| abstract
| - In a small, wintery village in the lands of China, a lone shinigami wandered along the snow covered ground casually. He had the look of an calm, yet very cautious focus about him. Once again this very shinigami was ordered to enter the world of the living. Like always, there was a small grouping of hollows that needed to be slain. And as always, he accepted it. Then out of nowhere, an ogre-like hollow rose from the ground. Along with him were five other hollows. The shinigami stopped in his tracks as his enemies revealed themselves. Just as the ogre hollow was about to punch him, the shinigami unsheathed his blade and had quickly thrusted it into the mask, killing the creature. Two other hollows then made their way towards the man, but they too were quickly subdued. One hollow breathed a stream of fire at the man. Once the stream was finished, the hollows howled in victory, only for the same hollow to get slashed in half by the shinigami, now having his kite shield donned, but with a scorch mark on it of course. The two remaining hollows attempted to take him out as well, but the attempt failed, for the shinigami did a rotating slash that destroyed both of their masks. After repelling the small ambush, the man sheathed his blade into the scabbard and slung the shield on his back. He released a sigh as he started walking away from the battle ground. Looming in the skies above was a young woman, floating along, looking for someone to drink from. Even though it wasn't obvious to the causual observer, she wasn't a Shinigami, but rather a being known as a Reikon Kyuuban, a race of vampire-esque beings. In fact, a hidden truth among them is that they are where the stories began. Her blue eyes scanned around the area, looking for anyone who her fangs could touch. That's when the sounds of a fight reached her ears, and she moved over in that direction, sliding along the air currents like a bat in flight. When she found the battle, it had already ended, giving her a chance to land behind the lone victor. "Hello." she called out, hoping that he could here her greeting. After all, it wasn't ever fun to take from someone who could never fight her. The shinigami slightly jumped at the voice as he turned around to see who it was. The man looked at the woman. He admired how beautiful she looked, but he remained vigilant. His lips moved upwards to a smile as he bowed to the woman infront of him. "Hello to you too milady," the shinigami responded in a polite tone. While he was keeping this nice, gentleman act, he noticed her uniquely pale skin. Whether it was just the cold, or that she wasn't the type of person to be at sunlight, but he couldn't place his finger on it. "What brings such a gorgeous woman such as yourself to a place like this," he asked to the mysterious figure infront of him. "You flatter me good sir. But to answer your question, I'm looking for someone...Something to eat." she replied, remaining calm as the man gave a knightly response, a bit of irony as she was the self-proclaimed Queen of the Vampires, a title that she earned through hard work and ever-going networks of spies, Shinigami or Reikon Kyuuban, it didn't matter. It was just proof she had friends in high places. Again, this girl said something that struck the shinigami in a rather wierd fashion, or rather the way she said that sentence. But he didn't even dare to ask, for it might cause him to feel the wrath of a woman's scorn. So the shinigami assumed that she was going out for a dinner date and was looking for a great meal to eat. "I take it that you are on a date with someone? Considering that you stated that you were looking for someone," He responded. A part of him wanted to know more about her, from mere curiosity. Another part however, demanded the shinigami to just let her be. "Oh how rude of me! My name is Gabriel Leonheart, shinigami of the first division," he added out of second nature. "My name's Myst Kagekyo. You are wrong when you say I'm on a date, but I am indeed looking for someone." she replied. "I can see just by looking at your face you have a thousand questions. Please, ask all that you want, and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge." Gabriel looked at Myst with with an analyzing glance. She was right, there were many answers that the shinigami wanted. He cleared this throat and began his series of questions. "Excuse me... um Myst, but who are you looking for. I think I may help you find them if you so wish," Gabriel asked while retaining his gentleman-like nature. Right now, he desired no conflict what-so-ever. If she actually meant harm, then the shinigami would be attempting to make peace with her. Myst walked over to the Shinigami. "Well, you see, there's a slight problem with that. Funny