Chapter 7 - Kyoto City

[WarJack]

As the sun shone over Kyoto City, the sound of scuffling could be heard outside a café. But not quite the scuffle one would expect, considering the Shinigami were under the impression the Hollows were invading the city.

“I want it!”
-Crash-
“No it’s mine!”
-Smack-
“No! I saw it first!”
-Bang-
“Give it to me Reno, I wanna eat it!”
-Crunch-
“Get outta here Cyro, I saw it first, it’s mine!”
-Slap-

The scene that the King of Hueco Mundo, Dormammu, and his wife, Medusa, came across while strolling arm-in-arm down the street was one that they were exasperated to see, yet not surprised by.

“Dorm, please tell me they aren’t fighting over the last croissant… Again.” Medusa questioned, raising an eyebrow in the direction of the two brothers, as they lay grappling each other on the ground.

The King of Hueco Mundo shook his head, before walking up to the last croissant that lay forgotten on the table. Quickly grabbing a plate, he plucked the tasty snack off the cart and handed it to his wife.
“Here you are, beloved. I found you some lunch.”

Smiling daintily, the Queen took a bite of the croissant. At the same time, the twins suddenly stopped rolling on the ground, stopping instead to stare at the Septima Espada, as she scarfed down one of their favourite foods.

“NOOOOOOOOO!” the men cried, comical tears running down their faces, as they laid on the ground staring at Medusa in shock.

“But why?” “All we wanted-” “-was a quick-” “-snack!” The Segunda Espada and the Fracción Commander of the Quinto Espada cried.

Dormammu shook his head again, ignoring the fake-crying men on the floor, as he wondered where the others had ran off to.

Saber and Gilgamesh said something about having a candlelit dinner. It had been a little while since they had left Hueco Mundo and the Cuarta and Quinto Espadas definitely needed to get out more. “They deserve their time off.” Dormammu mused.

Zerocool and Samuel wandered off in the direction of the pet-shop. The Primera Espada was looking at litter boxes - again - while Samuel muttered something about… Bunnies?

The King shook his head, the Decimo Espada might have been his brother, but he would still never understand some of Samuel’s odd tendencies.

The Noveno Espada, Jin, and his Fracción Commander, Sveti, he wasn’t sure about. The King knew his ninth Espada enjoyed cooking in his off time, so he’d likely dragged Sveti to the market to find some more ingredients.

The majority of the Hollows at Las Noches benefitted from Jin’s cooking, so Dormammu didn’t mind bringing them along to Kyoto City.

The King had noticed a Shinigami patrol, led by a small figure that was probably the Lieutenant of Squad 9.

The Hollows had masked their Spiritual Pressures well and the party were all hidden by their Reiatsu Dampening Cloaks and Reiatsu Concealing Gigai, stolen from the Research Facility in the Seireitei during their last invasion.

They were unlikely to be caught.

“Unless somebody does something stupid.” Dormammu added mentally, glancing towards the twins who were disentangling from each other. “Or should I say, two somebodies.”

Focusing back on the present, the King was growing tired of the antics of man-child number #1 and man-child #2 in front of him.

“Enough,” The King of Hueco Mundo growled out, “unless you want me to get the belt, I suggest you keep cease and desist.” The twin’s faces seemed to perk up slightly at mention of a belt, but that look was quickly smothered as they glanced at each other, then back to the King.

“No more jokes then.” Reno’s slightly higher-pitched voice came, quickly followed by an “Uh-huh” and a nod in confirmation from his twin, Cyro.

The difference in voice wasn’t the only way to tell them apart, considering Reno had short, spiky orange hair, while Cyro had blonde hair, which was slightly longer and straighter than Reno’s.

“Good.” Came the short reply from their King.

Reno and Cyro slyly grinned at each other behind Dormammu’s back, as he and his wife began to walk off down the street, in the direction of the market.

-

“What’s this then? Huh, I wonder what that is? Wait a sec-… Cyro, don’t put that in your m-... Dammit man! Give me that!”

“Hey!” An indignant Cyro cried, before chasing Reno around the market stalls. “I was eating that! Gimme that back!”

