Harada Nohubiro was exhausted as he stood at the South Gate. His limbs were shaking from the heavy exertion he has done while several dozen bodies of the Shinigami that were under his command.
As the 4th Seat of the First Division, he did not mean to boast, but he did pride himself as one of the stronger Seated Officers in the Seireitei itself and nearly on par with the lieutenants.
That pride meant nothing as he watched a singular bearded man in white militaristic clothing holding up the unconscious form of his superior officer and the 3rd Seat of the First Division Genshiro Okikiba.
The elderly man had blood staining his formerly snow white hair while being held by his neck, their assailant having a wide grin on his face as he cracked his neck and tossed his body to the side.
"Seriously? This is the best you Shinigami got?" the man asked with a mocking smile and Harada gritted his teeth, forcing his tired and injured hands to firmly grip his Zanpakuto.
The sword with the kris-like blade design shimmered as he held it towards the man, who crouched and lunged forward.
"Strike, Sentomaru!" he hissed as he thrust the blade forward, the blade turning into a steel-like serpent that tried to wrap around his foe.
Yet the man easily avoided his attack and slid to a stop in front of him, his fist crashing into his chest with enough force to shatter his ribs and sent him blasting backwards.
The wind was knocked from his lungs as he struggled to breathe, feeling nauseous, dizzy and in agony all at the same time. The pain increased when a heavy boot stomped onto his leg, a hand grasping the top of his head and lifting him with ease.
"Hmm, still alive, huh? Well, you're a 4th Seat and the old man's a 3rd seat so it made sense that you're just slightly stronger than the rest of these weaklings."
'He...he knows who we are?' Harada thought with a confused gaze, anguish replacing the confusion as the man's grip around his neck tightened and he was lifted higher.
"Still, you and the old guy make a hundred and six so I'm gonna have to kill ya both. Blame your parents for the shitty power you have," With that said, the man swung his fist forward, but to both of their surprise, twin beams of lightning shot over his shoulders and into the man's chest.
The blast sent them both flying in opposite direction as a curtain of spiritual energy appeared below him. Harada was dizzy from the pain, but he could still make out Okikiba's form being pulled away as well.
"I got this. Take them and get everyone else here," he heard a faint voice speak, the sight of his Division's lieutenant sending relief through his body as the man landed beside the two of them.
"Are you certain?"
"I am, Chojiro. Go," Harada tried to focus on the figure that had spoken, his eyes widening at the cape of spiritual energy wrapped around the man's shoulders and the familiar face as the man turned to give the lieutenant a smirk.
Their opponent tried to take advantage of them and lunged forward, but the same cape of energy extended around the man, blocking him off before the cape wrapped around him.
"Rest, Harada. We'll make sure your foe is paid what he is owed," Lieutenant Chojiro spoke as the man picked him up, the last thing Harada saw before he passed out being the foe he faced earlier getting thrown through a building and into a wall.
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'Huh, that's strange,' I thought as I walked towards the downed man, who sent debris flying with a swipe of his arm and a growl.
He feels stronger than some of the captains, but his energy usage was highly inefficient for someone of that level.
Does that mean he just reached that level? Or perhaps he's holding back intentionally to try and make me underestimate him?
'Whichever the case is, it appears that this is the start of the Blood War,' I thought as my Kanon'Cape pulled back, watching as the Quincy man stood up and gave me a sneer.
"Oh, it's the damn human that has a love for the Shinigami."
"I would not say I have a love for them. I simply used to be colleagues with them," I replied with a shrug, making him scoff as he walked closer.
"Colleague or friend, I care very little for the difference. What I do care for is that you fucking stopped me from setting a new record."
"Record?"
"Yep, my record of killings. I've gotten to 105 before and was about to hit 106 today, but you and that other old far-" A Kanon'ball exploded against his face out of nowhere and sent him sliding back.
A frown adorned my face as I made a handsign with my middle and pink fingers curled in before I punched forward with my left hand clenched into a fist.
What followed was several serpentine-like energy beams lashing out, the man immediately taking off with a sprint as the serpents followed closely after.
