A Child's Journey
Chapter 7
A/N: Hey ya'll, I'm almost finished with my finals in college. So can't wait to have a whole month off from school. Drawing I has been working me to death lately, with all of the still-lifes and self-portraits I've had to draw these past two weeks. Anyways, I've had to force myself to make this chapter longer than some of the others because I was just impatient and wanted to introduce another oc character who'll play a big role in the story, as well as finally get some of the privaron espada in here like I promised darkmachines earlier, although they will just be announcements. I'll get more in-depth with them later.
Also, I've got some Halibel-fluff here just cuz it seemed like it would be fun. I mean, if her and her fraccion are going to be main characters, than I've got to write about them fighting, right?
Please enjoy and review! I don't own Bleach or the canon characters.
"Come on, Malik! We went easy on you last time! If you don't push yourself, you're never going to land a scratch on me!"
Malik answered Yoruichi's call with a slash towards her midsection. His movements were terribly hampered by the extremely heavy yet flexible weight vest he was wearing. This was no ordinary weight vest, of course. Urahara and Yoruichi both designed it as a sleeveless vest that consumed his spiritual pressure, much like Kenpachi's eye patch. With more than half of his spiritual pressure drained away, his speed, strength, and reflexes were reduced dramatically, much to his annoyance.
It all started out as a surprise gift Yoruichi said she had for him. He was completely unaware of what she was truly up to. She handed him the vest with nothing but a smile for him to go on and he had obediantly put it on. Instantly, he felt heavier, like he had the king of all hangovers. She than went to explain to him its purpose. She said he was to wear it at all times, as part of his strength and speed training.
Worst part of all was that now when he was fighting her, her now-far superior spiritual pressure knocked his aside, making him as helpless as a fish out of water. A fish that the were-cat intended to play with before picking apart piece by piece.
He raised his blade up to block a kick from her, but the force sent him careening towards the ground. Before he impacted the ground, she appeared beneath him and drove her knee into his back. There was a loud pop, but she didn't let up. Grabbing him by his hand, she swung him around and threw him into some rocks, effectively destroying the landmass.
When the dust cloud dispersed, Malik was standing on his own strength, rubbing his lower back. Yoruichi smiled at his resilience. Even with the vest making him as weak as a tenth seat, he was still handling himself pretty well. She shunpo-ed into him, driving her elbow into his gut and knocking the wind out of him. He fell to his knees wheezing but she didn't give him the chance to get his breath back. She threw an uppercut that had enough force to send him off his knees and halfway to the ceiling of the training facility.
She appeared above him and did a front flip, kicking him back to the ground. He seemed to be on a one way trip to pain but he flipped over to put his feet underneath him and land smoothly on the ground. At first, the woman thought he had got his wind back in between the beating but when he went to a knee again, holding his free hand to his diaphram, she saw that he was still having trouble breathing.
"Even with your powers drastically weakened, it impressive none the less that you're still up, Malik."
He finally seemed to have gotten his air back cuz he stood up and readied his zanpakutou, Gabriel. The long, thin blade started glowing a mixture of white and blue along its length. His reiatsu started to rise again, though at a slower rate than it would have normally. Still, it didn't stop till his strength had built up to that of a lieutenant's. Yoruichi smirked, obviously loving the strength he possessed and the fighting spirit he had in him.
"Good, Malik. Very good. Keep fighting. Don't give in to the pain; rather embrace it. You've still got plenty in you. That's good, this training session will not end until you land a hit on me."
If it were anyone besides Yoruichi, Malik wouldn't have been too worried, but sadly this WAS Yoruichi, the Goddess of Flash, the woman who possessed a mastery of shunpo far greater than any being alive. He knew this wasn't going to end anytime soon.
'That isn't hopelessness I hear, is it?' Gabriel mused.
'Not a chance in Hell, Gabriel. You know that.'
'Sometimes your thought process makes me wonder.'
'You shouldn't worry yourself to death. You're flattering me.'
He had gotten to know his zanpakutou, Gabriel, alot lately, often visiting his inner world either purposefully or whenever he was asleep. He could usually tell if his spirit was in a bad or good mood by the change of scenery of the inner world. If he was happy, than the large forest world was calm and peaceful, with a full overcast of grey, moving clouds and a medium wind. If he was mad or upset, it'd be like when they first fought: raining cats and dogs, hurricane force winds, tornadoes, lightning storms, and trees flying through the air.
There, they would talk and discuss things with each other, albeit he usually already knew everything about Malik, from his birth, to his girlfriend who he kept away from, but not unknown to, his old man who'd have been begging for great grandchildren, to his conversations with the other spirit. So far, Gabriel had no beef with IT, seeing as to how it was so forceful in making Malik grow stronger with his own zanpakutou first.
