Deicide [NDE, PG13]

[Sozen Kuchiki]

Thread Title: Deicide: Who Is The True Devil?
Participants: Sozen Kuchiki (Squad 6 Captain), Enma (Squad 5 Captain)
World: Soul Society
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: PG-13
Location: In Sozen Kuchiki's mausoleum room, a tribute to his wife, Aoi Kuchiki.
Special Conditions: None.
Circumstances: Enma removed Hokori Kuchiki to take Squad 5's Captaincy, forcing Hokori to resign and take a life in politics.

That was just the beginning. Suspicious of Sozen Kuchiki from day 1, Enma has been investigating thoroughly. As of yet he turns up nothing, but today he confronts the Crimson King himself, in the room of the Kuchiki Manor most sacred to Sozen...

[Sozen Kuchiki]

Play This Throughout

The room had a fresh smell to it, unlike all the others surrounding it, for they had been there from the beginning, and were burdened now with the dust of antiquity. No, this room was new, only days old, and had thus far had only a few occupants. It hadn't been a part of the mansion before, but building it had been something that the Crimson King was adamant about. This enormous room where the floor, the walls, and the ceiling were only smooth golden surfaces, like ice made from fine champagne. On one end of the room was a set of stairs leading up to a lone plateau upon which rested a chair fashioned from the finest carved sapphires, and embedded with the most elegant of rubies.

Across the room on the other side there was only a single object, the room's only decoration, hanging on the wall. It was a silver frame, large enough to cover three quarters of the wall. It hung from the center, on it depicted a blonde, golden eyed beauty with gaunt features, fair skin, and a magnificent blue dress. She had been the pinnacle of beauty and perfection. All things that were said to make a person beautiful had been present in her. But, that woman was gone now. She hadn't died, but she may as well have, having disappeared from the realm of the mortals to become a god--the only true God, and watch in isolation as her husband was left in mourning and in despair.

And that very chair was where her husband sat, gazing at her portrait, despite the fact that the room was very dark, lit only by moonlight shining in from the room's lone window. Rather than sitting, it would have been more accurate to say that Sozen was laying, with his arm on one arm rest and both of his legs resting, crossed, upon the other. Here was the man that had been described as the Crimson King. He who had defeated all of his enemies, and yet still lay here, languishing in his pain. He drank expensive red wine from a golden, jewel studded goblet which alone could have bought an entire village. Here was Sozen Kuchiki a truly broken man.

On the first day that he sat in this room, the doors to his new sanctum crept open, their crack revealing just a hint of light. In marched two men wearing Kuchiki scarves and Soul Reaper robes, dragging along with them a shackled prisoner--a woman of truly fine beauty with high cheekbones, a eggshell blue gaze, and thin lips twisted into a smile. "We've brought you the prisoner, Saeki Kuchiki," one of the Kuchiki men said. Sozen gazed down at her, the shadows obscuring his face but for one scarlet eye. "What of it?" he asked. "I can't read you anymore..." Saeki noted with a cracked, weakened voice. "What magic did you find to block my gaze?"

Sozen ignored the question. For the first time in his life, he could deny Saeki. Yet that was not what prompted him to ignore the woman who once had been his sister. What prompted this ignorance was that he was not interested in her whatsoever. "Well.." the man spoke hesitantly. "The Central 46 has sentenced her to die. We were given permission to have the execution on Kuchiki grounds, and wanted your input, as she was once Lady Saeki and also your sister..." A suddenly clattering sound startled the two Kuchiki men. They looked to see that Sozen had thrown his goblet at them, and it had landed right in front of Saeki, what was left of the wine spilling out onto the floor.

"So execute her, then, and trouble me no more about it," Sozen said. "Oh, Sozen, I li-" Saeki began to say, but a sword suddenly erupted forth from the red wine and stabbed straight into her heart. Sozen's two Kuchiki clansmen gasped. The white prisoner's robes she wore began to stain red with her blood as she gasped. So long as Sozen possessed the charm that Aoi had given him, Saeki could not read him. For the first time since they had been children, it was possible for Sozen to surprise her. She was shocked by his stabbing her. Once a man whose greatest weakness had been inability to raise a hand against family members, now he killed her like an insect. She was not being executed. She was being silenced for being an irritation. Blood dripped down her lips to her young chin. Eyes shaky, Saeki looked up, gasping her last breaths while Sozen was silent. "You..." she croaked. "What did you have to lose to achieve this?"

From the red that had stained Saeki's robes, more blades erupted forth throughout her body, carving through all of her organs. With a final breath she gasped as blood flew forth from her mouth, and then her head slumped and she lay still. "L...Lord Sozen..." one of the men stammered. "There... I executed her didn't I?" Sozen asked. "Now get her out of my sight and don't trouble me any further..." The two men, shocked, walked off, dragging with them the corpse of she who had once been the most powerful social influence ever to be beheld in the Kuchiki name. And in truth? That was all that she was. History. She had met with a truly anti climactic death.

On the fourth day that Sozen sat in his lonely throne drinking expensive wine, he was visited by his son. Eyes every bit as scarlet as Sozen's own would greet him as the door again crept open, this time permitting entry to a self assured young man who held in his hands a baby wrapped in a blanket. He was rocking her back and forth softly, and she was sound asleep. "Father," Souza Kuchiki greeted, but to no response. "Come, meet your daughter. She has yet to be given a name. Mother wished you to do it, after all." Sozen stopped sipping his wine, putting his goblet down on the floor next to the bottle. "Your... baby sister...?" Sozen asked.

"Yes," Souza smiled. "My baby sister." Sozen looked at his son and now baby daughter as well, but did not move from place, darkness falling upon his face. "I failed her," Sozen said. "I couldn't save Aoi. In the end, I couldn't protect anyone. What good would a useless father such as me be?" Souza's eyes widened, shocked by the broken confidence of his father. Never in his life had Souza witnessed Sozen without confidence. "You are the Esteemed Head of the Noble Kuchiki Family," Souza admonished. "You have done everything you ever could for our family, and because of what you did, we will be successful for many generations more. Yet you would deny your own worth? What kind of Head is that?"

