Ch 9: Sealed away
Moving out? What the hell did that mean? How could he be moving out when he just moved in a few weeks ago? It didn't make sense at all. Those were Zaraki's thoughts as he followed his lieutenant down the streets in a rather relaxed pace, having no trouble keeping up with the smaller shinigami. As usual Zaraki had no clue as to where Ichigo was heading, until some familiar symbols and signs began appearing on the brick walls.
So they were heading for the 10th squad barracks, but what business did Ichigo have there? The official work hours had already passed, and no shinigamis would be present unless an emergency occurred. Zaraki furrowed his brows as Ichigo dropped his stuff at the footsteps of the 10th squad office. The door soon slid open and a small silver haired shinigami stepped outside.
"Oh. I see your dog followed you here," Hitsugaya said eyeing Zaraki. "Don't mind him, I couldn't have gotten rid of him even if I wanted to," Ichigo said rolling his eyes with a chuckle. Brotherly humor, which was something he had never experienced in his life, not before death and not after. Ichigo quite enjoyed it.
Hitsugaya was the direct opposite of Byakuya, Byakuya being a serious cold hearted nii-san with no humor at all. Zaraki eyed the 10th squad captain with curious eyes, not completely understanding the conversation between him and his lieutenant. "Kurosaki, exactly what is going on between you two?" Zaraki asked his voice being deep and threatening, directed at Hitsugaya.
Hitsugaya frowned at the brute and said, "There is no one by the name of Kurosaki here, Zaraki."
"What the heck do you mean, Kurosaki Ichigo is standing right here in front of me," Zaraki said.
"Sorry to disappoint you Zaraki, but Hitsugaya is correct, there is no one called Kurosaki here," Ichigo said struggling to keep his laughter in, as he saw the frustrated and puzzled look in the brute's face.
"If your name isn't Kurosaki, then what is it Ichigo?" Ichigo didn't answer and so his nii-sama took that as a cue for him to explain.
"From this day on the man standing before you will be called Hitsugaya Ichigo, and he shall live at my residence as my respective little brother," Hitsugaya explained. Not being able to help himself anymore Ichigo burst out in laughter, crouching. "You should see the look on your face captain," Ichigo managed to stutter in between his laughter, and he was soon joined by Hitsugaya's joyful laughter as he was not able to keep a serious front any longer.
"Don't tell me this is a joke to make me todays laughing stock," Zaraki said in an angered voice. "It's not fiction, its fact captain," Ichigo said giving Zaraki a serious stare ridding himself of the laughter. Not giving the brute a chance of asking more questions Ichigo said, "Shall we walk home nii-sama?"
Hitsugaya chuckled before picking up one of Ichigo's bags proceeding to walk down the street, being followed by a silently chuckling Ichigo. Zaraki was left silent in front of the 10th squad office, wondering about how this had happened.
Ichigo ran into the squad barracks shouting, "Get ready to head out, we have an emergency at hand!" Few minutes after the whole squad was assembled in the meeting hall greeting their captain. None of the shinigamis in the squad took notice of the orange haired freshman that accompanied the captain at his side, none but Yumichika and Madarame.
They furrowed their brows wondering why Ichigo was standing there in the spot of the lieutenant. But they had no time to be thinking of that as Ichigo began explaining the situation at hand. "Rukongai district number 57 is under attack by a large group of class 2 hollows, as you may know these hollows are among the strongest and they have already put an assembly unit from 6th squad in the hospital. Ready your zanpakutos and be prepared to move out shortly."
Ichigo received a Hai from the squad as they quickly began preparing for the emergency mission, none of them thinking of the way Ichigo has directed orders like a lieutenant. Ichigo soon felt a heavy hand resting on his shoulder and looked at the brute it belonged to. A crazed grin had spread across his face, telling Ichigo just how much he looked forward to slaughter the hollows.
