12...Flames of Wrath...
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Rukia shrieked as the orange tongues lapped at her soaked clothes. She rolled around on the ground as the flames singed her blue uniform into a darkened and sometimes blackened hue.
Ichigo helped her to her feet as the wall of flames spread out across the front of the building.
"There's no way out!!" Momo screamed.
The crackling from the fire got increasingly louder, but a slight sound was still heard. A quiet splashing noise. It was coming from upstairs.
Ichigo looked up the stairs and found Aaroniero pouring gasoline over the wooden steps.
"GET BACK!!" Ichigo barreled into the others, knocking them away from the red, flickering wave of destruction that followed.
The stairs crumbled as the intense heat devoured them.
Aaroneiro laughed with both heads at once, creating an eerie wailing sound.
"What the fuck is that?!" Rukia asked repulsed.
Aaroniero answered with his deep voice. "Szayel was deeply involved with human experimentation. He had created serums that could warp a mans body..." He revealed the purple tendrils that were once fingers. "He also mastered a way to survive decapitation." He ran a finger along the tank that contained his heads. "I was the guinea pig for many experiments and prototypes. This is the result, a monster!" The heads made a disgusted face.
The others looked on, horrified, as the monstrocity descended the stairs...through the flames.
He brushed of the flames lapping at his skin and made a strange noise which, if it was a human, would sound like a sigh. "I can no longer feel pain. I am the ultimate assasin! That is my purpose, to serve Ulquiorra and only Ulquiorra!"
"What's that mean?" Ichigo asked.
"Ulquiorra had also been experimented on. He rose in rank and ended up leading us. He showed that even a freak can become all powerful!! That we would have vengeance against those who alienated us!!" Aaroniero lifted his normal hand and clenched a fist. His voice changed to a shirll shriek. "Szayel never obeyed Ulquoirra and operated seperately from us. We sent help to him and he tagged along on our missions, but never would answer to Ulquiorra."
The small group had slowly backed away from the monster that spoke to them.
"I know what you are thinking! But this whole building is now enveloped in flames! My task is to keep you here until you are reduced to ash."
Matsumoto started to wake up and Yachiru helped her stand up.
A mighty roar came from upstairs. Another soon followed but in a different voice. It was Stark and Barragan.
All fell silent as they listened intently.
Loud bangs and yelling ensued for several minutes but then stopped. Everyone heard a wet splat.
"Stark! Please be ok!!" Lilinette begged.
Aaroniero took advantage of the distraction and darted forward, a dull white knife in his hand.
Momo jumped backwards as the knife flew in front of her face. A deformed hand pushed her into the wall which collapsed. Cinders fell onto her skin and burned her.
Yachiru soared through the air and kicked the tank that was Aaroniero's head. It cracked but did not shatter.
Aaroniero whirled the knife around and slashed Yachiru across her back. He then picked her up with one hand and hurled her into the stairs.
Burning debris cascaded over her and she was quickly trapped under the burning wreckage. Her awful screams chilled everyone to the bone, except for the lifeless, emotionless creature that was Aaroniero.
*****
OUTSIDE
Renji slowly opened his eyes. Everything was bright red, yellow or orange. His body felt like it was in an oven. He was on fire!! Everything was on fire!! He struggled to move and found he was being dragged across the blackened ground. He craned his neck and gazed at the pained expression on Toshiro's face.
His hair was singed and was now an ugly grey rather than a brilliant silver. His uniform was torn and bloody, burned flesh was visible underneath the tears. He was biting his lip so hard that blood flowed. His face was creased as he winced at the pain of the ocean of fire.
Renji stared wide eyed at his friend. He was dying, but was still taking Renji to safety. Renji felt a wave of guilt flood over him. If Toshiro died, Renji knew he would blame himself even if it was Toshiro's choice. If Renji wasn't here, Toshiro would have been able to get out of here uninjured.
"Ren-Renji? I'm sorry." Toshiro averted his gaze and looked at the ground.
"Sorry for what?" Renji asked.
Toshiro gripped Renji's collar tighter. He fell to his knees and brought his face right in front of Renji's.
"Toshi-" Renji started but was interrupted by Hitsugaya.
"Get out of here alive!! Take care of Matsumoto and Hinamori! They need it."
Renji was shocked. His jaw dropped as he listened in silence.
"Tell Matsumoto that she was the best subordinate a captain could have. I know I acted rather cold towards her but I really cherish her company. I only wish I could see her one last time..." Hitsugaya trailed off, gazing at the swirling flames around them.
"Don't worry!! I'll reunite you with your precious liuetenant and you can tell her yourself!!" With a newfound energy, Renji dragged Toshiro through the hellish world that surrounded them.