Through their conversations, he felt himself and Gabriel grow closer as each of their powers grew. When it would reach certain points, his spirit would reveal a little bit more about himself, showing him new techniques, the strengths and weaknesses of his shikai, the purpose of the other two zanpakutou that were always hung behind his back, and lots of other things. Though he was becoming closer to his spirit, his cold eyes, that evil smirk, and the way he always spoke never ceased to put him somewhat at unease. Still, it was something that he would eventually come to terms with.
Now, back to the real world, they were still discussing their current situation. They'd been at it for atleast three hours now, so Malik was milking this brief break the most he could.
'Don't confuse what I said with actual concern, Malik. You've still a ways to go before I show true worry over your well-being.'
'Aw, and here I thought we were making a breakthrough.'
'Oooh, sorry to shatter your rainbow, kid.'
'Don't call me kid. I'm almost eighteen.'
'Living for eighteen years doesn't make you a man.'
'Whatever...so, what do you suppose we do about our Yoruichi situation? This vest is consuming our spiritual powers to a fifth of what it normally is. We'll never catch her going head on.'
'When have you actually cared about adversity? Going head on is exactly what she wants us to do. This vest is meant to condition your body in strength, speed, reflexes, and endurance. Like running with a weight vest on.'
'What are you saying?'
'Simple. Toughen up and get over the limitations. You're meant to break through them and grow more powerful. She knows you'll never catch her with it on, but she wants to see you push yourself past your breaking point. She'll stop the training session whenever she feels enough is enough.'
'Alright, I'm trusting you here.'
'Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. She wants to see you grow stronger more than you know.'
'I'm not going to ask for you to explain that.'
'Here she comes.'
True to his word, Yoruichi came straight at them. Malik went to strike her and was estatic to see his blade make contact and ..pass right through?
'What the Hell?'
'Look out. It's an afterimage.'
Sure enough, the image eventually disappeared right before his eyes. His eyes scanned all around him but Yoruichi was a slick one.
"Got'cha!"
He heard her yell but never saw the foot that connected with his jaw, fracturing it, and sending him flying across the field, yet again. He went and tumbled and bounced off of the ground atleast a dozen times before finally coming to a stop. Unfortunately, he came to a stop because there was a wall there. His body slowly peeled out from its indention in the wall and fell to the floor.
'Get up, Malik. Try not to get yourself killed. Remember, there are two of us here.'
"Right...don't get killed..Got it," he grumbled roughly. He stood up and popped his back a couple of times, resulting in several loud pops throughout his body.
"You're guard's down!" Yoruichi yelled as she came flying in with a punch. Malik somehow ducked under the blow, but she had responded with bringing her knee up, driving it into his chest, and knocking him once again into the nearby wall. As he was stuck there, Yoruichi went to town on him, punching his body hundreds of times within the span of ten seconds. Her arms were invisible as they moved with impossible speed, trying their hardest to put him out for good.
After what seemed like forever, she finally stopped. He managed to throw a glance towards her and saw that she was practicing shaking her hands. The wrapping around her fists were literally smoking from the friction of the flurry of punches. She was literally smoking hot.
That thought caused him to chuckle, of all things, and it didn't pass by Yoruichi. She took it as a hit to her pride and she turned her now fiery eyes on the boy still stuck in the wall.
'Mmm, she's one hot mama when she's pissed.'
'I'm going to pretend you didn't say that.'
'I'm apart of your soul, Malik. If I'm thinking it, than you can't deny that you've thought it. I've seen through your eyes the way you've looked at her.'
'Those were accidents! I have more respect for women than some spirits I know. And also, unless you've forgotten, I've got a girlfriend!.'
'Who probably thinks you're either dead or far away.'
'Just shut up! Yoruichi thinks I was laughing at her and I'm going to need all the help I can get. The sooner we get off this wall the better, cuz she's coming right for us!'
With the added strength from his zanpakutou refueling him again, Malik pulled himself off the wall, causing Yoruichi to stop walking towards him and opted for running.
"Just wait till I get my hands around your neck, Malik! We'll see who's laughing than!"
"Oh shit.."
(Hueco Mundo)
Aizen had just now concluding a meeting with, not the Espada, but rather the arrancar who use to be Espada but were replaced. The Privaron Espada. He had formed this group so the arrancar before him, all strong in their own right, wouldn't be demoralized with the loss of their positions and authority.
