Chapter 2
For the Sake of Existance
The First Captains and Lieutenants to take their places in the meeting hall were, besides Yamamoto and Chojiro, Hitsugaya and Rangiku, Kurotsuchi and Nemu, Kyoraku and Nanao, Kuchiki and Renji, and Ukitake. The others arrived a short time later. They were lined up regularly, only this time the Captains' Lieutenants were standing beside them respectively.
The angel stood off to the side, waiting for all of the Captain class Soul Reapers to arrive at the hall. She had returned her cloak to her shoulders to keep from her wings drawing attention.
Hitsugaya stared at her out of the corner of his eye. She knew he was staring at her and decided to allow him the luxury of doing as he pleased. Yet, he probably already knew this. No doubt he was aware that she knew of the subtle attention he was giving her and that she was paying him no mind. For both were exceptionally skilled at knowing things that others did not.
"Captain? Who is that girl? Do you know her?" Rangiku asked from his right, noticing her Captain's actions.
Hitsugaya averted his eyes from the angel and closed them. "No," he said simply, not gracing her with an answer to her second question.
Suddenly, the Head Captain banged his cane on the wooden floor and all eyes were on him. "We will now begin this joint meeting.
"About an hour ago, a being entered the Soul Society, seeking our help with a major threat. A being that, like the demons of Hell, has not been seen for centuries. The news she brings with her today is to be taken more seriously than anything else in this world. It is not to be taken lightly. There will be no panicing.
The matter does not affect us directly...yet. It will be hard news to swallow, however, I am expecting all of you to act like the mature adults that you are and deal with this as such. Now, I would like all of you to turn your attention to Chiara, one of the many angels of Heaven."
Quickly, quiet expressions of awe and slight disbelieve ran through the faces of all the attendees as the angel swiftly, like the wind, made her way to the end of the line of Soul Reapers.
Hitsugaya bore his eyes into the angel and clenched his fists.
The angel spoke.
"Hello, my friends. As Head Captain Yamamoto stated, my name is Chiara, and I am, in fact, an angel. I have come here to the Soul Society today to bring to your attention the beginings of a war. A violent war that threatens to destroy all of existance if it continues to wage on. On opposite sides of this war are the conflicting forces of Heaven and Hell."
"What?!"
"You can't be serious!"
"That's impossible!"
"Are you saying that Heaven and Hell have declared war on each other?!" Juushiro Ukitake exclaimed.
"Yes. That is correct. You see, the rulers of Heaven and Hell, who you all label as 'God' and 'the devil', have never quite seen eye to eye" -Hitsugaya mentally snorted and rolled his eyes- "But recently, Lucifer, 'the devil', has become hungry for power. More power than what he already has. Not physical or spiritual power but hierarchical power."
Hitsugaya glared down at the floor. "In other words he wants to rule over both Hell and Heaven. He wants to be the supreme ruler of all existance."
"Strange," Chiara tilted her head at him again. "That's exactly how Lucifer stated it."
He transferred his glare to her, but she mearly continued her speech.
"Sad to say, it is impossible for us to stop this ourselves. We angels, we do not wish to continue fighting in this war, but we cannot end it either. That is why I ask desperately for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads assistance in our quest to end this terrible war and return all existance to order and peace. Please. The Court Guards, you Soul Reapers, are the only ones who can help us stop this madness."
Byakuya Kuchiki spoke up first. "Heaven and Hell in complete control of the devil. That is not a future I want to envision."
"For once, Kuchiki, I am in complete agreement with you," Shunsui Kyoraku tilted his straw hat upwards.
"The ruler of Hell is ment to be just that. If the demons win this war there will be nothing left for us to protect!" Sajin Komamura added.
"There's no way I'm going to live in a world ruled by the devil. I refuse to accept that!" nodded Shuuhei Hisagi.
"Same here! I'm not gonna let some demon with a god-complex control my life!" Renji Abarai rose his fist.