"Then you be the Head, if you know so much about what it entails..." Sozen said accusingly. "Now trouble me no further. I have nothing of worth to give to you anymore." Souza's eyes, wide, filled with tears at the broken sight of his father. "How can you say that? You, who once said the best men do everything in their power for their family and its will. How can you callously abandon everything that you've built, and trash the will of your own wife and children? What did she sacrifice her own happiness for? Why did she do something like that, if this is how you're going to act?" Sozen said nothing. Disgusted, hurt, and in tears, his son left what had now become the Crimson King's mausoleum. This once super man's fortress of solitude was complete.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats/Skills}

Strength - [200] (100) (50) Points

Speed - [350] (700) Points

Spiritual Pressure - [300] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] (1000) Points

Light Aura - [50] Points

Dark Aura - [50] Points

Instinct - [175] Points

Senses [175] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1600] Points

---

[Strength of Will] {3}

[Weapon: Swords] {4}

[Charisma/Leadership] {2}

[Hakuda] {3}

[Pain Tolerance] {3}

[Battle Analysis] {4}

[Enma, Lord of Hades]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play this}

One... The footsteps of the Lord of Hades dragged along the red velvet floor. Two... Guards and other members of the family that inhabited the halls fell eerily quiet... More drowsy with every step... Not able to confirm what was happening to them... Three... The stronger they were the longer they could stay up. There were some on their knees. There were some on all fours. The weakest had already collapsed. The footsteps of the Lord of Hades brought with it the somnambulatory of the night. Four... In time as the Lord of Hades walked past them, all would fall asleep. Sozen's guards. Sozen's allies. Sozen's guards. Even Sozen's assassins. When the Lord of Hades strode past them, he let their bodies hit the floor. The doors to Sozen Kuchiki's mausoleum flew open to reveal a figure in a black cloak and a demonic oni mask. The tall figure was covered in belts that contained weapons like kunai and shurikens.

Formerly Captain of Squad 7, now Captain of Squad 5, Enma had spent years investigating Sozen Kuchiki's activities. Malicious rumors had always surrounded the Captain of Squad 6. Enma could guess that there was illegal activity just by looking at the rapid growth of the Kuchiki Family. They even had a Kuchiki as one of the six judges of the Central 46. There were too many pieces that didn't add up. How could Takashi Kuchiki have produced summoning spells from before his time, and then steal the wall of Seireitei with such ease? How could Sozen always pressure the Central 46 to do his bidding? And, just as other noble families began to gain strength, suddenly a calamity happened and they lost it again. Sozen was the last Shinigami to have seen Kenryoku Kawada, now dead. Kenryoku had been a thorn in Sozen's side, and now he was gone. Enma did not believe in coincidences. He had seen too many things. Investigated too many criminals. Already condemned one Captain to be executed.

"Sozen Kuchiki..."

Five... Every count had meaning. At five, there sat Sozen Kuchiki on his isolated throne. It had taken five seconds to knock out everyone in the vicinity. Six... Yet after six, Sozen did not fall. He had changed since Enma's hiatus. He hadn't been able to stay awake in Enma's presence before. Now Enma saw the eyes of his fellow Captain awake for the first time. Though they had attended the same Captain's meetings for years, this was their first face to face encounter. So Enma spoke. "You can never escape what you did because I know..." Some of Enma's surveillance butterflies started hovering around him to prove his point. These were butterflies that weren't in season, but here they were. The room was dark, and the light from the hallway was cast over Enma to create a silhouette of him. Sozen might now know that butterflies were something Enma used to watch Seireitei. "I know everything... I see everything....."

"And today you will accompany me for questioning..." Enma knew that something was suspicious. He was bluffing because he did not have any evidence but suspicion, but he would find it given time. He always found it. He was never in the dark for long once he had a trail. The time for intimidation had passed. That was for the first few seconds, but Sozen wasn't easily intimidated. Enma saw that. Now came reason after intimidation. "You've done a lot for your family, but now you will do no more... Your crimes are at an end, and your family cannot save you..." The lights in the hallway behind Enma flickered, also beginning to fall prey to his aura. Here was the once strongest Captain of the Gotei Thirteen, here to arrest the man who had stolen that title away during his hiatus. "No one can..." After waiting a moment for Sozen's answer, Enma's patience started to grow thin. "After all, Sozen Kuchiki, who died and made you king...?"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}

[Weapon: Swords] {3}

[Battle Analysis] {4}

[MMA: Karate/Kung Fu, Jiujitsu] {3}

[Calm Mind] {3}

[Analysis] {3}

[Strength of Will] {3}

---

Strength - [100] Points

Speed - [400] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [300] (750) Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] (1000) Points

Light Aura - [50] Points

Dark Aura - [50] Points

Instinct - [200] (100) Points

Senses [200] (100) Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

[Sozen Kuchiki]

The doors swung open, forcing Sozen's eyes to begin to adjust to the light. What he saw was a dark shadow, and behind it, slumped bodies. Still, he knew they weren't dead. Sozen could identify that aura almost immediately as soon as he detected it failing to knock him out. How many times had he fallen asleep during a Captain's meeting because the mighty Enma had suddenly appeared to get basic details and then leave to return to the battlefield? How many years had Sozen honed his soul so that Enma could no longer do that to him? It had been a long time, and much of what Sozen had accomplished had been accomplished because Enma had vanished... And now, with Enma back, Sozen's rage boiled over.

"You can never escape what you did because I know... I know everything... I see everything..... And today you will accompany me for questioning..."" Sozen's immediate reaction was rage. How dare this man... This man who had attacked his family member, Hokori Kuchiki, and retired him forcefully from the Thirteen Court Guard Squads... How dare this very man intrude on Sozen's home, incapacitate his family members, and even come so far as to defile the temple to Aoi with his presence?! Yes, this was what Sozen had gotten wrong... He saw now what Souza had meant... What Aoi's disappearance meant... All of this... It was all testing Sozen. He was supposed to get stronger and fight for his family... No, he was supposed to impose his family's dominance upon the world forever!!

His heart began to thump and race. "That's all you came here for? To attack my family and throw baseless accusations at me?!" Sozen demanded, indignant. He stood from his throne for the first time in hours, his hate filled eyes consuming Enma. Enma knew and could see everything? "Know and see everything? Don't make me laugh. I knew someone else who claimed that... And I killed her... You, who are all alone and know nothing of family or comrades... How dare you speak to me in that way..." Sozen said. His hate, had it been reiatsu, would be palpable and visible to the naked eye. As it was, black flower petals had begun to form around him, indicating his reiatsu being flexed.

"You've done a lot for your family, but now you will do no more..." Do no more? Enma had the gall to say that? He had yet to present any appropriate proof. All he had said was he knew things, and that he wanted to take in Sozen for questioning. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Enma was likely bluffing. Otherwise he would have come with more. Something more direct. How sloppy of him, trying to bait Sozen into just giving himself away like that... But Sozen wouldn't have it. Instead, he would make Enma pay for infesting Aoi's sacred temple with his disgusting aura... "Your crimes are at an end, and your family cannot save you... No one can..."

Sozen suddenly realized that he was frustrated at his enemies. All of them. He despised those who stood in his way.... Was he doomed to face this? Was his family doomed to these setbacks? No, never. Rather than merely protect and expand the family, Sozen would have it conquer the world. All three of the worlds. Only then could it be truly secure. Truly safe. Suddenly, Sozen had a vision for his Kuchiki family. A vision gifted to him by the Lord of Hades himself. "After all, Sozen Kuchiki, who died and made you king...?" And Sozen thought then of those lost for his family's strength... Those he'd killed. Kenryoku... The Shiba Family... His own father. ...The Kuchiki Council dead at his hand... Aoi's ascent to become the new Soul King, isolated from everything... And with that final shot, Sozen answered, who died and made you king?

