Bab 50: 8/8
Flash Stepping to the right, Itachi angled for a flank attack on his foe. He saw Soi-Fon doing the same, but she had moved to the left in order to get a better shot at the ring. Wanting to make sure he had the power needed to destroy the crown, Itachi decided to try something new with his Shikai. Rather than letting the crimson flaming crows flow freely from the sword, he concentrated on limiting the amount that were released. He would let just enough out that they could continue to sheath Yoruichi's Shikai and limit the potential for friendly fire, while the rest he would hold back within that thin gap than ran the length of the blade.
Sure enough, it didn't take long to feel the difference. The power within the blade quickly began to build up, along with the heat emanating from it. Itachi realized that the situation he'd created was akin to a pressure cooker; his power was now concentrated rather than spread out, but he was sure that there was a limit to how long he could bottle it up like this. Eventually it would require an outlet, otherwise… well, he didn't want to think about what he could end up doing to himself in the middle of a fight like this.
Concentrate only on the mission. All else is secondary.
His Sharingan was focused squarely on the crown as he searched for the best place to strike. Dark and corrupt spirit energy swirled around it, but Itachi soon found that it was concentrated in a single dark blue gem at the very front of the crown. If he could land a blow there, the flow of power would be disrupted, perhaps fatally so.
He saw Yoruichi unleash a furious assault, hammering the wraith from the front and forcing it to concentrate all its defensive efforts on fending her off. There was a sense of desperation to its defense that hadn't been there before, and if Itachi were a betting man his money would be on the creature realizing exactly where Yoruichi was aiming.
Now!
He put everything he had into his Flash Step and moved faster than he ever had in his life. His sword was already raised and poised to attack, and the instant he was in range he thrust his blade forward. The flames he'd been containing in his Zanpakutō were released and shot out as a concentrated lance of crimson power. That power's aim was true, striking the gem dead center and cracking it.
The wraith violently spasmed as a rush of icy blue energy shot out of the stricken gem in a great pulse. Tremors rippled through the creature from head to toe, to the point that the monstrosity actually lost its grip on its sword. Seizing the opening, Yoruichi thrust her right hand forward and grabbed the amulet, crushing it in her gauntlet just as the last of the crimson flaming crows that had wreathed her arms dissipated in a blast of white lightning. Simultaneously, Soi-Fon made her move, and the blade of her Zanpakutō pierced the ring on the Wraith's right hand.
A great shriek rang out, an utterly ear-splitting wail of torment that would've caused lesser warriors to drop their weapons and clutch their heads in agony. The three Soul Reapers had greater discipline than that, but even so it was difficult for them to maintain their footing and guard. Their determination to put their foe down once and for all was stronger, though, and they pressed their attack. With the crown having shattered from the sudden release of power, Itachi's sword plunged into the wraith's skull. At the same time, Yoruichi hammered the creature with a vicious second strike, with her fist punching into the wraith's chest so hard it actually came out the other side. Just to make sure they finished the job, Soi-Fon thrust her sword into the wraith's neck.
Fresh tremors ran through the wraith, and the entire chamber began to shake as its spirit energy ran rampant. The three of them withdrew their weapons and Flash Stepped away, and not a moment too soon. With the three artifacts amplifying and regulating its spirit energy destroyed, that power was now cascading uncontrollably and ripping the wraith apart from the inside. Fissures appeared in what was left of its chest and face, rapidly multiplying as sparks of energy shot out from them. The wraith turned its mangled visage towards the three Soul Reapers, spiting them with one last look of seething hatred before it was consumed by a blast of brilliant white light.
All three of them had to shield their eyes, and even then, the glare was so bad that Itachi almost reflexively deactivated his Sharingan. When it finally faded to the point that the Sixteenth Seat and his companions could see clearly again, all that remained of the wraith was a few particles of blue-white spirit energy floating in thin air, and even those dissipated after just a couple of seconds.
Itachi sighed as he lowered his sword. "It's over."
Soi-Fon nodded numbly, clearly still trying to process it all. "Yeah… it is."
He felt Yoruichi's spirit energy dial back as the Captain deactivated her Shikai. Sheathing her Zanpakutō, she gave a long and hard look at where the wraith had been just moments ago. Something was clearly bothering her despite their victory, and Itachi could only guess as what it might be.
Her serious expression gave way to a smile a few seconds later, though, and soon enough she was practically beaming as she regarded her subordinates. "Very well done, both of you! You went beyond my expectations and then some!"