thing is, the people I get close to usually end up either my meal ticket, or a meal." she started. "Do you have any experience hunting Gabriel?" A chill ran up the shinigami's spine. Either a cannibal or something else, she was still a predator to humanity. Feeling lightly threatened by this, Gabriel tensed up, keeping his guard up. Instantly, he turned to face Myst again, making sure that his back wasn't vunerable. "What do you mean? Yes, I have hunted down hollows, but why does that concern you? You have devoured people," Gabriel responded to her question in a rather defensive tone. He wanted to know what she meant by this "hunting." "Ms. Myst... what are you," he asked in an interrogrative manner. "Humans call me a Vampire, but you could know me better as Reikon Kyuuban." Myst said calmly, watching the man's face for any emotional response. "I've killed only those who deserve it, but most of my victims are alive and well, or at least were when I left them. I cannot promise if Death's hand did not touch them after, because I honestly wouldn't know." Gabriel's eyes are at shock. There was a geniune Reikon Kyuuban. Of course, she was right when she menitoned the human name for them. He could remember his teacher talking about them when it came to stories. The shinigami snapped back into reality, clearing his throat before becoming more defensive. "So you're just like me then, killing people that actually deserve death. But it doesn't change the fact that you have harmed humans. Therefore, it's my obligation to stop you," Gabriel said in a more defensive tone, but another part of him had no desire to harm her, for the shinigami detested fighting women. "You wish to cross swords with the Queen? Be my guest, Gabriel." Myst replied to his threat and drew her Zanpakto. "I'll even play fair and let you take the first move." The worst had happened for him, his peaceful intentions were shattered by Myst's identity. He unsheathed his zanpakuto and drew out his kite shield. The shinigami pointed his sword at the Reikon Kyuuban and dashed at her. He drew his arm up as if he was going to make a decending vertical slash. A typical, textbook start. She'd used it enough to know. Rasing her sword in her right hand, she blocked the swing with ease, and Gabriel had left himself open. She aimed a kick at his stomach, either way, hit or miss, that would produce a gab between them. Seeing the kick, the shinigami managed to block it. However, Gabriel underestimated the strength of the kick and was launched back. He managed to land on his feet, but there was a big gap between them, something that was rather a melee fighter such as himself. "That was a nice kick Ms. Kagekyo. However, you are dealing with a shinigami of the first division!" The shinigami exclaimed as he got into his offensive stance. Gabriel then used the art of shunpo to get above Myst, attacking from the above with a sword plant aimed for her chest. Myst again blocked with her own weapon. "So, they finally started assigning people based on power? Or do you think your rank and divsion would scare me? I was a 20th seat in the 12th, up until I became what I am now. Who's head of the First these days? It's been years since I was there." "Why don't you go and find out yourself!" Gabriel shouted as he turned his body around to face her. He realized that Myst wasn't someone to underestimate, but it was too soon to determine her strength. Gabriel then dashed passed her, not even bothering to slash her. Once his was past her, the Shinigami pointed his sword at her. From then, light energy gathered towards the blade. "Tengoku no Dangan!" Gabriel shouted as a beam from his sword fired at the woman from point blank range. The explosion blew the shinigami back even further that before, forcing him to about a two hundred meter distance between the two. He thought for a moment that there could be no way that she could dodge it, and that the blast was fairly fast. Myst almost laughed. She prepared the powerful Kyūketsuki Ga Satsuei, a spiritual attack of great power. A brief moment of charging and the crimson beam was sent slamming into the Dangan, the two attacks causing a massive explosion. As the dust cleared, Myst was nowhere to be seen, having used Ketsueki Butoukai to get behind Gabriel, lightly poking him in the back with her sword. The shinigami's opened out of horror when he felt that poke. He couldn't believe that she was able to escape it. Gabriel had to think fast or it was all over. "Fell for it!" he shouted as he parried the sword with his shield. He then grabbed Myst's forearm with that same arm. After that, he thrusted his sword onto the ground, intentionally. He poured a good amount of reishi into the ground. He had one shot at this, so he intended to jump for