Last time on Hunting Death Itself...
Rouga and Ant planned like there was no tomorrow and somehow managed to come up with stuff without killing each other in the process. Rouga encountered Noctal Himmeler, a Fenrir turned Jager who is Zeruda's second-in-command. Although Noctal got the upper hand on him, Rouga was spared by the timely intervention of Squad 6 Captain Senshuken Toumoku, and used the interruption provided by his entrance to drive Noctal off. He told Senshuken of Noctal's history, which included some frightening glimpses at his potential prowess, and walked off with a warning that Senshuken and Noctal would likely face one another in the upcoming war...
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Rouga ducked under yet another blast of ice and water from his Lieutenant’s Bankai, zipping forward and under his halfhearted block before smacking him with his Shikai’s shield. “Come on, Kai!” he shouted as the younger Shinigami stumbled back. “I know you’re better than this; stop trying to hit me and just attack! You’re thinking way too much!”
Kai glared, summoning more ice into his hands and hurling it at Rouga. A single swipe from his blade cleaved through the attack and he ran towards Kai again, this time rolling under another blast and coming up practically under his feet before smashing the hilt of his Zanpaktou into Kai’s chin. “You’re getting sloppy. I thought you wanted me to train you, not beat you to a bloody pulp.”
“You told me not to think,” Kai stated accusingly, wiping blood from his mouth.
“Don’t think, just react,” Rouga replied, turning his sword upside-down and slamming the blade into the ground before stalking towards his Lieutenant. “What you’re doing is keeping a tight rein on your powers and trying to forcibly control them. That doesn’t work; your attacks will
always fail if you do that.” He grabbed Kai by the collar, forcibly lifting the smaller man off the ground and to eye level. “What you
should be doing is opening your mind to what your Zanpaktou instinctively knows, and then you can grasp its powers. It might be stressful on your body, but it’s the only way to face me at this point.”
“You keep saying that!” Kai snapped, knocking Rouga’s hand off his collar and stumbling back when his feet hit the ground off-balance. “Why don’t you stop telling me
what to do and tell me
how I should do it?!”
Rouga scoffed, turning his back on Kai. “You’re hopeless,” he replied, ripping his blade from the ground. “There is no ‘how’. There is no ‘why’. It’s the ‘what’ that matters.” He spun around, stalking towards Kai. “'
What do you desire?’ ‘
What do you fight for?’ ‘
What is your reason to grow stronger?’ These are the questions you should be asking.”
He raised his sword out and to the back, his shield forward; a classic offensive pose. “I’m done holding back. If you really can’t accept your Zanpaktou’s power, you’ll die. It’s that simple.”
Rouga burst forward and Kai’s eyes barely had time to widen before the blade was whistling towards his face. Blasts of ice shot reflexively from his hands, forcing Rouga to dodge. Kai spun, freezing the ground in front of him, then reacting as Rouga leapt into the air. He froze water particles in the air and with a shout of “Ikaten Kogoru!” swept his hand forward with a freezing cold beam erupting from it.
Rouga’s silhouette spun and deflected the beam to the side before flipping over and descending in an overhead slash. Kai jerked aside clumsily, just dodging the killing blade before unconsciously summoning a razor-thin stream of water between his fingertips. “Ryuukawa Ishigiri!” he shouted, the name simply appearing on his lips as he flicked the blade of pressurized water at his Captain.
Rouga dipped to the ground and slashed up, severing the stream before springing forward and thrusting with his shield. Kai’s hands reached out and caught the powerful shield bash and turned it aside before Rouga drove his head forward, slamming a powerful headbutt into Kai’s face. Stumbling backwards blindly, Kai froze as he felt the sensation of cold, hard steel resting against his neck.
“Good, Kai,” Rouga breathed, and Kai blinked the spots from his vision to see the approving look on his tutor’s face. “That was better.” His face hardened and he removed his sword before leaping back several paces. “Again.”
***
Several hours later, both Captain and Lieutenant walked into the Squad 6 barracks, both of them quite a bit worse for wear, Kai more so than Rouga. Despite his fatigue, Kai’s shoulders were squared and his stride was confident, while Rouga’s eyes showed fervent appreciation of his student’s efforts.
