Chapter Ten
Karin, Toshiro, Ichigo, Rukia, and Senna all walked down the street toward the Kurosaki Clinic. Though it was quite late, Ichigo was sure that someone would still be up, given that Karin had not yet returned home. The five of them were talking somewhat animatedly when Ichigo felt a disturbance up in the sky. There was a spiritual pressure unlike any he had ever felt before. The sheer power and menace in it was overwhelming. For a moment, none of them could actually see anything, save for a rippling effect high above the skyline of Karakura Town. However, after a moment, a circular hole opened in the sky and a tall, pale Arrancar with turquoise hair and golden eyes stepped out, looking down at them icily.
For several long moments, the Hollow just stood there, staring them down. But then in the next moment, he was right in front of them, slashing at them with claw-like fingernails. Ichigo reacted the fastest, shoving Toshiro out of the way, grabbing Rukia and Karin and jumping, while Senna blocked his attack with her arm. Her hierro was incredibly tough, tougher than most hollows could ever dream of having. Despite that, though, the theretofore nameless Arrancar still rent her arm wide open, spilling a great deal of blood on his clothes and on the ground. He looked disdainfully at his sleeve and shook it, spattering blood all over Senna's face and clothes and then held his hand up, pushing the air in front of him so hard that it blasted Senna backwards.
"Foolish girl! For an Arrancar you are incredibly weak. I doubt you would last three minutes against me," he said arrogantly, snorting in disgust and staring at the rest of the now scattered forces. Ichigo's gigai was already on the ground, apparently dead, along with Rukia's and Toshiro's. Almost immediately after the Arrancar said that, Ichigo slashed at him with his bankai, using a Getsuga Tensho to try to at least do some damage. Ichigo already could tell that there was little chance that he would be able to match this abomination. But he had to at least try to do some damage. When the smoke cleared, though, the strange Arrancar stood there without a scratch on him. He turned around, and breathed in deeply, then exhaled sharply, using the blast of air to send Ichigo flying into a building over a hundred feet away. He sighed and then turned around, looking at Toshiro, then at Senna, who was in her Arrancar form, now, but nursing a significant wound, and at Rukia, who had her blade out, ready to fight. His eyes stopped on Rukia, and then he bowed mockingly.
"I would recognize those features, and that scent anywhere. You are a member of the illustrious Kuchiki Clan…" he said in a heavy Spanish accent, looking at Rukia and narrowing his gaze.
"If indeed you are one of them, I must be sure to take this group seriously. But tell me. Is the orange haired man who just attacked me the renowned new captain who supposedly killed Sosuke Aizen?"
"Why should I tell you anything, Arrancar!?" Rukia snarled at the turquoise haired Arrancar that stood before her placidly, questioning her as though nothing had happened.
"Well, you certainly will have a better chance of living if you answer my questions honestly. And please, call me Arturo. My name is Arturo Plateado," he said, bowing politely and with genuine sincerity this time.
"Y-you mean the Arturo Plateado!?" Rukia asked in abject terror, her eyes widening and her body being overcome with violent tremors.
"The one and only. I am honored that one so young as you has heard of me. I must have made quite an impression on Soul Society."
"Indeed. If I recall correctly, Commander-General Yamamoto sealed you away in an inescapable prison dimension over 1,000 years ago," Rukia said, smirking at him.
"Ah, yes. The Commander. He was a memorable opponent, and the prison dimension was extremely strong, but not inescapable by any means. You see, I really must thank your orange haired friend, for it was he who set in motion the events that freed me from my thousand year stasis. Two years ago, young Kurosaki, only fifteen at the time, entered Soul Society illegally and interrupted your execution, correct? He then proceeded to destroy the Sokyoku. Did you really think that an artifact that powerful would just disappear into thin air after it was destroyed? Of course not. It shattered into one hundred shards… Would the siblings Kurosaki please step forward? If you allow me to kill you peaceably, I promise not to harm your friends."
