A/N: Okay, this is quite possibly my worst idea ever. Okay, maybe not worst. I did have one fanfic where Kaolla Su took me back in time and turned me into a superhero called Banana Man and Motoko fell in love with me too easily and…
Okay, I guess you didn't need to know that. Just forget I ever said it and all will be well with the world.
Ahem, anyway! This is basically my idea of what it would be like to have the main characters of four of my favorite manga series in one story as brothers. In other words, what it would be like if Himura Kenshin, Uzumaki Naruto, Monkey D. Luffy, and Kurosaki Ichigo were brothers in the Bleach Universe.
And what it would be like to watch these four as their slightly more normal and nerdy brother. Yeah. We all know this is not your average story idea and will probably cause quite a bit of confusion at the beginning. But I don't care. For some reason I got this story idea and I'm gonna write it. The power of the plot bunnies cannot be denied!
Now, just a little word to those who are wondering, I will try and use official translations for everything in this fic. Meaning there will be Soul Reapers instead of Shinigami, friends instead of nakama, that he does' instead of de gozaru, and you knows instead of dattebayo. (Don't worry, I won't use, 'believe it,' for Naruto in this one. You know is actually what Viz is using now due to certain story purposes, so I will use that here as well.) And while this may anger some people, I don't care. I like the official releases and will try to support them by using their translations here in my fan fictions. It's what I do. (Not that this is really supporting them. I actually do support them by buying the manga and anime, but writing fan fics using their translations can't really be called supporting them, I don't think. It just sounded cool to say it that way.)
Anyway, I am basically writing this just for fun, so I'll finish the author's note here. No need for me to spoil my own story. Have a blessed day!
The Kurosaki Brothers
Chapter 1: Unpredictable Brothers
"Man, school just drags on and on!" Naruto complained as we walked down the street, "Why do we gotta go in the first place?! It's not that important, you know?"
My brothers and I were once again wearing our schools uniform as we headed home. The pale gray jacket and pants were comfortable and clean, but they really didn't look right on any of my brothers.
Naruto, the spiky blonde headed and blue eyed one that was just complaining about school, was actually a huge trouble maker. He would constantly pull pranks just so he could get everyone's attention and that alone was enough for him to constantly get himself into trouble. But he also constantly wore a weird looking pair of green goggles on his head as if they were a headband, thus causing trouble for himself by not following the school dress code.
"Uh, it kinda is if you wanna get a good job once you graduate, $#%$ !" Ichigo shouted back as he slapped Naruto upside the head, "Jeez, you'd think that after all this time you'd actually get it, but you're just too thick headed for anything short of a good #%#$% whooping to get through to you!"
Ichigo, while he wasn't in violation of the school's dress code, also really looked out of place wearing the uniform. His short and messy orange hair was enough to make him stand out in any situation and that normally earned him trouble from people who tried to pick on him just because he was different. But, with his tough personality and amazing fighting skills, he normally got the people to lay off of him eventually. Some people could even be scared by a single look at his fierce brown eyed glare.
"What'd you say, Berry-tan?!" Naruto growled back as he rubbed the back of his sore head.
"What did you just call me, %#$^5?!" Ichigo growled darkly.
"You heard me, ^%$^#!" Naruto cussed back, "What you gonna do about it?!"
"Why you!"
And with that, my two brothers started fighting each other tooth and nail. If our life was an American cartoon, they'd have been rolling around in a cloud of dirt.
"Awesome!" Luffy suddenly shouted as he jumped into the air, "Let me join!"
Luffy also looked out of place just about anywhere. His short and messy black hair was constantly covered by a wide-brimmed straw hat, something that also got him into trouble with the school. He also joined Naruto in his pranks just about as often as Naruto actually pulled them. Although I constantly thought that was because Naruto was able to easily talk Luffy into just about anything. His large smile and offbeat personality were offset by the scar he had under his left eye. He had completely shocked me and my brothers one day by stabbing himself under that eye to prove he was serious about becoming a pirate and he's had the scar ever since.
And now Luffy has jumped in and is just making it worse. I thought to myself as I watched my brothers fight, Please don't let-
But my thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Luffy's hat being knocked off the top of his head due to a punch from Naruto. Me and my brothers watched in horror after that as Luffy growled darkly.
"Nobody makes my hat dirty and gets away with it!" Luffy shouted loudly, "Now I'm gonna kick all your # %$#!"
"Oro?!" Kenshin exclaimed as he got yanked into the dog pile without his own consent.
Kenshin was actually the most normal of my brothers. He had long red hair that he had tied into a low hanging ponytail and constantly carried his sakabato, reverse blade sword, on his belt. He had a crossed shaped scar on his left cheek from the point in time where he was out on the streets more than at home and his violet eyes showed off a seriousness in life that most people wouldn't have expected from a fifteen year old. You wouldn't have noticed it from his normally cheerful personality, but he had gone through a lot in the three previous years of his life. He was the shortest and youngest looking of us, but he was never offended by people calling him short like Naruto and was normally the most mature of my brothers.
