Chapter 10: 12 Years

AN: Nothing really important to note as an AN today. Just updating the story so thanks for everyone's continued support!

Reading the story:

-Scene change: "888"

-Hello, how are you? (Someone in their own thoughts)-Hello how are you? (Zanpakuto Spirit speaking in a Shinigami's mind)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach.

Chapter 10

Swish! Whoosh!

Schlick! Fwoosh!

Rip!

Huff...Huff...Huff...Huff.

The sounds of quick movement echoed in the dark. The loud panting of an individual resounded in the empty space. Blood dripped from all over their body as they knelt in exhaustion atop a dead body below them. The strong smell of iron smothered the air from the blood that painted their form. It was precisely Kishin. He gripped the dagger tightly in his hands as he plunged it into the heart of the man below him.

Kishin's body by now was riddled with bruises, scars, cuts, holes, and blood. In fact he was so bloody that one couldn't even tell the color of his skin. The only distinctive feature of him left that wasn't blood red were the golden colors of his eyes. He continued to pant heavily as he watched the body of the man below him fade away into the darkness just like the other 128 people before him. Kishin couldn't feel any joy at all as he watched the smoke dissipate into nothing. This wasn't victory. No...it was torture. His expression was anguished. He felt...alone. Cold. Hurt. A feeling that he thought he had discarded long ago. No...all of these emotions and painful expressions that he felt. He was sure that he had discarded them long ago, but here he was. Once again face to face with the very same people he had killed. He felt nothing for them then, but he couldn't understand it. That when he faced them again he felt everything.

Every word they said to him caused him pain. He continued to refute it at first. The words they called him. Of course he wasn't a monster. No. He was simply an assassin. It was simply a job. He was simply a tool. Nothing else. Monster? Him? Impossible. What does it even mean to be a monster? He had no concept of the word. He had no feelings that would make him even entertain the idea of such a stupid concept. People can call him whatever they want. He couldn't care less. In the end they'll just die like every other person that came after his life. So call him murderer, killer, monster, whatever hateful words they want. At least...that was what he had thought...but why now? Of all times. After all these years. Why did he feel guilty? Why was he so hurt? Why did he feel so...alone…

He clenched his fist and bowed his head in the darkness. The blood plastered on his face dripped down on his hands. He stared off into the darkness around and let out a soft whisper, "What have I done?"

It was then he heard a very familiar voice. It was his voice. "Hahaha! What have you done? You did exactly what you have always done. Kill. Nothing is wrong with that. You're a monster. No...We are monsters."

Kishin flinched as he slowly turned his head around and was met by the sight of all 128 people that he killed. Those that he was hired to kill, those that had sought him out for vengeance but failed, they were dead. All dead. Floating lifelessly in a lake of red blood. And standing before him was...himself. His past self dressed as an assassin. That version of him still had his old black colored hair instead of the crimson red one that he sported now. Kishin slowly got up and stood facing his past self unsure of what expression to make.

His past self snorted in disdain and mocked, "How pitiful you are. How pitiful you look. What's with your expression? Don't tell me that you feel guilty now after all these years. You already killed them once."

Kishin grit his teeth unsure of how to answer. It was then his past self tossed over his released Zanpakuto to him. It landed right before him stuck on the now bloody lake beneath them.

"Pick it up." Dark Kishin commanded.

Kishin frowned. "Why? What are you?"

Dark Kishin merely let out a hysterical laugh. "Ha! Hahahaha! I can't believe that you are the one in control."

Without giving Kishin time to respond, dark Kishin manifested his own look-alike Zanpakuto and began his onslaught. Kishin could only grit his teeth and defend himself from his darker version.

Ting! Cling! Ting! Clang!

Kishin continued parrying and blocking every attack, however his body ached and hurt all over from his earlier 128 battles. Not to mention this darker version of himself was just as skillful as him and for some reason was physically stronger as well. Every strike felt like he was being rammed against by a large semi-truck. He was being tossed around and toyed with by his darker version.

Dark Kishin just continued to laugh. "You're weak! You're a bastard! You're a monster! Why the hell are you feeling guilty? Do you think you can live a normal life? Do you think you can have friends? You don't deserve to have friends! You don't deserve to be anything other than being alone! You live in darkness! You belong in the darkness! Your hands are stained with blood! Your life is stained in blood! You never cared about anyone other than yourself so why would you start pretending that you care now?! That makes you weak! It makes you careless! You think you can just start over with a clean slate?! Stop fooling yourself! No! I am the true you! You are the weaker version of us!"

Kishin felt his entire being tremble with every block he made. The force of every blow that his darker version delivered was simply too intense. He had trouble breathing and almost couldn't process what his dark self was saying. "You...huff...what are you...huff...talking about?"

Dark Kishin only gave a maniacal smirk. "Hahaha! If you can't even comprehend then get out of the way! You don't deserve happiness! I'll show you what your life is truly supposed to be like! You are a killer and live in the darkness! I'll remind you what that's like! I'll kill Toshiro! I'll kill Yushiro! I'll kill Jushiro! I'll kill Rukia! I'll kill Kinji! I'll kill anyone and everyone who you think you actually made a bond with. Hahahaha!"

Kishin widened his eyes in shock at what he just heard and quickly side stepped an attack before finally finding a chance to counter.

CLANG!

Dark Kishin quickly blocked it and smirked. "Oh? It seems that made you a bit angry."

Kishin frowned and felt his heart pound loudly in his chest. He didn't get it. He should have no feelings and no care for things like friends and bonds. Did he find Toshiro, Rukia, Jushiro, and the others a bit interesting and amusing? Sure he did, but when? Why? When did he start thinking that it was okay to make friends? Wait...when did he even start considering Toshiro and the others as his friends? When did he think that he could simply start over and live a carefree life? Who was he really? Why was he feeling so frustrated?

