Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does. However, note that anything not of the Manga/Anime (unless I point out otherwise) is of my own design, including my OCs Kai, Rertyan and the Sanctuary Team.
Warnings: Contains slight romantic reference, swearing and violence throughout.
Brief: Just over a year has passed since the initial incident which brought Kai to Karakura, and it seems his past just will not leave him alone. An old adversary's return forces the group into a new world, but something has changed. Can they work together to stop the ultimate evil from destroying their homes, or will darkness fall over the dimensions?
Pairings: KaiHime, Ichiruki
A/N: I have two things to say, really;
First, thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed my works, you are the reason I carried on some times and I love your enthusiasm. Also, thank you for last month (January 2012) as that saw my highest story traffic ever, which is fairly impressive.
Secondly, if you have not read my previous works, this story follows on after a time-lapse from the following of my works, which I recommend reading first;
The Black Hollow
Bleach After the Winter War
Bleached Souls: Black Bloodlust
Anyway, without further adieu, I give you the fourth story in this series. Enjoy!
Bleach; the Doomsday Tomes
Chapter 1: An Unexpected Reunion
Deep in the bowels of the dark fortress which sat on the blackened earth and under the blood-red sky, a small group of beings gathered. There was eight of them in all, each sat around a long table, the head of which was empty. The creatures looked amongst one another, wondering what was taking their host so long to arrive and what the purpose of calling them there had been.
Suddenly, the heavy stone doors ground open again, revealing another pair of silhouettes in the back-drop of the light. As they closed again, the silhouettes became recognisable as another of their kind and a human who wore a dark suit of armour over his body and a torn cape the colour of dried blood flowing over his back. The two of them walked towards the table and the human sat at the head of it, eyeing the group gathered before him carefully.
"I see you all made it," he said in a regal yet dark tone. "I am sorry to have kept you waiting, but I have been making some perfections to my latest weapon, something which I am sure cannot have escaped your attention."
"We've lost thirty of my best soldiers alone collecting that damned thing," a dark-scaled creature growled. "I will not tolerate anything less than perfection from it, JX!"
The man's reiatsu sky-rocketed, in venomous response to the demand, crushing the nine others present downwards.
"Know your place, Damcras," JX said calmly, though the killing intent in his words was clear. "Do not try my patience about your men; if they died getting that one piece, it is their fault for being weak, and to call them your best makes you no better." The pressure released from the room, much to everyone's pleasure, and JX continued. "As you know, it has been three years since that child destroyed all our hard work. However, it appears that we were doing the wrong thing altogether, so he actually did us a favour, even if he did scatter it."
"What of the final part?" a white-scaled being asked in a light tone, her blue eyes falling upon JX. "As you know, they cannot activate out of sequence, we will need to get it soon."
"I am aware of this, Celation, do not worry," JX replied. "I may have failed to get it last time, but that was because I did not have the right tools at my disposal. This time will be different."
"And are you sure you can even control it?" a grey-scaled creature asked. "That device is raw power, but it is only useful if you can control it, else it will consume you."
"Do not patronise me, Gresk," JX hissed. "I am not a fool. I have tested and gauged its power, and I have deduced that I can control it without any trouble if it is only that one piece. Anything more, and I will require something to satisfy it. Now then," the man went on, leaning his elbows on the table. "I have called you here because I require you all to do something." He looked over the group of Zempacki leaders briefly before continuing. "Gresk, have your troops guard the Obsidian Eye on this side, just in case something goes wrong. Calamatis, yours will guard the other side as the first line of defence and aid Gresk's on this side too." Said leaders nodded obediently.
"Torpine, Infernus, I need you two to cause problems for the Dragons in Libras City as a distraction from what we are doing," JX said firmly. "Make sure you destroy the dimensional scanner, or it will all be in vain. Celation, have your troops ready to mobilise if they are needed, otherwise proceed as normal. Thundrax, your technicians had better keep working on awakening those other pieces in preparation for the last one. Cronac, have the Underminers take up positions in the tunnels and prepare for the second stage of disruption to Libras City, and don't let them go ahead of time. Finally, Damcras, your troops will defend the fortress in my absence, so if I come back to a pile of rubble, I know who to blame." The group of leaders did not offer any objection to the orders, so JX went on. "Skywrath, you are to come with me along with a squad of seven Chaos Zempacki of your choosing. Have them ready to leave and stationed by the Obsidian Eye in no more than twenty minutes. Have I made myself clear?"