"How 'bout this, shitface!?" Ichigo asked, drawing his blade again and pointing it at Arturo. The Arrancar looked around, slightly surprised at Ichigo's boldness. He had known very few people to ever stand up to him like that. "You can have my life when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers."
"Very well. Then I shall fight you. Don't you want to know what my reason is for killing you and your younger sister, though?" Arturo asked, slightly interested in why Ichigo had not asked.
"Something tells me that it has something to do with these shards that you were talking about."
"Very perceptive, Captain Kurosaki. Indeed, both you and your sister possess shards of the former Sokyoku. Neither of you have yet learned to harness their power. However, that is a problem that I will not have. If I am correct, Captain Kurosaki has four shards, and young Karin Kurosaki has two. I have already collected six of the shards, and once I have collected all of them, I will be unstoppable. Goodbye, former Captain Kurosaki."
With that, Arturo attacked, slashing at Ichigo with his fingers like he did to Senna. Ichigo easily blocked it with his forearm, though, grabbing onto Arturo's arm and throwing him over his shoulder and into the air and then aiming a Bala at him. The hardened ball of Spirit Energy flew at Arturo and hit him dead on, exploding massively in the air in a cloud of smoke and crackling electricity. For a moment, Ichigo was sure that he had gotten him, but then Arturo blew all of the smoke away with a kick in the air. He cracked his neck and then came back down, smirking.
"That was clever, Kurosaki Ichigo. But not good enough to defeat me. If that is all that you have, I am afraid your death is imminent." Arturo wasted no more time on words, instead, used his own nails to cut his hand open. He then grew a huge black ball of energy in his hand. It was a Gran Rey Cero. Ichigo knew that there was no way that any of the others could survive such an attack. He was fairly sure that he could live through it. But if he didn't do anything about it, it would still hurt a lot. Ichigo stood, waiting for the attack, and after a moment, it came. A gigantic black beam of energy unlike anything Ichigo had seen in his life or his afterlife flew at him, and then he realized, that he had once learned from Nel how she ate Cero beams. It turned out that it wasn't just one of her hollow abilities. She had developed it by practicing breaking down spirit energy as it came at her and ingesting it like one would food. Ichigo focused and grabbed the Cero as it hit him, slowly breaking down the particles and drawing them in through his fingertips. He figured that eating them and drawing them in was pretty much the same thing. It was dangerous, he knew. But it was likely the only way that he could possibly hope to defeat this beast of an Arrancar.
Arturo looked on in shock as Ichigo slowly broke down the Gran Rey and it disappeared into his body. Once he was done, his body was glowing like a black light from the inside. He then thrust out his right hand and cut it, adding his own Gran Rey Cero to Arturo's. The ball of black light shimmered and radiated out, causing the air all around Ichigo to become distorted from the sheer pressure of the Cero that was about to be fired. Ichigo felt a white hot burning sensation running through his body, but as soon as he felt it building up, it receded with the beam being fired and engulfing Arturo completely.
When the beam subsided, Arturo stood there still, bleeding heavily, his breathing having become ragged. He glared at Ichigo hatefully and spat blood at him.
"You've not seen the last of me, Ichigo Kurosaki. You and your friends will never be safe…" he said, distracting Ichigo with a false attack and then using the same technique that he had at first to appear in front of Senna at that moment. He then drove his hand right through her stomach, causing Senna to gasp in agony. Arturo looked at her pitilessly, and used his own power to break down her spirit particles, causing her to be absorbed into Arturo. Ichigo watched helplessly as Senna was absorbed, and Arturo's wounds began to seal. Arturo smirked back at Ichigo, and spoke.
"I see. This Arrancar actually means something to you. I am surprised. I had heard that you were a sentimental fool, but I never expected you would sympathize with a Hollow. But I didn't kill her just for the fun of it, or out of revenge. You see, when I kill another Hollow and absorb their essence, any injuries that I may have heal almost instantly. But, for now, I had better leave, before you decide to attack me again. After all, it seems that you have finally learned to harness the power of your shards. Perhaps the Cero that coursed through your body in that instant activated their latent energies. I couldn't say for sure. Goodbye."
