A bead of sweat rolls down your temple. Crap. You smile uneasily and ask, "Vice Captain Kusajishi, does this mean...?" She grins enthusiastically. She chirps, "Of course! I want to fight Sparky! You've gotten stronger, right? I want to see how much! Let Ken-chan fight Ichi!! I wanna fight YOU!" "Then..." you request, "if we win, you'll let us pass?" Without answering, Yachiru just keeps grinning at you. You sigh. You should've expected this. In that case...
You let out a loud yell and push your sword forward, to shove Yachiru off and skidding back fast enough so that she doesn't hit you on the way back. But before you move back a yard, she's already on you. You bring your sword up above your head as she crashes her blade down upon your own. For a second, you fear Rai-kumo will break; the sound of the metal grinding rings in your ears. You push her back again, this time stepping forward to make a quick thrust towards her torso, but she dodges you.
"You really have gotten faster, Sparky," Yachiru compliments, smiling that sweet smile of hers again. "Thanks," you reply, Rai-kumo flashing. "No really," Yachiru says earnestly. Without warning, she rushes in again. It's all you have time for to dodge and counter-attack. Jumping back again, Yachiru grins. "Before you left, you wouldn't have been able to dodge that." You frown and try to think. "I can't hit her. She's too fast. Every time I attack, she just blocks. On top of that..." You gasp and jump back as Yachiru's blade smashes into the ground, where you were barely a second before. You're forced to jump back again and again as Yachiru continues to pursue you with relentless attacks. "She keeps pushing me, so I barely have time to come up with a plan!"
As Yachiru takes another swipe at your middle, you're struck with sudden inspiration and jump onto her blade. Precariously balanced on that thin piece of metal, you use the brief moment of surprise to launch another attack at Yachiru. Your sword barely grazes her cheek, slicing off a couple of pink hairs as she pulls away, forcing you to make a rough landing on your feet.
"Great," Yachiru chirps. "I'm glad you're not running away the way Ichi is..." "What?" you quip, directing your gaze to your left. He's gone. So's Kenpachi. You probably heard swords clashing and battle cries from over there just a second ago, but you'd tuned everything out once Yachiru decided to direct her sword at you. In the lull you listen closely for the sound of fighting. But it only comes from very far away. "I wish he would stop running," Yachiru sighs, "Ken-chan hasn't had a chance like this in a long time." "Well then," you tell her, "I'm sure he won't be disappointed."
"Ichigo," you think, parrying another attack from Yachiru. "I can't see you right now, but I know... that we're both still in this fight." You dodge another hit and lash out in another counter attack. "I won't quit, and I know you won't either." Yachiru somersaults and dodges your blow. You rush forward, to keep up the blitz attack. "So please... win this." Your sword hits rock as it pierces through the tiles where Yachiru had just been standing. "We'll find Ganju and Hanatarou." Yachiru quickly sidesteps you and delivers a powerful slash attack towards your face. As you pull back you watch droplets of blood, suspended in the air, fly past your face and away from you as you beat back a few meters' hasty retreat. "And we'll save Rukia... together."
You're breathing hard, your cheek stinging slightly as warm blood flows from it. Yachiru grins more broadly as she wipes off some of the blood on her own face. Now you match each other in wounds. "Good, good," she laughs, as a teacher would, training a student. Suddenly, her eyes flash. "Guess I should take it up a notch." You barely have time to react before Yachiru throws an enormous attack. You step backwards just in time, but the strength of the blow changes the very air between you into a shock wave. "Her spiritual pressure's intense!" you think, as you fly backwards, into a wall. You cough slightly as your back makes contact with the solid concrete. But Yachiru doesn't give you any recovery time. You throw yourself sideways just in time as Yachiru's sword sinks into the wall. In that split second, you manage to roll and get yourself back in a fighting stance, but just barely.
Right then, you feel a change in the air. Some enormous spiritual pressure has vanished. It was far off, but you could still feel it up until now, pulsing, slowly but surely, like the heart of a giant. No wait... It's not gone. Just... smaller now. "What are you watching, Sparky?" Yachiru calls. You block the next attack just in time. You hadn't realized you'd been staring at the sky. Suddenly, Yachiru lets out a small giggle. "Ken-chan... seems happy." You blink and look her in the eyes. You can feel it too. Kenpachi's spiritual pressure has gone up again. But... so has Ichigo's. It's become sharper.
You take a deep breath. If Ichigo can do it, so can you. He must've been able to cut Kenpachi with a spiritual pressure like that... You turn your blade sideways and deal Yachiru another slash. This time, blood comes out of her right shoulder. But Yachiru suddenly turns her blade too, knocking yours away (it's almost wrenched out of your grip as you struggle to hold on to it). It cuts into your left arm. You let out a sharp cry as a huge tear in your left sleeve opens up, revealing blood bursting from your arm. Struggling hard, you gather up whatever energy you have and knock her sword aside as you stagger back, wishing you could take your hands off your sword for just a moment to stem the flow of blood.
