Akuma laughed, he constantly jabbed at Izuru, his attacks becoming more and more dangerous, faster with every blow. Izuru dodged, un-amused, and merely blocking away the attacks with his sword, he lunged forward and struck Akuma's blade with Wabisuke… weighing it down twice its original weight. Akuma staggered back.
"You bastard! What did you do to my sword!?" Akuma grunted.
"Wabisuke… it weighs down the opponent's zanpakuto double its original weight, and from there, continues to double with every strike…" Izuru said, glancing to Akuma.
"You… Ngh!" Akuma mumbled angrily, but then smiled, to Izuru's surprise.
"Yes? What about me?"
"Fool…" He held out his zanpakuto, swinging at Izuru again, but for some reason, Izuru felt himself getting slower and slower, and Akuma's sword getting faster and faster, it was getting harder for him to be able to dodge the attacks, and Akuma's sword began tearing through him. Izuru made a feeble attempt to dodge the next blow, and he moved his sword to block the attack, but it took almost eternity to even move the sword, and instead, Akuma's sword pierced into Izuru's arm. Izuru shrieked in pain.
Akuma smiled and began to laugh.
"You see, my zanpakuto has the ability to slow down time for my opponent. Meaning my opponent's movements will be much slower, a movement that will take him a few seconds will be drawn out so that it takes hours for the movement to be complete. In this state… you're finished…"
Izuru furrowed his brow. He stepped back, his foot taking forever to finally reach the ground.
"You are not worthy of being my opponent…." Akuma charged forward to deliver the final blow. Izuru's eyes widened.
Izuru squeezed his eyes shut, his spiritual pressure building up, higher and higher, his movements becoming slightly faster… he was able to free himself from Akuma's deadly grip… Akuma, who was still charging towards Izuru gasped as he realized Izuru had broken free…
"HOW DID YOU-" He was cut off when Izuru's sword struck his left arm, which weighed and tugged Akuma to the grassy floor. He budged it, but it lay limply on the ground, a small cut with blood seeping from it…
Akuma held up is right arm… sword in hand, attempting to block the next blow from Izuru, which did nothing but weigh the sword down more… Akuma panted, stuck to the ground by both of his arms, his sword… useless…
"Impossible! No one should be able to break free from that!" He said.
"You must not understand, wherever you came from, you rely on a different kind of energy, or source. The spiritual energy I rely upon is much stronger and in abundance… your attacks are useless…" Izuru said… "Now, I am sorry, but you are of no longer use here…" Izuru shot a ball of blue fire at Akuma, watching as he fell limply to the ground…


The ash from Haineko surrounded Rose, beginning to make small tears within her skin… Rose darted upward, away from the swirling whirlwind of ash… Rangiku merely followed her, attacking left and right with the wave of ash, as it struck from several different positions…
Rose's zanpakuto chugged as it spewed out a black smoke, which surrounded Rangiku, a heavy blow bashing Rangiku's side…
Rangiku stumbled back, more smoke clouding around her, the air around her draining and draining, and her breathing grew heaver as it became harder for her to breathe…
Rose held her zanpakuto to Rangiku's neck… "My zanpakuto is capable of much more than you think it can, not only is it a cloud of pressure which can easily bash you to death depending on how I position it, but as you get weaker and weaker, I get stronger and stronger. The black smoke my zanpakuto emits is very much capable of completely choking you to death…"
Rangiku dodged and swung, disregarding Rose's lecture, ash smacking against her side and cutting through her flesh…
The black smoke grew thicker… it became harder for Rangiku to see at all, and she began choking and gasping for air… a large burst of pressure beginning to crush Rangiku… She fell to the ground, the smoke around her became too dense, and her ribs began to break from the pressure…
Rangiku screamed in pain… and fell to the ground, drawing her last breath of air, before her eyes grew dull… and became limp, the ash around Rose collecting back into the fallen blade of Rangiku…
"Foolish woman… doesn't even know how to fight properly…" Rose sheathed her zanpakuto, and began to walk away…

