I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Naruto, Trinity Blood, or anything else besides the plot of this story and things which do not appear in any canon.
The Nymph's Blade-Chapter 6
"talking"
"Larxene, Axel, or Roxas talking from mind"
"Larxene, Axel, or Roxas talking in mindscape"
'Larxene, Axel, or Roxas thinking'
'Sora thinking'
The trio walked through the corridor between worlds, the grey of nothingness surrounding them. Looking over at Kairi, Sora placed a hand on her shoulder—she tried to hide it, but he could tell how hard it was for her to be here after being kidnapped by the Organization.
Picking up on what he was thinking, Axel sighed within his mind. "Sora, it was…well, we thought it was necessary at the time. We needed you to keep fighting and strengthen Kingdom Hearts. She was the best way."
'You thought you needed to kidnap Kairi just to make sure that I didn't quit? You all knew that I was fighting for a higher purpose, to protect the worlds from your actions. Why was it necessary?! Really, why?!'
He realized his mental voice was now a mental shout, and tried to control himself, but it was hard. The last year had been hellishly peaceful, and yet Kairi was still bothered by it! How could they have done something like that so lightly?
Axel raged back at him, "Did you ever consider that we didn't think that there would have been any 'higher' motivation at all! Sora, as far as we were concerned you were moving based on a personal grudge for interfering in worlds where your old friends lived! All we were trying to do was regain our hearts, damn it!"
'And that gave you the right to potentially destroy thousands of others and attack the people I was close to!'
Larxene, who had been quickly scanning Sora's memories in the background, suddenly rounded on Axel, slamming him into a crystalline pillar (which had conveniently risen from the floor of Sora's mindscape for that very purpose). "You're lying you bastard! You were always calling him Roxas, calling for him! You didn't kidnap Kairi to give Sora motivation, you were trying to lure him to The World that Never Was and bring Roxas back! Don't try to write this off as some necessary evil Axel, you were just trying to bring back your old friend!"
Axel, surprised by the source of the rebuttal, still managed to respond kind, "First of all, who wouldn't try to save a person that they considered a brother! Secondly, WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE! Larxene why are you arguing with me?! This is between ME and Sora! Kairi wasn't your friend; you never had anything to do with the situation at all! So why the HELL are you shouting at me!"
Larxene's eyes widened as he said this, and she staggered back, bracing herself on a suddenly appeared glass wall. 'Why do I care, it isn't like I knew her.' A flashed through her mind—
Kairi smiled from her seat on the papau tree, as Larxene lay in the sand, the sun shining down, the bright sea waves lapping at the edge of the beach. Riku waved at her, laughing as he ran over towards them with a wooden sword. Kairi grinned down at her, "So, what do you want to do today?"
The scene faded as Larxene gasped in horror. 'No, no, no! That-that wasn't me! That was him! I shouldn't care-it was never me back then, always-always him! So wh-why do I care?' Her mind struggled to reconcile her two sets of memories, pulling in different directions as it tried to make sense of the conflicting data.With a scream of terror and mental pain she collapsed to her knees, scene after scene flashing through her mind.
Axel didn't stop, advancing he spoke again, ignoring her breakdown, "See, this isn't your problem so leave me alone Larxene! Just shut the hell-!" Before he could finish the sentence a torrent of lightning hurled him back into the pillar where he slid to the ground. Blinded and deafened by pain, he heard someone shout. He struggled to stand, but found himself frozen, paralyzed, 'So that's how you want to play it Larxene, well fine I'll show you.' His thoughts came to a halt as his vision returned and his eyes widened.
Larxene was on the ground sobbing, her head resting on a black robed shoulder. Kneeling beside her with his arms wrapped around her was Sora whispering words of comfort to the terrified girl. It wasn't Larxene who'd attacked him, Axel realized, it was Sora. 'But that attack, that was one of Larxene's trademarks, how did Sora know it?'
He just sat there, eyes closed so as not to see the rather intimate moment. After a while Larxene calmed, and he half thought it a strange dream. Sora was glaring at him every so often while he spoke cheerfully with Larxene.
Larxene ('That is my name, right? I am Larxene, right?') floated in a void. Glimpses of her past ('No, this isn't my past. Or maybe it is?') hovered around her like scenes from a video, moments from the past playing out and fading away, only to replaced by more. They spun around her, more and more memories filling her vision.
She couldn't see the void anymore, just the memories, the moments of a life not her own. Kairi smiling, sparring with Riku, childhood mischief, it all flew by, wrapping her in a glowing cocoon memory. She was… fading… what… who... nothing… friends… enemies… a blonde woman… fading away…
"LARXENE!!!!!"
The word, the name, struck her like a physical force. She twitched from her position floating horizontally within the glowing sphere of memory. Green eyes opened, and a single word escaped her lips, "Sora…"
The sphere shattered, and suddenly Sora was holding her. Wearing a black organization cloak (which looked less odd on him than she would have thought), he had his arms around her. His cloak was still wet with tears she hadn't realized that she'd been crying. On his face was a look of concern and other things which she couldn't quite recognize.
What astounded her wasn't that, it was the look of knowing. He knew what she felt, he understood. 'Of course he knows, he has felt this too, this lack of consistency, this unstable sense of self.' She remembered who she was again, but she could still remember Kairi smiling down on her at the island. The memory of the sun on her skin still lingered.
It wasn't supposed to be this way; she wasn't supposed to care about them, but… 'I just do.' She raised her arms and, for just a moment, returned his embrace. Then, struggling to her feet with Sora's help, she spoke, "Thank you."
He looked at her reassuringly, "You're welcome, for this time and any other that comes." He smiled happily, and she couldn't help but respond in kind. "Shouldn't you be getting back? They're going to notice you know."
"I can spare a few more moments."
"I'm fine, go talk to your friends."
"I'll go as soon as I talk to Axel." He moved his hand and she felt the lightning begin to form. She grabbed his arm. "He was being an asshole, but he didn't realize what was going on. I'm usually more thick-skinned than that."
"But-"
"Go on Sora, I'll be fine now." He turned to go, but was stopped by Roxas who had appeared just in time to grab his shoulder. "Sora, we need to talk."
"What is it?" "Not here." "It's just Axel and Larxene." "Please, I don't want to get their hopes up." Roxas focused, and with a thought, they were on a different platform. The glass depicting a large image of Oblivion and Oathkeeper, crossed across the middle.
"Sora, do you remember the girl you saw, before you left Konoha?" Sora nodded slowly, "Yeah, the one who vanished?" "Yes, I think it was-" "SORA!!" Kairi's voice echoed through his mind and Sora quickly apologized to Roxas and left his mindscape.
Sora opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying on his back in the corridor of nothingness. Kairi was looking down at him with a worried look in her eye, while Riku just watched with a raised eyebrow. Seeing him awaken, Kairi suddenly began speaking rapidly in a slightly panicked tone, "I'm sorry, I didn't think I'd nudged you that hard, but you weren't responding when I spoke to you, and you looked pretty dazed. Are you okay?"
He chuckled slightly, "I'm fine Kairi. I just need to rest soon. It's been a while since we got a good night's sleep. It must have caught up with me."
She looked skeptical, but seemed to accept the answer. Riku spoke, "Well, if you're both so tired, why don't we turn in for the night, it's still a long walk to the next world."
Sora looked at him in confusion, "Why is it taking so long anyway, normally it's basically teleportation."
Riku nodded, "Normally, but normally the paths are open between the worlds. We're going to a world without a pathway intact. Basically, we're going somewhere that you couldn't go via gummiship, so it means that we have to step into the world of nothingness, walk to the proper location, and step out. Normally, we simply open a pathway directly to a place on the same plane of reality.
"We could be in here for months if we're going to walk the whole way!"
"Space and time are different here; it will take two or three days though."
Sora nodded and they settled in for the night, albeit reluctantly in Kairi's case. Laying out bedrolls, they lay back to sleep. To be more accurate, Riku and Kairi slept, Sora prepared for a training session.
Sora appeared in his mindscape, surprising the, at this point, perpetually surprised Axel and Roxas. Sensing movement, he caught the kunai moments before it struck him. He had only a moment to throw himself aside as he felt the nearby air ionize itself.
The bolt of lightning struck his previous location just as he vacated it. Using his left palm to spring back to his feet, he brought Savage Nymph up just in time to intercept another bolt which shot towards him letting his keyblade soak it up. Embracing the absorbed lightning's energy as he had been taught, he released it into the air as a sphere. From there it split into smaller bolts, seeking out his opponent.
He felt a charge build to his left, a massive one. Quickly he tried something new, summoning his keyblade, he spun. The tip of the blade left a trail of lightning mana and, as he finished the circle, a circular wall of electricity rose up to block the scores of bolts that had erupted from Larxene's outstretched hand. As the energy was dispersed by the shield, he gathered it back up for his own use.
Once he had enough, he struck the stone-hard glass floor with his keyblade. Larxene raised an eyebrow at the lack of response, only to be caught in the pillar of lightning that had erupted from beneath her. As the lightning struck, she was for a moment just a silhouette seen vaguely in the column of energy.
