I'm Not A Hero
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach
"Normal Speech"
'Inner Speech/Thoughts'
"Kido/Zanpakuto/Quincy Techniques"
"Zanpakuto Speech"
"Hollow Speech"
XXX
Chapter 4:
As the dust slowly settled on the training room, numerous members of the Eleventh Division scrambled over one another to try and escape the carnage of Kenpachi's wild strikes and Ichigo's frantic dodges.
"Can't we talk about this Kenpachi?" Ichigo gasped out as he ducked under his opponent's ragged blade, wincing as the wall behind him was split in two and crumbled down around him.
"You were doing plenty of talking earlier Ichigo…now's the time for action!" Kenpachi yelled, slamming his blade down into the ground and causing a crater to form below Ichigo's feet. Off balance, he staggered backwards and winced as Kenpachi nicked his arm.
"Here Ichi!" a child-like voice yelled, causing him to glance up out of the corner of his eye at the speaker. Seeing Yachiru lob his zanpakuto at him, he yelped as he caught it painfully along the heavy blunt edge. There was no time to dwell on the pain however, as Kenpachi continued his relentless assault with reckless abandon.
"You got your zanpakuto back Ichigo, now we can really start to have some fun," he said with a grin as their blades grated one another. Gritting his teeth in exertion, Ichigo ducked and scrambled past the hulking form of the battle-crazed Captain.
"Where's the fun in any of this?!" he cried out, dodging yet another strike and leaping back towards the crowd of cowering soul reapers. If he thought that, that would give Kenpachi pause though, he was sorely mistaken as the Eleventh Division Captain showed no hesitancy in striking out at him. Yelping, he leapt back once again, dragging a shaken soul reaper that had lost his footing in the chaos.
"What are you doing partner?" his double asked incredulously, as Ichigo blocked a downward slash from Kenpachi that would have cleaved the person behind him in two had he dodged.
'What does it look like I'm doing?! I'm trying to save my skin!' he shouted back mentally, as blood and sweat slid down his brow to sting his eyes.
"Then why are you paying so much attention to the others around you? If you keep caring about what happens to them then you're going to be the one needing a body bag. They know the risks of hanging around and if Kenpachi doesn't care about their wellbeing, then why should we?" his double questioned, even as Ichigo was forced to shove another hapless soul out of the way. It cost him deeply though as he received a deep gash along the length of his left arm, causing the limb to hang listlessly at his side.
"It seems you need a little assistance," he said with a sigh, before he appeared in front of Ichigo, his fingers a hairsbreadth away from his forehead. "Here, I'm going to let you see what really matters in a fight."
Unlike before when he heard a voice whispering brutal, yet efficient advice in his ear, the sounds of the world seemed to slowly fade away, leaving him conscious of only his and Kenpachi's breathing and movements. His field of vision even seemed to narrow, as his surroundings and the people around him faded into darkness, leaving him alone with Kenpachi. Seeing that his opponent was in fact charging at him once again, he tensed to leap out of the way, but paused midway, a frown creasing his brow.
Swinging his nameless zanpakuto down in a vertical slash, Kenpachi's single uncovered eye widened slightly as Ichigo slid his body to the side, leaving his blade to bite deep into the shoulder of an unfortunate soul reaper.
"Shit…that's what happens when people get in the way," he cursed as he watched the man flounder on the ground, blood gushing from the mangled stump. "Wouldn't you agree Ichigo?"
The teenager didn't reply though, in fact he seemed to be completely ignoring the hulk of a Captain and instead stared at the blood pooling at his feet and unseen to everyone around him, a thin black tendril seemed to snake its way across his eye. As it reached his iris…it turned his normally soft brown eyes a poisonous yellow and his previously calm reiatsu, seemed to explode from within him. Stunned at the reaction Kenpachi was frozen as the teenager swung his blade in a vicious arc, before the gleaming silver edge cut deep into his right wrist.