"Ruler of Hell or not, if the devil wants to make an enemy of us then so be it! We'll cut him down just like we did Aizen! An enemy is an enemy! It makes no difference who it is!" Soi Fon shouted.
"Captain Soi Fon is right! It's our job as Soul Reapers to protect everything that surrounds us!" Izuru Kira agreed.
"Like hell I'm going to sit idly by and let that bastard carry out his selfish plans! Even if it costs me my life!" Hitsugaya growled. (A/N: No pun intended! It just came out that way! XD Get it? He's a demon, 'like hell'? Haha...never mind.)
"Sounds like fun! Count me in!" Kenpachi Zaraki sneered.
"Go Kenny!" squealed Yachiru Kusajishi.
"All of you are exactly right. As Soul Reapers and as officers of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, we shall make it a point to stop this ridiculous war and protect all that which exists before us! We shall do everything in our power to stop Lucifer's heinous acts!" the Head Captain declared, almost an order.
As everyone in the meeting hall cheered Chiara's face lit up with hope...
...only to be extinguished by the arrival of a group of Kido Corps members.
"That is far enough!" the one in the front shouted.
Chiara whirled around and stumbled back, startled.
"By order of Central 46, the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and the Stealth Force are hearby forbidden to intervene in the war between Heaven and Hell."
The meeting hall was in uproar. No one could believe their ears. They were being told to do just the opposite of what they were recruited for. They were being forbidden to protect. Everyone was voicing their disgust for the appalling order they were just given.
The Kido Corps member silenced them instantly. "Should you fail to oblige by this order there will be severe concequences. Should you disobey the Council of 46 you all will, without fail, be accused of treason and senctenced to execution. This meeting is offically over. You all are to return to your barracks immediately. That is all."
Then, just like that, they were gone.
For what seemed like hours, the meeting hall was completely silent.
Then, almost reluctantly, Ukitake spoke up. "Master Genryusai. What are we to do?"
All eyes were on Head Captain Yamamoto. His hand clenched the top of his cane.
"We are to do...nothing."
"What?!" some shouted.
"But Head Captain! We can't just-" Hitsugaya tried to reason.
"Silence!" The hall was quiet once more. "I am just as horrified by this order as you all are. However, it is an order from the 46, and so it cannot be disobeyed. I am ashamed to say it, but we must not make any attempt to stop this war. If we were to do so, we would be executed. And that is not something we can risk. We are the senior officers of the Court Guard Squads. Without us, there would be no one to keep the peace and serve justice to all wrong-doers. This meeting is over. Dismissed!"
~Choices~
Dispite the order not to get involved with the war affairs, Chiara was allowed to stay in the Soul Society for as long as she needed to. And so there she was, standing atop the Repentance Cell, the highest point in the Seireitei. She had taken off her cloak. She found no need to hide her wings way up high. No one would see her anyway.
Then she felt him behind her.
"Chiara..." he said, sounding almost as if he were analyzing her name.
Chiara smiled and turned around to face Toshiro Hitsugaya. "I knew you would come and find me."
He only stared back at her with an icy expression.
"Why don't you show me your true form?"
At first he narrowed his eyes. Then he started to transform from head to toe. Red streaks spread across his otherwise pure white hair. His eyes changed from teal to crimson with slits for pupils. Black demon wings sprouted from his back with a thin tail to match. Dully glowing demon markings lined the left side of his face and down to his leg. He had on a black, long-sleeved shirt with the same markings on it in blood red. His pants were black with the same red markings down the right leg. A red leather and black studded belt hung loosely from his waist. He had on slim, black boots with a small heel that stopped just short of his knees. He also had on a long red, hooded coat with black on the inside and black fingerless gloves with a buckle around the wrists. He looked almost completely different.
"Daygon..." she smiled a happy greeting. "You changed your attire. You look grown up."
"Why are you here, Chiara?" he asked coldly.
