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Challenging The Past
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This takes place before Kago's Taishuu and placement of Onki in the Gotei
Igasho walked out to the division’s combat practice fields, treading the soft, green grass beneath his bare feet. The assassin had hoped this spar would have been under better circumstances but he didn’t want to put it off any longer and, ultimately, it would make him stronger. Sore and still bruised from the haunting battle within the pit, the reaper looked around for Takimoto Kago.
Although he had once commanded the army of the Twelfth, the former captain had been given an invitation to return and grace his former subordinate with his presence again.
The vice-captain peeled back the cloak of Reiatsu no Senpuku, revealing his form to the grounds he once called his domain. As of late, he had not used the technique; however, it almost felt like a necessity. Too many people were poorly affected by his departure from the Twelfth and he wished to spare them as much pain as possible.
Stepping in front of his former subordinate, Kago offered a cordial smile - after all, in a few moments, they would be sparring as enemies. “Good morning, Igasho.”
The former prisoner showed no sign of surprise, keeping a stoic countenance, but he knew to expect as much from the former captain of the assassins.
Igasho bowed silently and spoke once he had come back to a full standing position, “Vice-captain.”
His hand hung loosely over the hilt of his blade, comfortably relaxed, while the other held his wrist. His baritone voice was soft and genuine, which one wouldn’t expect from his position.
“I’m glad you accepted the invitation to meet here, instead of the Eighth grounds. I had hoped it wouldn’t be too... problematic for you, coming here again.”
The vice-captain of the Eighth sighed. “Problematic for me, no. I just worry that I may upset some of the assassins with my presence here. Especially since even I can’t sense people veiled in Reiatsu no Senpuku,” he explained, carefully peering over his shoulder.
Casting a glance at the surprisingly empty practice field, Kago inquired about the day’s activity. “Will we be the only ones training out here today?”
“Just us,” Igasho said, moving toward the largest field. As he moved, he moved slowly, trying to hide the painful stride as he moved his legs. His encounter with ghosts of past had taken quite a toll on him but it had changed things for the division forever.
“I wouldn’t worry too much, Vice-Captain,” the reaper said matter of factly. “Since you’ve left, the lack of any authority within the division has caused it to bleed dry...there’s hardly anyone left. I’m surprised the Central Forty-Six or the Soutaichou haven’t shut it down, honestly. Most have gone awry, fleeing in the face of adversity...and some even went rogue.”
The assassin made his way several paces away from Kago, turning to face him, visibly readying himself for a fight.
“I have no problems with that, though. They’ve given me a reason to stave rust from my blade and kill again.”
Igasho’s words did not ease the pain of the division crumbling after Kago’s departure. Just as the twelfth had fallen apart, he noticed that the assassin was beginning to fall apart himself. He cast a sidelong glance at Igasho.
“Maintaining your abilities and competencies is a noble endeavor, but it often takes a toll on the body,” he said, shifting his head in a gesture toward the other man’s legs.
He knew, at that point, Kago could see the struggle that Igasho was facing with his own recovery. He briefly looked at his legs, recalling the fierce battle below the Twelfth Division’s main building, but then shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind.
“Whatever it takes for the division,” he simply said.
The assassin pulled his blade from the sheath and let it hang at his side.
“Shall we?”
The vice-captain reluctantly replied. “After you.”
Igasho moved quickly, running forward with a single-handed slash of his sword. The blade moved from top to bottom, left to right, cutting across the area that would have been aimed at Kago’s torso.
With a single motion, the adept swordsman drew his zanpakutou from its sheath and raised the blade to block the oncoming blow. The two swords collided with a resounding clash before sliding past each other. Kago lifted his zanpakutou into the air above Igasho and drove it down in a powerful stroke.
The simple strike was powerful in itself, driven by Kago’s superiority with a sword, something Igasho knew before stepping onto the practice field. Though it was caught by his own steel, Igasho was tossed back by the vice-captain’s strike. Stumbling back, the bearded man rebounded with an attack of his own.