And then there was me, Kurosaki Katashi. I was the oldest of the group of quintuplets by about five minutes and usually tried to be the law abider of the group. I have short dark brown hair and hazel green eyes, have to wear glasses due to my nearsightedness, and I'm a complete nerd. Occasionally I would be seen as the bossy older brother and would be ignored by most people we came across due to the fact that my brothers were more interesting than I was. But my brothers and I were really close. I guess it had something to due with the fact that we were quintuplets and were all momma's boys, but that was beside the point.
We were brothers. It was as simple as that.
Crud muffins. I thought to myself as I slowly backed away from the others, I'm just gonna move away from the others and-
My thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a ghost approaching me. For as long as we could remember, my brothers and I could see and communicate with ghosts. This often lead to ghosts approaching us for help. This one was a girl of about ten or so years old wearing a white dress, had brown eyes, long light brown hair tied up into double ponytails at the side of her head, and had blood covering the right side of her face. She was floating next to me and I could see through her, but I was more concerned with the fact that someone so young had passed away than with that.
"Hello." I said in a friendly manner as I waved my right hand towards her, "Is there something you need?"
"Actually, yes, if it's not too much trouble." the girl said with a blush, "There's a group of thugs who knocked over the offering my family set up for me at the place where I died near here. I had heard that the five of you could see ghosts, so I thought I'd see if I could get your help."
Okay, that is completely messed up. I thought as I clenched my fists in anger, I am stinking ticked right now. This is not funny.
"Where are they at?" I asked seriously.
The girl gasped at my reaction and I could hear my brothers finally stop fighting behind me. I guessed that I looked a bit angrier than I thought.
"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you." I said calmly to the girl, "I'm mad at the punks who thought it'd be fine to not care about what they've done."
"What's wrong, brother?" Kenshin asked, annoying me once again with his over the top respectfulness, "You are not usually this quick to anger, that you aren't."
"Apparently some punks decided it would be fine to leave this girl's offering on the ground after they knocked it over." I replied.
Suddenly the air seemed to turn cold around me and I was tempted to smirk. When somebody makes any one of the five of us angry, then the rest of us are sure to back each other up. And in that situation…
"Alright, where are these ^$^#^%^?" Naruto growled darkly.
"Yeah," Luffy added, "I'm ready to go kick their $ #$%$!"
"Heh, for once I agree with you two." Ichigo said.
"Where are they, little one?" Kenshin asked as he fingered the hilt of his reverse blade sword.
The little girl's eyes went wide in shock before she pointed further down the road to my right. We rounded the corner quickly and found exactly what the girl was talking about. There, in front of an electric poll, was the small vase of flowers toppled over on the ground. The culprits were five dumb looking street thugs just skateboarding without a care in the world.
Ichigo reacted instantly. A swift kick to one of the boarders had the guy unconscious and on the ground in little to no time at all.
I gotta hand it to Ichigo, I thought as I crossed my arms over my chest, He certainly knows how to make an entrance.
"Yo, $% $%!" Naruto cussed "You'd better get out of here before we kick your %#$%, you know!"
"What the?!" one of the thugs exclaimed as he and the others stopped boarding, "You suddenly appear and kick over Li'l Yama, plus you want us to get out of here?! What are you thinking?! You wanna die?! Huh?!"
Luffy acted next. He simply punched the guy's face, knocking him to the ground, causing the guy to fall unconscious in seconds. Luffy stood up straight and smiled right after that, freaking the bozos out in the process.
"Ah!" one of the three remaining exclaimed, "Li'l Toshi is down!"
"D… Don't know what's going on, but this is dangerous!" another added, "I've never seen such irrational violence!"
"Irrational violence?" Kenshin cut in with his own brand of calm rage, grabbing the goons attention, "Tell this one then…"
Kenshin then quickly drew his sakabato and used it to point directly at the vase.
"What is that?" he questioned before he pointed at one of the goons with his sword, "You, the one who looks like he hasn't taken a shower in days."
"H… Huh? M… Me?" the guy asked stupidly as he pointed at himself, "U… Um. An offering to the kid who died here recently?"
Naruto then rushed over and punched the guy right in his gut, knocking the wind out of him before knocking the guy unconscious by slamming his head into the pavement.
"Good answer!" Naruto shouted with a huge grin.
"Li'l Mit!" the other two goons exclaimed, obviously too shocked to do anything.
"Question number two!" I shouted, gaining the remaining goons attention, "Then why is that vase knocked over?"
"Th… That's cause we knocked it over skateboarding…?" one of the goons replied.
I sighed and shook my head at that, a small smirk spreading across my face as a few of the possible following scenarios rushed through my mind before I looked up at the remaining punks.
"You know, you should apologize, pick the flowers and vase up so that it's back where it belongs, and then run for the hills." I stated as a serious expression crossed my face, "I may be the oldest of my brothers here, I may be the most mature of the bunch, and I may be the nerd of the group. But right now, I want to kick your sorry butts just as much as my brothers do. So you either follow my suggestion, or face an age old sword style and my own fists. Your choice."
