World of Bleach: Revolution

[Antaeus]

World of Bleach: Revolution
This story takes place in the World of Bleach RPG Universe, and is a (long delayed) follow up to World of Bleach: Infiltration. Any feedback is welcome, and if you would do me the privilege of allowing me to use your characters, the story would be greatly improved, and your characters treated with the utmost respect.
The Current Cast
Daisuke Morimoto, Matuharo Inoki
See earlier descriptions
Masato Taiso
A young, talented, but brash Shinigami in Morimoto’s squad 10. This is matched by his appearance, with an apparent age of 19, blue streaked hair, and penchant for wearing a leather bracelet with embossed lightning bolts. Despite being over a century younger than Morimoto, Taiso has risen up the ranks in squad 10 quickly, and now finds himself on cusp of achieving a seat. This has not made him easier to deal with.
Zanpakuto name: Pijon (Pigeon), release Tobu Pijon (fly, pigeon)
Zanpakuto form: When released, Taiso’s zanpakuto turn into twin sai daggers with the blue streak from his hair spiraled around the handles. They can be thrown a superhuman distance, and will automatically return on command
Shikai command: none
Bankai: not yet achieved
Yuki Maeda
Yuki Maeda appears to be a bookish, Mid twenties Japanese woman, with shoulder length dark hair and a plain face. Indeed, she is almost the kind of person you would forget within seconds of seeing. This would be a mistake. Maeda is a brilliant and Machiavellian shinigami, who saw the horrors of hollowfication from the great arrancar wars and concluded that the bigger mistake was not testing the process on weaker souls first. Maeda’s efforts to recreate the process, in secret and without the resources of those who’d tried before, were slow, but she was almost ready to begin experimentation when she was caught in the act, and sentenced to 300 years in Shinigami prison. That was 184 years ago, just long enough for some people to forget how dangerous she was.
Zanpakuto name: Eiko no Shinjitsu (Glorious truth)
Release: Kishi Kaisei (wake from death and return to life)
Shikai/Bankai: ???
Kiki Tajiri
Tajiri looks like a WNBA player in Shinigami Attire. 6 foot 1 inch tall and athletically built, with her short black hair in cornrows, Tajiri would be an imposing figure even if it were not for her high position and tremendous skill with a zanpakuto. However, she is somewhat of a softy at heart, particularly for Daisuke Morimoto, who has been one of her charges for over a century, and whose friendliness (if not skill) and cooking prowess have endeared him to her.


