Rebirth of the Flames
The new world
This story was requested by freechimchangas. Thanks.
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"Ichigo-chan, did you enjoy karate today?" Kurosaki Masaki asked her son as they made their way home from the Dojo.
"No." Ichigo told her as he swung his hand that held hers back and forth.
"Now why didn't you like it?" she asked as she stopped and knelt in front of her son.
"Tatsuki-chan beat me again. I can never even land a hit. I'm just not strong enough." Ichigo said as he lowered his head, looking downtrodden.
Masaki used her right hand to gently lift Ichigo's head and looked him in the eyes before speaking.
"Ichigo-chan, it doesn't matter if you are strong enough or not. What matters is that you have the heart and will to keep getting up and continue fighting for what you believe."
"What does this have to do with my fight with Tatsuki-chan, Kaa-chan?" Ichigo asked as he looked at her in confusion.
"I guess nothing, Ichigo-chan, but it should be something for you to remember whenever you get into a fight in the future." Masaki told Ichigo as she thought of the future, where Ichigo would find out about her and her husband's heritage. A Quincy, Shinigami, and possibly a small amount of Hollow, would be hard to hide as his Reiatsu continues to get stronger like it has every year since his birth. "I want you to promise me something, Ichigo."
His mother not adding 'chan' at the end of his name told Ichigo that his Kaa-chan wanted to give him a serious talk.
"What is it, Kaa-chan?"
"I want you to promise me that you will only get into fights if, and only if, there is something at stake. Something that you care for deeply, such as your family, friends, and whoever becomes closer than that. Will you promise me that?"
"…I promise, Kaa-chan." The smile that he received from that answer caused Ichigo to return one of even greater radiance.
It was then that the clouds that had covered the skies throughout the day decided to release torrents of water without starting lightly and before they knew it, Ichigo and Masaki were drenched.
"We better get home, shouldn't we, Ichigo-chan?" Masaki asked as she stood back up.
Ichigo nodded his head enthusiastically before walking ahead, dragging his Kaa-chan along behind him.
"Ichigo-chan, will you please slow down. We're already wet, so we might as well take our time, okay?"
"Okay!"
While they were walking, a car drove by, almost splashing Masaki with water. Ichigo quickly let go of his mother's hand, much to her confusion, and moved to her right side, placing him between her and the road. He then took her hand and gave her a childish smile.
"I'll protect you from the cars, Kaa-chan."
Masaki wanted to coo at the face her son made and bent down to place a kiss on his cheek.
"My little protector. You better do this to whichever lucky girl gets you, okay?"
"Okay!" Ichigo said as his attention was caught by a girl who stood across the street, on the other side of the railing. 'What's she doing?'
When the girl started to lean over the edge, Ichigo quickly let go of his mother's hand and jumped over the railing, onto the road, before running across it and over to the other railing where the girl had disappeared from.
"Ichigo!" Masaki called out as she saw her son run across the road. She had seen the girl and realized that she wasn't human and came to the conclusion that she was just a spirit. If only Ichigo could be able to tell the difference between a spirit and a living person. "Ichigo-chan, come back here!"
It was when she focused more on where the spirit was that fear overtook her. She saw the outline of something big and noticed red, glowing eyes. 'A Hollow!' she quickly jumped the railing and ran towards Ichigo, realising that the Hollow was raising a clawed arm in preparation to attack. She dived towards her son, screaming.
"ICHIGO!"
The last thing Ichigo saw and felt before something knocked him out was glowing, red eyes and something hitting him in the back.
Grand Fisher was not happy that he missed his target. The boy was foolish enough to fall for his trap and to even leave his mother's side. He wasn't stupid, he could feel that the woman was strong, enough to make him pause, but not for long.
'Damn, bitch is fast.' He thought as he turned to find her cradling her child's body in her arms. "You should just hand the boy over; otherwise I'll have to devour you both. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"Do you really think a mother would allow someone to take the life of her child?" With that, Masaki placed Ichigo on the on the ground and made sure that he was okay before standing up and raising her left hand, making a fist, almost like she was gripping something. "Well, you're going to be sorely mistaken."
