"Speaking"
'Thoughts'
Flashback
Zanpakuto/Technique
Disclaimer: I do not own any mangas or animes.
Chapter 9:
Ending the Phenomenon?
It had been a while since the battle against Carlos La Bestia, a mysterious man who had been sent to Tokyo to kill Ichigo, by someone that the group doesn't know. The area seemed to be in a much critical condition, considering how powerful and dangerous the battle was. Right now, the group were still resting in the same battlefield, as Orihime was trying to heal both Renji and Chad from the injuries they had from their battle against the black man. Chad had the most serious injuries, as his right arm had several of deep cuts all over, from the technique that he received from the same man.
As the two unconscious people were lying on the ground, Orihime was using a technique that will heal them up, as a large, half oval sphere enveloped them around. It took her a while to at least heal the most of their injuries, but she had done it, as the half oval sphere disappeared from them. "Alright. I have done everything I can for them..." Orihime said.
It didn't take long for at least one of them to regain their consciousness. Renji slowly opened his eyes after regaining it and, after he remembered what happened back then, he quickly sat up from the ground, surprising everyone around him. "Wh... What...?"
"Renji! You're alright!" said Rukia, smiling to see him alright.
"What... What happened...?" Renji began to ask. Then, he quickly remembered Carlos, the one who had defeated him before. He started to look around to find him. "Where's that bastard?! Where is he, damn it?!"
"Renji, it's alright. He's gone for now..."
The redhead Shinigami groaned, as he could still feel a slight pain living inside of his body. "Damn... That guy really took a beating out of me... It's a miracle that I survived..." he said. Then, he looked at the others. "Are you guys alright? Nothing too serious, I hope?" He received a shook from all of them, as he gently sighed of relief. "Thank God that we're still alive..."
Ichigo nodded, then he looked down at Chad, who didn't look like that he was about to wake up anytime soon. Looking at his right arm, most of the wounds are healed, but not all of them. And it still looked like it was in a critical condition. "Inoue. Chad's arm... Can it be healed completely?"
Orihime sadly shook her head. "No... I've done everything I can for Sado-kun... His arm is still in a worst condition... And he might not be able to move it anymore..."
"... Then we'll just have to take him to a local hospital, where they will treat his arm well." said Uryuu. "Inoue-san and I will take him there. You guys can wait here, if you want. As the time pretty much passed by, the school will probably end pretty soon. And the two of us will have to meet up with Hirako-san at the entrance of the mall near the school. What do you guys think?"
Ichigo nodded at what Uryuu said. "Alright. You guys will do that. If there's anything you wanna talk about with us, don't hesitate to come looking for us. Alright?"
Uryuu nodded. "Alright. Then take care, Kurosaki. That goes for you two as well, Kuchiki-san, Abarai-san." he said, as he began to place one of Chad's arm over his shoulders. He awaited for Orihime to do the same.
She nodded, as she did the same thing as Uryuu, with Chad's other arm, the injured one. As the two of them began to lift Chad up from the ground, Orihime took one last look at Ichigo and the others, smiling. "We'll meet up with each other as soon as possible. Alright?"
Ichigo nodded. "Right. Take care, you two." he said. Orihime nodded and both her and Uryuu began to walk forward to where they hoped the hospital is, with the unconscious Chad around their shoulders. They ignored the weight that he had, as he was still injured from the fight. Ichigo watched as the three of them are starting to disappear from their sight, his eyes showed concern for the big guy. "... Chad... Please be alright soon..."
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Dong! Ding! Dang! Dong!
That was the last bell that ringed, indicating the end of the last period of class, and the end of the school day. Around that time of the boy, students would usually get out of school to go home. But there are some activities to do even after school, like music, art, drama class and gymnastic. That was how things work in the schools of Japan. After a day of school, they would usual go for some activities.
Shinji was seen standing next to the gate, waiting for a certain person to come out so he could persuade him to come with him. Shinji wasn't able to find the source of the large Reiryoku hidden in school, but he placed that on hold for now, as his curiosity was for Ibuki Keita, the boy who can see Shinigamis. But, just to be sure... As he slid his hand in one of his pockets, and pulling out a cellphone, he opened up and dialed a certain black-raven hair Shinigami, whom had gave him her number just in case that there are something that he wanted to warn them about.
"Hello?" said Rukia, coming from his cellphone.
"Hey, it's me. Can you guys have a second to talk?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Well, I wasn't able to find the source of the Reiryoku, and I'm about to start trying to get Ibuki-san to come hang out with me. If it is successful, I want you guys to go to the school to find the Reiryoku for me, after a certain time has passed, so that all of the students left. It's alright that you guys can't sense it, but I want you to search high and low for it."
"Hm... Understood. Renji, Ichigo and I will go and look for it. Orihime and Uryuu will meet up with you at the entrance of the mall that is the closest to the school."
Shinji nodded. "Alright. Then all is well for everything. I'll see you later, once we're both done with everything." he said, as he closed his cellphone, ending the call. AT the same time, he saw someone leaving the gate with his bicycle in his hold. The same familiar hair and face is not something that Shinji will forget. As Keita got out, the Vizard quickly went over next to him. "Hey there!" he said with a smile.
Keita turned his head to see the smiling Shinji walking by his side. "Oh, it's you again. How's your first day of school?"
"It's been fine. Nothing too bad happened to me, after all. You know what I mean?"
Keita nodded. "Yeah, I guess..."
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"I got some friends who would like to hang out with me at the mall. But I was thinking that if you want to come with me to hang out with us?"
"Oh... Um... I don't know... I don't think I have the time to hang out with you guys..."
