Hey guys, I'm still not sure whether to go with short chapters or longer ones, so for now, I'll stick to the original style. This chapter will conclude the attack on karakura. Really sorry about not updating for so long, had exams, and now I'm done with them. Also, I realize I if I wanted to make a better plot, I'll need time to think and plan out a story, rather than writing to update faster. Hence the additional reason for the delay. Anyways, thanks for reading and don't forget to fav/follow/review. It really means a lot to me! Without further delay, here goes.
Chapter 13:- Karin dies!
"Ah I forgot to introduce myself, the name's Isshin Kurosaki" said the voice, as the clouds departed and the moonlight revealed the face of Ichigo's father.
"Kurosaki?!" spat Grimmjow. "I see….now it makes sense…no wonder that kid has soul reaper powers"
"I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to stop you both right here. My two cute little daughters are sleeping and I don't want us to wake them up" said Isshin, already drawing his sword.
"Hmph, father or not, you're not my target. Get out of my way old man, I'm only after Ichigo Kurosaki and his siblings" remarked the blue bomber.
"Tch, what part of 'I won't forgive you' didn't you get? You'll have to get through me first. And you can forget about Yuzu and Karin, for you won't be leaving this place alive for even thinking about harming a hair on those two" threatened the ex 10th division captain.
"Fine, then you'll die first!". There was a buzz and Megaman was gone.
"Ice Slasher!" A huge blade of ice shaped like an arrowhead shot out of nowhere when Megaman suddenly appeared right in front of Isshin. He didn't know what to expect and so out of reflex tried to deflect it with his Zanpakuto. The blade made a loud 'klank' noise and shattered the Icy blade.
"Hmph, you're wide open" came the voice from behind him.
"Centaur Flash!"
"Grgh!" the whole neighborhood was lit with Megaman's attack, blinding Isshin and also Grimmjow, who had been standing still all this time. Megaman hadn't failed to notice this and immediately went over to him, and screamed
"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING STANDING LIKE AN IDIOT, WHILE I KEEP HIM BUSY, WHY DON'T YOU GO AND TAKE CARE OF THE KUROSAKI SISTERS?!"
"GRR, I DON'T NEED YOU TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" blared Grimmjow, before speeding away in the direction of Kurosaki's house.
"Damn, YOU WONT BE GOING ANYWHERE NEAR THEM!" roared Isshin, as the flash finally dimmed and saw the blue arrancar rushing towards his house. Isshin flash stepped away from Megaman and intercepted Grimmjow, and delivered a kick right at his abdomen, sending him flying. Right then, multiple, needle like projectiles hurled themselves at the soul reaper. Using his Zanpakuto, he deflected them with the wind pressure and rendered them useless. A bright red glow then appeared from the other direction where he'd sent the arrancar flying.
"Cero" smirked Grimmjow. An enormous, red beam of energy shot out of his hands, flying towards him at an incredible speed. The beam met the soul reaper's Zanpakuto, where it struggled to push free. Gritting his teeth, Isshin gripped his sword with shaking hands, and finally with a great heave, redirected the blast towards the sky.
"Phew, that was a close one!" he remarked, breathing a sigh of relief. "Tch, they both are ganging up on me, it's pretty annoying"
"Then, mind if I lend you a hand?" asked a voice in the ground. Looking down, Isshin saw the face of his very old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Oh it's you, Kisuke" greeted Isshin. "I would stop by and ask how you were doung, but as you can see, I'm a bit tied up. It would be great if you could lend me a hand"
"It's good to see you in that attire again. I suppose the 'link' is broken then" said Kisuke.
"Yup, feels good to be back" grinned Isshin, straightening his shihakushou. "Ok then, I'll take on the runt, you get the other arrancar". Urahara responded with an affirmative nod and took off in the direction where Grimmjow stood.
"You really think it'll be that easy, old man?" taunted Megaman.
"Oh no, but I got to stop you, so it really doesn't matter what I think of you" he replied.
"Try this on for size then! Gravity Hold!" Isshin felt a tremendous pressure on his entire body, as if a colossal force pulled him down. As the 20G's of force rained down on him, it slammed him face down to the ground, and buried him a few feet below.
"GUHH!"
"I'm not done yet!" Megaman extended his arms. "Atomic Fire!" A small fireball began charging in his palms. "Now die!" The huge fireball sped towards the spot where Isshin was lying. The ball made contact and the entire area exploded with a brilliant light, setting any nearby bushes and objects alight, melting them or burning them to dust.
"Heh all that talk for nothing, and now he's been reduced to ashes" smirked Megaman.
"Oh I wouldn't be too sure of that, you shouldn't be so quick to drop your guard" came a voice from behind. The blue bomber violently turned to find Isshin standing behind him, his sword hand holding his Zanpakuto over his shoulders.
