Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bleach, nor am I affiliated with it's creator, Tite Kubo. However, my OC's and the new plot-line are in fact my own creation. Don't use Kai without my permission please, or give me some credit. You wouldn't like it if I stole your OC's, would you?
Pairings: Minor OrihimexOC but mainly IchiRuki throughout. Ichigo and Rukia were made for each other, I think.
Brief: After the Winter War comes to a conclusion, Ichigo and the gang are in for some all new shocks to come!
Warnings: Romance (if you hate the odd spout of fluff, I urge you not to continue), strong language and potential gore.
Note: In this Fanfic, Kai has taught Ichigo the ways of the Neo-Vizard, just to clarify that!
Bleach After the Winter War
Chapter 10: Obscurity, Kai's Unexpected Transformation
"So, who were those guys, Kai?" Ichigo asked as everyone sat down around the circular table in the shops back room.
"Well, there's no way around it I guess." Kai sighed, pausing before he added; "They're my ex-co-workers as a technicality and they also used to be my friends, well, except for two of them."
"Wait, ex-co-workers?" Rukia asked. "You used to work with them?"
"Yeah, I did. When JX was made from me, it was because we'd stumbled into a new dimension known as Alkahmia, a place where two sides fought one another; the dragons and the demons. The second time round, JX was released completely with a zanpakuto and the demons had evolved into Zempacki, the elemental demons.
"We were recruited by a group called the Patriots, a group of people bent on ending the war by eliminating JX, who was then siding with the Zempacki. We went back to Alkahmia to fight JX and we ended up losing him when he used his Temporal Rift ability and vanished. Upon our return, we found out that there was a huge disturbance coming from here, energy signatures similar to JX cropping up left right and centre. I was sent out here, but as I was due to leave, it was reported that the Chief Commander, Arlene Falconsflight, had been murdered, supposedly by my sword."
"You didn't do it, did you?" Orihime gasped. Kai frowned and turned to the girl.
"No I bloody well did not." he said defiantly, looking slightly hurt that the girl would even consider that.
"Whatever happened though, you still haven't explained who those five were." Uryu commented almost snidely.
"I'm getting to it, keep your specks on!" Kai paused to compose himself, then continued. "Their names are Edward Sun, Jonathan Grim, Ella Joy, Alex Threader and Jessica Johnson, and they all have zanpakuto. They work for the Patriots still, but their Commander is a man called Ken Smith, not my favourite person in the world, as I'm sure Rertyan could vouch for.
"Anyway, they are all powerful, but Jessica and Alex both have a lower level, I'd assume no Bankai and Alex can't control his hollowfication very well or for particularly long. Ed was my best friend and I thought he'd always have my back, but in the thick of it, it was always me taking the hits for him. Jon's more independent and I wouldn't put it past him to try to attack alone. I'm not sure about Alex or Jessica, but Ella is a very reluctant fighter; she only fights in times when no other alternative is possible." He paused again. "And she's my ex-girlfriend."
Silence surrounded the table and Orihime's eyes widened.
"Ex-girlfriend?" she asked.
"Yeah, she went out with me for a while after she broke up with Jon. I'd like to say that they've gotten over it, but that seems unlikely from the looks he's been giving me."
"Well, I think we should think about this for a while." Urahara said finally. "It's obvious these people could be a problem, but we shall have to wait and see. But it is getting rather late, so let's all sleep on it, ok?"
The group grudgingly agreed and left for wherever they were staying. Kai and Orihime walked in silence until the girl spoke up first.
"Do you still like her?" she asked uncertainly, causing Kai to look at her with confusion.
"Who?" he asked bluntly.
"That Ella, do you still like her?"
"Oh." Kai shook his head sadly. "No, she betrayed my heart too long ago for the wound to heal."
Silence fell on the duo again. Orihime felt sorry for Kai, obviously dredging up painful memories by accident, but at the same time she was relieved that he didn't harbour a crush for his ex. She was about to speak again, when he beat her to it.
"Orihime." he said softly. "I know it might not be safe for you to be alone, but could you leave me alone for a while?"
Orihime's face fell at this, but he was a short way ahead and didn't see it.
"Sure, just be careful!" she said. Kai looked to her and smiled weakly.
"Thanks. I'll be back later, I promise."
And with that, he ran off down a few roads and out of sight. Orihime sighed, wondering what was going through her friend's head. Not for the first time, she wished he was more open with her.
Next Day, Orihime's Apartment
"Kai? Are you in the bathroom?" the dazed busty girl called, having been roused by her alarm. She opened the door, but didn't find him, nor did she receive a reply. "Kai?"