Her back arched and her mouth opened as if to scream in agony from the attack. Sora however had seen this before and instead hurled his keyblade in a strike raid, hitting her just as the energy faded. She reappeared from the pillar of energy clutching her side where the keyblade had struck, but crackling with absorbed energy.
That always happened with any large lightning attack. It wasn't pain which she felt, but rapture from absorbing so much of the attack's energy. He'd seen her do it before many times, the first time he'd stopped for fear of killing her-he'd regretted that after the kunai struck.
Seeing her raise a hand, he raised the keyblade to block, as the last attack had drained him to near exhaustion. The torrent of lightning flew at him and he did the only thing that he could think of, he embraced the lightning.
He felt it engulf him, and he let it wash over him, through him. The keyblade vanished from his hand, and as it had in the past, the lightning began to flow through him like blood. He felt his energy return, his wounds closed up as his body turned a portion of the lightning mana into healing mana.
This, this was true ecstasy; the world faded from his mind, the pain was gone. There was nothing but himself and the lightning, no pain, no sadness, just the feeling of strength and life granted by embracing the energy. As the light faded, he returned to himself and opened his eyes. He knew that his body crackled with lightning, that he glowed with a faint golden aura, and he now knew how Larxene had continued on as a Nobody. She'd lived for these moments, the fight, the storm, the rapture of lightning and battle.
It wasn't rapture that was strongest in her eyes as she looked at him though, despite the high she must be experiencing. It was pride. The moment burned itself into both of their memories. This was the moment when Sora truly became akin to Larxene. This was the moment when the apprentice became a partner and the master became an equal.
Roxas and Axel had settled for a game of poker for the night, only to have Sora pop in suddenly. Axel began to speak, but stopped as Sora intercepted a kunai. His eyes widened and he summoned his chakrams, only to be stopped by Roxas and dragged some distance away as quickly as possible.
Sora and Larxene had suddenly burst into a massive battle before them, apparently determined to kill one another. He looked to Roxas wide-eyed. His 'little-brother' spoke a single word to explain the situation, "Training."
Axel could only gawk at the following display of combat. It wasn't that it was a level combat he wasn't used to. He still remembered the time Marluxia and Xemnas decided to spar; he hadn't looked at flowers the same way since. What stunned him is that this was Sora; he had always been strong, but it was always just the keyblade that gave him strength. Sora had never had this kind of large-scale destructive power.
Roxas spoke softly, "It is odd to see, but he's stronger here in his mind, he has no body to hold him back here, just the appearance he takes instinctively. It's still Sora, even if he has changed a lot."
"What about Larxene? She's always been emotional, but not like she has been recently. She doesn't even act like a Nobody these days."
"She's connected to Sora's heart like we are, but still...something is off about it."
"Well, there's no harm in leaving it be, and worrying about it is just to tiring. We'll find out eventually."
"You don't want to know?"
"I want to know, I just don't care enough to actually work for it." They both chuckled slightly at that and finally relaxed.
Larxene let Sora get some rest, but not before giving him a small stone, bound in gold and strung as a necklace, "This is something I found just before joining the Organization, it was attached to my essence when you killed me, it's a lightning focus. What that means is that lightning mana is naturally absorbed by it, which you can use when you need to. I want you to have it."
"But you'll need this once you get free won't you?"
Larxene was slightly startled, truth be known she hadn't thought about freedom since they'd left The World that Never Was, "I have two, and I only need one. This one is yours."
He smiled and thanked her for the gift before departing.
Sora awoke to find the crystal in his hand. He quickly put the necklace on beside his traditional "crown" necklace which had been given to him by Kairi. He quickly returned to his slumber. Dreams engulfed him.
Zexion looked at him from across his sitting room, the Schemer had a fiction book in his right hand, while his left rested on the arm of his chair, looking at Sora with a smirk on his face. "You really need to find some new reading material, perhaps Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson." He said, indicating the copy of Marquis De Sade Sora was holding.
Laughing slightly, his black-gloved hand removed the dust cover to reveal a much more entertaining fiction novel. "I have a reputation to keep up you know. It keeps Axel, Roxas, and Demyx from annoying me too much." Zexion chuckled and nodded in sympathy.
The dream/memory faded and the night went on as Sora's sleep continued undisturbed.
He awoke the next morning with the smell of books and a log fire fading from his mind. He opened his eyes to the corridor of nothingness. "Just a minute longer…" Larxene protested as she began to wake with him.
That seemed to happen with them. If he slept she did, and she woke with him as well. He had to admit it was odd, but there were a lot of oddities with them. He was still getting used to feeling her emotions to a degree, and neither of them had a clue why that happened. What they did know was that it was something to be carefully monitored. Otherwise they began to feed off each other.
If both experienced an emotion, then they would also feel their counterpart's. This meant that their own emotions would be bolstered by the other person, who would in turn feel his or her counterpart's augmented emotions and add to them further with his or her own, creating an endless cycle of rising emotion.
This was not good when one was irritated by, say, a random passerby who happened to be following and staring at you for some reason or another. That Konoha citizen had learned his lesson about stalking people.
Returning to the matter at hand, Sora mentally 'shook' Larxene awake and stretched, standing up. Riku was already awake, preparing breakfast (Apparently Maleficent couldn't cook for her life) on a Thundaga powered skillet. He smiled slightly and spoke, "Would you wake Kairi, the French toast is almost ready."
"You brought how much of the Organization kitchen with you?"
"I refuse to live on ration bars and snack foods like you did before Sora."
Larxene finally woke up, "Smells good, but I have to ask is he really cooking with that?" Sora could sense what she was talking about, and asked rhetorically, "Riku, are you cooking that with Dark Fire?" Riku nodded sheepishly, "Normal fire needs fuel, and I didn't grab firewood back in Konoha." Sora laughed before walking over and waking Kairi.
She woke up groggily and glanced around before remembering where they were and groaning. Sora heard her mutter something about 'bed' and 'sleeping fully clothed.' He chuckled before going back to Riku's location.
Now that he was fully awake, he was rather curious as to the presence of a large pitch black table and chairs, as well as the silverware and china which seemed to have appeared from nowhere. He looked at Riku in confusion. The silver haired teen explained, seeing his expression, "Solidified darkness and some of Maleficent's old stuff which I held onto."
Shaking his head at Riku's rather odd obsession with eating meals in a proper 'dining room' manner, he just wrote it off as one of Riku's oddities and took a seat at the rather formal looking dining table. It was built to seat 8, so he took a seat next to one of the end seats, while Kairi took the seat across from him.
They sat and chatted amiably until Riku finished and brought the food over, taking the end seat. As they ate breakfast, the conversation took a more serious turn as Riku spoke with a strange expression, "Sora, is there something going on with you that we don't know about?"
"Like what?"
"Like hearing voices in your head." At that Kairi looked at Riku like he'd grown another one. Sora nearly choked on his drink (Iced tea—it was a lot safer to carry tea leaves and add water, fire, and blizzard spells than to carry around a spoilable drink like milk or juice.) at this, "Why would you think that?" His face went remarkably blank at this statement, and that told Riku all he needed to know-or so he thought.
"You're hearing Roxas aren't you?"
With a mental sigh of relief, Sora nodded, "Yeah, I just didn't want to worry you two. I wasn't sure if you would think that I was going insane."
Kairi shook her head in disbelief, "Sora, no one thinks you're going insane."
"Well that's a relief!"
They laughed and returned soon to lighter topics, enjoying their meal. After they finished, a quick water spell was cast to clean the dishes, and the dining table dissolved before their eyes.
Leaving their campsite, they proceeded towards their destination.
Two days later, they were standing in a completely unremarkable location in the corridor of nothingness, when Riku ripped open a portal. "We're here."
Kairi looked at him slantwise, "And you can tell how?"
He just shrugged and stepped through the portal. Sighing Kairi followed, then Sora. They found themselves in an empty room. The floor was traditional Japanese tatami, while the walls were completely featureless, undecorated. Moving to the sliding door that was the only exit, Sora opened it hesitantly, "Hello?"
"Ah, I've been expecting you Sora." The speaker walked into sight. He was white haired, and for once this was purely the white of old age.
He was a well preserved older gentleman, wearing a rather unremarkable black yukata. His face showed signs of age, but these were fairly subtle. His skin was still tight against the flesh and he stood straight, lacking the common back problems of age. He was light-skinned, not oriental looking as one might expect.
He glanced over the group and for a moment his expression became one of great confusion, "Where is the fourth? The blonde woman?" Kairi and Riku looked greatly confused by this, not to mention the fact that he had been expecting them when they had no clue who he was.
Sora looked him in the eye, willing him to understand the situation, and unbeknownst to anyone but the man, his eyes momentarily flashed green. The man's eyes widened and he nodded, "…It seems I was mistaken. Please come in, we have much to discuss.
The three confusedly followed him into a rather average looking living room. Oddly, despite the old-styled (traditional Japanese, although none of them would think of it as such) home, the furniture consisted of a couch, loveseat, and armchair. Strangely, the tatami mats weren't even slightly damaged by the heavy furniture.