Dark Kishin grinned and laughed some more as he continued his attack. "What's wrong? Confused?! Wondering why you feel conflicted? Frustrated? I'll tell you why! Because you're weak! You've got it all wrong! You thought that you can finally have a normal life with friends? Hahaha! Never! When your parents died you didn't feel anything. When your grandfather died did you actually think that you cared? Wrong! You left to avenge him out of obligation. Because he taught you what you know now you avenged him not out of love or care, but because you owed him a debt. That was all! You are a cold, ruthless, bloodthirsty monster! Nobody ever cared about you! So you don't need to care about anyone either! Your parents never wanted you! You were lucky if you saw them even once the entire year! You were nothing but a mistake to them! And your grandfather, he never cared for you either! He used you and trained you for his own purposes. He was a killer! And he turned you into one that was even better than him."

Kishin felt a sting in his heart. It was true. He knew it was true. There was a time in his life when he didn't want to admit that his parents didn't love him. He would always do his best to try and gain their favor. For them to just smile at him once. To say one word of praise to him. To just say good job or I'm proud of you...but the words he wanted to hear never came. A tear unknowingly fell from Kishin's eyes as he felt his heart clench in pain as he recalled some of the memories and words that his father had spoken to him.

"Dad, look! I drew a picture of our family! This is mommy and daddy! And this is me!"

Mr. Sanada didn't even spare a glance and simply stood up walking away as if Kishin's very presence didn't exist. As he walked away he simply spoke out in annoyance. "What a bother."

Another memory flitted past Kishin's mind soon after. "Mommy, can you read me a book?"

Mrs. Sanada frowned as she quickly paused her conversation on the phone and glared at Kishin disapprovingly. "Be quiet. I have to work. You know how to read already don't you?" She then stood up and walked away into a private room closing the door behind her. Again more tears began to drip down from Kishin's face as he recalled the image of his parents and the things they had said to him.

"I don't have time for you."

"I'm busy."

"Just be quiet."

"Stay still."

"Go to your room."

"Leave me."

"Do it yourself."

"What a waste of time."

The voices and memories of the words of his parents continued to echo in his mind until finally, the last thing he ever recalled hearing them say to him echoed louder than anything else...

"Why do you exist."

Was it a question? A statement? He didn't know, but it was that one final remark that broke him...and he began to question himself. Why did he exist? The light and joy around the world never entered his eyes again ever since. Even though his eyes were gold like the sun they never reflected warmth. Instead they reflected nothing but cold isolation. Cold abandonment. Lifelessness. He never again spoke to his parents. He never bothered them. Never interacted with them. He never had anything to ever do with them again. In fact, in all of his memories never once did he recall ever hearing his parents address him by his name. He didn't even know why they kept him around, then again perhaps it didn't matter to them. They were never home anyways. Perhaps they had already forgotten he existed and because they stopped interacting with one another they probably never even registered his presence.

He recalled the night that his parents were murdered. When he walked through that cold, dark, vast and empty house and into the living room, that was when he saw it. Blood pooling on the carpet. The blood plastered on the walls. The dead bodies of his parents on the floor. The dead bodies of the assassins that killed them strewn about the area. And one old man with a bloody knife in his hand standing in the middle of the room. His grandfather. And what did Kishin do? He did what he always did. Pretended that he didn't exist and walked off. His grandfather took him in not long after. When his grandfather was killed he didn't actually feel sad or any kind of emotion. He avenged him out of obligation. To repay a debt. Love? Kindness? Fondness? Admiration? Respect? Friendship? He never had these things so how could he understand what they were. He never needed them anyways, but still...why did it finally hurt? Why did he finally feel so pained at the fact that he never had these things. It never bothered him before, but now he couldn't understand it. At some point he unknowingly decided that it wouldn't be so bad to have them. No. Perhaps it was because deep down...he longed for those things. Yet even if he longed to have them, he knew it was probably too late. He was already too broken inside.

TING!

During his moment of distraction engrossed in his own thoughts he failed to properly defend against dark Kishin's attack and had his sword disarmed from him. As it fell off into the distance he quickly dashed to the side and rolled on the bloody lake into the distance to avoid being killed, however he couldn't avoid all of the attack and so a large gaping gash ran across the top of his chest down to his waist. He panted heavily and began to bleed profusely in pain. His own blood began pooling below him as he stared at his darker self.

"Why...huff...are...huff...you...huff...doing this?"

Dark Kishin stared at Kishin with disdain. His face contorted. His grip tightened around his Zanpakuto and he scowled at Kishin in the distance. As Kishin watched his darker self stride towards him it was then he saw it. The look of anguish, of loneliness, of pain, of madness in the eyes of his past self. It resonated within him. He took in the sight of the floating dead bodies that surrounded them. The lake of blood beneath them. The landscape of murder around them. With every step that his darker version took closing the gap between them, memories began to flash by in his mind. His childhood. His training. His jobs. The scream of his target's agony as he watched them die unfeelingly. The warmth of his victims' blood. The memories of every single person he killed and the memory of the plea that they all made right before their death. The anguished and pained words that they spoke with their dying breath beneath his hands. The look of hatred in their eyes. Their regretful expressions in their last moments. And then...nothing. Only loneliness. Abandonment. Betrayal. Darkness. And the image that pervaded his mind, the person who those emotions belonged to...it was none other than himself. In the beginning he wanted nothing but love...but in the end...he became nothing but the very tool that took it away.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of dark Kishin walking towards him became louder and louder as he got closer and closer until finally, Kishin lifted his head up from his kneeling position and gave one final look in dark Kishin's eyes seeing everything clearly. The look of abandonment reflected deeply in the eyes of his darker self, but more than that. Even deeper hidden behind in some corner of his darker self was a look of longing. And he finally understood.

Dark Kishin gripped Kishin by the throat and hoisted him up in the air and growled, "I've had enough. Disappear from my sight."

SCHLICK!

Kishin's chest was instantly impaled through by dark Kishin's Zanpakuto, however, he felt no pain. At least there was no physical pain. Instead he felt all of the feelings that his darker version was made from. Loneliness, abandonment, dejection, madness, and insanity. It was everything that his darker self had felt. Kishin could only close his eyes and smile in remorse. He gladly accepted the sword through his chest and embraced his dark self in a tight hold. He wrapped his arms around his darker self and whispered in guilt. "I'm sorry. I know now."

Dark Kishin's entire body trembled. Tears began running down dark Kishin's face as he felt the warmth of Kishin's embrace.