the oppritunity. "Tengoku Supaika" Gabriel shouted as large pillar of light envolped her entire figure. Myst was swallowed up by the glaring pillar of light, her form obscured. At least, that's what Gabriel would have seen. In fact, what had happened was she became a bat and flew away from the incoming blast just as it occured. Returning to normal, she was just behind the light, wating for the Shinigami to make a mistake. The pillar finally started diming, since the pillar was rather weak. Gabriel stood there in triumph, thinking that he had successfully landed the blow. His hopes were soon dashed however when he saw the Reikon Kyuuban standing there in her effortless glory. "But h-how did you... I thought.... I thought I got you..." were the only words that could escape from his mouth at the moment. He was simply just awestruck from this as this confusion had left him wide open for an attack. "Good try, but, you made a careless error. I'm not some idiot Hollow that you can beat so easily. I'll let you try something else. Let me tell you though, you thought grabbing my arm was enough to keep me still. Never believe you have your target caught until you know for sure what they are able to do." Myst said, staring at Gabriel. Gabriel tightened his grip around his zanpakuto, going into a prayer stance. As this was happening, a wind blew rather calmly, blowing the snow in a light flurry fashion. A shroud of reishi formed around him as his sword glowed radiantly. "Show me the light... Arekusandora!" The shinigami chanted as a pillar of light surrounded him. After it dimmed, the shinigami revealed his zanpakuto, which had a sword and shield that had a royal blue trimming with a bluish hue on the blade and centerpiece of it. Gabriel pointed his sword at Myst, fierce determination in his eyes. "I appreciate the advice. However, from here on out is when the battle truely begins," he stated as he got into an offensive stance. Then shingami shunpoed behind her, with a shield bash coming in her direction. The heavy metal banged into Myst's head, forcing her to the ground, a gash in her skull where bone and metal plates collided. After a moment, she was able to pick herself back up and smile of all things. "Already in Shikai, huh? Fine. Light the sky, Gesshoku." she said, watching her sword grow a chain and a small gauge, one fourth full. "Hoshi." and with that, a glowing fireball hurled itself at Gabriel. Gabriel saw the projectile coming at him. He had only a brief moment before the fiery ball of wrath would hit him. There was only one thing he could do at the moment. He stood his ground as the fire ball came to it's destination. The shinigami raised his blade up and slashed the fireball in half, causing it to split and completely miss him. The fireballs landed on the ground and made an explosion behind him. Myst stared at Gabriel as if he had done something completely insane. "My...My Hoshi...Split." she muttered, before regaining her composure. "Good move. At this range, you had no chance of dodging, so you chanced it and countered. You've proven yourself a good threat." Taking her chance, she moving into striking range and tried to punch Gabriel. The shingami himself couldn't react in time, taking the punch directly into the face. It had knocked him back quite a bit, but he soon recovered, spitting out the bit of blood that dwelled in his mouth. "I can say the same with that punch. It actually forces me to strategize a bit," the shinigami responded as he shook his head to escape the daze that his head was in. Gabriel pointed his sword at the Reikon Kyuuban and charged up a bit of reishi. "However, I was also part of the elevneth division as well. Prepare yourself Myst." Myst took three steps back, hoping to give herself a clearer image of the snowy ground. The cold, white dust that glistened in the light was barely specked with blood where she and Gabriel had struck each other. "So, that's why all of your attacks are so brutal. You were captained by a monster who makes me seem pathetic." Gabriel chuckled at her remark. He couldn't help it, since after all, Kenpachi Zaraki was his captain and Idol at one point. The shinigami looked back at Myst with a more friendlier look on his face. "Yeah, Ken-sama sure is a monster. But I served him nonetheless," he remarked to the Reikon Kyuuban. If this was some type of ruse, then the shinigami would be wide open for an attack. Myst took the opening gladly, capitalizing on any mistakes she could find. She aimed the hilt of her sword at Gabriel's chest, enough force in the blow to disorient the Shinigami if it connected properly. A serious amount of air blew out of him, causing him to stagger greatly. He staggered a bit more as he tried to regain his composure. He gripped his sword