SandStorm [Kirito]

There are many stories that we like to tell: Those of our childhood, those of great battles and heroes who save princesses from evil warlords, who've kidnapped them in an attempt to draw out the kingdom's forces: then there are those we do not like to tell. The ones where the hero fails, where a merciless man kills every infant in a country so he can attain what he believes to be godliness, and most of all, stories of revenge. 

The one we tell today begins as a story of cold blooded revenge, one driven by a cause with no redemption in sight. This may change, but for now, this is the story we tell. 

Kirigaya Kazuto now  hated, and I mean hated hollows. In the past he had thought them to be creatures of habit, internally plagued with pain and insatiable hunger, a desire that could not be fulfilled until the received the sweet release of death in the form of purification or otherwise: in short, he hadn't hated them, simply pitied them for a long time. However, that had all changed when his dear friend Chie Kira had turned from a kind, compassionate, and though timid, very polite woman into a brutal, abrasive and unkind person.

It started when she broke his heart two weeks earlier. This in itself wasn't the worst that she did. It was how she did it that hurt. When he asked if they could be friends, she shut herself off to him, trying to avoid any and all communication. After pushing further, he realized the problem. He was pushing, and pushing, and what had started as a harmless breakup had resulted in stress caused by him. The stress having weakened her, Chie donned a hollow mask, a completely different being having taking over her.

It was disgusting. This awful beast, implanted by some hollow breed in the damn sandy barren plane of existence that was Hueco Mundo, had infected and changed Chie Kira. Not only that, but the damn thing wasn't pretty: It exposed Chie's chest, took over her body like a virus. Like he had said, truly disgusting. It abused her. 

Kirito didn't take kindly to the abuse of a friend. So he had set out to the coarse, grainy, musty desert of Hueco Mundo En-Route to the fabled castle of Las Noches. He intended to challenge the supposedly great so-called espada of the castle and defeat them, likely kill them if he felt the mood. He was on a path of destruction, with no end in sight except for one soaked in blood. 

How he got here was a story for another time, but let's just say it involved piggy backing off of a certain nerdy division's private garganta machine, and running into the one hollow he couldn't bear to hate, for she was no more of a beast than any child of earth.

As one might expect in the desert of evil spirits, Kirito found himself approached by a man, slightly shorter than himself and pale in complexion. In an instant, the man was behind him, a few feet away, turning his body to face Kirito. Kazuto, in response, glanced back over his shoulder, one eye showing as his blue hair fell to one side. With an open grin and a hidden sense of aggression, the man spoke to him with vigor and confidence, all while enjoying the statement of offense far to much.

"You're in the wrong neighborhood pal. I hope you're looking for a fight."

How crass. When Kirito fought somebody, at least he properly challenged them. This man was simply craving his flesh, he could tell. The scent of the man's reiatsu filled Kirito's nostrils, the feeling crawling all over him as he looked at the man, a look saying "I'm not impressed" stapled to his face. The dude was a hollow, and from Kirito's previous experiences, after seeing his human form, was almost certainly an arrancar. A powerful one at that. Regardless, Kirito turned forwards and began to walk as he spoke back to the man, dull annoyance and drag in his voice.

"I'm not in the mood for a fight with some underling. Unless, of course, you've got something to do with the capture of Chie Kira, in which case, you're absolutely boned. However, the chances of that are slim to none, so I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt for now."

His feet moved him forwards slowly as he ignored the man on his tail, the sand finding it's way into his shoes, rubbing alongside his feet, getting into small scratches and cuts he didn't even know he had. It truly was a hinderance, this bloody desert. Regardless, whatever lay in front of him, he had to move straight through and past it, because only then would he find himself at the Castle of the Night.

Words:775

Levi’s mouth dropped open. If he believed in providence, he would have thought that every god in existence had smiled on him. He had thought Chie Kira to be forever out of his reach, all thoughts of revenge to be nothing more than fantasy. Now before him stood a man who not only knew her, but knew her well enough to come looking for vengeance of his own. Levi grinned.

