Gateway 55

I left the cigarette smoke behind me as I approached the area Zaraki had found for us to fight.

He had been rounding up the 11th for at least two hours before the time we’d set, so I gathered everyone would already be there.

Stopping to take another drag of my cigarette, I looked at the last-minute addition to the watch party. Her feline form was impatiently pacing as she waited for me.

Yoruichi had been curious about my offhand comment about my fight against Zaraki the previous day. So when I had stopped by earlier to give Kisuke Urahara the Asauchi he requested, she invited herself to come back with me.

I didn’t mind. And more than that, it allowed me to ask about the type of animagus transformation she used when the fight was over. No one had come out and said it, but I doubted a talking cat had been a Captain. Leader of the Stealth Force? Maybe. But not a Captain.

Flickering the cigarette butt away, I smirked at her annoyed growl and Flash Stepped away.

___

The place where the fight would take place was a grassland. No trees or bushes, just grass as far as the eye could see. All under an overcast sky that made the place look gloomy.

I looked over the gathered crowd as I neared them. I didn’t need to do a headcount to know that at least 300 had shown up, and I didn’t plan to; my threat to Zaraki was solely to make sure most of the division would be present.

A flash of white at the front caught my interest, and I quickly stepped over to see Captain Unohana, Isane, and Yachiru talking.

“Captain Unohana, Isane,” I nodded at them while I patted Yachiru’s head. “What brings you two here today?”

“Lieutenant Lupi,” Captain Unohana nodded back with a motherly smile. “Captain Kenpachi was kind enough to invite me, and I thought it’d be good for Isane to see the higher end of sword and magical mastery.”

“That’s good!” I said. It figured that Zaraki would invite her. Those two are remarkably in sync when it comes to violence.

I sent a smirk at Isane. “Just pay attention, because this time, I’m not holding back.”

“I will,” Isane agreed, before her eyes landed on the ground behind me. “Oh! Who’s this cutie?” She asked, picking up a panicked-looking Yoruichi and cooing at her.

“Oh my,” Unohana said, her smile gaining a sharp edge. “If it isn’t Yoruichi! I haven’t seen you in a long time, dear.” Unohana took a defeated Yoruichi from Isane’s hands and started petting her. “We’ll have a long talk when this is over, young lady. And you too, Alex.”

“Wait, wha-” “I SEE YOU, ALEX! HURRY UP AND COME OVER HERE!”

Zaraki’s scream cut me off. I turned back to see him calmly standing a few hundred feet away. He wasn’t wearing his eyepatch or those ridiculous bells, just like I asked, and I couldn’t help the spike of excitement that shot through me at the thought of finally letting my power loose.

“Well, ladies, I’m off,” I said, unstrapping my Zanpakuto. I stuck it in the ground, leaving it standing upright as I moved to stand before Zaraki.

“Finally,” Zaraki said, grin firmly in place. “I’ve been waiting for this since the day we met!”

We stood a hundred feet apart, with the crowd to the side.

“I know. You didn’t exactly try to keep it a secret,” I rolled my eyes.

“Heh, then let’s see what you got!” He screamed, launching himself at me.

"Now you know all.” I started the incantation, apparating to Zaraki’s initial position to avoid his predictable first strike.

“Was it worth,” Zaraki wasn’t the only one with a predictable first move. He pivoted on the spot the instant I disappeared, not giving me time before he was on me again.

“An eyeball?" But I was ready for that. A second apparition, and I had the time to finish my incantation.

My eye shone, and I finally could keep up with his greater reflexes and skill.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only incantation that I needed…

"I know that I hung on a windy tree

nine long nights,

wounded with a spear, dedicated to Odin,

myself to myself,

on that tree of which no man knows

from where its roots run.

No bread did they give me nor a drink from a horn,

downwards I peered;

I took up the runes, screaming I took them,

then I fell back from there."

Zaraki waited for me to finish this time, his maniacal grin growing when the weight of my spiritual pressure increased from the Authority’s activation.

It was only a marginal difference, and I doubted he fully understood what it meant, but I got stronger from using it, and that was enough for him.

I didn’t wait for him to attack this time, apparating behind him with a Runic Array already lighting up at the tip of my finger, pointed directly at his back.

