Author's note: I FELT LIKE DIVING RIGHT INTO THE FOURTH CHAPTER!! THAT'S RIGHT, MIND, WE'RE DIVING INTO THE ABYSS OF CREATIVITY FOR ROUND 2!! Mind: ...-.- I cannot tell you how much I loathe you...
WOO! I'M LOATHED!! 83 Is that a good thing? Do I win? SOMEONE ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS PLEASE!! Enjoy!
"DAMMIT!" I yelled oh so very loudly. People around me stared for a second, but I was dismissed as some kind of nuisance.
That moron was about to make this whole live whatever go to hell in a fucking handbasket. Dammit all, why now!? Can't he do this during one of his non-live ones. That way only the people stupid enough to work around him get hurt. Well they probably get paid a good stack of cash...
"OH KINU-CHAN!!" That was what I heard before slamming into the ground AGAIN! I snarled and glared at Ryu.
"Ryu...GET-THE HELL-OFF ME-NOW!" I yelled, kicking him a good two feet in the air before he went flying into the concrete ten feet away. I was too used to the routine by now. Get tackled, force off with violence, get up, brush self off, and then sigh about life. Voila! As Narumi went over to try and help Ryu, Ari walked right up to me and glared at me."What's with the look, Ari? Did I break a law or something?"
"Where'd you run off to? One minute I'm trying to save Ryu from death by obsessed fans, the next I have Narumi and Ryu up my ass asking me where you went." How wonderful for him. If he expects sympathy, he came to the wrong chick. Since I had to answer his question, I wondered if I should tell the truth. Why Kinu! I'm appalled you'd lie to your friends! I would never EVER lie to anyone ever! Mental note: Kick Eri's ass the first chance that comes. Damned sarcastic thousand year old bitch. So seemed lying was the best option here...
"She went off to ask Ichigo something I think. That's the direction she was going," Haruka said to Ari. He turned wildly around to look at her with this odd look on his face. He turned back an gave me a scowl.
"WHAT!? IF YOU WANT TO KEEP ME SO CLOSE BY, THEN BUY AN EFFING LEASH!! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR-!!"
"AH-HAH! YOU DO LIKE ICHIGO!!" I spun one-eighty to see Narumi and Ryu proclaiming and pointing at me very 'AH-HAH!' like. I was so going to...
"THE HELL!? HOW DOES THAT EVEN IMPLY I-" The Jibaku/soon to be Hollow thanks to stupid effing spiritualist cried out and Don Kanonji was saying how it'd be quick and then he'd pass on. Sounded more like he was reassuring his murder victim to me. Here comes the fun part I grumbled to myself, attempting to run away from everyone. There was three hands squeezing my right arm, and I looked back to see Narumi, Ryu, and Ari. Narumi was pouting, and Ryu and Ari was glaring. Haruka had no part of this, but was watching like she was analyzing it again. Joy.
"Where are you going?" they all asked at the same time, but with different tones. Narumi that concerned/sad tone, Ryu that wimpery tone, and Ari that strict-parent tone. I didn't have time to tell them, or they'd probably all die. Personally I like my friends who were originally living in my care to STAY that way. If I meet people when they're dead, then I don't have to worry about sending them to the first afterlife. Now the second...oops, I'm trailing off again.
"I'm sorry," I apologized."Please forgive me." The wind whisped and I was on top of the building. I couldn't stop Don, but I sure as hell could stop the Hollow if and when it came up here. It better...I'm getting bored... I thought and looked down to see Ichigo and Rukia being tackled by security. Aw, poor babies. Maybe I should've told them to leave this to me. I already figured the Hollow would appear up here. Not paying attention, I tripped while pacing and fell flat on my face. Ow...
Then I felt it. I heard that horrible scream like a thousand nails dragging on a chalkboard, felt the spiritual energy increase and condense, and used extremely colorful language to scold myself. Don't just lay there like a worthless shit-head, Kinu! Get the fuck up!
That's exactly what I need. Wonderful moral support from you, Eri. Now shut the-
Pain. There was a burning, stinging pain in my right arm which caused me to yell out."Your soul...seems...delicious. I neeeeeed it...delicious soul..." I'd zoned out, and the Hollow decided to take a sample chomp of me. I hated me so much right then I could not put it into words.
