The Retrieval (Kuro - Semi-Open)

It had been two days since he learned how to use Bankai. He felt well rested and limber. He had a long fight ahead of him and he needed to be completely healthy. He had already spoken to Zamoreus. He was leaving for Soul Society and not likely to return. Sumiko or himself. He gratefully thanked him for taking him in, providing shelter and purpose for him. He held a little regret for leaving him, especially for all he had done for him and Sumiko. But he had more important matters to contend with.

He walked back into his room and saw Sumiko sitting on the couch in her true form. She looked worried as she sat there, and she had a right to be. Tatsuya began to remove his gigai, and place it on the bed next to Sumiko's. He looked over at the night stand next to the bed and saw the pink choker he had gave to her not too long ago. On it there was a large hanging tear drop diamond he had found while on a mission for Zamoreus in Africa. It was a raw diamond when he found it, but once he took it to a proper jeweler, it turned into something exquisite. He picked it up and walked over to Sumiko, who just stared straight ahead. "Everything is going to be fine." Tatsuya said as he leaned over the back of the couch and slowly put the choker on her neck, whispering in her ear. "How can you be sure? So many things can go wrong." She said, touching the diamond as she turned around and looked up at Tatsuya. "Because I have faith. Faith in Captain Akarui. Faith in our friends. And faith in you." He looked calm and certain into her eyes. "I hope it works." She replied and slowly started to get up. "It will. Just have faith. You still have it right?" He asked with a slight grin. "Right here." She reached into her shihakusho and pulled out a Denreishinki.

"Alright, you'll make the call when we get there." He said before picking up a satchel and handing it to Sumiko. "What's in here?" She asked as she grabbed it. "Those are the books you and the Captain brought for me. We can't leave them here." He said as she walked past him. "Won't they check it when they come?" She opened the door and walked out of the room followed by Tatsuya. "I doubt it. They'll more than likely assume you have mission aids and souvenirs." He replied with certainty. "Alright." She said, lengthening the phrase. "Relax." He laughed. "This is the easy part." He continued and lightly nudged Sumiko to the stair case where they went up to the roof. Once up there they went to the edge of the building and quickly disappeared with shunpo.

A while later they found themselves in Central Park. There were in the park, just north of the main reservoir and baseball fields. Night was approaching and people would be starting to leave the park. Hopefully the baseball fields would be empty when the show started. "I don't know if I can do this." Sumiko stated worriedly after she pulled out the Denreishinki. "Sure you can. Just like you rehearsed." He replied reassuringly and rubbed her shoulders. Her hands were shaking as she flipped it open and tried to punch in the numbers. Tatsuya gently but firmly gripped her hand with one hand and rubbed her cheek with the other. "Relax. Take deep breaths." He said trying to calm her down. After a few minutes of deep breathing she gently pushed Tatsuya's hand away. "Okay, here we go." She said as she punched in some numbers and took one last deep breath before hitting the send button and placing it to her right ear.

"Hello, This is Sumiko Miyamoto, 3rd seat of 4th squad. I have a priority message for Captain Kuro Akarui of 2nd squad. I can't talk long. I'm in New York City at coordinates 40.79 N and -73.95 W. He'll understand the situation. Advise him he has only a short window. Only one hour. Two at the most. Bring reinforcements! I...I have to go. If you can track the exact coordinates through the Denreishinki, it will remain transmitting." She relayed the message perfectly and added a bit of fear & stress, which was mostly natural, at the end of the message. They didn't say anything until they were safely away from the Denreishinki's receiving range. "That was perfect." Tatsuya said as he hugged Sumiko, who was nervously shaking all over. "Now we just have to wait." He said gently pulling Sumiko with him to a nearby tree and taking a seat. Time passed and all was quiet. Tatsuya got up to stretch out his body and that's when they felt it. Several shinigami reiatsu and a couple that definitely stood out. A Senkaimon appeared when they felt the presence. "Time for the final act." Tatsuya stated as he looked to Sumiko with a grin. She looked even more worried now after she stood up.

-Back in Soul Society-

Kuro stood quickly and reported to the room where the transmission was being received. Many individuals were standing about with confused looks in response to the voice on the other end. Even more so from the captain she was reporting to. Heads turned as Kuro made his presence known and cleared up as much of the uncertainty as he could. "Miyamoto-san has been on a secret mission under my suggestion and orders. That's why I'm being contacted right now." His explanation seemed to pacify most of those present, but there still remained some who were curious about the second captain giving a member of the 4th squad a mission. Kuro was given the information of the report, including the coordinates and the request for backup. He immediately grabbed his own denreishinki and contacted his squad headquarters. Once on the line, he named Tatsu Chirako and two other members that he wanted to meet him at the Senkaimon. Hanging up, he prepared to leave but was stopped by a curious shinigami present.

"Captain, the call seemed rather urgent. Is is wise for you to only have three others accompany you?"

Kuro grinned. "I have faith in our skills. The four of us will be just fine." Without another word, he took his leave and headed to the gate. The trip through was uneventful as they all had their jigokuchō with them. But as the Senkaimon opened up and revealed the park, Kuro spotted who waited them on the other side. Grinning widely from ear to ear, Kuro greeted the two rogues. "Long time no see."

Tatsu had been resting within the second division barracks for some time now, it didn't take much time for his late night rest..and dinner to be interrupted a quick message reported by a squad mate. ''You're being called at the senkaimon gate by Captain Kuro'' Tatsu looked at the guard his rice barely finished and he nodded finally getting a moment to prove his worth to the captain. Quickly wrapping up his rice balls and fetching his nearby zanpakuto, wrapping the white cloth around his waist and zanpakuto, hidding his water bottle in the wraps and the onigiri's in his kimono he was gone.

He didn't know what this was about but it had to be quick Tatsu quickly made it through the court of pure souls reaching the senkaimon gate before any of the so called people. He had actually left at the same instant. Nodding to the present captain Tatsu turned around and waited the others who were called upon. When they finally caught up Tatsu still hadn't said a word, he wasn't one to question. Nothing happened as they crossed the worlds but as soon as the gate opened the shinigami's eyes opened in shock, someone he met in his previous experiences was standing in front of him. A shinigami who had the power to manipulate fire to a great extent. Without a word Tatsu let Kuro speak, eyeing his would be enemies and waiting for orders on how to proceed.

Tatsuya turned to the Senkaimon and crossed his arms before the doors began to slide open. The first figure appeared from the other side immediately as the doors open and then three more figures once they were open fully. Tatsuya's smile was just as wide as Captain Akarui's. "Indeed it has. Captain." He said before uncrossing his arms. "And I see you brought friends." He looked at each of the others and quickly noticed a familiar face. He smirked at the shocked shinigami. "So it looks like I'm not the first rogue up for redemption I see." He walked up to Tatsu and offered his hand. "Captain Akarui definitely knows good men when he finds them." He said before turning back to the Captain. "Tell me, Captain. How do are chances look?" He asked with a grin. Sumiko waited in the back, still as nervous as ever.

Kuro's face turned more serious in light of what they were likely going to do now, but couldn't stop a smug grin smirk from playing across his face as he gave his good news. "Things are better than they've been in a while. Just recently I managed to record proof of Raiden's betrayal. If I'd just gone to the Central or Nobles with that, it'd give him a chance to flee. It's my opinion that we should confront him and make use of the proof when he tries to deny our charges against him. Or even better, just defeat him first so that he still thinks he has the support of the law until the end."

