Hello, and welcome to Bleach Unlimited. It's a fanfiction since it's entirely based on the Bleach universe. However, no characters from the manga are present. Maybe later, as a crossover, but not in the story itself.
Bleach is a mainstream yet charming story that can, in my opinion, be improved alot by throwing away mercantile considerations, such as "Good guys shall always triumph". As a direct consequence, while reading this story, you should be prepared to see some characters you like die, or worse.
Also, yes, the characters are overpowered compared to Bleach. It's not meant to downsize in any way the characters of Tite Kubo. I swear ! It's a dramatization thing.
Plenty of violence, non-explicit mature themes, coarse language, and morally twisted ideas.
Disclaimers : I don't own Bleach, and English is not my native language, so don't be surprised if you find really stupid mistakes.
Chapter One – The Soul Fortress
Jake Johannsen, 10th division Lieutenant
Today, the Commander had summoned the Captains.
That means I had to go and follow my boss into the imperial tower, and wait outside the great conference room like a watchdog.
I hated that.
Not only because of the watchdog thing.
But because in occasions like this, Captain Hunter goes even lamer than usual.
That means a lot.
_Hey Jakie, get dressed already, we're gonna be late.
_Tcht. Okay, captain.
I grabbed the smart-ass that served as a poor excuse for my soulcutter, and went outside. Hunter was here, waiting.
Godfuckingdammit.
Every time I see her, I hope she doesn't open her mouth ever again. Her personality is a real insult to her badassery.
I looked at her flashy green hair, her manly tattoos, and her cool outfit, but even this could not brighten me up.
_Come oooon, don't make such a long face, said she in an air-headed manner.
_Shaddup, Captain.
_You're boring.
_Not as much as you.
I went ahead. Don't get me wrong, my captain is truly worthy of her rank. Both her Presence, her martial skill and the power of her soulcutter are astonishing. But. She was. Goddamned. Stupid.
At least, in public, she holds a serious face. It gives a good image of our division. In fact, that's what tricked me into training hard to become her Lieutenant. If only I had knew...
On our way to the tower, we met another Captain-Lieutenant couple. And, oh boy, it was the 3rd division couple. Captain goodie-nicey Edward Parker and Lieutenant Kelly Hartigan, pure hatred standing on two legs.
Some say they were our images in a mirror. Pretty accurate. All four of us were aware of that, and became friends.
Sorta.
Because the 3rd division are the champion duelists, and they are all very dangerous people. With only a handful of exceptions, none of which being into the head duo.
_Hey Sarah, how are you doing in this fine day ? Chanted the unbearable 3rd division captain.
_I'm fine, thanks.
Were we in private quarters, she would have answered with the same idiotic joy. But she was really thorough in her disguise in public places. Hence her solemn answer.
Parker knew it, and proceeded with the pleasant conversation as they went ahead of us Lieutenants.
At the corner of a street, some young Reaper in a hurry bumped into Kelly.
He realized how deep in the shit he was very quickly. My colleague had a big reputation.
_I'm sorry, Lady Lieutenant, I didn't see you, please forgive me !
_No.
She caught the arm of the youngster, before breaking it in a quick and precise move.
The poor guy burst in tears of pain as she resumed to walk.
_I really wish you could stop that, Kelly, said Parker in a concerned voice.
_Good for ye, Captain.
Yeah, that's just how charming she is. And these kind of scenes happened very often, for all sorts of meaningless reasons. Sometimes, she didn't even need any, and just hit some random guy passing by.
_At least I didn't have plans for today, said Hartigan, referring to the Captain meeting.
_Bullshit, you always have. Or are you telling me you already killed your mandatory 9 beings of the day ?
_Yes. Plus two more.
_Well, I guess there is plenty of things to kill these days.
We began to ascend the staircase around the tower. Slowly, the big walls surrounding the Soul Fortress lowered, and showed what was, normally, the Field of Souls.
But instead of calm, civilized ghosts, stood the unending army of Hollows, from the most insignificant to the most fearsome Vasto Lorde. They were besieging our sacred place for two weeks now.
_Yeah, said Kelly. Plenty, and then some.