"Come on! It'll be fine, I promise ya! And we'll get to know each other well, as well as my friends! So don't be shy! It'll be alright!"
Keita still looked like he wasn't in the mood of hanging out with someone that he just met. He still wanted to keep his distance from people, because of some events that happened to him before. "I'm sorry, but I... I don't think I can..."
Shinji decided to ignore what the young Ibuki was going to say, as he slapped his back. "You won't regret it! I promise ya! Now let's get going!" he said, as he wasted no time of pulling Keita with him towards the direction of where the closest mall is.
"H-hey! Wait a minute! I didn't say that I...!" Keita was about to protest, but before he knew, he was coming along with the new student of the school.
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It has been a while since Orihime and Uryuu were able to get Chad to the hospital so that they can treat him fine. Now, they were found standing right in front of the entrance of the mall where they both decided to meet up with Shinji and maybe Keita over there. They have been waiting for them for at least a few minutes, just when they reached there, but before they knew, someone was calling out to them.
"Hey! Inoue-san! Ishida-san!" The two of them both turned to see Shinji, who was walking towards them with his arm high to the air, waving at them, with Keita walking alongside with him with his bicycle still in his hold. "Good to see you guys here!" Shinji said, as the two of them met up with the others.
"Oh! Good afternoon, Hirako-kun!" said Orihime with a cheerful smile. She then looked at Keita, as soon as she looked at Shinji. "Oh! And you brought a friend along too! Well, it's good to have some more company with us around!"
Shinji nodded, then he looked at Keita, who looked like he wasn't really in the right mood to see them. "How about you introduce yourself to them, Ibuki-san? Don't worry. They're as nice as a mice, I assure you."
"Uh... But..." Keita wasn't so sure if it was a good idea to hang out with them, but he was already stuck into this, so he had no other options. "Um... I'm... Ibuki Keita. It is nice to meet you..."
"Oh, it's nice to meet you too, Ibuki-kun!" said Orihime in the same cheerful voice that she always let out, everytime she met someone for the first time. "The name is Inoue Orihime!"
"And I am Ishida Uryuu." said Uryuu, after Orihime introduced herself to the young boy. "We met each other back at the rooftop of the school."
"Yeah, I realized..." said Keita.
With the introduction done with the three of them, Shinji clasp his hands together, as he was ready to start out a fun afternoon with everyone, especially for Keita. "Well, since we all introduced ourselves to each other, let's get started with everything, starting with the mall! You don't mind, do you, Ibuki-san?"
"Uh... Actually, you kinda forced me into this..."
"Oh, don't worry, Ibuki-kun!" said Orihime, who still had her cheerful smile shining out to the young boy. "There's nothing to be afraid about! It's all about friends hanging out with each other to know a lot about each other! So once you get to know us, you'll be fine!"
Uryuu nodded with what she said. "She's right. I know that you look like you're not someone who is sociable with anyone else, but I assure you, there's nothing wrong with being friends with us. So you don't have to worry about it, as long as we're here. Alright, Ibuki-san?"
Keita looked at the two of them, his eyes still filled with undecisif matter. He wasn't feeling the mood to be friends with them, still, but they both seemed alright, and already in good terms with him. He wanted to leave them out just so he could get home as soon as possible, but seeing at how the situation was developped... He sighed. "Well... It's already too late to fall back now." he said. "Alright. Let's all have a good time with one another."
"Glad that you decided to come along with us, Ibuki-san!" said Shinji, as he smiled at the young boy. "Don't worry. We'll definitely have a great time together, to don't expect less of it!" Both Orihime and Uryuu nodded at what Shinji said, as they felt the same way for Keita.
The young, brown-haired boy shrugged. "I guess so..."
However, before they would begin to have fun in the mall, they heard a surprised gasp coming from someone, behind Orihime and Uryuu. "Keita-kun?" said the person from behind. As Shinji and Keita looked up ahead to see who it is, with Orihime and Uryuu looking to the back, Keita widened his eyes, surprised to see a familiar someone that he bumped into within the crowd.
It was a grown woman with long, auburn hair in which the back was tied into a ponytail, as well as a pair of sky blue eyes. She seemed to be between the age of 18 and 19. What she was wearing is an employee uniform, consisting of a purple coat, with a white buttoned shirt underneath it, as well as a tie around the collar, along with a skirt at the same color, around the knee-length. She was also wearing black high heels, as well as a black pantyhose. She also held a purse on her shoulder, just like any other women would do. "Keita-kun! I'm surprised to see you at this unusual time! Oh, and you brought some friends to hang out with!" said the auburn-haired woman.
"Oh, Akane-san. Nice to see you too." said Keita, who is as surprised as his friend over there.
"Hey, who's this fine lady, Ibuki-san?" asked Shinji, upon looking at Keita's friend, who he called Akane.
"Oh, well... This is Sano Akane. She's my childhood friend. You might think that she seemed a little too old to be my childhood friend, but that's really the case..."
Akane bowed to the others, whom she thought that they're Keita's friends. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."
Orihime bowed to her as well, keeping the same cheerful expression on her face. "Hi there! My name is Inoue Orihime!" she introduced to herself.
"Ishida Uryuu." said Uryuu.
"And Hirako Shinji. Pleased to meet you as well, Sano-san." said Shinji. "And we're pals with old Ibuki-san right here! And we're really in good terms with one another!"
"Um... We're not exactly pals, Shinji-san, since you kinda pulled me into this..." corrected Keita.
"Well, it's still good to see you making friends, Keita-kun." said Akane, who smiled at the fact that he was around some people to hang out with, for once. "I thought for sure that you won't be able to make friends anytime soon, but I'm glad that you're able to right now."