It took Grand Fisher by surprise when the Reishi in the surrounding air began to be drawn to her left hand, taking the form of a long bow with a relatively thin handle. She drew her right hand back as an arrow started to form.
"You must be one of those Quincy that I've heard about, with the ability to be able to draw in the Reishi from the air around you. If you think that you can do anything with that weapon, then you're sorely mistaken."
Masaki released the arrow and let it fly straight at Grand Fisher, who surprised her when some of his fur that covered most of his body, moved on its own and caught her arrow before snapping it like a twig.
'What! How is he able to do that?' she thought in shock as the Hollow started chuckling.
"Haven't you wondered where the Shinigami that should be patrolling this city are?" Masaki felt the Hollow's sadistic smile increase in size. "It's because each and every one of them got eaten by me. It's thanks to them that I'm so much stronger. Stronger than you even."
Masaki fired several more arrows, each one being caught by Grand Fisher's fur.
"Who are you, girl?" the Hollow asked as he caught a couple of more arrows that she had fired at him.
"Kurosaki Masaki. And you?"
"I am Grand Fisher. You better be prepared to die." He then went charging at Masaki and instead of catching the next arrow that she fired at him, he used his bird-like feet to jump high into the air.
Grand Fisher sent his fur tendrils flying at her with the intent to pierce straight through the woman, but was shockingly surprised when blue, vein-like lines, covered the arm that she used to block his tendrils.
"What! What is that?" he jumped back when Masaki almost shot him in the face.
"That," Masaki began. "Is Blut Vene, a Quincy technique that is strong enough to block any of your attacks. I won't be holding back now."
Before Grand Fisher could react, an arrow pierced through his shoulder and another went through his left knee. Another took off his entire right leg, forcing the Hollow to kneel. When he looked up, he saw Masaki standing in front of him with an arrow aimed right between his eyes.
"Your first mistake was threatening my son's life. Prepare to lose yours." She told him and as she was about to fire, she felt a powerful pull on her soul as her bow and arrow disappeared. "What!"
Grand Fisher saw his opening and attacked, sending Masaki flying in the direction of her son's body.
"I don't know what just happened but I feel almost no Reiatsu from you. It's just too bad that whatever happened had to happen now." Grand Fisher slowly started to stalk towards his weakened prey as she stood up with the rain washing away most of the blood that had come out of the cuts she had gained.
'Is this the… Auswählen that I've heard about?' she felt weak, as if, if she kept standing, she would die. She looked up to see Grand Fisher standing over her with his mouth open and with claws ready to slash. 'Is this where I die? Not even able to protect my own son?'
Grand Fisher started to swing his claw at the defeated woman, intent on ending her life and then devouring her soul.
'I'm sorry, Ichigo-chan. I'm sorry, Yuzu-chan, Karin-chan, and… I'm sorry Isshin.'
"MASAKI!"
Masaki felt a body collide with hers and crashed into the ground as Grand Fisher's claws cut into the earth.
"Masaki, are you okay?" Isshin asked as he stood up and helped his wife to stand. He checked her for injuries and found some. "Who did this? Was it a Hollow? Where are they?"
"Calm down, Isshin." Came the voice of Urahara Kisuke, as he finally caught up with his friend. "The Hollow must have returned to Hueco Mundo."
Masaki turned to face her husband and asked, "Why are you even here?"
"When it started to rain, I was expecting you and Ichigo to-" Isshin was cut off by Masaki pushing past him, looking frantic.
"ICHIGO! Where is Ichigo? Is he okay?"
"Young Ichigo is okay." Began Kisuke as he pointed at the unconscious boy lying on the ground a bit away from them. "He'll just need some rest and then he'll be back at full strength."
As Isshin started to walk towards his son, his incredibly weak, at the moment, ability to sense Reiatsu caught something at the very edge. Kisuke calling out to him caught his attention and he turned around to face his friend.
"ICHIGO!" Masaki screamed out, causing Isshin to look back at his son. He saw his son's body rise off the ground and knew that it was the Hollow.
"Kisuke," Masaki started as she saw Grand Fisher open a Garganta. "I can't use my powers. Save Ichigo. Please."
Kisuke, realising that he left Benihime at his shop, raised his right hand and held out his index finger before using a Kido.
