Ken walked back into the front of the shop where Ken and Brad were talking. Ken approached them and informed them on Kari's condition.
"Looks like she used up a lot of Reishi unlocking her powers so she's gonna be out for a while." ken sighed as he pulled a chair from the wall and sat down.
Kage took the time tp dust off and smooth out the spot where he'd grabbed Evelas clothes, though with Evela right there in front of him, he was stuck in the doorway. Of course, he was in Evelas way as well. Behind him though, he heard that squad 11 shinigami come back in, talking about that girl again. A blood vessel throbbed in his forehead, but there was nothing he could do about it right now. So he stepped back and gave squad 12 reaper a chance to get in, casting a scowl over at Ken in the meantime.
Ken noticed the scowl on Kage's face and instinctively felt that he had done something wrong, or that there was something wrong with Kage.
"Is something the matter Kage?" Ken asked with genuine concern in his voice.
Kage scoffed at him and walked out the door. With his temper, his spiritual pressure rose around him the reishi surrounding his body pushing it open without him laying a finger on it. Without answering his question, he left the shop and walked out into the street where the battle had raged moments before. Humans were gathering, why wouldn't they? A huge hole in the middle of the street, explosions and other loud noises. He only hoped they wouldn't turn their attention to this shop, though noting the cracked windows, that was a definite possibility. But Urahara had to be ready for the occasional human visit. Or at least he hoped so.
Ken got up and walked after Kage, pushing the screen door open with his hand rather than his Reishi . He didn't like it when people blew him off and ignored him.
"Hey! What's your deal!? I just asked whether you are okay or not!" Ken asked even louder than before. He ran over to where Kage was standing and faced him.
Kage turned around on the spot and glared over at Ken. His eyes narrowed into peircing slits for a moment before he spoke.
"Yes, I'm fine. As for my 'deal', you just don't seem to get it, do you? Let me ask you a very simple question that even someone from squad 11 should be able to answer: What is the one difference between me, you, Brad, Evela, that squad 10 guy, and that girl? I know it might be hard for you to figure out, so here, I'll help you: SHE'S HUMAN!" Kage told him loudly, not caring who heard or might even be listening.
Ken was dumbstruck by Kage's anger towards Kari. He knew that he would be met with some resistance about this, but flat out opposition was something that he was unprepared for. Kari had a power that would undoubtably attract hollows. She needed her power if she was going to survive.
"Her being human is exactly WHY i helped her! And I am damn sure I did the right thing!" Ken roared back.
Ken's agression towards him only fanned the flames of Kages temper. He held it back though even as Ken yelled at him, though that wouldn't last.
"No, you did NOT do the right thing! Humans DIE! That's what they do! And here you are with a particularly strong human trying to teach her how to use the spirtual power inside her to fight off hollows. You know what those are called? QUINCY!" Kage roared right back at him. His breathing got much deeper as he balled his hands into fists.
"Exactly what are you trying to do, bring back the whole quincy clan? There's a reason that they were wiped out, and in case you weren't keeping up on current events, one of them just got into the soul society and caused a rather large amount of damage, he and the other interlopers. And here you are, trying to make more as if having ONE quincy running around wasn't bad enough."
"SHUT UP! There is a HUGE difference between her and a GODDAMN QUINCY!!! You, my friend, seem to be confused on the definition of the word. Quincys only use Bow and Arrows. Quincys destroy hollows! Soul and all! SHE only knows how to create a Barrier! How could having the ability to defend yourself be a BAD THING!?" Ken couldn't believe how one sided Kage was, doesn't he know that all things, living or dead, have the right to fight to defend themselves!?
Kage had enough and rushed forward at Ken, grabbing him by the shoulder and pushing him back against the doorframe with a heavy *thud*. His spiritual pressure was growing as the reishi poured out around him.
"Just defending herself? Just defending herself and anyone else that happens to be in danger? I wouldn't expect someone from squad 11 to be any kind of a history buff, but here's a lesson for you. When the quincy were still in numbers and force, they thought the same thing. Hold off the hollows, protect the people until the shinigami could come and seal them. Then that wasn't enough, they started KILLING hollows instead of letting them be sealed, and nearly wiped out the SOUL SOCIETY as well as THEIR OWN WORLD! THAT is why there aren't any left, because we had to exterminate them before they did the same to themselves and took US with them. And now you're trying to start it all over again, you incouragable FOOL!"
Ken was getting angry, Kage was taking this all the wrong way. How could he not see, we are here to protect the Human world. If they display the ability to protect themselves from spiritual threats, then they deserve a fighting chance! The more Ken thought about this, the more Reishi he began to emit.
"My friend, you still don't see the point. She is not a Quincy. She is a target. SHE IS A TARGET! These abductions are happening to people like HER! If these humans with high spiritual pressures are allowed to disappear and die like you say, then we are no better than the Quincys. If we do nothing, THEN WE ARE CONDEMNING THESE PEOPLE AND CONDONING THEIR DEATHS!" Ken roared as his reishi built up to rival Kage's.
Kage snapped. His hand let go of Kens shoulder, replacing it instead with his arm across his throat. That arm occupied, his other reached down and grabbed the wrist of the arm he saw Ken holding his zanpakuto in, restraining it.
"I'm not your friend, and YOU are missing the point. We are not here to decide who lives and dies, we are here to guide the plus' back to the soul society. And that means we stop anything that disrupts that. That means hollows. And that means quincy. Put her back and let what happens happen. And be glad that I'm not calling for her execution along with all the other quincy." Kage stated coldly. As out of character as this rage felt, inside he could feel the glee coming from Gleam.
"Kack! Gahg Huck" Ken struggled to breath as Kage's arm cut off his wind pipe.