She wandered into the living room to find the makeshift bed empty and Kai was nowhere to be seen. About to call again, Orihime turned and spotted a note on her fridge. She carefully pulled it off and read the letter in the barely-legible-scrawl that could only belong to Kai. It read;
Orihime,
I'm sorry to do this, but something has come up and I have to go for a while. I should be back later, don't worry about me. I didn't want to wake you when I wrote this so I left a note. I won't be at school, so don't wait up for me.
I hate having to do this to you, but this is important, so please, don't go looking for me.
My best wishes,
Kai.
Orihime's heart sank a little upon reading this. Her head was full of crazy ideas on a good day, but this put her mind into overdrive; questions like 'where is he?', 'what's he doing?' and 'when will he be back?' all sprang into her skull and taunted the girl until she finally shook it off and got dressed. The thoughts threatened to return, when a knock at the door broke her chain of thought. Tatsuki smiled at her auburn-haired friend.
"Hey, 'Hime!" the tom-boy greeted.
"Hi, Tatsuki!" Orihime replied cheerily, hiding her minor depression she had suffered earlier, but Tatsuki didn't buy it.
"Are you ok? You seem..." Tatsuki searched for the right word, when she noticed the empty bed beside the window. "Do you have a dog or something?"
"Huh?"
"The bed down there, either you've got a guest or you got a puppy at some point."
"Oh! No no, that's the guest bed!"
"I worked that much out, Orihime, I'm asking who was in it."
"Um, well..."
"Come on, spill it, 'Hime."
"...Kai." Orihime looked down and blushed, though she wasn't quite sure why.
"Woah woah woah, Kai? As in Kai Friel?" Orihime nodded. Tatsuki shook her head. "I don't believe it."
"What? It's not like it's that strange, is it?"
"Hm? No, it's not that, it's the fact that I owe Michiru 500 Yen that I don't believe!"
En Route to Karakura High
"Dammit! How many times are we gonna be late because of that damned alarm?" Ichigo cursed the clock as he ran beside Rukia.
"Stop complaining and run!" she yelled, pulling ahead of the boy as they managed to secure their seats before Miss Ochi entered... long before.
"Hey, Uryu, shouldn't class have started by now?" Ichigo called across the classroom.
"It should have but there's a teachers meeting every Thursday, you should know that, Ichigo!" the bespectacled teenager replied.
"Well excuse me for not being a know-it-all!" Ichigo ignored Uryu's snide response when he spotted Orihime, yet there was no sign of Kai in the classroom. "That's weird, shouldn't he have arrived with Orihime?" His thoughts were cut off by a vibrating in his pocket. He pulled out his cell and answered. "Yeah?"
"Ichigo, it's Kai." the voice on the other end replied.
"Better hurry or you'll be late."
"I can't come in."
"Skiving bastard..." Ichigo paused. "Wait, what do you mean 'can't'? What's up?"
"I can't explain yet. Meet me on the roof after school, but make sure that only Rukia is with you."
"Sure, what's this all about?"
"No time, bye."
The line clicked. Ichigo stared at his phone momentarily before Miss Ochi came in.
"Phone away, Kurosaki!" she barked, and so began the day.
Later
With lessons finished, Ichigo grabbed Rukia by the wrist and pulled her over to him. He quickly filled in the blanks and told her that they needed to get onto the roof.
"Why would he call you though?" Rukia asked as they began walking. "If anyone, shouldn't he have called Orihime?"
"He doesn't want her to know something, meaning that he's hiding something that could well make her worry." Ichigo explained. "I know him and I know that he wouldn't want Orihime to worry about him."
"I suppose so, but it's still rather unorthodox." They reached the stairs to the roof and began to climb up, ensuring they weren't being followed. "I mean between skipping school and this phone call, are you sure it was Kai?"
"Trust me, it sounded like him, therefore it must be." The reached the roof-access door and opened it. "Ok, here we go."
They stepped out onto the rooftop and soon spotted Kai. He was sat down on the roof facing them. He stood and greeted them as the two approached.
"Thanks for coming despite these strange terms." Kai said almost solemnly.
"Yeah, well, that's what friends are for." Ichigo replied. "Now then, what was so bad that you couldn't come to school?"
"This..." Kai moved the left side of his shirt away to reveal the pentagram scar was burning orangey-red. "And there's these." Kai removed his shirt altogether and a large pair of grey dragons wings unfurled on his back and the lack of cover revealed a series of armour-plates like a dragon's scales ran up his left arm from mid-forearm to just over the shoulder. "This a big enough reason?"