Guillermo Falernia and the Stegosaur Hollow he had created had spent barely 48 hours in the 14nd district of Rukongai. The devastation they had left behind took five years to repair. Indeed, given the lack of resources the poor region had, it may well not have been rebuilt at all, had it not been for the Shinigami who hailed from the district, Daisuke Morimoto and Matuharo Inoki. Their role in foiling Falernia’s plan, and their insistence on preserving their former home, was vital in procuring funds from Seiretei for the project. Indeed, the new 14nd district was nice enough to draw jealous looks from the denizens of districts all the way to the 40s. And today, the Soul Reaper’s final gift to the district, a fountin erected to honor the souls lost on that fateful day, was completed. Accordingly, the district celebrated with a festival. Inoki, Morimoto, and Rangiku, the 8th division Lieutenant who had actually defeated Falernia, were the guests of honor.
Despite its lack of wealth, the 14nd district put on quite a good show. Rangiku soon found herself covered in flower wreaths and embraces of thanks from grateful children. Inoki held court in his old apartment, showing off his vastly improved Soul Reaper skills and encouraging the youths of the district who showed even miniscule potential in Kido or hand to hand combat. Morimoto, of course, had set up his famed food cart in the middle of the festival; for one more day, the people of this poor neighborhood were eating better than anyone else in Soul Society. As the sun set and the day’s celebration began to slow down, Morimoto looked up from his amazingly rapid food preparation to look into the eyes of the 3rd seat of his 10th division, Kiki Tajiri. Even nodding downwards, Tajiri stood a good four inches taller than the Shini chef, and her friendly smile never seemed to make her less imposing.
“Wonderful as always, Morimoto-san. Particularly the Tempura.”
“Thank you, Tajiri-san. Didn’t think you were coming.”
“I have a message from the Captain for you.”
Tajiri didn’t immediately give Morimoto his message, but instead walked to the center of the district, right at the new fountain. Even among the dozens of revelers, her voice carried.
“People of District 14, I may I have your attention?”
Every eye in the festival turned towards the shinigami. Her sculpted and imposing frame, visible even under her loose garb, helped keep them there.
“Five years ago, a tragedy befell the people of this district. However, even in that tragedy, your courage and perseverance was made clear, as was that of the two of your men that we have been proud to call Soul Reapers. As you know, Matuharo’s bravery in defeating the monster Hollow who attacked you, and his increased mastery of [Obsidian Sentry], led to him being promoted to 7th seat of district 7. Today, we honor his friend, and mine, Daisuke Morimoto, by elevating him to 13th seat of squad 10! Come here, Morimoto-san!”
Morimoto came to his superior’s beckoning, but both he and Inoki were somewhat less than excited. This was a tremendous honor, particularly for a soul like the shinigami chef who had toiled for over a century without earning a seat. However, Daisuke was not a normal Soul Reaper; his joy came not from the din of battle but from feeding and supporting his colleagues: honor though this be, it would lead to many more responsibilities, and many less chances to experiment with new rice ball recipes. The fact that Morimoto’s Mibae Tsuyo Zanpakuto, while central to his defeat of the arrancar in Staunton and several other battles since, was not well suited to fighting his fellow shinigami, made his position potentially even more problematic. Inoki had to smile at his friend as he walked by to remind him to do the same. Still, when Daisuke stood with the 10th division 3rd seat, and heard the tremendous cheer come up from the townspeople and fellow low ranked shinigami around him, his view of the situation changed. Whatever it meant to him, this moment was a tremendous source of hope for those he cared about, and a reminded that their current circumstances need not be their last ones. Tajiri shook his hand heartily, perhaps too heartily, and pulled a small bracelet from inside her haori
“If there are no objections, I would like to make this promotion official by the giving of this…”
“I object” The voice was quieter than Tajiri’s, but firm. Everyone in the festival turned to a young looking shinigami with blue streaked hair that matched the color of the lightning bolt that adorned his leather wristband. Masato Taiso. A shinigami for less than a quarter century, he had already earned a place in squad 10, and activated his Shikai. Everyone in the squad knew that he was destined to be an impressive soul reaper, in time. That did not change the fact that, right now, he was something of a jerk, something his next statement would prove.
“Everyone knows that I am better warrior than Morimoto-San. While he’s been cooking pork ribs, I’ve been killing hollows. I demand the opportunity to challenge for his position.”
Taiso’s timing might have been offensive, but it was nonetheless impeccable. With over 1000 souls and 70 shinigami around, the challenge was public enough that the results would be binding. No one could deny him his right; and no one, not even Inoki, felt that the outcome would be in doubt. Kiki Tajiri responded, virtually spitting out the words.
“The challenge is acknowledged. 10th division, clear a space.”
The members of the 10th division pushed the crowd back, turning a circular space in the middle of the festival into a de facto sparring space. Daisuke Morimoto reluctantly drew his zanpakuto and entered the arena, stopping only to return a quick supportive embrace from his friend Inoki. While the shinigami chef would gladly have given up his seat to a colleague, even a malcontent like Masato Taiso, the thought of being publically humiliated before his own district was not an easy one to bear. Taiso stepped into the space across from him, his smirk threatening to reach from ear to ear.
“Shall we begin?” he said, and charged.
Morimoto was the more experienced fighter, and his time in Seiretei had not been totally wasted. Still, Taiso was faster, stronger, and had more spiritual pressure. Morimoto managed to parry nearly a dozen blows, but could not respond fast enough to push his assailant off the attack. Ultimately, the inevitable happened and a blow slipped through, clipping the shinigami chef on the right shoulder. Blood dripped from the wound, which was just shallow enough to sting.
“Keep fighting, Daisuke!” Inoki shouted, but, Taiso only grinned, and resumed the attack. His aggression and speed continued to keep Morimoto on the defensive, but this time an over-aggressive swing allowed the elder shinigami to pin the younger’s blade to the ground. Masato, however, was more interested in winning than making friends, and took the opportunity to headbutt the shini chef, bloodying and perhaps breaking his nose. When Morimoto staggered from the blow, Taiso struck him in his wounded nose with the butt of his zanpakuto, sending him staggering to the ground.
“And they thought you deserved to have a seat,” Taiso sneered. Morimoto had gotten back to his hands and knees, but Taiso’s victory was, at this point, all but assured. Therefore, he figured, why not take a couple seconds to show everyone just how much he deserved his new position.
Instead of delivering a finishing blow, Taiso flash-stepped all the way to a balcony 100 meters away. “Get up, Daisuke, I don’t want to dirty my blade in the dust!” He shouted, and then took another flash step to the rook on the other side of the makeshift battle space.
Morimoto may not have been the most gifted shinigami, but he was crafty, and had too much pride to take being insulted by this. Masato Taiso was fast, and strong, but he was cocky; his flash step was better than Morimoto’s, but the shinigami chef had seen much faster, and more importantly he knew what young soul reapers like Taiso liked to do with their shunpo: sneak behind their opponent for a big, and impressive looking, blow. Knowing this, Morimoto pretended to sheathe his sword when he got up, but actually hid the blade behind his back. If everything went as planned, he wouldn’t defeat Taiso, but he would give him something to think about.
“Here I come!” shouted the young shinigami, and started his last flash step.”

