9 Chapter 9: Fire and Lightning

Xiu Ye stared in awe at the old man in front of him.

After all, Genryūsai Yamamoto was the captain commander of Soul Society for a two thousand years and, even as a old man, he still kicked ass.

Though his actions in the past sucks but he's still awesome.

"No, I am not the one who you call Genryūsai Yamamoto." Yamamoto frowned and shook his head in denial as he continued standing over Xiu Ye.

Xiu Ye tilted his head in confusion, while quickly standing up, he asked.

"Then, who are you?"

"...Don't you already know the answer?" Yamamoto cryptically said.

Xiu Ye ponder on those words. 'I already know the answer?'

He closes his eyes and remembered the history of Genryūsai Yamamoto when he released his martial soul; Ryūjin Jakka.

No. Xiu Ye frowned. Since yesterday the mechanics on how he released his martial soul, tracing, had bothered him. He knew that the steps he had to recite in his head, the blueprint appearing in his head, and finally releasing his martial soul out to the world was really different than other normal soul masters.

'Trace, On.' Cyan lines lit up on Xiu Ye's body, not only that, the world around him stilled and the intense heat and wild thunderstorm had stopped.

A blueprint of Ryūjin Jakka appeared in his mind, then the history hidden within it.

"I see..." Xiu Ye exhaled and tilted his head to stare at Yamamoto, no. "You're part of Genryūsai Yamamoto soul; Ryūjin Jakka, the old man's Zanpakutō."

"Ohoho, correct young one." Ryūjin Jakka chuckled amused as he brushed his long white beard. Xiu Ye smiled.

Ryūjin Jakka stopped chuckling, his eyes narrowed down into a serious expression that caused Xiu Ye to unknowingly straighten up.

"I'm sorry to enforce this on you boy but we have no time. Tell me, young one. Will you be able to bear the will of flames and the thunder of responsibility as you wield my sword and your spirit soul?" A dangerous glint appeared in his eyes, a pressure that Xiu Ye has never felt in his life was brought down on his shoulders.

Before he could say anything he grunted in pain, exhaling out of his mouth as he kneeled down to the floor with his right knee.

'What pressure!' Xiu Ye's eyes widened in terror. This was a feeling he has never felt in his past and current life. It felt like gravity had doubled, no, tripled! But he realized that gravity hadn't increase, no, it was just pure aura emitted from Ryūjin Jakka!

Raising his head, Xiu Ye looked defiantly at the aloof Ryūjin Jakka.

'Ryūjin Jakka was merely a part of Genryūsai Yamamoto's original soul, as all Zanpakutō's are, yet, he's still capable of pressuring me? Although I am a child but with my soul power I have the strength and power above a physically fit adult.'

'This guy... He truly does live up to the most powerful Zanpakutō...' Xiu Ye thought with a twitching bloody lip.

Staring at the darkened face of Ryūjin Jakka, Xiu Ye's scrunched down his eyes. It was like being near under the blazing hot sun.

The mass of the sun was dropped on his shoulders, his body completely soaked in sweat from the heat, and his flesh, bones, and organs melting under its intense heat.

Then he suddenly started feeling electrical shocks coursing throughout his entire body.

This, This was beyond torture.

"Y-You." Xiu Ye muttered out in pain, gritting his teeth as he pounded the ground with his right fist, his eyes red and wide. "W-What the h-hell a-are y-you doing?!"

Xiu Ye was angry, confuse, surprise, and mostly angry. He didn't know what was going on. Why was his martial soul torturing him? And from how he could feel, what felt like lightning electrifying him, he also realized that Ryūjin Jakka has already assimilated with the spirit soul and could use its lightning and thunder soul ability to torture him further.

Proving his theory, Ryūjin Jakka raised his left hand up and a familiar illusionary hammer appeared on his hand.

The old man continued staring down at Xiu Ye, his expression completely blank and unreadable.

Then he snorted.

"Is this all you've got? Despite having me, the most powerful Zanpakutō in Soul Society history, you kneel? You are not worthy of this and my power." Ryūjin Jakka grasped the wooden cane in his right hand tightly, the wooden object suddenly distorted from the top then bottom, showing a very familiar unsheathed sword, only, it was taller by half a meter.

He held the sword by its handle, it's blade shone in a red light as he raised up his bald head.

Ryūjin Jakka eyes meet Xiu Ye's widened fearful eyes, the world turned silent for a brief moment, then he declared in a booming voice in the world of steel, fire and dust.

"Die, unworthy one." He swung the long sword towards Xiu Ye.

For a moment, the world froze in Xiu Ye's eyes.

'I'm going to die?' He thought, his eyes staring at the red slash of light coming towards him. 'Again, am I going to die a pathetic death once more?'

Memories of a past he so wanted to forget, resurfaced in his head.

...

In his past life, he was Xiu Ye. A twenty year old man in planet earth living in the year 2020. That was all he could remember.

He didn't have any family, for they died. He didn't have any friends, for they left him. He didn't have any lovers, for he didn't find the right one for his fragile heart to accept.

He lived a life of mediocrity and a failure to society. He lost his eleventh job at a fast food restaurant, due to a rich young lady being dissatisfied of his presence.

He lived in a run down one room apartment that was due to eviction next week if he doesn't pay the rent.

Xiu Ye, had lived a sorry excuse of a life. He always thought to kill himself or escaped to the wilderness to start a new beginning for himself.

Sadly, when he gotten a cup of coffee from Starbucks and met Truck-kun later on, he died and finally escaped his good for nothing life.

....

He lived a life without any accomplishments and mediocrity, and he died pathetically without leaving any greatness attached to his name.

