(With Yoruichi)
She made her way deeper into the forests of the North Rukon 68th district, following a lead to one of Aizen's abandoned labs. Shortly after Mayuri informed the Head Captain of Kageroza's treachery, he requested the werecat's services. Identify who were still the real deal and who were switched out for fakes and after doing that mission she sent him the information by Hell Butterfly, before tracking the location of where the real Shinigami were hidden. All of which led her to one of Aizen's abandoned labs, left to rot after finding that it was wiped clean three decades before Aizen's departure from Soul Society. She could feel some powerful Reishi, signifying a powerful barrier sealing Kido, emanating from the building. She took another step when her shoulder was pierced from behind.
"Sorry, Lady Yoruichi." Her assailant, revealing to be a Reigai copy of her little bee, said while readying a second strike. "But I have my orders." It would never find its mark, as neither did the first strike. All the fake Soi-Fon managed to hit was an after image of Yoruichi. The real Yoruichi flashed behind her protege's double and was about to release a devastating kick to her head, when a large spiked ball came flying toward her. Moving quickly, she vaulted over the mace as it came into arm's reach before grabbing onto the chain linking the ball to its hilt. The Reigai of Soi-Fon already next to... a much improved version of Omaeda. With hair, more handsome, and muscles... it was a shame this was not the real Omaeda.
"I think the only thing that threw me off here is that Soi-Fon would never let her lieutenant interfere in her fight." Yoruichi taunted, not at all concerned with her opponents while settling into a combat stance. "You must be a failed copy if you need help."
"You also taught her, as leader of the Onmitsukido, to use every opportunity and advantage possible." The Reigai said before the two disappeared, reappearing at her sides with their weapons ready. Yoruichi twisted around Soi-Fon's spear hand and kicked Marechiyo's mace into the building, knocking down the front wall. Reigai Soi-Fon spun herself and landed a hook kick on Yoruichi's back, sending her to the ground. "Shunko!" The copy called out as she threw a punch down at the noble.
"Not fast enough." Yoruichi whispered as she disappeared, getting behind her bee's Reigai and slamming her fist into Reigai Omaeda's stomach. The man coughed up bile as he dropped to the ground, with Soi-Fon appearing behind Yoruichi again. "Shunko." The flash goddess said, activating her own Flash War Cry, and deflecting Soi-Fon's attack. She followed it up with a heavy blow to the ground, while the Reigai dodged.
"You missed." She said with a smirk, side kicking Yoruichi through a tree and slamming against another one. "Maybe Kageroza will reward with a more fitting lady Yoruichi after he gathers your data." She said, with a hopeful expression. Unaware that her partner was just killed.
"There is only one of Lady Yoruichi." The Reigai heard her voice from behind, turning to see her original freed and the building she was meant to guard destroyed. The shock was short lived as a Kido infused hand pierced through her chest from behind.
"Had to make sure I didn't hurt my precious bee." Yoruichi said as her protege's Reigai turned to dust around her arm. Soi-Fon immediately knelt before her mistress.
"Lady Yoruichi, I'm sorry for-" She didn't even finish before said lady punched her on the head.
"You better be sorry. I thought I taught you to always be on guard!" The noble scolded before rubbing her friend's head. "Looks like I'll have to retrain you, just like old times." Inside, Soi-Fon was squealing like a little girl. "But first, stopping these Reigai."
"Right! The other Shinigami that were imprisoned have already begun their return to the Seireitei."
(With Yamamoto)
The old dragon twisted his cane about, Ichigo safely stashed in a secret location only he knew, and made his way to the stairway to where the Repentance cell once was. It was a wide open area, with the other combatants doing their own thing, where the old man could really cut loose. He felt that old burn from his early days and with the Quincy return coming, he needed to back into the flow of combat. His patience was soon rewarded when his opponents finally appeared. Reigai copies of Kyoraku, Ukitake, Unohana, Isshin, Komamura, and the one that he knew to be Kageroza.
"This is truly an arrogant act on your part Kageroza." Genryusai said as he faced his would be opponents. "You know of the coming Quincy war, yet you would try to overthrow the Gotei instead of adding to our might?" The yellow robed man wore a malicious grin as he let out a twisted laugh.
