Legacy (Solo/Hibiki Jishin)

The whited rays of the early morning sun traced their way across the bare-chested form that padded across the rough landscape. His path was soon impeded by the line of trees that marked the forest entrance. Diffused and dyed green, the cool shafts of light dappled his lightly tanned skin, under which corded muscle, neatly knitted together and sculpted by a masterful hand, with equal care to each half and hemisphere of his lithe and smooth figure. His white hair took on a shade of fluorescence, and his elvish angled features, including ears that tapered to a mild point, remained passive, though his amber eyes caught every light motion, every dust mote that filtered through the trees. His breathing even, despite the speed of his travel, he stopped before a grand tree, easily the largest within several thousand miles, it’s girth wide enough to make one dizzy with the thought of going around it. A flicker of a smile crossed his face, and he contented himself, sitting under one of the large roots that poked above the ground, removing himself from view. Here, he sat cross legged, and closed his eyes. He popped a small, spherical object past his lips, and almost immediately, he jerked, and his head lolled..

To a normal person, he could have just fallen asleep, the way his body slumped. To a sensitive eye, from out of the body, rose the same man, garbed in black robes with a tattered Haori-turned-scarf hugging the lower half of his face and the tails trailing behind his head. This man, however, had a much more severe, animal appearance, with wild eyes that gave nothing away, rather taking it. A devilish grin was permanently attached to his face, lopsided as it was. He turned away from the body he had climbed out of, and into the small clearing. Against each hip, angled back, rested a sheathed blade. He drew them both, in a motion quick enough the eye could not follow it on a normal basis. He gazed at each one, a look of immense sadness darkening his features.

Shaking his head, the ex-Shinigami Captain of the 7th Division put the feeling of loneliness from his mind. He had not yet heard more than incessant whispers from his new Zanpakutou, and even now, their voices were but static in the background of his consciousness. Kaoseu had the eerie feeling they were trying to tell him something, as he suddenly began to tremble. He pushed the uneasiness down, amounting it to nothing more than just inner turmoil, and readied himself.
Kaoseu’s left foot slid back, his right pointing directly ahead. Allowing his body to follow its instincts, he angled and lowered himself to maintain equilibrium, facing his left slightly, eyes aimed forward. His left arm curved back and then looped up and over his head, blade point never even quivering in his grip. His right arm was drawn across his body, resting just above the hip, the blade clutched in his palm held in a reverse grip, so the point was off to his right, almost out of view. Slowly, he started letting his Reiatsu build to its full strength, and this position was maintained for exactly thirty seconds, or as Kaoseu had decided, until the first object crossed his field of vision.

As if on cue, after exactly thirty seconds, several things happened at once. The previously muffled whispers in the back of his head rang with crystal clarity with a single word that reverberated within his skull.

"Now!"

Simultaneously, the ground rumbled as several dozen Hollows, ranging from barely humanoid, all the way up to three Menos tore through the clearing, with a much smaller, fast moving streak at the head of the pack. As Kaoseu noticed the speck, it seemed that the speck noticed him too, and it cut a hard turn, impossibly fast, it seemed, and barreled across the tree-covered landscape. Straight at him. Kaoseu gritted his teeth, and prepared for the onslaught that would ensue.

Thirty-five minutes ago, Hibiki would have thought the same thing that was now racing through his mind;

“There’s no way this day could get any worse...”

Barreling through the trees, with Akki awakened, Hibiki replayed the past half hour to himself. He had awakened to the feel of water. Shuddering, he sat up, and shook his mane of white hair, dispelling the dew that had gathered there while he had slept. His body felt stiff as he picked himself up off the hardened ground, stifling a yawn and trying to put some feeling back into his bones. He rummaged around in his pack for the meager rations he had left, and settled with a package of fruit snacks and some dried jerky for breakfast. Akki grumbled quietly in the recesses of their shared consciousness, wanting to go and catch and cook something that wasn’t dried, gelatinous, or anything other than meat. Hibiki chuckled to himself and mentally nudged his brother. Akki stiffened, and let loose a growl, pushing himself to the forefront, so that both he and Hibiki were simultaneously conscious.

