Black Cat 2
Well, it wasn't a long wait but here it is, the sequel to Black Cat: New Bounty. This story does get a little darker, so you've been warned. Below is a summary of the first story, just to jog your memory in case you forgot something. If you haven't read the first one, I highly advise you do, but this summary should put you up to speed if you're in a hurry.
Previously...
Sven and Eve are evicted from their home and desperately seek any form of payment. Their hope lies in an unusually large bounty for a young girl named Rukia Kuchiki. To find her the gang moves to Karakura and shortly upon arrival Rukia is found. Eve befriends the wanted criminal and Sven's loyalties waver. He grapples with the decision of handing Rukia in to the authorities or protecting Eve's new friend. Sven takes Rukia to be arrested but has a change of heart just at the last moment and breaks her out of the Chronos headquarters.
Chronos, understaffed after the recent rebellion of the Zero numbers seeks the aid of another force known as the Gotei 13. Both organisations have different motives for their alliance and soon the seeds of doubt are sown when the sinister motives of the Gotei 13 is uncovered. They put the bounty on Rukia's head so that they could extract the Hogyoku (A device that can bridge the gap between Shinigami and hollow, ultimately creating the perfect warrior.)
The Hogyoku was the item the traitorous Sosuke Aizen was after a decade ago when he revolted against Soul Society and tried to steal it. Fortunately, the combined force of the Gotei 13 sent him running, empty handed and bitter. He vowed to return when they were at their weakest and take the Hogyoku right from under their noses. With it he could destroy the world and reign supreme from atop the heavens. Aizen went into hiding and the threat was overlooked in order to focus on capturing Rukia.
Meanwhile, a former shinigami named Gaichu learns of a young girl who possesses the ability to shape shift due to her body coursing with nanomachines, tiny machines that interact with living tissue. This young girl is Eve, the genetically bio-engineered super-weapon.
Sven is injured while saving Rukia and further wounded when Rukia demonstrates her shinigami powers. The two head to a hospital and Eve is brought along to visit her guardian. While there Gaichu makes his move and abducts Eve, holding her within a mountain-side castle. Disregarding his injuries, Sven sets off to find her.
He arrives at the castle, only to be stopped by one of Gaichu's henchmen who defeats the wounded sweeper with ease. Just when his hopes are about to vanish, a saviour arrives with orange hair. Ichigo dispatches the guard and heads into the castle alone. Rukia arrives soon after to heal Sven and bring him back to the hospital.
As Ichigo searches the seemingly abandoned castle he is ambushed by another of Gaichu's subordinates. Ignoring the injury he heads deeper into the castle until he finds Eve, held hostage by the cruel Doctor. Ichigo's confidence falters when the Doctor unleashes his warp world technique, but he overpowers the psychotic surgeon and leaves him maimed and beaten. Ichigo takes Eve and makes the long trek through the forest back home.
Ichigo and Eve don't return for a whole week and Sven fears the worst. He takes off in search of them but eventually collapses by the side of a road where an old friend picks him up.
Rukia, now alone resides within the Kurosaki residence waiting for anyone to return. Instead, she receives a visit from Renji and her older brother Byakuya. The two shinigami try to capture her but she is saved just in time by a mysterious stranger with cat-like eyes. Train fights Renji and forces them into a retreat. When Rukia asks why he saved her he tells her he was sent here to find her.
Train takes her to Orihime's apartment where Sven, Eve and Ichigo are all getting healed. Rukia is told that Train had found Eve and Ichigo and searched for a hospital but along the way he spotted Inoue aiding Sven and decided to see her.
Train and Rukia get to know each other a bit while they wait. The next morning two intruders enter the building. Rukia fears they are dangerous but just before a fight breaks out Train recognises them. It's Charden and Kyoko. The two explain they had travelled for a long time, searching for him. Train warns that now is now a safe time just as Soi Fon arrives to challenge Train to a duel. Assassin vs. assassin.
Train is slowly overpowered by Soi Fon's astonishing speed and strength. She stabs him with Suzemabachi and prepares for the second strike when Kyoko defends her beloved Mr Black. Charden and Kyoko then face off against her but as they gain momentum reinforcements arrive in the form of tenth squad captain Toshiro Hitsugaya. He surprises them and cuts Kyoko down with only one hit.
Rukia enters the fray to save her fallen allies and a fierce battle ensues. While the two duel Orihime heals Train hoping to get him up and fighting again before Rukia is subdued. Toshiro finds out about the plan and attempts to kill Orihime before she can heal the Black Cat. Just as he prepares to attack her, Train shoots him point blank. Defeated, Toshiro and Soi Fon retreat leaving the others save for another day.
Meanwhile, the Doctor returns to Gaichu, missing both legs and near death. He pleads for forgiveness but Gaichu murders him. His henchmen are concerned that he was the only doctor who specialised in nanomachines but Gaichu reassures them he knows someone else.
Dr Tearju is approached by Gaichu and threatened into helping them implant the nanomachines into hollows, thus creating an unstoppable monster. Reluctantly she accepts and the work begins.
Within the Chronos headquarters, Sephiria Arks, the leader of Chronos, learns of the Gotei 13's sinister plans and confronts the captain commander. She argues that it is wrong to execute the Kuchiki girl for nothing more than having the Hogyoku inside of her. She incites the numbers to revolt and fight against the shinigami. Yammamoto is enraged by the insurrection and attacks her. While the captains all fight each other the captain commander unleashes Ryujin Jakka upon his opponent, destroying the headquarters and reducing the whole area to rubble.