"What the hell?" Rukia mused, inspecting the arm and wings carefully. "How did this happen?"
"I went to fight a hollow last night but Supernova was playing up, not something common with my zanpakuto, but still, I ignored it and chalked it up to laziness on my part. And then when I fused with my body again, these things appeared."
"Hm." Rukia sighed and stepped back from the black-haired teen. "These weren't made through kido, so I don't know how to detach them. You'd have to see Urahara, maybe he knows what's happening to you."
"I guess you're right." Kai sighed and pulled the wings down, lifting his shirt. "Rukia, could you put a Hainawa around these things? I don't really have control of them." Rukia agreed and placed the kido on him. "Alright, let's go."
Urahara Shop, Later
"Well, the results are in." Urahara said in a classic doctor style, much to Kai's annoyance.
"Enough delaying, Hat-'n'-Clogs, just tell me, can you get these things off?" he asked. A long pause followed, before Urahara answered.
"No." Kai facepalmed himself. "I'm afraid these, how should I put it... 'modifications'?" Kai's glare prompted the shop-keeper to go on. "Yes, these 'modifications' are not made in the usual method which means we cannot remove them in any method I know of."
"Well isn't that just bloody fantastic(!)"
The door opened abruptly to reveal the small, timid worker of the shop.
"Um, excuse me, Mr Urahara?" Ururu said. "You wanted me to tell you when this started beeping and the red light just came on."
"The red light?" Urahara took the device in the girl's hands and gazed at it. "The Hogyoku's resurfaced on the outskirts of town. You three get down there quickly, I'll notify Chad, Uryu and Orihime."
Ichigo and Rukia nodded and set off, but Kai waited for them to leave, then turned to Urahara.
"Kisuke, I don't want Orihime to know about this." he said. "Could you refrain from telling her about my condition?"
"If that is what you wish, I will respect it." Kai nodded his thanks to the man and followed Ichigo and Rukia, the wings and armour vanishing when he separated. Urahara watched this silently. "Interesting..."
Outskirts of Karakura
The three Soul Reapers soon spotted the dragon-like form of Drako, but they weren't expecting what they saw.
The creature was now huge, at least 15 feet tall a wingspan of over 20 feet wide. It's smoky maw conjured dark flames as it lay waste to the remaining hollows nearby and the landscape with them. It spotted them and spewed flames, intent on devouring them to grow further. Kai and Ichigo drew their blades and sent two reiatsu arcs straight at the beast, but it swatted them aside. Kai frowned, a pressure in his head building as he drew closer to the towering behemoth.
What the hell is happening to me? Why am I feeling so crushed near this thing?
He snapped out of it long enough to dodge a burst of flame.
"I'm going to consume all of you, and your friends, and your precious little town!" Drako roared. "Nothing can stand in my way!"
From nowhere, a series of blue pin-like spines appeared in the beast's neck and it roared in pain.
"My, my, sloppy as always," came a voice. "You Soul Reapers would be powerless were it not for the Quincies."
Uryu stood beside Ichigo, his Gin Rei Kojaku armed and ready to spray another barrage of projectiles at the huge dragon, who cursed and swatted at the arrows, shattering them as if they were made of glass. The archer pulled out a Seele Schneider and swung it in a downward arc towards the beast's head, when the bladed-arrow shattered on contact with the claws of Drako.
"What the-" Uryu started, but he had to dodge the strike from the Hogyoku.
"Hmph, a pathetic move!" he roared. "My claws and scales can be vibrated at super-high frequencies, approximately 30,000,000 rotations every second. That means that weapon will have no effect on me, nor will those energy arcs, whatever they're called." The beast paused, then grinned. "Oh my, four against one? This is hardly fair."
"It is fair when you're the size of a block of flats." Ichigo replied, gripping his sword tightly.
"Well then, let's make this a more even fight."
The purple beast clicked it's clawed-digits and Kai's body became enveloped in a dark reiatsu shroud, much like the one that hit him before Rertyan evolved.
"What the hell did you do?" Ichigo yelled to the skyscraper-sized enemy.
"I am merely helping him to evolve." he replied. "I'll leave him with you."
