Bleach: Rebirth of The Southern Wind
Chapter 1
*Victoria's POV*
It was the same dream. I've been having it for almost a whole month now...A boy (about fifteen, dirty blonde hair cut short, blue as sky eyes, lightly tanned skin, a bit muscular, and he had an American accent)with black fingerless gloves, torn blue jean pants, a Scion shirt with an eagle going across it, and a pair of Nike shoes. He'd extend out his hand to me then say, "Victoria, don't worry, come with me and you shall be safe..."
"Safe?" I'd puzzledly ask to him, "Safe from what?" The dream would always stop right there. I sat in my desk; school was such a pain for me, I only come because Abby said I needed to. Our new teacher, , took our old teachers' place due to "stress problems" or something. At least, that's what Ichigo, Abby's boyfriend, told me. What she sees in him I have no idea… =P
This's Abby! 3 she 1 of my bff's
The class bell had rung and I cautiously pulled out my Blackberry, and then signaled Ichigo to get his. After the teacher assigned our lesson to us we "started to work".
Fire Feather 2014/Victoria Saenz has logged in Strawberry Fun/Ichigo Kurosaki has logged in
Fire Feather 2014: o_O 'Strawberry Fun'? Dude! Change your picture! :(
Strawberry Fun: - _-# Abby did it… and no I don't want to :D
Fire Feather 2014: … Anyway, I have a problemo… :P
Strawberry Fun: What'd you do this time?!
Fire Feather 2014: It's not like that! I've been having these messed up dreams 'bout some guy I don't even know! ='(
Strawberry Fun: Bet if Toshiro finds him, he'll kill the guy…
Fire Feather 2014: -. - Eh who knows? Anyway! What do you thinks' goin' on?
Strawberry Fun: I.D.K., mayB Urahara'll know?
Fire Feather 2014: =/ ya think? …Well, he did make the Hogiyoku...
Strawberry Fun: So, we head over there after school?
Fire Feather 2014: Sure. But we need 2 tell my Captain & Abby as well
Strawberry Fun: leave Abby 2 me. You're on ur own w/ Toshiro! =D J.K.
Fire Feather 2014: Yeah, right, I'd still rather B in the Soul Society or on patrol here killing some damn hollows... = (
Strawberry Fun: U & me both...
Chapter 2
*At Urahara's shop*
"Hello everyone!" Kisuke had greeted us. He wore his usual outfit: green and white striped hat, a longish green coat and trousers, and bamboo wooden sandals. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"My 3rd Seat Lieutenant has been having these strange dreams."Captain Hitsugaya told Urahara. I looked at him, but Toshiro looked extremely tense. Urahara looked at me worried, "What kind exactly?"
"I've been seeing some boy who extends out his hand and says I will be safe if I go with him. Here," I handed him some drawings I made of the boy. "This's what he looks like."
(normal form 2 left) release 1
(Release #2)(Bankai w/wings)
"So the prophecy is true…" he exhaled, saddened. Ichigo took the drawings from his hands.
"Hey," he started, "How come he looks different in every one?" "He has two different forms: A Demon form and an Angel form. He's the treaty between Heaven and Hell." I turned to Urahara, "And what prophecy?!" Me: =/
"A Soul Reaper with a phoenix zanpak-to will be faced with an overpowering opponent, a friend shall announce a traitor to late, rage will envelop the land, and love will become fear through those tears will be strength."
I rolled my eyes, "A lot of 'will' and 'shall' don't ya think?"
Kisuke told me, "Victoria, this isn't a laughing matter. From what this says, Aizen is very likely to come back, Abby, you and the pack probably go a-wall, someone will probably betray us, and-" Ichigo waved his hand in dismay, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, we've gotta save the world AGAIN, kill Aizen AGAIN, and tie up everyone that's part poodle."
Me and Abby snapped, "It's wolf dumbass!"
~Toshiro's POV~
(Before haircut) (After)
My heart sank, I knew about the prophecy, but I didn't think HE would be the enemy we'd be facing… Victoria looked at me worriedly, "Captain, are you alright?" In truth, I wasn't. Giving her a confident smile, I assured her of our future win (hopefully).
Chapter 3
*At Victoria's house*
After we left Urahara's shop, Ichigo, Abby, and the rest group went to their homes. Victoria allowed me to stay the night at her house, and apparently her mother is a Soul Reaper too! The former Captain of Squad 10 as well! "I'm pleased to meet you Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya, I'm Rebecca Saenz. That couch potato over there's Seth Richards."Ms. Saenz said jabbing her thumb to her husband. She resembled Victoria really well, same dark-brown eyes, same lightly tanned skin, and light brown hair (except Victoria's was cut in a boy-ish style).
She dressed in a black muscle-shirt, a yellow knee-length skirt, and black house-shoes. Victoria's father had short black hair, stormy grey eyes, barely tanned white skin, and wasn't really out of shape at all. "Hey! I run more miles then you kill hollows!" He argued.
"My dad can see and sense them but doesn't have a zanpak-to." Victoria explained to me, her mother rolled her eyes and led me to my room. In there was a king sized bed, a closet full of pants and shirts, a dresser that had some socks (but no underwear for me…) too.
*Victoria's POV*
I rubbed my head in embarrassment, "Sorry Captain, we didn't get you any underwear for you. I kinda thought it'd be kinda interfering with your privacy sir." Smiling at me he said, "That's alright, thank you for that." I bowed and left the room. After I got ready for bed, Fenikusu changed into her wolf form and rested with me. "Fenikusu, do ya think Toshiro will hurt Drew?" She crossed her fore-paws and rested her head on them, "In all honesty, it's something that possibly will happen."
I put my MP3 player headphones into my ears and relaxed into my pillow. Looking through my favorites, I listened to my Three Days Grace songs. The main one I'd listen to is Last to Know. I fell asleep and saw Drew, only this time in a different form and location.
He had jet black hair(up to the tops of his ears), blood red colored eyes, same skin color, a pair of black denim pants on, a dark brown shirt was covered by his stormy grey jacket, he also wore black work boots.
"Don't tell me you've gone to the dark side, Anakin." I joked with him. He told me about this before; Drew is the treaty between Heaven and Hell. God and the Devil decided to truce and make a bet, if the boy (Drew) is driven into temptation to kill someone and does, the Devil can take 100 million souls to hell.
But, if he doesn't kill anyone and instead heals them (mentally or physically) the 100 million souls shall be forgiven of their sins and help in defeating Aizen as angels.
"Sorry to disappoint you Master Kenobi, but hey, I'm getting free cookies!" Drew chuckled, and then walked across the forestry landscape. I meet him half way there and ruffled his hair. Drew: o_O' uhhh…ok? Me: ^w^' (It's something I randomly do…)
"What? I think it's fluffy! How come when you go into Demon form, you look bad ass; while Ichigo, when he goes full hollow, he's scary as fuck?"
"Don't know, not really eager to find out." He lay down in the middle of a trail, arms behind his head and one knee over the other. The sunlight kissed his cheek as well as dance around on his jacket.
"So how've you been doing?" I asked him, trying not to stare.
"Well," He started, "I got captured by some bastard with a lion for a zanpak-to, and then get chained to a wall, oh and did I forget to mention the ass-hole is in your group of friends? I think he's called 'Max' or something."
I looked at him shocked, he just stared right back. "It can't be, Max's the traitor?! Why the hell would he do this?!"
"He has a grudge against Ichigo for making Abby his girlfriend; he's been working with Aizen for a few months now and was told to kill Toshiro and possibly you, Abby, and me too." He gravely stated.
"Why didn't you tell me before-hand?!" I said on the verge of tears. I sat on a large tree root and ran my hand through my short-cut hair. I should've known it was Max, I've seen him give glares to Ichigo but pretended not to notice. Drew quickly sat up then was very still, "Victoria you have to wake up."
Puzzled I asked, "Why what's wrong?" He looked at me pained, "Wake up, he's back again…" The way he said it sent chills down my spine.
I shot up from my pillow and saw Max's ice blue eyes looking at mine. He shoved a cloth against my mouth and pushed me down, almost choking me with his hand at my throat. My body fell limp and saw that Max had already drugged Fenikusu. Max blindfolded me along with my zanpak-to with a pair of my tube-socks. Stupid, but very effective. He drug me and Fenikusu to a rift then knocked out before we went through.
Chapter 4
~Drew's POV~
I saw another prisoner being brought in, 'Victoria?! Damn! The ass-hole got her!' I wanted to at least try to free myself, but knew it was pointless. A cell door opened, then the sounds of chains were heard, and the door finally closed. My arms felt like they're about to come off, the guards were ordered to have my arms restrained and my zanpak-to moved to a different room.
"Victoria," I whispered after the guards left, "Tori, you awake?" She yawned quietly and responded in a whisper, "You woke me from an awesome dream! Jerk…" Still herself, that's good. In order to survive in here you need a strong will and communicate with others. That's how you stay sane. I asked her through my thoughts, 'What are your surroundings?'
'My zanpak-to's with me, she's changed into the size of a knat. I see bricks, the door, the dirt on the floor, oh and guess what? More freakin' BRICKS!' Victoria: :/ Me: o_O'
'Glad to see you're still yourself.' I smiled sympathetically, how am I gonna get us out of here? No one's probably gonna come to save us. "When you're at the end of the road, and you've lost all sense of control, and you're thoughts have taken their toll when you're mind breaks the spirit of your soul, your faith walks on broken glass, and the hangover doesn't pass, nothings ever built to last, you're in ruins-" Victoria quietly sang to herself. 'Victoria! You have to be quiet! If not then-" It was too late though, the guards overheard her singing and came, opened her cell door, released her, and took her to the torturing chamber…
'I'm sorry…' A hot tear escaped my eye and hit the floor. They finally made me break, and we're both going to die for it…
Chapter 5
*Victoria's POV*
The guards strapped me into an electric chair and set the voltage to where it only inflicted pain. I yelled in agony, then thought of Toshiro and Drew. I'm not about to die here! I saw them bring in Drew just as they shocked me again only this time they punched and stabbed me.
