she said after a moment. Toushiro didn’t look like he believed it, but nonetheless, he asked no further questions. Silence ruled once again, and the two continued their trek to the 4th Division infirmary.


**********

It was late afternoon when Hitsugaya Toushiro and Matsumoto Rangiku reached their destination. They entered through the main gate, and a member of the 4th Division led them to the room where Fon Weinan was recovering in. They found a small gathering in the room, the captains of the 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 11th Divisions, as well as the vice-captains of the 5th and 6th. Rangiku was surprised at how few officers had showed up, but she brushed the thought away. Irrelevant, she told herself.

“Well look who’s washed up.” Kenpachi said, an amused smile playing across his face.

“Good to see you too, Zaraki, though I have to say I didn’t expect you to be here. And what’s more, your fukutaichou seems to be missing.” Toushiro retorted.

“She’s busy... snacking.”

“As always.” Toushiro chuckled.

“If you two are done with your banter, we’d like to start.” Soifon interrupted, and the two captains cleared their minds of the insults they’d been thinking up.

“Unless we are waiting for others, may we begin?” Toushiro said after a moment of silence, his usually flat tone had a hint of eagerness to it.

“We should wait for Unohana-taichou, we don’t want to cause this boy anymore harm than he has already endured.” Rangiku suggested, eyeing the badly burned shinigami lying in the bed against the wall. He lay there, the only sign of life was the slight rising of his chest whenever he took a breath. His torso was swathed in bandages, and Rangiku was sure that it continued down the rest of his body as well. His face was mostly unharmed, except for a few light burns. But this was highly misleading, as the heavy burns at the base of his neck showed. Somehow, his dark brown hair had survived without any visible damage. What happened to this kid, she wondered, and does it have to do with us?

“Sorry to have kept you waiting,” came a voice from the room’s entrance. Rangiku turned to see it came from the 4th Division’s captain, Unohana Retsu. “We can begin now.” with this she walked over to the injured shinigami and gave him a shake, and stepped away after a moment. The kid hadn’t moved, but his eyes were now wide open, and Rangiku shuddered at what she saw. The kid’s eyes were aqua blue, and a strange glow of the same color radiated from them. They gave off a strange, unnatural aura that made her tense just by looking at them.

“What... happened to him?” Renji asked, breaking the silence.

“Reiatsu poisoning.” Retsu stated.

“And what is that?”

“It’s extremely rare, it only happens under very precise circumstances. When someone is struck by a highly concentrated mass of reiatsu, they are normally instantly killed. But...”

“A highly concentrated mas of reiatsu? Like a kidou?” asked Hinamori Momo, the 5th Division’s Vice-Captain.

“No, something much more concentrated. There have been few things in this world capable of doing this, and, to my knowledge, the last of them disappeared millennia ago. But I’m sure this will be discussed later. As I was saying earlier, normally the victim is instantly killed by the blast. However, if one somehow survives, they will become ‘poisoned’ by the high amount of reiatsu they were exposed to.”

“What do you mean by ‘poisoned?’” Toushiro jumped in.

“‘Poisoned’ is not what I would describe it as, though the victim is often unable to do anything other than sleep for a while after they become affected by it. They actually end up increasing the limit of their powers, and their physical attributes are normally increased as well. At least, that’s what the books say. A case like this hasn’t been seen for ages.” The room fell into an eerie quiet, all those present were deep in thought as to what Retsu had said. Rangiku almost jumped when a voice finally broke the silence.

“You know, I’d really enjoy it if you didn’t talk about me as if I weren’t here...” it was the injured shinigami. His face wore an irritated expression. “Fon Weinan, 3rd Seat of Wolfden’s 2nd Division.” the youth introduced himself after a moment. His voice sounded rough, like rocks being ground against each other. Which makes sense, whatever caused those burns must’ve caused internal damage as well, Rangiku concluded.

“Wolfden’s 2nd Division? What the hell is that?” Kenpachi blurted out.

“So, you have forgotten after all...” Weinan muttered to himself.

“Wolfden is,” started the aged voice of Yamamoto-Genryusai Shigekuni, the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, “another place quite similar to this. A second Seireitei, you could think of it as. It was created by seven former Gotei Divisions who fled Seireitei over a millennia ago.”