Sora took a seat on the loveseat, while Riku and Kairi sat at each of the couch. The man pulled the armchair (which Sora now realized was floating about an inch off the floor) in front the group. He sat down rather rigidly in the comfortable-looking chair. "Something is bothering him." "Obviously, the question is what?"
The man spoke, "Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Xine. I have been governing this world for the last," He glanced at the calendar, "Five thousand and twenty three years, give or take a few months."
"Ok, so he's immortal…shouldn't that surprise me?"
'It really isn't that uncommon though, besides it isn't like you age either.'
"I'm immortal?"
'You were before according to that self help book I gave Naruto, and now you're not exactly alive, so you don't age now either. Setting that aside for the moment; he can't be truly immortal, I mean, look at the photos.'
Indeed, through Sora's eyes Larxene could see photos of Xine as a young man, taken in this very room. "So he's just extremely long-lived." 'That'd be my guess.'
Looking at his friends, Sora could tell they had reached similar conclusions. Xine continued on, "Upon my arrival on this world, I immediately shattered Destiny and took control of the World Heart. This allowed me to prevent the coming apocalypse this world was heading towards. To do so, I altered the populace and divided the world into five pieces.
The first is the World of the Living, which is just that.
Second is the World of the Noble Dead. This world is occupied by those who live good lives and pass on naturally or are helped across.
The third is the Realm of Lost Souls, for those who fail to pass on and thus become violent spirits.
Fourth is, of course, Hell, for those who commit unforgivable atrocities.
Last is where we presently are, my private dimension, my home.
Now, I'm sure that you are all wondering what this has to do with you. I'll put it simply, I would like your help and I am willing to offer you a reward in return." Holding out his hand, a keyblade appeared in it.
"This is Zanmort's Keyblade. This is what you are here for, correct?" Riku nodded. Xine continued, "If you can complete a task for me, I will give it to you."
After a moment of thought, Sora spoke, "What do we have to do?"
"In the World of the Noble Dead, there is a traitor. He seeks to overthrow me, and make himself the ruler of this world. I would like to avoid this. All you have to do is determine who he is before he goes public, so that I may hopefully apprehend him."
"That's all there is to it?"
"No, because, you see, you aren't the only ones offering me help." A door slid open, and Roxas walked in. 'Not Roxas, Ven.' Larxene reminded him. Sora stood immediately, as did the others.
A visible aura of lightning appeared around him, electricity arcing from his skin and clothing, then returning to his body. Riku's cloak of Darkness formed around him. Kairi spoke a word, and defensive spells formed around her. Sora felt wind stir around Ven, and summoned a kunai in preparation.
Suddenly Xine cut in with a shout, "YOU WILL ALL CEASE THIS IMMEDIATELY! I WILL NOT HAVE MY HOME TORN APART BY YOU CHILDREN!" Suddenly Sora felt a great force slam into him, trying to press him to the ground.
Xine's power was far greater than he had expected, but, with a burst of his own power, he shook off the pressure. Beside him Riku did the same, while Kairi brought up a field of mana and overcame it with little difficulty. Ven was similarly unaffected. It had, however, ended the confrontation for the moment.
Looking at Xine, Sora had to reevaluate his opinion of the old man yet again. Xine showed no sign of exertion. Sora would guess that the man had been drawing on about half of his full power, but he could be wrong this time too.
Xine went on in a calmer voice , "Now that I have your attention, allow me to explain. You see, both of your group want something from me. In the case of your group," he indicated the three, "you want Zanmort's keyblade. While my brother-yes, brother, to my shame- Yen Sid wants my help strengthening his forces. Whoever manages to find the traitor first will gain my assistance.
Sora remained silent, still reeling a little from the revelation that this was Yen Sid's brother, they looked nothing alike and seemingly had completely different mindsets as well.
Riku however, seemed to take it better. Well, he took that better at least, "What the hell! This isn't some game, lives are at stake here! If your brother," he spat the word out like something foul, "becomes powerful enough, it will mean ruin for thousands of innocent beings!"
Xine just sighed tiredly and spoke, "I know that, what you don't seem to understand is that this traitor is a large enough threat that this world could very well be destroyed-or at least devastated-if he wins. This world is my first priority, before anything else, and if I have to hold the rest of the multiverse hostage to save it, then so be it!"
Riku ground his teeth in fury, snarling out his next word, "Fine! We'll play your damn game!" He halfway stood-up, leaning towards Xine, his hand seeking to crush the arm of the couch he was seated on. "Do we get any information, or are you just going to throw us out there with nothing!"
Xine seemed unfazed by Riku's anger, and motioned for him to sit back down. "As I said, this is a divided world. The traitor is probably a major player in the World of the Noble Dead, or as it is known by most, Soul Society. He has apparently been active in the Realm of Lost Souls, or Hueco Mundo, as well. Both of these areas should be investigated. I'll give you all a moment to plan, just tell me when you're ready. I'll give you anything you need."
A voice echoed in Sora's mind, "SORA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
He thought back, "Is that you Kairi? There's no need to shout."
Her voice spoke back, still a little loud, "Sorry, I'm not used to this yet. How did you get so good at this?"
"Hehe…um…luck?"
He could practically feel her roll her eyes, "Whatever…now, on to business. I think that we should split up, Two to one world, and the third to the other."
"Oh no…here we go again…"
Kairi's presence seemed to stiffen, "Who said that?"
Realizing in horror what had happened, Sora tried to cover, "Who said what?"
"You heard it! Someone just said 'Oh no…here we go again…'"
Sora sent a false feeling of confusion to her, it had taken him a while to learn to produce false emotions and Kairi was inexperienced. Hopefully she wouldn't catch on. "What are you talking about? I didn't hear anything."
Kairi's presence projected confusion and a hint of fear, telling Sora that she was concerned for her own sanity now, not the source of the voice. He felt a little guilty, but he didn't want anyone finding out.
Suddenly he felt another presence…or was it two? Riku and…something else.
"Look's like Kairi was faster. What are your thoughts you two?"
"Kairi thinks that we should split up, what about you?"
"Seems risky, I mean, things always seem to go wrong when we're separated for too long. On the other hand, it is the most logical way to search."
"Of course Kairi wants you to split up. Why would she, a Princess of Heart, want to be near someone as dark as-" The dark, taunting, and strangely familiar voice cut off suddenly, and was replaced by the sound of the same voice grunting in pain. Throwing out a mental probe, he sensed Larxene hurling lightning at the source of the voice. 'She'll tell me later.'
Acting like he'd heard nothing, he felt Kairi cringe mentally and another wave of guilt hit him. He couldn't risk it though, if she knew the other voice was real, she may become suspicious of the first.
He could feel Riku panic for a moment, before covering it up. It seemed he wasn't the only one could hide his true emotions, or maybe Riku just didn't realize that they'd heard anything.
Suppressing further feelings of guilt, he drew their attention to the matter at hand, "Are we gonna split up or not?" A feeling of agreement wafted across their connection. "In that case, who goes where?"
Riku spoke immediately, "I'll go to Hueco Mundo, you two should go to Soul Society, you'll fit in better that I will." No one could argue with that, somehow Sora didn't think that there would be a lot of darkness-natured people here. It was, after all, some kind of pseudo-heaven.
"Are you sure? Somehow I doubt that place is good for you mind, you know what places and people like this can do to you."
With the impression of his eyes narrowing flickering across their connection, Riku responded, his mental voice almost a growl, "What? I screwed up once, fine, but I'm not some little-"
Kairi tried to smooth things over, "We know that, Sora's just worried about you."
Riku's eyes flickered gold across the room, "Of course, after all, he's Sora! He couldn't possibly be in the wrong!"
"No, I didn't mean that!"
"Of course you did, who else would you care about!"
Kairi's eyes widened, hurt. Sora jumped back into the mental fray, "Stop it Riku, Kairi cares about you, and so do I! I was just warning you to stay on guard. Things aren't always how they appear!"
Riku was still fuming, but he grudgingly nodded in acceptance and stood, walking over to Xine. Taking a breath to calm himself, he spoke, "I'm heading to Hueco Mundo, those two will be searching Soul Society."
Xine nodded and looked towards Ven, "And you?"
"Soul Society."
Xine stood wearily and walked from the room, returning moments later with a collection of objects. Well then, you will need some help to move about there, and thus, I will supply you with some basic equipment. He withdrew a trio of rather unremarkable katana, as well as a single strip of black cloth.
Speaking first to Kairi, Sora, and Ven, he handed each a katana, "These are what have come to be known as Asauchi. They will, with time, absorb your mana, what is known here as reiatsu, and gain abilities and personalities of their own and become known as Zanpakuto. The abilities and personalities gained, will be based entirely on your mana, which carries and imprint of your soul-essentially your identity- with it. This will be explained in more detail later. I will quietly enroll you at the Shinigami academy. Don't be concerned about time though. You will probably graduate in a matter of weeks. Even if you don't, you can still search for the traitor. "
His eyes shot towards Riku, "You will have a much harder time of it. In order to blend in with the hollows, you'll need more than a Zanpakuto. I can not give you what will be necessary, but I can clear the pathway."
