Embracing the Id

For the past few days, Ryouta had been experiencing some rather serious mental issues. There was the physical pain of migraines that he had never before had in his life, but those were only a symptom of the true problem. Each migraine was preceded by an emotion that was not wholly Ryouta’s, something that originated in the metaphorical pit of his being, the part of him that was selfish, spiteful, and an all-around horrible person. The emotions were for the most part misplaced; inappropriate for the situation they arose in. Ryouta knew they could only be coming from one source; Stein, his Hollow alter ego. Perhaps it was time to pay him a visit again.

So, Ryouta took a trip down to his secret underground lab, and sat down to meditate, quickly entering his inner world. He found his Zanpakuto there waiting for him, looking as usual, haughty and arrogant, though in a coldly fluid, beautiful way. She smiled at him, and said, “About time. He was wondering when you’d find the time to talk.”

Ryouta raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You’ve been talking with him?”

Reifujin Arashi smiled demurely. “Of course I have,” she said. “I finally have a constant companion in this world, someone to physically see, and hear. You don’t come visit nearly enough, nor do you use my talents nearly enough.”

Ryouta shook his head, snorted a little, but did not disagree. “I see. Well, take me to him.”

Reifujin Arashi’s smile widened; she clearly felt as if she had won something. “Of course. He’ll be pleased…by the way, your new look is rather *chilling*. I like it.” She led him around the mountain of ice that was his Inner World to Stein, who, like Ryouta, had changed in appearance. He too sported the new modifications Ryouta had added to himself; presumably because Ryouta had used items obtained in Soul Society, and not the Real World.

“Don’t you think you should let me know before you go messing with my face and body?” Stein asked as Ryouta approached.

“I would’ve thought that an increase in power would be welcome in your eyes,” Ryouta responded. “Besides, these are quite functional. Very versatile.”

“Be that as it may, Ryouta, you have got to get out more,” Stein said. “Let me and Lady there out more. Seriously. Always using kido to solve your problems. It’s annoying.”

“I can’t just go releasing my Zanpakuto or using your powers willy-nilly,” Ryouta protested. “The former raises concerns about why I would feel the need to do so, and the latter is illegal.”

“Wasn’t a problem before, we fought your test subjects,” argued Stein.

“Yes, but I’ve run out, and I can’t keep producing them for this kind of thing,” said Ryouta. “It’s a waste of resources.”

“Fine,” said Stein. “But we need to get out more. You need to make it happen.”

Ryouta nodded his head. “I have an idea.”

He blinked, and in that instant, left his Inner World. Then, with one hand, he reached up and pulled his Hollow mask down over his face, and with the other, he removed his Captain’s haori. With a gesture, he caused a Garganta to come into existence and stepped into it, leading him to Hueco Mundo – specifically, the Menos Forest. Here, his Hollow reiatsu would go unnoticed, or at most, noticed as a particularly powerful presence. Here, he and Stein and Reifujin Arashi would be able to slaughter Hollows to their hearts’ desires without fear of discovery by Soul Society.

“Weep, Reifujin Arashi,” said Ryouta’s distorted voice. His Zanpakuto dissolved into innumerable water droplets, but quickly came back to form an icy blade in his hand. Here we go, Ryouta thought as he plunged into the dark forest. His frozen sword cut through the flesh of many a weak Hollow as he Sonido’d through the forest. Blood began to build up on his blade periodically, as it would freeze upon contact with the subzero surface. It didn’t matter; Ryouta was just trying to delve deeper into the forest, to where the stronger opponents would be. He cut down countless Hollows as they either fled or tried to confront him; Ryouta found himself enjoying the feeling of leaving a trail of frosty death behind him, occasionally broken by the soot left over from a blast from his mechanical arm or eye. The feeling of smashing a Hollow mask with his mechanical arm was joyous as well; Ryouta had never had the strength to do so with any of his bare appendages before, but this arm was truly a technological marvel.

Anyway, Ryouta could feel the coming of several more powerful dark presences approaching, none as strong as he was however. They were probably Gillians, or Adjuchas. He burst into a clearing, where the trees had apparently been cut down for intelligent Adjuchas to gather. At least, that’s what Ryouta insinuated, since he seemed to have stumbled into a group of them. With a deafening scream, they all launched themselves at him, eager to tear into sweet, Shinigami flesh. With one mighty blow, Ryouta was able to cut through three of the fastest Hollows, the ones quickest to reach him. Their bodies dissolved even as Hollows came through their remains. Ryouta fired several Shakkaho shots into the Hollows that charged, taking them down with burning holes in their masks before they could even respond. Finally, growing bored of fighting these miniscule opponents, Ryouta Sonido’d high up into the air; it was time to employ the new Cero he had developed in a combat situation.