“You don’t even know what it is!” Reno shouted back at him, using Sonido back and forth at random intervals to escape his twin. “It looks like a cookie and I wanna eat it!” roared Cyro, jumping and tackling the after-image of Reno.

“Ah, ah, ah. Not for you!” Reno said, slowly lowering the saliva slathered cookie towards his mouth.

“Not for you either, you bastard!” Cyro cried, firing a Cero towards the cookie.

Reno dropped to the ground in shock, not only did the Cero destroy the cookie, but it obliterated half the stalls and an entire building on the street next to the stalls along with it.

“...Oops?” Cyro slowly said, tilting his head to the side.

-SMACK!-

“Ow!” cried Cyro, rubbing the sore spot on his head, where Reno had hit him. “You idiot, look what you did! Now we’re both going to get in trouble!”

-

“What was that?” The Noveno Espada asked his companion curiously, as they slowed to a stop and looked towards the collapsing building at the far end of the stalls they had wandered around, in the lower market section.

“Well. ****.” The Espada’s Fracción Commander succinctly replied.

“I wonder how long before the-” “HALT!” “Ah. ****.”

Stood before them was the smallish, but undeniable figure of a Shinigami. The boy looked young, but unknown. “On second thought, he looks vaguely familiar. A Ranked Officer of Squad 9, perhaps?” Thought Jin, as the Noveno Espada calmly prepared to retreat towards Dormammu.

They’d all seen Delta’s patrol earlier, but had managed to avoid detection until now. Jin had gotten what he’d came for anyway, best to leave before they caused a scene.

“You there! Did you see that building collapse?” The 4th Seat of Squad 9, a young boy by the name of Coren spoke. As he stood on the top of the building next to where Jin and Sveti stood, he called down to the Hollows below.

“I’m afraid we did, do you know what caused it?” Sveti ventured, hoping the boy would convince himself they were souls that had just recently passed on.

Unfortunately for the Fracción Commander of the Noveno Espada, the Shinigami had recognised the cloaks for what they were. “Remove your hood, sir. Your companion too. I would like to see who I’m speaking to.”

“That would not be wise, my young friend.” The Noveno Espada began, attempting to avoid escalating the issue. “We’re just passing through, perhaps you should investigate the ruins of the building, there may be souls that need help.”

“No. Remove your hood now!” Coren said, reaching for his Zanpakuto.

The powerful Hollows sighed, before lowering their hoods. They didn’t enjoy killing the young ones.

“Hollows.” The young boy whispered, his eyes widening. “This area is under Squad 9 jurisdiction, leave now and you will be spared.” Coren spoke confidently, firmly grasping the hilt of his Zanpakutō.

“The boy has no idea who he’s talking to, does he?” Sveti said, conversationally to his Espada. Jin merely shook his head, while smiling.

That smile quickly changed to shock as a gigantic black and gold Cero roared over their heads, obliterating the Shinigami from existence, along with the majority of the surrounding buildings.

In the background, the Hollows caught a glimpse of a Senkaimon closing. Seconds later, they heard footsteps from behind them, originating from the upper market.

“Jin. Sveti. It appears we’ve overstayed our welcome. I saw a child run into a Senkaimon a few moments ago. It is likely that Delta has alerted someone by now. We’re leaving.” The voice of their King echoed down the stone-steps of the market.

The Noveno Espada and his companion turned to see the King of Hueco Mundo and his wife, the Septima Espada, along with the two trouble-making twins, the Segunda Espada, Reno and the Quinto Espada’s Fracción Commander, Cyro.

“It seems that would be wise, my King. Delta was probably informed the Soul Society of our presence by this point.” Sveti ventured, raising a hand to the sky and pointing towards the place where the Senkaimon had been a few moments earlier.

“Let’s go find the others then. I’m sure they aren’t too far away.” Dormammu said, wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist, as the now six-strong group quickly walked in the direction of the pet shop.

-

“What about this one, Zerocool?” The Decimo Espada asked the Primera Espada, as they slowly walked around the rabbit section of the pet shop.

“I dunno Sam, looks a little too white for me… And those red eyes. Yeesh. Makes my fur stand on end just looking at it.” Zerocool, the Primera Espada, replied. The rabbit was a tad evil looking, to be fair.

