Gateway 66

I barely slept that night.

The press of Luna’s body on mine, her hot breath on my neck, her spiritual pressure blanketing me, all mixing together to form a sense of contentment in me that led to one of the best nights in my life. And I wanted to be awake to experience it.

My plans for dealing with the clusterfuck of the previous day could take a backseat to helping Luna get a handle on her new abilities. Although I doubted it’d take more than a day or two for her to want to go back to Hogwarts to see Fleur alive and well with her own eyes.

And oh, I had plans. My time in the Soul Society taught me a lot, mainly how to lead a group of lunatics, which the cultists following Voldemort most definitely were. Setting things up so they became my arm in the Wizarding World would be simple, and considering how much influence they showed they had in the Ministry after what they did at the World Cup, I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire government ended up following my orders in the next few years. Which would align perfectly with my plans for the Order back home.

“Stop brooding,” Luna whispered. I looked down at her to see her sleepily staring at me.

“I’m not brooding,” I whispered back. “I’m just planning.”

“Well, plan later.” She said, kissing my neck. “I have a better idea of what to do right now.”

I shivered as her hand got under my shirt, her fingers tracing my muscles.

“All that physical exercise paid off,” she said, feeling up my chest as she slowly trailed her hand down.

“I did,” I smiled, setting my hand under her shirt and poking her belly. “And so did yours.” I spread my palm over her flat stomach and moved it up, sneaking it under her bra to fondle her boobs.

She gasped in surprise, then pulled my head down to kiss her as her hand on my chest grew desperate.

Her breasts were warm and firm, yet soft when I squeezed them. The noises Luna made when I changed how I groped them sounded like heaven. Then, I felt her nipples stiffen, and I had a new target.

Luna moaned softly, her nails digging into me as I slightly pinched a nipple. She looked up at me with half-lidded eyes and let her hand trail down the rest of the way.

I froze as she rested her hand around my dick over my underwear, giving it a firm squeeze. I was already rock hard from touching her boobs, but this? It made me harder than I ever thought possible.

There was a challenge in her eyes now, and I slowly let go of her breast to settle my hand over her panties.

It was wet. Almost completely soaked through, and I couldn’t help but bring my finger to my mouth to taste it, to taste her.

The image of me licking her juices from my fingers did something to her, because her hand was instantly at the hem of my pants, fumbling in her attempts to lower them and my underwear at the same time.

At the same time, I started taking Luna’s blouse off, throwing it away, and moving on to attempt to unhook her bra when the door burst open.

“Alex!” Doni exclaimed, the smile on his face at odds with the sword in his hand and the killing intent he emanated.

I cursed myself for not noticing his presence approaching, but my mind and senses were occupied with more pressing matters at the time.

Thankfully, Doni didn’t seem to notice the situation he caught me and Luna in, as she had pulled the covers over us the instant the door opened.

Not like I’d let him get away with it either way.

Without missing a beat, I pointed my hand at him and chanted.

"Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy.”

Doni’s smile dropped as I aimed all of the killing intent I spent months honing with Zaraki at him.

“Boil forth and deny. Grow numb and flicker.”

“Alex?” Doni asked, taking a step back at the sheer amount of power I was channeling into the spell.

“Disrupt sleep. Crawling queen of iron.”

That was when he finally actually looked at me: sitting on the bed, covers only to my waist, with a head of blonde hair by my side.

“Eternally self-destructing doll of mud.” I pushed on, finding some more power to dump it in the spell.

Doni started rapidly looking around, his eyes finally settling on the window.

“Unite. Repulse.”

He didn’t wait a second longer, jumping through and out of the window as fast as he could.

“Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness!" I finished the chant, jumping out of bed and aiming at Doni’s running form.

“Hadō #90, Kurohitsugi!”

In the distance, a giant pillar of black and purple spiritual energy rose to the sky, its top filled with cross-shaped spears.

Once it was completed, the spiritual energy emanating from it faded away, revealing the giant black coffin holding Doni.

“That won’t hold him for long,” I said, turning back to see Luna staring wide-eyed at the product of my spell. “Luna!” I called, shaking her out of her daze and making her look at me. “That won’t hold him for much longer,” I said, sitting on the bed to adjust my clothes and put on my shoes. “I’ll go teach him a lesson.”

“Alex!” Isane screamed as she burst into the room in a panic. “That was Kurohitsugi!”

“Yeah,” I nodded, strapping Stargazer at my hip. “It was.”

“That could have killed everyone in the house!” She exclaimed, looking wide-eyed around the room before her eyes fell on Luna, still only half-dressed, prompting Isane’s face to turn a bright shade of red.

“Relax,” I said, waving away her worries as I watched Luna rush to put a shirt on. “Everyone’s bed is on this side of the house. The worst that could happen is some damage to the house, and I can fix that easily enough.”

“You mean to tell me that that,” she pointed at the black tower in the distance, cracks starting to form in it. “Wouldn’t have destroyed the house and killed everyone inside it!?”

“I mean, yeah?” I shrugged, watching curiously as Luna stepped up to me, looking up at me expectantly. “If he didn’t run away, I’d just have kicked him out and cast the Kido then.” I raise an eyebrow at Luna, “What’s up?”

“I’m going with you,” she said while Isane seemed at a loss for words.

“Sure,” I said, pulling out the bedge Ukitake had given me and handing it to her. “Just use this to get out of your body.”

As Luna figured out how to use the badge, Isane looked at her in exasperation.

“Why aren’t you mad at him!? He almost destroyed your home and killed you and your father!” She glanced at me. “And who was that anyway!?”

“Got it!” Luna cheered as her body dropped onto the bed. “And I’m not mad,” she said, turning to Isane and standing by my side. “Because I trust him. He wouldn’t let either me or my father get hurt, so why worry?”

