Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Rosario+Vampire
Author's Notes: Yeah, yeah. I get it. Last chapter sucked. I hope this chapter will make it up to you. As always, reviews are appreciated and please, enjoy.
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"Do you see them anymore?... The spirits?" Tae asked Daisuke, notepad in hand.
Daisuke was quiet. He continuously stared at the corner, unblinking. Then, he said, "No. Not as often as before…"
Tae quickly scribbled some notes onto the notepad, Patient #1087 claims to not see as much "spirits" anymore. Could be true… Could also be false…
"Tae?..." Daisuke asked, shifting his eyes away from the corner, staring directly into Tae's eyes.
Tae shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to avoid those silver-blue eyes. There was just something simply… unnerving about them.
"Uh-h… AHEM, what is it Daisuke?" Tae said, trying to avoid eye contact.
"Do you believe in spirits?"
Tae was taken aback by the question. He sat silent and still for several seconds.
"Was brought up to, yes. But I don't believe the possibility of lingering spirits just wandering around…" Tae said, unsure of what else to say.
With his knees at his chest, Daisuke sat still, apparently thinking intently about Tae's response. He then closed his eyes and again, was still.
"Your idea of impossibility doesn't mean it is not possible…" He said, breaking the tension of silence, again, staring into Tae's eyes once again.
Tae didn't know what to say.
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Tae packed up all of his belongings upon finishing his meeting with Daisuke. However, while packing, he noticed a crumpled piece of paper resting by his foot, several papers actually. He picked one up.
"Daisuke. What's this?" Tae asked as he began to fold open the paper.
Daisuke didn't say anything; however his body posture became rigid. But it was as if he was frightened.
When Tae unfolded the paper, he too, froze. The picture brought back the memory of the nightmare in the dark corridor. All he could do was stare.
"Da-Daisuke?..." Tae began, "Wh-what is this?" He tore his eyes away from the paper, crumpled it up, and threw it into the shadows.
Daisuke sat up, bent over the bed, and picked up each wad of paper. He unfolded each one, every single one of them having the same beast with the appendages, hole in chest, and hideous eyes. With them all, Daisuke began tearing each one to pieces, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
Tae could do nothing but watch as the boy was filled with such un-witnessed rage. He noticed something irregular however; there was a slight formation of small ice crystals at the lines of each rip.
Daisuke was breathing heavily. He then brought a hand up to his face. He began to sob softly.
"I'm sorry Daisuke. I didn't mean to…" Tae didn't finish the statement.
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Several minutes passed. The sobbing seemed to cease. Then silence. Tae leaned against a wall and pulled out a cigarette. He pulled out his lighter and lit the cig. He inhaled deeply, allowing the cigarette to have full effect inside of him.
"… It killed my mother…"
Tae pulled the cig out of his mouth. "The beast…?"
"It ruined my life… It brought me here" Daisuke's voice continually rising.
"Daisuke… how is it-"
"YOU'VE SEEN IT TOO!" Daisuke suddenly yelled, shocking Tae. He almost dropped the cigarette.
"I KNOW YOU HAVE SEEN IT! I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR EYES! DON'T LIE TO ME TAE. YOU KNOW YOU HAVE!" With the statement, the air around the cell began turning cold.
Tae, oblivious of the frost forming around him, put the cigarette into his mouth only to find out that his cig had burned out. Dammit…
Daisuke put his hand through his hair. The cold around the walls receding back. Then, he composed himself.
"… I'm sorry." Daisuke finally said to a pale-face Tae.
Tae couldn't say anything.
"Tae. Where did you see the beast?"
Still, no color returned to his face. However, Tae found his voice.
"…The beast came to me in a dream…"
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Daisuke fell back onto his bed. Several hours had passed since his discussion with Tae. The beast… The… hollow… Tae said the beast was his brother, but his appearance changed… Into the hideous monstrosity Daisuke last recalled seeing that fateful day.
