Chapter 9:
All he had to do was keep his eyes off of her. If he could managed that, then he could win this fight and not fall under her spell. Easier said than done, though. How were you supposed to fight someone you can't look at? He had to find a way.
Ichigo lifted his sword off the ground and pointed it right at her.
Hanabi stared down the blade at him. She didn't look frightened at all. She took the whole thing as a joke.
Ichigo kept his eyes focused on the ground in front of him. He couldn't look at her. No matter what, he couldn't. He wasn't going to be controlled like the others. He fell for it once, but never again.
"Ichigo…" Her voice was beautiful. "Why so shy? Look at me."
"No."
"Hm? Why not?"
"You know why. Now that I'm a Soul Reaper, I can be controlled like the others. I won't let that happen."
"Aw…" she sighed. "But I thought we could have some fun together."
"Fat chance!" He raised his sword higher off the ground.
"And just how do you intent to fight me like that? You're not even looking at me. How will you know where I am and who you're stabbing?"
She was right, but he had known that from the start.
"Oh, I'll do it, alright."
"Be careful, Ichigo," Rukia warned. "Maybe you should let me handle-"
"No! I told you, I got this! Just leave her to me and stay out of the way!" He shut his eyes tight and charged in swinging his sword. It sliced through the air and made contact with the ground. He missed. He could hear her giggling and made a move in that direction. Once again he charged in and missed. His sword cut the air, but nothing else.
"You're missing! You're missing!" he could hear her sing.
"Shut up, damn it!" He spun around and cut where her head should have been.
Rukia yelped. "Watch it! You almost hit me!"
"Sorry…"
Rukia pointed. "She's right there!"
"Uh, hello? I can't see, remember?"
"Oh, right. Then just do as I tell you."
"Fine. Where is she?"
Rukia pointed again. "She's right there!"
"Where?!"
"Oh! Uh, left."
"Got it." Ichigo swung to the left.
"You missed her!"
Keeping his eyes shut, Ichigo spun around and shouted back at her. "This isn't working!"
"You're telling me. You suck."
"Hey, it's not my fault I can't see anything!"
"Yes, it is! It was your bright idea to shut your eyes in the first place!"
"Stop shouting at me!"
"You're the one who's yelling at me!"
This fight was going nowhere fast.
Just as Ichigo was getting ready to shout back, someone kicked him from behind. It was Yumichika.
"That's for hitting me!" He pulled out his zanpakuto. "And this is for trying to hurt my sweetheart!"
"Aw, for crying out loud!" Ichigo groaned. "When are you people going to wake up? It's a trick, you moron!"
"Who's a moron?"
This time, Ichigo opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was an army of love-crazed men lined up in a semi-circle. Each one of them was completely under her control and at her command. All she had to do was say the word and they'd attack and there wasn't a thing he could do to stop it.
Byakuya raised his sword. "If you so much as dare to strike her…"
"Come on, Byakuya! Not you, too!" Ichigo pointed in the direction he thought was where Hanabi stood. "She's freaking controlling you guys!"
They wouldn't hear it. They wanted to fight for her.
"For God's sake!" Ichigo roared. "She's a flippin' Arrancar!" He knew that would wake them up.
Surprisingly, it didn't. They just stood there, unresponsive.
"Didn't you hear me? I said that she's an Arrancar."
Byakuya looked him in the eye and said, "So?"
Rukia and Ichigo shared the same expression at this. They were both shocked. "What did you just say?"
"I said so?"
"So you don't care? Hello! She was sent here by Aizen!"
"So what?" he said again. "So what if she's an Arrancar?"
"It doesn't matter to us if she is or not," Ikkaku admitted.
"Who cares if she's an Arrancar?" asked Hisagi.
"She's the loveliest of them all," swooned another.
"I'd take her hand in marriage in a heartbeat," Ukitake said, blowing her a kiss.
