Chapter 10
Violet electricity exploded outward, vibrantly lighting up the abyss, and casting shadows onto Rukia's face. She could barely keep up with the fight she was watching, as every impact created shock waves of pure void energy. She was surprised at her own personal fortitude, having only felt these levels of concentrated Void energy once before in the human world. She squinted as both regular, and Void sparks flew erratically around, and watched Nanashi fighting his Zanpakuto spirit. She was curious about his motives, from what little time Nanashi spoke of him, Kaosu no Kage seemed anything but cooperative. Teaching him bankai seemed to go against everything he said, and she wondered if there was a different method of training that Kaosu no Kage took. Mysteries would remain mysteries it seemed.
Nanashi ducked, barely moving away from the crystallized Void energy that enveloped Kaosu no Kage's arm. Cool air seemed to suck the wind from his lungs as it cleared past him, and he took what chance he could to get it back, but the spirit kept him on his toes. Nanashi leapt away, spinning clear of the dual bladed arms that Kaosu no Kage was now armed with, and felt his back sting beyond any pain he'd felt before. He spun farther, seeing blood floating near his head.
"Nanashi!" Rukia shouted.
Landing hard on his feet, blood sprayed onto the ground, and on his feet. He felt it trickle down his back, and stared at Kaosu no Kage. His bladed hands seemed to be jagged and irregular compared to the slick sheen they originally had. Nanashi watched as a violet light enveloped them, and they regained their deadly edge.
"I think that's all we need. You're either ready for the next part, or you'll die."
"What? I thought-" Nanashi's mind expanded, and his vision became clear. He felt himself leave his body, and watched as it slumped to the ground in front of him. Kaosu no Kage was now standing far closer than he had been. Nanashi watched as the darkness turned into light, and slowly the terrain revealed itself.
"Time to show you your real inner world." Kaosu no Kage calmly stated as he placed a hand onto Nanashi's head.
Vibrant red, green, and blue began swirling around him, and forming what looked like nebulas. Nanashi felt himself begin to float, lifted off of his feet by an unknown force. The sudden loss of gravity would normally leave his stomach flipping and turning, but he felt oddly comfortable. Nanashi saw a small pedestal approaching impossibly fast, and braced himself for the hard landing. He saw the pedestal approach, and slow, allowing him to step onto it with ease.
"Ahh... welcome home." Kaosu no Kage stated. "Master."
"What are you-"
"Though I gotta say, it took you nearly 200 years to finally see it." Kaosu no Kage added, holding a finger up. "Tick tock master. Wheels are spinning that have been since the dawn of time."
"Wha-"
Interrupted by his finger again, Nanashi grumbled to himself.
"I guess you figured it out then. Your Bankai? Quite spectacular isn't it? The power of the Void."
"If I can get a damn-"
"Ah! Yes! The Void is truly amazing! Something to be feared, and respected all together! Such an amazing mystery!"
Nanashi, glaring intensely at his Zanpakuto spirit, had a feeling this was another test. He had no idea what the hell his bankai was, but trying to tell him was next to impossible. Before he spoke again, the spirit raised a finger, cutting him off.
"I suppose though, you should know my actual name. Kaosu no Kage was more of a placeholder until I felt you were ready for it. The fact that you've survived this long, proves to me that you are in fact, the 'Void Walker'."
Nanashi felt his frustration fall away, and finally felt himself growing with power. His light headed feeling dissipated, and suddenly he felt a serene sense of calm, and awareness that he hadn't felt before. It was a good feeling, even if a little concerning. He looked around, and found that most of his feeling had vanished, the cool air, the throbbing headache, and the dizziness, all gone. He looked back at his now nameless Zanpakuto, and saw him smirking. Questions without answers flooded his mind, and even though the more pressing questions were answered, the relief that provided was minuscule.
"Didn't think of that possibility, did you?" He asked. "Well, I guess since you've earned it, I'll grant you my full power."
Nanashi felt the crystal that was lodged into his back begin to vibrate, and slowly consume his mind. His vision vanished, and he was left in the dark. Images flashed in his mind, and the slight glimpses he caught seemed intimately familiar, like deja vu. He saw a raven haired woman watching over an unconscious Shinigami with stark white hair. She looked ragged, exhausted, and worried all at the same time. Her violet eyes were bloodshot, and the stains on her face from the tears were immediately prevalent.
"Rukia?"