He handed Riku the strip of cloth. The darkness which anyone could feel lying dormant in Riku, seemed to swell and grow. His aura of darkness became visible for a moment. As Riku's eyes widened, flaring gold, he suddenly collapsed.
Sora snarled at Xine, his keyblade coursing with lightning as he hurled himself at the man. Xine simply hurled him back into Kairi, who was chanting an incantation, with a gesture of his hand. "The boy will be fine, he is simply dealing with matters of his the heart. The physical world isn't suitable for such things."
Sora's eyes widened as understanding dawned and a concerned look swept across his face. The darkness had brought Larxene to him, would Riku be as lucky?
Riku touched his old blindfold, which was resting in Xine's palm, and suddenly felt the darkness within him soar to new heights. He felt Xehanort's heartless scramble for control, only to be locked away by something else. He fell unconscious, slipping into his mindscape.
Riku looked about the void that was his mind. It was pitch black, only endless darkness in all directions, with the exception of a single white flame at the mindscape's center, which he stood next to. The heartless which usually welcomed him was not present. In its place was something more disturbing for Riku than Xehanort had ever been. A figure, cloaked in black stood before him. "Who the hell are you!?"
The figure chuckled, pulling back his hood. A familiar and unwelcome face was revealed. A single name hissed from Riku's lips.
"Zexion."
"Indeed, and I have the dubious pleasure of showing you the power that you hold. To be more precise, the power of your accursed weapon. The Keyblade, the cleaver-"
"The cleaver of hearts, thief of power, etc, etc, etc. Yeah, I know."
"Oh…well that simplifies everything doesn't it. Hmm…well I guess all I have to do then is help you use what you have. This should be…interesting."
"So, that's all? You're just the one who's supposed to teach me about my power? No devious plots? No promises of vengeance?"
"Why? My life in the Organization was rather boring. Only my books offered solace. Now I have something much more entertaining to take part in. Why would I complain?"
"You're dead."
"Your point?"
Riku just groaned, "Okay, fine, what do I need to know?"
"Teaching you everything will take years. For now, I'll just show you the beginnings of my power. We'll start with duplicating abilities and shape shifting, as those seem to be what you need for the moment."
"How convenient."
"Indeed." Thus, the lesson began.
Back on the physical plane, the others sat, waiting for Riku to awaken. Kairi was reading over a rather large scroll of incantations, while Ven was entertaining himself with a small vortex of wind. Sora was discussing the situation with Larxene, 'So, who do you think it is, in Riku's head I mean?'
"The new one or the old one?"
'Both.'
"Well Xehanort's heartless has been there a while, and seems pretty ticked at Riku's lack of obedience. The new guy though…I have no clue."
'Well that explains a lot. The moodiness, the change in eye color…'
"Still, he seems to be mostly under control. The new one worries me though."
'Why?'
"Because I don't know who it is. If they're more talented at manipulation than Xehanort's heartless, and similarly motivated…"
'I think we can have faith in Riku, he's been there before.'
"I hope that you're right."
Riku awoke a couple minutes later, "It seems I have what I need, can we get started now?" Xine just chuckled at his impatience, "One moment longer, I have arranged back-stories and identities for you all. Although they will not be terribly important, they should get you in the door at both locations." He handed each of them a manila folder with the information on their false pasts, common knowledge, and the various laws and traditions of Zanmort.
"Now you can be on your way." He gestured and they all vanished.
Sora, Kairi, and Ven found themselves standing among several others at what they presumed to be the Shinigami academy. Their clothing had been replaced by the traditional academy uniforms. A shinigami in traditional garb spoke to the group from a stage, "I'd like to welcome you all to the Shinigami academy.
You will be assigned to dorms, each shared with another student of the same gender. A list has been posted on the wall. The standard course is 6 years long, but it is theoretically possible to finish in a matter of days if you demonstrate that you have already surpassed the graduation requirements or substantially shorter than 6 years if you manage to skip several levels of a training division. Such as skipping through basic Zanjutsu in favor of the expert course. Advanced placement will be available by this means to anyone who passes the correct tests.
As you should already know, the academy has 4 divisions, these are:
Zanjutsu is the art of swordsmanship and the inner workings of the Zanpakuto, such as Shikai and Zanpakuto spirits. The study of other weapons is offered, but, however, is purely optional.
Kidou is the demon arts, known less morbidly in the Living World as magic or sorcery. This division also offers electives in reiatsu sensing as well as reiatsu manipulation and projection through mental effort. Those who excel may be offered a position in the Kidou Corps.
Hoho is the art of agility, despite the chuckles and groans I hear among you, I assure that you will be doing more than basic physical training. The primary purpose of the training offered by this division is to train you to use shunpo and other advanced movement techniques.
Hakuda is the art of unarmed combat, this is simply physical training in hand to hand combat. This division also covers more advanced techniques such as body enhancement through reiatsu manipulation and even reiatsu attacks and projections based around physical effort or motion. Those who excel in both Hakuda and Hoho may be invited to join the ******.
Each day you will attend the basic course in each of these, as well as any electives offered that day that you choose to take. Any student may request to be tested at any time, and, if the instructor is satisfied by their performance, they may proceed to the next level in the division's primary class. The policy on elective courses is handled as the instructor desires. You will all be presented with basic information as you leave. Tomorrow you will begin attending basic classes, and may approach instructors in regards to additional classes and training at your own discretion. We urge you to do this tomorrow, as many instructors will not allow late entries. Please check your dorms and rest for the night. Your life as a student begins at sunrise."
Sora wished Kairi luck and they proceeded to their respective lists, and from their to their rooms. Ven made a point of waiting for them to depart before doing the same.
As Sora opened the door to his dorm, he found it empty. 'So my roommate has yet to arrive.' He took the left bed, which was, like the right one, hard and unremarkable. It was nirvana after a bedroll in the corridors of nothingness.
Setting his clothing aside, he quickly pulled some soft cotton pants and a grey t-shirt from his pack-he'd worn them back at the Destiny Islands and later in Konoha- and stepped in the small bathroom. It adjoined to the dorm and was strangely out of place among the dated(traditional Japanese) architecture, the bed was also somewhat odd in hindsight. The restroom consisted of a small shower, a single toilet, and a sink and mirror.
It occurred to him that he'd never seen a dorm room with an attached bathroom before, but he supposed that the only educational facility in the entirety of Seireitei could afford a certain amount of luxury.
After attending to basic hygiene, he stepped out and moved towards the bed. As he moved to lie down, the door opened. 'My roommate I guess…' He turned, and his eye twitched, as did his roommate's.
"Xine has a sick sense of humor." "That he does." Ven agreed.
Glaring at his enemy turned roommate, he placed a few simple spells, such as Barrier and Shell, upon himself and his belongings(he tied his pouch around his leg, once again thankful for spatial distortion. He still wished that the weight matched the size though). The two reluctantly set aside their animosity and settled in for the night.
Kairi settled into her dorm, looking at her sleeping roommate. She quickly dealt with hygiene and changed into some loose cotton clothing. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she settled into sleep, dreaming of learning more magic.
Riku looked across the desolate landscape that was Hueco Mundo. A group of hollows could be seen tearing at each other, no, devouring each other. Each one with no thought but hunger and power in their minds. Not one of them noticed Riku standing upon the cliff that overlooked them. He was just standing there silently, cataloguing every move they made, every behavior they had, and every ability that they called forth.
Ven stared into the night. He was perched on the edge of the Academy's roof, lost in thought. Footsteps echoed behind him. He turned, and his eyes widened as he found himself looking into his own reflection. His mirror image spoke, "You can exist. The world is shaped by your hands, just like it shaped by every other being's. It doesn't matter what you are, only what you do."
Ven spat at the illusion, uncaring if someone saw him speaking to thin air. A madman had the right to indulge himself. "By that line of thought, then even our dreams exist, even our fantasies, even the voices in our heads! After all, they shape the world through us don't they? By your logic you exist, but is the logic of an illusion, a falsity, truly logic at all?"
"I choose to exist because I choose to shape reality. As long as your will and hands shape reality, you exist as well. But beware, for when one's actions are born of another's will, and one's hands serve as another's, one ceases to be more than a well-made tool. So, tell me do you exist? I know I do."
Ven spoke not a word as the illusion strolled off, vanishing from his sight and his mind.
Sora jerked awake, "Demyx!" He sighed, "Damn, not another one of Larxene's memories." Slapping a hand to his mouth as he realized that he'd said that aloud, he was relieved to see that Ven wasn't in bed.
'What time is it?' Glancing at the alarm clock-another inconsistency in the seemingly feudal-era society-he groaned. It was 5:00 a.m. and classes didn't start for another two hours. Dragging himself to the bathroom, he slowly showered and changed into the provided school uniform.
