My Nakama
Chapter One: 110 Years Later
This is the only time I am saying this for the story: I do not own Bleach or Naruto [Shippuden].
"Time does not pass, it continues." -Marty Rubin
Landing on two poles towering over the city, the two people waited. Waiting and observing is all they could do until they sensed the Hollow again. The two people had been assigned to watch over and protect Karakura Town for a month, a job that should be easy enough. Their shihakushos fluttered in the night's wind as two Hell Butterflies floated above them.
"Hey, do you sense that?" inquired a man with long hair.
"I sense strong spirit energy close by," replied a girl.
The two starting Shunpoing from poles to roofs to pursue the Hollow. Once they got to the destination where they last sensed the Hollow's presence, it was gone again.
"Lieutenant Uchiha, what should we do?"
"For now, we should rest and start again when the dawn comes," replied the lieutenant, and as if remembering something, he said, "I thought I told you to use my first name when no superiors are around. Didn't I, Rukia?"
Blushing at her mistake, she said, "Sorry, I forgot. I'll try to remember next time, Itachi."
Smiling at the shorter member in his squad, he stated they should start looking for shelter.
Dawn had come quickly. The sky was painted with blinding oranges and reds. That blasted Hollow from the night before hadn't come back for awhile, so the two Soul Reapers decided to observe the humans. It seemed that they were currently in a side street or an alley of some sort. In the distance, they saw seven people, as well as a board with wheels.
"You got a death wish, Pal?" asked a man that looked too old to be skateboarding. Rukia couldn't help but wonder what the piece of wood with wheels did.
Looking around, Itachi realized that there was a man on the ground, seemingly unconscious. The man also appeared to have four friends with him. The sixth person looked to be a teen in a uniform, about sixteen, with orange hair; he was most likely the reason why the man was one the ground. The four older men were obviously mad due to the curses that were being thrown at the teenager.
"Nobody jumps one of my boys for no reason and lives to tell about it," the same man said.
"Hmm..." the teen sounded.
"That's all you got to say!?" the man seemed even more mad now.
He went to punch the kid. However, to his surprise, the adolescent quickly kicked his face, and he went down like a sack of potatoes. The orange haired boy then proceeded to stomp on the guy's back. Well, two down, three to go.
"Lil' Yama's down! We gotta help him!" shouted another. There was a problem though; the rest were all trembling with fear.
"Are you crazy?" cried a man with a ponytail. Itachi's is better, Rukia thought.
"No way I'm taking on that psycho," said a fearful man with an Afro.
The teen had now taken a liking to stomping on the guy's head. His stomps were forceful, if the guy's head going into the dirt was anything to go off of.
The kid looked up at the remaining three and said, "Now listen up, you Pond Scum!" Flinging his arm to the side, he pointed to a pole. Next to it was a chipped glass bottle with a small bouquet of white flowers that was on its side, and the water was mostly out of the make shift vase rather than in it. Looking back at the punks, he stated, "First question: what do you think that is? You, the one in the middle! Answer!"
Jumping in fright, the man replied, "Wait! You talkin' to me? I guess somebody left those flowers for some kid who got killed here." A kick to the jaw was his reward for being "Correct," as the teen exclaimed.
"Wait, chill out!" pleaded ponytail guy.
"Now the next question: that vase over there, why is it laying on its side?"
A guy with a short Afro was the one to answer, "I guess one of us knocked it over when we were skateboarding through here. We didn't m-" Both the Afro man and the one with a ponytail were kicked away.
"You guys catch on fast. NOW GO AND APOLOGIZE, OR ELSE THE NEXT TIME THE FLOWERS WILL BE FOR YOU," threatened the teen. Itachi smirked at the men who apologized while running away. "There, that ought to keep those punks from showing their ugly faces around here. Sorry about all that," the teen said to a little girl who became visible, "I'll bring you by some new flowers tomorrow."
The ghost child with twin tails said, "Thank you for coming to my defense. I think I'll finally be able to rest peacefully."
"No problem," responded the teen while bending down to upright the vase, "It's the least I could do. After all, you deserve to rest in peace."
