Yay, another update! Ichigo gets hurt, what will happen next?
He stood up then, Aizen stepped aside and observed quietly as the orange headed teenager walked slowly towards the three shinigami near the door. Ichigo's expression was almost unreadable as he strode so calmly forward. When he reached the captain, his hand shot out and gripped the other mans throat in a vice-like hold. Hitsugaya's hands shot up to pry at the solid gripping hand around his skinny neck, but to no avail; all he could do was choke and splutter, unable even to make any words. Rangiku jumped forward, unsheathing her sword as she lunged for Ichigo's arm, trying to slice it in an attempt to free her superior. Ichigo's free hand quickly shot forward and pushed her back with unnerving accuracy into the chair he had once occupied. All the while his face showed little to no emotion.
"What the hell are you thinking Ichigo!" Renji was so enraged that he couldn't move; he didn't even glance at the struggling captain as he spouted his anger in Ichigo's blank face. "You're going to kill him! Let him go now you idiot! We're not the enemy!"
Now Renji was shaking Ichigo, holding his shoulders and swinging him back and forth violently. Ichigo's grip on the white haired captain loosened enough for Toushiro to be released, and he collapsed to the floor, gasping and coughing. Ichigo's hand fell limp by his side; he didn't make any effort to avoid or stop Renji's actions, just simply stood there and took them.
"Listen to me Ichigo! Listen, we are your friends! We helped you through so many hard times, if only you could remember something! Just listen! If you come back to the shop now, Mr. Urahara will help you regain what you lost! And if you still can't remember, then we'll just have to make more memories to fill you up!" Renji had stopped shaking Ichigo, and now stood holding him out in front of him, looking for any reaction to his words. There was none though, and he sighed in defeat, knowing that Ichigo would be their enemy now.
"Why?" Aizen turned swiftly when he heard the voice of the confused strawberry. "Why? Why? Why?"
'King, you are remembering stuff, aren't you?' Ogichi said in the back of my mind, I ignored him and listened as a memory played finally in my mind. It was a nice memory, I was with two young girls and an old man, they were my family, and we were having fun. The girls, Karin and Yuzu were their names, ran around chasing each other and laughing, while my father walked behind me laughing along with some odd joke that didn't make any sense. I was looking up the hill and I saw a girl, she had raven black hair and violet eyes, this was the same girl that had been in the living world with the rest of the black robed shinigami. I was looking at her and we talked, about something unimportant and light-hearted. We talked and I prayed I front of my mother's grave while the girl, Rukia, hung back and eventually left. I felt sad as the memory fell away, I tried to hold on to it, but it slipped through my grasp and I could not remember what happened next.
I had remembered something. What had made it click, though? My thoughts were even more confused now. Aizen had told me that I belonged in Las Noches, but in that memory, I was friends with the shinigami.
'King, king, king. Che, you just have a very twisted past. Heheheeee...' Ogichi's presence faded away before I could respond, so I focused on what was happening around me.
I had passed out, I looked around and found myself on the floor being fanned by the same man that had brought in the tea earlier. I looked around, but a sudden headache made me stay still and tense up.
"Ya hit your head pretty hard when you fell Ichi! Are you feeling any better? I'm Gin Ichimaru, Aizen's number one assistant!" He smiled down at me, I hated the nickname.
"Don't call me Ichi."
"Oh, sorry, does it bother you? What about Strawberry? Yes, it's strawberry then!" It looked like he wouldn't change his mind now, so I just let it go and moved on to sitting up. It was painful, but I did it, just to see Aizen watching from his chair, and the three shinigami tied up in the corner. The female one looked like she was hurt pretty badly, and Toushiro was still coughing, although Renji sat still looking down with anguish in his eyes.
At that moment, I knew that the shinigami must be telling the truth about being my friend, but I also knew that Aizen was much too powerful to go against him on his own terrain, so I decided to play loyalty to his side and join the others when the time was right. If it didn't turn out they really were lying...
Aizen was still drinking tea as I stood up and walked up to the chair next to his. I sat down and rubbed my eyes, this had been one very exhausting day. My mind swam through everything that had happened, and then I hit a wall where my memories had been blocked. I still couldn't remember anything from before yesterday. Although I still held on to the memory of a memory about that happy day, long ago.