As they moved out they could see a pillar of smoke in the distance and Zaraki being the captain he was led the unit towards the district. As Ichigo's feet touched ashen ground he was petrified at the sight that met him. The center of the district had been totally wiped out and was on fire. Around him Ichigo could hear the pained shrieks of souls being devoured by the hollows and his spine shivered.
This was horrible, and he had to do something about it. The outskirts of the district were still pretty much intact, and the inhabitants were being evacuated by a unit from the 4th squad. Ichigo could feel the power of hatred towards these senseless creatures emerge inside him as a massive hollow appeared before him. Ichigo didn't waste any time taking in its appearance and charged head on aiming for its skull.
Ichigo was deflected, the hollow being incredibly fast dealing Ichigo a shallow cut across his chest. Ichigo groaned before summoning himself landing lightly using the ground to push forward, and he successfully cracked the hollows skull making it turn into ash disappearing in the smoke filled air.
Ichigo sought out his next target, and found a medium sized two headed serpent like hollow and used his shunpo to approach it. Ichigo shot his Getsuga at it, but once again the Getsuga inflicted damage on him instead of his target and missed completely, carving a huge gap between some wrecked houses nearby. Ichigo groaned as he stumbled forward struggling to keep to his feet.
Ichigo was too dazed to react as the serpent like hollow made its move. Ichigo screamed at the pain as he found himself locked in the hollows jaws, its sharp teeth digging into his shoulder completely disabling his left arm. Ichigo released a wave of reaitsu freeing himself from the hollows jaws doing a not so elegant landing stumbling to his knees. He took to his shoulder feeling the blood soothe through his fingers. He panted heavily, as he felt his reaitsu pouring out from the wound.
He cursed Zangetsu for not cooperating, and blocked an attack from the serpent. Ichigo looked around himself and saw the fire closing in on his location, and the pained shrieks from the people living there made his blood boil and a surge of energy shot through him. Ichigo roared as he made a desperate attempt at cleaving the serpent's head, and he succeeded. Ichigo huffed and panted heavily as he could feel his body stiffening from the loss of blood.
If only Zangetsu would stop his bleeding like he used too, Ichigo would have had a chance to save himself. But Ichigo had run out of luck, and a huge figure appeared before him. The hollow was huge, and stood on four feet. It had seven long necks with fierce saber toothed heads attached to them. It reminded him of the legendary hydra from the children's tales.
Ichigo managed to block one of the heads coming in for an attack, but he was too drained to make a defensive maneuver at the second head plunging in at him. Ichigo was sent flying into a nearby boulder and he felt his leg crumble as it was twisted around to an angle not normal for a human body. Ichigo groaned at the pain of the broken leg, and slid down to the ground.
"Ichigo!" A feminine voice shouted from afar. Ichigo moved his head just in time to see Yamaichi fend off the huge hydra. Yamaichi was the girl whom had become his best friend next to Ikakku and Yumichika in the 11th squad, after he had beaten her so easily in the welcome spar he had gone through when he entered the 11th squad.
"Yamaichi, get out of here," Ichigo muttered in a pained and faint voice. "There's no way I'm leaving you here in such a condition baka, you're my best friend god damn it," the hot tempered female replied blocking yet another attack from the hydra like hollow. She proceeded to cut off 4 of its head's and she could see the hydra fall to the ground, and so she believed it was safe to run to Ichigo to check his condition.
While Ichigo had watched Yamaichi fend off the hollow, he had remembered something about the hydra's from the tales he were told as a child. It didn't matter how many times you cut off the head, once one head was cut off a new one would grow out instantly. Ichigo feared that this hydra resembling hollow could have the same ability, and he screamed "Watch out!" to Yamaichi as seven heads lunged for the female's body.
Yamaichi being too concerned with Ichigo to notice his scream noticed the attack to late and she shrieked as the saber like teeth sunk through her abdomen tossing her away like a ragdoll. "No! Yamaichi!" Ichigo shouted, before staggering to his feet. He began limping in the direction of where Yamaichis body had landed, ignoring the roaring hydra that seemed to have found a new target to play with.
