Disclaimer: I do not own Rockman.EXE or Bleach
Hikari Shinigami
Review Section:
Daniel1454- Thanks. I wanted a quick way to show Netto that he was really dead and this is what came to mind...besides seeing his own body that is.
Dragon and Sword Master- Netto's blade is going to come into the story more as it progresses and it'll some unique qualities.
Firehedgehog- Thanks for the review and this is me keeping my promise. Faster reviews means faster updates.
Yami Ami- Thank you. Now I'm gonna have to ego deflated, um-hm. And yeah I like to put in surprises like the one that you'll see in this chapter. As for Hikari Shinigami...well it was either Shinigami Hikari or Hikari Shinigami. Hikari Shinigami just sounded better when I said it. Regal wants Netto dead, but his master wants him to suffer greatly first and Kon is out doing his thing. Anyway you'll see in the chapter below.
miforever29- All reviews are appreciated, but the latest one was a juicy motivator. Thanks again.
Hotshot45- I try to make sure that it's nicely done. Enjoy the update.
Slayer.EXE- I'd love to see a pic of Hollow Forte. I also intend to expand on the idea of people looking for answers. Not really sure where I'll take that yet.
Kawazoe Kazuma- The 'Hikari Legacy' will be explained in this chapter. I'm not really sure where you might have seen this before unless it was in 'Mark of the Beasts'. Anyway thanks for your review or motivation as I prefer to call them.
Spellcaster Hikaru- I'll admit that it was tricky working the themes together, but in the end I was pleased with the results and I'm glad to hear that you agree. I've thought about adding Enzan and/or Laika to the world of Bleach...the jury is still out on that one though. And the reason why Byakuya and Renji were OOC is because I have seen or read all of Bleach yet. I'm working with knowledge from the dubed version and info from online sites. Please forgive any big mistakes.
Toko Tenpi- I'm glad that you loved it. I think that the surprises in this chapter are really going to through some of my readers for a loop. Then again that's what I try for. Enjoy!
DaisukeNiwa14- Rockman is going to be scarce for a while, but he will be an important part of the fic later on. How? I don't feel like tell anyone yet. Enjoy the update.
Thoughts "blah"
Chapter 4
After Kon escaped from the hotel he started making his way to the airport, that is until he ran across a team of cheerleaders. "Hmmm. Meet up with Ichigo or many beautiful women? Ichigo, women, Ichigo, women...Well I can be 'a little' late." He approached the one that he assumed to be the team leader and said, "Well hello there ladies. Lovely day isn't it?"
They all stopped gossiping and turned their attention to the newcomer. He wasn't a football player or anything, but he was very appealing to the eye they thought. The girls began passing glances between each other trying to determine who was going to get the orange haired teen.
"He's mine!"
"But you already have a boyfriend!"
"Who are you to talk? You've got three."
"All of you are unworthy! He's too sexy for you."
"He's out of your league too! Just because you lucked up with that one hunk doesn't entitle you to all of them!"
From the sideline Kon couldn't help but allow a smile to grace his face. "Give them just a little more time. Timing is everything." He continued to watch the debate with an award winning smile on his face until one of the girls shoved two others. "That's my cue." He cleared his throat getting their attention and said, "Ladies, ladies there is no need to be like that. There's more than enough of me to go around and you should know that I've never had any complaints."
"Wake up. Rise and shine sleeping beauty." Getting no response the teen pulled back a fist and aimed straight for the top of the head. "Wake up!"
"Ow! That hurt! What did you do that for?" shouted Netto. While rubbing his head he took in his new surroundings. He found Ichigo standing over him looking pissed, although not really at him, and Rukia glaring at a guard. They seemed to be inside of a dark, dank prison with one guard to keep them company. Netto looked down and sighed, "Why do I keep getting kidnapped? Who did I piss off to deserve this?"
"Good to see that you are all awake." They all looked at the cell door to see Byakuya now standing in front of them. He glared at Ichigo who glared back before turning his attention to Rukia. "I'm very disappointed in Rukia. I thought that you knew better than to do something like this."
"Leave her alone!" shouted Ichigo. He hated how smug this guy was, but more importantly he hated how this Shinigami had managed to take all three of them down in the blink of an eye. Kurosaki vowed that he would beat this guy somehow, someway as soon as he got his hands around his smug little neck. It had become a matter of pride to Ichigo and would die sooner than admit defeat.
