[Soul Society Arc] Part 70: Unlucky Shinigamis

Tatsuki had distanced herself from the lieutenant, panting heavily as she struggled to maintain her fighting stance. Her arms, however, trembled as if she had difficulty lifting them.

Tatsuki: 'I'm not exactly sure how this works... but every time I try to attack, my arms feel heavier and heavier.' - Tatsuki thought to herself

Suddenly, both Tatsuki and the lieutenant felt a sudden surge in reiatsu not far from their location.

The lieutenant looked in that direction, wearing a somewhat inscrutable expression. Evidently, it was reiatsu he recognized, but his reaction indicated that he didn't expect to sense that particular reiatsu.

Izuru: "Hisagi-san..." - He murmured.

Tatsuki: "Hey! You shouldn't be looking in another direction while your opponent is right in front of you!" - She shouted with a defiant tone.

Izuru: "What a loud girl... Don't you Ryokas realize how futile your efforts are?" - He seemed somewhat weary. - "If you had let your friend help you, maybe you would have had a chance. But you were too reckless to think you could defeat a lieutenant on your own. It seems your friends made the same mistake." - He sighed, his tone was a mix of admonishment and pity.

Tatsuki: "Huh? What do you mean?" - Her brow furrowed in confusion.

Izuru: "Three of your comrades are facing shinigami far above their level. Two of them are up against the 3rd seat, while the other is facing the 5th seat of the 11th Division, the combat specialist division. The only ones in that division stronger than them are the lieutenant and the captain. And the last one made the mistake of forcing a lieutenant to fight seriously." - His words carried a sense of gravity about the situation.

Tatsuki: "Big deal. A friend of mine wiped the floor with a lieutenant long before we came here." - She responded with a confident smirk. Her words held a sense of bravado, seemingly unimpressed by the hierarchy of the Gotei 13.

Izuru: "Your friend's victory, it was... well, it was somewhat circumstantial. Shinigami of lieutenant and captain level receive a restriction seal before entering the world of the living. Their reiatsu, their spiritual energy, is just too overwhelming, and we can't afford to draw unnecessary attention. The lieutenant your friend defeated likely had less than half of his true power at the time."

Izuru's explanation seemed to amuse Tatsuki, who chuckled lightly.

Tatsuki: "So you're telling me that to defeat someone who didn't even know how to use their powers properly, the lieutenants with years of experience need to remove that restriction not to lose?" - Her tone carried a hint of sarcasm as she questioned the logic behind the Gotei 13's practices.

Izuru let out a resigned sigh, realizing that trying to convince this determined girl was futile. He advanced towards her, his zanpakutō poised for an attack. Tatsuki, despite her arms feeling weighed down, managed to predict his movements and narrowly dodged the strike.

Izuru: "This time you dodged... so you must be starting to grasp the power of my Wabisuke."

Tatsuki's face contorted with frustration, but she remained silent, her competitive spirit burning even stronger. She knew she needed to adapt quickly to Izuru's unique abilities if she wanted to stand a chance in this intense encounter.

Izuru: "The power of my Wabisuke is to double the weight of everything it strikes. Cut twice, and it doubles again. Cut three times, and it doubles yet again. After many cuts, the opponent eventually falls to their knees, head bowed under the unbearable weight, as if begging for forgiveness."

Izuru's explanation of his zanpakutō's power carried a weight of its own. He spoke with a sense of calm assurance, his eyes locked onto Tatsuki, assessing her with a calculating gaze.

He observed Tatsuki from head to toe, his tone carrying a hint of admiration despite the duel.

Izuru: "You've been struck by my zanpakutō five times. It's truly remarkable that you're still standing despite the immense heaviness weighing down your body."

Tatsuki's eyes narrowed defiantly as she absorbed the lieutenant's explanation, yet something about his zanpakutō still left her uneasy.

Tatsuki: 'If what he's saying is true, that would mean my whole body should be heavy... but why are just my arms heavy?!' - She pondered uneasily, then decided to inspect her own fists more closely, soon realizing something. - 'I get it!'

Suddenly, the girl closed her eyes and began to take deep breaths, calming her nerves. When she opened her eyes again, they were no longer golden.

