Bleach : Tales Of A Nobody
Chapter 1 - A Nobody, A Stalker and A Shinigami.
All human beings have a soul, when a human dies their soul is released from their bodies but continue to exist. All souls cannot be detected by normal humans. Within the souls exist an spiritual energy called Reiatsu. There are three different classes of souls, the first are called plus.
A Plus is the spirit of a person who has died. A chain, known as the chain of fate, protrudes from the chest and binds the Plus their body in life, when the body dies the chain is severed, but one the chain is severed it starts to corrode. If the chain of fate erodes completely then a hole will form in the chest of the soul where the chain was once anchored, one this happens the soul is driven mad and becomes an evil spirit known as a Hollow.
That brings us to the second class of souls, Hollows. Hollows are souls who's chain of fate have completely eroded, the darkness within the soul have completely corrupted the soul, Hollows are large creatures with dark bodies and ghostly white masks. Once a soul becomes a hollow, it is driven to devour other souls, living or dead.
The last class of soul are called the Shinigami, also called Soul Reapers or Death Gods. Shinigami are souls who have an extremely large amount of Reiatsu and have been recruited to work for a place where souls are meant to go after they die, a place called Soul Society. A Shinigami have two major responsibilities.
One, to send Pluses to the Soul Society by performing a Soul Burial.
Two, to destroy Hollows wherever they are found.
Karakura town, an area of western Tokyo. To many people this district of Tokyo was a simple place where nothing interesting ever really happened. But there were a select few who saw Karakura town in a different way. Karakura town has the largest level of spiritual activity than anywhere else on earth.
Almost perfectly in the center of the city, a Japanese style sliding doors slowly appeared in mid air, there was nobody in the streets at this time of the night, but even if anybody was in the street they wouldn't be able to see these doors.
The doors slowly slid open and a man stepped through them, this man was dressed in a Black Kimono and Hakama with a white sash, he had red hair that was held tied back, there were several tattoos around the back of his neck and forehead and he wore a visor across his forehead and a sword at his waist.
This man was Renji Abarai, Vice Captain of the 6th division of the Gotei 13 Shinigami.
As he stepped out of the doors, they quickly closed and disappeared behind him.
Renji quickly reached into his kimono pocket and pulled out a small cell phone and flipped it open while placing it to his ear.
"I'm here, where's the target?" Renji asked.
For the last 14 months the Soul Society have been after one Hollow in particular, the Hollow had started off in Asia, killing civilians, but for some unknown reason it kept moving, it crossed the North Pacific Sea to North America, it moved south through America until it reached South America from there it kept moving south until it crossed the sea again, this time to Antarctica, after about a month the Hollow crossed the sea again to Africa this time, it moved north while leaving a trail of bodies in its wake, the Soul Society sent many Shinigami to slay the beast but none were successful and less than half returned. After Africa it crossed into Europe and moved east, after a few months it once again entered Asia and has now ended up in Karakura town in Tokyo.
Overall this Hollow has killed 47 humans and 23 Shinigami, and due to its unusual habit of moving from country to country without a true goal and the fact that it had circled the entire earth once, it had been named the Wanderer. Now, 14 months after the Hollow first appeared, Soul Society was ready to destroy the creature once and for all, they had sent a Vice Captain to complete the task.
"Understood" Renji said as he finished his short conversation and pocketed the phone.
Renji jumped abnormally high and landed on the roof of an apartment building, he then started running east across the rooftops.
Renji hadn't gone far before he felt it, a large Reiatsu, as he was pondering weather or not this was the Reiatsu of the Hollow the air was split by a loud roaring sound.
"RRRRAAAGGGHHHH!!!"
Renji smiled as he sprinted towards the source of the sound, soon enough he came to a long street lined with market stalls and Renji saw it. It was as tall as the building Renji was standing on, it had long arms which reached down to the ground where it balanced its weight on them like an ape, the mask had a few red markings around the eyes and the teeth had two long fangs protruding from the bottom. Finally in the center of its chest was a large hole where its heart would have been. It description matches the reports of the few Shinigami who had seen it and been able to return to Soul Society.
