Ichigo and Urahara came back to the others.
For the time being the blond had given their new comrade some darts, a short blade and a vial with holy water .
He had asked Ichigo if he wanted to come with them on a hunt and get a first impression on their task.
The orangette had agreed to it, on condition that he didn't have to take action, but watch from the sidelines.
So now Urahara, Renji, Ishida and Ichigo went out into the night in search of some Vampires.
Very soon they found the first and the three slayers cornered the male.
Ichigo watched them calmly, until he saw when the Vampire jumped over the three and came running toward him.
Fear struck him, he didn't know what to do and than the male tackled him and he hit the ground.
The Vampire was on top of him, fangs bared and ready to sink them into his flesh.
Ichigo fingered for the vial, but his fingers were to shaky.
A yell hit his ears, a second later the Vampire slumped against him, an arrow stuck in his back.
Still frightened the orangette crawled out from under the dead body.
"Why didn't you defend yourself? You should have pulled your weapon the moment he came at you. At this rate, you'll be dead in no time."
Ishida yelled at him, clearly angered by his lack of action.
"H-How could you shoot him so easily?"
Urahara joined the two, kneeling down to Ichigo and giving him a gentle smile.
"It's what we have to do. That's the task we've been given, to erase them from earth."
Ichigos POV
I shook my head, still feeling the Vampires body on my own.
"I don't want to kill anyone. It's not right. Th-they are alive, they have a heartbeat like us. They aren't so different from ourselves. I don't understand how you can kill them so cold blooded."
Urahara got to his feet again and offered me a hand to help me up and I took it, feeling that my legs were a bit wobbly, from the shock.
"Of course I won't force you, but you will stay one of us and as such you have to live with the gifts given to you. If you want I can bring you home."
I agreed to that and we left the other two, to head to my home.
On our way we stayed in silence, I let my head hang, the happenings from before twisting my stomach into a knot.
Suddenly I heard a cry, from a woman without a doubt and Urahara seemed to have heard it too, because he stopped just like I did.
I snapped my head up and sprinted away, turning around the next corner to the left, than again after some crossroads, before I found myself at the park.
Urahara arrived shortly after me and we saw a woman getting attacked by a male.
I urged to jump into action and help the woman and just when I was about to, a hand on my shoulder held me back.
"Stop."
I spun around, barking at Urahara.
"Why? We have to help her."
"How do you want to help her? You barely helped yourself at the last Vampire. And didn't you just say that you didn't want to kill anyone?"
I didn't know what to say to that and I was surprised that this man was a Vampire as well.
"I...I'll chase him away. I use the holy water."
"And then? You might have saved this woman, but what's with the next or the one after that? You can't run after every Vampire and chase them away from their prey. Sooner than later you might be a tad to late and one of your kind died. You don't want to kill anyone yourself, a Vampires life is equal to a humans in your eyes, so you have to stay here and watch the woman getting killed. There's no way in between, it's either her or him."
My shoulders were tense, a battle was fought inside of myself, while the woman fought for her life in front of my eyes.
The Vampire eventually caught her and forced her to bare her neck.
I cursed and swiftly grabbed one of the darts and threw it.
It hit the Vampire in the upper arm, he cussed and his veins started to turn black, before he let go of the woman, who had fallen unconscious in the mean time, and his life was drained from him.
Urahara seemed a bit surprised, at my choice of action.
"Letting her get killed in front of me, feels the same as if I were the one killing her."
I said turning my head from my target, to the blonde.
"If killing one Vampire means saving many humans, I think I can bear with the pain and guilt I put on myself."
That's what I said, while I tried to suffocate the stinging feeling that grew in my chest, from the moment my fingers had touched the dart.
Urahara sighs and pats my shoulder.
"Let's get you home and tomorrow morning I want to see you back at headquarters."
With that we went to the Kurosaki clinic without any more disturbances.
Before we parted I told Urahara, with determination.
"I decided what to do with Saigetsu. Let's make something new of it."
Normal POV
The next day Ichigo arrived early at the base and disappeared with Urahara to make the weapon for Ichigo.
When the two joined the others again, Ichigo had his new weapon with him.
He wore a holster for a combat knife on his right thigh, with a short blade in it and on his left hip hung a coiled chain, from which hung a weight on one end.
The red head, Renji, rose an eyebrow at the view and asked.
"What kind of weapon's that?"
His answer was a grin from Ichigo, before the orangette drew the blade, almost too quick for the eye to see, grabbed the chain in the same moment and attached it via a carbine to a chain link on the hilt of the blade.
Ichigo spun the blade in small circles, still grinning at Renji.
"That's answer enough for you?"
"It looks strange. What's the idea behind it?"
Ichigo caught the spinning blade on the hilt and removed the long chain again, while he put everything back again he explained.
"I wanted something that I could use for close and long range fighting. Since I'm a child I've been fascinated by Ninja and their weapons. So the basic idea was a Kusarigama, but it's difficult to land a hit with the little blade the sickle has. A Kyoketsu Shoge is a lot better, because it's closer to a blade, but since normally a rope is attached to it, it would be to easy to destroy and rob me of my weapon. Also I prefer simple blades, so, I took the chain from a Kusarigama, changed a Tanto, so that it had a shape that was similar to the barb of a Kyoketsu Shoge. The chain is removable, so that it doesn't get in the way when I fight on close range. Ah, yeah and the weight is styled after a Kunai. When it hits a target a mechanism inside injects holy water through the tip of it into a Vampire, just like those darts I've been given."
