BLEACH: Queen of Almaria
By Iron Stone
NOTE: This is a Bleach fan fiction. I do not own Bleach and do not make any money off of writing this. This is for my own amusement.
I got the idea after reading Spider-Man vs. Red Sonja. The idea just popped into my head after checking it out.
Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter One: A Warrior's Welcome
Under the light of a crescent moon the gray sands of Hueco Mundo glistened dully. Except for the occasional small Hollow animal scuttling about, there was normally little activity on the surface. However, in the early hours of a particular morning, there was a mass of Hollows crowded over a particular spot in the desert. All were digging, had been for some time.
A green-skinned Hollow with a crocodile mask wiped a fresh layer of sweat from its head. It looked over its shoulder and said, "Can't we take a little break, sir? It's not like it's gonna go anywhere!"
"I'll tell you when you can take a break," a dark, cloaked figure grunted harshly. "Now keep at it! You should be very nearly there!"
The crowd of varied Hollows continued to dig at their master's command. They had been digging at this one spot for some time, but all they seemed to be getting for their trouble was a gaping crater that spanned fifty yards in all directions. But their master said to dig, and he did so with overpowering authority.
A sharp clunk rang against the sickled claw of a praying mantis Hollow. The workers halted, then felt at the sand around where the claw had hit.
"Boss," another Hollow cried. "I think we got something!"
Without moving an inch, the cloaked figure chuckled softly and said, "I know you do."
The crew brushed the top of whatever they'd found to reveal the top of a box. No, not a box; the top of the object was wood so petrified with age that it shined like metal. It was decorated with a lush, golden insignia that looked ancient and crude. It was more like a chest, a treasure chest.
The cloaked master's ears twitched at a distant noise. He also sensed thick reiatsu. He chuckled softly, and then turned around just in time to block the heavy, clawed paw of a massive lion adjuchas that had attempted to smash him.
"You sure took your time," the cloaked one said.
The adjuchas was not amused. "Blasted fool! You have no idea of what you're doing!"
"Certainly I do," he said with a smirk. "Why would I have spent so many years searching had I not?"
The adjuchas snarled, both at this cretin's audacity and at how well he was holding it off with one hand against its mighty paw.
"I wish you would step aside," he told the adjuchas. "You're getting in the way. I admit that had you lower intelligence as my friends down there, I would have enlisted your help and gotten this done sooner."
"No one of menos intellect would dare do something so foolish!" The adjuchas raised its head. "Come, gillians!"
The grounds shook, and an army of menos grandes emerged, surrounding the excavation. The lower Hollows shivered in fear.
One menos opened its mouth to lash its tongue and devour the lower Hollows when the cloaked figure pointed its finger and fired a gigantic cero that vaporized it.
He called to his men, "Hurry and open it, fools!"
The lower Hollows went back to work unearthing the chest. Several gillians opened their mouths and darted their tongues out, but the lower Hollows leapt up and were stabbed, intercepting the tongues from getting their comrades and sacrificing themselves. The gillians consumed these single Hollows eagerly.
"No, damn you! Stop wasting time eating them and destroy them all!" the adjuchas roared.
The gillian closest to the working Hollows prepared a cero, and at the same time the crocodile Hollow pulled frantically to free the chest from the sand. Just when the gillian fired, the crocodile Hollow tore the chest free with such force it was flung into the air. The cero caught it at the top and blew the chest to pieces. At the instant it shattered, reiatsu exploded outward in a devastating shockwave that vaporized the worker Hollows and the army of menos grandes. The cloaked figure used both hands to grab the adjuchas' paw and hurled it towards the shockwave as he simultaneously flew into the air. The adjuchas was disintegrated, and the cloaked figure was caught in the outer perimeter of the wave.
The force of the explosion kicked up sand for miles, and when it was done, Hueco Mundo looked no different than it had just an hour ago. From under the sand, the figure leading the worker Hollows rose; his cloak had been vaporized in the force of the wave, and his skin badly burned. But it mattered not, for he would heal. He stood up, wobbling from weakness, and shook his head to clear the sand from his hair and his broken Hollow mask. He stretched, looked around, saw no one, and then looked at the sky.