"I was supposed to ask for the help of the Court Guards, but..."
He shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I mean why did the other angels decide to send you specifically?"
"I'm not sure. But I was happy to be chosen for this. I felt it was my duty to represent my people."
"You shouldn't be here. It's not safe. For demons or angels."
"Then why are you here?"
"Because I have to be. Because I want to be. And because I really don't have anywhere else to go anyway."
"I see. Not wanting to return to your father's side, no?"
"Most definitely not."
"Tell me, Daygon. Why don't you stop the war yourself? Compromise with your father. You're the Blood Prince. You, of all the demons and angels, should at least be able to achieve that."
"And so should you."
Her smile faded. "Easier said than done."
"My point exactly."
"Daygon..."
Daygon sighed and approached her. They were exactly the same height. He looked into her eyes. "Go home, Chiara. You'll just be in danger here and I can't guarantee that I'll be able to protect you."
"I can protect myself, Daygon. And besides I won't be any safer in Heaven. You don't know what this war is doing to the world. You haven't seen what I've seen."
"You're contradicting yourself."
Chiara's expression was sad. She placed her right hand on his left cheek, covering up his markings. "What happened to you Daygon? Why are you acting so cold? Where's your smile?"
Daygon grabbed her hand and gently pulled it away, closing his eyes. "I'm not the demon you used to know."
"Your father did this to you." It wasn't a question.
Daygon opened his eyes, sadness and guilt reflected in them. He pulled Chiara into a hug by her waist. He stroked the spot between her wings. "I'm sorry..."
She leaned her forehead against his cheek. "It's alright. I forgive you."
"That's the thing with you angels. You always forgive and forget. Try holding a grudge once in a while," he complained.
"Never," she smiled. "Not as long as I have my wings."
"I knew you'd say that," he groaned.
Chiara, like always, just smiled.
~Chaos~
Five days later...
Of course, everyone knew that, when it came to detecting spiritual pressure, Ichigo Kurosaki was, well, lacking. Enough said.
But this time, Ichigo was well aware of the presence of a group of...whatever they were who obviously didn't belong in Karakura Town.
He was walking back home from Karakura High when an two completely diffrerent types of spiritual pressure pounded into his body, nearly bringing him to his knees.
Even with his less-than-par skills at detecting spiritual pressure, he could tell exaclly what they were.
Demonic spiritual pressure and the exact opposite of that.
"What...the hell...is going on?!" he struggled underneath the invisible walls of spiritual pressure. As the pressure grew he was forced down to all fours. "Demons?...And...angels?...There's got to be dozens of them! This spiritual pressure is paralyzing even me! Who the hell is fighting?!"
Then he remembered what had taken place back before the Winter War.
"No...Not again!...I'm not going to let something like that happen again!"
With god-like effort, Ichigo was able to reach into his back pocket and pull out his Substitute Soul Reaper's badge without falling flat on his stomach. He placed it to his chest, and instantly his soul popped out of his body, wearing the standard Soul Reaper shihakusho and his massive zanpaku-to, Zangetsu, on his back. He released even more of his already wildly radiating spiritual pressure to counter the pressure of the enormous energy that was nearly crushing his body. Eventually, he was able to move somewhat freely.
"I've got to stop whoever is fighting before they destroy all of Karakura!!!" Ichigo resolved as he took off towards the source of the spiritual pressures.
He had only gone a few blocks before Yasutora Sado and Uryu Ishida came running up beside him. He threw a glance at each of them. Uryu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and Chad gave him the "thumbs up". Ichigo nodded at them and picked up his pace. Then Orihime Inoue stumbled tiredly around a corner and noticed them.
"Ichigo! Chad, Uryu! What's going on? What is this?" she asked.
"I don't know, Orihime. But we sure as hell are going to find out!" Ichigo said as the three of them stopped to help her.
"Orihime. You should go somewhere safe," Chad told her.