"It's ok. I can handle myself." said Rukia. She stood up and walked over to the door. The Soul Reaper knew better than to try to reach through them as enchantments prevented them from passing through and delivered a nasty shock. "What I did, I did to survive...to have a clean conscience. I was fully aware of the consequences of my actions when I gave Ichigo my power. Granted that I didn't intend for him to drain me dry, but I did give them of my own free will. It was done for my survival as well as his and his family's. Surely you can't fault me for something like that?"
"The reason behind your actions are irrelevant, the fact that committed the crime is the issue here." said Byakuya. Unnoticed to the other two male Shinigami his eyes softened slightly.
Netto heard footsteps coming down the spiral stairway on the other side of the bars and searched for their owner. Moments later a tall man with long white hair tied up into a ponytail stepped into view. He had a eerily familiar white beard and wore what Netto assumed was traditional Shinigami clothing. "Who are you?" he asked watching the man while trying to place where he'd seen him before.
"Ha ha ha ha! I guess that I shouldn't be too surprised that you don't recognize me Netto." said the man sheepishly. He turned to Byakuya and the guard and said, "I'll be taking them to one of the interrogation rooms. I take full responsibility if anything should happen."
The guard went to protest, but Rukia's brother silence him with a hand gesture. "He can be trusted not to do anything foolish. Besides if they try to escape they'd be beaten faster than before."
As soon as the door was open Kurosaki went straight for Byakuya's throat only to find the man behind him with a Zanpakuto held to his throat. "The swine never learns. And to think that my dear sister believes you to be worth saving. I have to seriously consider calling her judgment into question here." taunted the older Kuichiki. With a swift blow Ichigo was sent tumbling to the floor face first.
"Alright children are you done yet?" asked the white haired man with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Please follow me and don't pick anymore fights Ichigo. You're in enough trouble as it is without adding to the offense."
"But he didn't do anything wrong." said Netto as Rukia stepped out of the cell and stood by Kurosaki. "What's wrong with protecting each other as they did?"
"It's not about protecting each other, but about how they did it. I don't expect you to understand this Netto, thanks to that father of yours, but for a Shinigami to give his or her powers to a human it's like murdering a police officer or government official." said the man. They couldn't help but notice how his brown eyes darkened when he mentioned Netto's father. It seemed like a mixture of anger, pain, and resentment wrap together.
The young Hikari still made no move to exit the cell due to the unnamed Shinigami standing so close to the door. Netto didn't trust the man nor his intentions. "What exactly is it about my father? You don't even know him!" he shouted as he gripped his hand into a fist.
Rukia and Ichigo knew what the boy was about to do and were fairly certain of the outcome. Seconds later Netto threw the fist at the man that had upset him only to have his fist stopped by one finger. "Quite a punch that you've got there. I see that your duties as a NetSavior have toughened you up quite a bit." The Shinigami then seemed to drift off into his thoughts as he said, "I remember when you were smaller how you'd cry so easily." Netto tried again and again to hit the man only to have his fist stopped every time. "I should wring Yuuichiro's neck for not giving you a proper upbringing. Such a stubborn boy..."
Netto threw another punch, but this time he followed up by stomping his foot down on the white haired Shinigami's foot. The Soul Reaper let out a yelp both at the pain and at having been caught off guard. "Don't you ever talk about my father like that! He raised me well thank you!"
Rukia gasped catching Netto and Ichigo's attention. "I get it now. Then he's..." she trailed off pointing at the brunette. A quick nod from both Netto's victim and Byakuya confirmed her suspicions. "Well that explains a lot." she muttered.
"Lets finish this conversation in a place less...gloomy." he said walking to the stairs before whispering to himself, "And where I can get an ice pack. Kids these days..."
To discourage any unacceptable behavior Rukia's brother followed close behind and ushered them along to the interrogation room. "So he's going to tell the boy the truth. This isn't going to go well. Hopefully Rukia and her idiot have enough sense to stay out of it."
Walking down the streets of Akihara surrounded by girls on both sides was our favorite mod soul 'borrowing' Ichigo's form. He enlisted a lot of glares from many male teenagers as they wished that they were him. On both arms he carried a girl and a lecherous grin. "...and that my dear ladies is why nobody offends a lady while I'm around. You are all such beautiful young ladies, no...goddesses and should be treated as such."
The cheerleaders went to giggling at the compliment and tried to latch themselves onto the orange haired teen. By now Kon had worked enough of his magic to get them to do anything that he wanted which was not a good thing. "Step one complete. Time to begin step two."