"So you wanna play 'Chomp-the-Kinu', eh bitch? Well bring it on!" I proclaimed rather loudly, praying no one heard me. I smacked the Hollow off and kicked it in the face. It tumbled back a few feet, regained its balance, and charged at me for round two. I started punching, blasting, and dodging unconsciously. What was Ichigo doing? Did he know I was up here? Maybe from the whole 'Chomp-the-Kinu' thing he did, but what was going on down there? Then something that I never expected to happen happened.
That damned Hollow took a bite at my leg and nearly ripped it clean off.
So to put it mildly, I was bleeding. To be blunt, I was loosing so much blood I could open a blood bank with it. They'd just have to be O...dammit all! Concentrate you idiot! Despite nearly dying of blood loss(For, what, the seventy-fifth time in my life?), I kept fighting that damned bitch. Unfortunately I couldn't carry on for that long. Everything was getting fuzzy and I was dizzy as hell.
Ichigo...I'm sorry...don't die, alright?
Ichigo was staring up at the roof, wondering how Kinu's fight was going.
He had heard her yell at the Hollow, but he couldn't hear any sounds of battle anymore. What had happened to Kinu? Dammit, she better not have died on him. Ichigo had already tried explaining to that stupid spiritualist that the thing up there was a Hollow, but he completely ignored him.
"COULD HE BE A DEMON COME TO AVENGE THE FALL OF THE OTHER SPIRIT!?" Kanonji yelled to try and explain what was going on to the crowd that was the Hollow's soon to be meal. Ichigo yelled at Kanonji to run, but he pushed Ichigo back and yelled,"RUN MY BOY! LEAVE THIS DEMON TO ME! COME EVIL SPIRIT! I SHALL BE YOUR OPPONENT!!"
"What're you doing you moron!" Ichigo yelled as he just barely stopped the Hollow from chomping Kanonji clean in half.
"Souls...need...more...souls...delicious..." Ichigo froze. More souls? That meant he managed to finish Kinu then, right? Ichigo didn't have much time to dwell on that thought cause the Hollow jumped backwards and then went for him and Kanonji again.
"Why didn't you run boy!?"
"Me run!? Why don't you run!?"
"How dare you-I will not run, boy! I cannot run!" That just plain confused Ichigo. Cannot...the hell does he mean? The Hollow dived for them, but Ichigo managed to grab Kanonji and skid out of the way in time. Glass shattered, and Ichigo jumped inside the building with Kanonji being dragged behind him."LET ME GO, BOY!!"
"You told me to run!" Ichigo replied with annoyance. This guy was really starting to annoy him.
"Yes, but not with me! I told you I cannot run!" Okay, Ichigo was pissed. He stopped and threw Kanonji. He skidded until his head hit the wall with a thud.
"You keep saying that! What the hell do you mean!? How come I can run, but you can't!? Explain!" Ichigo scowled at him, waiting for his reply. Kanonji stared at him for a moment.
"I....could throw the same question back at you."
"I'M ASKING THE QUESTIONS SO ANSWER ALREADY!!"
"It's because I am a Hero! While by nature I abhor conflict, I am a Hero who cannot back down from the enemy! Alas!" This fool wants me to smack him..."Boy, do you know the ratings for my show?"
"Huh!?" Ichigo managed to ask in disbelief. A second later he mumbled,"I wish I didn't..."
"PRECISELY!!" I didn't really answer you psycho."TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF CITIZENS WATCH MY SHOW! THAT'S ONE OF FOUR! And many of those viewers are children. After dinner with their families, they watch my heroics. By watching me battle unseen evil, they learn what courage is!" Ichigo was shocked. He does this for children...?"Now do you understand, boy? I cannot run with those children watching." Ichigo was silent."COME! WE MUST GO BACK TO THE BATTLE FIELD!"
"ARE YOU CRAZY!? IF WE GO NEAR THOSE PEOPLE, THEY'LL ALL GET DRAGGED IN! HEROS PROTECT THEIR FANS, RIGHT!? Hollows prioritize going after people like you and me with high spirit energy. It'll follow us in here, so nobody but us can get harmed."
"Boy...you're amazing," Kanonji said, staring in awe."You thought of all of that while you fought..."
