Well, here's another instalment of Savage.
Hope you enjoy it.
I own nothing you recognise.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, Yumichika." Was the first thing Ichigo Kurosaki heard the next morning. "A Greenhorn Shinigami fallin' asleep this close to our patol grounds. I reckon we aught to teach him why he should avoid the 11th Division's Barracks. And by we, I mean me." Ichigo' world came into focus as a male's shadow blocked out the sun.
"What the hell? I could've sworn it was day time. Why's the moon still out?" He heard someone let out an effeminate chuckle that could, very easily, be mistaken for a giggle.
"THAT'S MY HEAD YOU BASTARD!" A, now extremely annoyed, Shinigami known as Ikkaku Madarame yelled at the groggy, orange haired stranger in front of him. "Now; GET UP AND FIGHT ME! It's bad enough that my fellow 11th Divisioners take the piss out of me 'bout my shaved head" "*Cough*Bald*Cough*" "Shut up Yumchika! But I won't let some pathetic, newby weakling get away with it!"
"Fine. fine. If you ain't gonna shut up until we fight; let's get on with it." Ichigo stood, dusting off his robes, and stretched, popping the muscles in his back a little as he did so. The habit of very much enjoying sleep came with his memories from being Kaien, too. He'd always tried to find time, in the afternoon especially, for a good nap back when he was in Thirteenth Division. "I assume it'll be one on one, right?" The growling bald man nodded, and then something ocurred to Ichigo. "Hey, have either of you seen a cat 'round here? Seems to have vanished." He pointedly looked around for Yoruichi; but found no trace of the feline.
'Hmm... Well, I'm sure Yoruichi can manage while I deal with these clowns.'
"So, what are the rules in this bout?"
"Rules?" Ikkaku scoffed. "No rules. Just that here's no running." The bald man grinned. "Only cowards run, right?... Hey, what is your name? I'm Ikkaku Madarame, third seat of eleventh division; and I reckon it's only polite to give your name to someone you're gonna try 'n' kill."
"Ichigo Kurosaki. Nice to meet you. But I'll be hesitant to fight you with the peacock guy stood over there. Who knows what he'll do if I'm beating you."
"Eh? Oh, Yumichika won't do anythin'. But I see your point. Oi, Yumichika, go let the Captain know why I'm gonna be late for my station."
"Very well, Ikkaku. Have fun." The man half-ran half-skipped off towards the main road.
"Now, I just need a moment, Kurosaki." The third seat backed off, and stood in the centre of the small street. "You are about to witness... my lucky dance!"
'What a freak.' Ichigo thought, as the bald man finished his... dance-thing.
"We gonna start, then, Ikkaku? Or do you have a poem you want to recite, too?"
"Fuck off! I have to do my lucky dance, not to do so would be unlucky!"
"Really? I never would have guessed that the lucky dance was supposed to give you luck."
"Fuck you, Kurosaki! Prepare yourself, 'cus now you've made me MAD!" The Eleventh Division member roared as he lunged at his opponent, unsheathing Hozukimaru mid-leap. He swung visciously at his opponent's neck, and let out another growl. This wouldn't be a satisfying fight. The Greenhorn in front of him hadn't even drawn his Zanpakuto. He'd die from a single- What the? Where'd he go?
Ichigo had vanished from Ikkaku's line of sight, and the fight-loving Shinigami's path was now empty of the obstacle he had been expecting to encounter; something that very much threw him off balance.
"I think you missed." The Orange haired fighter commented as his opponent recovered from his stumble. Ikkaku spun on his heel, and faced the stranger.
"Who the fuck are you?!" He demanded of Ichigo. No way was this guy unranked; an unranked member wouldn't be able to avoid his strike. None of 'em had good enough reflexes for that. And if he had been ranked; Ikkaku's lieutenant would have insisted that he move to her division. because his hair was 'the colour of candy'. Yachiru would not miss out on having such a member in her division. And Kenpachi wouldn't much care either way; so long as Ichigo amused Yachru and was willing to fight.
"I told you; Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo replied, honestly, as he drew Hichigo-Zangetsu; the abnormally long Katana's steel blade glinting in the morning light.