"Everyone."

Play this

The room suddenly turned red as wordlessly, Sozen's reiatsu exploded out of him in a column of dark red and black, his Bankai activating. The very instant this happened, with Sozen as the center point, red extended out, and the floor was red, the ceiling was red, the walls were red. Even the portrait of Aoi and all of its details were different shades of red. Enma, trapped indoors inside of Sozen's mansion, would find that the entire mansion had turned red. For a mile around Sozen, in all directions, the world was colored by his soul... This was the Red World. Sozen's Bankai: Akai Birido Seken. And with that power, he attacked ruthlessly before Enma even drew a Zanpakuto.

Blades shot out of the floor first, from right underneath Enma. And if Enma jumped back or moved away, no matter where he went, he was in danger, for blades exploded out of the ceiling too wherever he went. Blades from the floor and ceiling in all directions he tried to evade to would appear, seeking to skewer and destroy Enma. If even one so much as grazed him, that would be the end of this battle. But, that wasn't it for Sozen, either. That wasn't it for his assault on the one that had formerly been the most powerful of the Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Sozen used a flash step to appear before Enma, wherever he managed to dodge to.

As soon as Sozen's foot hit the ground, it twisted, pressure exerting like crazy on the ball of his foot. And he slid one of his hands across one of the red blades from the ground, drawing blood across his right palm. A sword appeared from out of that blood. As with all of the blades in Bankai, this too was red, and Sozen swung it at Enma aggressively, aiming to carve his fellow Captain in half. "You were the strongest Captain once... Everyone feared you... But no more. You've been gone for too long. Now, you're no match for me... Isn't that right, ENMA?!" Sozen's attempt to kill Enma shouldn't have come as a surprise, but when he was finished, his victory surely would be...

Sozen's Remaining Reiatsu: 2800/3000 Reiatsu

Bankai Post Count: 1/12

[Enma, Lord of Hades]

SPOILER: Click to show

An attack...?! How can he so recklessly engage a fellow Captain like that? Enma felt Sozen Kuchiki's bloodthirst a moment before it happened. He had become saturated with greed and with adoration for his own power. The buildup of spiritual energies was far greater than the average Kido or Shikai release. What was to come could only be the highest level of Sozen's power, his Bankai. To use that so soon was a sign of both desperation and rage. If I didn't have the power to bring him in before, I certainly do now... What could he be thinking? Unless... He really plans on killing me... Enma's gold reiatsu created a column around him. From that column he materialized two full arm gauntlets fashioned from gold studded obsidian alloy. Golden flames luminously glimmered from the pauldrons which encased and guarded Enma's shoulders. If Sozen could use Akai Birido Seken, Enma could use his Bankai, Senjo Tomoshibi.

"Madoushi No Hono." Enma declared aloud. His entire physical form was engulfed by gold fire, then he disappeared in a blur. Like Hirenkyaku, which allowed the Quincy to achieve a constant movement speed, and Schiene, which allowed the Bount to plan their route in advance, Enma now had a special step technique, and he combined both purposes with it as the sum cumulation of his learning curve against enemies such as Jin Yamada or Shauna Melody. Enma plotted a zig zagging course in advance, and with the zagging points picked, he took off racing. Enma dematerialized as if teleporting. His body was pulled at a full Shunpo speed toward the first of his zagging points. Along the way, what he hit would face the wrath of his Bankai's petrification property. This could also mean that any swords to touch him while he was on this journey petrified and then fell apart into dust. Despite how strong Sozen was, he was still not Enma. He was not a hunter who crushed crime. Sozen was the crime.

"Grand Chariot." Enma's first point of A had been his facing Sozen position. The second point was to the side, six meters away. While the Lord of Hades moved from his first point of A to his second of four points called B, another black reiatsu engulfed his body and for a moment the intermingling of black and gold created the beauty of twilight mixing with sunset. "Soukahou." While Enma was zig zagging, he produced a black colored flame on one of his hands. The blood for it came from using his gauntlets to create a very small blade construct to cut into his own hand and open it up for blood. Six black fireballs whirled toward Sozen. They all embodied the property of "Eternity," and even if he had something stronger, they would persist for a while until Sozen's defense ran out of energy along with him. Enma then moved to point C, which was twelve meters behind Sozen. He would re emerge at point B, which was also point D. By making it this way, Enma put himself out of most reach of danger, and back to attacking position.

A gold magic circle appeared in front of Enma, and a beam fired out at Sozen. If this hit the chest level as it was intended then Sozen would petrify and he would also die. Enma could claim self defense, and Sozen could not. This battle had escalated too quickly for Enma to want to pull any punches. "Madoushi No Dageki." This came with another six Soukahou fireballs that were still under the influence of Grand Chariot. Anything that struck Sozen was enough to End this once and for all! One hit would burn Sozen in the fires of "eternity" and also petrify his mind for just two seconds. That was all it would take. "What are you doing, Sozen? I could arrest you for attacking another Captain, a comrade, unprovoked. Or could it be that you're used to doing this kind of thing? Is it maybe that this is what happened to anyone who opposed you while I was gone? Like Kenryoku perhaps?"

Enma's Remaining Reiatsu: 4900 Reiatsu

Bankai: 1/10

[Sozen Kuchiki]

OOC: Took timing liberty with the dialogue.

IC:

Music

Weeks before his duel with the Devil, Sozen came to in a hospital bed, his consciousness splintered by the pain felt throughout his body. The last thing that he could remember was the pain of his bitter loss to his sister, Saeki. He vaguely recalled his life flashing before his eyes, as if she had intended to finish him off, but... He was still alive? More importantly, looking around with his blurred vision, Sozen noted that he was in the Kuchiki Manor's hospital wing. Everything looked intact. On the other side of the door, Sozen could mildly detect the presence of powerful guards. He could not detect either of his assassins, further proof of their presence somewhere in the room.

Everything was quite bleak. Decorated scarlet walls upon which no decor rested. White linens for the bed, and equally white, fluffy pillows. Sozen's body was covered in medical bandages, and these current ones looked as if they had been freshly changed. Sozen could feel that his hair was disheveled, not that it mattered in the hospital. In the bed with him was his sheathed Zanpakuto. He didn't appear to feel any of the pain that came with use of Soul Release, yet could feel Aka's presence. A flash of Saeki's victory within the Circle of Evil crossed Sozen's mind, and he recalled why he had no drawback for using his greatest skill...

By his bedside was a small stool upon which sat breakfast with an envelope on the tray. The breakfast, judging by the low steam, was probably losing its heat and becoming lukewarm now. There was no telling how long Sozen had been unconscious. Had someone been leaving him this food with the very same envelope every day in hopes of his awakening? The envelope was unmarked, yet it was the first thing that Sozen picked up. Opening it with ease, Sozen noted that the pages within contained his eldest son's handwriting, and that it was marked "FWD: From Aoi Kuchiki" at the very top of the first page. The pages were all numbered. Upon Sozen's eyes gazing at the contents, they flew wide with shock.