"Victoria!" I dimly saw Drew through my tear soaked eyes. I saw him clench his fists and release his zanpak-to. No…
His black as night demon wings appeared and when they did the shackles that held him turned to dust. Drew quickly outstretched his wings and knocked the guards back with the sudden force. A deathly scythe revealed itself in Drew's hand, as it did his eyes went from blood red to a beautiful violet. I then saw his zanpak-to start to glow…
"Drew, don't do it! Please!" He looked at me, then my shackles, which instantly dissipated. His rage was growing and fire erupted from the ground.
"They hurt you… HE hurt you…," A few tears escaped his eyes, "I have to stop them all so you can be safe again."I ran to him and hugged him tightly, "Don't worry 'bout me, 'Kay? Now please relax yourself, they were only following orders just like Max was." I then teleported the guards to a locked empty cell.
He wrapped his arms around me and slipped his hands into my back-pockets. "Aaaaaahhhh! RAPE! Help he's- " Drew shut me up by connecting his lips to mine. My heartbeat sped up and I started to try to push him away. The guards kicked open the door and Drew quickly got behind me then brought a knife to my face. Me: O-O
"Let us go or she dies." Drew had ordered the guards then he pressed the blade against my neck. The guards relaxed and let us go free, but Drew still held the knife at my throat as we exited the room. He quickly closed the door and motioned me to follow him.
Fenikusu appeared in her fire wolf form then informed me to tell Drew to follow her, we did and she led us to a widow large enough for us to fit through but was barred shut. I looked at Drew, "My turn to make somethin' blow up." Fenikusu returned to her sword form and I slashed the barbed diamond poles. They easily fell from place then reveled my phoenix wings and climbed outside.
Drew did the same and we both flew away from the island to, hopefully, find a city/town.
Chapter 6
~Toshiro's POV~
Victoria's mother cried at her daughter's bed, "It's all my fault! I should've sensed him sooner!" Mr. Richards hugged her protectively. Victoria's been gone for almost 24 hours. "It's alright honey," Mr. Richards told his wife, "I sent out a report to the police and the S.W.A.T. team at work. We'll find her."
I thought of what happened; the intruder had ice blue eyes and was just entering some kind of void or rift with Vitoria and her zanpak-to being drug along, literally. A cloth with knock-out gas on it was found at the foot of her bed too.
Her MP3 player felt warm in my hands, 'She'd never leave without it. She'd always take this thing with her.' I contacted the Soul Society immediately after the incident and gained Intel that Max was seen talking with Aizen about something.
Deciding to leave and start my own search, I left to get some help.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Abby grabbed my shirt by the collar with both hands and shook me like a soda can. "Max wouldn't do that shit!" Ichigo placed a hand on her shoulder, "Abby, he's been gone the same amount of days as Victoria; either he killed her and took the body or she's still alive and's just been abducted."He said calmly.
"I don't think she's dead," I held out her MP3 player, "She never leaves it behind and besides I know she's alive."
"How?" Abby questioned through her tears. I removed her hands from my shirt, "She's my Lieutenant. We're giving her less credit then she deserves."
*Max's POV*
Max
Bowing before Lord Aizen, I presented the latest news. "Sir, the two key prisoners have escaped and have their zanpak-to with them as well." He stood from his throne and ordered me to rise. I did and awaited further orders.
"That's alright Max; it's actually something I expected to happen." He said casually. I was shocked by his words, "Sir?! Are you really sure this's a good idea? Just letting them walk out the front door like that?!"
He gave me a death glare, "Are you questioning me Max?" I felt him release some of his energy and noticed my breathing was becoming difficult. Stopping finally, I regained my breath.
"I would never do something as foolish as that sire!" Walking to his coffee station, he made himself a hot cup of cocoa. "Good. Now, tell me," he started off seriously then faced me," About how many marshmallows do you think I'll need?" Me: -_-# Aizen: :/
Chapter 7
*Victoria's POV*
Drew gathered enough spiritual energy to transport us to the nearest town; but unfortunately, we ended up in Germany (beer anyone?).
"Hey, at least it's not Antarctica." I joked with him, patting his back. We were just outside of the capital city, Berlin. We walked to the city and I was amazed how clean and open spaced the city was.
"Konnen du bitte helfen meine? (Can you please help me?)" I asked a passerby. "Ja, wie durfen ich? (Yes, how may I?)" She replied. "Wir kommen aus Amerika. Machen du kennen woe in Flugzig ist? (We come from America. Do you know where an airplane is?)" I spoke in German; I took a class in high school. "Oh, you're American?" The German woman said in English. Me: :/ W.T.H. MAN!
"You spoke in German so I just assumed…" I face palmed myself, "Anyway, can you take us to an airport or something? Please?"
"Sure! Oh, is he you're Freunde? (boyfriend?)" She asked me politely. "WHAT?! NO! He's my, uh… cousin!" She cocked an eyebrow, "Oh really now? Well let's go." She led us to her car and we crammed inside. We had to sit in the back seats because the passenger seat was taken by a stack of papers. Drew finally decided to speak, "Victoria, I don't know about this…Her spiritual energy feels different than an average mortal." He whispered to me. We drove past dozens of buildings for what seemed like hours, but when I saw a sign that translated to: 'Thank you for visiting Berlin, please come back soon!' my body immediately got on the defensive.
"Berlin has an airport ya know." I said smartly. She looked in her rear-view mirror, "I don't see why you'd even need one; you damn Soul Reapers…" Giving her a death glare, I interrogated her, "How'd you know. Obviously, you're not human either." Placing my sword at her neck, I continued, "Start talkin', how'd you know we're Soul Reapers? And what the hell are you?"
She laughed at me; I looked at Drew, who tensed up in frustration. "I am the general of lord Aizen's army here in Germany. In case you didn't know, our lord's using the world to take part in the upcoming battle." Drew's eyes widened, "What?! That's insane! Who'd even agree to work with him?!"
"Try Germany, Russia, North Korea, Libya, and Iran." She held her head higher, "Basically, it's World War III except with you damn Soul Reapers, shape shifters, and angels. Then there's us, the Arrancar, Arrancar, hollows and demons from hell. Sound familiar, boy?"
"Back off bitch, you still haven't told us what you are." I was starting get pissed off at her.
Smirking, she explained, "I am Arrancar number 21, Andrea Hertlerr. And you, my friends, better be as strong as they say…"
Chapter 8
~Toshiro's POV~
"So, can you give us a lift to her location?" I asked Urahara. He rubbed his jaw, "Yeah, but considering the amount of people; I can only allow at least 4 to 5 people to travel."
Everyone looked at each other. Our group consisted of: Ichigo, Abby, Victoria's mother and father, and myself. Urahara led us to the training room underground and there he set up the portal. He then told us all to prepare before we start heading inside. We entered our Soul Reaper forms (except Victoria's father) and I saw that her mother was indeed wearing the Captains' coat (haori) for Squad Ten.
Victoria's father dressed as a mercenary: a bulletproof vest, short-sleeved shirt, a sniper rifle and shotgun slung over his back, Desert Eagle in his hands and a large knife at his waist. "`Kay, all set?" He asked.
Everyone nodded in agreement, "Alright everybody, please step inside the portal one at a time and good luck to you!" Urahara calmly cheered. Victoria's mother was first to go in, next was her father, then Ichigo, Abby, and lastly, me.
"Hey, Captain Hitsugaya!" Urahara called from the inside of his store. "I left you a package behind that large rock to your right, take it with you!" Finding the box, I thanked him and left inside the portal.
"Uh…do ya think he had the coordinates wrong?" Ichigo asked in disbelief. "No, Victoria was here. I can sense her spiritual energy." Her mother replied to him. "That may be the good news, but I got some that's bad. She and Drew are having a hard time with an Arrancar..." Abby grimly said.
Chapter 9
*Victoria's POV*
"Bankai! Akarui Toukatsu Fenikusu! (Bright Intimidating Phoenix)" I yelled while in the air. Fiery wings appeared on my back and Fenikusu manifested herself into a beautiful white phoenix.
My sword changed from a normal looking katana into a sword almost as large as myself. The end was in the form of a spear but had hooks which made it hard for the enemy to get free. There also were hooks in the middle of my blade, and a black colored ribbon was wrapped around the hilt of the sword. Drew released his own just as I did, "Ban-kai, Shiro Mitsukai kage! (White Angel Shadow)" His hair turned paper white and angelic wings appeared along his back too.
The once violet eyes were chased away by Aquamarine blue ones. His attire changed too; he currently wore: A red rain-coat-like jacket, some-what worn-out blue-jean pants, no shirt (X/X Damn it Drew! You're killin' me here!), his hair style went from a sexy emo cut to a semi-emo haircut (his hair was in a choppy style and reached at the middle of his cheek.), and his shoes were dark red leather boots.
A beautiful sword appeared in his right hand; the blade took the color of the sky and blasted a wave of energy at the ground. "Ha!" The Arrancar said in disdain, "Is that pathetic tooth-pick broken?" Drew whispered a word and the ground erupted with boiling hot water. Some of that water sent the car we were once in, almost a mile into the air.
Fenikusu looked at me, her undaunted expression showing confidence. I held her sword form up in the air and cried, "Kousetsu Shezan! (Snow Death Piercer)" The once clear blue sky changed to a depressing grey. Aiming my weapon at the Arrancar, I created a relentless snowstorm; while Drew used his zanpak-to to engulf her in water then when she was completely submerged, I yelled, "Itawari to Kori! (Sympathy of Ice)"
Chapter 10
~Toshiro's POV~
"Damn it!" Victoria's father exasperated, "These bastards don't wanna die!" He gave up on his guns a few minutes into the fight and we realized that these people were somehow modified to where only extreme head injuries will kill them.
"Everyone, in that building, NOW!" I commanded. As soon as we all were inside, Abby and Ichigo blockaded the door and windows. Running to the stairs, we finally got to the 5th floor. I opened the roof door and told everyone that we were gonna flash-step to Victoria's location.
"Not to burst your bubble Toshiro, but how's Victoria's old man gonna come with us? He's not exactly a Soul Reaper." Ichigo stated. Abby then stepped forward, "Well, he could ride on my zanpak-to's manifested form."
"That could work." I hopefully said.