"Grrr…how?! You were crushed under 20G's of force and then blasted by fire as hot as the temperature of the sun!" snarled Megaman.
"That's true, I couldn't have gotten out of that gravity move of yours, but unfortunately for you, the effects of that move only lasted an instant. Plus you wasted time to charge your second attack as well. That was all the time I needed to get out of the way. You must be exhausted after using technique after technique, which explains why your second attack didn't have the effect you described as well. You're weak from all of your attacks till now. Each attack consumes a significant amount of reiatsu, and you've been pulling move after move ever since you came here" explained Isshin.
"Heh, is that what you think? Be as it may be, I still can do this" said Megaman, taking out a small glowing blue orb like object, that looked like a capsule of sorts and swallowed it. Isshin could then sense the kid's reiatsu rising again, all of it being recovered. "Hmph" smirked Megaman.
"Tch, this is going to be one pain in the ass to deal with" said Isshin with a smug expression.
Meanwhile-
Kisuke Urahara stood with lopsided smile, his hand on his stripped hat.
"Yoohoo~~Mr Arrancar~~Are you just going to stand there~~" cooed Urahara in his sing song voice, waving at Grimmjow.
"Tch, another pain in the ass has shown up" spat Grimmjow.
"I'm well aware you're in no condition to fight, after all, you DID scoot from my place after Yoruichi had her way with you….so then, what's it gonna be? If you wanna leave, this is your chance"
"Damn, looks like I gotta use my Zanpakuto for someone like him…..Fuck!" gritted Grimmjow, reaching for his Zanpakuto.
"Oh so that's your move eh?" remarked Urahara, pointing Benihime in response. "Well now, I suppose it might make it worthwhile to fight you in your released state"
"Hmph, let's see how you get after seeing this….now Grind,.." before he could finish however, a crack appeared in the space behind them and grew wider and wider, and finally opened up to reveal a dark, black space behind it, and a figure emerging from within. Ulquiorra, the 4th epsarda made his way into the battlefield, with the same emotionless expression.
"Ulquiorra…what are YOU doing here?" rasped Grimmjow.
"It would seem you ran into some unexpected trouble after all, just like Dr Weil predicted. Lord Aizen was skeptical at first, but then Dr Weil insisted that one of us esparda be sent over just in case. I hadn't expected another soul reaper with such high spirit energy to be residing in Karakura town and one who could escape my pesquissa at that. I admit, we've sorely underestimated our enemies, Urahara Kisuke" said Ulquiorra calmly. "And besides, you won't be of much use if you released your Zanpakuto anyways, atleast not with just one arm" he finished, looking towards the blue haired arrancar.
"Tch, I didn't ask for your help, Ulquiorra, I could've done this myself!" he declared.
"Don't get any ideas, I'm not doing this for you, I'm only here under the orders of Dr Weil and Lord Aizen. Now why don't you take care of the other soul reaper and make yourself useful. In fact, with that kid there, I'm sure even in your state you can manage. I'll handle Kisuke Urahara" replied Ulquiorra.
"Hmph, first that brat and now you, everyone's treating me like a pushover! If only I had my arm…." Muttered Grimmjow under his breath, speeding away in the direction of where he could sense Megaman fighting.
As he left the battlefield, both fighters watched each other intently, neither moving a muscle.
"So it seems it's just the two of us now" commented Urahara. "You're really confident, you didn't even hesitate to send him away, even after having seen me fight back when you came here. You really are that confident in your abilities huh?"
"That may be, but you are forgetting something, I've seen you fight to your best but you haven't seen what I can do. I don't think you're in any position to be worrying about me" said Ulquiorra calmly.
"Allright then, show me, Mr Esparda!" grinned Urahara, charging forward. Ulquiorra didn't budge an inch. Urahara then aimed across slash downwards, but before the instant it made contact, the arrancar swiftly moved his hand out of his pocket and caught the blade. Then, the ex 12th division captain saw a finger slip in between the hand that was holding his blade, and point towards his face. A small green glow appeared. Urahara gasped, kicked Ulquiorra in the gut, thus retrieving his Zanpakuto and then quickly put some distance between themselves and paused for a second. The cero blasted away just inches away from where he was moments ago. If he hadn't dodged it, he would've been in some serious trouble and Yoruichi would've killed him for being so careless.
"Phew, that was a close one! Looks like this'll take a while after all"
Back at the Kurosaki Residence-
"What was that?!" inquired Isshin, confused. Seconds ago, this kid's reaitsu was dropping and now, it's back at full strength. Never had he heard such a thing taking place, normally a person's reaitsu would need time to recover by absorbing the reaitsu in the surroundings, and in a place like the world of the living, where reaitsu is much scarcely present that the soul society and hueco mundo, it would take much longer.
