Thunderous Soul 9 (Patreon)

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“Thank you, Orihime.” Chad said as he stepped off her shield.

“Of course, Sado-kun!” Orihime smiled, “Looks like we’re alo-”

“Yahooooooo!” Two shadows leapt from the roof above and landed next to them, “Lucky me!”

“-ne.” Orihime pouted, “Drat, how’d I miss these two?”

“We were hiding out here because we didn’t feel like running around like the rest of the idiots.” The bald man with the… red eyeliner(?) was grinning happily, “And the intruders fell right into our laps! Lucky, lucky me! It’s my lucky day!” He started to sing. Orihime and Chad sweatdropped lightly as he pointed his sheathed Zanpakutō at them, “But you two? You’re not so lucky.” The rather effeminate man standing next to him chuckled in a very… flamboyant manner.

“Hi there!” Orihime said cheerfully, “You wouldn’t happen to know where Rangiku-chan is, do you?” None of them were bothering with keeping that a secret. It’s not like the Captains wouldn’t know already.

“Rangiku?” The effeminate man blinked, “You mean condemned criminal and former Lieutenant Matsumoto?”

“Yup! We’re here to save her!” Orihime kept up her cheerful attitude, wondering when they were going to attack.

The bald man looked at her incredulously, “First of all, we have no reason to answer that question.” He told Orihime, “And second of all, you lot invaded the Seireitei to save a criminal? Are you insane? How many of you are there? Ten? Twenty? A hundred?”

Orihime continued to smile, more over the fact that they hadn’t attacked them yet than anything, “Uhh, us, our girlfriend, Ichigo, and a cat.” She left out Lisa since she was being a ninja.

“…A cat?” The effeminate man stated flatly.

“Y-you lot ARE insane!” The bald man started to howl in laughter, “We’ve got hundreds of thousands of Shinigami in the Seireitei, and you brought four people and a cat? BWAHAHAHAHA! You don’t have a prayer! You’re total idiots!”

“That’s not very nice.” Orihime pouted at him.

“Yeah, well neither am I!” He smirked at her.

Chad spoke for the first time, “What does it matter if you have hundreds of thousands?” He tilted his head, “After all, most Shinigami can’t even safely face Huge Hollows, can they?”

“You’re not wrong. Are you saying you can?” The man grinned, excitement starting to bubble up in him.

“Uhm…” Orihime tapped her chin, “You mean those ones with the pointy noses that are as tall as skyscrapers? Yeah, they were easy!” Obfuscating stupidity for the win!

“Bwah?!” He choked, before both grinning badly and glaring at her, “You’re talking about Menos Grande? The Gillians?! You expect me to believe that?!”

Chad shrugged, “Not like they’re Adjuchas. We haven’t faced those yet.”

“Well now, maybe this will be fun after all! It IS my lucky day!” He smirked and… began to dance? “Lucky” He shouted as he twirled, pirouetted, and even tip-toed on individual toes from side-to-side as the two of them watched, increasingly flabbergasted. He then planted both feet in a horse stance while holding his Zanpakutō in front of him. “LUCKY!”

‘What a wierdo…’ Chad and Orihime both thought… and coming from her?

“The name’s Madarame Ikkaku, Third Seat of the Eleventh division!” Ikkaku introduced himself, and they quickly followed.

“Yasutora Sado.”

“Inoue Orihime.”

“And I am the beautiful Ayasegawa Yumichika.” The effeminate man introduced himself as well. “Fifth Seat of our illustrious combat division.”

“And tell you what.” Ikkaku grinned, “You give me a good enough fight, and maybe I’ll tell you exactly where to find Rangiku.”

“See! You are nice!” Orihime clapped.

“So, which of you will fight me, huh?” Ikkaku asked, “And make it snappy. If the rest of the idiots in our division show up, we’ll have to share the credit.”

Orihime looked at Chad and held her fist out. He stared at her, “…You sure?”

“Yeah.” She said softly, “I might not like fighting, but we’re here to save Rangiku-chan.”

He nodded, and held out his fist, “Rock, paper, Scissors!” They yelled, and both threw rock. “Rock, paper, Scissors! Rock, paper, Scissors! Rock, paper, Scissors!” They continued to yell, and tied on all four.

Ikkaku chuckled lightly, “Don’t like to fight, huh? Well, they’re sure settling this like members of the Eleventh Division, huh?”

Yumichika nodded lazily. “I do hope she wins. I don’t think I could bring myself to harm such a beautiful face.”

And apparently that was enough of a metaphorical finger for the scales to tip, “Rock, paper, Scissors!” Orihime threw scissors to Chad’s paper. “Yay, I win!” She cheered… before pausing, as she remembered that meant she had to actually fight. The other guy might not have been as gung-ho about it as his friend.

“Well, shall we, Ikkaku-san?” She asked as she turned towards him.

“You any good with that Zanpakutō over there?” Ikkaku asked back, eyeing the maybe-stolen blade she had strapped to her track pants on her thigh.

“Oh no, she’s not a fighter. I’m more of a healer than anything.” Orihime said, making Ikkaku scowl as he realized he probably got the more boring fight. “Shun’ō, Ayame, Baigon, Hinagiku, Tsubaki, Lily!” She called out, before her hairpins began to glow.

Ikkaku was forced to shield his face from the bright blast of light, before he lowered his hand and his eyes widened, “What the hell?”

Orihime was floating there, looking very much like the depiction of a video game Archangel.

“Radiant!” Yumichika breathed out in shock, “Maybe we should swap, Ikkaku. I can’t let you harm this one!”

“Not a chance in hell!” Ikkaku barked, a mad grin on his face. “Here I come, Orihime!” He dashed forward at speeds that would have instantly overwhelmed Orihime before their training. He swiped with his sheath, expecting to knock her shield out of the way for a follow-up swipe with his blade, but grunted as it practically rebounded back at him. ‘What is up with that shield?!’ He thought to himself in shock as he dodged a stab from her.

She clearly wasn’t the most experienced fighter but was still able to duck under his return decapitating stroke. She thrust her shield out at him, which he attempted to use superior strength to stop cold, but he was bashed backwards and left skid marks on the ground as he slowed himself. “What is with that shield?” He asked her, his eyes narrowed.

She opened her mouth to answer, abruptly remembered Yoruichi’s training and very sharp claws, and promptly zipped her mouth shut. “You’ll have to figure that out on your own, Ikkaku-kun!” She chirped at him.

“Hmph. About what I expected.” He said, pursing his lips and wondering if it was too soon to break out Hozukimaru. He then vanished in a Shunpo, and Orihime let out a scream as she wasn’t quick enough to defend her right side. His blade sliced through a good chunk of her thigh, though she had the presence of mind to return his blow. “Shit!” Ikkaku growled as he backed away, his vision instantly clouding with blood as the cut across his forehead started to bleed profusely.

…

Yumichika released his Fuji Kujaku the second Chad charged him with that weird, purple arm. He grunted, gritting his teeth as he blocked the fist. He was launched backwards and away from Ikkaku and Orihime’s fight and had to rapidly catch himself as he backpedaled. “What brute strength!” He exclaimed, before vanishing in a Shunpo and trying to carve Chad up from behind. Sado whirled around and blocked, making Yumichika’s eyes widen when he realized Chad’s other arm had armored up as well, this one white-and-red. His eyes narrowed, “Why do those arms feel like they have Hollow Reiatsu coming from them?”

Chad didn’t answer, and instead, his white arm started to spark at the fingertips. Yumichika gasped at the sheer Reiatsu coming from it, and rapidly got the hell out of the way as Chad pounded his fist into the wall, “La Muerte!”