“How’s the training going?” Squad 6 Captain Senshuken Toumoku called out from the seat over by the window, where he awaited their arrival.
“Much better,” Rouga admitted, both he and Kai walking over and taking seats across from him. “Next time, he should be able to fight me Shikai to Shikai without too many problems.”
“Yeah, says you,” Kai groaned. “I can barely keep up with you using my Bankai right now.”
“That’s just because you’re exhausted,” Rouga replied, chuckling. “You’ll be better tomorrow.”
“…no comment,” Kai muttered, laying his head on the table.
“That was a comment.”
“Shut up. I hate you.”
“No you don’t.”
“…you’re right, I don’t.”
Senshuken simply watched, highly amused, as Captain and Lieutenant traded barbs like a pair of siblings. “Well, if you’re sore, a few drinks will probably do you some good.”
Rouga laughed sarcastically. “Yeah, until he wakes up tomorrow; still sore from training, hung over, and having to repeat the process again.”
“Ah, you worry too much,” Senshuken replied. “Training while hung over is a great way to increase coordination and compartmentalization when you’re sober.”
Kai lifted his head off the table, blinking at the Squad 6 Captain a few times. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
Sen laughed. “Yeah, I am. Never tried it myself, but Hayashi swears by it.”
Rouga snorted both at the thought of Hayashi training and at him training while hung over. “And he trains how often?”
“A lot more than you’d think,” Senshuken replied, leaning back in his char. “A lot of his laziness is just a façade; he’s mostly lazy because not much is a challenge for him.”
Rouga grunted, then he twitched visibly. Senshuken raised an eyebrow, but he was quickly waved off. “No drinking today or tomorrow, just for good measure,” Rouga muttered. “It’s been five days since the plan went into motion and the training began. Tonight is the briefing.” He pushed away from the table and stood. “I’ll see you there; I’m going to get some last minute work done.”
“Good luck,” Senshuken called.
Rouga stalked out of the barracks, took several turns and headed into a back alley near Squad 3’s headquarters before stopping. “Yazuu, Rozzu, you can come out now.”
A beat of silence, then a few dark chuckles. “Impressive that you got our message just from that brief flare,” a silky voice stated as two figures walked out into the alleyway. Both wore matching black leather armor and carried sword sheaths on their right hip. The one who’d spoken had long silky silver hair that made him look slightly effeminate, while the other had his same-colored hair cut short and was extremely muscular. “You’ve gotten better, big brother.”
Rouga made a face. “Don’t call me that, Yazuu,” he muttered distastefully. “We’re not related, and you already have an older brother.”
“Aww, why so cold?” the larger, Rozzu, asked playfully, his deep voice conflicting with the childish tone he’d taken.
Rouga ground his teeth in irritation. “Enough,” he snapped. “Gintakai sent you in response to my summons, right?”
“Yes, he did,” Yazuu admitted, tilting his head to the side in a questioning manner. “Will the little rabbit be joining us today?”
“Kida has no knowledge of this,” Rouga stated flatly. “It’s better that way.”
Yazuu shrugged. “As you say, brother.” He grinned leeringly at Rouga’s grimace. “Gintakai proposes that we will help you if you deliver Kida to us.”
“No deal,” Rouga snapped straight off. “I’ll not send more friends to their deaths at your hands.”
Yazuu laughed coldly while Rozzu leered. “Well, what do you propose instead?”
Rouga reached into his shihakushou, pulling out a small leather-bound book. “Everything your true elder brother wants to know about the Howl of the Gathered and the Fenrir Ultima,” he said, tossing the book to Yazuu.
The silver-haired man opened the book and peered at the pages, Rozzu looking over his shoulder like a child reading the same book as their sibling. “This looks good,” Yazuu said excitedly, glancing up at Rouga with eager eyes.
The blond Captain held up a hand. “One other condition.” His eyes bored into both siblings and froze over with lethal intent. “A binding promise that none of you will come after Kida.”