"Hey, wait up! Over here!" a voice shouted across the street.
Kon immediately found the source and his eyes widened. "What the heck is 'he' doing here? He's going to cramp my style!" "Come on girls. Lets go see a movie or something. I'd also love to hear all about such gorgeous women."
"But isn't that crazed man calling for you?" asked the blond in the group. Two other nodded thinking the same thing.
"He's probably looking for a different guy." he lied and tried to speed up their retreat. Before they could turn around a corner a small rock was sent flying at his head. Kon turned around and growled, "That's it. Someone is so dead..."
"Now who are all of these lovely young ladies?" asked Kon's pursuer. He extended his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Ichigo's father. Isshin Kurosaki at your service." Giving his son an enthusiastic smile he added, "Come on it's time for some male bonding."
Two of the cheerleaders started to snicker at Kon's situation while the rest of them felt pity. The mod soul was torn between fighting it out and running away. He should be able to take Isshin, right? The down side would be that Ichigo would get punished and that punishment would roll down hill to Kon. "Wait! Why is he even here in the first place? How did he know where I was going?" Before the mod soul could decide Isshin did for him by dragging him off muttering something about a golf course. "ICHIGO! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"
In the NetSavior HQ Enzan and Laika stood before Commissioner Kifune and Manabe. To the left sitting in the many recently added chairs was the entire NetSavior Battle Committee and to the right of them was Dekao. "Enzan I know that this is a harsh period of time for you. We are all grieving over the loss of one of the finest NetSaviors that we've had the privilege of working with. We must, however, remain strong and see to it that justice is done."
"But sir, was it not in the initial report that the...slaying was the act of a wild animal." objected Laika. He knew that there was more to it after having seen the photos of the basement area. It didn't take a trained eye to tell that there was a serious struggle that didn't verify the assumption of an animal attack and even so there were no known animals in the city that were capable of that kind of damage. The soldier wanted to get any piece of information that he could from the Commissioner and the only chance he had was through slip ups.
"I was under the same impression until I saw the photos take of the crime scene. It looks far too much like a setup than a 'wild animal'." agreed one of the Committee. Her name was Riza Kanbara and one of the major financial supporters of the NetSaviors in Japan. The other members could tell that this woman was not angry, but royally pissed. "I also heard that Meiru Sakura was a witness to some of the bizarre occurrences leading up to Netto's death. I'd like to know where she is at this time?"
Enzan spoke up before Kifune. "Ms. Sakura was romantically involved with Netto, so she's taking this...very badly. The doctors have examined her and she...she's been non-responsive to all external stimuli since she saw the body."
"The girl is catatonic?" asked Riza in surprise. She should've expected something like that.
Enzan nodded and said, "Yes, but Dekao here heard and saw the same things that she did."
Kifune called attention to the large teen. "Well Dekao, can you tell us what happened?"
Dek looked up with tears in his eyes and said, "This isn't something that I want to remember, but...if it'll help nab the ones responsible for Netto's death then I'll do my best. We were friends, rivals and I want to see who or whatever did this pay." Over the next thirty minutes he repeated, in as much detail as possible, what he saw and heard. He told them about how Netto claimed to see a huge spider creature that he and Meiru couldn't see. The Committee heard about how Netto ran in order to protect the lives of other people in the building and were now more determined than ever to find the culprit(s).
When Dekao had finished the Committee and Commissioner were silent. No one could figure out what was going on and the information that they did have was sketchy at best. Finally after deliberation Kifune came to a decision. "I want the entire hospital staff reviewed thoroughly. Check out everyone that was on the grounds and the security videos. I also want the witnesses reinterviewed that witnessed the first strange occurrence at Sci-Labs and review the security tapes there as well." When he settled down he took a deep breath and said, "All that we have are pieces to this puzzle and none of them are fitting into place. I want answers. Netto's family deserves that much especially after everything that they've done for the world." He stood from his desk and dismissed everyone except the Committee.
Once in the interrogation room the white haired man sat down and motioned for the other three Shinigami to do the same. Byakuya remained outside of the door and shut it so that no one was privy to the conversation. "I wonder how well the boy will take it?" he thought.
Inside Netto continued to glare at the man, but couldn't help feeling as though he knew him from somewhere. "So what do you want? You already know what Rukia did to save Ichigo and that both of us tried to protect her." he spat venomously.