"So we are all clear than, about your positions? The Privaron Espada will still be able to have authority over the lesser numeros, but will have to follow the current Espada, Gin, Tosen, and myself if the situation calls for it."
"Hai, Aizen-sama," the several arrancars spoke out.
"Excellent," he responded with a smile. "As with your new positions, you will be assign new ranks as well. To give you some leadership, I will start first with the head of the Privaron, Skullak Tuma."
An arrancar, about the same height as Grimmjow, stepped up. He had short brown hair and blue eyes. His mask fragment was on his head. It looked like a broken gladiator helmet. When he approached Aizen, he respectfully kneeled.
"Skullak Tuma. Your new number will be 101. Where would you like it?"
"I would like to have it here," Skullak responded, pointing to the front left half of his neck. Aizen nodded and soon carved the triple digit into his neck.
"There you go. Please wait to the side."
"Hai, Aizen-sama." With no other words, Skullak Tuma stood beside the shinigami captain. Looking over the rest of the Privaron, his eyes met Cirucci's and he gave her a wink, forcing her to blush madly. Unaware or uncaring of the silent exchange, Aizen continued.
"If you all would kindly line up in the order I call your name in, than this will be over quickly. Your number is your rank." He pulled out a small list and read it out.
"102- Arturo Plateado
103- Dordoni Alessandro Del Socaccio
104- Remarri Seto
105- Cirucci Sanderwicci
106- Luppi Antenor
107- Gantenbainne Mosqueda
108- Mosinguelle Tunichi
109- Aaroniero Arruruerie."
As he called them out, each one organized themselves in line correctly and one by one, they got their tattoos. Two of them were actually new arrancars. Remarri Seto and Mosinguelle Tunichi were created weeks ago. They were much stronger than the average numeros, but believed to not be as strong as the current Espada, so Aizen granted them positions in the Privaron.
Remarri had short blond hair cut in a Marine military style close-crop. He was a very muscular individual who stood about 7'2 and had a Texas accent, to the amusement of some of the Privaron. However, whatever amusement they found in his voice, they kept to themselves. One numero was unfortunate enough to discover his short temper and raw strength. The arrancar openly mocked his Texan accent, and in response, Remarri knocked his head clean off his shoulders with a punch that looked like he held back.
The other newcomer was Mosinguelle Tunichi. His ethnic background was unknown, but his name sounded closest to Italian. However, he acted anything but Italian. He was a pale, tall man, about 6'4. He was cut to the bone and had a huge upside-down triangle-shaped patch of short hair on his chest. He had long black hair and a long tongue that could reach mid-chest if he tried. He looked very sickly; aside from the pale skin, he had veins coming through the skin all over his body. No one knew anything about his fighting abilities, but the reiatsu he could put off deserved more than the 108 rank.
"And to conclude this meeting, I'm making the Captain of the Exequias, Rudobon Chelute."
Skullak watch with the most happiest expression out of anyone else as his long time friend received his title.
"I'm sure you all will make me proud. As such, I have complete faith that you will not disappoint me. This meeting is now dismissed." With that, he left them all to have another meeting with the other Espada in a couple of minutes.
Apache was lounging in her and the others' room, passing by the time with some exercises while Sun-Sun was on the balcony reading a book. Reading had quickly become one of her favorite hobbies after Aizen had shown them the library in Los Noches. The large room was filled from top to bottom with literature from both the Soul Society and the World of the Living, ranging from practical books(files and books on captains, their divisions, and the general history of the Soul Society) to leisure ones(fiction, nonfiction, biographies, newspapers, etc).
In all fairness, Tosen was the one who suggested the idea, claiming that it could only be beneficial to the arrancars since they don't have much to do besides train and fight. Aizen sympathized their daily routines and agreed to it. It took them a few weeks, but now, they have stockpiled over five thousand pieces of literature.
Sun-Sun was quickly drawn to the teen novels under the non-fiction genre. There were so many different kinds to choose from, all being so diverse, so strange. Especially the books from the world of the living. The humans, being so weak and defenseless, seemingly made up for their lack of power with their expansive imagination and surprisingly fantastic stories.
When her eyes met the end of the page she was on, she automatically flipped to the next side and continued reading. Her current book that she was reading was called Amazonia, by James Rollins. From what she's read so far, an expedition team sent to make contact with villages' shamans disappeared for a long time. Everyone considered them dead, until a man from the expedition walk into a village. He originally had one arm after losing the other to a bullet, but when he came out, he had both his arms.
'He must have some hollow powers to him and managed to regrow his lost arm,' she originally thought. However, as she had continued reading, her idea was wrong as his arm regrew by some mysterious means not yet discovered. She was hooked on it when she found that out.