tightly as he pointed the sword at her. With this, he charged his reishi, causing the sword to glow. "Tengoku no Dangan," Gabriel said in his daze as he shot the bullet of light at Myst, hoping to hit this time. Myst's last attack left her as open as a duck with a busted leg, or as the case may be, a bat with a dead wing. The blast of light slammed into her, exploding on contact, Visibly shaken, she wasn't in the slightest angry, more startled that she left herself open to attack. A slight whirlwind picked up as rose colored Reishi spun about, swirling and flaring outward, becoming crimson. The display forced the snow across the ground to be thrown around as if a tornado touched down. As the darker energy died down Myst had changed. Her eyes were as red as blood, while her hair matched the virgin snow strewn about. "No more holding back." she said, glaring at Gabriel. Gabriel felt a great pressure once the aura had shown itself. He marveled at the female infront of him, noticing that her hair did match that of the snow and her eyes matched the color of blood. This would have even terrified the shinigami himself, but instead something else was there. There was a stern look on him, having his eyes glowing light blue to counter the glare. This look was that of resiliance, a trait that was uncovered when he was in the Eleventh Division. He prepared his defensive stance yet again, this time however, he was more than ready for what ever came at him. Myst smiled, once again using her Butokai to speed behind Gabriel, taking only a moment, her powers pushed to their maximum in this form. She prepared to slash downward, but with little force, no where near enough to cause any lasting harm. The blow was easily blocked by Gabriel's shield. He then pushed her away with sheer force. The shinigami looked at his shield, which bore a crack down the center of the shield. His arm also felt sore from the strike. However, the shinigami refused to back down and shupoed above Myst, reading himself for a downwards slash. Myst jumped to the left, avoiding the slash with grace and ease. Her landing, however, was not as interesting, her right foot hit an icy spot and lost what traction it had, sending the hapless vampire tumbling to the frozen earth. Picking herself up from the cold powder that made the land seem calm even during such a heated battle, she fired off a KGS, one that was larger and more powerful than the last. Gabriel steeled himself as he readied his shield. However, the blast consumed his entire person, almost obliterating the man. A large ridge was made, along with various metal pieces that were scattered along both sides of the ridge. There the shinigami stood standing, seriously wounded and desperately panting. "I guess... I have... no choice..." the shinigami forced out. He tore the top of his shihakusho off his person, revealing a black vest. He removed it and tossed it to the side, unleashing a massive burst of reishi. The aura went into the form of an angel spreading her wings. His eyes had a new look about him, this time, it was pure fury, no longer was there an ounce of pacifism. Myst smiled. The true fight finally begun. "Come, Gabriel. I want you to strike at me with power, strip away your mercy. I'm finally ready to toss away the same fear. Let us sever the chains of kindness, and continue this fight." Gabriel dashed infront of her with astounding speed. As he gained closer, an increase of pressure made itself more noticable. His sword, now glowing with holy light, came to fall upon the Reikon Kyuuban's flesh, ready to butcher Myst with sheer brutality. He took me seriously?! That was unexpected. Myst thought, feeling Gabriel's spiritual pressure inch closer and closer every second. At the last moment, she tried to dodge, but didn't take into account the fact her opponent was moving faster, and by the time she realized what had happened, it was too late. The glowing sword struck her, leaving a gash in her side. "Another second and I'd be cut in half." she said, breathing slowly, waiting for an opening. "Three powers, seven sins, seven virtues. Torture and anxiety, grant thy wish, quench thy thirst with the teeth of Gluttony." With the incantation complete, Myst felt the effects, her own blood evaporating from the wound, which began to close as her body naturally absorbed the now-ambient blood from the air. "So you can regenerate now? No matter, I can just cut you down again," the shinigami said in an intimidating fashion. Gabriel shunpoed behind the reikon kyuuban, having his sword glow with light energy. "Tengoku no Dangan..." was all that he said before the blast was fired. "Three Powers, Seven Sins. Gaze and Envy at my power. Let nothing escape, and feed on your foolishness." Myst chanted her personal