Kousei Bengonin, Ch. 70

…con’t…



“I have a bad feeling about this.” Jushiro didn’t look worried, but he sounded troubled. He abandoned the bag he had been carrying to free himself of anything that might act as a hindrance later. Once he had, he unsheathed his Zanpakuto.

Aurora did the same. The instant she had Kousei Bengonin in her hands, she followed Jushiro’s lead. The two of them released their swords for good measure, unsure what to expect from the strange circumstances they were faced with.

“All right.” Jushiro took a slow breath to help him relax while he thought. “…The Senkaimon… We need to find the nearest gateway once it opens. There are Soul Reapers stationed all over the living world. No matter where this is, I’m sure someone’s posted somewhere nearby. If one of us stands guard, the other can seek out strong spiritual pressure.”

She nodded, thinking that was a good idea.

“I’m willing to do either, but I’m sure we’d be better off if you stood watch,” he said, smiling faintly.

“If that’s what you want to do,” Aurora said quietly. At the moment, she was still a bit frightened. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure if she could concentrate enough to find any spiritual pressure until she calmed down a little more.

Jushiro himself was a bit unnerved by the bizarre occurrence. Understanding the wary frown Aurora had, he took her hand supportively while he started gearing himself up for a bit of meditation.

He didn’t get very far, however.

“No need to waste your energy.” The voice was grudgingly well-known now, and it was coming from somewhere nearby. “It won’t do you any good… You were brought here for a reason.” From within the obscurity of the fissure the rocks concealed a length away, the demon Master emerged to accompany his statements. “There isn’t a Soul Reaper within a thousand miles of this nomadic land.”

Further disquieted, they were greeted with a different sight than what they were expecting. In the times both Jushiro and Aurora had meet with Hauniro, he had easily frightened them with the vague and fearful effects of seeing his shadow animated.
More to their dismay, a sentient being slowly made his way away from the cave he had stepped out of. The demonic lord had come to them in person, without the aid of his shadow or his minions.

“Surrender would be ideal,” he said, addressing the two standing together before him. “Would I have been able to bring you directly to my realm, it wouldn’t be an option… Despite the fact I had my Inquisitor rendezvous us in this world, resistance would be as pointless.”

Jushiro narrowed his eyes at the conceited man standing approaching them. “What do you want with us?”

Hauniro closed his eyes, effectively ignoring his question. “That resistance, the very most obnoxious aspect of a Shinigami…” He held one of his hands up, preparing to forage a powerful incantation. “If you’ll not surrender, submission is a fine alternative.”

Each of them recoiled at the suggestion. Though they were both intimidated by the essence of the situation they had been pit against, neither Aurora nor Jushiro were willing to yield as he wanted.

Aurora’s hold tightened on her sword’s hilt, allowing her senses to stir, focused entirely on the skirmish at hand. She was prepared for any confrontation because of the hours she had spent training with her Zanpakuto. Even though the situation was unfamiliar, and most likely perilous, she was still poised to stand her ground.

As was Jushiro. When Aurora turned her gaze up to his, the same tenacity shown in his expression. He was as unsure what to expect from the circumstances as she was, but that didn’t inhibit his reaction. His sword was with him, and until it was wrenched from his cold, dead hands, it served as his avowal to never surrender.

They each looked at one another, their sentiment the same. They had been drug into the situation together, and that was how both of them wanted to end it. Whatever the outcome, there was nothing more to do than meet their enemy.

Neither one of them spoke a word. Jushiro took off to the right, and Aurora circled back to the left. Their Shunpo had improved a good deal since the last time they had seen him, and clearly managed to surprise him with it. Nonetheless, it didn’t upset or impress Hauniro.

An unwilling detail continued to nag Aurora as she began sorting through the symbols and marks that made up the collection of demonic spells she knew. The closer she came to Hauniro to begin an assault while Jushiro used Kido to stun him, the more clearly she could hear Nephir’s words echo in the recesses of her memory. This being before them was formidable in a state of projection, when he arose as his own shadow. In person, there was no telling what he was capable of, for not having experienced it herself.

In an instant, they each found out.

The demon Master moved at a velocity neither of them thought possible. From the point he was standing, he disappeared before Jushiro got too close. He was behind him in an instant, and twisted his hands around Sogyo no Kotowari’s chain. The instant his hold was secure, he yanked each sword from him and into his possession, disarming his opponent.