The two shared a look before dashing towards the fallen vase and picking it up to place it back where it belonged. They then said a prayer before running off and leaving their buddies in the street.
"Heh, traitors." Kenshin said as he sheathed his sword, "Why is this one not surprised?"
"Why is it that you still insist on talking about yourself in the third person?" Naruto asked with a groan.
"Oro?" Kenshin replied with a knowing smile.
"%$#%$." Ichigo said with a small smirk as he punched Kenshin in his arm, "Why can't you just answer the #^$%^ question?"
"That. Was. Awesome!" Luffy suddenly shouted from behind me as he tackled me in a hug, "I prefer fighting, but what you did was cool too! They just did what you told them, and you didn't even have to lift a finger!"
"That was really thanks to the rest of you guys, though." I said with a shrug as I forced myself to keep standing, "I'm definitely not intimidating. The rest of you, though…"
"Not intimidating?" Ichigo asked with a bewildered look on his face, "What about last week when Naruto accidentally burned your Love Hina manga?"
"Yeah," Naruto added, "The way you acted was downright terrifying, you know!"
"That's because you guys scare too easily." I countered with a smug grin.
"You $%#$% ." Ichigo snarled with a grin, "Now you're gonna pay!"
"Uh…"
My brothers and I turned to see the ghost girl from before. She looked startled by our actions, but she was smiling, too.
"Thank you, sirs." she said, "Now I can rest in peace."
"You're welcome." I replied, "We'll bring you some new flowers tomorrow. Goodbye."
"Goodbye!" the girl responded as we turned to leave.
"Another good deed done for the day." I said aloud as we put some distance between ourselves and the girl, "Another lost soul helped. Kinda makes me feel like a superhero."
The others stopped behind me for a moment before they just started laughing at me. I merely groaned and continued walking.
"Then I suppose as the, 'hero,'" Kenshin said sarcastically as my brothers started following me, "You won't mind taking the hit from our father when we return home?"
My eyes widened in shock and I raised my left arm to check my watch. And, sure enough, we had missed the seven o'clock curfew our dad had set up. I groaned and slapped my forehead at that before my shoulders slumped in defeat.
"I just hope he doesn't go for my face." I said as I pushed my glasses further up the bridge of my nose, "I just got this pair last week."
I then plastered a pleading smile on my face and turned to my brothers.
"I don't suppose any of you-"
"Sure!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed, cutting me off before I had a chance to ask, "What do you want me to do?"
"Go into the house first so that dad's aiming for you when we get back home?" I asked hopefully.
"No way!" Luffy exclaimed with a grin, "He'll just aim for my face and knock my hat onto the ground…"
Luffy then stopped smiling and I gulped a bit in fear.
"No one touches the hat." he muttered darkly.
My shoulders slumped at that and I placed my glasses into my school bag in anticipation. We were at the front door anyway, so I prepared for the inevitable…
"We're home!" I called out as I entered the house…
Only to be slammed to the floor by a kick to the face.
"You're late, Katashi!" our dad, Kurosaki Isshin, bellowed.
"And you're being a pain in the %#$ , dad, you know!" Naruto growled as he hit dad with a right hook.
"You!" Ichigo shouted as he and the others entered the room, "Is that how you greet your sons who just got through helping a spirit find peace?!"
I finally stood up and put my glasses back on before I turned towards the kitchen and walked over to my two younger sisters. Karin was watching the show with that same slightly bored look she got after mom passed and Yuzu was standing next to the table with a ladle in her hand and a worried look on her face. I smiled and rubbed the top of Yuzu's sandy-blonde haired head before I sat down at the table.
"Sorry I couldn't help with dinner tonight, Yuzu." I said as I used my chopsticks to grab some rice from my bowl, "But we lost track of time while we were hanging out with the gang after school and then there was this ghost girl who-"
"That's okay, big brother!" Yuzu exclaimed pleasantly, "I'm just glad you got here before dinner got cold."
The sounds of the others arguing finally reached an annoying level as Kenshin took his seat at the table.
"Thank you for the food, sister." Kenshin said with a slight bow of his head towards Yuzu, "This one appreciates it, that he does."
"You're quite welcome, brother." Yuzu replied with a smile before she turned towards the others with a worried look on her face, "Oh stop it, you four! Dinner's getting cold!"
"Leave 'em alone, Yuzu." Karin said blandly as she held up her empty bowl, "Another bowl."
"Oh boy, food!" Luffy exclaimed as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere to devour his bowl of food, "Thank you, sis!"
How does he even do that? I thought to myself as I watched Luffy eat in awe and disgust, That's not normal, not even for a teenager.
"Hey, leave some for me!" Naruto exclaimed as he, too, appeared in his seat unannounced, "Thanks for the food, sis!"