I frowned as the man moved much faster than I could remember Szayelaporro moving, immediately making the Kanon'cape into a dome around me as a fist crashed into the barrier.
The ground exploded as spiritual energy clashed against it, but the man's eyes widened as I thrust my hands forward with my hands linked together.
What followed was a pillar of Hollow Reiatsu erupting upwards from the front of the barrier, consuming the man and obscuring him from view.
'Yeah, that's not enough to defeat you, buddy. Come on, where are you?' I thought as the energy vanished, slowly looking around while forming a few Kanon'balls around my form.
The next moment, the Kanon'Cape immediately bulged all over before several spikes protruded from its surface, the man reappearing in front of me with his arms crossed.
Shimmering light-blue veins lit up his skin and I was surprised as the spikes had been blunted upon impact with his skin. However, I was pleased when I saw the burn marks covering his legs and face, his glare focused on me as I grinned.
"What? Is this battle not fun enough?" I asked, pulling the spikes back into the barrier to strengthen it as the man stumbled backwards.
"You're not a Hollow, so how in the fuck can you use their energy?"
"Eh, wouldn't you like to know?" I replied with a grin, snickering at the hatred burning in his glare before he vanished again.
This time, I flicked two fingers upwards and the barrier moved with the gesture, condensing to just a few inches off of my body while also shooting me into the air.
Turning around, I watched as the Quincy reappeared, holding a rather large spear-like spiritual arrow in one hand that he then chucked at me like a javelin.
"Kanon'Cape!" Thrusting my left hand forward while making a circle with my right index and middle fingers, the Kanon'Cape around my shoulders surged forward and made a tunnel.
The tunnel redirected the javelin around my form and back at the second javelin he threw, the man himself looking surprised as the two arrows exploded with a deafening boom.
That was when a storm of pink petals came crashing down onto his form, ice erupting from the ground and sealing the man in it as I pointed two fingers at the frozen petal storm.
"Hado # 70: Atomic Light Bullet," The golden spiritual energy gathered at my fingertips fired forward and crashed down onto the ground like a blazing star.
A pillar of light erupted in all direction from the impact, countless Shinigami gathering at the edges as I landed my own orb in between Toshiro and Byakuya."
"Why is it that there is always a problem every time we see you?" the young captain asked, shaking his head as I just gave a smirk.
"I think I'm cursed to be honest."
"That seems to become a suitable explanation more and more over time," Byakuya chimed in, the three of us watching the light die down to reveal an interesting sight.
The man himself was unconscious as he was laid out cold in the middle of a charred, barren area, but his body was already halfway into his own shadow.
Byakuya vanished from my right in an attempt to grab him, but it was too late as he slid to a stop just shy of a few inches of the body being sucked in.
"Well, I know one thing," I muttered, crossing my arms while Toshiro raised an eyebrow at me. He then gave an amused snort and shook his head as I finished my sentence.
"My love is going to kill me for fighting again."
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"Well, I came here to deliver news, but I never expected that a battle would be waiting for me the moment I arrived," I began with a smirk, Yamamoto staying silent as he sat across from me behind his desk.
At his right side stood Chojiro while both Toshiro and Byakuya sat in their own chairs beside me.
"What news were you coming to deliver?"
"Urahara came to inform me that Tier Harribel has been seeing humans in the same militaristic outfits as our 'guest' scouring around in Hueco Mundo and near Las Noches."
"The same outfit?"
"All he said was militaristic white outfits and that's it. Of course, he wanted me to go check it out and I did not want to so I decided to come see if he told you all about it."
"He did not," Toshiro replied with a frown, making me nod in acknowledgement as Byakuya's gaze did not move from Yamamoto.
"You have not said a word since we've arrived, Lord Commander," he spoke and I turned to the old man, narrowing my eyes when I saw the distracted look in Yamamoto's eyes as well as the concerned look in Chojiro's.
"You two not only know who he is, but also who he works for, don't you?" I spoke, Chojiro looking at me with a look of hesitation and back at his captain.
"We should inform them, Lord Eijisai."
"If you wish to hear this, I will have to ask of you to join this war, Kanonji. However-"
"I'll have to decline, then," I replied, cutting the man off with a shake of my head. "As much as I truly want to join this fight, I have family to care about now and I think there's this new fear in me."