Zaraki was perceptive enough to dodge the attack by turning to face me, his sword aimed at my throat, but it was not enough to do so completely.

The hair-thin beam of concentrated fire pierced the edge of his ribs easily, coming out of the other side just as fast as it went in, but he didn’t stop turning. Muscle and bone parted as he removed himself from the beam, the heat searing it shut.

Taping my feet on the ground, I apparated away, activating the mean version of the mud-trap Array I used against Doni.

A guttural scream came out of Zaraki’s throat as the floor under him turned into lava. He only sank a little bit in it, just enough to fully cover his feet, but it should have been enough to finish the fight.

Should have.

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!”

The scream turned into laughter, and slowly, Zaraki started walking out, not one care for the molten rock under him.

“Ah, I knew you had it in you, Alex,” he said with a smile, stepping out of the lava. His feet were encrusted with cooling rock, but I could see the burns on his ankles. “I should return the favor and start taking this seriously,”

Too fast for me to follow, Zaraki appeared in front of me, sword almost brushing the skin above my heart, intent on piercing it.

I was too slow to avoid it completely, just barely managing to angle myself so that he’d pierce my lung instead.

It hurt. But it didn’t make me want to back off. No, it made me want to beat him more.

Taking hold of his sword arm with my left hand, I pointed two fingers of my right directly at his heart and traced the Fire Rune.

Zaraki noticed the danger, releasing his sword and trying to break away. He managed, but it was already too late.

“Hado #33: Incendio Sokatsui!” I shouted as I finished the Rune, releasing a fist-sized torrent of blindly white flames towards him, and then through him. The flames punching through his chest with little resistance.

“I… won,” I croaked as I fell to my knees, blood trailing from my mouth.

“No, you didn’t,” I heard Zaraki’s hoarse voice say as I felt my blood turn into ice.

I took out the sword still stuck in my chest and threw it to the ground in front of me as I got to my feet, watching as Zaraki did the same.

“I don’t know what you were before joining the 11th,” Zaraki said as he caught his breath, the fist-sized hole I gave him clearly visible, on his stomach. “But you’re a Shinigami now,” he approached me, taking his sword out of the ground. “And we’re a tough lot to kill.”

As I cast a few healing spells on myself to deal with the worst of the damage, he returned to his previous position. I understood what he meant: that if I wanted to win against him or any other Captain-level Shinigami, I’d have to put my all into it.

I had underestimated him, by a lot. To think that he’d only be a little bit stronger without the eyepatch was the height of my hubris.

But no more! Thanks to this fight, I had realized what I was missing when using the Runes, why they always seemed to underperform in battle.

While I wasn’t wrong in my first impression of them, I wasn’t right either. To use the Runes as they are, I’d need a remarkable amount of mastery to ever be able to use them properly.

Forget about Bind Runes or Stacked Runes, I barely managed to create a Runic Array good enough to actually harm Zaraki, and that one needed a dozen Fire Runes powered by six Wind Runes and compressed by three Earth Runes, all bound together in a maddeningly complex array made specifically for precision.

On the other hand, a hastily thrown together spell using all three of the systems of magic I was most used to did more damage than the literal pool of lava.

So the answer was simple, my actual first idea upon getting the Runes was right: use it in conjunction with relevant spells instead of getting scared and relegating myself just to the basic ones.

I looked up at Zaraki, who was patiently waiting for me, his sword slung over his shoulder.

“You done?” He asked, getting into a fighting stance.

“Yeah,” I said, letting my fingers light up, ready to cast. “I’m done.”

Zaraki was slightly slower this time, no doubt because of the damage he had taken, but he was still fast enough that I couldn’t follow him.

Thankfully, I was ready.

With a quick use of the Earth Rune, I cast “Protego!”

Zaraki’s sword nicked the translucent metallic blue barrier, but it couldn’t go any further. And as he pulled back, I let the spell drop to cast my own attack.

“Diffindo!” I cast using the Division Rune, sending a silvery arc of light in his direction at breakneck speeds.

He dodged it, and where the spell hit the ground, a mile-long fissure opened. The ground violently shook, and I lost focus for a moment just seeing the damage I had caused.