"What are you doing, Sozen? I could arrest you for attacking another Captain, a comrade, unprovoked. Or could it be that you're used to doing this kind of thing? Is it maybe that this is what happened to anyone who opposed you while I was gone? Like Kenryoku perhaps?"

Now more NF music

That was the exact moment that Sozen came to from his fantasy, his blade still in mid slash. "What would you know, Enma?!" Sozen demanded of his fellow Captain with rage. Enma was surrounded in a flame of gold, and suddenly blasted away with great speed. Sozen, with his analytic ability of combat, could already see the direction in which Enma was headed. However, that movement looked like a guided one, evidenced by how it traveled in a perfect, absolutely straight line, like a Bount's Schiene. Enma was using some sort of special technique, which meant that Sozen would have to anticipate. Or, instead of anticipating, he could use timing to his advantage.

The blades that struck Enma along the way quickly turned to stone and shattered, which told Sozen all he needed to know of what Enma's ability was. If Sozen or any of his physical incarnations were hit by that power, they would petrify into stone and then disassemble. However, this remained untested for reiatsu and for other forms of matter. It was a good time to experiment. Enma's first movement took him into a zag to another point, telling Sozen further that this movement could either be controlled or pre planned. It didn't matter. He was much faster than Enma and had been in the middle of pressing his foot into a twisting motion on the floor... ready for another step.

Sozen quickly did an estimate. Bringer Light, he knew, had an option to perform more steps too. Most, as far as he knew, stopped at three to five steps due to escalating costs, both of stamina and reiatsu. Schiene also had such limitations. Enma's speed had not increased from his first directional change. Bringer Light did increase speed. Hirenkyaku Constant, a Quincy technique, decreased speed for the constant movement. If Enma's was somewhere in between, he probably had a limited number of fixed points, or at the very least suffered from some sort of linear mobility hindrance. He couldn't just break off and circle. He had to stay in a straight line, or else at least stay within a certain area.

If any of these were true, it would mean the fight was almost over. Sozen was using his unimaginably high level of battle analysis to quickly plot out which geometric points relative to Enma were most viable for a good strategic attack, given he saw a black reiatsu burst around Enma as Enma began to move again. Using his superior speed and his predetermined set-up, Sozen simply used a flash step to cut Enma off, appearing in the likely mid point of all of Enma's possible trajectories. When Sozen arrived there, he saw Enma leaning in a certain direction because of momentum as the Squad 5 Captain traveled, and surmised a return to or at least past the second placement of where Enma had been. As long as Enma was anywhere nearby, it didn't matter how exact Sozen was.

At that moment Enma was creating reiatsu to perform several techniques at once. Grand Chariot and Soukahou at the same time while traveling to another point. Sozen's interception was easy. A huge torrent of water formed all around Sozen and exploded out like a tsunami. The water rushed as a wall of power. It was red, like a river of blood, and it packed both force and volume. The room wasn't large, and Enma's trajectory was too close to the origin point of the attack. The room, except for Sozen's position for the moment, would fill with this red water. This was a technique called an Underworld Hana. Sozen had studied them in his youth, for they were a logical step above Destruction Hana.

...The drawbacks for them were incredibly severe. Even now, Sozen wasn't sacrificing just his reiatsu for it, but his life force too. He was also sacrificing stability of the heart. Even now, he could feel the agonizing pain of the first ever Underworld Hana that he was using for real in a battle. The surge of power associated with the technique told Sozen that it was more formidable than any of his Destruction Hana ever had been, but at the same time as feeling a rush of power he also felt a physical pain in his chest that was every bit as agonizing as the emotional pain in his heart. Now physical matched spiritual and he hissed. But... this technique? It would end things early.

Underworld Hana #2: Sea of Killing. Because it was a wall of a huge amount of water, there was actually nowhere Enma could possibly go to escape it except up or down through the ceiling or floor. However, he couldn't do that either. He was in the middle of a combination of several moves at once, his mind was too focused, and he would be too offbalanced by Sozen's sudden appearance in the center of his machinations. That was a weakness of step techniques like the one Enma was using. If one was interrupted, one was vulnerable. Attacking while in the middle of it instead of focusing on a way to avoid a counter had been foolish. Sozen's cunning in battle could rival even Kuroi Naito's... An enemy that had already beaten Enma.

Therefore, because of his being in mid attack and mid step at the same time, as well as offbalanced by Sozen, Enma had no possible way of either going up or down or even trying to cast a new technique to help himself. He was also already in Bankai, meaning that wouldn't save him either. He would be completely engulfed by the Sea of Killing, and his drenched body would immediately feel pain. Sea of Killing came with a special property. Not only did it negate all tolerance to pain, but it inflicted pain, too. Enma would feel as if needles of fire were penetrating his body on a molecular level... Every single molecule subjected to unbelievable pain.

The impossibly sudden intensity of the pain and the lack of tolerance to it would cause Enma's focus to suddenly shatter at that moment, the exact moment when Soukahou was taking form in conjunction with Grand Chariot. Because of this sudden destruction of focus, the technique would explode across Enma and backfire on him, covering him in horrendous burns which, depending on how Enma's ability worked, might still contain the properties of Grand Chariot, creating further damage. And, because the room was filled with the water due to the size of the water vs the size of the room, Enma, even continuing on with his Madoushi No Hono's trajectory, would continue to be bathed in the water, moving through it as he did.

This also told Sozen that the trajectory was definitively pre planned, since Enma could not possibly have planned a new movement during the second he had been subjected to the Sea of Killing. Furthermore, Sea of Killing was not the only attack that Sozen used. As soon as Enma was bathed in Sea of Killing, another attack produced itself from Sozen's bleeding hand which used blood as his sacrifice. A new technique Sozen had been working on, which should not be possible to use without intense emotional pain... A pain that Sozen now felt because of Aoi's ascension as Soul King... This technique created dark red lightning called Raigomon. It would also one day be known as Sozen's Torture Lightning. His hand was bathed in that lightning, conducting along the blade that came out of the palm, and also producing bolts throughout the water that was in Sea of Killing.

Enma, who was unavoidably hit by Sea of Killing, was therefore also unavoidably hit by the conduction in the water of Raigomon. If his focus was not splintered before, it would be now. Raigomon came with more than an effect of lightning. Those currently struck by it would feel as if the oxygen left their body entirely, asphyxiating them slowly as they were electrocuted. Enma would be experiencing the pain associated with Sea of Killing along with the lack of pain resistance that came with it. He would also be brutally electrocuted by Raigomon while devoid of oxygen. What was worse, it was like a tsunami, a literal wall of water, meaning being hit probably meant many of Enma's bones had been shattered.

