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| - Kusaka dropped from the sky to land lightly upon the waters of Horiwari. He was back in his normal clothing with his blackened Sanrei Glove worn upon his right arm once more. With a heave he cleared the water and set foot upon one of the piers where a small fishing boat was moored. Greeting the fisherman nearby with a wave Kusaka proceeded to make his way towards the Upper Heights by using Hirenkyaku. Despite using the Quincy Final Form he somehow retained his powers. Perhaps it was due to the manner in which he obtained them? Or maybe his body was just used to handling excessive levels of spiritual power? Whatever the reason he was quite delighted that he still had his powers at his disposal. If he lost them again he would go quite mad. ‘You are insane.’ Sojiro fell in beside his brother with a concerned look on his face. Kusaka knew the look. Are your powers going to disappear? If yes, how long before your Hirenkyaku leaves you completely and I have to carry you? ‘My powers are still my own.’ Kusaka said. Together they touched down within the Upper Heights where Yoshiro greeted them with a surprised expression. ‘I just got a report from the Spiritual Arts Measurement Unit. It says you went mad, that Kenji’s been defeated and also that Shuhen bloody Kōhai is back! That sound about right to you?’ ‘Naw,’ Kusaka replied nonchalantly. ‘It wasn’t Kenji I fought. Kay and I were right. The man who attacked the Soul Society and the Hiroshi family was called Kenjiro. From what Sojiro and I discovered he’s essentially Kenji’s doppelganger. They look the same, fight in a similar fashion, but there are differences. It isn’t Sanmiittai Kenjiro holds. The energy signature’s too different to be him.’ ‘What would we do without you?’ Momoko stepped towards them with a smile on her face. ‘It is good to see you kicking butt again, Kusaka.’ ‘Believe me; no one thinks so more than I do.’ He grinned back. ‘But that’s enough about me! Momoko, analyze the reiatsu in my right shoulder. Don’t heal me yet.’ Wasting no time Momoko began the delving process. She placed her hand on Kusaka’s wound, closed her eyes, went into a meditative state, and then began analyzing the deepest parts of the reiatsu still stuck within the wound. Her features remained impassive though at times she was visibly shocked, surprised and then relieved. When she was finished she performed the healing Kusaka said would have waited. The skin knitted up neatly, not even leaving a scar. ‘What did you find out?’ Yoshiro asked of her. ‘It’s the same reiatsu we detected in the wounds of Shinrei and Kaimen.’ Momoko concluded. ‘It’s similar yes, but not identical to Kenji. Kusaka’s right: the man he was fighting was not Kenji.’ ‘Then that raises the question: just what the bloody hell happened to the real Kenji? Yoshiro, I want you to find that out.’ Kusaka turned on his heel, motioning for Sojiro to follow. ‘I need you to spar with me.’ Sojiro was taken aback. ‘Spar with you? Why?’ ‘I don’t know why… but my powers feel different.’ Kusaka said. ‘I think I might be capable of Fullbring.’ Sojiro merely face palmed. For sixteen years his brother didn’t have two reiryoku to rub together that where actually his. Now, in the space of a month, he has both Quincy powers and Fullbring powers!? Somehow he couldn’t help but shake the feeling that his brother had developed wrong when he was born! ‘Say that again!?’ Zieg wasn’t really surprised by Kensei’s far from gentle reprimand. The man acted like a drill sergeant in the military, and he was intimidating enough to pull it off to boot. There where very few new recruits who could look at Kensei in the eye without flinching. Even some seasoned members of the Ryū Order couldn’t pull that off. ‘Captain Hisagi is under attack, sir.’ Zieg sighed despite his best effort not to. This was just what they needed. An impostor pretending to be Kenji Hiroshi was strutting about, attacking anyone and everyone foolish enough to oppose him, and now they had this to deal with too!? It seemed one mystery begot the next. Open the door to one mystery you end up opening the door to several more. ‘Where is he?’ Kensei questioned. Kensei was a muscular and frightening man lined with hard muscle. The fact he wore a sleeveless black kimono with a low-cut V and a sleeveless white haori only accentuated his masculinity, which coupled with his personality, made him one of the most intimidating men within the entire Ryū Order. Today he wore a mussed up hair style and a metallic belt. It was not a good sign that his arms where crossed. Zieg intervened. ‘Leave the report with me.’ He said to the messenger. ‘Thank you.’ He skimmed the document quickly though he tilted it enough so that Kensei could read it easily too. It claimed that Hisagi had come under attack during his investigation into Kenji’s mysterious behaviour. They of course, thanks to Kusaka, knew that the attacker wasn’t actually Kenji, but rather someone by the name of Kenjiro. ‘Kusaka’s discovery has put him in danger it seems.’ Zieg concluded. ‘I’m going.’ Kensei declared. ‘Keep me posted!’ He’d expected that. It had become second nature to Kensei Muguruma to help Shuhei Hisagi, just like it had become second nature for Shuhei to help Kensei. It seemed old habits really did die hard. Oh, well. It didn’t matter either way. Soon Hisagi would be back and they’d be fit to track down these Kōhai brothers everyone was suddenly so interested in. Hisagi wrapped the chains of his Shikai around a man whose features where obscured behind a black hood and cloak. With a mighty heave he began spinning in order to use the man like a flail! He crashed him into others equally as obscured, whacked him off and then through the surrounding buildings, and finally released! Though die he did not. ‘What are they?’ One of his squad members asked. A question Hisagi would like answered as well. From what he could determine his adversaries weren’t traditional spiritual beings. They were humanoids… after a fashion. Even though he couldn’t discern their faces he couldn’t help but see that some had beaks of varying sizes. Some were long and slender. Others were short but thick, while others were quite balanced. If he didn’t know any better he’d call them all Chimera. It didn’t help that some flew about on wings that looked like they belonged to large birds or large bats. ‘Fall back.’ Hisagi said at last. ‘I’d take it as an insult if I can’t treat you all too some Vienna sausage after this.’ Classic banter meaning they were not to die here. He disliked violence… but at times it was unavoidable. He also knew his own limitations and that of those who served beneath him. This battle was beyond them. The moment his squad was clear he began spinning Kazeshini in wide, looping arcs, his face a blank canvas with little emotion. He didn’t enjoy killing… but he’d do just that today! ‘Mind if I help out?’ Hisagi caught the fluttering of a brown fur coat with a sidelong glance and revealed a small smile. Ashido Kanō was certainly a welcome face. Seeing him made him think of the old days but he quickly dispelled the thought to focus on his enemies before him. ‘Not at all, Ashido,’ Hisagi replied. The two struck at two separate flanks and slowly moved inwards, cutting a bloody swathe through their mysterious enemies with every movement! Hisagi sliced Kazeshini into the earth, twisted, and then heaved. With a chunk of stone decorating his Zanpakutō he performed another spinning motion, laying low countless of their attackers. Ashido, however, ducked beneath the spinning earth and struck out with timed attacks. He used a Hollow mask as a make-shift shield masterfully and just as many fell to a concussive blow from it as they did from his Zanpakutō. ‘These things…!’ Hisagi began suddenly. ‘… Are the Soulless,’ Ashido concluded, following the same trail of thought as Hisagi. They had encountered them before: Hisagi alongside Kensei and Zieg some sixteen years ago and Ashido alongside Naibu some fourteen years ago. The Soulless – Chimera-like beings made from Human and animal remains and animated through forbidden Kidō. They felt no pain, shared a collective consciousness, had poisoned limbs that could fell the strongest of Shinigami given enough time and where notoriously difficult to kill. They had superhuman durability and endurance. It wasn’t just pain they ignored. They also knew nothing of fatigue – once they had been given their mission they would complete it until they turned to dust. Their presence was an ill omen. ‘It can only mean that Shinzō has returned.’ Hisagi remarked. ‘Possibly. But what a time to choose!’ Ashido joked. ‘We won’t outlast them.’ He went on. ‘I know. But we can’t leave them here, either.’ Here was a conundrum and a half. Flee and leave these things running amok or stay and fight. They might be superior in strength but they’d be touched eventually and then the poison would do its work, slowly and painfully. The more they struggled the worse the poison became. Both choices weren’t choices at all. ‘Blow it Away, Tachikaze!’ Hisagi looked to the heavens with a grin as countless blades of transparent wind weaved through the Soulless. Seconds later limbs were severed and the Soulless fell atop one another in crippled heaps! Kensei appeared in the heavens. He was dressed in a sleeveless black kosode, black hakama and a white haori witht eh Yin and Yang symbol emblazoned upon the back. ‘What are you waitin’ for!? Hurry up and roast ‘em!’ Hisagi needed no more encouragement. He sealed his zanpakutō, outstretched both hands, and began channelling spiritual power! An incantation left his lips in a whisper and scarlet flames of incredible intensity leapt from his body in all directions. The one thing the Soulless detested was flames. The downside was that it required particularly powerful and fiercely burning flames to set them alight. Once ignited however those flames spread like gum on a shoe! The flames leaped from one Soulless to the next in an endless chain of indiscriminate illumination, leaving not but ash in its wake. ‘Anyone else think we haven’t seen the last of these guys?’ Ashido asked. Kensei joined his allies and grunted. ‘Worry about it later. For now, we move.’ Kusaka flexed his fingers whilst smiling broadly. ‘You look so creepy right now.’ Sojiro remarked. ‘It’s not the most fashionable outfit I’ve ever seen…’ Momoko noted. ‘But I'm certainly not complaining.’ Kusaka’s chest was bared completely. The only garment he wore on his upper body was the blackened Sanrei Glove. Wrapped around his waist was a classical ōbi and hanging down over his right leg was a white sash. Unlike the black trousers from before he now wore black hakama. Spiritual power surged around his shoulders and upper arm, and the feeling of that power made him smile. ‘It reminds me of my Shunkō state and Mūnshēdo form.’ Kusaka said in reply. ‘God it feels good! Like the old days.’ He held up his right hand to show off the weapon he now held. Like his formerly held armoured state, the sword was a machete-like sword with a circular guard, silver cutting edge and a small length of chain dangling from the base of the hilt. He brought the sword around his body and slashed casually in a diagonal direction. The ground was immediately upturned! ‘… Was that what I think it was?’ Sojiro asked. ‘… Nope,’ Kusaka said with a shake of his head. ‘That was merely me swinging my sword. What you’re looking to see is this. Rei…’ Black spiritual power awoke on his blades edge, ‘… Furashuu,’ which then flew forward to cut a massive rend in the floor! ‘I’m back, baby!’ ‘So are the Soulless.’ Zieg Ishi interrupted suddenly. Kusaka’s joy was quickly cut short… Next Story > Walking the Correct Path?.
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