A blush quickly appeared on Soi-Fon's face. "Lady Yoruichi…"
The Captain then turned to Itachi, and her smile grew even further when her eyes met his. Itachi was actually a bit taken aback by this gesture; she knew that he could potentially ensnare her in an illusion even with just the basic Sharingan, yet she would still look him in the eye while he had it activated without hesitation. It was a sign of her trust in him.
In that moment, that trust meant more to him than the very eyes he had just awakened.
"My, my," she said with a wink, although even as Itachi felt the heat rush to his face he thought he detected just a hint of a blush on Yoruichi's dark cheeks as well, "Itachi… if I'd known you'd look like this when you got your Sharingan back, I would've pressed you to regain it much sooner. The Shikai's not bad either, by the way!"
Soi-Fon looked back and forth between the two of them. "Lady Yoruichi, did you know about… well, this?"
Yoruichi nodded. "Yup. Sorry to keep it from you, Soi-Fon, but I made a promise to Itachi when he told me about what his eyes could become. I'd like for you to keep what you're seeing here between the three of us. Can I count on you to do that?"
Soi-Fon's response came without hesitation. "Of course, Lady Yoruichi."
Itachi gave them both a small smile as his eyes returned to normal and he deactivated his Shikai. "Thank you, both of you. I won't forget your consideration in this matter."
Yoruichi gave him a playful punch on the shoulder as he sheathed his sword. "Train with me with those eyes and that Shikai of yours activated, and we'll call it even! You put on one hell of a show today!"
Itachi allowed himself a smirk. "You weren't so bad yourself. Your Shikai's quite formidable, and I can see why you don't train with it in the barracks; with that kind of power, we'd have to reinforce the place just to keep you from destroying it by accident."
Yoruichi laughed. "Caught that, didn't you? Yeah, she's a bit temperamental! It definitely takes some work to keep her under control. You did a pretty good job at helping to contain her outbursts, though. Nice thinking with the flame sheath. Ordinary fire wouldn't have done the trick, but the spirit energy you put into your flames really helped."
"Speaking of spirit energy," said Soi-Fon as she looked past Itachi and Yoruichi, "check out the room."
Looking around, Itachi realized that the twisted energy that had permeated the place was rapidly dissipating. It really had been maintained by the wraith's presence alone, and Itachi was very grateful that the creature had not deigned to leave Menar Issilaya and inflict such corruption upon another part of the Soul Society. However, the fading energy also meant that the group was rapidly losing light, and soon they would be in complete darkness.
Fortunately, Soi-Fon was ready to rectify the problem. "Bakudō 3: Hakkō Gaido!"
A small blue white orb appeared and was hovering over Soi-Fon's head a few moments later. Itachi and Yoruichi both followed her lead, and between the three of them they gained a modest amount of illumination in the otherwise darkened chamber. No longer polluted by the tainted energy of the wraith, it was now little more than an empty tomb.
Itachi had more important things on his mind than architecture, though. "You called that thing a wraith earlier, and its minions were wights, yes? What's their true nature? They're not like anything I've seen in the Soul Society since I arrived here."
Soi-Fon looked nervously at the Captain. "Lady Yoruichi… should we?"
Yoruichi gave a curt nod, her brow furrowing. "I promise we'll fill you in once we're clear of this place, but our mission's not over yet. We need to regroup with the others first and make sure everyone's all right. Once we've fully accounted for everyone and fallen back to camp, I'll tell you everything."
Itachi knew she was right; the history lesson could wait until they were all safe. "Understood."
….
Another wave of crimson energy shot forth from Benihime, disintegrating the latest wave of wights to come pouring out of the portal. Dropping back to give himself a moment to catch his breath, Kisuke let Rija step in to take his place. Sure enough, fresh reinforcements were already pouring out of the portal, but an arc of lighting from the Fifteenth Seat's Shikai stopped them dead in their tracks. That was when Mindiwo attacked from the right flank, letting fly with an orange sphere that flew forth and exploded in the middle of the enemy horde, reducing them to mere particles of spirit energy.
The blast only offered a temporary reprieve; still more wights were already pouring forth, and Mindiwo's Zanpakutō needed to recharge after an attack like that. Fortunately, Katya was ready to pick up the slack. Squad Two's Sixth Seat sprang forward, twirling Shimo no Hebi in a series of graceful arcs as she intercepted the next wave. Those that weren't cut down outright found themselves caked in frost, with their movements hampered enough to make them easy targets for Katya's elegant follow-up strikes.
How much longer did they have to keep this up? They'd developed a good rotating system designed to play off each other's strengths and conserve energy, but Kisuke knew that it couldn't last forever. This was eating up time that they did not have, especially with Yoruichi still fighting the source of all this in the bowels of the citadel.