incantation for one of the Natsumi Engi. After speaking, she tore the flesh between her index finger and thumb, a feat no human could ever match easily. The blood would be key to the spell, and it seeped forth from the split skin. A few drops oozed onto the ground, splashing against the snow cold surface, and when Myst added a bit of spiritual energy to the elixir of life, a pillar of rose colored light erupted into the air, impeding the incoming blast, but rather than blocking the attack, the energy functioned as a mirror and repelled it, sending it back to Gabriel. The shinigami made an attempt to dodge his own attack, but instead his left leg went limp, causing him to lose his balance. The attack had hit him dead center, sending him flying back for about fifty meters. Gabriel just laid there, brutally wounded. His breaths were heavy and had a wheeze to them. His body felt numb, being unable to move. These thoughts were running through his mind as he sat there, awaiting his fate. There he thought that there would be no way that he could fight back now. But there was, and he knew he had to use it. This ace in the hole was what most of the captains, and some lieutennants, had possessed. This very ace might possibly, if not definately tip the scales of battle. Gabriel hated the fact that this was his only option, for he feared to take the mantle of leadership once again. But what choice did he have, should he use it? Should he place himself in that very position that he was years back? It was all up to the shinigami. Myst stood where she was, watching her opponent for any sign of life. "Stand if you can. I won't fight you if you wish to run, but to continue this fight, I want you to come at me again and again, each time getting closer to beating me. After all, you Shinigami still hate us, the Reikon Kyuuban, right? Take that hate, use it now if you wish, or let it fester, knowing you've lost to the true source of the imbalence of souls in this world, more so than any Quincy." That speech echoed in Gabriel's brain for a moment. She was practically eging him on to use it, to go bankai. It further encouraged him. Even if he wanted to continue fighting, he had to take into consideration of both his unmovable left arm and severly injured leg. Surrender was in the shinigami's mind. In a daze, the shinigami just laid there, inactive. Then a vision came to him. It was more like a flash back. He was on the ground, defeated after what seemed to be a rather intense battle. He had seen his comrades die. He had been disgraced. Worst of all, he had swallowed defeat, making him in a sickening rut for a few years. "You... can try..." The shinigami forced himself up, with his legs wobbling from the lack of strength while he breathed heavily. However, in those eyes were that of not merciless wrath nor steady devotion. In these eyes was an indomitable spirit. At this point, he refused to lose. There was no turning back, just like his battle with a certain espada. "I have nothing against you. It's just my duty as a shinigami. What I'm about to show you is a feat that not many can achieve. Only captains and other talented shinigami could learn it," Gabriel retorted to her statement. The shinigami reached the blade out infront of him in a horizontal fashion. "Bankai..." A deafening explosion of reiatsu was released, covering the shinigami. As the dust cleared, a figure donned in plate armor from head to toe stood there. The sword itself had a thicker blade with a wing coming out of each side. A face was on the center of the sword, connecting both the hilt and blade together. It's color was a blueish hue that gave it a holier appearance. "Talent? Real power isn't talent. Your nobles are full of shit. Kuchiki clan? Bah, the head of the clan got beat by a 'talentless' hack who also had Bankai. Real power comes from understanding what you have, how you use it, and most of all, knowing your enemy as well as yourself. Only then will you have true power. That is how I've survived for years, hiding until the time was right. I don't have talent, just hard work, practice, mastering myself over the years." Myst said, looking at her now different opponent. Gabriel shunpoed infront of Myst in a speed that was almost close to a flash. From there, his eyes could be seen, which were glowing blue. "Let me show you then... how a bankai is truely used," the shinigami said softly as he rose his sword above his head. As this was happening, the blade was radiantly glowing holy light. "Hōrībasutā!" A from then, the light formed into a blaze that surrounded the blade. The shinigami slashed downwards, releasing the stored reiatsu. The energy that was released was in the form of a flowing river, covering everything in it's path with holy energy. Myst, who