It just doesn't add up… Hollows are fallen spirits. They are dead. They are supposed to be dead… Tae's brother Hyun-Joon is alive. The last time Tae saw him was at some sort of prison incident. Did Tae's brother… No… The beast I encountered was over ten years ago… It's impossible… How? How do we see the same beast but we are from completely different backgrounds? Tae's was from a dream… But mine was what actually happened… I don't get it… this is all too confusing…
Daisuke massaged his temples. The thinking was tiring him out. But it's best that I don't think about this… Might as well get some sleep. With that thought, Daisuke closed his eyes and fell to a dreamless slumber.
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"Hey. Hey, Daisuke. Wake up."
Daisuke rubbed his eyes and saw Shin's grinning face right in front of his. He was also upside down, floating in the air
There was a long and loud scream in Cell #1087 that night.
"WHAT THE HELL SHIN?!" Daisuke yelled after catching his breath from screaming.
Shin was laughing his ass off in one of the corners, upside down of course.
"Thought that awaking you that way would keep you on your toes later for our training." Shin said, still with his mischievous grin.
"Yeah. Thanks Shin. Thanks a LOT." Daisuke said, getting up. Fastening his silver watch, he picked up his Substitute Soul Reaper badge. Soon enough, with flashing light, he was back in his Soul Reaper form.
Oh how I missed being in this body.(?!)
Unsheathing his sword, Shin asked, "You ready to head out?"
Grinning, Daisuke replied, "Let's go."
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"C'mon! Aim lower!" Shin yelled to Daisuke as he aimed his hand towards one of the reishi target boards Shin set up. The two were training in an abandoned warehouse not too far from the orphanage. Shinnosuke had set up a Kido barrier around the warehouse so that no one would know what was taking place inside the building. Shin was doing Jinzen while Daisuke practiced Kido spells. Surprisingly, Daisuke's ability in controlling and firing such spells seemed so natural. Already, Daisuke had mastered several Hado Spells (#1 Sho, #4 Byakurai, #31 Shakkaho, and #33 Sokatsui) and plenty of Bakudo Spells (#1 Sai, #4 Hainawa, #8 Seki, #61 Rikujokoro, and #81 Danku [He still needed work on #30 Shitotsu Sansen]) As of that point, Daisuke was practicing Soren Sokatsui, a far more powerful and advanced version of Sokatsui.
"Hado #73: Soren Sokatsui!" Daisuke chanted as he aimed his index and middle fingers towards the target. Two blue bursts of spiritual energy crashed out of his fingertips and made their way towards the target. There was a rather large explosion. As the smoke and light cleared, the target had been completely disintegrated.
"Nice shot, Daisuke." Shin cheered from his side of the building, still communicating with his Zanpaku-to.
Daisuke sat down to rest. For a first extensive training day, he had learned quite a load of spells that would actually take several years to master. He was truly learning quickly.
Earlier, he and Shin had been sparring. At first it had been with Zanpaku-to's (Daisuke lost the bout) then the two fought using hand-to-hand combat (Much to his glee, Daisuke beat the seasoned Soul Reaper in a fair tussle). "There are four types of fighting. Zanjustsu; sword fighting and techniques. Hoho; fast, close-quarters combat that incorporates flash-stepping. Hakuda; standard hand-to-hand combat. Finally, Kido; Spells and enchantments that can be used in the heat of battle.
Daisuke had proved himself to well-versed in all fields. Although he was an average 70 in offensive capabilities, he was 75 in defense, 90 in mobility,Kido/Reiatsu was 85, and his total physical strength was about 80. Not bad. Not bad at all.
After resting for a while, Shin's Soul Pager began to ring.
"Hollows. Northeast from here. Around the Seoul district." Shin said, standing up, Zanpaku-to in hand. He then looked at Daisuke, who was preparing himself.
"Think you can handle it?" Shin asked him, grinning.
"Wait. By myself?" Daisuke asked, a bit surprised, some part of him told himself that he wasn't ready.
"Yeah. It will be good training for you. Don't worry, I'll keep a fair distance away from you and I will come to your aid if the time comes."
Daisuke thought about the plan for a moment. Then, unsheathing his sword, he looked at Shin.
"Alright. I'll go."