"Is there something wrong, Ichigo?" Aizen's voice startled me out of my thoughts and I jumped a little in my seat.
"Huh, no I'm fine, just really tired after today's events." I replied, still holding my head in my hands.
"Gin, why don't you show Ichigo to his room now, as he probably still can't remember where it is..." Aizen trailed off as I stood and followed Gin out the door and down another maze of winding corridors.
"Tsk, Aizen really does like you. You know that though right?" The offsetting look of Gin's eyes made me shiver a little.
"Uh, yeah, I guess so. I don't really remember though."
"Well, one other thing you should know," He said as we finally reached our destination, a door that led to a neat little room. "You have many, many enemies."
With that he turned and waved goodbye, marching off down the hall like he hadn't a care in the world. I couldn't concentrate enough as I lay on the bed, about what he had said. How many enemies did I really have? That one question lay heavy on my mind as I slowly drifted into sleep.
Rukia laid in Ichigo's closet, peeking out of the slightly opened door at Ichigo's cold, empty bed. Just that morning the horrible kingfisher had wounded him, and now he couldn't remember anything and had gone over to the enemy's side. She sighed and rolled onto her back, closing the closet door all the way, and staring into the darkness. Urahara hadn't found a single thing about that bug, not even a trace of the poison given to Ichigo remained, so it was virtually impossible to find a cure without having Ichigo with them. Everybody had gone back to his or her own homes, after staying at the shop all day, there wasn't much else to do.
She rolled onto her side and pulled her pillow down by her side, holding it tightly in the night.
Orihime slept in her bed, surrounded by plush animals and soft pillows, the moonlight shone through her window and highlighted a small tear as it fled down her face and into the sheets.
Urahara still sat at his computer, even though it was long past midnight and all the lights were off. His face shadowed by the light of the computer screen, flickering as images projected themselves all over the monitor, waiting to be read. He wouldn't stop working until he had pinpointed Ichigo's whereabouts, and found a cure for his memory loss.
Ichigo's dreams were filled with horrible creatures that he feared would destroy him. He tossed and turned as the nightmares threatened to consume him. His sheets were crumpled on the floor and his body slick with sweat. Suddenly he shot straight up and woke up with a shout. He looked around in for a moment with panic and confusion in his eyes until he finally remembered where
"It was just a dream, just a dream..." He mumbled to himself, rocking a little bit on his back as he lay down and tried to go back to sleep. The crescent moon shone brightly through the little window above his bed and he stared at the shining light it gave off.
'Hey king, since your awake, why don't we go have some fun?' The hollows voice sounded almost menacing in my head. My heart was still pounding from the nightmare, and I was still really tired.
"No, I just want to go to sleep!" My voice came out a little bit angrier than I had intended.
'Aww, come on! I won't do any damage, just scare some people! King, you can sleep in your inner world while I do everything for you!' He made it sound so innocent, I still didn't think it was such a good idea though, and told him so.
'Fine then, if you want to make this hard on yourself, I'll just take over, you're not strong enough at the moment to stop me!'
I felt an overwhelming presence enveloping me, I sat up and looked down at my hands, just to see them turn a sickening white color and form claws. I jumped up and ran to the door, trying to warn someone of what was happening, I made it to the hall before the darkness swept me in and I fell down into nothingness. At least I'd be able to sleep.
Ogichi finally had power, his body was still that of Ichigo's, although now his skin and hair was white, and his eyes were black and yellow. The white Heuco Mundo clothing gave Ogichi the look of a ghost.
He let out a yell and ran down the hallway, looking to pick a fight with whomever he found first. He turned a corner and let out another loud bellow, now the inhabitants were waking up, a few of them stepping out of their rooms to see what was going on.
Grimmjow heard the commotion from his room, and he sprinted out to engage the enemy. As he turned the corner and saw Ogichi standing there, strangling a few minor hollows, his expression turned to one of shock. Nobody had ever seen this form of Ogichi. Grimmjow didn't wait any longer as he dashed towards the white shinigami, slashing out with his clawed hands. Just as he was about to hit flesh, Ogichi turned and punched Grimmjow across his face, sending the arrancar flying into the wall. Ogichi dropped the small hollow he had been strangling and walked across the hall and through the hole in the wall, carefully picking his way through the piles of debris scattered on the ground until he found the huddled form of his opponent.