Crackle.
"Huh?" you gasp. You take a look at Rai-kumo. It's slightly chipped. Your eyes widen. How...? How is it slightly chipped?? It cuts through rock! You'd never heard of a Soul Slayer getting damaged like this... unless... You look towards Yachiru. Her sword's still sharp. But the slight noise of crackling electricity from yours reminded you... you still haven't used your "support" abilities. It's going to take a lot of energy, but you still have some to spare... "Here we go!" you think, and grabbing your sword, you... run away.
"Heeeeeeeehhh??" Yachiru moans, "Where're you going, Sparky? The fight's not over yet!" As Yachiru pursues you, you try your best to put enough distance between you. Ducking into a random corner, you whisper your shikai chant. "C'mon, Rai-kumo...! Outshine the stars!" "Spaaaaaaaaarkyyyyyyy," Yachiru calls. "Aha! There you are!" she cries, jumping down from above. "Lightning!" you yell, pointing the shining blade directly upwards. As you'd thought, Yachiru had jumped up onto a building so she could find you, and once she did, you could ambush her with a lightning bolt. She can't turn in midair!
"Oh!" she exclaims, as the electricity races towards her. She scrunches up her nose. "Haaah!!" You watch, astonished as she whips out her blade... and knocks the lightning away. "No way!" you gasp. "Shit!" As she bears down upon you, you race away again, dragging Rai-kumo along the ground to gather up static, as you jump to avoid the explosion caused by your deflected lightning attack hitting the wall opposite you. Before you know it, Yachiru's on you again.
"Sparky! Hey, wait! There's something you need to know!" you hear her calling after you. Just like the Vice Captain to still tell you what's wrong even when fighting her. Like Kenpachi, it makes it more fun for her if you're a better opponent. "Shit!" you think, squeezing your eyes shut momentarily in frustration. You know you're not at her level. What the hell is going to happen to you if you can't hit her properly? And wait, she just got faster... why isn't she caught up to you, yet? "It'll help you fight," a voice says, right next to your ear. You let out a small cry of surprise before skidding and putting up Rai-kumo's small static electric shield as a barrier between you. Yachiru's sword crackles and screams as it presses against the lightning shield. "You see," she says, "There's the problem." Your eyes widen as the sword begins to slowly sink through the barrier. "Your fighting spirit's still not as strong as mine." Little by little, the point of the blade penetrates the electricity. "So your shield won't hold..." You hear crackling, sizzling noises. Rai-kumo quakes in your hands. "...against my Soul Slayer."
With an enormous crack, Rai-kumo's electric defense explodes. You manage to stay on your feet, but...
Shunk.
You freeze, not daring to look down... to let the reality of what has just happened sink in, just as the eleventh division's Vice Captain's blade has sunk into your flesh.
In that split second where your shield broke... your defenses were down.
Rai-kumo... isn't a good defensive blade... it's too thin. Yachiru's katana had managed to slide past the thin gold rapier... into you...
You take a rattling breath and finally stare down. Time is suspended. Cold metal saturated in crimson liquid... your blood... pokes through your stomach, just one inch right of your belly-button. Detachedly, you feel the end of it protruding from your back. Yachiru withdraws the blade with a flash of steel and somersaults back, landing gracefully on her feet.
The pain hits you full-force as the metal slides back through you, out of your navel with a spray of blood, causing you to drop your sword and collapse on your knees. You try to hold yourself up, your left hand pressing against the tiles in front of you, as if with a life of its own, refusing to allow you to fall to the ground. You gasp with pain, drawing slow, agonizing breaths. With your right hand, you cover the wound, desperately trying to stem the steady stream of blood flowing out. "No..." you hiss, coughing as blood drips out of your mouth. "No! I can't die here... I won't!!"
Yachiru watches you with a disappointed pout on her face. "Awww..." she moans. "Sparky... I thought you got better! C'mon, get up!" You cough again, and watch in rising desperation as the ground below you is splattered with more fresh blood. You have to get up. You just have to! You can't die! The tiles in front of you spin... Shit... You squeeze your eyes shut as your vision blurs. Shit. Don't panic. Shit... Shit... Shit!!!
A dull thud.
"Aww... Sparky..." Yachiru pouts. "I can't believe it..."
She runs over to you and pokes you. "C'mon, Sparky, get up!" But no matter how much she pokes you, you don't get up. There's not even any static cling when she touches you. And your sword... Lying on the ground beside you, is Rai-kumo. It has returned to katana form.
Soul Slayers never return to Katana form unless...
"Unless she's dead..."
She sighs and puts her blade away, shaking her head with disappointment. "I guess I'll go check on Ken and Ichi's battle now."
You don't hear her soft footsteps as she walks away. It doesn't look like... you'll hear anything else again...