"The fear to lose and leave your loved ones to fend for themselves," Byakuya spoke up, making me raise an eyebrow as he sat with his hands folded on his lap.
"My grandfather and father were the same battle-crazed men as you were before they finally created their family and had children. Once that happened, they didn't dedicate as much time to the Gotei 13 and their duties any longer, deciding to instead spend more time with their families."
"Is that your final decision?" Yamamoto asked and I nodded, standing up while dusting off my pants.
"It is. If you still need my help after all of that, let me know and I'll come help."
"Then here," Yamamoto spoke as he gestured to Chojiro, who walked forward and handed me a small flip-phone with a flaming skull on the back of it.
"That is one of our newer emergency callers. When it rings, it's an emergency and we desperately need your help."
"Understood," I nodded, putting the phone away before turning to the other two captains. "Thank you for the help during that fight."
"You did not need it considering you were playing with your opponent," Byakuya replied and I just gave a shrug, turning and leaving the Captain Commander's office.
As I walked through the hallway, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, turning the corner only to pause at the figure waiting for me.
"Hmm, you've come for a visit?" Azashiro looked nonchalant as I continued walking, falling into step with me as the two of us walked past the various Shinigami along the way.
None of them seemed to recognize him or at least didn't want to bother me as they let us pass, the Shinigami following me as I walked to a secured yet abandoned area the moment we exited the First Division's compound.
"What in the hell do you want?"
"I simply came to see the source of the monstrous spiritual energy I felt entering the Seireitei," he replied calmly as he sat down, "though I must say I was surprised to see that it was you."
"Come now, Azashiro. I know enough about you and you know enough about me for both of us to know that you're lying. Now, what do you want?"
"It is not what I want, but what a certain man sharing my cell wishes for."
"...No," I spoke with a groan and he just snapped his fingers, creating a hole below the both of us.
I didn't say anything as I crouched down, using it as a slide to control my descent as it felt like almost hours had passed before we finally fell out of the end.
Creating a barrier below my feet, I stood up while staring at the empty black void around me. Of course, there were crystallized pillars made out of an unknown material here and there that acted as though it was holding the ceiling up, but nothing else.
'Well, not nothing else,' I thought as I landed beside Azashiro on the ground, staring forward at the smirking visage of Aizen with an eyepatch and tied down to a tall throne with various black tapes and chains.
"Well, I've seen many BDSM videos in my day, but this is just overkill. Then again, it is you so I don't feel much."
"A pleasure to see you as well, Kanonji, and I see both your arm and the Reishukaku are now truly one with you," he spoke with a calm smile, which I didn't miss.
However, I was more focused on his spiritual energy or more specifically, the very small bit of it that I could feel.
'So, that usually means they're at a far higher level compared to me, right? Or was that when I couldn't feel any energy at all.'
"Hey, Aizen. Have you grown weaker in your time locked up here?"
"On the contrary, I believe my strength has risen exponentially."
"Strange, it feels like you've gotten weaker," I murmured and watched as the man's sole eye focused on me with an intrigued stare.
"You can feel my spiritual pressure?"
"Either I can or I'm feeling a small bit of it."
"Fascinating," he whispered with a smirk. "Quite the impressive feat, Kanonji."
"Coming from you, that's a big compliment. So, what's the reason you bullied Azashiro here into bringing me down?"
"Simple, I wish to know what is happening above and Azashiro here does not wish to inform me."
"I said that I feel no need to inform you," Azashiro replied and I watched the two men interact as though they weren't sealed away in a prison for the next ten to twenty thousand years.
"What's in it for me?"
"If the foes from earlier are the Wandenreich, then information will be your payment," Aizen replied, making me pause as I stared at him with a frown.
"Wandenreich?"
"Quincy that survived the massacre wearing white outfits styled in a militaristic fashion," he replied and I stared at him before nodding.
"Sure. What do you want to know?"
A/N: Took way too long, but the story is deviating more and more as Kanonji now stand in front of the two most dangerous Shinigami in the Soul Society.
Next chapter: Exchange and prepare.
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