Still more wights were already coming out of the portal, and Kisuke prepared to step in and lend Katya a hand. That was when he felt a sharp change in the spirit energy that permeated the Moon Tower. A shriek echoed from below, so powerful that it could be heard even through the incredibly thick stone. At the same time, the portal that the wights had been coming through began to contort and twist wildly, quickly losing all semblance of cohesion before collapsing into little more than wisps of spirit energy.
The wraiths that had made it through the portal before it collapsed suddenly became gripped by violent seizures. Taking advantage of whatever the hell was causing his foes' sudden loss of fine motor control, Kisuke lunged forward. Benihime flashed through the air in a series of rapid silver streaks, swiftly cutting down the spasming creatures in short order.
As the last of the wights fell to his blade, the Third Seat heard one of the doors leading to the tower's stairwell open. He whirled around expecting to find more hostiles, but was pleasantly surprised to actually see Shisui enter the room, followed shortly by Visaelya and Aika. The three of them looked slightly winded, but apart from that they seemed no worse for wear. Kisuke's eyes momentarily darted to the satchel hanging from Shisui's belt; it looked like it carried a deceptively heavy cargo despite its small size.
"You guys all right?" asked Shisui as he led his subordinates into the middle of the entrance hall to join the others.
Kisuke nodded as he quickly scanned the area to make sure no more wights were about to ambush them. "I think so. We were pretty busy just a few seconds ago."
"No kidding," said Shisui, "We ran into some company at the top of the tower. I'm betting it's the same kind of enemy you fought down here."
"No points for that guess," Rija chimed in as she looked around, "What the hell's happening now?"
That was a very good question. Taking a moment to study the hall, Kisuke saw that the icy blue energy that had surrounded them ever since they'd entered the Moon Tower was rapidly fading. Closing his eyes and concentrating on just sensing spirit energy, he realized that whatever brawl had been taking place down below was now over, and he was relieved to find that he could sense Yoruichi, Soi-Fon, and Itachi's energy quite clearly. In fact, Itachi's spiritual pressure seemed to have grown considerably more powerful, and Kisuke had a feeling he knew what that meant.
Kisuke smiled. "I think our little nightmare here's finally coming to an end."
Mindiwo nodded. "I sense it too. The Captain has cut out the heart of the corruption that gripped this place."
Rija sighed with relief as she deactivated her Shikai. "Good. I don't know how much more of a fight I've got in me right now."
"We shouldn't let our guard down just yet," said Kisuke even as he and Mindiwo both followed suit and returned their swords to their sealed forms, "Let's consolidate our position and wait for the Captain to rejoin us. If I know her, she shouldn't take long to get back up here."
"Works for me," Shisui replied, "I'll stand watch over the staircase leading to the upper levels."
"I'll monitor the entrance," said Mindiwo, "Rija, care to join me?"
The Fifteenth Seat nodded. "Sure."
"Third Seat Urahara?" asked Katya, giving him an expecting loose.
"You and I are in charge in here," he said, "Let's keep watch and give the others a chance to catch their breath."
"Understood," she answered.
I'd very much like to head downstairs and see what all the fuss was about, he thought, but Yoruichi will be up here soon enough. I'll get the goods from her and then check out the rooms below later.
It only took a few minutes before Yoruichi, Soi-Fon and Itachi entered the main hall. The three of them were sweaty and looked a bit winded, but apart from that they seemed completely fine. More than that, actually; despite the energy Kisuke had sensed her expending earlier, Yoruichi appeared to have a slight perk in her step. She kept glancing at Itachi and smiling, which made Kisuke quite eager to find out what exactly had happened down there.
He gave her a friendly smirk as she approached. "Took you long enough."
Yoruichi shrugged. "Had to deal with a rather stubborn phantom. Suffice to say that things should start brightening up a bit around here soon."
Kisuke's eyes narrowed, and he leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "Which one was it?"
The look in her eyes was all he needed to know she immediately grasped what he was referring to. "The weakest of the five, I'm sure of it. Had it been any of the other four, I probably would've needed my Bankai."
"Was it the only one here?" he asked.
She nodded. "If there were others, we would've sensed them long before now. Besides, there's no way they would've imprisoned more than one in a single location."
Kisuke concurred. "Makes sense. The Head Captain's not going to like this."
Yoruichi shook her head. "It's not the Head Captain that I'm worried about right now. These things have spent a long time out of sight and out of mind as far as the Soul Society's concerned. If the weakest one broke its seal, then the others could've done the same."
Kisuke noticed that the others were giving them curious looks. "Maybe we should pick this up later when we don't have an audience."