A second later, Hibiki felt what Akki’s instincts had already picked up on, and the torrent of Reiatsu that was steadily converging on them. His heartbeat raced as various shapes materialized from the dense forestry. Some of them seemed fairly humanoid, whilst others could barely be counted as “things”. Akki’s bloodlust grew as several dozen Hollow in total began to surround them. With a quick count, Hibiki and Akki came up with exactly forty-eight Hollows. Each measure of power, from their limited knowledge of reading Reiatsu, seemed to range from relatively weak, to almost twice as strong as Hibiki and Akki combined. This was confirmed by their use of their ability, dubbed Resonance. However, despite the unfair numbers, they were prepared to fight.

The first wave, three small, overeager Hollows, rushed them. The first two were more shapes and masses of flesh with masks than actual animal shapes, so it was obvious of their low rank. They appeared to be twins, a mirror of on and other. The one advancing on the right had a row of spikes going down their left side, whilst the one on the left had spikes on the right. As they drew near, their speed increased, and each jumped and grabbed hold of each other, rolling into a fast moving ball, spikes protruding like the blade of a chainsaw. This all happened within a few mere moments, as Akki analyzed the other advancing Hollow, shaped ominously like a prehistoric raptor. It advanced quickly, it’s muscular legs pounding the ground and sending up tufts of dirt as it lunged forward. Hibiki waited until both were closer, and jumped while leaning forward. Once he was completely inverted, he infused Reiatsu into his hands and clapped them together, aimed at the ground. The resulting technique and booming force rebounded off the ground and launched

Hibiki into the air, where he began charging for another.
The Hollows, not expecting their meal to shoot into the air, collided with one another, and wild, angry snaps issued between them, until they looked up, a fraction of a second too late. While distracted, Hibiki had taken a handful of sharpened metal jacks from the pack still slung over his shoulder and dropped them. Their purpose was realized when, soon after, he clapped his hands together again, and the jacks were propelled with lethal force into the three Hollow beneath him.

Hibiki and Akki landed among disintegrating ashes, ready for the next bout to ensue. Their wait was short lived when the forty-five remaining Hollows all surged forwards at once. Internally, the twins looked at each other grimly, acknowledging one another, and that this may be their last fight. Then, a combined grin slid onto their lips, and they crouched low, ready for battle. Suddenly, the world was still. The approaching Hollows roared in frustration and mild fear. Then, Hibiki and Akki both seemed to suddenly lose air. It became hard to breath, and it felt like the mother of all giants were trying to press them down. They fell to their knees, gasping, as the sky rent in two, and three Menos silently marched through. They uttered not a sound as they all three angled their unblinking, masked faces at Hibiki and Akki.

With as much force and strength as they could muster, an unconscious yell tearing its way past their lips in the process, the two-in-one Superhuman stood. Breathing heavily after the effort, Akki began to take a bit more control, and the tired Hibiki obliged. They took off at a slow trot, towards the nearest section of the ring of Hollows, and slowly picked up their pace. Ten feet in front of the first masked spirit, , Akki took a long step and transferred as much forward motion as physically possible into a single jump, reaching an incredible height. The Hollows were half a beat off trying to deny the sudden escape attempt, and only succeeded in raking their claws along the air and two fingers managed to scrape down Akki’s right arm, from shoulder to elbow, as he clapped his hands together, forcing the Hollows to the ground and launching himself further up.

Somersaulting in the air, they landed in a running roll.