Yumichika swallowed heavily as he eyed the devastation that singular attack had caused. An entire row of buildings had been smashed through.

…

Ikkaku grimaced as his eyes burned. He had to focus on his senses to make sure she wasn’t coming for him. As quickly as he could, he removed the cap from his hilt and smeared the paste hidden within it on the cut on his forehead before something made him throw himself to the side. As he quickly wiped as much of the blood as he could from his face, he looked at her attack, and saw a hole bored straight through the ground. “Heh, you’ve got some neat-” A burning pain erupted on his right thigh, before a dazzling ray of gold burst through it. “Ghhhh!” He grit his teeth in pain. The hole might have been small, but damn if it didn’t hurt. “Heh!” He let out a chuckle, “I suppose that makes us even, doesn’t it, Orihime?”

“Not quite.” She said, making him confused. Her right leg was still pouring blood and her really tight pants were dyed through from it. Her halo came to life, before a shield of sorts blocked her wound. “Sōten Kisshun, I reject.” She intoned, and before Ikkaku’s shocked gaze, her wound closed up as if it never had existed. Hell, even the blood and the tear on her pants melted away. It was as though she had never been injured at all.

“Oh, that’s some bullshit.” Ikkaku deadpanned. He hauled himself to his feet, ignoring his injury, “Grow, Hozukimaru!” He yelled after pounding his hilt onto the end of his saya. A whirlwind seemed to surround his weapon, before a spear with a red tassel at the other end appeared. “Guess I can’t take you lightly, Orihime! And I need more range to be able to hurt you!” He grinned, “I wonder how long you can keep that healing of yours up! Don’t misjudge it!” He vanished, before appearing in front of her and thrusting for her face. She dodged to the side and swiped at the spear. “Split, Hozukimaru!” He cried out.

Her blade hit his, and rather than knocking it away from her, it seemed to bend around her blade. It swung around her and approached her face. She squealed in fear before vanishing, “Holy crap, what is that?!” She asked when she reappeared, “I thought that was a spear!”

Ikkaku laughed, “Nope!” He lazily spun the blade of Hozukimaru, and she realized the truth. It wasn’t a spear. It was a tri-section staff with a blade!

“Ooooh, that’s so cool! Tatsuki-chan would love that thing!” Orihime had stars in her eyes as she stared at it.

“She would, would she?” Ikkaku grinned, “Well, maybe I’ll have to show it to her once we’re done here.”

She frowned, “…That’s not a ‘that’s what she said’ joke, is it?”

Ikkaku nearly flopped, “Wh-what the hell?! Of course not!”

“Good. Chad’s is the only shaft she likes.” Orihime said, apparently totally serious.

“Take this seriously!” Ikkaku roared at her.

She pouted, “If you insist.” She sheathed her blade into her shield, and it changed shape. It became triangular and much larger.

“Why are you putting your blade away?!” Ikkaku yelled again in affront.

“Hadō #4. Byakurai.” She pointed her finger at him, and a beam of lightning shot at the bald man.

“Shit!” He dodged to the right, “Oi, we were having a good fight here! What the hell is this?! How do you even know Kidō?”

“Sorry Ikkaku-san, but if you want a good melee fight, I’m basically the worst in our group for it.” She said apologetically, “You’d be better off fighting Tatsuki-chan, but she isn’t here.” Her eyes sharpened, “As for me? I’m here to rescue Rangiku-chan, not to fight. And it’s obvious that I’d lose in straight melee. You’re way too good!”

“Ugh.” Ikkaku let out a disgusted sigh. “Man, that just kills my vibe, you know?” He clicked his teeth, “Tch, what about that Ichigo guy? I wanted to fight him most of all. And Captain was practically drooling over the thought of fighting him.”

Orihime giggled, but it was plain and obvious that it was not one of her carefree giggles, “Sorry Ikkaku, but unless you’re hiding a whole lot more power, Ichigo would knock you from one end of the Seireitei to the other.”

‘Heh, if only you knew, little missy.’ The thought generated a fair bit of amusement for the Third Seat. “So, he’s the strongest of your group, then?”

Orihime giggled, “Well, either him or the cat. Kind of up in the air, honestly.”

Ikkaku faceplanted straight into the stone covering the Seireitei ground. “Wh-what the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

She giggled a little bit harder, “Ahahaha, I’m sure you’ll find out before the end of this all.” Her eyes sharpened and she raised her hand again, “But I think that’s enough of a break, right?”

He growled as he prepared himself for the next stage of their bout.

…

“I have to say, Ayasegawa-san.” Chad said slowly, “I expected a bit more from the best combat division in the Seireitei.”

Yumichika let out a low growl, “What is that supposed to mean?” He had yet to be injured, but he was covered in dirt and grime from all the explosions Chad had already caused.

“You can’t even pierce my Hierro.” Chad replied, running his finger down a tear in his shirt. There wasn’t a scratch on his skin, however. “You apparently cannot cut me, and yet you won’t use Kidō to try to slow me down.”

Yumichika’s eye twitched, “We’re the Eleventh Division.” He growled out. “We pride ourselves on our ability with our blades. We’re the strongest division in the Gotei 13! We don’t need Kidō.” He said derisively.

“I doubt it.” Chad replied without a care, “If that’s the case, then I have to wonder what our trainers were so afraid of. Ichigo hit harder than you when he was fourteen. To disregard a weapon as being below you when it provides nothing but advantages is stupid.”

A vein started to pulse on Yumichika’s forehead, “I will not be insulted by such an ugly beast!” He vanished in a Shunpo and had the blades of his Zanpakutō all run parallel to each other. A slash like this would cut four strips of meat off someone and prevent them from being able to stitch it properly.

“If this is all you plan on doing, then I’m going to have to end this.” His right shoulder started spewing Reiryoku, “El Directo!” He punched out at Yumichika, and to the man’s shock, a blast of energy not unlike a Cero blasted out at him. He was unable to dodge, and the attack rammed into him, forcing a scream of agony from his throat. And then the air was knocked completely from his lungs as he smashed into a wall, before continuing to blast backwards. He smashed into wall after wall before Chad’s attack ran out of juice and left him in a fried, broken heap on the ground kilometers away.

With his fight done, Chad hurried back towards Orihime.

…

“Bakudō #4. Hainawa!” Orihime yelled, throwing out the crackling yellow ropes of Reishi.

“Oh no you don’t!” Ikkaku took off running, dodging the Hainawa by a meter and speeding up rapidly. He swung Hozukimaru like a flail, aiming to hook the blade around her shield and possibly slice her arm off if he was lucky.

She raised her shield as he predicted, but the bright blast of light that reflected his blade away was out of his calculations. “Oof!” He grunted as her leg thudded into his midsection, and bruised his ribs. He laughed lightly, but in pain as he backed away, “You know, for someone who claims to not like fighting, you’re not half bad at it. That was a hell of a kick.”

“Ehehehe, Tatsuki-chan and Kurosaki-kun made sure I could defend myself. I’m a black belt in karate, you know?” Orihime replied happily.

“I’ll assume that’s a good thing!” Ikkaku replied, trying to think of how to get around that damn shield of hers. He wondered why the hell it seemed to be glowing brighter too.

“It is!” She said, “Also, Shiten Kōshun.”

“Shiten what?” Ikkaku asked, before having to dive out of the way as her shield shot a laser at him. He wasn’t quick enough, and he ground his teeth nearly to the breaking point as the laser burned his side from a scratch. “Damn it!”