As quickly as the image came, it vanished. He felt his feet being pulled by an unknown force downward. He was powerless to stop it, so he let it pull him. As he moved, white dots came into his vision. They were moving up, and becoming more numerous as he drifted. Nanashi soon felt himself slowing, and Rukia quickly came into view.
"Rukia!" Nanashi called out.
Rukia looked up,and saw him floating toward her. She was happy to see him again, since Kaosu no Kage had taken him away abruptly.
"Nanashi! What happened?"
Landing on his feet gently, he walked toward her. Remembering the barrier, he stopped just shy of her. He wanted to reach out, pull her close, but he knew that with the barrier there, it was impossible. Still, the moment they shared, placing their hands onto the barrier, was enough for now. Nanashi raised his hand, and Rukia followed his action. He closed his eyes, reveling in the feeling of her being so close. Yet frustrated at the same time. He extended his hand, waiting to feel the barrier pushing him back.
Nanashi's eyes opened immediately when he felt Rukia's soft hand in his. He looked at the connection, and then Rukia's shocked face as well. He felt himself move on auto pilot, moving faster than her thought, and pulled her into a deep embrace.
Rukia felt tears in her eyes, and as Nanashi pulled her close, she closed her eyes and let them fall. She was finally holding him again, even if this was the last time, she was holding him. She reveled in his scent, his strong arms holding her like a scared child. He pulled back, and looked into her violet eyes, and she stared into his yellow ones. They moved slowly, tenderly toward each other, and finally connected. She closed her eyes again, as he did, and they pressed together. She savored the feeling of him on her lips, and hugged him tighter. Nanashi in turn, pulled her closer
The future was uncertain, but the moment was. And even if it wasn't real, it was nice to feel something again. The moment was fleeting, and soon the area began turning white, shining impossibly bright.
"We're coming for you Rukia. Please, don't give up." Nanashi told her. "I love you."
Rukia smiled, and soon, she was back in the tower of penance. Awakening from the floor. She pushed herself up, and stared out of the window, smiling softly to herself. He was coming for her.
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Nanashi awoke on the ground, face covered in grass and dirt. Around him, he saw the feet of his companions, and immediately noticed the white shoes with red bows on the, and knew Senna had knelt down by his head. Groaning and pushing himself off the ground, Nanashi settled onto a knee "Ah... damn that hurt."
"Are you okay?" Senna asked.
Nanashi looked down at the young girl, smiling and relieved that she was okay. "Yeah, sorry to worry you."
"Worry is one word for it." Tatsuki stated. "You ran out here,then out of nowhere dropped. What happened?"
"It seemed my Zanpakuto had something for me that just couldn't wait, and he brought me to my inner world. He taught me my-"
Flaring uncontrollably, an unknown and intense reiatsu bombarded them. The sudden and surprising amount on power caused Senna to collapse closer to the ground, and make Tatsuki begin panting heavily. Nanashi struggled to rise, but he pushed himself harder than he thought he could, and triumphantly stood onto his feet. The pressure was drawing closer, and the surge made Ichigo and Uryuu ready their weapons. Nanashi reached out, and felt was seemed like another smaller presence, along with different empty ones as well. He thanked his luck for once, finally cooperating with him, and drew his zanpakuto.
The blade seemed familiar, and noticeably more like a standard zanpakuto. The change in appearance finally hit Nanashi, and he scanned the weapon. It was far shorter than what it was, reverting to the length of a normal, u released zanpakuto. The hilt of the blade was wrapped in the dark violet colored robes that his zanpakuto spirit manifested with, and there was a small, tattered and frayed amount hanging off the end. Nanashi felt more connected with the weapon, and felt the cool air of the Void coursing through his hands, and wrists. The weapon was light, almost impossibly so, and he attributed it to the spirit fully granting him his power.
"Here they come." Ichigo warned, also drawing his large zanpakuto.
Senna rose to her feet, and removed her sele schnider from her belt, and readied it. Nanashi was proud of her gumption, even though it was meant as an arrow, she was adapting to the environment.
Uryuu walked closer to Senna, and stood ready with her. He seemed to take the girl under his own wing, guiding her in the Quincy ways, and Nanashi was thankful. She'd be okay, even if something happened to him. Having friends and people you could rely on was a big help, and she needed it the most.