“That’s impossible, none of this is mentioned in any history book in Soul Society, not even my own house has any record of this.” Byakuya exclaimed, an unusual amount of surprise in his voice.

“That is not true, Kuchiki Byakuya. This information is not included in any book you have read. I am sure that the libraries of this shinigami’s home would have many such records of the events. For them, it is a scar they bear proudly. For us, well, it is something we wish could be forgotten.”

“What exactly happened, Yamamoto-soutaichou?” Soifon butted in.

“I will tell you, but you must promise something. Promise me that this information will not extend beyond the Captains and Vice-Captains of the Gotei Divisions. It is something very few know about, and I would rather not have anyone but the most trusted officers know about this.” One by one, the present officers took the oath. "If you break this oath, the punishment will be quite severe. There is enough commotion theses days, we do not need anymore." He paused for a moment, as if digging up some long buried memories. Everyone present, except for Fon Weinan, listened intently as the Captain-Commander told his tale.

“One and a half millennia ago, about 500 years after Seireitei was founded, we were in our ‘Golden Age.’ We were prospering like never before. Nothing could stand before us, not hollows, Arrancar, or any other creature that was an enemy of Soul Society. Our city was booming, its size was ten times greater than it is now, and the population was even greater. Even the poor neighborhoods were as nice as the buildings we now live in. As I said, it was our Golden Age. But like all good things, it had to come to an end. One day our scholars began debating religion, whether or not there was a higher plane of existence which slain souls would go to. It spread to the public, and soon they were divided over it. It was stupid, really. Such conflict over something so pointless, something that we cannot answer even now, and probably never will. But nonetheless, the people of Soul Society, shinigami and plus, were caught up in it. Tension rose between the two sides, but the leaders of Sou Society did not think it would come to anything. ‘Like all things, it will pass,’ they said,” Shigekuni let out a sad chuckle as he said it, “they were so, very wrong about that.”

“One day, in one of Seireitei’s biggest markets, the two sides began arguing fiercely about the issue. At first it was just normal souls, but then several squads of shinigami joined in. Someone snapped, and pulled a knife, to which the shinigami responded to with zanpakutoh, and the two sides went at each other. In the end, a couple dozen were killed, and three times that injured. It was an outrage, and it was ruled that nearly fifty shinigami, from seven different divisions, were to be exiled. They had all been believers in the ‘higher plane,’ and the people were furious. The shinigami accepted their fate, however. But their divisions did not. They demanded that the sentence be revoked, but Central 46 would not give in. And so, one night a squad from the 17th Division...”

“17th Division? There are only 13 Gotei Divisions...” Renji interrupted, the others shot him an angry glare.

“When the Gotei was originally founded, there were 20 Divisions, now shall I continue, or are you going to pester me with other stupid questions?” Renji looked down at the ground, his face turning slight red. “If any of you have stupid questions, please wait till the meeting is over, then you will not have to waste the others’ time.” Shigekuni let the message sink in for a few seconds before continuing. “Well, one night a squad from the 17th Division snuck out of their division fort.” Renji opened his mouth to ask something, but quickly shut it when he saw his captain’s glare. “They made their way over to the fort of the 20th Division and somehow managed to get in. From there they made their way to the Division’s Headquarters, and assassinated the Division’s Taichou while he slept.” A few gasps, and grunts of surprise were heard in the room, and Shigekuni paused for a moment, and then continued. “Another squad, this one from the 19th Division, broke into Central 46, and killed everyone inside. However, breaking down the door caused the alarms to sound, and both squads were caught. Unfortunately, it was too late. The deeds had been done.”

