Me: OMYGOODNESS! So many reviews I'm so happy! Now on to the next Chapter!
Shiva: You talk too much.
Me: SHUT UP!
Shiva: Hehe. She owns nothing but her twisted imagination. P.S. And her total obsession over Ichigo.
Me: WTF! NOT COOL!
Shiva: Hehe Byebye! (Gin Style!)
Me: GRRRRRRR!
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~
Chapter 10: BANKAI!
Dominique's POV
'…Awe crap'.
'Rose is gonna be so mad at us'.
'No da freak'n duh! I need a soul phone now; I forgot mine in the World of the Living. Wonder if Yoruichi has one'?
'How the hell should I know? Ask'. I turned to the black cat.
"Hey Yoruichi, do you have a soul phone"?
"Yes. I do have one somewhere around here. I think it's over there in the corner in one of those boxes. Why do you need one"? I didn't answer, leaving her with a puzzled look.
I stood up, walked over to the corner, and dug through the box. There was quite a few things that looked weird and I didn't dare touch them cause some of them actually looked like they would kill you if you touched it. When I got the phone, I punched in Rose's number. I pressed send and it rang for a few seconds before I heard her voice on the other end.
"Who is this"? That was definitely Rose's voice.
"Captain Rose? This is Dominique".
"Hey! Good to hear from you. Why are you calling me from a number I don't recognize? You usually just call me or Sero from your phone. What's going on"? She asked with humor in her voice. I hesitated and huffed out a sigh.
"I'm in the Soul Society. I'm with Emma and Shuan on a rescue mission". Her voice got serious then.
"How in the world did you get into the Soul Society? I've been hearing reports that a bunch of ryoka broke into the Seireitei. Please tell me that it's not you three. If it is, then why in the hell didn't you tell me? I would have wanted to come, and have fun too". Her voice sounded like an whining little kid, but at least not mad.
"Unfortunately yes. We got here thanks to a man who goes by the name Kisuke Urahara. I'm here with some new friends too. Their names are Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryu Ishida, Chad Sado, and Orihime Inoue. One is a new shadow shinigami, one is a quincy, and the two others are gifted humans". I reported.
"I see. Who are you rescuing"? She asked lightly.
"Rukia Kuchiki". I then told her about what happened since I met Ichigo and the whole situation at hand.
"I see. You've gotten yourself into quite a bit of a mess over there. I'm sorry about Shirozanny. I'm sure things will work out. I can't really do anything about the whole mess there at the moment, so I'm leaving it to you to save Rukia and fix this. I'm currently in Hueco Mundo dealing with stuff over here. I'm sending a few people to spy over there for a while, but I won't give you the details for the moment. There is something seriously messed up shit going on around here though. Things are going to change soon though. I don't get why her execution day has been moved so much though. I've got a bad feeling about this, but I'm currently busy with my own dilemma right now. All I can say for now is good luck, and kick some snooty noble asses". She ended with an excited snarl.
"Thanks Rose. I'll show them what Squad 0 is made of". I said proudly. The line went dead, and I shut the phone with a sharp click. I put it back in the box and went to go sit by Ichigo and relax. He was still on the mat, but his head was on a pillow, and he was now covered with blanket. I looked to Yoruichi.
"When are you gonna show the others your true form"? I asked curiously.
"I don't know. Should I show Ichigo when he wakes up"? A dark, mischievous grin came on her face. I smiled at the thought of seeing his face when he saw Yoruichi's true form for the first time. The thought was just too perfect to pass up.
"Yah, you should". She looked at me questioningly.
"You sure you won't get jealous that he's seeing me naked"? She inquired with a sly look in her gold eyes.
"Nah. He's the kind of person who would probably be bright red in the face and look away like a five year old. When will he wake up anyway"? Shiva barged in while I had been saying that sentence.
'Plus I wanna see his face'! She cheered excitedly.
'Yep. Me too. I wish I had a camera to catch it, but oh well'. It'll be funny as hell.
"Any minute now". To prove a point. He stirred and opened his eyes. Yoruichi walked up to him.
"Finally awake huh"? He looked at her and smiled.
"Yoruichi! I'm glad you're alright! Where's Dominique"? I poked him in the shoulder gently.
"Hey Ichigo. Good to see that you're finally awake. I'm glad you're alright". I grinned. This was what, the second time he'd been seriously damaged during a fight?
"Oh yah. I got cut up real bad…crap"! He jolted up into a sitting position. Blood spurted from his now reopened stomach wound and onto the bandages. I moved and pushed him back down onto the ground. He struggled against me, but he couldn't move from under my hands. I had moved up behind him, and held his shoulders to the ground. Yoruichi moved to his side. I opened a mental link with him.
'Sit down'! I commanded. He stopped moving and lay back down.
'Fine'. He huffed out a sigh along with his mental answer. Well at least he seems to have gotten used to the mental link thing. Good.
"Just what do you think you are doing"? Yoruichi questioned. His eyes still had that frantic look to them.
"Chad's in trouble though". Ichigo said in worry. Yoruichi's eyes softened in understanding.
"Chad is alright. Orihime, Uryu, Shuan, and Emma are fine too. They're still alive. Chad was hurt, but he's alive. Uryu and Orihime are practically unscathed. Shuan and Emma are on the far side of the Seireitei so it will be some time before they get here. So be good and stay in the barrier for now. You'd be no use to anyone with you being injured the way you are now. Half your organs were crushed. If this hadn't been in your pocket you probably would have been cut in two". She moved the hollow mask towards him. He looked at it in surprise.
"That was in my pocket? But I tossed it in the underground waterway". He picked it up and held it as if to get a better look at it.
"Wait. I'll hold on to it". She looked worried, which confused me as to why.
"But I just got it back". He whined at her.
"Give it to me now"! She looked so pissed that I don't think even I would have crossed her. I didn't understand though why she wanted it. Maybe she thought that she could slow down the hollification if she took the mask away from him. She was wrong, once it starts, it can't stop. He was destined to be a shadow shinigami, the dice were already cast long ago. It was his birthright. Ichigo gave it to her and then she looked at the mask. She had a serious look on her face.