"You left me…"

Kishin nodded in shame. "I know…"

"You locked me away. Discarded me. Why must I be the only damaged one? Why must I be...the only monster…"

Kishin only tightened his hug. "I...didn't want to acknowledge what I was. But now I know...I am a monster. I know what a monster is now. It's me. You are the part of my true self that I never wanted to face and accept. All those times that people called me a killer. A murderer. A monster. I didn't believe it. But now I know. I really am all of those things. No matter how unfair I felt my childhood was...it's no excuse for what I became. I am a cold blooded killer and monster. You are me and I am you."

"You won't reject my existence?"

"No. Never again. I know what I am. What we are."

Dark Kishin closed its eyes as it felt the sincerity behind Kishin's words and finally, it began to fade away into a crimson cloud of smoke as it let out its last words. "Your chains are broken."

Kishin widened his eyes in a bit of shock as the blade that he had lost earlier in the fight began to transform whilst the blade currently stuck in his chest was absorbed into his soul. It was then he felt like he had become wholesome. Like his control over his own soul was more complete than before. He felt a burning sensation course through his entire being. It was his reiatsu. It felt like it was raging all through his body even more ferociously than before. He knelt to the ground as the weight and pressure under his own reiatsu made it difficult for him to stand. He was greatly confused. He thought he had a vast amount of reiatsu before but...it felt like he had even more now. It was then he heard a voice. The voice of his Zanapkuto.

"Young master. Don't fight it. This is your power. The strength of your complete soul. Your immense reiatsu."

Kishin struggled to catch his breath as he slowly lifted his head and took in the sight of the being before him. Standing in front of him was a 1.9 meter tall version of...essentially himself. Well, there were some key differences of course such as the razor sharp teeth that aligned its mouth. Then again, Kishin also had a toothy grin and sharper teeth than most. There was also the long tail that protruded from behind this person and their hair was much longer reaching down to the waist area. The several tattoo marks and shackles with short broken chains also made him look distinguishably different.

Kishin struggled to keep his own body upright as he attempted to speak. "Z-Zansatsu...ugh...is that...you…?"

Zansatsu gave a toothy grin and snapped his fingers causing the entire world to transform, taking Kishin to his inner world. Instead of standing on the lake of blood they were now situated on a black colored lotus shaped island surrounded by a bloody lake. The dark world now became red all around and the area surrounding the bloody lake was filled with dark obsidian trees. Large and tall blood red mountains stood in the distance and an obsidian dark crescent moon shone in the sky.

"Where...is this? What...ugh...is going on…?" Kishin asked as he continued panting for air.

Zansatsu stared at Kishin for a few moments with a mix of emotions. He watched as Kishin continued to struggle under the weight of his own reiatsu and grinned. "Relax. Young master. We're in your inner world. Allow me to explain everything to you. I suppose the first thing is...congratulations. And thank you. You see these broken chains on my body? These were the bindings you placed on your soul. They represent the things that you rejected about yourself and also all the feelings and emotions you discarded. You repressed your darkest demons within the very depths of your soul for so long that when I was born, I was born with these chains attached to me. I am your Zanpakuto, but in essence I am simply a manifestation of your soul. And hence my power was bound by you. When you activated your Shikai you accessed my power, but my power was linked and bound to your darker self. If you wished to freely wield the power of your Shikai then the only way was for you to overcome your demons. If you didn't, then I'm sure you could guess what would have happened. The darker part of your soul, the one that you repressed. The broken and damaged cold blooded murderous killer that you developed would have been the one to take over your mind when you used your Shikai since that is the only time it has the freedom over your body. I didn't think you would be able to confront the burden inside your soul yet so I thought the best way to protect you from yourself was to block out our internal link, however when your life was in danger I was forced to intervene. Needless to say you exceeded my own expectations. Now that you have learnt to accept the part of you that you have rejected for so many years you released the chains that bound me. The chains that would have restrained you when you unleashed the power of your Shikai no longer exist. You now have free reign over my power and you have become whole again. The pressure that you feel weighing down on you is your reiatsu. Your complete reiatsu. You could say that before you were only experiencing 70% of your full potential. Now you are experiencing the full 100% capacity of your strength. Don't worry though, your body will soon get used to it, but you'll have to work even harder now to control even more of your power. Your body will adjust to the weight of the pressure soon."

Kishin nodded his head as he began to feel less burdened by his own reiatsu. Although he was still breathing a bit rapidly he wasn't winded or sweating profusely anymore. He could even stand now, so he did just that and took a moment to take in the sight around him.

"So this is my inner world." He whispered to himself as he stared in awe at the crimson red and dark black scheme of the landscape around. It was then there was a loud tremble that shook the small island and the bloody lake. Kishin frowned as he steadied himself. "What was that?"

Zansatsu carefully glanced below the lake and crossed his arms. "It's your inner Hollow."

Kishin slightly flinched as he recalled Zansatsu having mentioned something about it before. "Right...I forgot that thing existed...you said that you trapped it right?"

Zansatsu nodded and pointed to the lake. "It's down there. Trapped in a bloody prison."

"I see...so I haven't had any adverse effects from the Hollowfication because you managed to stave off its power?"

"Very astute, however I'm afraid that won't be the case anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"When you were made whole again everything about you grew in strength as well. That includes your Hollow. It has grown too powerful to be stuck below the surface of your inner world. Its bond to your soul is essentially perfect now. There is no real difference between it and I anymore. We both are two parts of your soul that need to be made whole. If we don't merge then your body will burst from the conflicting auras."

Kishin widened his eyes in shock. "What!"

Zansatsu smirked at Kishin's reaction. "Heh. This isn't like you young master."

Kishin clicked his tongue in response. "Can you blame me? I died twice and nearly died again in one day when I first arrived. Then not long after I have a Hollow planted inside me and now I might die from soul suicide."

Zansatsu laughed and gave a toothy grin. "It's fine because now, you've won. Had your madness taken over it would have definitely let the Hollow out and together with the brutal nature of the Hollow and the insanity of your inner demon you would have truly gone on a killing spree. You became a broken, damaged, bloodthirsty monster young master. All you had ever desired was to be accepted. Because no one accepted you, you never accepted yourself, but all you ever needed was to learn to accept yourself to be happy. You didn't realize this as a child and so as you grew up knowing only how to kill and it only warped your sense of self. I've been waiting for you. All this time. To let you know that even if no one else in the world accepts the broken monster that you are, I will. You may have become a warped and twisted monster, but deep down inside you aren't mindless nor completely heartless. Now that you are in control you can facilitate the fusion of both my soul and the Hollow's soul."