"W-what?!" he gasped out as his zanpakuto fell from his lifeless fingers, before he grunted in pain as Ichigo continued with his assault, his blade slicing into the muscle around his right shoulder this time, as he reversed his stroke in a single, fluid motion.
'He's finally fighting back…but why does it feel so different from last time,' he thought as he swung his left leg into Ichigo's side, sending him flying into one of the walls and causing it to collapse on him. Reaching down for his blade with his left hand, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle slightly and was barely able to get his blade up in time to block Ichigo's retaliatory strike aimed at the base of his neck.
"Flash stepping behind the target to stab them from behind? You're copying that bastard Byakuya too much for my liking Ichigo," he roared as he forced the teenager back with a swipe. Charging after him, he grimaced as his blade cut into yet another member of his division, though this time Ichigo had forced the poor soul into his destructive path. "Get out of here ya idiots! Or I'll keep cutting in ta ya!" he shouted as he tossed the injured man towards his comrades as they huddled in fear.
Grunting in frustration, he started to turn back to Ichigo, only to stumble as he felt his opponent's blade bite deep into his left ankle, hobbling him slightly. Growling as he spun on the spot, his blade screaming through the air, he just barely managed to catch Ichigo flash stepping away again.
Landing in a half crouch, Ichigo's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Kenpachi make a beeline towards him at impressive speeds considering the damage to his leg. Leaping to his side, he landed on a surprised soul reapers shoulder, before using him as springboard and forcing him face-first into the ground.
"That's right partner. When it comes down to a one-on-one fight, all that matters is you and your opponent. If there's someone in the way…then they're simply expendable," his double said with glee as Ichigo rebounded off the roof and fell upon Kenpachi as the pair exchanged a flurry of violent blows.
Leaping out of the fray momentarily, Ichigo caught sight of a bright pink bob watching the match with a fervent expression. Feeling a seductive voice whisper in his ear, he bowed his head and began to circle around so that the owner was behind him.
Seeing his opponent distracted for a moment, Kenpachi took a moment to take in his injuries. His right hand was practically useless as the fingers hung unresponsive from the cut to his wrist. He wasn't nearly as fast as he would have hoped with the tendons in his left ankle sliced through and he was now bleeding from several shallow cuts. Overall…just like when they fought the first time, yet nowhere near as satisfactory to him. He'd barely put a scratch on Ichigo and the bastard was darting in and out, nipping at his heels like a yapping dog. This wasn't the type of fight he wanted. 'But I've learnt his pattern somewhat now. Let's see if he's still confident to flash step around me,' he thought with a grin as he rested his nameless blade on his shoulder.
"Oi, what's with the break Ichigo? Not getting tired are you?" he said with a smirk as the teenager slowly circled him. Whether it was his jibe or at some other signal, Ichigo suddenly leapt towards him, blade poised to skewer him through his right lung. Grinning dementedly, Kenpachi used his longer reach to lash out at the teen, forcing him to flash step behind him lest he be beheaded.
'Gotcha!' he thought triumphantly as he now slide out of the way of Ichigo's attack, similarly to the way the teenager had done to him earlier. Unlike with Ichigo though, he felt his blood freeze as he watched the teenager continue with his blow, his gaze zeroed in on a dazed Yachiru, her eyes growing slightly as the gleaming metal approached her forehead. As the members of the Eleventh Division looked on in horror, Zangetsu sliced effortlessly through soft flesh, bathing itself in the crimson, life-giving liquid.
Hacking up a river of blood, Kenpachi glanced over his shoulder, feeling a sense of relief wash over him as the blade had stopped a hairsbreadth away from Yachiru. Turning back to his front, he stared down at the blade imbedded within his torso, just barely missing his heart. Collapsing to his knees, he adopted an emotionless mask and turned to face the man whose blade was buried in his gut.