"Yoruichi, Dominique, you two are pretty amazing. This place is crawling with captains, but neither of you have a single scratch on you. Plus you and Dominique got me here. How could you have done that with your tiny body"?
"It wasn't that hard. What, with my original form. Not to mention Dominique was the one who carried you here, I just carried your zanpakutos here".
"...Original form"? He looked shocked.
"Hmmm. I guess Dominique is the only one who has seen it so I guess it wouldn't hurt to show you my true form". While she had been talking she had walked slightly further away from him. Then her body began to emanate reiatsu as she changed. She stood there with a serious look on her face. Completely naked, with a straight face.
"A-a-a w-woman"?! I tried hard to keep a straight face, trying not to laugh at his shocked face.
"Your face shows that you're surprised. Showing my true form to people is always funny. People always think I'm a guy cause I sound like one when I'm a cat". She was chuckling under her breath.
"You mean you weren't really a cat"?
"Cats don't talk. That's just common sense. Now I'll show you how we got you here". She then walked up to him without bothering to cover anything. She picked up the weird doodad that she had used to fly herself up here. She crouched down in front of him, legs spread wide. His face burned crimson and he shouted out.
"PUT SOME CLOTHES ON DAMMIT"! That did it; I was on my stomach laughing my ass off. He turned to me and gave me a death glare while clutching his stomach in pain. I couldn't help it, but I laughed even harder.
"Oh sorry. I haven't worn clothes in a while so I didn't really notice. Your reaction was quite entertaining. Haven't you ever seen a woman naked before"? She asked as she started getting on her clothes. But her eyes were looking at me with a sly smirk on her face. I shook my head. She chuckled again, like it was only a matter of time before he would see me. The thought alone caused me to blush.
"Shut up"! He said stubbornly. That was a big fat no. She laughed again.
"People must think you're such a bore". She gave him a mischievous grin before turning her gold eyes back to me.
"No they don't! H-HEY! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOUR PANTS?! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO PUT YOUR PANTS ON FIRST"! She finished putting on her clothes.
"This is how we got you here. Oh, is your stomach better? You must have reopened the wound what with all that screaming. You should be more careful". She was holding up the flying device with her foot. She was showing off.
"Shut up". He was clutching his stomach in pain.
"You already said that Ichigo, and you know she isn't gonna listen". I said highly at him, trying to hide my smirk. He huffed and then grabbed the bone like flying thing while I went to the trouble of resealing the wound that had only just begun to heal with the barrier devices that Yoruichi had put up.
"So if you fill this thing with reiatsu then you can fly with it"? He asked as I healed him.
"Yep". She looked at him smugly. He then turned to me. I had just finished and decided to lay down on the floor, on my stomach with my head resting on my arms; my back was still exposed cause I hadn't put my shihakusho top back on yet. He looked at my back for a minute.
"Dominique, what is that mark on your-"? A heavy reiatsu filled the air. Ichigo's eyes went wide and then he growled under his breath.
"T-that reiatsu! It's him"! I recognized it from that night along with Renji's reiatsu. It must be the other one that Ichigo had fought that night that Rukia was taken. Yoruichi looked aggravated.
"It's coming from the Repentance Cell". Yoruichi said as she looked towards the direction it was coming from. Ichigo got up and ran towards the door, grabbing his zanpakuto as he went. I jumped up.
"Where are you going"?! I looked at him like he went nuts.
"Remember?! We sent Ganju and Hanataro on ahead. If I don't go, who's gonna save them"? He gripped the device and poured his reiatsu into it. The bones on it became a wing and he jumped from the ledge. He soared into the sky with a speed that rivaled my own. I stood there for a second watching him soar away, a pissed off look on my face.
'Me you idiot. I could have gone and saved them'. I thought angrily to myself. Yoruichi ran back into the room to grab a small tablet looking pill and a white ribbon.
"Can you get us there"? I changed immediately into my half hollow form. I tucked my mask away into my shozoku top. I turned to Yoruichi and grinned.
"What do you think"? I took off and she jumped onto my back. I flapped my wings to send us higher.
"I need you to give Ichigo this medicine. I don't think he'll listen to us any other way. So when I tell you to, you have to stab him in the stomach to release this medicine directly into his organs. It's the only way to get him out of there so we can make him strong enough to fight". I nodded solemnly at her explanation. I so didn't want to have to do that, but if he didn't listen I would. I then thought that he would see me in this form when we get there. This wasn't going to be pleasant either.
"I'm gonna have to tell him about what I am now. Once we get him back to safety I'll have to tell him everything". I winced at the thought of seeing his face when I told him everything.
"I know. He will accept you though. I can tell he loves you enough that he would never turn his back on you. Now, do you remember what to do"? I nodded again.
"Yeah Yoruichi, I'll remember". I said seriously. I felt the reiatsu in the air rise again.
"Damn! Byakuya's about to release his zanpakuto! Let's go"! She shunpoed off my back and she moved so fast that even I couldn't see it. She wrapped the white ribbon around his blade; sealing his shikai somehow. I dived down in front of Ichigo, my wings flaring as my feet touched the ground.
'Now that is how you make an entrance'. I thought smugly to myself. I closed my eyes to slits so that he wouldn't see my black and gold eyes. I folded my wings and stood strait. I saw that he was in a fighting position, and he looked at me in shock as he took in my hollow-like appearance.
"Dominique, Yoruichi"? He said in surprise. I winced, but I spoke, even though he would hear the metallic ring to my voice that came with this form.
"Yes. Don't ask right now. I'll talk to you about this later". I said as I motioned to my altered body with my clawed hands. He looked at me, and then to Yoruichi. I turned to look back at where Yoruichi had stopped Byakuya, who looked at Yoruichi coolly, before looking at me.
Yoruichi Shihoin, it's been a long time. Over a hundred years I think. I thought you were dead. What is that thing standing there behind you"? He said with indifference. I let out a growl, he was talking about me and he called me a 'thing', which instantly pissed me off. Ichigo took a step towards me.