“Chie Kira you say? I didn’t expect to hear that name again, let alone so soon.” Levi looked at the man before him. He was just barely shorter than Levi, and looked a little younger too. His hair, eyes, and reiatsu were all a shade of blue that made Levi think of the sky. His reiatsu in particular had a sort of stormy vibe to it, almost like lightning. His smell was strange, soap and lavender mixed with burnt hair. More importantly he had a calm fury about him, like a dark cloud full to bursting and just waiting for an excuse to unleash a storm.

The question of course, was how best to use him. He could always beat him down and try to force him to tell him where Chie Kira was, how Levi could find her. Perhaps a bit of subtlety could be more effective though.

“How much did she tell you about her time in Las Noches? Did you know it was an arrancar that helped her escape?” It was a bit of a gamble trying to let the boy believe that arrancar had been Levi, depending entirely on the answer to the first question. If it worked however, if he could convince the man he was a friend, he might be able to get all the answers he needed. If it didn’t work... well, Levi was going to kill him anyway.

WC: 306
TWC: 771

Funny. This beastly arrancar thought that giving him information about Chie Kira would make a fine ally out of Kirito. Little did he know that this was exactly what Kirito needed to trigger any sort of sense of danger that he had. The man's reiatsu had sharpened with intent, all of it's aspects increasing as the man began to show enthusiasm and interest, something that either meant aggression, or some kind of study going on in the being's head, as if he was measuring Kirito up. 

These questions and words he spoke of Chie Kira were odd. The man knew the girl, evidently well, and he had lost sight of her recently. This meant he was somehow related to her experiences in Hueco Mundo. Obviously, this presented a problem. If the man, who said that an arrancar had helped Chie Kira escape was telling the truth, then he could very well have been that exact arrancar. However, there was also the heavy chance that this man was related to her capture, and that one of the other hundreds of arrancar helped her escape at some point.

That, and helping the very thing that destroyed their race one being at a time didn't seem like it fit into any hollow's stereo typically aggressive nature, at least not to his knowledge. 

So, Kirito pondered and pondered, then came across a realization. His mind had connected some dots, and this meant the man's story didn't fit like he was obviously spinning it to. The man was a hollow breed, an arrancar by Kirito's knowledge, and therefore had garganta capability. A hollow that let a being of any kind out of a cell in Las Noches obviously had to be powerful enough to handle the so called espada, who would likely have caused or supported Chie's imprisonment. Therefore...

This man was obviously not a friend. The amount of power radiating from him was nowhere near enough to be equivalent to something that was basically a captain in a hollow's terms from Kirito's measurement. That, or the hollows truly were a force that was only strong in a bygone era.

If this was the best they had to offer, he could only laugh. That, and somebody needed access to some sort of executive position if they were imprisoning anything. Therefore, according to Kirito's calculations:

1) This man was certainly stronger than Chie Kira had been during the invasion according to measurements taken by Kirito in their several battles.

2) This man was likely far weaker than anybody in a true leadership position according to any common sense (that, or the espada could just be pitifully weak)

3) The man... was wearing a yellow sweater and khakis, with dark blonde hair... the very same things he had seen on the man who had taken Chie that day when he arrived too late.

 All arrows pointed to this man being either a random hollow or Chie Kira's captor. 

However, the man knew of Chie Kira, and she wasn't a very well known person, certainly not famous enough to have a reputation in the realm of the hollow breeds. Therefore, he was clearly Chie Kira's captor, or one of the pitifully weak espada. Either way, he was a target for Kirito, and Kirito had no reason to give this beast the benefit of the doubt. He stopped walking, the sand settling itself against his toes, having found its way into his shoes. The next words slipped out with an inquisitive, and slowly increasing tone, the feeling vibrating through them, a feeling of directed fear at it's finest.

"You know Chie Kira, eh? You should know not to give information to your enemies, hollow. It won't do you any good when you're trying to fool them. Just that much was enough to deduce who you are-"

With pure instinct behind it, Kirito didn't even need to think before appearing behind the man, his body moving itself, the reishi manifesting beneath his feet and propelling him without any effort or thought on his part except the mere will to be in a place that he wasn't already. His sword drawn, in a quick flash of blue, the blade transformed itself into a katana with a sky blue aura surrounding it.

