Chapter 3: Element and Zanpakuto


Karakura Town, Urahara's Training Grounds


CLANG!

Ichigo blocked the strike within an inch of his head. Shoving Mikoto's sword off his own, he swung at the young HiME. Mikoto spun around the swing and countered with a lightning fast upward slash. Ichigo flash stepped back, then checked his wrist. He stopped where he stood and lowered Zangetsu.

"Alright Mikoto, that's enough for a bit. Lunch should be here soon." he said. He sat down on a nearby rock and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The young girl's eyes went wide with joy. "Okay!" she said as she sat down next to him.

They had been training everyday for the past 4 weeks. It was only one day until the first round of the tournament began. Ichigo had to admit, even though Mikoto was only a small girl, she was undoubtedly as strong as a Soul Reaper lieutenant, maybe even at the same level as a captain. Just what was a HiME?

"Hey Mikoto, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"You told me before that you're something called a HiME, right? Could you explain to me what that is exactly?"

"Hmm…how to describe it…I know! How about this: HiME are girls who are born with the power to materialize special weaponry called 'Element', which we use to fight creatures known as 'Orphans'."

"Orphans?"

"Mm-hm! Orphans are creatures that could have become a 'Child', a creature that fights alongside a HiME, but were incompatible with us. Childs are like living forms of Element, but in order to use them, a HiME has to find somebody or something called a 'Key'."

"Huh. It sounds to me like HiME are an all-female group of Soul Reapers. These Orphans you talked about sound a lot like Hollows, they're souls that became lost and empty, so they attack and eat people to fill their emptiness. I'm going to assume that sword you've got is your 'Element'?"

"Yup! This is Miroku."

"Okay, do you have a 'Child' as well?"

"No." Mikoto's expression had suddenly become serious. "I don't have a key, so I can't bring out a Child."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I have Miroku, so I don't need a Child."

They sat in silence for a moment before a voice cried out.

"Kurosaki-kun!" it was a girl.

Ichigo and Mikoto turned towards the newcomer. It was a girl around the same age as Ichigo, with waist length orange hair, a large bust, and grey eyes. She was smiling as she walked up to them, carrying a basket.

"Oh, Inoue. We were wondering when you'd get here." said Ichigo.

"It's other-Mai!" Mikoto yelled happily as she jumped on Inoue.

"Mikoto, I've told you before. My name's Orihime Inoue, not Mai."

"But your chest is so big, and your food is so good! Just like Mai's!" Mikoto objected, hugging the older girl tightly.

"Sorry about making bring us lunch everyday, Inoue." Ichigo said, coming down from the rock.

"Oh, it's no problem. I'm glad to help you in anyway I can." she said with a smile.

"So what'd you bring us today?" asked Mikoto.

"Oh! I'm glad you asked. Since tomorrow is the first round, I thought I'd make you something special."

Inoue reached inside the basket, pulled out a covered bowl, and handed it to Mikoto. Curious and hungry, Mikoto took off the cover, and her eyes began to glow with excitement at the sight of the food.

"It's ramen noodles with anchovies and chocolate sauce. I hope you like it!"

(Note: for those who don't watch Bleach, Inoue makes weird meals all the time.)

Grabbing a pair of chopsticks, Mikoto dug into the food like a starved animal. The three of them sat eating their lunches for a while. While Mikoto was digging into her second bowl, someone new approached the three.

"Are you all enjoying yourselves?" asked a man's voice.

Walking towards the group was a man wearing a long green coat, a white and green striped hat, a robe, and sandals.

"Did you come to eat lunch as well, Mr. Urahara?" asked Inoue.

"Nope, sorry, I already ate." the man said cheerfully. "I came to see how Ichigo and Mikoto's training was coming along."

"We're doing pretty good, I think we're ready for pretty much anything." Ichigo declared arrogantly.

"Oh? Well have you practiced using your Getsugatensho? Can Mikoto withstand it?"

"…come to think of it, I haven't tried it out on her."

"You said Grimmjow was involved didn't you? Your partner isn't going to be of much use to you if she can't take a hit like Getsugatensho or Cero. I don't mean to belittle your skills in any way, Mikoto."

The young girl was just finishing her second bowl. Done, she put down the bowl and looked up at Ichigo and Urahara.

"I heard something about whether or not I could stand up to something. Are you going to hit me with something powerful this time?" she asked.

"I don't know, it's pretty strong. I don't want to seriously hurt you, and I'm not sure how you'd do against it." Ichigo said.

"Kurosaki, it's ok. If she gets hurt, I'll just heal her." Inoue stated.

"(sigh) alright, get over there Mikoto. I don't want to cause any unnecessary damage."

The young girl picked up her sword and stood about 30 feet away from the others. Ichigo stood up and pointed his sword at her. He closed his eyes and focused. Energy began to swirl around Zangetsu. After a minute of charging, he opened his eyes.

"Getsuga…" he raised his sword above his head. "…Tensho!"

Bringing down his sword, a massive wave of energy flew at Mikoto. The young girl didn't move from her spot as the massive blast crashed into her, causing an explosion. As dust began to rise, Ichigo became worried. Oh no, did she survive that? I didn't use my hollow mask, so it wasn't at it's strongest, but still… The dust began to clear, revealing the result of his attack. Mikoto stood in the same spot, with Miroku in a defensive position. Aside from a few light bruises, she was unharmed.