"So... What are you doing here, Sano-san?" asked Orihime.
"Oh, I just finished my shift at the bank that I worked in. Now I'm heading to the apartment where Keita-kun lived, so that I can prepare some things for him for a while." replied Akane. She was about to go back home after her shift, but since she bumped into Keita, and that he was hanging out with the others, she had an idea. "Hey, what do you say that I join you guys with whatever you're doing?"
"Oh, really? That'll be great, Sano-san!" said Orihime, happy to have another person to come along with them. Both Uryuu and Shinji nodded in agreement, but Keita wasn't so sure about that.
"Um... Akane-san, are you sure about this? You seemed kind of tired after working there..."
"Oh, don't be silly, Keita-kun! I'm still as tough as they come! I can take care of even a hundred of people, without being absolutely tired from it!" she said, as she giggled a little. "So, if I'm not too much of a bother to you, can I come with you guys, please?"
Keita thought about it a little... It was already a bother that he was being pulled in by Shinji to hang out with the others. And with Akane there, it would be rude to decline her to join them. So what was it that he was going to do? He gave up, since he didn't want to upset his friend. "Alright. You can come with us."
"Thank you, Keita-kun!" said Akane, smiling at her childhood friend.
"Alright!" exclaimed Shinji, as he raised his fist up in the air. "The more people we have, the more fun that we can share! So let's get to it, everyone! And let's have some fun!"
"Yo!" exclaimed Orihime, as she pumped both of her fists up in the air in the same matter as Shinji. Uryuu and Akane nodded and Keita just simply shrugged in response to that. It was going to be a long day for the young Keita, with this many people to hang out with. But he had to be careful not to get too close to them, or else...
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Certain time has passed. It had been a while since all of the students seemed to have finished their after school activity with one another and left the school, just as the sun was setting from the sky, as it was turning bright orange... Well, usually, since the sky was still blood red. As expected, the three Shinigamis were standing on a branch of a tree each, the same tree where they were waiting for Shinji to come back from certain things. Right now, they were instructed by Shinji to search around the school for the source of the large Reiryoku. Even though that they couldn't sense it, they might as well go search around the school to find it.
Rukia looked down at the school, watching to see if there are still more students left to get outside. Luckily, certain times had already passed, and the coast was clear. "Looks like they're all out." said Rukia, as she concluded that all of the students left there. "It's alright to search around the place for the large Reiryoku."
Renji nodded. "Let's get started." he said, as he jumped off from the tree and into the school grounds, followed by the two other Shinigamis. As they all landed on the grounds, Renji took a look around the area, trying to search if there was anything that didn't seem too obvious to search around for. "Hm... Shinji did searched for the source of the Reiryoku inside of the school, so that one is out."
Ichigo nodded in agreement. "Yeah. So all we have left is to search around the outside, where ever the Reiryoku is..." he said. The two others both nodded in agreement to what Ichigo said. "Let's get going, guys. Search for whatever isn't obvious to look at." he said, as the three Shinigamis began to scatter themselves around the school grounds, in search for the Reiryoku.
It wasn't that easy to find the ignorable spots, however. They searched around for everything. Bushes, trees, garbage... Well, it was gross into going there. And it was Rukia who took a look through it... Anything that is not necessarily an obvious thing led the Shinigamis to nowhere. Even the most ignorant thing won't be enough to help them.
Ichigo continued to search around the grounds anyway, after certain time has passed, along with Rukia and Renji. They won't stop until they find it, so they could try and bring an end to the phenomenon that might bring havoc to their home. After strolling around the school grounds for some time, Ichigo sighed. "Damn it... It's not in the inside of the school, and it's not in the school grounds too. Just where could it be...?" he wondered. As he continued to walk through the grounds, he came across a small building, in which he remembered it as something to store the sports equipment of the school. He stared at it for a short while, but before he could look back to where he was going to do back then, he found something odd about the small building.
"Wait a sec..." he said, as he looked at it again. He realized that there wasn't any lock on the doors, leaving it unlocked for anyone to goof around inside of it, if they ever learned about it. Out of curiosity, he walked towards the small building and opened the doors, wide enough for him to look around perfectly. Turns out that there wasn't anyone in there. Nothing happened, as the equipments were all in perfect shape. "... It's not usual for someone to leave it unlock, if they don't want anyone to cause trouble inside..." he said, as he beagn to walk inside of it. Each step made the usual thumping sound, nothing too odd about it, he thought. However, when he took a step in the center of the room, the sound changed, into a hollowed thump. He took notice of it and looked down at the wooden floor. "Hm?"
The sound was suspicious enough, as stepping against the floor doesn't usual make a hollowed thumping sound, unless there was a room underground. As he kneed down on the ground and leaned his ear on the wooden floor, he knocked on it a few times, to hear the same hollowed sound. "Is there... something under there?" he wondered. As his curiosity went high on his mind, he decided to check it out. He pulled some of the wooden planks off, showing an unknown hole. As he was able to take off most of them, he found himself looking at a large whole with a stairway made of stone. That was it. That must be something that will lead him to where the large Reiryoku is. "Hey, guys!" he called out the others to the back, hoping that his shout will echo throughout the small building. "I found a stairway over here!"
As expected, the two Shinigamis came t the small building, following Ichigo's voice. As they got inside, they were looking down at the stairway, along with Ichigo. "A stairway...? In a place such as this?" Rukia wondered.
"This looks suspicious... Looks like something that will definitely lead us to the Reiryoku. Someone must have hidden it here so that no one else could find it. But who...?" asked Renji.