Energy seemed to collect at an impossibly fast rate at the mouth of the hole in his mechanical palm. The fingers of the hand seemed to contribute to the quickly growing energy, until “Gran Bola Cero.” An enormous blast of energy fired from the mechanical arm to tear through the battalion of Adjuchas that had been so eager and foolish as to challenge a Captain of the Gotei 13. Ryouta landed softly in the middle of the enormous smoldering crater his attack had created. He was satisfied, but the voices of Stein and Reifujin Arashi urged him on.

Little did he know that that last attack had been so powerful it had attracted the attention of Las Noches. Even as Ryouta exited the smoldering crater to find his next victims, Las Noches had dispatched three Arrancar to fight him; two Fraccion, and their Espada.

They came upon him without warning; Ryouta had a microsecond to react to three swords coming in on him at once. A Sonido barely saved him; even so, the one of the Arrancar’s blades had sliced off a bit of Ryouta’s mask, the left ear to be precise. The three Arrancar, if surprised at seeing a Shinigami in Hueco Mundo, a Hollowfied one, no less, did not show it. Beneath the mask, Ryouta grinned, though his joy again, was not wholly his own. Finally, some tough opponents to fight.

The two weaker Arrancar (Ryouta could tell from the spiritual pressure they gave off, that and the way their body language deferred to the last one) stepped forward. One’s mask fragment was a white flower in her dark hair, and the other’s was a mask around his eyes, much like a superhero’s, but with fins over the ears. The strongest Arrancar’s mask fragment was actually in several pieces, one straight piece through his nose, several through the eyebrows, and even one ring through the lip, giving him a very tribal appearance. They all wore standard Arrancar robes. “What’s a Shinigami like you doing in a place like this?” asked the female Arrancar.

“Killing Hollows,” said Ryouta matter-of-factly. “Call it my fix.” That was definitely Stein influencing his words. “And you’re here to kill me. Go ahead and try.” The stronger Arrancar nodded at the two, who sprang toward Ryouta. “Kyuugeki Kasumi.” In an instant, the area around them was thick with opaque fog that felt of Ryouta’s reiatsu, making it near impossible to detect his presence, but making it extremely easy for him to detect the presences of his attackers. He Sonido’d three times, his blade moving twice for the first two Sonido, each movement identical. His first move was a slash up at the sword arm of the Arrancar, causing them to drop their blade; the second was a stab through the chest, quickly and efficiently ending their lives. Ryouta attempted the same maneuver on the last, strongest Arrancar with the third Sonido, but found his blade was met by the Arrancar’s blade. With a thought, Ryouta dispelled the fog so the Arrancar could see his companions’ bodies before they dissolved away; but they didn’t. That was curious, but Ryouta didn’t have time to ponder this curiosity.

“Impressive,” said the Arrancar. “You’ve taken down my Fraccion.”

“…I used to be a member of 2nd Division – so I’m good at killing quietly.” Ryouta held his blade firmly against the Arrancar’s. “So you’re an Espada – which one?”

“Octava Espada, Shuzoku Haruko,” he said. “Deceive, Curandero!”

Ryouta jumped backward to observe the Arrancar’s change. He wasn’t too concerned; the 8th Espada was likely no match for a Shinigami Captain of Ryouta’s caliber. The smoke given off by release cleared to reveal the changed Arrancar. The mask fragments had extended to create a tribal mask over the Espada’s face, completely obscuring his features. There were holes along each of the Arrancar’s arms, each about an inch in diameter. Each of the Arrancar’s fingertips looked as if they’d been dipped in red dye, or blood.

“Do you know what Curandero means, Shinigami? It means, ‘witch doctor,’” explained the Espada. He gestured at the bodies of his Fraccion, but said nothing. The red tips of his fingers began to glow, and the bodies rose as if marionette strings were pulling them up. The Fraccion’s faces turned to Ryouta, and he saw that their eyes were glassy and dead, but then, their feet planted flatly on the floor, and each Arrancar drew his or her weapon. “I can raise the dead,” the Espada explained further.