"Dick move Ichigo. Why'd ya go and do…urgh…" he tried to say, only to fall silent as Ichigo ripped his blade free and sliced through his left wrist, causing his blade to fall from his unresisting fingers. Growling in frustration, he met Ichigo's eyes and felt his heart skip a beat at the look on Ichigo's face.
"Hey calm down Ichigo…it's…it's over now," Ikkaku muttered, his voice wavering slightly as the substitute acquired a maniacal glint in his eyes. Raising his blade up above his head, everyone watched as it acquired a light red glow and an oppressive force began to press down on them. "Do you hear me Ichigo?! I said it's over!" Ikkaku tried again, forcibly inserting himself between the two.
Snapping at the interruption, Ichigo punted him in his gut, sending him barrelling into the crowd in a cloud of dust. Turning back to the helpless Captain, a grin slowly spread across his face and his yellow seemed to shine like a beacon in the night. Swinging his blade down to release the pent up energy and frustration on his opponent, the crowd could do nothing more than cry out in dismay as they were blinded by an blinding crimson wave and the shuddering roar of the attack.
Once the light finally died down, they were all shocked to find Kenpachi still on his knees, completely unharmed by the attack. Glancing over to Ichigo to see what had caused him to miss, they found the teenager on his hands and knees, puking his guts out, while Shunsui Kyoraku stood over him.
"My, oh my you two certainly were making a ruckus," he commented casually as he crossed his arms, his pink, flowery kimono fluttering slightly in the wind. "And I'd just managed to sneak out for a nap too."
"Captain Kyoraku," Yumichika murmured softly as the assembled soul reapers quickly bowed their heads slightly in respect. Say what you would of the laidback Captain of the Eight Division, but no one could deny that he was on a different level to them. After all, no one there would be so brazen enough to engage the Captain Commander in combat.
"I take it you're not exactly in the condition to move on your own, are you Captain Zaraki? Could you all be so kind as to transport him and the rest of your comrades to the Fourth Division, I'm sure Captain Unohana is expecting you what with the reiatsu you were all flailing about?" he calmly ordered, his straw hat tilted low over his head as he stared down at his fellow Captain.
"What about Ichigo sir?" Ikkaku asked as the teenager continued to hack and sputter on his hands and knees and his own blood pooled around him.
"Don't worry I'll make sure he gets the proper treatment. Then he and I need to have a nice long talk," the flamboyant Captain said with a small smile, before disappearing with the teenager with barely a whisper.
As the division members hurried to gather up their injured comrades and Captain, Ikkaku stared up at the sky wistfully. 'What was with you there Ichigo…?'
XXX
"How are you feeling Rukia?" Jushiro Ukitake asked his subordinate as they sat under the shade of a wooden deck and observed the koi swimming below them.
"Perfectly fine Sir. My powers are returning and I hope to be back on duty as soon as possible," Rukia responded dutifully, her head slightly bowed.
"I see, but how do you feel Rukia?" he probed again, fixing her with a small smile, causing her to flush slightly and turn away.
"I…I'm doing well thank you Sir," she murmured with a cough, drawing a soft chuckle from him.
"I heard that Byakuya is doing well. Have you been to see him yet?" he asked, turning back to the fish as one lazily breached the surface.
"I have Sir. We…we talked about the execution and my…sister," she said uneasily, recalling the awkward and heart wrenching tale he'd told her. It had hurt to know that her sister had abandoned her to fend for herself, but to know that she spent what precious little time she had left looking for her, denying both her and Byakuya's happiness, hurt so much more after everything she'd been given.
"It will take time to process Rukia, of that I have no doubt. In fact, I'm sure that your relationship will come out even stronger after this," Ukitake commented, drawing her out of her self-depreciating thoughts as he placed his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "Oh hello Shunsui and you brought Ichigo too," he said suddenly as he turned towards their barracks, just as Kyoraku appeared with Ichigo over his shoulder.