"You sick bastard."

Words:711

Levi could clearly see the gears turning in the shinigami’s head. Unfortunately. He hadn’t really expected the guy to just say “Oh you know her? I’m sure she’d like to see you again, you can find her here!” but he could have at least had the curtesy to ask some gullible follow-up questions.

In an instant the shinigami was behind him. Out of pure instinct Levi dashed forward with a burst of static. He thought he had dodged the attack, until he realized his back was wet. The little bastard’s speed was nothing short of amazing. Definitely superior to Levi’s own. Of course, Levi had regeneration to fall back on.

“Heh, you figured it out that quick huh? Are you that smart, or just that narrow-minded?” The pain started catching up to him, but it was nothing he couldn’t regenerate. “Shinigami believe in honor, don’t you? Why don’t we start this properly? My name is Levi Grisha, arrancar of Las Noches.” He was stalling for time of course, taking a moment to regenerate the gash on his back and sneak his Manos Fantasmales into position. He was curious about the boy’s name though.

It was Levi’s turn now. He had seen his opponent’s speed in action, now it was time to test his skill. Two bala formed on Levi’s fists, and thirteen more behind him. Fifteen fists, two physical and thirteen spiritual, each capable of firing three bala at once. And this was just one of his basic attacks.

“ Pelotón de fusilamiento!” Levi roared as fourty-five twilight-colored bala shot toward his enemy.


WC: 288
TWC: 1,059

And just like that, the battle began. The man rushed forwards, though not quickly enough to avoid the first effects of the cut delivered by Kirito's zanpakuto. The wound couldn't even qualify as a shallow hinderance, practically a paper cut to any real warrior, especially a spiritual one. The man's reiatsu could be seen racing to the wound, obviously patching it up with some kind of regeneration. In a few seconds, the dent in the man's hakudo (spiritual movement/structure) was completely healed. 

However, this man was no warrior. Spending the cost of a few seconds of the sweet embrace of the fight for mere pleasantries, the man spoke to him, expecting some sort of respectful reply out of "honor" and the like. Kirito listened to the man intently as he gave his name: Levi, Levi Grisha. He was some kind of underling to the strongest of the espada according to the soul society's information, somebody named Octavia. Yet, none of this mattered to Kirito. What did matter was the answer to one question he asked himself, and hoped the man was asking himself at the same time.


Was it honorable to kidnap an innocent shinigami? 

No.

This "honor" he tried to abuse had been turned from something founded in respect into some bastardized stalling tactic, one used by only the most shameless of cowards.

With fury in his voice, Kirito's reiatsu exploded outwards, the sand around him being propelled in every direction as he yelled at the man, putting into words the exact thoughts he had just processed as the words flew through the air. As they fell from his mouth, the sand that was being pushed outwards simply stood in midair for a brief second.

"Did you have any honor when you stole Chie Kira from the realm of shinigami, you sick, immoral piece of shit!?! You don't even deserve my name, much less your own, you coward!"

Then, Kirito's spiritual sensing abilities surprised even himself. 13 ghostly hands extended from the man's back in green and red, as if they were appendages of his own. The reiatsu was obviously thick enough around them to have a visible outline even without reiatsu perception. But could they be used as a hand should? To hold things, that was. 

Kirito didn't have to wait long to get his answer. Some questions just seemed to present their own answers within a few seconds of being posed, it appeared.

A condensation of red reishi could be seen around both Levi's real fists, and the 13 spiritual ones. Kirito knew the technique well, at least the normal variation involving real hands. It was Bala, the speedy spiritual punch delivered by many hollows, the twin to Cero, the explosive, slower variant of the spell. Only very skilled and somewhat powerful hollows could use the technique properly, much less with this much power.

Kirito had, if anything, just barely underestimated the man.

As the seemingly innumerable barrage of spiritual fists approached Kirito, he knew he would not be able to deflect every single one. The blasts were quick, though not individually able to keep up with Kirito. Throw one, five, or even ten, Kirito could easily deal with it. But what looked like nearly fifty? No way in hell could he parry at that speed. His ADD ridden mind began to rifle through formulas and numbers he had in the back of his head. After estimating the speed of the Bala, Kirito could reason that if he was to parry a barrage as condensed and numerous as this one, he would need to move his blade at a speed of something like mach two. 

