OCs (c) Me
Bleach (c) Kubo Tite
The Bleached Chronicles
Chapter 9
Chihiro hummed softly as she sat on the grass, staring at the sky as the clouds rolled by slowly. All was quiet and peaceful… until Rangiku and Yumichika started arguing.
"Would you idiots shut up? I can barely have a decent conversation with my own zanpakuto because of your constant arguing!" Toushiro yelled at them, causing the two to look at him before turning away from each other. Chihiro giggled softly as she placed her hand against her lips, those two were always bickering. She, along with Yumichika, Ikkaku, Toushiro, Rangiku, and Hiro were at Karakura park, enjoying themselves. Well… sort of. Watching the two for a moment, she turned to Toushiro as he sat on a rock with Hyorinmaru close by.
"Toushiro-san, what's Hyorinmaru like?" Chihiro asked as she stared at his zanpakuto. Toushiro glared at her, slightly irritated that she did not call him by his title.
"It's Hitsugaya-Taicho! And he's…stubborn at times. That's all you need to know." He grunted. Chihiro nodded before turning back to her own zanpakuto. He had taken her and Hiro along with their group today to help Chihiro train with her zanpakuto, and give them a chance to get to know the rest of the group better. Right now, they were currently talking to their zanpakuto's while Hiro played with Sae and her sisters close by.
"Milady…something is not right. I can feel it." Hoshiookami growled, the sword vibrating due to her agitation. Chihiro nodded, something had been not right since the moment they got here. The air was tense, and it was making her anxious.
"I know…but what could it be?" Chihiro thought back, but only hearing the growls of her zanpakuto in response. Her question was answered immediately as a garganta started opening in the sky, causing everyone to leap to their feet.
"Arrancar? How could it…no matter what, isn't it too fast for them?" Yumichika cried, his face paling. Toushiro nodded grimly as he pulled out his soul candy dispenser.
"It is certainly too fast, but it doesn't seem like we have the time to think of the reason." He spoke as he quickly popped out a piece of candy from the dispenser. A familiar face sneered down at them from above, causing Chihiro to gasp. It was Yammy!
"Oh? We came at a fun place, didn't we?" Yammy chuckled as he stepped out of the garganta. He was followed by Luppi, Grimmjow, and a boy with blonde hair that Chihiro hadn't seen before. She quickly locked eyes with Grimmjow and he tensed for a second.
"Why the hell is she here?" he thought angrily, clearly not expecting her to be here. He then focused on the others, looking for a face in particular. But Ichigo Kurosaki wasn't here. Chihiro was at Hiro's side in seconds as she drew Hoshiookami, standing protectively in front of her younger sibling.
"Looks like there are some in there with high reiastu. I guess I can go from this level for starters." he continued as he began cracking his knuckles. Chihiro glared at him before looking at Hiro.
"Stay behind me, Tae, get ready to put up a shield. Protect Hiro at all costs." she ordered. Tae nodded as she landed on her master's shoulder, her body glowing slightly.
"Okay, Chihiro." she whispered in return. Luppi shook his head as he stared down at the group, hands on his hips.
"What are you saying? Those are shinigami! Those are what NO. 6-san was talking about, reinforcements from the soul society. Right?" Luppi sighed before turning his head to sneer at the ex-espada. He spotted the glare on Grimmjow's face before giggling.
"Ah, sorry. It's supposed to be `former` No. 6-san." He sneered. Grimmjow growled as he looked away, not really caring what the little tranny said anymore.
"He's not in that group. The guy I want to kill." and with that, he suddenly took off, leaving his comrades behind to eat his dust. Chihiro watched him leave, concerned as she lowered her sword. Where was Grimmjow going?
"Oi! Wait, Grimmjow!" Yammy cried but, he was already gone. This made the large man growl as he clenched his fists.
"That bastard!" He roared. But this made Luppi sigh as he lowered his arms from his hips.
"Leave it. After all, he's been dropped from the Espada. There's nothing he can or could do." Luppi reminded him, loud enough for Chihiro to hear. The girl knew what he had meant, the scar on Grimmjow's back: the one that looked like someone burned it. She turned to Hiro, moving the child so that she was hidden by the bushes.