“AAAAAHHHH!!!!”
Morimoto tried to pull back his blade, only to realize that it was imbedded at least a foot in Taiso’s thigh. When he finally did remove the weapon, the blue haired shinigami fell to the ground, clutching his leg. The Soul Reaper Chef couldn’t understand how his opponent could have moved fast enough to cause such an injury, but accepted his good fortune. His friend Matuharo Inoki did understand, and was furious; Masato Taiso’s leg was where it was because he wasn’t trying to knock Morimoto unconscious as his opponent had suggested, but rather positioning himself to slice his arm off, a blow so far beyond what was necessary as to be nearly inexplicable. Kiki Tajiri was simply relieved to declare the battle over.
“I declare Daisuke Morimoto victor, and new 13th seat of squad 10!”
Tajiri lifted up Morimoto’s arm, and the bloodied shinigami pumped his other fist as the entirety of the 14nd cheered for their champion. Masato Taiso looked on, the pain in his leg briefly erased by the rage at the scene in front of him. This spiritually weak, flabby…cook had beaten him with a lucky move, and now it would likely be years before a seat opened up in squad 10. He could not, would not, accept this.
“Tobu, Pijon”
At Taiso’s words, his zanpakuto released, becoming a set of sai daggers. Vengeance would soon be…
Matuharo Inoki was suddenly standing over Masato Taiso, sword at the neck of the man who would attack his friend in the back.
“One more breath, and an injured leg will be the least of your problems.”
The crowd at the District 14 celebration gasped in shock. For a Soul Reaper to even consider truly attacking his colleague was incomprehensible to them. For Kiki Tajiri, the shock was overwhelmed by the anger, and the embarrassment that one of her students would do such a thing. Signaling to two lower ranked members of District 10, she had Taiso pulled to his feet. One of them “accidentally” kicked the now disgraced shinigami in his wounded leg; Tajiri pretended not to notice.
“Confine him for tonight; we’ll figure out a proper punishment in the morning.”
Needing no further instructions, the two shinigami carried Taiso to the jail cells under the squad 2 headquarters. Still, angry as they were, the duo felt like they needed to show at least some kindness, so they sought out a room with some light, finally locating one in the far eastern corner of the facility.
“Didn’t the Captains say something about this part of the Jail?” One of the shinigamis asked.
“Maybe. Would’ve been a long time ago. Besides, look at this place; it’s not been touched in centuries.” Said the other.
The two threw the angry, cursing Masato Taiso into his room for the night. As it turned out, both shinigami were right. Masato Taiso’s room hadn’t been used in centuries; outside of a bit of dust, there was nothing inside it. However, the Captains had said something about the eastern corner of the jail; that no one went near there except for a food runner, because someone had been in a cell there for a very long time. How she was, and what she had done, had been forgotten by almost all of Seiretei. But not by the woman who felt the presence of a new soul nearby before she heard his footfall.
“Is someone there? I’ve been oh so lonely.”
“Masato Taiso. Member of 10th division. Wrongly incarcerated.”
“Yuki Maeda. Former lieutenant of 2nd division. I think we may have much to talk about.”

[Antaeus]