Kuro was being very direct in his planning. Raiden was still a sore spot in his mind with all the chaos that he'd thrown into a previously enjoyable existence in the Soul Society. Kuro wouldn't be satisfied until the man's facade as the honorable commander was revealed to be a farce to all of the Seireitei's inhabitants.

Tatsu allowed a feint smile when he saw Tatsuya walk up to him, he answered the handshake without much afterthought. ''He does, that is for sure'' He answered honestly, those were the first words, but he knew why he was there, guessing the current orders were the captain of this man..but there was something else because the onmitsukido would of been here already, something was out of place, this wasn't like what happened to the samurai days before.

Letting the handshake go briefly, Tatsu waited for Tatsuya to look towards the captain, to take a step back and wait for orders, the step back was to prevent surprise attacks, one never knew what a member of the second division was up to in his mind. Slowly dropping his hand to his sword handle, noticing Kuro's face change the samurai was ever ready his reiatsu lightly starting to surge.

Tatsuya's grin faded as he listened to Kuro. He was happy that the Captain had been able to gather evidence, but still. This what Tatsuya had been waiting for. "I have to agree that it is the best decision. His abilities are to dangerous. If he escaped, I doubt we would be able to find him. And nothing would stop him from assuming another identity and coming after us." Tatsuya replied and explained as his left hand dropped to his zanpakuto. "Besides, I want a rematch with that son of a bitch." He said tightly gripping his zanpakuto. "This is going to be tricky. I doubt once I get back, they will believe I gave up without a fight." He stated. "I think I can help with that." Sumiko finally said something. "A simple needle from Hari Sakana would be enough to convince them otherwise." She said causing Tatsuya to look a little confused. "Well I am supposedly here under Captain Akarui's orders. Sent here to act as a double agent to gain your trust and lure you out of hiding. When the Captain arrives you attempt to fight and escape, but I disable you with a well placed needle before you can attack." She said, awaiting approval.

Kuro listened to Sumiko's plan, impressed with the simplicity of it yet still being a likely plan to fool those back at Soul Society. He had never inquired into what her zanpakuto was like, but now hearing of such an ability now, he was thinking he should look further into it when this was over. "As long as you can wake him up when needed, then I say we do it. The four of us can get him through the dangai in that state and take his unconscious body into the Shihoin estate. I don't think we should encounter any resistance until that far. This is a matter concerning the noble families after all. Not even the Central has exclusive governing power over them."

Kuro looked around who they had with them. Tatsuya seemed ready, and felt it too. Something was stronger about his presence. That was comforting. Sumiko was a good asset to their current plan and could likely assist with medical treatment if things went wrong when the fighting broke out. Tatsu was of course a welcome recent addition to things. His honor and loyalty would make him a strong fighter. Lastly, they had the two squad members Kuro had called for. These two were only the beginning. Many of Kuro's squad were informed of the situation surrounding their framed comrade. Kuro had made a special effort to seek out every squad member who hailed from the Rukongai and let them in on Raiden's deception. Not surprisingly, the reaction had been furious. All were waiting for the day when Tatsuya returned and Kuro gave the order to fight. He hadn't sought out any of the nobles serving in his squad for fear that their loyalty might still be tied more to their family and cause them to blow the whistle on what Kuro was planning. Still, the amount of support they had would definitely improve their chances.

"If nobody has any questions, let's move out. I don't want anybody to get even more curious and send backup. We'll need to get as close as possible without giving them time to prepare."

Tatsu released his guard soon after there was no reason to fight, his reiatsu still held up as always, seeing as this would be a busy day he reached within his kimono and unwrapped an onigiri before munching down into it. He didn't question his captain and he would follow him to the ends of the world. He didn't question Tatsuya, he had been a comrade before and will be again. ''Looks like we shall be fighting on the same front again Tatsuya, I'm glad.''


Tatsu turned towards the lady and allowed her a slight bow out of respect. ''You should proceed, we have little time'' Tatsu was polite but he wasn't going out of his way because she was a woman, he treated her as he would treat any other shinigami before him.

"Waking up won't be a problem. Once the needle is removed he'll snap back awake like if he had just blinked." Sumiko assured the party. "Alright then." Tatsuya exclaimed before hearing Tatsu. "Aye, looks like that." He smiled. "But this time it'll be against scum worse then hollows." He said in seriousness. Tatsuya smirked slightly as Tatsu bowed at Sumiko before speaking with a small sense of urgency. "Aye we should hurry." Tatsuya agreed and unfastened his zanpakuto from his waist and handing it to Captain Akarui. Sumiko unsheathed her wakazashi sized zanpakuto and held it out straight in front of her with both hands. "Puncture, Hari Sakana." She called out softly and twisting her hands to the right. It quickly disappeared, covering her hands in white and pink surgical type gloves. Tatsuya dropped to his knees and Sumiko quickly did the same. Tatsuya was about to lay flat on his back but quickly stopped. "Sumiko, I don't think I'll have a chance to say this later in the heat of things, but I want you to stay away from Captain Akarui and myself once we get in there. Stay behind with the others." Tatsuya stated with a concerned look in his eyes. "But why? I can help you." She said in an upset tone. "Because its going to be too dangerous. Raiden can take on any of our forms, and I don't want you to get hurt because I thought you were him. Promise me you'll stay back." He reached out and caressed the side of her face. "Okay. I promise." She reached for Tatsuya's caressing hand and squeezing it. "Thank you." Tatsuya said before laying completely flat on his back, perpendicular to Sumiko. "Shinjutsu." Sumiko called out creating a blue-green needle in her left hand. "I love you." Tatsuya said as he looked up at Sumiko, saying it just in case he didn't have a chance to later. Sumiko leaned over and gave Tatsuya a soft kiss while placing the needle in his neck; 1in north of the center of the Sterno-Hyoideus muscle, and 4mm left of the Superior Belly of the Omo-Hyoideus muscle. "I love you." She whispered next to his ear after kissing him, a single tear rolling down her cheek. She slowly got to her feet and looked at the others, wiping her face. "Okay, we can go now. just don't touch the needle when you pick him up." She said as she walked to Captain Akarui.

Kuro took Tatsuya's zanpakuto and stepped to the side to have a final talk with his men before heading back. Partially to keep things organized, and partially to give the two some space before they did this. He looked from Tatsu to the two squad members in turn before speaking. "Alright guys. This is what we've waited a long time for. We're going to bring justice today. But in the event that this all goes wrong, I want you guys to leave me and let me take the blame. I don't want to ruin the lives of my squad just for a personal revenge mission." There was no trace of deception in Kuro's eyes. He meant what he had just asked. But the eyes of his men showed that they would have nothing of it.

"We're going to have to respectfully disobey you captain. We're all in this together. Us, you, and all the others waiting back in the Seireitei. Besides, if anything happened to make you guilty as well as Tatsuya, then Raiden would win cause it would likely prevent an person from the Rukongai ever being trusted by the Shihoin family again."