Uryu nodded in agreement. "Chad is right. You can barely take this spiritual pressure as it is. Who knows what it will do to you close up."
"But-!"
"We know you're strong, Orihime, but this time you should let us take care of whatever it is that's happening right now," Ichigo reasoned.
"...Alright. But be careful!"
"Right!" they all nodded.
The spiritual pressure led them all the way to the park. As they got closer, it got stronger. As they wove through some of the trees, a group of exotic looking beings could be seen engaging in what seemed to be their own personal war. About half of them were dressed in colors of black and blood red and the other half in white, blue, lavender and other light colors, white being the main distinguishing color. The beings in black and red had black demon wings and tails. On the other hand, the others had pure white wings.
They had caught the fight, luckily, before it became a bloodbath. However, any later and the park would have surely looked like a battlefield from World War II. All of them had some amount of blood running down parts of their bodies and some of them had deep cuts and gashes. Their clothes were torn and bloody. There were small pools of blood staining parts of the grass. Knives and swords (some with chains, others with ribbons) littered the trunks of some of the trees. Others had large chunks cut out of them. It was a complete slaughterhouse.
"What...the hell...?" Ichigo muttered.
"El diablo..." Chad said in a thick spaninsh accent.
"'The devil', huh? You just might be right," Uryu said, staring wide-eyed at the scene.
"We have to stop them!" Ichigo said as he reached back and grabbed Zangetsu's thin hilt. The cream colored cloth unraveled from its blade as he whipped it out. Then, bringing it down, he shouted, "Getsuga Tensho!!!"
An enormous blue wave of energy surged out of the tip of the blade and towards the battling beings. The group noticed Ichigo's attack and parted to let it pass; demons on the left, angels on the right. All of them stopped to look at the three of them.
"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?!" Ichigo raged. "If you guys are trying to settle some sort of conflict then fine! But you can't settle it here! You're going to destroy Karakura if this keeps up!"
"Who do you think you are, human?!" one of the demons hissed.
"You have no right to involve yourselves in our affairs!" another growled.
One of the angels cried out, "Please leave! You shouldn't be here!"
"It's not safe! You'll only get hurt!" pleaded another.
"If we leave then you'll only start fighting again and we're not about to let that happen!" Uryu countered.
"You mortals never learn, do you?" one of the larger demons glared at them. He approached them, a large and eerie looking scythe perched on his shoulder. "If you stick your neck out where it doesn't belong it gets cut!!!"
The demon charged after him, preparing to swing his massive scythe. Ichigo connected blades with the demon wielding the scythe. Soon they were completely absorbed in their fight. Chad transformed his right arm and Uryu prepared to use his Quincy's bow. Suddenly, Chad felt a large hand grip his shoulder. He looked back to see a demon twice his size baring his teeth at him in a wide grin.
"That's a pretty big fist ya got there." The demon raised a giant left arm with a silver spiked gauntlet attached to it. "Too bad mine's bigger."
Chad went flying and slammed against a tree as the demon's fist connected with the side of his head.
"Chad!" Uryu called out.
Just then, Uryu felt the tip of what he recognized as an arrow pricking the back of his neck.
"I'd stop worrying about your friend and start worrying about yourself if I were you," came a sadistic sounding voice. "After all, you've got me to deal with."
Uryu moved his head just as the arrow was released. It grazed his black hair, missing his glasses by a centimeter. Uryu leaped to one side and raised his bow, drawing back an arrow and aiming it at the demon.
The demon was about hid height and build. His hands were covered by red fingerless gloves, and the left hand held a black, demonic looking bow. The ends where the string was tied to were dull-looking bronze spikes. Coiled around the base of the bow were two silver snakes with the heads facing the grip in the middle of the bow and bearing their long, piercing fangs at the demon's hand. The string was thick and blood red, resembling luminicent flesh. It was a tool meant for destruction.