"And who is the one responsible for this Quincy war Yamamoto?" He returned, readying his Raiku while the Reigai did the same. "But then again, how many of the problems that the Gotei faced can be traced back to you? Aizen managing to get away with as much as he did before he defected, though Aizen was indeed careful about his actions. The Dark Ones trying to destroy both the world of the Living and Soul Society, you let them live and let their hate grow in their exile. Kusaka, all because you turned a blind eye to the Central 46's interference. The amnesia incident, how many Hollows were in the Rukon that you never really addressed? The Kasumioji incident was because you chose to imprison yourself to an unjust system that kept you out of the affairs of nobility. The Zanpakuto Rebellion, you should've killed Koga instead of sealing him away. Everything can be traced back to you and your weakness as a leader and you should retire. But, there is no way I will ever bow before that abomination you call your student!" He roared, pointing his blade forward to the old man. In response, Yamamoto thrust his cane forward and the Reigai of Komamura blew apart, shocking Kageroza in turn.
"I have indeed made many mistakes in my two thousand years of service." The dragon said as his Haori flew off and his Shihakusho top fell, revealing his scarred and muscled body. "And I've grown complacent in my pursuit of preserving this time of peace. But do not mistake my poor judgment for weakness of body, as only the strongest Shinigami is meant to lead as the pillar of the Gotei and Soul Society." He unleashed his Reiatsu and Kageroza was reminded just how powerful Genryusai is. "That flick of the wrist was a warning shot boy. Run now, if you want to survive more than the next few seconds." He unsheathed his blade and created the ring of fire from releasing his Shikai.
(Komamura vs Soi-Fon Reigai)
The werebeast wandered about inside a bamboo forest in the Seireitei, searching for one of these enemies that were trying to replace them. It was a natural strategy, aim for the lone animal away from the protection of the pack, so he let himself be the bait to lure his enemies. That, and his Zanpakuto always made for plenty of collateral damage to the surrounding area. No need to cause more damage to the city than necessary. He's been searching for a good while, until he sensed a presence coming from above. He managed to turn just in time to block a sword strike, coming from Soi-Fon. A Reigai from the way her eyes glowed.
'Tenken, thank you for making sure I trained for when I confront grandfather.' The wolf said in thanks to his blade spirit, certain that he would've died in an instant otherwise. "So, you're captain Soi-Fon's copy. Then let me test my might against you!" He roared, swinging his Zanpakuto down. The resulting shockwave splintered the bamboo trees and made the ground explode, all of which the nimble clone of the captain managed to avoid. She reappeared over the dust cloud, spinning a kick to Komamura's head. The massive wolf man caught the blow, grunting in exertion from the strength of the attack, before twisting and throwing her away from him. As she flipped around to bounce off a bamboo stalk, Sajin released his Shikai. "Tenken!" He roared, swinging the spectral blade down as she jumped off the stalk and into his blade. The ground shook and exploded from the force of his blow, leaving a massive gash in the earth with a thick cloud of dust.
His ears pricked up as he heard quick moving footsteps to his side, turning to block but was quickly stabbed in the stomach with the Reigai's own Suzumebachi. Grunting from the pain, he instead chose to focus on his opponent while she was in arm's length. Before the Reigai could get away, he grabbed her head in a crushing grip and threw his arm upward, pulling Soi-Fon's Reigai along with it and throwing her at the ground. He then jumped away and conjured the other arm of his Tenken's power, the flaming bolas. Wasting no time, he spun them as fast as he could before shooting fireball after fireball down at Soi-Fon's location. Each blast grew bigger and bigger as he rained down the attack. The Reigai, as it turned out, managed to escape and get behind him, having some nasty burns as a result. Komamura, having learned from the last time, managed to keep track of her Reishi and swing his blade the moment she was in range. The battle ended as the two halves of the Reigai crumbled into dust.
'I wasted too much energy in this fight.' He thought, panting from exhaustion. He turned to the burning forest, thinking on how much he wasted in this battle.