Kishin clenched his fist and felt a warm glow in his heart at Zansatsu's words. Right. He only ever needed to accept himself. As he turned his attention to the bloody lake he furrowed his brow in contemplation. "How do I merge your souls?"

"You must defeat it using me as your only weapon. If you successfully subjugate it then we will become one. If you fail, then we all die."

Kishin closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath letting that information sink in. Then, a few seconds later he grinned and cracked his knuckles. "Very well, consider it done. Like hell I'll die from something like this."

Zansatsu grinned as well. "That's more like it."

Rumble.

The surface of the lake began to tremble and quake as it split apart creating a giant cavity that led to a deep and dark abyss. In mere moments the sound of a Hollow's cry echoed from the darkness followed by the piercing whistle of the wind.

Bam!

The bloody lake rippled and shook as something appeared from the dark hole. Kishin glared at the large ominous creature. It was his inner Hollow. The 2 meter dark black frame and white bloody mask like face with three horns and long claws stood afloat on the bloody lake with its ripped torn wings spread open.

Zansatsu took one step forward, standing in front of Kishin. "It's time. Young master. The secrets of the Shikai are within me. Show me what you can do."

The giant cavity on the surface of the lake closed as Zansatsu transformed into its Shikai release state. The Hollow stared down at Kishin with anticipation whilst Kishin simply gave a toothy grin. He gripped his Zanpakuto and pointed the blade right at his inner Hollow. "You want my body? Then come and take it. I'll strap a leash around your neck and show you which of us is king…"

12 Years Later

Fwish! Whoosh! Whish!

Ting! Cling! Clang!

Ting!

Kishin quickly blocked a sword strike to his chest and twisted his body before dashing off to the side avoiding a level 4 Kido. He then pointed his hand at Kinji who stood in the distance and shouted, "Hado #33: Sokatsui!"

Kinji quickly countered as he shouted, "Bakudo #39: Enkosen!" As Kinji successfully defended against the attack, Toshiro arrived behind him and slashed with his sword, only he couldn't complete his attack as he was forced to defend against a roundhouse kick from Yushiro.

Bam!

The force of Toshiro's arm guard against Yushiro's kick caused a powerful wind to flutter about. Kinji quickly turned to them and shouted, "Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku!" A yellow energy rope quickly flew through the air right at them, however Yushiro immediately Shunpo'd away while Toshiro slashed with his sword shouting, "Hado #54: Haien!" A blue and white ovular ball of flaming energy collided with the level 63 Bakudo and lit it aflame, disintegrating it into ashes.

Kishin took this chance and shouted, "Bakudo #62: Hyapporankan!" A blue and white rod flew through the air splitting into a hundred more rods at both Kinji and Toshiro, but Kishin couldn't bother paying attention to them as he was forced to dodge and defend against a series of high level Hakuda attacks from Yushiro.

Wham! Boom!

Wham! Bam!

Boom!

Kishin grinned as he continued to parry and deflect all of Yushiro's attacks. "What's wrong Yushiro? Aren't you the proud head of the Shihoin clan? You can't lay a finger on me."

Yushiro gritted his teeth at Kishin's taunting and started becoming frustrated, however in his frustration his attacks started becoming more predictable and sloppy. Kishin grinned more and more laughing at his success. "Hahaha! Oi oi, I wonder what your big sis Yoruichi would think if she saw you right now."

Now Yushiro was super angry and frustrated as he began attacking in whichever way he could without thinking. Kishin smirked at his success and slashed with his Zanpakuto forcing Yushiro to dodge to the side, however in his fit of anger and flustered attack from just a moment ago his footing had become disoriented and put him in a bad position to dodge. This caused him to slightly trip over himself giving Kishin the opportunity he was waiting for.

Kishin immediately pointed his finger at Yushiro and chanted, "Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro."

Fwish!

Six rods of brilliant yellow light ensnared Yushiro who couldn't dodge in time due to his poor footing. He was immediately immobilized as Kishin rested his sword right on Yushiro's neck. "Guess you're out Yushiro."

Yushiro could only glare at Kishin with a look that communicated how unfair he thought Kishin's underhanded tactic of taunting him was. Kishin simply shrugged his shoulders in response. "It's not my fault you're easy to fool. You should work on that." He then smirked and twisted his body swinging his sword whilst also sticking out his left hand behind him shouting, "Hado #32: Okasen!"

CLING!

BOOM!

He successfully guarded against Toshiro's sneak attack while also canceling out Kinji's level 33 Hado spell.

Toshiro grinned as his sword was locked against Kishin's. "Tsk, you should just stay distracted."

Kishin simply gave a toothy grin. "Maybe you should just work on your stealth."

Both of them disengaged from one another and dashed to the side avoiding one of Kinji's fearsome Bakudo spells. Kinji could only click his tongue in annoyance. "Oi! Stay put you two!"

Kishin shook his head in amusement. "Your aim sucks Kinji!"

Kinji could only face-palm at Kishin's taunting tactics that he always used whenever the four of them sparred. As much as he hated to admit it, even though they all should be used to Kishin's antics by now and were expecting it, they all still couldn't help but feel somewhat frustrated every time. Kishin was just too good at messing with his opponent's head and getting under their skin. Kinji gritted his teeth and took a deep breath as he clapped his hands together shouting, "Bakudo #75: Gochutekkan!"

Kishin furrowed his brow as 5 giant steel chained pillars dropped down from the sky right at him. He quickly took a deep breath and channeled an immense amount of reiatsu into his Zanpakuto before slashing out. "Hado #78: Zangerin!" Instantly a giant ringed slash erupted from his blade and destroyed the 5 giant pillars crashing down towards him. Level 78 was currently the highest level Hado spell he could perform right now so it took a bit of a toll on him. Immediately afterwards he once more locked swords against Toshiro, blocking his attack.