"Sun-Sun, you've been reading that book for hours. Why don't you do something else. Wanna go beat up some weaker guy? Hey, I know, Lilinette's suppose to be getting out of Szayel's madhouse today. Wanna go help her get back into the groove of kicking Stark's ass?"
Sun-Sun's eyes never left her book and responded with a "nah.." Apache was put out by her instant denial.
"Man, there's not much to do around here." Griping, she plopped onto the bed with her arms spread out. She looked up at the white ceiling, which match the three bedroom room's white floor, white walls, white columns, and white door. All the white was so nauseating and disorienting. Atleast her bed wasn't white. No, her bed was her favorite thing in the room, because the covers and pillows were blue, like her hair.
With her bed's quiet, intoxicating voice telling her to lie down cuz she's been working too hard, she crawled up to her pillows and snuggled there. She'll just sleep her boredom away. As she closed her eyes, her door swung open and the not-to-quiet Mila-Rose bulldozed through the room's serenity and peacefulness.
"Man, this sucks. I've been all over Los Noches, but there just aren't hardly any cute guys. You'd think that there'd be some, but there just aren't. There's probably two or three out of the whole arrancar army."
She saw her horned friend trying to sleep peacefully on her bed. A huge predatory grin crept onto her face as she eyed the unsuspecting deer. She looked over at Sun-Sun and brought her finger to her lips.
"shuuuussshh..."
Sun-Sun just watched with amusement as the lioness crept towards their sleeping companion. Mila was on all fours, making sure each step was soundless. When she finally got to the edge of the blue bed, she pounced her prey.
"Yiahhh!"
She soared over the length of the bed just as Apache's eyes snapped open. The girl didn't have time to react as the larger female landed right on top of her. The next event was truly a sight to behold. When Mila had landed on Apache, the smaller arrancar girl reacted like a cat with a bottlerocket tied to its tail. There were fists swinging and hands clawing and pulling hair. Amidst the yelling of curses and profanities, Sun-Sun had placed a marker in her book so she wouldn't lose her page and walked towards the bathroom.
"Mila, you psychobitch! I'm gonna kill you!" While Apache was all frowns, Mila-Rose's grin was happy with the thrill of putting effort into pinning her prey. The lioness hunter in her was very happy.
"Yeah, keep it up, Apache! You know I love to work for my meal."
A huge tick mark popped out on her forehead, as well as a tiny blush, showing Apache's frustration and apparent interpretation. "Just cuz I'm a deer doesn't mean you can pounce me like this. Lions hunt gazelle and zebras anyway."
"Gazelle. Zebra. Deer. They're all the same to me. Besides, I've got to take my boredom and frustrations out some way, and Sun-Sun's never much fun. Your reactions are the best."
"Bitch!"
As they went on, none noticed Sun-Sun come out of the bathroom with a bucket. She quietly watched on as the other two girls completely ignored her. Sighing, she placed her thumb and index to her mouth and blew a sharp whistle. The noise gained the two girls' attention. Apache had a vice grip on Mila's left wrist and the other hand was precariously holding her top. Mila was straddled on top of Apache and she had the arm to the hand gripping her top pretty much pinned while her other was holding down the deer girl's opposite shoulder. Without warning, Sun-Sun threw the bucket's content onto them.
The entire fortress of Los Noches was suddenly shakened by the ear-splitting scream of both Apache and Mila-Rose. Just coming out of an Espada's meeting, Halibel could easily hear the shrilling screams. Shaking her head in obvious annoyance, she sonido-ed to her fraccions' room. Appearing at the door, she let herself in and saw an innocent looking Sun-Sun sitting on the balcony, reading a book. Strangely, the other two were nowhere to be seen. A 'Hello, Halibel-sama,' and a nod pointed her towards Apache's room.
When she walked in, her eyes widen at the sight she saw. There were two figures shivering from inside the bed's blue blanket. However, the faces of Apache and Mila-Rose drenched wet and their eyes wider than headlights revealed who they belonged to. Mila-Rose was too shaken up to saying anything comprehensible, but Apache kept studdering something over and over again.
"C-c-c-cold-cold-cold...C-c-cold wa-wa-wa-wat-ta-ta-ta-ter...Ha-ha-hali-ba-ba-ba-bel-sa-sa-sa-sama.."
Their eyes never shrunk, but they looked from Halibel's to Sun-Sun. The Espada put two and two together in a second. "I've got to have the most disfunctional fraccion group in all of Hueco Mundo."
"Halibel-sama," Mila-Rose said, quivering. "We were just playing and Sun-Sun...(shivers loudly) threw a bucket of c-c-cold water on us...I hate cold water."