Rangiku gasped, the air returning to her, her chest heaving with every breath… she looked around, her mind a fuzzy haze, but she could make out the silhouette of Rose, who as walking away…
With determination, Rangiku grabbed her zanpakuto… stood back up, panting, and in extreme pain… She held out her zanpakuto and muttered… "Haineko…"
The sword melted back into ash, leaving the hilt in Rangiku's hand, and with a swift movement… the ash circled around Rose, one cloud struck across her, another pierced eight through her… the ash delivered the final blow of slowly surrounding Rose and then striking inward, trapping her and cutting her…
Rose screamed… "YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD!" The black smoke burst from Rose's zanpakuto… charged towards Rangiku, but the ash around Rose collided against her, slicing her in several places, and causing her to fall to the ground, just before the black smoke could reach Rangiku, it spun effortlessly away and disappeared into a tiny wisp…
Rangiku panted, the ash returning to the hilt, returning the sword to its normal form… She had defeated Rose, and only hoped this would be the last time she would ever see her again…

The swift movements of everyone's blades clashed together, loud ringing noises sounding through the open fields. Their soldiers watched, astounded, and unsure of what to do, but they kept their hands tightly gripped on the hilts of their swords.
I slammed my blade against Daiki's, he grunted as he counter-attacked the blow. As I stumbled back a little, he darted straight up into the air, completing an aerial flip and burst towards me, and they seemed to follow me as I dodged the oncoming onslaught of bullets. I held my sword out, the last bullet striking my blade. I grinned as it split in half, but then gasped as I noticed both halves hurtling towards me, crashing into me and slamming me into the ground…
I panted, helping myself up from the ground, another onslaught of bullets racing towards me. My eyes widened, I needed to stop those bullets before they hit me, or I would possibly die… An idea came to me. I muttered "Domu Raito", watching as giant dome expanded in the middle of us, the bullets harmlessly smashing into its side. I breathed a sight of relief…
I held out my zanpakuto, a firm grip and raced towards Daiki, he smiled and dodged behind me.
"Gotchya!" I said, I had anticipated he would appear behind me to attack. In midair, I flipped backwards, plunging my sword into his chest, and forcing Daiki down to the ground. He held his gun out to my head, the barrel lit up as a bullet charged, I rolled out of the way, the bullet whizzing past me by inches… He tugged my sword from his chest, tossing it away. As he stood up, he spat out blood, wiping his mouth and looking around him, seeing Akuma and Rose laying on the ground defeated.
He had no other option. Glaring angrily at me, he called. "All soldiers, attack them!" Daiki, helped up Akuma and Rose as I ran for my sword, blocking the attacks of the soldiers and knocking them aside, some of them highly trained experts. All of their zanpakutos were made of this bronze material, and the hand guard was the shape of a gear. Each seemed to hum with a mechanic sound and this gurgling churning, as each sword let out gusts of steam into the air. One sword struck my bare arm. I hissed in pain, the heat from the steam promoting the pain of the blow.
Rangiku struck several at once with Haineko, the ash smashing against them and cutting them as she brought waves of them to the ground. She smiled triumphantly, though scarred and still coughing form her previous opponent, she knew this would be a piece of cake. Izuru struck each of the unsuspecting soldiers, not realizing they were being weighed down from his attacks. Over time, each of them had fallen to the ground, some defeated, some so heavy, they could not lift themselves, and others who were struggling to pick up their million pound zanpakutos. He smiled, holding out his hand, a blue ball of energy forming. He was using kido. He was able to finish them off within minutes.
I struck outward, calling "Domu Raito" and watching as the giant dome of pure green energy expanded, striking several of the soldiers, the energy draining their power and replenishing mine. I smiled, we had won this battle, but we would have to prevent this form happening again. I decided I would speak to Ruka about this.
As the soldiers fell to the ground, dead and defeated. Each of us sealed our zanpakutos and sheathed it. I made my way over to Rangiku and Izuru.
"Thank you for your help, I probably would have been dead had you not arrived when you did."
Izuru nodded. Rangiku smiled and said "Anytime Raine, this is a problem though, we do not know why the attack even happened, and we do not know who these people are…"
"Apparently they're from this place called the Hidden Valley, and their intention is to destroy the shinigami… From what the leader said." I replied, recalling the information Daiki had given me before.
"There must be more of a reason then just that." Izuru said. "And how are we so sure that he is their leader, what if he is only a subordinate. I don't think he would have been as easy to defeat…"
I agreed, and glanced around. "Speaking of that, where did Daiki, the woman, and that other guy go?"
"They escaped, they used the soldiers as a distraction…" Rangiku said.
"Yes, but for now, lets concentrate on warning all members of Sereitei about this new threat." Izuru said. "Lets go…"
He began to walk forward, followed by Rangiku, and I walked behind them. Izuru flash stepped away, disappearing in a blur, Rangiku mimicking him. I glanced behind me before disappearing from the fields…