Instantly, Zaraki was upon me again, faster this time. Each swing of his sword making the air vibrate. It was all I could do to just dodge using Shunpo.

But it wasn’t enough. Shunpo might have been a great movement technique, but against a faster opponent, it started showing its weaknesses.

And Zaraki was faster than me, with his speed increasing by small increments with every slash.

I didn’t know what was going on with him, but I couldn’t let him dictate the flow of battle. So, as I dodged, I led him around in a circle, taping the ground with my feet as I went.

The moment I reached the starting point, I let myself fall on my knees, and with all of my power, I slapped my palms on the first Rune and screamed, “BOMBARDA MAXIMA!”

I was launched back as light and sound filled my vision, barely being able to get a hold of myself before I cratered the ground with my face.

Standing up, I watched as the dust was forcefully blown away and felt my heart drop to my stomach.

Zaraki was there, still standing. He was covered in burns and bruises, his hair and shihakusho with parts missing, and blood leaked freely from different points of his body.

He faltered, seemingly about to fall, and then he righted himself, his spiritual pressure increasing to the point I started feeling it pressing down on me again. He then looked up at me, and from the bloodlust in his eyes, I knew I was in for a world of hurt.

___

Retsu Unohana

“He’s going to do it,” she muttered, watching as Zaraki’s spiritual pressure increased to new (or old) heights.

She knew Lieutenant Alex could push him in that direction, but she didn’t think it’d happen so soon.

“What is he going to do, Captain Unohana?” Yoruichi whispered from her position in her arms.

And wasn’t that a surprise? To think Lieutenant Alex would arrive with the exiled Captain of all people. But that was something she’d get an answer for later; she had better things to focus on now.

She opened her mouth to give the cat an excuse when she felt them. Four Captains she knew well were coming from the Seireitei’s direction.

Yoruichi felt it too, if her hiss was anything to go by.

Unohana let the cat go hide between the unseated members of the 11th. Youichi concealed herself well. Unohana doubted she’d have felt her if she weren’t directly in front of her.

The four Captains quickly arrived after that. Captain’s Soi Fon and Ukitake to the sides, with Genryusai and Captain Kyoraku in the middle.

Genryusai didn’t waste time, quickly approaching her.

“Captain Unohana, report!” He barked.

“Lieutenant Alex of the 11th challenged Captain Kenpachi to a battle without holding back,” she said, waving at Lieutenant Alex’s Zanpakuto still stuck on the ground.

“A challenge for the position of Captain this soon!?” Captain Soi Fon said incredulously.

“No,” came a shaky voice off to the side.

They looked to se the 11th’s 5th seat, Yumichika Ayasegawa, hastily kneeling in front of them.

“Oh?” Captain Kyoraku said. “If not a challenge to the Captain’s position, then why?”

“Ah,” 5th seat Ayasegawa said, his pale face flushing in embarrassment. “In his last mission, Lieutenant Alex learned of the 11th’s distaste for Kido of all types, and he declared he’d find a way to change the division’s mind.”

“And do you believe he is being successful?” Genryusai patronizingly asked. And with a quick look around, she and the other Captains could see why.

Every single 11th member below 5th seat Ayasegawa was on the ground, their pale faces covered in sweat and their eyes shining in awe.

“Yes, sir!” Came the reply, and she was forced to hold back a snort.

How far her previous division had fallen, that it needed someone as powerful as Lieutenant Alex to remind them to use all the tools available to become more powerful.

“Well, at least we get a good show out of it,” Captain Kyoraku said, crossing his arms and pulling back his straw hat. “I just wish Nanao were here. She’d love to see magic on this level.”

“It would have been a good teaching moment for Omaeda,” Soi Fon agreed, although her attention seemed focused elsewhere.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Captain Ukitake turn away from them, his arms folded and a suspicious black tail folding out of her view at the crook of his elbow.

Curioser and curioser…

___

A/N: Well, this chapter fought me.

I knew what I wanted to accomplish in regards to Alex’s and Zaraki’s growth, but to get there while also giving a good fight that felt right was harder than I expected.

Hopefully, I managed to deliver.

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