They had him there. Kuro smiled in spite of the seriousness with knowing that he had such willing comrades at his back. The squad felt more like a family to him with each passing day. He walked back over to Tatsuya and Sumiko as she finished placing the needle to knock him out. Placing a hand on her shoulder he reassured her with a quick chuckle. "You don't have to worry. We'll have this under control when we get back. You guys will have your lives back after today." He turned back to the others. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Yes Sir!"

The four of them managed to lift Tatsuya between them and proceeded to head back through the senkaimon into the dangai. Kuro couldn't help thinking his challenge to Raiden as they began their march. Get ready you bastard, because we're coming for you now.

Tatsu listened to everyone saying their little things, he hadn't much to say and he hadn't been that much informed on what was going to happen anyway. One thing was sure though, he was not about to leave the captain after swearing loyalty this wasn't something that the samurai would do in anyway possible to his own knowledge.

Proceeding to turn around and face the dengai Tatsu took the lead without further ado he started racing through, knowing Tatsuya wouldn't have in any possible way a hell butterfly with him, he wanted to keep this as trivial as possible, if the cleaner would be activated shit would turn bad really quickly. Fortunatly for the group Tatsu saw the end of the tunnel before the their end was anywhere near and before they knew it, they were in Soul Society again.

Without the disturbance of the Kōtotsu, the passage through the dangai was a calm and safe journey. Good for the group as running from it would have been quite difficult while burdened with Tatsuya's body. The path opened up into the streets of the Seireitei, where Kuro directed their group to head for the area where the noble family of Shihoin lived. Shinigami that they passed watched their procession with confused faces. Some recognized their charge, while others were merely baffled at the sight of them. They received no trouble until one bolder shinigami stood in their path with his hand on his zanpakuto.

"That is the fugitive, Tatsuya Okibi. Allow us to take him into custody captain."

Kuro remained calm and spoke rather authoritatively, "I have the situation under control. This is a matter for the Shihoin family. The prisoner's fate will be decided by the noble family without further interference of the Gotei. Please excuse us." Not bothering to wait for an answer, Kuro signaled the rest of the group and pressed onward. The man who had stopped them before could do nothing but stand and watch dumbfounded by the pull of rank that he had just been slapped with. Kuro was happy for once that the dealings and matters of the noble families were so much higher than the rest of the Seireitei. It made this movement a lot easier. As they continued down the streets, Kuro nodded slightly towards a shinigami from the second division. This motion, missed by all other observers due to its minimal movement and quick execution, signaled the beginning of the squad's involvement. Upon a second glance to where the member had stood, one would only see an empty space as the shinigami was gone.

When the group reached the gates of the Shihoin estate, Kuro left it to Tatsu and the three others to handle Tatsuya while he spoke. "We have finally caught the fugitive, Tatsuya Okibi. Please allow us to enter the complex. And after that, could you please inform the heads of the family as well as the onmitsukido commander so that they may meet us inside?" The noble guards saw nothing wrong with Kuro's request and granted them entry. The group made their way inside, Kuro swallowing hard as they crossed the threshold. There was no turning back at this point. What would happen next was guaranteed. This was war.

Being carried around and paraded around for the entire Seireitei to view was not something Tatsuya would normally approve of. But he was unconscious so it didn't really matter. He had no idea what was going on. His mind was blank and completely unaware. Not a single thought as if he was in suspended animation, awaiting for the needle to be removed from his neck.

They carried his unconscious body through the halls of the Shihoin complex. The looks of disgust they gave his body was apparent as they made their way to the central meeting room. Large red doors were closed ahead, with guards out in front. As they drew closer the guards opened the doors without question. Inside, the Elder members of the clan were seated against the north wall in their fancy chairs on a raised platform. No other clan member was there. Likely forbidden to stay away from the proceeding. In front of them were a row of Omnitsukido; Five guards that have never been seen before. A completely different uniform and much more intimidating looking from the usual Omnitsukido guards, who lined up the walls in two rows. Another noticeable trait were the bells hanging from their swords.

Spoiler:

They gently placed Tatsuya on the ground, waiting it to begin. Raiden had yet to show up, but the Elders were not in the mood for waiting. "Stand that treacherous murderer on his feet! I want him aware of his situation!" The only female elder exclaimed. Sumiko hesitated for a moment. "NOW!" She shouted and banged her fist on the armrest causing Sumiko to jump in fear before snapping her fingers and making the needle disappear. Tatsuya opened his eyes immediately when the needle disappeared and quickly rolled to his stomach and pushing to his feet. "What the hell?!" He quickly got into a fighting stance facing the elders. "Restrain him!" The elder yelled and the guards quickly began to move forward. Sumiko had taken the initiative and quickly formed another blue green needle. She jumped up behind Tatsuya and place a needle in the back of his neck. Sumiko placed it 5mm above, 35 degrees right of the center of the 4th cervical vertebrae. "What?!" Tatsuya spoke as he tried to move. "Don't bother. You can't move until I remove the needle." Sumiko answered in a minimally shaky voice, trying to sound firm. Her quickly crossed her arms to hide the fact that they were shaking. The guards quickly stopped and waited until the elder waved her arm allowing them back to their previous spot. "You?! You little...I trusted you!" Tatsuya played along convincingly as he stood motionless only his eyes could move. "SILENCE!" The elder commanded. At that moment Raiden walked in.

The number of those present at the central meeting room surprised Kuro. He had not expected a large number of onmitsukido. Though thinking it through, he felt foolish for not assuming that of them. With such a "dangerous" criminal being brought before the elders, it was obvious that they'd use that as an excuse to bolster their numbers in the complex. It was troublesome with so many there; it would make things difficult when the situation inevitably turned violent. And those five stationed in front of the elders' platform worried him more. What was so special about them that they were uniformed so differently from the others? Kuro's mind raced as he tried to strategize while the order was given to wake up Tatsuya. He silently praised Sumiko as she took the liberty of binding him before the guards could do so. The further they kept them from their group before the fighting broke out, the better. Then everything went quiet as Raiden walked in.

Kuro's face twitched as he was internally infuriated by the sight of the man behind all of this. He breathed deeply and kept his outer appearance calm and professional. Things would be alright in a few minutes. Contrast to Kuro's face, Raiden's was a jumble of fury and confusion. The two lowlifes from the Rukongai who continued to persist against his efforts to keep the ranks noble and clean were standing in front of him yet again. Why would they do that? Kuro had made it clear what his position in this case was, so why would he bring the fugitive back for his death? He calmed down upon seeing the layout of the meeting room. The numbers were definitely in his favor. He could barely keep himself from smiling devilishly as he took his place beside the platform of the elders. From there he addressed the group with the criminal.

"Make your report about your capture of the murderer of the Grand Elder of the Shihoin family."

Kuro stepped forward and spoke, he too barely able to hold back a smile as he prepared to devolve the proceedings into chaos. "Great family of Shihoin, I report that I have not captured the murderer of the elder. He remains at large under your very noses."

"What nonsense are you spouting now?!" the female elder from before barked down at him. "The culprit was determined ages ago. You have him bound behind you right now."

Kuro's face remained calm. Such outbursts were to be expected from the elders. He just had to remain patient and get his message across. "This man has been framed. The true criminal did a fantastic job of incriminating him, even with eyewitness accounts. But by believing in Tatsuya Okibi and keeping my investigation open, I have managed to procure evidence that clears his name and identifies the true criminal."

