Chapter 21: Intervention

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

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Chapter 21: Intervention

"That was fun, wouldn't you agree?" 

His arms, legs, torso, neck and every other millimeter of skin that spanned across his body had been stained red. 

The adrenaline had already worn off, leaving him with naught but the sickening sensation of blood leaving his body, causing his skin to turn pale. 

And this was the man who was still standing. 

At his feet laid a figure whose face was no longer visible by virtue of the sheer amount of cruor that stuck to his skin. His breaths were labored and hoarse, as if his body was just burning what was left of him in a desperate attempt to stay alive. 

The circumference of the coppice that surrounded them didn't have an inkling of green left in it, the leaves, sticks and even pebbles had been permanently coated in scarlet paint. 

"Yeah, it was fun" 

The fallen individual had so much more to say, so many thoughts racing through his head that he felt needed to leave his lips. But to his dismay he didn't have the strength to do so, he would have to make do with a measly few words. 

"You told me I hadn't experienced a real challenge until now, it looks like you were right" 

Koda kneeled down, leveling himself with his weakened opponent. Bringing his head closer to him so he could clear his slowly fading voice. 

"Perhaps, but I'd say that goes both ways don't you think?" 

Hikaru wondered what his Captain would have said had she seen the way he fought today, would she reprimand him for his foolhardiness? Maybe praise him for his courage? 

He could never read that woman, but being sent off with a few parting words from her wouldn't have been so bad. 

The Asauchi in Koda's hand began to tremble, its wielder merely nodding his head before returning his gaze to the Shinigami.

"It wants to thank you, actually scratch that, we want to thank you"

For the first time Koda's smile was not one of bloodlust, on the contrary it was a gentle one. When he looked at Hikaru he no longer saw just another enemy, he saw someone who managed to see what the world looked like through his lens.

It may have been only for a short while, but he knew what it felt like nonetheless.

This man who was most likely on death's front porch had somehow connected to Koda like no other. Even if he only had moments remaining with the man, he would treasure each and every last one of them. 

"What did you think? Of the view?" 

Koda could never put into words, he doubted that he would ever be able to. But perhaps this person could, Koda's palm rested itself on Hikaru's chest, the latter's expression widened in shock upon realizing what his executioner was doing. 

"Don't worry, it won't save you, it's just to help you talk" 

A self-deprecating chuckle escaped Hikaru's breath, what a ridiculous thing to worry about. Koda didn't nearly have enough Reiryoku left over to help the man walk again, not that it would have mattered anyways. 

As promised, his throat started to clear, the Shinigami took a moment to ponder the question before his mind finally managed to piece together what he wanted to say. 

"It's awfully lonely, is that how the world always looks to you?" 

Koda definitely didn't expect pity of all things, but his faint smile remained unmoved. This was probably the type of conversation he wouldn't be able to experience again for a very long time.

"Not when I'm sleeping" He responded jokingly. 

"Pfft!" 

The two shared an ostensibly idiotic chuckle, exerting his vocal chords like that hurt quite a bit, however letting pain ruin his final moments just wasn't worth it.

Aware that time was of the essence, the atmosphere quickly returned to its former sincerity. Koda would truly miss this once it was over, probably more than anything ever since he arrived in this hellscape. 

"It's not always lonely, sometimes there are moments—" 

Hikaru knew exactly what he was referring to, the feeling was mutual after all. 

"And in those moments, I don't feel alone, though temporary, they remain everlasting within my memories" Koda's expression grew solemn, Hikaru's Reiryoku was growing thinner by the moment. 

His time was coming to end, Koda would soon be forced to return to that emptiness. Waiting for another, but did another like Hikaru even exist? 

And if they did, there was no guarantee that Koda would be able to meet them. 

Rustle, Rustle.

A heavy panting noise dragged Koda's attention away from Hikaru, both of them were taken aback by the sight of a scrawny man with sweat dripping down his skin, leaned against a nearby trunk for support as he looked at them with tears streaming down his eyes. 

"Wait! P-please h-h-have mercy!" 

Koda ignored the man's fear-ridden voice, instead turning towards Hikaru with a reassuring gaze. He would keep his promise, he owed him that much. 

"Make it quick, I don't wish for him to see me like this any longer" 

With a nod Koda pointed the tip of his Asauchi at Hikaru's heart, ready to send his one true friend on his way. 

"I can save him! Please!" Hirato's pleading was only met with empty air, they were in their own world. 

"Even if you could save him, it would only do him more harm than good" 

It probably wouldn't have even remotely made any sense to anyone else, but to let Hikaru live would have been far more insulting than allowing him to die with his integrity in-tact.

All of a sudden Hikaru's hand latched onto Koda's arm, looking at the man as if he had forgotten something incredibly important. 

"By the way, my name's Hikaru, though you'd want to know that if you plan on remembering me…hah" 

It was only then that the realization set in that they didn't even know each other's name, if he had more time he would've loved to share another chuckle with the man. 