Howl to the Moon" Koriarashi! (Ice Storm)" A black wolf with a blue stripe going along its back appeared from a tornado of snow. The animal surprisingly was the size of a Grizzly bear… that stood upright…
"Hey Abby," Koriarashi said (yes 'said'. All zanpak-to's can talk.), "What's up?"
"Can you give Victoria's dad a lift?" Abby asked her zanpak-to, "He can't use flash-step." Koriarashi smirked, "Sure, what the hell. I don't mind." Mr. Richards climbed aboard the oversized wolf, "Really?" Koriarashi said slightly annoyed, "None of you could've carried him? He's lighter that a leaf!"
We flash-stepped towards Victoria's location and saw that she and Drew ( 8/ I hate him already) released their Bankai.
"Itawari to Kori!" Fenikusu glowed beautifully and flew straight towards the Arrancar. "It was too easy… but then, that means!'
I saw the enemy grin wickedly, I ran out in order to block the attack then felt an incredible amount of energy go through my very body…
Chapter 11
*Victoria's POV*
"Is he awake yet?!" I worriedly paced back and forth across the room. The Arrancar was chased away by my mom and Drew; I also found out that Aizen's troops are really zombies, literally too. We currently took refuge in an abandoned old house outside of Spain.
"Not yet, but he should wake up in a few minutes." My mom informed me. She was currently going through a box Toshiro gave her before passing out due to massive blood loss. The box was from Urahara, he apparently knew we're gonna be in abit of trouble. Inside the box was: a handgun, rifle, and shotgun ammo, for my dad (Dad: YAY!), a small jar full of Lifesavers (in a way like the candy, but does end up saving you), and seven military identification cards, then seven earpieces.
"This guy must've been really worried `bout us." Drew said as he tended to Captain Hitsugaya's wound. Abby and Ichigo were on patrol outside while my dad sat on the balcony and sniped any nearby enemies. Toshiro's hand clutched the old cotton quilt, "W-Where's… the Arrancar?" He struggled to say.
"Captain, I suggest you try not to speak; you don't want to open that wound, do you?" My mom kindly insisted. "She was chased off by Drew and I. We're currently outside of Spain; I was also told of a possible World War III." He looked startled by this.
"Okay! Enough of the, `Let's face it we're screwed,' talk! Can't we just kick back, relax, and enjoy ourselves for ONE DAY?!"Drew aggregately said. We all looked at him like: o_O 'WTH's wrong with you?' He then changed back to his normal form.
"Well…, despite the fact that that really didn't involve the current situmuhcation at all, I kinda agree. Besides, we could use the fun! I mean, I've been imprisoned almost a full 24 hours without my MP3 player! That's hell for me!" I chuckled. But we can do that later; right now we need to get back to the States. "Hey Victoria!" Abby barged in through the door, "What's for dinner?"Aw crap… totally forgot about that! D
Chapter 12
~Drew's POV~
We decided to have a small campfire outside and roasted some hot dog weenies Abby and Victoria "bought" from the store (They gloated about stealing them… -_- ). The hot embers of the flames stirred, warmth came over me and melted the cold feeling away. Victoria was singing her lungs out, arm around Abby's neck, to the 'Campfire Song song'. On the other side of the fire, Ichigo was napping, Koriarashi was out flying (Yeah, he has wings too…), Fenikusu just became entranced with the fire's dancing flames. Seth Richards (a.k.a. Victoria's dad), became so bored he started to draw bananas in the ground with his knife.
Rebecca Saenz sat contently on the ground with her manifested zanpak-to, Taiyou neko (Solar Cat) in her lap. She took on the form of a small black cat with a fire red diamond necklace on. Oh, and if you're wondering how I know about that, let me just put it: 'She told me but you simply didn't listen.'
Toshiro's wound healed extremely quickly thanks to Fenikusu (Phoenix tears can heal wounds of any kind), so he was currently out here with us too.
"Drew, was it?" Toshiro faced me with slight tension. "Yeah? What's up?" I replied, a little on edge. "May I have a private word with you?" He made it sound like an order but, nonetheless, I followed him.
We walked quite a distance away from the camp and into a large clearing. The bright moon's light lit up the area and I saw Toshiro turn to glare at me, "What happened while Victoria got kidnapped?" I exhaled and looked away, "She was tortured for most of the time…"
"And you let them do that to her?!"
"Hey, I-"
"….Work for Aizen too?"
His words caught me off guard, "What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Think about it," he unsheathed his zanpak-to and aimed it at me. "We don't know much about you: your zanpak-to's ability, your own abilities, or history. You can't be trusted..." I gritted my teeth, how can he be so narrow-minded?! I saved his fucking girlfriend and now he thinks I'm the bad guy?! WTH MAN!
"Unsheathe your zanpak-to." He commanded. 'He led here to fight…' I thought quietly.
"Fine; I'd try to negotiate with you, but what good would that do?" Unsheathing my blade, I summoned his released form, "Shoot quietly, Yaiba taihou (Bladed gun)!" My zanpak-to became a sniper rifle that had, instead of the normal end, an arrowhead-like tipped blade.
"A gun? You brought the wrong weapon to a sword fight…" I wasn't gonna let him intimidate me. "Bankai. Daiguren Hyorinmaru!" A pair of ice wings appeared on his back along with a tail, a claw on both of his feet, one on his left arm (in which he carried the sword) was the head and neck of an ice dragon. …Almost like mine…damn.
"Don't underestimate me." I can't really hurt him; Victoria'll be pissed at me! I stabbed my bladed half of my gun into the ground, "Tsuki kage (Moon's Shadow)." The moon temporally went black allowing me a chance to flee into the forest. Before I could actually enter the woods, a familiar pair of wings came in front of me. The cold touch of a steel sword pressed against my skin, just above my heart.
I disarmed myself by dropping Yaiba taihou, "Go ahead," I sympathetically said, lowering my head, "If you think it'll ensure the relationship with her, then, by all means… Kill me…"
Chapter 13
*Victoria's POV*
The moon suddenly became enveloped by its own shadow and I sensed Toshiro's and Drew's spiritual energy rise dramatically. Everyone seemed to take notice, "I'll go check on `em." Changing into my wolf form, I persuaded Fenikusu (fell asleep practically 3in. away from the fire) to stay here. I then trotted towards the dense forest.
Concentrating on both spiritual energies, I also picked up on their scents. "Ya'll better not be training without me!" I chuckled to myself. An opened clearing presented itself to me and cold breezes ruffled my fur. Finally spotting Drew and Toshiro, I ran to them. What I saw next I pray was a hallucination: A zanpak-to pierced Drew through his back.
"NO!" I cried out. Running felt like walking in slow motion; another zanpak-to slashed Toshiro across the chest once Drew fell to the frozen grass. When I reached their positions, I saw that an Arrancar did these wounds… 'The bitch's back. Shit.'
Howling, I alerted my friends that I needed major help. Fenikusu was here in no time flat along with Abby and my mom. Everyone else arrived minutes later, my dad with two Lifesavers in his hand. Both the injured boys ate the candy then winced in pain as it fixed the tissue.
I walked towards the edge of the cliff, 'It's my fault… I distracted them and now…' Light from the moon enveloped the area where I was at. Tears escaped my eyes as I resumed my human form. Facing everyone, I saw Toshiro give a passionate smile while Drew offered me an obscure cocky grin.
"Don't tell me you're gonna be there all night!" Drew hollered out. I looked away from their stares then sat down, my arms around my folded up legs. "Oh, sorry… Hey, guys? We have to get the hell outta here NOW. That Arrancar, Ms. Fartler came back."
Waves crashed against the shores and the sand felt soft against my palm. We were back in America and currently took refuge at Matagorda Bay in Texas. Urahara contacted us through the earpieces and told us to meet him at the Guadalupe River in Cuero (my hometown!).
"Hey chatterbox," My dad sat down beside me. "Drew and Toshiro are starting to worry more and more about you since you're not talking to them. What's going on, Tori?"
"I could've gotten them both killed! I can't even face them again without feeling that guilt of putting them through that!" I could see the tears well up again in my eyes; no word could describe the pain I was feeling.
He cradled me as I burst into tears, "It's okay, hush now." He calmly told me. "Don't blame yourself; they're both here, right?" I nodded in agreement. "That's really what counts, now go talk to those idiot friends of yours."
Looking at him, my dad gave me a trusting smile; 'So this's why my mom married my dad.' I thought.
"Dad," I said releasing myself from his protective hold, "I'm sorry… And thank you."
Chapter 14
*Max's POV*
"You fool!" Aizen punched me across the face in which made me cough up blood. "I let you and my General of Germany go on a mission, yet you return empty-handed!" Sitting up, I saw Andrea's eyes show fear for us both, "Like it's our fault! Victoria interfered; you told us not to kill or bring harm to her yet!" Andrea gave me a warning glance but it was too late.
"We talked about that mouth of yours, did we not Max?" Aizen pierced his zanpak-to through my shoulder, retracted it, and let me lay there. I wailed in agony clutching the wound. "I'm only a fool because I learned from the best." Aizen furiously faced me, but before he could do anything to me, I teleported to Victoria's location: Matagorda Bay, Texas.
I stayed hidden in the tall grasses, not wanting to startle my former friends with my presence. They were all having the time of their lives: fishing, swimming, listening to the radio, or just relaxing on the sand. Victoria was talking to her dad but then got up and went to Drew and Toshiro.
"Hey you guys," She said shyly, "I'm… I'm sorry I almost got you both killed." Tears were streaming down her face then Toshiro pulled her into a soothing hug, "It wasn't your fault; besides, if you weren't there we wouldn't be standing here with you right now."
Drew patted her back, "Yeah! We'd defiantly be 6 feet under if you weren't around!" I felt a surge of guilt go through me; he acts as though death means nothing to him at all! Even when I pierced him in the lungs, I saw him crack a goofy child-like smile. Not wanting to be a coward anymore; I simply stood up and felt shocked and merciless glares from everyone upon me.
Chapter 15
*Victoria's POV*
We all stared at Max; he was bleeding heavily from his shoulder and from his forehead. "Max!" Abby cried and was about to run to him but Ichigo stopped her.
"Nice to see you again," Drew unsympathetically said, "Oh, and by the way, I didn't kick the damn bucket yet." I could tell he wanted to take revenge.