Ichigo shrugged, as he continued to look down at the stairway with suspicions in his eyes. "I don't know... But we gotta let Shinji and the others know about this. Rukia, call him to meet up with us back in the school grounds." he said, as Rukia nodded and pulled out her cellphone from the top of her hakama, as she dialed up Shinji's number.
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"That was great! It's good to have some fun with you guys for once!" exclaimed Akane, happy to be able to chill out and let out all of her stress to have some fun, as the gang are now inside of Akane's apartment, where she insisted the others to have some tea together there.
It was some time earlier before the Shinigamis were continuing to search for the source of the Reiryoku, as the gang had finished up their shopping adventure inside of a mall, with lots of bags in their possession. They are now sitting under the small, triangular table, with Akane offering green tea for each of them.
Orihime stretched out her arms up in the air, as she happily sighed. "It's been a while since I have fun like this! It feels like forever!" she said.
"What can I say?" said Shinji, holding his cup of tea with a big smile. "Let's all let out all of our stress from our daily life and have some good time with one another through one way or another. We can't just skip that and wait for another day at work with all those stress! Let it all out, just like I said!" He then took a sip of his tea, before letting out a sigh of satisfaction.
Akane smiled and nodded, as she felt the same way. "It's really nice to hang out with friends every once in a while, won't you agree, Keita-kun?" she asked the brown-haired boy who was sitting next to her.
He snapped out from his empty stare at an unknown spot and looked at Akane in realization. "Oh. Um... Yeah, I guess so..."
Akane sighed, as the boy still didn't feel anything exciting when he was around them. He was always like that through the day, mostly, and he didn't try to say something interesting to talk about. But some day, he will... He will definitely feel it.
"So, um..." started Uryuu, as he was tyring to find something to ask the two people about. "... How long have you known each other?"
"Oh, well, we met each other when we were kids. I was ten at the time and Keita-kun was only seven. The two of us had a blast with each other." Akane said, smiling as she still remembered the fun past in their childhood. "Oh, but we also had a great time with Keita-kun's mom, Maki. She was a very nice woman..."
"That sounds great!" exclaimed Orihime, as she was feeling eager to see Keita's mom. "I really wanted to see her in person! How is she now?"
When Orihime asked that, Akane felt a little uneasy to reply that. "Oh, well... She... Um... It's kinda hard to say..." she said, trying to do her best not to darken the atmosphere.
However, Keita took the liberty to reply it. "... She died... in a car accident..." That answer gave Orihime a shocking gasp, with the other two boys to widen their eyes in surprise.
"Oh... She... She died?" repeated Orihime, feeling the guilt of asking such as question, when she realized that his mother died. "I... I apologize, Ibuki-kun... I... I didn't know that she died in an accident..."
"It's alright... I'm used to it, that's all..." said Keita. "It happened a long time ago, so it's no big deal..."
"Long time ago, huh...?" said Shinji, as he understood that Keita's mother's death had happened somewhere around his childhood. "... So you've been living alone after all this time?"
"Right now, yes..." replied Keita. "But when I was a kid, Akane-san took care of me in everything, until I'm old enough to take care of myself... Well, in most situations, at least."
"I see..." Shinji nodded in understand it. He then looked at Akane. "So you were trying to comfort him to move on from her death, and took the role of taking care of him, huh? Sounds like a tough job... But I can understand how it feels to lose a parent in an unfair accident..."
Akane slowly nodded, as her face was showing a hint of sadness, upon remembering what had happened during those kind of events. "Yeah... Me too..."
Everything went silent around the group, as they couldn't say anything to change the subject about the death of Keita's mother. They felt like if they would try to do it, they would maybe upset Keita. So they kept themselves quiet until the right moment comes, which will be who knows when.
"... Do any of you meet your doppelgangers?" asked Keita suddenly, which got the attention of the three people, excluding Akane.
"Doppelgangers?" asked Uryuu, wondering why he asked that.
"Oh! You mean people who have the same face as us, right?!" exclaimed Orihime, getting excited to talk about doppelgangers. "Well, I didn't see them, really. But when I do, I'll make friends with them and we'll do a lot of things together! It's like having a twin to hang out with! Being with a doppelganger sounds really great!"
"... Actually..." started Keita. "... I know that it sounds really surprising to meet a doppelganger... But..." He usually didn't want to talk about it with anyone, except for Akane, but if he wanted the others to be safe, he have to tell them. "... Before my mother's death... When she and I were walking back from a local store, in a rainy day... We came across someone... And that someone... had the same face as my mother..." The others gasped at what he said. He continued on with it. "And a few months later, after we saw her doppelganger... My mother died... in a car accident..."
"... Oh Ibuki-kun..." said Orihime, feeling sorry for the young boy.
"But wait a minute. You're saying that you two met her doppelganger before she died, right?" said Uryuu, who was beginning to recollect the pieces of information coming from him. "So you're saying that seeing her doppelganger... resulted in her death." Keita nodded. "But that was just a coincidence. It can't be connected somehow..."
"At first, that was it. I thought that it was a coincidence too..." said Keita. "But this year... I actually heard the same incident resulting in the same accident, just like before..."
"What...?" Uryuu widened his eyes in surprise.
"A friend of mine... Yamada Risa... The last thing that I heard from her is that she believed that there are actually three of them with the same face... I warned her to look out for any accident that might occurred in any time... However, the next day... In the news... She died in an accident as well..."
"The same way... as your mother?"
"And then... Not long ago... There was this young girl... A girl so young that she had many years to experience her life..."
Shinji widened his eyes, when Keita was talking about a very young girl. "What...? Even her...?"