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"Hado #4: Byakurai!" Daisuke yelled as he discharged pale lightning at a nearby hollow. He then flash-stepped forward and stabbed another with his Zanpaku-to. He leapt up and brought down his sword on a fleeing hollow. Then blade connected with the head with a satisfying crack as the hollow was engulfed by thick ice. Soon, the hollow's body cracked apart. The hollows in the current area had all been sublimated. There was no more work left to do. However, Daisuke felt like patrolling around, searching for hollows and touring the city for a bit.
The city was truly a sight to behold. Skylights and brightly lit buildings were everywhere. Colorful banners and posters decorated a plentiful amount of structures. People were littered across the streets, swarming from one shop to another. Cars and buses continuously honked in the streets. He leapt across the skies. He felt as if he was flying… Just like the time he rode the swings… A single tear fell from his eye. He brushed it away quickly. Farther along the paved road, he saw someone he recognized walking home. The person was alone. Daisuke followed in pursuit, just for the hell of it. I mean, why not?
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Tae was walking home after a dinner party with his friends at a nearby restaurant. The party was held because his friend's son had received an invitation to attend a private academy. Youkai Academy was it? I don't even remember. They ate loads of good quality food and they drank quite a lot too. Tae was one of the few who refused to drink.
He walked along the empty streets leading to his house. It had been a long day and he was going to enjoy sleeping. A phone call came from one of his friends and he continued talking till he reached the intersection. He put his phone away and he saw… A boy?
The boy was in dirty shorts and a sweater. He seemed to be caked in what seemed to be mud. The boy was crouching down and staring at a wall. Strange. Not a time for children to be out this late… Hell, even I shouldn't be out this late.
Tae approached the boy. "Hey, kid? You should go home. It's late and it will be dangerous for you to be alone here."
The boy did not reply nor face him.
Tae, now pretty tired and a bit pissed off, talked to the boy one more time, "Kid. You should head home. Now. It's late."
The boy turned his head and faced Tae.
What he boy did next was absolutely horrifying. The boy changed his bodily form. He grew about five times larger and skin turned all white with strange red markings all over his skin. A horrid mask with long, serrated teeth covered the boy's mutilated face. Then, a hole appeared in his chest. It bared a similar resemblance to Daisuke's pictures with the beasts but this one was different. It was… less hideous… Although hideous would be an understatement.
Tae was frozen in fear as the beast approached him. One step at a time.
Soon, Tae found enough strength to turn and run for his life. He ran as hard as he could to flee from this monstrosity. He looked back to see where the beast had gone but it wasn't there. It was airborne. Soon enough, it leapt onto Tae. Tae came crashing towards the ground, the beast on top of him. He felt excruciating pain from his chest. He began to lose sight as the beast's jaws moved toward his head. He closed his eyes as he thought that he was going to die that instant. However, the killing blow never came.
Tae opened his eyes briefly to see a young man with long, silver hair in a white kimono-like robe standing in front of him. The man had a strange sword in his hands as he blocked the teeth from sinking into Tae's neck. The young man turned around, Tae saw that the man had silver-blue eyes.
"D-Daisuke?..." he whispered before he passed out.
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Daisuke intervened just in time. He stuck his sword right into the behemoth's mouth, preventing it from chomping down on Tae's head. With a forceful kick, he landed it on the hollow's face, knocking it back several feet. Firmly gripping his sword, he charged at the hollow. The hollow anticipated this move and swiftly moved to the right to dodge it, but he wasn't swift enough.
Daisuke forgot a major rule when it came to sublimating hollows.
"Strike from the back of the head."
Daisuke instead mis-swung and broke off a portion of the hollow's mask. His wristwatch began to vibrate violently.
Daisuke stared in horror. The hollow brought its hands to its face and fled through a gray portal with an ear-deafening scream.
But this wasn't what horrified Daisuke.
What horrified him… was that this hollow…
Was Sang-Hyun.
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(A/N): YES! FINISHED THE CHAPTER! I HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED IT! The next chapter shall be posted as soon as I finish it. Thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated. Until next time…
~SAYONARA~
