It's the Fear
Chap 3~Your Eminence, I Am Honored
Author: I have to say I never thought my story would interest so many people, and by people I mean the hits and visitors I got! Thank you! Now I know I wasn't the only one thinking this, but where the heck was the Sprit King when this madman, Aizen Sousuke, tried to take over the dang Universe! Well, I probably am not the first and I hope I'm not stealing anyone's ideas, so don't try to flame me because I have not read all of the Bleach fics….just don't have the time!
Also, I may have at least one or two old faces from the past and since no one knows what they looked like, I'm going to describe them as best as I can, but I will not be including them, at least not that much, through the fic.
Disclaimer: You already know I don't own a scrap of Bleach or any monetary profit…this shall be the last time, if you didn't catch it in my first chaps too bad!
Enjoy!
Soul Society is a place for the weary souls of the Real World to rest and be protected by the gods of Death. Within this universe, the souls of humans and spirits of Death coexist, albeit wary of the each other, but in relative harmony.
In the peaceful skies of Sereitei a large caravan of spirits descends onto the stratosphere of the sacred dimension. Within this caravan travels a carriage containing the lynchpin of this world and the human world.
This apparition silently orders the caravan to cease in movement and steps out of its personal carriage. Its form is as large as it is small and yet it holds much power in many dimensions. One of the Royal Guards, the previous captain, Kirio Hikifune, of 12th division stepped forward to address the spirit.
"Eminence, as a precaution you must communicate Yamamoto-san," Hikifune-san stated then paused at the psychic message sent by her Lord, "Yes it is true, your voice does have a tendency to do that to lesser beings who don't have the spiritual ability to withstand the force, Eminence."
Hikifune stood beside her Lord as the divine soul descended to the barracks of Captain-Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and psychically informs him of its arrival.
'I can only hope we are not too late with our purpose, Eminence.' Hikifune sighed as she sensed the Captain-Commander of Soul Society coming to the Main Hall.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto called a meeting with the Gotei 13 about the disturbing spiritual power and the disappearance of the Espada. Capt. Yamamoto listened to the reports of Capt. Mayuri of how the insane force destroyed and practically set his research lab on fire until another disturbance was ushered in, and this time it came from the Heavens themselves.
CRAAAAAKK went the sound of large lightening and shaking of the earth all through Sereitei. The barracks of the Gotei 13 shook under the awesome force of spiritual energy and the captains within the barracks of Capt-Commander Yamamoto tried to regain their footing.
The incredible, yet foreboding spiritual energy did not sit well with Capt-Comm. Yamamoto and the remaining Gotei 13. "Sir, this power is gargantuan! Is it another threat?" asked Chojiro Sasakibe readying his weapon while the rest of the Gotei 13 waited for the old man to signal.
The Capt-Comm. opened his eyes in response to his lieutenant and spoke, "No, I assume that this threat is not one at all; in fact, I recognize the second energy from the past and this person was promoted to the Royal Guard."
The Gotei 13 was in shock, except Capt. Kuchiki and Capt. Mayuri, over the appearance of a Royal Guard in Soul Society. The Commander turned away from his Gotei 13 and went into the Main Hall where he sensed the incredible power.
Captain Yamamoto was a man of few words and when he spoke everyone listened; however, it isn't everyday when the King of Kings comes down from their throne to see him. The Capt-Comm. could only guess that the stunt his ex-Capt. Aizen Sousuke pulled could only be the reason for his arrival.
'The King has never appeared in Sereitei for the last 3000 years, but then it's not usual for a Shinigami to try a coup d'état for the throne of the Universe.'
As he entered the Main Hall, Capt. Yamamoto recognized the former Capt. of the 12th Division, Kirio Hikifune next the transient spirit clad in bluish-white robes. Hikifune-san still wore her waist-length light brown hair in two large braids that lay on her shoulders. Her light caramel face and hazel eyes wore a glimmer of amusement and intelligence as it did when he first promoted her to the 12th Division.
"Hello Capt-Comm. Yamamoto, it is good to see you again," smiled Hikifune as she walked toward him with her right hand grasping her sleeve while her left hand lay on top of the hilt of her sword, "The Spirit King has come to make a request of you and the Gotei 13."
With one knee bowed in reverence to the Sprit King Capt. Yamamoto declared, "Anything that the Gotei 13 can do in service to our King shall be done swiftly and efficiently."
"His Eminence has felt the disturbance of spiritual flow in the Heavens and has come to ask of the outcome between the one called Aizen Sousuke and Inoue Orihime," gracefully replied Hikifune. The Spirit King strolled toward the two Shinigami and listened to Yamamoto's report; however, when it heard the decision of Inoue Orihime's fate by the Central 46 the King was not pleased.
Hikifune mentally listened to composed words of her Lord and spoke to Yamamoto, "His Eminence has requested that Inoue Orihime be brought back from the world of Hollows immediately for evaluation in His Eminence's presence."