He strapped the Asauchi to his hip and strolled out the door, figuring that he could begin doing research on the various members of the Gotei XIII. 'Why is it always 13? Why not 7?' "Good question, I guess that 13 just has style." "I'm shocked, I'd never expect that you'd be fond of the number Larxene." He said sarcastically aloud. It was nice to not be constantly worrying about eavesdroppers. He had seen no one in the hall as of yet.
Strolling along for while longer, he finally found someone else. The man was wearing the garb of a full Shinigami, not a student, so Sora faked a look of slight awe. The man was rank and file, and Sora almost laughed as the Shinigami preened for a moment. The Shinigami spoke condescendingly, "What do you want student? Perhaps you need a new clock? Yours must be broken to awaken you at this hour."
Sora bit back a retort, and instead subtly probed the man for information, stammering slightly, "P-pardon me sir, but do you know where I could find someone willing to instruct me in Zanjutsu?"
The man smothered a sneer and smiled condescendingly, "Take the basic classes first, then you can try to find another teacher, student."
"I'm already decent at it, I've been wielding a blade for several years, I just haven't had an Asauchi or Zanpakuto until now. Please, I just want to get stronger."
The man seemed about to snap at him, then a malicious glint entered his eye, "Go talk to this guy." He scribbled a name down and handed a scrap of paper to Sora, then spoke again, "He hangs around the training field at night. He's always trying to find the students who have the most potential so that he can keep his eye on them in the future. Show him what you've got and he may teach you a thing or two."
His voice, still condescending, had a sadistic tone to it. Sora hesitated, before remembering who his primary teacher was. 'Why should a little sadism worry me? If this guy's a little violent in his teaching methods, it can't be much worse than daily high-voltage electrocution.'
He wandered off towards the training field, remembering a map he'd seen in the hall. He mused over the name on the paper scrap, 'Kenpachi Zaraki, what will you tell me…?'
Sora arrived at the training field. A man in a white cloak stood alone, staring off into the distance. An eye patch covered one eye, while bells hung in his absurdly spiky hair. The man's eye flicked his way, "What are you doing here kid?"
Sora recognized the man's type now. He was one of those strength-obsessed types. More importantly, he would be easy to understand and…"Manipulate?" 'Such a harsh word.' "Even I think that you've been around me for too long." Sora laughed aloud, and Zaraki's eyes widened in something between shock and rage. "Is a puny little brat like you actually laughing at me!? I'll cut you to pieces!"
The man pulled his Zanpakuto free, and a force slammed down on the nearby area. Sora's eyes widened, he'd realized the man's rank when he saw the white cloak, but this power was higher than he'd expected. He knew that he should fake a collapse, but his pride butted into his decision making process. He drew the Asauchi and flared his mana, electricity arcing over his skin. He brushed off the pressure and glared at the man, who appeared to be confused.
Zaraki called up his reiatsu, waiting for the annoying brat to crumple. He wouldn't kill the kid, just scare him into submission-and maybe let his reiatsu break a few bones. The kid's eyes widened, and then lightning sprang up around him and a foreign reiatsu slammed into his own, negating it with minimal difficulty.
Zaraki looked around for whoever had interfered, and found no one. He looked back at the kid just in time to block the boy's Asauchi with his Zanpakuto. The kid wasn't too quick, but that blow was strong. He was actually having to make an effort against an academy student! 'What is the world coming too!?'
He laughed madly, since the world had apparently gotten a whole lot more fun over night. The kid leapt back as Kenpachi swung at him, then gestured towards him, an arc of lightning leaping across the gap. Zaraki caught it on his blade and broke the connection with a snap of his wrist. Moments later, the world turned gold.
Electricity ripped it's way through his body, and he felt his muscles twitching involuntarily, staving off full blown convulsions by sheer force of will. Laughing again at the absurdity of this fight, not to mention the sheer enjoyment of a battle, he endured the attack in its entirety until it faded away. The kid stood before him looking a little drained, but hardly on his last legs.
Kenpachi lunged for the brat, eager to continue the fight, only for the boy to disappear. He heard a sword whistle through the air, spinning just in time to block the boy's Asauchi coming from behind. The kid already knew Shunpo, or something similar.
He punched the kid in the ribs, the followed up with a kick to the chest which sent the boy flying. Mid-flight the boy spun and stabbed his blade into the ground and came to a stop. The kid landed on one knee and then promptly vanished once again. He wasn't using Shunpo then, even Shunpo required the person to be standing and able to walk or run.
He spun to block the Asauchi, only to block empty air. The boy had reappeared in the same kneeling position as before. Kenpachi couldn't react in time as the boy grabbed his throat, lifted him-a two-hundred and fifty pound man-into the air. The boy's green eyes (Weren't they blue earlier?) held a vicious violence in their depths for a moment.
An instant later it was gone and half-believed that he may have imagined it. The hand around his neck clenched and lightning ripped into him again, many times more intense and painful than before. Two thoughts were in his head alongside the agony, they were: 'What the hell is this kid?!' and 'Now this is what I call a good time!'
The kid let go, and Zaraki fell to one knee. Grinning madly, he ripped off his eye patch, and the kid seemed to flinch for moment, then returned to his seemingly unaffected state. At least he knew that the boy actually felt reiatsu, it wasn't some kind of weird ability. He grinned and stood, "Nice warm up, let's get started. By the way, what's your name?"
Sora was thoroughly confused by this man. He seemed to ignore every attack. On top of that, Sora was fairly certain the man was growing more civil as the battle went on, as opposed to less. Most people of his type resented meeting someone stronger or equal in strength to them.
The man was strong though. Now that he'd taken that eye patch, which Sora now realized was a mana suppressor, off, he was a more realistic threat to Sora. Sadly enough, Sora found himself eager to see that battle continue. He gave his name as a black cloak appeared on his shoulders, "My name is Sora, S-O-R-A, got it memorized?"
He charged, Axel's chakrams appearing in his hands, and struck and Kenpachi, who's eyes widened. The Taicho blocked the first with his Zanpakuto, and the second with his hand, one of the spikes on the chakram piercing clear through Kenpachi's palm. The psychopath before Sora laughed and swung his Zanpakuto, ignoring Sora's weapons all together now.
Realizing that the chakram couldn't block at that range, Sora called out Larxene's power and blocked with a shorter, quicker kunai. Slamming another kunai into Zaraki's chest, he hurled himself away.
Kenpachi looked down at the knife, pulled it out, and studied it before throwing it over his shoulder. It vanished and reappeared in Sora's hand. The fight had just begun.
Kairi woke up to the sounds of her roommate moving about. The girl was a brunette who was seemed to be in quite a hurry to get to class. Kairi yawned, "What do we have first?"
All roommates had the same schedules initially, but advanced courses and electives would change this with time. The girl spoke hurriedly, "Kidou first, then Zanjutsu, followed by Hakuda, and finally Hoho. Now let's go!" Kairi attended quickly showered and dressed before joining her roommate and leaving for Kidou class.
Sora awoke to find himself in the training area, covered in his own blood. He was surprised to see his wounds healed, and Zaraki leaning against a nearby wall, "I'm alive." Zaraki grinned madly (it was his most common facial expression), "Of course you're alive, I haven't had a fight that good in years." "You healed me?"
Zaraki raised an eyebrow, "What're you talkin' about? I wouldn't waste my time on that any of Kidou nonsense, much less healing Kidou." "Well, who did then?" "No one, in fact I'm surprised you're this calm with all those injuries."
Sora stared at him, "I'm not injured. This blood is all dry." Zaraki laughed, "Now you're using hollow abilities, this get better and better!" It wasn't sarcasm.
"I'm not a hollow, that's for sure."
"Huh…I have no idea. I wouldn't complain though, just means you're harder to kill." Larxene disagreed with the madman, "It also is not something which occurs naturally in humans or shinigami. This isn't something you can just write off. If you're deviating from your natural abilities, then something strange is going on." Sora had to agree with the Nymph, this wasn't something to be forgotten. Shrugging in seeming dismissal, he nodded to Zaraki, "We should do this again soon."
Zaraki felt like the world had just turned upside down, and that Yachiru had gained a sense of direction. Someone else wanted to fight him again! Soul Society was Heaven after all! "I like ya kid. Let's fight again soon, maybe I'll even help you with that clumsy Zanjutsu of yours."
The boy, Sora, smiled and nodded, "I look forward to it. By the way, how did our battle actually end?" Zaraki smiled madly, "I have no clue! It all got kind of blurry after that kick to the head. Where'd ya learn that Hakuda anyway? I've never seen anything like it."
"I have a good teacher." "Well, head on to your classes Sora, I have shit to do." Grumbling about paperwork, he flash stepped away. 'Shame I didn't get to use Kendo…'
Sora watched as the man sped away at great speed, although not so fast Sora couldn't follow it. Standing, he hurried towards his Zanjutsu class. 'Glad I didn't have to use any of Roxas' power. I'd like to keep the keyblade's existence quiet for a while longer.' As he arrived in class, their Sensei glared at Sora for his lateness, not to mention showing up covered in blood, it was just so ugly.