He chuckled. "It's begun."
***
Ichigo's eyes shot open as he was jolted awake. He jumped from his bed and to his feet, rushing out his door. Another door opened and Rukia rushed out.
"Ichigo!" she said.
"I know, I'm on it!" he replied, running to his sister Yuzu's room. He opened the door and found Kon was already tiptoeing away from her bed in an escape attempt.
"Ichigo! I'm so glad to see you! I wasn't sure if I could get away, but now that you—" he was stopped in midsentence when Ichigo grabbed him and reached into his mouth to pry out the little pill. He succeeded and swallowed it, immediately being pushed out from his body.
"Just get into my bed until I get back and stay out of trouble," Ichigo scolded the mod soul that now inhabited his body.
Kon got to his feet, "Yeah, yeah, I'll behave! Just get going!" he grumbled as he walked to Ichigo's room. Rukia appeared in full shinigami gear, beckoning Ichigo to come with her. He nodded and they disappeared upon using shunpo.
They appeared atop the Kurosaki Clinic, searching Karakura Town in all directions.
"Do you see anything?" Ichigo asked.
"No," she replied. "But it's odd; this reiatsu isn't coming from one area. It seems to be scattered, and unfocused."
Just then, the two gasped and looked up in the sky. The night sky was rippling like a pond in a breeze, and the effect seemed to accelerate with every passing second.
"What the hell?" Ichigo said, gaping.
Not a millisecond after saying this, a gigantic garganta burst open over Karakura. It didn't open slowly as it normally would, but rather seemed to be forced open by some horrific power. It was massive, spanning for miles, signifying that many Hollows would be coming.
Both shinigami sensed an enormous spiritual power emerging, and they gripped their zanpakutos, preparing for whatever came. But after a moment, the massive garganta abruptly sealed itself shut.
The heavens over Karakura settled, and the monstrous reiatsu had gone without a trace.
Easing his grip, Ichigo turned to Rukia. "What the hell just happened? Did you see anything?"
Rukia shook her head.
"Do you think its hiding its reiatsu?"
"No, I don't think so," she replied. "We both saw it—nothing came out of the garganta. More than likely, whatever was coming was destroyed on route to this world. I'll contact the Seireitei in the morning. For now, let's go back to bed."
With that, Rukia went back inside with Ichigo following lazily behind. As she entered her room and got her gigai, she wondered why she hadn't shared her concerns with Ichigo. It wasn't like there was anything she had to keep secret from him, more that she didn't think it was important enough to share. What she had kept from him was something she felt about the reiatsu. It wasn't a Hollow's coming from that garganta.
It was a shinigami's.
***
At seven o'clock, Orihime slammed the snooze on her alarm clock and slowly left the warmth of her sleeping mat. She started brushing her teeth when she heard her alarm going off. She snapped to full alert and ran over to the clock to turn it off when she slipped and fell to the floor. Groaning in pain, she grabbed the alarm clock and turned it off.
To her dismay, her toothbrush had snapped at the head when she fell and bit down on it. She sighed and finished brushing with the brush head clenched between her thumb and forefinger.
By quarter to eight, Orihime was dressed, fed and ready for school. She said a prayer to her brother and then went for the door when she stopped in her tracks. She felt a strange force approaching, but from where she had no idea. Her whole body seemed to shake, and when she thought to try and call Ichigo, or maybe Urahara for help, she heard a deep-throated scream and looked above.
***
"Good morning," Chad greeted Ichigo as he entered the classroom.
"Hey, Chad, how's it hanging?" the orange-haired teen said.
Chad bent down so that he was within an inch of ichigo's ear. "Did you notice it last night?"
Slowly, Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, Rukia and I were there when it happened, whatever it was."
"It had to have been a menos," Ishida said, approaching them. "Judging from the size of the garganta. But the reiatsu wasn't like a menos'."
