...And Rukia's digging herself one hell of a deep grave, ain't she?
"Soy ice cream? Are you even sure it's edible?"
"Lay off of her, Rukia." Ichigo hissed at the soul reaper female.
"I'm lactose intolerant. I can't have milk." Hotaru said automatically, licking her ice cream cone. She gave Andrew and Lizzie a cute little wave as they left Crown Arcade. "Crown's the only place that has anything soy that's decent. My father used to bring me here all the time before…before he died…"
Ichigo glared at Rukia for making Hotaru depressed. Tatsuki and Orihime grinned at Ichigo's over protective issues. Hotaru sighed, shaking her head. She lightly gripped the redhead's forearm and pulled him away from the female soul reaper.
"Come on, Ichigo. It's not proper for a gentleman to hit a lady, even if Kuchiki does deserve it." Hotaru towed him away. Her grip loosened and her body froze.
"Hey, Hotaru-are you alright?" Orihime asked catching the Senshi's ice cream cone. Hotaru clutched her heart and bit her lower lip. "Firefly, what's wrong? Tell us where it hurts. We can help."
This pain…this isn't anything physical. My Element is under attack. It's the only way I could ever be in this much pain. Hotaru growled in her thoughts as she looked up at a lamppost. On the top stood a man in white with a dark blue lined cape. One on of his hands had a sparkling crystal floating above his palm. He had an evil look on his face that mimicked a grin.
"Greetings, Little Sailor Warrior. I see that you are truly who you say. It's good to see that this Cosmic gem is yours, Sailor Saturn." His words sunk in to Ichigo and Hotaru only.
"Sailor Saturn?" Tatsuki repeated looking at the other girls. The man's fingers curled closer to the jewel.
"Gah!" Hotaru fell to her knees, her lip starting to bleed.
"Hotaru!" Ichigo passed his ice cream to Tatsuki and dropped to his knees to support Hotaru.
"You had better transform, Little Cosmic Soldier. If you don't, I'll cause your power to destroy you from the inside out." The glint in his eyes was psychotic. "I know how much you want to die but this won't kill you. You know you'll come back as a Daiba minion, like the rest of your planet."
"What is he talking about?" Rukia demanded as a chill came over the gathering of teens. "Ichigo-answer me!"
"That feeling…it's that damn Hollow again. It's Grave Lurker." Hotaru struggled to tell him. "You have to become a soul reaper, Ichigo. I'll fight the bastard up there while you battle this one down here."
"I understand." Ichigo nodded. Hotaru staggered to her feet, as he slowly rose to his.
"You want me to transform, you Nemesinain Prick-then I'll transform." A wicked smirk played on her lips. "But I've got to warn you, tempting someone boarder lining on a crystalline overload isn't a great health plan." Hotaru glanced back at the others. "Get to safety. My power's been bottled up far too long as I recovered. I can't be sure if you'll be in one piece once I transform so go back into the Arcade. Andrew and Lizzie will protect you. Rukia, take Ichigo into the alley and give him a hand. Grave Lurker needs a Soul Reaper to fight. He did a number on me last time."
"Okay…" Tatsuki nodded as the two humans backed up. Rukia was about to protest but Ichigo pulled her into an alley. Now that they were safe…
"SATURN CRYSTAL POWER-MAKE UP!"
The power of Silence wrapped Its power around her body, remaking it into the lean weapon she was infamous for. Her Glaive appeared before her and once she took hold of her loyal Talisman, her transformation was complete. Her body ached and thin cuts stained her white fuku with red and split her skin where her flesh was visible. Ichigo ran out of the alley as a Soul Reaper and took a good look at her.
"My power's fluxing. This kind of stuff happens." She said before Ichigo could ask. "Out of all the Senshi, I'm the only one that has ever been harmed by my own element."
"That's not good." Ichigo muttered drawing Zangetsu. "Wanna start the party?"
"Of course. SILENCIA DESTROYER!" The attack backlashed, sending her back into the tree behind her. "Oh, ow-God…"
"I am Prince Diamond and I am your new master." The man on the lamppost wickedly laughed. "If I don't wish to be attacked, then you can't attack me!"
"Grave Lurker's near by…he's coming after my soul…" Saturn hissed, her talisman dissolving into ribbons. "I'll need to be a Soul Reaper as well. It's the only way I can fight."
"Do you think you can do it?" Ichigo asked as she let her powers return her to Hotaru. Her body slumped against the tree and a hand stuck out of her chest. Ichigo clasped it and pulled the lady Soul Reaper from her body.
"Good thing physical doesn't translate to spiritual." Hotaru brushed her pigtail off her shoulder. Grave Lurker growled, looking at the 2 soul reapers. Diamond's hand curled tightly around her crystal, shattering it. Ichigo looked back and saw her body shatter into light purple light fragments. "Don't worry, Mr. Urahara and I hadn't planned for this but I've improvised before and had success."
"That's not as bad as it could've been." Ichigo smirked. "So, what are the names of your 2 zanpakuto?"
"Name?" Hotaru looked so cute with that curious look on her face. "I didn't know they had names. Are they inscribed on the blades somewhere?"
"Time to die, ya lil sou' reapa' morsa'!" Grave Lurker sped forward, lunging at Hotaru and Ichigo. They leapt apart from each other and skidded to a stop across from each other. Hotaru drew her two blades.