"Enough with these foolish stories!" Raiden suddenly burst out. The cocky look was gone from his face, replaced by a fidgeting nervousness that almost could clue people into the nature of his identity by itself at this point. "We're here to pass judgement on the predetermined murderer of-"

"Silence, you treasonous snake!" Kuro's voice lashed out like ice. The meaning behind his words and tone were obvious to everyone present. The room went quiet as one could almost feel the gaze of every pair of eyes zeroing in on the Onmitsukido commander. Kuro took the opportunity granted by the silence and continued his explanation. "After my subordinate assured me that he was not the killer, I allowed him to escape from the Soul Society so that we would have more time to discover the true culprit." Kuro's admission of such an act caused an audible gasp to be heard from many spots in the room. "I know that I was breaking the rules, but I had good reason to believe in Tatsuya Okibi. And it's a good thing that I did, because I found explanations that account for everything that happened that day."

"You have our attention Captain Akarui." one of the elders commented. "But take heed that we are not interested in games. Prove to us that your argument has merit."

"Thank you." Kuro replied earnestly. "After some investigation after Tatsuya's flight from our forces, I managed to apprehend one of the men serving in the Onmitsukido. I received testimony from him that his post on guard duty had been relieved by the commander on the day of the murder and that he wasn't present there, though he was identified later as one of those who bore witness to Tatsuya Okibi with the corpse of the elder. Such a story intrigued me, but I unfortunately can't present him here today because he was killed days later. Most likely to prevent me from doing that very thing." At this point, Kuro shot a dark look at Raiden, who was beginning to look more and more uncomfortable as the direct statement drew nearer. "I decided to look into the records of the Shihoin family, again breaking rules by sneaking in rather than gaining approval. But I wanted to keep my beliefs and findings to as much as a minimum as possible. In the records I discovered revelations about the abilities of one Mr. Raiden's zanpakuto. He is able to take on the appearances and abilities of other shinigamis. That is how he was able to frame Tatsuya Okibi so easily."

"All this is interesting Captain." cut in one of the other elders. "But what purpose would Raiden have for murdering the grand elder?"

"Precisely!" Raiden shouted in an attempt to free himself from suspicion. He stepped forward until he was only a few strides from Kuro, his face growing dangerously desperate and angry. "I have served the Shihoin family faithfully for my whole life. How dare you bring my loyalty into question-"

"I told you to be silent!" Kuro shouted over Raiden's frantic outbursts. "You have the nerve to mention yourself and the word loyalty in the same breath? You don't have the right to make such claims after your selfish endeavors." Kuro exhaled slowly and turned to address the elders again. "This man committed such actions for the sole purpose of a personal hatred of people like Tatsuya Okibi and me. Souls who originated from the lower class lands of the Rukongai. By framing Tatsuya, he planned to instill a loathing and distrust of our kind into the Shihoin family and prevent any such souls from ever advancing through the ranks or even being accepted into them ever again."

"How can you-"

"I have my proof right here." Kuro cut Raiden off as he whipped out a small device from his pocket. Holding it up for all to see, he explained "I had this made with the help of the twelfth division. It's a device that allows me to record conversations and to play them later." He held up the device and pinched the edge of it for a few seconds before voices could be heard playing from it, the main one undoubtedly Raiden's. The sound easily carried out through the room, with every soul there listening silently to the recording.

Quote :

"Yet another day has gone by and we still haven't caught Tatsuya Okibi. Until this case is officially closed, I'm not able to take it easy for even a moment! Captain Akarui has been suspicious of me from the start."..."Perhaps I should have framed the captain when I took out the elder rather than Okibi. It would have been a bigger thorn out of my side."

"But sir, isn't your plan still on track? The captain himself has on more than one occasion told you that he still trusts Okibi. The odds are that he's still trying to help him"...."As long as the captain keeps up with that behavior, eventually we'll be able to catch him in the act and arrest him as an accomplice to a treasonous murderer. I've also heard rumors that the Central is viewing the captain with suspicious attitudes based on the same reasoning. So when we do get something on him, we shouldn't get any resistance in ridding the Soul Society of him."

"You think I don't know all that you fool?! It was my plan from the start. But those lowlifes from the Rukongai are proving as slippery as a nest of roaches. Both Okibi and the captain are keeping themselves mostly off the radar so that we can't do anything but continue to search. I had planned for all of this mess to be done and our forces cleared of such peasant scum by now. The longer it takes just makes me uneasy, like I'm missing something."....."I won't be at ease until this is all taken care of and the case is closed and forgotten. Then we'll finally be...

Kuro clicked off the device and pocketed it. "I managed to sneak into the onmitsukido barracks and record this conversation just recently. It confirmed what I already suspected and gave me proof that I could present to all of you today to clear Tatsuya's name. The true murderer of the Shihoin grand elder is the onmitsukido commander Raiden!" Kuro pointed a finger knowingly at Raiden, who was now turning various colors as the emotions ran over him like a freight train. "Your crime and plot have been exposed, you traitor."

Tatsu had followed the group within the great shihoin complex. He had never been to such a place and merely seeing made him desire its little pleasures but that was not the reason he was there. Standing close behind the captains steps as they walked in the samurai didn't know when the fighting would begin so he remained ready at all times.

Everything was going according to plan of course there were members of the onmitsukido in front of the elders, taking his place as third officer of the second division Tatsu stood one step aside and behind his captain. He watched carefully as the girl obeyed the orders that power of hers had some kind of control over the rogues movement, something that kept him aware and yet unable to move, complete paralysis the samurai decided to call it.

After that moment it seemed obvious that the infamous Raiden had entered the room, all of the group, except Tatsu had most likely seen him before, he didn't know of his abilities or how strong he actually was, the samurai would most likely fight the onmitsukido if they were to interfere after all he had gotten used to fighting against enemies of those ranks.

Tatsu's head followed the conversation like the face of a ping pong referee, he hadn't much time to build an opinion of his own on the matter everyone's side had previously been chosen it seems and the samurai had joined a half finished battle. Having the rogue in hand and saying that he was still at large confused the samurai a little, but he knew that he wasn't there to actually understand what was being said.

Even Tatsu seemed flabbergasted when he heard the evidence against Raiden, he was ready for an aggressive response coming from Raiden's favor, the only thing that actually showed the captain that Tatsu was ready was the he moved his left foot in front of him, just like the day they had fought, he would start the fight with his signature move.

Tatsuya listened carefully as Captain Akarui claimed his subordinates innocence and then revealed Raiden as the real murderer. Even though he already knew it, rage still flowed through his entire being, but he bit back his tongue. He knew it was still too early in the argument to voice his opinion. Tatsuya remained patient throughout the argument, waiting for the proper time to speak out for himself. Captain Akarui ended with a presentation of evidence against Raiden that would seem inarguable.

