“Not my concern.”
There was nothing to return to the Soul Society with the fallen shinigami was gone, completely gone. So both of them left answering the call for reinforcement by members of the squad when two arrived, now only one return. Upon returning to the barracks, the reports on Ryuga Iba and the events that took place spread like a flood around the tenth division. Many of the squad members were sad to hear about Ryuga's fate, regardless of how successful the mission went in retrieving the blood. Unfortunately, it didn't happen without a cost, a cost of one seated member that now holds empty for the taking. However, no one was sadder than Izanagi, a man who viewed Ryuga as a mentor, and it took Ryuga's death for Izanagi to realize he was more of a Father to him than an advisor. Thinking along the lines of him no longer existing had his emotions all over the place. Emotions Izanagi could not explain; it is an emotional roller coaster that makes him feel drained constantly. This feeling of sadness, suffering, confusion, hatred, and anger. The one feeling Izanagi felt was craving for that Arrancar's blood. Thinking back on his words before that arrancar, Galia escaped.
"You bet not die, arrancar. Because the next time I see you. I will have your head! I will drink your blood from your bones! You will die by my hands! And my hands only!"
Those words burn deep within his soul, for it wasn't a prediction where it may or might happen in the future. Instead, what Izanagi said was a spoiler for what's to come if they were ever to cross paths again. The entire battle from the moment he arrived in Naruki City replayed over and over and over again within Izanagi's subconscious, remembering moments and details. The appetite for revenge was touching his back.
The Following Day
The young purpled-haired shinigami went straight back to Naruki City, where the battle took place. The same city that has quickly gone to reconstructing their precious town back to its former self. Arriving from the sliding doors where the light was burning bright while stepping out. Just below him from the sky was the 600-foot hole that the Fifth Division Captain placed into the ground. His show of power gave Izanagi the motivation to be strong, if not stronger than him. To harness his ability to defeat his foes with ease. Izanagi realized that kind of power he showed; his speed was inconceivable. Yet, it wasn't impossible to gain, and he nearly wiped out both arrancars. He was a man to be feared; it begs the question, were the rest of the Captains this powerful?
Izanagi patrolled the city and waited with a bit of ounce of hope that arrancar who face he could never forget would return. And no luck but the usual hollows that would appear to harm spirits and humans. No matter what monster from Hueco Mundo appeared in the city, Izanagi quickly hunts them and puts them down with a single slice of his blade. The young member of the Tenth division was cleaved through many white mask hollows in hopes of using them as a replacement to quench this hunger. They did nothing for him; killing them was like killing a person who was unarmed and weak. To no avail, Izanagi's appetite was nowhere near satiable, and it only angers him more; Izanagi's patience had been growing thinner each day. Even to the point where he would scream out loudly.
"WHERE ARE YOU ARRANCAR!? COME OUT AND PLAY!
The entire character of Izanagi had switched from this calm, laid-back nature to this depraved monster that exists at the fringes of society. Both voice and eyes show how he plans to enjoy the pleasure when inflicting pain on the arrancar he has been waiting for all this time. Nothing that he does seems to comfort his desire for revenge. Usually, Izanagi's bloodlust isn't something acted upon in retaliation, but a means to survive. That's how it always been when growing up in the rukon district that he was in, where he killed multiple thugs over the years when he was just a boy. Protecting himself through the former split personality he suffered from and only killed those who attacked him or attempted to kill him. Yet, this time it is different; the plan was no longer about survival but revenge on the one responsible.
Suddenly someone placed a hand onto his shoulder from behind, and this presence, the feeling was familiar as Izanagi was suspended in the sky, standing on a translucent plate. He knew who it was while turning around to get a full view of his companion within the Tenth division. The first thing that came into view was the brown complexity and vivid shade of sea-green hair. Izanagi looks at Shizuka in the complete picture, and Neither the purple-haired two face shinigami nor the green-haired sloth traded words. It was as if the two were mentally reading each other minds in a way they communicated through emotions—both suffering in sorrow and anger.