And with that, Arturo disappeared as if he was a ghost… Oh wait, he was a ghost. As soon as he was gone, though, Ichigo groaned and collapsed, having used up too much spirit energy. Karin was the first one to reach him. She grabbed him by the arm and flipped him over, feeling for a pulse, relieved to find that he was simply unconscious.
Toshiro walked over to Ichigo and knelt down, bending at his knees and hoisting Ichigo off the ground and putting him over his shoulder. Ichigo was much larger than Toshiro, so it was a little bit difficult for him to carry him, but not overly so. It was not so much that Ichigo was heavy, as it was that he was unwieldy. The group that now consisted of four started to once more walk back to Kurosaki Clinic. Once they got there, Karin knocked on the door, though she wasn't sure why she didn't just take the key and walk in. The four of them waited for a little while, after which time, they heard running from inside the house, and a crashing sound as Isshin slid across the floor and crashed into the dinner table, losing his footing and being flipped over the table. They then heard another crash as he landed on the floor on his back, hitting his head, and knocking himself unconscious. Toshiro looked skeptically at Karin and said, "Does this happen often?"
"More than you might think, actually…" she said, slapping her forehead in embarrassment and frustration. Almost at the exact same moment, Yuzu came to the door to greet everyone. They had all slipped back into their gigais, so she could see them, fortunately. She smiled politely and invited them all in, saying that Toshiro could put Ichigo on the couch, although she only referred to Ichigo as 'your friend'. Ichigo had indeed gone to the clinic last time, but he only introduced himself as a work associate of Toshiro's out of concern that saying his name would trigger Yuzu's memories. He could have made up a fake name, but despite her airheaded appearance, Yuzu was pretty bright, and she probably wouldn't have been fooled for long.
"So, Hitsugaya-san…" Yuzu said politely, going out to the kitchen and stepping over Isshin to get to the stove to put some tea on. "Are you and Karin-chan like… dating or something?" she asked. Yeah. Perhaps she was a little bit too perceptive for her own good.
"You wouldn't understand our connection to each other even if we explained it, Miss Kurosaki," he said placidly, his expression not wavering for a moment as he put Ichigo on the couch. Yuzu tried to keep up her smile, but found it difficult when Toshiro was being so impolite. When she was sure that the tea was doing alright, she looked at Toshiro, and scowled at him momentarily. "You know, I'm not stupid, Hitsugaya-san. I don't really appreciate being treated as if I am, either."
"Huh? Oh, that isn't what I was trying to say. I just mean that my relationship to Karin, and to everyone else here is rather convoluted, and would be difficult to explain," Toshiro said, not really wanting to involve Yuzu any more than she had to be involved.
"I don't mind long stories…" Yuzu said suspiciously, looking between Karin and Toshiro, and then at Ichigo on the couch and Rukia in the doorway.
"Um, miss? Please, come in and have a seat. The tea is almost ready!" Yuzu said politely to Rukia, who bowed respectfully, looking around uncomfortably and then walked in and sat down at the kitchen table.
"Well, I suppose since everyone else in the room is in on it to some degree, I might as well tell you, too. Let's wait until the tea is done, though, because once I start, I'm not stopping." Toshiro said, his face still not twitching even a little bit. Yuzu nodded and took the water off just as it boiled and poured it into four cups, putting sugar in all of them and some tea leaves. She then handed out the cups and asked that everyone sit down. When they were all seated, Toshiro began.