"How dare you slander my reputation with this fabricated evidence." Raiden said with fury but also fear in his eyes, since the recording was indeed real. "How dare you call yourself a loyal guard to the Noble Shihoin Clan?" Tatsuya quickly shot back still stuck in his position and drawing the attention of everyone. "Sumiko." He called to her, in which she quickly snapped her fingers to dispel the needle without a second's hesitation. The Omnitsukido all quickly placed their hands on their swords. "Stand down!" The female elder ordered, they stopped from moving forward, but kept their hands where they were. Tatsuya took a second to look around to make sure he would not get attacked before continuing. "You murdered the Grand Elder for your own selfish reasons. He valued our strength and our loyalty as much as he valued your own. And yet you couldn't live with that fact. To be treated in the same respect as us would mean we were of equal standing, and that is what bothered you the most. You couldn't stand to have a citizen of Rukongai be treated as an equal, so you murdered him." Tatsuya said as he walked next to captain Akarui and grabbed for his zanpakuto.

He quickly unsheathed his zanpakuto, throwing his scabbard across the hall and pointing the blade at Raiden. "For the Shihoin Clan, I hereby place YOU under arrest for the murder of the late Grand Elder." Tatsuya declared causing half the Omnitsukido to draw their swords. That half charged at Raiden, but the other half quickly moved to protect him, some moving in between and others attacking from behind, completely catching them off guard and quickly stopping them. Raiden started to laugh maniacally. "It's not that easy. Though some of the Omnitsukido are loyal to the clan, the others are loyal to me because they follow true power. Not the power you think you hold venerable elders." He said with his last sentence being scornful. "How dare you?!" The female elder declared. "Simple really." He stated egotistically. "I'm going to make sure none of you leave alive, then pin this on them." He pointed to Tatsuya and the others. "Then no Rukongai citizen will ever be able to venture into the Seireitei again." He stated as a matter of fact. "I don't think so." Tatsuya stated before quickly flash stepping over and slashing at Raiden. The clang of clashing blades could be heard when Raiden blocked the attack. The five guards quickly started for Tatsuya as he battled Raiden. "No! They're mine." He said before pushing Tatsuya's blade away and kicking him back towards the group.

Raiden's spirtual pressure began to rise steadily, but forcefully. "Prepare yourselves. Everyone who has witnessed this has never lived to tell about it." He said confidently as he placed the hilt of his zanpakuto against the open end of the scabbard. "Follow in their footsteps, Hitomane!" He called out, and his zanpakuto quickly changed into a double ended sword connected at the hilts. "This is the freaky part." He said with a sinister grin. "Futatoori!" He stated causing his body to spilt apart. Tatsuya stared in shock at what he was witnessing. "What the hell?!" He asked out loud as Raiden finished, but now there was not one, but three of him.

Kuro swore aloud as Raiden let his defiance be known. Taking a second look over the number of their forces, he noticed that a slight majority of the Onmitsukido were on his side. His hold on them was strong. While there was a chance that not all of them felt the same as he did, his authority composed of a strong charisma mixed with his skills and fury made him a leader that nobody would be comfortable with abandoning so readily. Thus the room began to break out into a civil war of the Shihoin as the Onmitsukido grew divided among itself with those who would follow Raiden and those who would not. It didn't seem to matter much to him as he prepared to fight and steadily released his reiatsu. With the facade of peaceful negotiations broken, Kuro too prepared himself by releasing his own reiatsu. The force of the two energies blanketed the room, even causing it to seem like it was slightly quivering. "We'll handle Raiden." he called out over the sounds of the starting fight. "Everyone, make sure to protect the elders!" Kuro grabbed his zanpakuto and was ready to charge when Raiden released his shikai and split apart.

"What the hell?!" Kuro exclaimed in perfect unison with Tatsuya at the sight of this ability. It wasn't illusionary clones like Kuro could do with shunpo. These were actual flesh and blood duplicates that Raiden had produced. Such an ability astounded Kuro, but it also began to help unanswered questions come into focus. "This is how you survived being stabbed when you framed Tatsuya. You just made a clone to play the elder and take the fall for real. After all, what's a better way than to fake a death than to use a real genuine one?" Kuro was admittedly impressed with the thought that Raiden had put into this deception, but it didn't change the fact that he was a selfish man who had murdered a person Kuro had respected the best he could. And all for his own twisted goals. Kuro shunpoed across the space and clashed with the Raiden on the left as the forces around them delved into the heat of battle, the central room becoming filled with the sounds of metal clashing upon metal and bodies being thrown about as the Onmitsukido fought. Kuro glared stubbornly into his foes eyes. "Split yourself, copy me, copy my abilities...I don't care what you do. I still intend to end your life today for all that you've put our squad, this family, and most importantly Tatsuya through."

"We'll see who ends who, Rukongai filth!" Raiden had dropped all acts of respect for Kuro now that his true feelings were out in the open. Stepping back for room, he wielded his double sword like a monk staff, chopping one side of it down at Kuro's head. The chop was side stepped as Kuro tried to close the distance again. He jumped as Raiden brought his zanpakuto back up in a rising diagonal slash aimed at Kuro's legs. Now airborne, Kuro silently released his shikai as he fell down towards Raiden. Wasting no time, he released a surge of power into his gauntlet and struck Raiden with a palm thrust that blasted him backwards, crashing into the side of the raised platform where the elders sat. Almost peeling himself off the wall, Raiden snarled with anger as he shot at Kuro to return the favor. Kuro shunpoed to get behind him and sliced down at his shoulder with a concentrated energy blade extending from his wrist. The tactic was too easy to guess, Raiden effortlessly bringing up his weapon to parry Kuro's strike. The two of them stood there for several moments, each trying to push the other back off balance to score a clean hit.

As soon as the man split himself, and that Kuro started to speak the words to protect the elders Tatsu had already been there before the first part of the order was launched. He had shunpo'd straight behind the onmitsukido that had turned and attacked raiden sheathing his sword. Glancing behind he wanted to know what the elders would do, would they watch? would they flee, in any case he was there to protect them from any and all assaults.

As of yet no assaults had been launched on the elders but there were three of that guy. He had been ordered to defend them and that is what he would do. ''Awaken'' He said calmly onlooking at the ongoing fight being ever ready for something to come his way. His blade was now massive, beyond anybody's strength to even weild.

Tatsu was ready to act against anything that came his way, or with any new order he would receive.

There was no difference in power that Tatsuya could detect. Tatsuya first thought that by splitting up, the power would also be split evenly between the three, but that was definitely not the case here. Captain Akarui said it before Tatsuya could; the reason how Raiden managed to survive being stabbed through the chest. "Rise from the ashes, Suzaku!" Tatsuya released his zanpakuto and quickly charged for the center Raiden after Captain Akarui charged for the left. Tatsuya punched at Raiden, who brought up his double blade to block with ease. "I'm going to kill all three of you." Tatsuya said after quickly grabbing onto the blade. "We'll see about that." Raiden replied, quickly twisting the handle of his zanpakuto and pulling it apart. Tatsuya almost didn't have time to react. He jumped back, but not before taking the slash across his chest. Not deep enough to cause major damage, but still enough to draw a decent amount of blood. Raiden quickly followed up, flash stepping behind Tatsuya and attacking with a heavy reverse kick that sent him flying back towards the Shihoin elders. One of the male elders quickly tackled the female elder out of the way and Tatsuya crashed through wall into the courtyard.