After the teen walked away, the two members of the Thirteenth Squad looked at each other. They burst out laughing, well Rukia did; Itachi gave a quiet chuckle. They had been right to observe the humans as it proved to be quite the comedy relief. However, it seemed they had slacked off for a bit too long, so they went back to looking for signs of the white masked monsters.
The rest of the day had been fruitless, and the night had proven to be no better. There had been no sign of any Hollows in town. However, on their second morning there, they got two Hollow readings. The two ravens followed the source until they got to a street that connected to a road with a ton of people on it. It took a bit to beat the Hollow because they had to protect the citizens who were oblivious to the monster. Despite, protecting the humans, one of the buildings got hit from an attack.
They tried a strategy where Rukia would distract the Hollow, and Itachi would cut its mask. Itachi didn't agree with Rukia being the distraction because she could get hurt, but Rukia waved him off stating, "We don't have time to think of a better plan. The Hollow's attacks are getting more dangerous." Itachi begrudgingly accepted the plan.
Rukia's taunts to have the Hollow focus on her made Itachi chuckle and worry. The girl immediately got the reaction she wanted. The Hollow's back was turned, and before it knew what was happening, Itachi sliced at its mask. However, with fast reflexes, the Hollow noticed sooner than Itachi would like, dodged and fled.
After dealing with the Hollow that fled, Itachi thought about writing a report about the fight. All members in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were to write a mandatory report whenever they beat a Hollow in the World of the Living. By using his Hell Butterfly to deliver the report to Head Captain Yamamoto, he knew the report would be received quickly, but he decided against writing a report that would just be about their failed attempt. Standing up, both Soul Reapers bounded up to the roof on a nearby building.
A couple of hours later, they heard the roaring of another Hollow, most likely the second one they got a reading on from before since the other one sounded a bit different. All of the sudden, the building they were on shook and started to get slash mark.
When the dust started to settle, they could see the Hollow. It looked like some type of caterpillar and prey mantis hybrid. A little bit ahead of it, they saw the same ghost girl and human boy from yesterday. The boy started to run with the girl not far behind; he apparently was trying to save the girl in his own human way. However, their chance of escape dimmed when the twin tailed girl tripped and fell.
That was when Rukia pounced. Since she came at an angle, Rukia didn't cut through the mask, but mouth. Going for a second attack, her sword made its mark, and the Hollow was no more. Slightly turning her head, she got a glimpse at the teen and then walked away.
This time, they could report something successfully executed.
Once again, it was night. Itachi and Rukia had been sitting on a roof and waiting for a Hollow to be found. So far, their first day and a half of being in Karakura Town was bland, with the exception of the morning.
"Ugh, this is taking forever!" cried Rukia, "I'm so bored."
"You're not alone in that aspect," chimed Itachi.
"I mean c'mon, is this Hollow too much of a coward to s-" suddenly the Soul Pager in her hand went off.
Turning to face her, Itachi asked for the coordinates, and she gave them. Leaping off the roof, the two followed the signal quickly. The trail lend them to a small abode that looked to have a little facility connected to it. Above the door was a sign that read "Kurosaki Clinic."
In response, Itachi mumbled a quiet, "How strange..."
Rukia's Hell Butterflies flew in through an opened window, and they followed. When they enter the room, they both noticed the same adolescent with orange hair from the morning, but they paid him no mind. Faintly hearing a "What the hell are you doing here," both of them focused their senses, trying to pinpoint the Hollow. Rukia grasped the hilt of her zanpakto, as if she found the presence of the Hollow. They both heard another comment but ignored it, after all, it's not like the boy could seem them. Rukia then jumped down onto the floor to further inspect.
Not looking in her direction, Itachi asked, "Do you sense it?"
"I feel it," she answered. As soon as she said that, she was kicked from behind by the orange hair human as he demanded, "Who are you and what do you want!?"
Itachi raised a dark brow. It seemed that the human could see them. The human boy that seemed to still be wearing his uniform from his school. They were much different compared to the Soul Reaper Academy's uniforms. Rukia landed face first on the floor, a look of shock and one of confusion clearly on her face. The offender continued his rant, "If you think you're a burglar, you're not a very good one! For starters, you shouldn't talk to yourself!"
Turning her head, Rukia replied, "You kicked me, but I can't be seen by ordinary humans. Are you saying you can see me?"
