Book One: Earth

Chapter Four

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"Don't touch him."

Kurosaki's voice rang out into the stadium as the dust settled, and Grimmjow's eyes widened with excitement, his smile growing into a teeth-baring grin as he barked out a laugh. "You finally decide to make an appearance then, Avatar," he said in a rumbling tone.

Gasps rang out from the crowd of trapped people, and Grimmjow lifted his arm and flicked the back of his hand toward his waiting guards. They immediately moved out of the way of the scrambling, petrified crowd, allowing the townsfolk to pour out of the exits, only a few staying to sit with family members who had been injured in altercations with the guards or trapped in the wreckage.

"I don't know why you're calling me the Avatar, but if you hurt my dad I swear—"

Grimmjow waved his hand dismissively, the smile falling from his lips as he approached the platform's edge to look out at the earthbender, a feeling of surprise overtaking him as the dust finally cleared and the age of the supposed Avatar became more clear.

He couldn't be older than eighteen, and seemed to be around his own age. It certainly wasn't what the Fire Nation prince had come prepared for.

"Don't worry, he won't be harmed as long as you come quietly," the general said, a puzzled expression overtaking him as he looked the orange-haired teenager up and down.

Ichigo stiffened and froze in place, every muscle in his body protesting. He gritted his teeth together, and looked to his father, unable to read his wide-eyed expression.

"Tick-tock," Grimmjow hummed, his smirk widening again as he trailed casually closer to the black-haired man's chair, kicking out one of its legs and sending it clattering to the ground. Isshin collapsed with the chair he was bound to and hit the ground with a muffled groan of pain.

Ichigo roared, his vision fizzling out as his heart rate spiked, and Grimmjow's eyes widened in excitement as he watched the Avatar's eyes glow ominously, and the earth all around them began to shake violently. Ichigo felt his thoughts begin to lull, an odd feeling of peace and serenity sweeping over him and his feet starting to leave the ground as the air around him whipped faster and faster. He could hear his own racing heart start to fade into the background as a whooshing noise drowned out his senses.

The blue-haired Fire Nation prince leaped toward the bound man as the Avatar began to lift from the ground and the earthquake intensified, pulling him and the broken chair off the ground with one hand and using the other to hold a flame close to the man's face. "Stop, and come with me now, or he dies," he shouted over the winds, ignoring the muffled sounds of terror from his men as they shifted restlessly, the rhino riders struggling to hold their mounts still as they bucked and spun in circles.

For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of the roaring wind in his ears, and then very slowly Ichigo's eyes flickered, and his feet gently touched the ground again, the earth slowing to a slight rumble as he forced out a long, slow exhale, and the senses of his surroundings slowly returned. He blinked, a wave of exhaustion suddenly rushing through him, and he forced out a stiff nod, not sure what had just happened. "Let him go," he said quietly.

Grimmjow nodded, then motioned toward his guards with his chin. Two swept up from behind Ichigo, grabbing his arms and pulling them behind his back, quickly cuffing him with metal handcuffs.

"Let him go now," the orange-haired Avatar reiterated, his voice nearing a snarl.

"Of course," Grimmjow replied with a slight smile, and walked away from the bound man, motioning with his hand to the rest of his militia. A few soldiers split off and quickly cut free Isshin, leaving the gag in place.

A feeling of relief swept over him as he caught a last glimpse of his father rubbing at his rope-burned wrists and reaching up to pull off his own gag, before he was roughly turned around by the guards holding him, seeing in the corner of his eye his dad being held back by some militia as he tried to move toward Ichigo. The Avatar pinched his eyes closed, feeling confused, tired, but at ease now that he knew his dad was okay. As he was pushed out of the stadium, he heard Renji's familiar voice roaring something unintelligible, and he felt his shoulders droop even further as he realized he was okay, too.

The orange-haired earthbender ignored the sound of the Fire Nation general's voice barking orders as he was herded on to an ugly, black, metal ship that stank of cold metal, sea, and smoke. He knew in that moment he should have felt fear, but Ichigo found he couldn't find anything inside himself other than relief that it was in his power to save his friends and family.

There were a few moments of blissful quiet as the men loaded back on to the ship, the blue-haired general loading up last, and then the sickening creak of the ship's metal tip snapping back upright, blotting out the sight of flames burning down his village that Ichigo could sense behind closed eyes.

It was dark.

Ash spiraled down, silently covering scalded stones with a hot, black blanket. There were soft cries and confused voices, some fires being put out, others left burning because the damage was so far gone.