The air suddenly became thick, and through the floor came the Hollow right below Ichigo. He jumped out of the way and grabbed the hilt of his sword. In one swift motion, Ichigo took out his sword and swung it. It stopped halfway between the swing. Ichigo realized that his sword was stuck in the ceiling. Oh shit! This hallway is too small to swing my zanpaktou in here! How did I not think of that!? The Hollow opened it's mouth. Instead of biting him in two, the Hollow spit some weird gunk out of his mouth. It wrapped around Ichigo's hand."AGH! WHAT IS THIS GUNK!? I CAN'T GET IT OFF!" I'M SCREWED!! The Hollow cried again, and Ichigo snarled with less conviction than he'd have liked,"O-Okay! C'mon ugly! I'll kick you to death!" Ichigo lifted his foot, completely prepared to actually ATTEMPT his plan. Sometimes I think dad must've dropped me on my head... Ichigo thought sourly as he realized how much this situation sucked.
The Hollow charged for him, and Ichigo was about to kick him. Something else stopped the Hollow."Are you hurt, boy?"
"Kanonji!? You're no chance against a Hollow! RUN!"
"I'm aware of that. I may not be able to beat this beast, but I could not stand by. No one may ever know this, but you fight with the safety of others always in mind. It is very heroic! May I call you comrade?" No thanks... Ichigo thought, not able to take Kanonji seriously. Kanonji continued without his answer."And as my final act, may I fall like a leaf in autumn protecting you!"
"Kanonji!"
Ari was worried and confused.
Knowing this, he knew that Narumi and Ryu must have those same feelings times ten. They were all staring at the building, wondering were Kinu had disappeared to. Literally. It's not possible...she literally was gone with the wind. Kinu...where are you? Ari shook his head, making his black hair tousled. He couldn't lose hope. Kinu would smack him silly for it. He didn't know what she was doing, but he guaranteed himself it was dangerous. Of course, he didn't tell Narumi and Ryu that. He simply feinted a smile and reassured them.
He looked over to see Haruka just staring at the hospital, a look of indifference plastered on her face. That girl was giving him the creeps. That's all she'd been doing ever since Kinu disappeared. Like she was watching something going on that nobody else could see...
It was starting to kill him. Any other time Kinu was in too deep, Ari could come to the rescue. Obviously if he didn't know where she even WAS, let alone what kind of danger she was in, he couldn't do squat. What if she was dying? He mentally smacked himself. Quit it! That's not helping anyone! Also, Ichigo looked like he was out cold. Ari had this strange feeling that something else was going on...something much worse.
Ari sighed and perked his ears. There'd been someone's voice coming from the hospital. Call me crazy, but did I just hear Don Kanonji yell 'And as my final act, may I fall like a leaf in autumn protecting you!'? Please let me be crazy.
Kanonji yelled,"KANONJI STYLE ULTIMATE SECRET PRINCIPAL!"
Kanonji threw up a ball no bigger than Ichigo's eye and yelled,"CANNON BALL!"
"What-the hell-is that?" Ichigo asked."You don't think a Hollow can be killed with that...there's no way you're that-" The little 'cannon ball' slowly made it's way to Ichigo."-Kanonji?"
"Destroy!" The cannon ball kept putting along until it swerved slowly upward towards Ichigo's sword. Then it blew a hole right through the ceiling. Ichigo pulled down his freed sword. That wasn't bad Kanonji...
"Good job!" Ichigo said, charging towards the Hollow."Leave the rest to me!" This is in you're hands now, Hero. I'm beat...so good luck. You are forever my friend.
Ichigo could actually fight the Hollow, but not as freely as he had hoped. At least not while I have to protect Kanonji. And since my hands are still glued together, I can't split it's head clean in half. Ichigo managed to get his sword lodged into the Hollow's shoulder.
"GOOD JOB MY BO-I MEAN MY FRIEND! YOU CAN DO IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!" Shut the fuck up, Kanonji! Ichigo was suddenly lifted off his feet as the Hollow jumped up, crashed through the wall of the hospital, and ran up the wall to the ceiling. Ichigo was violently tossed off the Hollow and smashed into something and then the wall. Ugh...feels like I smashed into a corpse...oh no! He rolled up and turned to see he'd smashed into Kinu. Her face was white as snow, and she was stained with blood.
"Kinu!" Ichigo yelled, trying to see if she'd suddenly stagger up. To his relief she was breathing ever so lightly. She's alive...good. He made sure she was out of harms way, turned, and grimaced at the Hollow."Hey shit-face!" The Hollow probably couldn't understand, but his eyes narrowed at Ichigo none the less."You did that to her? This will make kicking your ass ten times more enjoyable." The Hollow screamed again and dived for Ichigo. He jumped and caused the Hollow to crash down into the roof.