"Well, considering that that was my foot I just planted in your behind, you tell me," the boy sure had a bite to his reply.
Getting up on her feet, Rukia said, "You were the one I saw in town earlier; I remember."
"Boy," he said sarcastically, "nothing gets by you."
Lifting her hands up to his face and moving it, she said, "How very strange. You look normal, but you must be defective in some way."
"Rukia," murmured Itachi, "it's incredibly rude to call one defective."
The teen obviously got more annoyed and knocked Rukia's hand away. Balling his hands, he growled, "I'll show you defective!" and proceeded to kick her again, but Rukia just jumped over him, kicking his head and making him topple over in the process. Using his left side to push himself up, he looked at both of the intruders and asked again, "Who are you?"
"You want to know?" she turned around, "Then, I'll tell you. We're Soul Reapers." With that, she began to explain to the human.
A loud but low sound from outside caught the raven's attention. Then, he heard something metallic snap. Narrowing his eyes, he kept his guard up on high alert. Something felt very wrong to him, and Itachi was never one to distrust his instincts.
"Alright, so you're something called a Soul Reaper," he heard, "and you're telling me that you two were sent here on a mission by something called the Soul Society to deal with demons like the one we saw on the street today, which was chasing after that girl's soul. That's all believable to me," Itachi sincerely doubted the other male meant that. He was proven corrected when the human flipped a table at Rukia and shouted, "along with flying pigs and the Tooth Fairy!"
The short Soul Reaper objected in vexation, "How dare you? Why wouldn't you believe in Soul Reapers when you just admitted you can see spirits?"
"I've never seen or heard of Soul Reapers before," he said standing up, "and quite frankly, your whole story is just too incredible. I don't believe in anything I can't see."
"Well, you see me and my lieutenant, don't you?" Rukia asked challenging tone.
"Well, that's true, and I'd agree with the fact that you're both not human, but why don't you two go play your Soul Reaper game somewhere else? Okay, Little Brat?" he said while placing his hand on Rukia's head, "Now run along."
Her jaw clenched in annoyance, she ground out, "I'm a brat, am I? Bakudo #1: Sai!" With that, the teen fell to the floor ungracefully. They both heard of sigh from the third person in the room who quietly said, "You shouldn't have insulted her."
Trying to escape the bind, the kid yelled, "I can't move! What did you do to me?" The simple reply he got was, "Paralysis."
Looking over at the two in the middle of the room, Itachi gave a short explanation, "She used what is called Kido on you."
Wanting to rub salt on the brat's wounded pride, Rukia added, "It's a high level incantation only we Soul Reapers can cast. It's useless to struggle against it. You're just wasting your energy. I may appear young to you, but I have lived nearly ten of your lifetimes. I would kill you on the spot for your insult if it were not against our orders. So you, Little Brat, be grateful!" after hearing a "You've got nerve," she continued while drawing her sword, "and now..."
The kid obviously thought that Rukia was going to harm him, but that was definitely not the case. Instead, the hilt part of the weapon was against the forehead of the ghost who had been in his kitchen the day previously. The ghost was obviously frighten because he said, "No, please don't! I don't want to be sent to the Underworld."
"You don't have to worry because you're on your way to a much better place. In the Soul Society, your soul will be at peace," the lieutenant still sitting in the window reassured the ghost. Just as he finished talking, Rukia lifted the hilt away, and a mark was left in place. The soul disappeared in the form of a Hell Butterfly soon after with a hopeful smile on his face.
The teen clearly was confused and thus asked, "Where'd he go? What did you do to him?"
Sheathing her sword, Rukia replied, "I sent his soul to the Soul Society."
"It's one of the main responsibilities of a Soul Reaper. People here usually call it passing on," added Itachi.
"Now, I'll explain to you why we're here, and I'll use small words so you can understand it," again spoke Rukia while digging through her shihakusho, "There are two types of spirits in this world."
"So she going to use that to explain," Itachi mused.
"The first kind," she said while showing a horribly drawn rabbit head with hearts around it,"are the normal spirits called Wholes. The ghosts that you see are usually this kind. The second kind," she said while showing a horribly drawn rabbit head with lightning around it, "are evil spirits known as Hollows. The Hollows attack people, living or dead, in order to devour their souls. Any questions before I go?"