"Enjoy your meal, Grave Lurker. I have Senshi to draw out." Diamond faded into nothing, leaving the Hollow with the two soul reapers.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Hotaru asked Ichigo. The Hollow turned towards her. "Uh-oh…"
"C'mere, ya lil bitch!" Hotaru crouched then dashed forward, dragging her 2 zanpakuto down its belly. Ichigo attacked from above, adding to the damage. "Y'all pay fo' dat! Ah'll eacha alive!"
The Grave Lurker's arm swung fast, catching Hotaru's blind spot and sending her into Ichigo. The 2 Soul Reapers ended up crashing through a window of a shop. Glass hurt as the shards bit into their flesh.
"You okay, Hotaru?" Ichigo asked, looking at her as the female reaper pulled a glass shard out of her bicep. It was a large piece and it looked like it hurt a lot.
"I'll be fine but I'm going to get that bastard. I'm stuck as a Soul Reaper. I don't like being dead." Hotaru tossed the shard away.
"But I thought you wanted to die." He muttered as he sat up.
"I do but I'm still alive and I'll always be alive because the Balance must be kept." She said bitterly. "I absolutely despise my role in life. Well, we had better do that puppet bastard in."
Ichigo got to his feet and helped Hotaru on to her feet. "I guess you're right. That Hollow has to be done in or he'll go on a rampage." He looked into the shop. "Did you feel that influx of Spiritual pressure?"
"Yeah, I did. It kinda feels like a gateway." Hotaru looked towards the same spot. And now she wished she hadn't said anything. A wall of light opened up and Urahara and a black cat came through it.
"Hotaru, Ichigo-quick! Get inside the gate! The Grave Lurker is after the pair of you! We have to get you away from him!" The cat ordered. Hotaru didn't hesitate and ran for the gate, scooping up the cat with Ichigo on her heels. Grave Lurker charged after them, its blood spilling on the ground. Urahara leapt backwards as the Hollow lunged. Its teeth closed on Hotaru's leg as it slid through the gate after them.
Without a second thought, Urahara drew his zanpakuto and delivered a heavy blow to the Hollow's head. Grave Lurker opened its mouth so Ichigo could pull Hotaru away. The gurgled curses and swearing of the Hollow were hard to make out as alarms of some kind went off. Hotaru's hands flew to her ears and she ground her teeth together, trying to dim the sound.
"Those are the sirens to alert the Soul Reapers to the presence of a Hollow!" Urahara scooped up Hotaru in his arms. "We have to get out of here!"
"What's wrong with Hotaru?" Ichigo asked as the 2 men and a cat started to run away from the injured Hollow.
"Yuichiro-care to answer that one?" Urahara asked of the cat on Ichigo's shoulder.
"Ms. Tomoe is power embodied. On Earth, her hearing and eyesight are already enhanced. Here in the Soul Society, those enhanced abilities are higher than hypersensitive because her power is converted to centuries of Spiritual pressure." Yuichiro answered the soul reaper teen. "The alarms are murder on her ears. If we don't find her a quiet place, her ears will bleed and she'll go deaf. If we hurry, then it'll only be temporary."
"The Repentance Cell is near soundproof but Hotaru's already been in places like that. I won't subject her to that ever again!" Urahara growled. Ichigo racked his brain.
"What about the Sewers? Do the sirens go off down there too?" Ichigo asked.
"No, it's not needed since it's below ground." Yuichiro shook his head. "Wait-there are underground shelters just off the sewers! If we go down there, we'll be able to find a safe haven! There's an entrance up ahead!"
"Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!" Hotaru's power fluxed and the ground crumbled beneath them. They'd drop into the sewer water if something wasn't done. Hotaru tensed up in Urahara's arms and a bubble of spiritual pressure wrapped around them, saving them and carrying them to the pathway along the putrid river.
"Hang on, Little One. We're almost in the clear." Urahara murmured to Hotaru. Ichigo glanced at her as the Senshi Soul Reaper whimpered.
"Her ears-they're bleeding!" Ichigo pointed out. "Where's those shelters?!"
0-0-0-0
Ichigo closed the heavy metal door as Urahara gently tilted Hotaru's head to look at her ears. The drying blood was tacky around her ears and on her hands. She still had her eyes closed and her jaw was so tense from grinding her teeth together. Urahara gently massaged Hotaru's jaw trying to get her to open it. The redheaded reaper looked at the once so strong warrior looked like a child in the former captain's lap.
"How is she?" Ichigo asked sitting down by them.
"She'll crack a tooth at this rate." Yuichiro said, curling up in Ichigo's lap.
"This is almost as bad as when she was a child. Keiko used to give her lollipops to keep her from damaging a tooth." Urahara muttered. "You should've seen the fit Keiko threw when she found that I was out of the lollipops to give to her. I've got one in my sleeve. It'll regenerate her spiritual energy and she'll heal but we'll have to move to a different location. Her 2 zanpakuto will radiate with any other like them. We must move."
"But she needs to rest." Ichigo responded as Urahara stood, Hotaru in his arms.
"I know but we have to get out of here." Yuichiro climbed on to Ichigo's shoulder. He got to his feet and the two soul reapers ran out of the bunker, following the flow of the sewers. Urahara looked at Ichigo, listening to the boy. "Wait, Squad 4! They have healers! If we take Hotaru to Squad 4, maybe the captain could help!"
"Unohana Retsu! She leads Division 4! She's the most powerful healer Division 4 has! If she can't help-no one can! We need to find any way to help her before it's too late!"
I wouldn't want those sirens going off as my morning alarms.
Kakashi: Now there's a good idea on getting you up in the morning.