Elisabeth d'Arsenault, 6th Division Captain
The two lasts captains entered the room. They were right in time, as expected from Parker. Hunter left probably to meet him, otherwise she would have been late, as usual.
The powerful voice of the Commander spoke up right after all captains were seated.
_My fellow captains. I, John King, Captain of the 1st Division, hereby declare the state of emergency.
John, my husband, with a body of a well-built 50-year old man, was in his habitual outfit, a modern business suit, black for the color of the Reapers, and white on the back for him being a Captain. His beard was well cut, and he was as noble as usual.
_No shit ? Commented Fury, the hot-headed one. You're almost fifteen days late, old man !
_I didn't gather you here to cry over a little bunch of lost souls, answered John, untroubled. This minor trouble will be addressed to in due time.
If he hadn't warn me this morning, I would probably have been just as stunned as the eleven other captains. We all knew the sheer power of our Commander, but wouldn't have thought it would prevent him from considering such a siege, in which hundreds of Reapers fell every day, as a troublesome issue.
_The affair that gathers us together this morning is a far more troubling one. I have received trustworthy intelligence that led me to think...No. Know that there are traitors among our ranks.
_What ?
The all-around gentle Captain Parker jumped on his feet upon hearing this.
_Tell me who they are and I shall erase them at once ! Shouted he in the enraged voice he spoke with so rarely.
_Calm down, Edward. I don't know who they are, but I do hope you, as well as everyone in this room, will do your best to find them.
_Of course, Commander ! Answered Parker. But at least tell us at which level of the Reapers these fiends are now !
_They are among us right now, as well as among our Lieutenants. You can now see why I consider this far more concerning than a bunch of young lost souls who don't know who they're dealing with.
_Far less fun, too, said Fury.
_However, in order to ease the population's terror, four of you shall send your Lieutenants deal with the Hollows for the day.
_Lieutenants. They always get the fun.
This time, it was not Fury, but the Captain of the 11th division, our resident mad scientist, Margaret Carradine.
_It's their job, stated Parker, who had regained composure. Kelly will go, she's more easy to live with when she's been satisfied.
_My Lieutenant shall go too, said Hunter. Same reason.
_Very well, said King. I'll let the others think about can now leave. All your suspicions are to be reported to me without delay. Good day.
Jake Johannsen, 10th division Lieutenant
_You say that, but what you really want is to get some time alone with your dear Parker.
_Maybe, Jakie, but that's an order. Go now, give them Hollows a good whoopin !
I sighed. I didn't really like fighting all that much. Kelly, on the other hand, was already on her way. I followed her. At least I was making myself useful.
_Is that a joke ? Said the moth-shaped Adjucha leading the Hollow squad. Two of you ?
_Order of the King. Four Lieutenants. The other two are guarding the eastern gate.
_Well, little Reaper, as of now we still haven't encountered any real opponents among you. And I heard Lieutenants are squat compared to us Adjuchas. You should...
_Your informant must be mexican, said I. Here in America, we Lieutenants are almost on a Vasto Lorde level. The best Reapers of occident were gathered here two centuries ago to deal with the explosion of the Hollow population.
_No shit ? Then prove it !
_Okay...Kelly, mind if I take this fucker ?
_Yeah, he's not enough to be considered a quality target, I'll go for quantity.
The Adjucha was obviously annoyed, and skeptical. Well, it's true that we don't show our strength often.
I called my good-for-nothing Soulcutter.
_Squash them, Starlight Mirror.
From its basic form of a double-edged short sword, my weapon grew into his Released shape. In front of me, the sentient hollows began to laugh.
_What's that, a tennis racket ?
Okay, they pissed me off.
I used one of my specialties, the sword attack while still in flashstep.
I appeared behind the Hollow leader, as four of his servants fell.
_And before you ask, that's not a capacity of Starly. He's shit. But I'm stronger when I'm angry, so I keep using him.
_What the hell ? Shouted the monster. That's supposed to be impossible !
_In America, we do whatever the fuck we want.
Kelly had already gotten down to business, crushing Hollows effortlessly.
King was right. For now, the siege wasn't a threat to us ranked Reapers.
I just wondered about this weird story of traitors.
Bah, for now, I'll just purify some monsters.