"First of all, why do your drawings suck so badly?" for that remark, he was now the shameful owner of an ink mustache.
"You'll pay for this!" shouted the boy with a pseudostache.
He watched as the long haired Soul Reaper get up and approach him, "It's alright. I understand the annoyance you have with those drawings. I, myself, had to suffer through them as well."
"Lieutenant, how dare you mock my drawings!?" Rukia cried in offense.
The floored boy mumbled," Anyone who has seen those pictures has suffered."
"Anyway, let us continue with our lesson, Monsieur. There are two main jobs for Soul Reapers. First, to lead Wholes to the Soul Society through Konso, as I just did," she said with more bad drawings, "Second, to exercise the Hollows wherever we find them."
"That Hollow with the bug body this afternoon, why was it chasing that girl?" the boy seemed to be more willing to believe now.
"That, we don't know. We have yet to fully understand what motivates the Hollows to do the things they do," she continued on with her lesson.
Looking up the orange haired boy asked in a panic, "What was that?"
"One thing we do know, there is still another Hollow prowling somewhere nearby," informed the Uchiha.
"Then, what the hell are you waiting for? Go out and kill it," the bite in his tone was back.
"Don't talk to my lieutenant with that tone," glaring at him, Rukia answered his question, "We would, but we can't seem to detect its location. Usually I have no trouble finding a Hollow that's close by, but here's it's as if my senses are being jammed by some powerful force."
"What are you, deaf?" he demanded, "There's something huge howling out there. That sound has to be a Hollow."
"Something howling? What do you mean?"
All of a sudden, the Soul Reapers could hear it. The loud and agonizing howl of a Hollow. Its distorted cry in the night surprised Rukia greatly. The roar was so clear, how could they have not heard it?
"Now I hear it!"
"It's definitely a Hollow," Itachi said standing up, hand going to the hilt of his sword.
"That's what I've been telling you!" A cry from below was heard, and the boy yelled in worry, "That's Yuzu!"
The duo Soul Reapers took off to the source of commotion, leaving the paralyzed teen on the floor of his room who shouted after them, "Wait, untie me!" However, they paid him no attention.
Upon entering the hallway, they were blasted with spirit energy. "This spirit energy is among the strongest I've ever felt. How could I have not sensed it earlier?," Rukia thought. Itachi, seemingly unfazed, looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you alright?" was the unspoken question. A nod was all the confirmation he needed.
"Ichigo?" they whipped their heads to see a young girl with brown hair stumble and fall in the door way of the room they just exited.
"What happened?" the boy asked worried. They must being siblings. The response he got was, "Ichigo, Karin's been... Ichigo, you've gotta save her." The girl then collapsed. Karin must have been another sibling of their's.
Hearing another cry, the two Soul Reapers rushed downstairs to a room with a gaping hole leading outside. Directly on the other side of wall was the Hollow they had failed to defeat earlier. After hearing a shout of "Put me down," they looked at the hand of the monster. Inside it was a girl was black hair. Drawing their zanpakto, Rukia and Itachi readied themselves to save the girl, and then take care of the Hollow.
Hearing a thumping noise that was coming closer, they looked to the staircase where the carrot-topped teen came rolling down. Shooting him a glance, Rukia said, "Stay out of it."
Struggling to his knees then to his feet, he made the female Soul Reaper question how he was able to move at all. "Karin!" he exclaim when he saw his other sister in the hands, literally, of the monster. Squirming around more forcefully, the teen tried to get free of the Kido spell.
"Stop! The Kido is too strong for a human to break," warned Itachi, "If you keep trying, you'll only cause damage to your soul."
"What?" they looked astonished, "He's breaking the Kido."
Once released, the teen rushed at the beast, grabbing something on the way. He jumped and tried to hit the thing holding his sibling, but the Hollow just whacked him away. Aiming to punch the human again, the attack missed when the boy dodged. Seeing an opening, Rukia slashed at the monster's arm that was attached to the hand holding Karin. The beast was forced to release the girl, and the young male caught her before she hit the ground. However, just as Itachi leaped at it, the Hollow backed up and disappeared into a pitch, black portal.