Aurora faltered at the display, distressed by the sight. She was prepared to begin her offensive in spite of it, knowing Jushiro wouldn’t rely solely on his Zanpakuto. However, as she gained the footing she needed in the last few steps of Shunpo, Hauniro turned his swiftness on her.

He was moving fast, but she caught sight of him as he flew behind her out of the corner of her eye. She anticipated him turning on her, but wasn’t prepared for his first move against her companion. Because of his success there, Aurora was at his mercy.
A searing pain tore through her, radiating from the back of her right shoulder. Unable to control the reflex, with a subdued cry, she crashed to the ground with her sword in hand.

To ensure she wouldn’t interfere or cause any more trouble, the demon lord had used Jushiro’s Zanpakuto to inflict an immobilizing wound. Sogyo no Kotowari served perfectly to skewer the blond girl that had defied him. She would not die from the hit, but the massive pain would keep her stationary, and keep her from disrupting his purpose.

“Aurora!” Jushiro had understandably panicked when he saw his own blade erupt through her chest as she approached him. Hauniro had stood before them with the Zanpakuto he had snatched from his own hands not but a second ago. As quickly, he had managed to turn on his companion and run her through. He knew from the look of the wound it wasn’t fatal, but it was serious, and if he didn’t act, there was no telling what might happen.

“She’s disruptive.” The demon Master didn’t seem perturbed by the sight at his feet. He stepped over Aurora’s body to avoid the small puddle of blood that was slowly oozing from the wound he had inflicted. “It’s fitting the Oris had taken an interest. They’re suited to share the same company.”

Jushiro rushed past the man advancing on him to hurry and check on Aurora, but didn’t get far. When Hauniro raised his hands again and made a small zigzagging motion, the young man’s feet froze to the ground. He tumbled as a result, anchored where he fell. Whatever spell the demon lord had manifested kept him prisoner there, no matter how hard he fought against it.

“You go together quite nicely,” Hauniro commented, continuing on with his absent musing. His red eyes edged toward his quarry, still railing against the makeshift snare he had woven onto the ground while he moved back and forth between the two of them a moment before. “It will serve me well for years to come.”

That caught Jushiro’s attention. “What do you mean?”

“Exactly that,” he replied plainly. “That bond you share… So unlike many I’ve seen. The union between you is nearly perfect. She’ll keep me strong for a long, long time.” Thinking back to the question the young man had posed earlier, Hauniro’s grin edged on wicked. “…Do you know how fascinating you are?”

Jushiro had no idea what his implication was.

“I knew from the moment you came to that girl’s rescue you weren’t well.” Hauniro easily recalled the first encounter he had had with the two Soul Beings in front of him. “I can smell it on you, radiating from you. You are quite ill…” He stopped in his pacing to kneel down beside Jushiro. “But you are strong… Stronger in spirit than any I’ve seen. That sickness doesn’t obstruct you in the least bit. You pursue that sense of justice, that want to stand against it and fight in spite of it. There’s something deep inside you that give you this power.” He turned his wicked grin inward. “And I want it.”

He paled, hearing the abnormal statement.

“I go through souls so fast,” the demon Master explained, purely out of self-interest, and pity. “Bodies degrade too soon when I possess them. Mine wore out ages ago, for the wear of my essence.” To illustrate his point, Hauniro balled up his fist, which caused the air around it to waiver and fluctuate. Whatever influence he had was enough to warp the area surrounding him, if it was concentrated in that manner. “It’s wearisome to seek out a new host every few decades. The tedium of tracking prospects is beyond my position.” He straightened, looking his captive over. “But you… You, will keep for centuries. That weakness in your being can be overcome by the strength embedded in your spirit.”

Hauniro then turned to glance at Aurora, who was still heaped on the ground, presumably unconscious for the pain she must have endured. “And her… I was intoxicated by the intensity her soul exuded when my brethren found her protecting that young Ori boy… I wanted to taste that power, make it mine. There hasn’t been a soul that’s stirred my hunger for a lifetime.” His eyes went back to Jushiro. “But to see her with you… To feel that connection. That will serve me better than any repast. As long as I keep her around, she’ll lend her strength to you. The two of you, matched together… So long as she sustains you, there’s no better approach to my quandary.” His triumph became self-congratulation. “I may never need to search for another host.”

The importance of the spell he had cast became abundantly clear with his last words. The traced lines Hauniro had made while he had moved around the area glowed, having been powering up the entire time he had been talking. A system of lines formed an irregular shape around Jushiro where he lay pinned to the ground. The lines in the shape formed a web-like pattern, and all points collected to a barren space in the middle of the enclosure.