"Hadō Number Four, Byakurai!" He sent a concentrated beam of Reiatsu out of his index finger straight at the shoulder of the arm that Grand Fisher held Ichigo in.
Grand Fisher knew that the new arrival of the man with the bucket hat was bad for him, as the man's power dwarfed the Quincy's. He tried to escape but his hunger told him otherwise. Knowing that he had to have something at the least, even a snack, he set his sights on his original target. The boy.
He snuck up to the unconscious boy and scooped his body up. He opened a Garganta and entered it. As the Garganta began to close, he heard a voice call out.
"Hadō Number Four, Byakurai!"
The next thing that Grand Fisher felt was a burning pain in his right shoulder, causing him to let go and drop Ichigo into the Garganta.
"ICHIGO!" Masaki screamed out as she ran to the closing portal, hoping beyond anything that her child would be okay.
When she reached her destination, the Garganta had already closed. Masaki dropped to her knees and started to sob, breaking down even further as she knew that her son's soul would never be able to reach the afterlife.
"Why, why him?" Isshin ran up to his wife and pulled her into a tight hug as he himself shed tears for his lost child, though you could not tell as the rain hid them for him but not for Masaki. "Ichigo was an innocent, pure boy. Did we do something wrong, Isshin? Did we do something wrong?"
Isshin saw the anguish in his wife's face and only shook his head before pulling her deeper into his body. Kisuke gave the couple some distance for them to mourn and accept that their child was most likely gone for good.
'If only we were quicker.' He thought before he heard the voice of his Zanpakutō in his mind.
"Something seems off."
'So, you feel it as well?'
"Yes, she suddenly lost the use of her powers right in the middle of a battle. This may have to do with the Quincy legend. We should research this when we get back to the shop. What do you think?"
'I agree,' Kisuke thought in agreement before speaking to the mourning couple. "I think it would be for the best if you to return to your home. You still have two more children that need you."
Isshin helped Masaki up and started to head home. As they were passing the shopkeeper, the Quincy spoke softly.
"Thank you for trying Kisuke."
They continued to walk, leaving the ex-Taichou to stand by the river.
"I might as well test that." Kisuke said as he reached into his coat and pulled out a small rectangular device. Holding it up where the Garganta had been, he watched with eyes that slowly widened when it started to glow a dark magenta colour. "This… is not good. Not good at all."
He placed the device down on the ground and watched as it changed from magenta to a turquoise.
"Shit!"
"What is it?"
'This is not good.'
"You said that before. What is it exactly?"
"Something… something incredibly bad." Kisuke spoke softly, but not soft enough as another, deep male-like voice called out to him.
"And what is this incredibly bad thing that has happened?" Whipping his head around, Kisuke saw that it was his old friend, Shih ōin Yoruichi. The cat stalked over to the shopkeeper and sat next to him, allowing her gaze to land on the strange, turquoise-coloured device. "What is that?"
"Something that's telling me bad things are to come." Kisuke answered cryptically.
Yoruichi understood that even though her friend had answered her cryptically, the look on his face was enough to inform her that it was a serious problem.
"…Well, shit."
"Yeah."
XXXXX
High Wall of Lothric - In the cathedral
Scarlett Messorem, a once noble and a woman that stood at the height of 5 foot 6 with bright red hair done up in a bun with one bang hanging over her left eye, with eyes coloured emerald-green, had just been summoned by Priestess Emma after she had fought and won against the final of three Lords of Cinder. The Priestess had then bestowed upon her the Basin of Vows, which she promptly took to the statue of the beheading knight which was situated behind Emma's throne.
She took her time walking to it as she let her thoughts run rampant.
'Six times! Six times have I been through all of this. And each time I feel a part of me slip away. Die. Die like I do at the end each time. I feel trapped by this destiny. Each time I go through this, I try… I try to change my fate. But each time I try, the pull of my destiny drags me back onto the path. I've learned that there are three different ways things can end, maybe there's more, maybe there isn't, but the only way to know is to keep trying.'
Scarlett stood in front of the statue and didn't move as her depression grew.