"Max, come over here so we can heal you." Everyone looked at me, except Toshiro who kept his eyes on Max. He cautiously released me and I walked towards the injured traitor. I healed him the same way I did with Toshiro, through Fenikusu's tears, then cleaned the blood away with Drew's jacket(Drew: :/ xO HEY!)
`Abby's POV'
Everyone was asleep in the cave we found (well… Tori found it… =P) in the Cliffside. I walked outside and saw Max sitting alone on a pile of jagged rocks (Ow?). "All by yourself?" He slightly looked over his shoulder, and then looked back at the moon lit water. "No one trusts me, not that I can blame them."
I placed my hand on his shoulder, "Only because you attacked Victoria."
His head hung in despair, "Only because I was following orders." Ruffling his hair, I laughed, "Orders, shmoreders! You're with us now, and don't worry, I won't let anyone try to kill you." He cracked a smile and pulled me into a heart melting hug, "Can you forgive me for the things I've done?" We both looked out at the sea.
"I do, but does everyone else?"
Chapter 16
~Drew's POV~
*At Urahara's shop*
Okay, I've met some REALLY weird people through my life, but Urahara tops them all by a long shot. He smiled like an idiot then eagerly shook my hand, "Pleased to meet you Mr. Drew Anderson! I'm Kisuke Urahara, in case you haven't already guessed."
We just arrived at the Guadalupe River almost an hour ago (During that time, Victoria showed us around then we went to Whataburger. LOL, just like you like it. xD).
before after
Victoria led us to an old abandoned school and then whistled a slow sad tune. The area around the school suddenly changed: dead grass became green again, and the once crumbling building was restored to its former glory.
"And vuah-la! My hide-out when I have orders that require me to stay longer than normal." She proudly opened the door for us. I was completely amazed; everything was cleaned and carefully placed. Chairs, tables the 3 T.V.s, floor, everything was neat, organized, and just felt like a calm, cheerful, soothing environment. Max shyly entered the building but then left outside when Toshiro shot him a death glare. Victoria punched him in the arm, "Dude! Not cool one bit! Max, get your ass back in here before I drag it in."
Me: O_o holy shit!
That night I dreamt of my zanpak-to's: Yaiba taihou (Bladed Gun), Shiro Mitsukai (White Angel), and Jigoku Akuma (Hell Demon) in their animal spirit forms. Jigoku Akuma was a wingless dragon with a snake-like body, whiskers, walked on four legs, and had fire tattoo-like designs on his serpentine body.
Yaiba was a proud American Bald Eagle. Razor-sharp beak and talons, velvet soft feathers, piercing but wise eyes and a scar along her back.
Lastly, was Mitsukai. He was a winged white wolf, soothing blue eyes, the size of a racehorse, dagger- like teeth and claws and a 6 ft. wing span.
" `Sup you guys. Oh, wha'd you know? No one's killed each other yet!" I sat down on the grassy hillside while Jigoku trained with some boulders, Mitsukai relaxed by a lake and Yaiba was next to me talking.
"Drew, we've noticed your insecure emotions," She was the most caring out of the trio: Jigoku- hardly gives a shit, Mitsukai- more loyal and caring than Jigoku but less than Yaiba is.
"It's involving Victoria, Toshiro, and Max, isn't it?" She knew me all too well, but then again, she is my zanpak-to.
"Yeah," I replied unruffled by her concern, "but it's nothin' I can't handle. Just chill out and relax, `Kay?" Resting on my back, I crossed my arms behind my head and watched the clouds roll by.
"He's going to do everything he can to get you on his side." She sadly said. My expression softened, "I know, and I don't give a damn about HIM or me; it's everyone else I'm worried the most for." A soft breeze ran through the grass and to me, 'Honey?' I thought smelling the air. I let out a chuckle, "This peaceful scene won't last forever…"
Chapter 17
*Victoria's POV*
I woke to the smell of bacon and sleepily went to the downstairs kitchen. Me: O_o W.T.H? It was Drew, and he accidentally overcooked the bacon and was fanning away the smoke with a towel.
"Uh..? What are you doing?" Okay no matter what happens, NEVER let Drew cook! Drew + cooking = food dies!
"Heh, sorry," He embarrassedly rubbed the back of his head, "I wanted to try my luck at something normal, ya know? I thought cooking would be a good start, BUT, as you can see, this's the outcome." He gestured to the overly burned bacon.
"I think it looks delicious." I didn't want to be rude, he made breakfast for us! …Even if it's burnt, at least he tried… Surprised, and confused, he cheered, "Really? Uh...Thanks!"
After we concord Drew's food of death, we asked to train at Urahara's shop in the basement. Toshiro wrapped his hand around my waist as we walked into the training room.
"Alright! Everyone get a partner and start training!" My mom happily ordered. Drew walked up to us, "Hey Toshiro, you wanna finish that fight we had?" Toshiro released me and got an evil smirk, "Sure. Victoria why don't you train with Ichigo or with Max?" I gave him a nod, "Don't kill each other you guys." And with that, we all stated on our training.
Chapter 18
: Ian's POV:
"He betrayed us, what shall I do with this insect?" I stood at attention, exactly like a military soldier. I am a Soul Reaper that grew tired of the Soul Society and came here (Hueco Mundo) to seek more power; I am also an Arrancar and a Shape shifter too. My 3 forms include: a Grizzly bear, an Osprey, with lastly the tiger and the number of my Arrancar position is 11.
"Kill them all, but don't fully destroy these 3 subjects: Drew, Victoria, and Ichigo."Three faces appeared on a screen directly behind Aizen. The first was a boy with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.
Second, was another boy with orange spiky hair and brown eyes too.
Lastly, was a girl with short cut hair and the same color eyes as the last boy.
"As you wish, no mercy shall come to them." I adjusted my glasses with my index finger, bowed, and left the meeting room. After preparing, I rested on my bed reading Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. Quickly growing tired of that, I grew frustrated at myself: I can't kill her! The other two, maybe, but her I can't! That's one thing Aizen doesn't know nor ever will, about me: I have a little sister that can easily kick his fuckin' ass.
Chapter 19
~Toshiro's POV~
Releasing a wave of ice, I controlled it with my sword and made it chase after Drew with lightning speed. We both released our zanpak-to's like before, and I let him have the first move. He flash-stepped to me and the sound of our blades clashing was heard through-out the room. Sparks shot from both swords then dissipated in the air. I had to admit, aside from his aggravating child-like behavior, he was an exceptional fighter.
"Feliz navidad! Feliz navidad! I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas! I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas! From the bottom of my heart!" Drew chimed around me while using flash-step. Me: D:
"STUPID MOTHER FUCKER!" I easily caught up to him and smacked him across the face. He recovered from it and gave me a cocky grin, "Anger management much? Jeez man, no harsh language in front of the beautiful young lady." He gestured to Victoria, who waved then continued sparring with both Max and Ichigo.
"Is that the only reason you wanted to train with me? To get me pissed off?" He scoffed at my question, "What?! Dude, really, I couldn't help but make that comment!" Sighing in annoyance, I brushed the aggravating remark off my shoulder, "Let's just continue already."
Chapter 20
*Victoria's POV*
"Damn… This blows!" I said completely exhausted, "Ichigo, come here for a second." I had an awfully great idea that involved: Drew, Toshiro, and my dad's explosives. Me: :) Ichigo agreed to take part and retrieved a few Proximity bombs (of course, without permission); while I stealthily planted them around Toshiro and Drew's area of training. Knowing this type of explosive, I changed my wardrobe (this kind messes up bright colored fabric). I wore: A pair of black goggles, black muscle shirt, fingerless gloves, dark red pants, and grey/black tennie shoes.
Ichigo told everyone to get far away as possible (these Proximity bombs were rigged w/grenades, dynamite, and TNT), but, I, fortunately held the detonator. Me: 3
Everyone took cover just as I pressed the detonator's button except me, who had my back to the explosion, arms on my hips, and a proud innocent smile on my face. "Now THAT blows…"
Drew and Toshiro came crashing to the ground, face first, with ash and smoke on them. We helped them both up while laughing too.
"What the hell was that for?!" Toshiro's eyes went to me (of course), as Drew dusted himself off. I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know, I just felt like blowing something up. That's when Ichigo and I saw you two arguing so… We blow you to kingdom come!" Me: ;D
*Walking to old schoolhouse*
"Wow! It's so pretty!" Abby said admiring the cities' Christmas lights, snow and the sunset on the horizon."Yeah pretty strange. We don't get snow till the middle of December, it's early November."My dad pondered.
"Dad, the only strange one here's you; anyway if it's an Arrancar we can deal with it." We took a shortcut by the library and into the storage yard. The place was like a maze; fortunately we stayed together. I felt the presence of someone behind me; turning around, I saw no one.
"Victoria? You okay?" Ichigo said noticing my sudden menacing glare. I slowly and cautiously turned back, "Yeah, just thought I felt someone behind me."
Chapter 21
: Ian's POV:
Whew, that was WAY to close. At least I was able to put that mic. on Victoria… Her group was going towards an old school house then suddenly vanished as soon as they entered the gate. What the hell?... (sigh) Must be Victoria's doing. I decided to take shelter in the attic of a welders' shop across the street. I made moving around easier for myself by changing into my Osprey form.
I know Aizen wants to kill Victoria, but why? Because of her power maybe? She's obviously intimidating, but he has some scary as hell power too. On the other hand, it might just be her zanpak-to he's after… With a Phoenix as a zanpak-to spirit, you're practically immune to death. Anyway, Drew and Ichigo I might be able to take care of and convince to join on our side. The others may be too weak or stubborn to cooperate... I wonder what my parents'll think of me when we meet. They'll probably brand me a traitor like Aizen and Max.
Speaking of which, where's Andrea? She's suppost to meet me here 10 minutes ago. A small yellow canary came flying in just then, and landed neatly beside me. "Hello Ian, I apologize for my delay, the storm's pain in the ass here."
"Hey, that's alright. So you've already fought with Drew and Victoria, correct?" She nodded, "Yes, Victoria seemed like she was hiding some other form of power along with Drew."
"I see, "Just as I thought, she's gotten stronger ever since I left when she was 4. The last ray of sunlight faded away as the moon took its place in the sky.