Yoruichi looked around, and Kisuke saw her gaze linger on Itachi before she turned back to him and nodded. "You're right. How are things up here?"
Kisuke smiled. "No casualties, surprisingly enough. A few minor injuries, but nothing we can't see to back at camp. All things considered, we got lucky."
Yoruichi smirked. "Sometimes luck's just as important as skill. Let's get out of here, and we can handle the debriefing after we've all had a chance to rest for a bit. I don't know about you, but killing undead horrors from a bygone age makes me hungry."
Kisuke chuckled. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Captain," said Shisui as he approached, reaching for the satchel at his waist, "At the top of the Moon Tower… I found something that I think you should take a look at."
Kisuke and Yoruichi both turned their gazes towards the satchel, and Kisuke's eyes widened slightly as he felt a strange spirit energy coming from its contents. He didn't know how to describe it, other than it felt ancient and very powerful. Yoruichi had clearly noticed as well if her furrowed brow was any indication.
"Let's wait until we have a bit of privacy," said Yoruichi, "Can you keep whatever you found under wraps until then?"
Shisui nodded, but not before glancing at Squad Two's Twentieth and Eighteenth Seats. "I can, but I'm not the only one who knows what's in here."
"Then make sure to impress upon your subordinates the value of compartmentalizing information," Yoruichi replied, "and bring them with you for our discussion later."
"Understood," he said.
Kisuke then saw her eyes go towards the satchel at his waist that held the scribe's journal he'd snatched earlier. "You find something good too?"
"In a manner of speaking," Kisuke answered, "Some fascinating reading that's quite relevant to our mission."
"Nice," said Yoruichi, "Show it to me later. Hopefully it'll make my report to the Head Captain a little easier to put together. In the meantime, let's get back to camp."
Kisuke was all for that.
….
Without the corrupt energy of the wraith polluting the entire region, Menar Issilaya had a very different feel to it. As Yoruichi led her subordinates back the way they'd came, stopping along the way to pick up the Soul Reapers who had been posted as sentries at key points in the Lower and Middle City earlier, in her eyes Menar Issilaya now had a quiet and somber air to it. The menace and lurking horror were gone, and in its place was a solemn relic of a bygone age, a memorial to a tragedy that had not been properly understood until now.
With the wraith destroyed, all those that it killed and turned into wights are now free, she thought, I hope they find comfort as they rejoin the reincarnation cycle. May their next lives be brighter than the nightmare they found here...
As they passed beneath the ruined main gate of the Lower City, Yoruichi once again found her gaze drifting towards her Sixteenth Seat. Well, Sixteenth Seat for now; after what she'd seen today, it was clear that a promotion or two was in order. Replaying the earlier battle in her mind, Yoruichi tried to guess just where Itachi's power stood now in the grand scheme of things. The energy she'd sensed was substantial… much more so than it normally would be for a Soul Reaper who had just unlocked their Shikai. Surely the Sharingan awakening simultaneously played a role there. The more Yoruichi thought about it, though, the more she realized that it might take more than just this fight to accurately measure Itachi's real strength.
He hadn't fought like a Sixteenth Seat, that much was certain. If anything, the level of strength and ability he'd demonstrated today was actually closer to that of a Lieutenant than what his current rank would suggest. Had it been the same for Shisui and she just hadn't noticed because he'd been working so hard to keep his Sharingan concealed? As she considered the issue, Yoruichi came to the conclusion that it wasn't just Itachi who was in need of a promotion; Squad Two as a whole was overdue for some reshuffling of the ranks.
After how they fought today, they've certainly earned it, she thought with more than a hint of pride, I couldn't have asked for a better performance, especially given what we faced here.
Above all, though, the image that was most prominent in her mind as she looked at her fascinating subordinate was one with his eyes bathed in the crimson light of the Sharingan and staring right at her. The sheer intensity of his gaze had been unlike anything she'd ever felt before. She was beginning to understand just why one aspect of it was called the Eye of Hypnotism; his gaze had been captivating in a way she couldn't even begin to describe, and it was easy to see how that could facilitate the casting of illusions.
Of course, it didn't take Itachi long at all to sense her eyes on him. His gaze quickly met hers, and Yoruichi was surprised to feel herself come close to blushing like a schoolgirl.
Itachi…
…I'm definitely going to be keeping a close eye on you.
"Is something wrong?" he asked as he drew near.
Yoruichi smiled and shook her head. "No, just thinking… you really came through big time for us today. Without you being able to find that thing's weak points, that fight could've had a very different outcome."
