Requiem For the Lost Ones
Requiem For the Lost Ones
A/N: It has occurred to me that I haven't put in a disclaimer yet. Well, I'm going to do it like this.
For all intents and purposes, the series involved thus far (i.e. Bleach, Kingdom Hearts) do not belong to ObliviousWarrior89. Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo, and Kingdom Hearts belongs collectively to Disney, Square Enix, (and because Halloweentown doesn't make an appearance, I won't bother saying Tim Burton).
There. Got that out of the way. Liked my reviews, they've been mostly positive. I only have one or two but one or two is all I need. As long as someone likes my writing… I can continue it. There, /rantoff and /startchapter.
"Just what the hell are you?" Ichigo roared as his next attack missed. He had been trying to land a hit on the cloaked man for a while now, but he couldn't touch him for some reason. It wasn't like he had greater spirit energy or anything, he just couldn't connect with an attack.
"Certainly not human," the dark one sneered.
"I don't need you to tell me that, bastard!" Ichigo yelled, glaring as he prepared to attack again. "Getsuga Tenshou!!"
Dodging the attack effortlessly, the cloaked man sighed audibly. "And they said you were supposed to be strong… as it stands now, there is no point in attempting to turn you into a Heartless."
"What in the blue monkey hell is a 'Heartless'?" Ichigo spat out.
"Why don't I just show you?" the cloaked man asked. He snapped his fingers.
A horde of shadowy creatures appeared and came as if out of the ground. Ichigo regarded them coolly. "So you're that type of bad guy. Flunkies at your beck and call, huh?"
"I'm afraid these are more than mere flunkies, Substitute Soul Reaper. These are Neoshadows… high level heartless who obey the commands only of strong willed and powerful entities."
"But they're still flunkies. And I'm the type of good guy that can waste the flunkies with hardly an ounce of effort." Ichigo released a wave of spiritual pressure that flattened the Heartless in an instant, causing them to dissipate instantly. The cloaked man himself was blown back a couple of feet before he regained his footing. "What's the matter? Is my spiritual pressure too much for you?"
The man's hood had fallen, and his long feathery locks of silver hair flowed down to his shoulders. His skin was a dark tone, and his eyes were like burning yellow orbs.
"Perhaps I've underestimated you," he said. "My name… is Xemnas. Go and tell your precious Soul Society if you must. It doesn't matter any more." And with that, the fearsome Nobody leader had disappeared in a gaping hole of darkness.
"Hey, Sora… Long time no see?" the black cloaked figure waved. "Nice to see you up and about too, Riku."
In an instant, Sora and Riku had called their Keyblades. "I knew it… the King was right. You guys did somehow survive," Riku muttered. They settled into combat stances.
The guy in the hood held up his hands, gesturing for the boys to back off. "Is this any way to repay me, Sora? Sheesh… Kairi, I thought you said Sora was supposed to be a good friend! I mean sure, I started it by kidnapping you, but I made up for it, didn't I?"
Realization struck all three. "Axel!" the gang cried out simultaneously.
"Bingo," he said as he removed his hood, revealing the familiar spiky red hair and eye drop tattoos. "Got it memorized?"
Riku sighed loudly. "Not that again…"
Sora inquired, "What's going on? Didn't you fade back into darkness after putting all of your being into that one attack? You gave me a chance to get into the World That Never Was… so how did you survive?"
"That's true… I suppose we all did fade back into darkness…" Axel sighed. "But I suppose even the darkness has a place to dump all the leftover trash that gets spawned everywhere. It was a strange place… there was white sand, and there were weird Heartless around, with holes their chests with bone white masks."
"That seems strange… I've never seen any like that before," Sora said, puzzled somewhat.
"Well, that's not even the half of it. We all ended up finding each other. The other Nobodies, I mean. And it turned nasty pretty fast. Xemnas and the top dogs were out for blood, and wanted to waste all the betrayers from Castle Oblivion, including me. Vexen and Saïx joined me when we took off. We didn't want anything to with the inevitable war between Marluxia and his betrayers and the Superiors. So we left."
"Why did Vexen and Saïx stay with you? Didn't you betray them both?" Riku inquired.