"First of all," Ichigo suddenly shouted, loud enough for me to hear even though I was trying to ignore the fight, "The rules in this house are too strict! In what world is there a parent that sets a curfew for healthy male high school students at seven p.m.?!"
"Oh," Yuzu suddenly exclaimed, gaining everyone's attention before I could lecture Ichigo on the wisdom of obeying one's parents, "Ichigo, you already have another one."
I turned around to see that there was a middle-aged male ghost in the house hovering over Ichigo's back with glasses and a tie. He honestly looked like he was an office worker before he died.
"Ah! This guy!" Ichigo exclaimed as he began trying to shoo the ghost away, "When did he?! I get rid of them again and again, but it's always like this! #^$#$%^!"
"You quintuplets can see them," Karin cut in, "Touch them, talk to them, plus you're special A level spirit mediums. Your troubles are fourfold. Must be tough having high specs."
"But you know," Yuzu added, "I'm a little envious of our brothers. I can only see a blur. I wanna see them clearly."
"Not me," Karin replied, "Since I don't believe in ghosts or whatever."
"Huh?" Yuzu said in shock, "But you can see them too, right? The only one who can't see is daddy."
"I'm in permanent denial. Whether you can see them or not, as long as you don't believe, it's the same as them not existing."
"An opening!" dad suddenly shouted from behind us as loud thudding noises were heard.
"Ah, brother?" Yuzu asked me as I finished my first helping of food, "Shouldn't you stop them?"
I raised my eyebrows at that before I started grabbing seconds.
"And make things worse?" I countered, "No, I learned long ago that getting involved in these kinds of fights doesn't help. The best way to deal with it is to ignore them and eat their share of the food."
Everyone went silent at that and stared at me in shock. I merely smirked and continued eating.
They may not have expected it, I thought smugly, But they can't deny that it was a good joke.
"Mother…" dad suddenly sobbed from behind me as he stood in front of the ridiculously huge poster of mom that was on the living room wall, "Even Katashi, our eldest and most respectful, is acting cold to me due to puberty. What should I do?"
"Uh, dad, it was a joke." I explained slowly, "I wasn't going to eat yours or Ichigo's food-"
"Ugh! Forget this!" Ichigo shouted as he stormed off up the stairs, "I'm going to my room!"
"And there goes Berry-tan." Naruto commented before sarcastically saying, "Thanks, dad."
"What?" dad asked, "What did I do?"
"Ichigo, our brothers, and this one have been having a hard time, father." Kenshin explained calmly, "More souls of the departed have been arriving recently and it is quite a bother, that it is."
"What?!" dad exclaimed, "He talks to you about things like that?!"
"I'll take dinner to his room later." Yuzu commented.
"You boys…" dad said, "You don't tell me any of your troubles…"
"Of course." Karin replied idly, "Even I wouldn't talk about my problems to a father over forty who only has such childish communication skills."
"Okay," I cut in before dad had a chance to cry at his poster again, "Thank you for dinner, Yuzu. I'll be upstairs working on one of my stories if any of you need me."
"I shall retire as well." Kenshin stated as he stood up with me, "Thank you, sister. It was delicious as always, that it was."
"You're both welcome." Yuzu replied with a smile.
Kenshin and I made our way up to our upstairs bedroom.
Man am I grateful that I share a room with Kenshin and not any of my other siblings. I thought as I entered the room, I have to say that dad was acting extremely stupid when he put our three other brothers in the same room. They never seem to stop arguing till they tire themselves out before bed.
I headed directly to my laptop and sat on my bed to open it up while Kenshin sat on his mat in one corner of the room in a seiza position so he could meditate. I've tried meditation and like working to feel calm that way, but I was too invested in working on my story to do so right then.
If a black swallowtail butterfly wasn't suddenly flying past the computer screen right now. I thought as I noticed the odd sight, Why is there a butterfly in the house?
I looked up to ask my brother, only to be shocked by the sight of a woman in a black hakamashita and a black hakama with a katana attached to her waist. The woman had her long black hair tied into a high ponytail with her bangs split in the center and had blue eyes. She was about one hundred fifty-five centimeters (five feet and one inch) tall and was in fairly good shape. She was actually fairly pretty.
And I think Kenshin thinks she's hot. I thought to myself once I noticed my brothers reaction, He's actually sitting there and staring at the girl as if he's mesmerized by her. Uh, I know he needs to move on from Tomoe, but with a thief?
Thinking that I should move quickly, I dashed up to the woman and slid beneath her, tripping her up as she walked by. I actually flinched a bit as the woman hit the floor face first.
"Hey, Kenshin!" I called out, snapping my brother from his daze, "I know she's beautiful and all, but she did kinda just break into our house. Could I get a hand here?"
"Oro?" Kenshin questioned in shock before a look of realization hit him and he jumped to his feet, "Oh, of course!"
Kenshin then bolted over to the woman and placed his hand on the handle of his sakabato. Both he and I watched the woman intently to make sure she didn't try anything funny.