Well, that made things a little more reachable. Of course, a speed that high would require bankai and would still injure him due to the strain on his body, so Kirito thought of another plan. As the bala began to envelop him, he started swatting them away, his blade leaving afterimages as he struck each compressed piece of reishi. Every single strike was amplified by shunpo, the swings hurting Kirito's arms as he blasted reishi from his joints to artificially propel his blade. It was really quite brilliant. Every single use of hoho was minute and incredibly precise, as even a little too much would cause the strike to miss and Kirito to die.

 Even at his current level, he managed to get rid of 22 of the damn things as they fired into the floor off of his sword. With each strike, reiatsu began to slowly condense around his blade, causing the blue aura to brighten more and more.

Finally, after the first of the Bala he couldn't hit raced past his head, he knew it was time to make his move. With urgency, Kirito yelled, his words calling upon the blue aura surrounding his blade. 

"NAGASHI!!"

The word triggered a very noticeable response from the blade, lightning striking the area around him and expanding in an orb surrounding Kirito and his sword, neutralizing the bala and destroying nearly all of them in mid air as the shockwave of blue enveloped them. One last sphere remained, flying towards Kirito on a collision course with his head.

Looking up at the Bala, he took merely a second to register the true target of his next swing. His blade pulled behind him, Kirito swung, the first of the swing cutting through the blast as Kirito moved forwards with the speed of his greatest shunpo, the momentum adding great strength to his strike. The shunpo followed through, moving him all the way to and past Levi, though not before Kirito finished his cut on the pass. The blade swung down Levi's chest in a crescent, leaving a bloodsoaking gash in his shirt as Kirito landed behind the man.

Words:907 

Levi may not have gotten the name of his opponent, but he still got his distraction. Honorably declaring one’s name, or angrily yelling about not deserving them, they both took time. Time was a precious thing in a fight, especially against a regenerator like Levi.

“Heh, well at least you’re not quite as gullible as most shinigami. Either that, or you’re just so full of hatred that you’ve forgotten your own morals.” Levi retorted. If the boy was going to be a temperamental child, then so be it. Levi would fuel his anger and break his concentration. It didn’t really matter how strong someone was if they were just swinging their sword like an animal, especially against someone like Levi. That was his intent at least.

Levi quickly realized however that he had misjudged the shinigami. Even with his temper burning him focus was cool and sharp. He accurately deflected several in an impressive display of strength and precision. And that was only the buildup. Just when Levi was sure his attack was about to hit, the man used a technique to blast them all away with lightning. Nagashi, he called it. That was no Kido, Levi was sure. That could only mean that his opponent’s zanpakuto had lightning based abilities. Levi almost chuckled. He should have guessed that from the moment he saw the guy. Certainly the moment he saw his reiatsu.

As quickly as the thought passed Levi’s mind however, the shinigami was upon him. “Quick as lightning” would hardly be an exaggeration. If Levi hadn’t been an expert in Bala, he probably would have been cut in half. Luckily he saw where the shinigami was aiming, and shot a bala out of his chest at the last second. It didn’t stop the blade, but it did deflect it enough that what might have been a fatal wound ended up a negligible cut. It was still deep, but it didn’t go past the bone.

Levi thought about healing the wound, but decided against it. It would heal on its own soon enough, and in the meantime it bled. Levi brought his hand up and wiped some of the blood onto his hand as he tore off his ruined sweater. Then he clapped his hands, smearing the blood on both of them. Playtime was over.

“Gran Rey...” Levi took a steady stance with both of his arms pulled down at his side, his fists overlapping each other. His Manos Fantasmales poised, ready to intercept the shinigami if he charged in again. Ten were in front of him, three covered his back. It might be pointless though. Depending on the shinigami’s next move, he might very well die. “Vórtice Bala!”