"Then what are you?! You ain't a Soul Reaper, that's for damn sure!" Ikkaku exclaimed, with a grin; he had a feeling that this'd be a better fight than he'd expected.
"Sorry, I've been told not to say too much, or it could backfire." Ichigo shrugged. "Shall we get back to the fight?"
"Yes. Let's!" He lunged again, swinging the empty sheath at Ichigo's skull and his katana at the longer blade. No way this Kurosaki guy could block both; he would block the blade, and then be knocked groggy as Hozukimaru's sheath whacked him over the head. Well; that's what the bald-headed third seat believed and expected. But that was based on one incorrect assumption.
That Ichigo intended to block.
"Sorry 'bout this. If I don't give him some blood soon; Zangetsu'll be even more irritating than normal." The orange haired hybrid announced, as Ikkaku neared. He raised his blade, pointed at Ikkaku and parrallel to the ground, and stepped forward. "And, who knows, maybe this'll teach you not to mindlessley jump at your opponent, when you know nothing about him." Ichigo commented, before dissappearing in a blur of flash step.
"Ugh!" The bloodthirsty Chrome dome, as Yachiru would call him, grunted as Zangetsu's tip pierced his right shoulder, stabbing through to the hilt, and his weapon's sheath fell to the floor with a clatter as his hand spasmed. "Shit! Fuck, you're fast, Kurosaki!" A bloodthirsty grin spread over the third seat's face. "But you chose the wrong arm!" Hozukimaru flashed, hacking shortly at his opponent's right arm; the one holding his, now blood drenched, Zanpakuto. "Gah!" The longer sword was yanked harshly out of his shoulder, far faster than the stabbed man had expected. His own katana bounced off the sword, as the pain shifted Ikkaku's focus, and Madarame stumbled backwards.
The bald man growled as he noticed, to add insult to injury, that his opponent had relaxed his stance. Raising the hilt to his mouth; the eleventh squad member gripped it in his teeth; his vision beginning to dim from the gushing wound on his shoulder, and fumbled with the hilt's pommel until he plucked it off and gained access to his blood clotting ointment. It wouldn't be enough for long-term healing, but hopefully the paste would stop the bleeding for the rest of this fight, at least.
"Well that's just cheating."
"Shut up! It's not cheating; it's called being well-prepared! You're supposed to marval at my brilliance!" He screamed at the other man; frustrated with the accusation.
"Eh. If you say so." Ichigo replied; indifferently. "You done? Or are we going to continue?"
"Done... DONE?! I won't be done 'TIL I'M DEAD!" He charged forwards yet again, wobbling a little as he rushed blindly at his, so far, superior opponent.
"Or..." Ichigo began, before dissappearing in a blur of speed.
"Bugh." Ikkaku made a strange sound, as a fist crashed into the back of his head, and fell, face first, to the ground; a lump rapidly forming on the point of impact.
"... Until you're unconscious." He nudged the out-of-it man with his foot and received a groan in response. "Hmm... not knocked out, huh? I guess a third seat is more resilient than I expected." He shrugged. "Eh. That's probably a good thing." The orange haired man grabbed his opponent by the back of his Kimono, and moved him away from Hozukimaru.
"Oi! Wake up!" Ichigo barked at Ikkaku.
Nothing.
"Dumbass, get up!"
Nada.
"Oh... that'll work." Ichigo smirked to himself, and drew in a breath. "BALDY!"
"FUCK YOU!" Ikkaku sat up with that exclamation, a look of rage on his face. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU... are? Crap!" Seeming to rememebr where he was. the Third seat leapt to his feet, only to stagger and fall back down. "What the? Why am I dizzy?"
"'Cause I punched you in the back of your head, I'd guess." Ichigo told him. "Now, I've got some questions I need to ask you."
"Why would I answer them?" The bald man hissed. "And why didn't you finish me off?"
"I had no reason to, Third seat Madarame. You were fighting me for the sake of fighting. That's something I don't mind; even though wanting it to be to the death is annoying. Your reason is one I can understand, and so I can accept it. So long as you don't select one of those I care for to sate your bloodlust." Ichigo stated, leaning against a wall as Ikkaku rose, unsteadily, to his feet.