The unnamed Shinigami sighed and said, "I'm not here to grill you about that even though my superiors believe that I am. He can't show it but your brother does care about your safety Rukia."
"Oh yeah and why is that?" asked Ichigo.
Rukia was the one to answer. "If he rushed to my defense then he would just be dragged down with me. His entire team would bare that disgrace...honor is a big deal for most of us. We just look at it in different ways."
"Correct." said the man. He turned back to Netto to see if the boy comprehended any of this and was relieved to see that he understood. Netto didn't agree with it, but he got the point. "I suppose that I should start by telling you who I am." he said smiling at the brunette. "I am your grandfather, Tadashi Hikari."
"No way! My grandpa is retired and he's no where near as young as you!" growled Netto.
Tadashi smirked which only angered his grandson even more. "Netto you of all people should know that nothing is necessarily what it seems to be. Your friend Rukia has probably figured out our 'legacy' by now, right?"
The raven haired Shinigami nodded and said, "There are some families in the human world in which they possess the innate ability to become Shinigami at will. I've only heard about such families, but I've never met one until now." Look at the elder Hikari she asked, "If what you say is true then why wasn't Netto trained to handle the Hollows that attacked him? Why does know nothing about the life of a Shinigami?"
Tadashi lowered his head in shame. He folded his hands together and sat his chin on them. "That is actually my son's doing."
"Say what?" Ichigo like Netto really didn't understand what that meant.
"My son has never believed in the supernatural and as such has cut anything that couldn't be explained away by science out of his life. When I raised him he flatly refused training and said that he would never allow me to subject his boys to 'my silly superstitions'. The interesting thing is that he has seen Hollows before." Tadashi offered his grandson a grim smile and then went on, "To put it bluntly your father is in such a bad case of denial that he risked the lives of you and Saito simply because he refused to believe in our way of life. When I tried to reason with him and persuade Haruka to assist me Yuuichiro completely cut me out of your lives."
Netto felt as though his entire world was coming crashing down around him. He now knew why his dad said that his grandfather couldn't visit ever since he was six years old. It meant that ever letter that he sent to his grandpa or had received from Tadashi never reached the other. He felt so betrayed and angry at his father for keeping such a secret especially one that cost him his life. "How could he...Why?"
"I sorry that you had to hear this from me now, but your father made sure that I couldn't approach you or your brother. Hikaris have always had large amounts of spiritual energy and that is what attracts Hollows to our family." Tadashi looked over the brunette and took his hand. "While that stubborn fool kept me away I was still able to protect you and your brother from a distance. I've tangled with a number of nasty Hollows just to keep you safe, but I knew that this would happen one day. I could feel it in my bones."
The younger Hikari's head quirked to the side and he asked, "Do we even have bones? I thought that Shinigami were just beings made of ectoplasm."
"Ha ha ha ha. No boy, you've been seeing way too many movies. Comics too I'm betting." On some level he couldn't help but find Netto's beliefs to be amusing simply because of there inaccuracy, but in truth he wanted to rip Yuuichiro a new one. He'd warned his son again and again that something like this was going to happen, but the 'scientist' refused to listen as though he could simply deny the Hollows out of existence. "Grrrrr! I blame your father for this. If he'd simply let me train you then there wouldn't have been any real problems. You could've handled your assailant on your own and nobody would be any wiser. There have been others that don't work for the Soul Society, but still they are trained to handle these kinds of situations should it be needed."
"You are not the only one angry at him. Did he even tell you about what he did for Saito?" asked Netto.
"Huh? What's this about your brother? If my understanding is correct he died of disease when he was a little over two years old." The elder Hikari waited to hear what else that son of his had done in his absence. He already knew that Yuuichiro spend long weeks, even months away from his family and he was not happy about that. It had already led to a number of fights between him and his son. "I should have done something. Tried harder..."
"True, but Saito didn't stay dead. You see papa used his scientific knowledge to resurrect Saito as a NetNavi. He's the one that's been in the news so often, Rockman!" he finished with a note of pride. His expression changed to a worried one when he saw his grandfather's reaction. The man had narrowed his eyes and seemed to be deep in thought. "Grandpa, what is it? Did I say something wrong?"
"Hmmm...Oh no Netto. It just reminded me of a conversation that I've had before with your father and no I'm not going to tell you about it." He was beginning to understand what was going on and he really hoped that he was wrong. "Did your father by chance use DNA to 'resurrect' Saito? Was there a 'link' between you and Rockman?"