When Akane looked at Keita, she could see that he was balling his hands into fists, as he was beginning to feel the same shocking feeling at that very moment... "Keita-kun, it's alright. You can stop, if you don't want to experience the past again..." she tried to make him stop from hurting himself again on the inside.
However, he continued on anyway, risking his heart to feel the shocking pain. "I met up with her on a sidewalk, waiting for the moment for us to walk through the road... She told me that she met someone who has the same face as her... And when the walk sign was blinking up... And when she walked to the road... She... She...!" Keita couldn't continue on, as he looked down and gritted his teeth at the feeling of seeing someone such as her to meet the same fate as the other two...
Shinji placed his hand over his right eye, understanding the feeling of seeing someone as young as her being killed in an accident... "... Even a young girl such as her... How terrible..." The others felt the same way, as they were facing down, feeling the sadness of each of their deaths. "So you're saying that... In each of those deaths... They met their doppelganger before?"
Keita nodded through his gritted teeth. "Yes... But why does it have to be this way...? Why did they have to die through the same way...? And why am I the only one who suffered so much through those deaths...?"
Akane looked at Keita with sadness in her eyes. She only experienced one death, and Keita was the only one who suffered through all of those deaths. She couldn't help, but feel his pain through it all. "Keita-kun..."
"So... In any case..." Shinji started to say, as he looked up to Keita, removing his hand from his face. "... You want us to be careful not to see our doppelgangers, huh?"
Keita nodded. "... That's right..." he said, as he began to calm himself down, his teeth no longer gritting against each other. "... I don't want any of you to die, just because you saw your doppelgangers... I don't want anyone to die through that process..."
"... So that's the reason why you rejected having friends." said Shinji. "You're scared that you'll be too close to them and that they will die soon, right?"
Keita once again nodded. "Yeah... I'm sorry for rejecting being your friend before, Shinji-san..."
"It's alright. I understand. You were trying to protect them so they won't go through the same thing like the others. That's something that you must do to not letting the others experiencing the same process all over again."
Keita looked up to the new student. "... So... You'll be careful?"
Shinji nodded, as well as the others. "Don't worry. We won't be the same as with the others. And we have less of a chance to see our doppelgangers, so no worries. Even when we're friends, it doesn't mean that we'll die soon. Alright, Ibuki-san?"
Keita stared at the others, who are all smiling, as they were sure to not let themselves go through the process of dying, just by seeing their doppelgangers. He gently smiled and nodded. "Alright... I believe in you guys." he said. Akane smiled gently at the change of feeling that Keita had, by hearing the trusting words of the others, as the atmosphere became lighted once more.
Suddenly, the sound of a ringing bell was heard. However, to both Keita and Akane, it wasn't the sound of the phone in the apartment. Shinji realized that it was his cellphone that was ringing, so he pulled it out with his hand opened it up, anwering the call. "Hello, this is Hirako Shinji?"
"It's me." In his ear, it was Rukia's voice from the phone.
Knowing that it must be something important, he looked at the others. "Please excuse me. I'll have to speak on the phone somewhere else." he said, a she stood up from the small table and went to the kitchen, which was close to them. As he got in, he was speaking on the phone once more. "What is it, Kuchiki-san?"
"We found a stairway that might lead us to the source of the Reiryoku, but we're not sure about it too much. We are hoping that you and the others meet up with us over here to check it out. What do you say?"
Shinji smiled, as he nodded. "Alright. Good job, Kuchiki-san. The others and I will meet up with you guys as soon as possible. Don't get too ahead of us, alright?"
"Understood. We'll see you later." With that, the call ended.
Shinji closed his cellphone, as he went back to the others. "Sorry, you two. But my friends and I got business to take care of." he said.
"We are?" asked Orihime, a little confused, as she tilted her head.
"Yeah. We're meeting some friends over there, since they got something interesting to show to us. So, we gotta go. Isn't that right, you guys?"
Uryuu quickly understood what Shinji was talking about, as he nodded. "Yeah, of course. Sorry, Ibuki-san, Sano-san. But it's really urgent and we have got to meet up with them fast." he said, as he stood up from the table.
Orihime was still confused as to why the two said that, but after a while, she realized what they were talking about. "Oh! That's right!" she said, as she stood up from the table as well. She then bowed to the two friends. "Thank you for the tea, Akane-san! It was really great! And it is also great to have met you two!"
"Oh, um... It's not a problem, Inoue-san. You're welcome to visit us anytime you like." said Akane, smiling, even though she still didn't have any clue what the others are going to do. Keita, however, looked like as if he was beginning to get suspicious at what the three are going to do.
"Well! Let's get going, you two!" said Shinji, as the three people went to the front door, not until the Vizard looked back at the two friends. "Nice meeting you two! Until we meet again!" he said with a smile, as he got out of the apartment, with Uryuu and Orihime following the same pattern as him.
"Bye, you two! Come visit us again!" said Akane, as she waved goodbye to her friends.
Keita didn't say anything. But he was still looking rather suspicious with the others. They didn't say anything specific of what they were going to do. He would just let it go, but they seemed to be in a hurry and that they don't want them to know about it. He wondered why...
----------
Certain time has passed. The three Shinigamis were waiting outside of the small building, for the three others to come over there to check out what they have found. Once they were able to find where the source of the Reiryoku is, they will put an end to the phenomenon that's been happening in the world. But that was only one thing. They weren't sure if that large Reiryoku would do to stop it. There might be others... But they have high hopes in stopping it.
As the three Shinigamis continued to wait, they all heard the voice of a certain Vizard. "Hey, over here!" They all looked to see the Vizards and the two others running towards them, before they came to a stop when they are close.