"You… you can see me?" the black haired girl asked in astonishment as she looked up at us in shock, "I mean, did you just knock me over?"
"Yes." I replied slowly with raised eyebrows, "Are you supposed to be headed to an anime/manga convention or something? Cause I noticed that you're wearing samurai garb and I gotta say, I don't recognize who you're trying to be."
"I'm not wearing a disguise." the woman commented as she stood up, "I'm a Soul Reaper. I've been sent here by the Soul Society to deal with a couple of Hollows, something your people would call an evil spirit."
My brother and I shared a look before we turned back to the woman.
"What exactly do you take us for?" I asked, "You barge into our home unannounced and then tell us you're a demon hunter? Why exactly do you think we'd believe that?"
"This one's brother is right." Kenshin added, "You are obviously a thief and the two of us will have to deal with you, that we will. Unless you want to be reported to the police."
"You… You can see ghosts," the black haired girl said incredulously, "But you do not believe in the existence of Soul Reapers?!" "Look, neither of us have ever heard of, 'Soul Reapers,' before." I stated as crossed my arms over my chest, "We don't know if they exist or not, nor do we have any physical proof that you are a Soul Reaper. What we do know is that you broke into our house without a care in the world. Something that we obviously can't ignore."
"I didn't want to do this," the woman said as she massaged her forehead, "But you leave me no other choice."
The woman raised her right hand and pointed at me and my brother with her pointer and middle finger.
"Bakudo Number One," the black haired girl said loudly, "Sai!"
The woman then whipped her right hand to the right with her two fingers still outstretched. Then, without warning, my arms snapped behind my back and locked up there and I dropped to the ground. I looked to my left saw that Kenshin was lying on the ground as well in the same situation.
"She's certainly proven that she is more than a simple thief, that she has." Kenshin commented.
"Well thank you, Captain Obvious." I muttered sarcastically as I rolled my eyes, "I didn't know that until you pointed it out, even though I was put in the same situation as you."
"This is called a Kido," the black haired girl said with a frown, "A high level incantation only we Soul Reapers can use. I did not want to have to use this, but you gave me no choice."
"Uh, you did just break into our house." I countered, "What would you think if we just walked into your house without a care in the world? Most people would've probably attacked you first and asked questions later. We at least gave you a chance to talk things out."
"My apologies." the woman said with a deep blush and a bow, "But, as I said before, I had no choice. I must deal with the Hollows I was sent to find."
The black haired girl then walked up next to me and my brother as she unsheathed her katana. She raised it over her head for a vertical strike.
"Oro?!" Kenshin shouted in a panic as he shut his eyes tight.
"What are you doing, you crazy woman?!" I added, shutting my eyes as well.
But all I heard was a soft thud between us that obviously couldn't have been caused by a sword strike. I opened my eyes to find the woman touching the forehead of a female ghost with the hilt of her sword.
"No, I don't want to go to the underworld!" the redheaded ghost panicked.
"Do not worry." the Soul Reaper-woman stated calmly, "The place you are headed to is not the underworld, but the Soul Society. It is a place of peace."
There was an odd lit up black hole right underneath the ghost and she slowly disappeared into it. Kenshin and I rolled out of the way and the hole slowly disappeared after the ghost was gone.
I turned my head towards the woman and merely blinked rapidly in shock. Both me and my brother had tried to get ghosts to leave for months now, and this woman took care of it in a matter of seconds. I honestly didn't know what to think.
"Where did you send her?" Kenshin asked.
"I sent her soul to the Soul Society." the woman replied, "People in your world call it, 'passing on.' It's one of a Soul Reapers duties. I will explain why I am here with visual aids so that the two of you can understand…"
The girl then fished a spiral and pen out of her Hakamashita and flipped it open to draw a picture. The picture was childish; a cutesy little raccoon face surrounded by flowers with the words, "Wholes," and, "good souls," written next to the face. The page was split down the middle with the picture of a face of a demonic fox on the second side and the words, "Hollow," and, "bad spirit," next to it, all of which was surrounded by black lightning.
"There are two types of spirits in this world." the woman explained, "The first kind are the normal spirits called Wholes. The ghosts that you usually see are this kind. The second kind are evil spirits known as Hollows. The Hollows attack people, living or dead, in order to devour their souls. Any questions before I go on?"
"This one was wondering if you would like my brother's help, that I do." Kenshin replied with a smile, "He likes doodling just as much as you do and has had more practice, it seems."
The girl's face twitched before it scrunched up in rage and she immediately jumped up on her feet and rushed over to Kenshin, punching the top of his head and slamming his face into the floor.
"Oro?!" Kenshin exclaimed in pain.
"It's not doodling!" the woman exclaimed angrily, "It's art!"
I shook my head in response to the scene, only to freeze in shock when the woman leveled me with a glare.
"Do you think my art is doodling, too?" she asked dangerously.
"Nope." I replied with a weak smile, "I actually think it's pretty cute."
"Kiss-up." Kenshin said with his voice muffled by the floor.