Yazuu hissed in anger at the declaration, his silver eyes expanding and changing to amber before he froze suddenly, listening to a voice that only he could hear. The effeminate man straightened up, pocketing the book. “Our brother accepts.” His grin suddenly widened and became positively feral. “I, however, do not.” Rozzu cackled behind him, cracking his knuckles.
“Oh?” Rouga asked conversationally, his eyes narrowing. “You’re a fool Yazuu. You two may be known as the ultimate tag team, but don’t forget who
you’re facing either.” His eyes immediately changed, gold overtaking blue and pupils tapering to slits. “After all, the Golden Hunter hasn’t lost his touch after so long.”
The two parties stood at an impasse, each side glaring at the other, before the silver-haired twins suddenly glanced down and away; a subtle but definite submission to Rouga’s authority. “Get out of my sight,” the victor snarled, and in an instant they were gone.
Rouga sighed heavily; it had been a long time since he’d had to do that to another Fenrir. “You can come out now, Kida,” he stated.
“You and your damn stalker gift,” the voice of the Squad 3 Captain called out as the Kyokko and Danku combination fell away. She walked stiffly, her tail still while her ears were pricked with danger.
“You’re confusing me with Aielpy,” Rouga replied with a smirk. “Besides, your anger was what gave you away. I don’t need to smell your emotions to sense them when they’re that strong.”
“I’m sure you know why I’m so pissed off, then?” she asked, her hand twitching as though she wanted to draw her sword and stab it through his chest. Or strangle him. Or slap him. Or maybe all of the above.
“For entirely the wrong reasons,” Rouga stated, watching her posture stiffen and fists clench at his words. “You assume I’m plotting something. You listen far too much to the logical part of your brain when logic doesn’t help you understand my motivations, and then instead of listening to what your instincts are telling you, you jump to conclusions.” He turned and started walking past her. “You’re as close to human as a Fenrir can get, Kida. You’re an Omega. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore your instincts.”
She turned, grabbing his shoulder with a force he didn’t realize she possessed, nails digging deeply into his skin. “Don’t you
dare walk away from me, you smug little bastard,” she snarled, and Rouga tensed as he realized that her wolf had started to come to the surface. “You had better tell me what the hell you think you’re doing.”
“I don’t think, I know,” he stated calmly. “You heard that whole conversation. You know I just got them to leave you alone when they were hell-bent on coming after you and using your power.”
“I don’t care,” she snapped, her grip tightening and making him wince. “You’re definitely plotting something.”
“What I’m
doing,” he replied, “is ensuring the Soul Society has reinforcements during this whole mess with the Jäger.”
“Who?” Kida demanded.
Rouga tugged himself free from her grip and turned to face her, staring impassively into the opaline-white irises that were the mark of her wolf. “Amara and Kirio.”
“Your siblings?” she asked, so surprised she forgot to sound angry. “They’re alive?”
Rouga scoffed. “Of course they are. You were worried that Amara would die because she was the last submissive wolf in our pack. If you’d listened to your instinctive knowledge instead of relying on cold logic, you would have realized how unstable the pack would be now that you’re gone. Gintakai needs her. As for Kirio, Gintakai knows better than to do anything to him. He knows it would lead to all-out war within the pack if his enforcer was gone; everyone hates him so much he needs someone of Kirio’s power to keep a handle on everything without getting involved himself.”
Kida simply stood there, at a loss for words. Rouga smirked. “You honestly expected me to be working with the gruesome twosome? I hate both of them, not to mention their brother.”
Kida simply glared at him, her upper lip curling slightly in disdain. “You don’t deserve trust, Rouga,” she spat. “You’re a brutal, unflinching killer. At least Aozora cares enough about people she knows, but you… you don’t care about anyone, not even yourself.”
“Tell me Kida; would you kill a thousand to save a life?” Rouga asked, his tone offhand but his eyes deadly. “Would you kill to prove you’re right? To prove others wrong?”