Renji slowly reached to his side for his sword when he noticed something, the Hollow was chasing somebody. Renji noticed a boy in his late teens with blond hair and a few freckles on either cheek, he wore a pair of black cargo pants and a black turtleneck with a red hockey jersey over it, on his chest Renji noticed a small ring where his Chain of Fate is supposed to be but it was almost completely gone. The boy was bobbing and weaving around any obstacle in his path as the Hollow chased after him.
"This could get complicated" Renji muttered as he drew his sword and waited, soon enough the boy with blond hair passed the building Renji was perched atop, as the Hollow passed Renji he jumped from the building and fell with his sword pointed downwards.
Renji's aim was true, he landed on the back of the Hollow and stabbed his sword directly in the Hollow's weak point, just at the base of the neck above the spine.
"Hah, gotcha!" Renji said as he pulled his sword back out of the Hollow's neck and jumped off.
Renji turned around expecting to see the Hollow disintegrate like every other he had vanquished, however to Renji's shock, the wound Renji had caused quickly sealed up without even bleeding.
"What the hell!"
The Hollow turned around and saw the one who had attacked it, it opened its mouth and roared loudly at Renji before it started stamping towards him.
"Ok then, lets see you survive this!" Renji said as he drew back his sword.
"Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji said as he swung the sword forwards, as he did the sword seemed to transform into a sword with six segments all connected by a wire and had pick-like protrusions on each segment. The sword had become some sort of sword-whip.
The newly transformed sword named Zabimaru swung at the huge Hollow and slammed into it, cutting it like a tin can.
Renji retracted the sword and watched the Hollow, the attack had cut the Hollow cleanly in half, the top section fell to the ground immediately while the leg continued to walk a few steps before falling to the ground.
Renji smiled, his sword changed back to normal and he quickly slid it back into its scabbard, he turned around and started walking away as he took out his cell phone again. He flipped the phone open and lifted it to his ear.
"This is Renji, mission accomplished, the Wanderer is…"
Renji stopped speaking as he felt a something overshadow him, a chill ran up his spine as he slowly turned around and…
SLAM
The only thing Renji saw was a giant fist zooming towards him before he felt it smash into him, his body flew to the side and smashed into the same building he had leaped from just a few minutes ago. Renji slumped down to the ground holding his side after hitting the wall.
Renji looked at what had hit him, it was the Wanderer, it was still alive.
A stream of black energy stretched between the two segments of its body and pulled them towards each other before connecting. It slowly got back to its feet and started towards Renji, as it took one step forward it crushed Renji's phone which had been dropped when the Hollow hit him.
Renji made a move to get up but found himself in extreme pain coming from his side where he had hit the building.
"Damn! What the hell is this?!" Renji muttered, he had hit the Hollow at the base of its neck and even cut it in half, that should have been enough to finish a Hollow of this caliber.
The Hollow was almost right in front of Renji when it reared back and started beating its chest and roaring like an ape.
"RRRAAGGHHHHH!!!"
After it finished beating its chest it placed both of its hands together and raised them both above its head ready to slam them into Renji.
Renji braced himself ready for the blow…
"HEY APESHIT!!!" a voice yelled from the top of the building Renji was leaning against.
Renji looked up to see what had shouted and saw him, standing on the roof of the building Renji was leaning against was the blond haired ghost that the Hollow had been chasing.
In a swift movement the blond boy leaped from the building towards the Hollow, while in the air the boy thrusted his feet forward and slammed them directly into the Hollow's mask causing it to crack. To Renji's surprise the Hollow actually stumbled backwards and smashed through a wall leading into an alleyway. The blond who had just saved Renji's life fell to the ground after kicking the Hollow but quickly got back to his feet and ran to Renji.
"Hey dude, you ok?" the blond said as he reached down to Renji and pulled him up.
Renji hesitated for a moment before allowing the boy to help him, judging by his accent the boy was American.
"Come on, we gotta get outta here before that thing gets back up…" the blond said as he placed Renji's left arm over his own shoulder to support him. Renji however started to struggle.
"No I was sent here to destroy that thing so that's what I'll do" Renji said as he started to reach for his sword.
"No!!!…" the blond said, "You can't kill it, I've been running from this thing for months and I've watched over 20 of you guys in black try to kill it and fail… against this thing all we can do is run!" with that said the blond started to run down the street while holding tightly onto Renji.