"Mine's Koda, it has been an honor, friend" 

His blade shot forth, perfectly aimed at Hikaru's heart as he steeled himself for the sensation of metal ripping into flesh, the trembling his hand would feel upon cutting through the bone that kept Hikaru's organs secure.

Thump! 

He was gone. 

No sound, no signature, no nothing. The tip of his Asauchi had been plunged into a cluster of wood rather than flesh, Koda's brain couldn't even begin to discern what had just happened. 

'What?' 

The blood was still there, there was no feasible way he had hallucinated the entire thing. But that in of itself didn't suffice as an answer, Koda looked down as faint burn marks that manifested seemingly out of nowhere were present on the ground where Hikaru once laid. 

'The hell just happened?'

He frantically scoured the area, trying to make heads or tails of what had just transpired.

And then he saw it, Hikaru was held unconscious in Hirato's grasp. For a second he was led to believe someone with such an ant-like presence managed to move at a speed that he couldn't even comprehend. 

'Impossible, there's someone else' 

"I-it wasn't me! I don't know what happened!" 

'Thanks for stating the obvious…' 

Search as he might, nothing appeared in his peripherals, it was just radio silence. 

"That was a good fight, not that I expected anything less of my Shinigami" A slow clap reverberated throughout the thicket, each time Koda turned his head to the direction of the noise its source would alter. 

The noise started to get closer, and closer but Koda couldn't even hear a single leaf rustle amongst the litter. All that remained of his Reiryoku were faint droplets, if he were to be attacked his chances of survival would be awfully slim.

"Don't worry, if I planned to do anything to you I already would have" The elusive figure's voice was exceedingly resolute and assured. 

"What do you want?" 

Koda didn't take kindly to being toyed with, whoever this was clearly had him well within his grasp. 

Oddly enough, the smell of smoke in the air was pungent, the same burns that were beneath him were also present near Hirato. 

"To talk" 

The voice sounded as if it was merely a few feet from where he stood.

He slowly shifted his body, his hand firmly clasped onto his Asauchi with beads of sweat mixing with the blood that covered his arm. 

The man in question had obsidian hair on the sides of his head, with the back tied up in a neat topknot. He sported thick curved eyebrows and a staunch mustache, his attire almost perfectly mimicked Hikaru save for the fact that his kimono was sleeveless. 

'I'm staring right at him, but I still can't sense even the slightest amount of Reiryoku from his body. I might not exactly be in prime condition, but even then Hikaru's and the small one's presences are crystal clear to me. And then there's that Shunpo, assuming that's even what he used it doesn't even feel like a movement technique. It might as well have been teleportation, and these burn marks…' 

Nothing about the individual seemed to make sense, everything about him appeared to be on a level that Koda couldn't fathom.

'But why is he even hiding his presence in the first place? What exactly is the point if he ended up making himself visible anyways?' 

And then it clicked, perhaps he wasn't masking his Spiritual Pressure for his sake, but rather for Koda's. There's no way someone who could move at such speeds wasn't powerful, the only question was to what extent. 

"Relax, I've already spoken with her, if all goes well we might end up being allies after our conversation" 

'Allies? He referred to Hikaru as his own, he obviously knows that I just tried to kill him. If he's a Shinigami he should want nothing less than my death. And what does he mean he spoke with Unohana? Either he's lying or I'm missing something that's right under my nose' 

Koda watched as the man gently planted the base of his hand on Hikaru's chest, an verdant light encompassed Hikaru like a cocoon as Hirato looked on with awe, for some reason he seemed oddly infatuated with the luminescent. 

"What are you doi—" 

The damage Koda had done to Hikaru was nothing short of fatal, his organs, skin, and bones had all been utterly mutilated. Any hope of a recovery shouldn't be plausible, but reality seemed to have other plans. 

The grotesque gnashes that were scattered all over Hikaru's body gradually began to close, warmth started to return to his colorless skin, Koda's face looked as if it were witnessing pure magic. 

"This one has quite the potential, you two would make great squad-mates now that I think about it"

The topknot-wielding Shinigami scratched his chin in genuine deliberation, as if he was mad enough to actually consider the prospect. 

'Is he right in the head? Did he somehow manage to forget the death-battle we just had?' 

Koda truthfully didn't know what to make of the individual, he stood there with a blank expression seemingly unsure of what his next step would be. 

Attacking the individual was absolutely out of the question, especially considering his current state of being, but he couldn't just dilatory sit around like an idiot. 

"I thought we agreed I would be the one to talk to him first?" 

A familiar soft effeminate voice snapped Koda out of his stupor, two arms gently coiled around his waist as a woman rested her cheek against his back. 

"Haha, sorry about that, I couldn't help it after witnessing such a beautiful display of violence. I consider myself quite the competent judge of character, my Shinigami also managed to pique your intrigue no?" 

Koda watched on with bewilderment as the two powerhouses stared at one another, each with their own student firmly clasped within their grasp.