“And that,” I said, pointing to the pillar that was a breath away from breaking. “Is the brother I told Zaraki about.”

Just then, the black coffin shattered, revealing a hurt, but still standing, Doni.

“And that’s my cue to go,” I said, giving Luna a kiss before turning to Isane. “Take her and follow me. But keep a distance! Treat it the same as my fight with Zaraki.”

After I finished talking, I jumped out of the window, using short bursts of Flash Step to reach Doni.

I could have just apparated over, but I needed the time to activate my Runes Authority. I had come up with some techniques to get the full incantation out during battle, but I’d rather not need to use them.

Besides, I could feel he already had at least one Authority active, so I’d better arrive on equal footing.

___

“Doni,” I said, stepping up in front of him with my arms crossed as I finished my incantation. His clothes were all cut up, and he was covered in small splotches of blood, but no actual injuries were present.

“Alex,” he said, gazing at me warily. “That was a pretty dangerous spell for you to cast in the middle of Xeno’s house.”

“What can I say?” I shrugged. “I just took a page from your book to see how it felt. Did you enjoy the spell?”

His eyes widened in surprise before smiling widely. “You wanted this fight too, didn’t you?” His eyes flickered behind me, where I felt Isane and Luna arriving far enough away for neither to get hurt when the fight started. “And it was a good spell. It’d have taken me out if it wasn’t for my Authority.”

“Don’t try to flatter me,” I rolled my eyes. From my experience, Zaraki would have probably only been slowed down by that unmodified Kurohitsugi. “And yes, I wanted this fight. It’s been months since I had a proper one, and you just gave me enough motivation to go all out.”

“That’s what I like to hear!” Doni exclaimed, extending his sword in front of him and saying:

"I hereby swear, I forbid the existence of things I cannot cut!"

At the same time, I said:

"Now you know all. Was it worth, an eyeball?"

“Ho? You learned what that Authority does?” Doni asked, leaning forward to take a better look at my glowing eye.

“Yep,” I nodded. “But that’s not why you wanted this fight,” I settled my hand on Stargazer’s hilt.

“You can’t blame me for being curious,” he said, entering battle position. “I can see from how you move that you learned how to wield it. Now I want to see it in action.”

“As you wish,” I said, giving a fake, long-suffering sigh and drawing my Zanpakuto. “Read, Stargazer!”

I didn’t give Doni the time to appreciate Stargazer’s appearance, Flash Stepping behind him and slashing at his back.

To no effect besides pushing him away.

‘He kept the Authority active,’ I thought in annoyance. Doni didn’t like to use it because it annoyed him.

“A little disappointing,” Doni said, turning to look at Stargazer. “I expected it to at least scratch me.”

With that, he blasted towards me in an overhead slash, his sword whistling through the air, only for me to divert it by angling Stargazer downwards and to the side, making Doni overextend and giving me enough time to cast: “Diffindo!” with my retaliatory chop.

“That’s better!” Doni exclaimed, jumping away to check the shallow cut I left on his arm. “Let’s take it up a notch.”

And then he was on me, attacking in wild abandon. He had a counter for every counter I used, a parry for all of my attacks, and footing so light it felt like he was Flash Stepping every time I thought I’d score a hit.

Worst of all: he didn’t give me any opportunities to cast a spell or disengage. His blows were too strong for me to wield Stargazer one-handed, and he aimed at my legs when I tried to Flash Step away. So all I could do was move us around the field, desperately using every sword skill I learned to give me time to think of a way to fight back.

Zaraki was never like this. Sure, he was relentless, but he also always let you power up and attack. He wanted you to use everything you had against him, and if that meant letting you get some space to cast a spell or try something new, he was all for it. That’s how I won my fight against him.

Doni, on the other hand, wanted a fun fight, where fun was relegated solely to skill with a sword. That was his obsession, after all. He’d accept other types of fights so he could use his own skills, as he had the times we fought before, but now that I had learned how to use a sword? He didn’t want me to use anything else.

Unfortunately for him, I had learned much more than just that during my stay at the Soul Society.

The moment I had been waiting for arrived: Doni let a full gap between us form due to the blowback from our swords hitting each other. I didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.

“Bakudo #81, Danku,” I said, pouring as much spiritual power as I could manage and jumping back immediately after, seeing his sword slowly cut down the translucent barrier I formed even as I started drawing Runes with Stargazer.

Doni didn’t wait after he was finished, rushing towards me, intent on keeping up the offense.

But I was ready this time, jumping over his attack and slashing down at him with all of my power.

“Hado #78, Zangerin Sectumsempra!”

What was supposed to be a yellow ring of cutting spiritual power came out crimson, the malevolent energy of the dark spell giving an eerie feeling as it rushed down at him.

Doni managed to get his sword up in time, taking a step back and angling it down to divert it, for all the good that it did. My attack cut through his supposedly “Invincible Sword” like butter and kept going, taking a chunk out of his arm large enough that I could see bone.

He jumped back, the wound on his arm already closed as he peered at his sword.

“That was new…” He muttered, looking up at me.

“And there’s more where that came from,” I said, healing myself from all of the cuts he had given me.

“Good,” he smiled, a new “Invincible Sword” already in hand.

___

A/N: And that’s that.

Doni’s Authorities are absolute bullshit. But that’s ok, Alex’s spells are becoming bullshit too.

Also, sorry for ending the chapter like this, but a tree fell in front of my building Saturday night, meaning that I got stuck in my apartment until they removed it Monday afternoon, and that the power only came back yesterday morning. So I didn’t have time to finish the fight this week.

As always, thank you all for your support! See you again next week.