Ryukiba! I need help! Ken called out to his Zanpakuto. Kage was emitting such a strong reishi that Ken couldn't push him off.
"
Ken, you know what you have to do if you want my help... " Came the reply from the back of Ken's mind.
"You Really shouldn't threaten me...or maybe you should...Regard*gasp*less, she is here, and she can't return home, not yet... As for your arm on my throat, that has got to go... Ryukiba...Take Flight!" Ken rasped.
Before Kage's eyes, Ken transformed. His eyes became catlike and his Irises turned yellow. Kens ears contorted and became slanted and sharp at the tips. Fingernails turned to claws as well as his toenails. Finally, Ken's canine teeth grew over his lips and his tongue split into a fork.
Surprise gripped Kage for only a moment as Ken began to transform. This was new, and new was dangerous. He had no idea how to handle this new attack. The best option was to back off and re-evaluate.
The next moment, he was gone. Using his shunpo, Kage stepped from there at Kens throat clear across the street. Over such a short distance, he had the time to stand up again straight.
"What kind of beast are you..." Kage said as he reached into his robes and grabbed the hilt of his zanpakuto. As soon as his fingers grazed the cords that wrapped around the handle, his fingers prickled with Gleams excitement.
"Such power...I may only get one shot at this. Threat level is high, only option is destruction."
Ken, no, Ryukiba stepped forward and roared into the air. He didn't know where Kage had run to, but he had tried to threaten his master.
"KAGE!!! YOU TRIED TO HURT MY FRIEND!!! AND NOW I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR IT! GWOAAAAAAR!" Ken roared in a two tone voice. One voice was his, the other, Ryukiba.
"I'd like to see you try." Kage said plainly. Gleam's excitement was palpable, but Kage was thinking better of it. He knew what she wanted. She'd be beyond ecstatic for him to sink her into the other shinigami, just to get a drink of his spiritual power. But he wasn't about to do that. This...beast, was strong, but it didn't seem any brighter than its host, nor any faster. that gave him an idea.
"Let's see how you handle this!" he called out from across the street. He wanted this beasts attention. Drawing his hand away from his zanpakuto and holding his arms out to the side, he gathered his spiritual power.
"SPIDERS DANCE! BAKUDO #4: HAINAWA! CRAWLING ROPE!"
Kage clapped his hands together and then flung them apart. From both his palms stretched a yellow rope of concentrated reishi bound into a single cord. One hand thrust towards Ken, the other behind him. From the arm behind him the rope struck a concrete wall and embedded itself, anchoring firmly to the building. The other end, true to its name, lashed out at Ken like a viper, striking him like a whip and wrapping around whatever it could grab.
Kage wasn't done though. Using his shunpo, he suddenly stepped across the street. He landed with his hands already clasped together.
"HAINAWA!" he called out as he did the same thing again, binding another one of Kens limbs to Uraharas shop. He stepped again, and again, always to a different angle of attack.
"HAINAWA! HAINAWA! HAINAWA! HAINAWA!"
Each step he lashed out with another rope, Creating a web of reishi ropes with Ken at the center. His last step he stopped kneeling with both hands on the ground, anchoring both robes to the pavement before throwing both hands forward and throwing the last two of the eight ropes at Ken.
Much to Kage's surprise, Ken broke through his binds using his immense reishi before the final ropes connected.
"Kage! You are going to have to do better than that!" Ryukiba taunted as he snatched the final 2 ropes and ripped them out of the street.
Ken utilized his heightened wind reishi to launch himself at Kage. Midflight, Ken threw the ropes like a whip so that the end of the ropes wrapped around Kage's waist. Ken threw the ropes up in the air and launched Kage into the sky.
Kage didn't have time to react with the speed that Ken launched himself at him, breaking through the bakudo like they were strings. The two he grabbed were solid enough, and there was no time to counter it before he was flung up in the air.
"Not good!" he said to himself as he was accelerated upwards. He grabbed his zanpakuto and drew it quickly, cutting through the ropes with ease since they were his. Once free of them. he vanished from sight, flash stepping back down to the roof of the shop and then back into the street.
However, this was starting to get taxing. One step to get away from him, eight more for spiders dance, and two more to get back down to the ground, as well as all the traveling he'd been doing, and then all the kido. His reserves weren't limitless. But this was not the time to run out.
"You're a strong beast. You're right, I'm gonna have to do better. No more playing around!"
"You shouldn't have been playing around to begin with!" Ken had appeared right behind Kage. "You may be fast, but I can see you when flash step!" Ken's powers were truly shown when Ryukiba was in the pilot seat. When Ryukiba took over, Ken's abilities nearly doubled in power.
Ryukiba quickly clapped his hands together, slowly pulling them apart, and gathered his Wind Reishi into the pocket that formed.
WIND BLAST! Ryukiba thrusted Ken's hands onto Kage's back and unleashed an extreme blast of wind. Sending Kage rocketing across the street and into the building on the opposite side.
Kage's eyes opened wide when Ken suddenly flash stepped behind him.
How....? The answer would have to wait though. Spinning around on the spot, he had just enough time to throw his arms infront of him, gathering the reishi around him into a cushion. There wasn't enough time for kido, only to brace himself as he was thrown backwards. Before he could hit anything too hard though before using his own shunpo. he waited to hit the building though, guiding himself so that he crashed through a window. Once he was out of sight, he stepped out from the building and into the alleyway. The reishi he had left coiled around him like a curtain.
"Bakudo #26: Kyokko!" he said under his breath. The reishi enveloped him and cloaked him from sight, sealing off any trace of his spiritual power in the process. For the moment, he was safe, but fighting this beast was going to be nigh impossible.
"Well, Gleam" he said, looking down at his zanpakuto, "do YOU have any ideas?"