"You keep quiet." the woman said as she stared down at Kenshin sternly before she moved away from him, "Now, there are two main jobs for Soul Reapers. First, to lead Wholes to the Soul Society through Konso, as I just did." at this point she had raised a new picture with the raccoon face next to an arrow with the word, "Konso," written above it and the arrow leading to the word, "Soul Society," "Second, to exorcise the Hollows wherever we find them."
She then showed us another picture of the demonic fox face with a large, "X," drawn over it. All of her pictures were simple, but they had gotten the point across and had that cute, girly flair that I've seen on quite a bit of girl drawings over the years.
"I am actually here with another Soul Reaper to exorcise two Hollows right now." the woman continued with a worried look on her face, "For some reason, we sensed them near here before. But I can't actually sense them anymore."
"So, who are you exactly?" I asked, "I know you're a Soul Reaper, but what's your name? I'm Kurosaki Katashi and this is my brother Kenshin, by the way."
"I'm Kamiya Kaoru." the woman replied, "I'm currently here with a fellow Soul Reaper named Kuchiki Rukia."
"Roar!"
I quickly turned to face Kenshin and found him staring at me with worry as well.
I don't know what that roaring noise came from, I thought as I turned back to Kaoru, But if this woman is really here to exterminate these evil spirits…
"Hey, Kamiya-san!" I exclaimed, "Didn't you hear that massive roar just now?!"
The self proclaimed, 'Soul Reaper's,' eyes widened and she stared at me in shock.
"That monstrous noise could only be the sound of a Hollow!" Kenshin added, "This one believes that you need to move, that you should!"
"A huge roar?" Kaoru asked, "When did-"
"Roar!"
The second roar actually hurt my ears, but Kaoru heard it that second time, and that was good enough for me. She was the one that was actually armed and able to move at that point, after all.
"Ahhhhh!"
"That was Yuzu!" I screamed in a panic.
"We have to help her, that we do!" Kenshin exclaimed.
But Kaoru just ignored us and dashed towards the door to open it. She suddenly froze up in what looked like shock, but I didn't care.
My sister is down there! I thought as I tossed aside the notion of doing nothing, She needs my help!
"B-brothers," a weak voice called out, "Are-are you all o-okay?"
The voice turned out to be Karin's, who was noticed by me and my brothers as she collapsed in the hallway near our rooms. Ichigo, Naruto, and Luffy's door was opened just as Kenshin and my door was opened. Our brothers were also lying on the floor of their room, so I later guessed they went through a situation similar to ours.
"Karin!" I cried out with the rest of my brothers.
"Good…" Karin continued with a weak voice, "It hasn't come here. It happened so suddenly… blood suddenly started pouring out of daddy's back and he fell. Yuzu and I were attacked by something huge while we were still in shock… And I thought I had to… warn you. I wonder what it is… I could see it a little. It looked like daddy and Yuzu couldn't see it… You four need to get out of here… before it sees you… hurry…"
Karin passed out immediately after that and something inside me snapped. It definitely didn't help that she was bleeding and covered in bruises, either.
I've got to help them! I thought as I began to struggle against my invisible bonds.
"Don't worry." Kaoru said as she knelt next to Karin, "She is just unconscious. Her soul is still…"
But I didn't pay attention and neither did my brothers. We began to force ourselves to kneeling positions on the floor…
"Stop it!" the woman who had been in my brothers room before this mess started exclaimed. She was about eleven centimeters shorter than Kaoru with short black hair that came down to her shoulders that had a single strand coming down the left side of her face and violet eyes similar to Kenshin's, "You cannot release those incantations with a human's power! If you force it, your souls will-"
But my brothers and I didn't care about the protests of the women. We had a family to protect.
"Argh!" we shouted as one as we finally forced ourselves out of the invisible bonds and stood up.
Ichigo grabbed a baseball bat, Luffy placed his straw hat back on his head with a dead serious look on his face that didn't suit him, Naruto grimaced as he clenched his fists and cracked his neck, Kenshin unsheathed his sword as he became deathly serious, and I dashed after them as I cracked my knuckles.
"Wait!" the women cried out from behind us.
But we didn't stop. Instead we dashed down the stairs as if we were some kind of massive stampede and nearly passed over the living room, only to stop in our tracks. Dad was unconscious in a small pool of his own blood while the rest of the room was trashed. I wanted to help dad, but the sight of our enemy stopped me from doing that. A huge monster was waiting outside of a massive hole in the wall of the living room. That must be what we're after. I thought as I stared up at the monster, This won't be pretty…
The creature then turned its head toward us and a sinking feeling settled into the pit of my stomach. The thing was humanoid in shape, but wasn't human. It had a strange white mask-looking face, a hole in the center of its chest, and had a black and red body. It was also about the size of a large bus and looked like it can do some serious damage.
This is definitely not gonna be like fighting a human being. I thought as I gulped in fear, Not by a long shot.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu:" Kenshin yelled as he dashed up to the monster and rapidly attacked it with his sakabato, his movements becoming little more than a blur to everyone but him, "Ryusosen!"