Renji was surprised by what he had heard, this spirit had been running from the Hollow for months?
As the blond ghost ran with Renji down the street they failed to noticed the Hollow slowly pull itself from the rubble of the wall it had destroyed, its head came into the light and a piece of its cracked mask fell from its face revealing a tuft of black hair and an eye with a black ring underneath it, this was only shown for a moment before a white substance oozed out of its eye and fixed the mask.
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After about 20 minutes of running, Renji determined that the Hollow wasn't following them. Both Renji and the blond ghost were sat opposite each other in an alleyway. Renji was busy tending to his wound when he asked the ghost something.
"What's your name kid?"
The blond who had been looking from left to right nervously looked back at Renji when he asked what his name was.
"Ron, Ron Stoppable"
"Well Ron…"
Renji finished bandaging his side and held his hand out to Ron,
"…thank you, you saved my life"
Ron smiled as he took Renji's hand and shook it.
As Renji was shaking Ron's hand he noticed something, Ron's chain of fate was completely gone, all that was left was the piece of metal that the chain was attached to and Renji realized something,
'He's about to become a Hollow!'
"Hey, hold still ok, I'm gonna do something" Renji said as he let go of Ron's hand.
Renji quickly drew his sword and flipped it over, and using the butt of his sword he poked Ron on the forehead.
Ron felt his forehead for a moment before speaking,
"… OW, dude what the hell was that for?" Ron said as he felt the pain from the hit.
To say that Renji was shocked was an understatement. When a Shinigami struck a Plus of the forehead with the butt of their sword it would start a process called the Soul Burial, a process that would send Pluses to Soul Society, or as most humans call it, Heaven.
Thinking that maybe he made as mistake he poked Ron in the forehead once again with the butt of his sword.
"OW, dude stop it!!!" Ron said as he stood up and took a few steps away from Renji.
Renji was really confused now, Ron was definitely a ghost but when Renji tried to perform the soul burial nothing happened, what's more Ron's chain of fate was completely gone but he showed no signs of becoming a Hollow.
At that moment Renji realized something, Ron said that he had seen over 20 'guys in black' try to kill the Wanderer and that Ron had been running from the Hollow for months.
"Ron, where has that Hollow chased you from?" Renji asked.
"Hollow? What's a Hollow?" Ron asked.
'He doesn't even know what a Hollow is?'
"A Hollow, that thing we just got away from is a Hollow, where did it chase you from?" Renji asked again.
"Well I…" Ron started but then stopped when a roar echoed through the air from a nearby street.
"RRRAAAGGGHHH!!!"
"Shit it found us…" Renji realized, he could travel in his condition but there was no way he could fight, and he couldn't call for help because his phone was destroyed by the Hollow.
Renji realized that there was only one place they could be safe.
"Ron, follow me" Renji said as he started jogging down the alley.
Another twenty minutes later, Ron and Renji were breathing heavily while standing in front of a dingy looking shop with the name Urahara hanging over it.
"What is this place?" Ron asked.
Renji had a look of annoyance on his face, he hated coming here.
"This is the Urahara shop… we'll be safe here for now" Renji walked forward and knocked on the door.
Ron and Renji waited for a few moments before the door opened, Ron had to look up to see the face of the man who answered the door. It was a giant man wearing sunglasses and had a huge moustache.
"Hey Tessai, is Urahara in?" Renji asked, the big man nodded and moved out of the way after pointing at a door leading further into the shop.
Renji and Ron walked further into the shop until they came to a small room, sitting at a table drinking tea was a man wearing a white and green striped hat that partially obscured his face. The man looked up, saw Renji and smiled.
"Well well, if it isn't Renji Abarai, vice captain of the 6th division, what brings you to my humble shop at this time of the night?" the man said without faltering in his smile.
Renji pointed at Ron,
"He does"
Renji then walked forward and kneeled down to the table Urahara was sitting at.
"Ok, I have an un-killable Hollow, a soul that the soul burial doesn't work on and lots of questions that need answering" Renji said matter-of-factly.
For the first time since entering the room Urahara noticed the metal stump of Ron's chest with no chain of fate attached to it.