The “vortex bala” was Levi’s own invention. Two bala fired together spinning like a drill. If the swordsman tried to block it his sword would almost certainly be ripped right out of his hand, and his flesh would be ripped apart. Dodging it would be no small feat either. A normal Gran Rey bala traveled with enough speed and force to break the sound barrier. The Vórtice Bala’s spiral motion caused it to slow down a bit, but it would still go well over twelve hundred kilometers per hour. The shinigami was fast to be sure, but he wasn’t getting out of this unscathed.

WC: 554
TWC: 1,613

Kirito was bent forward, knelt almost as if he was ready to sprint, the sand up to his thighs as it had begun to envelop his feet, and then as they sank, he legs. Standing up, Kirito turned around to see Levi, still alive as ever with some sort of maniacal look on his face, a grimace that screamed "Absolute motherfucking maniac".

Yeah, seemed pretty fitting considering they were just outside of Las Noches and there were actual cages nearby with other hollows in them. Damn sick minded fool, he clearly had some kind of god complex. Keeping other living (arguably) things in cages like sick animals... it was disgusting and inhumane. Even if these things were hollows, Kirito felt a twinge of sorrow for them.

Sorrow that only made him stronger.

Meanwhile, Levi had seemingly dipped his hands in the river of blood that had been exposed after the man removed his now grievously blood stained sweater. In this moment, two things ran through Kirito's mind. The first was the fact that his cut had obviously struck deeply, though not deeply enough as he could feel the strong scent of rusty, salty blood filling his nostrils and invigorating his body with adrenaline. The second was a piece of text he had read on hollow combat techniques back in a tactical relations with other races class, something all shinigami attended while in Shin'O Academy.

---

Hollow Combat Techniques: Legends, Myths, and Rarities
The Uber Mega Bala: Fake, do not listen to your silly classmates, this is a completely made up ability used to scare new recruits from the idea of fighting any hollow.

The Gran Rey Cero: Despite being somewhat of a legend, it is a VERY real ability. Recorded to be used only by the fabled "espada" of the hollow night castle, otherwise known as Las Noches or beings of similar power, this attack literally bends space around itself to fit the amount of power behind it's attack. It is likely to rip apart the first thing it touches, and in most cases could be considered powerful enough to blow up the majority of the castle if fired at it. Avoid at all costs if you ever encounter this attack. The Gran Rey behind it is given to the attack due to it's use of the hollow's blood. The user is usually seen drawing their own blood before firing, so take evasive measures if you see this phenomena occur. The explosion radius is not one many people can escape, so be warned: confronting this attack is almost a one way ticket to becoming a dead man.

The Gran Rey Bala: Almost the same as it's Cero counterpart, except far rarer and more similar to a standard Bala. As one would expect, as the Gran Rey Bala enhances the previous aspects of a normal bala. It drastically increases the punching effect of a Bala and if it's speed wasn't already impressive, the blasts are now known to come close to or outright break the sound barrier. Similar procedure is needed to power the attack as listed above, but the effects of the attack are equally dangerous. Do not try to counter directly. It's nigh-suicide and unless you're at what we would call a lieutenants level of speed, and even then further specialized in moving quickly, do not even bother dodging.

---

The man extended many of his hands forwards, ten or so actually, along with his natural (hopefully) two hands. A great mass of energy began to form itself around the man's fists. As he spoke the words "Gran Rey", Kirito already had begun processing what was coming. Knowing the man had been firing Bala before helped, as that allowed Kirito to assume the next words would revolve around a Bala. He knew that he could try to dodge it, but would likely fail.

At least in this state. Kirito was going to do something he didn't expect he'd have to do for a while yet. Well, it might as well have been any other hollow he used it on. It wasn't like he didn't feel ecstatic about using it, it was just sad he had to use it on such a simple, sadist being. The thing didn't deserve to see his second release, but nonetheless, it was the option Kirito had resorted to.

Kirito met the 2nd word of the man's attack title with his own word, the two phrases meeting each other in the air before vanishing into the memories of both opponents.

His zanpakuto's voice melded with his own as they nodded to each other in Kirito's inner world.

"Bankai"

"Bankai."

Then Kirito's blade briefly exploded with energy once more, like a bolt of lightning had struck, blinding both people for a mere instant, not even enough time to blink an eye.