Though Izanagi and Shizuka shared no words between the two shinigami verbally, Shizuka's actions said otherwise where a shoji door appeared and opened before them both. Then, with a zanpakuto being used as a key, he walked through the bright light of this dimensional gateway. And as he walked through, Shizuka's entire frame became a silhouette in which Izanagi followed no questioned ask.
Years have gone by since that day, and both went into training to save each other. To keep each other from going off the rails and falling into the despair of their own emotions. The more they talk, the more they find out how similar both shinigami are, which is why they are training together. They share a bit of the same emotions, which allowed them to bond easier, communicate. Each day Shizuka has to help Izanagi control his anger. It started with meditation at first, where the purple-haired shinigami sat Indian-style in the center of the training room they both were in; it was more private, somewhere within the barracks of the tenth division. The key to training Izanagi was taming this animosity encased inside him; it made him this uncontrolled entity that Higen warned Shizuka all that time ago. When they had a spar, Shizuka had only a brief moment to see it and struck fear into him temporarily and other members at the time—and then seeing it again in Naruki City, when Izanagi was seen falling deeper into the rabbit hole. Shizuka stuck a hand out to pull him out, though it was a choice, and Izanagi took that hand. Though Izanagi no longer has split personality disorder, there is still a part of that raging persona deep within him, something he kept inside him when he was younger. Never expressing that side, hence the split personality known as Akuma. That is the emotion Shizuka trained Izanagi in, help him harness that anger and turn into a weapon, into power.
While deep within meditation with the Izanagi's soul-slayer lying next to him onto the tatami floor. It was once dark until his eyes open finding himself in a different world, familiar only to him alone. Again, a place filled with a dreary void with limited density due to the area being surrounded by heavy fog; the only difference is that it wasn't an open area. Before Izanagi's eyes was a rather grim-looking structure that appears to be uninhabited. Every stone was even and square, as if those who built it were set on perfection. Somes windows that could be seen were large square windows; some of them were tall rectangular shapes. Nothing else could be seen beyond that but a large brown door of what appears to be the main entrance. Izanagi had taken his steps towards the said door, just only one step, and the door itself slowly open, making a creaking sound, similar to a worn floorboard when it is stepped upon in the hallway. The light from the outside created a path for the shinigami, which revealed a long narrow maroon color mat. It led to the back of the interior of this castle, an individual seemingly already sitting upon a throne, using one of their hands to support their head.
"Shall we get started? I, the Demon King, will show you the true meaning of ruthless."
The moment he spoke those words to Izanagi, the purple-haired shinigami already moved by using his flash step to appear behind Jūryoku. However, upon emerging behind, his right leg already come into a vertical swing downwards for an ax kick. Meaning he meant the right foot to split the wooden throne in half. Izanagi manages to do with little effort. The heel collided with the surface of the ground now that the chair of authority is destroyed. Smoke began to shroud the area of impact. The strength of Izanagi's kick was subtle and didn't come off as if he was looking to make it appear powerful and yet manage to put a small crack in the ground at the point of contact and splitting the throne in half. Before he knows it, Jūryoku appears half of a second once the kick was complete. The hand of Jūryoku seemed rather massive to Izanagi because the palm of Jūryoku's hand blocked the majority of his view, grasping his face with such fierce strength. The momentum of Jūryoku caused him to ragdoll Izanagi into the air and threw the ebony shinigami with so much demanding power that it produced an arc of smoke. Izanagi flew through a large glass window, flying to the outside of the infrastructure. It sounds of glass shattering into hundreds of pieces, and the momentum was too strong for Izanagi to adjust his body or weight and had to wait to come to a stop. And that he did when the shinigami finds himself crashing through several trees, then sliding against the surface. Groaning in pain but not for too long, he stood back up where the pain wasn't enough to keep him down and out. And just in his view, the purple and black armor of Jūryoku appeared wearing that devilish smile.