“Thirty minutes of being awake, and we’re already being chased... Out in the middle of nowhere...” muttered Akki, as much as to Hibiki as to himself. They kept their pace, staying as far ahead of the pursuing Hollows as possible. Ahead, Hibiki spotted a clearing they could break through, and maybe find some place to hide, or even circle back on the devilish beings. Naturally, they took the chance, and darted towards the clearing. However, their angle brought them dangerously close the the frontlines of the Hollow force. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it occurred to the both of them to question why they were being chased in the first place, and how the Hollows had even found them. Those thoughts, and almost all others were wiped from their mind as they broke the cover of the trees.

On their right grew one of the largest trees they’d ever seen, easily wider around than a good sized three story home. Before the tree, about one-hundred fifty yards off, stood a lone individual, crouched low, and unmoving. He was garbed in black, and seemed to be holding aloft two blades. Akki’s and Hibiki’s intuition and Resonance both collided as they felt this man’s signature, and it seemed to strike a chord in them, as if it was the same tune they themselves produced, but much more mature, and far more refined, if not a bit more ominous and erratic. Whatever the case may be, their body reacted of its own course, and they used their flexibility to their advantage, and clapped their hands to their left, immediately altering their course towards the individual. As they drew closer, they called out, hoping for aid.

“Help, we need hel-...” they stopped, the both of them as they drew within feet of the man. His white hair was the same shade as their own. His animal features gazed down at them, taking in every aspect of them that exuded. Immediately, Akki loosed a growl, feeling the need for defense, though it was half-hearted, as they sank to their knees from the force of his Reiatsu, much stronger than that of the three Menos, almost combined. However, the scariest thing about the man was not his piercing eyes, or overwhelming power. Slightly paler flesh aside, the figure looked exactly like the twins, so much so, he could have been their-

“Father...” the two whispered quietly.

The world reeled as the single word rolled off the child’s lips. Kaoseu had studied him as he approached from afar. The white hair made him smirk at first, and something about the child seemed vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t quite place it. He had some measurable level of Reiatsu, uncommon in a human, and even that had given Kaoseu a tinge of Deja Vu. Then, as soon as that last syllable reached his ears, and he processed the word, Kaoseu was flooded with memories.

The Vizard mask, the Garganta, the woman he met while still in a fit of grief, the time they spent together, the pregnancy, the frantic escape to Hueco Mundo to save her life, her words, the fateful words that she had made him swear by, and leave. He knew not what had become of them, her or the child, but here before him, as soon as the word had been imparted upon him, everything connected. The white hair, in a disheveled mess, just like his. The analytic eyes, so much like his, but the same shade as his mother’s. The lopsided grin. He was gazing at a spitting image himself. He was staring down at his own flesh in blood. His son.

He snapped from his reverie when a flying Hollow seemed to materialize from nowhere, and gave a wicked, burning slash across his chest, three long lines marking where the talons had ripped flesh. He cursed quietly, more out of annoyance than pain, said to the boy on the ground,

“Stay here, and stay low.”

He didn’t look back, not once. He couldn’t afford a moment’s distraction, as he could already feel poison seeping into him from the wounds the bird had inflicted. His mind was a blur of pure protective instinct and emotion. His body moved without command. He Flash Stepped from one Hollow to the next, leaving split masks and piles of ash in his wake. He began slowing after about half of the Hollows had dissipated, and one of the Menos had been dealt a fatal blow. The other two and the remaining Hollows were all Adjuchas level and higher, thus maintained a higher sense of sentience, bad news for the injured Kaoseu. His limbs weighed a million pounds. He was drenched in sweat, and his veins burned.He chanced a glance at the child, whom was being surrounded. Cursing heavily, he Flash Stepped and opened a Garganta simultaneously, realizing with a shock that Heiwa had come to the forefront as well, without Kaoseu having even been aware. Together, they grabbed the child and lurched through the garganta, slamming it shut behind them. Their reprieve was short lived. The Hollows followed moments after, and the battle began again.