"Huh?" Ichigo said. "What're you saying?"
"I understand," Chad said. "The spiritual energy of whatever was coming into Karakura was not that of a menos. It felt more like a shinigami's."
Ichigo gasped at hearing that, and Ishida continued.
"Yes, exactly! It was like a shinigami's reiatsu, but at the same time it was different. And it felt too powerful to be from a single shinigami." Ishida suddenly yelped when a hand landed roughly on his shoulder.
"Hey, guys! Having a meeting without me?" Rukia said with a bright grin and cheery tone, yet at the same time digging her fingers into Ishida's flesh.
"Come on," Ichigo griped. "It's not like we have to wait for you to talk about stuff. Besides, it was just about that weird reiatsu last night."
"I figured that," Rukia said, freeing Ishida's shoulder from her grip. He clutched it and rubbed it to ease the pain. Rukia then took out her regulation shinigami cell phone. "I've already taken the liberty of contacting the Soul Society about it, and they confirmed that it was nothing to worry about."
"You're sure?" Chad asked.
Ichigo sat back in his seat, "Whatever. If Soul Society is fine with it, then it must be no big deal. If it was, they would have said something to us."
This seemed to put the others' minds at rest, and just then the teacher entered.
"All right, settle down you punks!" Everyone got into their seats and she took attendance. "Matsuda… check. Murabame…check. Like you'd miss a class. Inoue…" She looked up from her clipboard and noticed that Orihime was absent from class. "Where's Inoue? She didn't report sick. I can't imagine she would be a ditching thug like the rest of you!"
Everyone looked to each other and shrugged. Nobody knew anything. Ichigo stared at the empty desk, wondering what had happened to Orihime. Distantly, he thought that it might have something to do with the events of the previous night, but since it had evidently been nothing of concern to Soul Society, he dismissed any connection.
***
After class, the teacher called Rukia to her desk. "Kuchiki-san, would you go check on Inoue and give her the assignments for today?"
"Yes, ma'am, I will," Rukia said with a curtsy. She took the papers from her and joined her friends.
"I'm going to go and give this stuff to Orihime and to go check on her and see if she's all right."
"Good idea," Ichigo said. "I'll go with you."
Rukia waved her hand, "Come on, Ichigo! I can do it on my own! It's not like I need you to help me walk or anything. If she's sick or whatever, I'll let you know when I get home."
Running his hand through his hair, Ichigo conceded. "Fine. I'll see you guys later." He left for home, and as Rukia left to go to Orihime's house, she was stopped by Ishida.
"Kuchiki-san," he said. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, Ishida," she said.
"Why did you lie about hearing from Soul Society?"
Eyes widening, his words stunned her. "What… how…"
"The air is still disturbed from whatever it was that happened last night," he said, using his finger to slide his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "That level of interference would make transmissions between our worlds impossible."
Saying nothing for a moment, Rukia 's expression turned serious. "Ichigo sucks at most basic shinigami techniques, including distinguishing reiatsu. What we all felt last night was the reiatsu from something that was more like a shinigami. But at the same time it wasn't. I can't explain it."
"I know what you're saying," Ishida said. "It was similar to a shinigami's but unlike anything we've felt before. It was far more powerful than anything I've ever heard of."
"But whatever it was," Chad said as he walked to them, "… it came from Hueco Mundo. Could it have been an Arrancar?"
"I don't think so," Ishida said. "It wasn't at all like a Hollow's reiatsu."
Nobody said anything for a moment, then Rukia broke the silence. "Look, guys, the point is that until we know more there's no need to worry about it. If there is, we'll all move to take care of it. But first things first: I need to give Orihime her assignments."
She quickly departed for Orihime's apartment, with Ishida and Chad trailing behind her.
***
Tessai stood outside the Urahara Shop sweeping when he stopped and looked around. The door to the Shop slid open and Kisuke Urahara exited.
"You feel that, Tessai?" Urahara asked.
"Indeed," the mustachioed man replied.
Scratching his head, Urahara said with a foreboding voice, "This could be very dangerous."