Grunting, Tatsuki rose to her feet, and her weapon manifested as well. The fiery red gauntlets and boots adorned her, and her reiatsu began flowing around her. She was trying to combat the bombarding reiatsu, and even though it took a lot from her, she was able to withstand it. Nanashi began to flare his as well, and walked closer to her to help combat the reiatsu.
The sound of footsteps were heard, and Nanashi faced the direction they came from, looking for any sign of movement. Footsteps drew closer, and a woman crested over the ridge overlooking the nearby road. Her fiery orange hair was reminiscent of Ichigo, yet longer and fell elegantly down to the small of her back. Nanashi noted the golden and white obi that was tied around her waist, trailing off her and resting just above her knee. She seemed to walk with an almost elegant aggression, and it threw signals of both hostility, and comfort.
"I was wondering where you'd be. Seems the reports were correct after all." The woman spoke. "You, white hair."
"Nanashi."
"Hmm." The woman replied.
"My name is Nanashi. I'd appreciate at the very least, SOME respect."
The woman smiled, brushing an orange lock of hair from her face. "Very well, Nanashi."
Nanashi felt the tone of her voice change, becoming annoyed, yet hidden. She was no doubt used to a certain level of power and say herself, and this was some stranger telling her off. Quietly, Nanashi braced himself for the surprise attack that was bound to come, yet tried to hide his awareness. More and more the woman flared her reiatsu, and more and more Nanashi met it with his own. She was testing him, seeing if he was worth her time. At least that's what Nanashi thought.
"So, I can't believe this turned out to be true. The errant slave returns to this world." The woman stated. "Tell me, what do you know about this place?"
"Slave? What the hell are you on about? And what does it matter what I know?" Nanashi quickly replied.
The woman took a step forward, and drew he zanpakuto. "No memory? Well, the Void lord did say that was most likely outcome. Very well."
"Nanashi. Here we go." His zanpakuto warned.
Nanashi raised his sword, pointing the tip toward the woman. As she stopped playing with her reiatsu, other shinigami appeared. They were numerous, and varied. Some wore the standard shihakusho, others wore slim fitting robes. Nanashi figured they were special forces of some sort. Looking back at Ichigo and Uryuu, they came to an unspoken understanding, and broke off to fight their own battles.
"Tatsuki, back me up." Ichigo said.
Tatsuki nodded, and followed close behind him. She looked at Nanashi, concerned about him and saw Senna stand behind him. The girl was beginning to annoy her, and she debated fighting to get closer to Nanashi. She envisioned herself fighting seamlessly along with Nanashi,
Uryuu had Orihime follow him, and he stuck close to Chad, Nanashi saw Orihime ready herself, placing her hands on the sides of her head. He hadn't seen her powers yet, but assumed it was related to her hair clips. He finally settled on Senna, and she looked into his eyes. A self assuredness emanated from her, and even thought the last major fight was concerning, she seemed able to focus on the circumstances now. Nanashi hoped that this would be a far better fight than Byakuya's, but if it wasn't then he didn't deserve to save Rukia.
"Now, we can stop playing, slave. Prepare!"
The woman raised her zanpakuto and two swirling teal bands of reiatsu engulfed it. The blade began glowing a vibrant white teal colour, and shortened. The handle split, and two bladed tonfas formed. She spun them around, dissipating the reiatsu.
"Conquer, Hason Ejji!"
Nanashi threw his blade skyward, and a vortex of black and violet reiatsu surrounded it, consuming the weapon.
"Show them their futility, and unleash yourself!" Nanashi spoke, commanding his zanpakuto.
He extended his hand behind him, and the blade fell directly into his hand. The swirling void energy dissipated, revealing an elegantly curved blade. The blade was the same length of his nodachi, yet it was dual edged, curving forward slightly before recurving into a cutting edge. The cross guard was straight, angled toward the cutting edge of the blade, and the pommel was small, and slightly rounded.
"Shin'en no Arashi." Nanashi spoke, slicing diagonally, and dissipating the Void reiatsu.
The woman looked at his weapon, and seemed surprised, yet confident. "Well, I'm surprised. This does mean that you are the one I'm after. Your sword is finally yours, and how elegant it truly is."
Nanashi leapt toward her, weapon pointing at her intending to end this quickly. Blade met blade, and a cascade of sparks began flying around. Nanashi heard footsteps from behind him, and saw another shinigami charging him. He pushed the woman back, and spun to block his attack. Barely moving his blade in time, he locked eyes with the shinigami, and found his eyes were hollow, black orbs. His face had no emotion, and seemed to be blank.