Andrea was sleeping in an abandoned nest left by a Blue Jay. Taking the moment to my advantage, I flew to the schoolhouse and stopped at the gate. I changed to my human form and felt the snow crunch under my boots. "Well Victoria, time to see how much you've changed in the past 12 years."
Chapter 22
The barrier was shaped like a dome, spherical and pulsing with a clear ice blue color. I pressed my hand against it feeling a warm energy envelop my palm; then I felt cool air followed by occasional hot wind. I stepped fully through, walked towards the door, and then went inside. 'Wow, very impressive Victoria,' I thought observing the schools anterior. 'But the main questions still remain: Are you strong enough to defeat Aizen and can you handle me being an Arrancar?'
I went upstairs and checked spiritual energies before opening any doors. My sister's room was the last one at the end of the hall across from our parents'. Quietly going inside, I saw that she was asleep and held her MP3 player while drooling on the pillow. I muffled a laugh and gently put her hair over her ear, "Hey sis, sorry I haven't been around lately. I've brought you a gift; I've held on to it ever since I went to go train."
Pulling out a locket from my robes, I opened it and saw me (8 years old) and her (4 years old). Leaving the rust free, silver oval shaped locket on her nightstand, I left it open to where it'll be the first thing she sees. She shifted in her sleep and laid on her right side then curled up into a ball while shoving the blankets off her. I covered her back up, took her MP3 player, turned it off, and then set it on the nightstand as well. As I left the room, I whispered some final words, "Don't put your entire faith in Max, he could turn on you in a heartbeat."
Chapter 23
*Toshiro's POV*
I yawned and sat up from bed as the morning sun pierced through the window. Victoria lightly knocked on my door, "Shiro? You up yet?" She slowly peeked her head into my room then finished, "Oh, okay, great. I kinda got a little problem…"
"….And when I woke up, this locket was on my nightstand along with my MP3 player." She sounded a bit worried, something I'd never expect.
Inside was a picture of Victoria as a little girl with a boy about eight who looked a lot like her. She rubbed her head, "I know this sounds crazy, but I think I'm related to him somehow. I mean, look," She pointed at the picture, "Same eyes, skin color, and hair color too."
"Maybe he's your cousin or brother; why don't we ask your parents about him?" She grabbed both of my shoulders, "What're you, crazy?! You'd only make them worry more!" Letting go of me, she sat on her bed, hands combing her hair, "Just please don't tell my parents; I don't want them to get more stressed out."
I sat down beside her, "Why? Did something happen when you were little?"She nodded, "Yeah, when I was four and my mom told me about a boy named Ian, how he'd take care of me when she and dad both had to work late and things like that."
"So basically a babysitter?"
"In a way, yeah. But now that I've thought about it, I remember hearing my mom and dad argue about him. They said he left his sibling alone and ran off God knows where."
"Then he is your brother. If they said, "his sibling" then that must be the case." Victoria stood up, getting ready to take a shower, "It's possible.. Now get the hell outta my room!" She shoved me out the door, and then closed it quickly.
Chapter 24
*Victoria's POV*
"Whoo-hoo! Hollow hunting! Fuck yeah!" I yelled ripping out another hollow's throat with my wolf jaws. There were hundreds of them; Aizen probably released them from Hueco Mundo. Drew decided to test his animal forms: he first changed into a Bald Eagle the size of a Condor and took out 50 of the hollows. Then a beautiful white wolf, 57 were killed. Lastly was a red and black winged dragon with 4 legs, razor sharp horns and a dagger-like tipped tail. Seventy hollows were destroyed. Everyone: o_O Holy F**k…
Drew changed to his demon form (without the wings) and smiled innocently.
I changed back too and gave him a death glare, "DREW! WHAT THE HELL'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?! LEAVE SOME FOR ME!" He gave me puppy dog eyes but I didn't let up, "You killed every hollow and I only managed to get 38! No fair!"
"Hey, all's fair in love and war and technically were in both situations." I got so aggravated at him, I decided to Sparta kick him. "THIS. ISN'T. FUNNY!"
"Oops, I missed." I said kicking him in the face. Landing a bit hard in the grass, Drew cried like a baby. Drew: x'O I face palmed myself, while Max helped him up. The wind kicked up and a shivering breeze made my hair dance around madly. "Hey, why don't you guys go on ahead home; I'll stay here and see if there's anymore hollows around." Toshiro gave me an unsure look, but then nodded approvingly. "Don't be long; you'll miss out on MY own cooking."
Chapter 25
"Man, I'm an idiot! I forgot my gloves!' I thought, scolding myself. I folded my phoenix wings around me, protecting me from the newly developed snowstorm. The storm was too dense that I could barely make out anything. 'I… Hate…This…' I felt the cold slip past my wings and sting my face. Fenikusu was too exhausted from the weather and the fighting (so double whammy) that I decided to let her take it easy.
I trudged through the knee deep snow with my zanpak-to slung over my back. My breath came out in a hot mist as another icy gust chilled through me. Note to self: Fire based zanpak-to's + snowstorms = freezing my ass off! Managing to finally get into the town, I tried to use my flashstep, but thought differently. 'If I use flashstep, I'll probably end up hitting something…' Instead, I changed to my last form: a 3 in. (w/out tail) long brown as chocolate mouse. I'm 6 1/2in. w/my tail. =P
Resting in-between the exposed roots of a tree, I found warmth in the underground soil. Fenikusu became my size and warmed me up too with her own body heat. I heard the steady breathing of her, signaling me of her sleep. My eyelids were slowly getting heavier and soon closed completely.
The ground rumbled beneath me… wait, no… I was being carried. I slightly cracked open my eye and saw a freakin' Osprey. "Oh HHHEEELLLL no!" I squirmed in the bird's talons then noticed it had Fenikusu in the other talon. 'This ain't no ordinary Tweety bird.' I bit the large birds' claw and plummeted to the ground. Wind rushing up against me, and the ground coming to me just as fast…
Chapter 26
Okay, in all honesty, how many of you think I died? *counts* One, two, three, four…WHAT?! 90 PEOPLE! Me: 8/ THIS. IS. WRONG! *Sparta kicks all 90 people* FAIL!
Quickly, I changed to my phoenix form and flew after the Osprey. "Hey bird brain! Let go of my zanpak-to or I'm gonna make you into this year's Thanksgiving turkey!" I managed to stop the animal which now turned to face me. "I really doubt that, Tori." His voice brought back a memory of a little boy playing with an orange and white kitten. The smell of a honeysuckle tree was fresh in my mind. "Tori!" I heard the boy said happily; "Don't eat the tree! Just because it smells good doesn't mean its food!" I shook off the memory, could this be that same boy?
"How do you know me, and can I have my zanpak-to back before I freeze my ass off?" He dive-bombed to the ground then thrust Fenikusu into the snow. Resuming human form, I checked Fenikusu for any wounds. Circling above me, the Osprey landed before me then changed to a human with short black hair, dark black eyes, glasses lightly tanned skin, and wore: a black T-shirt with Roman numerals 11 (XI), dark blue jean pants, and stormy grey boots.
I held my zanpak-to protectively (she took on the form of a normal sized wolf, & yeah she changed into that too.) giving the boy a death glare. "Well, I guess that takes care of question number 2" He squatted to me eye level, "They didn't really tell you the whole story about me, have they? I'm that little boy who used to babysit you. It's me, Ian. Your brother…"
Chapter 27
~Drew's POV~
I strummed the guitars' strings, "….But don't you know, nobody drinks alone. Every demon, every ghost, from you're past and every memory you've held back follows you home. Nobody drinks alone." (Song by Keith Urban: Nobody drinks alone). All the other guitars Victoria had (4 including this one) I didn't really like and hadn't worked well with me. This one was an electric guitar with blue lightning going across a black background.
"Nice set of pipes you're carrying Drew." I looked up and saw Max leaning in the doorway. "Thanks, bro. Hey, Tori back yet?" He faced away from my glance. "Yeah she's back; went straight to her room, locked the door and hasn't come out." Uh-oh, what happened now? Did Fenikusu get hurt in battle?
*Victoria's POV*
Sitting inside my closet, I quietly moped. 'Was he right? About me being a monster? No! It can't be!' I hastily shook the thought off.
"Be careful with your power Victoria. You don't want to turn into a monster again."
"What do you mean by 'again' Ian?"
"The power ordered you around and you basically got out of control." Giving me an upset look, he continued, "Mom and dad were almost forced to kill you, but hey, it's a good thing I was there! If not, then…"
….I would've kept on a killing spree. The images of innocent people being killed by my zanpak-to continued to make me cry, 'He's suppost to be my brother… Why would he hurt me like this? Maybe he hates me, and the only reason he came back was to torture or even kill me. Anyway, how he presented himself must mean he wants to bring harm. He's a threat, no one, even my bro, will hurt my friends and live.
Chapter 28
There was a knock on my door, "Tori? What happened, you okay?"
"Go away Drew! Just please leave me alone!" A few mutters and the hurried shuffling of feet were followed right after. Soon, somehow, my door got opened (without the sound of it being kicked in) and Drew heard me in the closet. He pulled up a chair and said, "Is it that bad? Come on, no matter what it is I promise we'll get through it together, all of us."
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. If I do you'll- " Suddenly the closet doors were flung open, "I'll what? Hate you forever? Yeah, never gonna happen." He was in-between his normal form and his demon form at the time. He had: the same blue eyes, dark brown hair, light almond skin, a black muscle shirt on, torn blue jeans, and storm grey tennie shoes.
Picking me up bridal style, I got embarrassed by his action and blushed madly. "Hey, what's with you?" He joked happily, smiling like the carefree idiot he was, "How come the bravado you once had suddenly vanished?" I tried to hide my expression by burying my face into his chest, but only got a happy smile from him when I looked from the corner of my eye.
"Put me down, please." I hate having to use manners… They're annoying.