Kairi stepped into class with her roommate, Kusha, moments before their sensei. The ebony haired woman-almost a girl in truth-spoke cheerily, "I am Rukia Kuchiki, you will address me as Kuchiki-sensei. Let's begin. What do you know of Kidou?"
Kusha's hand shot into the air, "It is the practice of manipulating Reiryoku into various forms via mental focus and exertion." Kuchiki-sensei nodded, and continued, "Now, does anyone here know any Kidou? It's alright if you don't, just demonstrate if you do."
Kusha's hand was in the air again, and at Rukia's nod, she stood, pointing her hand at one of several targets that stood just outside the classroom.
The room in question was truly more of a covered area with seats, centered in a small training area for this class. Kairi was eager to hear one of the spells, wondering what Kidou was like.
Kusha chanted, "Disintegrate you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo 9, Geki!" The target was enveloped in a faint red light. Rukia grinned, "An excellent binding spell, you're doing very well, far better than most. Can anyone else demonstrate something?"
Kairi stared, she'd come here only to learn magic she already knew?! No, no! There must me more spells, but she wouldn't be learning them in here. She needed to get into the advanced courses, although a certain amount of discretion needed to be used.
She raised her hand, standing almost before Rukia noticed her, she with her arm at a target, and spoke,
"Ye who wears a mask of blood and flesh, flutter of wings, he who bears the name of man. Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hadou 33, Sokatsui!" A burst of blue flame leapt from her hand, incinerating the target. Her classmates all flinched at the display of power, while Rukia's eyes widened humorously. Kuchiki-sensei spoke, "Very impressive, we should discuss this after class." The class proceeded to discuss basic Kidou principles while Kairi stared into the distance.
After class Rukia stood waiting until the room emptied. She looked at the student, what was her name…Kairi, that was right. "Kairi, where did you learn that Kidou?" The girl didn't seem to notice when Rukia let out a little Reiatsu. It usually helped when questioning students-it made her more intimidating. Kairi just responded politely, "I studied independently before entering the Academy, I know a decent amount of Kidou already."
A thread of suspicion wormed its way into Rukia's mind. "How? Kidou scrolls aren't ever allowed into Rukongai, I should know, I looked everywhere for one prior to entering the Academy." What was going on?"
Kairi felt Rukia let loose a little Reiatsu. It was insignificant, just a mild intimidation tactic. Kairi wasn't surprised, she'd never met a sensei who didn't do something similar. It did however, allow her to sense Rukia's strength.
This woman shouldn't be a sensei, the papers she'd read and the different reiatsu levels she could sense throughout Seiretei put the woman at a level between Taicho and Fukutaicho, not rank and file. After explaining her independent study, Rukia's stance became defensive.
Once the woman explained the difficulty of that fact, Kairi realized that a mild deception could improve the situation greatly. She widened her eyes in false surprise, and quickly explained, "I didn't know sensei, there was a Shinigami in town. I didn't see his face, but his reiatsu was strong. He seemed to be containing it, but I could still feel it. He was so strong, stronger than you! He told me that if I helped him he would give me some scrolls on Kidou.
I assumed it was fine, that he just needed a small favor, and I wanted those scrolls so much. I'd been asking everywhere, trying to find anything. I've wanted to be a Shinigami for so long, and since I didn't have a Zanpakuto, I thought Kidou would help me get into the academy. He didn't ask much of me, should I not have done it? If so, I'm sorry, I didn't know!" Rukia's gaze had sharpened, and Kairi knew that the hook was in place. Rukia stared at her, "What exactly did he want you to do? Tell me his exact words."
Kairi nodded as if eager to tell, which she was, "He just told me to carry a message for him." "What exactly did he want you to say, and to whom?" "He just wanted me to say that they would make their move soon, and to be ready." "Who did you deliver it to?" "I told it to a man in Rukongai, he was wearing a hooded cloak, but I got a glimpse of his face. There was this weird piece of bone running down the side of his face. He didn't…he didn't look normal."
A shiver went up Rukia's spine, if this girl was telling the truth-and by the panic on her face she was-then this was bad. A man with a piece of cartilage attached to his face. That could only mean…a word slipped from her lips, "Arrancar."
A look of confusion shot across Kairi's face, "What did you say?" "It doesn't matter, just tell me, if you could feel this man's reiatsu again, could you recognize it?"
Kairi browsed furrowed, "Maybe, I don't know. I could certainly help narrow it down." Rukia nodded, "Then tomorrow we are going to go talk to the Fukutaichos, and you are going to tell me if it is one of them." If they were stronger than her, then it was probably a Fukutaicho. The Taichos…best not to think about that.
Kairi nodded meekly, "I understand Rukia-sensei, when should I…?" "I'll find you." Kairi nodded an turned to leave. Rukia called out to the girl, "Also, tomorrow you will attend advanced Kidou, and may attempt to test for the next level if you wish." Kairi turned, smiling excitedly and thanked her loudly and profusely…if Rukia didn't know better, she'd think the girl was purposely providing an explanation to the other students in the hallway. Rukia did know better though; fresh students were never that paranoid.
Kairi provided any eavesdroppers with a purpose for the conversation, and then left for Hakuda. She just hoped that no one had heard any details.
Sora drew his Asauchi as the sparring began, it seemed their Sensei-a peacock(although he was happy to say that wasn't literal for once in his life) by the name of Yumichika- wanted a basic evaluation of their skill. He also seemed to hate Sora, and thus decided that Sora's partner would be Yumichika himself, a demonstration of a true Shinigami's abilities he said.
Sora drew his Asauchi, while Yumichika drew his own. The man spoke tauntingly, "I'll give you the first move." Sora smiled, and sped towards the man, his movement just a blur. His Asauchi sliced towards the man's head. It was met by Yumichika's Zanpakuto at the last second. The man smiled, despite his clear difficulty, "You're fast, but head-on attack rarely work as anything but a distraction."
Sora smirked, "I know." He used an ability that he'd cooked up while fighting Zaraki. He had remembered Roxas' ability to transform his body into light, and modified it to work with his Lightning. He quickly broke his body into electrical energy and moved in that form at a ridiculously high speed to a point directly behind Yumichika. To Yumichika's eyes he would have vanished and spontaneously reappeared behind him.
His Zanpakuto blurred towards the man's throat. When Yumichika failed to block, Sora finally realized how slow the man really was, and stopped it just before it drew blood, the blade pressing slightly against the man's throat.
Yumichika felt the blade, then closed his eyes and prepared to die. The boy fought like his captain-mercilessly. On top of that, he had the cleverness that Zaraki lacked, and the willingness to use Kidou, however hard it was to detect. The blade stopped at the last second and failed to finish him. Yumichika spoke quickly, "I yield." Sora's blade withdrew and Yumichika exhaled in relief.
He should call the boy on using Kidou in Zanjutsu class, but he knew that the boy could have killed him. For this reason, and for the sake of surviving in the future if he fought the boy, he ignored it. He hurried to eliminate the aforementioned possibility, "Excellent, I believe that you just qualified for advancement.
I won't see you again, as you will be placed in the Expert Zanjutsu class, which is taught by Ikkaku Madarame.
In addition, I'm recommending you for an elective class with Hitsugaya-taicho. He doesn't normally teach, but I believe that he will agree in this case."
He was slowly regaining his composure and continued calmly, "There are two things you should know if he agrees. Firstly, he's a Taicho, and won't tolerate being addressed otherwise. Secondly, don't mention his height or anything related to it, treat him with as much respect as you would any other captain. On second thought, treat him like you would Kuchiki-taicho. He isn't informal like Kyoraku-taicho or insane like Zaraki-taicho. Just be respectful and all will go well."
The rest of the class had ceased their sparring as Yumichika spoke softly to Sora, attempting to listen in. Yumichika spoke up, "Class is over, I'll see you tomorrow."
He lowered his voice, "I will not see you tomorrow Sora, here's the time for Expert Zanjutsu." He handed him a sheet of paper, "Ikkaku will tell you where you will meet Hitsugaya-taicho." As Sora nodded and left, he smirked, 'Let's see that smug Toshiro deal with someone who's learning faster than he did.'
Under the eternal night sky of Hueco Mundo, the Panther Hollow known as Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez looked about for his next target. He still needed to achieve Vasto Lorde, even if the others had given up. He sensed a slight power to the north-just a Gillian though, he needed Adjuchas.
Suddenly another, much greater, power sprung up just behind him to the south. He spun and found himself face to face with a strange humanoid figure. The figure's body, was wrapped in ragged black and grey cloth and Grimmjow could not discern it's features. He assumed it had a body, but the cloth that formed its cloak seemed to wrap around something far to thin to be a normal body. This creature was strange even by Hueco Mundo's standards.
He could tell however, that it was the same strength as a strong adjuchas, probably being just that. Thus, he did what he always did when faced with such a creature-eat it. He lunged for it, expecting it to dodge. Instead, the cloth parted, revealing an endless black void under the folds of the cloak. The shreds of cloth that formed the cloak struck out, wrapping around him, and he realized his mistake.
