Hocus Pocus
Summary:
While walking home after an outing, Orihime, Tatsuki and Chizuru are caught off guard by a group of hollows, but they are saved by a powerful, but critically wounded vasto lorde with more than a few secrets and a gift to give.
…
The night was silent. The usual nocturnal life not out and about as usual. There was no wind, no leaves rustling and no crickets. The night was unnaturally still, but that would soon change. Suddenly, the air began to tremble, and soon, a rip developed, almost as if the sky was being unzipped, allowing whatever was on the other side of that rip to come through. And something did.
This something would resemble a normal woman, had she not been dressed in rags, covered in fur, critically wounded with blood practically pouring from her, a tail, a hole in her chest and white half mask, the edges of the jaw coming up to her head into triangular points, resembling cat ears. Under the rags was a spine made of bone that went along her natural one to tail made of bone that was swishing back and forth in agitation. Her hands were adorned with wicked white claws, almost resembling a paw as they cradled her wound. As this person landed, she stumbled, nearly falling to the ground while clutching her serious wound.
"Dammit…..I can't die, not without fulfilling my promise…."
…
It was cold in Karakura that night. Another winter had come, two years since the winter war had ended and Aizen was locked away for his crimes. During that time, life continued as usual. School, work, hollows, it was all the same. Soon, the time would come when a particular group of friends would graduate high school and go their separate ways, but hopefully keep in contact. Hopefully. This night, Orihime Inoue didn't want to think about splitting up with the friends who risked their lives to save her from that horrible place. In fact, she was out with her best girlfriends from school, Tatsuki and Chizuru. Although Tatsuki had protested the idea of Chizuru being anywhere near Orihime, Chizuru had promised to be on her best behavior, which surprisingly, she did. Now they were on their way home, the movies and a bite to eat at one of their favorite restaurants. They were walking through the park to shave time off of their walk home.
"Aaaaaaaah that movie was so good! I never expected the good guy to actually be the bad guy in the end! Talk about unexpected eh?" Chizuru exclaimed, walking slightly ahead of Orihime and Tatsuki, her red coat making her easy to spot in the dark, although the few inches of snow and her footprints also made it easy.
"Yeah, it certainly was a surprise. The entire movie had me thinking that this guy was on a holy mission, but when everything was revealed, his intentions were not in the least holy, in fact, he was a real jerk." Tatsuki said, watching her breath come out in an steamy puff and disappear.
"Jeez, those guys on the weather channel ain't shit.' Clear night tonight!' they said. My ass. Its damn near a blizzard! And in the middle of October no less!"
Orihime could only giggle, amused by her best friends frustration at the weather, but then a pensive look came onto her face. Tatsuki's statement about the movie had her thinking…..The movie reminded her a lot about Aizen's defection from Soul Society. How what everyone thought was a good guy was revealed to be a monster in disguise…..It hurt her to think about the surprised and betrayed faces of Rangiku, Izuru and Momo, the lieutenants of the defectors.
'I shouldn't be thinking about these things. Aizen is locked away, and Gin and Tousen are gone. Tonight is a night of fun, and I won't let these thoughts bring me down.'
With a quick shake of her head, she willed the thoughts to be gone and turned to Tatsuki, and jumped in surprise to see Tatsuki watching her. Of course, Tatsuki knew her better than anyone and knew when something was bothering her.
"You alright Orihime? Do you wanna talk about it?"
Orihime was about to open her mouth to convince her that everything was okay, when she noticed something odd….Chizuru was oddly silent, and her footprints were no longer ahead of them.
"Chizuru-chan?" Tatsuki looked around after hearing Orihime's concern about the usually jovial and loud redhead.
"Oi, freak! This ain't funny!"
Orihime looked around as well, trying to find where Chizuru's footprints had turned away from theirs. As she looked around, she felt icy fingers creep along her sides and then grope her breasts in a quick embrace as she yelped in surprise.
"Surprise my Hime!" Chizuru exclaimed, laughing at Orihime's fright as Tatsuki came over and routinely pulled her off of her. "You damn pervert! Don't scare us like that, you know there could be hollows around!"
Chizuru looked up at her, huffing at her protectiveness over Orihime. "Jeez Arisawa I was kidding. I know the danger. You're just a dragon protecting the princess!" She snickered as Tatsuki's face turned red from anger and embarrassment over being called a dragon.
