Chapter Nine : New Beginnings
A raging ocean of white sand flew by as Apacci struggled to keep up with Ichigo as they raced by numerous dunes that dotted the otherwise barren landscape of Hueco Mundo. "Hey wait for me dammit!" Apacci yelled to combat the wind that was whipping at their ears, to which she saw Ichigo turn sideways to see her, all the while keeping his original pace.
Ichigo slowed down to a stop letting Apacci catch up, "Ah sorry." He said. Apacci propped herself up on her knees, taking in a few shallow breaths, and after a few seconds she looked back up to Ichigo finding him with an impatient expression.
Looking at him now, she wished she had just kept her mouth shut, its not like he was leaving her behind. "Look..." She began but struggled to find the right words, 'ah shit' she mentally cursed, "Just tell me what happened back there and what are we doing all the way out here, wouldn't it be easier back at home?" She asked.
Ichigo repositioned the two bodies on his shoulders as he mules over her question, ignoring the first part as he turned away from her. "I don't want anyone around when I do this, so come on lets hurry." He answered before he sped away, though slower as to let Apacci keep up with him. Ichigo's response to Apacci's question wasn't the exact truth. Yes he didn't want anyone around; however, he couldn't explain why. All he knew was that he shouldn't.
"Damn it, stop doing that!" She shouted as he left with no warning yet again. Clenching her fists, she too set off, at least to give Ichigo a piece of her mind. Upon settling in beside him as they continued to race across the desert to their unknown destination, Apacci turned her attention back to Ichigo. "Would you cut that out, it's really annoying when you just fly off without saying anything. Also why won't you answer my question?" She demanded.
Cutting his eyes over at her, Ichigo was thrown off guard, not expecting to find an almost pleading look upon her face. Returning his gaze back to the rolling desert in front of him, "You'll have a better time answering that than I will, I don't know what happened it's just a big blank." He answered honestly.
Her eyes widened, 'He really doesn't know.' she concluded. "So it really wasn't you, was it?" she asked, but was met with a shrug of his shoulders. Then suddenly, the need to distance himself from Las Noches vanished, "We're here". He announced as he came to a halt.
Gently, Ichigo rested Yoruichi's and Harribel's bodies onto the sand. As he knelt down beside them, only then did he really get a chance to examine the wounds he had inflicted. A single puncture wound right were the heart would be. Ichigo's gut twisted as he gazed down at the wounds, wounds that he inflicted.
Apacci looked on as Ichigo stared down in shame at the two women, taking a deep breath she sat down beside him. "Come on lets get this over with, its not like they're getting any fresher." She pointed out rather crudely.
That's when it hit Ichigo like a ton of bricks smacking him upside the head. He didn't know the first thing about healing much less resurrection. Panic would have settled in his mind if it had not been for the gentle soothing voice resonated from his mind. 'Its okay Ichigo, I'm here now and I can help you save them.'Ichigo's eyes widened as he not only recognized the voice from the woman who had declared herself as his mother's Zanpakuto, but that same feeling of relief washing over him as his mother had done so many times before for him in the past.
'What about Hogyoku' Ichigo asked with concern, as she herself had been very clear on not letting the powerful spirit know of her.
He could have sworn he felt her smile, 'It is not a concern at the moment.' she answered
'Hmm, why's that?' He questioned, feeling a little more at ease but also curious as to what could have happened that allowed her such freedom.
'Don't worry about it.' she replied in a nonchalant tone.
Ichigo frowned, 'You're really secretive you know that?' he asked, though already knowing the answer. A short giggle was his only response followed by silence. Ichigo looked back down to the two women before him.
'So you said you could help me save them, what do I need to do?' Ichigo asked anxiously, as his impatience grew.
'Would you quit worrying and just let me handle this. So impatient.' she stated.
'You said you could save them...so save them!' He demanded of the spirit.
Ichigo felt her mood darken, 'Ichigo this is something you cannot take lightly, were talking about bringing spirits back to life so to speak. I need you to relax, your power is unstable right now and it could mean their lives are truly over, do you understand?' she asked
Ichigo's eyes widened for a second before closing and taking a deep breath, 'You're right...Sorry.' He said with a bit of shame. Then it felt as if he had nodded in understanding to his own apology but he quickly realized it was the spirit residing inside his mind that had done so. 'Good, as long as you get it we're one step closer to saving them.' She said as her mood lightened.
'Now, all you need to do is raise your hands above them and pool your energy into your arms and relax. I can take it from there.' she explained.
Ichigo did as he was told, but after a few seconds of silence he spoke up, 'Uh, what happens now?'.
Though he was promptly ignored as the woman began letting out multiple inquisitive 'hmms' before coming to a conclusion and remarking 'That's interesting' before falling silent, disregarding Ichigo's questions.
"Whoa" Ichigo softly said as he began to see wisps of red and black wrap around his arms like a tornado, 'What is this?' he asked as he examined his arms.
'This is a manifestation of your Reiryoku, which allows me to better manipulate your power to heal their wounds' his mother's Zanpakuto explained.
'And this...' she began, as Ichigo witnessed a teal colored wisp join the red and black ones swirling around his arm, 'Is mine.' she finished.
Ichigo watched in awe as the wisps around his arm slowed to a crawl and began making a screw like motion towards the ends of his arms. Then came a suction like feeling coming from his hands, as if something was pulling the energy out of him.