Capt. Yamamoto rose from his position and nodded in affirmation while turning back to where he left his Gotei 13. He looked upon his captains and spoke, "Gotei 13, we have a mission from His Eminence, the Spirit King: find and bring back Inoue Orihime from Hueco Mundo immediately."
The Gotei 13 were shocked at the news presented by their Commander, nonetheless they all teleported to their barracks to inform their members of the mission and raced off to their individual portals to Hueco Mundo; however, they experienced a problem.
"Why won't the portal work dammit!" shouted Capt. Zaraki as he and his division stared at the malfunctioned entrance that emitted orange flames of spiritual energy.
His division was not the only one experiencing this problem. Every single portal that had its coordinates set for the land of Hollows would not admit any Shinigami within its corridor.
"Captain, the gateway is blocked by the same energy that happened this morning!" reported Sasakibe to Comm. Yamamoto.
Hikifune stepped out of the room, along with her Lord, toward the 1st Division and spoke, "Then it appears we are too late."
Capt. Yamamoto turned toward the Royal Guard member and asked, "What has happened? Does it have something to do with that mortal girl?"
The Spirit King stepped forward; its eyes concentrated on the fiery energy surrounding the gateway, and placed its hand on it; only to be repelled by the awesome force. Hikifune eyes widened at the display of opposition toward her Lord.
"That mortal is very special to the Spirit King for that girl is his daughter trapped within the one you knew as Inoue Orihime. His daughter was placed on Earth in order to aid the Shinigami in their times of crisis; however, when she arrived to the mortal plane an evil wraith tricked her into bonding with her soul," replied Hikifune as she listened to her Lord's plan for the future, " His Eminence knew that this wraith could not control his daughter unless she experienced an intense trauma within the human spirit she shared in the body; for this would give the wraith dominance over her powers and cause mayhem throughout the human world."
'Well, that explains her unusual powers of time and space manipulation, but could she really be so powerful to reject the Spirit King's own advances?' contemplated Capt. Yamamoto.
Hikifune turned toward her Lord and awaited its orders on the situation. "Yes, I must seek out the humans that live in Karakura Town…my Lord are you sure it is wise to wait that long?" psychically inquired Hikifune. Her Lord only nodded in its decision and then disappeared in a blink of an eye.
Capt-Commander Yamamoto awaited the words of his colleague and was stunned when the Spirit King departed so suddenly.
"It seems I am to go to Karakura and visit with the humans that assisted you during the Aizen conflict," dictated Hikifune while resetting the coordinates of the gateway, "And I will need no assistance on this matter. I know where my former protégé resides for I have been keeping watch over him. I shall be back soon for further details." And with that, Kirio Hikifune went through the gateway into the human world.
"Captain-Commander, shall I send word to the other captains to follow her?" requested Sasakibe.
"No, tell them to desist in their movements and call back the captains to headquarters. We shall wait for Hikifune-san as to what we shall do about the problem at hand." Ordered Capt-Comm. Yamamoto and with that he turned from the portal and entered the Main Hall contemplating the next move needed for the remaining Shinigami of Sereitei.
Kisuke Urahara was down in his basement, with Yoruichi holding some care packages, setting the coordinates to Hueco Mundo; however, the doorway would not open and instead of an image of desert and the ruins of Las Noches the pair of former Shinigami was met with a barrage of flame-colored energy shooting out like lightning.
Yoruichi dodged the onslaught of power while dropping the packages, and Urahara nimbly swerved to and fro to avoid the attacks while pressing different coordinates that transferred them to Hueco Mundo; however, none of them would open and the attacks became heavier. One was about to strike both of them, until a stranger drew their weapon and deflected the attack while transporting them to the platform above the portal.
Kisuke couldn't believe his eyes and had to remove his green-stripped hat to get a better view of his former predecessor of the 12th Division, Kirio Hikifune.
"Well, now this is a surprise for the ages! What is a Royal Guard member doing here in the mortal realm?" politely asked Urahara while cooling himself with his signature fan. Yoruichi gazed upon the strange female and awaited the explanation while the incredible lightning forces destroy the gateway to Hueco Mundo.
"I think it is better that we discuss this with the rest of the party coming toward us, no?" calmly replied Hikifune as the Earth bound Shinigami and human group approached the elder trio.
"What happened, Urahara-san? We heard an explosion…is that the gateway! "cried Rukia as the rest of her friends gaped at the damage done to the training area and the strange female dressed in black.
Urahara politely forced the gang of teens back to the sitting area while being followed by Hikifune and Yoruichi. When everyone got comfortable, Hikifune introduced herself.
"I am Kirio Hikifune of the Royal Guard to the Spirit King. I have come to give you a message and to prepare you for the oncoming fight that lay ahead of you in 4 years time," the gang leaned forward in attention to the stranger delivering the message from the Spirit King, "your friend, Inoue Orihime, is in grave danger, once again, and the Gotei 13 and Urahara cannot reach her in Hueco Mundo. The cause of this is her powers blocking the entry way at every corner of the universe. In 4 years time that power will be lifted for that is when her sentence is up; but when Inoue Orihime steps out she will bring with her terrible evil that has not existed since the last World War II. This evil is a parasite that will feed off of your friend because of her special gift to bend time and space to her will. My Lord has commanded me and my fellow guardsmen to train you and the Gotei 13 in order to prepare for this threat."