"Well, the first thing that you should know is that of everyone in this house, only you and Karin are human. The rest of us, even your father, are Shinigami, souls that came at one point from the human world, to the Soul Society, and were trained to fight and destroy Hollows, malevolent spirits of the dead. That said, the events that brought us all here today ultimately began two years ago. The person on the couch was your brother, and Kuchiki was here on assignment to destroy a Hollow. She was wounded badly by the Hollow, and couldn't complete her mission, so she gave her powers to Ichigo, who then became a Shinigami in her place. The events between then don't really matter that much until a man we believed to be our ally betrayed us and aligned himself with the Hollows. As a Shinigami, Ichigo helped us fight in the war against him, and we believed that Ichigo killed him. Shortly after that man's apparent death, Ichigo was taken from the human world, and most of the people who knew him, including you and Karin had their memories of him erased. After all, it would seem rather strange for someone to just disappear without a trace. Anyway, for the past two years, Ichigo has been a captain in Soul Society, and, up until recently, nothing challenged our beliefs about what happened, until more Arrancar, Hollows that have had their masks removed, attacked the human world. The Arrancar said that the man that we believed to be following Aizen's lead, Aizen was the man who betrayed us, had actually been manipulating Aizen from behind the scenes. We didn't much question this, either, until we found out recently that Aizen has returned. Now, we aren't exactly sure how he did it. Perhaps he was revived through some form of ancient magic. Maybe he never really died. But he's back, and more powerful than ever."
"H-how does this have anything to do with Karin-chan?"
"Well, Karin has known about us for a while. We erased her memories just like everyone else's when Ichigo left, but she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and her memories returned to her. It has been known to happen that a person who's had their memory modified can remember what was erased if they are given a strong enough prompt."
"S-so, you're saying that… that person over on the couch is my brother?"
"Yeah. The unoccupied room upstairs used to be his." Toshiro said, his expression softening slightly upon seeing her confused expression.
"It's alright. You don't really have to understand it all."
"No, I do understand it. That's what's so strange. It all makes sense to me, for some reason. Even though the logical part of my brain is telling me that all of this is impossible, I know despite that that this is all real."
"KARIN-CHAN!!!" Came a loud yell from the floor. None of them had been paying attention to Isshin, who was on the floor the whole time. He suddenly jumped up and ran over to Karin, jumping over the table. Karin sighed, though, and pushed him along under his feet, grabbing his hand and throwing him backwards into the wall so that he hit it upside down and fell backwards, sliding onto the floor.
"Is that any way to greet your daughter who was in a major car accident!!??" Karin shouted, waking Ichigo up, who had been stirring on the couch for a few minutes by then. He stood and stretched, groaning and walking out to the kitchen, not even fully realizing where he was.
"I'm sorry, honey! I was just so worried about my baby girl…" Isshin said pleadingly. Karin sighed and hugged her father. He could be annoying, but she couldn't stay angry at him for long. He then looked around her and saw Toshiro sitting there and Ichigo and Rukia standing up.
"What are you doing, Karin-chan!? You bring these two delinquents home with you after you've been gone for two days!? Daddy is so disappointed! Look at them! This one isn't even much older than you, and already he's bleaching his hair, and that one is at least three years older than you, and you let him bring his younger girlfriend, too!? WHY DOES MY BELOVED DAUGHTER DO THIS TO ME!!??" Isshin cried dramatically. Ichigo had to suppress a major urge to beat the crap out of his father. He knew that his father was faking it so that Yuzu wouldn't get suspicious, but he was overdoing it.
"Um, Dad?" Yuzu said quietly. "You don't have to pretend anymore. I already know who all of these people really are."
"What!? You mean they told you about it? Captain Hitsugaya… I'm surprised. I would think a straight-laced guy like you wouldn't break protocol like that. And Ichigo… I'm shocked that you would want her to know your real identity."
"I had nothing to do with that. I was unconscious thanks to some damn Arrancar named Arthur Plato or something like that…" Ichigo said irately. Isshin's eyes suddenly widened at the name.
"Arturo Plateado!? Where did you run into him!? How long ago!?" Isshin asked loudly, shaking Ichigo violently for answers.
"Get off of me! It was probably an hour ago or something like halfway between Urahara Shoten and the Clinic. Why? Who the hell is he?"
"Ichigo, Miss Kuchiki, Captain Hitsugaya… Come with me for a moment. Yuzu and Karin, stay here."
"What's this all about, Dad!? Who is Arturo Plateado?" Ichigo prodded. Isshin sighed and brought out a file on him from an old chest in the basement that Ichigo never even knew his father had.