"Nah, besides," He, quickly and gently, tossed me in the air a few inches (about 3-4) to adjust his hand positioning; I tensed up and shrieked in surprise. He continued, "I'm having way too much fun carrying ya." Jerk. As soon as he goes to sleep, I start drawing on his face! First shall be a mustache! ;D x3
"I think an eyepatch'll look better." Oh yeah, that's right, he can enter people's thoughts. "Don't care Drew!" I pouted, "You're getting a freakin' mustache weather you want one or not!" Drew: ='( Me: 8D
Chapter 29
~Toshiro's POV~
Hyorinmaru was carefully placed on my bed along with my Captain's outfit. I replaced my dirty kimono with a green dinosaur saying, 'RAWR!' and cotton pants with penguins all around it. In case you're wondering about the outfit decision, ask the writer! D= :( Writer: o.o Uh, I chose it cause I felt like it? Toshiro: -_- If you're creating the story can't you just go ahead and kill Aizen already? Writer: Yeah but where's the fun in that? Audiences ALWAYS want final battles or expect them. NO MORE QUESTIONS 4 YOU! X3
Okay… ANYWAY! I changed my outfit and stuck my clothes into the washing machine outside my bathroom. As I put on my shirt on, the door was thrust open by Drew (really, are you surprised?). "You mind knocking next time?"
"Sure! Le'me try it! Toshiro (knock). You (knock). Need (knock). Animal (knock). Forms (knock). And (knock). Open (knock). Up (knock)."
"Wait. What?" I need animal forms? Why? Drew crossed his arms and gave me an annoyed look, "Do I have to do ALL THAT AGAIN?!" Me: o_O I'm good! Drew: D Awesome! Now let's get you're forms picked out already!
"Alright here's the deal Toshiro; you need to focus on these 3 main animals: First, you might go for a land based creature. Second, will be a sea animal. Then finally, you'll have a flyer. Oh, right before I forget, they don't have to be normal animals; they can have wings or be creatures of myth too."
"Why do I even need animal forms anyway?" He face palmed himself in frustration, "1: Aizen'll be confused on who's who. And 2: Victoria said you needed some forms anyway."
Of course, Victoria's always in on things… -_-
I cleared my mind and thought of 3 beasts that fit to my liking. "Can I choose an animal that's extinct? Like, for example: a raptor?"
"Well, yeah, wish I thought of that when choosing MY forms… Also if it's gonna be a bit big or long, take it outside." I nodded, understanding. Intaking a calming breath, I let my first form take over me.
A blue light enveloped me; when I opened my eyes, Drew walked over to me and knelt to my eye level. "An Arctic Fox, not too bad. Try the sea form now."
I was puzzled, "How come I had that light envelop me? Is that natural?"
"Yeah, and since that was your 1st form; it'll be your most strongest." He informed me while I returned to my human form.
"This one's probably gonna be a big one." I told Drew. He nodded towards the window, "Well, a little snowstorm never killed anybody." I opened, and climbed out the window then helped Drew out too. "Alright!" He shouted above the raging winds, "Go for it!" Jumping into the snow down below, I focused. Long narrow snout, recurved serrated blade-like teeth, three long-clawed fingers, a broom handle-stiff tail, and lastly, my retractable toe claw.
"Holy mother of- how'd you get that form?!" I heard Drew yell with envy in his voice. "What are you anyway?!"
"Isn't it obvious? I was a raptor; Victoria showed me a picture of some online while doing a science project at 'school.'" I told him while again resuming human form. He let out an aggravated sigh, "Why don't you save your last form. Ya know, in case of an emergency." I nodded, agreeing.
"Let's go ahead and go inside"
Chapter 30
: Ian's POV:
I flew back to Andrea's location and, fortunately for me, she was still asleep. Landing quietly and neatly, I thought of how I acted towards Victoria. 'Guess I came on a little too strong…' Her glare cut through my mind. She probably thinks I'm an enemy now. Looking at Andrea, I smiled. "Maybe I can convince her to fight with us and kill Aizen." She bundled herself up and shivered slightly as I used my wing to shield her from the cold. "Can't let you freeze to death." A smile formed on her kind face. "Good night Andrea, see you in the morning."
*Victoria's POV*
"Stay the fuckin' hell away from me." Fenikusu was in my hands, and Aizen, walked towards me. A wolf growl escaped my throat as an EXTREME warning.
"Why do you care about your friends so much? They don't even love you." He said coldly. I gritted my teeth, "That's a lie! Toshiro, Drew, Abby, all of them-"
"-hate you. Toshiro likes you only for your power; Drew was forced to deal with your, what he calls, "aggravating personality", and the others mainly envy your strength."I fell to my knees, my sword falling to the ground with me.
"No… that can't be." Aizen was suddenly in front of me, and then whispered, "Ai Sai Shiiko (Love's lonely child)." A sharp pain pierced through me as I dug my nails into the dungeon-like rooms gravel. I saw my hair grow longer and change to a creamy white color. "What'd you do?!" I asked through the pain.
"Did you not know about you're true name?" he shook his head and chuckled to himself, "How pathetic, and yet you call yourself a Soul Reaper. You don't even deserve to have a zanpak-to! Much less one with such destructive and creative power!" My heart was broken, I felt like taking a gun to my head and pulling the trigger. The sad thing was, he was right; I didn't deserve to have such a beautiful and powerful sword. With my vision fading to black, the last few things I saw were the most horrid:
Fenikusu emitted a terrifyingly evil energy and black traces of lightning danced around her new scythe- like form.
Aizen held his head high smirked evilly and power hungry as he picked up my horrifying new zanpak-to.
Lastly was this, Aizen ordered me to stand and I did as I was told.
"You no longer have control of your own actions; I am your master, you will obey each and EVERY order I give you. Is that clear?"
Suddenly, I bowed in respect (which I'd rather be one of Captain Kurosuchi's lab rats than do this shit!) and replied in a voice I didn't even recognize, "Under no circumstances shall I disobey you... master."
What Fenikusu looks like now.
I let out a scream, and sat up quickly. 'Just a…dream?' I saw my hair and realized it was long and cream colored. Drew and Toshiro slammed my door open, zanpak-to in hand, and then asked me what was wrong. "Wait, who are you?" Drew said somewhat confused and jokingly. "Toshiro, quick! Call the cops! We've got a missing Soul Reaper on the loose!"
"Drew I'm sorry, but the person you described is out bowling, please leave a message. Bye!" They both smiled, knowing my own joking and realized it was indeed me.
Chapter 31
A pair of fuzzy warm paws covered my eyes; even with I sat up the feline paws stayed in place. "Can you please get off of me?" The cat bounced from my head and landed onto of my bed. After I checked the spiritual energy, I realized it was Drew.
"Good morning lovely!" Sighing in annoyance, I just then noticed that my hair changed back to normal. "What the hell?" I muttered as my reflection showed me inspecting my hair. Drew took on his angel form (without the wings) and, for some VERY suspicious reason, looked a heck of a lot like Nero from Devil May Cry 4(except with Dante's personality… -). I bit the inside of my lip, 'Is it true what Aizen had said about everyone? No! I can't believe that, no matter what!'
"You had a dream about Aizen? What'd he say?" I pulled away just as he tried to retrieve my hand. His reflection showed a broken-hearted version of Nero I've only seen a few times; except this isn't Nero or Dante, this was Drew. He just takes on these forms because he wants to please me.
"I'm' sorry Drew, I just don't want you or anyone else-" He grew suddenly upset and frustrated, "-to get hurt right?! I know you're trying to protect us, but we're not as weak as you think we are!" He looked shocked at himself, "Victoria, I didn't mean-" Quietly walking to my room window, I opened it, climbed out with Fenikusu, and flew out into the snow covered town…
~Drew's POV~
"Damn it!" My fist put a hole in the once neatly framed wall, "Why did I have to say that?!" I saw myself in a mirror then hastily looked away; completely disgusted by the person before me. Sitting on the floor, I had my shoulders slumped and my fingers intertwined against my forehead. 'I'm suppost to protect her; how can I do that when I can't even control my own emotions?'
Mrs. Saenz apparently heard my commotion and came to see what the problem was.
"What's the matter Drew?" When she saw Victoria's window open and her presence absent, she frowned at me and clenched her teeth, "What happened?" My eyes met hers and lump in my throat developed. "We- I (sigh). Victoria had dream about Aizen and wouldn't tell what specifically occurred; then…" My fists became clenched and tears started to well up but I hastily cleared them away. "I yelled at her…" I awaited her punishment by lowering my head.
She knelt before me and placed a hand on my shoulder, "Then you'd better go find her. I understand how you feel, but Victoria just doesn't want to see anyone get hurt." She chuckled to herself, "Even though she tries to be strong, she can't help but turn into a marshmallow on the inside." Looking at her, a reassuring smile formed. I got up with more confidence in me and headed towards the house door.
"You should take a coat and scarf," Mrs. Saenz informed me, "It's 3 in the morning not in the afternoon." Guess that's where Victoria's smart alickness comes from…
Chapter 32
*Victoria's POV*
No snow was anywhere near me as I walked through the town, alone. My tears hit the asphalt paved road with a sizzle then evaporated into the air. A full moon shown past the occasional passing clouds. 'Just around the corner.' I saw Urahara's shop lightly covered in snow but then melting as I walked towards it. When I reached the door, a note read, 'Closed due to vacation.'
"So much for going to Kisuke for advice. Let's go Fenikusu, there's nobody here right now." My zanpak-to had returned to normal at the same point I did but was a WHOLE lot more shaken up from it than me. She quietly walked along and remained silent, something that made me extremely worried."Why don't we go to the park?"I said trying to ease the tension. She shook her head," You can go on ahead. If I may, can I go walk in the town?" I smiled kindly and nodded giving my approval (we've done this in the past and we know where each other is, so it's cool). "Go ahead and clear your mind; I'll come get you when you're ready." Looking up at me, her eyes started to tear up, "Thank you Victoria. I'm truly grateful." Then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.
As I walked through the park, I stopped to rest under a nearby tree. "I can't do anything right... Drew's mad at me and hates me too! … Aizen was right, they don't care about me." I lowered my body heat and let the snow start to pile up on me. "I'm such a cry baby." Cleaning away my hot tears, footsteps crushing against the ice came towards me.
"Please leave," I asked hiding my head in my knees, "you hate everything about me." The presence of someone sat down next to me, and then pulled me into a warm hug.