"Hmm, and why hasn't the Spirit King stopped this threat before it reached our dear Inoue-chan?" asked Urahara. Hikifune inwardly smiled and psychically told him and Yoruichi the identity of the human girl.
Kisuke Urahara dropped his fan and Yoruichi almost fell from her position on the wall. The gang of teens watched their faces and wondered what silent message Hikifune-san delivered.
"Hey, is there something you're not telling us, lady?" impatiently asked Ichigo. Rukia and Renji shook their heads in Ichigo's brash behavior, but they too were curious to know as well. Uryuu and Chad were eager to know of how to help their banished friend and waited for Hikifune to continue.
"All shall be revealed in time Kurosaki Ichigo, but now is not the time for talk. My guardsmen will be here tomorrow to train you and I shall take my leave of this world to report back to Capt-Comm. Yamamoto to deliver the message. Know this, your friend will not be the same as she was before she entered this life of battling spiritual entities; you must be prepared for the impossible." Warned Hikifune and then she teleported toward the nearest gateway and went back to Soul Society.
"Dammit, just what the hell is going on!" shouted Ichigo while hitting the table with his fist. The group was tense with the new information; each was in their own thoughts about the situation.
Urahara, after recovering from the shock, went to sit across from Ichigo and said,
"It seems as though the fight is not over. Ichigo, Rukia, Chad, Ishida, and you as well Renji must be ready for the war ahead. I am sorry for your lives will have to be on hold for I have a strong feeling that this battle will affect not only your world, but of this dimension. Let us hope that she is wrong about Inoue."
'Oh man, I have a feeling that we're in for one hell of a fight, Kisuke,' Yoruichi mentally observed.
Back in the wastelands of Hueco Mundo, two figures are brutally fighting with each other in the skies of Las Noches. One with eyes of emerald stones and short wavy black hair was viciously kicking the other in the head. He leapt back from his strike as a fury of reddish-orange blades sped toward his body from his victim.
Heavily breathing while spitting out blood from her busted lip, the ginger-haired female called out her next attack and the energy formed over her hands and feet as she flew toward her assailant in a flurry of kicks and punches; each one dodged by the brunette male.
"If that is truly the best you have, Onna, then you will never arise from your station of trash," Ulquiorra devoid of any malice stated as he heartlessly gripped her hair while ferociously slapping the face of Orihime.
The auburn-haired woman bit Ulquiorra's hand and telepathically called Tsubaki to cut through his body while at the same time wrenching her hair from his grasp; large handfulls of bloody strands flying. Orihime spread the energy to her hands to increase the power and clawed at Ulquiorra's face as her legs copied the photographic memory of Tatsuki's fights and applied them to her battle.
'Right kick, gouge eye…damn missed! Left kick, roundhouse kick….right hook…Soten Kisshun for head…Koten Zanshun for his torso…Shiten!' planned Orihime as Ulquiorra released a Cero at her heart.
Her shield protected her from the savage attack, but she left herself open for Ulquiorra came behind her and held her in a choke hold; he crossed his legs around hers and used his body mass to throw her from the air to the hard concrete of Las Noches' roof.
Ulquiorra was impressed by her display of crude martial arts and tightened his hold on her throat, silently waiting for her to pass out. 'Hmm, this Onna is definitely getting better in her training, but she shows her attacks through her facial expressions.'
Orihime felt her breath leave her body, as she struggled in Ulquiorra's death grip. 'Damn, I can't lose this round not when I was so close in landing a hit on him….' The ginger girl passed out from the hold and Ulquiorra slowly released his hold on her.
He roughly rolled her off of him and stood up to gaze upon her fallen form. 'You have much to learn, Onna, but at least you're progressing. If what you told me is true, 4 years will shape you into a hardened warrior now that your belief in 'humanity' is cracked.' He gently lifted her in his arms and went down into the core of Las Noches toward his room and laid her on his bed. 'You showed me my heart; it is only fair that I guide you through your decision for revenge…my Princess.'
Author: And that's a wrap! I am very proud of this chap because of the reviews I have gotten while outlining this scene. I do not know, nor do I care, of how many brought back the Spirit King or Hikifune…but my version is my version…no hate mail please!
Reviews give me and the Muse strength for another brainwave~ So be kind enough to give some feedback! Also, Microsoft Word is never correct when it comes to grammar, so please tell me if I missed something.
****************************************************************8Thank you!
"And then I stole all courtesy from heaven, and dressed myself in such humility that I did pluck allegiance from men's hearts, loud shouts and salutations from their mouths, even in the presence of the crowned King."~William Shakespeare