"Was that it, Ichigo?" she asked.

Ichigo stood there, speechless. He had seen others come out in the same condition after being hit, but they were either captains or espada, and adults at that. And yet this 14 year old girl had taken it like it was nothing. Just how strong is she?

"Was that your strongest attack?" she asked him.

"Huh? Oh, no, that wasn't my most powerful attack. It was still pretty powerful though, I'm surprised you're so lightly injured."

"Ok. Hey, since you tested a move out on me, can I test out my most powerful attack on you?" she asked innocently.

"Um, sure. Just a moment."

Ichigo walked to where he was sure no one would be caught in whatever Mikoto was about to do.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Mikoto nodded. She planted her feet firmly on the ground. Raising her sword toward the sky, a serious look spread across her face.

"MIROKU!" she yelled.

An intense atmosphere swept over everything in the training grounds as a menacing pair of eyes appeared on the element. A great amount of energy swirled around Mikoto, and her sword began t change. A pillar of light that seemed to stretch all the way to the ceiling erupted from her, and symbols began to form within it. Ichigo stared in confusion and shock at the sight before him. Mikoto now held a much longer handle in her hands, and the blade it connected to was the enormous pillar of light and energy.

"TOSOTSUKEN!" yelled the HiME.

With a yell, Mikoto swung the gigantic sword downward at Ichigo. The Soul Reaper held his zanpakuto in defense, hoping to not be destroyed by the immense power. The giant blade veered off to the side slightly, just barely missing him. After exerting its energy, it returned to its original state. Shaking slightly, Ichigo glanced over to where the sword had landed. A giant crevice had formed where the blade had impacted, and even the ceiling had a long gash in it. That demolished stretch of land had almost been him.

"Sorry, I wasn't sure if you'd survive that or not, so I moved it a bit." Mikoto said, as if nothing had happened.

She missed…on purpose?! Ichigo thought, still staring at the destruction.

"Well, Mikoto, I'd say you've earned our respect. There's no more reason to doubt your combat ability." Urahara said. He left them while thinking about how long it would take to clean up the mess.

Inoue nodded in agreement, still in shock at what she'd just witnessed.

"Ichigo, are you alright? You look funny." Mikoto asked.

"Uh…uh…yeah…I'm fine…" he stuttered.

"That's good. I wouldn't want to lose my partner before the tournament started."

Brushing off dust that had risen from the attack, Mikoto walked over to where Inoue was standing. Picking up her lunch bowl, she held it out and put on a big smile.

"More please!" she said cheerfully.


The Next Day…


Ichigo and Mikoto stood at the edge of the river that ran through Karakura Town, waiting to be called for the first round. Inoue and Rukia had come to see them off.

"Do your best, Ichigo. Show them what a Soul Reaper is made of!" said Rukia.

"Mikoto, I'll have more of that ramen from yesterday waiting, so make sure you come back!" said Inoue.

"You bet!" declared Mikoto.

And with that, the two powerful warriors disappeared in a flash of light. Rukia noticed a worried look on Inoue's face as they headed away from the river.

"Don't worry, they'll do fine. If what you told me is true, there's no way those two will lose." she said, trying to cheer up Inoue.

The orange haired girl looked over at Rukia and smiled. "You're right. I've believed in Kurosaki this long, so I can't start worrying now."

Still, Kurosaki said that only the first two rounds would be team battles. If it's every one for themselves after that, what will happen if he has to face Mikoto?


Coliseum, Moments Afterward…


"Welcome back, great warriors!" declared the man in charge of the tournament. He was standing atop the stone in the center of the coliseum again. "It looks like everyone is here, so when you are all silent, I will explain the rules of combat."

The crowd of warriors waited for his instructions.

"Good. Now then, like I said before the rules are fairly simple: to win you must deliver a fatal blow to your opponents, and only your blade can deliver the final blow. Non-blade weapons such as firearms, magic, or various ranged attack methods are allowed. Combatants who normally have a regeneration ability, such as healing, will have said ability reduced to half it's normal potency. This way there will be a…moderate level of fairness. Any questions?"

No one said a word.

"Excellent! In a few minutes your battles will begin. The arena could be in any of the worlds that house a combatant, so be prepared for the unexpected. You may talk amongst yourselves until you are transported. Good luck!"

Various groups began talking within the crowd. Insults were thrown, and all manner of foul language was spoken.

"Yeesh, what a bunch of little kids." Ichigo said.

"At least we can get along." added Mikoto.

And so time passed, until the man atop the stone spoke again.

"Now, the time has come. Prepare yourselves! The first round of the tournament begins…NOW!"

In a flash of light, the crowd disappeared.


Unknown Location


After the light cleared, Ichigo found himself standing on the roof of a medium sized building. Looking around, he saw Mikoto standing next to him, glaring at something in front of them. Ichigo followed her gaze.

"So, we meet again, HiME." said a metallic female voice.

"You are our opponents? Very well, then. I shall test your strength." said a somewhat motherly voice.

Standing in front of Ichigo and Mikoto were a blonde woman dressed in a pitch black maid's outfit who held a pink umbrella, and a silver haired woman wearing a blue and black combat dress with a sword in place of her right arm.