The Next part of the story! A faceoff! We shall see the winner!

Back in Soul Society…

I stepped outside of my room, looking around at the empty walkway.
"Hmph…" I grunted, "Hisagi and Ruka must be out on their rounds…" I scratched my head…
After freshening myself up and having a little something to eat before beginning the day, I ventured through the hallways of the 9th Division Editorial building. As I passed by, several of the shinigami stopped and bowed swiftly "Good Morning Vice-Captain Shiba!"
I acknowledged them with a quick nod, stopping to one of the shinigami to ask them something.
"Y…yes Vice Captain!" He stopped shortly in front of me.
"Might you know where Captain Kusabana or Vice-Captain Hisagi are?"
The shinigami nodded.
"Captain Kusabana went to a Captain's meeting, I don't know if you heard about it this morning, and Vice-Captain Hisagi was dispatched to take care of a few wandering hollow."
"Thank you." I said shortly, darting off, and leaving the confused shinigami behind.

I stepped out into the open pathways, like a maze, filled with white walls and tile that reflected the sunlight, seemed to lead to nowhere.
Thankfully for me, I knew my way around. I followed one particular pathway until I reached a cliff-side, overlooking vast green fields. A breeze rushed through the grass, the green blades flowing wildly in the wind, as if I was standing in an endless green ocean with furious waves. My blade glowed vibrantly. I smiled. Today was my kind of day…
Despite the beauty of the day, there was the slightest inkling within me that something bad was going to happen. I frowned, leaping from the tall height of the cliff, and landing safely on the grounds, in the direct center of the vast plains. I looked into the distance, the skies here seemed fresh and blue, but the sky farther in the distant… gradually became gray and dull…
"How odd…" I said out loud, stepping a little farther, hoping I might find out what was causing this gut-wretching feeling within me…

I could make out the silhouette of something in the distance… I was a little unsure… but I figured I should check it out… Maybe it was the hollows Ruka was after…
I had already gone much farther out from the gates of Sereitei, not realizing I was going much farther than I was supposed to…
The silhouette grew larger, the skies grew fairly duller, and I began to run towards it, despite my logic telling me to stay and report it to Captain-Commander Yamamoto…