(With Yamamoto)
The flames grew with rage and intensity, fueled by Yamamoto's own Reishi, as the battle began. The Reigai of Isshin charged straight at the old dragon, his Engetsu flaring with his own fire and power, as he fired a Getsuga at the head captain. The Reishi attack was cut in twain with a single swing of Yamamoto's blade, making the two halves pass him harmlessly. In front of Yamamoto, he saw a blade coming out of his shadow that was made from Isshin's fire. He barely dodged the attack, getting a cut from his chest to his collarbone, before grabbing onto the blade and ripping Shunsui out of it. He made another swing to kill another of the Reigai, slamming a burning blade into Kyoraku's chest and sending him flying in a fireball. Ukitake stuck one of his Zanpakuto into the flames, absorbed it, and redirected it the Head Captain. He got ready to deflect it, when he heard Unohana finish her Kido spell.
"Bakudo #99, Kin!" She called out, wrapping up Yamamoto and pinning his arms behind him. The fire slammed into him, roasting him in its heat, but ultimately did not affect the man that mastered those flames. Before the torrent of flames ended, the ancient captain swept them aside as he burst from the fire, and then stabbed his blade into the ground.
"Ennetsu Jigoku." The dragon whispered, a red glyph drawing itself out on the ground as he channeled his power into it. Unohana's Reigai seemed to recognize the attack and leaped forward, drawing her blade with the intent to cut down the dragon. The moment she was in front of him, seven pillars of flame erupted from the earth. Six surrounding the combatants and one burning Unohana to ash instantly. "Is this really the best you imposters have?" He asked with Kageroza standing out of the battle but trapped by the fire, trembling with rage and fear.
(With Hitsugaya)
The moment the Garganta opened to Soul Society, Halibel flew off with the intention of finding her king, leaving the Shinigami that came from the world of the Living to try to find their own purpose in this battle. Each one felt a different battle raging and either paired off or went on their own, Urahara leaving each one with minor Reigai scanner. Toshiro Hitsugaya went his own way, looking to find and confirm Momo's safety. She may have been improving as a lieutenant and a Soul Reaper, but Toshiro still couldn't help but worry. As he charged forward he noticed the other battles raging around him, most prominent being the flames of Ryujin Jakka, which distracted him into almost getting hit by a fireball.
"You! Prove you're captain Toshiro Hitsugaya!" The young captain looked down to see Amagai with Ikkaku and Yumichika, all three glaring and ready for combat. "How can we tell you're not a Reigai?" Amagai demanded, pointing his released Raika at the captain. Toshiro was on guard and trying to figure a way out of this dilemma, how to prove that he's the real one when his doppelganger was already destroyed back in the world of the Living. Then he got an idea, if he couldn't prove it sufficiently then he could turn it back on them.
"How do I know you're not Reigai?" Toshiro suddenly asked, making the trio look to themselves with short glances. "Bankai." Toshiro quickly said, getting covered in a thick mist before gaining his frozen wings and starting the petal countdown to his true power. "Well? How do I know you three are the real ones of you?" Amagai raised up his arms, showing his wrists.
"We don't have those bracelets that the Reigai wear. What about you?" He returned, putting the focus back on Toshiro.
"It's believed that those bracelets were limiters and that Kageroza likely had them broken to unleash the full power of the Reigai." Hitsugaya returned, deciding to look at his Reigai scanner that was mounted on his wrist. It revealed four Reigai, the three in front and the one right behind him. The sudden appearance of the one behind him stunned the ice captain long enough for the Reigai to run him through. Thankfully for Toshiro, the ice provided him with enough time to dodge before the blade bit into his flesh. The difference between life and death, measured in one tenth of a second.
"You should've just stayed still." Toshiro heard his own voice say, coming face to face with another Reigai of him, likewise in Bankai. "It would have been so much easier on you if you did." Hitsugaya's mind was racing; didn't his Reigai die already, were there multiple copies of him, how many others had multiple Reigai copies of themselves? This had taken a bad situation and made it worse, some of the Reigai were meant to be stronger than their originals and there are likely many more of them. Hitsugaya was pulled out of his thoughts when Amagai threw another fireball, slamming against one of the frozen wings.
'The heat from that attack is melting my form.' He noticed as Amagai threw more fireballs, one after the other. 'Damn my still immature power!' Toshiro aimed to fly away, before his ankle was wrapped in glowing vines from Yumichika and leaving him vulnerable. The Reigai took advantage of the chance and attacked, Ikkaku and Hitsugaya cutting at the captain with Amagai continuing his burning assault and Yumichika draining Reishi. Toshiro had to quickly block with sword and icy wing, regenerating the damage done to his dragon form, while feeling the drain of his Reishi. He froze his ankle, and the vine with it, while trying to gather the moisture in the air for something he hoped would turn the tide. Unfortunately, his Reigai seemed to understand what he was planning.