“What are you-“
“Don’t even try to deny it, Kida,” Rouga snarled. “You would kill a thousand strangers to save a friend in a heartbeat. You have killed others to uphold your ideals more than once.” His eyes became icy. “I know for a fact that the Squad 12 Captain before Dauc met his death at your hands, and just because you wanted to prove that he was wrong about you being weak and controllable.”
“That monster deserved everything he got,” she snarled.
“But his family did not,” Rouga replied, watching her finch back predictably. “He left three kids and their mother behind and committed crimes so heinous that his family paid the punishment for him. Expelled from the Seireitei for the actions of their husband or father, the mother died three years later from grief while the kids starved within weeks of her death.”
“What are you trying to prove?!” Kida shouted at him, trying to drive away the guilt eating at her conscience. “You’ve done the same!”
“And that is precisely my point,” Rouga said bitterly. “You’re no better than I am.” He turned away, stalking out of the alley. “People in glass houses should not throw stones.”
“At least I’m capable of feeling some ****ing remorse!” she screamed at him, the dam bursting as all her anger spilled out at once.
Rouga spun around and visibly fought with himself against drawing his Zanpaktou. However, as terrifying and furious as his gaze was, his eyes remained human. This rage was entirely from him, none of it from his wolf. “Enough. You’re blinded, Kida. Blinded by
stupid, pointless hatred. I was fine with just taking your **** if it kept you from blaming yourself for Chii’s death, but you’re taking this too far.” His tone was low and deadly, and right now the dangerous aura he was letting off was more potent than even his worst lupine rages. “You just refuse to see
any good in me whatsoever. Wake the
hell up and smell the goddamn coffee.” He jabbed a finger at his chest. “If I don’t care about anyone or anything, then explain two events. One, why would I spare Zeruda’s life? Two, why would I force Gintakai to keep away from you?”
“Raw spite for the first,” she spat disgustedly, watching as Rouga’s face became positively livid. “You left her alive because you wanted her to live with the anguish of watching you kill her parents in front of her.”
“Why you-“
“As for me… you’re doing it to spite Gintakai. He’s stronger than you, so all you can do is deny him his plans. You’re a hateful, deceitful bastard and that won’t ever change.”
Rouga just froze. He didn’t pause, didn’t stop, didn’t hesitate. Raw emotion rooted him in place as his reiatsu practically
exploded from his form with the intensity of a hurricane.
“Fine then, little rabbit,” he…
they snarled, his wolf finally coming to the surface in full force, their combined presence so extreme that even Kida, an Omega who obeyed no one, took several involuntary steps backwards.
“If you really think me so evil, so vile, so detestable, then I shall leave. We will see how you fare against the Jäger with no reinforcements and lacking one Captain, in addition to your chief strategist. How many comrades will you have to bury, Rabbit? Ten? A hundred? All of them?”
“You-“
“Do not even try to pin this on me, foolish rabbit,” Rouga/Wolfga snarled, his unison voice reverberating with raw power and authority.
“You brought this on yourself. Consider yourself lucky. Were Rouga still at the forefront of our psyche right now, you would be little more than a smear on the wall.” The fierce scent of his anger faded slightly, and the wolf’s mind slid fully over his own.
“The old fool forgets how fragile he is. Killing you, even harming you badly, would break him when he got over his rage.” Wolfga paused, considering her and his burning golden gaze softened infinitesimally.
“We both promised Saishin that we would protect you. Even if you deny that, I cannot and will not allow Rouga to kill you in a fit of rash anger.”
Just as she processed that the former Alpha had ordered her protection, Rouga/Wolfga shot forward and slammed his fist into her stomach, driving all the air from her lungs and bruising her diaphragm. Kida immediately collapsed to the ground, gasping and panting from lack of air before she finally shut down.
“I’m sorry…” he whispered, his voice turning back to its normal tone as he knelt next to her, “for everything.” He stood and removed his haori, even as he heard another Shinigami step into the alley.
“Captain?” Kai asked, shocked to see Rouga standing over the fallen form of another Captain. Rouga turned to face him, his eyes bitter and dark.
“You’re Captain now, Kai,” Rouga said softly, tossing his haori to his former Lieutenant. The bewildered shinigami caught the cloak, only to see that Rouga had vanished before a blinding pain erupted in his skull and everything went black.
