Chapter One: The Light of Freedom
AN: Disclaimer- I do not own Bleach
It was dark. The light was slipping from Aimamoru's world as she felt the ground rush to meet her. She was now in the world of the living. Her Captain had called her here so that they could talk in private. He said not to bring her Zanpakuto, and like an idiot she listened.
Yet, all she knew at that moment was that her Captain was standing before her, with a smirk on his face. He had released his Zanpakuto, which was supposed to be a water type, and suddenly attacked her.
'How.. how did he strike me? Where is his blade,' Aimamoru's brown eyes widen in realisation as she felt down to the sword in her stomach, blood pooling behind her and staining her long blue hair.
She could not believe that her Captain, whom she fought under for so long, just released his Zanpakuto and attacked without warning. Aizen, had just fatally struck his Lieutenant, Aimamoru, through the stomach.
"I thought you were stronger. How pathetic, you can't even understand what just happened, can you? And this whole time, I thought you were the one to stop my plans. Seeing you now I know I was wrong about you." Aizen's voice rang in her ears as she tried to pull the sword out of her, but all of her strength was gone. "You are so weak. Yet so much hope was put in you, deceived by the simplest of tricks." He said as he looked down at her.
Aimamoru gathered up the strength to speak, "I... thought you... had a... water type... Zanpakuto." Thoughts about what just happened flooded her mind as she spoke, one that rang out louder than the others, 'He was hiding his true Zanpakuto… is it an illusionary Zanpakuto?'
Her thoughts were cut off by Aizen, "No, my Zanpakuto has the unique ability to deceive those who have seen it before, like yourself." Aizen had a smirk on his face as he spoke, clearly proud of himself.
Aimamoru remembered back to the Captain's presentation. Aizen had released his Zanpakuto in front of her. She coughed up blood, then spoke shakily, "You… fooled us this... whole time. You're...despicable." Aimamoru heard faint footsteps, then felt the spiritual pressure being emitted. It was coming from the man who had previously had her Lieutenant position and the man she knew as a long time friend, 'I have to tell Gin to run before Aizen gets him too!'
Gin suddenly chuckled, "Funny, I said the same thing when Aizen-taichou asked me to join him. But the way you say it makes it sound like you hate him." The voice of the Gin rang through her ears and sent shivers down her spine. "You know it's bad for a Lieutenant to hate her Captain, even if her power did at one point surpass his." He looked down at her with a fleeting look of disappointment, "But that is not the case now, is it?" He asked rhetorically.
Aimamoru coughed again then spoke, "Fox face… you're... helping him?!" She almost screamed the last part, using his nickname like she had so many times before. As memories of her long trusted friend became tainted in blood. remembering back to the years that she, Rangiku and Gin had spent together, and how much Rangiku had loved Gin.
"Good you have some spirit left in you, that will make this next part much funner." Gin said with a smirk, then walked over to the bleeding form of Aimamoru, a girl he had known for such a long time, almost as long as Rangiku. She had power that rivaled that of the head Captain, her grandfather. It would be gone soon, as was Aizen's plan. He had to do this or else Aizen would get suspicious of his true intentions.
"What… what are.. you going… to do to.. me?" Aimamoru said, fear and pain raking her voice as her ex-friend stalked over to her, a smile on his face.
Gin picked her up by her long blue hair, drips of blood staining it. He smiled his signature smile, eyes closed into slits. "Aizen, why don't you show her exactly what we intend for her." Gin then ripped the sword from Aimamoru.
She screamed in protest. This made Gin let out a chuckle, "I just want to let you know this is gonna hurt Blue." He threw the sword back to Aizen, who caught it effortlessly.
At the sound of her nickname being used, Aimamoru silently let out a tear., "Bakudo number 79, Kuyo Shibari," as Aizen spoke eight black holes appeared around Gin and Aimamoru.
Aimamoru's face twisted with anger and sadness at Aizen's and Gin's betrayal, then a loud scream pierced Gin and Aizen's ears as a ninth black hole appeared inside of Aimamoru.
Then Aizen spoke again, but Aimamoru could not hear anything past her own screaming, all she could make out was the last part, "Bakudo number 106, Keimusho Eien."
Suddenly all Aimamoru knew was Silence and darkness for what seemed like a never ending period of absolute nothingness.
A hollow rushes towards a small blacked haired Shinigami on the ground pointing a Zanpakuto at a tall teenager with bright orange hair.
As the hollow runs closer their voices can be heard. "Give me that sword, Soul Reaper." The boy with the orange hair said as he grabbed the Shinigami's outstretched sword.
"My name is not Soul Reaper. I am Rukia Kuchiki," the Shinigami's responded as the hollow grew dangerously near.