“The more you damage my shield, the more powerful that attack gets.” Orihime said, eyeing him, “You’re in rough shape. You should rest.”

“Heh, you don’t know anything.” Ikkaku got back up, “I’m the Third Seat of the Eleventh Division. I’ll rest when I’m dead.”

Orihime sighed, ‘Dummy battle maniacs! Just admit when you’ve lost and fight another day!’ She glared at him, “Fine then. Bakudō #62. Hyapporankan!” She said as she drew a hexagonal stave of light between her two palms. She reared back and threw it, and the one stave became a hundred.

Ikkaku had his work cut out for him, dodging that many with the hole in his thigh and burn in his side, but he managed it. “Before all things reborn again, you learn the painful breath of time! Cold morning stretches. Walk the world and keep in mind, the heart you have in winter time! Hadō #79. Hyōga Seiran!” It was the highest level Hadō spell Tessai had been able to teach her in the time they had to train. Her graduation present, as it were. She liked it for its ability to freeze multiple enemies in place, without necessarily killing them. As a bonus, it also made finding one’s footing a pain!

She drew her sword again, and from the tip of her blade, a blast of pure winter erupted towards Ikkaku. The glacier she summoned wasn’t even a quarter of the size of the one her sensei had been able to summon when he demonstrated it for her, but it was big enough.

“Shit!” Ikkaku gasped as he tried to leap above it. He succeeded, but he had completely lost his footing due to the slippery ice. He had to jam Hozukimaru into the frozen landscape to catch his feet, and then used it to vault up to Orihime, aiming to skewer her, trusting her lacking battle sense to get him through the day.

But her senses weren’t lacking enough. She flew to the side and slashed through Hozukimaru as he tried to follow her, splitting the middle link in half. He cursed the fact that forming Reishi platforms was unreasonably difficult in the Seireitei. In the air, his mobility was lost, and hers was as good as it was on the ground with those wings! He slipped both halves of his Zanpakutō to the side, so he was holding them by the cut ends of the middle link, and tried to both bash and cut her with it. But she used her own Shunpo to appear behind him, and this time, managed to snag him with her Hainawa.

With a positively evil giggle, Orihime started to spin, round and round, picking up more and more speed, with a screaming Ikkaku tied up at the end of her golden rope. After a minute, she let go, and Ikkaku flew straight at the ground, plowing into and breaking through five walls before he finally came to a stop. Hozukimaru flashed, and returned to its sheathed state. Ikkaku was out cold, and buried in a pile of rubble. She touched down and dismissed her Shun Shun Rikka before running towards him. A moment later, Chad materialized beside her.

“Did you win?” He asked, a smile on his face.

“Un!” Orihime beamed, realizing he had too.

-]|[-

Ikkaku let out a groan as he woke up, springing up to a sitting position, before groaning as it felt like half his skeleton cracked.

“Oh, you’re awake!” He looked over to see both Orihime and Chad sitting there on some collapsed rubble.

“Grrr…” He growled out, “I knew you’d heal me! I won’t be able to show my face after this!”

“Don’t be ungrateful.” Chad said shortly. “Live to fight another day. That’s what you combat junkies love most of all, right? You can’t fight if you’re dead.”

“…Why are you still here?” Ikkaku groaned.

“I healed the worst of your injuries, though you’re still banged up and your Reiatsu is low.” Orihime said, ignoring his question for a moment as she idly kicked her legs, “You still have to tell us where they’re holding Rangiku-chan. We had a couple ideas of where she’d be held, but we weren’t sure.”

Ikkaku chuckled, “Ah, right. I did say I’d do that, didn’t I?” He smirked, looking up at them, “You’re not so lucky though. Straight south from here, you’ll reach the barracks of the Gotei 13. In the west end, you’ll find a white tower. That’s where she was, last I heard.”

“The Senzaikyū.” Chad rumbled, “I suppose we should have assumed as much.” He took out a cell phone given to him by Urahara, and sent off the confirmation to the rest of their friends. Everyone had the devices on vibrate just in case anyone was hiding.

“Were you serious about who the strongest in your group was?” Ikkaku asked, “Kurosaki?”

“We were.” Orihime said as she and Chad got up, “And we were entirely serious that it was a tossup between him and the cat.”

Ikkaku rolled his eyes, “Well, my Captain isn’t gonna fight a fucking cat. He’ll be on a rampage, looking for him. He’ll ignore the rest of you.”

“Not telling us anything we don’t already know.” Chad replied, “We were briefed on the Captains. We didn’t walk in here totally unprepared, you know?”

“Heh!” Ikkaku barked out a short laugh, “Good to hear. Now get out of here.”

“Don’t die, Ikkaku-san! Tatsuki-chan would love to fight you!” Orihime called out as she and Chad raced away. The bald man rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help but chuckle as he stared at the sky.

…

“And now we’re surrounded.” Chad sighed as he picked a Shinigami up by the face and slammed him into a wall, “Perhaps we should have taken Urahara-san up on those Shihakushō.”

“At least they don’t seem to be coming for us.” Orihime replied. They were being cautious after she had shield bashed three of them at once through another wall.

And then comedy hour commenced, as a ruckus from their left erupted. One Shinigami was pushed into another, slapping another on his way down, and it was like a whole set of dominos collapsing as Orihime and Chad stared at the sight with sweatdrops before a boy smaller than Orihime fell out of the throng and rolled, landing on his back in front of them.

“…” They stared at one another as the exhausted-looking boy sweatdropped. “Hey, Orihime, I have an idea.”

“…But that’s mean, Sado-kun!” Orihime pouted, despite apparently being totally in-sync with her boyfriend’s brainwaves.

“But if it gets them to stop fighting, we’ll have to hurt less of them.” Chad replied.

“Fair enough.” Orihime pouted a bit more.

The boy sweated harder, “Uhh… you’re not… the Ryoka, are you?” A second later, he was on his feet with Chad’s glowing fist right beside his head. “Waaah!”

“Move it, or I’ll blow your friend’s head off.” Chad said calmly.

And yet, the mass of Shinigami stared at them, nonplussed, “…What… are you doing?”

“Ehh?” Orihime blinked at them. “What do you mean? We have a hostage?”

“Do we look like his friends?” A spokesman asked dryly.

Orihime turned towards the boy with a questioning look on her face. He stammered lightly as he replied, “Uhhh, well, I’m with the Fourth Division, while they’re with the Eleventh…”

The spokesman snickered, “We’re from the ultimate combat unit of the Gotei 13. The Fourth is full of weaklings who are only fit for relief work and menial labor. They’re dead weight. Therefore, we of the Eleventh Division…” The entire mass of Shinigami started to roar with laughter, “HATE THE FOURTH DIVISION!” They started to jeer, laughing so hard that they were almost crying. “GO AHEAD AND KILL HIM! THAT’S LIKE A BONUS FOR US! AHAHAHAHA!”

There were very few things that could truly piss Orihime off. Her eyebrow twitched, “Well, if that’s the case.” She said hotly as she assumed her Archangel Mode. “How about I teach you a saying from the Living World.” She vanished, bashing one of them with her shield. A shockwave erupted from him before he shot back like a cannonball, taking out ten of the so-called strongest Division in one go like a stack of bowling pins. Orihime glared at them, “Don’t piss off the white mage.”

Chad let go of their ‘hostage’ and whirled to the other side, “El Directo.” The explosive blast of energy flung dozens of them across the streets, leaving them in smoldering piles scattered all around, groaning in pain.