He had no need to be brutal; his target was fully restrained. Almost listlessly, the demon Master took a hold of a nearby ankle and began dragging Jushiro to the center vacancy.

Conjured around the small space were characters that he wasn’t able to read. The demonic language didn’t hurt his eyes any longer, but he still wasn’t able to understand it. If he could have, the words that powered the incantation assured absolute possession, with complete control and surrogacy. Once the ritual was through, all that was Jushiro Ukitake would be lost in Hauniro’s domination.

A few steps outside of the perimeter lay Aurora, still positioned exactly as she had fallen when she’d been hit. Her consciousness had come and gone in the first minutes after her assault, due to the extreme pain manifested in her right side. There had been several encounters she’d had before where she’d been hurt badly by Hollows as a child, but never to the extent she was currently in. It was difficult to overcome the natural response to simply fade into darkness in order to escape the misery the lesion invoked.

Disturbingly, the factor that roused her fully was the unpleasant voice she could still faintly hear. Hauniro’s tone was dismal, and unmistakable, even as she lay there bleeding. Eventually, Aurora pushed aside the impulse to black out in order to hear what the demon lord was saying.

Incomprehensible at first, the words he was muttering started to become clearer as she forced herself to pay attention. The first part of his account had been lost, but Aurora had caught the last few sentences. It chilled her to the core to even consider the idea.

Demon possession was a common practice, as Nephir had taught her. When most of the lower kind came to the living world, and even Hueco Mundo, they typically occupied a Hollow to do so, preventing them from being unnecessarily noticed while they fed on the souls that roamed there. To hear that their Master searched out new bodies to house his essence wasn’t unreasonable. But to see which soul he had set his sights on was wholly disturbing.

That was the boy she loved; the dream boy that had captured her affection from the moment she had laid eyes on him. Jushiro Ukitake was a good friend, one of the kindest and most remarkable people Aurora had ever known. To have Hauniro set his sights on anyone was unacceptable. But, this wasn’t just anyone. This was someone beloved to her in an outstanding way.

“Jushiro…” The name barely burbled from her, due to the state she was in. Even Aurora wasn’t sure she had heard herself say anything. Because he had gone silent, she had started to lose what remained of her nerve when she could no longer hear Hauniro talking to Jushiro. Her eyes eventually focused, having been blurry for the duration of the Master’s address.

Mortal dread gripped her in that moment, when she finally managed to roll her head around enough to catch sight of the two of them. The demon lord had a hold of her companion’s ankle, and was dragging him toward the center of the pattern he had made from his symbols. Once inside, there was nothing to be done to help Jushiro.

She couldn’t let that happen; not to him, not to anyone.

Aurora wasn’t afraid to lose him. There was no rage for the iniquity of the deed at hand. All mental reactions pushed aside, in her heart, there was only what was right, and what was wrong. Every being was granted a soul to live freely. Hauniro had no right to take that from any being.

She had made a promise. Even after the many years that had passed since she had first opened her eyes to the life awaiting her in the Soul Society, Aurora remembered it. Her destiny lied in the battle for defending the virtue of that life she had been given. At whatever cost, it was her pledge to always do so.

Her fists clinched slowly in defiance. The pain from her wound faded away, completely forgotten. Gaining strength as she picked herself up, Aurora’s tenacity began to strengthen.

Kousei Bengonin appeared before her momentarily, looking down on her handler with the same readiness. Knowing what she was going to do, bolstered by the resolution etched in Aurora’s eyes, she shimmered and disappeared. The risk was there, to attack such a prodigious adversary, but the Zanpakuto’s spirit had no worries. In pursuit of integrity, the path was wrought with potential disaster. They would follow it together, uncaring of the merciless journey or where and when it ended.

They both believed the outcome was worth more than any doubts there might have been.

Her sword was still in her hands when Aurora lifted herself off of the ground. After using her blade to help her stand, she steadied it in front of her. In the past, there had been times where she was troubled for the potential disaster of not being able to manage the sum of her abilities and strengths. It had caused harm then, and understandably, she had been nervous about pursuing her extensive capabilities. Those hesitations were now pushed aside, forgotten with the intent of her purpose. The desire to help her friend meant more than nursing her own uncertainties.
Whatever it took, or as treacherous as it might turn out to be, she wouldn’t let Jushiro be subjugated. Indicating all the meaning in her resolution, her rough voice disrupted the dim silence of the scene before her. “Bankai!”


…con’t…