Throwing a hand forward, a simple dagger shot out from beneath the man’s kosode sleeve, aimed directly for his opponent. Within an instant of releasing the hidden blade, Igasho flashed into a shunpo, sweeping around to Kago’s side and jabbing his blade forward, hoping to catch him off guard.
Seeing through the feint, having once used it himself, Kago collected reiatsu into his palm and slammed it into the ground. Suddenly, a black arrow appeared beneath the dagger and redirected the weapon toward Igasho. Launching with incredible speed, the dagger collided with the zanpakutou and knocked it off its intended trajectory.
The vice-captain remained kneeling on the ground as Igasho stumbled past him. “If I would have known that this is what you meant by spar, I would have rejected the offer when it was initially made,” he announced condescendingly, trying to push his former subordinate into fighting to his fullest potential.
The assassin kept silent, calling on his ability to adapt his battle capabilities, growing faster with each passing second. Letting the parried blade move out and to his side, the reaper kept moving in the direction of the detoured strike. Using the momentum that carried him around Kago’s side, he threw a blinding strike out toward the vice-captain, aimed at landing a blow to the top of his head.
Reading the movements of Igasho’s technique, the nobleman pushed his body into a higher gear and blocked the strike with his zanpakutou just before it made contact with his skin. Breathing slightly heavier now, Kago pushed off the attack and steeled his gaze. Igasho was starting to fight quicker and smarter and this pleased him. A slight smirk crept across the swordsman’s face.
“Now that you are taking this more seriously, I will take it up a level,” the vice-captain announced boldly.
As the last word escaped his lips, he disappeared into a flash step and reappeared at the assassin’s back. His zanpakutou was already piercing the air at about half Kago’s sword speed, aiming to tear through his opponent’s back.
Though his speed would eventually overshadow Kago’s, giving him at least one advantage, Igasho’s battle-worn body wouldn’t allow it just yet. The immediate desire to spin and parry the blade was futile, panic overtaking the thought, which would actually save him harm and possibly his life. Unable to counter, the man’s instincts for survival took over and carried him forward, simply bounding out of the way, rolling to the ground instead of fighting.
The assassin turned to face Kago as he came to a stop, springing to his feet again. Muscles burned as much as his ego, frustration from not being able to ground himself in the fight...not yet, at least.
Rebounding from the attack, Igasho utilized his training of senka, bursting into a flash blossom, turning slightly in the wake, slicing his blade sideways, mid-stride.
The vice-captain managed to follow the attack with his eyes. Having turned his body just barely enough to react to the blow, he swung his zanpakutou toward the oncoming sword, pushing his swordsmanship close to its limits. As the two blades collided, both reverberated back in opposite directions from the force of the contact.
Unrelenting, Kago drew in a deep breath and threw himself into the ripple of air behind Igasho. Melding his reiatsu and body into the wake, he rode the slipstream to his opponent’s location and thrust his zanpakutou forward.
The steel buried into Igasho’s flesh, piercing through the skin above his shoulder blade. The scrape of steel against bone was painful, but brief. Just as quickly as the strike landed, the assassin’s right shoulder had moved forward, tearing away from the blade, as the warrior pivoted on his heel.
It wasn’t but a few days before that Igasho was stricken by the same attack from Amaterasu Nana. His strength, his speed, used against him - a simple shunpo provided the opening for a strike from behind, which landed and taught him a valuable lesson. It would only make sense that Kago, a former assassin and mastered practitioner of the slipstream manipulation, would take advantage of the same, at some point. It would have been foolish to make the same mistake twice, so why folly again? What would be worth allowing an enemy to land a potentially devastating blow?
The lightning-quick spin turned Igasho toward his former captain, the two nearly face to face in that moment. A strike came from right hand, not carrying a blade but, instead, the virulent black cloud that marked those who were hunted.
“Tangent!”
The barrier spell sprung to life before the vice-captain.
Igasho’s arm crashed into a wall of energy, which burst and sent him flying backwards. With only a second to react, his other hand, clasping the hilt of his blade but stretching to channel energy, swung around as he cried out, “Anchor!”
The manifest demon magic wrapped itself around Igasho’s torso. The base appeared just beyond Kago and rapidly pulled the bearded assassin in his direction. Swinging at Kago once again, now with even more fervor, the black palm raced through the air toward the former captain.