"You want to control me? Ha! You can't control what's a part of you! All this anger, rage, blood lust comes from you, Izanagi. There's no controlling this sensation! EMBRACE IT! LEARN TO ACCEPT IT! ONLY THEN WILL YOU STOP HOLDING YOURSELF BACK! You fear the unknown; you fear losing yourself to the darkness. So what Ryuga died. He was weak! Pathetic! Worthless! And you? You were the same! You allowed your pitiful parents to abuse you. Weaklings tore you down! You were nothing until I saved you! I was the one which allows you to survive. It was by my will, the Demon King, to let you survive!"
The Awakening~Click to Listen~
The moment his zanpakuto spirit begins speaking about Ryuga being weak, pathetic, and among other things. These insults were something Izanagi could not tolerate any longer. A flood of memories of his childhood began to hit him like a tidal wave—the constant reminder of being beaten, mistreated, and misused. And those moments kept being replayed. His heart began pounding louder, but not from stress or fear. Instead, deep within him, something familiar was awakening; his fist balled up tightly, one side of Izanagi's face became shrouded in darkness. The laid-back nature of Izanagi dramatically changed to a more wicked version of himself. A straight smile turns into a wide barbaric grin, showing them pearly whites. Both eyes lit up into an ominous purple-pinkish glow where both feet suddenly sink slightly into the ground. Due to the muscles within Izanagi, calves tighten so much that the pressure causes the surface to cave. And like that, Izanagi pushed off the ground and made a beeline towards Jūryoku, who was relatively relaxed and calm, but a slight smirk manifested at the corner of his mouth. It didn't take much time for Izanagi to reach Jūryoku and threw a punch in his direction, only for Jūryoku to return the favor. When their blows collided, it had caused an immense shockwave that cleared some of the forest trees out.
10 Years Later
The two members of Division 10 continue aimlessly, day after day training, week after week. Using all forms of combat that shinigami can perform, from hakuda to kido, zanjutsu, and hoho. Izanagi had gained much more experience training with Shizuka, adapting new forms, a more calculated mindset with refining abilities. One could say that Izanagi had developed a new side of perspective. Instead of controlling the inner demon of Izanagi, discovering this new path to embrace the devil incarnate that he keeps hidden under the mellow facade. All the fruits of his training with Shizuka had been in private and secret areas, where not many eyes could witness them. It would spoil the two reputations as the "laziest shinigami" in division tenth, though it would be a lie. But Izanagi plans to maintain that perspective in the eyes of his division. Moreso, he had ended up meeting other shinigami when he takes a stroll around the Gotei 13 when he needs a break from the Tenth division. There he met the likes of Shoumetsu from his former Division of Eleven. They fought now and then for training purposes but nothing much more outside of that. They didn't bond but had small talks and have drinks. Next, he met Himari, which wasn't that special. They didn't have any training sessions like Shoumetsu but only talk, or instead, she did most of the talking and only nodded his head and spoke a few words. Then, of course, Izanagi would find himself in Squad Four when he needs them for healing all the injuries he acquired over the years. There he meant Junko, one of the seated members of that squad who usually attends Izanagi's wounds. The only person he is initially close to had been Shizuka. Everyone else has been kept at arm's length.
90 Years Later
Izanagi had spent mainly with Shizuka the entire time years that has passed. But, then, both building chemistry between one another and swapping secrets from Izanagi sharing a memory of his split personality, from Akuma killing his parents to Shizuka telling Izanagi about a secret relationship with someone outside of the soul society. A relationship that only Izanagi is the first to ever know about throughout the members of the Gotei 13. It didn't honestly bother Izanagi about this relationship Shizuka has with someone that isn't a shinigami. Was there such a law about dating outside a race? If there is such a law that exists, Izanagi isn't aware of it. Then again, Izanagi is hardly aware of any laws of the Gotei 13; they were mostly a hassle to remember, though it should be essential to remember.