Izuru: "Have you finally decided to surrender?"

Tatsuki closed her eyes once more, not responding to the lieutenant. In a matter of seconds, much to Izuru's surprise, Tatsuki reappeared in front of him, moving nearly twice as fast as before, her eyes once again gleaming with that golden hue.

Izuru: 'Impossible! She got faster?!' - He thought as he attempted to attack the girl again. However, this time, the girl defended herself using her left arm in an Age Uke stance, taking advantage of the close range. The strike collided with her left hand, hitting Izuru's wrist instead.

After blocking the attack, Tatsuki took a step forward into a Gyaku Zenkutsu Dachi stance and unleashed a powerful Gyaku Tsuki punch straight to Izuru's face. Her fist emitted a greenish aura.

Izuru: '...W-What kind of strength is this?!'

Maintaining the pressure, the karate girl brought her rear leg's knee forward into a swift front kick, known as Mae Geri, aimed at the lieutenant's abdomen. Once again, that greenish energy emerged, this time emanating from Tatsuki's foot.

Izuru: 'How can she move like this while under the effect of my Wabisuke?!!!!'

In a fluid motion, Tatsuki swiftly spun her body and delivered a powerful Yoko Geri, aiming for the lieutenant's jaw with tremendous impact, as the greenish light emanated once more.

With the lieutenant disoriented, Tatsuki executed a quick and precise Ashi Barai to unbalance Izuru and send him sprawling onto his back on the ground.

As her opponent lay sprawled on the ground, Tatsuki closed the gap swiftly, not allowing Izuru any time to react, and delivered a Jodan Tsuki punch to the lieutenant's face with such force that the ground beneath him cracked upon impact.

Before the lieutenant lost consciousness, he briefly noticed something peculiar about Tatsuki's fist, which gleamed with that greenish energy. It seemed to have something akin to scales, but he didn't have the time to confirm it as his vision faded.

Tatsuki: "OSU!"

Chad approached the girl after she had knocked out the lieutenant in such a manner and gave a thumbs up, to which Tatsuki responded with a smirk.

Tatsuki: "I have to admit, this guy was strong! I had a bit of luck..."

Chad: "Luck?"

The two of them quickly started running, putting some distance between themselves and the recent battle. Tatsuki began to explain the unusual encounter.

Tatsuki: "You know, Sado, what puzzled me was when the lieutenant said he could make things heavy, but only my arms felt that way. It should have affected my entire body."

Chad: "Hm..." - He contemplated this as they moved swiftly through the area.

Tatsuki: "That's when I realized... every time I activate my powers, these scales appear on my fists and feet. They used to show up only when I attacked and disappeared right away, but now they stay while my powers are active."

Chad: "So, it was the scales that got heavy..." - He concluded.

Tatsuki: "Exactly! So, I... I deactivated my powers for a few seconds and then reactivated them." She explained, as if she had come up with a brilliant plan.

**

Ichigo and Ikkaku continued their banter for a while after the 3rd seat was seriously wounded by the orange-haired Shinigami.

Ichigo: "Now it's better if you give up. With a cut like that, you're definitely not in condition to fight."

Ikkaku: "Heheh... You talk big, Ichigo. But what is the basis of your confidence?!!" - Ikkaku challenged, a sly grin on his face.

The 3rd seat suddenly lunged forward, attacking fiercely with his bladed sansetsukon. Ichigo defended himself from the ferocious strikes with his zanpakutō, but Ikkaku's attacks were unpredictable, making it difficult to defend, even with the 3rd seat being quite injured.

In a new exchange of attacks with their zanpakutōs, Ikkaku threatened to pierce Ichigo with the blade of his zanpakutō, but suddenly changed the course of the attack, hitting the teenager with the pommel of Hōzukimaru.

Ichigo lost his balance after the attack and was thrown backward as the 3rd seat grinned triumphantly.

Ikkaku: "What's the matter? Maybe you're all talk. Hōzukimaru's attacks are hard to read, especially for an amateur like you, even if your friend helped you react to a few of them."

Ichigo: "I don't think so..." - He got back up with a smile. - "My eyes have already gotten used to your moves."