The cloak was not cloth, it was the body of the being before him. If he was correct, the void before him was its means of consuming other hollows. He wouldn't call it a mouth, but it amounted to something similar.
The Adjuchas slowly dragged him towards the void, and he stopped struggling, instead opening his own mouth and charging a Cero. He wondered if it would do any good. He fired it into the void, and it vanished. He thought all was lost, and then the creature stopped.
A thrill shot through him as he pulled free of the cloak and jumped away, it was over, he'd won! Then he realized that the creature was fine. A voice echoed from underneath the 'hood.' The voice was deep and clear, not the rasping sound he'd expected. "I'm impressed, few even struggle until the end. You had the strength of will to strike out at me. Perhaps we can come to an agreement."
Grimmjow started to growl and attack again, before realizing that any being who his Cero couldn't harm could probably eat him easily. He was alive because it had shown mercy. He instead snarled out a response, "Like what."
"To put it simply, I have no desire to remain an Adjuchas, nor I'm sure do you. I propose that we ally ourselves and seek, how shall I put it, bigger game."
Grimmjow was now interested, if he meant what he thought he meant, then… "What precisely to you propose?"
"Not far from here is Las Noches, ruled by the so-called King of Hueco Mundo. That is, until recently. Now a Shinigami is moving into Las Noches, leaving the 'King' vulnerable. I propose that we find this 'King'-a Vasto Lorde- and make a meal of him. Eating a Vasto Lorde would surely propel us to his level."
"I've heard about the Vasto Lorde that you're talking about, he's death incarnate. I don't mean in a Shinigami way either. All he touches literally dies."
"That is not precisely true. His ability is not 'Death,' it is 'Time,' and neither can defeat me."
"And me? I'll be dead whether you are or not."
"There are still many adjuchas who are loyal to him. I will need you to handle them if I am to consume him."
"Now we're talkin.' Will his army be enough to take me to Vasto Lorde though?"
"Probably, if not, I can help you along. Now come, I wish to transcend this from as soon as possible."
"Sounds good." Grimmjow followed the figure as it swept away, no sound of footsteps nor any motion detectable from within the cloak. The adjuchas was terrifying, but it any chance of becoming a Vasto Lorde was worth it. He spoke to the figure, needing to humanize-er…hollowify it, "What's your name anyway?"
The figure spoke, "Call me Riku." The two vanished into the night, seeking their prey.
The next day, Kairi walked into Hakuda Class-Advanced Kidou was her third class, where Beginning Kidou had been her second. Yesterday she had gotten a feel for basic Hakuda, hand to hand never been her area of expertise, so she was happy to take it. She would have to learn fast though, she needed to graduate soon. For this reason, she'd employed a minor spell for improving muscle memory. It left her feeling mentally strained and made her muscles sore, but it would help her advance faster.
After the first few rounds of light sparring with the other students, she was already winning the majority of her fights. There was nothing more useful than perfecting a technique almost instantly.
She'd considered using a spell for enhanced perception of motion, which would make it seem that she had near perfect reaction times. That would do her no good in the long term though, so she hadn't used it.
She was moving quickly enough that she'd probably be able to promote to the next class by the end of the week if she studied ahead and practiced outside of class.
The class was interrupted as Hell Butterfly landed on the hand of their Sensei-who was rather unremarkable. Sensei spoke, "Kairi, Kuchiki-sensei wishes to speak to you in the entry hall." Kairi smiled, glad that Rukia hadn't reconsidered.
She went to the entry hall, where Rukia met up with her, "Follow me Kairi, and keep your senses honed on finding that Reiatsu." Kairi nodded and they walked out.
They proceeded to the Division 13 barracks. Kairi muttered a spell for truth detection as they entered into the Taicho's office, it was by no means perfect(anyone with good knowledge of multiverse magic could fool it), but would probably work here. His two third seats-according to Rukia, he refused to choose a Lieutenant-were busy doing paperwork.
Kairi whispered to Rukia, "Ask questions about the event, if they know something, their reiatsu will hopefully fluctuate. Ask about something besides recognizing me, it's possible they wouldn't remember me." Rukia nodded, although she doubted either of these two were dangerous, it couldn't hurt, "Excuse me, there have been rumors of Arrancar activity recently, are you aware of anything of that nature?" They glanced up at Rukia, before returning to their own respective stacks of paperwork, which they appeared to be racing to complete. They spoke a moment later in stereo, "No." The truth spell caused her to see a white aura around them for a moment. They were telling the truth.
They proceeded through the various Divisions, meeting some rather colorful individuals. As they walked back to the Academy, Rukia spoke, "Who was it?"
"It wasn't any of them. By the way, why were we talking to them anyway?"
"What do you mean?"
"I said he was stronger than you. The only ones who aren't much weaker than you are Abarai-Fukutaicho and Yachiru." The psychotic pink-haired child had stronger reiryoku than any other Lieutenant, as well as Rukia. No one seemed to notice though.
"What are you talking about, I'm weaker than most of them, and why Yachiru?"
Ignoring the second question, Kairi responded incredulously, "Weaker? You have one really warped self-perception. You have more than twice the Reiryoku of either of Ukitake's third seats. Both of them are just slightly weaker than a lieutenant. Truth be known, you're closer to Captain than you are to an average Lieutenant."
"I'm not anywhere near captain."
"You have the strongest Shikai in all of Seireitei besides Yamamoto. That's on record."
"Wait, what?"
"Sode no Shirayuki officially ranks as Seiretei's second strongest Shikai, followed by Hyorinmaru. I can't wait to find out what your Bankai is."
"Bankai? Do you know how long that will be?!"
"Soon if you try."
"Very funny, you think I don't try?"
"You seem to be under the impression that it's impossible."
"Not impossible, just incredibly difficult."
"So you're not up to the task?"
"How dare you suggest that I can't achieve Bankai!"
"Then I propose a bet, if you don't achieve Bankai before I graduate, then I will take over all your missions for the next year so that you may train more. Of course, this will not look good to others, as it will seem that you are slacking off instead of doing your duty as a Shinigami. If you do achieve Bankai, I will teach you several Kidou that I made myself."
Rukia's tongue outran her mind as she spoke, "I accept."
"Wonderful. Good luck with Bankai." Kairi strode back into the Academy, while Rukia finally registered what had just happened, and shunpoed to the Kuchiki family training grounds. She needed to learn Bankai before Kairi graduated, otherwise her brother would end up losing all respect for her when she stopped doing missions. Considering Kairi's Kidou, she probably had less than 6 years.
Kairi knew that Rukia had a lot less than 6 years, no more than two months, but it would make Rukia work hard either way. She was only a hairsbreadth from Bankai as it was. It wouldn't take long if Rukia applied herself.
Hoho was next, and she needed to get Shunpo down fast.
Sora walked into Expert Zanjutsu, where Ikkaku Madarame watched over the 8 students in the class (counting Sora). He immediately decided to test Sora's strength, unsure whether he should be in the class or not. Sora's position was proven perfectly reasonable as Hozukimaru's sealed form flew across the room, and Ikkaku was barely spared an impalement.
Now though, Ikkaku was using his Zanpakuto's Shikai. Hozukimaru shot towards Sora, the spear giving him a major advantage in range. Sora blurred forward and struck at Ikkaku. The weakness of a spear was that it was hard to defend with, thus attacking was his best chance. As his Asauchi approached Ikkaku, the spear suddenly split apart, catching Sora unaware.
The divided weapon's first segment, the one closest to Ikkaku, blocked the strike, while the blade cut into Sora from behind. Reminded of his battle with Zaraki, Sora ignored the attack, because dropping the offensive would leave him open to be slaughtered.
He transferred himself above Ikkaku in the form of electricity before swinging his sword from above.
Ikkaku sidestepped, and Sora's Asauchi stabbed into the stone floor, leaving him momentarily immobilized as he tried to free his sword. Ikkaku sealed Hozukimaru and swung for Sora's throat. Thinking fast, Sora wrapped his hand in mana, creating a thin shell of it, and caught the blade.
Hozukimaru stopped dead and Ikkaku's eyes widened, moments before Sora freed his sword and swung it up to the man's throat, stopping at the last moment.
Ikkaku seemed quite excited as the battle ended, and tried to start another round. Fortunately for Sora, Ikkaku suddenly remembered the orders that he'd gotten from Hitsugaya. He quickly sent Sora to a quiet training ground just outside the academy. Apparently Hitsugaya didn't like going near the academy, as the students rarely showed proper respect.
Sora happily headed on his way.
Sora arrived at the training ground, only to be met by a kid who appeared younger than him. He remembered Yumichika's advice, fortunately, and ignored the taicho's height and apparent age. Hitsugaya spoke, "Now, I want you to understand that I'm only here because Yumichika is quite sure that you're something special. If you disappoint me, this will be a one-time training session, do you understand?"
For once expressing a genuine respect, Sora nodded, "Yes, Hitsugaya-taicho." Hitsugaya accepted that, and continued speaking, "In that case, answer this question. Can you hear your Zanpakuto?" Sora was familiar with the idea, but had not actually attempted it as of yet, "No, I have not."
