"Lieutenant of the Third Division," Izuru Kira said, sounding utterly exhausted. "Izuru Kira."
"The Third Division?" Abirama raised an eyebrow. "So you're Gin Ichimaru's subordinate."
Izuru Kira's grip tightened around his katana.
"I see." Abirama gave a derisive laugh. "I heard he betrayed Soul Society, and I wondered what that was about. Now that I've seen you, I get it. With a pathetic little coward like you under him, I suppose anywhere would do as long as it got him away from you, right?"
Abirama's pupils shrank. The air under his feet burst apart.
Even with such a quick reaction, a cut still opened across his face.
"That name... please don't throw it around in front of me." Blood dripped from Izuru Kira's Zanpakutō, and a chilling hostility spread across his already gloomy face. "One way or another, death is waiting... and you don't want yours to be too painful, do you?"
"Oh?" Abirama's grin turned savage. "So you can make a face like that after all."
…
"Mm." Within the wall of flames, Gin Ichimaru sensed the shift in Reiatsu and let out a faint sound.
"Ichimaru," Kaname Tōsen said, catching it at once. "What is it?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking..." Gin Ichimaru's smile remained the same as ever. "Izuru seems rather angry."
"Are you worried about..." Kaname Tōsen's ears twitched slightly. "The subordinate you abandoned?"
"Not really..." Gin Ichimaru narrowed his eyes. "Knowing he's doing well... is enough."
…
Abirama licked the blood seeping from the wound on his cheek. "That's the expression I wanted to see... the face of someone ready to fight!"
He reached for the Zanpakutō at his waist and released his Resurrección without hesitation. "Scalp, Águila!"
Crimson wings spread wide. Red feathers covered his limbs as Águila soared into the sky, his hands and feet turning into claws, his nails curved like short daggers.
With a flick of his body, several feathers tore free from his wings and shot toward Izuru Kira.
"Bakudō #39, Enkōsen!" Izuru Kira raised his fingertips. Reiatsu, wrapped around spiritual energy, formed a circular shield in front of him.
In the very next instant, the crimson feathers shattered it.
"Hahahahahaha!" Watching Izuru Kira dodge in a panic, Águila spread his wings, casting a massive shadow below. "Don't think those are ordinary feathers. These are steel feathers that can shatter anything they touch! I'll use these steel wings, heavier than rock itself, to make that dead face of yours live up to its name!"
"Wings..." Izuru Kira stood on the rooftop and looked up at Águila. "If they're too heavy, don't they become a burden?"
"Don't mistake an Arrancar..." Águila beat his wings fiercely, sending more feathers flying toward Izuru Kira. "For a frail Shinigami!"
The flying feathers cut like blades. Izuru Kira swung his katana to block them, sparks scattering among the flurry of feathers.
Águila beat both wings again and again. A dense barrage of feathers swallowed the rooftop, shattering brick and stone as dust billowed upward.
Using the dust as cover, Izuru Kira used Shunpo to appear behind Águila. "Raise your head! Wabisuke!"
The blade of his Zanpakutō suddenly extended, its tip bending twice at right angles into a hooked shape.
"That's it, that's it!" Águila swung his wing at Izuru Kira. "Once you realize your opponent has the advantage at range, of course you look for a chance to get in close... but I'm even stronger up close!"
The crimson wing collided with Wabisuke, and the terrifying force sent Izuru Kira flying.
Águila immediately lashed out with his talons in pursuit. "What can that bizarre katana of yours even cut. Hm?"
His wing suddenly grew heavy. Águila's body lurched to one side, tipping over. "My wing..."
"It got heavier." Izuru Kira closed in again.
Águila lifted his other wing to block, but the moment it was struck, it sank sharply.
"Damn it!" Águila's movements slowed at once. "Your katana..."
Steel rang out as Izuru Kira swung repeatedly, striking Águila's wings again and again.
Águila could no longer use Reishi to stay airborne. His entire body plunged downward and smashed through a three-story villa.
"Anything struck by my katana doubles in weight. Strike it a second time, and it doubles again. Strike it a third time, and it weighs eight times what it did at first." Izuru Kira walked forward slowly. "That is my Zanpakutō... Wabisuke's ability."
Just as Águila had said, Wabisuke had a strange shape.
With its hooked blade, the spine was on the outside and the edge on the inside. Compared to an ordinary katana, it was far harder to cut anything apart.
But precisely because of that structure, Wabisuke's ability could be used to its fullest.
After all, if the target were severed, the weighted portion would fall away, and it would no longer restrict the opponent's movement.
"You think this is enough to hold me down?" Águila roared. Blood burst from his chest as another pair of wings tore free from his back. "I..."
A string of crisp impacts rang out. Izuru Kira calmly swung his katana, adding weight to the newly grown wings as well.
BOOM!
Águila crashed into the ground, straining to prop himself up with both arms.
Izuru Kira struck them twice more.
His arms were crushed and snapped under the terrifying weight. Stark white bone fragments pierced through his Hierro, and Águila glared at him with bloodshot, ruptured eyes, unwilling to accept it. "You despicable bastard. Playing tricks like this... you call that a warrior's battle?"
"Despicable?" Izuru Kira looked down at Águila. "Ah, I see. Shout before the battle to stir up your fighting spirit, then face your opponent openly and honorably once it begins. If that is how a warrior is supposed to act, then I truly cannot understand it."
"The Third Division's flower is the marigold. Its meaning is despair, and that is what the Third Division upholds." Izuru Kira glanced at the wall of flames burning in the distant sky. "Fighting is not about acting like a hero. It is not about whether it feels satisfying, either. Battle must be filled with despair, darkness, fear... and misery. Only then will people fear battle and choose ways to solve their problems without fighting."
Izuru Kira slowly approached Águila. "I believe my Zanpakutō, Wabisuke, is the one blade among all Zanpakutō that best embodies the Third Division's beliefs. The weight of anything it strikes continues to increase, and the enemy, unable to bear that weight, is forced down to the ground. Then, inevitably..."
Águila struggled to lift his head, staring in terror at the approaching Izuru Kira.
"Just like you are now, he sticks his head out as if apologizing." Izuru Kira brought Wabisuke closer to Águila. "Weren't you curious about what a bizarre katana like this can cut?"
The hook-shaped Wabisuke caught around Águila's neck, its sharp edge fitting perfectly against his skin.