To illustrate what he meant, Ichigo opened his left hand, letting the red horsehair tassel that was on the pommel of Hōzukimaru fall to the ground.

The 3rd seat was astonished and quickly looked at the pommel of his zanpakutō, realizing that it was shattered.

Ikkaku: 'What?! He broke my Hōzukimaru with his bare hands?!' - He thought incredulously, and this moment of distraction was all Ichigo needed.

He lunged at Ikkaku, who reacted in time to try to bring together the segments of Hōzukimaru to block the attack. However, Ichigo's massive zanpakutō strike was so powerful that it not only shattered Hōzukimaru effortlessly but also struck Ikkaku once more, inflicting another deep cut from the shoulder to the waist of the 3rd seat, causing him to bleed even more.

The 3rd seat's breathing grew even heavier, his injuries were severe, yet he managed to flash a wide grin.

Ikkaku: "Heh... Is that all...? Unfortunately... for you... I can still hold my weapon!!" - He spoke with difficulty but with an almost insane smile. - "If you really want... me to let go of my weapon... you'll have to cut my arm off...!!!!"

Ichigo: "Just drop it already."

Ikkaku: "I refuse..."

Ichigo: "I said drop it! This fight is over!!"

Ikkaku: "Quit wasting your time... this is a battle... it only ends with one of us dead..." - With great difficulty, the 3rd seat advanced towards Ichigo. - "I wasn't born a coward who surrenders just to escape death!!!!"

As the 3rd seat charged at him, Ichigo couldn't help but recall his training, compared to the speed of Urahara himself. Compared to that, Ikkaku didn't even come close in his current state.

Ichigo: "You're slow!!!"

The teenager waited for Ikkaku to approach, and in a swift motion, delivered a huge slash to the 3rd seat's arm, causing blood to splatter on the ground and walls.

Ikkaku: "Damn… you're good…" He uttered weakly as he fell to his knees. "Damn it… So unlucky…"

Those were Ikkaku's last words before losing consciousness.

**

Yato remained standing at a certain distance from the lieutenant, observing the lieutenant's zanpakutō taking the form of two Kusarigama-like weapons. Each weapon had two scythe blades, with one inverted, creating a resemblance to a pinwheel. The blades were connected to a spiked rod, tethered together by a long chain. Yato couldn't help but admire the intricate design of the weapon.

Yato: 'And here's another reason why people like Hisagi end up in tough situations... the zanpakutō... I'm sure most of the shinigami, even those who can already use Bankai, don't fully understand what a zanpakutō is.' - He couldn't help but ponder on the lack of knowledge and comprehension among many shinigami regarding their own zanpakutō spirits.

As they continued to face each other, Yato couldn't help but make a comment.

Yato: "Cool zanpakutō..." - He complimented with a neutral expression.

Hisagi: "You think so? Well... I, on the other hand, don't really like it that much..."

Yato: "Oh... okay."

Hisagi: "To be more precise... I don't like its appearance... Look at how the blade is curved. Doesn't seem like something that's meant to take lives?"

Yato: "....Kinda what you'd expect from a shinigami.....right?"

In a swift motion, Hisagi hurled one of his scythe blades in Yato's direction. The scythe came spinning at high speed, but Yato continued to dodge using Bringer Light. However, this time, Hisagi anticipated where Yato would go, and as soon as the young man moved, he had to dodge at the last moment from the second scythe.

Yato: 'They may not look like it, but those scythes are pretty fast... This is annoying...' - He thought.

Hisagi continued to chase Yato, throwing his scythes in the direction of the Ryoka and pulling them back through the seemingly infinitely extending chain.

In one of the attacks, the scythe managed to graze Yato's shoulder, bothering him a bit.

Both paused as Hisagi encircled Yato from above while spinning his scythes.

Hisagi: "Can't predict, can you?"

Yato: "The scythes' movements... kinda..." - He casually commented, trying not to show how bothered he was by the cut on his shoulder.

Hisagi: "Are you scared?"

Yato: "Well... it depends... I'm pretty scared of some things..." - He replied in a relaxed manner.