"Hyoten Hyakkaso." His Reigai said, causing the snow fall of the technique. Toshiro tried to flee, but more vines wrapped around him and drained more of his Reishi. The captain could only watch helplessly as the snow dropped on him, sprouting ice flowers that soon engulfed his entire being. "You were never able to protect anyone, let alone Momo." The Reigai of Toshiro mocked. "Leave her to me, she'll be fine."
"Uhh, Captain Hitsugaya?" Amagai spoke up, gaining the Reigai's attention, to find that they were surrounded by massive pillars of ice.
"Zanhyo Ningyo? When?!" The Reigai demanded just before the pillars began to converge on them rapidly.
"Bankai! Raika Goen Kaku!" Amagai roared, gaining his massive blade while Ikkaku did the same. They began their own assault against the ice, Amagai melting with his blade and Ikkaku breaking the ice with his and Yumichika uses Kido while Hitsugaya wrestles with control over the ice. The battle soon ends with the ice pillars falling apart but before they could breath a sigh of victory, they all froze instantly.
"Getting faster at getting rid of those petals." An older Hitsugaya said, watching the frozen Reigai fall and shatter on the ground. "But not fast enough."
(With Yamamoto)
Yamamoto recognized the ache of combat as he continued to clash with the Reigai, constantly dodging and blocking attacks coming from all around him with Kyoraku, having his flames redirected back to him from Ukitake, and the brute power from Isshin. To his benefit, with the Reigai Unohana gone, they would be unable to heal and recover. This was a battle of attrition, but three captain class Shinigami was still wearing on the old dragon.
'Even as a Reigai, Isshin is headstrong and dives into battle.' He thought as the Reigai in question tried to fire a Getsuga at the dragon, only for Yamamoto to bat the blade aside and deflect the destructive wave of Reishi. From above, Shunsui appeared and was about to swing one of his blades. 'Takaoni.' Yamamoto thought, identifying the game that the Reigai was playing. In response, he quickly jumped higher then the Reigai and swung his blade down, only for it to pass through an after image. 'Kageokuri!' He thought in surprise as the real Reigai appeared beneath him, ready to attack.
"Irooni, black." The Reigai said before he made contact with Yamamoto's foot, kicking the blade aside and Shunsui with it. The old man slightly winced as he felt the damage from the amount of black he wore, but minimized it from not letting it contact his black clothing.
"Taimatsu." He growled before swinging his blade and unleashing a torrent of flames at the Reigai. Once again, Ukitake appeared to absorb the attack. As he did, Yamamoto flashed behind the Reigai. "White. Ikkotsu." He said, just before punching a hole through Ukitake's back. "And then there were three."
(With the Kenpachis)
When Yamamoto made the announcement for Zaraki to cut loose, he and Unohana went out for a stroll. She undid her braid and was in her Yachiru state while Zaraki had his eyepatch off, both had their blades ready to carve into their opponents. Their hunt was fruitful as they came across their Reigai, both as ready as the originals. The four Kenpachis stood there, analyzing their respective opponents, and their worth as enemies.
"Well, this is new." Zaraki quietly said, earning a raised eyebrow from Unohana. "I'm not sure what to do. Do I take them both myself, do I let you have one, do I kill my Reigai and leave the other for us to have some special fun?" He voiced, earning an understanding nod from his wife.
"I've had much the same thoughts." She said, raising her blade. "How about we see if they can even survive being our playmates?" She asked with a dark grin, earning a savage one from her husband just before the two sides charged at each other. The Zarakis released a thunderous clang as their blades collided while the Yachirus moving swiftly in a lethal dance. Zaraki's usual reckless abandon sharply contrasted with Unohana's fast movements, releasing an awkward symphony of fast paced clings and heavy clangs from the two fights.