"Nanashi!" Senna shouted, as she ran to his side.
Nanashi saw her duck past him, and block the woman's zanpakuto from carving into Nanashi. Standing back to back, Nanashi seemed to recall a long distant memory. Deja vu became more prevalent with hi , and he pushed the though aside.
"Senna, switch!"
Ducking under, Senna spun away from Nanashi, who used his own momentum to meet the strange woman's blade's. She smiled sadistically, a monestrous intention and instinct practically pouring from her. Nanashi saw her frenzied gaze, and pushing her back away from Senna, he gave chase. She landed with a spin, flipping one of her sais around and lunged at Nanashi.
Landing to a skidding halt, Nanashi slipped backward at the sudden change in momentum. He kept Shin'en no Arashi in front of him, locking it with the woman's sai as he fell backward. Out of reflex, he extended his free hand and grabbed the woman by the shoulder, and took her down with him. He saw her shocked expression for a brief second before he closed his eyes and braced himself for the impacting ground. Nanashi felt the woman press against his body, laying on top of him. Recovering quickly, he tried to push her off of him, but found his hands restrained.
"Well, I must say. I didn't expect this, after all, we just met."
Nanashi pushed back, but found it impossible to move.
"Ah ah, can't be having that now."
The woman raised one of her sai's and plunged it through Nanashi's wrist.
"AHHH! FUCK!" Nanashi shouted.
Blinding pain radiated from his wrist, and up his arm. The woman seemed to take a sick pleasure from this, and rotated her hip as Nanashi cried out.
"OHH YES!" The woman moaned. "PLEASE, MORE!"
Raising another sai, Nanashi watched as it was plunged into his shoulder.
"NANASHI!" Senna shouted.
She began to panic, watching as the woman relentlessly stabbed Nanashi over and over again. She felt a surge if power, and looked down at the pendant that Uryuu had given her. It was shining a faint blue, and vibrating. Uryuu appeared behind her, using his own sele schnider to deflect a shinigami's blade from killing Senna.
"Senna! You need to pay attention!" Uryuu urgently stated.
Focussing on the pendant, a spirit bow formed. It was smaller, only the length of her arm, but it would serve her purpose. She placed her other hand onto the draw string, and an arrow formed. She drew it back, and released it at the woman. Flying impossibly fast, the arrow crackled as it cleanly passed through the woman's head.
Nanashi watched as the woman's head snapped back, and she fell backward. He lay still, staring into the sky as he let himself catch his breath.
"Ahh... That was interesting. Hold still, I'll deal with this." Shin'en no Arashi said.
Nanashi's body felt cold. His senses dulled, and soon his pain vanished. He stood up without difficult, much to his own, Uryuu's and Senna's surprise. Senna slowed her pace when she saw Nanashi's wounds closing quickly. His hand closed, and the sai that was lodged in his shoulder fell to the ground. Violet streams of reiatsu wrapped around Nanashi, flowing from him to the ground.
Nanashi turned around, and saw Senna cautiously walking closer to him. He noticed that his vision was tunneling, and completely devoid of colour.
"NANASHI! STOP IT NOW! YOU'RE GOING TO LET EVERYONE KNOW WHERE WE ARE!" Yoruichi berated.
Nanashi relaxed, and his vision slowly returned to normal. He looked at Senna, who was staring at him, a deep look of worry plastered on her face.
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Ichigo lunged for the killing blow, when the shinigami he was facing stopped, and turned into dust, and crumbled before him. As he looked around, he noticed that the other shinigami followed suit, turning to dust and crumpling to the ground.
"What the hell...?" Ichigo questioned.
Tatsuki landed next to Ichigo, quizzical look on her face as well. "Ichigo, what's happening?"
Before he had a proper chance to answer her, they both felt Nanashi raise his reiatsu.
"That idiot is gonna give us away!" Ichigo shouted as he placed Zangetsu onto his back.
Tatsuki relaxed, feeling more out of breath than she had before, and ran off to where Nanashi was. She was concerned about him, ever since they'd arrived he'd been acting up, and strange things were happening. She made it a point to check in with him later.