"Hey, right on time, you guys." said Ichigo.
Shinji looked at the inside of the storage room, wondering if that was the place that they found. "So this is it, right?"
Rukia nodded. "Yes. We only found one stairway that will lead us to a hidden room, where the source of the large Reiryoku might be. Can you tell that it is in there?"
Shinji began to concentrate his sight in the room. As he was concentrating, he could feel a large atmosphere of Reiryoku coming out of the stairway. He nodded. "Yep. Looks like this is it. Good work, you guys."
"So what are we waiting for?" said Renji, feeling a little impatient to end that up as soon as possible. "Let's end this so we can rest peacefully without getting worried some more!"
"Renji's right. We wasted some time out of our hands, and we have found it after a long time. So we have to finish this up quick before anyone can get hurt."
"Alright." said Shinji, as he began to walk into the room. "Let's get this over with. But be careful. We still don't know what will come once we're going in. So be prepared, or else, you'll die recklessly." Even though that his back was facing the others, he could tell that they all nodded in agreement. "Let's get going, everyone."
And with that said, the group entered the room and went down to the stairway, in high hopes that they will be able to bring an end to the phenomenon before it could cause any trouble for everyone in their home. Just one step closer and it'll be all over.
However, unknown to the group, there were two figures who had followed them out of curiosity. And they found them just as they entered the small building...
----------
The group found themselves walking down on each of the staircases, as all of them are leading them down to where the Reiryoku was supposed to be. They are one step closer into reaching it, and once they are done with it, everything will be alright. And the atmosphere will return back to normal, as they speak. As they continued to go down for a while, they realized how long the stairs are. And it seemed like they are walking down around and around. Either it was supposed to have the room deeper away from the surface, or to annoy the others into wasting their time walking down from the stairs.
Eventually, as they continued to walk down, they could see a bright light coming from deeper into the stairway. Ichigo widened his eyes, upon seeing it. "We're close!" he stated the obvious to everyone, who all nodded in response. They continued to walk down deeper into the stairway, until they eventually reached the end of it, entering a large room. As they entered it, everyone all had a gasp of surprise.
It was a large room made of stone, with a small altar in the center of it. And above it was a large and bright sphere, which was hovering from above the altar. That was it. That must be the large Reiryoku that Shinji sensed and searched for.
"This is it... This is where the stairs led us to." said Rukia.
"So this big thing is the one causing big trouble in this world, huh?" Renji said, as he moved his right fist to his left hand, as it began to crack the fingers of the fist to relieve it from being cripple. "Once we're done with this crap, everything will be all done. And this world won't be in danger anymore."
"... Wait a minute..." said Shinji, as he got the others' attention. He began to walk forward towards the large sphere slowly, before stopping himself from going forward, but still a little far away from it. "... Something is not right..."
"What do you mean?" asked Orihime.
"... It is true that this is where the others and I sensed the large Reiryoku coming from here... But... It's nature... It's..." He trailed out, as he gritted his teeth a little. "Damn it... It's not connected with the dark energy from outside!"
"Wait... What?!" exclaimed Renji, after hearing what Shinji concluded in it.
"It's not the same...! It's nature is different than the energy from outside...! It's not the one who caused this phenomenon...!"
"Then... We went through all of this for nothing...?" asked Ichigo, who couldn't believe what he heard from the Vizard.
Shinji sighed. "Afraid so..." he said. "... It looks like that phenomenon is even a bigger cause for all of us... And we went through all this trouble for nothing..."
Renji growled in frustration, as he slammed his fist against a nearby wall. "Grr...! Damn it! We wasted our time just for this useless energy sphere?! What's the purpose of having this one hidden deep underground?!"
The others agreed to what Renji said about that. Having an energy sphere with a large Reiryoku had no purpose in all of that. But still, they were still wondering what it really does, and how it was different than the energy from outside. But nevertheless, they all wasted their time searching for an energy sphere that is different than the phenomenon that they are facing.
"What the...? Shinji-san, what is all of this?!" Suddenly, they all heard someone speaking to Shinji from behind. As they all looked back to the doorway to the stairs, Shinji widened his eyes, as well as Ishida and Orihime, as she gasped out of surprise and shock.
Standing through the doorway was Keita and Akane, who seemed to have followed the others for some reason. "What the...?! Ibuki-san?!" exclaimed Shinji.
"Akane-san...?!" said Orihime, shocked to see their friends inside of the very room.
"What is this...? And how did you guys managed to find that kind of place?!" said Keita, who seemed too concern about all of that. At the sight of the large room with the large energy sphere, he seemed to be demanding a logical explanation from Shinji.
"Keita-kun...? What is this place...?" askd Akane, as she looked around the room with fear in her eyes. They were then laid into the group in front of her. "And why are Shinji's other friends wearing black hakamas...?"
Everyone were shocked, as some of them widened their eyes in shock, while some gasped out of the same matter. "What...? Her too...? She can see Shinigamis too...?!" said Shinji, who couldn't believe that another person can see spirits such as Shinigamis.
"Shinji, what is this?! Why were you hiding this fact from us?! I demand an explanation!" exclaimed Keita, as he was beginning to feel kinda angry at Shinji and the others keeping a sort of secret from them.
Shinji wanted to try and explain the safe way to them, but seeing them here, in this very room... How could he keep himself calm with them around, when there was something that could be dangerous, even though it didn't look like it much. "Ibuki-san, why are you two here?! This place is too dangerous for normal humans like you! I want you two to get out of here, before something bad is about to happen!"