"Those were necessary deceptions… Vexen wanted out, but the only way to get out was to die or run… and nobody can hide from the Organization for long. As for Saïx, it was nothing personal. I betrayed the Organization. And Saïx was simply being their enforcer." Axel sighed. "And the three of us are all that's left of the old gang in Twilight Town."
"What are you talking about?" Sora asked. "The gang in Twilight Town is Hayner, Pence, and Olette! Roxas' friends."
"It's true that we were all Roxas' friends… but he was never really friends with those twerps. The three kids you're talking about were all digital doubles, set up by DiZ to keep Roxas in that electronic prison." Axel scratched his head. "No, the real gang was me, Vexen, Saïx, and Roxas. Twilight Town used to be inundated in Heartless. And since Xemnas had already formulated his master plan, when Roxas came into the picture… he sent the four of us out to eradicate the Heartless to strengthen Kingdom Hearts. But after a year… Riku kidnapped him and the rest is history."
"What was it like? To fight with Roxas?" Sora asked.
"Who are you asking?" Riku posed.
"Well, if you've both got answers… start with Axel's."
Axel paused. Then he began, "Kinda like fighting with you. He was sure of himself, almost to the point of arrogance. Only he lacked that self-realization you have. He didn't know why he was the Keyblade master… so a part of him always wondered. But there's no denying it. He was a formidable force in battle."
Riku followed up. "Axel's right. He was formidable… and if he had that effect on his comrades… imagine being his enemy. His skill with the Keyblade seemed greater than even King Mickey's. I had to give in to the darkness to even stand a chance against him."
"Anyway," Kairi interrupted. "Where are Vexen and Saïx?"
"Saïx is hiding out in the dark realm, waiting for Vexen and I to get things started. Vexen's at Radiant Gardens trying to alert Leon and his ilk about the new threat, and to make clear our intentions versus the rogue Organizations.
"Xemnas and Marluxia have split almost evenly the remaining members of the Organization with themselves as the rival leaders. And their goal is to re-obtain Roxas, to use against the other side."
Sora's eyes narrowed. Roxas was Sora's Nobody: during the chaos in Hollow Bastion, he had defeated Riku, who was possessed by Xehanort's Heartless. Taking up the dark Keyblade he'd left behind, Sora willing gave up his heart to awaken Kairi, and he became a Heartless for a brief time. When this happened, Roxas was born. Almost exactly alike (save for the blonde hair and even spikier hair style) to Sora, Roxas was taken in by Xemnas and his already established Organization. The rest after that is history. Near the end of his last adventure Roxas rejoined himself to Sora's body, supposedly making him whole.
"They'll go to any length to get what they want, Sora. You know that better than anyone," Axel warned.
"So what do we do?" the Keyblade master asked despairingly.
"Well, we're already planning to meet the King," Riku replied. "Come with us, Axel. You can explain the situation to the King."
"Forgetting something? I can't go there," Axel remarked.
Sora remembered. "That's right, the Cornerstone of Light protects the castle from darkness."
"Just tell the King about me and my little insurrectionist group. Vexen wants to call us the Rogue Four. I told him it was stupid…" Axel sighed.
"We'll tell the King," Kairi said. "Since he's taking us to the new world anyway, why don't you meet us there, okay?
"Yeah, sounds good. I'll tell the others. See ya around," he finished, as he disappeared into a corridor of darkness.
"Y'know, it doesn't matter how many times I see that, it's still kinda freaky," Sora shivered.
"Let's get going. After everything Axel just told us, we have no time to lose. If the Nobodies are on the move, we'd better get moving, too," Riku supposed.
"I got it," Sora said. He pictured Disney Castle vividly in his mind. Instantly, the Keyblade began to radiate a bright light. He pointed the weapon at the door, and a keyhole appeared. A beam of light shot from the tip of the Keyblade and a click sound followed. The door opened, and the trio walked into the light bathed corridor.
Ichigo was walking home, back in his. Xemnas…he thought. What is he? I know he was toying with me. He didn't show any of his real strength. What can it mean? He knows about the Soul Society… could he be an arrancar? No, all the arrancar followed Aizen to the grave. Ugh, my head hurts… maybe Rukia would know more.
