Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 35
"You can do that?" Ichigo landed and couldn't help himself. "You can actually sacrifice one blade's power to strengthen the other?"
The hand gripping the red silk cord gave a pull, and the large blade on the ground flew back to Jushiro Ukitake. The moment the hilt was gripped, both blades returned to their normal size, identical to how they'd been at the start.
"Zanpakuto abilities truly know no bounds."
Ichigo muttered it to himself. He still hadn't gotten a solid read on that so-called game, and yet the blade that had seemingly done nothing but absorb spiritual pressure had already pulled out something new. A simple ability on the surface, but the ways it could be applied shifted with every turn of the battle.
"Oh my, oh my!" Shunsui Kyoraku stumbled back several steps. "Lucky for me—otherwise that strike might have cost me my life!"
"Be careful, Kyoraku!" Jushiro Ukitake said gravely. "Without the boost from your ability, that slash alone would have been terrifying."
Where Ichigo had cut the blade from the air, a hairline crack had formed, invisible to the naked eye, but undeniably real. And that was after the blade had been reinforced. As its owner, Jushiro Ukitake seemed to hear the Zanpakuto's cry of pain.
How frightening... even my teacher's Shikai couldn't do something like this...
"One moment of carelessness, and a sparring session might just turn into an incident."
By now Shunsui Kyoraku was already feeling a touch of regret. The strength would be fearsome, that much had been expected. Just not fearsome to this degree. There was perhaps some argument that they'd held back a little, but fighting side by side with a closest friend, the two of them could genuinely contend with the mightiest Soul Reaper.
And yet here they were, the two of them at full capacity, getting dominated by a single human kid. Never mind that neither of them had used Bankai. Ichigo looked completely at ease the entire time, which made it obvious that even without Bankai, he had other cards to play.
"How about... we just call it here?" Shunsui Kyoraku said, going with gut instinct. "If we keep fighting, someone might end up seriously hurt."
"Don't worry, I know exactly how hard I'm hitting!" Ichigo said confidently. "It absolutely will not turn into a homicide!"
"But... if something unexpected comes up, I can't make any guarantees."
"...Understood." Shunsui Kyoraku shook his head, the veiled threat hadn't been lost on them. "I'll ask you to show some mercy, then."
"Of course!"
The words hadn't even faded before Ichigo was already right in front of Shunsui Kyoraku. The short blade thrust forward. The long blade in his right hand settled at his left hip, poised and loaded.
"Damn it!"
His speed had jumped by far more than just a little. Shunsui Kyoraku barely reacted in time to block the thrust, and in that same instant, the long blade came out of its drawn-blade stance, already unsheathed!
Fwoosh,
An energy projectile burst into existence at his side, formed from spiritual pressure compressed to its absolute limit. Ichigo's pupils contracted. The long blade had no time to intercept, he could only swing into it instead.
"Irooni—White!"
The words came again. Ichigo's brow furrowed. Shunsui Kyoraku's twin blades swept the short blade aside and came slashing directly at Ichigo.
"Hmph!"
The branch-like patterns beneath his skin shifted quietly. Outwardly the change was barely visible, but the effect had transformed completely. Ichigo didn't dodge. Didn't evade. He stood his ground and let it come.
Slash,
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"I see now... no wonder you keep calling out 'white'..."
The blade had swept across his body, yet only a few drops of blood fell. The curved blade carved from his right chest all the way down to his left hip, but strangely, most of the area showed only a white mark. Only at the white sash did a bloody line appear, and that was where the drops were falling from.
"Cuts landing on the black areas carry some force, but not as much as you'd expect, Blut can fully defend against them." Ichigo examined the wound and said, putting it together: "But the white sash area hits with real power. It broke through Blut's defense."
"And that white Captain's Haori of yours, the larger the area of a given color on your body, the higher the damage when that spot gets hit, right?"
"Really." Shunsui Kyoraku wore an expression of helpless resignation. "I was expecting to give a few more hints. Didn't think you'd figure it out in a single hit."
"That said—with an ability like this, wouldn't black be the better call?"
"Black just doesn't hit as hard." Shunsui Kyoraku said. "I'd rather go with white and actually do some damage. I was originally thinking that slash would just about slice your belly open."
"Fair enough."
The wound wasn't particularly deep. A quick application of Blut Vene sealed the blood vessel, and the dripping stopped. While Ichigo was handling that, Jushiro Ukitake launched forward in a single Shunpo.
"You're getting distracted!"
Twin blades rained down. The iron plates rang with a sharp clanging clash. Ichigo raised the long blade horizontally across his chest and blocked.
"You two are just connecting too fast!"
Turning defense into offense, the short blade thrust out again. Golden spiritual pressure rose along the blade, but the Sogyo no Kotowari in Jushiro Ukitake's hands blazed with a blinding light, and the energy projectile that had appeared moments ago bloomed straight off the blade's tip.
"Tch! Cheap trick!"
The light cut off his line of sight. His movements slowed just a fraction. Jushiro Ukitake used precisely that moment to slip away from the thrust. Calling it a cheap trick was entirely accurate, Ichigo had already made up his mind. If this happened again, his Getsuga Tensho was not made of clay.
"Kageoni!"
A voice utterly devoid of emotion, still as dead water, rose from behind him. What Ichigo hadn't seen was that the energy projectile hadn't only blocked his vision, it had stretched out his shadow.
"What?"
He turned. Even as the light faded, his shadow hadn't returned to normal. It was still stretched, still pulled long across the ground.
"Sorry about this, kid!"
Shunsui Kyoraku was standing on that shadow. The curved blade came plunging fiercely down into it, and the blade vanished, as though it had slipped through into another dimension entirely.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"...What?!"
Blood poured without stopping from Shunsui Kyoraku's own chest. Eyes wide. Face filled with pure disbelief. The blade hadn't gone for Ichigo the way it was supposed to. The targets had swapped, and it had come back around and stabbed Shunsui Kyoraku instead.
"What on earth just happened..." Jushiro Ukitake, who had been coordinating with the light, stared with the same wide-eyed shock. "Why did Shunsui attack... could it be..."
"You two."
Golden light rose along the long blade. Not the Getsuga Tensho, just pure sword pressure. Shunsui Kyoraku was one thing, but looking at Jushiro Ukitake standing there in a daze, Ichigo was fairly certain that one swing with the Getsuga Tensho behind it might genuinely be lethal.
"Truly bold."
Blut Arterie activated at full force. Every physical capability surged to its peak. Ichigo closed in on Jushiro Ukitake, and the long blade blazing with golden light came crashing down.
"You used a shadow attack without even knowing what the other person could do?"
Blood erupted. A massive sword wound carved from the left shoulder all the way down to the right abdomen. Struck by the full weight of that blow, Jushiro Ukitake's eyes went vacant and fell.
"Cough!"
Shunsui Kyoraku wrenched the curved blade free and couldn't hold back, spitting a mouthful of blood. The blood wouldn't stop flowing. Just as Shunsui Kyoraku opened their mouth as if to say something, they collapsed straight down into the pooling red.
"What idiots!" Ichigo stood over them, looking thoroughly satisfied.
Karakura Town's top dog, Ichigo Kurosaki, vs. Squad Eight Captain Shunsui Kyoraku and Squad Thirteen Captain Jushiro Ukitake.
Ichigo Kurosaki wins.
➤ Next: Clash of Strength (Part One)