"I'm not going, until you give me an explanation for all of this, Shinji!" yelled out Keita. "And what's with the normal human talk?! What are you trying to say?!"
Shinji groaned out of frustration. He didn't want Keita and Akane to be involve in all of that, and he didn't want them to be hurt, after learning about it. "Looks, it's hard to explain it, but you two have to...!" he trailed off, as he was unable to say anything good to make them understand that staying there is too dangerous.
"Hey." Ichigo suddenly said, as he stepped in to speak up to the two instead of Shinji. "I don't know how you two are able to see us, but you gotta get out of here. Normal humans like you won't be able to expect anything dangerous inside of the room, whatever it is."
"You... You're that orange-haired guy from before..." said Keita, upon remembering Ichigo from two occasions. But he ignored it and continued to fight on for some explanation. "Look, I don't understand what's going on, but until you guys explain to us what is going on here, I won't go! And cut with the normal humans crap! We're all humans around here!"
Ichigo shook his head. "That's not true... Out of all of us, some guys, including me, aren't exactly humans... I know that you won't believe it, but we're Shinigamis."
Keita widened his eyes in shock, as Akane gasped out of shock as well. "Wait... Sh... Sh... Shinigamis...?!" stuttered Akane, unable to cope out that Ichigo and some of the others are Shinigamis.
Keita, however, didn't believe it one bit. "Are you joking? Shinigamis? Those such things don't exist here! Stop talking nonsense and make sense, damn it! I'm getting a lot annoyed right now, if you don't explain it to me!"
"If you don't believe me, then tell me..." said Ichigo. "... When I knocked on the window outside of the classroom, do you even heard anyone talking about how I got there?" Keita was about to protest some more, but when he began to think about it, he halted himself from speaking any more of this.
"... Wait... No one ever talked about you when you did that... They all thought that someone threw a rock at the window... I didn't understand why they thought about that, when it was you who knocked on the window... Then that means that you're...?" Keita trailed off, as realization got to him. He slowly backed away from the group, as Akane looked at him doing that. "... No way...! How can someone like you guys ever existed...? I thought it was some sort of a myth...!"
"It's hard to believe, I know." said Ichigo, as he nodded at Keita's disbelief of Shinigamis being in this world. "But we can't explain to you any further. You and that girl have to get out of here, before you get hurt!"
Keita became speechless, after learning about something that is unbelievable. His mind went on about how a supernatural being still existed in this world. He remained immobilized, as many thoughts came in mind, and none of them helped him out to move again. Akane placed her hands on one of shoulders, and tugged on it, as she was beginning to get more scared, as long as they are still in there. "Keita-kun... Maybe they're right... It is too dangerous for us to stay here. We have to get out of here, before..."
"Just... Just what are we doing here...?" Keita started to speak, his eyes still widened in shock and disbelief. He stared at the group, unable to believe what was happening. The secret stairway, the large energy sphere inside of a large room with an altar, Shinji being in the league with Shinigamis... "... I don't understand it...! Shinigamis here in this world...?! What is going on around here?! What kind of world is this?!"
"... You are all in a world that merges with the others." Suddenly, everyone heard someone coming from the back of the energy sphere, as Ichigo and the others looked back to see who it is, while both Keita and Akane looked in front of them.
From behind the sphere, a person came walking to the right of it, revealing himself to the group. It was a tall man with silver, straight-up spiky hair and a pair of purple eyes. What he was wearing is a white, sleeveless chinese top and a pair of black gym pants, with a pair of black shoes. He looked at the group with menacing eyes. "Yes... Your world and the world of the Shinigami has been merged together with the others."
"What the...? Who in hell's name are you?!" exclaimed Renji, as he was alerted at the sight of that man.
"Is it really necessary to tell you my name? I deemed it to be a waste of time, since you are all going to spend your last day together..."
Rukia widened her eyes in shock. "Last day...? You mean, you're going to kill us!?"
"Kill... Such a harsh word to describe it. I was thinking more of... putting you into eternal sleep, where you will never wake up ever again."
After hearing what the silver, spiky hair man said, Uryuu got alerted, as well as the others except for the two normal humans. "Kurosaki!" he said.
Ichigo nodded. "I know." he said, as he moved his hand up to the bandaged handle of his Zanpakuto and moved it in front of him, giving Akane a slight gasp at the sight of his large Zanpakuto. "I'm not gonna waste my time trying to know my enemy's name, when he's avoiding it! Who the hell are you?!"
The silver-haired man sighed. "I hate making you guys annoyed... Very well. I'll make you remember my name just for the rest of your time together." he said. "My name is Taishi Yang. And if you do not know yet, I am being sent here to find one of the heroes of the prophecy... Meaning you, Kurosaki Ichigo." As he said that, he looked at Ichigo, who slightly gasped as he remembered his name.
"What the...? Man, what's up with people going after me all of the sudden?! Why did that guy who sent you want me killed?!"
Taishi sighed, as he shook his head. "Why wasting my time explaining it to you, when you and your friends are going to die? I already know that all of you are inferior against me... With the exception of the blond boy." he said, as he looked at Shinji. "You are rather strong and worthy enough to face me... But my purpose is to put and end to Kurosaki Ichigo."
"... So I thought." Shinji said, as he pulled out his hand in front of him, as something quickly appeared in his hand. His Zanpakuto.
The sight of it appearing in his hand made both Keita and Akane gasped out of surprise. "What the...?" said Keita.
"And how would you know that I'm stronger than the others? We looked no different from strength in our view."
Taishi smirked. "Well... It is because that I can see your aura coming out of all of you."
Shinji widened his eyes in surprise. "Aura...?"