“Most of Soul Society expected the Divisions to execute the members of the assassination squads, but much to our astonishment, they instead used it as a declaration of war against Seireitei. More Divisions joined in: the 4th, 8th, 9th, 11th, and 18th. Seven Divisions in all. Unfortunately for the rest of the Gotei, the 9th, 11th, 17th, and 19th were all our main battle Divisions, much like our current 11th Division. They all posed exceptional prowess in battle, as the showed us in our first clashes. We were caught off-guard. They demolished the 6th Division’s fort, but, luckily, were unable to stop most of the Division from escaping. We regrouped, and took stock of what we had. We had numbers, and still possessed most of the powerful weapons in Seireitei. Most prominent of this were the kidou guns. They were massive cannons, able to level city blocks with one shot. So, we reorganized, and set up a plan. I cannot remember what the details were, but the overall goal was to demolish the forts of the battle divisions. They were the leaders in the rebellion, and so if we took them out we knew they would surrender. So we sent out our forces. We fought all across the city, we put everything we had into the attacks, but it was of no use. Despite horrendous casualties on both sides, not an inch was gained or lost. So we made a decision. We would use the kidou guns. This proved too much for them, and slowly we pushed them back. The devastation was terrible, however. Hundreds of thousands dead. Skyscrapers leveled. The entire city was reduced to nothing more than a war zone. It worked, though. Street by street, block by block, we gained ground on them. And we eventually lay siege to their fortresses. After months, they fell, and the last surviving Captain of their forces, Zaraki Shitou.” Kenpachi looked up at this, his eyes wide with curiosity. Shigekuni noticed this, and answered the question he knew was coming. “Yes, Zaraki Kenpachi, there is in fact a Zaraki bloodline. Back in those days they were quite famous for their prowess in battle, and their legendary strength and endurance. The 80th District of rukongai was named after this family, long before the war of course.” Kenpachi nodded his head, and lowered his head in thought, thoughts burning through his mind. “So, Zaraki Shitou surrendered, and accepted the decision of banishment for the remnants of all seven rebel divisions. They packed up anything of value from their forts, and marched to the harbor, the only part of the city that had not seen any fighting. They mounted the great warships of their divisions, and sailed west. That was the last we ever say of them, but not the last we ever heard of them. In a letter sent to us nearly a century later, Zaraki Shitou told us that they had founded a new city, far to the west, which they named Wolfden. They told us of how they were to manage themselves, how they would uphold the duties they’d had while part of the Gotei, and a few other things of the same nature. However, at the end of the message, Zaraki told of how he had lost his honor in the conflict, how he had taken the wrong side, how the whole war was, in the end, pointless. And then he took and oath, and oath that no matter how long it took, they would one day redeem themselves, and return to Seireitei. That was the last we ever heard from them.”

“Also, after the war, significant changes were made to Soul Society. The remaining Divisions were all sent to different parts of this continent, to make cities of their own, and each Division, originally 100,000 or more strong, was to be split up into 13 new Divisions. Over time these have been further divided, and new military wings added, but that you have learned all of that already.” Shigekuni finished his story, and for a while the present officers stood in silence, all thinking over the new information they had learned. It was Byakuya who finally broke the silence.

“Now that we have some idea of what this kid is talking about, shall we find out what he wants, and how he got here?”

“I was hoping someone would say that, I’ve been a bit bored hearing a story I already know by heart.” Weinan added, sounding a bit excited to finally be important again.

“Very well, you may continue what you were saying earlier.” Shigekuni told the youth.

“Right, as I was saying, I am Fon Weinan, 3rd Seat of Wolfden’s 2nd Division. I was sent here through use of the Flash Amplifier to bring you a message...”

“Flash Amplifier?” Toushiro asked, an interested look on his face.

“It manipulates vast amounts of reiatsu to allow a shinigami to travel vast distances instantaneously. Like a super-powered Flash Step.” Toushiro gave him a confused look at the last part, and Weinan corrected his mistake. “Right, you use the Old Names here... so you would call ‘Flash Step’ Shunpo.” a few of those present nodded their understanding.

“It malfunctioned then? And you were exposed to that vast amount of reiatsu?” Retsu asked.

“Yes, something went wrong, the core had to be charged with raw reiatsu. The machine overloaded and exploded, I think I was the only...” Weinan faded into silence, his glowing eyes had a distant look to them, as if he was thinking of some old memory. Rangiku gave him a slight nod, acknowledging his loss.

“So what was this message?” Kenpachi started up the conversation again, and Weinan eagerly took the opportunity to change the subject.

“Wolfden is under attack. It will not hold out much longer, I’m afraid. A massive force of hollows attacked us. We brought all our firepower to bear, including our battery of kidou guns, but there were too