"Hmm, indeed she did. No need to be complaining though. It's just water."
"BUT IT'S FREEZING COLD!" blurted Apache. Realizing her seemingly disrespectful tone, she bowed her head rapidly. "I'm sorry...Halibel-sama."
Halibel nodded and looked over her two girls again, taking in how miserable they were. "Sun-Sun," she called calmly over her shoulder. The third arrancar girl got up nervously. "I think more baths are needed. Please bring two buckets this time."
Behind her sleeve, Sun-Sun's grin was a mile wide, as Mila and Apache were horrified. Too horrified to even object. What had they done wrong? Now a bucket for each of them?
Not a minute later, Sun-Sun reappeared with a bucket in each hand, giving the two fraccion girls an uncommon glimpse at their friend's face. Besides the three pink dots under her right eye, her skin was flawless. She had a small nose and mouth with thin pink lips centered perfectly on her face. She was stunningly beautiful for someone who hid her mouth behind her sleeve all the time.
"The water was still running cold, so it didn't take long, Halibel-sama."
Halibel nodded and grabbed the two buckets.
Avirama Redder was still pissed about his loss to Apache a month ago. However, she was more skilled than him than and there was nothing he could do about it. As for the future, he would train till his strength grew. He would make sure that the next time he faced that deer woman, he'd be standing over her bloodied form.
"Yeah, just you wait, Apache. You're gonna get yours coming soon."
Ggio Vega sonido-ed underneath him and fired another cero up at the released Avirama. "Quit daydreaming, Redder! You're never gonna get better if you don't focus on your training!"
Redder threw a murderous glare at his fellow fraccion. "Shut the fuck up, Ggio. I don't need you to tell me how to train!"
The smaller arrancar wasn't intimidated by the death glare, but more or less annoyed by Avirama's stubborness. 'Idiot. He's impossible to train with!' He fired another pair of ceros up at the bird, causing him to evade and stumble onto something else. He was looking through the balcony door of Halibel's fraccions' room. And what he saw made his heart stop.
The three girls couldn't believe their eyes. Halibel had just tossed the icy cold water from one of the buckets at Sun-Sun, catching her completely off-guard.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! COLD! COOOOLLLDD!" she screamed. She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, trying to warm her body up as she shook like a leaf on a tree. There was a rattling sound coming from her mouth as her teeth clacked rapidly against each other. The cold water soaked her entire arrancar uniform. Unfortunately, since it was white, her body began to show through, revealing her black underwear and black, laced top. Apache and Mila-Rose somehow blushed and felt warm from the sight, despite their freezing bodies. Who would've guessed that Sun-Sun had a decent rack on her.
The next thing Halibel did was a dream come true, for boys and girls alike. She took the final bucket and lifted it above her head. Her fraccions' eyes widen as she slowly poured the freezing water onto her face and body. The three girls, and even Avirama from outside, watched the water caress every bit of Halibel's incredible body. Her hair became flat against her head and her breasts began to show through her white sweater top, showing round, gradually hardening nipples poking into the fabric.
Unknowing of what they were doing at the moment, they continued watching as the water soaked everybit of her abs, back, and then work its way down into her lower garments. A sharp gasp from Halibel was followed by a slight moan of bliss as everybit of her body was soon covered in the cold water. Slowly, she raised her heavy eyelids up, giving each of her fraccion a short look of embarassment. Behind her collar, she actually blushed a bit.
"There..now we're all soaked in freezing water. No one has room to complain." As she turned around, her fraccions' eyes uncontrollably followed her back down to her toned, firm rear that was now exposed through the fabric, and they saw that their mistress was wearing a black g-string.
Avirama Redder had seen alot of battles and fights and blood&gore, but none of that had ever made him stop in awe like the sight of the Primera pouring cold water over her body did.
"humina..humina..humina..humina.."
"CERO!"
Redder didn't recognize Ggio earlier shouts, nor his cero shout. The next thing he felt was searing pain all throughout his body as he fell to the ground, blacking out before hitting.
Mila-Rose, Apache, and Sun-Sun had soon stopped shivering after their mistress left to her room right across from theirs. They weren't shivering cuz apparantly all of them were feeling incredibly warm throughout their body from the little display Halibel put on for them.
"Wow..." Apache wanted to slap herself after letting that slip out for anyone to grab. The last thing she needed was Mila-Rose accusing her of being a lesbian, but after seeing Halibel's body, she didn't even know if she'd be able to deny it now.
"Indeed."