"Now that's not all it took to kill ya, was it? You were mighty disappointing..." He aimed a kick at the body, but it was up in a flash and zooming in for another attack. " I knew it, you are a good opponent. Hehehehaahaaaaahaaahahahaa!" Ogichi let out a cackling laugh as he dodged all of Grimmjow's attacks. He still had yet to draw his sword. Grimmjow could not seem to get a hit in, so he finally pulled out his sword, letting it grind against the sheath, creating a ghastly screeching noise. Ogichi only laughed louder as he saw the blue haired arrancar draw his sword.
"Your so pathetic, I don't know why Ichigo ever had trouble fighting you!" Ogichi yelled out, still dodging the blade. He had taken only a few steps this entire time. He laughed as Grimmjow put failed to hit him with every swing. "Eh, why so quiet? You aren't usually this way, Che, whatever, but I'm getting bored now, so why don't we end this."
Ogichi took one step forward, shooting his hand straight out and straight towards Grimmjow's unguarded stomach. Grimmjow immediately reacted, trying to jump back before the hand pierced him, but there was no need. Ogichi had stopped moving; his crazed expression had disappeared, replaced by one of shock and horror. A thin silver blade protruded from his stomach, blood began to seep through the stark white clothes, and drip down onto the floor. He turned his head to see the attacker.
Gin stepped out of the shadows, still holding his sword; he walked in a slow circle, forcing Ogichi to spin with him. With a sudden jerk, the sword ripped itself out of Ogichi's abdomen. "Aagh, you, heh, hehehahahahaaaaa!"
Ogichi doubled over, but remained upright, clutching at his wound. He laughed out loud. Blood poured over his lips as he choked, but still he remained laughing. Aizen appeared then and whispered to Gin, who promptly sheathed his sword and walked off. Grimmjow was dismissed too, and Aizen stepped over the rubble to face Ogichi. Ogichi was now fully doubled over, and letting out only a small gurgling chuckle.
"Why are you laughing, even when you are greatly wounded?" Aizen questioned.
"Cause...it's all just...just so, so funny! !" He erupted into crazy spouts f laughter, only pausing as he began to choke on the blood spilling into his mouth. He should have lost consciousness.
Aizen turned away from the bloody shinigami, how could someone like Ichigo have such a thing within him. It didn't seem right, but for now they had to treat his wounds or else they faced the problem of losing a very powerful asset.
"Come on, we must treat your wounds, stop laughing or you'll only make it worse." A team of oddly shaped hollows appeared and began to pick up Ogichi and take him to the medical wing, but he continued to struggle, all the while giggling like a maniac. The hollows finally restrained him, strapping him down on a stretcher and bearing him away.
They placed the insane shinigami in a private room as they dressed his wound. The doctor administered a shot of clear liquid that soon put Ogichi into a drugged sleep. His entire body was limp, save for the occasional giggle.
Aizen sat at the control desk staring at the security video showing the room Ogichi was being treated in. Gin entered and placed a tray of tea on the counter, then took the other chair for himself.
"So you knew this would happen right? Are ya gonna make him lose his memory again?"
"No, I will only make the memories already lost even harder to regain. That way there is no chance that he will ever go against us." Aizen said, sipping his tea and staring down into the monitor as another shot of purple liquid was administered to the now tan Ichigo.
I woke up in another strange room, my stomach hurt like crazy, and when I tried to sit up, a powerful migraine made me collapse back down. I still couldn't remember anything about my life.
"How did I get this wound?"
'Che, it wasn't my fault, Gin caught me from behind, backstabbing jerk...' Ogichi muttered in my head.
"I thought you were just going to have some fun."
'I was, the blue haired guy and I sparred a little, that's all, I don't know why anybody else had to interfere...' He trailed off and left me to my own thoughts as I slumped down onto my pillow. So while I was sleeping Ogichi had gone off and gotten me stabbed. This was confusing, I thought he was just inside of me, how could he even come out like that.
I was interrupted from my thoughts as two nurses came in and insisted on giving me some shots. I didn't like the look of the thick purple liquid in the glass vials though. I sat up, ignoring the pain in my abdomen and tried to argue that I was feeling better and didn't need any more medicine.