"Dominique, Yoruichi, thank you both for coming, but I have to defeat him myself. Please step aside". He completely brushed off Byakuya's question, then Yoruichi turned towards him.
"You? Beat him? You are a fool if you think you can beat him the way you are now. Do it now Dominique". Yoruichi said as she kept her eyes on Byakuya. I tensed and sonidoed right in front of Ichigo so fast that he didn't even see it.
"I'm sorry Ichigo. This is for your own good". I charged forward with the medicine tablet hidden in my claws. I stabbed him directly in to where I had just healed him earlier and entered into several of his organs. I held my hand there for a moment releasing the tablet, before pulling my hand back out of his abdomen.
"D-Dominique…why"? I pulled my hand from his stomach and caught him when he went to fall forward as the medicine completely knocked him out. His blood was dripping from my clawed hand, turning my white skin crimson. I turned him so he was on my back, my wings were forced to open since he was now pressed on the wing joints.
I grabbed his Zangetsu as well as my own, and stood turned to face the others holding his zanpakuto and mine in a fighting stance. The cloths came off of the blades and I held them at the ready. I opened my eyes and looked ahead with a pissed off look to my face. The white haired captain looked at me in shock. He didn't say anything though. Yoruichi turned to me.
"Dominique. Get him out of here". Yoruichi ordered. I nodded and raised my wings to the sky for dramatic effect. I crouched and soared up into the air. I was able to grab the flying thing with my tail before I was all the way up. I flew on top of a building beside the bridge to wait for Yoruichi. Byakuya was chasing Yoruichi; it looked like they were playing tag at hypersonic speed.
"Did you think you could beat me with a shunpo that slow"? He appeared behind her one time and he cut her in half! My eyes went wide with shock, but when I blinked, I saw that it was a sheet that he had cut. She stood on his arm.
"Did you think you could catch me with a shunpo that predictable"? She grinned and shunpoed up to where I was waiting. She looked down on the two captains beside me.
"I'm calling a temporary truce. I know it's self-serving, but I will make Ichigo stronger than you in three days. Chase us if you wish, but the Goddess of Flash Yoruichi, and the Ryuhime Dominique will never be caught by the likes of you". She nodded to me, and I gave her the flying device. She took it, we shunpoed off away from eyesight of the enemy and then she flew alongside me back to the hideout.
When we were inside, she helped me put Ichigo back on the matt with the barrier, and I resealed his wound. I then bound it with fresh bandages after I changed back to normal.
"I'm going to train him how to use his bankai". She said as she leaned against the wall of the hideout. She looked tired from the way she was sweating.
"I know. It's the only way to make him strong enough in time. What was with the nickname"? I asked.
"Well I have the nickname; Goddess of Flash, so I thought Ryuhime or Dragon Princess would suit you". I grinned at her then I looked down thoughtfully at the out cold Ichigo.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
"WHY DID YOU GET ME OUT OF THERE"!? Ichigo yelled at Yoruichi. I stood up and walked to him. He looked at me in shock and I pulled him off of Yoruichi, who he had pinned up against the wall by her collar of her shirt.
I walked forward, grabbed his shihakusho, and pinned him to the ground with ease. I took care, even though all his wounds were completely healed. I was still much stronger than him, and had to hold back my strength.
"We got you out of there because you're not ready to fight Byakuya yet. We are going to make you strong enough to beat him in three days". I said as I looked down at him seriously. Yoruichi interrupted me.
"Out of everyone there, Dominique was the only one who had a chance of beating him besides myself. That's because she has had much more training than you. But if she had fought him there then she would have been distracted by trying to protect you, Ganju, Hanataro, and Rukia. If you would have fought him you would have been killed. Now stop shouting or you're gonna open your wounds again that she took the time to heal". I then spoke up.
"From what Yoruichi told me while you were out cold, Captain Ukitake of Squad 13 wouldn't let Ganju, or Hanataro die, so they'll be alright". She turned to both of us after I helped Ichigo back up onto his feet.
"Now both of you follow me to the training ground so we can get started on your training". We followed her to a door that led to a huge underground cavern that looked suspiciously like the underground training room at Urahara's. I put back on my shihakusho top as we walked down the steps. Ichigo looked at me and I shook my head as to tell him not right now.
"Now Ichigo, I want to ask you a question. Did you know that Zangetsu is a constant release zanpakuto"? Yoruichi asked Ichigo out of the blue. He looked at her in surprise.
"Do you mean like Kenpachi's? I always knew that Zangetsu was different. It doesn't change shape even when I call out its name". He stood there and drew Zangetsu.
"I see that Dominique hasn't told you yet. In that case, you weren't aware that Zangetsu had a second release. All zanpakuto have two stages of release. The first is shikai and the second is bankai. It is mandatory that for someone to be a captain, they have to have mastered both shikai and bankai. There has only ever been one captain who can't do either; Kenpachi Zaraki. He is the first captain ever in history to have become a captain without knowing the name of his zanpakuto. He was valued for his determination and fighting skills, but you've seen that firsthand. The difference between shikai and bankai in combat ability and power depends on the users abilities and own strength. But most of the time the power is five to ten times greater that shikai". Ichigo looked at her in shock.
"Ten...times"?! He said in shock.
"Heh, shocking isn't it? Even someone with talent it can take up to ten or more years of training to master bankai". He cut her off.
"WAIT! I don't have that sort of time". This time I jumped in.
"When she says ten to twenty years she means normal training. I've learned bankai already and I've only had my powers for five years. I achieved bankai myself without any help from anyone in only ten days. But since you have the help of me and Yoruichi, you will learn bankai in just three". He stared at me when I told him I already knew our bankai. Yoruichi spoke up.
"There will be serious risk involved, but you are going to use a special training method that Urahara and I developed". She shunpoed off.
"I know that you want to know what all happened back there at the bridge. But I can't explain everything at the moment, I can at least show you our bankai though. I will show you while Yoruichi gets what she needs to get to train you". I walked a safe distance away and grabbed my Zangetsu off my back. I turned towards him and pointed my zanpakuto at him, the cloth wrapped itself around my arm as if it had a life of its own.