"HA! Inside it was too small to really fight, and I had to protect Kanonji. So I couldn't really fight you full force. Now that he's not here you're toast!" Of course, the door that led inside burst open, and there was none other than Don Kanonji.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, boy!" You're freaking kidding me! Ichigo could've sworn that damned Hollow smirked at him and turned to charge at Kanonji.
"Run Kanonji!"
"Um...unfortunately, I can barely stand!" Then what the hell possessed you to come up here, dip-shit!? Crap! The Hollow ran for Kanonji, but Ichigo ran in front of him and cracked the Hollow upside the head. The Hollow skidded to the side and feebly managed to get up.
"Sorry to tell you, but it's all over," Ichigo said and split the Hollows mask clean in half.
"You did it! Wonderful! I knew you could! You are indeed my-"
"Kanonji. Don't jump for joy just yet."
"What are you saying, boy? You defeated the-" The Hollows shell began to dissolve into the air."What's happening?" Underneath the shell was the man Kanonji had 'cleansed'."But I cleansed him...didn't I?"
"That's what I was trying to explain. It isn't a monster. It's called a Hollow. Some souls are chained down by a chain from their chest. Whenever they finally become free, there's a hole left there. That's when the become a pure raging monster...a Hollow."
"Then...all I've done..." Kanonji fell to his knees. Had he simply caused more pain? More trouble?
Ichigo's expression was solemn."I don't know why, but the spirits the blew up in front of you didn't become Hollows, right? This time is different. You didn't have a clue about Hollows. I'm not saying your actions were correct, but feeling down now won't fix anything." Ichigo saw that Kanonji was sniffling. He heard the crowd cheering."Hey, no more tears Hero. You're public awaits." Kanonji got up and turned to the crowd."Well? Do something. That's what a Hero does, right?"
"BOHAHAHAHA!"
How wonderful to be awoken by that, huh? Sitting up frantically, I looked for signs of conflict. All I found was Don Kanonji 'Bohahahaha'-ing at the crowd, and Ichigo doing his regular crossing his arms but he was smiling. What kind of hell have I been damned to, eh? Well I'm still aching, so I think I'm alive. Plus I don't see my corpse lying around, so I think I'm living.
Ichigo turned his head towards me and walked over. He stared at me for a second, scowled, and went down on his knees."You close to dying yet, Kinu? That's what it seemed like when I got up here."
I made my most angry pout at him."Dammit all! I can't believe it! Ugh...!" I sighed heavily and stared at my hands. The were clammy and covered in my blood. I was useless again..."Ichigo..." He seemed startled by my change in tone."I'm-"
"WHAT'S THIS!?" I froze and Ichigo snapped his head towards that spiritualist."It seems there was a damsel in distress! Boy, why didn't you tell me!?" I felt like I was on fire with rage. Damsel in distress!?"Young miss, are you okay?"
"Put a sock in it," I growled."I'm fine, alright? I'm freaking fine! I lost, I'm pissed as hell, and I'm gone!" I stood up shakily with my back to them and expected to fall. My head turned slightly and I smiled softly."I'll catch you later, Ichigo. Don't die before then, got it?"
And with the wind, I was far from them. I looked around to see I'd flash stepped to a familiar street. My wounds burned, but I quickly dismissed them as nothing. My hand trembled as I slowly lifted it over my heart of ice. Why was it beating faster? Was I dying? Of course not Kinu! I scolded myself for being so foolish. You know why that's happening.
So why does the answer have to be so much more painful than death?
WOOO!! FOURTH CHAPTER! HELL YEAH! By the way, I'm more familiar with the manga. I'm not sure how much difference there is between the manga and the anime, but I'm following the manga. Just to inform you. DID YOU LIKE IT! WELL, DID YA!? DID YA!? I worked hard so please review! No flames though. Or else Salem-chan shall set the hounds of hell on you. =3 INDEED INDEED INDEED! What else did I want to add...oh yeah! BYE!! FIFTH CHAPTER WILL TAKE LONGER THAN THIS FOR SURE!! SORRY, BUT WOULD YOU RATHER I LIED!? 83 I'm just honest...BYE AGAIN!!