***
At Squad 7, no one questioned Rouga as he strode through the halls to his room; haori or not, he was still Captain in their eyes. He shut the door, moving to the trunk at the foot of his bed and opening it up. At the top of the pile was a uniform of some sort, all black with silver buckles and a high collar. Twin shoulder pauldrons adorned the arms, and the left one bore a stylized metal wolf head with its fangs bared in a snarl.
I never thought I would wear this again after Saishin’s death. He slipped it on, zipping up the collar. A pair of baggy black slacks came next, still managing to fit him after a century of not being worn. He tugged a pair of lightweight combat boots over his feet, tying the laces tightly and then buckling them down. After slipping his broadsword into a new spot on his left hip, he tugged the last item from the trunk: a black cloak that carried a hood and hit him at his ankles.
He sighed as he slipped into the cloak; the sheer idiocy of what he had done finally hitting him.
Kida has a right to be so upset with me. She watched her sister die in front of her while I dragged her away, even if it was to ensure she wasn't killed. As for Kai, he didn’t even do anything, other than be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Where will it end?” Rouga muttered, pulling up his hood. “I betrayed my own siblings and I’ve now sent my new comrades to their deaths at the hands of a mistake I created. Will I have to kill even Amara and Kirio before this is over?”
“I highly doubt that, Rouga.”
“You would,” Rouga snorted, turning to face the speaker. “You always did exclude the absolute worst-case scenarios from your planning, Seijuro.”
The form of ex-Squad 7 Captain Seijuro Arashi sat at the foot of Rouga’s bed, one foot propped up on the trunk while the other dangled aimlessly. He looked every inch the man he had been in life, yet his body was dimmer, faded, and although it was corporeal it looked like a manikin rather than flesh and blood. “You know it won’t get that far, Rouga,” Seijuro replied, his voice matching his tone and inflection from life, and yet somehow empty and void of being. “Everything you’ve done is in line with the prophecy of the
Fenrir Ultima thus far.”
Rouga sighed. “Quote it for me again, just so I know exactly why you think I’m meant to be the successor to that title.”
Seijuro gave him a look. “You’ve memorized it by now, haven’t you?”
“Well, yes,” Rouga admitted, “but it’s easier to understand it when I’m not trying to remember the lines.”
Seijuro sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with irritation, before he exhaled and released it. “Very well.”
“The death of a champion.
A dark power rises and splinters,
Scattered are the remnants.
The sacrifice of one; the towering inferno.
The signal for their reunion shines.
Though war and strife separates them,
They survive though others may die.
Five flames take part.
One, extinguished in a blaze of glory, ignites again.
Another, forged in steel and blood, stood waiting.
Third, once soft and quiet, now raging with intensity.
The next, barring the path before, unites against a common foe.
Last, unstable and wavering once, but no longer.
At their center, a golden hunter comes to heel.
They release the Howl of the Gathered.
As one, the pack drives away the darkness.
Uncertainty is all that lies beyond.
So it began, and so it shall continue…
Forever.”
Rouga shook his head. “Still as incomprehensible as ever,” he muttered darkly. “I get the sacrifice and towering inferno now, though.”
“I should hope so,” Seijuro replied, looking mock offended. “That is how I died, after all.”
“We know the death of the champion was Saishin’s murder, the darkness’ arrival was Gintakai’s takeover, your death was the sacrifice, the inferno, and the signal for reunion, and the war with the Jäger is the war spoken of in the prophecy, but that doesn’t help us determine who the flames are,” Rouga growled in frustration, pacing back in forth.
“I’m likely one of the flames as well,” Seijuro mused. “That’s the only reason that could explain why I’m still here.”
“I have a theory as to one of the others, but I don’t like it,” Rouga admitted.
“Who?”
“Noctal Himmeler.”
Seijuro’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding me.”
“Unfortunately not.” Rouga’s scowl deepened. “He’s likely the fourth, although how he will become a pure Fenrir for the Howl of the Gathered is beyond me.”
“Maybe he doesn’t need to be?”