'But should I even try anymore? I've been trying to fix everything, but each and every time that I complete my mission, I start over from the beginning again. No one believes me, not the cute Fire Keeper, not Andre, Yuria, Irina, and even poor Anri. They all didn't believe me, even the crazies didn't. I now do not want the cycle to continue. I do not want the flame. Nor do I want to become the leader of all. I just want to pass on in piece. Hopefully this is the last time. If not… I may-'
Scarlett's thoughts were interrupted as some kind of strange feeling filled her body, causing her to turn around and look at the doors which she would have usually used, had Emma not summoned her.
Deciding to investigate the cause of the strange feeling, she left the Basin of Vows in front of the statue and made her way out of the cathedral, becoming extremely surprised when she saw a Bonfire that had never been there before.
"When did that get there?" she asked herself and heard something. "What the?"
Listening closer to the noise, she realised that it was sobbing. Not just any kind of sobbing. It was the kind that only a child could make.
'Shit, a child!' she then started to call out. "Hey, wherever you are child, I mean you no harm. Please, show yourself."
"Anatahadare?" a voice called out.
Looking at where the voice came from, Scarlett saw something orange showing over the top of a crate. Moving closer, she looked over the crate and saw something she wasn't ever expecting to see, a child. Especially one with almost bright, orange hair, wearing the strangest pieces of cloth she had ever seen.
He flinched when she got close to him.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." She told him as she gave a kind smile. That seemed to break him out of his fear, as he started to talk quickly, in a language that she had never heard before.
"Watashi wa doko ni aru ka shitte imasu ka?" he grabbed her hand, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Watashi no okāsan wa doko ni arimasu ka? Kanojo wa daijōbudeshou ka?"
Knowing that communication was going to be terrible as long as they couldn't understand each other, Scarlett reached into her pouch and searched for an item that she knew would be best for the situation. She tightened the hand that held his and gave him a comforting smile as she pulled out a lilac coloured pill and handed it to the boy, making a gesture that told him to put the pill in his mouth and swallow it.
Ichigo watched as the kind lady made a gesture for him to put the pill she gave him in his mouth and to swallow it. He complied and did as she told, and as soon as it passed his throat, a strange feeling filled him before he started to cough.
Scarlett patted the boy on his back before reaching into her pouch and pulling out a bota bag. She opened the cap and made the boy drink some of the water slowly.
"Gently now, boy." She said and watched as he spluttered with a mouth full of water as he looked at her with wide eyes. "So, you can finally understand me now?"
The boy just nodded slowly.
"What's your name, child?" she asked as she helped the boy up.
"M-my name is I-Ichigo, Miss." He stuttered out as he watched the intimidating woman tower over his small body. "Do you know where my Mum is?"
"Did you lose her, young Ichigo?"
Ichigo just nodded as the woman led him to the Bonfire that he had been using as warmth while he tried to figure out where he was.
"Where did you last see her?" Scarlett asked as she sat in front of the Bonfire and pulled Ichigo down onto her lap.
Ichigo fidgeted in his new seat as a tiny blush lit up on his cheeks. He quickly wiped away the last of the tears that were sliding down his cheeks.
"Mum and I were going back home from karate and I saw a girl jump into a river, so I tried to save her and the last thing I remember was something hitting me and then… and then… I woke up here." Ichigo then broke back out into sobs, turning in Scarlett's lap; he clung to her and buried his head in her chest.
Scarlett rubbed his back gently while trying to soothe him.
"There, there, things will be better from now on." Ichigo looked up at her with what could only be called puppy-dog eyes.
"R-really?"
"…Y-yeah, it'll be better. You know what they always say 'It's always darkest before the dawn.'"
"I've never heard that." Ichigo told her as he looked to have a look of concentration on his face. "Plus, I thought it was always darkest at midnight and when there is no moon showing?"
Scarlett scratched the back of her head and chuckled nervously.
"Well aren't you a smart one, child." She told the boy who finally turned around in her lap and watched the sword in the Bonfire sparkle. "Are you in wondering about the sword?"
"Yeah, how come it's in the fire?"
"Well… I don't know." Scarlett shrugged, causing Ichigo to gain a sweat drop at her answer.
"Hey, Big Sis, you're pretty stupid, aren't you?"
Scarlett gained a tick mark as she started to give the young boy a noogie.