"You must let us give you this shot though! It is very important." The first nurse said, thrusting the needle at me.
"No, I don't need any shots!" I jumped up and grabbed my sword off the bedside table, holding it in front of me as the nurses backed up. I circled around until I had my back to the door, then I turned and sprinted out of there. I ran down the halls, trying to ignore the increasing pain I was feeling. My feet stumbled and I tripped, sprawling myself onto the ground, I grunted as I tried to haul myself back up. As I kept running, I felt my wound open up and a dark red began to seep out of the thick bandages wrapped around it. My vision was blurry and I couldn't run straight anymore. I kept hitting the walls and tripping over my own feet. I felt light-headed and had to stop and catch my breath. Bending over and breathing deeply I noticed that everything below my waist was stained a dark bloody red. And then I passed out.
Ichigo fell forward, bashing his head on the corner of a wall as he slumped down onto the ground. Aizen turned abruptly from the monitor's light and rushed out of the room. By the time he reached Ichigo, a medical crew had arrived and was tending to him on the spot. His stomach wound was ripped open wide from running so hard, and a new gash had appeared on his forehead from hitting the wall. A small puddle of blood had formed around the shinigami.
"I trust he'll survive, right doctor?" Aizen spoke softly to the head doctor.
"Of-of course Lord Aizen, we are doing everything to ensure his survival."
Ogichi stood next to Ichigo on the side of a blue building. Staring at the unconscious shinigami. Suddenly Ichigo's eyes flickered, and opened. He stood up and looked around, before facing Ogichi.
"Where am I? And why can I see you?" He demanded.
"Cause, king, this is your inner world. You still can't remember anything about this can you?" Ogichi mumbled.
Ichigo felt that he should remember this place; he knew his sword Zangetsu lived here, and Ogichi too. But he had no memories of its appearance or every being there before.
"Where is Zangetsu?"
Ogichi looked over his shoulder, and Ichigo saw a man in a dark billowing cloak standing not too far away from them. He looked middle aged and he was standing right on top of a thin stick.
"Old man, your still here, that is you right, I remember you for some reason, why?"
"It is because I am always with you and we have a special link that can never be severed. So you will always remember me. But now is not the time for talking, Ichigo, you are about to be given a drug that will lock away your memories forever. You must go back out and stop them."
"Okay!" I left my inner world and awoke to the worst pain I had ever felt. When I passed out I had hit my head, doubling the headache I had had before and now my stomach wound was rippled open even more. A bunch of doctors were crowded around me, and I could see one was about to inject a large vial of purple liquid in me. I lashed out and knocked the purple fluid onto the ground, where the vial shattered. I rolled over and stood up, shakily at first but I began to run again. The pain was now numb as I ran. My footsteps echoed on the walls and I was immediately lost. I heard shouting and footsteps behind me every time I slowed down, so I could not stop and rest. The next corner took me to a dead end, so I unsheathed my sword and hit the wall with all my might. A light flashed and then the wall exploded outward. I turned around and saw a mob of nurses and doctors rushing towards me, all armed with vials of the purple liquid. Before they had a chance to reach me I jumped. Just as they threw all of the vials at me.
Captain Hitsugaya, Rangiku, and Renji all ran down hallway after hallway, trying to find an exit. They had escaped when they heard a commotion above them and the guards assigned to watch them had left to check it out. Finally they reached a dead end, Captain Hitsugaya yelled in frustration.
"Why don't we just use Hyorinmaru to bust open the wall?" Rangiku thought out loud. She had barely even finished her sentence as Toushiro used his zanpakuto to bust the wall down. They ran out onto the sand and began to head away from the castle as fast as they could.
Seconds after they had begun to run, an explosion from behind stopped them in their tracks. One of the walls a few stories above them had been blown up. When the dust cleared, they saw a familiar orange mop of hair dive out of the opening and plunge downwards.
"Quickly, we have to go help him!" Renji started running.
"No, what if he's still on their side? Then we would be trapped!" Toushiro grabbed Renji's arm and held him back.
"If he were on their side, why would he bust down a wall and jump out?" Renji's comment made perfect sense, and with only a second's hesitation, all three of them were sprinting across the sand to reach their fallen comrade.
Please Read and Review my amazing story! Just a few more reviews for another update, and any and all criticism welcome!