Rouga shook his head. “It’s illogical. His pack bond is so twisted I’m surprised it’s even functional.”
Seijuro shrugged. “It could just as easily be any of Gintakai’s ‘loyal’ subjects. The prophecy doesn’t specify where this enemy comes from.”
“True enough,” Rouga admitted. “The strife… well, I guess that could be my fighting with Kida.”
“It has separated the pair of you,” Seijuro reasoned. “That’s what I think, anyway.
Rouga grunted his assent. “What else?”
“You’re the golden hunter-“
“Come off it,” Rouga snapped. “Do you really think that just because that’s my title that I’m the same one?”
“It makes sense!” Seijuro shot back. “Besides Gintakai, you’re the most powerful Fenrir that’s still alive.”
“Aside from your older brother and my younger brother.”
Seijuro’s expression darkened. “Muyomi is insane, but he’s not very dominant compared to you. Kirio might be stronger, but we both know that you’re the better fighter; he’s never beaten you and I doubt he ever will. You are the best choice.”
“I can’t stand up to Gintakai,” he growled. “He’s too powerful and his dominance is too strong.”
“Are you sure, Rouga?” Seijuro asked. “I’ve heard all kinds of stories about Gintakai, but I’ve never heard of anyone making Kida flinch from sheer force of will. Not even Saishin was capable of that.”
Rouga gave him a strange look. “She flinched because of my rage, not my willpower,” he reasoned. “She’s an Omega, dominance tricks just go right through her without doing anything.
“No,” Seijuro replied solemnly. “I saw what happened, Rouga. You literally compelled her to fear you. She wasn’t afraid, and you forced her feel fear so great she was literally scuttling away from you. Her reaction was so involuntary that she didn’t understand what she was even doing until it had already happened. Not even Gintakai can do that.”
“That’s impossible,” Rouga stated flatly. “Omegas are totally immune to the dominance aspect.”
“I admit, it
should be impossible,” Seijuro agreed. “I’m just telling you what I saw.”
Rouga sighed heavily, rubbing his temples under his hood. “Great, more mysteries.”
“This coming from the man of secrets himself?” Seijuro grinned. “Look on the bright side; at least now you know Gintakai doesn’t have any hold over you.”
“Amara and Kirio.”
“Argh, forgot about them.”
It’s not like I can control that power at will anyway. Rouga shook his head. “I honestly don’t know, Sei,” he sighed, using his student’s pet nickname, one he disliked from anyone other than his packmates. “Have I really made the right choice?”
“That’s up to you, Rouga,” Seijuro replied, leaning back onto Rouga’s bed. “Does it seem right to you?”
“No!” he snapped vehemently. “None of this seems right!”
“Then it probably is. If you do something despite not wanting to and not knowing why, it’s usually going to be right. It’s instinctive.” He grinned at his old mentor. “That’s what you told me a long time ago.”
Rouga paused, then he let out a breathy chuckle. “I had completely forgotten…” he murmured. “Thank you for your guidance, my friend.”
Seijuro shrugged. “You knew the truth the whole time. All you needed was where to look for it.”
He shook his head. “I know. Still, thanks.” He looked out his window, gauging the amount of light left. “It’s about time I head out, Sei. Stick around and lend a hand where you can, alright?”
“Sure. They’ll need it.”
Rouga nodded, then lurched to all fours as fur flowed over his body. In seconds, he stood once again as a wolf, his pelt dark on his back while a lighter tan along the belly. He looked up into his student’s face, the blue color of his eyes remaining from his human form.
I’ll make sure this ends. One way or another.
“Goodbye Seijuro.”
“Farewell, Rouga.”
And they were gone.
___________________________
Like I said. Plot twists.
Hands up, who saw any of this coming? I surprised myself with a few of these.
I had planned for Seijuro being around still in some capacity, but not Rouga leaving. Don't worry, I've got everything figured out.
That prophecy was in the works for the sequel, but I moved it up because it was beneficial to conversation between Rouga and Seijuro. You have no idea how hard it is to make two incarnations of yourself talk to each other xD
That's all for now.