Tatsuya landed hard on the ground but quickly bounced back to his feet. He quickly realized that he would not be able to keep up with Raiden at this point and he was glad that he was sent outside. But there was another dilemma. He turned around and there was a unit of omnitsukido in front of him. "Arrest him!" Raiden ordered from behind Tatsuya when he appeared causing the entire unit to draw their swords. "No!" An unfamiliar voice responded. It was an omnitsukido member that managed to escape the fray from the central meeting room. "Raiden is the real murder of the Grand Elder. Arrest...." He said before getting stabbed through his heart by Raiden and dying instantly. "That's enough out of you." Raiden stated before pulling out the blade. Few of the omnitsukido were actually shocked by Raiden's actions, while most others could be heard laughing at the incident. "You bastard!" Tatsuya stated out loud, but Raiden completely ignored him. "Gentlemen." Raiden called out to the members of the omnitsukido that followed him. "It's time for us to cleanse the Seireitei of all the Rukongai filth that inhabits it." He announced causing a loud roar of agreement from most of the members. "And it all starts with that rat you see in front of you." Raiden pointed out at Tatsuya.

His loyal members got into a charging position, but were quickly stopped as several members of the 2nd squad began to appear with shunpo. "What?!" Raiden said as one appeared directly next to Tatsuya. "Okibi-san, Captain Akarui had figured something like this might happen. We are here to help." The man said before more 2nd squad members showed up. "Kill them all!" Raiden shouted before Tatsuya could say anything. The omnitsukido quickly charged at the 2nd squad members and their former omnitsukido allies. Soon it was an all out war between the Gotei 13 and the Omnitsukido. An unprecedented event. "Keep your distance from me." Tatsuya ordered the 2nd squad member who quickly replied and vanished into the fray. Tatsuya turned his attention back to Raiden and began to let his spiritual soar to new heights. "I learned something new, just for you Raiden." Tatsuya stated as flames began to circle around him. "Nothing you learn is enough to defeat me." Raiden countered. "We'll see about that." Tatsuya replied with Raiden's earlier statement. "BANKAI!" Tatsuya shouted and a large flame burst upwards, covering him from view. Raiden had just enough time to escape the flame as he flash stepped back, eyes wide in surprise.

Everyone who had been fighting stopped and turned to the large column of fire, shocked by the surge of power and heat emitting from it. The fire took a moment to die down and Tatsuya emerged in a completely new form. "Syouten Suzaku." He calmly stated the name of his zanpakuto. Raiden stared in shock at Tatsuya's new form. He couldn't help but notice that it had an almost regal feel and look to it. "Bankai?!" Raiden asked out loud. "Why would a rat's bankai take the form of something so elegant and regal?! Why would an zanpakuto of that caliber choose you to wield it?! Why would it grant a rat such power?! You think that form means you are better then the nobles?! BETTER THEN ME?!" He asked question after question, unable to understand, and getting louder until he shouted and charged at Tatsuya. Tatsuya raised his right arm in front of his face and blocked the slash from Raiden. "WHY WOULD A RAT BE ABLE TO LEARN BANKAI SO EASILY WHEN THE NOBILITY HAVE SO MUCH TROUBLE DOING SO?!" He yelled directly to Tatsuya's face. Tatsuya remained calm and composed as Raiden yelled at him, but refused to answer. Tatsuya pushed Raiden away, who had not anticipated the strength increase.

Kuro and his Raiden were still locked tight in their clash to try and overpower each other. Kuro was about to give himself the edge by powering up his strength with his zanpakuto when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. The third and final Raiden was moving in to provide support for the one Kuro was fighting. He immediately abandoned his struggle with the first and leaped back just in time to avoid a heavy chopping motion that struck where he had been standing. The two gave him no chance to regroup, charging at him with shunpo and keeping him on the defensive as they attacked in turns to keep him pinned with a constant barrage of blades. Kuro saw plenty of opportunities to retreat and get free from them, but didn't like the idea of keeping the fight inside like this. He needed more room to work, and more importantly had to get the heavy part of the fighting away from the nobles. He heard the crash when Tatsuya was sent flying through the wall and saw the opening in the building leading out to the courtyard. Now he just needed a way to get these guys out there. As they both pressed him back, they pulled back for a consecutive heavy strike to break Kuro's defense. He took that as his chance.

"Bankai!" Kuro's voice echoed in the central room over the cries of the battling shinigamis as a quick flash of a pillar of energy engulfed his body, fading to reveal him dressed in his black and gold ninja bankai attire. He raised both of his hands, now each fitted with an energy compressing gauntlet, and coated his fingers with released spiritual energy that he molded into the shape of thick shining energy gloves. With this solid layer of power covering his hands, he was able to stop the descending blades without injuring himself. He wrapped the Raidens' swords in his grip and heaved with a grunt of effort as he threw them out the hole that Tatsuya had left behind. "Try and lure the onmitsukido outside!" Kuro called to Tatsu and the soldiers who now fought for their side. Jumping through the hole afterwards, he was back out in the open space of the courtyard as the scene devolved into the same chaos that was inside. Kuro and the two Raidens he faced were squaring off on the stone ground of the estate when they paused just like the rest of the outside combatants in reaction to Tatsuya's surge of power followed by the giant flame that enveloped him. When the flame died, Tatsuya looked much more menacing, with bladed gauntlets and boots as well as an impressive and regal looking span of flaming wings. All together, he looked like a humanoid phoenix, glowing brightly in the center of the compound. It was a shocking display for Raiden, who was brought back to the task at hand by Kuro's voice.

"Don't you think you should be focusing on the more imminent threat?" he called tauntingly to turn the two Raidens' attention back to him. They looked back and found him with his hands folded in a concentrating stance with two of the seven empty rings on his bankai's torso sash filled up with bright yellow color. Neither Raiden or any of the onmitsukido had ever seen Kuro's bankai in action, but Raiden knew about it's abilities from the same records Kuro had used to study up on his abilities. The two knew that they had to engage Kuro to keep him from further concentrating his energy. Otherwise, Kuro's strength would grow too strong to match. Kuro smirked as they charged in together and responded by forming two katanas of bright energy clasped in his hands. Like Tatsuya's Raiden had done, the two detached the halves of their swords to fight with dual blades like Kuro was now. The situation quickly turned into a flurry of blades as the three became a quick and dangerous blend of men and zanpakuto.

Kuro gave as good as he got, the energy in his body, gauntlets and boots allowing him to greatly increase his strength as well as his speed. He swiped horizontally to blow one of his foe's guard out of the way before stabbing with his second sword and managing to put a nice stab in his side. But things weren't going as well as they could. Even with the reinforcements from the second squad, Raiden's loyal onmitsukido still outnumbered them, albeit only by a small margin now. The worse part was that the speed and efficiency of the onmitsukido was of a higher skill level than most of the plain squad members. Signs began to show of Kuro's forces being overpowered. Even with his strength and versatility with his zanpakuto's abilities, Kuro was being pressured by having to take on the four blades of both Raidens at once. He received a kick in the chest as he blocked the blades on both sides, leaving his center wide open, and was knocked back to the ground. One of the Raidens rushed in to exploit this opportunity and finish him off. Kuro gritted his teeth and moved to try and repel him from the ground but didn't need to as the Raiden jumped backward and out of the way as a familiar looking giant shuriken flew through the space between them. Curving like a boomerang, the throwing star flew back the way it had come, being caught by a small thin hand of a person standing on the estate wall. Before Kuro could get a good look, the figure and another beside it had disappeared with shunpo and reappeared in front of him to block the strikes of the second Raiden who had tried to attack in the moment's confusion. Now getting a good look at the backs of both of them, Kuro was choked up with surprise, relief and gratitude.