Part II
The next morning, Kiki Tajiri went over to the squad 2 Barracks to bring Masato Taiso to court. Lower ranked soul reapers could have accomplished the task, but the misbehavior of her squad mates was her responsibilities. Meeting the two shinigami who had locked Taiso away, she asked “where is Taiso?”
“We left him in cell 104, I think. Near a nice window.” One of the soul reapers responded
Something about the number, and the window, struck her memory. “Anyone else in the cells nearby?”
“Not sure” the other Shinigami prison guard said, “Rin, was anyone near Taiso last night?”
Rin pulled out an enormous ledger, the list of past and present tenants in the squad 2 dungeon. They thumbed to the 100 block, where a name was written in old, faded ink on cell 102. “Kind of hard to read,” Rin said, “Maybe Yuk something…”
Tajiri shuddered. “Yuki Maeda? You put Masato Taiso in a cell next to Yuki Maeda?”
“Is that bad?” The two Shinigami asked.
“Call backup right now!” Tajiri shouted, and sprinted into the jail. Fast as she was going, she knew she would be too late. And indeed, when she arrived, the wall between cell block 102 and 104 was blown open, and no one was there. Kiki tried to figure out where they would go, and then realized that Maeda and Taiso had to go somewhere… the vault where their zanpakuto were held.
Rin and her partner ran to the an office where a communication link to the squad 2 barracks lay. They were almost there when they saw Masato Taiso at the entrance to the jail’s vault. Next to him was a woman who barely filled out her haori, barely looking stronger than her shoulder length hair. Still, something about her caused a chill to creep up into their very bones. The woman turned to them and smiled slightly, as if her smile was cracking through porcelain.
“Would you mind opening the vault for me? My Eiko Shinjitsu misses me so very much.”
The two shinigami guards unsheathed their zanpakutos. “You’re Yuki Maeda” Rin said.
The woman’s smile ever so slightly darkened. “And you are not opening the vault for me. Pity.”
In the blink of an eye, the woman was behind her would be captors. Rin and her partner did not even have time to turn before she had driven her foot right into her partner’s ribs with a sickening crack, and now held him in a choke hold.
“Now, miss, If you wouldn’t mind, please open the vault or I will be forced to break your friend’s neck, and we wouldn’t want that to happen, would they?”
Maeda’s tone of voice stayed bright and chipper through the threat, which somehow made it all the more disconcerting. Rin knew that letting her to her zanpakuto would make her even more dangerous; but still, she couldn’t let her friend die. Resigned, she opened the vault, and stood by as Yuki and Masato Taiso retrieved their zanpakuto. However, as she looked in, she noticed that Yuki was also placing a bunch of unclaimed asauchi in a sack, and passing it to Masato.
“What are you doing?” Rin asked.
“You’ll know soon enough,” Maeda said, and smiled. A second later, she was next to Rin. A second and a half later, Rin was unconscious; Taiso unloaded a kick to her disabled partner’s head, knocking him out as well. He then looked over to his fellow escaped prisoner.
“Meada-san, what do we have these Asauchi for?”
“Why, for Squad 14 of course.”
Masato Taiso stopped short, as he processed Maeda’s comment. Blithe as it was, it meant nothing less than revolt. Yuki Maeda was going to start her own squad of soul reapers, with stolen zanpakuto. And if he didn’t do something soon, he’d be a part of it, and the punishments that came when they were stopped. He began to respond when Kiki Tajiri appeared in front of them.

When Kiki Tajiri saw Maeda and Taiso out, and saw that no other reinforcements were there, she realized that the two prison guards must have been taken out before they could call for help. Now it was her against one of her own students, and a Shinigami so dangerous she’d been locked up for longer than Tajiri had been alive. Still, the squad 10 third seat had to at least try to stop them.
“Swim, Namazu!”
Tajiri’s blade tuned into a yari, with a hooked blade under the traditional leaf shape spear point. Yuki Maeda looked over the Squad 10 3rd seat, and her small smile faded, leaving her with a face that seemed piteous rather than angry. Truth be told, Tajiri would have preferred anger.
“Well, this is unfortunate. And I had so hoped this could have gone peacefully. Oh well. Wake from death and return to life, Eiko Shinjitsu.”
When Maeda released her shikai, both Tajiri and Masato Taiso were confused. Her zanpakuto looked completely the same; it was only with close inspection that either could see a thin hue of light green running across the blade. “Shall we begin?” she asked and ran at Tajiri. The first thing that Kiki noticed was that Maeda’s attack path was, for lack of a better world simple. The former squad two lieutenant did not even attempt a feint, just circled a touch clockwise. For an expert combatant like Kiki Tajiri, the blow would be easy to fend off. She turned her Namazu to parry the blow and…

Slice
Tajiri looked down to see the massive cash in her chest left by Eiko Shinjitsu. Briefly, her pain was superceded by her bafflement. Her defense was in perfect position; there was no way that Maeda’s blade could have made it through. And yet, there was the blood pouring from her as she slowly collapsed to the ground. Yuki Maeda then turned to Tajiri’s former charge, Masato Taiso.
“If you would be so kind and finish this for me, Taiso-san?
Taiso paled. “You want me to kill her?”
“I don’t want you to do anything, but I need to be sure that my lieutenant is able to do what is necessary to further our cause. You do want to be the squad 14 lieutenant, don’t you?”
Maeda made the question seem so straightforward, but Taiso knew what she was really asking him to do. To abandon Seiretei and start a rogue squad of Soul Reapers with her. To turn his back on the people who had trained him for years. But, he surmised, Kiki Tajiri and squad 10 had already had the opportunity to give him a seat, to give him even a portion of the respect that Maeda was already offering him. Even as an outlaw, he would have more authority and reputation with Yuki Maeda than he would for centuries as a normal soul reaper, particularly after his jailbreak. Besides, he never was one to turn down an opportunity. He leaned down towards his former teacher and unsheathed his zanpakuto.
“Nothing personal, I swear” he said, and stabbed.