The Substitute Shinigami Sub-Arc 2
A/N: Ichigo walks down the path towards a new world. He knows it is not an easy path, but it is a necessary path. A recent nightmare has Ichigo thinking about the possible dangers of the forthcoming battle, but as he thinks about his family and friends, his determination to protect them continues to grow. There are many dangers ahead of him, but he will not give up. He will protect those he cares for until the end.
Welcome every to the second one shot in the Bleach section of stories. I want to thank everyone who has followed my stories. I enjoy writing and I will continue to write these stories as long as I can. This story connects to 'The Substitute Shinigami' and 'Her Endurance.' Anyhow, here is the one shot, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Bleach.
*SC* = Scene Change
"Talking"
'Thoughts'
Dangers of the Future
It is a nice sunny day, as birds chirp on tree branches and rabbits run through the forest ground. A young man with orange hair and black robes walks through the forest wondering where he is. He is unable to tell where he is, but for some reason, he feels something is wrong. The young man continues to walk forward listening and watching for signs of human life. A few seconds later, the wind picks up, but with this wind comes an unusual smell. Unfortunately, for the young man, he is able to recognize the smell. It is the smell of blood. The young man decides to run towards the source, but he stops the moment he hears his name.
"Ichigo," said a voice.
Ichigo turns around looking for the source of the voice, but he does not find anybody. Ichigo turns back towards the source of the smell and begins to run towards it again. A few seconds later, Ichigo arrives at the source of the smell only to recognize a familiar sight. In front of him is the familiar street where he lives. Ichigo turns around only to realize the forest is gone.
"Where did the forest go?" questioned Ichigo to himself.
"Ichigo," said the voice.
Ichigo turns around facing the familiar street. However, unlike before, the street now has blood covering the area. A moment ago, it was clean and nice, except for the unusual stench. Ichigo decides to walk forward. He narrows his eyes waiting for anything to happen. Immediately, Ichigo feels weight on his back causing Ichigo to reach for his back. His hand comes across the hilt of a blade. He recognizes the hilt as part of his zanpakuto. Feeling a bit more confident, Ichigo continues forward as he heads towards his home.
Soon, Ichigo comes across his home, which is in better shape the rest of the block. As he approaches the door, Ichigo realizes the smell is coming from the house. The young man's heart begins to beat faster as he dreads what is on the other side of the door. Slowly, grabs the handle and twists the doorknob. He opens the door and immediately the awful smell strikes his nose. Ichigo covers his nose with the cloth of his uniform as he walks into the house.
"Dad," said Ichigo waiting for any response.
Unfortunately, Ichigo does not hear anyone speak. Ichigo walks further into the house looking for any signs of life.
"Yuzu, Karin," said Ichigo, but once again, there are no responses.
Ichigo's concern continues to grow when none of his family responds to him.
"Ichigo, he…," said the voice causes Ichigo to turn around hoping to find the source of the voice.
Once again, there is nobody there. Ichigo wonders whose voice it is, but it does seem familiar to him. Ichigo exits the house, but the moment he walks outside, he notices another change of the scenery. In front of him is a group of dead bodies lying on the ground. Ichigo approaches the bodies only to realize a familiar person.
"D-Dad," said Ichigo as he runs to his father's body.
He stares at the man with his heart pounding and his eyes clenched. Soon, Ichigo opens his eyes and turns his attention to the other fallen bodies. He notices Sado, Uryu, and Tatsuki's bodies on the ground with blood pouring around them. Ichigo turns his head a little further and notices the bodies of Karin and Yuzu. What happened here? Who is responsible? Ichigo rises from the ground as he hears the same voice again.
"Ichigo, help," said the voice.
Finally, Ichigo understands whose voice it is and turns his attention towards the direction of the voice. How Ichigo is able to hear the voice so far is beyond him, but he will get there as soon as he can. Ichigo begins running at amazing speed hoping to save one of the people he cares for the most.
'Orihime,' thought Ichigo.
Soon, Ichigo reaches the end of the block only to notice numerous shinigami bodies lying around. Ichigo's eyes widen as he notices the bodies of Renji, Rangiku, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Rukia.
"I-Ichigo," said Rukia as Ichigo runs to the wounded shinigami.
"Rukia, stay awake. What happened?" asked Ichigo in a panic tone. "Where's Orihime. I know she can heal you."
"H-He has her," said Rukia as her voice begins to weaken. "S-Save h-her…."
Rukia's eyes close as Ichigo clenches her body to him. Her bloodstains wet his shinigami uniform as his tears run down Ichigo's face. Ichigo opens his eyes the moment he hears Orihime's voice.