Luckily, it wasn't the full size it could have been. Sozen actually chose to reduce the scope of the technique so as not to destroy the entire room, only fill it unavoidably. When the technique had subsided more, Enma would find himself dropped onto the floor, which now was flooded by over a foot of blood red water. Enma himself was also already soaked, his mask and bones shattered, his face fully revealed for the first time to another Captain. Also because Enma was covered in the red liquid, he was vulnerable. Even while he struggled to create another Soukahou in conjunction with Madoushi No Dageki, blades would stab into his stomach, all of his limbs, and even from his liquid covered face into one of his eyes to gouge it.

One of the blades going through his stomach went through to the spine, severing it. Because of his lack of pain tolerance, Enma would feel huge pain, and his sudden wounds would also interrupt the casting of those two techniques, causing more backfiring on him and more burning. Sozen had timed things perfectly. Flawlessly. Enma wasn't in any position to counter any of that. One bad move, and he had been completely demolished. Plus, Raigomon shared a trait with Soukahou. It didn't just stop. It continued, endlessly, and so too did the bolts coming from Sozen's fingertips even as Enma hit the water and was abruptly stabbed and then burned by his own techniques.

The lightning would strike Enma again, continuing to electrocute his wet body and deprive him of oxygen. The pain would be unimaginable. "What could you possibly know of me, Enma?" Sozen asked. "You, who arrogantly thought that you were exempt from interacting not only with other Captains, but from your own subordinates. You were a Captain for almost ten years when I first came back, and now I've been a Captain for almost ten years too. In that time, this is my first time meeting you, and I'd bet it's the first time in twenty years anyone here has seen your face... I doubt you consider any of us comrades. You're a pathetic, uncharismatic, worthless failure of a Captain."

Lightning continued to pour onto Enma. "You have no friends. You have no family. Have you ever had a wife or kids? Have you ever had friends?! If you haven't, then what are you trying to do? What are you even protecting? Who are you to come into my tribute to my wife and demand to arrest me? Where were you during the War of Angels? Do you know what Soul Society burning under Quincy arrows looks like? If you don't, then how could you ever understand any other Soul Reapers, let alone me? You're the same insect that lost to Kuroi. I defeated him, and the Espada above him too... Yet you'll tell me I'm bad for Soul Society?! You're nothing, Enma. The days where you could appear in the Captain meetings and put everyone to sleep are over. We're both veteran Captains, now. Equals. Except you're so much less than that... You're just trash who overestimated his own importance in the world."

Final music of post

Lightning from Sozen's fingertips did not stop falling upon Enma's body. Enma was probably in so much pain that even casting one technique would be almost impossible. Right now he was drenched in water that was red, and he was bleeding profusely from the blades that had hit him. His body was also in agony and he wouldn't even be able to breathe. When asphyxiated, thinking clearly also becomes almost impossible when one has no tolerance to it. In the back of Sozen's mind, he could hear the words of that letter left to him by his own son. He could hear the reason for his pain, and he knew that more than anything, he wanted to kill Enma right now...

Father, these were mother's last words, imparted to you from my memory. I hope you will take them well.

Beloved Sozen,

Please, do not fear. I am not dead. I am more alive than ever. It is important for you to understand that, even though it means we will never see one another again. The only way to speak of this is to be honest and direct. I am about to become the new Soul King. There was no other choice in the matter, or Soul Society would have been destroyed and everyone, including you, would be dead. I could never bear to exist in a world without you, so as selfish as it may seem to you, I must bid you farewell. I won't ask you not to grieve, as I will do the same. However I will always be watching over you. Always. Don't forget that you were the single brightest light of my life. You gave me a real place to belong, and taught me what a real family should feel like.

I love you.

Goodbye.



Sozen poured all of his rage, pain, and hatred into the Torture Lightning that wiped away what Enma was... There was nothing that could be done for the Squad 5 Captain. "I will hurt you until you can hurt no more..." Sozen promised while torturing Enma with that very lightning which should be so unavoidable. "I will show you what true suffering looks like... You will be tortured, your soul will be torn into pieces that cannot heal." The lightning continued pouring out as Sozen's eyes, once scarlet with vigor and life, started to turn black with hatred, and a lock of his hair started to twist into a demented silver from the use of his Torture Lightning.

"And then you will die."

Sozen's Remaining Reiatsu: 1700/3000 Reiatsu

Sozen's Remaining Life Force: 2500/3000 Life Force

Bankai Post Count: 2/12

[Enma, Lord of Hades]

SPOILER: Click to show

URGH! The world went black. Enma's thoughts flickered out of existence momentarily. In the back of his mind the Lord of Hades heard a crunching sound even as the wrenching of his bones inflicted pain upon him. The feeling on his skin too, like fire. Whatever had just hit him had been powerful. He tried to breath, but no oxygen reached his lungs. Even if it could, it wouldn't have. Liquids rushed into his mouth and inflicted even more pain. He felt it inside himself too, having swallowed the water. It spurted out of his nose too as his mask shattered from the force of whatever had hit him. Spinning, Enma tried to attack again, blindly, but felt more fire across his body. Had his attacks backfired and failed him? He couldn't breathe. He was submerged. He was in pain. His body felt broken. Something felt lodged inside of his limbs. Sozen's blades? Enma tried to quarantine his thoughts into a place of calm. What had happened?

URGH! Enma felt his body strike the floor as he landed there. He opened his eyes and tasted the salty water on his lips. Enma's vision was blurry. He saw Sozen's figure approaching him. The fiery feeling was only coming from part of Enma's body now. He glanced down and saw that he was surrounded by blood. No, not blood. Red water. It had flooded much of the room. Enma was partially submerged in it. His body hurt in every part the water touched. He wouldn't be able to do anything if he couldn't get rid of it. That pain was so real. So terrible. Grrgghhh... Enma planted one palm against the surface of the water. Mahou: Hitei! Enma's non release technique called Mahou: Hitei could negate any one technique it hit, but at a great reiatsu cost. Enma unfortunately had no choice. Hrrgghhh.. The water instantly evaporated into nothing and was gone. Even the water on Enma's body had disappeared. Mahou: Hitei had gotten rid of it all.

Was he always this strong? Enma's body was still in pain. His ears were ringing. He could only barely make out what Sozen was saying. His vision was just starting to clear, so Enma had a spare second to check himself. There was blood staining his clothes. There were blades in his body. His many weapons had been lost in the flood and were scattered about the room. His mask was gone and his face probably showed pain. His ribs were broken, and so were several other bones. One of his shoulders might be dislocated. Something Sozen was saying started to get through to Enma's ringing ears. He's wrong.. Enma rejected Sozen's words while struggling. Maybe, if he could just stand... Red lightning struck Enma and filled his body with pain. He had only been able to catch a few seconds of breath before the lightning again ripped it away. He's wrong... I did have friends... I did have comrades... He's wrong...