What remained was a white sword, radiating with power of many kinds. The sand around Kirito was now forming small twisters at his feet, and lightning could visibly be seen crackling around his body, his aura beginning to manifest itself physically in a violent way. No matter how much he could have tried to suppress his reiatsu, it wouldn't do any good. You could feel this power inside of the visible, nearby castle of Las Noches, though probably only relatively to close to and around the protective dome. Gone were the shinigami's robes he possessed, now replaced by ripped Levi's (HA) and a black tank top.

Then the attack fired. Kirito had less than a second to process the blast, but that was something he could do now. His blade intercepted the bala as it coursed forwards the sound of grinding metal and crackling thunder easily audible during the momentary struggle. Then, his strike coursed through, the Bala being picked up into the sword's spinning current which had begun to form a tornado of lightning and sand as the force of both the spiral-bala and the powers of Kirito's zanpakuto melded. The bala sped up as it went round and round the tornado while Kirito spun. Then, finally as the bala began to destabilize, Kirito yelled at the top of his lungs, firing the blast out and back towards Levi with an absolutely massive sonic boom.

"Not... good.... ENOUGH!!!!!"

The blast coursed through the air as it flew towards it's new target, returning to who it should have truly been attacking in the first place.

Words:1068

If Levi still had a heart it probably would have stopped when he heard the word Bankai. Could it really be possible that this temperamental child had achieved bankai? Of course it was. He had come to Hueco Mundo. He had shown great mastery over both his temper and his blade. And he had just turned into a lightning bolt.

Levi did not allow himself to blink. His eyes still stung from the light, but he knew if he allowed himself to be caught off guard now, he would die before his eyes opened again.

A moment ago, the shinigami had been holding a sword. Now it looked more like a lightning bolt. Gone were the robes of a shinigami, the uniform of the rank and file. Now he was dressed like a stereotypical rebellious teenager. He didn’t even look like a shinigami anymore. He was standing in the center of a storm. No. He was a storm. Without a doubt, this was bankai. Power incarnate.

The empowered zanpakuto intercepted Levi’s most powerful attack, one specifically designed to be unstoppable, and stopped it dead. No, it didn’t just stop it, the bankai conquered it. He took it, sped it up, turned it around, and launched it right back at its creator. Luckily Levi knew his own technique better than the shinigami.

The instant he realized what was about to happen, Levi fired an ordinary bala out of his chest and right into the middle of the vortex. It would have done nothing, if the shinigami hadn’t been so ambitious. As he sped the bala up however, he had destabilized them. When the regular bala hit the Vórtice bala it fractured it, and the two individual Gran Rey bala flew apart from each other, and passed Levi completely. He didn’t have to look behind him to know that they were ripping through the sand like a saw-blade through water, or that they would eventually slow down and explode when the energy was destabilized enough. He was too busy staring at the shinigami, trying desperately to figure out his next move, a way to still win this. There was none.

The shinigami had been Levi’s equal while using shikai, but with bankai he was vastly superior. Where before he had pushed himself to block a flurry of normal bala, he had just taken Levi’s most powerful technique and completely dominated it. The only thing Levi could hope to accomplish now was survival, and even that would be difficult.

Levi pulled all of his phantom limbs in front of him to form a barrier, and opened a garganta behind him with a snap of his fingers. He only needed a second, and he knew that this bankai could cut through his defenses in less than half of that. In an act of pure desperation, Levi fired explosive cero from all thirteen of the limbs, as wide and wild as he could, and jumped backwards. With any luck the cero would stun, or at least distract the shinigami long enough for Levi to escape into the safety of the dangai.

WC: 516
TWC: 2,129

After a fight like this, one which pushed him to use bankai, did Levi truly think he could get away without a memento, and maybe even a death? It would be unworthy to allow him to do so, and equally stupid for Levi to think of the idea.

Kirito wouldn't let the man escape.

Not a chance. This man had kidnapped Chie Kira, and whatever role he had played in her transformation and brutal change in personality, it was obviously a big enough one for Kirito to warrant killing the damn arrancar of a man who called himself Levi. His bankai still active and the sand still swirling around him, though now calming down, began to glow blue, the white blade filling with electric energy, an aura surrounding it even stronger than the one from earlier. The usually blue (though currently black, due to the effects of his bankai) haired boy was about to call on an attack that had nearly killed him last time, and that was when he had used it during shikai, a state in which the body wasn't even supposedly capable of firing the attack.