"Why you, you'll regret saying that. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to call a lady stupid?" she asked as the boy thrashed in her hold.
"N-NO, she didn't. She only told me never to ask a woman her age and or weight." Ichigo told her as he escaped her hold and ran to the other side of the Bonfire. He then stuck his tongue out at her and blew a raspberry.
"Why you-" she cut herself off when Ichigo turned all of his attention towards the doors to the cathedral. "Is something wrong, Brat?"
"Sadness…" Ichigo whispered softly, confusing Scarlett greatly.
She turned to the cathedral's doors and realised that something might have happened to Emma.
"SHIT"
She stood up and ran to the doors, shoulder barging them open, only to come to the sight of an empty cathedral.
"EMMA! ARE YOU IN HERE?" she saw that the chair that Emma always sat upon was no longer there. "Not again."
Scarlett knew what she was going to have to do and started to walk over to where she left the Basin of Vows in front of the statue. She didn't get far before she felt a tug on her leg, looking down, she saw Ichigo clinging to her left leg.
She got him to let go before kneeling in front of the boy and placing both of her hands on his shoulders.
"Listen Ichigo, I do not know where you come from, what you have been through, or why it was I who found you. What I do know is that there is something special about you and that I have no intention of letting harm come to you. I am about to battle a dangerous foe and I want you to stay safe. I want you wait outside next to the Bonfire, can you do that?"
Ichigo could see the seriousness on Scarlett's face and nodded as she let go of his shoulders before running out of the room with the Ashen One closing the doors behind him. Just before they fully closed Ichigo called out to her.
"You never told me your name, Miss. So you can't die. Good luck."
Scarlett smirked at what the kid said. It was the truth, she didn't tell the brat her name, even though he told her his. She made her way over to the Basin and statue with different thoughts then she originally had.
'Guess I can't give up now, since I must protect that child. No dying until he is absolutely safe.' She picked the Basin of Vows up and place it on a stand connected to the statue.
She heard a noise and turned around to see rocks fall from the ceiling, as well as some kind of liquid that evaporated quickly.
'Here comes the Dancer.' She thought to herself as she looked up at the ceiling to see clouds of darkness swirl around, holding a struggling being within it. In the next moment the being dropped down to the floor and landed on its hands and knees before standing up.
It was a towering, lanky being, almost three times Scarlett's height, wearing armour reminiscent of Pontiff Sulyvahn, most likely because he was the beings master. She held a flaming sword in her left hand and stood up in a slouched form. She moved deceptively slowly, not knowing that her opponent already knew of her fighting style.
"So, I finally have to fight you again, Dancer of the Boreal Valley." Scarlett spoke softly, so as to not allow her opponent knowledge as to what she knows. She then spoke loudly. "Shall we dance?"
The Dancer slowly walked towards Scarlett before standing up to her full height and then swung her flaming sword, which Scarlett dodged by rolling forward and slashing at her leg with her blade.
The Dancer ignored Scarlett's attack and attacked once again. The Ashen One used the same roll and slash attack as she had before, getting the same result.
'She never learns until she gets more serious.' Scarlett thought as she dodged and attacked again. She kept up the routine for about five minutes, watching as the Dancer gained more and more injuries.
Scarlett knew what her opponent was about to do and jumped out of the way as the Dancer reached into the ground and pulled out a second sword.
'This fight is really getting old.'
The Dancer then proceeded to swing her swords, spinning as she moved around the room with the hope of killing the Ashen One.
Scarlett pulled out her shield and held it in her left hand as she blocked the last couple of swings from the Dancer before swinging her blade and leaving a sizeable cut from her opponent's right shoulder to left hip.
The Dancer staggered but kept standing. Scarlett had to admire that even after all this time and her predictability, the Dancer was still one tough opponent.
'One more should do it.' She thought as she hung her shield on her back and gripped her sword's handle with two hands.
The Dancer, seeing this, tightened her grip on both of her weapons and stood to her full height.
They both charged each other. The Dancer swung her blades with all of her power and within the next moment, knew that she had lost as her opponent ducked under her attack, just missing out on having her head decapitated.
Scarlett smirked as she knew that she was going to be victorious the moment she ducked under her opponent's swords. She was about to swing her sword when something orange caught her attention in the corner of her eye.