At the beginning of the day, Izanagi had patrolled the World of the Living, Naruki City. It has been quiet in the town aside from the usual hollow sightings from time to time. But after all this time, not once did the arrancars had appeared since that day 100 years ago. Instead, he roamed most of the day in an artificial body to remain from being hunted and behave more human-like. One hand was tucked away inside his pocket as he wandered with nothing but the rolled-up tobacco, burning the end of the paper. And still doesn't appear to have changed much at all, aside from having his hair cut back to how it was initially; short and ruffled. Some time ago, Izanagi's hair had grown out more and never truly focused on it that much. Until Junko was the one who gave him the cut his hair, for it was far too wild-looking. Spending some days in the World of the Living allowed Izanagi to learn much more about how humans live, food, and other things.
Beep Beep Beep.
Beep Beep Beep.
Beep Beep Beep.
The phone was constantly beeping, which any shinigami with a denreishinki knows what this alert means. Izanagi grabs the phone from inside his jacket pocket and peers at the phone screen, clicking the side of the button with just the thumb. Upon the lit screen shows a bright red dot representing a hollow, and it was nearby in the center of an area. Placing the phone back inside the jacket, he pulled out what happens to be a golden dispenser with a duck face on it—pushing upwards with the thumb of the duck's face and, while bringing it up towards the mouth, a small spherical pill drop inside of Izanagi. Immediately his entire soul split from the artificial body and into his proper form, a spiritual being that no human could see with their physical eyes. The only exception is that there are humans that are spiritually aware. So his faux body would be left behind and in which case they would follow Izanagi and head towards the location that was alerted earlier.
Izanagi entered into his shunpo, which took far lesser steps than he was capable of before. The third seated shinigami only flash step from the street to the top of the nearest building and begin to bounce from building to building and use hoho now and then to gain some extra coverage. This technique was one of the significant areas Izanagi trained to further his skills with his footwork and concentration.
After some time had passed, it didn't take that long to reach the destination. The closer the seated shinigami got, the louder the Izanagi could hear the loud aggravating screeching the creature was making. Finally, he saw the hollow creeping towards what appears to be two children huddled toward, unable to move due to fear. The hollow was indeed intimidating to anyone who does not possess the ability to slay its miserable life. Thankfully, Izanagi was one nearby that is more than capable of dealing with the masked monster. Both children screamed as the large hollow grew closer. It raised one hand towards them, wearing this creepy smile.
Izanagi quickly jumped into another high-speed movement and appeared directly behind the bulky hollow. He was in the motion of swinging his zanpakuto horizontally while removing it from the sheath simultaneously. It was quick and precise, only the sound of a metal ring, once Izanagi had the sword wholly removed from its case. Izanagi's strike was unhindered, cleaving through the air with no problem, as well as slicing through the target, purifying its ugly soul into nothing. Upon landing, Izanagi fixed his purple gaze upon the two almost hollow food victims. Where they were as scared but still showed some doubt about the stranger. Both kids were seemingly transparent, so it is obvious they are dead, no longer capable of going back to their bodies. There is no telling how long these pulses been out here before that hollow attacked them.
"Alright be still you two. I'm sending your asses to the Soul Society, capeesh?"
He leans towards them while bumping their heads with the blunt end of his zanpakuto; they both light up blue. The feeling of dread had been lifted and on to a new life beyond this world. They both looked at one another and then smiled towards Izanagi as if they felt their souls made them feel happy, or perhaps there was another reason.
"Thank you, Mister."
They both said in unison while Izanagi didn't say anything but watched them disappear and finally made their exit from the World of the Living. He pulled out a square box that held all the cigarettes, the one he had on the way here gotten lost somehow. So Izanagi had to go through the process of lighting up his bud all over again.
"Guess it's time for me to head back too."
Izanagi blew his smoke out and then placed it back inside his mouth while raising the right arm that held Jūryoku and stabbed the air with his blade. Ripples emerged from the spatial area Izanagi had stuck his blade at, where he turned the handle like a key and then appeared was the senkaimon door—placing his sword back into its case and walking through the given bright path before him. The further he went, the more his entire frame wasn't clear but more silhouette shaped. The door would have automatically shut behind him, and he was headed back to the Soul Society.
Leaving Naruki City>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Southwest