"Mika...and Keita-kun?!" Kuro was overjoyed to see his beloved again. Mika had been missing since the Central 46 had sent her on a mission to the living world. Kuro had almost given up hope on ever seeing her again. But as happy he was to see her, he was equally surprised seeing the young noble champion of the Shihoin family who had once dueled him for the chance of taking his captain position here at this fight. His blonde hair shone in the sunlight as did his elegant golden zanpakuto sword, released into its double edged, western style sword shikai form. Along with Mika, he held back the attacking Raiden while turning his head to glance sideways at Kuro. "Not very nice of you Captain, trying to keep us out of the loop of things while you organize a just resistance for our family's honor. Didn't you draft us into the squad to help us learn equality, honor and teamwork?"

"Us...?" Kuro was confused, but was quickly enlightened as the estate walls were suddenly bearing the figures of the remainder of squad 2, the younger nobles from the Shihoin family and its branches whom Kuro had been unsure of including in this fight and refrained from briefing. Forcibly drafted into the squad per the wager of a bet after Kuro's duel with Keita, the nobles had been slow to adapt to the less glamorous life of plain shinigami. But looking at them all gathered now, it was clear that Kuro's actions had had some impact on their outlook. With a rallying cry from Keita, the numbers descended from the wall to join their allies on the courtyard ground to assist in subduing Raiden's forces. As one of the two Raidens they were fighting moved in with a double chop of his two sword halves, Keita pulled back with his zanpakuto and swung a parrying strike. "Don't underestimate my Hanshakyo you bastard!" he shouted as the ornate golden bracelet on his right wrist connected to his sword's handle by a golden chain began to glow in reaction to the enemy strike. When their weapons met, neither combatant was overpowered. Keita's zanpakuto, Hanshakyo, had an interesting ability to give an output of kinetic force equal to that of incoming attacks. No matter how large or powerful the enemy, his zanpakuto would not allow them to overpower him with brute force.

Kuro took an opportunity here and dashed up quick to perform a cross slash down Raiden's front after his advance had been halted by Keita. Two diagonal lacerations now decorated this Raiden's front. The hits had not been deep enough to be fatal, but he was bleeding quite profusely. Mika followed up with a slash of her zanpakuto to try and finish the job, but was parried by the blade of an enemy standing between her and the wounded Raiden. The elite onmitsukido guards had moved from the central room and were now moving to cover Raiden. Kuro saw three of them standing in the way of himself, Keita and Mika, and the other two heading towards Tatsuya. They were likely there to try and give Raiden the time to recover, or even let him escape. Kuro wasn't willing to let the effort they'd put into this fight so far be wasted. Stepping out in front of the other two, he prepared to coordinate their resistance. "I want the two of you to help me get by these guys. Then, try and team up with Tatsu Chirako. I think you guys can handle these guards if you stick together. I'll get Tatsuya and go after Raiden so we can be rid of him."

Mika and Keita knew their roles. "Right!" they replied with vigor as the three began their charge at the new obstacles in their way.

Raiden had trouble stopping himself from the force that Tatsuya had pushed away with, and eventually crashed into one of the outer wings of the complex. Tatsuya quickly gave chase. He was going to end this tonight. Half way to the wing two of the elites from before impeded his path to Raiden. "Out of my way. You are of no concern to me." Tatsuya ordered, keeping his guard down. They just stood there, not saying a single word. They lifted there swords and charged for Tatsuya, only the bells on their swords could be heard from them. "So be it." Tatsuya raised his guard and let them get closer. All of a sudden an arrow shot past Tatsuya's head and hit the floor right between the two elites and exploded, sending them back a ways. Tatsuya eye's shot wide open as he recalled that weapon and quickly turned around with his guard raised. "Tsuneo Shihoin." He called out as the noble he had fought in the living world quickly appeared with shunpo, holding onto an elegant silver bladed bow.

Spoiler:

"Easy there! I'm here to help." Tsuneo quickly raised his hands to try and ward off Tatsuya's suspicions but Tatsuya kept a wary gaze on him. "Look, I know you tried to tell me back on Earth and I didn't believe you, but I think we already swept that passed us. Now go get that bastard." He stated enthusiastically. Tsuneo's eyes shot open in surprise when the two elites quickly appeared behind Tatsuya. "Look out!" He shouted but Tatsuya had already reacted when he saw Tsuneo's eyes. "Bakudo number 22 - Wall of Pillars." Sumiko shouted and placed her hands on the ground making a small wall in front Tatsuya and the elites. She quickly flash stepped right next to him, ignoring the heat from his bankai. "You go get Raiden, we'll handle these two." She said as the two appeared on opposite sides of them. Her voice was different, more confident. Tatsuya had never known her to to be this serious, but he guessed it was because he never let her be. He was usually around to do all the fighting so she would always be supporting. She quickly charged the elite in front of her. Tatsuya was about to say something when the other elite attacked, but was quickly blocked by Tsuneo. "Try to stay focused, Okibi-san." He grunted as he held the elite at bay.

The elite slashed at Sumiko, who quickly countered with a chantless "seki," repelling the attack and opening him up for a counter. She quickly landed a flurry of visibly weak punches against the elite's upper torso. Surely it would do no damage, but once she finished the elite dropped to the ground as if he had taken punches from someone much more powerful. "Hurry and go, Tatsuya!" Sumiko shouted waking Tatsuya from his astounded trance. "Huh, right." He responded and quickly went after the direction Raiden was sent flying. He was still surprised by Sumiko, he was sure that her fighting skills were mediocre, but at the display he had just witnessed, was unbelievable. Then he quickly remembered that she had merely stated she hated fighting, not that she didn't know how to fight.

Tatsuya quickly arrived at the outer wing and heard a female screaming for help on the other side. "Are you okay?" Tatsuya asked when he approached. "H-he tried to kill me, but left when he felt you coming. He went that way." She pointed in the opposite direction. "Okay. Hurry up and get away from here." Tatsuya said and quickly turned around. Before he could take off, a sword pierced right through his chest and Tatsuya's eye's went distant. "Even with bankai, you are nothing more than vermin." Raiden stated from behind as he changed back to his original form and started to laugh at his victory.

The three elites blocking their path showed no reaction to Kuro and his supporters' charge. They remained where they stood, cutting off the path to Raiden. Kuro brought his blades down on one, who quickly moved to parry the pair with a swift motion. The other two made motions to help, but were forced to move back as Keita and Mika advanced on them. Kuro pushed hard against his opponent, his body brimming with compressed spirit energy. With his blade busy blocking Kuro's energy swords, the guard had no way of reacting when Kuro suddenly whipped up his leg while releasing a burst of his power into his boot to deliver a super strength imbued kick to the man's stomach. This gave him the chance he needed. While the elite was flying through the air, Kuro shunpoed over to Mika and slashed at her opponent to shoo him away for a moment. He showed no resistance, apparently being temporarily shaken by Kuro's display against his ally. While rid of their enemies for the moment, Kuro took Mika's face in his hands and brought his lips to hers in a quick kiss that conveyed his feelings of affection and relief despite the high intensity of the battle around them. Pulling his face inches from hers, he spoke quickly to not ruin the opening they'd made. "I'm so glad you're back. Do your best out here, but don't do anything to put yourself too much at risk. I won't forgive you if you leave me again."

