"Worry about your part, Tsukiro. I'll handle the crossfire," Juushiro replied, voice firm. Setting aside his mixed surprise and amusement, the captain stepped back so both his companions were to the front of him, placing his hands together, palms facing outwards.
"Tempest's wings," he murmured. His own reiatsu spiked as a tiny golden ball of Kido appeared with the words and whirled in front of him.
Juushiro took a breath.
"Tempest's wings and strength of iron, a king dragon's lament turns into tears of winter," he chanted. A golden rope burst out of the ball, thickening and waving in the harsh wind. It snaked its way around his first arm, drawing blood through the cloth. Juushiro closed his eyes, drawing more of his reiatsu into the Kido spell woven with his words. "Fire of summer's heart, blood of the land's fool," he opened his eyes as the bite of cold threatened his work, "return once more, blazing beacon, phoenix's wrath." A golden flame leapt from his hand up his back as wide single wing, faintly tinged crimson.
"Hado No. 125: Kojin no Ibuki!"
Hissing like a snake the rope wrenched into Juushiro's arm, spraying blood, and the wing flared, opening wide. Warmth fanned out from his position. As the storm pummeled them, the warmth dimmed and settled in lukewarm tempertaures. The wing half-closed. Juushiro breathed deeply and lowered his hands.
"Kojin's Breath will continue to radiate warmth as long as I don't pass out from feeding it reiatsu and blood." he stated, blunt and to the point. Another coil of rope formed through the glare. Juushiro wrapped it around his uninjured arm, holding it in his good hand. "The offensive side of it will break wind peaks in the storm at my command for a short while."
He frowned slightly. "I can't be exact as this is the first time using it like this."
Tsukiro nodded and leaded them forward. He sighed. "Let's hope this works or we'll all be popsicles."
Kisuke fell into the group as they walked along. Hopefully it would not take them long to get there. He hated that they were exerting so much in order to get them there, but he knew his time of doing the same was drawing near. If his gut feeling was right, they were walking straight into the wrath of Hyorinmaru. Why, he was not sure, but he knew the fact of the matter was the reason wasn’t going to be a good one. He looked to Juushiro as he thought to himself.
"Juushiro and Sōgyo no Kotowari I am sure could have held Hyourinmaru back, but not after this. Not with the energy that Juushiro is putting forth into that Hado he is doing." His head slightly turned now looking at Tsukiro.
"Tsukiro, even with the display of his Bankai just now, has no chance in standing against Hyourinmaru. That leaves me and Benihime."
They would have to stand against the furious ice dragon, and if something had happened to Toshiro, that dragon would not be one that was going to be easy to talk to. Kisuke pushed forward, hoping they arrived at their their destination soon.
Tsukiro threw ounce after ounce of his reiatsu at the storm, following Kotaishi's lead and in turn leading Kisuke and Ukitake through the storm. By the time they had made it to the end of the gate, Tsukiro had spent nearly a quarter of his energy.
Once they were through the gate, the ferocity of the storm had almost doubled. Tsukiro stepped up his game.
"Tsuranuku Hyotsumera!"
Arrow like shockwaves of ice and reiatsu surged forward and parted the storm. Then he repeated his previous process to keep it back.
"Don't spend all your reiatsu on the storm, Tsukiro," Juushiro called out to him over the howling wind, before the lad could do it a third time. "Kaibuchi!" he hollered, lashing the Fire Whip up high, where a large flame arched like a dragon and sped through, fading into the storm. The wind calmed before slowly whistling back up to speed. "Spend the attack wisely and coordinate with my whip. That will tire the both of us less."
They continued to walk on, leaving the gate behind.
Juushiro caught Kisuke turning to him for a moment with an evaluating look a second time before facing forward again, his face tighter than before. The captain sighed. If they had faced anything but the absolute power demonstrated in this storm, he would have chosen a different level of Kido than the old chants that used blood as well as reiatsu to fuse them into being. However, the volatile blizzard's howling around him just went further to prove that he had to do it. He winced as the rope tightened, forcing more blood down the coils, the wing opening briefly in response and maintaining its fan of warmth. A headache built in his head, and although it could be from his spell, he wondered how much originated from the chaotic whirls of power in the wind.
"Too much and I already know that," he murmured below his breath. It felt too close to Yamamoto Sensei's reiatsu at Shikai, a level of power to force submission or, in this case, he suspected, to keep far away. To shut out the world.
A strange laugh echoed in the recesses of his mind. He banished it back where it belonged, wrapping a hand around his zanpakuto, hoping for reassurance.
Their silence only served to further tighten the knot in his stomach.
Why was Toshiro's, no, Hyourinmaru's power erupting at such great rates?
He didn't want to know but knew he would find out.
He hoped he would bring all of his friends home.