"What do you want to know, then?" Ikkaku sneered. "My Birthday?" Ichigo ignored his tone.
"I want to know where Rukia Kuchiki is being kept." The Ryoka, though he did not know that title yet, answered simply.
"Kuchiki? You mean the Death Row inmate?" His sneer fell away, replaced with a look of confusion. "What do you want with someone like that?"
"To save her."
"Save her?! How many of you are there?"
"Myself... and a cat."
"You... and a cat... Hah! Bahaha! You're kidding; what is this, a suicide mission?!" He used the fact that Ichigo turned from him, to avoid looking at, and so getting angered by, the ridiculing expression to make a run for his weapons, scooping the sheath and sword duo off the ground and spinning; intending to block an incoming strike. Only to find none incoming. His confusion quickly gave way to a grin, however, as Ikkaku slammed the pommel of his sword against the butt of his sheath. His enemy would not be expecting this.
"Grow, Hozukimaru!" The blade and sheath combined, extending into a long spaer with a red tassle on the blunt end. "Now, Ichigo, don't misju-UGH!" The Yari snapped, and Ichigo appeared, in front of the shocked Ikkaku, with Zangetsu still extended, tip dripping blood from the verticle slash running down the Third seat of Zaraki devision's chest.
When Ikkaku woke, he found his Zanpakuto, complete with sheath, resting next to him; the only change being the now mostly empty pommel.
"... Bastard."
"Damn... I've got to stop doing that." Ichigo commented to himself, with a scowl. He had attemted to do a long-distance Shunpo, and ended up... somewhere he hadn't intended to be. Still in the Seretei, of course, but he had no idea where in the large compound.
'Eh. Practise makes perfect, right King? Eventually we'll get it down. If not, you could always use Sonido...' The Hollow suggested; in his version of subtlety, which was, basically, not yelling.
'There is no need to worry about this, Ichigo.' The calmer Zangetsu added. 'I am given to understand that this is a hard skill to learn; and you have never had anything like formal training on it. Perhaps you will be able to find someone once this is done.'
'Plus, I bet it makes ya harder to follow, Kingy. After all, if you don't know where you're goin', how could your enemies?' The Hollow added, finding a possible silver lining.
Ichigo was now stood on a building. So that was a start...
'Great job, King. You've narrowed it down to one of the gazillion buildings in this place. Really, I applaude your brilliance.' Ichigo's eyes narrowed.
'Hey, Old Man?'
'Yes, Ichigo?'
'Did Nejibana ever get ahold of Hichigo?'
'No...' Ichigo got the distinct impression that Zangetsu was smirking; evidently he knew what was to happen next.
'Y-You wouldn't...'
'Hey, Flower!' Ichigo called into his own mind. 'He's over here!' After which silence, other than a few yelps and squeaks of pain, was all that Ichigo heard from his mindscape. The orange haired Shinigami chuckled, before his head snapped around.
He could have sworn he'd heard a booming voice announce something from a half mile, or so, to his left.
What was a Ryoka? Ichigo couldn't help but wonder, since the word inspired such an uneasy feeling in him.
Ichigo was willing to admit that he was lost. Not out loud, granted, but in the confines of his own head he was comfortable admitting his current predicament. Hell, he may even accept that the responsibility for the situation rested on his shoulders. But that did not change the fact that he was getting very anoyed right now.
With each building, the hybrid's frustration grew. It was dumb; to expect to just run into another ranked Soul Reaper to question; since he did not get the information he needed from Ikkaku, but, even so, Ichigo kept at it. He figured that, eventually, he would find somebody that knew where in this thrice damned place they were holding Rukia, they would tell him where, and he would finally know where he was meant to be heading. If only the blasted cat had told him that, or anything, before scampering off to do God knows what.
Suddenly, his sharp ears, even when he was doing his best to surpress his reiatsu in an inneffective way that cut off the majority of his abilities, caught a Boom in the distance, somewhere to the East, or at least he believed that direction to be East, anyway, of Ichigo's position. Just stopping himself from trying to Shunpo over, that was the cause of his being lost, after all, Ichigo took off at a bounding run, leaping from building to building as he neared the source of that noise. As he reached the nearest building and peered over the edge, he saw...