Mika only blushed and nodded slightly in return, clearly taken by surprise of Kuro's unexpected move in the middle of the fight. He smirked and quickly shot off in the direction that the Raidens had gone. The guard he'd sent flying before was slightly recovered and made a motion to get in his way again, but was neatly cut down by a swipe of Kuro's blades. "Don't get in my way." he said flatly as he entered the building. The path that the Raidens had taken was obvious, as a trail of blood from the one Kuro had slashed clearly marked their route along the ground with a red path of splatters. He could also feel Tatsuya's spiritual pressure getting closer. As he rounded a corner, he arrived just in time to see a female stab Tatsuya from behind before turning into Raiden. The other two were moving down the stretch to join up, but Kuro wasn't going to let all three of them be alone with Tatsuya. Dissolving his blades, he freed the jewels in the palms of his gauntlets and fired a twin stream of energy down the hall at the backs of the Raidens he pursued. Alerted to the attack by the bright light the streams gave off, the Raidens dodged to the side, their focus now back on Kuro. The absence of the helpers he'd had outside seemed to give them a touch of their courage back, and they turned their backs on Tatsuya and his Raiden to prepare to fight with Kuro again.

''Right'' Tatsu shouted as he was ordered to take the numbers of the enemy onmitsukido outside, he had been protecting the elders all the time, and fought of the tides. Without a doubt impressing the protected folks with his massive sword. A member of the enemy squad jumped in the air trying to get an advantage over the samurai, quickly..as fast as he could Tatsu did a half jumped and twisted his body twirling in mid air and bringing his sword from top to bottom in a vertical slash, slamming the member against the ground with most of his body being opened, he had already passed away.

Taking his first step Tatsu wildly started to swing his blade forcing the mass of enemies back towards the door leaving the raidens behind. Everytime a ninja would try to slip passed Tatsu, he would mercilessly chop him down as brutally as possible using the sheer weight of his blade to crush their defense and their bones at the same time. Knowing what he wanted and that there was no other way to get passed him most of the onmitsukido stepped outside, and Tatsu followed them taking his place in front of the doors and entering his stance, his main goal wasn't to kill them of course, but if one would try to pass he would taste the swordsmanship of a samurai.

It didn't take long for the samurai to hear the fight escalate to a whole other level, the spiritual pressure jumped suddenly and he could feel the weight push him down. Looking behind he could see alot of fire and energy being tossed around, corpses here and there, mostly left from his bloody wake. As he looked behind a member of the enemy team charged at him, but Tatsu had expected it sword on his shoulder he merely sidestepped, dodging the thrust, stepping on the ninja's foot preventing him from getting anywhere, Tatsu slammed down his sword on the ninja's shoulder, killing him on the spot with a sliced heart. Kicking him away he turned to the rest of the enemy team and the countless numbers of backup they were getting right now, this would be a dangerous fight. ''I am Tatsu Chirako, I will be your opponent!''

Tatsuya didn't have time to react. He should of known better. He already knew that Raiden could transform into other people. The sword pierced his chest right through his heart and his eye's went distant and unfocused. Raiden laughed maniacally as Tatsuya remained there lifeless. "What?!" Raiden shouted when suddenly, Tatsuya's body vanished into thin air. Four large blades pierced through Raiden's chest as Tatsuya appeared from behind and punched him with his large bladed fists. "Way of Onmitsu, 3rd of the Shihō. Utsusemi." Tatsuya stated the name of the technique he used. "I told you I would kill all three of you. Two more." He leaned close to Raiden's ear and whispered as the life slowly left from him. "Hinote Soujou." He called out and blasted Raiden's body from his fist, with a gigantic flame.

Tatsuya turned to see the other Raidens engaging in battle with Captain Akarui. Before he could head towards them a squad of ten Omnitsukido appeared from above him and came down swinging their swords at him. Tatsuya disappeared with shunpo when they almost hit him and then reappeared high above them. His flaming wings flapped as he flew down. He punched at the ground and the Omnitsukido members jumped out to avoid it. He collided with the ground, causing it to quake and crater below them. The nearby building began to crack from the shock wave from the collision. The Omnitsukido charged once again as Tatsuya stuck to the ground. "Hibashira!" Tatsuya shouted as he bladed fist lingered in the ground. A large five meter column of fire shot up from directly underneath Tatsuya as the Omnitsukido got within striking range and engulfed all of them and part of the building. Tatsuya jumped out from the column and flew straight towards Captain Akarui and the two Raiden. One of the Raiden sensed Tatsuya's charged and quickly turned and blocked a bladed punch with one of his two swords. Tatsuya pushed both of them back away from Captain Akarui and the other Raiden.

Raiden dug his feet into the ground and stopped the pushing force. Both snarled at each other as they raised their reiatsu, trying to push the other back. Tatsuya swung around with his other bladed fist and Raiden quickly flash stepped back. "Don't think they same thing will work twice." Raiden said making Tatsuya raise an eyebrow. "So you know what the other has experienced?" Tatsuya asked calmly, glaring at Raiden. Raiden didn't answer as his fingers opened and closed around the swords. He quickly began to change in front of Tatsuya. Standing before Tatsuya now was a man about 6'2", with shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. The weapons also changed. Now he held onto a double bladed, chained kusari-gama.

Spoiler:

Tatsuya got into a fighting stance and Raiden quickly charged him and slashed at him with one of the kusari gama. Tatsuya blocked and punched with his other hand. Raiden let the other one go slack as he held it by the chain, quickly side stepping and swinging it around, tying it around the bladed fist. Raiden pulled hard on the chain and swung Tatsuya around throwing him towards the building. Tatsuya was caught off guard by the technique and quickly slammed through the building, clear to the other side before the chains loosened. Tatsuya hit the ground sliding on his back, setting the ground on fire with the wings his back. He flipped to his feet and jumped into the air just as Raiden came from the new hole in the building. "Hinote Soujou!" He punched the air and sent a large ball of fire at Raiden. Raiden kept his charge and held out one of the blades in front of him. It quickly began to absorb the fire and the chain started to glow. Raiden swung the other blade and let out a yellow wave of energy right at Tatsuya. "What?!" Tatsuya exclaimed and brought his arms in front of him in an X position taking the full force of the attack. Tatsuya was scuffed and Raiden quickly threw a blade at Tatsuya before he could recover. A painful grunt escaped as the blade embedded itself into Tatsuya's shoulder and Raiden pulled at it, dragging Tatsuya to the ground. Tatsuya hit the ground and Raiden charged in for the finisher. Raiden was stopped when Tatsuya twisted on the ground and performed a windmill kick on the ground sending flames all around him from his feet. Raiden blocked the attack and skidded back from the force as Tatsuya got to his feet and pulled out the blade from his shoulder. "I should've known." Raiden stated when realized Tatsuya could use fire techniques from all of his appendages.