"Hado #88, Hiryu Gekizoku Shiten Raiho." The Reigai Unohana shot at the real one, who dodged and flashed directly into her Reigai's guard. She took out a pair of daggers while getting into a sword lock, ready to plunge the blades into her Reigai's throat. The two had to jump away from each other when the Reigai Zaraki released his shikai and brought it down between the two before trying to split Zaraki in half. The cleaver came down with ground shattering force, but Zaraki caught the blade before it made contact with him.
"Is this," The Reigai tried to pull the blade away but it wouldn't budge, "how strong Kageroza thinks I am?" Zaraki pulled on the blade before gripping the ax haft, lifting the Reigai before throwing him to a wall. "I know I've held back, but I don't recall being so weak!" Zaraki roared before throwing the copy of Nozarashi back to the Reigai. The clone punched the ax blade off its lethal course and caught it safely, ready to fight again.
"Bakudo #62, Hyapporankan." Unohana's Reigai called out before throwing a barrage of light poles down at Zaraki, with the real one appearing behind her husband to deflect every single pole of the the spell.
"Hado #90, Kurohitsugi." Yachiru quickly cast, trapping her Reigai in the black box. Suddenly, a furry beast attacked her while a large skeleton picked up the black coffin and broke it apart. Zaraki appeared above the skeleton with Nozarashi out and slammed the blade down on the creature's skull, shattering the entire construct. Yachiru herself quickly cut through the furry creature's body and made it dissipate as well, leaving the two Kenpachis with their Reigai doubles once again. The Reigai of Unohana readied herself to cast another spell and Yachiru flashed toward her with her blade raised. Her Reigai dodged but Zaraki's, her actual target, was cut across his gut, nearly in half.
"No!" The Reigai Unohana cried out, having as much care for her lover as the original does for her's. That second of distraction was her doom as Zaraki brought his ax down on her. The two Reigai crumbled into dust as the two Kenpachis sealed and sheathed their blades.
"Nevermind what I was thinking." Zaraki scoffed, looking at the modsouls as they crumbled to dust. "They were too fragile."
"Let's find the rest. I'm still unsatisfied." Yachiru said as they continued their hunt.
(With Yamamoto)
With the threat of Ukitake out of the way, Yamamoto unleashed even greater flames and was more aggressive. The fire was so hot that the buildings were burning to ash and the clouds dissipated from the scorching heat. Unohana was integral to them to last longer because of the healing skill and Ukitake could reflect his fire back at him, thus they had to be crushed as soon as possible. With those two gone, then Genryusai could stop being as cautious as he was. Kyoraku's games still kept him on his toes, but the Reigai couldn't get too close without getting burned and Isshin's own fire Zanpakuto was the only thing that kept him from getting vaporized.
'It seems Kageroza is trying to retreat.' The dragon noted as he saw Kageroza opening a portal with his Raiku. A quick flare of his Ryuujin Jakka forced the man away from his portal. In an effort to confine the man, the fires soon constricted into a shrinking dome. "Jokaku Enjo. You will not escape from here so easily Kageroza." He growled, glaring at the man that's caused such a disturbance in Soul Society. That was when he sensed someone coming up from behind him, despite Kyoraku and Isshin being in front of him. Trusting his senses, he spun at the last second and dodged a stab from the Reigai of Shunsui. 'Kageokuri and Daruma-san ga Koronda. An afterimage to distract me and trying to hit my blind spot. Katen Kyokotsu's supposed to be more moody, more hints of Kageroza's meddling.' He grabbed onto the Reigai and swung his blade, cutting his opponent in half from just under the shoulders. "Now, time to end this." The dragon said, facing his final Reigai foe.
(West Rukon District: Plains area)
Rukia was visiting her family in the Shiba clan when Yamamoto made the call about the Reigai. Since then, she's been keeping to an out of the way area so as not to disturb the civilians of the Rukon District. She's had her Shiraiyuki at the ready and just waited, for an opponent, her allies, pretty much anything or anyone. Suddenly she felt someone coming up from behind, turning to find Rangiku appearing at the edge of the field.
"Rukia!" The tenth lieutenant called out, flashing closer to the icy Vizard. "Good to see that you're okay." The moment she was within blade's reach, Rukia held her sword to the girl's throat. The shocked lieutenant held her hands up and backed away a couple inches.