It was a matter of a couple seconds before all the Shinigami surrounding them had been defeated, and the two relaxed.

The young man they had inadvertently rescued trembled, “Y-you’re so strong.” He backed away half a step. “Wh-why are you even here, attacking us?”

“We’re here to save Rangiku-chan.” Orihime said simply.

“R-Rangiku? Former Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku?” He exclaimed.

“That’s right.” Orihime nodded.

He swallowed, “I… it’s not right, what’s happening to her. She didn’t do anything awful! That law is barely fifty years old! I-I can take you to the Senzaikyū through a secret path…”

Orihime exclaimed happily, while Chad merely smiled, ‘Making friends, even out of enemies, huh Orihime? You’ve always been special like that.’

-]|[-

“Curse you!” Kurotsuchi ground his teeth after blasting a perfectly circular hole through the wall of the Fourth Division where Ikkaku was resting. Yumichika was much worse off in the next bed and still unconscious. “You refuse to talk, Madarame?”

A nurse was panicking, “P-Please, Kurotsuchi-Taichō! This kind of post-combat interrogation is prohibited in the relief stations!”

“Shut it!” She squealed as Kurotsuchi shot another hole through the door next to her head.

“Mayuri-sam-” His daughter Nemu started to speak.

“You shut up too! Do you want to be broken into pieces again?”

“Forgive me, Mayuri-sama.” Nemu said, unblinkingly.

Ikkaku held back a sigh as he looked at the woman with something resembling pity in his gaze. “I’m not refusing to answer. I merely have no information to give. I was defeated. That was it.”

“So that’s it? You lost and shuffled off with your pathetic tail between your legs without even obtaining any intelligence?” Mayuri seethed at the injured bald man.

“That’s right. I have nothing for you.” Ikkaku replied.

Mayuri seemed to snap, raising his hand, “Very well! Then your punishment shall be commensurate with your disgrace!” He howled, before his arm was caught in a grip so strong it nearly crushed his bones.

“Since when were you authorized to punish men from other companies, Kurotsuchi?” Kenpachi Zaraki growled at him.

“Zaraki.” Mayuri seethed, “I suppose if you’re here, I’ll leave it to you. Come, Nemu.” She turned and walked with him, but apparently not fast enough for him, “Move, idiot!” He very nearly kicked her from his seething rage.

“Taichō.” Ikkaku said, before he blinked as Yachiuru popped up behind his shoulder, “Oh, you’re here too, Yachiru-Fukutaichō?”

She grinned, “You okay, baldy? We were all worried about you.”

“I told you not to call me that, twerp.” Ikkaku’s eye twitched.

“You lost.” Kenpachi cut across the banter, “Who’d you face.”

Ikkaku clicked his teeth, “Their healer.” He ground out, “I am ashamed to call myself a Third Seat.”

“Heh.” That seemed to give Kenpachi a kick of amusement, if his grin said anything, “Whoever said a healer couldn’t beat a man senseless?” He seemed to reminisce for a moment, “Healers can be the worst to fight. They know exactly how to break you down in the most painful ways possible.”

Ikkaku stared at him in shock, “W-Well, I don’t think this one would do that. She seemed pretty sweet and innocent. Far too much so for an invader if I’m honest.”

“Hmm, so she’s not the one then?” Kenpachi asked.

“No, sir.” Ikkaku snickered, “According to Orihime, of their group, the strongest one is either Kurosaki or their cat.”

“Oooh, a kitty?!” Yachiru exclaimed excitedly. “I want to play with it!”

“Well, I’m not fighting a fucking cat.” Kenpachi said dryly, “They know the girl is at the Senzaikyū then?”

“They do.” Ikkaku replied, “I don’t know how quickly they’ll move on the tower, but that’s their goal for sure.”

Kenpachi grinned in increasing bloodthirst, “Then I suppose I know where to wait. Good. This game of ‘run into dead ends’ Yachiru had me on was getting dull.”

“But Kenny, it’s not my fault their Reiatsu just kept vanishing!” Yachiru protested, her voice dimming as the two left the building.

-]|[-

Tatsuki glanced at Lisa, watching as she vanished from sight as well as her senses. ‘What a weird Kidō. Was Jiraiya a Shinigami?’ She thought to herself as she leapt up to the top of one of the buildings for a better vantage. “So, which way are we going?” She asked under her breath.

“Due east of here.” Lisa’s voice said softly, “That’s where the Eighth Division HQ is. Sorry, I underestimated how strong the vortex was going to be. We landed in the Seventh Division territory.”

“Not a problem.” Tatsuki replied, “Now, about this idiot.” She said as she whirled around, backfisting a katana blade that had been looking to split her from head to toe.

“?!” The very large man’s eyes widened as he leapt back, “You stopped my blade.” He said loudly. He was quite the ugly man, with a very square face, a large, hooked nose, and very large lower lips with a prominent chin. In fact, his nose was such a beak that he looked almost owl-like from the side, with there being no indication of where his nose ended, and his forehead began. “Quite impressive. It’s a shame you encountered me. If you hadn’t, you might have lived longer.”

“Say that when you scuff my fist up, ugly.” Tatsuki shot back, cocking her hips.

“Ugly!?” The man who stood at least twice as tall as her growled out, “I was going to give you to the count of twenty to regret your misfortune, but now I, Ikkanzaka Jirōbō, Fourth Seat of the Seventh Division, shall only give you until ten! One!”

“Ikkanzaka? You related to a big guy named Jidanbō?”

Jirōbō paused, “Ah, I see you’ve met my older brother.”

“Yup.” Tatsuki said, before smirking, “Kicked his ass a day or two ago when he tried to stop us from entering through the gate.”

A massive vein bulged on his head, “Your time for regret just shrank to five! Two! Three! Four! Five!” He growled out as he clenched his blade with both hands, “Your time for regret is up! Were you able to regret to your satisfaction?!”

“Actually, I’m just more amazed at the fact you were able to count to five.” Tatsuki snarked, smirking widely at the sheer rage she could see on the man’s face.

“DIE, AND REGRET YOUR WORDS FOR ETERNITY!” Jirōbō flashed forward and slammed his sword down on her.

Again, Tatsuki simply lifted her hand and jabbed it at the blade. CLANG. Her signature technique activated, filling up her reserves with very little energy, to her disappointment. “Man, do you ever stop running your mouth? You’re way too arrogant for such a loser.” Jirōbō growled as he rebounded and came in for a side swipe to cut her in half. She slammed her fist into the blade with another CLANG, and frowned as it had barely filled her up at all. “I have no regrets, but you sure should. You should regret being so weak!”

“RARGH!” Jirōbō roared as he vanished in a Shunpo, appearing behind her and cutting her in half with a triumphant laugh. And then Tatsuki vanished as if she were a mirage, and something kicked Jirōbō in the ass, hard. He shot forward, faceplanting into the roof and destroying more than a few tiles.

Tatsuki landed and causally lowered her leg, “Man, you guys suck. I guess they weren’t lying when they told us the Captain of a Division was eighty to eighty-five percent of the Division’s total combat power.”

Jirōbō snarled as he got to his feet, “You…” He glared at her, “You think getting a blow on me matters?! Don’t be so arrogant, Ryoka!” He roared as he stuck his Zanpakutō straight up in front of him and put his other hand on the tip, “Spread your wings, Tsunzakigarasu!” He pressed down, but rather than piercing his palm, the blade of his Zanpakutō seemed to vanish.