"It will be done, my Lord," Skywrath bowed.
"Good," JX nodded, satisfied. "In that case, all of you are dismissed."
Karakura Town, World of the Living
"One more time," Kai said, focussing himself.
Before him stood the newer form of Ichiruki; the blue bandaged torso and right arm gained from Ichigo's Supreme Release, the wings had gone altogether and the left arm now had a mass of white energy which poured out of the shoulder. Around the left forearm was a gauntlet with the same white energy seeping out of it, and the right arm was bathed in smoky black reiatsu, again from Ichigo's Supreme Release.
"Honestly," the fused being said. "You're pushing yourself a bit hard, aren't you?"
"No, I'm not pushing myself hard enough," the Neo-Vizard replied, his body becoming covered in places with white hierro with red markings over it. "Come on, I have to perfect this damned thing, or it'll be no good!"
"Alright, alright, just get on with it," Ichiruki sighed, a dense black blade extending from the right hand, covering it and jutting out a good metre or so. "You ready, Rukia?"
Of course I am, baka, Rukia responded in their fusion's head; Ichigo had gained the consciousness control for a time, but Rukia still had a say in the control. Let's go!
"Right," Ichigo agreed, willing the merged body to move.
Ichiruki dove forwards, weapon cocked back and ready to launch an attack. Kai donned his mask, being sure to wrench the lower jaw away as he did so, and charged up his reiatsu into his legs, a flurry of dark reiatsu building around him. As the twin-minded opponent neared him, Kai vanished in a burst of reiatsu. Ichiruki stopped short, looking around carefully. Suddenly, the air behind them crackled and a loud hollow's roar tore through the air, followed by a forceful eruption of reiatsu and a swing of steel. The sword loosed a large Chaos Wave at Ichiruki, but Rukia took over, gesturing with the left arm and throwing a spray of white reiatsu over the attack, turning it to ice and allowing Ichigo to shatter it with the black sword on the right arm. Kai lunged, clashing with them again and trying to gain the high-ground.
From his position in the training ground, Ed could clearly make out the fight as it unfolded. He had been sparring with Jon, but they were taking a break at that moment, Jon having walked off to find Ella, who had been training with Jess while Alex practiced his hollowfication with the Vizards.
Looks like they're getting right into the swing of things, Ed thought, sat on the tall rock about five hundred metres away from the fighting. It's been months, and still nothing. I can't help but wonder what's gonna happen, or even when it will...
He looked behind him as a busty auburn-haired girl entered the large room followed by a bespectacled man and a Hispanic giant. Ed raised a hand to greet them as the group walked forwards.
"They're still fighting?" Uryu asked, bemused. "Where do they get the stamina from?"
"Twin-consciousness is my bet," Ed replied, not moving to the ground but turning his head away from them. "Kai's trying to perfect that Hollow Armour."
"Again?" Uryu raised an eyebrow. "I know that his hollow may be powerful, but isn't that pushing the boundaries of crossing into being a hollow from a Vizard?"
"You may be right, but it's not like he'll listen," Ed shrugged. "Hell, I hate to think what he's going through; I mean, come on, having as much power as Rertyan has crushing down on you must make it strenuous to battle, right?"
Abruptly, before Uryu could offer an answer, a glint of red shone in the distance as a red and black Cero tore through the air towards them. Without hesitation, Orihime raised her Santen Kesshun before the three later arrivals, but leaving Ed exposed as the beam washed over them. When it cleared, the shield fell, and they could see that Ed had raised a wall of fire to intercept it.
"You get used to that," he commented with a shrug. A frown suddenly crossed his features. "Huh, that's new."
Before they could ask what, the fused Ichiruki came heavily crashing over the ground and landed at their feet.
"Ah, I hate it when he does that," the fusion muttered, standing and dusting itself off as Kai arrived, his armour slightly crack and mask split in two, but he was grinning adamantly. "I thought we agreed no more Ceros."
"Oh, come on, I was on a roll!" he grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet as if he were a character from Street Fighter. "Besides, no one got hurt."