"Ichigo, help me," said Orihime.
Ichigo gently places Rukia down as he stands up and then runs towards Orihime's voice. Suddenly, Ichigo arrives at a ruin Soul Society. He does not understand how he even arrived here, but he will not let it stop him. He must save Orihime.
"Hello Ichigo," said another familiar voice.
Ichigo turns around and comes to face with the one man who has escaped his clutches. The orange-haired man growls at the familiar man with pure hatred in his eyes. He clenches his fists as his eyes fall upon another familiar sight.
"Let her go Balder," said Ichigo.
"Why should I?" inquired Balder. "You should suffer. No, you must suffer. You must know what it means to lose everything close to you."
"Let her go!" shouted Ichigo as he grabs his zanpakuto.
"No," replied Balder. "I want you to beg."
Ichigo clenches his zanpakuto as he notices the fear in Orihime's expression. Soon, Ichigo loosens the grip on his sword.
"Please, let her go," said Ichigo as he lowers his weapon.
"Very well," said Balder as he stabs Orihime with his tonfa.
"No!" shouted Ichigo. "You bastard!"
"I'll let her go all right," said Balder. "Go in peace."
"I-Ic…hi…go," said Orihime with high difficulty. "I…"
"O-Orihime!" yelled Ichigo as he shouts with all of his might.
Soon, Ichigo's world goes dark, as the last sound he hears is Balder's laugh.
*SC*
Ichigo falls out of the bed as he lands on the rocky floor with a hard hit. The orange-haired man brings heavily as he tries to control himself from the horrible nightmare. Soon, Ichigo manages to control his breathing, as he stands up in the nearly empty room. Ichigo focuses his vision on the single bed, the only closet, and the only table.
"It was only a dream," said Ichigo to himself.
Ichigo sighs as he heads towards the bathroom to wash his face. After Ichigo finishes, he decides to head outside to enjoy the wilderness. He only hopes it is daylight. Ten minutes later, Ichigo reaches the entrance of the underground caverns. He looks outside cautiously to make sure no enemies are nearby. Soon after, Ichigo exits the hidden base as he begins to walk outside. For ten minutes, Ichigo walks outside enjoying the greenery as well as the sounds of the exotic animals.
As Ichigo looks towards his left, he notices a familiar person lying on the ground looking towards the sky. Ichigo approaches the black-haired man, who wears an orange training gi, blue boots, and blue wristbands. Ichigo notices the man sit up and he hears a loud stomach growl. Kurosaki decides to approach the man. His footstep on the forest ground causes the black-haired man to turn around and face him.
"Oh, hello," said the black-haired man.
The man spends a decent amount of time staring at Ichigo before the shinigami decides to speak up.
"What are you doing out here?" asked Ichigo.
"Just enjoying the nice weather," responded the black-haired man. "But I'm hungry now and I want to go fishing."
"Oh good, now you can resupply our stock," said Ichigo remembering the man's eating habit. "Please bring something worth a few days."
"All right," said the man as he flies off to find food.
Ichigo sighs as he decides to stay within the area. Kurosaki looks around as his thoughts return to his nightmare. He clenches his fists as he remembers the bodies of his family and friends. He will not allow any of them to die. He swore to himself to protect everyone he loves and will achieve the power needed to do so.
Soon, Ichigo's thoughts come across the faces of his father and two sisters. The images of their bodies continue to flash through his mind as he tries to shake them out of his head. His fear of their deaths in the hands of Balder continues to scare Ichigo. He already lost his mother and he will not lose the rest of his family. Soon, the next image through Ichigo's mind is Orihime. Ever since Ichigo lost his powers, Orihime has been by his side giving him the support that he needed. Sure, Ichigo had his family, but she filled a part of his heart nobody else could. He cannot imagine what will happen if he lost her. No, he will not allow Orihime to die. He will protect her. He will face the entire army of shadow monsters if it meant saving the people that he loves.
Ichigo reaches for his zanpakuto as he grabs it and swings it forward. He looks at the blade having a weird feeling run through him. For the past few weeks, Ichigo feels like there is something else his zanpakuto has that he does not know. In fact, Zangetsu has not been talking to him much. Sure, there are the small talks here and there. However, Ichigo asked Zangetsu about the unusual energy from his zanpakuto, but Zangetsu refused to tell him.
'I feel like there is more to this than Zangetsu is telling me,' thought Ichigo.
Ichigo hears a noise behind him causing the orange-haired man to turn around and face the person. He raises an eyebrow as he looks at a person wearing a brown cloak with a hood covering his head. This person seems very mysterious, yet he also does not seem dangerous.