***
Arriving at the door to the apartment, Rukia knocked three times on the door. "Orihime, it's me! Are you feeling okay?"
There was no answer, so she knocked again. "I have your assignments from school. Could you let me in?"
When there was no answer still, Ishida stepped up. "Here, let me." He produced his lock picks and started to work on the doorknob.
"I still don't like that you can do that," Chad said, although he did nothing to interfere.
The lock clicked, and Ishida turned the knob, calling out, "Inoue-san, we're coming in."
They all entered and found the apartment dark. Their eyes then fell on a heap on the floor.
Rukia turned to Ishida, "Hit the lights!" She grabbed Chad by the arm and rushed to the mass on the floor. The lights filled the room, and all were relieved to find it was not Orihime. Instead, it was a pile of clothes. They prodded it and found it to be her school uniform, torn to shreds.
"It looks like she was attacked before she could get out the door," Ishida said, picking up a small bundle of torn clothes. The bundle fell apart until the only thing Ishida was holding was a single cup of Orihime's bra. He yelped and jumped back, his face red and a trickle of blood leaking from his nose.
Sighing, Rukia said, "Get a grip." She examined the clothes herself. "These weren't ripped off, not exactly. More like blown off of her body. Something forced her clothes clean off her skin."
"But what could have caused this?" Chad asked, but before Rukia could reply, her phone rang. She eagerly answered it, hoping to talk to her superiors about these incidents and get some answers.
"Hello?" she spoke into the receiver, but her expression told the others she wasn't expecting whoever had called. "What are you calling about?" There was a pause, then: "We're at Orihime's house, and… what? Okay, we'll be right over. I'll get Ichigo."
She hung up and looked at her companions. "We need to get to Urahara's place now!"
***
Ichigo walked past the river that ran through Karakura on his way home. His head was filled with varying thoughts regarding recent events. Just the night before, an immense reiatsu had ripped a hole between Hueco Mundo and the world of the living, but nothing had come out. Rukia had said not to think much of it, since her bosses had said it was nothing to be concerned over.
Still, he couldn't help but worry that that and Orihime not showing up for class were connected. He didn't have any real reason to think so, but his gut told him they were. But how, he asked himself. He didn't know, but he decided that he should not wait for Rukia to give him an update on Orihime's prognosis and that he would go and see her for himself.
Ichigo changed his route in the direction of Orihime's apartment, and as he did, he felt a terrifying reiatsu hit him. He turned his head just in time to see someone swinging a sword at his head and instinctively moved to avoid it.
Landing a few feet away, Ichigo looked to the cloud of dirt and dust emerging from where he had been standing. There was someone in the cloud, and their reiatsu was immeasurable. Ichigo quickly assumed it was whatever had created that garganta the night before.
The figure came closer through the cloud, and judging from its size, Ichigo thought that it must be a vasto lorde to be so small and yet have such incredible power. He reached for his shinigami badge to eject himself from his body when the attacker appeared from the cloud. All Ichigo could do was stare in shock: "I-I-Inoue?!"
Orihime Inoue stood before Ichigo, but she looked nothing like the girl he knew. Instead of her normal clothes, she wore a chainmail outfit that resembled a bikini or women's underwear that barely covered her bust. She wore wrist guards made of dark, furry animal skin and thick boots. On top of that, she wielded a massive, thick sword that widened as it extended from its hilt. The end of the sword split into three points, two poking out in either direction and a larger one in the middle. Orihime's face was stern and cold, her face a scowl and her eyes feverish with hatred. She looked like a warrior princess in a sword and sorcery game.
"Inoue, what… what the hell are you doing?!" Ichigo managed to say.
Orihime raised her sword and pointed it at Ichigo. "Prepare yourself, scum, or you shall not be so lucky to dodge my blade twice!" She then vanished and rematerialized above Ichigo, who this time evaded her sword by less than before. A small streak of blood flew from his shoulder.
'She's fast,' he thought, and then realized that the reason he hadn't sensed her until just before she struck was that she moved too quickly to be detected before it was too late.