A group of silhouettes stood about twenty metres away.
Renji squinted through the orange haze. "It must be the Ichigo and the others!! They're here!!" Renji sped up and lifted Toshiro onto his back. He then carried him towards freedom.
A silhouette stepped forward and raised a hand.
Renji stepped out of the flames and froze. A ghostly pale arm drilled into his chest. He spluttered and gagged as the arm drew back and returned to it's master. As Renji fell again he glared at a pair of emotionless, emerald green eyes.
*****
INSIDE BURNING BUILDING
No-one could move. A child's scream was completely different from an adults. An adult scream makes you shiver, but a child will make you feel a chill in your veins, your body shuts down and a fear worse than any you have ever felt before will consume you.
Yachiru continued to scream and beg for help.
The floating heads in a tank rolled around so they could see behind them without turning the body.
Kiyone brought her rifle up but one head quickly spun around to face her. The other head stared at the burning pile of wood.
"I cannot be caught by surprise! I won't be beaten by the likes of you!!" He walked towards Kiyone, hands outstretched, ready to attack.
Yachiru let out a squeal and then fell silent.
Rukia began to cry.
Ichigo hugged her but was pushed away.
Rukia breathed heavily and her mouth twisted into a snarl. Her hands spasmed but she stood her ground. "You will pay!!"
Aaroniero looked at her with both heads.
"I will make you suffer!!" She rasped, her throat sore from inhaling smoke.
Aaroniero uttered his awkward laugh.
Rukia ran straight for him. She smashed a fist into the glass casing of his head and it split open. The top half fell away and foul smelling fluid spilled out. One of the heads bounced on the floor, the other remained in the broken tank, the red water only just covered it's head.
Rukia stomped on the fallen head and white goo oozed out from the squishy skull.
Aaroneiro screeched in his deep voice and clutched at his broken face.
Rukia dropped to the floor and clutched a shard of glass. She then slashed it across Aaroniero's achille's tendon.
He fell and glared at rukia. He swung his deformed hand at her but she met it with the shard of glass. It passed through the palm of his hand and he roared in pain.
"This is for Yachiru!!" Rukia reached inside the tank and pulled out the final head. She gripped it with both hands and wrenched her arms back.
The head was ripped in half and white gore splattered the ground. Aaroniero's body collapsed and lay still.
Rukia coughed as the smoke enveloped her. She got up and ran back to the others. They all sprinted away from the spreading flames.
They reached a dead end. Flames still waited outside.
Ichigo sighed. "I guess there is no way around it!" He approached a window and kicked it. He then removed all the glass from the window frame. "All right. Lets get out of here!!"
Kiyone, Momo and Matsumoto all went out through the window. Rukia went next. Ichigo gave her Orihime's still body and then she left. Ichigo then dived out into the flames and raced out of the thick wall of flames.
When he got out, the others had already started to fight. The gothic Espada was flung back as a stream of bullets hit her.
The terrified students all dropped their weapons and raised their hands in the air.
They escorted the student army to the front gates and waited.
A faint clap came from the flames. All heads turned to watch as a pair of glowing green eye's lit on the face of a shadow. It emerged from the flames.
It was Ulquiorra!
"How?! We killed him!!" Ichigo broke out into a sweat.
Ulquiorra dragged something behind him. It was Renji.
"Renji!!" Ichigo roared.
"He didn't even put up a fight!" Ulquiorra threw him at his enemy.
Rukia tended to his wounds as Ichigo snatched the gun from Kiyone. He then ordered a student to give him his gun.
"Before you shoot me to pieces, I must remind you that your sister is still in there." Ulquiorra pointed at the building that was now blackened.
"I'm not falling for your trick again! I'm not that stupid." Ichigo smirked.
Ulquiorra shook his head. "You do realise I am the only one who knows where she is. Even if I had removed her from the building, which I haven't, I am the only one who knows her real whereabouts."
A girl's scream escaped the building that drowned in orange fire.
Ichigo could barely tell who it was as it was muffled, but only one name came to mind.
"YUZU!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
Ulquiorra turned to face the flames and winked.
*****
TWO MINUTES AGO
INSIDE BURNING BUILDING
Becky backed up aginst the wall. Ulquiorra had promised to let her go! He promised her, but she had to hide here until he had dealt with the intruders. Hope had blinded her and she failed to realise that she trusted a monster.
He had approached her a few minutes ago, one eye was blown to pieces, goo oozing out from his eyesocket. It healed itself, strands of tissue banding together. Within a minute, the eye had completely reformed. He reassured her that he would come back in thrity minutes.