Suddenly, Zerocool’s ears perked up. Samuel looked at him curiously, before asking, “Do you hear something? ‘Cause I can’t hear a damn thing over the racket those bloody frogs in the corner are making.”

The Primera Espada nodded, ignoring the comment about the frogs. The Decimo Espada had already complained that the frogs were being too loud at least twenty times by this point.

“Yes. It sounded like twin explosions. The latter was significantly more powerful. Plus I’d recognise that Spiritual Pressure anywhere. The second explosion came from your brother.” Zerocool said, raising an eyebrow in Samuel’s direction, like he’d been responsible for the explosion.

Raising his hands in self-defence, Samuel cried, “It wasn’t even me! I’ve been here the whole time! Stop looking at me like that!” The Primera Espada just shook his head.

“Come on, you goof. Let’s go find the others.” Zerocool growled out, trying and failing to look normal as he walked out of the shop with a gigantic cat-scratching post under one arm.

“Che. He’s always so damn grumpy.” The Decimo Espada whispered under his breath. Seeing the twitching of the other man’s ears, he quickly skipped out of the shop.

-

Elsewhere in the city, a large man and his beautiful companion sat at a table, enjoying a light lunch. Unfortunately for the Cuarta and Quinto Espadas, they had been unable to find a restaurant that served a candlelit dinner at 1pm on a weekday.

The Quinto Espada, Gilgamesh, had been surprised to see his wife in a flowery dress. The Septima Espada and wife of the King, Medusa had dragged the Cuarta Espada, Saber, along with her two daughters; Their eldest, the Decimo Espada’s Fracción Commander, Princess Tsukuyomi and their youngest, Princess Julia - and oddly enough, the Segunda Espada, Reno and his own Fracción Commander, Cyro (the boys said it was for the ladies protection, not that he believed that excuse) - to the World of the Living to go clothes shopping, a few weeks ago.

He’d given his wife an amused smile at the time, knowing how she disliked that sort of thing, but he couldn’t deny the results. She looked fantastic.

“What are you staring at? Is there something on my face?” Saber asked her husband, who merely smiled in return.

As Gilgamesh made to reply, his words were cut off when they both sensed a familiar Spiritual Pressure rock the city.

“It seems our King has gotten himself into trouble again. Or more likely, the twins have gotten into trouble. Again.” The Quinto Espada calmly observed, rising from the table.

“Those bitches, I’ll kill them myself.” Saber swore, clenching her fists and stamping on the ground.

“Come along dear, they’ll be gathering soon.” Gilgamesh replied calmly, raising his hood to obscure his face.

“They ruined my date. I’m going to kill those bitches.” The Cuarta Espada swore, under her breath.

-

The group of six containing the King, the Queen, the Segunda and Noveno Espadas and the two Fracción Commanders met up with the Primera and the Decimo Espada at the entrance to the upper level of the market, underneath a stone archway.

“Brother!” shouted an overly happy Samuel, as he and the large cat-man next to him used Sonido to catch up to the other four.

“Has anyone noticed how quiet it is, considering this place was a bustling hive of activity only an hour ago?” The Fracción Commander of the Noveno Espada asked the group, raising his hands to gesture at the empty street.

Suddenly, a gigantic Senkaimon opened in the sky above them.

“That would be our doing.” Came the haughty voice of the Squad 10 Captain, Cloud, as the Shinigami Captains led their army out of the Senkaimon and into the air above the group of Hollows.

“My love, shall I send the distress signal to Emir, Lulu and Styx?” Queen Medusa whispered to her King, as he stepped in front of her protectively. The King of Hueco Mundo nodded slightly.

So, as quietly as she could and with her hands behind her, the Septima Espada charged a deep blue Cero on the end of her finger, while ripping open a small portal between the World of the Living, and the dimension of Hollows, Hueco Mundo, behind her back.

As Dormammu said in his loudest possible voice, “We come in peace, let us leave and there will be no bloodshed today.” As he said this, he raised his hands, to obscure his wife’s actions as best he could.

“I think not.” Came the detached voice of the Captain-Commander, Mikaru. As he spoke, the entire force of the 13 Court Guard Squads dropped down from the sky, landing on either side of the street and the buildings, high above the Hollow party.