He stopped and turned around in time to see Orihime appear in front of him and swing her sword. He dodged again and grabbed his badge. Orihime was quick to pursue and brought her sword down on him again. This time he did not need to dodge—his shinigami form erupted from his body and blocked her sword with his zanpakuto.
Caught by surprise but still on her game, Orihime grinned menacingly. "You possess a sword of your own, eh? Or a facsimile of one! Whatever your ruse may be, it shall not be enough to stop me!"
"Inoue, what's gotten into you?!" Ichigo said, his sword and hers grinding against each other.
Withdrawing several feet, Orihime kept her sword out in a defensive stance. "I know not this 'Orihime' you speak of, but surely you must know of me, Hollow!"
Ichigo sputtered, "Ho-Hollow?! What are you talking about? It's me, Ichigo!"
"Silence!" she yelled with venomous ire. "Whatever you are called, it is irrelevant! Prepare to die!"
As she came closer to attack, Ichigo reluctantly ran for her as well, hoping that he might be able to knock her out long enough to figure out what the hell was wrong with her. But when their swords clashed, he found that he could not repel her so easily. In fact, she was pushing him back. He struggled to keep his footing, but soon she sent him flying back into the ground. Orihime sprang into the air above him and looked eager to cut him down.
Ichigo didn't know what was going on, but he felt he had to keep from getting killed before he figured it out. He took a firm hold of Zangetsu.
"Bankai!" he shouted as black energy swirled around him. Orihime's face twitched with confusion, then she saw Ichigo fly out in his long robe and thin, black sword. Their blades scraped against each other, and it seemed that in this form, he was on equal footing with Orihime.
"A strange transformation for a Hollow, but nothing I cannot cut down!" she sneered and started pushing him back again, albeit slower than before.
Ichigo broke out in cold sweat. He thought that his bankai form would be on equal terms with Orihime's newfound strength, but instead she was still overpowering him.
Both ceased their swordplay when they sensed a new reiatsu. A garganta appeared in the air, and at least six gillians were shoving each other to get through first.
Orihime smirked wickedly. "Calling for your friends? I'll finish them off, then you're mine!"
She vanished and Ichigo saw her reappear almost directly in front of the gillians.
"Wait, Orihime, stop! You'll be—" Ichigo started to say but stopped when in one slash of her sword, Orihime chopped down every single gillian. They turned to ash before his eyes.
Before he could process this further, he felt a hand on his forehead. He jerked away, thinking Orihime had somehow managed to get back just as fast as she had left.
"Just me, Kurosaki-kun," Urahara said gleefully, covering his face with his fan.
"Urahara? What…?" Ichigo touched his forehead. He felt but could not see a small jewel that blinked like a light.
"No time to chat! Grab your body and follow me!" Urahara used shunpo and disappeared.
Ichigo took the hint and went as fast as he could to retrieve his body and get out of there. Not a second later, Orihime returned. She looked around for Ichigo but he was nowhere to be found.
"Damn," she growled. "That cursed Hollow got away!" Smiling she brought her sword close to her face and licked the flat of the blade's tip. "But not for long."
***
Urahara and Ichigo arrived at the Shop shortly after. Ichigo put his body down and approached Urahara.
"What is going on?! What's happened to Orihime? What the hell is on my forehead?!"
"Relax, Kurosaki-kun," he said, still upbeat. "If you get any more agitated, it'll short out! It's just a little trinket to mask your reiatsu." He plucked the item off Ichigo's forehead. "Come inside and we'll talk. She won't be able to sense us in there; I had Tessai erect a barrier."
"A barrier?" Ichigo asked. "Look, do you have any idea what's happened to Orihime?"
Urahara stopped walking and turned around. His expression was neither upset nor happy, but neutral, assessing the situation.
"Yes, I think I might," he said. "In a nutshell, that wasn't exactly Orihime." He stepped closer to Ichigo, and then said, "That… was Alejandra the Conqueror."
To be continued…