Did they really understand what they were saying? They all just agreed that they couldn't care less what she was or who sent her. They were too in love to care.
"You see, Ichigo?" Hanabi's voice sang behind him. "There's no dealing with them now. They're too far along to care."
Ichigo jumped away, shutting his eyes again.
"Ichigo, Ichigo, Ichigo… Don't you get it? They're too far along to care anymore. The spell has gotten so powerful now that they couldn't care who or what I am. Even if I was evil, they'd follow me anywhere and do whatever I say."
This is stupid! I can't fight her like this! She's right in front of me and I can't hit her! I have to open my eyes. He would steal a quick peek. That's it. Just a peek. One quick peek. He'd look at her legs. That way he'd know where she was and could hit her without falling under her spell.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Ichigo opened his eyes and raised his gaze up. He saw her beautifully sculpted legs and white high heels. She was five feet away from him. So close. He gripped his sword in both hands and swung at her.
Her legs disappeared and reappeared on his other side. Keeping his eyes down, he swung at her again. She jumped over his sword and landed safely a few feet away.
"Nice try, Ichigo."
"Damn it!" he cursed and pointed his sword at her again. Just looking at her legs weren't enough. He had to look at her torso. He cautiously looked up just a little higher and stopped at her stomach. That was far enough. Now he had a good shot at her body.
He lunged.
She laughed and jumped aside. She made it look so easy. She was too fast for him. If he was going to have any luck in bringing her down, he had to speed up and fast.
"Ban-kai!"
Off to the side, Rukia stood rolling her eyes. Ichigo was as stubborn as ever. Why he wouldn't let her fight was beyond her, but he couldn't handle this alone. If Hanabi used her released form, then he would fall for anyone he saw. And how in the world was he supposed to fight someone he couldn't see? It was hopeless. He was hopeless.
The smoke cleared and Ichigo appeared in his faster form, sword shrunken for easier movement. He was ready to run her through, fast as lightning.
But the same problem was still at hand. He still couldn't look at her. As fast as he was, if he looked at her even for an instant, he might not be able to bring himself to hurt her. Very slowly and carefully, he lifted his eyes to her stomach. Now that he had a view of her torso, he had a target to slash at. He quickly held his sword in both hands and took a step.
Equally as fast, Hanabi reached up and took hold of her kimono.
Ichigo stopped. Was she reaching for a weapon? But her sword was still at her hip.
The onlookers watched her curiously, waiting.
In one swift movement, Hanabi stripped off her top, revealing her bare chest for all to see. Her silky garment slid down her smooth shoulders, exposing everything above her hips.
Ichigo clasped a hand over his face, suppressing a massive nosebleed. His face turned beet red.
The men watching from not too far away barked and howled like horny dogs. They cheered and praised her for her beauty, thanking fate for such a wonderful sight.
"Animals!" Rukia groaned to herself.
Without thinking, Ichigo's eyes wondered up from her chest to her face and took in her smile. She was smirking at him, knowing that this would happen.
Cheap trick, catching me off guard like that and showing off her body! I'm not that kind of man! Though he said it pretty loud in his head, that didn't change the fact that he was still looking at her. He just couldn't stop himself.
"What do you think, Ichigo?" Hanabi teased him a little bit with her beautiful body. "You like?"
He stuttered.
"Does Ichigo like?" She winked.
"Yeah-huh… Yeah, very much..!" Her spell was starting to take hold.
That is until Rukia clocked him from behind. "Snap out of it, you idiot!"
Ichigo dropped his sword and spun around, holding his head. "Ow! That hurt!"
"It was meant to, you moron! She was winning you over!"
"I coulda handled it!"
"Yeah, right!"
Hanabi placed a hand on her sword, muttering the command softly.
"I told you, I got this!" Ichigo roared.
Rukia scoffed. "Yeah, sure! Once again you needed me to come and save your sorry ass. You're hopeless without me!"