Both Mila and Apache were surprised to hear that come from Sun-Sun, who'd started shivering again. "Halibel-sama has us beat when it comes to beautiful bodies. She's a million times ahead of me." She had accidentally put a bit of sad jealousy into her tone, betraying her stoic face. But Mila caught it.
"Come on, Sun-Sun. You've got a great body. I don't see why you hide it." She gave Sun-Sun her a smile to reinforce her statement. The smile made her blush again, but thankfully her arm sleeve hid it.
"Well, I'm freezing right now, so I'm going to go change." Sun-Sun walked off, leaving Apache and Mila alone soaking wet in the bed. Not good..or is it?
(World of the Living)
The girl was so excited as she made her way towards the street her boyfriend lived on. She was very concerned for her Malik when she heard that he was extremely sick. Unfortunately, neither of his two friends knew much about it either. His grandpa just contacted the school and said that he was down with a series of different ailments. She had tried to visit him that day but his grandpa Toicha urged her to not come in as Malik was very contagious. Put out, she dropped off some incense that she normally used to help herself feel better and asked him to tell Malik she loves him.
However, it's been nearly a month now and Fran hasn't seen him since, mainly because she was visiting her adoptive grandparents in Tokyo for that entire time. This was the first day she was back and she wasn't going to be deterrred this time, even if his grandpa told her no. She'll run him right over if she had to.
As the tall girl, probably 6'2, made her way down the street, a couple of guys walking past her whistled to her. "Hey, pretty girl," said a short lanky kid. He would be the first to suffer. She threw them a 'fuck-off' glare but they weren't scared. His slightly taller companion, one would looked like a greaser, minus the jacket and shades, was practically unclothing her with his eyes.
"Come on, baby. Why don't you come with us? We'll show you a good time."
A large tick mark popped on her forehead, but her long, white hair obscurred its view as her bangs fell over half her face and over part of her chest. Too bad for them. She slowly opened her eyes, revealing a sharp pair of crimson. Though her murderous intent was choking the air, she decided to play along with them for fun. She walked towards them, her long legs striding in front of each other.
"Now what good time would you be willing to show me?"
Seeing that she wasn't rejecting them as other girls have done, their courage got a little bit stronger.
"Well, there's this pretty cool club that's open every night, but our brother's the bouncer and he lets us in. You ever been clubbin'?"
She smirked and gave a little chuckle. "Why, yes, actually. I have clubbed before...but I doubt it's the same thing you're talking about." Without warning, she brought her right leg up and Spartan kicked him in the chest like Leonitus did in '300'. The blow sends the shorter boy flying across the sidewalk about thirty feet before a mailbox attempted to stop him. He took it out in the process and he was unconscious in a pile of letters.
She turned to the taller boy who was too stunned by the move. "Doesn't your friend know that breaking a mailbox is a federal offense," she practically purred. She grab the boy by his shirt collar and picked him up over her head. "Get lost."
With that, she reared him back and threw him towards his friend. Seeing the fun was over, she huffed and continued walking towards Malik's house. 'Weak assholes.'
That was something her Malik wasn't, and she loved that. He was probably the most underrated guy in the school, opting to be the nice guy who'd protect himself and his friends if the occassion arised. He would never start any fights, but by God he'd finish them.
He'd first gotten her attention when he was walking by a couple of guys who were making sexual references towards her. He didn't even know her at the time but he still stopped and told them to shut-up. She was subtly watching from her locker and witnessed one of the guys try to shove him, but couldn't even make Malik budge, despite his smaller size. He'd grabbed the guy's wrist and twisted it like a pretzel behind the back, kick behind the dude's knee, bringing him down a notch, and rapped him twice across the head. The guy was out before he even hit the floor.
The other three guys 'tried' to make Malik pay but he easily disposed of them as well, suffering just one punch to the arm in the process. The principals escorted him and the boys to their offices and suspended them for five days. Feeling grateful and also very interested in him, she went to his house and thanked him. They'd hit it off immediately, with some help on his part from his grandpa.
From that day, they had spent everyday together, talking and hanging out and eventually dating. As far as she was concerned, he was the only guy in Karakura that was worthy of her heart, unlike some immature or lustful adolescents. He was strong, kind, selfless, handsome, etc. He was the whole package and she would be loyal and loving to him as long as he returned it.
'Just wait another minute, Malik. Your Fran's almost there.'
As she had just thought that, she turned onto Malik's street but stopped. Malik's entire house was gone. There was nothing there except some ashes. She looked at the street sign to check if she was on the right street and saw that she was. She walked over to their neighbor's house. Maybe the old, nice lady would know what happened and where Malik and his grandpa were staying now.