The ability was precision engineered like a fine machine, designed to kill and only be used under one condition.

That condition is known as bankai, or second release.

Planting one leg backwards, he once again resumed a bent position, though this one was more founded on the idea of supporting his upper body and arms: like he was bracing himself for a massive nuclear explosion. His feet once again dug into the sand, pushing the grainy substance away from his body, and likely into the calmed but ever active twister around his body. His sword pointed forwards as Levi stood, pondering, and then began to push his hands towards Kirito, reishi condensing around them, this time in a far less dense way however, forming less of a spirit fist and more of a bowling ball.

A green and red explosive bowling ball with the name of Cero. The man was either not as skilled in use of the explosive variant of his spells, or had been hiding a talent, something you should never do in a battle where your life was seriously at risk. Which of course, this being's life was. As the first of the hands began charging the Cero, Kirito prepared to speak the name of his attack, one which he knew could defeat the man if it landed.

He hadn't used the attack since his fight with Sin'Ichi Takahiro, and he sure had some time to practice afterwards. Lots of time indeed.

The hairs on his head and skin began to raise, likely along with Levi's, of course. The aura of lightning spread throughout the air, singing nerves and nose hairs that had just been waiting to be plucked.

Kirito then looked onward at his target and beyond, ready to remove whatever what in his sight from this realm. The man had been a fun diversion to get Kirito warmed up for his raid on the castle, one far more useful than the weak rank and file hollows he had run into on the way here. But their time together was at an end.

"Sorajin, God of the Sky."

The name of the attack surged through the air, reaching the hearing apparatuses of both people before the first of the Cero fired.

A lance, no, a drill, of lightning and wind energy shot forward from the tip of the sword, just wide enough to engulf the barrage of Cero, or at least meet them head on. Behind Levi was the Dome of Las Noches. If he escaped, Kirito would blow a hole in the dome, and... well, the same thing would happen either way. The blast was comparable to a laser that an anime character on earth might shoot, massive, dwarfing it's user with absolute ease. The blast was blue and green, spiraling around itself like a drill, and pushed any and all things in its way to the side. That, or it drilled right through them.

At the center of the blast was the equivalent of a lightning bolt, the core of any attack founded on speed. The blast would drill through and destroy anything it touched, and that was if anything, a fact.

Kirito could only watched as the blast coursed forwards and through the wall of hastily charged Cero, aimed at Levi, and could only hope for the best.

Words:744

Truly Bankai was a something to be feared. Even from this distance the static was so strong that Levi could feel his hair trying to run away on its own. His trick worked though. As the storm met with his cero its stopped for a moment before pushing through. Despite all the buildup, and despite being a bankai level attack, the blast wasn’t actually all that powerful. The swordsman, as incredibly powerful as he was, was still a swordsman, and a spiritual attack like this simply wasn’t his forte. In fact, it crossed Levi’s mind that if he stopped now, and really put his mind to it, he could probably focus his cero and stop the blast. He could protect Las Noches behind him from this fool’s fury.

Laughable.

Even if he could manage it, and there were no real guaranties, he would still have to fight the shinigami. There was no way Levi was giving his life to Las Noches. He jumped into the garganta and closed it, cutting off his own Manos Fantasmales and leaving Las Noches to its fate. The last thing he saw was the full power of the storm blowing through the light of his cero. It was focused chaos, stabilized instability. It was definitely going to punch through the dome wall. It would probably even take out a couple of hollow when it did. If the fool thought that would give him a triumphant entrance however, he was sadly mistaken. Octavia would crush him like nothing. The queen would reduce him to nothing with a glance. The boy was going to die, and Levi was going to watch.

He was tired, sure, but it wasn’t like he was unable to fight. He just wouldn’t be able to win one-on-one. Without another thought, he opened an exit to the garganta and dashed through it, and into his lab.

[EXIT]

WC: 310
TWC: 2,452
GP:49