A hole in a wall. That was it.
"Oh! Come on!" The sleeveless-Shihakusho wearing Human exclaimed. How had he missed whoever caused that damage? He had been quick, for Kami's sake!
Suddenly, Ichigo darted to the side, moving in a blur of speed that, as he became visible again, showed him holding his Wakizashi; Old man Zangetsu's blade form. Where he had previously been stood, an odd sight was now visible.
From a cloud of dust; an big. ugly head, surrounded by large red beads, portruded.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" The oversized Soul Reaper, now free from the dust, wondered aloud, before turning to look for the orange haired Ryoka. Now, Ichigo could see the behemoth in greater detail. He bore a certain resemblance to Jidanbo; the guardian of the West gate, and wore a large, beaded necklace with a red tuft hanging from the lowest, and largest of them. Likewise; he had a bracelet consisting of red beads on his left wrist, drawing Ichigo's attention to the fact that he held a Zanpakuto in a ready, but slightly sloppy, grip.
"So you were fast enough to dodge my strike from such a close range? Impressive. I dare say that if we had not met here, you may have gone on to do great things... Unfortunately for you, however, your journey ends here." The ugly man stated, confidently. "It is almost sad. And, so, I will give you some time to make peace with yourself, before I kill you. You have ten seconds."
"One."
'Is this guy serious?' The Hollow deadpanned.
"Two."
'...'
"Three."
'It looks like it, yeah.'
"Four."
'Well, even I agree he doesn't deserve one of your releases.'
"Five."
'I don't even want to dirty a Zanpakuto by using it against him.'
"Six."
'I would quite like to see you punch him in the face, King.'
"Seven."
'And I would quite like to punch him in the face.'
"Eight."
"Nine."
"Ten." He drew his sword back, and crouched slightly. "Now that you are prepared; I will show you the way in which you will die." He leapt forwards with a yell that sounded like "Eeeeyuuh!", and, surprisingly; considering his bulk, sailed through the air towards Ichigo. This, however, did not mean he did it quickly. Ichigo stepped to the side, as Jirobo landed, and sheathed Zangetsu.
"Again, your speed impresses me, but no matter." The man jumped back again, and landed 25 feet from his opponent. "Now, I will end your regrettable misfortune. It will be a merciful death; do not worry." He placed his hand against the tip of his Zanpakuto.
"Flap away, Tsunzakigarasu!" The blade gave way under his palm, and dozens of curved, spinning blades appeared around him; floating in mid air. "You see, Ryoka, I am the master of flying weapons! You have no hope to live past that which is too fast for your eyes to see!" The large man flung his hand forwards, fingers splayed.
'Pfft. You think that's fast, fatso?! My pett snail moves faster than that!' The Hollow was genuinly upset at the implication of such a pathetic man calling himself fast. 'If you wanna see fast; you should see my Bankai!' From the brief demonstrations Ichigo had seen, comparing this to Zangetsu's Bankai form would be like comparing a space hopper to a Formula 1 car. Though projectiles were likely quite useful even at this speed.
Ichigo vaished from his opponent's line of sight, and the man let out a confused grunt. None of his blades had any blood on them. Did the orange haired man not bleed? Strange. Jirobo, then, felt something tap his shoulder, and spun around, only to be met with Ichigo Kurosaki's knuckles as his fist slammed into the large man's face. Stupidly, Jidanbo let go of his Zanpakuto to try to break his fall with his hands, as he went flying, and briefly caught sight of it being kicked off the side of the building by the Ryoka.
"W-Who are you?" The Fourth seat whimpered.
"Ichigo Kurosaki. I'd ask in return, but I don't care." Ichigo's irritation was showing. "Now; you are going to tell me where Rukia Kuchiki is, aren't you?"
"Y-Yes sir!"
"Good. Very good."
"So, I'm looking for a white tower called the Senzaikyu." Ichigo clarified to himself. "Near the centre of the Sereitei." He looked around for something. "But... I still don't know which way that is. Dammit!" Ichigo cursed. He really should have checked that with the Jidanbo guy about that, before he knocked him unconscious. But the orange haired Shinigami had left the annoyance behind by now. Far behind.
