Sorry, That's My Child

"You bastard..." Renji gritted his teeth, the shock in his heart swiftly replaced by fury.

He couldn't accept that he had actually been forced into such a state by a barely weaned human brat.

"Looks like you won't understand the gap between us unless I show you what I'm really capable of." Abarai Renji resumed his stance. The segmented whip of Hebi-o-Maru coiled around him, making clacking sounds. "Don't think that lucky hit just now means you can beat me!"

"Cut the crap!" Ichigo Kurosaki's fighting spirit was thoroughly ignited. His spiritual pressure boiled throughout his body as he gripped the enormous hilt with both hands, his eyes firmer than ever. "Bring it on!"

Before his voice had even faded, Ichigo charged forward again, moving even faster than before.

He didn't know Flash Step or demon arts, nor did he understand how to release a Zanpakuto. He relied entirely on his overwhelming spiritual pressure and bodily instincts.

"Too naive!" Renji snorted as Hebi-o-Maru whipped out. "You can't rely on momentum alone in a fight!"

Hebi-o-Maru was like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, winding around Ichigo's flank from a tricky angle. Ichigo twisted sharply and raised his enormous Zanpakuto horizontally before him, accurately blocking the strike. The clash of metal rang harshly as sparks flew in all directions.

"You blocked it?" Renji was startled, then grinned savagely. "But my Hebi-o-Maru isn't that simple!"

He flicked his wrist. The segmented whip of Hebi-o-Maru that had been blocked suddenly split apart, winding around Ichigo's blade like a living creature before coiling toward his arm.

Ichigo lowered his head, leaving his expression impossible to see. He merely raised his Zanpakuto and charged at Renji like a truck. Under the suppression of his spiritual pressure, Hebi-o-Maru was sent flying, leaving Renji completely exposed.