Chapter 38: Tom's Bankai

Waking up the next morning Tom found Mitch already sitting next to him eyes shut as he sat cross legged almost like he was meditating. "Uhhh Mitch what exactly are you doing" Tom said as he sat up while Mitch opened one eye "I don't know but it looks cool and serious like a sensei should am I right?"

"Time to get to business you've got three days with me to train up your bankai and for me to teach you kido" he said jumping up before giving Tom the low down on what they were going to be doing today.

"Go ahead and activate your bankai for me" Mitch said as Tom held Tamashii Seigei vertically in front of him "BANKAI" he cried out as his body was surrounded by a white and rest mist. A huge orb engulfed his entire body as a bright white flash erupted and he stood completely different, his eyes had changed to two different colours the right was white and the left was red while his shirt has been torn off completely and his hair had gone completely blonde spiked up with red streaks through it.

His zanpakuto now had a swirl of red and white arcing its way up the hilt and blade itself while the spikes had detached and linked together hovering slightly away from the edge of his katana. The blade itself had become elegant looking as it more sleek and thinner and the crystal that hovered atop his blade had relocated becoming attached to the bottom of his hilt.

"Every bankai looks and acts unique and yours is no exception Tom" Mitch said gazing at Tom who through his bankai was slightly see through becoming more ethereal in appearance. "Suppose to properly train you I shouldn't hold back" angling Ashura horizontally as flames erupted all around him "BANKAI", in a matter of seconds the flames engulfed him completely and then dispersed as he stood now in bankai form Ashura resting on his shoulder as he grinned "Been awhile since I've fought another bankai, this should be good fun".

"Mitch fights using brute force and overwhelming strength so I should hang back and play defensive since I'll never beat him in a straight up fight" Tom thought to himself assuming a defensive stance. Creating two clones of himself they all raced in as Tom closed his eyes attempting to sense out which ones were the fakes but to his surprise they all felt real as he quickly opened his eyes dodging an attack from one before blocking a strike from another as their blades clashed together.

Slowly Tom was being forced back as he was so preoccupied trying to force one of the attackers forward he failed to sense the real Mitch shunpo in behind him. Ashura was brought down across his back leaving a gash as blood sprayed into the air a stunned look appearing on Tom's face as he was shocked by the injury Mitch had caused during a simple training session.

"Don't look shocked Tom by achieving your bankai you've shown me you're strong enough for me to be serious" the clones disappeared as Mitch appeared in front of Tom who knew how brutal Mitch was during fights. "Relax I'll only cause you to bleed a bit I won't actually kill you" he said noticing the concerned look on Tom's face who breathed a sigh of relief knowing he wasn't going to die from their sparring sessions.

"Alright enough chit chat you only have three days and there is still much more for you to learn" Mitch vanished from Tom's sights reappearing behind him again as his blade swung through the air slicing nothing this time as Tom had shunpoed away at the last second. "He'll expect an attack on his blind spot from behind so instead" Tom thought to himself appearing to Mitch's left attempting a counterattack only for his blade to be caught by Mitch's bare hand as he swung Ashura around towards Tom's head.

Tamashii Seigei began to glow dark red in Mitch's hand as there was an explosion causing Mitch to release the blade as Tom leapt back outside of the smoke watching as it slowly cleared away. Mitch stood there hand still outstretched as it was slightly charred black but it somehow wasn't phasing him as he simply stared at it then shook it slightly like something had stung him.

"So you can use Kage Gekido without charge that's fairly handy for getting out of a lock" he said still shaking his hand while Tom stood blade raised up ready for anything. Mitch raced forward towards Tom who went to block what he assumed was a frontal attack but at the last second Mitch shunpoed away. Expecting him to try and attack from behind Tom spun around only to find he wasn't there "Where is he" he thought to himself before sensing him directly above.

Glancing up he saw Mitch hurtling down towards him Ashura raised up in the air flames surrounding him. "No time to dodge" Tom thought quickly raising Tamashii Seigei up as Ashura came slamming down sparks flying as the two blades connected, the sheer force of Mitch's strike brought Tom down to his knee's as he continued pushing down until Tamashii Seigei was nearly pressed right up on Tom's face.

Tom was so busy thinking of a way to escape from his current situation he failed to notice Mitch's foot sweeping in and knocking his feet out from under him. Falling face first into the dirt Tamashii Seigei went spilling from his grip as he went to jump up and grab but only found Mitch's hand clamping down on his face and slamming it into the ground before he jumped back letting Tom slowly stand up coughing dirt up.