"Hiro, I want you to stay hidden, don't get involved with the fight and don't follow me." and with that, she released Hoshiookami and took off, riding on the massive wolf's back. Hiro gasped, moving out of the bushes as she tried to run after her sister.
"Wait, Onee-chan!" Hiro cried, but she was already gone. Yammy looked around at the group, gritting his teeth when he didn't see the people he wanted to fight the most among them.
"Che, the guy I want to kill isn't in this group either." He grunted. Luppi smiled as he turned to the gargantuan.
"Which one? The one you want to kill is the one who cut your arm off? The one that beat you up good? Or is it the guy who repelled your cero?" he asked. Yammy smirked evilly as he slammed his hands together.
"All of the above! Hey, we're going new guy! How long are ya gonna stay spaced out for?" He cried as he turned to the blonde arrancar. But the little blonde was busy staring off into space as he watched the dragonflies fly by.
"Ah…" he sighed, causing Yammy to grunt and roll his eyes.
"Che, seems like we got another weirdo in our group." Yammy sighed before he went after Toushiro. Hiro took this as her chance to run and ran after Chihiro, Sae and the Tres Ae in tow.
-Meanwhile-
Ichigo panted as he ran, using shunpo to run across the sky above the city before he came across a familiar blue-haired man. Stopping a few feet away, he watched the man closely as he smirked cockily at him.
"Yo. I've been looking for you, shinigami!" Grimmjow called. Ichigo smirked as he grabbed his zanpakuto, pulling it from his back.
"…That's my line! Let me show you…in this one month, how much I've changed!" he snapped back as he released his bankai, enveloped by the darkness created by his zanpakuto upon release. Grimmjow sneered as he leaned forward, not at all impressed.
"Hah…that's just a bankai. What's so great about that?" He grunted in boredom. Ichigo frowned slightly as he looked his opponent over, seeing the scar on his chest and the fact that his left arm was missing.
"Did you forget? You, with that bankai, couldn't touch any part of my body." Grimmjow continued as he shifted slightly. Ichigo's frown grew before pointing at Grimmjow's chest.
"Did you forget something? From the technique of my bankai…you received that wound." The boy reminded him, indicating the large scar on his chest. Then he glanced at Grimmjow's missing arm once more.
"I have one thing to ask, Grimmjow. What happened… to your arm?" Ichigo asked, confused by the man's missing limb. Grimmjow shrugged his shoulders mockingly.
"I threw it away before I came. I thought it'd be too much of a hassle. I don't need two arms to kill you." he answered bluntly. At this Ichigo smirked.
"Is that right? In that case there's no need for me to go easy on you!" He exclaimed. Grimmjow smirked at the boy's newfound enthusiasm to fight.
"Do that. If you don't want to die that is!" The blue-haired man retorted. Ichigo nodded before he held his left hand over his face, and formed a small mass of black energy. He pulled down his hand and was consumed by the dark energy before it dissipated, revealing a hollow mask on his face. Grimmjow stared at him in confusion and shock, what the hell-?
"Wh…what is that?" Grimmjow demanded, staring at the mask with his mouth agape. Ichigo stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head.
"…Sorry. I don't have time to explain." was all he said before launching himself at the man. Grimmjow immediately pulled out Pantera and their swords clashed, sparks flying everywhere at the contact. Ichigo stared at him levelly, smirking inside at the man's shock.
"Getsuga Tensho." he spoke calmly, his voice distorted. An immediate surge of dark energy resonated from the blade, and Grimmjow couldn't fend off the attack in time and got injured in the process. He glared at Ichigo, his chest and temple bleeding profusely as blood rained down on the ground below.
"This power…ain't shinigami! You bastard! In this month, what did you do?" he demanded. But Ichigo was silent as he stood there, before going after the man again.