"Hopeless?!"
"You heard me! You always need me around to give you a pep talk. You can't do anything right! You need me around just to help you fight!"
"Since when?!"
"Oh, let's see… There was that time when you were too depressed to even fight a little Hollow in the real world. You needed me to train you. You needed me to-"
"Ok, fine!" Ichigo's face was still red, but this time it was from rage. "Just shut up and let me handle this."
"There you go again!" She reached for her own sword. "Let me handle this one, ok? I'd get it done faster."
"Hey, aren't you the one always telling me to man up and fight on my own?"
"That's different! This time, it's about being smart in battle. She can easily control you, being a man and all. It's about time you stepped aside and let the woman handle it. We can fight just as well as the next man. And in this fight, we can actually fight even better!"
"You're one of those damn feminists, aren't you?"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"I told you, I'll handle it. Just leave me alone."
"You stay out of it!"
"You can't take her on by yourself, stupid!"
Rukia pushed him back. "You think I'm weak?! Is that it?"
He was losing his temper fast. "You know what I think?! I think-" Ichigo blinked and his eyes sparkled as he looked into hers. "I think I love you!"
"Huh?!"
Looking past him, she could see Hanabi holding up her bow aiming straight at Ichigo's back.
That little..!
Ichigo jumped forward and jumped on her. "I love you! Oh, Rukia, I love you! I love you so much!"
She kicked him in the head. "Come on! I get enough of this from Kon, I don't need it from you, too! Wake up, Ichigo! Wake up and snap out of it!"
He tried to kiss her and she held him down. "I said stop it!"
"But I love you!"
This was horrible. Now Ichigo was in love with her the same way he had fallen for Uryu. If only he had let me fight when I said, none of this would be happening! I'm immune to her powers, so I can fight. Rukia reached for her sword, but Ichigo was hugging her tightly, pinning her arms to her side. "Get off me, Ichigo! Let go!"
"Never!" He nuzzled his face into her body. "I love you so much!"
"I have to fight her, Ichigo!"
He held her back. "No way! You might get hurt. I won't allow it!"
She thrashed about in his arms. "Let me go!"
"I love you, Rukia! Kiss me!" He puckered his lips.
"No! Get away!" She wiggled about, trying to escape his wet lips.
"Kiss me! Kiss me! Oh, my beautiful, Rukia! I love you! Kiss me!"
"NO!"
"Please kiss me!"
Rukia fought against him, but her movements slowed once she spotted someone approaching them. Pulling her kimono back up, Hanabi raised her sword, pointing it at Ichigo's back. She was going to run him through! Rukia thrashed around harder. "Ichigo! Look out! You have to get off me!"
He shook his head, that same stupid smile on his face.
"Ichigo, you have to let go and move! She's going to kill you!"
"Then I'll die happy."
"Ichigo, please!" She was screaming and pleading with him to move, but he wouldn't. "Ichigo!"
Hanabi brought her sword down. Rukia shut her eyes.
There was a clang as metal met metal. Rukia looked up and saw Soi Fon standing between the two parties, her zanpakuto clashing with Hanabi's.
"Captain Soi Fon."
She called over her shoulder at them. "Rukia, I'll finish her myself. You take that idiot with you and run."
"But I can fight, too!"
"I know you can, but not like that. He's clinging to you and you two will only get in the way like that. Now go!"
Rukia still couldn't move. Ichigo still had her in a vise grip. "Ichigo, get off of me!"
Nanao bulldozed into them and carried them away. "He's as stubborn as ever, Rukia. There's no reasoning with him."
"Thank you-"
"Don't thank me yet. We still have to take her down."
Hanabi and Soi Fon were still facing each other, their blades locked together. But Hanabi wasn't alone. She still had an army to fight for her. Smiling smugly, she called out to the crowd. "Ow! She's hurting me!"