Toshiro huffed as he tried to gain the upper-hand in their clash. "Level 78 huh? You bastard, when did you learn to do that?"

Kishin grinned and grunted as he fought back against Toshiro's pushing sword. "What's wrong? You still stuck on Hado #63? Poor Shiro-chan."

Toshiro gritted his teeth knowing that Kishin was taunting him which annoyed him greatly at how even though he knew what Kishin's tactic was, that it still had an effect on him. "Y-You...You! You're impossible!" Toshiro immediately disengaged as he couldn't come up with a good comeback and instead shouted, "Hado #63: Raikoho!"

Kishin smirked and Shunpo'd off to the side to dodge only to raise his eyebrow in surprise as he felt Kinji's presence behind him and heard him shout, "Hado #73: Soren Sokatsui!"

Before the twin flaming fires could strike him he simply and calmly replied, "Bakudo #81: Danku."

BAM!

A giant rectangular and transparent barrier appeared behind him intercepting and blocking Kinji's attack. Kinji frowned and stared at Kishin with seriousness. "You...when did you learn to use Danku?"

Instead of giving a direct answer to the question Kishin simply gave a wink. "I practiced. Now you aren't the only who can use Danku."

Toshiro appeared behind Kinji at this moment and slashed with his sword only for Kinji to block with his cane.

Ting!

Over the years Kinji had transformed and modified his sealed Zanpakuto into that of a 90cm long black colored cane with a dark purple tinted derby handle at the top. It had three small purple circular rings that hung around the collar of the cane with each ring having one small purple colored crescent-like blade protruding from the middle. The bottom tip of the cane was flat and circular giving it a stable grip on the ground.

Toshiro smirked and praised him. "Not bad Kinji. Your skills in weapon handling sure have gotten better over the years."

Kinji grinned and grunted as he struggled to hold Toshiro's sword back. "It's only thanks to the training I do with all of you. It's still a wonder how Kishin managed to find this secret underground training area. Here we can train to our hearts content."

While they were both engaged in a deadlock, Kishin pointed his finger in their direction and shot a level 4 Hado spell right at them. They both immediately disengaged to avoid being hit before Kinji shouted, "Bakudo #62: Hyapporankan!" As the hundred rods of Kinji's Bakudo came flying straight at Kishin he quickly pointed his sword in front of him and responded, "Hado #67: Gaki Rekko!" Multiple beams of green laser light ripped through the air knocking away and destroyed all one hundred rods.

Toshiro clicked his tongue at how much more skilled Kinji and Kishin were with Kido compared to him and Yushiro. In terms of Kido skills Kinji and Kishin were always pretty closely matched. It was never really clear who was better than the other. He ranked 3rd and Yushiro ranked last. In terms of Hoho skills, once again it was never really clear who ranked first between Kishin and Yushiro, but he ranked 3rd and Kinji was last. In terms of Zanjutsu, once again it wasn't truly clear. The one who ranked 1st in Zanjutsu skills seemed to be a tie between himself and Kishin. Kinji was 3rd and Yushiro was in last place. And finally in terms of Hakuda skills, once more it seemed to be a draw for 1st between Kishin and Yushiro. He ranked 3rd and Kinji ranked last in this skill. Knowing that this couldn't go on Toshiro firmly gripped his blade and slashed out while shouting, "Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!"

Immediately Kinji and Kishin widened their eyes in surprise as two elongated frozen blue ice dragons dashed through the air at both of them. Kinji immediately placed his cane out in front of him and released his Shikai. "Fade, Koku No Bo!"

Zing!

His cane immediately transformed into a 2 meter long black staff with purple patterned lines carved on it. The top had a black circle ring with one sharp crescent purple blade protruding from the left, top, and right side of the circle. The bottom of the staff had a black crescent blade on it with three small purple rings attached near the bottom right in-between where the crescent blade began to protrude from the cylindrical staff. Before the ice dragon could hit him he pointed the top of his staff at it and commanded, "Tsuiho Suru!"

Ding!

Immediately a circle portal appeared and engulfed the icy dragon inside before disappearing altogether.

On the other side stood Kishin as he too released his Shikai. "Wash all things in a river of blood, Sekiken Zansatsu!" Just as the icy dragon from Toshiro's attack approached within a meter of his frame he quickly slashed out with his sword and shouted, "Saku, Sekiken Zansatsu!"

SHING!

A fierce crimson crescent shaped aura erupted from his Zanpakuto and sliced the icy dragon in half as it continued to fly through the air making its way to Toshiro. Toshiro widened his eyes in shock and immediately Shunpo'd off into the distance to avoid being hit. He took a deep breath and stared at Kinji with a complicated expression.

"You...released your Zanpakuto..."

Kishin grinned as he noted the shocked expression on everyone's faces, including a still trapped Yushiro on the side.

"Right, all these years this is the first time you guys are seeing it."

Kinji tilted his head and stared at Kishin's released Zanpakuto as if trying to analyze it. "So...the ability of your Zanpakuto is to absorb your reiatsu and fire it as a powerful and sharp crimson blade. And the technique is deadly enough to not only cut through Toshiro's Hyorinmaru, but it even had enough power to continue on its attack as well. That's an impressive attacking ability."

Kishin smirked and slightly tilted the blade on its side letting the light gleam off of the crimson blood stains that painted its razor edge. "Hmmm, sure, let's go with that. Not a bad analysis Kinji."

Toshiro and Kinji narrowed their eyes in wariness, having no idea what Kishin's ploy was.

Kinji tilted his head in confusion. "Are you saying that that isn't its ability?"

Kishin just shrugged his shoulders and deactivated his Shikai, putting his Zanpakuto away and released Yushiro from his Bakudo spell before replying nonchalantly. "Let's just say that...your analysis isn't bad, but not 100% accurate. And the true power of my Zanpakuto is meant for slaughtering my opponents. Not for dueling, so let's end our sparring session here. Anyways you guys know the way out so I'll be heading off first. It's my last week in the 2nd division before I transfer out so I should probably do some final rounds. See-ya."

Fwoosh!

He immediately disappeared from the area leaving behind a completely baffled Toshiro, Kinji, and Yushiro behind.

