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| - Itazura didn’t like this. Not one bit. It was too quite: Unnaturally so. Not even the wind seemed to be blowing and when it did it blew through thin cracks in the walls, making a whistling sound that made the hair on your arms stand up, and a chill to run up your spine. There was something in the air his instincts didn’t like. Out of the children only Hoshi noticed it for she walked with her eyes narrowed and hand on her zanpakutō’s hilt. Good. At least one of them where ready. ‘Don’t leave my side.’ Itazura advised them all when they passed through the gate into the Seireitei. ‘Keep close. No excuses.’ He didn’t care if he was worrying them. It was better to be worried than dead. He was glad he took the precaution though. The amount of Shinigami patrolling the entranceway should have been noticeable. Instead Itazura found the courtyard empty. He spied dried droplets of blood dotting the ground and immediately ceased all movement. ‘Now, now, what happened here- Yori, don’t move!’ He snapped. ‘If you stay at my side you’re safe. If you stray I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to protect all three of you.’ ‘Could someone have been injured?’ Naoko asked after taking a cursory glance at her surroundings. The area was too cold and too deserted. This wasn’t natural… not by any means. It immediately made Itazura question it. Then he felt something… shift. He felt it only for a split second. ‘Did you feel that?’ He asked of his young companions. ‘Feel what, Zura?’ Yori replied. Neither Naoko nor Hoshi replied in the positive either. ‘I know I felt something…’ He proceeded to draw his zanpakutō where he closed his eyes and concentrated. ‘Can you tell me anything, Ritoruitachi?’ His zanpakutō answered negatively but stressed caution. But he did give advice: loom past the obvious. So what was obvious about this scene? It wasn’t right for one. The air felt… stagnated, and the wind he thought had been whistling wasn’t blowing at all. So what? Was it something in the air he breathed? The ground he stood on? Or was there another force at work here? Was it the work of a Shinigami? If so that left either a zanpakutō or a Kidō spell. The odds of his feeling being a result of the former was slim… but the latter? That was possible. ‘Just like Fujimoto showed you,’ he whispered. He slammed Ritoruitachi deep into the stone where he then brought both his palms together quickly. Energy began to emanate from him in waves! At first that energy was merely thin streaks of light but with each passing second they began to thicken until they became like flowing branches of crystallized light which flowed through the air like water through a crack. The three youngsters could scarcely believe their eyes! Then the air shattered around them like glass and Itazura drew his zanpakutō. ‘I thought as much,’ he said at last. ‘An illusion mixed in with forbidden Kidō. We don’t have much time. I was only fit to shatter a small part of the spell. Stay close to me. If you stay within… let’s say… three meters of me nothing will harm you. I promise.’ ‘… Zura…? What’s going on?’ ‘I’m not sure, Naoko. But we need to assume the worst. I don’t know who’d be capable of casting a spell like this, but I can tell you that it’s affecting the entire Seireitei. Come on. We need to push through to the Seventh Division. Chances are my uncle can break this completely. Then we can see what our options are.’ ‘He broke through so quickly?’ The blue-haired man asked in utter astonishment! He aimed the question to a man of medium height standing amongst the shadows. ‘He’s improved a great deal then. When I last saw him all he excelled in was mis-direction and information gathering.’ ‘Indeed,’ the man stepped forward. Zenshin had a gash on his right forearm and one just above his left eye but otherwise he was unharmed. To his right was Hei encased in stone. ‘I don’t know how they came to suspect me but they did. Probably that masked man I met in the Twelfth’s Barracks. I’m not sure.’ ‘Itazura was always good at finding out things he shouldn’t… and then doing something about it.’ The other man replied. ‘But this time… things won’t go his way. I have my vengeance to think about.’ ‘I see you’re still looking to avenge your father, Raiden.’ Zenshin replied. Raiden had grown in sixteen years. He looked more mature and a lot more reliable. He was broader through the shoulders and carried himself with an assured posture, yet there was a darkness hanging about him. His eyes where hard and unrelenting and the grip by which he held his zanpakutō was as tight as it could possibly be. His knuckles where whitened from it. His hair was as long as ever and rested over his right shoulder to hang in front of his chest, and he still clung to the Shinigami garb he wore previously: green and yellow over black. ‘Shut up! The man was a fool… but that fool was still my father. Itazura may not have killed him personally, but he may well have slit his throat himself. It was he who led my father to Tadashi and Shin.’ ‘Today you’ll go a long way to exacting some of that righteous vengeance.’ Zenshin turned his attention to the left. ‘That I will, Zenshin. That I will. Though I find myself wondering which one he’ll choose: the childhood friend who he has loved all his life. Or the woman he has loved these last sixteen years?’ Two women struggled against invisible bonds. But try as they might there was no breaking free. ‘Only time will tell, Raiden.’ Zenshin then laughed low in his throat as he turned away. ‘See to it that he finds his way here, Raiden.’ The Seventh Division barracks showed the Shinigami stationed there frozen in place. Some where conducting patrol while others where merely conversing. Within the building itself others where training. But they all shared one thing in common: all where unmoving. It was obviously forbidden Kidō of the kind that halted time in a specific area. Itazura only avoided it through certain techniques taught to him sixteen years ago by Fujimoto – a man he sincerely wished was standing at his side. It would go a long way to ease some of his apprehension. ‘What’s causing this?’ Yori asked. ‘I’ve seen Kidō spells… but nothing like this!’ ‘It’s forbidden Kidō,’ Itazura answered. ‘The spell halts time in a specific area. In this case it seems to be mixed with an illusion that targets the mind as well.’ He scoffed at the notion. ‘Put simply whoever did this is paralyzing the body by enslaving the mind. It’s a combination practiced in Heisekai. My mentor, Fujimoto Nakamura, taught me how to counter it about sixteen years ago.’ ‘Wait… so it’s true? Those stories you where telling us?’ Naoko’ mouth nearly hit the floor. ‘You should see your face,’ Itazura began to goad. ‘You’re cute when you’re surprised. But that’s enough about me and Heisekai. It’s time to free my uncle.’ They found Shin Nagakura lying at his length on the sofa he kept in his offices. His head was supported by a fluffy pillow and a blanket covered his body. He hadn’t shaved in a while by the look of him and his hair was growing long and scruffy. Huh. Scruffy! It was the perfect word to describe the Captain of the Seventh Division. Another was brilliant. The man’s mind was sharper than Itazura’s own though one thing differed between them, and it happened to be another descriptive word one could apply to Shin: laziness. Itazura performed the same technique as he had before. The spell surrounding Shin shattered and his eyes snapped open immediately! ‘I was hoping you’d land,’ Shin said in greeting. ‘Though I was hoping I’d met you conscious and with a pair of pants on.’ Oh yeah! How could he have forgotten about that? Shin slept in the nude often enough and Naoko’s cheeks where already blazing as he got out of bed as brazen as you like! ‘So what’s the plan?’ Itazura handed his uncle a pair of trousers off the floor before doing or saying anything. ‘I need you to do a Seireitei-wide Hanki spell.’ Shin narrowed his eyes in amazement. ‘I don’t know whether or not I should feel honoured that you think I’m capable of that or laugh in your face. Maybe you want me to fart and fly to the moon while I’m at it?’ ‘I’d pay to see that.’ Yori laughed. ‘What? It’d be hilarious!’ ‘Then find Mariko. Free her and then free the Seireitei. I have to find Zenshin. Take Yori and Hoshi with you, as well. I’ll move a lot faster if its only Naoko with me, and she knows some healing Kidō, if the shit decides to hit the fan.’ ‘I might not be able to do a Seireitei-wide Hanki… but one that spans the Seventh Division? Not a problem: Shunkō!’ Shin’s back was shrouded in an incredible level of pressurized Kidō and then the area around them began to flow normally once more. ‘Now get going. You said Zenshin? You’ll be looking for the Twelfth Division barracks then. I’ll drop you a little outside. Later,’ Before Itazura or Naoko could object Shin obscured them amidst white bandages before a blinding flash teleported them both elsewhere… ‘I’m saying that Shuhen isn’t ready to start whatever it is he plans. He told me as much. He didn’t even bother to fight me, thankfully.’ Kusaka said again. Kenji rubbed his temples as though he where experiencing a headache. Sure he liked seeing Kusaka but why did he need to deliver a new problem every bloody time he choose to rear his ugly mug!? The man was his best friend… but someday Kenji suspected that one day Kusaka Kori would be the death of him. ‘What am I supposed to do?’ Kenji answered. ‘The only order members permitted to do anything in Heisekai are the Dragonforce, and I don’t head that unit. Tyrell does. If I did act the repercussions would damage whatever head-way we have gained with Heisekai, and give Tyrell more headaches than he needs.’ ‘I never said you where to go,’ it was only then Kenji realized his friend had a plan in-mind. ‘You won’t be going… but Hawke will. He’s merely an Order liaison. He can claim to liaise for the Order proper or the Dragonforce sub-division, right? David can be… his assistant.’ ‘… I missed having you around you devious bastard.’ ‘… Then why don’t we catch up? If anything my constitution has improved with time, you little lightweight, and it’s been too long since I last drank you under the table.’ ‘I’ll leave the matter of Hawke and David’s mission to Ino then… as well as any Order business until tomorrow. I’ve got a bottle of the good whiskey we bought more thirty years ago somewhere. I think it’s time we opened her.’ ‘Now you’re talking, Kenji. But before we do… You should know that I’m borrowing Fujimaru for about three months.’ Kenji managed only a sigh… What was the use in arguing with Kusaka? There was none. It was best just to drink him under the table and then let him do whatever it was he planned. A plan which Kenji thought he had a good idea of, now that he thought a little on it… Itazura was on-guard the moment he arrived and the bandages vanished. Naoko was cautious in her stance and had already drawn her zanpakutō from its sheath. An act Itazura soon copied. Like the Seventh the Twelfth was as quiet and frozen as the rest of the Seireitei though that would rectify itself soon enough. Shin might be a lazy ass in normal situations but in an emergency? There where fewer Itazura would look to for help. ‘I trust you have a plan?’ Naoko nervously asked. ‘Aside from me kicking Z’s ass, you mean?’ He asked with a wide grin. ‘Yes, I have. Whether or not it pulls off as I suspect depends largely on the state of Hei and the others. If they’re free I’ve got little to worry about. If they aren’t… expect me to get you out of here quickly to warn my father.’ ‘You’d send me away?’ ‘Z wouldn’t hesitate to kill you, Naoko. I’ve seen a lot more of the realms than you have.’ You couldn’t fault that his heart certainly lay in the right place. ‘… Don’t move.’ His entire demeanour changed abruptly. ‘I need you to trust me. Lower your guard and don’t resist.’ ‘… I trust you.’ Itazura merely narrowed his eyes in anticipation and allowed his muscles loosen. ‘Get ready: on three. One… two…three…!’ He twisted around as though he where performing a quick dance step. The movement took him to Naoko’s front, where he immediately put himself between her and an incoming blade! Zanpakutō struck zanpakutō but it was Itazura who diverted the slash and countered accordingly, where he grazed the attacker’s left side with a glancing blow. He then wheeled around again and threaded his free hand around Naoko’s waist. With a backwards leap and an accompanying flash step they dodged streaks of green light before Itazura bathed both attackers in a vibrant wave of silver energy! ‘That’s only the first one. You mustn’t leave my side, alright?’ She was beginning to wonder why he kept saying that but disagreeing now may not be the best idea. So she nodded her head instead and made herself ready. Itazura whizzed away again. He only performed three steps but in those three steps he had cleared the entire courtyard! He then began to shimmer as images bearing his exact likeness broke away. Some moved faster while other slower. It gave an impression that each individual movement took was blurring together. When Naoko opened her eyes they were no longer in the courtyard but the division barracks themselves. ‘We aren’t out of the woods yet,’ Hundreds of azure scales then slammed into them! Naoko closed her eyes but found it strange that she felt neither pain nor discomfort. When at last she opened them each of those scales where suspended in the air some three meters away from her and Itazura. ‘… I had this feeling in my gut that I just couldn’t shake.’ Itazura whispered. As he spoke his voice grew louder: and angrier. ‘What was it? I asked myself. Then I figured it out. Who’d be capable of performing a spell like that? Not someone in the Seireitei, that’s for sure. It’s a spell only taught in Heisekai. Isn’t that right, Raiden Yasuhiro? Or would you prefer I called you Takahara?’ ‘I see the rumours are true. You always were too smart for your own good, Itazura.’ ‘Don’t these rumours ever mention my good looks, or my charming wit?’ Raiden appeared from an ajoining corridor. A statue of Hei flanked him which led Itazura to jump away with Naoko again, for the ground where they had stood began to turn to stone. ‘That just seems so… wasteful. But how stupid are you, Z? Unless you forget, I know quite a bit about that zanpakutō of yours.’ Itazura flash stepped towards the statue where he forced Raiden back with a hasty Rei Furashuu. Once that was complete he laid his hand upon the stone and channelled his spiritual power through the stone. ‘It’s just as I thought.’ This was done recently. Meaning he could still be saved. A single ripple went through the stone and when it ceased it crumbled to the floor. Hei took in a deep breathe and nodded his thanks. ‘I wasn’t expecting Raiden to be here. I am sorry for the trouble.’ ‘Thank goodness you’re alright.’ Naoko whispered. As they shared a moment Itazura turned to regard his enemies. ‘I’m gonna get you back for that. You can count on that, Z, Raiden.’ ‘What can you hope to do against me: a former lieutenant?’ Raiden questioned. Itazura merely grinned. ‘Oh! Didn’t you know? There are only three or four people stronger than me within the entire division. My father obviously and Izaya as well, oh, and the third and fourth seats. And Indra too I suppose. These men I just named are a lot stronger than you, Raiden. If I wanted to reveal my true power I could bury you and Z right here, right now.’ ‘I would take him at his word if I where you.’ Hei said. ‘Although it pains me to admit, but Itazura is stronger than I. You remember our battle? You required aid just to catch me, Zenshin.’ It was Zenshin who answered and he kept an air of superiority as he done so. ‘I understand that quite well. It is why I orchestrated events to lean more in my favour. Behold!’ White bandages began to gather and when they vanished along with a blinding flash of light Itazura was looking on the bound forms of Serena Natsume and Fox Satonaka. Raiden moved between the girls and shrouded the area in vermillion scales to prevent anyone breaching that space. ‘You must choose, Itazura. Only one can live. But the other will die. Now choose! The woman you’ve known and loved all your life, or the girl you’ve loved as your partner for the last sixteen years?’ ‘You dirty bastards!’ Hei had to step forward to restrain him. ‘Think, Itazura! If you move rashly you endanger them both, plus yourself! Take a deep breath and think clearly.’ It was hard… but he managed it. Maybe if he stalled long enough Mariko could arrive? But how long would that take? What where the chances of a rescue? Raiden’s vermillion scales where close to unbreakable once formed. He couldn’t get through that way. Nor could he breach it with teleportation Kidō. There had to be something he could do! ‘You have until the count of ten. If I hear no name by then… then both will die.’ ‘… Itazura…’ Naoko whispered in horror. ‘What can we do?’ ‘God damn it…! How can I make that choice!?’ If he saved one he doomed the other! If he chooses Serena then he was killing the woman he’d grown up with and shared so much with. If he chooses Fox then he was loosing the woman he loved and hoped to share the rest of his life with. He was torn. Those painful seconds were the worst of his life. ‘… Six… Seven…’ Raiden took a knife to each of their throats slowly. ‘I choose… No. I can’t…! I’m sorry!’ Then the heart was wrenched from his chest. Serena smiled at him with tears in her eyes. He started to run for he knew what she was going to do. The woman he loved took the choice out of his hands and bucked. The knife tore into her neck and the blood began to flow while Raiden cursed her for ruining his plan. ‘Idiot girl,’ Raiden spat. ‘But I’m not my father. One dies so the other lives. That was the agreement. Come, Zenshin, we’re leaving.’ ‘Get back here!’ But Itazura’s zanpakutō ate nothing but air as Zenshin and Raiden literally disappeared. ‘Graagh! I swear by whatever god that bastard worships that I will kill him: both of them! Oh… Serena, why’d you do it?’ Fox merely stared blankly. Serena was unmoving. The life had already left her when Naoko attempted the healing and no matter how hard Hei tried he couldn’t ignite a spark once out. Itazura kneeled beside her and cradled her body as though she where a child. ‘Why…? Serena, I loved you… Why?’ ‘I believe I can answer that,’ Hei whispered. ‘She did it to save you from the choice. If you saved one over the other you’d never be able to live with yourself. So she decided to rid you of any fault… by taking the death sentence herself. I am sorry, Itazura.’ ‘… Serena…’ Next Story > Down the Path of Vengeance.
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