The demon placed his right hand near his left and an orb of red energy formed at his palm. Then he drew his hand back, forming an arrow from the red orb, cocked back on the faintly glowing string. The arrow hummed with its distructive energy.
Uryu was dumbfounded. The demon's bow worked in the same fashion as his own; forming arrows from the surrounding spiritual energy. The only difference was that his enemy's bow was from straight out of Hell.
"Ahh. I see you've figured me out already," the demon sneered. "Allow me to introduce myself then. I call myself Draco. When I was alive I was known as Takeshi Mitsukaze, one of the great Quincys back when there were more than just a small handful of them. Now you're probably wondering why a Quincy would be sent to Hell after he died. Well, truth is, I was always the 'problem child', if you will. But I'm not going to elaborate. Much to gruesome to talk about here. So without further ado, let's see what the last remaining Quincy can dish out!"
With swift movments, Draco angled his arrow down at Uryu's left thigh and released it. He moved with such speed that Uryu barely had time to react. The arrow ended up slicing the side of his leg. Uryu jumped back and dashed over to his right as Draco shot arrow after bloody red arrow at him, some piercing the dirt behind his feet, others whizzing past his ears or slashing past his white clothing.
While Draco continued to toy with Uryu, Ichigo struggled to fend off his own opponent. The bulky demon swung his enormous intrument of death at him again and again, not letting up for even a second. Physics would have said that he would be slow, what with his hefty appearance and even bigger weapon. Yet he was suprisingly agile and skilled in swinging his weapon around. Of course, he wasn't as fast as, say a Soul Reaper. But his scythe was only a blur of silver, black and red, along with spots of bronze and brass as it passed in front of Ichigo's eyes.
Zangetsu was pinned against his chest, useless because if he moved it he would be sliced into mincemeat within seconds. The sound of grinding metal was almost painful to listen to. Sparks shot off of each of their blades; small, yet bright yellowish orange. Ichigo winced everytime Zangetsu slammed into his chest, forced backwards with each thrust of the scythe's blade. Then, the demon twirled his scythe over his head and curved it downwards at Ichigo for one final blow to his sword that sent him sailing backwards and skidding across the ground several feet away.
Ichigo struggled to catch his breath as he tried to push himself up onto his feet with the aid of Zangetsu. However, the demon appeared right next to him and forced him back to he ground on his stomach with his giant foot pressed into his back. Ichigo wheezed, his lungs crying out for oxygen.
"Hmn. You're stronger than I thought. And so is that pathetic hunk of metal you call a sword. Usually my opponent's weapon breaks after a few strikes and the person behind the blade is slashed to pieces. But you're blade only suffered a few nicks and cracks. For your display of strength I'll reward you with my name. I am known as Sephtis. In case you're wondering, my name means 'eternal death'. So I guess you could say I'm the original 'Grim Reaper'. But these days that's just a joke among us Hell spawn. However, today, you can call me 'the end of your life as you know it'."
Then, Sephtis made the mistake of taking his foot off of Ichigo's back in order to finish him off. As Sephtis brought the curved blade of his scythe to Ichigo's stomach, Ichigo turned on his side and slipped Zangetsu between himself and the scythe's blade. Ichigo was launched off the ground and into the air by the forceful blow. He shifted and landed in mid air. He took advantage of the distance between himself and Sephtis and unleashed his signature attack.
"Getsuga Tensho!!!"
Sephtis tried to fend off the large blue shock wave with his scythe but was easily blown away.
Further away, Chad used his smaller size to slip around the gigantic demon's gauntlet-covered fists. The demon threw another left hook that skimmed the side of Chad's face as he moved backwards. Chad noticed that the demon swung too widely and left his chest open to attack.
He raised his black and red right arm as blue energy gathered at his shoulder and wrapped around his fist. "El Directo!" he shouted as he slammed his fist into he demon's chest in a super charged right hook.
The demon grunted and stumbled back a few steps then fell to one knee. However, he got right back up.