For some reason Urahara smiled when he saw this.
"Check this out" Renji said as he drew his sword, in one swift movement he poked Ron in the forehead with the butt of his sword.
"OW, STOP THAT!!!" Ron shouted as he fell back holding his head. Sure enough a small bruise started to form due to the amount of times Renji was poking him.
"See? Nothing!" Renji said as he sheathed his sword. "…and not only that, his chain of fate is gone but he hasn't become a Hollow!"
Urahara looked at Ron who was trying to check his forehead in a mirror but couldn't due to him casting no reflection.
"Hey kid, have a seat" Urahara said to Ron. Ron kneeled at the small table.
"Ok, tell me how you died, and what you've been doing since then" Urahara said as he took a sip from his tea.
"Ok, it was over a year ago now, the night after graduation…"
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One Year Ago
Middleton
Ron and Kim sat in the Roth SL Coup which was at this moment flying through the night sky away from the beach party they had just left. It was also only hours after stopping the Lorwardian invasion of earth and Graduating from high school, which proved to be the two toughest things the crime fighting team had ever accomplished.
"So KP, what now?" Ron asked bluntly.
"What do you mean what now?" Kim asked with a look of confusion.
"Well I wasn't actually expecting to actually make it through Graduation, so I kinda don't know what's next" Ron said with his goofy smile.
Kim giggled.
"Well, we have the entire summer to spend together and after that its off to college… unless of course another alien race decides to try and take over earth… then we may have to change our plans" Kim said jokingly.
Ron was about to say something else when he noticed something, above them in the light of the moon was a shadow.
"KP, what's that?" Ron asked.
Kim looked out the front window where Ron was pointing but saw nothing.
"Ron there's nothing there"
Ron looked closer, whatever it was it seemed to be getting bigger, but upon further inspection Ron realized something, it wasn't getting bigger, it was getting closer. After a few moments Ron was able to discern shapes , it had legs and long arms and its entire body was black apart from its face which showed a white skull like mask, and it was falling towards them.
"KP LOOK OUT!" Ron shouted as the creature got closer to them.
Kim, deciding to give Ron the benefit of the doubt looked again, but saw absolutely nothing except the full moon shining brightly in the air.
"Ron theres nothing th…" Kim stopped speaking when suddenly the car lurched as if something had struck it.
Ron was horrified, the creature had landed on the hood of the car and yet Kim still couldn't see it.
The creature reared back and launched one of its fists at the windshield of the car, the fist smashed through the glass easily and grabbed hold of Ron's entire top half of his body with just one hand, the creature tugged on Ron to pull him out of the car.
"Argghh!" Ron shouted in pain a she felt his seatbelt cutting into him.
Kim was mortified, first something had struck the car, then the front windshield shattered as if something had been thrown through it, and now Ron had his arms at flat at his side lurching forward against his seatbelt while grunting in pain.
Suddenly Ron felt the seatbelt go lax, the creature which still had a grip on him pulled him forward out through the windshield and onto the hood of the car. While still holding onto Ron the creature jumped from the car while holding onto Ron, Ron fell for a moment before he felt a sharp tug on his chest followed by the sound of something breaking.
Ron and the creature were still falling, Ron finally wriggled out of the creatures grip, after gaining some leverage Ron reared back and punched the creature in its throat just below the white mask, attack caused the creature to let go of Ron.
After a few more moments of falling Ron felt himself hitting water, he had never been so happy to have been flying over the ocean. It took a few moments but Ron surface and took a deep breath of air, Ron looked around for a moment to see where the creature was… nothing.
Ron looked ahead, he wasn't far from the beach and saw the Kim was landing. Ron started swimming towards the beach while wondering,
'Why did she go over there? The car has an aquatic mode now'
After a few minutes of tiring swimming Ron reached the beach and started walking towards the car. As he approached the car he noticed something, Kim was crying.
'She must have thought something happened to me' Ron though as he walked towards the car.
"Hey KP it's ok I'm…" Ron trailed off as he reached the car and looked inside.
Ron eyes widened in terror at what he was looking at… himself.