Now, Ichigo was bounding from building to building; heading in what he believed to be the right direction, but that was solely based on his instincts. And his instincts, especially in regards to direction, were fallible.
"Where is that blasted cat?!" He continued in his exclamation. It just had to run away. Leaving him on his own in an area that he knew nothing about. "Think. If I was a cat, where would I go? And how the hell can I find wherever that is?" He scowled, annoyed. "Okay; cat's are fond of... fish, milk, balls of yarn, mice and... red dots?" Ichigo donned a thoughtful expression and looked up into the sky. "Well... the higher you are, the more you can see. So... I'll go up." He crouched low, and shot up into the air in a reiatsu-fueled leap. Several hundred metres up, Ichigo reached the peak of his jump, and hardened reiatsu under his feet, creating the platform that Shinigami tended to make in order to immitate flight.
Standings still, he narrowed his eyes, and lifted his hand to shield the amber orbs from the Sun. To the left, Ichigo simply saw countless buildings, and the same was true as to the right. That didn't look promosing to the orange-haired Shinigami. In front, a walled, grassy area with a large building. Behind, an unwalled grassy area with a large building.
Grass= Water. Water= Fish. Fish=Yoruichi. At least, that's what Ichigo figured.
So which of those two should he go to? Oh! The unwalled version was nearer to a straight, long and wide road. That looked much more promosing to Ichigo than his other option, which was surrounded by buildings. Perhaps that would be the best bet to lead to this white tower. A main road would lead to the centre of the Seireitei, surely.
Did that outweigh how busy it would be, though, since the Shinigami'd probably frequent that road? Eh, he could just follow its general direction. Or fight... well, that would appease his Hollow at least.
This place really was big. He must have been moving for nearly an hour now; and in reference to the other landmarks, the grassy area had seemed to be in quite close proximity to the human.
Ichigo had been moving toward his target area at a steady jog, this time on the ground to avoid being spotted jumping from rooftop to rooftop as he neared. Being seen too soon would be a bad idea. Who knew what the wooded area was? And even more importantly; who knew how many Soul Reapers would be there? Jumping right on top of an indeterminate number of them sounded like a very, very bad idea to Ichigo.
As he neared the main road that he had seen before, Ichigo slowed his pace to a brisk walk. As soon as he saw the cluster of buildings on the other side of the street, the Ryoka would Shunpo across; hopefully avoiding any risk of being spotted. From what he was told, those that would notice Ichigo Flash stepping were very limited. Yoruichi told him that out of the Captains, he'd be seen by those of 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 13th. And of those, he'd stand no chance of defeating the majority in a fight; since it included the 4 oldest captains, and an assasin. The cat had said that it could help prepare him for that eventuality but, of course, he had to find Yoruichi first.
Ichigo reached the break in the buildings, showing a clear path to a row of trees. He took a deep breath, and channelled reiatsu into his legs, darting over the distance between him and the grassy area in a dull flash.
"Ugh." Ichigo grunted, as his shoulder caught a tree. "Damn. This is ridiculous. I could use it fine on the way here, and in combat it's easy as pie. So why do I keep messing up this blasted Shunpo?" He muttered to himself, glaring at the tree that he, somewhat illogically, blamed for the discomfort. However, the fact that it had snapped in half, and he had no more than a very mild bruise, told him that he did not need to extract any further revenge on the plant.
"Okay... let me see." He reoriented himself, having been thrown off his path by the minor collision, and faced away from the road, instead looking towards the slightly denser area in the forest. "Water will be this way." He walked into the treeline, sidestepping past a paprticularly gnarly looking tree, and continued on his way.
All of a sudden, the Ryoka felt a pulse of Spiritual Pressure behind him. From... the tree.
He hopped to the side, dodging as a sharpened branch passed through the area previously containing Ichigo's body, and panicked; channelling a smaller amount of Reiatsu, than his Shunpo required, into his legs, and taking off at a run.
Through him against the strongest of people, and Ichigo Kurosaki would have no fear whatsoever about the consequences. Even of the Yammamoat guy Yoruichi had told him about; Ichigo would lose, but he'd be fighting something that he could accept. A sentient tree, though, that was slightly unnerving. Who knew what else could be in this accursed forest? He did not want to find out.