The moment of hesitation caused her sword not to cut as deep as she wanted it to and made it so that she did not kill her opponent.
When she stopped her charge, she wiped the blood off the blade and sheathed it. Turning on her heel, she watched as the Dancer fell down onto her side and made her way over to the cathedral doors. She saw that one was slightly open and she grabbed it, opening it and revealing the orange-haired child.
Kneeling down, she ruffled his hair and spoke softly, so as not to startle the child. After all, he most likely just saw her kill someone.
"My name is Scarlett Messorem. I think that it would be for the best that we get moving."
She passed the child and walked over to the Bonfire, intent on getting some rest, when she noticed that Ichigo had not followed her. She turned around and saw that the boy was still looking into the cathedral with a strange look in his eyes.
She was about to speak, when Ichigo beat her to it.
"Is she dead?" he turned and looked at her. Not with fear, but something different. Something that she couldn't tell what it was.
She walked over to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. She also noticed that the Dancer had yet to disintegrate.
Ichigo shrugged her hand off and ran over to the downed being, while Scarlett looked at the boy in confusion.
'What's he doing?' she thought silently and was surprised by what he was doing.
It was as the Dancer of the Boreal Valley fell to her side on the ground that she finally spoke, softly under her breath.
"I don't want to die."
She heard her opponent's, the Ashen One's footsteps, grow softer, signifying that she was leaving the cathedral. The Dancer released a soft sigh as she lay there, waiting for death.
She heard something soft land on the ground next to her. Turning her head slightly, so as not to feel too much pain, she saw that it was just a child with surprisingly orange hair. He sat there quietly for five minutes before speaking softly.
"You're not going to live, are you?" his soft voice surprised her greatly and while in that state, she answered him.
"Yes."
"Do you want to?" he questioned quietly.
"Do I want to what?"
"…To die?" the boy clarified.
The Dancer thought back to the life she lived. From practically being banished by her master, Pontiff Sulyvahn, to her fight with the red-haired woman. She thought of everything she had been through and of everything she would never get to do.
And with that, she released a sob for the first time since she was ordered to be a Dancer, to become one and to take the name, Dancer.
"No…no…no…I don't want to die!" she felt a small hand slowly rub the side of her head in a comforting motion that calmed her down slightly. Darkness took over the Dancer's vision as she slowly felt Death's embrace.
Scarlett watched all of this; surprised that Ichigo had gone near the being.
'You are either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave, child. As even when they are close to death, all of the inhabitants of Lothric will try to kill you.' She noticed though, with some surprise, that Ichigo's left hand was trembling slightly. 'You are scared.'
Ichigo watched as the Dancer's body slowly dissipated and lowered his head. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Scarlett giving him a sad smile. She offered her hand and he accepted, standing up and brushing dirt off of his pants.
"Have you ever seen someone die before?" she asked as she led Ichigo by the hand out of the cathedral and to the Bonfire, which they sat in front of.
"No…" Ichigo said softly as he stared into the flames. He turned to look at Scarlett, his eyes reflecting the fire. "Is…is it possible…to be as strong as you?"
Scarlett stared into the boy's eyes and could feel a slight determination. The sight of death may have scared him, but he was willing to get stronger.
"Why do you want to get stronger?" she asked.
"My mum always told me that I should use what strength I have to protect those that I care about and since I don't know where I am, I want to get strong enough to go back home."
"Your mother must be a strong person herself."
"She is."
Scarlett stood up, motioning for Ichigo to stay seated as she walked over to one of the crates that Ichigo had hid behind when she first met him. Opening one, she found some armour and smiled as she saw that it would only just fit the child sitting at the Bonfire.
'What luck, eh?'
Opening the next one, she found it full of edibles, such as meats that could be cooked in the fire, fruits and vegetables that could last for around a week and dried meats that would last for quite some time.
'This'll last us for a good amount of time.' She thought before placing the lid back on top of the crate.
She opened the last one with the hopes that it would hold what she wanted. She was happy to see that it did indeed hold what she needed; cloths, cloaks, trousers, shirts, boots, capes, bedding and all of them were in varying sizes and thickness.