"Nothing really, but if you really need to know, it's a capsule stored with reaitsu. Consuming it allows me to recover my reaitsu during a battle" answered Megaman. "But enough talk, if you've got something up your sleeve, now would be a good time to show it"
"Heh, it doesn't matter how many times you restore your strength, kid. You're still no match for me" Isshin then used flash step to close in on Megaman and then curled his middle finger and thumb, pointed it at his face, and flicked Megaman's forehead, sending him flying through some buildings. Megaman did an aerial backflip to recover from the hit, and formed a few metallic discs from his reaitsu and threw them in Isshin's direction. The soul reaper didn't even bother to deflect projectiles that came from a mile away and simply avoided them by moving out of the way. But soon he realized his mistake and was a bit too late to notice the glowing blue knuckle that hit him squarely in the chest. Isshin screamed with pain and doubled over, gasping to recover from the hit. Just then, another presence made itself known. The blue arrancar had returned.
"What?! Why is he here? Did something happen to Kisuke?" Concerned, Isshin tried feeling the reiatsu of Kisuke, and along with his, found another arrancer spiritual pressure, one much stronger than the two present here. It seems the two were engaged in combat. Megaman too then joined up with Grimmjow.
"I hate to do this, but the mission comes first. If we team up, we should be able to take care of him" remarked Megaman. Grimmjow just grunted.
"Aww come on, now I gotta fight both of them?! Gimme me a damn break already!" groaned Isshin, gripping his Zanpakuto tightly. "Take this, Getsuga Tenshou!" A colossal blue energy wave shot out from his Zanpakuto, engulfing both the arrancars in its fierce pursuit. The wave travelled higher and higher in the air till it disappeared into the moonlight cloudy sky, splitting the clouds in the vicinity as it went past.
"I know you're out there! Raikouhou!" cried Isshin, turning the other way. An enormous lightning beam shot flew out of his palms just as the two reappeared there. It exploded violently sending Megaman flying in a cloud of smoke.
"Why you!" cried Grimmjow and charged forwards with his palm charging up a cero. Disappearing with a sonido, Grimmjow reappeared behind Isshin and fired. The red beam steadily sped towards the soul reaper, but he turned and struck the beam with his Zanpakuto and with all his effort heaved it upwards, sending it flying harmlessly. Immediately however, the blue bomber sent another streak of lightning, which struck Isshin before he had time to react. The explosion left him with slight burns here and there, and a light smell of burning flesh hung in the air.
"Two can play at this game" smirked Megaman.
"Don't get distracted now!" came a voice from behind, and before he could turn he was kicked hard in the gut by Grimmjow, and sent stumbling away to the ground. The two followed after him to the ground. Isshin backflipped and vanished again in flash step. A second later he appeared behind Grimmjow, and sheathed his sword.
"Huh?" A deep gash then sliced across Grimmjow's torso, spurting out a streak of blood. "Guhh!" pain shot across his body, and he clutched his body with his one hand and knelt down.
"That should keep you from moving for a while" said Isshin. "Now all that's left is you. It's no use, no matter how many techniques you use, it won't help much if my reaitsu is greater than yours. A battle between spiritual beings is a battle of their spiritual pressures. The greater power always subjugates the weaker one. So even if your techniques can have deadly effects, they are drastically cut down if my overall power is greater than yours. Just like that time stopper move of yours. My son just happened to have a weaker power than yours, so that worked. But in my case, I was simply slowed down" he said, turning towards Megaman.
Just then however, both of them were distracted by a soft voice from behind them. What they didn't realize was that they were just a few meters away from the Kurosaki residence.
"Huh…? Dad…? Is that you? What's going on? What's this commotion all about?" asked Karin in a sleepy and confused voice.
"KARIN WHY ARE YOU HERE?! GET INSIDE QUICKLY!" shouted Isshin in a frantic voice.
"Ah I see, so you're Karin Kurosaki, you made it much easier for me to find you. I'm sorry, but I have no choice. I have to eliminate you under orders from Lord Weil, I bear you no ill will. I truly am" said Megaman, and dashed towards Karin. She looked on helplessly, shocked, not knowing what was happening, or how to react after seeing her father as a Shinigami fighting a boy with a broken hollow mask.
"OH NO YOU DON'T" roared Isshin, and flashstepped in front of him and swung his sword with such force that along with Megaman, the nearby poles and trees were sent flying with him.
"You never learn, do you old man?! How many times will you continue to ignore me!" said grimmjow from behind, already charging up a cero. "Now the girl dies!" he said, firing it. The cero hit the spot where Karin stood and exploded violently, flinging dirt and debris all over the place. When the smoke cleared however, Karin was still alive, being protected by some transparent barrier, and a small charm floating in the air around her.
"WHAT THE-?!"