"Actually, you damn near vaporised me, thanks for asking," Ed said, hopping down from his perch.
"My point is, no one actually did kick the bucket, did they?" Kai quickly received a slap to the face from a newly-emerged Rukia.
"Don't be so reckless, baka!" she roared, infuriated. Ichigo chuckled as his girlfriend raged at the hapless Vizard Captain. Eventually, Orihime cut her off.
"Um, Rukia, could you not kill my husband, please?" she asked, but the way she said it made it sound more like 'if you touch him again, I will murder you and everyone you hold dear', and the face she was using, courtesy of lessons with Captain Unohana a few months previous, sent that message through. The Soul Reaper back off, pouting slightly and folding her arms over her modest chest, while Kai removed the armour from his being and hugged Orihime. Ichigo leaned in close to her, thinking of how cute she looked when she pouted like she was.
"Don't sweat it, Rukes," he said softly. "We'll get him next time." Rukia turned to face him and smiled, giving Ichigo a quick, chaste kiss; they may have been going out since the incident with Hueco Mundo and Black Blood, but that did not mean that they openly displayed affection in the same manner as other couples.
"Oh, by the way," Orihime said, still hugging Kai. "Lunch is ready upstairs!"
"Great, I'm starving," Ichigo grinned. Kai lifted Orihime over his shoulder and raised her to the hatch, allowing her to climb the last little bit before scooping her up again and walking into the main room of the shop.
"Excuse me, but does this fine young lady belong to anyone?" he joked, the feeling of adrenaline and euphoria still lingering in his system. He set Orihime down on the nearest cushion and smirked. "Oh, yeah, me." He pressed his lips to hers, giving her a quick kiss as the others walked in.
"For God's sake, get a room, you two," Ed commented sharply, though he had a jokey grin on his face.
"Already have one, thank you," Kai grinned back. Jon hit him in the back of the head, making Kai turn around to his friend.
"Come on, man, people are eating here," Jon smirked. "No one wants to see you two play 'tonsil tennis'." Kai and Orihime blushed at the crude reference, but said nothing, Urahara beating them to it.
"On the contrary, Jon," he commented behind his fan. "It is rather refreshing to see such young love, especially in a married couple such as your friends."
"You're such a pervert, Kisuke," Ichigo said gruffly, swallowing his mouthful. Yoruichi grinned across the table to the young Captain, her feline irises showing her pleasure at the impending tease.
"Better to be a pervert than to be a prude like yourself, Ichigo," she smiled. Ichigo flushed but quickly retorted.
"I am not a prude!" he raised his voice. "So what if I'm not as open about that kind of stuff as you or Urahara? It's not wrong, is it?"
"No, it's just very uncommon in this day and age," Ed offered. Half of the group snickered.
"Well, I like that you're not so crude in your thoughts, Ichigo," Rukia smiled softly, another of the pair's small gestures of public affection.
He smiled, knowing that her upbringing in the Kuchiki household had made her less likely to enjoy such crudeness of mind in public, and, though her words and actions were full of vigour, that was the Soul Reaper side to her which negated the Kuchiki side in times such as this.
"I know, Rukes," he returned her smile.
Somewhere further around the table, Jon and Ella shared a soft, quick kiss, smiling at the similar actions of the elder couple. Ed chewed on an onigiri thoughtfully for a moment, then turned his attention to Kai.
"Why is it you're so serious when you train, then go goofy the moment you stop and Orihime's there?" he asked. Kai frowned at him, swallowing a rather large amount of wasabi which had slipped into his mouth and giving him a slightly strained sound to his voice.
"There's hardly any reason to be serious when nothing serious is happening," he reasoned philosophically. Ed chuckled, shaking his head, and was about to finish the rice ball in his hand, when a mass tremor of reiatsu arced over the Urahara Shoten, the rumbling sound of rolling thunder overhead. The group froze and turned their attention outside as the surge stopped. "The hell was that?"
"Was it a Garganta?" Rukia wondered aloud, but a second wave of reiatsu rolled free over the shop.
"That one was more powerful," Ichigo noted. "It's like something's building up or pushing through a wall." Ella looked uneasily at the other ex-members of the Sanctuary.