'Fucking creepy ass place! Stupid trees! Let's just get out of here and BURN THE EVIL FOREST from a distance!' The pale Zangetsu, for once, encouraged a retreat.
Outside the woods that currently contained a powerful, yet fleeing, Human-Shinigami, a task force consisting of half the Tenth Division's ranked members, and many more of their unranked, was gathered. At the moment, they were just waiting the alloted time required before they could abandon their cowardly 10th seat as a lost cause. Thankfully, this was his last chance; the irritating Hippy would have been kicked out on his ass by Captain Hitsugaya long ago, had he not been from a minor noble family, who demanded he be given a second chance. Then a third chance. Then a fourth, fifth and sixth. This one, the seventh, was all that would be tolerated before he'd be 'transferred' to Captain Soi Fon's division for 'personality adjustments'.
They would all be glad to see the pathetic man leave.
Their collective thoughts, however, were well and truly disrupted by the sudden announcement of their soon-to-be target's arrival. The orange haired Invader, at a sprint, smashed through a clump of trees, obliterating them, and kept running full pelt towards the crowd he had shocked with his appearance. It showed just how stern a stuff the unranked members were made of that an odd, multi-layered scream resounded from them as they took in Kurosaki's raggard, and panicked, look on top of the fact that he made no indication that he intended to slow his approach.
As Ichigo reached the Soul Reapers, he deemed the distance between himself and the living forest enough that he might be able to placate it... with a sacrifice, of course. He grabbed the nearest 'Reaper by the scruff of his neck and spun back to face the percieved threat.
"Here! Take him, Devil forest! I will not be eaten by a tree! Not this day nor any other!" He threw the male into the small forest, and lunged at the next Shinigami, picking him up by his bicep.
"As a show of good faith, I am willing to give you another! I will avoid your forest if at all possible from here on out, if you will just agree to call a truce!" The orange haired intruder launched his captive into the trees again, and backed away, watching intently for any movement.
Of course, this confused the hell out of those he was thinning out's heard. That forest was not a 'devil forest', after all. While they were considering the option of voicing this beffudlement, their explanation was given to them in the form of a green haired man, dressed in the standard Shinigami garb, stumbling out of the trees with a triumphant yell.
"I found him, guys! And I led him here!" Aoi Fujioka exclaimed proudly as he righted himself, and pointed his Shikai, which took the form of a curved, wooden tree branch. "He stood no chance against the might of my Shikai!" To illustrate his point, the 9th seat waved the branch he held, and a tree to his right shuddered and shook in response, before it's branches sprung forward at the Ryoka he had 'captured'. Ichigo easily sidestepped the projectiles, and a scowl spread across his face .
"That was you?!"
'HIM?!'
"Of course it was! Cower before the might of the mighty Aoi Fujio-Kaah!" A foot slammed into the gut of the green-haired man, and the others watched as Aoi was thrown into the very tree that he had been controlling moments before. Ichigo followed close behind him, and grabbed the man by his foot just as the tree splintered thanks to the Soul Reaper's body smashing through it. With a twist of his body, Ichigo flipped the man up and over his head, and Aoi slammed into the ground with a sick thud.
"Bastard." Ichigo commented, as his temper got the best of him in regards to this man. It hurt his pride that such a weak soul had managed to make him flee. Then, he turned to face the crowd, registering that the group consisted of a lot of Shinigami, all of whom had katanas, or similar swords, drawn and pointed at him.
'Oi, Hichigo?' Ichigo asked, a smirk spreading to the hybrid's lips. 'You ready for some action?'
'Fuck yes! Let's kick some stupid Soul Reaper ass!'
'Well put, Zangetsu. Well put. How about you, old man?'
'I am ready, Ichigo.' The second Zangetsu confirmed
The crowd watched as the Ryoka in front of them swiftly drew his longest Katana, followed by his Wakizashi, and the higher ranked among their number were ashamed to note that several of their number let out scared whimpers as the intruder's reiatsu spiked.
"Come forth, and Pierce the sky; Zangetsu!"