Dormammu took a second to access the situation. The Squad 11 Captain, Kenpachi, along with his Lieutenant, Ichigo and several Squad 11 members had dropped down to their left, facing Jin and Sveti.

On his right, Captains Law and Kraken of Squads 6 and 9 respectively, had dropped down to street level with their Lieutenants, Sinon and Delta, along with several of their lower ranked Squad 6 and 9 members.

In front of them and across the wide street, Captains Mavis, Sabo and Inazuma had dropped down, along with a 4th man. Dormammu took another second, before he realised that the former Lieutenant of Squad 10, Atrax, had been promoted to Captain.

“Congratulations, Atrax. I see you’ve joined the vaunted ranks of the Shinigami Captains.” The King said, conversationally, as he tried to buy more time for the other Espada to reinforce them. Where were Saber and Gilgamesh?

Squad 1 Captain Atrax smiled a humourless smile. “Enough talk, Dorm-” He was cut off by a loud roar from his left.

Captains Law and Kraken, along with their Lieutenants, Sinon and Delta, quickly flash-stepped to either side of the street, but none of them were fast enough to warn their Squad members, who were sliced and slashed to ribbons by the superior strength and speed of the Cuarta Espada, Saber, her orange hair flowing behind her, as she slashed her way through the Shinigami in an attempt to reach her King.

The loud roar had not originated from her though. High in the sky, the Quinto Espada rocketed past the Shinigami on the buildings, impacting into the ground in front of Atrax and the other Captains, in a meteoric descent. The shockwave created upon Gilgamesh’s impact with the ground shattered the majority of the windows in the surrounding buildings.

“Fear not, my liege. We are here.” Gilgamesh rumbled, raising his Zanpakutō at a 45 degree angle across his chest, his left hand balled into a fist at his side.

A slapping noise from behind him distracted the King for a moment, before a shrill voice echoed throughout the street: “You bitches! You ruined my date!” Followed dual cries of “We’re sorry Saber!” Behind them, Dorm realised his Cuarta Espada had reached the group.

“Fack you!” The King heard Saber’s heavily accented voice spit at Reno and Cyro, although the effect was ruined by the clear smile in her voice. She was genuinely happy to see everyone was okay.

“Enough talk. You’ve killed too many Shinigami. This will not stand!” Squad 12 Captain Hayate roared from the roof of the building, before drawing his Zanpakutō and launching himself at the Queen.

As the King stepped forward to protect his wife, he noticed the disappearance of the Captain-Commander from the building above.

“I apologise, Beloved.” The King rumbled, as he raised his Zanpakutō to block the strike from the now crouching Mikaru, who had used Shunpo to move from the rooftop to a crouching stance below Dormammu in milliseconds.

Mikaru drove his Zanpakutō upwards, pushing against the ground and jumping. This caused the King and the Captain-Commander to rocket upwards into the sky, away from everyone else.

At the same time, the Septima Espada, Medusa, was forced to raise her Zanpakutō to avoid the deadly slash of the Squad 12 Captain. Fortunately for her, Hayate had used Kendo, as he had both hands clutching the hilt of his Zanpakutō. The Queen’s superior strength meant that she had a spare hand, an advantage that she heavily abused.

“Burn.” The Septima Espada whispered, heating her Reishi to unfathomable levels, unleashing a huge pillar of flame from her fingertips and sending it roaring towards the Squad 12 Captain.

Meanwhile, the Decimo Espada, Samuel, and the Quinto Espada’s Fracción Commander, Cryo, had drifted around the group and next to the Quinto Espada, Gilgamesh, as they stared down the Squad 1 Captain, Atrax, the Squad 4 Captain, Mavis, the Squad 7 Captain, Sabo and the Squad 13 Captain Inazuma.  

At the same time, the Primera Espada stepped forwards towards the Squad 11 Shinigami, dropping his obnoxiously large cat-scratching post in the process.

“Here kitty kitty kitty, come and play.” Ichigo baited, as he unsheathed his Zanpakutō and stepped forwards.