-Meanwhile-
Chihiro held on tightly as Hoshiookami leaped from rooftop to rooftop, following Grimmjow's trail of reiastu. The two had first started at Urahara Shoten, where they met up with Kisuke Urahara. But the man hadn't seen him, and Chihiro directed him towards the park where the others were fighting.
"Grimmjow… please be safe." she thought as she held on. Suddenly, two familiar figures came into view as they fought, Chihiro recognizing them immediately.
"It's Grimmjow! Ichigo-san's there too… We have to hurry!" She exclaimed as she pointed. Hoshiookami nodded as she leaped to the ground and sped up. Once they were close enough, she quickly stopped and Chihiro dismounted before running right beneath them.
"Ichigo-san! Grimmjow! Stop, please!" she cried, waving her arms as she tried to get their attention. Both men looked down stared at her in confusion, before Chihiro stiffened. There was a strange mask over Ichigo's face, like a hollows… and his energy felt… dark. Very dark. Ichigo ignored her before turning to Grimmjow.
"I thought I told you. I don't have time to explain!" Ichigo cried, directing the comment at Grimmjow. He immediately ran behind him and released another Getsuga Tensho blast, getting Grimmjow but some of it broke off… and flew straight at Chihiro.
"Milady!" Hoshiookami cried as she ran in, but it was too late. Nothing was stopping the attack and there was no dodging it. Chihiro quickly brought up her sword and held it in front of her, hoping to block the attack. Time seemed to slow down as the blast of energy came at her, causing the girl to close her eyes tightly as she waited for the attack to hit.
"Ah!" she cried as she was thrown into a wall, the blast hitting her sword and sending her flying. She fell to the ground with a dull thud and went still, her body not moving at all as she lay there.
"Milady! Milady, wake up!" Hoshiookami exclaimed as she stopped at her master's side, standing over her as she began nuzzling her cheek. Grimmjow panted as he looked to where Chihiro lay, feeling both furry and what could resemble fear well up inside him. He glared at Ichigo, his teeth bared.
"Shi…shit!" he hissed, clenching his sword with one hand as he held the other out. He began charging a cero, aimed straight at the orangette before he smirked. He fired it and Ichigo easily held it off with another Getsuga Tensho, before Grimmjow sonidoed behind him and their swords clashed once more.
"Onee-chan!" a sudden voice cried, stopping both men immediately as Hiro appeared at the end of the street. Both combatants watched as Hiro ran to Chihiro's side, getting on her hands and knees as she began to shake her sister's shoulder.
"Onee-chan, get up! Onee-chan!" she cried as she tried to get Chihiro to wake up, tears falling down her cheeks as she feared the worst. Ichigo glared at Grimmjow, feeling the anger rise in him at the child's tears.
"It's over! Grimmjow!" He cried as he raised his sword. But suddenly, his hollow mask shattered into a million fragments and Ichigo stared at Grimmjow, stunned. The blue-haired man smirked sadistically at him, seeing that the boy was now back to normal.
"It's the end for you, Shinigami!" Grimmjow cried as he brought Pantera down across Ichigo's chest, slashing it open as blood spurted from the wound. Ichigo began plummeting to the ground, but within moments Grimmjow was right beside him as he brought his sword down. They brought their swords down on each other, only to have them clash again as Ichigo was pushed back.
"It seems like the power you used now…was pushed to the limit. Looks like once you lost your mask, you breathing had gotten labored. Hey, it's over shinigami! I also got fairly wasted by you, but…in the end the fact remains that…with your power, you can't beat me!" Grimmjow cried as he threw Ichigo to the ground. The boy landed with a sickening crash before Grimmjow landed on his feet and began approaching him. Hiro watched this with wide eyes as she sat by Chihiro's side, her hands on her sister's shoulder as she took in the scene in front of her.
"Dam…mit…" Ichigo panted as he held himself up with one hand. He quickly held his hand over his face, the dark energy starting to form before it dissipated, causing Grimmjow to smirk. He quickly walked over to Ichigo and swiftly kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying. Hiro continued to watch this with wide eyes as Grimmjow walked over to Ichigo, before she, Sae, and the Tres Ae went back to trying to get Chihiro to regain consciousness.