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow in interest. Dozens of identical flying blades flitted forward and backwards, up and down, left to right. The blades were single edged with holes in the middle, looking vaguely like shuriken missing two of their points.

“Well, what do you think? Now are you feeling the overwhelming bleakness of regret?! I am the Fourth Seat of the Seventh Division, and I am known as Kamaitachi Jirōbō!” He grinned viciously, “The title of ‘Kamaitachi’ is only bestowed upon the ultimate weapons masters! No one but me has ever seen these blades flitting through the air and lived!” He smirked at her, his beady eyes wide, “Terrifying, aren’t they? They’re quicker than the eye! You might have been able to block my single blade, but you won’t be able to do the same to these! You must regret having ever met me!” He kept on talking, taking zero notice of the vein that had started to pulse on her forehead, or the increasingly irritated look on her face.

Tatsuki vanished, as did his flying little shuriken. Tatsuki landed in front of him, every single one of the blades having been captured by her fingers. As Jirōbō gaped at the sight, Tatsuki growled, “The only thing I regret is that fact that you didn’t have that gaping hole you call a mouth sewn shut at birth. SHUT THE FUCK UP!” She vanished from sight, and sliced Jirōbō to ribbons with his own Zanpakutō.

Blood erupted from every important tendon the huge man had. His feet, knees, thighs, wrists, elbows, and shoulders all bled profusely as he sank to the ground and howled. With the number of blades that had cut him, stitching would be impossible. He tried to move, but that just made the pain worse. His Zanpakutō vanished from Tatsuki’s fingers and reverted back into its sealed form.

“Jackass.” Tatsuki stomped over, “While you’re in the Fourth Division, see if they can’t get you a personality transplant, you arrogant fucking asshole.” She stomped on his head, breaking his jaw, and knocking him unconscious.

“That was a Fourth Seat?” She asked the empty air dryly as she clapped her hands up and down.

Lisa’s voice sounded mildly amused, “I’ll have to give Komamura-Taichō my condolences.” She said dryly as they leapt away.

-]|[-

Third Seat of the Fourth Division Iemura Yasochika was the bearer of bad news for a bunch of Lieutenants. The room was filled with about half of the remaining Lieutenants. Standing before him were Abarai Renji, Hinamori Momo, Iba Tetsuzaemon, Shiba Kaien, Kira Izuru, Hisagi. The rest like Kotetsu Isane were too busy, or just didn’t care to show up like Yachiru. “Eleventh Divisions Third and Fifth seats, Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika have been incapacitated and brought to the Fourth Division for healing.” A bead of sweat ran down his forehead, “Assessments are still being prepared, but it appears that the Eleventh Division has been nearly annihilated.”

“No way…” Momo was covering her mouth.

“How could these intruders create such havoc in so little time?” Izuru mumbled.

Hisagi growled, “It’s because it’s him.” He clenched his fist.

“The same human who defeated you and… Tōsen-Taichō in the living world?” Renji asked, pausing heavily at the strain on Hisagi’s face.

“We have not confirmed that yet.” Yasochika elaborated. “Neither of the two who ran through the Eleventh like a sickle through wheat matched the description we were given, and both of them were free with the information that Kurosaki Ichigo was their strongest.”

Momo gasped, “Then even the weaker members are this strong?” Momo looked towards Renji with worry in her gaze. “Who are they?”

‘That’s what I’d like to know.’ Kaien had his arms crossed as he leaned on a wall, ‘I recognized that cannonball. Kūkaku, what the hell are you up to? Why would you help them?’

“Additionally, we know that they’re heading for the Senzaikyū.” Yasochika informed them. “They’ve also taken one of my Division members hostage. They’re advancing in this direction.”

“So that’s two confirmed Ryoka, and an obvious third in Kurosaki. What other losses have we had?” Izuru asked, looking at the worried Fourth Seat.

“I haven’t heard from Jirōbō in a while. They probably took him down too. He was patrolling in a completely different area, so that’s a fourth Ryoka.” Murmuring erupted from the Lieutenants as they realized Jidanbō’s little brother had been beaten. Tetsuzaemon crossed his arms and continued, “My Captain is on the hunt for Kurosaki. With any luck, he’ll find him quickly and end this assault. Once their strongest member goes down, the rest will follow.”

“…Then I hope he’s looking in the territories of the higher-numbered divisions.” Yasochika said, “Men from the Ninth and Tenth Divisions have also reported to the Fourth Division for healing. All of them claiming the same thing: that they could neither see nor hear what ended up taking them out, except for the very first few who saw him when he landed.” He swallowed, “A man with orange hair, a modified Shihakushō, and no visible Zanpakutō in sight. All of them were admitted with blunt force trauma indicative of a beating with nothing but Hakuda. Dozens of broken Zanpakutō littered the streets too.”

“Any deaths?” Kaien called out, still looking serious.

“Negative.” Yasochika said, happy to finally have some good news, “The invaders have beat the hell out of our men, and yet we don’t have a single fatality at the moment. It appears to me that they’re not actually out to kill.”

“How strange…” Izuru frowned, “Why would they kill Tōsen-Taichō so viciously and then leave so many enemies alive?”

“I have no idea. This Kurosaki even left Hisagi alive before killing Tōsen-Taichō.” Momo turned, “Hisagi, what do you thi…nk?” She looked around, “Hisagi?”

“…oh boy…” Renji said, realizing like the rest of them that Hisagi had vanished.

“Oh, Hisagi, you idiot.” Momo whimpered, as they all realized exactly where their fellow Lieutenant was heading. “They told us not to engage with him!”

Hisagi wasn’t there to listen.

-]|[-

‘Think I’ve given them enough of a headache so far?’ Ichigo asked his Zanpakutō spirit with a small smirk on his face. He was currently sitting on a fallen bit of rubble without a care in the world. All around him were masses of groaning and unconscious members of the Seventh Division.

‘Feh, when are the actual fighters going to show up?’ Thor grumbled futilely.

Ichigo started to respond when his ears caught a familiar sound. Smirk widening, he pushed up with his hand, hopping over Kazeshini’s spinning blade before falling back down and landing on the chain. “Heh, not even a ‘hello,’ Shūhei?”

“Tch.” Hisagi glared at him as he yanked on the chain, which slipped out from beneath Ichigo and allowed him to recover his second blade. “And why would I bother with niceties, murderer?”

Ichigo chuckled lightly as he stood, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. He was already dead when I found him.” He almost burst out in full laughter at the sheer, impotent rage on Hisagi’s face. “I see you’ve found some conviction since the last time we faced off.”

“That’s right.” Hisagi pointed one of Kazeshini’s blades at his orange-haired near-twin, “I’ve sharpened these blades, all so that I can kill you and allow Tōsen-Taichō to rest easy!”

“Moron.” Ichigo sighed, “You should have been sharpening those blades to save Ran-chan instead. For someone who had a crush so large the entire Seireitei could tell, you sure forgot her quickly, huh?”

Hisagi flinched, violently. “How dare you!” He ground his teeth in ever-growing fury. And no small amount of despair, because if apparently this Ryoka knew, there was no way Rangiku hadn’t.

Ichigo smirked, “Maybe if you hadn’t spent so much time obsessing over your bitch of a Captain and had spent all this time planning how to save her instead, you would have had a shot with her.” Hisagi’s sword lowered slightly as his fury and despair ratcheted up. Ichigo went for the kill, “Course, that shot would have missed by a thousand miles. After all, she’s mine.”

Hisagi snapped, “DIE!” He charged at him.

Ichigo didn’t bother to even prepare, and instead made the ‘come on’ hand motion at him, “Show me what you’ve got.”