Taishi nodded. "That's right. My eyes... are special." he said. In the view of the Chinese man, he could see different auras coming out of everyone. Shinji's aura, in his view, is orange, indicating that he is strong. And looking at Ichigo, his aura is white, meaning that he is one of the heroes of the prophecy, as all of the heroes have the aura. As with everyone else, there are all blue. "I can already tell that you are strong, and that Ichigo is definitely the hero of the prophecy. My eyes never failed me. And they never tell me that anyone is stronger than me."
"What...?!" Shinji groaned, as what Taishi said meant that Shinji isn't exactly strong enough against him. "You're calling me weak...?"
"I would like to put it as... inferior against me." Taishi said, as he chuckled slightly. As he continued to look around the group, he saw something quite unusual within them. "... What?" he said, as he looked at Keita. His aura... is the same as Ichigo. All white. His aura is different than Akane's, which is blue, just like the others. "... That's strange... How come this boy over here has the same aura as Ichigo?" he said, as he led everyone's attention towards Keita, who seemed to be surprised that they are looking at him.
"What...? The same aura as Ichigo?" said Shinji, as he looked at Keita with surprise in his eyes.
Keita looked around at everyone, who are looking at him, and he was feeling kinda uneasy to have them look at him strangely. "Wh... What are you guys looking at me for...?"
"Hm... That's strange indeed..." said Taishi, as he examined the boy with his eyes. "He's not one of the heroes of the prophecy, and yet, his aura is the same color as Ichigo's... Unless, of course, he's one of the heroes who aren't exactly found by the Eclipsian..."
After a while of looking at Keita, Ichigo snapped out of it and looked back at the Chinese man. "Ok, cut the crap! You're here to kill me, right? Then come and get me, you bastard!" yelled Ichigo, as he got into his fighting position. His friends all looked back at the enemy, as they got into their stance as well.
"Ibuki-kun! Akane-san! I know that everything seemed complicated, but you have to get out of here! It's too dangerous to stay here with him around!" said Orihime, as she was prepared to fight against the enemy.
Keita and Akane looked at the others, as they saw that everyone are getting ready to fight. Realizing that it was going to get a little messy, Akane decided to accept their words, as she grabbed hold of Keita's shoulder, who looked back at her to know what she was doing. "Keita-kun! It's not safe to stay here! We have to go!"
Keita stared at his childhood friend for a while, until he nodded, as he agreed. "Alright... Let's get going!" he said. But first, he looked back at the prepared group one last time, before he began to run up through the stairs, along with Akane.
Seeing Keita and Akane leaving the room, Taishi sighed. "If that child really is one of the heroes of the prophecy... Then my lord won't be happy that I let him escape, so I can take care of Kurosaki Ichigo." he said. However, with a shrug, he smirked. "Then I guess this place isn't going to be our battlefield."
"What...?! What do you mean...?!" asked Ichigo, alerted at what the Chinese man was about to do.
"How about we take the battle... back in the surface?!" As he said that, he quickly moved his hand in front of the group and, suddenly, a very powerful gust of wind had occured on the group, as they were being pushed by the large wind.
"What...?! What is he...?!" said Rukia, as she struggled to stand still from the ground, as well as the others. However, even with much effort coming from all of them, they were suddenly being pushed off from where they stood, as they were sent flying through the doorway to the stairs.
As Keita and Akane were running up through the stairs with everything they had, they were suddenly being pushed off from the staircases and being taken up all of the sudden, as they yelled out of fear. Ichigo and the others were not far behind them, as they followed them through the large gust of wind. Then, suddenly, they were all being pushed out of the small buildin, as they crashed into the ground, escaping the gust of wind before it could lead them further away. Everyone all groaned from the impact of the ground. "Damn it...! What the hell was that...?!" said Ichigo, as he slowly stood up from the ground with some effort, as the others did the same as well, except for Keita and Akane.
Then, suddenly, someone got through the roof of the small building, in a quick speed. Then, when he was high up in the air, he quickly got himself down and landed on the ground hard, kneeling on one knee, before he stood up from the ground. Taishi was looking at the group with a smirk on his face, and a sinister look in his eyes. "Are you ready to battle?"
At the sound of it, Ichigo quickly got into his fighting stance, as well as Shinji, Rukia and Renji. Orihime stood in front of the two downed friends, as Uryuu joined up with them. "I'll protect you guys! Don't you worry!" she said.
"Orihime-san...!" said Keita, as he was trying to get up from the ground, along with Akane.
Taishi continued to show off his smirk and his devilish eyes, as he extended out his right arm to the side. "My lord wants me to kill you with all of my strength. So I will use everything I have to kill you all..." he said, as a sudden spark of lightning appeared into his hand, as something began to take form in it. It took the form of a spear, in which the blade is larger in length and that it is separated in three, with the middle being the longest out of the three of them.
Ichigo growled softly, as the battle was about to start between them and the Chinese man. "I don't know what this is all about, trying to kill me for some reason, but I won't let you kill me or any of my friends!"
Taishi chuckled a little, as he looked at Ichigo.
"Heroes like you... deserve to die."
End of chapter
Hey, guys. It's me again, with a new chapter... Well, looks like I'm done. I thought that I will make it longer, but it looks like it's long enough now. And yet... When I wrote it... It seemed kinda off again. Like, my ideas has been slipped halfway... Oh man, maybe I took my time into this too much... Gotta rest... I hope.
Anyways, I'm still waiting for you guys to choose which mangas or animes do you want me to add in the story. Remember. More mangas means more fun to the story... At least, if it's not too out of place.
Ja Ne! And review, Kudasai!