"So it seems like that mask…can't be used again once it's broken, huh?" Grimmjow demanded. He then smirked before shrugging his shoulders, not believing that Ichigo couldn't use his mask again. He quickly glanced at Chihiro, and his anger flared when he realized she still hadn't moved. Then he turned his attention back to the boy.
"Nah. You're in the stance to take out that mask again, so that can't be right. Could it be because you took too much damage? Or because you wasted too much reiastu? Or does it have a limited amount of uses? I have no clue what the reason could be…but that's okay. You see, the point is…" suddenly Grimmjow pulled out Pantera and stabbed Ichigo in the wrists, pinning them to the concrete.
"At this moment, you can't bring it out. Am I right?" Grimmjow finished as he brought his hand in front of Ichigo's face and began charging a cero. Ichigo stared at him with wide eyes, the cero the only thing in his line of vision as it began to grow bigger and bigger.
"Don't worry. A cero from this range…will blow straight through that head of yours!" Grimmjow laughed maniacally as he stared down at his opponent. Almost instantly, his hand was covered in a sheen of ice, freezing the energy.
"Huh?" he cried as he stared at his hand in surprise. He quickly turned around, spotting Rukia as she held her zanpakuto, Sode no Shirayuki. She was crouched low as energy began to form around her, her gaze solely on Grimmjow.
"The next dance, hakuren." and with that, Grimmjow was covered in layers of ice. Hiro stared at his frozen form with wide eyes as Rukia approached Ichigo, her mind going blank as she stared at the frozen eyes of her sister's friend. Ichigo looked up at his companion, a small smile on his face.
"What an awesome power…when did you…guh…" Ichigo groaned as he tried moving his wrists. But she shook her head as she stared down at him, her eyes on the sword in his wrists.
"Don't talk. It's already hard enough to get you out of here. We don't have time to waste with that. Besides… it looks like you used a lot of power yourself. You're shaking." Rukia reprimanded as she stared down at him. Ichigo looked towards Chihiro and Hiro while Rukia followed his gaze, his eyes softening as he stared at the girl's still form.
"Hiro, is she okay?" he panted. Hiro nodded before Mae spoke from where she was seated on Hiro's head.
"She's okay, just knocked out!" she called. He sighed in relief, she was okay. He hadn't killed her. Rukia looked at him as she grabbed the zanpakuto, prepared to pull it from his wrists.
"…Ichigo-" was all she could say before a hand shot out and grabbed the side of her face, holding it tightly. Everyone looked to see that Grimmjow had broken free of the ice as he glared at the woman, thoroughly pissed.
"Don't get carried away, shinigami…freezing my body…you really thought that would do me in? How stupid!" He roared, teeth bared. He started charging a cero while holding Rukia's face, causing the woman's eyes to widen as she stared at the person who was trying to murder her. Ichigo tried to move, jerking his head and shoulders as he tried to get his wrists free.
"Rukia!" he screamed, his heart hammering as he tried in vain to get free. Hiro stood up, her eyes wide as she began running towards Grimmjow.
"Please stop, nii-sama!" Hiro screamed. But from out of nowhere a blast of energy flew and directly hit Grimmjow's arm, knocking his hand away from Rukia's face. They turned to see a familiar blonde man standing on a nearby rooftop, sword slung over his shoulder.
"My, my… I really hate butting in during shinigami fights… but… guess it can't be helped. There's no way I could ignore this battle, when the racket is so close to me…" the man, Shinji, spoke nonchalantly. Ichigo sighed in relief, relaxing back on the ground.
"Shinji…" Grimmjow growled before turning to the man, pissed off even more now that someone else had decided to butt in on his fight.
"…who the hell are you? A friend of Kurosaki's?" He growled. Shinji sighed as she shrugged his shoulders.
"Sigh…Why would I be?" He asked. Grimmjow glared at him, somewhat confused.
"Then…what are you?" he asked. Shinji stared at him, his expression nonchalant.