As I neared it, my eyes widened… What the heck? An attack? Today? I stepped back in slight fear… I better report this to the Captain Commander… I was stopped in mid-sentence…
A giant bullet whizzed by my head, barely missing my by inches, slightly burning the a lock of my messy hair…
I pulled out my zanpakuto, the blade beaming with the sunlight, humming in my hand as it recognized the enemy…
A whole squadron of black clad people neared me, separated by only a few feet…
They all wore the same clothing, except the three of the leaders. They wore long black trench coats that extended as far as the heels of their shiny black boots to the black hoods pulled over their heads. They wore smooth black masks that covered their faces, leaving only one eyehole… They too, carried zanpakuto, but they were sheathed horizontally on the lower midsection of their backs, shorter blades than the usual zanpakuto, in a black sheath embroidered with silver ornate designs of dragons burning down skeletons…
The three people in the front, smiling menacingly at me, stood in front of the fifty soldiers… The one on the left was a man, who wore the same leather trench coat and boots, but his coat was sleeveless, revealing his pale skin… he wore no hood or mask, and his devious smirk and glinting icy blue eyes seemed dangerous. His spiked blonde hair extended to about shoulder length, and his zanpakuto was slung across his back, a bright red sash holding the sheath in place. He wore a silver breastplate, and he was overall a skinny, yet tall figure…
The one to the right was a female, with well… erhm… well-endowed breasts and a very striking figure… She wore high -heel shiny black boots with the same trench coat, which was unzipped at the top, and covered with a black silk scarf, which tumbled around her to the ground… It seemed to flow unnaturally as if underwater… Her long black hair cascaded around the frame of her face, which was pale, delicate, and fairly rosy… She had the appearance of a porcelain doll, except in fighting gear… Her zanpakuto was sheathed at her right, which was odd for most people, but I figured she was left-handed…
The third one in the middle, stood with his arms crossed. He had a serious look upon his face, with no edge of happiness whatsoever…
He was tall, wore a black loose shirt and hakama, with a black leather jacket, the hood pulled over his head, with no mask. He had black hair, wavier than mines, and more neat, but the same length as my hair. His eyes were sad and darkened, as if he were tired. His red and blue eyes pierced into me. He had three scars on his right eye, and his skin was somewhat pale… he held his sheathed zanpakuto in his left hand, a strap wrapped around his wrist, securing the zanpakuto… he was shorter than the blonde guy, but taller than the woman, and fairly thin, which was hard to tell due to his baggy clothing…
"So… I have finally come face to face with a shinigami… and you seem to be a little stronger than the others…" His soft voice chilled my spine. This dude was really creepy.
"What others?" I asked, fearing what his response would be.
With a quick snap of his fingers, one of the black robed figures from behind handed the leader a big worn-out sack…
Daiki turned the sack over, and out rolled the heads of a few shinigami, whose expressions of fear, terror, or sadness were frozen in place…
"You bastard…" I muttered under my breath, staring at the decapitated heads in horror…
"Unfortunately, you may just be next…" The man said…
"Who are you?" I asked, utterly confused… "And why do you want to attack the Thirteen Protection Squads?"
He smiled and chuckled softly to himself… "Usually I do not give away my name so easily, but seeing as your fate is death, there is no point in keeping it from you… I am Daiki Sasaki, Vice-Commander of the Organization… And we are here to eliminate any other shinigami who still wield zanpakuto… As you can see, our job may take some time, but I can assure you it will get done." He pointed to the woman and the man next to him… "And these are Rose and Akuma…
I took one step back. "You're going to have to get through me first in order to get any farther…" I held out my zanpakuto, the blade beaming brightly in the now dull skies…
He laughed, which really annoyed me. I didn't like it when people laughed at me when I was being serious… "You are obviously outnumbered! We can cut you in minutes!" Daiki stepped forward… "Now, you will tell me your name, so that I will know who it is I am cutting down…"