Walking up her porch steps, the old lady of interest was just opening the door.
"Hello, Mrs. Koji-sama."
The old lady turned around and saw the brown skinned girl standing on her steps and instantly recognized her. "Ooh, Fran-chan, dear. I haven't seen you in over a month. How've you been?"
'Polite as ever,' Fran thought. "I'm well, Mrs. Koji-sama. I've been out of town lately and this was the first day I've been back. May I ask what happened to Toicha-sama and Malik-kun's house?"
Worry gripped her when she saw the old woman's face cringe. It'd looked like all the happiness in the world just left her. "Fran-chan, their house burned down a couple of days ago. No bodies were found, but neither Malik-san or Toicha-sama have been seen or heard of since."
At that moment, Fran's entire world was shattered. Her eyes widen and she instantly fell till her butt was sitting on her hills. She clutched her chest as a searing pain erupted inside of her. For a moment, it felt as if her heart had stopped beating. Tears started flowing from her eyes at a faster rate, but she couldn't sob or anything. She couldn't find any words to say.
Immediately when she had collapsed, Mrs. Koji rushed to her side and embraced her. "Dear, Fran-chan. Fran-chan, be strong now. I can't imagine how you must be feeling now. You and Malik were very close, weren't you?"
A rapid nod of the girl's head was the only answer she could get. "It's okay to mourn, Fran-chan. If you don't, it'll just build up till the dam bursts. But still, the rescue crews searched through it all and found no bones or anything. It's possible they're just out of town. Maybe they went to one of the cities to find a better hospital. Toicha did say Malik was badly sick."
Fran shook her head, refusing to sob out loud. If she did, she doubted she would ever be able to stop. Instead, she just let the tears flow quietly down her cheeks and onto her white, short-sleeved blouse. However, Mrs. Koji's words did help. Maybe they were away and the house burned down from an electrical problem, or maybe arson. It's happened before.
'My Malik-kun..Toicha-sama...I pray that you two are alright.'
"Fran-chan, I'm sure that's what it is. You want to come in? I'll fix you up some tea if that will help."
Fran declined politely. "No..no, it's okay, Mrs. Koji-sama. I'll manage. I'll just make my way to back to my house."
'I can't call it home. Home is where the heart is, so that makes Malik my home.'
When her legs' strength recovered, she ran off down the street. She didn't want to go to her house. She couldn't go to Malik's home for an obvious reason. So she made her way to the only place she could think of where she knew she would be alone: the park. It was the spot of their first date. There, she would be in a peaceful, quiet, and isolated place.
Unknown to her, as she made her way through the streets, several figures were stalking her, watching her every move with dark, empty eyes.
Malik was yet again knocked to the ground. His body has become use to this so in essence, the pain isn't as bad as it once was.
POW!
Yoruichi's straight connected with his nose as he had just gotten to his knees. The blow sent him skipping across the rocky ground like a stone on the water. He stopped his tumble by stabbing the ground with Gabriel, although the force was still enough to nearly jerk his arms out of their shoulder sockets. What was that about the pain isn't as bad? It still is.
Panting heavily, he builds up his spiritual pressure back up to a lieutenant's. It wasn't enough to do anything except keep her fists from breaking any bones or his zanpakutou.
'Malik, you might as well just bend over for her. You've basically given up.'
'What else can I do? She's too fast! There's no way I can beat her.'
'I've already explained this to you. You aren't meant to win this time. The sooner you accept that, the sooner this will end.'
'So, just go all out than? Give it everything I got, and if it's not good enough, than go down swinging.'
'Exactly,' Gabriel said.
No matter how much he agreed with his zanpakutou, he couldn't find it in himself to accept defeat, even if he gave it his all. 'I'm sorry, Gabriel. But I just can't do that. I just have to give it more than my all!'
'If that is how you feel, then show me. Have faith in me and I will give you all the power I'm capable of right now. I will have faith in you to give it more than 100%.'
"Yeah, let's do this."
Malik took his stance and felt a surge of power flow into him from his zanpakutou. The power kept coming, never slowing down. It felt amazing, despite having the vest on. Yoruichi smirked and her reiatsu started gathering towards her. She held out her right arm and clenched it into a fist. The air within the dome became as heavy as lead as the two warriors' spiritual pressure grew to insane heights.
What looked like lightning started shooting out of his mentor's arms and shoulder, making him gasp from the sudden explosion of reiatsu. The blast blew off her orange shirt, revealing the black, backless shirt that covered just her front and had a strap that went around her neck. She had no sleeves, save for some fist wraps.