"All Shinigami and Hollows are measured in terms of power on a chart. Most Shinigami captains have a chart like this that is magically altered to add a name every time a new Shinigami graduates from the Academy. In your case, it was slightly different, since you never went through the Academy. However, the list also changes when a Shinigami moves up in power. Unlike other Shinigami, who can be fooled into believing someone weaker than they really are if they are good enough at hiding their spiritual energy, this list cannot be fooled by any means. Most Shinigami believe that powerful Hollows are given bounties based on how many Shinigami they have killed, and how long they have evaded Shinigami intervention. This is only indirectly correct. When a Hollow kills a Shinigami, the Hollow devours that Shinigami and becomes more powerful. If the Shinigami that was killed was powerful enough, the Hollow might move up on the power list, and their bounty might rise. If you want to think of it being a scale of 1-1000… 1 being the weakest, and 1000 being the strongest, Aizen, being a good measurement tool, is about a 600. Ichigo, you are about a 600 as well. It was partially luck that you were able to defeat Aizen, and though he didn't hold back powerwise, he had more than enough experience that if he had taken you as a serious threat, you would have been killed. Strangely, Aizen came back, and took over Hueco Mundo again. Now, this whole story does have a point. Commander-General Yamamoto Genryusai is about a 650, most likely, whereas last time I remember seeing Arturo, he was about an 800. He was powerful enough that he would have been able to kill Genryusai. The Commander, though, along with the Kidô Corps managed to place a powerful seal on him that trapped him in a prison dimension where neither light nor darkness exists. I felt his power return tonight. I was hoping that it wasn't true, but apparently it is. What happened Ichigo?"
"Well, we fought for a while, he fired a Gran Rey Cero, and I managed to break down the spirit particles and absorb it, then double its power with a Gran Rey of my own. He was injured, so he retreated."
"You were lucky. His escape probably cost him some energy. You won't get such a chance again, and I wouldn't advise trying such a stunt again. It's dangerous under the best of circumstances. Arturo must have done something to increase his power enough to break the seal. Did he say anything to you?"
"He said something about the Sokyoku breaking into shards when I destroyed it two years ago, and that the shards made him more powerful. He said that he was going around collecting shards, and that both Karin and I had some in us."
"I see. I thought that your spirit energy felt more imposing tonight. You would do well to be careful with the power granted by that. I've seen people go mad with power. Always remember that power is dangerous. It can swallow you up and destroy you. Karin-chan awakened her latent spirit powers tonight, didn't she? I could feel them." Isshin said, half sad, half proud.
"Yes, she did. It was surprising to me, too." Toshiro said quietly, looking away.
"You're going to try to convince her to go back to the Soul Society with you and become a Shinigami, aren't you?" he asked again. Toshiro looked at him. Even though he acted like an idiot at times, that all really was just a façade. Isshin was incredibly perceptive and intelligent.
"I made the offer to her. It's up to her whether she accepts it or not. I cannot, nor will I force her."
"Ichigo, Rukia… Why don't you go upstairs? You can spend the night here if you like, and then travel back to Soul Society in the morning. There is something I must discuss with Captain Hitsugaya."
"Okay. Goodnight then, Dad."
"Goodnight, Dr. Kurosaki…" Rukia said, bowing politely and going back up the stairs. Once the door was shut, Isshin looked at Toshiro.
"I'm sorry about Lieutenant Hinamori's death. It's always hard to lose someone close to us. So hard in fact that we often try to find someone or something to fill the empty space in our lives. I can't tell you what to do with your sadness, but know that I'll not have Karin-chan become a replacement for your friend." Isshin said seriously and somewhat bluntly.
"I could never ask her to be that. Momo was truly irreplaceable. Besides the connection that I felt with Momo was completely different from the one that I feel with Karin."
"Fair enough. You're welcome to spend the night. I know that you're on vacation right now, so I don't know what you plan to do tomorrow, but as long as you don't break anything, you're free to stay."