“Ha! I’m going to enjoy this, Zerocool!” Growled the voice of the Squad 11 Captain, Kenpachi, rocketing forwards with startling speed. He was fast, but the Primera Espada was faster, drawing his Zanpakutō in a flash, blocking the single-handed strike from Kenpachi, before clawing at the man’s face with his Hierro-enhanced claws.

-

On the right side of the street, Squad 6 Captain Law, his Lieutenant Sinon, Squad 9 Captain Kraken, his Lieutenant Delta and their respective squads faced down a disturbing sight. The Segunda Espada, Reno and the Cuarta Espada, Saber, and the Noveno Espada’s Fracción Commander, Sveti.

Quickly seeing the mismatch in terms of strength, Squad 8 Captain Agni, along with the rest of his squad members, jumped down from the building above, joining up with Law and Kraken.

“Law! Rrraaaahhhhhh!” Screamed the Cuarta Espada, as she charged at him and Sinon, swinging her Zanpakutō at him with frightening speed, forcing the Squad 6 Captain to block the ferocious strike with two hands on the hilt of his own Zanpakutō.

Sveti and Agni merely nodded at each other, as the Squad 8 Captain muttered a “Wait here” to the rest of his squad, before they both disappeared in a cloud of dust, simultaneously using Sonido and Shunpo to jump high into the sky above Kyoto City.

That left the Segunda Espada with the Captain of Squad 9 and his Lieutenant, and the rest of their squad. Reno of course, had to voice the first thing that popped into his head.

“Waaaaaiiiitttttt! Don’t leave me here with the Tentacle-Monster and the small child!” Raising his hands dramatically to the sky. Kraken to his credit, didn’t verbally respond to the jibe.

Instead he merely shook his head, before using Shunpo to appear next to the Segunda Espada, raising his Zanpakutō quickly, before slashing is downwards at a 45 degree angle.

Reno proved why he was one of the most tactically competent Espada in Las Noches however, as he watched Delta disappear out of the corner of his eye.

The Segunda Espada blocked the strike with one hand on his Zanpakutō, before pointing a finger to his left and charging a Cero, seemingly at thin air.

A millisecond later however, the Lieutenant of Squad 9 appeared, ready to strike at Reno from his blindside.

Delta’s world was immediately engulfed in a red aura, as the Cero exploded out from Reno’s finger with cataclysmic force. Delta was forced to block the Cero with his Zanpakutō, but he was only semi-successful. The Cero was so powerful that the Lieutenant was shot backwards through the plate glass window of one of the restaurants on the street.

-

Back on the rooftop, the Noveno Espada had used Sonido to appear before the remaining Captains of Squads 2, 3, 5 and 10.

Captain of Squad 5, Seijuro, along with his Lieutenant, Kenchu, remained back with the majority of the ground forces.

“Pfft. This is a waste of my time,” muttered the Squad 10 Captain, Cloud. “I’m going to chase those two down.” Cloud said Koyomi and Konan, pointing at where the King of Hueco Mundo and the Captain-Commander were stood in the sky, locked in combat.

“I think not.” Calmly replied Jin, as the Noveno Espada drew his Zanpakutō and lunged at the Squad 10 Captain, in an attempt to block his path to the King.

The Noveno Espada’s strike was blocked by the joint effort of the Squad 2 and 3 Captains. Jin’s eyes widened as Cloud flash-stepped away, towards Dormammu.

“No!” Jin roared, furiously and desperately increasing the rate of his strikes, to extreme levels. Cutting, slashing, striking and slamming his Zanpakutō against the two Captains in front of him, desperate to defend his King from the Captain’s sneak attack, yet unable to get passed either Koyomi or Konan.

-

The Squad 10 Captain was close to the battle between the King of Hueco Mundo and the Captain-Commander.

Flash-stepping from rooftop to rooftop, it wasn’t long before Cloud had reached where Dormammu and Mikaru were fighting.

Mikaru was like a berserker, swinging his Zanpakutō at a furious pace. But it seemed the King was confident, as he blocked each strike single-handedly, even dodging some swings.

Cloud stopped, before quickly building up his Reishi. The King noticed, but was unable to disengage from the Captain-Commander, whose attacks had increased even further and were becoming difficult to see, even for the King himself.