"I don't hate you; I just hate the fact that I got you so upset like this." Something soft and velvet was placed over my shoulders, a jacket? "Drew, I know how much you hate having to put up with me; just go back home."
He lifted my head up, "Can't really do that, besides if I do you'll stay out here and the boogieman'll get ya." I looked away from his sorrowful eyes, "That's where you're wrong; I'll kill him if he even comes within 50 feet of me." I saw a smile form and a childish joy return in his eyes. "Where's Fenikusu?" he asked taking a seat beside me.
"I let her roam around the town; you know, to relax her mind abit."
"So you know where she is then?"
I nodded, "Of course I do! She's my zanpak-to remember? I always know where she is." Drew wrapped his arm around my shoulders, "That's good, `cause I don't want anyone to know about this…" Suddenly he turned my head and kissed me passionately and with a slight hint of caution.
All that was going through my mind was, 'WTFWTFWTFWTFWTF?!' I felt him pull me into his lap then intertwine his fingers at my lower back. He broke our kiss and rested his forehead on mine, "You're cute when you start blushing."
Le'me go or else I fucking kill you." Drew looked me in the eyes and teased, "That wasn't very nice now." My eyebrow twitched in aggravation, "Oh bite me already you dumbass." He smirked a sly smile, "I'll take that challenge." Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh! Pervert! Run away! x'O
I glomped him on the head then got him to free me. Walking a few feet away, I pouted, embarrassed, "Yeah, I bet you would; well, come on, we should get back home." When he didn't respond I turned around and saw him cradling his head with his hands.
"There's no way I hit you that hard Drew. Come on it's almost-" I saw him grip his hair so tight I thought he was gonna rip it out (o_o yow…?).
"Drew?!"I shrieked, two swirling spheres of energy (one had a heavenly glow, the other had a hellish aura) branched out from both sides of his skull. As I started to run to him, he yelled for me to back away. The orbs suddenly started to take on humanoid forms, both having the physical forms of boys.
Fenikusu rushed to my side and bared her fangs at the outlines. I felt helpless, Drew was going through so much pain and I couldn't do a damn thing about it! That's when an idea struck me, "Fenikusu, go into human form." She looked at me knowing, then did as she was told. Her blue eyes met mine as her almond skin colored hands reached for her sword form.
'So she finally cut some of her hair.' I thought while looking at her brown strands of hair. "Did you leave some of your power in this form too?"
She nodded, "Yes. Are you ready?" I grinned evilly, "Try to keep up." In less than a second, I pierced my sword into the one with the demonic energy while Fenikusu pierced the heavenly one. As I retracted my blade, Drew limply fell into the snow, semi-conscious. Fenikusu did the same and gave her sword to me, "That energy was strange, what do you think it could've been?"
"It was Drew's angel and demon form manifesting themselves." I spun around and saw the same forms the two spheres took on. One had a short choppy dirty blondish haircut, sky blue eyes, rectangular glasses, wore an outfit that looked like he worked as a bartender, and lastly… he was smoking ( not the kind where they're hot.. the ashtray kind…).
The other boy was about the same age as the boy next to him (16-17), and had ear-tip length hair (`cept for the bangs), barely tanned skin, stormy grey eyes, black hair, and wore a black jacket with a hoodie that had fur on the edge, black pants and tennie shoes.
"And I'm taking a wild guess that that's ya'll two?" I interrogated while helping Drew to his feet.
"Victoria, why'd you do that?" He asked, but I knew he was really upset at me. "They were just about to officially leave me alone until-"he cut himself off, thinking of what happened last time when he had gotten upset at me. "….Until I butted in, right?" I let him stand on his own and faced the angel and demon, "I'm truly sorry for what I did."
"That's OK," The demon said, not really caring. "Besides, I kinda like it here; it's a hell of a lot better than my original place."
Chapter 33
~Drew's POV~
When we arrived back home, the sun was just barely peaking out. 'It's probably 5 in the morning right now.' Me and Victoria walked in silence as my angel form and demon form fought the whole way.
"Hey leave her alone asshole! She's a zanpak-to NOT a demon!"
"Like it matters! She doesn't care so why should I?" I looked at Victoria and Fenikusu; their eyes were like empty voids, just staring into space. For, what seemed like hours, neither of us talked. That is until my stupid demon form pushed me onto Victoria.
Snow had made its way into her hair as she tensed up. My hands felt the cold snowflakes as I could feel Victoria's hair at the tips of my fingers.
"I-I-Um…" At a loss of words, I embarrassedly unpinned her. My demon form gave a wolf whistle, "See? He wants her-" Quickly punching him across the face, I shut him up, "Son of a bitch. Do that again, and I'll kick your ass." He recovered from the hit and smirked, "I have a name you know, so does that fag over there." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder at my angel form. "I'm Bryce Hayes and that's Travis O`Connor."
"And you just decided on these names? Right?" Victoria commented as I offered her my hand. She ignored it and helped herself up. The angel, Travis, smiled innocently, "No, we've had our names ever since we died." I almost laughed at Victoria and Fenikusu's shocked expressions.
"So, then, God and the Devil, sent you both as part of the treaty?" They both nodded, but then went back to fighting each other… I sighed in aggravation; this was going to be a long walk home…
Chapter 34
`Abby's POV'
The cold cereal crunched in between my teeth as I chewed. I stared (glared actually) at Drew's demon form, every so often he'd wink at me and Ichigo would send him a death glare. It was 10 in the morning, and apparently, Drew somehow got separated from his angel and demon form through a dream. Everyone made their own breakfast, except Victoria who decided to sleep in since 7.
"So, Drew, this dream, you say it showed God and the Devil correct?" Mrs. Saenz had questioned, sitting at the table. He nodded slightly, "That's right. He and the Devil both came to me and said… my life was wearing thin, so-"
"-That's where we came in to crash the party!" Said his demon form (apparently called Bryce). Everyone stopped and looked worriedly at Drew, then I asked in a quiet voice, "You mean to say that, you're… dying?" He tensed at the word and lowered his head, "Yeah… but all of you have to promise to not tell Victoria about this. Please."
Toshiro offered a sorrowful look as well as Max and Ichigo. I swear on my zanpak-to, I will not say a word." He placed his hand in our little circle and we all started to join in. Mr. Richards didn't really know what to swear on so he swore on his gun instead.
Unfortunately, Victoria came down at that moment. "Who's not saying a word to me about what? Alright, promise handshake thingy: check. Keeping a secret from Victoria: check. Make her VERY curious about what we're talking about: check!" She was in a Cookie Monster outfit (meaning PJs: shirt, pants, socks, that stuff).
"So…," She continued eagerly, "What's this secret ya'll are hiding from me?" Her dad, seeing the worry on Drew's face, made up a lie quickly, "Since you're SO interested, we were gonna have a party before we leave to fight Aizen in Hueco Mundo." Victoria's eyes widened, "Seriously?! AWESOME! I'll go get changed!" She hurried back upstairs and Drew gave her dad a miserable look, "Why…" He said barely above a whisper. "You wanted us to promise, so, this's me keeping my word." Bryce and Travis had shameful looks expressed while all of us went eerily quiet. Finally, not able to stand the silence anymore, I spoke up, "Well, that party isn't gonna set up itself. Let's get busy!"
Chapter 35
: Ian's POV:
'Poor Drew… Slowly but surely his life is dwindling away…' Andrea and I sat on a tree branch just outside of Victoria's house. 'Victoria'll be incredibly upset when he starts to pass on.'
"Hey, are you alright?" I looked at Andrea, then lowered my head, "No, I'm not. Can't you feel Drew's spiritual energy fading away? He's suppost to help in defeating Aizen! How can he do that if he's dead?!" I had already persuaded her to join me in killing that asshole and to keep both Victoria and Drew alive. "We'll just have to kill him before he dies then." Andrea stitched her small wings out as if getting ready for flight. "Ready to face the music Ian?" Chucking to myself, I confidently said, "If this album goes platinum, I'll get drunk then go to Vegas."
~Toshiro's POV~
I bit the inside of my lower lip, 'I can just see her tears now…' Travis let out a depressed sigh, "I don't think you should've done that Mr. Richards." Faintly, I heard the sound of Victoria's shower starting up. Mrs. Saenz toyed with her cheese enchiladas, "She's not going to want to talk to anyone once she-" Quickly, her attention went to the door as she got up and summoned her zanpak-to, "Looks like we're having a family reunion…" The door swung open and two teens stood in the doorway-one a boy in his late teens, and a girl about 21-23, "Hey mom, dad." The boy said adjusting his glasses while looking at Victoria's parents, "It's been a while, how've you been?"
'Mom? Dad? There's no way- Wait a second, he looks a lot like that boy in the photo in Victoria's locket!' The girls' gaze came over to me, "I'm sorry I almost killed you both, Drew Anderson and Toshiro Hitsugaya." Victoria's dad had a tense expression the whole time and aimed his handgun at the Arrancar, "What are you doing here Ian?"
"Like Max, I was sent to kill Victoria, but I had two other targets too: Drew Anderson and Ichigo Kurosaki." Max looked away from everyone else's stares then spoke up, "So are you and Andrea still bent on killing them?" The girl, Andrea, rested on the couch as if she had ownership of the place, "We're rebelling; Aizen's been playing us the whole time, treating us like chess pieces in his fucked up game."
I saw Victoria's parents give each other uncertain looks then her mother finally decided, "We will let you stay, but only because my daughter never really knew you." Abby's' attention was diverted and I started listening too. Almost immediately, the sound raced through my ears… silence. She was out of the shower already?! Damn! What're we gonna do when she sees her brother and the Arrancar?!
Chapter 36
*Victoria's POV*
I stood with my ear against the door, 'H-He's here?! With the Arrancar too?! Did they kill everyone in the house already?!' I quickly changed into some clothes and rushed downstairs. There I saw everyone (alive thankfully) tense and ready to fight to the death (except for Drew, Bryce, and Travis who had these helpless looks in their eyes.). Glaring at Ian and Andrea, I revealed Fenikusu and held her sword form casually at my side.