Rin Minamimoto, his Vice Captain. Kaen Youji, his third seat. Just as surely, he had met other Captains. The pain of the lightning was still there. Enma could feel his body starting to die. Without the water to make it worse, Enma could start to think of a plan. The lightning was pouring over him. He's wrong... It hurt, but now that Enma was more clear minded without the water, he had the chance to counterattack. He's wrong... I had Rin... I had Kaen... I had Brock.. Enma had had comrades. He had interacted with his squad. He had met other Captains before. He wasn't no one. He wasn't just a ghost. He had interacted with other Captains before. He's wrong.. I had Ranmyaku.. He'd had his friends and comrades. He'd played the flute for people before. Enma knew that he wasn't without people. I had Sonsaku.. Modai... Imen.. Friends from his past had existed, too. He'd watched them die.

SPOILER: Click to show

I'M NOT ALONE! A transparent barrier erected between Enma and the lightning. It separated them and blocked Sozen's lightning. Danku! Enma, now having a moment free of pain and torture, was able to move freely. Tejina Hakachi! Around the room thirty circles with magic inscriptions formed. One staff rose out of each one. These all had glowing flames like Enma's Shikai. Madoushi No Hono. Enma's body lit up in gold fire and he disappeared. He plotted multiple steps in a zig zag course around the walls of the room to keep Sozen off of his trail and to escape from the lightning. At the same time, the circles each started to produce their own attacks. Some fired beams at Sozen. Others created large hands that tried to reach for him. Some fired volleys of arrows and spikes. Others created goats running at him. All of this was made of gold reiatsu. No matter where Sozen went in the room, something would hit him. There were no escape routes.

Anything that hit him would cause the body part hit to petrify. Madoushi No Ame. A huge magic circle appeared on the ceiling. Thousands upon thousands of gold basketball sized orbs started to rain down. In the limited space of the small room, everything was being barraged by gold. It was impossible to escape. Even in moving to try to leave the room, Sozen would enter trajectory to be hit. No matter where he went in the room, Sozen was going to be hit by something. The petrifying would happen at that time. No matter what happened, Sozen would lose at least two limbs. It was more likely that because of the onslaught that he would be hit many times. If that happened, Sozen would die. Enma had planned to arrest Sozen but, I can't afford to hold back against this man. I'm going to finish him now. Sozen's final moments would be observed by Enma as showers of gold reiatsu flooded the whole room with Enma's reiatsu.

Enma's Remaining Reiatsu: 1300 Reiatsu

Bankai: 2/10

Grand Chariot: 2/7

[Sozen Kuchiki]

In honor of Naruto

Sozen's eyes flew around the room as he saw Enma move and his attack begin. But, as this happened and Sozen turned every which way looking around the room, he smirked to himself. "Hmph," he sneered with that same smirk of his. "Child's play." Enma himself was darting around the room, but not too fast for Sozen to see given his vastly superior speed capability. The moment that Enma was moving, blades erupted from the blood on his clothing and carved out his four limbs, separating them from his body and leaving small stumps in their place. Those very limbs would be sent flying as Enma continued to zig zag, potentially out of control now, and at least in great pain and oozing out lots of blood.

But, bleeding out from that wasn't Enma's biggest problem. After all, he was using this technique to move likely because his body was already too damaged for ordinary movement. And, by staying close to the walls, Enma had made a grave mistake. In Bankai, Sozen rendered the entire area he was in for a mile all around him red, including buildings! This meant that Enma, staying close to the walls, was near something red. Fast, powerful blades shot out of all of the walls at once, extending quickly so that Enma couldn't just change trajectory and escape their reach. No, the blades were long, and would cross the room if it meant getting to Enma.

Enma was sure to be stabbed in his shoulder, his side, and some of his internal organs. His face would probably also receive damage. At the same time as all of this was happening, Sozen continued turning this way and that, his eyes darting around and capturing every single view of the room as Enma's Magic Graveyard technique appeared. They too had arisen from the floor, which Sozen had turned red with his Bankai. Blades shot out of the floor, so that even if Enma somehow escaped the onslaught that was the wall attack, he would go right into an attack from the floor. Blades from all over the floor, especially underneath where the staffs had come from.

As a result, the staffs that Enma had summoned would be destroyed immediately before they even fired their techniques, the disruption causing reiatsu that had barely begun to manifest to simply shatter into golden sparkles in the air. The air, now decorated by glitter that should have been Enma's techniques, remained perfectly red. As this happened, Sozen called blades from the ceiling to intercept the rain of golden reiatsu orbs. The moment they even started descending from the ceiling, they were impaled by blades. And, as a precautionary measure, Sozen summoned blades from the higher parts of the walls to form a makeshift new ceiling above to block more of the orbs.

The orbs would petrify blades that hit them, but they couldn't make it past those blades and continue to petrify more things because their hit limit was hitting one thing. So, with that makeshift ceiling, from the top of which yet even more blades emerged given Sozen's Bankai blades were red, there would be even further interception. The blasts were trapped, sandwiched between Sozen's Bankai blades. Sozen himself kept vigilant, ready to move himself immediately if any attacks broke through at all. However, though he was cautious and ready, it was highly unlikely. And, with Enma having been impaled, his trajectory would have ended and he would have been tossed across the floor.

Each and every single one of Enma's attacks had been dealt with. He should not have been able to avoid what counterattacks Sozen had launched either. Even if he tried to blast through the wall or the ceiling, blades would stop him and stab him, and he would only skewer himself. Even if he tried to blast his way out, it was too slow for him to still get out and save himself. Even if he petrified the blades on his way out, more blades arose from them first, and he couldn't get through every single layer of continually spawning blades. There was no escape. Enma was in an impossibly difficult situation of being stabbed by the wall, or by the floor, or both, and either way had been deprived of his limbs.

Hype music

Now, with Enma on the ground, Sozen could again use Raigomon to attack. The lightning still on his hand, Sozen fired out thin bolts that were likely to strike a wounded and beaten Enma. If Enma tried to create a counterattack or dodge, or tried to resist the lightning in any way, then the blood that had all but soaked his clothes would simply create more blades in his body. No, he was going to be struck by that lightning or blades would finish things off, and either way it was the end of the battle. As soon as the lightning struck, it would conduct throughout Enma's body and deprive him off oxygen while also inflicting tremendous pain.

"Didn't your father ever teach you to LOOK. BEFORE. YOU LEAP?!" Sozen demanded, firing off more lightning as rage settled into his eyes in the midst of torturing his fellow Captain's broken shell of a body. Lightning continued pouring onto Enma. Nothing would have pleased Sozen more than walking up to Enma and beating him to death bare handed. But, Sozen was not stupid. Even broken like that, Enma could still counterattack if Sozen was that close. And this enraged Sozen... So, from a distance, he funneled that rage into a lightning that streaked across his opponent's already dismembered, destroyed body. By this point, Enma's flesh would begin to melt under the heat of the lightning. Now, it was about torturing and disfiguring him.