'Here we go'. I thought to myself. I let my reiatsu flow freely and called out.
"BANKAI"! The area was filled with my red/black reiatsu. When the smoked cleared I stood there in my changed outfit. It looked similar to Zangetsu's outfit, just more refined, not to mention the blue cloth gi used to keep out perverted eyes since my bankai top was a bit revealing.
'Hmmm, how would that look on Ichigo'? I thought to myself. Then I remembered Shirozangetsu's own look, and mentally smiled at the thought as I stepped towards Ichigo before calling the name of our bankai.
"Tensa Zangetsu". I said as I walked up to Ichigo holding the pitch black zanpakuto that signified my bankai. I gave him a cocky grin as I looked up into his eyes through my bangs.
"That's our bankai"? He asked.
"Yep. Zangetsu and I will teach you how to achieve this and then how to use it. Just achieving it is half the process; the next part is how to control the power. You'll get that through experience though". I said as I turned away from him and began walking away, the bankai coat swinging dramatically as I did so.
'I love this outfit'. I thought to myself.
"Dominique, I want to ask you what that was earlier, at the bridge"? I sighed as I stopped walking. I had a feeling that Yoruichi was stalling for time to let me explain things. Yoruichi was purposefully putting me in the spotlight. I had to tell him now.
"Ichigo, remember, I didn't have Zangetsu or anyone else to teach me how to fight except for two people. You've met my teacher already. In a sense, he was you; to be exact…he's your inner hollow". He stood there petrified from my words.
"?" He was definitely confused, and shocked too from what I could see.
"He was the one who gave me my powers those five years ago. It's thanks to him that I'm the warrior that I am today. If not for him, I would have been dead before my eleventh birthday". I then told Ichigo about my past; how I got my powers, how I grew stronger, even what happened earlier that day. Let's just say he was shocked. He still didn't know everything though; I gave him the short version.
"You mean to tell me that for the past five years that you've been living with two hollows inside of your soul"? I could see the fear, but his eyes were mostly questioning, and curious.
"Yep. I got used to it pretty quickly. Now it seems almost too quiet in my mind now. I'll take you to my inner world sometime since I've already seen yours. I don't think you're gonna have the same powers I do, because our original hollows that are the actual parts of us are different. Shirozangetsu had only been there temporarily, but who knows"? I felt sadness wash though me, but I squashed it down.
I changed back to normal and took off my shihakusho to reveal my back. Since Yoruichi didn't seem to be coming back anytime soon, I decided that I had enough time to show him.
I turned my back to him and showed him the sapphire dragon mark on my back.
"That is my estigma. Not all shadow shinigami have one, but I do. I'm not entirely sure how I got it, but it's been there ever since I hollowfied willingly for the first time". I then changed into my half hollow form and looked calmly at Ichigo through my mask with my gold/black eyes. He looked at me with a mixture of fear and curiosity.
I moved my hollow mask to the side of my face and grinned at him. I then changed back to normal, and then I put back on my shihakusho, even though I let it hang loosely on me like a coat. I heard the door close to the upper room; Yoruichi was back.
"Now Yoruichi is here so I'm just gonna go chill out and watch the festivities". I said before Ichigo could respond to what he'd seen. Yoruichi walked up to us holding a huge doll like thing. I jumped up and landed on a tall boulder to chill out.
"What's with the goofy looking doll Yoruichi"? Ichigo asked her. She grinned at him.
"It's a Tenshintai. It can forcibly transfer and externalize the soul of zanpakuto. It is an important tool for the Stealth Force". Ichigo looked at her in confusion.
"I don't get it. We need that thing to practice bankai". She gave him a serious look, but I could tell that this was humorous to her.
"Of course. The essence of shikai is to communicate and synchronize with your zanpakuto. But bankai requires externalizing and forcing it into submission. That means you have to make Zangetsu come into this world instead of just going into your inner world. It usually takes ten or more years to master this move. But you were able to beat Kenpachi Zaraki to a draw, so I think you're ready for this. Pierce this with Zangetsu and he will be forced into this world. Then I will use my powers to keep him in that state. But this can only be done once and it only last for three days. You must beat Zangetsu within that time, if you can't-". He stabbed Zangetsu into the doll, effectively cutting her off.
"I don't want to know what'll happen if I fail. If this is the only way that I can achieve bankai then I just have to win then". A blinding flash of light lit up the room, and the doll, along with his zanpakuto disappeared. Zangetsu materialized behind him as if manifesting himself from Ichigo's shadow.
"You've recovered Ichigo. Hello again Dominique". I waved to him and gave him a small smile.
"Sup Zangetsu". I said loud enough for him to hear.
"Zangetsu"? Ichigo asked. Yoruichi stepped forward.
"You heard"? She asked our zanpakuto. Zangetsu nodded.
"Yes". He walked forward to stand in front of both Ichigo and Yoruichi.
"I'll let you choose the style of battle. Can you start right away"? Yoruichi asked mine and Ichigo's blade. He nodded and bent down to the ground on one knee. Then suddenly, several thousand different shaped zanpakutos appeared everywhere from the air. I nearly got hit, and jumped up in surprise as I dodged the blade that imbedded itself in the rock where I'd been sitting a second ago.
"Hey! Next time warn me before you do something like that"! I yelled loudly at the zanpakuto. He ignored me and a tic mark appeared on my head. I jumped down and sat down where a sword wasn't sticking up from the ground. Ichigo looked around in shock.
"What the heck".
"Only one of them is the real me. I can only be defeated by that blade. If you want me to submit, find it before I kill you. Then…cut me down". Zangetsu explained to him seriously. Ichigo wasted no time getting started. He grabbed the nearest sword and charged at Zangetsu. Zangetsu grabbed a blade and blocked his attack with ease.
Soon the blade broke and Ichigo had to grab another one. This continued on for a full hour. Soon Ichigo had gone through 18 blades. All of them broke. I followed the fight by jumping from rock to rock. Ichigo saw a blade that looked like the original Zangetsu.