But it didn't do anything! Instead, the monster punched Kenshin back into the house, snapping Kenshin's sword in the process! And that let the rest of us know that Yuzu was in the monster's grasp!
"Yuzu!" I shouted with the rest of my brothers as we dashed towards the monster, only to get the same treatment Kenshin got.
We all actually landed in a dog pile right outside the house after the monster's punch right as Kenshin jumped over the creature to get to us.
"Are you alright?" Kenshin asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Naruto groaned sarcastically from his place in the pile on top of me, "Never better, you know?"
"Uh, guys," I called out as I tried to push myself up, "Could you get off of me?"
The four of us finally got up and turned around to face the creature. I then became aware of the fact that there was another Hollow and I flinched in shock.
How are we supposed to beat these things?! I thought as I tried to keep myself from shaking, I know we have to save Yuzu, but this is the most impossible situation I've ever been in.
Thankfully, though, I didn't have to figure out a way to do so. The Soul Reaper who was in my brothers' room jumped up and sliced the arm the monster was holding Yuzu with clean off of its body. I immediately dashed forward at that point and caught Yuzu before she hit the ground.
"Yuzu!" Ichigo exclaimed from beside me as he shook Yuzu by her shoulders, "You okay?!"
"Stay calm!" Kaoru said as she and the other Soul Reaper, the one who I finally guessed was Rukia, dashed in front of me and my brothers with their swords raised to protect us from the Hollows, "The Hollows have not eaten any of your family's souls yet!"
"They haven't?" Naruto asked in shock.
"Not even the soul of your father who lies on the floor." Rukia replied.
"Wait!" Ichigo countered loudly, "You said the Hollows attack people to eat their souls?! So why'd those things attack our family?!"
"Hollows are drawn to high levels of spirit energy," Rukia explained, "But they also attack opportunistically."
"What does that mean?" Luffy asked.
"I have never known humans who could see Soul Reapers," Kaoru picked up, "Or break a binding spell before. I have never heard of humans with so much spirit energy…"
Kaoru then turned towards me and my brothers with a look of sympathy on her face.
"I believe they were looking for you." she finished sadly.
Wait, I thought to myself in shock, Then that means-
"What?!" Naruto shouted loudly, "They were after us?!"
"All of this was because of us?!" Luffy added.
"Our dad is lying over there…" Kenshin began before trailing off.
"Karin…" Ichigo added, "And Yuzu bleeding… All of this…"
I dropped to my knees in total despair as the others spoke. Thoughts that I didn't expect to enter my mind at all began swirling around in my head.
If only I wasn't here. I thought to myself as tears began to sting my eyes, If I wasn't here, then the others would be okay. Kenshin, Ichigo, and even Naruto and Luffy would be able to get through this without a problem. I didn't even do anything to help that ghost earlier today. I'm useless here.
"Wait!" Kaoru cried out as she and Rukia turned to look straight at us.
"That's not what we meant." Rukia added.
But the two women were cut off by two of the monsters swiping at them, knocking them into the brick wall lining the sidewalk next to us. I instantly froze in fear at that and stared at the women with wide eyes.
"Soul Reaper!" Ichigo yelled in shock.
"Kaoru-donno!" Kenshin added.
Ichigo and Kenshin then turned directly towards the two monsters and leveled them with intense glares.
"I'm getting sick of you!" Ichigo shouted.
"If you truly wish to take this one's soul," Kenshin said as he drew himself to his full height, something that he actually somehow made intimidating, "Then take it and leave his family out of it!"
The two Hollows immediately started to try and eat Ichigo and Kenshin, but they weren't fast enough. Kaoru and Rukia had both rushed forward and took the hits themselves. Blood poured from their wounds and they should have immediately died, but they didn't.
"Wha…!" Ichigo exclaimed, "Soul Reaper!"
"Kaoru-donno!" Kenshin cried out.
"Did… did you honestly think it would be over… if you gave them your souls?" Kaoru asked as she and Rukia fell to the ground, "Don't be foolish."
The Hollows began to scream at that point. Both of them had been injured by the Soul Reaper's blades as they had bitten the woman and were currently howling in pain.
"I'm sorry," Ichigo muttered, "I just wanted to…"
"I fear… we cannot console you…" Kaoru said weakly as she and Rukia tried to push themselves up, "We are too badly injured to fight…"
"It is only a matter of time…" Rukia added, "Until we all become its food…"
I can't do anything, I thought as Ichigo and myself punched the ground in frustration, I'm totally useless!
"Do you wish to save your family?"
My head snapped up at that and I noticed Kaoru and Rukia sharing a knowing look with each other as they sat themselves upright up against the stone wall.
"Just tell me how!" Ichigo exclaimed, "I'll do anything! Tell me!"
"There is a way…" Rukia began, "I should say… there is only one way…"
Rukia and Kaoru both drew their katana and pointed them at Ichigo and Kenshin respectively.
