BLEACH 暗黒の神話
Bleach: Creatures of the Night
I do not own Bleach. It belongs to Tite Kubo, Shuukan Shounen Jump, Shuueisha, VIZ Media, Studio Pierrot, T.V. Tokyo, and Cartoon Network.
14. サウンド・オブ・ホワイト・ノイズ
14. Sound of White Noise
The mansion basement was quite comfortable, more akin to a living room and some bedrooms than a true basement. It was almost more luxurious than the rooms upstairs. The room was cool and dark down there, just right for a creature of the night like María Susana.
Their hostess and the boy in glasses were sitting on a couch, the hostess with an ornate glass in her hand. From the sharp aroma coming from the glass, María could tell it was blood.
"I was wondering when you'd come down here," the hostess said without looking at María.
"Your note said you were asleep," María said.
"I am tired, María," the hostess said, "but Ishida here has a lot of questions that need answering. You can sleep if you want though."
María had sleep though the night before with Rangiku, so she wasn't that tired. It was more comfortable in the dark than upstairs though, and María wanted some time to talk to other an'uuto. She took a seat on another couch and relaxed.
"So the shinigami don't know about an'uuto?" the boy, Ishida, asked. "Not at all?"
"How could they?" the hostess answered. She set her glass down and took a drag on a cigarette. "When we die our souls go to the World of Darkness. The shinigami don't notice our souls because our souls don't belong here. So they don't notice us."
"Until now," Ishida pointed out. "Thanks to this incident they know everything. You don't think they're going to hunt you down like they did the Quincy, do you?"
"I don't know," the hostess shrugged. "I don't know much about shinigami and Soul Society. They've got one hell of a surprise coming to them if they try though. Every single an'uuto is able to see shinigami, and the majority of us can fight. We have to protect ourselves from hollows, you know. An'uuto look really tasty to hollows with our ability to see spirits."
"Fighting hollows and fighting shinigami are two very different things," Ishida said. "The Quincy could fight hollows well enough, but that wasn't enough to fight back against the shinigami."
"We'll see," the girl said, exhaling smoke. "We'll see."
María didn't doubt for a moment that it was a bad thing that the shinigami now had information on the an'uuto. But who was worse, Soul Society or Anyetuan?
Resu stared at the wall in front of him without really seeing anything. He sat on the prison cot, smiling his ever-present smile. After Princess Piglet informed the Exquisite Sovereigns that he had tried to ravish and kill her, they ordered Niou to have him locked up. Resu didn't mind—it was all just part of the effort to convince Princess Piglet that they had her best interests in mind.
Resu gave a low chuckle and slowly shuffled his personal deck of playing cards. As if the Exquisite Sovereigns really cared about the little piglet's feelings! The only reason they were going through the effort to convince the girl to side with them was that they believed seducing someone to a cause was the most effective way to recruit. They smiled and played along with Princess Piglet's requests to give her some time to think things through, but it was only an illusion of choice—if the piglet ultimately refused then the Exquisite Sovereigns would drag her into the World of Darkness kicking and screaming. There she would be tortured, conditioned, and brainwashed until her mind was irreparably shattered. She would become one of their mindless dolls, completely enslaved to the will of his father. Resu actually hoped the piglet would refuse to go along with the Exquisite Sovereigns; that way he had a chance of being allowed to administer some of the torture. Oh, the things he would do to her—he and Myusa and Aidaku. The twins would kiss the piglet gently before beginning their art. She would scream and cry and beg for mercy, but regardless of what agonies they would inflict upon the girl they wouldn't leave a mark on her flawless skin. They wouldn't want father's new toy to be in anything less than perfect condition; he might want to play with her himself at times. As far as Resu knew though, the piglet was meant to be a kind of weapon. He was rather curious to see how that would work out.
He knew the soldiers were watching him, wondering about how someone of his breeding could stoop to trying to rape a girl. Nearly everyone thought he was just a polite and harmless imbecile. Those who peeled away that image came away knowing he was an unstable murderer and rapist. But when people covered the second layer of a person they thought they knew everything there was about you. They never checked for any more layers. Resu smiled, and continued to stare ahead at nothing for the guards.
When they think you're stupid you can run rings around them, he thought. Now that's power.