I grunted… This guy really did not think I could take him down… "Raine Shiba…" I said, "Vice-Captain of the Ninth Division…"
He looked back, and frowned when he saw the sky becoming darker and darker…
"Well, it seems I have no time to spare, enough with the formalities, so stand still so I can just finish you of and proceed with the attack…"
He unsheathed his zanpakuto, a dull gray blade, but it seemed to make a buzzing noise of some sort… His subordinates behind him drew their zanpakutos…
Daiki charged towards me, I held up my sword, blocking his attack…
"This is pointless…" He swung his blade to the side, I turned the hilt, easily blocking his attack… He slammed his blade against mines, my blade glowing furiously with every blow… He jumped back, I darted towards him, striking for his side… the blade piercing the tip of his clothes, drawing a drop of blood from his hip…
"You underestimate me…" I said, landing behind him… His eyes widened…
"Akuma! Rose!" He shouted to them… They nodded and came to his side, drawing their holding out their zanpakutos…
"Really? You are going as far as calling assistance?" I chuckled… "Do you even have a shikai?" I smiled…
"I do… I do not wish to waste such a power on you… I haven't got the time!" All three of them charged at me, I blocked Daiki's attack, then shifting over and blocking a blow from Akuma, dodging an oncoming swing from Rose… She swiftly and gracefully danced with her blade, landing a blow on my ribs, slicing some of my skin, and drawing blood…
I jumped backwards, darting behind Akuma, directing my blade towards him, as he blocked it, glaring angrily at me, Daiki coming from behind me and slicing at my arm, I barely dodged it by inches…. Rose jabbed her blade at me, I dodged again, using shunpo to gain some distance between me and my three opponents, panting heavily as I faced them, only a few feet away…
I held out my hand… muttering the incantation, hoping kidou would help me… I recited… "Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!" My hand glowed a bright yellow, electricity charging between my fingers, stuttering and shaking, very unstable and hard to maintain, but still controllable…
I screamed… "Thunder Roar Canon!" My the yellow electric sphere burst, going insane and spreading out into several directions before finally targeting Daiki, Akuma, and Rose…
The yellow lightning charged towards them… Rose remained emotionless, but shrieked as the shot slammed against her, shoving her backwards and shocking her… Akuma barely missed it, receiving some of the blow, but only enough to be pushed backwards… Daiki used shunpo to appear in midair, directly above the shot of electricity, and landing once more as the blast passed by…
"Interesting… It seems that shot was a little off…" Daiki criticized. "Perhaps you need a little more practice with your kidou…"
I was annoyed… Rose stood back up, zanpakuto drawn; Akuma turned to me, holding his zanpakuto outwards… Daiki stood in the center, one hand in pocket, and the other with the pommel of his zanpakuto dangling in his fingers, as if he were bored…
"Finish him…" Daiki said… closing his eyes and leaning against the trunk of a tree…
Rose came at me from the left, Akuma from the right, her black hair and his blonde hair only mere flashes as they zoomed towards me… I attempted to hold up my zanpakuto in defense, but I knew it would not work, regardless of were I moved… I did not have time to release my zanpakuto… I would be injured severely one way or the other…
I heard a loud clash of blades coming from both sides… Akuma and Rose had stopped…
I looked to my left… Kira Izuru was standing there, holding up his blade and blocking Akuma's zanpakuto from striking me…
I looked to my right… Rangiku Matsumoto stood there, her blade outstretched, and blocking Rose's blade from striking me…
Daiki straightened up, walking closer towards us… and stopped… an amused expression across his face…
"So… you brought friends…" He held his zanpakuto up again, this time pointed at me…
"Who are you and why are you here?" Izuru turned to Daiki, as Akuma disappeared and re-appeared next to Daiki's side, Rose joining the both of them, Rangiku standing next to me…
Daiki sighed. "Why do I have to explain myself over and over again? I'm Daiki Sasaki… here to destroy the shinigami, so on and so forth… I'm sure that explains enough doesn't it? I was about to finish your friend off here, but you two decided to interfere…"
"You are attacking a member of the Protection Squads, it is our duty to 'interfere' in this case…" Rangiku responded, serious, and sheathing her zanpakuto…