"Why you little-"
An otherworldly roar cut Tatsuki off as she stiffened, recognizing that sound anywhere. However, it was the sudden chorus of roars joining the first, that had Orihime on edge, as she summoned Tsubaki from her hairpins.
Chizuru quickly got up and looked around, fear clearly burned into her expression as her lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears. "…..Hollows."
And just as the word left her mouth, they were surrounded. Five large hollows formed a loose circle around them. Their mouths practically and one literally watering with the promise of three tasty spiritually aware souls.
"Shit….This is bad….Really bad…"
"I agree, but it'll be alright Tatsuki! Kurosaki-kun's badge should have gone off by now. He should be here soon. Don't worry, I'll protect us-"
No sooner had she said that, one of them, who closely resemble some macabre version of a centipede attacked, closing in on Chizuru who was frozen in fear.
"TSUBAKI!"
The usually foul tempered fairy roared through the air, dispatching the hollow quickly and coming back around. That's when everything went south. The hollow on their right resembling a mantis had gone for Tatsuki, slashing her across her back, her warm almost hot blood splashing Orihime's cheek and some landing in the snow, melting it somewhat as steam came and quickly went from its initial contact with the ice cold snow. As she fell she passed out from the pain, landing on her side as blood began to pour from her slowly blueing lips.
"Arisawa!" Before Chizuru could get to her, she found herself face down in the snow. Another hollow had gone for her leg, cutting it and nicking her artery as blood practically gushed from the wound. She struggled to move, but had no energy as her life blood poured out of the serious wound. "Sh-Shit! I-I can't….move…."
Before the hollow could finish her off, it was dispatched by Tsubaki, and before he could go after another one, he was swatted out of the air, unconscious.
"Tatsuki! Chizuru-chan, Tsubaki!" Shun'O and Ayame quickly followed her wordless command and began to heal them. She suddenly felt the hot acrid breath of a hollow on her neck and before she could call out her shield, its claws tore through her side.
As she fell she saw it, its lower body resembled that of a spider with a man's torso, and Its mask had vicious pincers. With her last though, she summoned her shield putting it over all three of them, knowing that any attack would backlash on them. Suddenly, Shun'O and Ayame's healing barrier collapsed. Tatsuki and Chizuru were barely healed and if they weren't they would die from their wounds. Orihime's wound and drained spirit energy had taken its tole and she could no longer maintain anything but her shield, if only for a few more moments. Tsubaki had returned to her hairpins as did Shun'O and Ayame.
Orihime's hope dwindled.
'Why isn't Kurosaki-kun here? Where is he? Where is Chad and Uryuu? Is this how I'm gonna die? In the end I couldn't protect anyone. Not Chizuru-chan, not Tatsuki, not even myself…I really am a burden, and I'm going to die a burden. Its not fair, Tatsuki and Chizuru-chan shouldn't have to suffer with me…..They shouldn't have to die because I'm weak…..I'm sorry Tatsuki, Chizuru-chan…"
As she lay there, her shield beginning to flicker out, Orihime could only despair and regret that Tatsuki and Chizuru would die with her. When her shield had finally collapsed, the hollows closing in, she knew with a certainty that they would die. She only hoped that it would be quick, or that they would die from blood loss and escape as plus souls, so that they could not be devoured by the hollows and become one….She would hate to turn into such a creature and do what they were gonna do to them, to someone else. But she knew it would not matter, they were outmatched and outnumbered, and wouldn't be able to escape even in death.
In short, they were done for….
Or so she thought.
...
The rip in the air closed behind her, and she looked around. She saw three girls coming her way, still far off, no doubt not being able to sense her already diminished energy. She could tell they were spiritually aware, could smell it on them. The bright orange haired girl was the most aware, she could tell. That would attract danger, danger that she couldn't afford in her wounded state. As she saw the hollows surround them and witnessed the girl's power, she was thankful that the hollows had gone for them, but regretful that such souls would go to waste…
Or would they….
She sighed, and looked at her wound. It was no doubt that she would die. That hoard of hollows had ganged up on her. No doubt trying to evolve. After all, taking a bite out of a vasto lord would definitely raise their power…
Unfortunately for them, they weren't able to get even a nibble, but unfortunately for her, one was able to get in a lucky shot to her belly. Her intestines were practically on the ground and she knew if she didn't act quickly, she would die without passing on the gift that her master had given her in life. She's lived a long time, and she had no fear of dying, in fact, she was more than ready. She looked again at the three girls being attacked, and saw that they were barely hanging on. The girl's powers had extinguished, and the hollows were closing in….