"I'm not so sure about that," Itachi replied, "You didn't even use your Bankai, after all. I'm sure you were worried about bringing the Moon Tower on our heads, but if things had gotten bad enough you would've risked it, right?"
Yoruichi smirked. "You think you know me, do you? Well… maybe. I'm glad it didn't come to that, though. This was definitely the preferable outcome."
"I won't argue with that," said Itachi.
As they reached the end of the great bridge, she saw Itachi turn back to look at Menar Issilaya. She was surprised to see a small smile appear on his face; what had brought that about?
"The preferable outcome… in more ways than one," he said, "That's…. really something else."
That was when she saw a faint glow in Itachi's face, and she realized that the source was coming from behind her. Turning around, her eyes widened as she beheld a sight that she'd only seen before in ancient paintings.
With the destruction of the wraith and the rapidly fading corruption, the dark clouds that had choked the sky over Menar Issilaya had parted for what must've been the first time in millennia. Squad Two must've been in the city for longer than Yoruichi had first thought, for it was not sunlight that shone upon this relic of the old kingdom now, but moonlight. As the opening in the clouds grew with each passing second, the Moon Tower glowed brighter as it absorbed the luminous rays, gleaming like a snow-white spire. This wasn't the icy blue light of the wraith anymore; this was the splendor that it had known so long ago. Fair and radiant in the cradle of the Red Cap Mountains, a beacon harkening back to that glorious bygone age… it was a marvelous sight, one that Yoruichi had thought for so long that she would never get to witness firsthand.
"My, my," she murmured as a fresh smile appeared on her face, "I always thought that the old paintings were pretty, but… they don't hold a candle to this."
"Perhaps we could come back here sometime," said Itachi, "There's no reason for the Central Forty-Six to have the Head Captain destroy it now. The foundations are still solid; it can definitely be restored to what it once was. I'd certainly like to see that."
Yoruichi nodded. "So would I. It'd be a nice little vacation."
Itachi chuckled. "Do Soul Reapers even get vacations?"
Yoruichi giggled. "Of course, we do! You've just been working too hard, Itachi. I need to show you how to lighten up a bit."
Another small smile from him caught her off guard. "I'd like that."
Together, the two of them gave one last look to the gleaming Moon Tower. Basking in its sublime radiance while in the company of the young man that was by far her most intriguing subordinate, Yoruichi couldn't have been happier.
Quite the mission we've had here, she mused as she once again turned towards her Sixteenth Seat, Itachi… if this is a sign of things to come, then I can't wait to start training with you when we get back to the Soul Society. I want to see just what you're really capable of now that you've got those fascinating eyes of yours back. I'm going to push you harder than anyone in the Soul Society has before now…
…and I can't wait to see how you rise to the challenge!
Author's Notes: Ah, finally got to unveil Itachi's Shikai and reawaken his Sharingan! Only took me over a year of writing, so that was relatively quick all things considered. Wait, what's that? You guys wanted it right away? Well, tough shit. You really should know by now how I do things. Slow burn all the way, and this story's still quite young.
I suppose it's confession time now, at least for those of you who aren't fans of classic fantasy literature and didn't catch the obvious; the city in this chapter is my homage to Minas Ithil, more commonly known as Minas Morgul after the Witch-King and his pals took over the place, from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. I told you before that classic high fantasy works have influenced my writing, and they'll continue to do so.
With regards to Zanpakutō names for this chapter, I'll freely admit I was using Google translate. I tried to get as close as possible to what I was going for, but I'm sure there are other more accurate translations for what I wanted. I'll just go through a brief list of what I was trying to find the Japanese equivalent of.
For Itachi's Shikai, the rough translation should be 'Queen of Hell', rather appropriate given the appearance of his sword's spirit and the nature of one of the Mangekyou Sharingan's signature powers, Amaterasu.
For Yoruichi, the English version that I was going for was 'Lightning Priestess'. Google translate was rather fickle about that one, the name I used in the chapter was the closest I could come up with, and I'm sure there are better versions out there.
For Ninth Seat Mindiwo, the English translation should come out as 'Demon of Carnage'. Again, I make no claims to being a master linguist.
Finally, for Sixth Seat Katya, the English version should be 'Frost Serpent'. This was actually one of the easier ones, but knowing me I probably messed that up too. Oh, well, it's what I'm going with.
Believe it or not, this chapter was actually supposed to be even longer than it already is! I've got some content that I figured could be moved to the following chapter, I felt like being nice since you all have waited long enough for this already. I'll try to be faster with the next one, but no promises.
Hope you liked the chapter! Please review, and I'll see you next time!
— Bab baru akan segera rilis — Tulis ulasan
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
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