Seeing their father fight was like trying to watch a hummingbird’s wings. He moved and flitted so quickly, you couldn’t tell what was going on, but what you caught was a graceful movement, a dance both lethal and mesmerizing all at once. They were so enthralled, they almost wound up roasted by a Cero that closed on open air. They narrowly avoided the direct hit and used their ability, Impact, to launch themselves at an angle into the air, so the recourse of the blast would carry them away. They landed roughly, in almost the thick of battle, amongst the last few remaining Hollows below Adjuchas level. Here, Akki silently touched Hibiki’s mind, and Hibiki stepped back, letting Akki take control. Akki immediately acted, launching himself forward at the first Hollow. Its maw opened wide, in an attempt to swallow them. Akki twisted and began to corkscrew through the air, and, when they were close enough, he clapped his hands together, propelling them forward and into their spin with deadly force, enough that they burst through the back of the Hollow’s skull like a dart through a water balloon.

Akki landed and was about to launch into the next phase of attack when suddenly every Hollow around him stopped and seemed to fall apart at the seams, disintegrating. Then, a hand grasped the collar of his shirt, and yanked him back, and his body felt like it compacted for a moment, and then he was lying on his back, covered in sand, gazing at an ever familiar, eternal twilight. The landscape was quiet, the Hollows having been left in the World of the Living. Then, like the sound of a hole being rent in a giant fabric, a Garganta opened up and the Hollows once again spilled through. Within moments, they were a swarming over Akki and his father. This was not how it was going to end, however. Mustering up all his strength, Akki let loose a roar that rivaled even the most fearsome of Hollows, and slammed his palms together hard enough he felt several bones break. The result cleared a fifteen foot radius all around himself and his father, who now stood.

“Akki... our name is... Akki and Hibiki...” they said, Hibiki coming back to the forefront with his brother, both exhausted. Unable to stand, they slumped forward., the world going dark. The last thing they saw were two blades appearing beneath them.

This was not happening. Kaoseu’s vision was still black, several seconds after they had landed in Hueco Mundo. It came back just a split second before a bone-chilling roar, full of anguish, fear, bloodlust, and rage tore through the twilight, and a resounding boom shook the dunes. What he saw was everything within a fifteen foot radius of himself and his son go flying off, as if struck by an invisible hand. Kaoseu seized this opportunity, and summoned up as much Reiatsu as possible, Flash Stepping to the stunned Hollows and eradicating as many as possible. It took him no more than a half a second before every airborne creature was disintegrating, their ashes falling in the air.

As he Flash Stepped back, the whispers that were his Zanpakutou spoke again.

“You will know what to do...”

His vision was becoming blurrier, and he could feel the warm blood that pumped freely from the three-pronged wound in his chest. The fire in his veins had almost reached his heart as well, and he knew there was little time. He landed, and heard his son speaking, standing on wobbly legs.

“Akki... our name is... Akki and Hibiki...” he heard his son say.

Kaoseu knew then that he had caused within the child a dual nature, which would explain the severe difference in the child he saw now, as well as the bi-vocal voice it spoke in, with two different tones. He smiled, and his heart and soul ached with passion and pain as the poison finally slowed his heart, and his body acted of his own accord. Faster than a gust of wind, both his blades were in his right hand, and poised to catch Hibiki and Akki on their hilts.

“Kaoseu... My name is Kaoseu... And you are... My Legacy...”

Hibiki and Akki’s heart was pierced by the blades, at the same time Kaoseu forced open a Garganta and pushed him through. The explosion of light seeped even into that realm as it closed and Kaoseu leaned back, his heart stopping, his breath ceasing, and the lopsided, mischievous grin on his face reaching his lifeless eyes. He hit the sand and was already disintegrating, his essence seeming to flow to the point his son had just been, and disappearing. Thus, his life ended. There was no flash of remorse, no sadness, and no regret. Only a deep well-being that he had left behind the most precious of things. he had left behind his son, his successor- His Legacy.