"I am Ichigo Kurosaki!" The boy said as he thrust the sword into his chest. A bright flash of light appeared as the hollow's arm were cut off, and the previous Shinigami's powers were taken and given to the orange haired boy. He had a Zanpakuto that closely resembled the one that had previously been at the side of a bright blue haired Shinigami years before. Though his had a different colored hilt and the red ribbon at the end was replaced with two blue pieces of string.
A loud cracking noise resonated through the seemingly endless abyss that had held Aimamoru. Light flooded her senses for the first time in years. Motionless, thoughtless, painless, for the first time in fifteen years these words were not apart of her life. She ran like her life depended on it, but no matter how far or how fast she ran she could not reach what seemed like her freedom.
She stopped, It felt like a blast of air hit her as she entered her inner world. It was normally blocked from her in her prison. She was in the beautiful redwood forest that she knew so well. "Subete owari!" Aimamoru called out, but instead of the usual Zanpakuto dressed in a magenta and red flower kimono, there was a different woman cloaked in black.
"Ichigo..." The woman that appeared from the trees said.
"Is that your name?" Aimamoru said suspiciously. "Where is Subete owari-?"
She was cut off by the mysterious Zanpakuto again, "She is not here right now, and Ichigo is not my name."
"Then, who is Ichigo? Who are you? Where is Subete owari?" Aimamoru asked demanding answers from the strange Zanpakuto.
The woman sighed, "I cannot tell you who I am yet, and Subete owari is not here right now. As for Ichigo, he is your freedom."
"What do you mean by 'my freedom'?" Aimomaru asked seriously, barely questioning further on the Zanpakuto's name.
"Exactly what I said…" the Zanpakuto stopped abruptly, and looked around like something was coming. "We must hurry, I cannot talk to you much longer," the Zanpakuto said in a rushed and scared tone.
"Why, whats going on?!" Aimamoru asked, but the question seemed to fall on deaf ears. As the world started to fade to black around her.
"Remember his name is Ichigo!" the strange Zanpakuto screamed out. The world faded into the black void that was her prison. Aimamoru just stared blankly at the single stream of light that emerged from the ever expanding walls.
Aimamoru stood there as she was engulfed in light, for the first time in fifteen years, she was free. It had been awhile since the sliver of light had entered her prison, now she was surrounded by light. She was in her shihakusho, but she felt different like she was in a geigi. She reached to her back for her zanpakuto but it was gone, she felt around for a little, not giving up her search, until she stopped to realize where she was.
She was in a park, Green trees like she had never seen before, the grass dew stricken and vibrant and the sky of the park was the Azure that she new to be the color of her hair. The park wasn't populated, though there was a group of kids playing soccer on the other side of the park. She sensed one of them had enough spiritual pressure to see her. Aimomaru decided to talk to the child when she was alone. The girl had short black hair and couldn't be much older than twelve years old.
Aimamoru's wait soon ended as the girl started her walk home. Aimamoru tried to use shunpo to get over to her, but found she couldn't, which meant that she had to be in a geigi, but it didn't feel like a geigi, it felt more permanent. Her eyes widened in realization as the thought struck her as she ran after the girl who was walking home. 'I am human'. The thought resonated in her mind as she caught up to the girl and grabbed her by the arm.
Aimamoru quickly let the girls arm go and dodged a punch meant for her gut. The girl soon realised who grabbed her and asked, "who are you? And what's with that getup?" The girl was staring at her strangely colored hair but didn't ask any further on it.
Aimamoru slightly dazed and heard the mysterious zanpakuto, 'she knows ichigo!' Aimamoru heard the voice and responded to the girl quickly ignoring the girl's questions. "Do you know someone named Ichigo?"
The girl's eyes widened slightly then relaxed as she responded, "Ichi-nii… wait, do you know where he is?"
"N-no, he's your brother?" Aimamoru said shocked.
"So you don't know where he is? He's been gone for a little under a week now." The girl said slightly upset.
"No sorry, I was hoping you could tell me where he was." Aimamoru asked with a tone of frustration in her voice.
"So what's your name any way, are you a friend of Ichi-nii's?" The girl asked questioningly.
"My name is Aimamoru." She said and heard the zanpakuto again, 'shake her hand and you will see', then Aimamoru outstretched her hand for the girl to shake.
"And I'm Karin Kurosaki," Karin took Aimamoru's hand to shake it but when she did Aimamoru grabbed her head in pain and let a single tear fall. Karin quickly asked, "hey are you alright?"
Aimamoru quickly wiped the tear away and answered, "yes I'm fine I-I don't know what happened…", ' it, hurt and I felt so sad, like I lost someone close to me, and then I saw a face and it disappeared. Was that that girl's mother? But then why did she disappear so suddenly.'