"Prove you're the real Rangiku." Rukia demanded, glaring at the girl she suspected was a doppelganger. Considering that these people were meant to replace them, it stood to reason that they were copies of themselves. With that in mind, she needed proof before trusting anyone anymore. The maybe Rangiku thought for a moment before getting an idea.
"Remember that night when captains Zaraki and Unohana got married? How we had some fun with our dear Ichigo?" She asked rather suggestively, all of which was pretty accurate to Rangiku. Rukia was about to drop her guard when she heard Sode no Shiraiyuki's voice call out to her.
"She's not real, Haineko' s spirit is not with her!" Rukia didn't stop her blade's descent, but she did draw a circle with a flick of her wrist at the base of the now confirmed Reigai's feet.
"Tsukishiro." She said, using her power to create a massive pillar of ice where the Reigai stood. The Reigai knew her cover was blow when Rukia's hand made that twirl and managed to avoid the attack, just before the ice formed. As she did, Rukia appeared behind her with her mask on. "Hakuren!" She shouted, unleashing her freezing torrent at the Reigai and forcing her to dodge again.
"Growl, Haineko!" The fake Rangiku called out as her blade turned to dust, swinging at Rukia and forcing the Vizard to move. "Bakudo #63, Sajo Sabaku!" The Reigai yelled, clenching her fist and wrapping Rukia up in glowing yellow chains. She was about to make another swing when another chain wrapped around her and a blade was held to her neck.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't hurt my sister wife." Another Rangiku said, ready to cleave the head off of her opponent when she felt a sudden chill around her. A pillar of ice appeared almost instantly after Rukia tackled her out of the way, with another Rukia coming in from the edge of the field. "Thanks for the save Rukia." She said as they got up and faced their opponents. Before either could do anything, they were enveloped in a gray cloud of moving steel dust. "Neko Rinbu, my Reigai surrounded us in a swirling ball of death." Rangiku warned her companion, who seemed to be focusing elsewhere. Suddenly, her masked face turned to where Rangiku's Reigai was and started her second dance.
"Tsugi no mai," she said as a whitish blue ball of Reishi formed at the tip of her sword, "Cero Hakuren!" She shouted before thrusting forward, dissipating the cloud of ash and colliding with another wave of ice before easily dominating it. The other Rukia was struggling to maintain her attack, with the Reigai of Rangiku shocked but recovering to attack. The real Rangiku didn't allow that as she manifested Haineko behind the Reigai. The Zanpakuto spirit quickly disabled the clone of her master and restrained her as Rukia's Cero infused Hakuren consumed her Reigai in ice. The pair took a breath of relief with Rukia marching over to finish the fake Rangiku, only for the real Rangiku to stop her.
"That's enough Rukia." She said, looking at her copy. "There are plans for any Reigai we can recover." Rukia looked at her companion, who was uncharacteristically serious.
"You're planning a three-way with Ichigo consisting of you and your copy aren't you?" She asked, earning a blush and giggle from Rangiku.
"Four-way actually. I had another me in the world of the Living." She admitted, making Rukia sigh.
"Pervert." She said. 'Damn! Why didn't I think of that!?' She thought.
(With Yamamoto)
It was no longer a battle, it was evident that the old dragon had won the battle. While Isshin's Engetsu flames gave him some protection, Yamamoto's fire was even stronger. Isshin was indeed a strong man, but Yamamoto was stronger. Everything that Isshin had to challenge the ancient dragon was proven futile in the face of the man that led the Shinigami.
"Getsuga Tensho!" He roared, unleashing the wave of Reishi at Yamamoto and the dragon merely cut it in half. He tried flashing away, only for Yama to appear in front of him and punch him back into the ground. The Reigai was groaning in pain as he forced himself back up. If he had anything that made him like Isshin, it was the stubbornness of the Shiba man. Unfortunately for him, with no need to hold back or be as careful, Yamamoto was just moments away from ending the fight.
"This ends now." The dragon said in that gravely voice as he passed by the man, sheathing his blade. Before the Reigai could protest, all features faded and it fell in two before crumbling to dust. In front of Yamamoto was a long gash in the ground that slowly formed. 'Perhaps using that Nadegiri was going too far.' He thought before turning his attention to Kageroza, who had already managed to escape. "That fool thinks he can escape?" He gripped his Zanpakuto tightly before sensing an appearance of two Arrancar, turning to find a dark skinned woman standing with a man with a Van Dyke beard.