Ichigo didn't have eyes for anyone but his friend, and somehow managed to stumble across the ashen field. His knees gave in as he reached her body, and he reached out his functional arm to check her pulse. It was gone. "No, no, NO!" Ichigo yelled with tears of sorrow and rage dripping from his face. Ichigo's body shivered as he began sobbing over the loss of his good friend, and he tilted his head back in an angry roar.
He didn't notice that the hydra had finished off its new targets, and he could only recognize it as a vague shadow as the hydra appeared before him ready to land a finishing blow. Just as the hydra was about to end his life, time froze around Ichigo, his body turning stiff and cold. He didn't recognize the shape that had stopped the blow nor the voice that shouted, "Oi, are you just going to sit there and admit defeat?"
As Ichigo's body collapsed to the ground, he could hear a set of faint voices calling for him. They sounded desperate, and somehow they seemed familiar, and as Ichigo closes his eyes all sound and sight was erased from his periphery.
Ichigo opened his eyes to a blue world, and he instantly knew where he was. But something was off, the sky wasn't blue. No it was rather dark, nearly black as dark rain filled clouds drifted across it. Just as Ichigo staggered to his feet, the clouds opened their gates and let the black rain fall upon Ichigo's inner world. Again Ichigo thought he could hear voices calling, they were calling for him and he knew it. The voices sounded familiar, it was like he knew them from way back. Ichigo followed the direction of the voices on instinct and he soon found himself standing at the doorstep of a completely black door.
On the door he could read the word seal, and a horrible thought came to his mind. He ripped the paper off the door and barged through it. The sight that met him made his blood boil, and his heart pump with hatred. Inside the sealed room were two humongous cages secured with thick chains all over. Inside them were Zangetsu and that other pale guy Ichigo never knew the name of.
"Ichigo, you finally heard our call," Zangetsu said with a tone of relief in his voice. Ichigo instantly understood why Zangetsu hadn't talked to him after his death, Zangetsu simply couldn't talk to him even if he wanted to. Zangetsu and the pale man watched as fire emerged in Ichigo's eyes. They smiled as the blue light of Ichigo's reaitsu engulfed the cages, breaking them apart.
"I don't understand, why can't I break the chains?" Ichigo asked as he noticed the chain's still keeping the two parts of his soul in place. "Only the one whom placed the seals or someone of equal strength can remove the sealing chains Ichigo," Zangetsu said. Ichigo's pupils narrowed as everything became clear.
"It was the central 46 that decided to have my powers sealed away wasn't it? Those god damn elders sealed away my powers while I was still unconscious after my death! No wonder I wasn't able to reach you when I needed you!" Ichigo practically yelled into the open air.
"Exactly King. They fear your power thus they decided to seal it away without you knowing," the pale guy said.
"But why, why do they fear my power? What is so dangerous about my powers, I've never used it for evil deeds, I've never used it to harm them in any way!" Ichigo said. "That's just it, you are dangerous Ichigo, and they don't know how to deal with your powers.
Powers like yours haven't been seen since the 5th noble family of soul society was wiped off earth's surface," the pale man added.
"What do you mean 5th noble family, there only exists 4 noble families in soul society! And what do you mean powers like mine, am I that special?" Ichigo threw the words at the two oh so different parts of his soul.
"There were 5 noble families, and your powers are ancient Ichigo," Zangetsu had taken over the conversation, but he was cut short as Ichigo began fading from his inner world. Someone was calling him, someone needed him and they needed him now.
Ichigo loses one of his friends in battle, and is thrown into his inner world. There he discovers the reason for the disturbance in his powers, but just as his family secrets are to be revealed someone calls him back to reality.
What do you guys think? Hope this cleared up the dream like scene from chapter 2 XD
Reviews and comments are appreciated. Thank you!