She trusted him! She silently waited, she could hear the intruders fighting only three rooms away. A strange smell had crept into the room and she quickly recognized the odour...it was fire. Orange tongues tapped at the window, beckoning her to let them inside.
She backed away from the window, which shattered under the intense heat. The room suddenly felt like a furnace as the flames reached out to the wooden walls. The flames dragged themselves inside as if it was alive, eating away at all in it's path.
The world was turning orange as the room was swallowed by the burning beast. The wall of flames advanced, forcing her back into the wall. She grasped desperately for the door to her left. The handle scalded her flesh and she drew her hand away. The flames were out in the corridor as well!
She crumpled into a heap and stared at the flames as they danced with joy over the feast they would have.
Tears slid down her face as she pictured Ulquiorra, staring at her through the flames. He then extended a hand and led her to safety and then they embraced each other. She knew in reality that Ulquiorra was a cold-blooded, heartless being. He was the embodyment of evil...true evil.
Evil in movies was just make-believe, towering mosters and mental people weilding a knife. In real life, evil took a form more terrifying than any special effects. The victims weren't actors pretending to die and then having a beer and a laugh afterwards. They were real people, suffering in agony as sadistic men slaughtered them.
"Ulquiorra...Ulquiorra...ULQUIORRAAAAA!!!!!" Becky screamed, her eyes closed, unable to watch as her skin blistered and melted. The tears never escaped her eyes as they were instantly incinerated.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"
*****
CURRENT TIME
CAFE NEAR SCHOOL
Tatsuke looked up from her tea to see giant flames engulf the school. She brushed back a spike of black hair and terror suddenly swept over her.
"Holy shit!! Orihime!!" She sprinted out of the small cafe and ran to the school. She stared at the building which collapsed in on itself. Embers soared over to her and landed at her feet as she sped up. She ran across the road without looking and screamed when an ambulance drove right past her face. Three more followed, then two fire trucks.
They all parked outside the gate but quickly stopped.
Why are they stopping?!
Tatsuke vaulted over a stretcher and raced to the gate. She noticed a head of spiky orange hair and yelled. "Ichigo!?"
He did not respond, but several injured police officers turned to see her. Rukia was one of them.
"Rukia?! What happened?! Where's Orihime?!" Tatsuke was shaking.
Rukia averted her gaze and looked at a stretcher. A girl with chestnut hair lay still. It was Orihime!
"Orihime!!" Tatsuke grabbed a paramedic by the shirt. "Is she okay?!"
The paramedic shook his head. "She is still breathing, but she has lost a huge amount of blood. If we're lucky she should make it, but she will be in hospital for a few weeks."
"I don't care if she is in a bed for a year! As long as she is safe!" Tatsuke roared. She placed a hand on Orihime's cheek and stroked it softly.
Rukia placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's not over yet!" She pointed to a ghostly white man who stood perfectly still in front of the burning wreckage.
"Who is that?" Tatsuke asked.
"Ulquiorra Schiffer. He is the leader of the criminal organisation that did this! He is ruthless and very powerful. We have lost almost our entire force to him and his men!" A stray tear fell from Rukia's eye.
"Why is he standing there?"
"I have no idea, but he hasn't made a noise for several minutes now." Rukia glared at him.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I refuse to face defeat by your hand. I shall slay myself."
"What?" Ichigo stared in disbelief as Ulquiorra walked into the flames and walked thorugh the doorway into the building.
He turned back and glared with comtempt at Ichigo. His emerald eyes glowed as the rest of his body turned to shadow.
The crackling flames almost sounded like raspy laughter as the school exploded. Everything fell apart and burning debris fell around the survivors.
The fire crew sprung into action, combating the fires with their natural enemy, water.
The paramedics called for more ambulances as they treated the officers who survived.
Ichigo stared at the ground. "Yuzu..."
"Are you her brother? Are you Ichigo?" A middle aged paramedic asked.
Ichigo nodded.
"She begged to see you when she first woke up." The man continued.
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo queried, frowning.
"We found her outside the hospital, unconscious. Some creep with a huge mask just dropped her. We called out to him but he sprinted off into the woods."
"You mean...she's okay?" Ichigo slowly stood up.
"Oh yeah, she's fine, just a bruise on the face."
"Oh thank god!" Ichigo hugged the man and then climbed inside an ambulance. "Come on lets go!"
The ambulances all left the smoking ashes that was once the school.
The firetrucks soon followed.
When all was silent, a pile of wood was shoved aside. An ashen arm struck out. A strong breeze blew some of the ash away, revealing bone-white skin.