"Is Ichigo with you?" The female Arrancar asked, Yamamoto just now recognizing her as Halibel.
"He is." He admitted, not revealing where. "And he is safe, despite Kageroza's efforts."
"That man dared to attack mi Rey?! How dare he!?" The man said with shock before turning to rage. "I, Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio, will deliver judgment on him!" He said before running off, already on the scent of Kageroza.
"I swear, that fool practically worships Ichigo." The shark said before bowing to Yamamoto. "Please keep our king safe. This is our burden now." She said before disappearing herself.
(Vizard fight)
Rose was visiting Love, catching up on their manga, when the call came out. The captains pulled out their masks in preparation, with Reigai of almost each member of their old Vizard group appearing. It was the two of them against a copy of themselves, Shinji, Kensei, Mashiro, Hiyori, and Lisa, outnumbering them seven to two. The exception was Hachigen, and the absence of the Kido master was not a good sign. Was he hiding somewhere, or doing a separate mission, there seemed to be no good possibility.
"You jerks, I was just getting to the good part." Love said, cracking his neck in preparation for the fight. "The main character was finally about to find out which one was his promised girl."
"You're reading Nisekoi, Love." Rose pointed out, unleashing his whip. "There was going to be a cliff hanger instead. Just like always." The Reigai summoned their Shikai, except for Shinji who already had his out, and the two sides charged at each other. Before the two Vizards could prepare their attacks, the world turned upside down and their enemies were getting further away. Or that's what it seemed as they were soon cut, bashed, and blasted by their opponents, slamming against the ground.
"Shinji's 'Inverted World' world technique." Love growled, the pair getting up as their regeneration healed them. "That bastard did his homework didn't he?" He was about to say something else, but they had to raise their weapons to block an oncoming attack from the Reigai Hiyori and Mashiro. Surprisingly they succeeded in blocking the attacks, shocking both sides.
"Too bad they aren't as strong as us!" They heard coming from above them as Shinji, Kensei, and Mashiro appeared, all wearing masks. "I canceled out their inversion with my own," Shinji explained while Kensei circled around the Reigai and swung his blade about wildly, "let's finish this quickly!" The rest nodded as a dome of razor air blade trapped the Reigai. The Vizards all raised their hands and charged their Cero blasts, Mashiro's was a kick, and Kensei got out of the way as the combined blast gouged the land and vaporized the Reigai.
"Uhhh, I better make sure that didn't kill any civilians." Love said after seeing the carnage and leaving to do just that. The rest just stood about awkwardly.
"This seemed a little disappointing, hasn't it?" Shinji earning a shrug from Rose.
"I guess it stands to reason that Reigai can't use Hollow Reishi." He said, remembering just how new Hollowfication studies are.
(Inside the Kido Corps. Maximum Security Storage)
Two figures made their way through the forbidden section of the most dangerous area in Soul Society's relic storage. In here one would be able to find a wall lined with stone tablets, blocked by glowing Kido spell seals, each one holding a map to the location of an artifact deemed too dangerous to be left alone. However, one artifact was still in this room. The one these two came for, quite possibly the most dangerous one in the wrong hands. The Hogyoku, the target of the two as they stepped into the amber glow of the many Kido seals.
"There it is." The smaller figure said, revealing himself to be Tessai Tsukabishi. "With that, master Kageroza's plans will no longer be restrained by the need for that stubborn girl." The Reigai said as he and his partner, the Reigai of Hachigen Ushoda, got closer to the seal before stopping a few feet from it.
"Commander Tessai?" Hachi started as Tessai knelt down and waved his hand, revealing a complex seal on the ground. "That's a powerful one. Many forbidden spells layered together."
"We were expecting this when we came down here. They wouldn't let something like that be unguarded." He said as the two got to undoing the seals. They got through one before their heads were trapped in transparent blue boxes that turned red and separated their heads from their necks, causing their bodies to crumble to dust. An orange door appeared as the real Hachi came out to recover the Mod Souls.
"Another two Hachi?" Tessai asked, coming down with another pair of Reigai of the Kido masters. "Smart of that guy to send two teams. How bad is the seal damaged?"