Daiki thought about it for a moment… "Hmmm…" he smiled and stepped forward…
"Right then, I guess we're forced to resort to Shikai. Rose, Akuma, it is time…" He nodded to either one of them…
Rose stepped in front of Rangiku, holding out her zanpakuto… She held it horizontally, and the blade slowly began to fade away…
"Dance with the Shadows… Chiran (Blood Orchid)…" Her zanpakuto shifted and snapped a black mist slowly clouding around the blade, covering it in a coat of shimmering black… the blade emitting a black mist into the air… the pommel turning a shimmering gold with a purple tassel hanging off form the edge… The black mist spewed into the air, tiny gears that ran along the blade chugged and churned as the black mist continued to spew into the air…
Rangiku stepped back… holding out her zanpakuto and running her hand across the smooth blade… "Growl… Haineko (Ash Cat)!" Her blade glowed and blew away like sand, a gray fog encircling around her, leaving only the pommel in her hand… The ash circled around her, ready to attack…

Akuma neared Izuru Kira, holding his zanpakuto diagonally and backhanded… He smiled… "Punish for Eternity… Sunadokei (Hourglass)..." His zanpakuto did not change much, other than the fact that the tip of the blade split into a three-pronged fork… He seemed sure of himself, and determined that he would defeat Izuru Kira…
Izuru remained emotionless… simply holding out his zanpakuto and calling "Raise your Head… Wabisuke (The Wretched One)…" The blade straitened out, the tip of it bending until it became a square-like hook, both being at a 90-degree angle… They both held out their zanpakutos, ready for either one to strike first…

Daiki Sasaki stepped in front of me, properly holding his zanpakuto firmly in his hand… He smiled; sure that this would be my end… "Murder…" he called… "Asenaru (Arsenal)!" His blade faded away, blood suddenly seeping from Daiki's hands until two guns formed in either of his hands, both of them a gray dull revolver, with blades underneath… A golden dragon was etching into each barrel of either gun, and glowed with yellow spirit energy… He wielded two gunblades, and I was doomed to find out what his gunblades were capable of shooting…
I held my zanpakuto vertically… "Blind the Enemy… Raito… Hisui…. Emerarudo! (Jade-Emerald Light)!" My blade hummed and grew brighter, nearly to a glowing state, as green light particles began to form around me, my blade grew a bright white-green… Green light particles circled around my blade and a small wave of light spewed from the blade… I was ready to fight…

It was a face-off between us all; we needed to win this battle, for the sake and protection of the Gotei 13, and Sereitei… We could not call for assistance; we were far too out of bounds to make contact with anyone… We could not lose this battle. We had to win. For the sake of Soul Society…

Next part of the story :D!

Later that evening, as Ruka scarffed down her first loaf of bread, the sky turning darker and darker, and the moon peered out from behind a grey cloud, Konton arrived, furious at Ruka for staying back there with that strange man.
"He is actually a very nice person Konton…" She muffled through her stuffed mouth, which was filled with chewed bread.
"You shouldn't have stayed back there! What if he killed you or something! Who would I stay with then!?" He whined, as he too chowed down on his bread.
"He didn't kill me… and he even gave me bread!" She replied.
"I had some bread already!"
"Well now we have more!"
Konton threw up his arms in defeat, obviously annoyed and frustrated at Ruka's stubbornness.
"Fine, just don't leave me like that again…" Konton said sighed.
"I'm your friend, I wouldn't leave your side without reason." Ruka smiled.
"I get it." Konton said shortly, as he continued to tear off chunks of his loaf. They were in the alleyway again, it was cold and damp, and this warm bread would be the only luxury they would have for days, and all they had was their freindship…

Ruka smiled and looked to Raine, her lieutenant… They were sitting on top of one of the buildings in the Gotei 13, and they were overlooking the vast expanse of Sereitei. The breeze brushed through their hair, as they sat silently for a few moments…
"So that is how you first met Captain Ukitake?" I asked her, interested in her past, and where she had come from.
"Yes, and from there I was brought into the Shinigami Academy… And from there, well, here I am!" She sighed.
"Whatever happened to that boy you talked about a few minutes ago?" I asked again.
"I don't know," She said. "I have not seen him since I went to meet Jushiro the next day… he told me about my abilities and my opportunity to join the Shinigami, and then of course, there was a home and food provided… so I accepted… Since then, I never saw him again."
"Kinda sad, if you ask me…" I sighed.
"I know… He was my best friend then…" We both sat, immersed in silence…
I heard a noise from behind me, turning my head to see Shuhei Hisagi appear right next to us…
"I figured you guys would be up here." He called, as he joined us, sitting on the rooftop overlooking Sereitiei…
"Welcome, and yeah, we finished our stuff so we decided to talk up here. Where were you?" I asked Hisagi.
"Out there training some newer recruits… But I am happy you were able to help with the editorial duties, or I would have not had any time off for today." He sighed, running one hand through his spiked hair.
"You're welcome!" Ruka smiled. "Why not stay here with us for awhile. We've done enough for the day…"
Hisagi nodded and joined us.
Ruka pulled out her notebook from the folds of her robes and began to scribble something down in it…
I leaned over and peered into the notebook… Hisagi, seated at the other side of Ruka, leaned over as well to look inside the notebook.