"Karin! No!" the boy cried.
"Don't worry," Rukia said sincerely, "She'll be alright. The Hollow left before devouring either of your sisters' souls." Itachi nodded as he walked over to them.
Still worried, the boy asked with a shaky voice, "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she elaborated, "It's seeking a specific soul to eat, one with a much higher concentration of Spirit Energy. In fact… the Hollow earlier… was hungry for that soul, too, not the girls.
Itachi continued for Rukia after a "But why?" was heard, "For some reason, most of your Spirit Energy was hidden deep within you until now, when you needed it to save your sister. That's why we didn't sense anything unusual about you when we arrived."
"It also explains why the Hollows haven't come after you," Rukia said when she picked up on what Itachi was implying, "The Spirit Energy you have bottled up inside you started to pour out when you made contact with that young girl's ghost. As a result, your soul became exposed. Those two Hollows today detected your soul through that girl, and they were using her to track you down. Which means… the Hollows are really after you."
"Those things want me?" the shocked boy asked with horror written across his face.
Sensing that the Hollow came back, Itachi turned in time to see it white masked head come through, followed by its body and the roar. Turning around, Rukia got into a defensive position and commanded, "Get out of here!"
Surprising both of the Soul Reapers, the boy got up and replied with conviction, "No! So the vicious attacks on that poor girl were all because of me?" "That's one way to look at it," Rukia mumbled. "And now both my sisters could end up dead, and the whole thing is my fault?" With that in his mind, the teen raged onward towards the Hollow, but Itachi put his arm out, stopping the boy before he got any closer to it. Looking up at the masked monster, the boy yelled, "Coward! Quit attacking others. It's my soul you want; come and get it! Fight me one-on-one, you ugly bastard!"
Roaring in angry and excitement at the challenge, the Hollow shoot towards the boy. It would be over soon, and it would get the meal it wanted for so long. As it was mere inches away from the boy, the Hollow opened its mouth and closed just as quickly. Soon there was blood pooling around everywhere. However, what the Hollow was tasting didn't seem right. It did not taste like a human soul. It was not savory or feel lively. It tasted like a… a…
Soul Reaper.
Grasping, Rukia saw her lieutenant and his two weapons against his shoulder clenched between the monstrous rows of teeth. Blood spattered about: on the streets, down the Hollow's teeth, on Itachi himself, on his subordinate, and even on the human he protected, too. Running towards the Hollow's mask, Rukia helped the taller raven free himself from the grip, along with chipping some of the area near the teeth. Once freed, Itachi stumbled backwards and tried to regain his balance. However, suddenly the ground start to get closer to him, and he realize he was collapsing.
Now even angrier than before, the Hollow charged again, but this time at the considerably weakened Soul Reaper. Looking at the Hollow through his bangs, the officer prepared to use his Sharingan. However, that was not completely necessary. Rukia jumped in front of him before the beast got there and blocked its attack, but not fully. Some of its claws got passed her blade and sliced across her torso. Drops of her blood added to the mix already on the surface of the street.
Grunting in pain, Rukia stood straight. That hit did a lot more damage than she had initially thought. Without looking at the human boy, she ground out, "You are a fool. How could you possibly have thought you were any match for a Hollow? Did you really think it would be over if you gave him your soul? One soul doesn't satisfy them for long."
Rasping out, Itachi said, "Rukia, that's… enough."
Wanting to say one last thing to the boy, the shorter Soul Reaper stated, "If you don't stop interfering, we're all going to end up as its food,"
Howling in pain, the Hollow covered its face in a desperate attempt to alleviate the pain, but it proved to be unhelpful. However, it did give Rukia enough time to help Itachi sit against a wide pole. After telling the carrot-topped boy to stay out of the way, she immediately took the offence.
Leaping into the air, Rukia aimed an attack at the Hollow's mask. Bring her blade down in a vertical angle, the small female was able to make a noticeable crack in the white mask, but before she could completely slice it in two, the Hollow's giant hand whacked her away as if she were an annoying mosquito.