One of the numbers recruits the sweeper alliance to help with the rebellion but is turned down by the angry sweepers who had been detained ever since they were recruited.
When Rukia's friends are fully healed they devise a plan to stop Soul Society coming after them. They decide to strike their headquarters while they are in turmoil. Train, Sven, Ichigo, Eve and Rukia head off, leaving Orihime behind because she is deemed to fragile for the battlefield.
When everyone arrives, Gaichu takes advantage of the distraction and releases his prototype hollow upon them. First in its sights is the sweeper alliance whose multitude of weapons inspires the creature to experiment with its shape shifting abilities. After slaughtering a large number of them Train and Ichigo intervene and team up to try and defeat it. Their efforts seem to be in vain and they withdraw while Byakuya takes his turn to fight it. He too is unable to defeat the monster, but it is then that Byakuya states the only thing that can slay a monster is another monster.
Zaraki Kenpachi faces off against the shape shifting hollow and after dealing some devastating attacks the tide suddenly turns and the overconfident Kenpachi is beaten. When he finally falls Ichigo uses his vizard powers against the hollow. At first it seems like he has won, but the hollow manages to piece his mutilated body back together again and is about to slay his opponent when Rukia freezes him. She tries to kill the monster but she too is defeated. When she is about to be killed Eve rescues her and the hollow faces off against yet another foe. She is forced to pull back.
Sven devises a plan in which he distracts the hollow until Eve can ambush him and drain the nanomachines from its body. Sven uses his various skills and weapons to cause a distraction but he is hit by the hollow. Just as the hollow prepares to slice him apart with his claws, Eve takes the hit, managing to get close enough to drain the nanomachines, successfully killing the hollow.
With him down Gaichu sends one of his minions down. Tenshi, a dual sword wielding woman squares off against Train and Ichigo who use simultaneous attacks to try and wear her down. She uses her amazing skills and honed reflexes to defend against them and uses a cleverly timed Flash step to trick Train into shooting Ichigo with a burst bullet. Tenshi then impales Ichigo on her swords and renders him unable to fight anymore.
Gaichu duels Byakuya and reveals his Shikai and uses it to beat him despite suffering terrible injuries from Byakuya's Bankai.
Meanwhile Tenshi faces Rukia and Train who try to overpower her. They wound her but she gains the upper hand and is about to deal a fatal blow when Gaichu stops her and stresses that she cannot be killed. Tenshi agrees reluctantly and continues her battle with Rukia. Even after losing an arm Tenshi fights on equal par with Rukia until she is knocked down. As Rukia raises her sword to her fallen prey she finds herself unable to kill her opponent.
Gaichu's other henchman arrives and knocks Rukia aside. The three villains regroup and prepare to extract the Hogyoku. Rukia is captured and the item is removed. Tenshi is about to kill the now useless girl but Train fires a freeze bullet which paralyses her while she painfully bleeds to death.
Train then fights Akuma but soon struggles against his literally earth-shattering power. Sven interrupts and uses the machine gun inside his suitcase. He riddles Akuma's back full of holes but it seems to have no affect so he draws his pistol and shoots empties the clips into his face, taking out his eyes and blinding him.
Train entwines some of Eve's hair around a bullet and then returns to help Sven who is getting strangled by the enraged villain. Train fires the bullet but it bounces off Akuma's thick skin. Determined, Train catches the bullet and drives it through one of Akuma's open wounds, placing it within his body. While Akuma fights back Eve forces the strands of hair to morph into blades which shred Akuma's insides and kill him.
With Tran and Sven too injured to fight on and everyone else either dead or incapacitated, Rukia took to the battlefield alone to compete against Gaichu. After a fierce battle Rukia is slowly brought to despair due to Gaichu's overwhelming power. He impales her on his sword and is about to finish her off when Rukia laughs. She tells him that she is finally close enough and fires off a high level kido which brings both fighters to the brink of death.
Rukia is revived by her friends and they notice a barely mobile Gaichu approaching them. Train begs him to give up but he refuses to stop until either his dreams come true or he dies. An unexpected guest does the latter and slices Gaichu in half before stealing the Hogyoku. The guest is none other than Sosuke Aizen!
Aizen thanks Rukia for giving the Hogyoku and takes her and Eve back to Hueco Mundo.
Ichigo and Sven express their anger at having failed to protect the ones they and seek support from train who appears to have disappeared once again. Sephiria comforts them and informs them that Soul Society is mobilizing its forces and when the time is right they will all invade Hueco Mundo and rescue the two hostages as well as defeating Aizen once and for all.
Sven is rewarded for his efforts with a new house as well as the promised bounty for Rukia Kuchiki. He tells Sephiria to think of it as payment in advance because he will bring Rukia back no matter what. Inspired by his words Ichigo vows to fight alongside him and that together they will beat Aizen and rescue their loved ones.
A month later Sven is sitting in a cafe. He notices schoolchildren walking to school and they remind him of Eve. He lights up a cigarette and is scolded by a waitress whom he recognises as the one who serves him in every cafe he ever visits. He pays his bill and slips a bill into her pants pocket. She is about to slap him but with his newly trained reflexes he blocks it and warns her to leave town. He lies to her, saying that a criminal organization is going to bomb the town. He leaves abruptly and when prompted as to what he would do, Sven replies:
"I've got a bounty to collect!"
And thus, the story begins...