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The sun was setting, and the warm air was calming for Nanashi. He basked in the glow of the sun, trying to communicate with Shin'en no Arashi. He kept hiding from him, either intentionally, or otherwise. It was both annoying and concerning for Nanashi, but given what happened over the past day, he would let it be for now. He heard the others inside, relaxing and eating while they planned their moves and exit strategy. Nanashi would go along with whatever they planned, but his goal was Rukia.
"-m just going to check on him." Came Tatsuki's voice from behind the closed door.
Slowly sliding the door open, she saw Nanashi sitting cross legged with his zanpakuto resting on his lap. She closed the door behind her, and looked out at the setting sun.
"I can see why you're out here. This is beautiful..." Tatsuki commented as she walked forward.
Nanashi closed his eyes again, using his other senses to enjoy the sun set. Tatsuki sat down beside him, crossing her own legs.
"You not gonna eat? Kukaku seems a little insulted."
"Nah. I can tell that she's annoyed with me. I cause a commotion, and then get attack on her property." Nanashi replied. "Besides, I'm sure she's used to a certain level of respect that I just can't give her."
Tatsuki chuckled, knowing that it was a reflex more than anything. She couldn't help but think about what his zanpakuto did, and said to him. There was more going on here than he was saying, and she wanted to show him that it was okay to talk. She wanted to be there for him, whatever he needed.
"Can I ask you something?" Tatsuki asked.
"Sure."
She was freezing, and second guessing herself now. What if she didn't want to know? What if he was insulted? Both options were playing out in her head, and she found herself trying to think of another question to ask, berating herself for not thinking of a back up sooner. Her confidence began to waver, drifting from confident to bashful.
"What did Shin'en no Arashi mean about Rukia? She's your..."
Nanashi knew that this question was coming, regretting not having an answer beyond "we slept together". He let the silence permeate the air for a bit, when he noticed the complete silence from inside. He reached out, and felt Ichigo sitting in the room, which meant they'd either left him there, or everyone could hear this conversation. He'd have to be tactful about answering her, but wasn't about to lie to the young woman.
"Kaosu no Kage, as he was known then, was instigating a response from me." Nanashi replied.
Tatsuki seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and Nanashi took note of her reaction as he raised an eyebrow.
"That said, there is truth to what he said. Rukia and I... we... uh..." Nanashi found himself trying to define it himself. She said that she loved him, and he loved her, but short if one night together, their relationship wasn't established.
"We've been intimate."
The revelation hit Tatsuki like a tonne of bricks. She was worried that was the case,and it explained so much. He was literally going to the ends of the earth for Rukia. She felt herself welling up, and stood up. She stretched, trying to hide her face from Nanashi, who simply watched her.
"I see... I'm sorry for asking." Tatsuki said, as she quickly walked back toward the dining room.
Senna opened the door as Tatsuki brushed past. She watched as Tatsuki walked past the table, and into the main hall. Ichigo rose from the table and quickly followed her.
Senna looked back to Nanashi, closing the door behind her.
"What was that about?" She asked.
Nanashi shrugged, "I think Tatsuki might have been holding some feelings for me."
"Past tense?"
"I mean, probably not now." Nanashi quietly replied.
"Oh no..." Senna exasperated. "What did you tell her?"
Nanashi scratched the back of his head, suddenly incredibly uncomfortable. "The truth."
Senna closed the distance between them, concerned about what he said to her for her to be this upset. "Nanashi." She said in a tone all too familiar with him.
He felt his skin crawl, a side effect of her tone. There was one other person who had that effect on him,and Senna had adopted her mannerisms.
"I told her about Rukia and I." Nanashi meekly replied.
Senna sighed, sitting down beside him. She had a feeling that they'd grown close, but she and Tatsuki had talked about her feelings toward Nanashi. This would have been devastating to here, but she still needed him to tell her just what Rukia was to him.
"Do you love her? Rukia I mean." Senna asked.
The door was fully open, in the doorway stood Ichigo, Uryuu, Orihime, and Chad. Surprised that she'd returned so quickly, Nanashi looked into Tatsuki's eyes. She seemed to have a different air around her, a self confidence that absent from her while she spoke to Nanashi. He was worried that she'd resent him for what he was going to say next, but she needed to know. It wasn't right to lead her on, even if unintentionally.
"More than anything." Came Nanashi's reply after a short pause.
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Wow, what a crazy few weeks.
Firstly, spent a long time in the hospital, almost dying does that. Secondly, I became an Uncle, which is awesome.
Back on track now, hopefully things will keep going smoothly.
Spooky