"Does it really matter?" he asked. Grimmjow growled as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Not one bit. Whoever the hell you are…" he started as he pulled Pantera out of Ichigo's wrists and launched himself at Shinji.
"I'll kill you!" he finished. Hiro turned her attention away from the fight and focused it on Chihiro as she ran back to her sister's side. Mae got up and flew over, flying around the girl to get a good diagnosis on her, before landing by her shoulder.
"She's probably got a sprained ankle, I can't be too sure. But she'll be okay." Mae diagnosed as they examined her. Hiro nodded in relief before Hoshiookami lowered her head, nuzzling the child.
"I must return to the blade, I'll just be in the way." and with that, she faded back into the blade that Chihiro held limply in her grasp. Turning her attention back to the fight, she heard Grimmjow being thrown into the ground and turned to see him staggering to his feet as Shinji walked towards him. Hiro got to her feet instantly, fear bubbling inside her chest as her heart hammered wildly.
"I have to protect Nii-sama!" she thought as she ran in front of him, holding her hands up in front of her as she glared at Shinji head-on. She thought back to when she often watched Chihiro practicing, trying to get a kido spell to form, and hoped that she had more success.
"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado 33, Sokatsui!" Hiro cried, some of the words mispronounced because of her age. Immediately a ball of energy formed and shot out of her hands, Shinji quickly getting out of the way to avoid getting hit. Everyone stared at her in surprise, when did she learn about how to perform kido?
"Hiro…you can use kido?" Rukia exclaimed as she stared at the child in shock. Hiro nodded before Shinji raised his eyebrow, confused by her actions.
"Why defend him? Do you have any idea on what he was tryin' ta do? He was trying to kill yer sister's friends." he questioned, staring at the small girl levelly as he slung his zanpakuto over his shoulder. Hiro stared at him blankly, not sure how to respond to his words. Suddenly, Grimmjow stood in front of Hiro and pushed her back behind him, hiding her from their view as he stood protectively in front of her.
"Why the fuck does it matter? Now…" he stated as held Pantera in front of him. He then swung his blade.
"Kishire-" was all he could say before a figure stood behind him, holding his hand on Pantera. Grimmjow glared back in disgust when he realized who stopped him.
"Ulquiorra!" he hissed, teeth bared like an enraged animal. Hiro took this as her chance and ran back to Chihiro's side, not wanting to be in mere feet of the newcomer. Ulquiorra stared at him nonchalantly, not at all phased by the man's aggression.
"The mission is complete. We're going back. But first…" he quickly sonidoed to Chihiro's side as grabbed the woman by her midsection, holding her unconscious body at his side as he did so. He then sonidoed back to Grimmjow, the man staring at him in confusion and surprise as he did so. The Tres Ae gasped immediately.
"Chihiro!" Mae, Rae, and Tae cried as they flew to Ulquiorra's side, trying to get him to release his hold on her. Hiro immediately grabbed Hoshiookami as Sae clung to her shoulder, glaring at the man as he held her sister at his side. "I have to protect Onee-chan!"
"Onee-chan! You let her go!" Hiro cried as she ran at them, sword raised. But before she could swing the sword, a negation shot down from the sky and caught them along with the child. Hiro looked around in confusion as she, as well as Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, were being lifted off the ground and carried towards the sky. Ichigo stared on in surprise, remembering a similar event that happened back in the soul society.
"Negation!" Ichigo hissed. The small group started rising to the sky as Rukia, Ichigo, and Shinji watched helplessly. Hiro watched in alarm as she was pulled farther and farther away from the ground by an unseen force, and she looked down at them as tears began to fall from her cheeks.
"Ichi-nii! Ruki-nee! Help me!" she screamed in fear. Rukia got to her feet immediately, running a few feet as she held her arm out for the child. But she could go no farther once she got within feet of the negation field, unsure what would happen if she tried to touch it.
"Hiro! Chihiro!" both cried as the small group disappeared. Stunned silence enveloped the three, both Chihiro and Hiro were gone, and they could do nothing but sit there and watch.
Unaware that elsewhere, a certain healer's tears were being shed as she stood in front of a caramel-colored shield.
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