And he wanted to live a life like that again...

Xiu Ye clenched his hands, digging his fingers so much into his flesh that it started to bled.

'I don't want that...' His golden pair of eyes started to burn like fire and blue light started spark between his eyes.

Swords, axes, spears, scimitars, hammers, and many more legendary steeled weaponry that was stabbed in the ground around Xiu Ye started to tremble uncontrollably, as if an earthquake is happening but the earth wasn't moving, instead, it was only the weapons.

It was moreso for a certain small hammer with a rectangle shape streamlined with small norse runes, lightning dancing around it, and a large war hammer hybrid axe.

The lightning that surrounded the sun and thunder striking down the land disappeared almost instantly.

Ryūjin Jakka's eyes widened in shock, feeling the weight in his left hand disappeared, subconsciously clenching his hand.

'The hammer! It's gone! Where is it–' His old yet sharp eyes quickly turned towards the only likely possibility.

*Bang!*

Blue white lightning spread all around Xiu Ye's now standing body. His head was down, back slightly hunched, he looked to be exhausted but his grip on a familiar hammer on his right hand was tight.

"Hey old man..." Xiu Ye raised his head, his eyes completely white while blue electricity danced around his eyes, he met eye contact with Ryūjin Jakka.

"I, am worthy."

In a blink he moved, fast.

In Xiu Ye's eyes, it was the like the entire world had frozen. The sky, sun and Ryūjin Jakka's movements seem to have stop completely. Like time itself had stopped. But no, the world didn't freeze nor had time stop. No.

Xiu Ye didn't understand what's going on but he didn't care at the moment. Instead, he used this opportunity to run towards Ryūjin Jakka with the hammer in his hand at his side, intending to smash it at the old man's face.

Unbeknownst to him however, a trail of blue and white light seem to sparked behind his every step.

He arrived in front of Ryūjin Jakka, and without any hesitation, he lifted the hammer over his head, jumped high, and strike down on the bald head.

In Xiu Ye's thought and eyes, if time didn't freeze, ten seconds should have already passed by the time he swung the hammer.

The truth however, is that only 1 second had passed.

Time didn't stop and the world wasn't frozen. No.

What happened...

Was that Xiu Ye moved like at the speed of lightning.

This was the soul skill granted to him by his spirit soul; Lightning Beast: Xiu Ye's physical capabilities and soul power are doubled and he's capable of using lightning with unmatched control, to the point becoming lightning itself.

With this power, Xiu Ye would be able to win against most of his enemies in battle with ease.

However...

"Nice trick brat." Xiu Ye's eyes widened as a long familiar blade of a sword entered his vision and came down at him.

*Spurt!*

Xiu Ye coughed out a mouthful of blood. He slowly looked down on his body, trembling, as his eyes widened in fear to see that a clean vertical cut is seen on his shirt and chest, cutting it perfectly in half, blood spewing out like a fountain.

He opened his mouth to scream as pain spread in his entire body but no words came out of his mouth. His eyes rolled back and he fell with his front forward to the ground.

Ryūjin Jakka was as calm as before, but a hint of surprise could be seen in his eyes as he stared at the motionless body of Xiu Ye, before he closed his eyes and flicked his sword by the side to clean the blood away on the blade.

"That was amazing kid, you were really fast, even faster than a lieutenant's flash step, but you seem to forget that I've known and fought against a goddess of speed before, well, my true self that is." Ryūjin Jakka shook his head as he had his sword transformed back into a old wooden crane, sighing in disappoinment, he walked forward, intending to leave a bleeding Xiu Ye on the ground to die.

But as Ryūjin Jakka was one meter away from Xiu Ye, he halted in his steps.

He opened his eyes and glanced back.

"... You're one stubborn and tenacious kid."

As if time went back, Xiu Ye stood up, hunched back and panting from exhaustion but now bloodied with a large cut wound on his chest; from his collar bone to his stomach. The Thunder Hammer still on his right hand was still tight, lightning sparking and dancing around it. The immense weight of it straining his hand, if he didn't exercise his body and still had a focused mind, the hammer would have slipped his fingers.

But the most unusual change of him, was the familiar cyan lines glowing around on his body and the dozens of swords floating in the air around above him and pointing towards Ryūjin Jakka.

Ryūjin Jakka shook his head.

"Kid, just give up."

Xiu Ye panted then took a slow deep breath, calmed down, and straighten his body. The one cyan blue line on his left face started to glow intensely.

"Y-Yeah no old man. There are times where you have to fight, even if you know you're going to lose!" He proclaimed simultaneously tearing off his shirt with his other hand, feeling it constricting his upper body, showing a slightly defined muscular body.

He didn't know why, but he could feel that he could somewhat control the world around him.

Specifically, the weapons that once lay embedded in the ground around him and now floating behind him under his control.

An image of hammer striking metal appeared in his mind. The lines spread around his body lit up simultaneously.

"I am the bone of my sword..." He muttered out in a daze.

The swords floating around him started to spark intense lightning.

"Sword Barrel, Lightning Volume... Continuous Fire!"

Swords of lightning was shot off like bullets shot from a machine gun towards Ryūjin Jakka, all aiming at his most vital parts.

"Young ones... So reckless. You don't know and understand how cruel the outside world truly is, yet, you try to defy your fate. Kid, no, Xiu Ye. You remind me of a certain someone..." Ryūjin Jakka's body was surrounded with fiery orange red flames, the wooden came distorted and slightly revealed it's true form.

An image of a orange haired black clothed swordsman momentarily appeared in his eyes, overlapping him with a glaring Xiu Ye.

"You're eyes remind me so much of him. A fire burning so brightly like the sun."