"You don't think," she started, but Kai was on his feet as a third ripple passed through the air, again larger than the last.
"I can feel him," he said. Ed, Jon, Ella and Jess all looked at him with a knowing look on their faces, while the others shared looks of confusion.
"Feel who?" Uryu asked.
"Don't you remember; when we first met, that guy I told you about?" Kai asked quickly.
"The one that gave you that scar on your chest?" Ichigo asked. Kai nodded. "I thought he disappeared after you defeated him last time?"
"Obviously he made his way back to Alkahmia," Kai mused. Ichigo raised an eyebrow.
"Al-what-ia?" he questioned.
"There's no time to explain now," he said. "We'll do it en route. Orihime, stay here, just in case something goes wrong." She nodded and kissed her husband goodbye before he left his body. "Kisuke, look after my body; I'm going to go say hi to our 'friends'."
"We're coming too," Ed said, the rest of the Sanctuary standing and ejecting from their bodies. Kai nodded, accepting their decision while Ichigo, Rukia, Chad and Uryu stood up too, deciding to join the group. Kai smiled slightly in spite of the situation, but another large torrent of reiatsu burst forth, cutting the moment short.
"Alright, let's go," he said, leading them into the air. "Ed, contact the Vizards and get Alex to meet us at the crash site as soon as he can!"
Several kilometres above the town, a slight bulge was emerging in the skyline. As the waves of reiatsu increased in intensity, the bulge grew in size, black cracks slowing spider-webbing over the mass as it grew, until it started to fracture and flake away. Finally, it burst open, the glass-like fragments shattering and revealing a black centred portal with a flaring red outer edge and the ten figures stood there. The most humanoid of them wore his usual armour and cape, although his left arm now bore an unusual extra amount of metallic skin over the shoulder with a circular socket in the front. The group looked around as they stepped out, followed by a group of a further twenty five dragon-like shapes. JX turned to the troops and gave them an icy look.
"Listen up," he growled. "If you dare let down your guard even briefly or let the enemy escape through the Obsidian Eye, I will personally tear you limb from limb and make sure that you prefer death in the field in future." The group of Chaos Zempacki shivered, even the ones that were not on guard duty. "The rest of you, the same threat holds if you hold back anything in this coming fight. And stay out of my way, or I'll destroy you there and then. Now, look sharp, it looks like our enemies have arrived." Sure enough, Kai arrived ahead of the group, glaring darkly at JX. "Ah, just as I expected, the great Kai Friel. Let's get back to our little sparring session."
"Come on, then," Kai replied. "Let's finish this stupid fight!"
The two of them disappeared, leaving the newly arrived Soul Reapers and their allies stood opposing the Zempacki troops. One rather nervous looking Zempacki stepped up to the larger of the ranks, the metal right arm emitting a mild ticking noise as he analysed the situation.
"S- Sir?" the creature stammered. "W- What should we do with th- these ones?"
"The orange-haired one is mine," Skywrath replied. "Each of you, pick a target and slaughter them; the sooner we finish this, the sooner we can get the part and get out of this pathetic waste of a dimension. Now, go!"
The groups split up, each one taking a foe and drawing their respective weapons. Above the others by about twenty kilometres, JX and Kai stood, weapons drawn.
"That's an interesting armour you have there," Kai noted. JX smiled courteously.
"Thank you," he returned. "A newly acquired item of unspeakable rarity. I'll be frank, it was very hard to get the damned thing. Anyway, enough with the polite conversations. Shall I release my Shikai, or would you rather we fight it out like enemies should? You always were particularly foolhardy and wanted to fight on par with your enemies."
"Sure, bring it on," Kai nodded, brandishing his zanpakuto, red energy wreathing it. "Awaken, Supernova Dragon."
"Kill them all, Hellraiser!" JX commanded, the scythe taking shape in a flurry of dark blue light. "Now, come at me with all you have, Kai Friel, or I will destroy you here and now."
Hope you liked this for a starting chapter. It felt slow to start, but I hope that wasn't the case.
Anyway, tell me what you thought and also feel free to PM me or review with any questions you have about this, the characters or any of my works. I don't mind clearing up any queries you may have.
I hope to post again soon, until then, good night!