The Squad 10 Captain jettisoned from the rooftop, flying towards the King at extreme speeds, as he raised his Zanpakutō to deliver a powerful strike.

!

At the last possible second, a Garganta appeared beside the King and a large Zanpakutō covered in shadows shot out from the gaping maw of the gateway between worlds.

His powerful attack blocked by a single-handed Zanpakutō, the next thing Cloud saw was a large black fist, covered in gold rings slam into his face, sending him rocketing towards the ground.

“Emir, just in time.” The King said, as sweat dripped from his brow. Safe with the knowledge that he wasn’t going to be interrupted, Dormammu began his counter-attack. Slamming into Mikaru’s sword his unprecedented power.

“Figured you could use a hand. I brought some guests.” Came the Tercera Espada’s gruff response, before stepping out of the way of the Garganta, allowing the Sexta Espada, Lulu and the Octava Espada, Styx to step through behind him.

Behind Styx, several Fracción Commanders came into view and stepped out of the gateway, followed by many many Arrancars - ranging from Gillian-level to Adjuchas-level - before the portal to Las Noches snapped shut.

“Go, help the others. I’ll be fine here.” Dormammu ordered, pausing his slashes to deliver a devastating kick to the Captain-Commander’s chest, pushing Mikaru far from the other three Espada.

“As you command, my King.” Replied the Octava Espada, Styx, before he used Sonido to rocket towards the Noveno Espada, who was fighting on the rooftop above the market.

Lulu, the Sexta Espada, merely nodded before leisurely skipping towards the Primera Espada and the Squad 11 Shinigami.

The Tercera Espada, merely grinned and raised a finger to where Cloud had fallen. Emir then unleashed a large black Cero, before free-falling towards the Squad 10 Captain’s location, Zanpakutō in hand and grinning like a madman.

Fracción Commanders of the Primera, Segunda, Tercera, Cuarta, Sexta, Septima, Octava and Decimo Espada left their King, to aid their respective Espada.

-

The battle between the Captain-Commander and the King of Hueco Mundo was quickly approaching astronomic levels of intensity, with neither side giving an inch. Neither Mikaru, nor Dormammu had taken a single scratch, but both were locked in ferocious combat.

Below them Squad 10 Captain, Cloud, was dazed and recovering from the roundhouse punch delivered by the Tercera Espada, Emir. The Espada in question was quickly advancing on the fallen Captain, falling through the air at high velocity.

Cloud looked up, and had the sense to Shunpo out of the way of the large black Cero that was raining down on him, before raising his Zanpakutō and blocking the devastating slash from Emir.

Elsewhere in the skies over Kyoto City, Fracción Commander Sveti had engaged in battle with Squad 8 Captain, Agni. It was impressive to watch Sveti’s light green aura clash with the dark orange aura of Captain Agni, as both swordsmen traded blow after blow at chaotic pace.

Back on the rooftops near the market, the dark green aura of the Noveno Espada, Jin, was accompanied by the numerous dark green Bala shot from his free hand, as he attempted to cut and slash his way through the defenses of the feminine looking Squad 2 Captain, Koyomi and the diminutive Squad 3 Captain, Konan.

The Octava Espada arrived nearby, and he along with his Fracción Commander, Vegeta, set upon the Squad 5 Captain, Seijuro.

The Squad 5 Lieutenant, Kenchu, had attempted to shield his Captain, before using Shunpo to dodge a gigantic yellow Cero. “Take that, Shinigami scum!” Roared a slightly high-pitched voice, as Vegeta began to chase the Lieutenant across the rooftops.

Styx looked at his opponent, the Squad 5 Captain, who was beginning to get serious, no longer smiling like he’d been told the world’s funniest joke. The Octava Espada merely shook his head, before charging at his opponent, all the while roaring, “FOR THE KING!”

On the ground below them, the Septima Espada and Queen, Medusa, was in the process of chasing down the fleeing Squad 12 Captain, Hayate.

The new Squad 12 Lieutenant, Enjiuu, took over for his Captain momentarily, trying and failing to block some of the Queen’s ferocious strikes by using Kendo, allowing his Captain to take a brief reprieve and put out some of the fires on his Captain’s Haori.