"KARIN, WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE, GET INSIDE!" screamed Isshin to his daughter. Karin flinched, with a scared expression at first and then nodded and turned to run inside.
"Oh no you don't!Time Stopper!" Everything froze in place and Megaman used sonido and punched the 'bubble' that Karin was enveloped in, since he couldn't attack when he used time stopper, unlike when he used flash stopper. She was sent crashing into an adjacent building, but still safe inside the barrier. Isshin tried to move but, his slowed speed didn't catch up to the blue bomber. "DAMMIT!" he cursed.
"Damn, that barrier is annoying!" snarled Megaman, and the effects of time stopper faded away. Isshin frantically rushed, taking advantage of the fatigue following megaman's use of time stopper and aimed a shakahou at him, but a figure appeared before Megaman and slashed it away with his sword. Grimmjow, stood with a smirk in his face. "You're not getting past me, old man! You're girl's gonna die here and now!" he declared.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY" growled Isshin, but at that instant, Megaman had already recovered and threw three metal blades at Karin.
"That barrier should keep her safe, I should—" thought Isshin, but what he saw next would leave him broken for time immemorial. The blades, as soon as they made contact with the barrier sliced through them as if they never even existed, and the first two zoomed past harmlessly, breathing a second life into Isshin, but the third one struck her in the chest and went through, a look of horror etched on both his daughter's face and his mind that would never fade ever, as she fell down lifeless.
Kisuke Urahara arrived at the Kurosaki Residence following after Ulquiorra after the arrancar chased after the huge reaitsu spike of a soul reaper that practically drowned them with its immensity. During their fight, Ulquiorra turned wide eyed in the direction of the huge reaitsu, narrowed his eyes and disappeared in the direction and Urahara too followed suit. He realized that the reaitsu belonged to Isshin, but didn't think why he would need to exert so much power and endanger the entire town by going all out. Soon after they arrived, a quick look at the scene told them all they needed to know. Karin's lifeless body lie just a few feet away from her house, Megaman and Grimmmjow both were insanely injured and their lives were hanging by a thread. Megaman was somehow able to continue, but Grimmjow was out for the count. The damage to the surroundings was catastrophic. Many of the buildings' front section and the road was shaved away, as if a huge tidal wave had hit town. It seemed as if Isshin had used his Getsuga Tenshou, which was also why the two were in the state they were in now. Isshin then screamed "YOU BASTARDS! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU! BURN, ENGETSU!"
"Isshin no!" shouted Urahara, but to no avail. The entire area was covered by the flames of Engetsu's release, and his spiritual pressure rose to titanic heights. Ulquiorra closed in on Megaman and Grimmjow, and said "This mission is over, we can't fight him as we are now, retreat"
Megaman simply nodded, clutching his arm and limping towards the garganta that Ulquiorra created. Ulquiorra then supported Grimmjow over his arm and proceeded to leave.
"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Isshin then aimed a Getsuga Tenshou at the trio, and Megaman, putting together all of his remaining strength, shot a black hole bomb and released it immediately before it made contact with the attack. The vacuum created by the attack couldn't absorb the sheer force of the Getsuga tenshou of a released Engetsu, but it did slow it down till the trio made their escape.
"This isn't the end, Isshin Kurosaki" mouthed Ulquiorra, looking back, as the Garganta closed on him. The getsuga tenshou, free of the black hole bomb's pull, proceeded in its path of destruction, continuing to destroy more and more of the town. Isshin then powered down, dropped to his knees, and as the rain fell, even kisuke could tell the tears that hid behind the torrent of rain that fell over his beaten form.
Ichigo Kurosaki finally woke, feeling terrible and with wounds all over his body, and with a terrible headache. The last thing he remembered was fighting that strange arrancar kid, and getting beaten around before losing consciousness. He slowly picked himself up from the dirt, and could barely make smoke rising from a distance away, which he also realized was the direction of his house.
"Dammit!Karin, Yuzu, they're in danger! How long was I out?!" thought Ichigo frantic, immediately rushing towards the direction not caring about the pain coursing through his body.
"Please be alive!" he prayed with all his might as he made his way there. There was an eerie feeling in his gut which made it all the more worse. When he got there, he didn't know what scared him more; the sight of his father in Shinigami outfits or him kneeling bent over crying, broken and beaten or the body of his sister lying lifeless next to his father and Urahara, who bent over his father trying to console him. Wide eyed, he only remembered the scream of denial he let out that tore through the heavens before the darkness took over him again.
A/N:- Wow that took a lot of time to write! I hope this chapter is better than the others, since I put in a lot of thought, and went through many rewrites to arrive at this. Hope you enjoyed it and thanks for your fav/follow/reviews! I was planning to write another fanfic, which is why I may take a little longer to update. Once again, sorry for taking so long and I hope it is worth the wait.