Wiping the dirt from his face Tom picked Tamashii Seigei up "If I want to stand on equal footing with Mitch I'll have to utilize every single one of my bankai's abilities to overwhelm him". Darting to his left Tom raced around the battlefield leaving numerous after images of him as Mitch stood perfectly still unphased by the amount of Tom's standing before him "I haven't taught you the afterimage clone technique so these" he shunpoed in front of one cleaving it in two "Are nothing but mere afterimages and can't harm me".

Vanishing again Mitch shunpoed around the battlefield cutting down all the clones until only one remained as he stood before it "There you are" grinning he swung Ashura at Tom's torso who remained unmoved. Just as the blade was about to cut Tom's body went completely see through as Ashura passed completely through but he didn't vanish like an after image would his body was hazier looking almost like liquid.

Moving to the side as Ashura exited his body Tom's body went back to normal as he used that moment's hesitation from Mitch to slice across his torso staining Tamashii Seigei red. "Your bankai gives you the ability to make a corporeal form avoiding harm" "Though if I stay to long in the form or use it constantly, I run the risk of becoming completely corporeal and becoming like a spirit". Running his hand over the shallow cut Mitch smiled "Seems you weren't trying to seriously wound me though".

Looking back up at Tom he had pointed the crystal on the bottom of his hilt directly at Mitch's face as a bright white light flashed and he found himself witnessing everything bad that he had done in his life. Various images of him cutting down enemies in cold blood with an insane battle grin plastered on his face flashed before his eyes as he looked down to find his arm moving by itself as he slashed Ashura across his chest 5 times. "What the hell is this technique" Mitch thought to himself now holding his zanpakuto directly near his heart as he watched a raging inferno blazing away while the screams of children echoed in his ears just as the blade was stabbed into his chest.

Pulling the blade free Mitch came back to reality as blood spewed forth from the hole in his chest along with the slashes as it all ran down his torso dripping onto the floor as Tom looked stunned at the sheer violence he had exerted upon himself from seeing his deeds and then shuddered in horror at how bad they must have been for him to be damaged that badly.

Despite all of his wounds Mitch still managed to stand up and smile "Impressive move utilizing all the bad deeds people have conducted to make them hurt themselves" "Perhaps we should take a break you have quite a few bad wounds". Mitch simply shook his hand dismissing Tom's idea "I'll be fine trust me I've fought with far worse before". "Alright but this next move might make you consider otherwise" Tom said stabbing Tamashii Seigei into the ground where Mitch's blood had been pooling while a red mist began to slowly form in front of him "Fukushuu Bushi".

Slowly the blood red mist formed into a huge hulking giant with flaming eyes and wielding a broadsword in his hand "As long as you have blood lust inside your heart Fukushuu Bushi can never be truly destroyed". Mitch simply grew an insane battle grin placing his right hand at the top of his face "An enemy that can't be destroyed I love it!" raking his hand down as his vizard mask was formed followed by an explosion of black reiatsu around him.

Letting out an ear piercing howl he leapt into the air swinging Ashura down as the giants head was cleaved cleanly off, not a second later though it had reformed in a swirl of red mist. Blocking a hard blow from the giant Mitch leapt back laughing "Excellent, excellent this is the type of enemy I need one that can never die!" Tom simply stared at him bewildered as most people facing an opponent they couldn't destroy would run or give up and yet here Mitch was relishing at the chance to fight an unbeatable opponent.

"That bloodlust and desire to fight will be his undoing one of these days" Yoruichi said watching as Mitch laughed while continually hacking and slashing at the blood lust monster only for it regenerate within seconds and attack back at him.

"You know this entire fight could be finished if you just stem the bloodlust you're feeling" Tom said from behind the giant as Mitch howled with laughter his eyes flashing blood red while he spoke in that dark icy cold wolf like voice "But then I'd stop having the most fun I've had in years!". Swinging Ashura down he shot off 6 fireballs that thudded into the giant causing a huge explosion and sending smoke everywhere, when it had cleared though the giant was completely intact as it slammed it's sword down towards the ground creating a giant crater from the force of the blow.

Mitch hadn't moved a single inch as the broadsword was millimeters above his head blocked by Ashura as he slowly began to force it back up flames circling all around him. Pushing the blade off he raced out of the crater slicing the giants head off before shunpoing away and reappearing behind Tom who spun around parrying his strike away just before Mitch shunpoed away a second later the giant's sword came swinging around cleaving straight through a mountain.