It's my last week here in the 2nd division. I spent a bit longer as a member in the 2nd division than originally planned, but that's alright. Oddly it seems that Aizen's been keeping quiet...he's probably planning something in the shadows. Will he pull some odd stunt in Soul Society? Rukongai? The World of the Living maybe? Captain Shiba is still around but I have no idea what was supposed to happen with him. All I know is that there must have been some sort of incident which caused him to lose the title of Captain which forced Toshiro to take his spot. The only problem is, I have no idea what that incident was or when it will happen or if something else is going to happen next. Well, I suppose that's fine for me. No use trying to dwell on it. Since Aizen hasn't bothered me for the past 12 years I was able to focus on greatly improving my skills, especially with the help of Urahara's secret training ground. The best Kido I can manage right now is a level 78 Hado and level 81 Bakudo. As far as my Shunpo skill goes I've finally reached the Captain class level. I'm not as fast as Captain Ukitake or Captain Soi Fon yet, but at least I've stepped into their realm of speed. My Hakuda skills are definitely top notch and my Zanjutsu skills aren't lacking either. As for my Shikai, I've gotten a pretty good handle on using its powers. My reiatsu control is at about 67% right now and I've definitely entered the realm of a Captain class combatant. I've begun exploring how to handle my Hollow powers as well, but until I can get a handle on the full capabilities of my Shinigami powers I haven't been relying on my Hollow powers. For obvious reasons I'd rather not rely on it.

Kishin was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard someone call his name.

"Chigetsu-kun."

He quickly halted his steps and turned towards the voice only to be greeted by the sight of a tall slender man who was a bit pale looking. They had medium length unkempt green hair with one strand braided on the left side of their head. They had green eyes to match and wore a white/green haori over their standard black shihakusho.

Kishin raised his eyebrows with curiosity feeling like he should recognize who this was, however no one came to his mind right away. "You are?"

"Ahaha, right, my apologies. I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me. My name is Tsunayashiro Tokinada. I am the current head of the Tsunayashiro family."

Kishin inwardly flinched as he recalled some information about this person.

So this is Tokinada. He's the head of the Tsunayashiro family, one of the five great noble clans. I hear he's a bit detached from the ongoings of Soul Society and doesn't involve himself in most of its issues. Kinji is part of the Tsunayashiro family as well, however he isn't part of the main branch. Kinji is from a branch family. What does Tokinada want with me?

Now that he knew who was speaking to him he gave Tokinada his full attention. "So you are the head of the Tsunayashiro family. What would you like from me?"

Tokinada just smiled amiably and responded, "I heard that you were good friends with Kinji. You wouldn't happen to know where he is would you?"

Kishin inwardly frowned. "Nope, haven't seen him all day. If I do I'll let him know you were looking for him."

Tokinada nodded appreciatively. "Thank you. I would greatly appreciate it."

"Then I'll be off." Kishin dashed away without waiting for a response leaving Tokinada alone on the rooftop.

Hmpf. What a rude brat. Is he telling the truth or not telling the truth? I heard that he and Kinji were good friends. If Kinji isn't with him then where is that kid? Tsk. Forget it. Getting information from the Kido Corps archives can wait. There's still plenty of time. Soul Society...one day you will meet your end. And if I must be the one to do it then so be it.

Kishin had no idea what Tokinada was thinking to himself, but he himself was lost in his own thoughts as he mumbled to himself. "That guy Tokinada...something is off about him. He's from the main branch so why would he bother about Kinji? Then again Kinji is pretty successful himself. All these years there hasn't been anyone who was able to take up the mantle of Kido Corp Commander and Kido Corp Lieutenant until Kinji came along. He's so skilled that he's been promoted to Lieutenant of the Kido Corps. Training with Kinji is the reason why my own Kido has advanced so smoothly and quickly. Since he's part of the Kido Corps and currently holds the highest position he has access to more information than anyone else in their organization. Learning Kido from Kinji is the best way to improve my skills."

Just as Kishin made it back to the 2nd division grounds he bumped into Soi Fon. "Greetings Captain."

Soi Fon glared at him for a brief moment before turning around and walked away, however she waved her hand motioning for him to follow. Kishin simply shrugged his shoulders and followed after her to the Captain's quarters. He waited for her to take a seat before he stood obediently in front of her. A few minutes passed by in silence which inwardly irked Kishin so he broke the silence first. "Can I help with anything Captain?"

Soi Fon simply scowled at him. "Why are you leaving?"

"Ah...so that's what this is about."

"Stop with your nonchalant tone and answer the question straightforwardly."

While others would be intimidated by Soi Fon's commanding tone of voice, it didn't faze Kishin one bit.

"Captain, you knew I was going to eventually leave. I told you four years ago. In fact I was going to leave four years ago but decided to remain a bit longer."

"Wrong! I gave you a chance to remain longer four years ago. That's why you are still here."

Kishin raised his eyebrow amusedly. "Then...it means you aren't giving me a chance to remain here anymore right? So my leaving should be fine."

"You imbecile! You still haven't answered my question."

"Haaah, I'm leaving because I want to."

His answer really irked Soi Fon but she could only clench her fist in disapproval. "That's it? That is your reason?"

"Yup. Is that a bad reason?"

"You're telling me that you are leaving the 2nd division because you want to? And furthermore the division you chose to transfer to is the 12th division? What could possibly entice you to head over to that crazy division under Kurotsuchi?"

Kishin just shrugged his shoulders. "Must there be an absolute reason? I am merely following what I think is the next best course of action to take for me to continue and grow as a Shinigami. Is it wrong for me to want to expand my horizons?"

Soi Fon got angrier and angrier with every word that came out of Kishin's mouth, however she couldn't really disagree with his last couple of words. In the end she couldn't look at him anymore and turned her face away with a scowl. "You hold such an esteemed position within the Onmitsukido and 2nd division. When you leave your position will be empty. Have you thought about what kind of consequence your action is going to have on the division as a whole?"

"I have."

"And you still decide to leave? Then you clearly haven't thought hard enough."