"Who are you?" asked Ichigo as he raises his zanpakuto just in case he needs it.
"Calm down," said the cloaked man. "I mean no harm. My name is Orion. It is a pleasure to meet you."
The cloaked man removes his hood revealing an elder man with white-silver hair. Ichigo notices the man's beard unshaved and out of place.
"What do you want?" asked Ichigo.
"I am looking for a man who wears an orange training gi and has black spiky hair," said Orion. "He is the person who sent for me."
For some reason, Ichigo can tell that he can trust this man even though he just met him. Ichigo wonders if he should tell the elder man anything, but his gut instinct tells him to trust him.
"Listen, I am the person responsible for gathering certain people to help battle against the shadow monsters and their masters," said Orion. "I need you to trust me. Everything will make sense in the end."
Ichigo decides to put his trust into the man in front of him. He does not know if it is a good thing, but for now, he will allow it.
"He went fishing at one of the nearby lakes," said Ichigo.
"Very well, I'll be back. Just wait at the hidden base," said Orion as he leaves the area.
Ichigo sighs as he walks back to the hidden base. He feels trustful of Orion even though he does not know him well. Soon, Kurosaki returns to the entrance of the hidden base, but he decides not to enter the base. Ichigo walks to a nearby large boulder and sits on it. He takes in a deep breath enjoying the fresh smell of water and leaves. This smell calms Ichigo down, which feels good for him. All these nightmares have been giving Ichigo a hard time sleeping.
Once again, Ichigo's mind goes back to Orihime. He might never see her again. According to his friend, the fight against the shadow monsters might take years to finish. If that is true, then there is a high chance everyone will move on with his or her lives. It could be three years or even ten years before he sees anyone he knows. This thought causes Ichigo to cringe a bit. Who knows how Orihime will move on with her life? She could start dating other people. She could wait for him and end up alone. He cannot allow her to suffer just for him.
'There is nothing I can do,' thought Ichigo. 'Perhaps, I shouldn't have given her the necklace. Now, she might actually wait for me.'
Ichigo sighs as he tries to straighten his thoughts. He should have never given her the necklace and letter. However, he could not let her think he is dead. He wanted to ease her pain, but now he could cause worse pain.
"I have to find a way to end this upcoming war soon," said Ichigo even though he knows it is not going to be easy. "My future is filled with danger."
Ichigo looks towards the sky. Soon, he sees two familiar figures approach from the sky.
'Wait a minute,' thought Ichigo. 'Can that old man actually fly?'
Soon, Orion lands on the ground with Ichigo's friend, who happens to have a large fish with him.
"All right you two," said Orion. "Let's go meet your new allies."
'Our new allies?' wondered Ichigo.
Ichigo did not know there were other people joining the fight, but Orion did state that he is collecting people to help fight against the shadow monsters. The only question remains is where these allies are.
"Where are they?" asked Ichigo.
"Not on this planet, if you are asking that," said Orion.
Ichigo sighs as the black-haired man laughs a bit. Of course, they are on another planet. Ichigo knew that many planets exist in the universe, but he never thought he would live to see it. Still, he does not know how his friend got him on this planet. All his friend did was place two fingers on his forehead and instantly there were on this planet. Then, Ichigo asked how he did that technique only for his friend to say that he learned it from a friend. Ichigo does recalls meeting a talking lion named Eolin, though he disappeared a while back.
Orion creates a seal causing a white light appear around the three figures. Ichigo notices his friend tightening his hold on his fish. Ichigo nods his head side-to-side since he knows his friend will never leave food behind, especially fish. The light becomes brighter enveloping the three figures. Ichigo breathes in heavily.
'My path is not going to be easy. It will be filled with danger,' thought Ichigo. 'My nightmare has only made it seem harder. However, I will not let some nightmare stop me. I will continue onward. I will continue fighting because my family and friends depend on it. My path is dangerous, but I am not alone. Together with my new allies, we will stop this evil. Zangetsu, whatever secrets you are holding from me does not matter. I still trust you. Lend me your strength and together we will stop this darkness. Dad, Yuzu, and Karin, I'll come back home. Renji and Rukia, I hope you and the others take care of my home. Orihime, I will try to come back as soon as I can, please, don't let yourself suffer for me.'
Ichigo closes his eyes as the bright light becomes too much for him. He will face the dangers of the future with determination and heart. His journey begins here.
Ichigo's adventure continues in…
The Galactic Knights: Formation
*SC*
A/N: Here is the end of the one shot. I think this is one of my better one shot. It is probably due to using fewer flashbacks. Anyhow, I want to thank everyone for reading my one shot and please review it. Anyways, this is another step closer to the crossover. I cannot wait.