'I'm sorry Ichigo.' the womanly spirit inside his head said, which happened to be his only warning as a sharp pain began in his chest. Gasping in a pained shock, Ichigo almost doubled over. It was as if he was being impaled by a very large sword.
Tightening his chest muscles, he tried to stave of the pain. Ichigo watched with amazement as he literally saw Yoruichi's and Harribel's wounds disappear before his eyes. Looking deep into the wound, he saw tissue and muscle fibers slowly weaving new connections between them, repairing the damage that had been caused by the sword that had stabbed them.
Ichigo's attention was dragged towards the other member in his party, Apacci, when she too gasped at the sight before her. Suddenly her eyes locked with his own, "This is amazing how are you doing that!?" she exclaimed with excitement.
Ichigo shifted his eyes away slightly in embarrassment from the blue haired tomboy's admiration filled gaze, as he chuckled nervously.
Ichigo's mind went back to the woman who was actually performing the miracle, 'I remember you saying you didn't have a lot of power. Are you going to be okay doing this?' he asked. Ichigo was worried that this would set her back from truly being awakened and being to help him remove the Hogyoku from his spirit.
'I have plenty right here.' she answered as she gave his arms a couple of squeezes, 'To your other question, if I am correct, the Hogyoku is not the one you should be worried about.' she finished.
'Why the hell would that be the case! That son of a bitch tried to kill me and wanted to kill the girls!' Ichigo protested as his anger came forth.
After taking a deep breath the woman spoke, 'Ichigo you need to calm down, I promise I will explain whats going on after we finish this. But if you cannot keep your emotions in check then I won't be able to help them.'
Hanging his head in shame Ichigo voiced his apology. 'I...I'm sorry I just feel so lost and confused and I just want some answers as to whats going on.'
Ichigo felt a hand gently ruffle his hair, and he snapped his head up looking for the source of the hand. His eye's widened in shock as he saw the same woman he saw inside his head, as the image of his mother flashed in his mind. He watched her kneel in front of him, a sad smile on her face as she pulled him into a hug which allowed him to notice that time had stopped around them.
"It's okay Ichigo, I should be the one to say sorry. Sorry for keeping you in the dark for so long. Sorry for not being there to comfort you after Misaki passed away. Sorry for not having the strength to protect you. If you can try to hold on for just a little while longer, I will answer anything you want me to." the teal haired woman whispered into his ear.
Ichigo returned the gesture and gripped the back of her Qipao, trying to hold on tight as if she was going to disappear like his mother during his many nightmares of that fateful night. She too tightened her hug, "Don't worry Ichigo, I'm not going anywhere." she assured him.
Again she had calmed him in an instant, and he felt a strange sense of happiness, a feeling he hadn't truly felt since his mother passed away. Letting out a shaky breath, Ichigo allowed his grip to slacken on the woman's garments, "I've always had a feeling that she left behind a piece of herself in me, one that has watched over me, giving me strength and getting me through tough times, and now I know that was you."
The teal haired woman pulled back slightly to look at his face. She stroked it and gave him a chaste kiss upon his forehead. "Thank you Ichigo, your mother would be proud to see the man you've become." she proclaimed as she disappeared back into his mind.
Smiling, like he had done in the past as a kid, he redoubled his efforts to heal the two women below him.
AN: First off I want to thank you all again for sticking it out for a few months as you waited for this chapter. You guys and gals are the worlds best motivator, because if I didn't have you, this story probably would've never got to the point it is now. Secondly you're probably wondering why this chapter is so short, well I'm just trying this out, (feel free to let me know what you think of it.) as I will be now on a schedule where I WILL update every month hopefully on the twentieth. No more wondering if I'm dead or dropped the story, but the drawback is that the chapters will be around this length and unless I'm feeling frisky it will be limited to once per month.
For those that don't know, I have a poll going on right now asking what story you'd like to see me work on next. Now before you pick up your pitchforks and torches let me explain. I won't be releasing another story alongside this one unless I can get updates shortened (by a lot). What I'm asking is for your opinion on a story you'd like to see next, and upon a decision I will begin working on it during times of writers block on this story, allowing me to overcome it sooner.
Hopefully if all goes well, by the time I finish with this one I should be well into the next, allowing me to update on a schedule instead of the current 'whenever its done' as we see now. I also said I'd give more details on the poll here.
I've gotten what the basis of each story listed will be like in terms of how Ichigo will play a role and how he will meet/interact with the other cast.
Each story will involve Ichigo as the main character and the X-Over MC will remain in the story just not as prominent, unless the 'Another series' option is really popular. There will be no "stealing" of the main characters love interest, except in the case of Highschool DxD with Rias. Which means no Rei from HotD, Musubi or Kuu from Sekirei, Asia from DxD, or Moka from Rosario Vampire (sorry if that is a deal breaker for anyone, I just see the main girl just get thrown at Ichigo and I'd rather give the other girls a chance.) Also Ichigo will not replace the Main character and will not meet/interact with that series characters in the same exact way (biggest gripe about X-Overs).
I think with this information you guys should be able to make a decision on what you'd like to see, but if it's not enough or if you have any other questions leave me a PM and I'll answer it the best I can.
Remember to leave a comment/review and I'll see you guys next time.