After hitting the ground, Rukia could definitely feel the soreness coming. While trying to stand again, she faltered with a stumble. It seemed that the hit from the beast had done more damage than she thought. She tried to lift her zanpakto to go for another round with the Hollow, but she found that doing so caused a tremendous amount of pain. It was broken. Cursing to herself, Rukia focused on the Hollow's movements. It was still howling with that distorted cry of its.
Noticing that his partner was in pain, Itachi worryingly asked, "How bad are your wounds?" The response he received was "semi-bearable."
Knowing that she was still able to feel sensations was good enough for now. Until he heard her next words, "But I'm too injured to fight."
As he jerked his head in her direction, he did two things. One, cause more pain for himself, but he steeled his mind to tolerate it. Two, catch her eye to silently give permission to what she wanted to do next. Rukia moved her body next to another pole and slid down. When she reached the ground, she asked the teen, "Do you want to save your family?"
Looking back at her in confusion, he stated the obvious, "Of course I do. If there's a way, tell me how."
Glancing at her comrade, Rukia indicated to his zanpakto. After seeing him pick up his blade again, she said, "It will only be temporary, but` you must become a Soul Reaper yourself." The uniformed-cladded boy looked at her with widened eyes.
"To become one, you must be impaled by a zanpakto of a full-fledged Soul Reaper," Itachi said with a ragged breath while holding his blade out.
"I would do this by myself, but I'm too weak to do it alone," taking a moment to breathe, she continued, "You must take my lieutenant and my zanpaktos and run them through the center of your being, so that we may pour our powers into you."
Hearing the Hollow cry out, Itachi added, "I can't guarantee that you will live, but if it doesn't work, it won't matter." The Hollow started to advance and was coming closer.
"The give me those blades, Soul Reapers," the boy said with aplomb.
"Not 'Soul Reaper,'" a smile and a gentle voice was the response, "I am Itachi Uchiha." He looked at the other person and received a similar reply, "My name is Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki."
The Hollow now ran at them, full speed. The boy carefully grasped both of the weapons.
"My name is," the Hollow reached out towards the group of three, "Ichigo Kurosaki." The zanpakto blades pierced through his chest. As metal met with flesh, the wind took place of the Hollow's screams, and a tremendous amount of light flew about. Even though its movements were getting slower and slower as the light pressed on, the evil spirit still persisted towards its goal. It was only a few feet away, but it seemed a life time. Suddenly the left arm of the Hollow became detached and fell to the ground, useless.
Behind the monster was the teen with his zanpakto drawn, and a blank expression graced his face. As he heaved his new zanpakto up on his shoulder, he could only leave the two Soul Reapers in a state of shock and disbelief. The boy – no, Ichigo – was now the one clad in a black shihakusho, and Itachi and Rukia were reduced to their white under robes. They also noticed that their zanpaktos were nowhere to be seen. Neither of the duo could gather enough Spirit Energy to become full Soul Reapers; they had been drained of their majority when they transferred powers to the human. Looking down at where her blade had been only moments ago, Rukia could only wonder what and exactly who this incredible human was.
"You will pay for what you did to my family, you Hollow Scum," lifting the big burden that was his zanpakto, he yelled out, "Feel the wrath of my blade!" The weapon was brought down fast and hard. The Hollow had become two halves from the blow on its sagittal plane. As the two halves started to distance from each other, they began to vanish and were soon completely gone. The only female looked on in awe.
Itachi, however, could only feel guilty for what he just sentenced Ichigo and his subordinate to. Giving one's powers to a human was forbidden and punishable by death to those who dare to attempt such. The young Kurosaki would have to constantly be on guard because of Hollows. Rukia and he could no longer be of any use because the only way to replenish their Spirit Energy would be to go back to the Soul Society. He and his suboordin – his friend – had been assigned to Karakura and were to send small reports for a month. After the duration of a month, they were to report back and hand in a report of the full mission, but now they had a slim to no chance of that happening. Knowing that Soul Society would more likely than not send others to come gather them made the Uchiha's head start to hurt, and he sighed.
The Hollow had been defeated, true, but there would be no report sent to the Head Captain. Looking over at his companion, he felt his throat constrict. The next time either of them stepped foot into the Soul Society, it would most likely be as criminals.
"And so fell the sword of fate." -Tite Kubo
To be continued