'I do not believe that having these three crates be full of exactly what I need is a coincidence. Something or someone has done this, whether it was an ally or enemy with a cruel plan is the question though.
Grabbing the bedding, Scarlett brought the sheets over to the Bonfire and set it on the ground. She made sure that she and Ichigo could sleep comfortably on it before walking back over to the crate with food in it, opened it, and grabbed some meat along with two apples. She returned to the Bonfire and saw that the orange-haired boy had made himself comfortable.
"Here, eat this." She chucked Ichigo one of the apples and he caught it with both hands before taking a bite of it.
Scarlett took a bite of hers as she drew her sword and placed the meat on the flat of the blade before holding it over the Bonfire.
About ten minutes later, Ichigo and Scarlett were eating the cooked meat as the fire kept them warm. Scarlett reached over to Ichigo and tapped him on his shoulder, gaining his attention. He looked at her curiously as she held a finger up, signalling for him to wait for a moment. She swallowed the meat in her mouth before speaking.
"We shall be entering the cold season soon. After tonight we will dress in thick clothing and travel to the Firelink Shrine."
Ichigo nodded, watched as Scarlett took off her armour and lay down on the bedding before he lay down next to her. He felt himself get pulled into a warm body and realised that it was just the red-haired woman.
XXXXX
The next morning they prepared for their journey.
Ichigo dressed in some thick clothing and wore the armour that Scarlett had found before helping her with packing the food.
They set off on their journey with Scarlett training Ichigo along the way.
XXXXX
The Soul of Cinder stood up before drawing the Coiled Sword out of the Bonfire that it had sat in front of. Turning to face its new opponent, it prepared itself by taking a stance.
"I do hope that you are ready." Scarlett said as she also drew her blade. "For I have a little cutie to get back to."
XXXXX
Darkness slowly took over Scarlett's vision as Ichigo ran to her side. The boy… the poor boy had to deal with all of her problems with her, but maybe he'll stay here this time. The Fire Keeper can look after Ichigo as she goes on to the next world, the next Lothric to fight through, Lords of Cinders to stop, and another of the same paths to pick.
"Sorry, Ichigo, looks like I'm onto my next world." She spoke softly as the darkness had nearly completely covered her sight. She felt Ichigo's small body latch onto hers.
"NO! No, you can't die! You cannot leave me here by myself! Take me with you… please?"
'I'm sorry Ichigo, but you cannot come with me as this is my destiny, not yours.'
As the darkness completely crowded her vision, Scarlett knew that in this world of Lothric, she was dead, but in the next one she would go through the same trials, pain, injuries, and all that… this time without Ichigo.
Damn, the world is cruel.
EXTRA
"A thousand times we die in one life. We crumble, break and tear apart until the layers of illusion are burned away and all that is left, is the truth of who and what we really are."
"Your Majesty, is there something going on?"
"…"
"Your Majesty?"
"…You can leave now. I wish to rest."
"Very well, Your Majesty."
…
"May the day you truly return, Kurosaki Ichigo, be the day that my plan comes to fruition."
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[A.N.]
Hope you all like this new story requested by the nice freechimchangas. It would have taken ages to start a Bleach crossover with Dark Souls otherwise. And it wouldn't have this good beginning.
I'm sure many of you will notice differences in this from the game. But that is what I want. I don't want this to feel like an 'Ichigo takes the Ashen One's' place story.
There have also been changes to what freechimchangas requested. Originally Scarlett was meant to be the only sane Abyss Watcher, but with my lack of knowledge on DS3, I made Scarlett the Ashen One. Though I do believe that having her as the Ashen One possibly made this story better.
Pairings are a little undecided
Most likely Ichigo x Ashen one (maybe more – need to consult freechimchangas on that)
I don't know about any other pairings.
A bota bag is made of animal skins or something. Search it up if you don't know.
Used google translate, so I know that it's wrong.
Translations:
Anatahadare? – Who are you?
Watashi wa doko ni aru ka shitte imasu ka? – Do you know where I am?
Watashi no okāsan wa doko ni arimasu ka? Kanojo wa daijōbudesuka? - Where is my mum? Is she okay?
If you have any theories on where this story is going or on anything, please leave a review.