Ron was looking at himself, still strapped into the car with the seatbelt, empty eyes looking into space, his chest completely still as his heart was not beating and he wasn't breathing.
Kim was leaning over to Ron crying, trying to shake him awake, with tears in her eyes she whispered repeatedly,
"P-Please Ron… wake up… wake up baby…" Kim whispered as she stroked his hair and cheek.
Ron watched the scene in front of him play out in horror, for the first time since getting out of the water he looked down and saw something, a broken chain hanging from his chest. He remembered when he fell from the car he felt a tug on his chest and heard something break. His body had never left the car.
"I… I'm dead?"
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Present time
"… I hung around for a few days trying to figure out a way to get back in my body but nothing happened, the official record said I died from a heart attack… anyway a few days later the thing that ripped me out of my body turned up again, it rampaged through the city looking for me, so I ran, I ran south to get it away from my family and friends… and Kim." Ron said was he looked down in sadness.
"… anyway I kept moving south, eventually I got to south America but it just kept following me killing anyone who got between me and it, I tried to get it as far away from people as possible so I stowed away on a cargo ship heading to Antarctica… it was then that you guy's in black started showing up trying to kill it, none of them could. Eventually it chased me to a settlement near the ocean, I hid from it in a cargo container so I could get some sleep. Unfortunately while I was sleeping the container was loaded onto a ship and I ended up in Africa…"
Renji was recognizing Ron's tail and suddenly interrupted,
"… after you got to Africa you headed north, for a few months until you reached Europe, then you started to move east, you kept going for months through Europe until you eventually entered Asia and ended up here." Renji finished and Ron was looking at Renji shocked.
"How did you know that?" Ron asked.
"Because that was the route that we have been following for the last year trying to kill this thing, we wondered why it was always traveling from place to place instead of just staying in one place to feed… you're telling me it was chasing you the whole time?"
Ron answered with a quick nod.
This was really confusing, Ron's chain of fate would have eroded a long time ago and he should have become a hollow himself, but he hadn't.
Renji looked back at Urahara.
"OK, I need your help, I need you to help me figure out what this kid is…" Renji said.
"There's no need, I already know what he is…" Urahara said with a smile. Renji leaned forward ready to hear an explanation.
",,, he's a Nobody"
"A Nobody?" Renji asked in confusion. "What's a Nobody?"
Urahara placed down his empty cup and started to pour some more tea into it.
"A Nobody an anomaly, extremely rare, there's only been two in recorded history… you see, a hollow is formed when the chain of fate completely erodes, then the darkness within the soul completely overtakes the soul transforming it into a Hollow. But this is where a Nobody is unique, you see a Nobody is a completely pure soul… not a trace of evil or darkness within them…"
Renji was shocked, everyone has a darkness in them, it's human nature.
"Is such a thing even possible?" Renji asked.
"Like I said, they're very rare with only two known cases" Urahara said, repeating what he said a few moments before.
"Ok, that's explains why he hasn't become a Hollow, but why doesn't the Soul Burial work on him?" Renji asked.
"For the same reason he won't become a Hollow, the Soul Burial doesn't just send somebody to Soul Society, it is a judgment system that weights the evil against the good of that persons soul, if the soul had no evil at all then the judgment process can't begin" Urahara explained.
Renji's mind was reeling, he never knew any of this.
"Ok, that explains him, but what about the Hollow, why did it chase him across the globe and why can't I kill it? I sliced that thing in half but it just got back up"
Urahara took a deep breath as he prepared to explain what he knew once again.
"Every Nobody has a Hollow that is bound to them, a Nobody can't truly exist, they can't go to Soul Society and they can't become Hollows, Nobodys have only two possible fates, one of which is being devoured by a Hollow, so when a Nobody is created the Hollow nearest to it becomes what is called a Stalker, it follows the Nobody relentlessly until it is devoured, the only one who can kill a Stalker Hollow is the Nobody it is bound to."
Ron had been completely silent while Urahara explained everything, after he was finished Ron had a crystallizing moment, and he knew what he had to do.
"Ok then, we know what to do now" Ron said as he stood up.
"What are you talking about" Renji asked.
"It can't be killed because its bound to me right? Well after it eats me it won't be a Stalker anymore and it can be killed…" Ron said as he made to walk out the door.