"Feel honored, Malik. I've been practicing this technique in secret for a while, but I'll warn you. This is a dangerous technique. Though I haven't mastered it, I can say that I'm very close. Perhaps all it will take now is to pummel the crap out of you."
Malik was amazed at the spiritual pressure of the Goddess of Flash. It felt like a ton of bricks on his shoulders. However, with each passing second, that weight was getting lighter as his own spiritual pressure continued growing.
'Incredible, Gabriel. Imagine how strong we would be if we didn't have this vest on.'
'Indeed. The power of our bond and trust determines how powerful we become. The stronger the trust is, the stronger the being and his zanpakutou become. Needless to say, there is always a limit to how powerful we can become. As of now, I'm approaching my limit. This is it. Let's show her just what we can do.'
'You said it.'
In a flash of shunpo, both fighters disappeared, only to reappear with Malik's zanpakutou up against Yoruichi's forearm. There were signs of straining on both of their faces as each one fought for dominance. The reiatsu burst that erupted from their sudden contact shook the whole training room, causing rubble to fall from the walls and ceiling.
In another flash, they disappeared and went at each other another time, causing the entire room to tremble again. They broke off again and Malik sheathed his long zanpakutou and drew out his smaller twins. He began flooding as much reiatsu into the blades as he could till they were shaking violently in his hands. With a simple command, he unleashed the strongest attack he had.
"Beam of Judgement."
At those words, a massive beam of white, raw energy shot from his blades' tips, right towards Yoruichi. Surprised by the size of the attack, she reacted just in time to shunpo out of the way. When she reappeared, Malik swung his zanpakutous' tips in her direction, bringing the beam down upon her. Again, she shunpo-ed to get out of the way.
This cycle continued for another minute. Yoruichi was finding herself amazed by the storage of energy her student had. He has grown exponentially over the past month; a rate of growth she'd never seen before. When she reappeared, she used that free time to try to come up with a plan. 'I've got just seconds after reappearing before he brings that beam onto me again. If I wait for the last second and shunpo behind him, he will be completely exposed.
When she got done forming her plan, she waited till the beam was within feet of her and shunpo-ed a little ways behind Malik. His eyes widen when he noticed her advantage. As she rushed up to knock the stew out of him, he surprised her by tearing one of his zanpakutou from his beam and shot a smaller separate beam right at her.
She knew she wouldn't have enough time to get out of the way so she charged as much reiatsu and kido into her fist that she could in the time allowed. When the beam got right to her, she punched it, sending a blast down its middle. Malik brought his other zanpakutou together with his other one, reforming the large beam. The power of it was able to absorb her shunko blast. However, the explosion from when her fist had punched the beam was now blowing away. What Malik saw made his heart rate rise.
Using some sort of shield made of condensed reiatsu, Yoruichi was surfing along the length of his Beam of Judgement. He raised it up, but she continued to just ride it. The only though both him and Gabriel could get out was 'Son of a Bitch.'
The first thing to connect his Malik's jaw was Yoruichi's foot, followed through with the rest of her body. The blow knocked his head backwards and he inadvertently brought his beam up, causing it to rake along the ceiling. The blast left a huge trench along the wall and roof where it had traveled.
Yoruichi's foot had released all of her stored shunko when it connected and the resulting explosion sent Malik down, cratering the ground. She flash-stepped to where she was sitting indian-style on his stomach. She waited for him to get up but he never moved, cept for the steady rise and fall of his chest.
"It's about damn time, little Malik. Even with that vest on, you're one tough nut."
Seeing as he wasn't going to be moving on his own anytime soon, she slung him onto her shoulder and flash-stepped towards the ladder to call it a day. While she was going, she couldn't help but to give his butt a squeeze.
"Mmmm, not bad, Malik." She purred his name.
A/N: And that is the chapter. Okay, not as long as I had claimed it would be, if you were reading. As for me writing it, it felt like forever. I just had enough time to do this chapter cuz I've gotten ahead of schedule with my Drawing I projects. So did you like Fran? I promise, there's more to her than you can imagine. Malik and the others will have no idea either. I've already got a grand scene formed in my head. Oh oh oh, it's gonna be awesome. Besides Fran, let me know what you think about the two oc Privaron, given from the little description I'd made.
p.s. Yes, Fran's appearance resembles alot like that of Fran, the Vierra, from FFXII. Just shorten the hair about a foot or two(my Fran's hair goes to her lower shoulder blades), take away the bunny ears, and give her a different personality and tah-dah. I know I've used the same name, but I can't help but make her physically similar because tall, dark-skinned, built and beautiful are just my favorite physical likes in girls.