"That's it! Only the real one would be shaped like this"! He darted to it and grabbed it. He brought it around to attack. It was shattered in an instant, and it was broken by Zangetsu's bare hand none the less.
"That was pathetic". Zangetsu slashed his side and blood sprayed from the wound and splashed to the ground. I twitched. I held fast, but I was tense. I had to let him fight on his own.
'Who would have thought that Zangetsu would be so rutheless'? I thought to myself. Shiva didn't even comment.
"I told you Ichigo. All of the blades here are pieces of your soul. This is a test to find the piece that was made for fighting. That one was a piece of your spirit that relies on me, your weakness. Until you can tell the difference, don't even think about bankai! Now then Ichigo, get up and try again. You don't have time to be resting on your knees". Zangetsu said towards Ichigo's panting form.
"I know that"! Ichigo growled and grabbed another sword, then he charged at Zangetsu again. So thus, the battle continued.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Another sword broke, but Ichigo impressively held his stance.
"That's 51". Ichigo tossed the broken blade away and grabbed another one. He charged forward again. When Zangetsu went to strike he moved his sword with Zangetsu's and deflected the attack. Then he stabbed forward, but Zangetsu jumped up into the air. He threw the sword down and shattered the one Ichigo was holding. He then shunpoed and smacked the crap out of Ichigo, sending him flying.
"Never take your eyes off your opponent. That's 52". Ichigo got up and wiped some blood from his mouth. He had a defiant look to his face.
"Damn, I almost had him that time". He grabbed another one and started again. He was growing stronger at a frightening pace. I was proud of him. At this rate I knew he would achieve bankai. When this was over, I would teach him how to use his soon to be awakening abilities.
Later, Ichigo's fight had changed pace again. He had been using the same sword for the past 5 minutes. So far he'd gone through almost a hundred blades. I watched as they charged at each other again, but then suddenly, Zangetsu was replaced with the Tenshintai and the sword that he had been holding flew off into the distance.
Ichigo had a confused look on his face. It was totally funny, even though I blinked a few times in surprise myself. I jumped down and walked towards him and Yoruichi jumped off the rock she was on too. She took her hair down from the ponytail.
"Drop the sword Ichigo. Day one is over". Yoruichi led him to a hot spring. There was a huge rock face right behind it and I jumped on top of it. I looked away as he got undressed and got into the water. Hey, I may be his girlfriend, but I do have morals…some. I looked down though after a while and saw that he was splashing the water all over the place. I noticed that his wounds were healing and the gash on his face had completely disappeared.
'So the water has healing properties. Good...I think I'll get in too. Not for the healing, but just to mess with him, that and to relax myself'. Hey I said I had morals just not a lot though, hehe. I had no problems what-so-ever about messing with people's minds. I noticed Yoruichi coming towards the hot spring.
"Ichigo, how's the water"? All he could manage was a muffled uh-huh. He had drunk some of the water. Yoruichi looked up and me and grinned. She had an idea from the looks of it. I jumped down and close by, I saw a white towel laying folded on a rock. I was guessing that it was for me. I walked around near where Yoruichi was standing a short distance behind Ichigo. I watched as Yoruichi began to undress.
"I think I'll join you". Ichigo spit out the water and started choking. Impressive spit take.
"A-are you crazy!? Don't get in the water"! Ichigo was smart and didn't look back. Yoruichi laughed.
"I knew you'd act like this. You're such a prude". She changed into her cat form, but Ichigo didn't notice and continued to yell.
"What's that supposed to mean"?! Yoruichi slipped one paw in the water.
"Calm down. This form wont upset you then"? Ichigo looked through his fingers. Yoruichi had a grin on her face as she paddled through the water.
"Disappointed? Come on, out with it, you are aren't you? You little pervert". He looked pissed and a tic mark appeared on his forehead.
"I'm gonna drown you". I had undressed at this time and wrapped the towel firmly around my waist. Well at least it covered everything that was important. Only a little cleavage shown with the towel on me, what little I had at least. I had let my hair down and it covered most of my back. I walked around to where Yoruichi and Ichigo were in the water. Yoruichi saw me and gave me a devious grin.
"I think I'll join the party too". Ichigo jumped and his head snapped back and saw me walking towards them with the towel on me. I smiled at him. His face turned so red so fast, I couldn't help but laugh. I sank into the water a few feet away from him. I was immediately warmed to the core. Man this felt good.
"What? I need a bath too ya know. I get sweaty too after fighting for two days". I said cheekily. He gave me a glare, but then he grinned at me. I sank into the water even further so my head went under. My hair swirled around me, and the water caressed my face and body. I got back up, basked in the feeling of having my hair wet, and it sticking to my neck and back. It felt nice to be in water again.
I looked at Ichigo mischievously as I leaned casually against the rock, my arms outstretched since the towel was secure around my body, and crossed my legs casually.
"Well at least I had the sense to cover myself". I said nonchalantly, my eyes looking at the water pointingly. He blushed and looked away. He hadn't worn a towel, but since the water was so damn murky I couldn't see anything.
'Damn'. Shiva laughed in the back of my head at my teenage dismay. She was currently thinking about what Hichigo would look like in the hot spring. I had to admit it I was having my own fantasies as well about Ichigo.
'Gotta love teenage hormones sometimes'. Shiva said appreciatively. Ichigo then looked at Yoruichi.
"Hey I've been think'n. This place reminds me of the training ground under Hat n' Clog's shop". She looked at him.
"I would imagine so. That room was modeled after this one". I grinned across Ichigo to Yoruichi.
"I figured that was the case". Yoruichi looked at me and then to Ichigo. She had a sly look in her eyes.
"Yes. This was originally Kisuke's and my own secret playground. We built it deep underneath the Sokyoku when we were kids". Ichigo looked at her like he didn't believe it.
"Secret? How do you secretly build a place like this"? Yoruichi responded nonchalantly.