"Hey," the demon said rubbing his chest. "That might actually leave a bruise. Been a while since I fought anyone that could force me down to one knee. Guess I should tell you who I am. I'm Gedeon, 'the destroyer'. As in the destroyer of the weak. Sorry, but I ain't much for talking during a fight. Now let's get on with it so I can grind your bones into dust!!!"
With that, Gedeon leaped into the air and brought both fists down on the spot where Chad was standing. Chad was barely able to slip around behind him.
Looks like I'm not going to be able to fight him head on, Chad thought.
He moved back to put some distance between them, then used his El Directo again, only this time a shock wave shot from his fist and slammed into Gedeon's back as he stood up, thrusting him back down and on one knee again, almost toppling him over.
Uryu leaned up against a tree, panting and gasping for breath. However, he was only granted a moment's rest before three red arrows sailed over to him and stabbing into the tree as he ducked. Then, using what little strength he had left he bounded into the air and aimed down at Draco.
This had better work or I'm finished!
He fired off his simultaneous twelve hundred arrows down at Draco.
Draco stared up at the arrows for a second then said, "Twelve hundred arrows all at the same time, huh?" He raised his own bow and drew back an arrow, aiming at Uryu. "Sorry, but I can fire fifteen hundred."
Draco released his arrows.
Uryu paled in horror as all of his arrows were shot down and the last three hundred of Draco's arrows drew closer with accelerating speed. Most of the arrows missed him. Some shot clean through him and others simply penetrated his body and stayed there. But once the arrows stopped coming, Uryu fell out of the sky and landed on the ground completely unconscious.
Draco's bow disappeared as he walked over to the unconscious Uryu. "You've got a long ways to go Quincy. Lie there and pray to the angels that you'll live then come and find me when you've got an attack that I haven't seen yet...That is...if you live."
Draco cackled sadistically.
Chad was also down to his last attack.
Looks like I'll have to use it...
He extended his left arm out to the side while still keeping an eye on the advancing Gedeon. "Brazo Izquierda del Diablo!"
Chad's left arm transformed into a slightly different version of his right arm. This arm was pale white with a red strip and had a spike at the shoulder. His hand also resembled a claw.
Gedeon, now practically on top of Chad, swung at him. Chad ducked and swung his left fist, which was emitting blue sparks, at Gedeon's chest.
"La Muerte," Chad said as he made contact.
But nothing happened.
Chad looked down to see his white fist encased in Gedeons hands which were glowing with red and black energy.
"Nice try, whatever that was. But I took precautions and used my spiritual energy to staunch whatever attack you were trying to do. Now, time to finish this!"
Gedeon grabbed a hold of Chad's forearm and bicept and flipped him effortlessly over his head and down on to the ground. Then he released his arm and pounded him further into the ground.
Blood trickled from Chad's head.
"Huh," Gedeon grunted. "He survived that. Guess he's lucky." He turned to Sephtis who was getting up after being hit by Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho. "Hey! What's taken ya?! Me an' Draco are already finished with the other two!"
"Keep quiet, you brainless giant! Don't rush me! There's no way this orange-haired mortal is going to win against me!" Sephtis countered without taking his eyes off of Ichigo. "But I guess it is time to end it. Our battle here is ruined no thanks to these three."
"Battle? What are you talking about?! Is there some kind of conflict going on between you demons and the angels?!" Ichigo pressed for answers.
"Ha! Like I'm going to tell you!" Sephtis shouted as he bounded towards Ichigo.
Ichigo raised Zangetsu and brought it down. "Getsuga Tensho!"
"That won't work again!" Sephtis easily cut through the shock wave and appeared right in front of Ichigo. "Now you're dead!"
He brought his scythe down diagonally, taking advantage of Ichigo's surprise and cutting deep into his chest. As Ichigo fell to his knees he got a glimpse of Gedeon standing over Chad and Draco knelt down near Uryu. Darkness consumed him as he fell forward onto his face and slashed stomach, Zangetsu falling from his hands.