"Sorry for just dropping in on you two like this, but I was hoping to have a conversation with our young hero here. Unfortunately Captain Zaraki was having a rather spirited discussion with him already. I don't suppose you'd be willing to patch him up Jushiro?" he said jovially as he dumped said teen on the ground next to the pair of them, much to Ukitake's exasperation and Rukia's slight horror.
"Of course. If you would kindly take a seat here Ichigo," he said kindly as he gestured to the spot in front of him.
"It's nothing really, just a scratch," Ichigo responded shakily, his breathing finally returning to somewhat normal, while he massaged the spot where Kyoraku had struck him.
"Your arm's bleeding like a river Ichigo! That's not just a scratch," Rukia admonished him, as his blood began to soak into his shihakusho and she rushed to his side, her palm already glowing a soft green as she prepared to heal him.
The glow quickly faded away though as Ukitake placed a hand on her shoulder. "You are still recovering Rukia. It would be better if you didn't strain yourself at all."
"Y-yes Captain," she stuttered out, allowing the kido to fade away and instead settled back into her seat next to her Captain, while Ichigo was forced in front of him by Kyoraku.
"Now while many of my comrades would want to get back to business as soon as possible after being in hospital, I don't think sparring with the Eleventh Division is at the top of any of their lists," Kyoraku commented as he watched Ukitake begin to heal Ichigo.
"You went to the Eleventh Division looking for a fight? Do you have a death wish Ichigo?!" Rukia shouted, causing Ichigo to wince both at the volume of her voice and the accusation within it.
"Can you shout any louder Rukia? I don't think I've completely lost all the hearing in my left ear," he grumbled, his irritation zeroing in on her, despite his attempts to quash it and calm down and unaware of the two senior Captains analytical gaze on him.
Opening her mouth to berate him, Rukia was struck dumb by the silent look she received from Kyoraku and quieted down with a look of worry on her face.
"Back to my original question, what were you hoping for Mr Kurosaki?" Kyoraku pressed again, his eyes unwavering as they zeroed in on the substitute's own.
"I…wanted to blow off some steam…" Ichigo responded lamely, breaking the staring contest and bowing his head uneasily. It was unnerving how small he felt under the senior Captain's gaze, a fact that caused his bloodlust to return with a vengeance.
"Is that all? Really now, there are far safer ways to relax than getting involved in the Eleventh Division's brawls. In fact I feel like some sake right now, would you care for some?" Kyoraku responded, slipping back into his casual persona with enviable ease, as he sunk down onto the ground and pulled out a bottle of sake and a saucer from within the folds of his shihakusho.
"I'm underage…" Ichigo replied in a deadpan as he watched the Captain take a long, slow sip from his saucer.
"Funny, your tall friend said the exact same thing. How do the youth of today get by without the pleasures of a drink of sake every now and then?" he commented with a sigh of disappointment.
"They cope the same way that other non-drinkers do Shunsui. After all, not everyone drinks sake," Ukitake said with a smile as he finally stopped the bleeding on Ichigo's arm.
"Say it ain't so Jushiro? You mean that there are some people that…that…don't like sake?!" Kyoraku cried out in horror, his expression distraught.
'I almost killed a man, their colleague…and yet our conversation's degenerated into a debate on the pros and cons of drinking. They're insane…ridiculously strong, but insane none the less,' Ichigo thought with a grimace as he flexed his partially healed arm. Feeling his bloodlust begin to peak, he froze and lowered his fists out of sight, clenching them in an effort to hide his jitters.
"Sorry, but I just remembered that I have to meet Inoue and the others for lunch. See ya!" he muttered out hurriedly, before flash stepping away as fast as he could towards the outskirts of the Seireitei.
"Wait Ichigo you're still not fully healed yet!" Rukia shouted after him, half-rising from her seat to follow him. Feeling a tug on her arm though, she paused and turned back to see her Captain with a solid grip on the sleeve of her yukata.
Before she could open her mouth to protest, she found herself silenced once again by a look.