He stopped and looked up. It was his house. He tensed up and prepared to open the door, while he counted to himself. "Three…Two…One…"
"Yoooooooooooooooo Ichigooooooooooooooooo!" yelled something as a fist came flying at the orange-haired kid's face. Dodging it was simple enough, having already moved out of the way. He then grabbed the man's arm and threw him to the pavement.
"You keep doing that and you'll be the one in the hospital next, old man," Ichigo grunted, still scowling.
"You've learned so much, my son… now you're countering my moves!" Isshin proclaimed loudly. He bolted for the poster of his late wife, Masaki. "See how our Ichigo has grown up, my love? All he needs now is to find a beautiful woman and give me grandchildren!"
"Shut up, old timer! You'll get grandkids when I want 'em. Which is to say when Hell freezes over," he said as he crossed his fingers behind his back. You'll get 'em, old man, don't worry about it. Pleased with himself, he snorted at his remark, and went up to his bedroom. Having learned his lesson from the last time his dad barged in, Ichigo locked the door. He then said aloud, "You can come out now."
The closet door slid out, and everyone's favorite raven-haired beauty stepped out, still clad in her school uniform.
"I felt your spiritual pressure increase. Did something happen?" Rukia asked. She crossed her arms and tapped her feet.
"Yeah… we've got a problem," Ichigo said as he flopped onto the bed. He then explained the night's events to his partner.
"What kinds of things was he saying again?" Rukia asked, puzzled.
"He kept saying cryptic stuff, and then he disappeared into some kind of dark hole."
"Hole? Like a Garganta?" Rukia posed, with alarm.
"No… more like a personal portal."
"We have to inform the Soul Society," Rukia started, but Ichigo held up his hand.
"Stealth Force probably already saw the whole thing. Besides… I'm tired. It can wait 'til morning. It's been a long day." Ichigo gazed almost, dare I say, longingly at Rukia.
A sly smile appeared on her lips. "Aww, did you miss me, Ichigo?" she inquired, putting her forefinger to her chin in an innocent manner.
Ichigo returned the grin, slightly red-faced, then itched his hair. "You could say that." Gesturing toward the door, he added, "Locked the door this time."
The smile on Rukia's face turned seductive. "Ah, you're learning, Ichigo." She walked over to the bed and sat down next to her partner. She leaned up to his face and started a very thorough session of tongue-lashing. Just when their hands started to explore, the two felt a familiar spiritual pressure in their immediate vicinity.
Rukia leapt off the bed and stomped her foot furiously. "Dammit, Renji! What's a girl have to do to be alone with her boy toy for once, huh?"
Ichigo's eyes narrowed and his scowl returned. "I'm gonna kill him this time," he said dangerously.
"Not if I kill him first," Rukia muttered darkly.
Renji arrived at Ichigo's window to find it open, and two very angry persons were glaring out at him. He freaked when Rukia dragged him inside by the ear.
Ichigo started on Renji. "You dumbass, you know what she gets like when you interrupt our alone time! I can't be sure that you'll thaw out this time, when she's done with you."
"You bastard!" Rukia roared. "Why do you always time your visits right when we might be trying to get busy? You know for a fact that we get precious little time for ourselves as it is, with Nii-sama buzzing around!"
"Easy, easy, Rukia! It's official business-"
"As usual," she interrupted.
"-this time," Renji finished. "Kuchiki-taichou ordered me to inform you that your dress is ready. And that he wants one more formal dinner with you two before the wedding ceremony."
Still irritated, but placated (for the moment), Rukia sighed. "Tell him we will arrive tomorrow, and that he can expect us for dinner. We have a report to make anyway."
"That's fine. And FYI, you should invest in some curtains or a 'keep out' sign on the window. That way people won't interrupt your intimacy so frequently."
"It'll probably be for your benefit. Everyone else knows not to interrupt us when it's late at night," Ichigo scowled. "Just go, Renji. And don't forget to tell Byakuya."
"Sure," Renji finished, before leaping out the window. Ichigo immediately shut it and locked it, and drew the curtains shut. He then turned to face Rukia.
"Now then… where were we?"
A/N: Finito! How'd you like the extra long chapter? I just had to fit the IchiRuki part in here, I didn't want to start the next chapter off with it, because then you'll wonder "Hey, where the hell did that come from?" when I move into Sora and the gang. Anyway, gotta go now, bye!