Having a bit more time to read the follow-up attack, the adept swordsman smirked before thrusting his zanpakutou directly into the center of his opponent’s palm.
Black and red liquid streaked down the silver steel, Igasho’s hand sliding down the blade. It would only take a second to feel the true pain from the piercing attack but, in that second, instinct kicked in. The bearded man, his heart pounding, carrying adrenaline through his veins, anchored his feet and thrust the hand further. Wincing through the pain, he tried to clench the hilt and, with as much force as he could, brought his blade up into the air and down at Kago.
A slight spark of surprise flicked across the vice-captain’s expression. Assassins were supposed to be deadly to their opponents, not to themselves; yet, here Igasho was injuring himself to close in on him. Regardless of assumptions, the shock worked in Igasho’s favor; Kago did not have enough time to stop the blade in time.
As the zanpakutou cleaved into his shoulder, the nobleman jerked his body downward with the weapon to lessen the severity of the cut, wincing as he moved. The edge of the blade managed to sink only a few inches into his body; however, a modest stream of blood trickled down his shihakushou, turning it a darker shade of black. The damage was more than enough to cause the vice-captain to hesitate in countering.
Cursing himself for lowering his guard, Kago yanked Hayabusa free from the assassin’s hand and swung his zanpakutou upward. The impact of the two swords collision was strong enough to liberate the weapon from his shoulder and allow the adept swordsman to leap back. With more space between them now, Igasho could see that all levity had left the vice-captain’s expression and a murderous gleam - that had been buried - returned.
Lifting a single palm, the former assassin’s spoke only a single word. “Shakkahou!”
The red orb condensed with pure flaming energy in his palm before rushing straight for Igasho. Kago did not wait for the kidou to make contact before he propelled himself forward, directly behind the projectile.
Though he was nowhere near as capable with the demon arts, Igasho knew enough to recognize the spell. One hand, bleeding and held closely to his waist, couldn’t be healed in time to be of any use but the other held the zanpakutou carefully. Raising it overhead, leaving no time but to react defensively, Igasho would execute Ittouryoudan to his best ability.
The vice captain fully expected his approach to be met by an opposing attack. Having cast an additional Shakkahou onto his blade as he sprinted, Hayabusa assumed a slight amber hue and radiated with power. A smirk curled on the edges of Kago’s lips; Igasho wouldn’t see it coming.
Energy pulsed through his arm and through the blade, cutting down into the crimson blast, splitting it into separate halves, and carrying through in hopes of meeting Kago behind it.
The world seemed to still as the attack split before him, revealing the determined assassin. Driving his zanpakutou upward to challenge the oncoming strike, the adept swordsmen pushed with the full fury of his ability. As steel collided with steel, sparks shot forth from the blades and showered the combatants; however, they were not alone. What appeared to be a crimson spark swelled to comparatively massive proportions as it shot forth from Kago’s blade and raced point-blank toward Igasho’s head.
An arm came up quickly, crossing behind the risen blades, parallel to Kago’s. The blast seemed to immediately slip past his own steel and burst on impact with Igasho’s forearm. The crimson blast splashed over and the heat slammed against the assassin’s turning face. Immediately thrown off by the unexpected, second attack, the wounded fighter rescinded his assault.
A surge of reiatsu poured into his legs, empowering his muscles with what little power he had left, kicking him back in a cloud of dust. He knew space wasn’t what he wanted between him and Kago but the sixteenth seat couldn’t risk another head-on attack from a kidou.
As his feet planted in the dirt, Igasho threw his wounded hand upward, tilting back his wrist. A small pulse of energy announced the darting blade that shot toward the former captain, on his left side.
The vice-captain barely had time to register the attack before the blade left the man’s sleeve. Twisting his liberated blade down to meet the weapon, Kago bent his body inward to dodge it. Fortunately, Hayabusa’s flat side made just enough contact to knock the dagger off-course; however, it was not far enough as the thin edge barely cut through his side.