Kishin shook his head and took a seat on the ground relaxedly further irking Soi Fon. Over the many years she had gotten to know Kishin's personality well and she came to one simple conclusion...she found his personality completely undisciplined and unrestrained. He did what he wanted when he wanted and didn't care at all about formality. He was too relaxed in nature. Worst of all was that he had the ability to back up his carefree character so reprimanding him about it or trying to discipline him with force was out of the question. Aside from herself there was probably no one else in the entire division that would be his match in combat. His rate of improvement was too great.

She rubbed her temples in frustration and continued, "There is no one else who is capable enough to take on your position as the commander of the Punishment Force and overseer of the maggots nest. Reconsider."

Kishin shook his head. "No."

Now Soi Fon couldn't hold in her frustration and stood up slamming her fist on the table. Her reiatsu flared up in the room causing cracks to appear on the walls and tiles creating a heavy pressure to weigh on the air. "Give me an acceptable answer!"

Due to her sudden burst of reiatsu filling the room Kishin was forced to flare up his own reiatsu to offset her pressure.

Wham!

Instantly the room was filled with two powerful opposing forces equal in strength. Soi Fon widened her eyes in shock as she realized her mistake. In her fit of anger just now her reiatsu could have easily injured a member under her own division, however to her surprise she felt the dense pressure that radiated off of Kishin's body which was just as powerful as her own.

"You...Your reiatsu is Captain level?!"

Kishin merely nodded. "Captain, if you don't mind would you please reign in your spiritual pressure? If this goes on the room will be destroyed under our reiatsu."

Soi Fon let out a sigh and sat down on her chair once more easing her pressure in the air to which Kishin did the same.

"When did you reach the Captain class level in reiatsu?"

Kishin simply gave an amused grin. "I'm improving everyday, Captain. Everyone is always sitting around wasting their days by lazing around. There's no sense of urgency to improve themselves."

"Are you implying that there is some hidden danger that we do not know of which require people to hastily train?"

"I'm merely implying that if more people didn't waste their time in the day lazing away then maybe there wouldn't be as many issues over smaller problems like the one the 2nd division is facing."

Soi Fon scowled. "You've been hiding your true talent and power all along."

"Well it's not like anything has happened where I was forced to take action. Besides I don't believe I am obligated to report how my training is going."

"Tch. Your attitude is just like hers."

Kishin gave a toothy grin. "You mean like Yoruichi-san's?"

Once more Soi Fon slammed her fist on the table. "Don't mention that name in front of me!"

A deathly silence filled the air for several moments before Kishin cleared his throat. "Ahem. Alright Captain I apologize for being so rude, however I have a suggestion."

"What is it?"

"Appoint Shihoin Yushiro as my replacement."

Soi Fon's face contorted at Kishin's suggestion. "You want ME to appoint Yushiro as the 3rd rank officer of the 2nd division and make HIM the overseer of the maggots nest and leader of the Punishment Force?! He. Is. HER. Sibling." Soi Fon growled darkly towards the end.

"Captain, Yushiro should not be held accountable for the actions of his sister. I know why he isn't deeply involved with the Onmitsukido. It's because he's young and has an immature mindset, however he most definitely has the skill. Over the years he has become more mature. While he's still a bit childish, I believe he at least has the right mindset now to properly fulfill the duties of the 3rd rank officer. As he is the current Head of the Shihoin clan he will eventually have to get involved with the Onmitsukido. Having him start as the 3rd officer is more than sufficient."

Soi Fon was greatly conflicted at Kishin's suggestion and he knew she was as well, however he truly believed that Yushiro should be appointed as his replacement.

My sudden transfer out of the division probably reminded Captain about the time when Yoruichi just up and left without a trace or word. That's probably why she's frustrated and angry with me. No one has ever transferred out of the 2nd division after joining ever since Yoruichi had disappeared and Soi Fon took over. Well you can't really compare my leaving with Yoruichi's, but I do hold quite a high position in the division. I don't think Captain Soi Fon ever expected me to truly leave the division. Now I suggested to her that she should appoint Yoruichi's little brother as my replacement and that will probably constantly remind her of Yoruichi, but she is the Captain. She should set her personal feelings aside and appoint Yushiro. That would be the correct move. Besides the true core of the Onmitsukido was built through the hard work of the Shihoin clan and Captain Soi Fon is from a family that loyally supports the clan. Yushiro's been telling me that he wants to be more involved. This is the best I can do for you, Yushiro. I've planted the seeds. All that's left is whether or not they'll bear fruit.

Both Kishin and Soi Fon had their conversation interrupted by the sound of Soi Fon's denreishinki.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

She furrowed her brow and looked at the message on the screen of her small device. After taking a moment to read the contents on the screen she put it away and stood up walking towards the door. "We'll continue this later. For now come with me. I received an urgent request from Central 46 to apprehend some criminals in district 44 of eastern Rukongai. Omaeda is on their trail right now so we'll meet up with them there."

Kishin raised his eyebrow in curiosity but didn't raise any questions and obediently followed after her. With their speed it didn't take them very long to reach Omaeda's location.

Fwish! Fwish!

With their timely arrival Omaeda immediately greeted them and began to give a summary of the situation. "Captain, Kishin, you're both here!"

Soi Fon scowled but kept her temper in check. "Skip the formalities Omaeda. What's going on?"

"Ahem. Right. Three days ago I was leading the patrol unit around Rukongai when we discovered something strange. Rukongai citizens began disappearing. There were no traces of their souls or energy left and there were no signs of any struggles. Furthermore, when Shinigami were dispatched to investigate the matter they too had disappeared in a similar fashion. As leader of the patrol unit I was able to discover seven suspicious looking individuals that happened to be near these incident sites. After investigating their backgrounds a little we discovered that they were all former Shinigami of the Gotei 13 that went missing 58 years ago. We don't know how or why they returned or where they've been. Up ahead is a wooden shack where they've bunkered in for now."

Kishin and Soi Fon frowned at nearly the same time as the same exact thought surfaced in both of their minds. Kishin voiced his thoughts aloud first. "Captain, doesn't this incident sound familiar?"

Soi Fon nodded in seriousness. "The case of the vanishing souls. During that incident souls began to disappear around Rukongai leaving no traces behind and showed no signs of struggle. All that was left of those souls ever having existed were the clothes they wore. Even Shinigami disappeared in the same fashion."