Soi Fon's eyes widened as she heard a stampede of men rushing towards her. They were coming to protect Hanabi. Soi Fon jumped back. Kira jumped through the air and clashed blades with her. He was a lot stronger than she had anticipated. He managed to push her back and moved in for the kill. With lightning speed, Soi Fon flashed away and tried to strike Hanabi again.
This time, her own squad members stopped her. The men from Squad 2 surrounded her and unsheathed their swords. "Men, stand down! That's a direct order from your captain!"
They didn't obey. They all jumped her at once. Why did she have to train them so hard? Even with her speed, Soi Fon couldn't get away from them. Worst of all, they had her greatly outnumbered. She couldn't fight all of them.
Nanao took up her own sword and charged in. It was time for the women to fight for a change. They were just as tough as men, after all. Too bad they outnumbered them. There were more men than women at the Soul Society. Nanao doubted that she could take Hanabi down by herself, but she had to try.
Hisagi cut her off and so did her own captain. They brought their blades down over her head, but she blocked them with her own blade. "Damn it! I can't do anything like this!"
"Captain!"
"I'll protect you, Hanabi!"
"Please stop!"
The sound of desperate women's screams sounded in every direction as their captains charged in to defend their lover. It was total chaos. And Hanabi stood in the middle of it all, smiling to herself. Everything was going her way. Everything was working out in her favor. She was winning.
Rukia was still trying to knock some sense into Ichigo, who was still trying to kiss her. "Ichigo, can't you see what's going on here?"
He rubbed his face on her chest, giggling.
"We have to fight, Ichigo! You have to let me take part! Please, just let me go!"
He wouldn't listen. The hugging never stopped.
"Fine! I'll do it my way!" Rukia wriggled her left arm free and raised her hand over Ichigo's head. Her palm was facing Hanabi. "Hado 33, Sokatsui!"
A burst of blue energy flew from her hand and hurled toward Hanabi. Without looking up, she cast it aside with a flick of her wrist. It failed. Hanabi turned her head to look at the one who fired it. "Did you really think that was going to stop me?"
Instead of letting it provoke her, Rukia fired another shot at her head.
This time, she did nothing to stop it. She let someone else do it for her.
Byakuya flashed stepped in front of Hanabi and threw the blast off course. Then he held his sword in his hand and charged.
My own brother wants to kill me?! Rukia had no time to react and with Ichigo still hugging her, she was totally helpless.
Suddenly, Ichigo's eyes returned to normal and he scooped Rukia up in his arms and threw her out of the way. She skidded across the dirt and landed out of Byakuya's reach.
"Stupid! Why didn't you move?!"
Rukia sat up and yelled back at him. "Hello! You were the one who wouldn't let go of me! And why'd you have to throw me like that?! Why couldn't you have just carried me?!"
"Did I look like I had that kind of time?!"
"You had enough time to pick me up! There was nothing stopping you from doing it a bit more gently!"
"I just saved your butt, Rukia! How about a thank-you?!"
"Love from above, I attack-!"
"Not now, Ikkaku!" Ichigo threw him aside like a rag doll.
Byakuya followed after Rukia, trying to finish the job. She took up her sword and got ready to defend herself. Ichigo moved to help, but she yelled at him. "Just go! I'll be fine! Take down Hanabi!"
He nodded and picked up his sword. "She's mine!"
Hanabi stood in the middle of the battle field, looking somewhat bored. This fight was only entertainment for her. Why did she have to fight? They would do the work for her. All she had to do was stand there and look good.
The sound of swords clashing around her was deafening. The shouts and screams echoed around her, coming from all directions. A stray attack crashed a few yards from where she stood, sending a cloud of dirt into the air, blinding her for a moment. When it cleared, she looked up and saw a black blade soaring towards her chest. Ichigo was on the other side of it.
Shutting his eyes at the last second to avoid looking at her face, he struck.
I think the next one will be the last. Chapter 10 up soon!
Please review! ^-^