"Then that will be your task for today. I will help you speak to it, and put you on the path to Shikai. Sit down, legs crossed, and close your eyes. Focus on your Reiryoku, nothing else. Focus on the texture, the flavor, of your Reiryoku, until there is nothing else."
Sora slowly let the world fall away, until his Reiryoku-his mana-was all that he could feel. "Now, within your Reiryoku, there should be an anomaly, something which is different, more active, than the rest. Feel it, try to draw it out."
Sora felt something, and slowly drew it to him, pulling it free of the sea of Reiryoku, embracing it. He felt the physical world vanish. He opened his eyes, and found himself in his mindscape, his arms wrapped around the source of the feeling.
Looking down, Larxene stared up at him tenderly for an instant before her gaze flared in anger. "What the hell are you doing!?" Sora stammered while he released her, "Sorry, I was looking for my Zanpakuto spirit, I didn't think that drawing it to me would be so literal. I also didn't expect to see you it its place."
Larxene rolled her eyes, "He's over there. The method Hitsugaya told you senses the primary additional consciousness in your mindscape. In your case that is me, while in Shinigami it is usually their Zanpakuto spirit."
Turning toward the location Larxene had gestured towards, he came face to face with a massive wolf, the beast towering over him. The creature spoke, "I am the spirit of you Zanpakuto. If you wish my power, my test must be passed." Sora was unnerved by the creature, but nodded, "What is your test then?"
"I will not be a lesser being in your mind. I will not grant you my power until I rule above all the others within here. Kill the woman, and I will become the highest, and you will gain my power." Sora's sealed Zanpakuto appeared in his hand. Sora stared in horror at the wolf, shocked by his demand. Sora spoke, "In that case…I have no other choice." Larxene's eyes widened, hurt beyond measure in her eyes.
The wolf's expression became smug, only to have the sword run it through. "If you will dare make such demands, I will rip your power from you instead!" He jammed his hand into the wolf's chest, seeking the power within it, but the wolf faded away. Across the room, Larxene's eyes lit up, relief sweeping across her features.
Suddenly Sora heard motion behind him, and spun to attack. The wolf was sitting there, it's mouth hanging open as it panted, seeming to grin. It was now only half again as large as a normal wolf.
The wolf smirked(or at least that was the impression Sora got), "Well done, I would never give my power to someone who would kill his packmates for power, much less his-" Sora cut him off before he could finish, "WHAT!!! That was some sick test?! How dare you!" The wolf was unfazed, "I did what I had too to make sure you were worthy. My apologies for the crudeness of my methods. Now, hear my name…"
Sora's eyes, still alight with anger at the wolf, snapped open as syllables fell from his lips, "Furihanasu Kusari, Fenris!" His Asauchi-no, his Zanpakuto glowed as something shot to it from his pocket. Staring into the glow, he watched as the Fenrir keyblade melted into his Zanpakuto.
The blade grew until it was about six inches wide and forty inches long. Chains were wrapped about the length of the blade, pitch black and ominous. The blade itself was steel-grey and unremarkable, but Sora could feel power lurking just beneath the surface, held back by the chains. He stared at Fenris in slight awe, seeing his Zanpakuto's true form for the first time was amazing.
Toushiro watched as Sora used Shikai, "Ok Sora, you have my interest, I'll see you tomorrow after your classes." He strode off.
Grimmjow followed the mysterious adjuchas known as Riku to the court of Baraggan. The black hollow, looking ironically like the Shinigami of myth, presided over his court. The hollow's army of adjuchas and weaker surrounded him, and, at a nod from Riku,
Grimmjow attacked, ripping open an Adjuchas without hesitation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Riku shoot towards Baraggan, his cloak-his flesh-pulling in other hollows and devouring them when they blocked his way. As Grimmjow tore open another Adjuchas, feeling its power join with his, the greater battle began.
Baraggan stared at the creature before him, who had arrogantly challenged him and his army. Baraggan spoke, "You dare to challenge my might. I am the unavoidable end of all things, I am rot, I am decay, I am death, I am the inescapable clock which ticks away the seconds 'till your death. All mortal beings and all of their creations are within my domain. You cannot win."
The being made no move or gesture as a deep voice echoed from beneath the hood, "All mortals feel the ticking of time, all of their creations will decay, all worlds will one day turn to dust. They all will fall before you. Unfortunately, though they may rot away and fade to dust, the Darkness has always existed and will always exist. Darkness is eternal, untouched by the curse of time, and before it you are nothing. Say goodbye to the light of the stars above you, the light of the moon and sun, and fade into Darkness. Darkra."
Black tendrils arose from the ground, wrapping around Baraggan, as he thrashed against it with his power, failing to rot away the eternal force they represented. He tasted the inevitability of death that only others were meant to feel. He felt hope fade away as the being's cloak opened, and the tendrils dragged him into the Darkness.
Grimmjow felt Baraggan's reiatsu vanish, and knew that the real battle was over as he ate another Adjuchas. After consuming scores of other Hollows, he and Riku were alone. The cloaked hollow was hunched over and seemed to be shaking, darkness flowing into him from all around.
The cloak deepened to a darker black, and darker still until the flesh of the hollow was indistinguishable from the darkness that it contained within. No longer concealing the true darkness within, it had become that darkness, cloaking something which Grimmjow did not want to contemplate.
He knew that he stood before a Vasto Lorde. Now, if only he had been as fortunate. Riku stabilized, before looking at him, "I see that his army did not complete your transformation. In that case, I will follow through with my promise." A shred of darkness shot out before Grimmjow could respond touching his forehead, and he felt something within him resonate with it, growing wilder and more powerful from proximity alone.
His flesh seemed to burn with that power. Slowly his white skin darkened to black and ebony blades extended from his shoulder blades. His paws grew and his claws drew free of their own accord, blacker than night as Darkness ran along the edge of each. Both sets of fangs grew, no longer fully containable within his mouth.
He felt his senses shoot to new levels as his muscles became far stronger than before. He knew that his legs could carry him far faster than the speed of sound, to the point where he would be able to move faster than any other in Hueco Mundo. He knew that his cero would be blackened forever with the Darkness. He knew that his jaws could rip through the very fabric of reality, tearing portals to new worlds, to other realities.
He also knew that the being before him, Riku, was far stronger than he would ever be. He didn't mind, seeing as he no longer felt the hunger he had before. No longer did he fear being consumed, or need to consume others. That had ended when he became a Vasto Lorde. Riku had given him this power, and had earned his trust. Grimmjow did not fear Riku's power, for he knew he would never oppose it.
Six weeks later.
Kairi blocked Rukia's Haien with an incantationless Danku (which she had become rather fond of) while the Expert Kidou class(she'd already tested out of Advanced Kidou) watched the battle, enthralled. The purple flames of Haien struck harmlessly against the rectangular barrier capable of blocking Hadou up to 89.
Kairi struck back mercilessly with Raikouho. The lightning spell struck a hastily constructed Enkosen shield, only to pierce through. It seemed Rukia had underestimated the attack, and paid for it by taking the bolt of lightning-diminished though it was by the shield-head on.
Rukia flew backwards, barely stabilizing herself in time to land on her feet. She chanted, "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, he who bears the name of man! Inscribe upon the wall of blue flame a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens! Hadou 63, Soren Sokatsui."
The familiar twin burst of fire shot towards Kairi, who cast her own spell, "Hiryugekizokushintenraiho." The overly lengthy spell name for her newest Kidou ripped forth from her lips, the blast of lightning wiping the blue flames from existence easily, and leaving Rukia unconscious on the ground when the smoke cleared. Kairi was just glad she hadn't put a fatal amount of reiryoku behind it. Quickly kneeling beside Rukia, she spoke softly, "Curaga." Rukia awoke moments later, almost fully healed.
Rukia smiled at her friend. Their relationship had changed since they made the bet six weeks ago. Kairi was already far more adept than Rukia in Kidou, but had yet to graduate due to lack of skill in Zanjutsu. Rukia was thankful for it too, she wasn't quite capable of Bankai yet. They had continued their investigation, however slowly. They'd eliminated the Taichos Ukitake, Kyoraku, Zaraki, and Unohana. It was still a ways to go.
Kairi had stood and extended a hand to help her up. Rukia took it.
After going their separate ways after class-Expert Kidou was the last of the day-a Hell Butterfly landed on Rukia's hand. It seemed she had an assignment in the human world today. It would be nice to kill some hollows.
She quickly exited via Senkaimon to the town of Karakura.
AN: Okay, here is part one of chapter 6. This story is not quite dead yet, despite appearances. Unfortunately, I find myself unable to write well much of the time, and thus only manage to right at random points in time for a day or two. Thus, a single chapter can take many months if I find myself completely uninspired.
I thank all the reviewers for their support. Without that, I may have never gotten around to posting this. The second half is in the works already, and should be released in a more reasonable amount time than this was.
On a side note, please understand that this story was planned out prior to the release of 358/2 days and Birth by Sleep. Some ideas may be borrowed from them later, but there will be significant differences.