Renji stood up and turned to him
"Hey wait, you're telling me you're just gonna let it devour you so it can be killed?!" Renji shouted in anger.
"Yes…" Ron answered immediately, "I've lost count of how many people it's killed just because they got between me and it, the reason I kept running is because I thought after I got me it might go back for Kim, I watched other people in black like you attack it but most of them died as well, now I know a way to kill it and I'm gonna do it!!!" Ron said as he made to walk out again.
"Don't you want to know that other fate?" Urahara finally spoke.
"What're you talking about?" Ron said with confusion.
"I said that being devoured by a Hollow was one of two fates of a Nobody, and I also said that only the Nobody who the Stalker is bound to can kill it while still bound" Urahara said as he stood up and walked towards Ron and Renji.
"Yeah, but I can't stand up against that thing, I fought against it a couple of times but I only slowed it down" Ron explained.
Urahara smiled as he reached Ron,
"That's where the other fate comes in, a Nobody can still become a Shinigami"
"A Shinigami? You mean like him?" Ron said as he pointed at Renji. Urahara nodded.
"… and you can help me do it?" Ron asked, Urahara nodded.
Ron looked at Renji for a moment as if considering the option.
"Would I have to wear a skirt as well?" Ron said while pointing at Renji's Hakama.
Renji's looked down and bared his teeth.
"IT'S A HAKAMA, NOT A SKIRT!!!" Renji yelled.
"Yeah, well I know someone called Duff Killigan who wears a skirt, even though he calls it a Kilt… it's still a skirt!!!"
Renji felt his hand subconsciously reach for his sword.
"So do you agree?" Urahara asked Ron.
"… ok, but I get killed fighting it, then you need to promise to finish it off for me" Ron said while looking at Renji.
Renji nodded.
"All right then, follow me, I have the perfect place for your training" Urahara said as he started to lead Ron into a backroom. As they made their way to the back of the shop Ron muttered something, just loud enough for Renji and Urahara to hear.
"I bet if I check a Thesaurus I could find the words Kilt and Hakama under the word Skirt" Ron said with a smile.
"Hey Ron" Renji said to gain his attention. Ron turned around just in time to see the butt of Renji's sword heading towards him again.
"OW, STOP DOING THAT!!!"
"Just checking" Renji said with a sadistic smile.
A few moments later Urahara opened a trapdoor that revealed a long ladder.
"You go first Ron" Urahara said while pointing a the ladder.
After Ron went down the ladder Renji asked Urahara something.
"Hey you said that there have been two other Nobodys before him, who were the others?"
Urahara smiled.
"Well, one of them is standing in front of you right now"
Renji face faulted.
"You!!! You were a Nobody?!" Renji asked.
Urahara smiled and nodded.
"How do you think I knew exactly what he was going through? I know because I went through the same thing"
"Ok then, who was the other one?" Renji asked curiously.
"Oh, you know him very well… he's now the oldest and most powerful of all Shinigami, he's the captain of the 1st division and leader of all Shinigami"
Out of all shocks Renji had suffered this night, this was the biggest. The recorded Nobodys were former captain of the 12th division Urahara, and current 1st division captain and leader of all Shinigami, Yamamoto.
As Renji started to follow Ron and Urahara down the ladder he realized that Nobodys must have an amazing amount of potential.
As Ron was still climbing down the ladder he realized something and let out a moan of annoyance.
"What's wrong?" Urahara called down.
Ron looked up and spoke.
"I just realized that Bonnie was right all these years, I really am a nobody!"
To Be Continued…
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BOOYAA! say hello to the latest Xover created by VINcredable. Please read and review to tell me what you think of the storyline. I've had this story in the works for months now. So please review and i'll get my updates up faster.
Oh, can anyone guess who the Hollow chasing Ron used to be? lol.
Oh, many people have asked me why i use the pen name VINcredable. so i'll explain. it combines two of my favorite things, Vincent Valentine, who is my fave character from Final Fantasy 7.
and a name created like the Name Kim Possible is a play on the word Impossible and Ron Stoppable is a play on the word Unstoppable.
and i came up with Vincent Credable, or VINcredable for short, a play on the word Incredible.