“You won’t have time to REGRET THAT!” Hisagi yelled as he threw Kazeshini towards Ichigo. It was a much faster throw than he had ever managed during their battle in the Living World. “This won’t be like the last time! All Captains and Lieutenants have to-”

“Have their power sealed by eighty percent while in the Living World?” Ichigo interrupted, appearing right in Hisagi’s face, before pounding a fist into the center of Hisagi’s chest. “I hope that you weren’t banking on that to kill me!”

Hisagi grunted as he yanked on the chain, making Kazeshini return to him. Ichigo dodged it with a sidestep, but didn’t press his advantage. “Tch, so you knew?” He glared at the orange-haired man.

“Of course I knew.” Ichigo scoffed, “I knew before you idiots even arrived.”

“Hah.” Hisagi scoffed, “I get it now. You killed Tōsen-Taichō when he was weak so that you wouldn’t-”

“Let me stop you right there.” Ichigo said, holding up a finger. “First of all, if I thought that it would have made a difference, I would have let him release his seal first. I didn’t because he was a bitch.” He held up a second finger, “Second of all, shut the fuck up and fight.”

Hisagi roared in fury, “Hadō #63. Raikōhō!” He held his palm out and a bright yellow ball of electricity formed. It continued to grow and pulse before it was unleashed at Ichigo.

“Really?” Ichigo’s eye twitched, “Really.” He repeated as it smashed into him, causing a large explosion. “Using a fucking lightning Kidō against me? What, did you just cast the highest-numbered spell you had and hoped for the best?” He coughed lightly as he waved away the smoke.

“Bakudō #62. Hyapporankan!” Hisagi’s voice came from above.

Ichigo’s eyes snapped up as the one-hundred light-purple rods fell from the sky. Ichigo dodged them from side to side as he descended, but mentally applauded Hisagi’s effort. That Raikōhō had apparently been just a distraction and a smokescreen. ‘What else you got?’

“-nning wheel. With light, divide this into six. Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō!” Hisagi yelled triumphantly, answering Ichigo’s mental question unintentionally.

Ichigo grunted as six rods of light slammed into him, feeling his entire body except for his mouth freeze. “Guh!” He actually hacked out a bit from the one that hit him in the sternum.

Hisagi meanwhile had been busy with one last chant, and had just finished it, “Hadō #78. Zangerin!” Kazeshini was glowing with energy, and legitimately looked like an attack straight out of Dragon Ball Z when descending on Ichigo. Ichigo managed to unravel the Rikujōkōrō, but not quite quickly enough to dodge the attack.

The Destructo Disk (and Ichigo refused to call it anything else) struck him squarely in the shoulder and penetrated. Blood spurted from the wound as Kazeshini passed by him with a deadly SHING before striking the ground and causing a tremendous explosion, covering him with a dust cloud.

Hisagi pulled back on Kazeshini, feeling something from his Zanpakutō he had never felt before: pride. “I did it.” He panted, watching as the cloud cleared. And then his eyes widened, “You’re still alive?!”

Ichigo chuckled painfully as he eyed his left arm, which was hanging on by a few threads of muscle and sinew, “…Hell of a move.” He groaned through bloody teeth as he grasped the limb. “Credit where it’s due.”

Hisagi clicked his teeth, “Keep your praise, murderer.” He landed and started to walk forward, “Now stand still while… I…” His jaw unhinged as Ichigo’s flesh began to bubble and fuse back together. “…What the hell…” He took a step back, despair filling him.

Ichigo laughed lightly as he casually rotated his shoulder and stretched out the kinks. “What, did you think we were done?”

“What the hell are you?!” Hisagi was covered in cold sweat, feeling like he had walked into a snowy tundra all of a sudden, “Th-that was High-Speed Regeneration! How did you- GWAH!” He hacked out a bunch of saliva as Ichigo’s foot planted itself into his gut. He flew back with a literal sonic boom surrounding him and injuring him further before he smashed into a wall. All the air was forced from his lungs as he fell to the ground, hacking and gasping for air.

“Fuck you, that’s how.” Ichigo casually walked towards him, looking like the cat that got the canary.

‘I-I can’t die here! I have to let them know! I have to let someone know!’ Hisagi finally realized he had truly bitten off more than he could chew. He hauled himself to his feet and vanished in his best Shunpo, racing away from Ichigo.

“Say, who we running from?” Ichigo asked from right beside him due to his own Sonido, making Hisagi let out a frightened yell and dodge to the right.

Right into Ichigo’s palm. Hisagi’s voice was muffled by Ichigo’s hand covering his mouth before Ichigo slammed him into the Seireitei floor. Hisagi blacked out from the pain, forcing Kazeshini back into its sealed state before Ichigo’s foot lightly fell on his chest. A light electric shock and a scream from his opponent had him awake again. “You got potential, Shūhei.” Ichigo said, “At least now that you’ve got Tōsen’s cock out of your mouth.”

Hisagi grabbed his foot and tried to force it up, but couldn’t make Ichigo budge. He howled in frustration, spitting bloody spittle all over Ichigo’s pants. “T-Tōsen-Taichō was a great man! A gentle man with a great sense of justice! I won’t let anyone badmouth him! Especially not you!”

“Tōsen’s Bankai…” Ichigo drawled, “Shut off every sense his opponent had except for touch.” He stared down at his counterpart, “Meaning every single one of his enemies in there could still feel pain.” Hisagi’s struggle stopped for a moment, “So tell me, Hi-sa-gi, how exactly was I able to figure out how to kill him in there when he should have been able to just cut my head off and be done with it?”

Hisagi thought it through for a moment before he snarled furiously, “What, are you insinuating he was secretly a sadist?! FUCK YOU, KUROSAKI! I’LL-” He wheezed as Ichigo pressed down harder on his chest.

“I’m insinuating nothing.” Ichigo said, “It’s admirable that you’re such a loyal man. Pity you’ll soon find out how underserved that loyalty was.” He raised his foot before knocking the Shinigami out with a casual stomp. “Now, what shall I do nex-” He raised his hand and summoned his Zanpakutō as he caught something from the corner of his eye.

An absolutely gigantic, ghostly apparition of a sword raced towards him. He blocked the titanic blade with his Zanpakutō, grunting lightly as it blew him back like a cannonball. He crashed into a wall and smashed straight through it, before smashing into a whole building and knocking it off its foundations, causing it to collapse as he flew out the other side and through another wall. Finally, he caught his feet, screeching to a halt.

A massive man standing almost three meters tall appeared in front of him with the swish of Shunpo. He wore a white Captain’s haori over his Shihakushō, and had some armored gauntlets over his hands. His Zanpakutō was already drawn, but Ichigo was more interested in his face. Or lack thereof, seeing as it was almost completely hidden by a massive, bulky, heavy helmet that covered his head. In fact, Ichigo couldn’t see even a speck of exposed skin.

“So, who the hell are you supposed to be?” Ichigo feigned ignorance, and wondered just why this man was so obsessed with concealing his true identity.

“My name…” The man growled out, “Is Komamura Sajin.” Ichigo could practically feel the black rage and hate emanating from the giant, “And this is Tenken!” He yelled as he raised his arm. Another massive ghost blade appeared, before Komamura brought his Zanpakutō down.

A massive explosion of dust and debris flew into the air.