"You came here to shut me down.. To hurt my family," Sozen accused. "What did you think was going to happen when you broke into my home?! This... This is justice for your treachery and punishment for your stupidity." Every second more now that lightning buzzed over Enma's body, he would grow closer to dying. He had been submerged so constantly in it that by this point, Enma would die in less than a couple of minutes if Sozen's torture of him continued. And now, Sozen, looking down with his chain raised and his eyes lowered in contempt, started to laugh... Or, rather, started to cackle at Enma, torturing him until he was no more.

Sozen's Remaining Reiatsu: 1700/3000 Reiatsu

Sozen's Remaining Life Force: 2500/3000 Life Force

Bankai Post Count: 3/12

Raigomon Post Count: 2/5

[Enma, Lord of Hades]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play this}

I lost.... Enma was seeing nothing of the physical world now whilst lightning glimmered across his smoking body. All that he could think about was his failure. He had been defeated by an Espada named Kuroi, whom Sozen had managed to vanquish. Enma had been unable to save his most precious subordinate, Rin, and had been forced to kill her. Meanwhile the Kuchikis continued to grow and become even more powerful. Enma had decimated a member of the Vandenreich, W, The Word, Walter. But Sozen had defeated Walter's reincarnation and had even gone on to be victorious against B, The Boss, Baal, a man who had defeated Enma. Enma had been unable to vanquish Hiroshi Shihoin even with the help of another Captain, while Sozen had fought and overcome Jinbei Kawada, going so far as to take his power from him. Even now, Enma lay helpless while Sozen destroyed him. Perhaps I was jealous of him... Maybe... maybe that's why...

Enma, whom they had called the strongest Captain, didn't have Sozen's accomplishments. He paled in comparison to the Captain that tortured him even now with electric shocks. It turned out that when it came to fighting each other, Enma was no match for Sozen. Why...? What does he have that I don't? Enma could only think about his failures one by one whilst they overflowed into his mind. That was despair. Kuroi had once spoken of despair, too, when he had beaten Enma and told him that there was a gap of power which Enma would never cross. But if Enma was going to be held to such a low standard, how could he ever enact the justice that he wanted? Where would the peaceful world that he had promised his friends come from? Maybe I'm just not the right person for the job... Enma cursed himself. When the lightning momentarily subsided, Enma turned over in pain and looked Sozen in his cold, dead eyes. "Kill me then." Enma ordered. "Get it over with and kill me now." It didn't matter what happened next. Enma's mind eventually went black either way.

[Sozen Kuchiki]

Play this first

Kill me then. Get it over with and kill me now.

The shocking had stopped for a short second, just one, and Enma had managed to speak. It was a testament to his willpower, but also a testament to his inability to handle pain and defeat. Blackened eyes simmered with the scarlet glow that had become customary of Sozen and his children, the 29th Kuchiki Head gazing down at Enma with condescending and contempt. "A quick death?" Sozen asked. "Foolish boy... There is no mercy..." And then the shocking of Enma continued. Sozen smiled coldly at the impunity of his adversary. Oh how the tables had turned. Enma had strolled into the Kuchiki Manor with such flare, such an attitude of power and authority to him. And now what good was he? Now he was nothing at all.

Soon, Enma would be dead. It wouldn't be difficult to find an excuse for it. It would both add to Sozen's reputation and serve as a warning to others. Enma had come into his home and attacked him. Anyone could attest to this from the Kuchiki Manor, given that they had been knocked out by Enma upon his entry instead of told the charges that he brought forth. Unprovoked, Enma had come for Sozen. Maybe he had been corrupted by his time away from Soul Society. Maybe it was more than that. It didn't make a difference. Sozen had never been convicted of a crime (in spite of his many), and his exemplary record would more than demonstrate that he hadn't invited such scrutiny from Enma.

This kill had been in self defense. So now Sozen just shocked his now broken opponent as the once proud Captain began to lose consciousness. Soon his screams of pain could no longer be heard over the roar of the lightning and the sound of Sozen's laughter. That was until the lightning was stopped completely, right when Enma's flesh was starting to melt off into puddles of goo on the floor. It was when Sozen was interrupted, and he saw Enma was no longer in place where he should be. Fear gripped Sozen's heart for half a second--fear that Enma had managed a miraculous recovery and was ready to attack. Then, he regained calm, and saw what had happened.

Scarlet eyes met Sozen's, and there stood his very own son gently putting down the felled Captain. There stood Souza Kuchiki, Sozen's eldest and his Heir. The Heir to the Kuchiki Name, whose kindness Sozen despised more than anything about his own son. "What the hell are you doing...?" Souza asked his father. Yet Sozen did not react as if he was guilty of anything, as if he had been caught red handed in the act of a crime. No, Souza would understand. The Heir would be made to comprehend that it was in self defense. That it was in defense of the Kuchikis. "He came to destroy us," Sozen told his son. "He would have destroyed us if I didn't fight back."

"Fight back?" Souza asked, evidently incredulous of Sozen's words. "No one denies that you're the strongest Captain! If you were barely able to defend yourself, that's one thing, but it's obvious that he was no match for you. It would have been one thing if you fought back, incapacitated him. You mutilated him. Your fellow Captain." Sozen lowered his gaze as his crimson eyes faded into the color black while heartlessness overcame him. Anger bit into him. Rage, hatred. How was it that Souza couldn't understand? After all Sozen had taught him, still he rejected it, still he clung to the weakness instilled in him by others...

"This kind of action is the best way to protect the family," Sozen held. Souza was obviously weak... Perhaps even undeserving of succeeding Sozen. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to start looking into a new Heir... Onuya's daughter perhaps. "This?! This goes beyond just family. We're Soul Reapers. We have a duty to the Soul Society as well, Sozen. Or have you forgotten?" Sozen did not budge, and his cold did not diminish. "I've forgotten nothing. It's you who forgot the strength of our enemies. Of the Emperor. Of Satsujun. This is the kind of ruthlessness that we need to defeat them. Even if it means overthrowing the Captain Commander himself becomes necessary..." Yes, Souza proved every second more that he lacked what it took to ensure the Kuchiki family survived and succeeded.

"Overthrowing the Captain Commander..? How paranoid have you become?! What would mother have said if she found you doing this? How would she feel knowing that this is how far you've fallen without her?" Sozen glared at his son. "Your mother would have understood. She of all people knew the necessity of cruelty for the sake of your family. She knew what it meant to make hard choices." Souza rejected even this. "And she made the hard choice to leave us, her family, so that she could fulfill her duty and save the world." Sozen shook his head. "If you're going to get in my way, Souza, then you're being an accomplice of the enemy. And if so, then even if it's my own son, I'll have to destroy you..." Sozen fired lightning toward Souza.

