Monsters We Became { Bleach Aizen Sousuke Fanfiction }

23 - Beneath the Rocky Ridge of Clemency

"You've got this, right, Yoru?" Oetsu asked. Lenses reflected the white mask and gritted teeth that faced the two behind the pile of ashes.

"Don't doubt me."

Fire leapt from his blade licked his arms, burning away the long sleeves of his black kosode. Smoke and ashes followed behind him like a cloak while the pull of the tree billowed it away.

"You look upset." Yoru said to Koukou, who faced him with the left half of her body. That unmistakable swoosh sickened the air and brought with it the scent of burning flesh. Koukou intercepted the incoming tsurugi with her own, his words hardening her expression further, "Well, don't be. You'll join them soon."

By now the tree had grown to cast a shadow over the battlefield. Koukou's tsurugi was a poor choice when spirit energy was being drawn from the atmosphere like water in the desert. So it was unsummoned before it could become nourishment for the tree. Without weapon, Koukou was at disadvantage, and yet her hardened expression and clenched teeth slackened. It was better to fight with a clear mind than to become a victim of rage.

"I promise that you will join them before I do."

Water splashed in the distance. With his superior reach, Yoru took the offensive. Each swing pushed his opponent backwards, leaving no opening for retaliation. Her back facing the tree, Koukou evaded. Every dodge placed the combatants a step closer towards the ever-growing trunk. This dance continued even as the lights around Bosque Santuario succumbed to the plant's insatiable appetite.

"What's wrong? You're reacting a lot slower to my swings now." Yoru said as another two-handed swing missed its target by no more than the blade's width. As the flames from his Zanpakuto had begun to feed the tree, he flanked Koukou from the side – she hesitated and the brandishing blade touched her shoulder before moving out of the way. The wound did not bleed, instead it turned into an instantly cauterized scar that had no way to heal.

"Could it be that you're not able to predict my movements as effectively without those orbs? Maybe it's just reiatsu in general; it doesn't look like you can see."

This close to the reiatsu vampire of a plant, all the spiritual pressure emitted from the combatants bodies was twisted and distorted. For someone without vision in the traditional sense, who relied on the shadows of energy emitted by the spiritually powerful to perceive the world, to stand so close to an object that pulled all reiatsu in – it was no different from removing desperately needed glasses. Koukou was fighting blind. Still, less than three meters away, she inched ever closer to the source.

"Look, I know what you're doing and I'm not going to let you near that plant!"

Yoru positioned himself between Koukou and the plant, leveraging his blade to keep her from moving forward. In an effort to get her to retreat as she had been for the last dozen swings, a wave of fire followed his blade before engulfing the ground and rising towards her as an angry maw.

Alas, it too was not spared from the indiscriminate tree. Fires pulled back as their energy was stolen and spare-leafed branches extended. By now they were well overhead, catching the trickle of sand still drizzling down from above. When the flames reached Koukou, she stepped into their dying remains and they faded into nothing.

Using the last vestiges of smoke, Koukou appeared before Yoru following a static hiss. A movement he was prepared for, stepping to the side and raising his sword to catch her side. He was not prepared for the wave of reiatsu that engulfed him, nor the energy charged within her hand to be as abrupt nor fast as it was.

A blast of fire struck the bridge of Yoru's nose as the burst of golden reiatsu flowed past him, mixed with a burning blue reiatsu that he recognized as his own. It would have been a fatal blow had it not been for the diminishment caused by Hikifune's creation. He covered his left eye as the flesh emitted smoke and staggered to the ground. What energy remained from the attack flowed into the plant, spurring the branches ever closer.