"….This is my last act. And then, I can fulfill my promise."
Suddenly, the hollow closest to Orihime was in two pieces, its masked face in shock as it began to dissipate. The others, distracted by the death of their comrade looked around, and were dispatched one after another. Their bodies dissipating until they were all gone.
Orihime expected to see black hakama, or jeans and sneakers, or white pristine pants….But she saw none of those trademarks of her friends.
"Ku….Kurosaki-kun? Chad-kun? Ishida-kun?"
"….Not quite."
Orihime looked up, her vision blurring, but she knew that it was another hollow. Its white half mask resembling a cat. Her face fell. She was saved but would be eaten anyway…She began to cry but it came out as wheezing gasps.
"Don't do that! I'm not here to hurt you….I'm here to help…..I saved you all, so you must do something for me…"
"F-Fat chance…Leave her alone!"
The hollow turned, looking at Tatsuki, who had just come too and was currently coughing up blood.
Chizuru, hearing Tatsuki's yell also woke up, spotted the white mask and began to panic, her bloody leg bleeding faster with her heart pumping faster.
"D-Dammit, don't panic….You're just gonna bleed out more….We don't have time….I saved you all, I need you to do something for me. I won't hurt you, in fact, its gonna help you….Just, please…..I can't die without fulfilling my promise."
Orihime then noticed the wound, no doubt made worse by the rescue, and gasped, coughing from the cold sharp air on her already dry cracked throat. "But…..Why would you save us?"
The hollow woman hissed, sounding very much like a pissed off cat. "That's what I'm trying to tell you! I saved you so that you could do something for me!…I need to give something to you, to all of you….The gift I have to give is too much for one soul to carry, so all three of you will have it…" She paused to gasp from her irritated wound and panted…."I'm out of time. Once I give this to you all, you will no longer have to fear the unknown."
"O-Oi! W-Who said we would accept!?" Tatsuki said, clearly irritated at the pushy hollow.
"Shut your mouth! You owe me! I saved you!"
"Yeah! Except you waited until we were practically dead, and are still dying! Thanks a lot!"
"Arisawa shut up!" Chizuru yelled, clearly done with all of the arguing. "If she's gonna help us then let her. She could have killed us already!" She was still scared, her trembling body clearly showing it, but she would accept all the help they could get.
"This one has sense. Now stay still."
The vasto lord took an impossibly huge breath, and her belly began glowing. The light traveled up to her throat, and then she leaned over them and released that breath, the bright lights settling into their bodies. Once it was done, their bodies began to glow, as their wounds healed, their spiritual energy restored, but something in them changed, not that they would notice immediately but later. They could feel their souls rearranging, making room for….something.
Orihime could feel the wind, although it felt strange as she didn't feel it on her face, more like it was under her skin, like there was a tornado threatening to rip her apart from within. Along with that strange sensation, she could also feel as though she was underwater, being carried by a gentle current at first, but then thrashing and violent current, and it alternated between those two.
Tatsuki on the other hand, felt hot. Like she was burning on the inside, but at the same time, she was soothed by the heat. It was churning, almost like there was a pit of magma in her belly, but there was something else. Her fingers were twitchy, like there was a current or live wire going through them. They felt charged with power, threatening to be unleashed but still tame.
Chizuru felt cold. Not unusual since she was laying in the snow but this felt different. She felt like she was ice itself. To her, the snow actually felt warmer. She was frigid, but not uncomfortable. She wasn't numb, and she didn't feel any pain. She also felt…..Fresh, like spring but she knew that it was winter. She could smell fresh grass and the bark of an old tree.
Just what the actual FUCK was going on?
All three girls felt differently, except for one thing. It felt like, their soul was drawing something in. The space that had been made in their souls was filling up with whatever was being drawn into it. And then, it all stopped, everything felt normal again, the unknown transformation finishing. Their souls exhausted, all three girls promptly passed out at the same time, their bodies uncaring that they were still in the presence of a slowly dissipating hollow.
…
The vasto lord sighed, watching as the gift she had promised to pass on was done so…The girls could not see the changes happening, and would have a hard time trying to control their gifts, but it had to be done.…As she closed her eyes and began to dissipate, she felt something like a vacuum was sucking her into a void, and pain, like her soul was being torn apart from three different directions. As she lost consciousness and her body disappeared, she felt lingering panic.
'Uh oh….I think I fucked up.'
Review plz.