"I don't understand, why did they want Ichigo?" Renji shouted, having given up on trying to escape Rukia's grip on his arms, her feet and ankles rooted to the ground with rocks. He glared in distress at the departing Fire Nation cruiser containing their friend, its tall smoke stack pumping out plumes of noxious black gas furiously. "What were they talking about? Avatar?" He laughed desperately. "Ichigo isn't the Avatar, why did he go with them?!"

Rukia shook her head slowly, gently releasing her friend, her own expression uncharacteristically unsure. "I don't know," she spoke quietly, searching the sounds and vibrations surrounding her until she found what she was looking for. "We need to speak with Isshin."

"Yeah, yeah you're right, maybe he'll know what's going on, let's go," Renji said, sounding only slightly more calmed. He began to scan the distressed crowd, but before he could find the man he was being pulled by his sleeve towards the stadium, which most of the townspeople were fleeing like the plague.

The two teenagers slipped past Rukia's older brother, Byakuya, who was talking quietly with a small group of worried shop owners. He hadn't been at the festival but had shown up shortly after seeing the ash from his estate outside of town. They made their way south towards the platform, zigzagging between turned over chairs, rubble, and concerned older citizens who had once served in the militia.

"My son! My only child! Oh I knew this would happen, he was bound to get kidnapped—" Isshin wailed inconsolably from atop the stadium as some of the townsfolk comforted him, a frail elderly lady pulling away when one of his flailing arms got too close to smacking her in the face.

Renji sped up, jogging up the stairs, Rukia directly behind him. "Mr. Kurosaki!" the redhead shouted as he approached, drawing the large, whimpering man's head up. "Why did they take Ichigo, what was that all about?" he shouted heatedly, getting worked up again, "Why aren't you going after him? I—"

"Renji! You were always Ichigo's second favorite friend!" The tall dark-haired man pushed himself up, grabbing the tall redhead and guiding him immediately away from the crowd of people who'd been consoling him. He stopped when they were at the edge, and he looked down at Rukia and then him with a suddenly serious expression, his words rushed. "Why are you not with Urahara? You should be gone by now."

Renji opened his mouth. Then closed it. He opened it again. "Sir...?" he asked the burly man with hesitance. "Why would we—"

"There's no time!" Isshin whisper-shouted, shaking Renji as he spoke. "Go to Kisuke Urahara. I can't go with you, I'm being watched." He nodded his head a few times to the ground below them and off to the right.

Renji lifted a red brow and slowly followed the path at which the man was motioning. There were no less than ten tall men in black hooded robes, only their faces visible, watching them closely. One spit on to the ground. His chest puffed up, and he started to reach for his dagger.

"Listen to me," Isshin said, shaking the teen again and making his teeth clack together. "Go now, there's no time, if they get to open sea your chances will be almost non-existent."

Renji pinched one eye as he took in a slow breath to speak.

"Mr. Hat and Clogs?" Rukia asked, pushing herself into the small circle. She looked up with unseeing eyes, her expression determined. "Where is he?"

Renji frowned, and opened his mouth again.

"He should be at my house," Isshin said in a hurry, and then glanced over at the group of poorly disguised Fire Nation soldiers, who were beginning to glare at him suspiciously, before pulling Renji and Rukia into an uncomfortable hug. "Thank you, thank you for your concerns, may Ichigo live on in our hearts!" He spoke in an abnormally loud voice.

Then the built man released them and discreetly shoved them back towards the stairs with an unusually sincere look.

Ichigo fell into a fitful sleep. He tried for a while to keep himself awake in the dark of his cell, at the very bottom floor of the cruiser, but the persisting exhaustion wouldn't go away.

In his dream he saw the feathered red panda, bounding away. A blue wisp of a girl holding a peace lily. A massive, white, winged wolf, at least the size of a small elephant, reaching out its snout and touching its wet nose to his head, then licking him in a friendly, dog-like manner. Then the wolf howled, the noise chilling Ichigo to his core, and he found himself awake again in his cell, gasping for breath but feeling more awake as the boat rocked with the rhythm of the ocean.

A torch was burning outside his metal cell, and he locked gazes with his blue-haired captor, noting his cobalt eyes illuminated by his fire-lit torch.

"What do you want from me?" Ichigo asked quietly as the man settled down cross-legged outside of the cell, ignoring the ache in his arms from where he was cuffed still.