Hisagi: "Don't lie. Even after I used my Shikai, your expression didn't change much, not to mention—"

Interrupting the lieutenant, Yato used Bringer Light to appear in front of Hisagi at incredible speed, attacking him with his Zanpakutō.

Hisagi managed to defend himself by positioning his scythes in an "X" shape in front of him. But as he did so, Yato materialized invisible threads and tied the two scythes together, temporarily limiting Hisagi's movements.

Not realizing that the scythes were tied together, when Yato attacked again, Hisagi couldn't separate the scythes in time to avoid the blow, suffering another deep cut on his body.

Hisagi clenched his teeth in pain, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. The invisible threads had caught him off guard, and the damage was taking its toll.

After inflicting more damage on the lieutenant, Yato attached a thread to Hisagi's arm and moved back to where he had set up a large number of invisible threads as a trap, waiting for the lieutenant's next move.

Hisagi decided to try a different approach. Not wanting to risk having his zanpakutō tied up again, he chose to use Kidō on the moment Yato moved away.

Hisagi: "Bakudō #62. Hyapporankan!"

Hisagi's attack, a barrage of blue-white glowing energy rods, multiplied into a hundred more rods as they rained down on Yato. However, as they approached, they were all intercepted and blocked by the invisible threads.

Hisagi: "What?!"

Yato: "Yon no Uta, Zankyosanka" [四 の 歌・残響散歌, Fourth Song, Reverberant Song]

As the blade of Ōkagetsu began to emanate crimson flames, Yato abruptly pulled the thread connected to Hisagi, bringing him closer at great speed while simultaneously igniting the flames along his own threads.

Yato swiftly maneuvered through the battlefield, using his Bringer Light to escape the entanglement of threads as Hisagi fell into the trap, getting ensnared in the threads that were rapidly consumed by the crimson flames.

Yato: 'Throwing more things at me wasn't a good idea… Ōkagetsu's fourth song, Zankyosanka, can infuse flames into objects, creating blinding and thunderous explosions that expel a large amount of smoke, much like fireworks.' - He thought as the fiery explosions illuminated the area. - 'It's not the flames themselves that cause harm, but rather the shrapnel from the objects that exploded. When used on a single object, it's a relatively harmless ability... but the force and energy released by a large number of fireworks can cause severe physical trauma, including bone fractures, concussions, and internal injuries.'

His mind raced as he calculated his next move, taking advantage of the chaos created by the fiery explosions.

The aftermath of the explosions left Hisagi in dire straits. He was covered in burns and wounds, his ears were ringing, and his vision was blurred. Despite his battered state, he glared defiantly at Yato and hurled his Kazeshini toward him. However, this time, the weapon's movement seemed sluggish, which allowed the teenager to easily dodge it.

Strangely, Yato kept his distance, despite being in better condition than the lieutenant. This led Hisagi to believe that Yato might flee at any moment, causing him to become alarmed. In a desperate move, he hurled both of his scythes toward the Ryoka. However, contradicting Hisagi's expectations, Yato advanced.

The teenager utilized the Bringer Light to deftly evade one of the scythes, all while murmuring another one of his abilities under his breath.

Yato: "San no Uta, Naibu no Uchū [三 の 歌・内部の宇宙, Third Song, Inner Universe]

As the zanpakutō began emanating yellow flames, Yato touched the blade to the chain of Kazeshini and began dragging the blade along the chain as he advanced quickly toward the lieutenant.

Hisagi pulled on the chains, attempting to catch Yato off guard with his scythes, but to his horror, something he never expected happened.

When Yato was very close, Hisagi hoped that his scythe would strike the Ryoka, but for some reason that not even the lieutenant understood, the zanpakutō reverted to its Asauchi state. The confusion and surprise were evident on Hisagi's face as he tried to comprehend what just happened however, Yato didn't give Hisagi time to think. The young Ryoka had already shaped some threads around his hand, spinning them like a drill before piercing Hisagi's abdomen. The lieutenant was already weakened due to the explosions, and this was enough to make him lose consciousness. As Hisagi collapsed, Yato sighed in relief, unaware that the entire battle between him and the lieutenant had been observed by a small black cat.