"He's dealing with his own personal demons Rukia-chan," Kyoraku murmured as he took a sip from his saucer and stared off in the direction Ichigo had disappeared in. "And as much as you wish to help him, it would be for the best if we let him have some space. With the mood he's in right now, you'd probably only get hurt."
Shocked and slightly hurt at the revelation that Ichigo was in pain and the accusation that he'd harm her if she followed him, she fisted the material of her yukata and sunk to her knees again. "Of course Captain…" she muttered dejectedly, her gaze fixed on the direction Ichigo was speeding away in.
XXX
"It's still here," Rangiku Matsumoto whispered as she stepped into the clearing of the small hut that she and Gin had shared in their youth. Walking towards it, she brushed the curtain that served as the entrance aside and stepped into the dark, single room hut.
Despite the numerous decades that had passed since she'd live there, there was little more than a thin layer of dust on the floor and no signs of anyone inhabiting the home. If she had to guess, Gin had probably come back here now and then when he needed the solitude and his own quarters were less than ideal. Had he planned his betrayal here too? What had he meant when he'd looked at her and apologised? Why…why did he leave her alone again?
Shaking her head to rid herself of such thoughts, she brushed away the tears that she felt building in her eyes and began to search the nooks and crannies for any hint of what had been going through Gin's head. She doubted that he had left anything behind lest it be used against him, but she hoped otherwise.
As she lifted up a floorboard to a little hidey-hole she remembered Gin carving, her hairs stood on end as she sensed a dense, malevolent reiatsu flare up near her. Debating whether to call for reinforcements first, or investigate on her own, she masked her own reiatsu as best as she could, before heading towards the pillar of energy she felt.
When she arrived near the source though, instead of a hollow being the cause of the disturbance, she instead found Ichigo Kurosaki, hunched over on his knees, his head in his hands as he shook violently. Before her stunned eyes, his signature blue aura mutated into a violent purple storm, engulfing the area around him.
The ground itself seemed to die, as plants withered away into dust and what little life was present in the area was snuffed out in a heartbeat. Despite standing several metres away from the cloud of death he was emitting, she still felt the sickly feeling of his reiatsu pass over her, sparing her only due to her own considerable power.
As she pondered how to knock him out without putting herself at risk, he threw his head back and uttered a low, guttural howl, sending a shiver down her spine at how eerily similar to a hollow's it was, before his reiatsu seemed to collapse in on himself, leaving him lying face down on the ground.
Approaching him as cautiously as she could, she rolled him over onto his back, before cradling his head in her hands as it lolled about from side to side. "Ichigo? Can you hear me Ichigo?" she asked, watching him intently as his eyes blinked slowly up at her.
"M-mom?" he whispered under his breath, surprising her slightly, before he passed out from the stress placed on his body.
XXX
Okay Chapter 4 done and dusted. Now let me explain how and why he dominated the fight so completely and the events at the end. Beware of spoilers for current chapters in the manga.
During his first fight with Kenpachi, he drew with the guy when he only had his shikai. Admittedly, this was due in part to his Quincy side adding his power to his Soul Reaper side.
Now while I can understand Kenpachi's power growing with each defeat, Ichigo unlocked his Bankai, which is supposed to increase the wielders power by 5-10 times. Case in point, Rukia was unable to recognise Renji's reiatsu back during his fight with Byakuya as it was too high and she only recognised it once it had fallen back to more familiar levels.
Also consider that his hollow is a highly perceptive combatant, able to outmanoeuvre a Captain like Byakuya and catch him unaware. If Ichigo had to adopt his mentality and perception, I don't doubt that he would overwhelm someone who had already grown accustomed to Ichigo's normal style.
I've mentioned in the past that his emotions are going to run amok with him, so the bloodlust, the anger etc. are nothing new.
As for the scene at the end, well, for now let's just say that I was influenced by the Quincy techniques displayed by Ishida's Letzt Stil and Quilge Opie's Sklaverei. There'll be a more in depth look at it in the future.