happened to be in front of the flaming river, was burned with the holy light. Caught by surprise, there was no room to dodge the strike, nor the rushing burns that followed. Somehow, by some God's grace, she was able to stand back up. Cut, burned, brused and beaten, but still alive. "Damn, that freaking hurt!" she yelled, looking at her wounds. So this is a Bankai. Interesting. she thought, holding her sword out in front of her. "Light the sky, Gesshoku, Hoshi!" At her command, her Zanpakto gained a gauge tethered with a chain and a fireball aimed for Gabriel, glowing and pulsing with energy. Gabriel saw the fireball coming towards him yet again. However, running on empty here, Gabriel held the sword infront of him to block the oncoming attack. Clearly underestimating not only the power of the fireball, but his current condition as well, the shinigami flew back quite the distance. However, he managed to land back on his feet quite easily. The shingami shunpoed in front of Myst yet again, but by the time he'd reached her, he was no longer in his bankai form, but his zanpakuto was back to it's sealed state. All that was left of the sword was the hilt. The shinigami was back to his battered self, with a severely torn shihakusho that left him shirtless. The sword fell to the ground as he stood up straight. "I'm done," Gabriel said, having his kind and gentle look on his face yet again. He had no intentions on continuing this fight, for he knew he was at his limit. He was worn out physically as well as being wounded. "I don't think I could go on if we would continue. I'm using the remaining strength I have to keep myself standing. Heck, I shouldn't even be doing that with the wounds that I have right now." Myst's transformation vanished, returning her to normal. Cuts obviously left slits of red along her pale skin, not to mention burns and bruses from the duel. "You'd survive longer than I would have. Now, I'll make you an offer. You battled me to the point I respect you enough. I can grant you my power, make you my knight. You're brutal in combat. I respect a man who'll attack me, even when they aren't sure of the results. But the question is, are you willing to sever your ties to the Seireitei? Do you accept my gift, or not? I will honor your choice, either way it may be." As inviting as she sounded, Gabriel knew that his home was within the Seireitei. He knew that there were things that needed to be done and an ancient hero king that he needed to defeat. The shinigami took a deep breath and immediately told the Reikon Kyuuban his answer. "I would be honored to have that position, but my place is at the Soul Society. I'm still needed there, for very important duties of course. But, if you need any help that doesn't make me fight anyone that's associated with the Seireitei, then I'm your man," Gabriel responded to Myst's invitation. "Your choice. If you change your mind, come find me. Too bad other Shinigami aren't like you. I'm listed as 'Kill on sight' by the captains. It's not exactly my fault I have this...urge to drink blood. My DNA was hard-coded to force such thoughts upon me. In other words, I was born to be this, not given a choice." Myst said, looking at the sky. "Trust me, drinking blood to live isn't fun. Tastes good though. Kinda like salty wine." The shinigami sighed to himself, then he had thought up of an idea. He forced his body to crouch down and pick up his broken blade. The he made a cut in his bicep, causing some blood to leak out of it. "Don't worry, I'll live. But you need blood, right? So why not drink some, that was your intention from the start am I right?" Gabriel knew that he was further putting himself in danger, but he didn't care. Right now, he wanted to do something nice, since he had made himself a new friend and all. Although it wasn't something she counted on, Myst found herself drawn to the ruby liquid. She instinctivly bit down with her fangs, feeling the muscle tighten in reflex. She only drank a small amount, which would sate her until she reached the next town over. "Thanks. Not maybe people would have willingly let me do that." she admitted, smiling. "You shouldn't get yourself looked at by a Shinigami, especially one in the Twelfth Division. They'd ask too many questions." "Hehe, well it's not something out of the usual for me. I've going there so much lately," Gabriel said jokingly. He started feeling dizzy, due to the large amount of blood he had lost. His vision became blurry, causing him to collapse. Eventually, his heavy eyes overwhelmed him, passing out. Myst watched him for a moment and smiled. "Next time, don't hold back." she whispered in his ear before vanishing from his midst, hunting for an actual meal.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)