Renji nodded in acknowledgment, than turns around to his weapons to polish them and asking a last question, almost casually.
"So, what do you call it?"
Ichigo answered while following after their blonde leader to the farther part of the room.
"Kusari Tanken."
Urahara went to sit down on his usual place.
"Now that you have found your resolve, and gotten a weapon. I'm interested in something. How did you find the woman last night?"
Ichigo took a seat himself, thinking about it for some moments, than telling slowly.
"When I heard the cry I knew the direction it came from. So I ran toward it. I hoped she would cry again so I would find her, but I didn't need her to. Somehow when I was close to the park I felt her and the Vampire, but I didn't know that it was one than."
"How close?"
"I'm not sure. The feeling was really week, but grew stronger the closer I got. When I could see them it was a really strong feeling, almost uncomfortable."
Urahara remembered that they had been at least five meters away from the two, he barely had felt them and his sensing was considered to be the strongest of them, with six meters radius.
Did that mean, Ichigos sensing was even stronger?
"Do you mind if we test this a bit?"
Ichigo didn't mind, and so they all got some walkie-talkies and left the base, Urahara stayed behind at the bases porch and watched everything through a spyglass.
The orangette should remember the feeling of all of his comrades, which would hide somewhere on a street, or follow him in some distance, and Ichigo should tell how strong the feeling was and who he felt.
So they started.
Ichigo walked along the street and soon he felt someone, hidden around a corner.
"Shuuhei's around the corner, seven meters to my left. Ishida is ahead of that on the right."
He told through the device and soon after came the answer.
"He's right."
"How strong do you feel them, Ichigo?"
Urahara questioned him.
"Shuuhei was about medium I'd say, when I told you. Now it's strong, at four meters from him, still growing. Ishida was weak and now is getting to medium."
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, It's not as bad as yesterday. Nel's coming at my back by the way now. It's very faint."
"He's right."
"How far are you Nel?"
The blonde asked the female through the walkie-talkie
"Roughly at 19 meters. I'm amazed he can sense me at all."
"Ok. Ichigo stop at the crossroad. Everyone gather around him. We'll try something else. Now you four walk away from him, each one choosing one street to follow. Ichigo tell them to stop, when you don't feel them anymore."
"Yes."
Answered one after another and they started.
"Renji stop."
"Nel and Ishida now."
"Shuuhei."
Ichigo told them and they immediately stopped on the spot.
"Now you four take one step after another and get closer again. But please just one at a time, it needs to be precise. Renji you start, than Nel, Uryuu and Shuuhei. You can start when Ichigo tells you."
"I'm ready."
Renji stepped forward, slowly until he heard the crackling from his device and Ichigo told him to stop.
The procedure went on with the others as well and not long after they all stood at the border of Ichigos sensing-bubble.
"How far are you all?"
"20 meters, maybe."
Renji told and the other three agreed to that.
"Ok, come back."
Back in their base, Urahara sat on his place with a big smile on his face.
"Ichigo you are superb. 20 meters, that's unheard of until now. I only know about born Vampires that have such a large range of sensing."
"Born Vampires?"
Ichigo asked a bit confused.
"Ah of course, we haven't taught you yet. Well than let's start now."
The blond told, with his smile still in place and started to torture Ichigo with Vampire education.
From Vampire types over abilities and their hierarchy, for hours, until the orangettes brain shut down through overdrive.
Urahara granted him a short pause, before he continued with telling him of the hunter clan.
When Ichigo got back home his thoughts circled around weapon and Vampire types, he was surprised that he even managed to find a brain cell that was able to produce a thought of Shiro.
How was he supposed to tell him, that he joined up with the man, the albino thought of as his enemy and how could he explain that he belonged to an ancient group of hunters who were after creatures, many thought were just legends.
Not to mention, he had to tell his family somehow as well.
Well, maybe he could make something up for them, why he would go out at night, but he'd like to avoid to have to lie to Shiro.
Ichigo took his mobile from his desk and took a look at it.
Some missed calls and a message.
Ichigo, where are you?
I'm worried, please answer me asap.
Shiro.
The orangette sighed.
'Speaking of the devil.'
He typed a short answer, send it and dropped onto his bed afterward.
Sorry, I had something going on.
I need to talk to you about that.
Do you have time tomorrow?
Soon the answer came and Ichigo read it before he fell asleep.
Ok, meet you around midday at the usual place.
Shiros POV
I had tried to reach Ichigo the entire day, after he had come home late the one before.
The nervous feeling I had since I found him gone, possibly kidnapped from them, only grew when he didn't pick up and then this message arrived this evening.
Something bad would happen, I was sure of it now.
I wondered, if he knew about me and if in case that he didn't I should tell him.
But what would he do than?
What should I do?
This question ran up and down in my mind and I still hadn't an answer to it.
Chapter 11
End
Pictures of the weapons Ichigo used as base for his own creation, as well as the weapon itsself can be found here:
sheeiren. deviantart. com/ gallery/ 35846317
* Kusari Tanken = Kusari - chain Tanken - short blade *
Also I want to give all my reviewers and those who faved and alerted this story a BIG arigatou
And I wouldn't mind if anyone of you would be brave and create fanarts for any of my stories, actually that would make me really, really happy ^^
Until than
See ya
Shiro Yue