"Just the first one, immobilization." The large man said as he got about to repairing the seal. "Maybe we should leave a warning that this is for their safety." He said, turning to where the Hogyoku was locked away. "The last person that got too close was devoured by that thing." Tessai lifted his Reigai and threw it over the seal, watching as it was turned to particles and absorbed into the black sphere.
"It's certainly gotten picky about who can get close to it." Tessai remarked as the sphere went back into hibernation.
(With Kageroza)
'Damn, damn, damn!' The clone thought as he sped as fast as he could away from the monster that was Yamamoto. 'How could I have miscalculated so badly!?' He thought that the Gotei relied on Ichigo too much and they grew weaker as a result. He thought that he correctly gauged the powers and abilities of the other Soul Reapers. He forgot, that even though Ichigo did take much of the burden for almost every major conflict occurrence, the rest of the Court Guard Squads made sure to train themselves as much as they could. He thought that they'd still fight with 'honor' and 'pride'. Soul Society was now in the mentality of 'win'. Not graciously win, just win. They were out and ready to fight and kill any that disturbed what Yamamoto built with the original Gotei.
"Going somewhere? Anciano?" He heard before a white clad leg slammed into his face. The moment he regained his footing, he found a short, hollowed blade at his neck. "That is so rude, and we came all this way just to find you." Dordoni said, waving his hands about while shaking his head.
"Arrancar. We really have sunk so low as to recruit creatures like you? I figured they were joking." Kageroza said slightly turning before the blade pressed against his neck. "Modsouls were deemed too inhumane or too dangerous, but mutating the soul with Hollow Reishi or gifting Hollows with the powers of the Soul Reaper while my research was to be destroyed?!" He growled, glaring at the pair before quickly spinning his Raiku. "Where's the justice or sense in that!?" He roared before escaping Halibel's captivity and gaining some distance from the two. "Why did he have to suffer!?" He cried out, getting behind Dordoni and aimed to cut him from behind.
"Ola Azul." Halibel calmly called out as she fired an energy blade at Kageroza. The Reigai master managed to raise his blade to block, but that gave Dordoni plenty of time to counter attack. The man slid closer to his enemy and kicked him as hard as he could into the center of the man's torso, causing Kageroza to lose all the air in his lungs. As he stumbled to regain his footing, he felt a blade stab into the base of his spine and sever it. His legs buckled from underneath him, now useless and paralyzed from the damage. "We can stomach hate aimed at us." Halibel said, walking over to his sword hand before stomping on his wrist.
"We already were considered expendable by our previous master." Dordoni continued as he took Kageroza's Raiku away. "But our king offers us hope, a future, and his love for his people." Raiku reverted to its cane form, which Dordoni stabbed into Kageroza's other hand. "We Arrancar love our lord, love Ichigo, for giving us that."
"You insulted our king," Halibel resumed, "wanted to threaten him at his most vulnerable." She and Dordoni gripped his arms and shattered his shoulders, ignoring his screams of pain as they did so. "To us, that is punishable by death. But, lucky you, Kisuke Urahara convinced us to take you in alive. He and Mayuri have ideas." The mastermind behind the Reigai could only whimper and tremble in fear and outrage as the Arrancar dragged him back to face judgment.
Author's Rift
"Ugh." I groaned, falling over after finally finishing the chapter. "Eleven freaking pages. This was such a pain." Last Kenpachi was looking over the chapter for any necessary fine tuning. "So many fights."
"Just the captains and those two Arrancar." LK said, scrolling through my writings. "What about the others like... umm... who was that lieutenant with the silver or gray hair?"
"Unohana's lieutenant?" I asked, the description sounding somewhat familiar.
"I think?"
"F**k 'em." I waved. "They won offscreen. Yes, even Ganju." I interrupted before he could ask.
"And the Spanish?"
"Dordoni always referred to Ichigo as boy and young Nel as baby in Spanish. Kageroza looks older so he'd refer to him as an old man while Ichigo is called king." I explained my reasoning, earning a nod of agreement.
"So where's Whackybiscuit?"
"Said he wanted to take a break. But he's also excited about the Rangiku thing. Maybe I'll do a lemon with Halibel before that though."
"That'll make a lot of people happy."
"I'm just happy to be done with this."