"Are you sure you're okay?" Karin asked accusingly, making sure to check if she was hurt.
"Yes... I'm fine." She tried to steady herself but fell to one knee all her strength leaving her body as her wound from her fight with Aizen reopened as if new. Blood slowly dripped down her shihakusho as she collapsed.
Karin knelt down beside Aimamoru and hurriedly checked to make sure that she was okay. Then Karin saw the blood that was slowly finding it's way out of the strange woman she now knew as Aimamoru.
Karin ran home as fast as she could. She ran into her dad when she bursted through the front door, her face, pale with a worried expression.
Her father Isshin went flying as Karin ran into him, and Yuzu rushed out of the kitchen to greet her. "Ka-karin?!" Yuzu said when she saw her sisters look of horror. Yuzu rushed over to Karin and put her hand on her forehead. "Karin… are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah, Yuzu I'm fine… This girl came up to me and collapsed I think she's really hurt! Come on dad get up we gotta go help her!" Karin said as she walked up to her dad that was twitching on the floor. Isshin soon sprang up.
"Where is she Karin?" Isshin asked in a more serious tone than thought possible for him.
"S-she is over by the park, we gotta hurry." Katin stuttered out as they all left to go and help this mysteriously injured girl that Karin encountered.
Aimamoru stirred as she realized she was in a bed, in what appeared to be a clinic of some sort. She tried to sit up but was stopped by a man that looked like someone she knew from before, but couldn't quite figure out who.
"Those who are dead aren't supposed to move you know" The man said as she layed back down. "You gave us all quite a scare Aimamoru." The man said in a sarcastic voice
"Who… are… you. You seem so … familiar." Aimamoru said hoarsely as she laid back down, pain stretching through her body as she remembered her injuries.
"How cruel, you don't even remember me!" The man said with fake enthusiasm.
Aimamoru's eyes widened in realization of the man before her, Isshin Shiba former captain of squad 10. "I-Isshin! Is that really you!" Aimamoru said quite loudly.
Isshin covered her mouth and motioned for her to be quite. "So you remember after all." Isshin says with fake tears in his eyes. "By the way the girls don't know about me."
"I thought you went MIA nearly five years ago." Aimamoru said with surprise in her voice and on her face.
Isshin's face soon darkened and he went serious, which is surprising for Isshin. "You see, I didn't go missing from the Soul Society five years ago Aimamoru..."
"W-what are you saying?" Aimamoru asked questioningly.
"Aimamoru… I didn't leave five years ago, I left twenty years ago."
Aimamoru's face was twisted with fear and confusion at these words. "No that's not right… i-if that were right… I was trapped for fifeteen years!" Aimamoru sat up and tried to get out of bed.
"I'm so sorry Aimamoru even I thought you died the night you went missing, please calm down." Isshin said as he tried to get her to lay back down to no avail.
Tears came to Aimamoru's eyes as she fell to the floor on one knee and recalled what happened the night she was trapped by Aizen, "Aizen… Aizen did this! He's the one who trapped me in that kido!" She screamed as she cried.
Karin and Yuzu ran into the room after hearing all the noise and rushed to help. "Dad, is she alright?" Yuzu asked as Isshin stood there dumbstruck, eyes wide with shock. "Hey! Old man, snap out of it!" Karin screamed and kicked her dad in the shin, Isshin soon shook off the thought and saw Yuzu and Karin standing there.
"Yuzu go get the sedation medication we need to stop her before she hurts herself." Isshin said as one thought crossed his mind again. 'What did Aizen do to her?' "Karin, help me get her back onto the bed." Yuzu ran back in with a syringe in her hand and gave it to Isshin.
Isshin walked over to Aimamoru and injected the shot in her arm she soon became limp in his arms, still crying softly. "Karin, a little help please." Isshin said as Karin rushed over and they got Aimamoru on the bed.
"Jeez, I wonder what happened to her to make her act like that." Karin said to Yuzu with a shrug as Isshin left the room.
"I don't know but I hope she's okay." Yuzu said back nervously as she looked over at Aimamoru.
"I just wonder what Ichi-nii has to do with all of this." Karin said as she left the room followed by Yuzu and turned out the lights and went upstairs to go to bed. 'Tomorrow it will have been a full week since Ichigo left, I wonder where he is… I hope he comes back tomorrow.' Karin thought as she began to fall asleep, only wondering if Ichi-nii would come back any time soon, and she hoped he did so that he could ask him about the strange girl that was looking for him.
AN: Please review my story, no flames please, Also the next chapter should be out in about a week or so. Hope you enjoyed, the next chapter should be longer. :)