Hiding the pain in his ribs, the nobleman repositioned his zanpakutou defensively. “Igasho!” he called out to the retreating form of his former subordinate. The murderous intent in his gaze had faded and been replaced with a genuine concern for his ally. “Let’s stop this foolishness; if we continue further, you will force me to injure you more severely than you already are!”
His name, called out with such command, halted the assassin’s next step. His foot hit the grass, almost seeming as if to plant for an offensive strike. The beaten warrior breathed heavily and his eyes locked in on Kago’s, two thoughts simultaneously registering within his mind: the Vice-Captain was right...but there was a point to be made. A point, perhaps, Kago may have realized only the moment he stopped speaking.
The hidden blades were equipped to house any number of poisons within the simple channels that lead to their tips. Though they held no man-made potion that day, the killer’s blood was covering a good portion of his body, including having run down his arms and over the blades. Normally, the simple cut would have been innocuous to the former captain but there was something in the assassin’s blood that would be all too familiar for Kago.
The black cloud swirled in Igasho’s bleeding palm. A sinister grin curled up on the bearded man’s lips, though he started to slouch with his wear. The thought was a devilish temptation but it would be fruitless...a fact that Igasho had to admit to himself. He would have to settle for the pleasure of the chance that his former mentor would see what he was capable of.
The black swirl rescinded and the man let out a sigh, stabbing his blade into the ground.
“You’re right. I yield.”
The vice-captain nodded as he felt the all-too-familiar sensation of the Mark spreading throughout his system and the ominous dagger lingering in his blindspot. His words, when spoken, were not completely a bluff, but it would have been increasingly more difficult to deliver on them if the fight continued too much longer. Taking a step back, he sheathed his blade and offered his former subordinate a well-earned smile.
“You have grown quite strong in my absence, Igasho,” Kago announced his praise for the assassin.
Although he believed those encouraging words would be enough for Igasho, the nobleman perceived a sense of yearning for something more behind his eyes. Then, everything seemed to click: the persistent requests for sparing, the desire to do anything for the division, even sacrificing himself in the fight to get a killing blow. Igasho wanted to take over leadership of the Twelfth and wanted his approval.
Looking upon the wounded assassin with clarity, Kago spoke once more. “In the time since I have left the Twelfth, I have learned that a true leader must be more than the best fighter in a division; he must set himself apart from everyone else and realize the effects of every action - big and small. He cannot force others to follow behind him; he must carve the path forward and demonstrate why people should be following him through his merits.
“Do you believe you can do that, Okamii Igasho?”
The wounded hand now covered the hole at the assassin’s shoulder, energy focused on stopping the blood loss. His head was spinning, more so now that the fight was over, and his senses were starting to dull - overextension clearly more difficult to gauge than he realized.
“No,” he said with a deep release of breath, “I know I can.”
Igasho leaned against his zanpakuto, glancing down at the all-seeing eye on the pommel cap.
“But tell me...what do you think has brought the Twelfth to where it is?” His eyes moved back to Kago, “You and I both know there’s something different about the Twelfth...it’s always needed something more. What’s always been missing?”
“If I could answer that question,” the nobleman replied somberly, “I would still be the taichou of the Twelfth.”
Reflecting on his mistakes, Kago lowered his eyes to the ground and called to mind all those lost under his watch. Too many souls lost for his inaction and lack of supervision. Louhi was a bitch, but she ran her division well. Even still though, Igasho was right; the Twelfth never felt complete or whole under either of them.
Shaking his head, the vice-captain met his former subordinate’s gaze once more. “I believe that once you have truly and honestly answered that question, you may be fit to lead the assassins into prosperity. When that day comes, I hope you seek me out.”
Igasho, still keeping his wounds in contact, grabbed his blade and pulled it from the ground.
“I will,” he replied, simply.
Though he should have left with his former captain and headed straight to the Fourth, the officer, instead, turned away and moved toward the main building.[COLOR]
“You’ll excuse me if I don’t see you to the gate...there’s much to be done.”
The unspoken truth bled through his words like the stains on his kosode. Each meeting with former-Captain Kago brought Igasho closer to where he needed to be, and for that, he was grateful. For now, though, he had earned some much needed rest.