"Kisuke always had a talent for trouble. But that was years ago. When we were kids, we played here every day. After he joined the 13 Court Guard Squads and I joined the Stealth Force we trained here together. And-". Ichigo cut her off.
"Wait a minute! The 13 Court Guard Squads?! Then he was a soul reaper"? I looked at him like he was an idiot for not knowing the obvious. I spoke up.
"Of course he was a soul reaper. It's common sense. He has a zanpakuto, he knows a ton about the Soul Society, not to mention all the stuff he's got that deals with soul reaper business. It was the obvious answer". He looked at me for a minute, his eyes started to travel downward to my chest, but he diverted his eyes quickly away from me. Apparently he was having trouble keeping his eyes from my modest boobs. Yoruichi spoke up, breaking our tense little moment.
"Kisuke was the previous captain of Squad 12, and he was the founder and chief of the Department of Research and Development". He turned and looked at her in shock, but when he went to look at her she had changed back into her human form. He yelled in surprise, then he fell backwards and landed on me. His eyes locked with mine then I heard Yoruichi laugh and my face went hot.
His head was on my lap that was only partly covered by the towel. He didn't seem to want to move at first, but he jumped up and scooted away from me. I turned away from him embarrassingly and sunk into the water. I felt a hand on my shoulder so I brought my eyes back above the water. Ichigo had put his hand on my shoulder, my face grew hot again.
'Why am I being so shy? This is weird and so not like me'. I gave him a smile and I stood up.
"I'm…going to go train. Wanna watch"? He nodded to me and I climbed out the water. He went to climb out and my face turned red again. He sank back down into the water and I walked around the corner of the rock face and found another towel. I threw it to him and he wrapped around his waist. I couldn't help it, but I stared as he got out the water. He had gotten well-muscled since I had first met him.
'Okay, I have to admit it, he's hawt! It should be illegal to be that good looking'! I said with a mental giggle. Shiva also started laughing.
I caught myself drooling slightly and looked away with a fierce blush. He had seen me gawking and he rubbed the back of his head with his hand in embarrassment. I went to dry off and got dressed in my shihakusho and hakama. He was back in his outfit as well. I put my hands in the pockets of my hakama. I walked back to the training ground and turned to Ichigo.
I got serious.
"You've met your inner hollow already and now it's time for you to meet mine". I said out of the blue as Shiva materialized beside me, and gave a cocky grin to Ichigo.
"Sup. The name's Shiva. Dominique's inner hollow and all around badass and smartmouth so get used to it". He looked at her then back to me. I put my hand on her shoulder and looked to Ichigo nonchalantly with a small grin on my lips.
"Shiva here is like a little sister to me. She's hyper, she makes trouble, she gets on my nerves like hell sometimes, but I trust her with my life". His face was shocked to say the least. "I'm going to show you a mock battle between me and Shiva. That way, you'll be able to see my abilities in bankai and my hollow forms".
Ichigo's POV
I looked at Dominique's hollow. She looked just like her, except with white skin and hair, that and her eyes were black and gold. And her shihakusho was the opposite of Dominique's. They both walked away from each other and stood facing each other. They pointed their swords at each other and shouted in unison as their reiatsus began to pour off of them in waves.
"BANKAI"! Dominique stood there proudly in her bankai outfit just like she had earlier. They both stood there and grinned at each other like they had done this many times before. Then, they both charged. Dominique's speed shocked me, as it was easily tripling the speed in which she moved earlier. That must be the secret ability of our bankai. She and her hollow, Shiva, were nothing but black and white blurs of motion. I heard their blades collide several times and then they stopped. Dominique was on top of a large boulder and Shiva was on the ground.
"I guess I'll take this up a notch"! Dominique said excitedly. She put her hand to her face and red/black reiatsu emanated from her hand. Her eyes changed colors to black and gold and she stood there holding a hollow mask. It was the same one as the one that saved my life twice. That explains why she wasn't afraid of it when we saw it the first time in the underground passageway. She moved it from her face to the side of her head, just as I had done when I nearly became a hollow.
"Bout time Dominique. I was starting to get bored". Shiva said mockingly. Dominique grinned at her and laughed in her altered voice. The sound sent chills down my spine. Dominique grinned at her, and that even freaked me out. She looked like a whole different person than she had been earlier.
Her eyes were fiercer, and the way she stood was like that of a predator. She charged at Shiva and when the swords collided the resulting shockwave nearly sent me flying back. The amount of reiatsu was so high that it moved around the two of them like dancing flames. Dominique's was black and red, but Shiva's was white and red; complete opposites.
They became nothing but black and white blurs again as their speed picked up and they seemed to be in more than one place. It looked like there were nine or ten battles going on between the two.
"Getsugatensho"! I heard Dominique call out and a black energy filled the air. It was heading directly for Shiva; it was in the shape of a crescent moon. Shiva grinned.
"Getsugatensho". She calmly created her own white energized attack and caused a huge explosion that filled the area. In the midst of the explosion, I saw Dominique jump up onto a boulder further away. She stood there slightly panting, but grinning like a maniac. She looked down at me and wagged her eyebrows up and down. I couldn't help myself, but I grinned at her. Her eyes were fearsome, but they retained the Dominique that I knew. She was different, but at the same time, she was the same person.
"Ichigo. Now I'm gonna show you my other abilities and how they work in battle". She closed her eyes in a calm expression and her reiatsu flared up and surrounded her like a black flame. When the black reiatsu disappeared she was standing there like a dragoness. Her skin had turned as white as Shiva's. She had claws instead of fingers and her feet were clawed.
There was a hollow hole right below her neck. She had large white wings and a long tail that both had the sapphire markings on them. In fact the marking traveled all the way down to her wrist. Her arms had blade-like horns on them that looked like wicked scythes.
Her eyes were colder and more calculating now. Her wings and tail twitched, then she raised her wings up into the air. With one stroke she was lifted up into the air herself. For the briefest of instances, I felt jealousy over the fact that she flew like that. I remembered what it was like flying with that device earlier, but seeing her fly like that made the device look like a mere toy.