The huge creature vanished again, but that didn't seem to matter as a pair of red eyes stared from the black that surrounded the Neo-Vizard. The shroud gave way suddenly as a pair of wings extended outwards, revealing the being within. The wings were very large and grey in colour with bone-like segmented phalanges, black spikes and shadowy leather-like panels to them, and the tail that curled behind matched them perfectly. The shoulders had large plate armour over them, each with two spikes, and the sleeves were torn at roughly the mid-upper-arm, revealing the arms to be large and covered in grey armoured scales with claw-like hands. The legs were the same, robes torn from the knee down and a black spike jutting from the knee like the elbows. Across the chest was a dragons head, like the one from Kai's Bankai but larger, chained over the shoulders and under the arms.
But what caught the trio's eyes was the mask and the sword. The mask was unmistakeably Rertyan's second stage mask, but the sword was different. The huge black blade with its red energy vein looked able to slice through steel, the hilt matching with it's dark red grip, dual-spined guard and end-spike on the pommel.
The new being looked at each in turn before roaring loudly, sending a huge shockwave of red over the area, and using a sonido to get close to Uryu. Before he could react, the Quincy yelled in pain as the swords hilt smashed into his back, causing the archer to fall to his knees, and the blade itself was brought in a downward arc into the right upper-arm of the boy, plunging into his flesh and through the muscle, cracking the bone severely. The bow diminished and the Quincy fell to the ground, his arm useless.
Ichigo and Rukia recovered from the shockwave quickly and unleashed their Bankais. The enraged beast lunged at Rukia, but she blocked with her shield, sending a blast of ice and snow out from it to repel the sword as black and red electricity wreathed the blade and it arced towards her shoulder. Rukia dodged with barely any time, but the attacker swung in from behind.
CLANG!
The blade hit another and Rukia was hit by Ichigo's back. The orange-haired captain growled.
"Kai, snap out of it!" he barked, but the assailant pressed further with the sword. The edged cut into Tensa Zangestu slowly, causing Ichigo to back off. "Damn, it's no good, we'll just have to beat some sense into him."
Rukia nodded and sent a blast of ice at the creature that had once been Kai, but despite it being her strongest hakuren, the attack was swatted aside by the left hand as if it were a fly, and the beast countered with a Cero of pure black energy.
"What the hell?" Rukia said as the beam bore down on her. "A pure black Cero?"
The Cero missed by millimetres as the girl dodged the blast with moments to spare. Ichigo sent a Getsuga flying at the beast and quickly hollowfied while he was distracted.
"Chaos Wave; Ultimate Form!" the warped being growled, loosing a pulse of electrified black reiatsu. Ichigo intercepted with another Getsuga, this one stronger than the last, but it was destroyed as it near the larger arc, which split in two and struck both Soul Reapers at once. Ichigo tried to deflect the blast and block Rukia's from hitting, but the pulse was too strong. He roared, wreathing Tensa Zangetsu's black blade with a Getsuga and using the extra power to finally force the arc away, whereupon it spun around and struck the other, recombining and splintering the shield Rukia had pressed against it, the elegant white blade cracked, but she couldn't move due to the proximity of the attack.
"Damn." she murmured before the energy arcs split her sword and smashed into her, exploding violently.
"RUKIA!" Ichigo yelled, spotting her falling, back in her unreleased state. He swooped down and grabbed the girl as Kai's form dissipated and his mask broke in half. He stared at the carnage with wide eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Ichigo." he whispered. "This is all my fault."
And then he disappeared, the buzz of a sonido echoing behind him. Ichigo scooped up Rukia carefully in his arms as she began to breathe sharply, the wounds from the attack deep and undoubtedly painful. The petite girl looked at her captain with blurry eyes.
"I-Ichi-go." she struggled over the word as if it were that of a god.
"Don't speak, Rukia, you've been badly hurt." Ichigo replied, his face adamant. He grabbed Uryu and ran towards Urahara's. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Rukes, but I'll make it up to you, I promise."
Ichigo: What the hell happened
Urahara: The Hogyoku, it's power's going off the charts!
Ichigo: If that thing consumes Kai, it'll have enough power to destroy Sereitai and Karakura.
Urahara: I have a way to destroy it... But we need Kai.
Oh yes, next one is up!
Right, my next post on Black Hollow will be my last, the chapter will serve as an epilogue, so lower your expectations about it...
No, bit more than that... That's it!
Hope everyone had a good Christmas and is going to have a good New Years.
Might be a while 'til the next post, got a lot of 'holiday homework' to do now :
I swear, teachers are sadists ¬_¬
Anyway, please let me know which story line you'd prefer; Grimmjow returns, Chad's power evolving or the 'Eclipsed Zanpakuto' arc (I'll explain each if chosen).
Please review and let your voice be heard, or PM me.
For now, I bid you farewell.