"You followed us here, right?" I saw Andrea sitting quietly on the couch while Ian jumped ontop of the couch armchair. "Well, yeah. How else are we suppost to help in killing Aizen if we don't help each other out?" Startled by this, I looked at everyone else's expressions to see any form of lying. There was none, even Drew's expression, showed that Ian spoke the truth. I saw my Captain's expression change from anger to regret to, finally, relaxed. He said in a calm tone, "He came in a few minutes ago with Andrea, and according to them, they're rebelling." Everyone gazed at me, waiting my decision. I exhaled an annoyed breath, "Ya'll can team up with us, but don't think for a second that I'm gonna trust you that easily." My brother cocked his head to the side, "Fair enough, it's not like I was expecting you to automatically trust us anyway."
"Just as I thought, that arrogant boy chose his family over his loyalty to me. Don't get attached to him, or any of the other targets." I had ordered my spy, who was communicating with me using a specially designed Message Machine that allows only the owner to get access and communicate face- to-face without actually being in the persons' presence.
"I understand sire, how goes the plans for our final battle?" Running a hand through my hair, I replied, "Concern yourself with your own priorities," I gazed at the Hogyoku in my hand, "remember your top priority is to kill Victoria. She must either be cooperating with us, or be destroyed. Her cooperation has yet to surface and I'm tired of waiting." Looking at my associate, I sat in a business-like manner, "Kill her, torture her, make her wish she was in Hell. Do what you wish, but make sure she stops breathing. Is that clear?" They bowed respectively to me, "As the sky is blue, sire."
"Then go and bring me her dead body as proof of your victory."
Chapter 37
~Toshiro's POV~
Victoria groaned, "Do we have to go shopping?" We all were heading to the local mall which was a mile away (literally), and since we didn't have a car, we had to walk instead. "I mean it's not like we have any real reason to go, and besides we get wardrobe changes every other chapter too!" A few of us laughed at her comment (hey, it's true!) but then we noticed a new restaurant called Across the Globe as we walked past. "How 'bout we get us something to eat first?" Abby cheerfully recommended, almost everyone agreed with her. We all walked into the building, cool air conditioned breezes hit me. A waiter led us to our seats but when he saw Victoria; his expression became slightly more serious. We all had ordered and I informed her of the suspicious waiter.
"Pssh." Victoria waved her hand in dismay, "Captain, you worry to damn much! Relax, and just take it easy. Alright?" She smiled warmly at me and my heart jumped inside my chest. The restaurant wasn't too crowded, strangely though, our meals took longer than they really needed to. Everyone around me talked and laughed about small things like why Victoria hates math (Victoria: 8( *shotgun in hands* Where is it?! Go on tell me! xO)
-_- Finally, our food had been finished being prepared and we started to dine. The waiter came back, but with a smile on his face, "Is the food to your likings?" Victoria and her brother gave him optimistic looks, "Absolutely!" He then turned to me, "What about you young man? Are you not hungry?" Ian's childish smile faded along with Drew and Victoria's current conversation. So they picked up on his spiritual pressure too…
: Ian's POV:
I should've known better, Aizen sent his newest creations- the Shezans, assassins that can transform into 3 animals or mythical beasts (like me, Drew, Victoria, Abby, Max, and my mom) except when Shezan's put their hollow masks on, they don't get a time limit unlike Ichigo and the other Arrancars and Espada. I saw the waiter grin wicked, "Did you honestly think you were free from Lord Aizen? My boy," he looked at me, trying to intimidate, you were never free to begin with…" Suddenly, black wisps of energy swirled around us and transported all of us to a large desert, Hueco Mundo…
Chapter 38
*Victoria's POV*
I woke to a murderous pain in my head and the feel of a cement floor on my left cheek. My old cell… either that or Aizen had the same structure design made here… I was in front of the barred cell door when I heard someone else waking. The person was at the far reaches of the room where I couldn't see past the enveloping shadows. A voice came from the darkness, "Why'd you do it? How come you did this to me? I thought we were best friends… Why'd you try to kill me, Victoria…"
-Drew?! What the hell's he talking about?! Me, try to kill him?! I'd rather do ALL of Rangiku's unfinished work PLUS clean every squads barracks with only a toothbrush! It can be done… I've seen it…
Slowly, I managed to climb up to my knees. Startled, I noticed that my hair color had changed back into its milky cream shade. No… then, I really did try to kill him. Chains rattled against the brick walls and I knew he'd been chained to the wall…again.
"Does what you did to me, have anything to do with your dream about Aizen?" I had sat up at this point and faced Drew's direction. Tears welled up in my eyes but instead of cleaning them, I let them fall, "….Yes… It does…" His voice quivered, "How come you didn't tell us? Victoria, you know you could've at least told me…" As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw Drew's expression: hate and betrayal… Hate towards me for trying to kill him, and betrayal for me not telling him.
I couldn't blame him; Aizen turned me into this THING and now… this happens… Walking carefully to Drew, I quietly said, "Just say it… We both know how you feel, but if it makes things any better, I'll try to free you so you can leave…" His wounds were vicious- one grazed above his right eye, another slicing across his left arm and the shoulder, and lastly was a slightly deep incision going from his right shoulder to his left lower rib.
My cold hands intook his welded together shackles. 'I can't melt them; I'll just injure him even more… If I had Fenikusu with me, this wouldn't be too much trouble.' That's when an idea hit me; I could use my kido to release him! "Drew, I need you to be still for a second. I'm gonna use kido to break those shackles on you, okay?"
He looked away from my gaze, "Why don't you kill me while you're at it too?" I bit the inside of my lip, but kept my composure. Extending my index-finger just above both of the shackles, I said above a whisper, "Pale Lightning…" Sparks of electricity flew and immediately broke Drew's handcuffs. Falling to his knees, I started towards him. His heart-melting blue eyes showed no more kindness to me as soon as our sights met. I huddled against the farthest corner away from Drew and closet my eyes, "You can go… I… I'll stay here, it's better that way…"
"I don't hate you… I never did. Who you've become is the person that I hate…" And with that, the cell door exploded off its hinges and Drews' footsteps ran from the cell, leaving me alone. Weeping, and praying for death…
Chapter 39
~Drew's POV~
My hurried footsteps echoed against the cobble-stone floor. Guilt surged through me with every step I took from Victoria. The blood from my wounds had dried and stopped before Victoria had woken up. I had to find the others and tell them about Victorias' transformation. After winding down tons of hallways, I came to a slow stop, 'What am I doing? I get a chance at freedom and just leave her there like that?!' Shoving the thought away, I glanced back down the long hall. Toshiro. I've gotta get Toshiro first; he might know something about this… I took in my surroundings: long maze-like hall, concrete walls and rafters, every-so-often would be an old fashioned lamp hanging from the wall. A quick movement caught my attention, but I pretended not to notice. I checked their spiritual pressure and recognized them almost immediately.
"It's been awhile Drew," A voice said in the rafters, "make way! Dead man walking here!" I clenched my hand into a fist and smirked, "Yeah, but don't worry, I'll be sure to take you and Aizen with me to Hell personally…" I heard the smirk in the other persons' voice, "Is that right now?"
"Yeah, but if that's a problem…" I summoned my sword, Yaiba Taihou, and held her tightly in my grip, "I guess I could show you two that I'm not really in the mood for anyones' bullshit…" My blade clashed against two others and created raging sparks of electricity. "Max, Andrea, you know Aizen's just using you! Andrea you even said yourself! So why are you doing this?!" I shoved them away and glared at my two ex-colleagues.
"You wouldn't understand no matter how many times we tried to tell you," Max gave me a superior grin as he and Andrea backed up in response, "so what would be the point in saying anything to you." Looking at Andrea, I asked, "What about Ian?! Don't you care about him at all, and Max, what about Abby?! She loved you, now this's how your gonna treat her?!" Raising my sword, I aimed it at both of the traitors.
"Love is just a tool that can be used in times of war; something you just won't understand…Drew." I spun around and saw Aizen himself with Victoria and had his hand grasping her neck. "Well, I'm glad you made it easier for me to find you. I would've gotten real bored eventually…"Victorias' eyes turned towards me, she had a different look in her eyes, like a blood thirsty animal. That started to worry me.
Max and Andrea backed away hastily as Aizen pushed Victoria forward. "Let's test your so called "love" with a battle. Shall we?" In the blink of an eye, Victoria flash-stepped in front of Max and stabbed him in his right lung. Andrea yelled in shock and anger, "NOOOOOO!" With quick movement, she raced to Victoria and intertwined between her attacks. Andrea managed to strike a blow on her lower back just as Fenikusu impaled itself into Andreas' ribcage, crushing and tearing at the organs inside.
"VICTORIA STOP!" Pulling her sword from the now dead body, she glared then walked towards me. "You… You hated me... All because of who I am…"Her voice, seemed different now too. Aiming her blade at my heart, she teasingly pressed forward and slowly created a small stream of blood. "Tori, please… don't do this… You're not this person; besides, what do you think Toshiro'll do when he sees you like this?"
Her hair returned to black but her eyes became mixed and changed to a crimson red. "D-Drew? What happened; where are- " She saw Max and Andrea on the floor bleeding out and slowly slip away. "Oh my God!" She fell to her knees as tears of pain leaked out. "D-Did I, do this?" She looked into my eyes with agony and I forced the words out, "…Yeah, you… killed them, Victoria. I'm sorry." She stared at the corpses of Andrea and Max in horror, "Max, Andrea, I-I'm so sorry…" Crawling to both of them she wept a stream of continuous tears.
I placed a hand on her shoulder, "Victoria, it's not your fault. If you're gonna blame anyone, blame Aizen; he did this to you." Glaring at him, Aizen gave a casual smile, "Drew, what are you saying? I believe you are just as responsible as I am in this." I stepped in front of Victoria just as Aizen turned his gaze towards her.
"What the hell are you talking about. I had nothing to do with the fact that you turned her into this." He waved in dismay, "Of course you did. Who filed her mind with thoughts that she can actually be cared for? Who gave her those pipe-dreams? I believe that person is standing right before you, Victoria…" I looked at Tori, afraid of how she would react, and braced myself for her rage.
Her katanna morphed into a scythe then was released into a wave of barrages. Victoria's eyes and hair changed back too. Intertwining through the attacks, I yelled to her, "Damnit Victoria! Listen to ME! I know your still in there; please stop doing this to yourself!"