He had failed.
~Cut down~
In the Soul Society's Twelfth Squad barracks, every member of the Department of Research and Development sat in silence as the lock on the Substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki's spiritual pressure disappeared from their screen. Some screens showed flashes of the scene in Karakura Town. But all relayed the same devastating news.
All of existance was in complete and utter chaos.
R and D had picked up on the large amounts of spiritual pressure in that perticular spot and had decided to investigate. And while investigating, they found themselves a front row seat to the Substitute and his friends' defeat by the demons they had so foolishly challenged.
Akon turned to Kurotsuchi who had taken the liberty of watching the fight as well. "Sir, what should we do? Should we get involved?"
"We have no choice," Kurotsuchi said turning around and heading for the door. "This madness must be stopped."
Mayuri Kurotsuchi made his way to the Head Captain's office for the second time that week. He spend a good five and a half minutes explaining just what was the war between the forces of good and evil were doing to the world. After spending another two minutes thinking over what he had just heard, Head Captain Yamamoto called another joint meeting.
After everyone gathered was gathered in the meeting hall, he addressed the situation.
"I have given the week's events some thought and I have come to this desicion: We must, for the sake of all existing things, stop this pointless war! We shall ignore the outrageous order from the 46 and do what we were recruited to do! We shall protect that which needs to be protected!"
~Imprisoned~
Teriel dragged a woman by her hair down a dark, musky corridor and into an even darker steel-barred prison cell. Chained to the back wall was a slender, yet built, man with short-cropped silver hair, his head bowed down in defeat. Teriel tossed the woman over in front of the man. The woman didn't even yelp, much less move. She had already been broken.
"Well, go on then. Eat up. You won't last much longer anyway," Teriel said to the man.
The man remained silent and motionless.
Teriel sighed and rolled her eyes, but dropped the issue. Instead she leaned back against the steel bars of the cell, folding her arms under her large bust, her long red hair falling around her face and shoulders, and tried to make small talk.
"There's a war going on, you know. Between us demons and those white winged bastards the angels. Our Lord plans to take over their world and spread havoc throughout the land. He figures if he can capture Heaven, he can rule everything around us. Talk about your hierarchical jump, huh?"
No response from the man.
"Honestly, if you ask me, I think this war is highly over-rated. We don't need to expand, there's enough of us as it is. This war is damaging everything. Heaven isn't safe for the angels, parts of the mortal world are soaked in our blood, even the Soul Society is in jeapoardy. If this corruption continues, everything will cease to exist. Then there will be nothing left. He knews this. That's why he refeused to wage war on our enemies."
Still, the man was silent.
Teriel sighed again and approached the unresponsive man who, apart from the rise and fall of his bare chest, appeared dead.
"Look, whether or not you eat this mortal woman's soul is unimportant to me. However, what is important is this: I have a friend. A very special friend, who could stop this war and end this pointless fight for power. The problem is, he's been imprisoned, like you. And I need your help to free him. You see, he's not the type of person the Lord wants to leave unguarded, if you catch my drift. So here's the deal. I'll break you out of this place, but in return you have to help me break out this friend of mine. If we succeed, I can make sure that you're never imprisoned again. So, do we have a deal...?"
At first, the man didn't make any attempt to take Teriel up on her offer. Then, as he rose his head, his narrow eyes slid open to reveal icy blue irises and an impossibly wide, fox-like grin spread across his fair-skinned face.
And so it begins...
A/N: Hmmm. I wonder who Teriel was talking to. Anyway, that's ch. 2, the end of the exposition. Starting next chapter, things start to get interesting. Also, I'm sorry I left Ichigo, Chad and Uryu hanging. Lastly, (but not least!) Frostgem, the creator of the original fanfic The Blood Prince is now on the Otaku! Here's her profile...thing. Don't know what to call it. Frostgem So, that's if for now. Look forward to chapter 3!