"You must…" Kaoru said solemnly, "Become Soul Reapers!"
"How can this one be a-" Kenshin began, only for Rukia to cut him off.
"You can! Place the point of Zanpaku-to, ghost cutter, over your heart… and we will infuse you with half of our Soul Reaper powers, our dark force! You two will temporarily have the powers of a Soul Reaper… to give you a chance against the Hollows."
"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked, "Can you do something like that?"
"We do not know." Kaoru answered, "Perhaps, because your souls are so powerful, but… the chance of success is low, and… if we fail, the two of you will die."
"But there is no other way!" Rukia added strongly, "Nor time to ponder it."
I looked at the women in shock and realized that this was something so beyond normal that we shouldn't have to deal with it. I began to panic, realizing that it would be my duty as the oldest to take on that kind of responsibility, but I couldn't speak.
"Brothers…" Yuzu suddenly called out from her place in my arms, "Where are you…? Katashi…, Kenshin…, Ichigo, Naruto…, Luffy…"
My head snapped down and I looked at Yuzu in shock. I pulled her closer to me and rocked her back and forth gently.
"Yuzu…" Kenshin said softly, "Is she having a bad dream?"
"Don't come…" Yuzu continued in her sleep, "Danger… run…"
My eyes widened in shock as guilt hit me like a ton of bricks.
What am I thinking?! I thought to myself as I slowly stood up with Yuzu still in my arms, I can't believe I was more concerned with myself than the others! I need to do something to help, now!
"Gimme the sword, Soul Reaper!" Ichigo exclaimed as he stretched his right hand out towards Rukia, "We'll try your plan!"
"Not, 'Soul Reaper.'" Rukia commented to Ichigo as she slowly stood up with her sword outstretched, "I am Kuchiki Rukia."
"Oh," Ichigo said with a start, "Kurosaki Ichigo, nice to meetchya. Let's pray this won't be our last meeting."
I was just about to hand Yuzu over to Naruto so I could head over to Kaoru at that point, but Kenshin beat me to the punch.
"This one will take your Zanpaku-to, Kaoru-donno." Kenshin said seriously.
Kaoru nodded with a smile and stood as well. Both doubles stood next to each other and prepared to pass over the Soul Reaper powers, but they stopped for a moment as the Hollows howled and lifted their heads backwards. I then noticed that the blood loss on their wounds were diminishing, as if they were healing themselves at this point.
"The Hollows are coming." Rukia said urgently, "We must hurry…"
"Wait, I'm the oldest!" I shouted, drawing everyone's attention, "Let me do this!"
"There's no time!" Ichigo shouted back at me.
"Besides," Kenshin added, "The others need you!"
"No they don't!" I shouted, "I'm useless compared to the rest of you!"
All my brothers looked at me in shock at that as the Hollows continued to move towards us. Seeing that they had no more time, Kaoru and Rukia both quickly shoved their swords into Kenshin and Ichigo respectively.
I gasped as a brilliant white light enveloped the four right as the Hollows got next to them. The Hollows then attempted to grab at the people there, only for the one who had lost it's arm earlier to lose its other one and for the second one to lose both of its arms. The monsters roared as the light finally disappeared to reveal my two brothers.
Both of my brothers were standing there in outfits exactly like Rukia's and Kaoru's and both had swords in their right hands. The only difference being that Kenshin's reminded me of his sakabato while Ichigo's was as long as he was tall and much wider than a normal katana.
Ichigo then place the flat of his sword across his right shoulder while Kenshin placed his sword in it's sheath and moved into a traditional battoujutsu stance. They both looked like they were ready to take down anything and, right as the Hollows rushed them again, did. Ichigo sliced his opponents leg off while Kenshin used the strike he had attempted to use on them earlier.
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu:" Kenshin shouted as his sword blurred once again, "Ryusosen!"
Kenshin's cuts sliced through the entirety of his opponent and the creature fell just as he sliced the things face in half with a horizontal slash.
"That's for attacking my family," Ichigo shouted immediately after cutting off the Hollow's leg, "You fish-faced freak!"
The Hollow then tried to attack Ichigo with an astounding jump attack…
Only for Ichigo to finish it off by slicing its mask and face in half with a vertical slash.
"Whoa," Luffy exclaimed after a moment of silence, "That was awesome!"
"Why didn't I do anything?!" Naruto shouted in anguish, "Why did I freeze up like that?! Never again, you know!"
Luffy actually took on a serious look as well at that point and I began to feel worse than I was feeling before. I dropped back down to my knees as I cradled Yuzu in my arms.
Why am I so useless?! I thought as I began to cry silently to myself, Ichigo and Kenshin acted immediately without a second thought and what do I do?! I hesitate, that's what! I don't even matter in the long run, it seems. Naruto and Luffy, even though they didn't do anything either, are both more capable than I am! What use do I have here?!
But little did I know that things were not truly over. They had only just begun…