She circled over Shiva for a few seconds then she twisted her wings and plummeted down straight at her hollow at a shocking speed. Their swords collided and another explosion filled the space. When the dust cleared Dominique was in the air again and Shiva was on top of a boulder. Both had a wound that was bleeding; Dominique's left arm, and Shiva's right cheek.
"Heh, that's one for one". Shiva looked as if she was having fun. She then charged at Dominique and they collided over and over again. Dominique alternated from attacking with her sword, and claws. Dominique then flew up to the roof of the large cavern and then dived back down in an extreme plummet. Her dark reiatsu surrounded her and grew larger.
I watched as the black mass of reiatsu slammed into the ground. What was left standing there was a huge white and blue dragon with its jaws open in a feral sneer. The thing was huge! The dragon was completely white with blue marks trailing down it's thin limbs, body, tail and wings, except for the mask, which had red markings on it. I felt Dominique's presence enter my mind.
'What do you think of my full hollow form Ichigo'? I heard Dominique's voice sound in my head. 'I can't talk with my mouth now being a dragon's muzzle. Well I can talk, but it doesn't sound to good so I prefer this way. But I now have the ability to communicate with anyone who is close to me with a mental link. Now, watch this! It's gonna be fun'! She reared her head back and opened her maw to let loose an earth shaking roar. Shiva stood there, unaffected.
"Are you done showing off to your boyfriend yet Dominique"? Dominique simply growled at her and then Shiva said, "O-o-o! How scary. The big bad lizard's gonna come get me. Hahahaha"! Dominique growled again and she opened her mouth. A huge blue light was coming from it. I felt her presence in my mind again.
'CERO'! She fired off the blast at Shiva. Shiva then pointed two fingers at Dominique's attack.
"CERO"! A beam of silver light shot from her fingers and was going right at Dominique's attack. The blast collided in midair, then Shiva and Dominique were left standing there, both burnt slightly from the blast. They both grinned at each other and started laughing. Dominique's laugh sounded strange in that form. It was deep and feral sounding. Shiva was the first to speak.
"Well, yet again another tie. That was fun though. Hey, Ichigo! You can come down now". Shiva called out to me. I jumped from the rock and walked up to them.
Dominique's whole dragon body shuddered once and seemed to disintegrate like it was made of brittle clay. She was left standing there in her bankai outfit. She looked at me with a happy expression, a pleased smile on her face. This kind of battle must be common for her. No wonder that when she fought hollows in Karakura she was always so calm, especially with the fight with the menos grande.
"Well? What do you think Ichigo"? She looked at me expectantly. I grinned at her.
"I now definitely know that you're stronger than me. And to think I used to think that I stood a chance in battle with you". She laughed happily at my joke. She then put her arm around Shiva's shoulders.
"What do you think of Shiva"? I thought about it for a moment. The two of them looked at me expectantly. Although Shiva had a look of defiance on her face, I could see that she was unsure. To her, my opinion actually mattered.
"She seems alright to me. I had never thought that a soul reaper and a hollow could get along though, until today". She grinned at me.
"Well you're gonna have to deal with Hichigo now. I don't know how he will act but he may try to make you go insane. If he tries that then tell me. Trust me I've seen people who have inner hollows and don't deal with them appropriately". Her face got solemn. "They end up being devoured by their hollow or they seal their hollow away forever. Neither one is good, so that's why I have my friendship with Shiva. It makes us stronger. Now let's get some rest. Your training continues tomorrow. You can head on back Shiva". Shiva gave a mock salute before she stuck her blue tongue out at me.
"Otay! See ya later Strawberry! You and Dominique be good alright! Don't do anything I wouldn't do"! Shiva disappeared before I could give a retort. Dominique just laughed at that.
"Well there isn't really anything she wouldn't do, so that mean's I get to do anything I want". Dominique said as she waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively. I blushed harshly, "That's Shiva for you. Ya gotta love her! She's the most annoying person in the world, but that's what little sisters are supposed to do"! She continued to laugh and then she healed her wound on her arm and the burns from the ceros.
"How do you do that? The healing and whatnot". I asked.
"My friend Emma is much better at controlling her spirit energy. Although I've studied how to preform most kidos, I'm better at attacking rather than healing and defense. They've come in handy, especially lately. And what with you constantly getting hurt, these kaidos sure are handy to know". She explained.
'She had learned these skills at such a young age. I wonder how she's been able to deal with it all. Or maybe it's just like she said; you get used to it after a while'. I sighed and followed after her to the upper room to rest for the night.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
Dominique's POV
The next morning Ichigo and I were warming up. Ichigo had his shihakusho off doing sit ups, and I was stretching my muscles. I did this so I wouldn't be caught staring at his well-muscled chest. He jumped up.
"Okay! All warmed up...hey where's Yoruichi? I want to get started already. Dominique, do you know where she is"? I shrugged my shoulder. I was still stretching, as he got his shihakusho back on I stopped. When Yoruichi finally got down here we started back with the training. This time I helped Zangetsu.
I gave Ichigo pointers when me and Zangetsu alternated between attacks. This would be good for him when he would face multiple opponents. I felt something ominous approaching. That was when I heard a loud crash and I saw Renji walking towards us, with his zanpakuto resting on his shoulder. I heard his voice.
"I was wondering what the three of you were doing down here. Is that your zanpakuto's true form? You're training for bankai in secret huh? Heh, sounds like fun. Can I join"? Renji asked. Ichigo looked at him in shock and I gripped my blade harder in case he attacked. He continued to talk though, "I know what you're thinking, "What are you doing here"? Well it's no big deal. There isn't much time left and I need to focus on my own training". I spoke up.
"What do you mean, not much time left"? He looked at me indifferently yet I saw the passion in his eyes. Something was wrong.
"Rukia's execution date has been changed again. They're going to execute her tomorrow at noon". All four of us looked at Renji with disbelieving looks. Renji continued, "I hate to say it, but I'm not strong enough yet. I won't get in your way so don't mind me. I'll just be doing my thing over here". He materialized his zanpakuto; a large white monkey with a snake for a tail was standing beside him. Yoruichi spoke up.