She signed, calmly closing her notebook. "Great… Now there are two of you…"
I chuckled, I jabbed my hand out at it as if to grab it, Ruka blocked my hand from reaching it, allowing Hisagi to slip it out from underneath her arm.
"Are you serious!?" Ruka stood up. I stood up, running to the opposite side where Hisagi stood.
"Let's see if there's anything written about Captain Hitsugaya in there!" Hisagi began to open the first page.
"Hey don't look in it!" Ruka jumped for the book.
Hisagi disappeared in seconds. Ruke turned to me, furious…
"You're gonna have to get it from us!" I laughed. Using shunpo to disappear as well.
As I left, Ruka laughed to herself, pulling out her actual notebook from the folds of her robes…
"When those jerks realize they took my spare, it will be hours from now!" She sat down, crossed her legs, and began to write inside of her notebook…


Several decades ago…


Mayuri cursed softly as he shifted through the several documents on his desk. He had dropped a vial, which contained a slightly acidic liquid inside… He left the laboratory to get a few other items to clean up the excessive mess…
The open window allowed a small breeze inside…
A ninja, dressed in black clothing and a small half-mask in the shape of a skull on his face… He slipped down from the roof, and entered the laboratory through the small window…
Hurriedly looking through the documents on the desk, he located the documents he had needed, the ideas for a mechanical zanpakuto developed by Mayuri… Exactly what he needed… He rolled them up and tucked them underneath his belt, slipping through the window, and stealthily leaving the building…
Mayuri returned to the room, annoyed by the chilly breeze of the outdoors, and closing the shutters, locking them to keep out the breeze… Little did he ever realize that he had lost his plans for an amazing discovery…


Off in a Hidden Valley in the present time…


He was running, panting as he neared closer and closer to the giant grand doors. The hallways were pitch black, with obsidian floor tiling and no lighting whatsoever. It was hard for him to see, but he could make out the giant arched double doors, made of some weird black marble, towering over him. He pushed them forward, using his strength as he forced it open…
This room was made entirely of black marble, with very few orbs of light floating and suspended aimlessly in the air, as if they were stars, or particles drifting in water. On the other side of the room, a tall throne, with elaborate etchings of gold leaf depicting skulls and several twisted versions of a human face. The headboard of the chair rose all the way up to the ceiling, branching out as if it were a tree… A man sitting inside, cloaked entirely in overflowing black robes, with capes and overcoats and under robes, all made of the same black silk, cascaded down the steps leading up to the throne… The tall man on the throne wore a silver mask in the shape of a mortified skull, with no openings for the eyes, nose, or the mouth…
"Daiki Sasaki…" His deep booming voice called…
"Y-yes master?" Daiki stammered as he entered the throne room, the small orbs of light bouncing off of him…
The man on the throne remained silent for a few moments, and then continued…
"You have failed us once again, that attack on the village went horribly. I have always expected better of you, but you are failing to meet my expectations… If you cannot prove yourself worthy of the rank of General, then why do I not have your head mounted on my wall?"
Daiki gulped and looked at the wall behind the throne, which was composed entirely of skulls from the heads of the man's victims…
"I shall do better master, please allow me another chance at this next assignment…" Daiki pleaded somewhat boldly, not showing as much submission as the man in the throne had expected him to.
"Very well, if you fail this assignment, you shall be executed at once, I have no room for those who do not excel, and those who do not excel should be terminated… Like those damn Shinigami… It was quite easy to steal those blueprints from their foolish excuse of a scientist… Our scientist is much more experienced and was able to actually modify the idea to be more elite… We now have mechanical zanpakutos, truly weapons that cannot be stopped…"
Daiki nodded. "Yes, my master."
"Be gone then, rally up a few of the troops, you are ready, attack the outlying villages of Sereitei, we need to show those Shinigami we mean business…"
Daiki looked to the ground, as he turned and muttered under his breath… "Yes… Master Konton…" and left the room at once…