"Captain, that incident was related to Hollowfication experimentation wasn't it?"

"Tch...that's right. Why is it happening again?"

Kishin narrowed his eyes and focused his senses, however he raised his eyebrow inquisitively and turned his attention to Omaeda. "Lieutenant, how long has it been since the aforementioned suspects have holed up inside that shack?"

Omaeda gave a thoughtful look before answering, "About one and a half days."

"Did they set up a barrier before entering the shack?"

Omaeda tilted his head in confusion at where Kishin was going with his questioning. "No. Not that we can tell."

Now Kishin seriously furrowed his brow. "We're too late."

Soi Fon glanced over and questioned, "What do you mean?"

"Captain, I can't sense any reiatsu or any hint of a living being within that shack."

Soi Fon widened her eyes in realization and immediately flashed by the door of the shack before knocking it down.

BANG!

The moment the door broke open she could only stand at the entrance dumbfoundedly. Soon after everyone else arrived behind her. Kishin took a peek inside and saw nothing but clothes on the ground with no traces of any signs of struggle or trace of a soul ever being present and commented, "They're most likely dead."

Soi Fon grit her teeth and scowled. "Damn it. How did this happen?"

In the end they could only return and report on their findings. After that incident Kishin didn't hear reports about any other strange things happening around Soul Society for the rest of the week, however he continued to rack his brain over the event.

Vanishing souls. Hollowfication. It's definitely Aizen up to something again, but what is he doing? Is he performing more Hollowfication experiments? And why now? Before he used Urahara as a scapegoat so does he have someone else in mind as a scapegoat this time? Is it perhaps...Captain Shiba? Is that how he disappeared and Toshiro took over as Captain of the 10th division? Or perhaps he's doing something else? Wait...maybe I'm overthinking things. Souls disappeared in Rukongai but not all at once. Over the past 12 years there were indeed souls that disappeared, but nothing that significant. At least what has been reported by the R&D department, the disappearances over the years were considered normal with no traces of abnormality. The reason why this recent case was treated differently was because of the seven defected Shinigami reappearing, however they simply vanished. Definitely some sort of Hollowfication experiment. What is Aizen up to this time? Haaaah...I'd usually mobilize Kasumi and some others under my unit to do some recon and gather information, but I won't have that luxury anymore since I'm leaving today for the 12th division.

Knock. Knock.

Kishin looked up from his table and over to the entrance of his room taking note of two figures. Kasumi in her standard Onmitsukido clothing style and Yushiro, who now sported a sleeveless black Shinigami shihakusho, orange shoulder pads, an orange waistband, and orange fingertip less gloves that extended up to his elbows. Yushiro used to wear pink which seemed to confuse many others about his gender, not that Kishin cared. It was Yushiro's choice, but since Yushiro became friends with not only him, but Toshiro and Kinji as well the two of them inquired about his dressing style until one day, Kinji decided to make a new garment for him. Since Yushiro wasn't picky and didn't know anything about fashion he simply accepted Kinji's change of his pink color choice to orange. In fact Yushiro seemed to be happier since orange reminded him of his sister.

Kasumi quickly knelt before Kishin and sadly greeted, "3rd officer. It has been decided that Shihoin Yushiro will be your replacement as the 3rd rank officer starting today the moment you are officially relieved of your post at noon."

Yushiro grinned and happily walked in taking a look around noting the several bookshelves, neatly piled documents, and royal red colored interior of the room.

"Ooooh, so this is what it looks like in your quarter's. It looks nice."

Kishin simply smirked and stood up noting that he only had half an hour before he would officially be relieved of his duties. "Yushiro. This is all yours now. I'm counting on you to take care of things. Honestly I'm both surprised and glad that the Captain has accepted your appointment as 3rd rank officer."

Yushiro grinned with pride. "Heh! Did you have any doubt? I'm the 23rd head of the Shih-"

Kishin simply waved his hands uninterestedly, cutting Yushiro off. "Alright. Do you know how many times I've heard that? It's good that you're confident but can you not go around spouting your title and what not everywhere you go? It's starting to sound like it's an ordinary title."

Yushiro pouted and crossed his arms which only made Kishin shake his head. "You're the 3rd officer now so try not to act too childish alright?" Before Yushiro could answer, Kishin walked over to Kasumi and addressed her, "Kasumi. You served me well as my shadow for the past 12 years and performed your job splendidly. I know Yushiro will be a handful but I hope you can serve him just as well as you have me. Please give him your support."

Before she could respond the sound of glass breaking echoed in the room. Both Kasumi and Kishin turned to the source which was obviously Yushiro. He had accidentally dropped a glass cup and could only awkwardly rub the back of his neck in apology. Kishin noted the doubtful look on Kasumi's face and let out a light and awkward chuckle. "Haha, good luck Kasumi. I believe in you."

She wanted to respond but Kishin simply said one last thing before disappearing. "Do your best Yushiro. And treat Kasumi well. You're in command now."

MISC.

KISHIN'S ZANPAKUTO: SEKIKEN ZANSATSU (Blade of Crimson Carnage)Shikai Release Command: Wash all things in a river of blood.Abilities:Saku (Cleave): Details of this ability will be explained later in the story.

KINJI'S ZANPAKUTO: KOKU NO BO (Staff of the Void)Shikai Release Command: FadeAbilities:Tsuiho Suru (Banish): Details of the ability will be explained later in the story.

HADO:-Hado #32: Okasen (Yellow Fire Flash)-Hado #33: Sokatsui (Pale Blue Fire)-Hado #54: Haien (Abolishing Flames)-Hado #63: Raikoho (Fiery Lightning Howl)-Hado #67: Gaki Rekko (Raging Light Fang)-Hado #73: Soren Sokatsui (Twin Lotus Pale Blue Fire Crash)-Hado #78: Zangerin (Cutting Flower Ring)

BAKUDO:-Bakudo #39: Enkosen (Round Lock Fan)-Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro (Six Rods of Light)-Bakudo #62: Hyapporankan (Hundred Steps Fence)-Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku (Ethereal Binding Chain)-Bakudo #75: Gochutekkan (Five-Pillared Iron Weights)-Bakudo #81:Danku (Splitting Void)