Komamura growled from under his helm as he stared at the dust cloud, “Come on, Kurosaki. I know that wasn’t enough to finish-!” A blast of lightning erupted from the clouds, and Komamura flinched and braced himself, crossing his arms. The blast smashed right into him and exploded, causing a massive explosion. His Captain’s Haori was torn to bits, and he was quite lucky his armor didn’t shatter. “That…” He lowered his arms, an animalistic growl sounding from underneath his helm. “That was a Cero.”

Ichigo strolled out from the settling clouds, brushing off his fur cloak, “Jeez, you guys sure are trying hard to murder my badass cloak.”

“Explain yourself, Kurosaki!” Komamura roared, “Why is it that you can use a Cero?!”

“Quick question, has anyone ever answered a demand like that?” Ichigo asked him in total deadpan. The Captain clenched his fist in response. “I have a question of my own.” He smirked as he raised his right arm and pointed, “What are you so desperate to hide beneath that tin can of yours?” A bolt of lightning shot out from his fingers, “Hadō #4: Byakurai.” The obscenely fast attack raced for Komamura’s helmet, but the man was able to dodge with a quick Shunpo.

“Nothing you would understand, murderer!” He appeared behind Ichigo and slammed his blade down.

Ichigo casually raised his, catching the attack on the side of Gōzen Raiu’s sealed form and parrying it to the side. He raised his leg and kicked Komamura square in the gut, driving the man back with a sharp grunt. “Now, Shūhei I understand.” Ichigo held his sword loose over his shoulder, “But what’s your deal?”

Komamura was no worse for wear despite the kick, “Am I supposed to not be furious when my best friend is killed? When one of the greatest warriors for justice in the whole of the Seireitei is murdered?” He held his sword ready.

Ichigo pursed his lips, “If only you knew.” He muttered under his breath.

“Knew what?” Komamura demanded, and Ichigo blinked.

“Huh, those must be some ears you’ve got if you heard that.” He watched as a micro-flinch ran through Komamura. Ichigo smirked lightly at that, “Oh, you’ll figure it out by the time this is all over.”

Komamura glared at him from beneath his helm, “Answer me this then.” He held his sword ready, “You and your compatriots have yet to kill a single man inside the Seireitei. You easily could have killed all my men, and you easily could have annihilated Shūhei-Fukutaichō. You’ve yet to go for lethal force a single time. So WHY?! WHY KILL KANAME?!”

“I thought you had good ears, big guy?” Ichigo snarked, “Like I said,” he raised his blade, “YOU’LL KNOW WHEN THIS IS OVER!” A bolt of lightning shot up into the air, darkening the clouds above, before an absolutely titanic amount of energy fired back down at the Seireitei.

Komamura gasped and retreated, covering his sensitive eyes as the attack fell on the spot he had been standing on like a divine punishment. The crackling, sizzling lightning was ten meters in diameter and moved dirt and stone like a physical force, making the very floor and walls of the Seireitei ripple like it was made of liquid. The entire area shook like it had been struck by an earthquake.

When the light cleared, a borehole straight down greeted Komamura. ‘What power! How can a Shikai that isn’t Ryūjin Jakka cause this much devastation?!’ And then he saw Ichigo again, smirking like Zaraki. Ichigo vanished and crashed down on Komamura, his strikes coming in much harder. “You…” Komamura growled as he strained to hold back Ichigo’s blade, “You’re just like that fool Zaraki, aren’t you?”

“Hah!” Ichigo barked out a laugh, “I’m always ready for a good scrap! I hope Zaraki won’t disappoint!”

“DO NOT LOOK PAST ME, WHELP!” Komamura roared furiously at being underestimated. He forced Ichigo’s blade back with his own immense strength, before gripping his blade with both hands. “RAGHH!” He swiped his blade, unleashing a blade of air at Ichigo.

Ichigo returned the favor, and the two air blades crashed into each other and deflected, one harmlessly into the sky, and the other carving a hundred-meter-deep trench into the Seireitei floor. “TENKEN!” Komamura yelled as another ghostly apparition came down on Ichigo.

Ichigo’s grin was mad with glee as he slammed his own blade into it so hard that a windstorm broke out, physically moving Komamura back a meter or so. The giant blade was rebuffed, and Ichigo shot forward at him, “Come on, Komamura! What else do you have?! Show me your Hohō! Show me your Kidō!”

“Die!” Komamura swung his sword and cut clean through Ichigo’s midsection. And then his form wavered, “Utsusemi?!” Komamura only managed to get the one word out before he felt the most brutal punch he’d ever personally taken land in his abdomen.

Ichigo roared, “IKKOTSU!”

“BLERGH!” Blood spurted from beneath his helm as he shot back into a Seireitei wall and shattered it with his bulk without so much as slowing down. Wall after all smashed into his back before finally, kilometers away, he finally slowed down and smashed into his final wall, slumping down, and landing on his knees, coughing.

“Hehe…” Ichigo appeared before him, “You’re tough! I put a fair amount into that! Would have killed Shūhei for sure if I had nailed him with one of those.”

“F-Fair amount?” Komamura growled, “You’re saying you’re still holding back?!” He dashed forward with Shunpo, “Here’s a real Ikkotsu!” He yelled, putting everything he had into that punch.

Ichigo braced himself, “Guh!” Spittle flew from his mouth as he was knocked back, and yet to Komamura’s shock, the punch didn’t rip him in half. And he stopped after only a hundred meters, practically stabbing his feet into the ground to slow down. “Heh!” He piped his mouth, which was bloody, looking at the back of his hand, “Now that’s more like it!”

“What are you?!” Komamura yelled, “It’s simply not possible for a mortal to grow this powerful! Have you even seen your second decade!?” Komamura was coming to realize that even if his friend had released his seal, there was a more than decent possibility that Ichigo would have killed him anyway.

“Hah! Not even close!” Ichigo laughed it off, “Don’t you know, big guy?” He smirked at him, “Regular humans have only about eight decades to live. Ten or eleven if they’re lucky,” Or unlucky, depending on one’s point of view. “and less than four if they’re really unlucky. And of those decades, we’re only in peak physical condition for one to two of them at best. The rest is either building up to it or rapidly deteriorating and being unable to do the things we once loved as well as we once did. We don’t have time to waste going slow like you lot do.”

Komamura growled, “Maybe this is why the Central 46 decreed that empowering humans is forbidden. This insane growth rate of yours.” He knew the law, but did not know the reason for it.

“Nah, that was because some jackass a while ago decided that the proper response to discovering that he was under surveillance as the first Substitute Shinigami was to start killing Shinigami to siphon off their power. Your government fucking sucks, dude.” Ichigo deadpanned. Komamura opened his mouth, and then shut it. “And if you think I’m going to let Rangiku be murdered over this stupidity…” He lost his amused look and glared at Komamura, allowing his insanely heavy Reiatsu to press down on the man and completely and utterly reinforce the Kenpachi comparison. “Then you and the rest of the Seireitei have lost your fucking minds.”

Komamura grunted, “Hmph, if you weren’t a murderer I’d even be tempted to listen.” He started to press back with his own Reiatsu, and was chagrined to realize that he couldn’t. His power was less than this boy’s. “For Kaname’s sake, I’m stopping you right now. But I’m not as kind as he was. I’ll crush you. Bankai.” He declared, and Ichigo’s eyes widened as he looked up… and up… and up some more. Ichigo whistled at the absolutely colossal being behind Komamura. An entire giant that stood roughly a hundred meters tall clenched a sword as massive as it. The giant resembled an armored samurai with black armor and a red facemask. “Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō.”

Ichigo whistled, “Damn, that thing’s as big as a Gillian!” He grinned, “Hope it’s not as fragile as one.”