"Yeah, why?" asked Netto hoping to get an answer this time. "Please tell me grandpa." he begged using wide, watery chocolate brown eyes and a trembling lip.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me. He's trying to get to me with the 'puppy dog attack'. I was never good at resisting that. Why did he have to remember that of all things?" thought the elder Hikari. Quickly he thought of a way to get his grandson to stop with that face. "I will after I find out if I'm right or not. No sense in telling you something and getting you all worked up for nothing."
Netto couldn't argue with the logic behind that idea, but since when has Netto ever been one for logic. "Can't you even drop me a hint? PLEASEEEEEEEEEE."
From their seats Rukia and Ichigo had a hard time not laughing at the spectacle. Both were thinking that the old man should just fold because they were certain that he couldn't win nor escape.
"First things first Netto, we need to discuss getting Rukia and the rest of you out of hot water with the Soul Society." said Tadashi as he desperately tried to change the subject. It succeeded.
"So there is a way to get us out of this?" asked Ichigo. When Tadashi nodded he asked, "What do we have to do?"
"You let me handle that, but first I must ask you just how far are you willing to go to protect my grandson and Rukia?" The old man was certain what answer he'd get, but he needed the confirmation before he could put his plan into motion.
Ichigo eyed the elder Hikari with a look of determination and answered, "As far as I have to go."
"Would you risk your very soul to fix this?" Tadashi asked. Kurosaki nodded and the old man ended saying, "Good. Because you will most likely have to. Don't talk to anyone or say anything about a way out. Just behave as you were and let me handle things." He then stood and started to walk over to the door when Netto caught his attention. "Yes?"
"Before you go could you at least tell me how my body is different now that I'm dead? Before I didn't have a pulse and yet now I do." He was unaccustomed to the Shinigami lifestyle and had no idea about much of anything. A fact that could be blamed solely on his father.
"The first day or so after one becomes a Shinigami they lack a pulse, the need to eat, having to blink, health pink skin, and other things like this. You see your soul is accustomed to having a body perform certain functions and once body is gone your soul has to adjust basically becoming a spiritual replica of your body. You've been dead for three days now, so you should be feeling hungry by now." he said only to be cutoff by Netto's stomach growling. Tadashi sweat dropped and said, "I'll see about getting you three some food."
As his grandfather walked out of the door he heard the white haired man say 'be safe'. "I will grandpa, I will." "Rukia is there some special place where I can be trained quickly to make up for my father's interference?"
"Well yes, but you'd have to go there for seven years. You'd be twenty years old before you could leave there and officially begin your duties as a Shinigami...I've wondered about sending Ichigo there, but I know that it wouldn't work." She knew that it was the wrong thing to say when her partner turned her to face him. "Well for starters you are not likely to part with your body for seven years and secondly people would notice. I mean we could substitute Kon for the entire duration, but then you'd have lost seven years and know nothing about what happened during that time."
He nodded in understanding and said, "Still it wouldn't be a bad idea to send Netto since he doesn't have that problem. Unless of course Tadashi could train him better."
Rukia shook her head and said, "The Soul Society would have to have records showing his improvements and capabilities. I don't know if his grandfather is even qualified for such a task. In any case all that we can do now is wait. We may not even be able to get that far if the Soul Society has there way and executes the three of us...well executes me and puts you two behind bars for a few years."
"You remind me of Laika." commented Netto as he propped his feet up on the table. He then tuned out the rest of the conversation as his mind began to wonder back to Meiru. "Will I ever be able to see her again?"
"He's being held by the Soul Society. Apparently our prey decided to protect a wanted fugitive...a Shinigami no less." reported Dr. Regal.
The serpent Hollow grinned and said, "Well then we'll just have to talk with our 'mutual' friends and lure the brat out into the open."
Regal retorted, "That won't be possible. They won't be in place for a few more years. For now there is nothing that we can do except wait and hope that the Soul Society doesn't put the boy to death first. I'm sure that you'd hate to be robbed of that pleasure Phantom."
Phantom smiled viciously behind his mask. "Then wait we shall. I would wait until the end of time to see to it that Netto Hikari pays for his betrayal. I'm quite certain that he'll make it out of that situation alive...he always does." "You will be mine in the end. Nothing can change that fate, not even Tadashi."
Author's Note: I am sorry if I get any of the details wrong concerning Bleach. I'm working with my understanding of it and filling in the blanks. Please enjoy the story and leave a review for faster updates.