The two Fraccion raised their blades. “Sow, Hierbajo,” said the female corpse. “Sting, Pastinaca,” said the male corpse. Their voices were dull, and without a trace of emotion. The female sprouted flowers all over her body, and the male grew a whip-like tail and a pair of rubbery looking wings. The male sprang at him, lashing out with his sword. Ryouta parried and twisted away, but then the tail came swinging, crackling with appeared to electricity based reiatsu.

“Raikoho!” Ryouta countered with a powerful electric blast of his own from his mechanical arm, blasting the male away from him. The female had started spinning around in circles, and she appeared to be sending plumes of white spores or something into the air. Ryouta watched as each spore hit a surface and sprouted a small plant bulb, which opened into a flower identical to the ones on her body. Then, each flower head turned to him, and began firing what appeared to be mini-Balas at him. Ryouta Sonido’d out of the way of all of the blasts – his Hollow mask had greatly increased his speed, and he was fully capable of dodging every shot fired at him, in addition to fending off renewed strikes from the male.

“If that’s all you can do, I’m not impressed,” said Ryouta. “You’re only as strong as the dead you raise!” With a great swing of his sword, he sent a wave of pressurized water at the corpses fighting him, sending them sprawling, and also destroying many of the flowers that the female had produced. “What happens if I attack the puppeteer?” He Sonido’d behind the Espada, blade coming in for a Senka maneuver. It met flesh, but not that of the Espada – both puppets had somehow appeared between him and the Espada, taking his blade together and shielding the Espada from it.

Impossible, I hit them with my Reifujin Arashi, thought Ryouta.

As if answering his unspoken question, the Espada said, “A puppeteer as you say, can call his puppets back to him quicker than the eye can see. You can’t touch me, no matter how fast you are, Shinigami.”

Ryouta flash stepped back to formulate a plan; he could feel his time with the Visored mask running low. He’d have to finish this quickly. As if anticipating a plan being formed, the Espada gestured and the two Fraccion resumed their attacks. Ryouta Sonido’d away, but the puppets were persistent in their attacks. And then Ryouta had a flash of inspiration; he again used pressurized water to blast the two away from him. The instant they hit the ground, he muttered, “Aisu Kan’oke” and caused an icy coffin to encase the both of them. In the same moment, he again Sonido’d behind the Espada for a second Senka maneuver. But again, his blade met the wrong flesh.

“Good try Shinigami,” said the Espada. “I’m impressed. But it won’t help, no matter how ingenious you might be.” He sent his puppets right back at Ryouta. Ryouta’s blade flashed over and over again, cutting the puppets down over and over, covering them in grievous wounds, but they kept coming. How was he supposed to kill them? They kept getting in the way…and then Ryouta had another flash of inspiration.

For a third time, he sent a blast of pressurized water at the two puppets, but this time aimed them at the Espada, who neatly sidestepped the bodies. “Aisu Kan’oke.” Again, Ryouta froze the two puppets where they were, but this time, also froze the ankles of the Espada, who struggled to free himself, but seemed unable to do so. He called his puppets to himself and had them begin hacking at the cold ice. “It’s over,” said Ryouta. “Senpuku no Tategami.” A circle of moisture surrounded the Espada and his puppets. It was the perfect setup for Ryouta’s most powerful technique whilst still in Shikai. The edges of the circle seemed to flare to form a lion’s mane, and then a lion’s face formed in the center. It opened its mouth wide, and lethally sharp fangs of ice appeared all around the circle.

“Can your puppets protect you from multiple threats at once?” asked Ryouta. “I’m betting no.” And the fangs slammed shut. The puppets spread out in a desperate attempt to block them all, and they did a good job; hardly a square inch of surface on either of them escaped being stabbed. But there were just too many fangs to block; the Espada was pierced in many places, some fatal, though none immediately so. He was also pinned to where he stood.

The Espada’s mask crumbled away, and Ryouta saw the puppets go limp against the fangs before they dissolved away. “Im- impossible,” coughed the Espada. “I am…Master of Death…I cannot die, nor can…my servants…”

“It was a good fight,” said Ryouta in Stein’s awful voice. “I’ll let you think about that as I leave, Octava Espada.” And with those parting words, Ryouta opened a Garganta back to his lab, leaving the Espada in all probability to be eaten by the denizens of the forest. He appeared just in time for his Visored mask to wear off. He bent down to pick up his Captain’s haori. He felt energized, and quite cheerful. Ryouta was certain Stein would reward him with some good behavior, and perhaps more control over his Hollow powers. Things were getting good between them, very good indeed.