"To-tomorrow? But there's no way that Ichigo can achieve bankai by tomorrow". I heard a loud crash and saw that Ichigo had broken the sword that he was holding.
"Sure you wanna say that Yoruichi? This training was your idea after all. I refuse to let you give up". I nodded along with him. Yoruichi had a concerned look to her face.
"But Ichigo! If you don't achieve bankai by tomorrow...-". He cut her off.
"I told you already. I don't want to hear what happens if I fail. If tomorrow's the big day, then that means that I'll take care of it today"! He crushed the rest of the zanpakuto in his hands. I stepped forward.
"Have some faith in Zangetsu and me Yoruichi. We'll make sure he achieves bankai by tonight. We'll use all of our strength if we have to. We'll be ready for tomorrow, you'll see. Now Ichigo, let's get back to it". I changed into my bankai and stood beside Zangetsu.
OoOoOoOoOoOo
That night when Zangetsu and I were about to start the final battle Renji sheathed his sword and began to walk out. I didn't bother giving him a second look, because I was focused on Ichigo. Both Zangetsu and I used our special ability to create speed illusion copies. We had Ichigo surrounded. Zangetsu spoke up.
"Are you ready Ichigo? One last time. I warn you...we won't hold back, just because time is running out". Ichigo grinned at us.
"I know that! I never thought that either of you would go easy. I wouldn't let you if you tried"! He said with a cocky smirk on his face. I grinned at him. Then Zangetsu and I charged at him. We continued to fight for several long minutes. I called out something that would help him if he could figure it out.
"Where is Zangetsu Ichigo?! Where has Zangetsu always been? If you can figure out the meaning behind this question and find the answer to it then you will achieve bankai". He continued to fight, but you could see that he was thinking about what I said. He stood still after Zangetsu and I back off for a second. He closed his eyes and dropped the sword that he was holding. His reiatsu flared around him and the original Zangetsu appeared in his hands. He called out to me.
"Zangetsu lives within me, within both of us"! He then called out, "GETSUGATENSHO"! A huge blue energy blast came my way and I managed to block it with my own Getsugatensho. I nodded to him.
"Now that you know and have gotten the real Zangetsu, finish the battle". He focused and charged at Zangetsu. I moved out the way for him to do this last fight alone.
Zangetsu was giving his all and Ichigo put every ounce of energy into his attacks. He roared out and struck down. A bright light filled the air and when the light faded I looked at Ichigo. Zangetsu was gone. Ichigo stood there holding the black chained Tensa Zangetsu in his bankai outfit. I ran up to him and glomped him, successfully knocking him to the ground while continuing to hug him.
"You did it Ichigo! I knew you would"! Zangetsu had disappeared and went back into Ichigo's inner world. Yoruichi jumped down and joined us. She congratulated Ichigo and we went up to the upper room after we went into the hot spring to heal our wounds. Yoruichi found us some food and we chowed down. Then Yoruichi handed us these two cape things that she called tentokens.
She told us that they would let us fly without using flash step. That way I didn't have to use my half hollow form to fly up there. She gave Ichigo the appropriate bandages and stuff for his arms and chest since the hot spring could only do so much. He had a bandage on his face and some sort of wrapping type thing on his left arm. It wrapped around his arm in a way that looked similar to my own sapphire markings that appeared on my arms when I change into my half hollow form. We slept and waited for the next dawn; the day of rescue was almost upon us.
Emma's POV: Elsewhere in the Seireitei
"Shuan,... hey Shuan…WAKE UP"! My boyfriend finally woke up with a start. We needed to get moving. I had felt Dominique's full hollow reiatsu in the air. It was extremely faint as if it was being hidden, but I had known it for so long I could track it for miles and wouldn't have a problem.
"What? …Hey, that's Dominique's reiatsu isn't it"? I nodded and stood up. We had made it to the heart of the Seireitei a few hours ago. We had seen several sites that showed the struggles and battles that were fought there.
We decided to not go after Dominique and decided to find Orihime's, Chad's, and Uryu's reiatsu. She was the leader of our group, Captain Rose and Sero didn't choose her for nothing. I may have been the best at controlling reiatsu and Shuan being the best at hakuda but Dominique was the best at zanjutsu fighting, though she was well rounded in the other fields as well.
We had gotten thrown further back after we had gotten through the barrier. It had taken us two days to move through the corridors, avoid detection and gather the information we needed. We had felt several battles take place throughout the Seireitei. We had to fight every now and again ourselves, but we only encountered weaklings.
When dawn broke we found felt a strong reiatsu rushing towards us. What we saw was a large man with spiky black hair that had a little girl with pink hair on his shoulders and…Orihime?
They stopped when they saw us. It took a while, but we settled things out. Shuan told me that Dominique was most likely with Ichigo. So if we followed this group we would find Ichigo, Dominique, and Yoruichi. We rushed down the different alleyways, but unfortunately we most of the time came up to a dead end. This was going to take a long time.
Dominique's POV: Underneath Sokyoku Hill
Dawn had come. I sparred with Ichigo to get him to master using the Getsugatensho and show him some hakuda moves. By the time we were done he had learned to unleash it at will. I put my hair back up and took off my shihakusho. The less I had to carry the better. I only wore my shozoku top and the tentoken. I'd even left the arm and leg guards behind.
Noon was soon upon us. We were all strapped up in our battle gear and we took off into the air using the tentokens. Yoruichi would come to help out in a little. We flew off into the mid-day sky to face the upcoming battles.
'Let's do this'!
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~
Me: Whew! Chapter 10 is done! (Gives the nice guy thumbs up)
Shiva: Hehe. You look like a dork doing that. Just like bushy brows and bushy brow sensei.
Me: Shut up Shiva haven't you already hummiliated me enough for one chapter?
Shiva: Nope.
Me: (Growl) Now for the goodbye theme! Oh and next chapter will be much better. I hoped you readers liked this one.
Invincible by Adelitas Way
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