Sad song

Souza's eyes widened as the lightning struck him. He hadn't expected for even a moment that he would be attacked by his own father, and Sozen coldly, with a stoic face, shocked his son more. The pain on Souza's face was obvious as he dropped to one knee, red lightning coursing across his body. But, Souza held fast as his left eye suddenly formed black flame-like tattoos around it and the whites turned black. The lightning suddenly flew off of Souza's body, headed back toward Sozen, who in turn was struck by the pain of his own lightning. The agony was incredible. The lack of oxygen something else entirely. Yet, Sozen couldn't help but grin through the pain.

Sozen started to laugh, cackle even. This agony was proof of the power of his Raigomon technique. Indeed his Torture Lightning was powerful... And for Souza to be able to redirect it and control it with that magnificent eye was proof of his son's latent power. Sozen cut off Souza's control, knowing it worked by visual, simply by erecting a wall of red blades before Souza with Bankai, and sending blades from that red wall to attack Souza. Souza managed to dodge at the last second, and drew his Zanpakuto to ready it in self defense. But, the blades did not proceed any farther, and Sozen ceased the attack. "You are powerful now!" Sozen complimented of his son, pride filling him and replacing his anger.

Perhaps Souza really could be his successor. Maybe they differed in ideology, but if Souza was this strong at that young age, then what might happen by the time Sozen was gone and Souza was able to succeed him? ...And, better yet, if Souza grew strong enough to usurp Sozen, what might happen? Still, the look of pure shock, disgust, and sorrow on Souza's face was disconcerting, and Sozen decided that just in case, he would need to proxy a new Heir all the same, sort of as a back-up. Just in case Souza failed him in the end. "I... I don't believe it... You've truly lost yourself to darkness..." Souza said sadly, surprised by his father's willingness to attack.

But, amused as he was, Sozen could no longer be consumed by anger. "I haven't been lost to darkness. This is what I was meant to become... For the sake of the Kuchiki Family, I must walk this path." Sozen's darkness was indisputable, yes. But this darkness, this ruthlessness... It was power. It was Sozen's power. His very strength here was what allowed him to conquer all of his enemies. Souza, however, was clearly struggling with his feelings. His emotions were for now getting the better for him, but Sozen saw potential where he previously saw weakness. Perhaps Souza too could be turned to see his point of view. If Souza was defeated as completely as Enma had been.

"I won't allow you to plunge our family into your darkness," Souza declared. "Father, it is as of this moment that I declare the war on your reign. For now I will acquiesce to your demands. For now I will accept your decisions. But know that soon the time will come where I decry the illegitimacy of your place as Head, and defeat you and your resources and take the position from you. I'll lead us in a better direction than you are. And you will submit to me or rot in jail." At that, Sozen actually laughed. How interesting! How interesting that Souza would dare to challenge him like that. Could his Heir actually do that? Could he..? Even if they differed in opinion, if Souza could surpass his father and accomplish such a victory, then Sozen had no complaints.

"You? Defeat me? I accept your challenge. I look forward to seeing you in battle one day, Souza. For now, I accept your decision. You may have the broken husk of Enma." That would be when Sozen turned to leave his mausoleum to Aoi for the first time in days, perhaps even weeks. As his Bankai receded, Souza would call medics who would begin to enter the room and tend to Enma's most immediate wounds, preventing him from dying while they lifted him onto a stretcher and carried him out of the Manor and in the direction of the Squad 4 barracks. And Sozen? Sozen retired, victorious, to his office in Squad 6. It would be there that he began drafting his plan for the greatest legal Noble expansion in history...

OOC: Last post of this thread, as agreed upon by us, is actually a reaction post from Himitsu seeing Enma being carried on a stretcher!

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

A large man stood in a room in the 4th Division’s building. With him, a small ladybug sat on his shoulder. The two of them were looking down at a figured cloaked in a white sheet lying motionlessly on the examination table. The man’s eyes were fixed on the figure, but his pupils were unfocussed. His mind was elsewhere. Sound didn’t exist in that room. Time stretched like rubber. The ground beneath the man’s feet seemed less stable, but he kept still as he stared at the white cloth.

”Himitsu, who is that?”

The Lieutenant didn’t answer his ladybug companion immediately. After all, the question was far more complicated than it seemed. The lifeless body before them once belong to Himitsu’s enemy, a man who the Vice Captain believed contributed to the corruption of Soul Society. It was also that of Himitsu’s comrade, a fellow shinigami who served in the 12th division. That body belonged to Himitsu’s friend, someone the Lieutenant confided in. He relied on that person as an ally, hoping to battle injustice along his side in the future.

But that future would not come to fruition. That man was gone, and his relationship with Himitsu was a fleeting memory. It didn’t matter who the body belonged to, but as tears fell from Himitsu’s cheeks, he felt a deep sense of loss.

“That man is… was my friend. His name was Shunsui Kasumi’Oji.”

---

As the Vice Captain began making his way out of the building, he suddenly heard frantic voices chaotically shouting over each other with the sound of a wheeled cart running in the background. Normally, Himitsu’s hearing would be far too weak to pick up those vibrations from such a distance, but the ladybug on his shoulder, Volucris, was more than capable of doing so.

“Something’s happening.”

Himitsu raced in the direction of the sound as Volucris continued to transmit sensory information, managing to pick up a few key words. “Scorched.” “Captain.” “Goner.” “Enma.” Himitsu picked up his pace, sprinting as fast as he could until eventually, he could see the squad 4 unit racing down the hallway with a stretcher. Himitsu froze in his tracks, horrified and deeply sadden by the site before him.

The hideously mutilated body before him belonged to the legendary Captain Enma, the newly returned leader of the 5th Division. I hope he survives… the Lieutenant thought to himself. The Vandenreich killed Shunsui. Now Enma was defeated by another force. There was so much war and bloodshed surrounding Himitsu, churning his stomach. So many enemies that he could barely identify them. But whoever so badly damaged Enma was going to pay for it. Alongside sorrow, a dense rage boiled inside Himitsu. I’m going to make things right. For Enma. For Shunsui. No matter who I have to face, I will-

”I guess that’s what you get when you cross Sozen Kuchiki.”

Himitsu felt something in his mind shatter. Maybe it was the glass supporting his sanity. Maybe it was his faith in his allies. Shunsui taught him that even though some people don’t do the best things, there is still good in them. Shunsui taught Himitsu to trust his comrades again. But this undid Shunsui’s lesson. Himitsu’s role model, the man who introduced the lost soul to the Gotei 13, established the image of a heroic shinigami battling against forces of evil.

Why, Sozen? Desperate for an answer, Himitsu searched for a rational explanation, but he kept coming up empty. Enma, the enforcer of justice as the former Captain of Squad 7, couldn’t have turned against the Gotei 13. He felt his gut sink as his slow, uncertain legs carried him out of the Squad 4 facility while the cogs in his mind spun in place. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but the Vice Captain just walking, pondering Why?

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

62 paragraphs Sozen + Victory = 720 TP
16 paragraphs Enma = 160 TP
6 paragraphs Himitsu = 30 TP (Graded as if it was a solo thread)