To their left, the Sexta Espada, Lulu, had joined the Primera Espada, Zerocool, in his fight against the entirety of Squad 11.

As Lulu had reached the site of the battle, his relaxed stance changed to a battle-ready one, as he blocked the sudden strike from the Squad 11 Lieutenant, Ichigo, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

On the other side of the street, the Segunda Espada, Reno, was joined by his Lieutenant, Mysteria, as they fought together against the Squad 9 Captain, Kraken, and Lieutenant, Delta.

Delta barely managed to crawl out of the wreckage that was previously a sushi bar, before being set upon by the Segunda Espada’s Fracción Commander.

Initially, the outcome looked good for the Lieutenant. Delta had not sustained any heavy damage from the Segunda Espada’s Cero, so he had taken the fight to Mysteria, speedily striking at her with his Zanpakutō.

Unfortunately for Delta, Reno was more than capable of assisting his Fracción Commander.

It seemed like every other second, Delta had to flash-step to avoid a speedy red missile of Reishi from plowing into him. The Segunda Espada had taken to helping his Fracción Commander by firing bright red Bala at the Lieutenant of Squad 9. All while fighting with precision against his own opponent, Kraken.

Further down the street, Law was doing his best to defend himself against the seemingly crazed Cuarta Espada. Every now and then, between strikes of her Zanpakutō, Saber would scream out, “YOU ALL RUINED MY DATE, YOU BIIIIITCHES!”

The Captain of Squad 6 would have been amused by her proclamations, if he wasn’t being attacked by a woman who’s strikes seemed to be moving faster than he could follow.

His Lieutenant, Sinon, attempted to assist her Captain, only to get her face clawed by the furious Cuarta Espada for her trouble. So instead, Sinon backed off and went for Nyo, the Cuarta Espada’s Fracción Commander, who’d recently arrived to assist his Espada.

Back at the entrance to the market, the Decimo Espada, Samuel, the Quinto Espada, Gilgamesh, along with his Fracción Commander, Cryo stared down Squad 1 Captain Atrax, Squad 4 Captain Mavis, Squad 7 Captain Sabo and Squad 13 Captain Inazuma.

“I’ll take the bear!” Chirped a seemingly happy Cyro, as he launched himself at the Captain of Squad 13, Inazuma, and his Lieutenant, Gabriel. The Fracción Commander slammed into the two Shinigami with such force that all three of them plowed right through the building behind them and out onto the next street.

Cyro’s Espada merely shook his head, before raising an eyebrow at the Squad 4 Captain, Mavis. She nodded and they disappeared a split-second later.

Squad 4 Lieutenant Castor’s eyes widened, as he quickly hunted around for his Captain’s Spiritual Pressure. Finding it somewhere in the skies above Kyoto City only a moment or two later, he sighed briefly, before using Shunpo to follow them.

Meanwhile, the Decimo Espada stared down the newly promoted Captain of Squad 1, Atrax. Suddenly, Samuel’s Fracción Commander appeared from the sky.

“Afternoon, dear wife.” Samuel grinned at her, as the Asian lady touched down and stepped closer to her Espada, drawing her Zanpakutō, all the while staring at the Lieutenant of Squad 1, Zinis, sizing him up. Instead of replying, Tsukuyomi merely raised a manicured hand, before firing a purple Cero at the Squad 1 Lieutenant.

The Decimo Espada started laughing, before raising his Zanpakutō and lunging for the Squad 1 Captain, as he watched Zinis dodge Tsukuyomi’s Cero and draw his own Zanpakutō, before bracing for impact as the eldest Princess of Hueco Mundo crashed into the Lieutenant, with surprising force.

The battles in and over Kyoto City began to kick into overdrive, now that all Captains and Espada were present, along with their Lieutenants and Fracción Commanders. The street and surrounding areas were quickly levelled under the combined might of everyone involved in the massive battle.

Although most of the battles stayed relatively tame, as everybody was still fighting with sealed Zanpakutō.

It wouldn’t be long however, until the first Zanpakutō was released.

At that point, the world would shake under the combined might of the two armies clashing.

-