"Me? Nothing. My father, on the other hand, sees the Avatar as a threat to his rule," the man replied, head tilted with an inquisitive look.

Ichigo blinked, opened and then closed his mouth, and puzzled at the man for a moment. He looked different without his armor on, and he berated himself for noticing that he wasn't bad-looking, either—despite his cotton-candy blue hair and all.

"I'm not the Avatar you know," he offered, rolling on to his side away from the Fire Nation general. "Who's your dad, anyway?"

"Fire Lord Aizen," the response came with a jeering tone attached. "And unfortunately, playing dumb isn't going to get you released."

Ichigo felt his blood chill, his eyes widening slightly as he stared unseeing into the dark at the wall farthest from him. The ground was frigid beneath him, but suddenly none of that mattered.

He was going to die. The Fire Lord was going to kill him, either because he wasn't the Avatar, or because he thought he was the Avatar and wanted him dead anyway.

"I've got to admit, you're a lot younger than I anticipated."

Ichigo snorted at that, pressing his face into the cold metal flooring and letting his eyes drift closed. "Thanks, but I assume you didn't come down here to compliment me," he said scathingly.

"I'm here to ensure you don't escape. None of my men are competent enough for me to trust them," the prince responded, sounding thoroughly miffed as he lit candles around himself in a meditation circle, having put out his torch and set it aside.

"Oh yeah, got to worry I'll earthbend my way out of this metal ship," Ichigo replied sarcastically, gritting his teeth as he heard the flames of the candles light one-by-one. He hated that sound. "Watch out," he snapped, his tone biting.

Grimmjow laughed, and then nothing else was said. Ichigo ground his teeth together harder and pressed his forehead into the metal floor, trying to ignore the light while the man meditated in silence.

"How long do I—until we get to the Fire Nation capitol?" Ichigo asked quietly after a moment.

"A few days, weather permitting."

"Good morning!" a sing-song voice awoke Ichigo the next day. He rolled over and sat up in a single motion, brown eyes pinched with sleep and disorientation. The boat was still, and the earthbender stared blankly at the grey-haired, fox-like man who stood outside of his cell.

There was a tray of food laid out in front of him, with a steaming glass of warm-smelling tea on the side.

"What's this?" Ichigo asked blankly as he blinked at the buttered roll and oatmeal with fresh fruit on top of it, his stomach rumbling quietly at the sight.

"Breakfast and tea," the man chirped, tucking his hands into his sleeves and smiling. He'd been smiling to begin with, but now he was smiling... more.

Ichigo peered around the man's legs and then suddenly realized his hands weren't cuffed anymore, and lifted them up to his face, seeing the red marks the binds had left and rubbing his wrists idly.

Then he blinked and looked around for the blue-haired Fire Nation prince. He was gone, and so were all his stupid candles. "Where—uh, I mean, thanks," Ichigo said, reaching down and taking a bite of the roll and chewing quietly.

"Those are poisoned," the man said with an even wider smile.

Ichigo's eyes widened and spit the food out in to a conveniently placed napkin.

"Just kidding, that would be silly," the grey-haired firebender said. "Bye-bye!" he called over his shoulder, lifting a hand to wave as he strolled out of the dungeon.

Ichigo blinked, looked down at his food, and then sprawled on to his back to stare at the ceiling for a little while.

The door of the dungeon was swung open a couple hours later, and Ichigo stopped in his pacing to look at the door, finding himself once again face to face with the Prince of the Fire Nation.

He was carrying a new tray of food, and Ichigo looked down at his untouched breakfast tray, feeling an unwarranted pang of guilt that he quickly brushed aside. It wasn't like he was their guest or something. He was a prisoner.

Grimmjow followed his gaze down to the untouched meal and seemed nonplussed, simply setting the food tray aside on a table outside the cell.

"Let's fight," Grimmjow said, approaching the lock to Ichigo's door with a key in his hand.

"What?" Ichigo asked in a stunned voice, chocolate eyes widening as his jaw dropped slightly.

"I'm practicing today, and my current Master is no longer a challenge. I figure that there's little more challenging than the Avatar himself," the man explained as he turned the key in the lock of the door, pulling it open.

Ichigo blinked several times. "How am I supposed to fight you out in the middle of the ocean?" he deadpanned.

Grimmjow snorted. "You have the whole sea. Look at it this way: if you drown me, you get to go free. And if I win, I'm not allowed to kill you. It's a win-win."

Ichigo gaped openly at the blue-haired madman.

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