“Even now, you mock us?” Komamura growled, “Do not think you will be able to block a hit this time, whelp!” He raised his arm, and the giant mirrored him, “Nothing that has ever been hit by this attack has ever lived to take a second!” He swung and the massive sword in the air made rippling air currents as it moved far faster than anything that size had any right to.

Ichigo’s response was to grip his sword with a second hand, a blinding grin on his face, “Come on, come on!” An attack like this should easily shred through his natural Reiatsu protection and even cut through his Hierro. So, Ichigo activated Blut Vene as well. “RAGH!” He roared back at the descending sword as he swung.

A titanic explosion of dust and wind erupted from the impact. A full tenth of the Seireitei rocked, and hundreds of buildings were simply shaken from their foundations as they crumbled. Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō’s blade carved a massive and deep trench into the ground below. Finally, the shaking stopped, leaving only dust.

But Komamura wasn’t looking at it. He was looking at his own arm, which was trembling in shock and more than a bit of pain. “Wh-what?” And then Reiatsu blew the dust cloud away and drew his attention, revealing Ichigo standing there, blue marks on his entire body glowing. “Th-this isn’t possible!” Komamura gasped out.

Ichigo hadn’t deflected Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō’s blade. He hadn’t parried it. He had caught it on his own. “Gotta say…” Ichigo’s arms were only trembling a little bit and his grin had vanished. “Bit disappointed.”

“YOU!” Komamura roared, raising his blade again.

Ichigo pointed his blade at the massive giant and charged a Cero. The lightning crackled at the tip of his sword, forming a massive, destabilized ball of energy. “Cero.” The Doom Blast raced out with an otherworldly sound, smashing into Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō’s chest. The explosion rocked the Seireitei even harder this time, and kilometers away, Shinigami were falling over.

Komamura’s Bankai fell, landing on its back and rocking the Seireitei again, though nowhere near as badly as the explosion had. The armor plates on its front were cracked and crumbling, and it was struggling to get back up.

But Ichigo’s eyes caught something far more interesting. “What the?” He vanished in a Sonido, and appeared with a rumble of thunder before his opponent. He eyed Komamura with confusion and annoyance. The man’s front was shredded and bleeding. Burn marks littered the front of his Shihakushō. And just like Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō, he was on his back and struggling to get up. “Are you fucking kidding me?” Ichigo deadpanned, “This is a Bankai? This can’t be it. You’re just fucking with me.”

Komamura growled, which inadvertently allowed some more blood to leak from beneath his helm, “H-How dare you?!” He pressed a glowing green hand to his front, healing himself with what little Kaidō he knew. Ichigo looked over and saw that the Bankai’s chest was in the middle of repairing itself too.

“Hmph, that’s a little better I suppose.” Ichigo scoffed, “You’re a moron to use this thing against me though. This little symbiotic link you have with your Bankai only makes it a gigantic target. It’s a Bankai meant to overwhelm foes weaker than you, but it can’t do anything to anyone you can’t beat yourself. All I have to do…” He raised his finger and shot off a Byakurai. The lightning bolt pierced Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō’s leg and Komamura let out an agonized howl as his own leg released a spurt of smoking blood, “Is attack the big ass target and I get the two for one special.”

“RARGH!” Komamura found the strength to swipe at him, and his Bankai mirrored his actions. Ichigo raised his blade and this time, with Komamura weakened, rebuffed the attack entirely. Komamura’s sword arm developed some hairline fractures and was shaking so badly he almost dropped his sword.

“Ugh, talk about blue balls.” Ichigo let out a groan, “Is this thing really a Bankai?” He eyed the giant, before looking at Komamura.

“Wh-what are you waiting for?” Komamura spat, “Aren’t you going to kill me?”

Ichigo snorted, “You really are a moron. I didn’t kill Hisagi, did I? Why would I kill you?”

“WHY WOULD YOU KILL KANAME?!” Komamura roared back.

“Just going in fucking circles, I swear.” Ichigo grumbled, before he sheathed his blade and started walking away.

“Wh-what are you doing?!” Komamura roared at his back as he finally managed to get to his feet.

“Fucking leaving.” Ichigo said, “You’re boring.” Something snapped inside Komamura when he said that. “And I ain’t here for you. I’m here for Rangiku.”

“I’LL KILL YOU, KUROSAKI!” He raised his sword again.

Ichigo closed his eyes, “Don’t do it.” He said flatly.

The massive blade fell from the sky again. Ichigo sighed, before grasping his sword and turning. His veins glowed red as he used Blut Arterie and swung Gōzen Raiu.

SHING!

Komamura gaped as Kokujō Tengen Myō’ō’s blade was cut in half, and a part of its helmet with it. The blade spun through the air before landing next to Ichigo, giving him a mirror for a few moments before it began to dissolve. The giant dispersed into Reishi as half of the blade of Komamura’s own Zanpakutō fell to the ground.

Ichigo looked at Komamura as he fought to keep his helmet from falling apart due to the reflected damage. Ichigo glared and vanished with a Sonido, kicking Komamura in the chest, and sending him flying. The man’s massive bulk dug a furrow into the ground before he finally came to a stop, groaning in pain. “I’ve decided.” Another rumble of thunder heralded Ichigo’s arrival, “That thing of yours can’t be a real Bankai. Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“How dare you mock my efforts! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG I TRAINED TO ACHIEVE MY BANKAI?!”

“You mock yourself.” Ichigo spat, “You won’t even show your regular face to the world. You’re utterly ashamed of who you are. It’s no wonder your Zanpakutō is equally ashamed of you and won’t show its true face.”

Komamura’s eyes widened, “What are you talking about?”

Ichigo sighed, “You may have achieved Bankai, but I doubt you’ve achieved all of its power. After all, all you do is hide.” Ichigo walked over and kicked him in the helmet, shattering it entirely. His eyes widened, “So… that’s what you look like.”

Komamura was a wolf. His sharp fangs were stained red with his own blood. “…”

Ichigo chortled, “I see. The tallest nail gets hammered down, huh?”

“Mock me all you wis-”

“I’d never mock a man for what he looks like.” Ichigo shot back. And Komamura sagged in disbelief. He was unable to comprehend the fact that this bloodthirsty human of all people would accept his appearance without a care in the world. He had been mocked, jeered at, and feared by almost everyone who had ever seen it before he started to hide behind increasingly elaborate head coverings. Only Kaname and Genryūsai-dono had ever not begrudged him his looks. And now, this boy who had murdered his friend becomes the third?! “You’re a respected Captain of the Gotei 13 now, Komamura. You think your subordinates, your comrades would give a fuck about what you look like? I certainly don’t. All I see is a man who fought tooth and nail to get to where he is now. But you? You’re ashamed. Of what you look like. What you are.” He walked away, “You refused to show the world your true face. Why would your Bankai respect a man who doesn’t respect himself?” And with that, he vanished so quickly that Komamura had absolutely zero idea where he went. And even if he had, he was too battered and emotionally distraught now to follow.

-]|[-

And that’s a wrap!

Hope you all enjoyed! I had a lot of fun doing the different groupings and opponents. Did I surprise you by having Hime face Ikkaku? Boy let me tell ya whut, this ain’t your canon Hime! She’ll never be the most powerful, but I hate it when authors forget you don’t piss off the white mage.

Next up will be more Bleach. Riding the muse as hard as I can for as long as I can. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) It won’t be the next TS chapter though. I had another story idea burning a hole in my brain, so reject lightning, embrace tiddy.

Catch ya all latter and don’t forget to leave a comment!