Tara rubbed her eyes and sighed. She was sitting at a table with Hotsuyoku and Dehatsu in Hotsuyoku's laboratory. They were trying to work out a next course of action. Tara wanted to go ahead with moving stealthily against Soul Society, but no matter how they looked at it, it became increasingly clear that their only option left was open war. The heidushuijing was gone and Soul Society was becoming aware of their presence. Tara still had a plan left, but that plan was hampered if they went ahead with the three-day cease-fire Ino'ue was demanding.
Patience, she said to herself. We can still go ahead with this if we wait long enough.
Dehatsu was slowly sharpening a pair of daggers. The ominous sound of metal torturously screeching against metal filled the room. "The Exquisite Sovereigns would be willing to call off the operation," he said. "The acquisition of Ino'ue would be considered victory enough for them. We can withdraw everyone and Soul Society would be unable to do a thing about it."
"I would hate to leave this place," Hotsuyoku said wistfully. "There's still so much to learn."
"Our other option," Dehatsu continued, "is full-scale invasion. It will take some time before enough troops can be brought here, but Soul Society will be overwhelmed eventually. Of course, if something goes wrong with the invasion then the Exquisite Sovereigns will be very displeased with us."
He stopped sharpening the daggers and set them on the table. "We need to decide soon," he said. "The cease-fire Ino'ue wants will be perfect for taking either path."
Tara frowned. She wanted to see Soul Society obliterated, but things weren't going as she had originally intended. She didn't want to continue with her plans unraveling before her very eyes. Maybe it was better to quit while ahead. They could always come back for Soul Society another time.
How did Susana steal the heidushuijing in the first place? she wondered.
But what would happen to her reputation if she were at the forefront of defeating Soul Society? If she were victorious it would truly cement her reputation as a living embodiment of Rireishi. She would go down in history, and all she had to do was be there when the forces of Remuran subjugated Soul Society. Surely that couldn't be terribly difficult.
Her mind was made up. "I want to go ahead with invasion," Tara said softly but firmly.
Dehatsu nodded. "Very well. I'll inform the Exquisite Sovereigns. They must've expected it anyway, sending me over like this."
"Thank you, field marshal," Tara said. She left her seat. "I'll prepare a speech for the heipomian."
What to do about Ino'ue though? she wondered. She and Seia seem to get along well enough, so Seia should be able to convince her to go. There's no guarantee of that working though…
An idea began to form in Tara's mind; an insidious, perverse idea. A small smile crossed her face. She just needed to make a few quick arrangements and then she could continue on her day.
Flowers surrounded Orihime and the sky above was a deep red and filled with black clouds. In the distance she could see crimson pagodas rising to meet the crimson sky. A lovely fragrance hung in the cool air. She felt a sense of peace in the area.
It's kind of weird, she thought, but beautiful too. Awfully lonely here though.
"Orihime?"
The young girl gasped and turned around to confront the one who spoke behind her. She was met by the smiling visage of Seia. The dark-skinned beauty was wearing a long sleeved black leather one-piece dress, suspenders, and black stockings attached to the suspenders. The front of the dress was unzipped, exposing much of Seia's considerable cleavage. The rogue shinigami had pale pick lipstick on too. Her dress was revealing enough that Orihime could now see that Seia had very long, firm legs and full hips. Orihime had previously only seen Seia in her uniform; she thought Seia looked very sexy and glamorous in more casual wear. That Seia looked happy when all Orihime could remember her looking was melancholy helped a lot too.
"Oh, hello Seia," Orihime said. She smiled pleasantly. "How are you doing?"
"I just wanted to get to know you a bit better," Seia said. She Orihime approached jauntily. She sat down in the flowers and patted the spot next to her. "Sit down with me?"
"Okay." Orihime sat beside Seia. "I was just thinking that I wanted some company. It's nice to see you here."
Seia nodded. "I've known you for only a short while but I like you a lot, Orihime."
Orihime smiled. "Thanks!" she said. "I like you too!"
Seia put a hand on Orihime's shoulder. Orihime looked at Seia's hand, surprised by the almost intimate motion. "Seia?"
She looked up in time to find Seia's face mere centimeters from her own. "I like you very much, Orihime," said Seia in a breathy voice. "How much do you like me?"
Orihime's eyes snapped open. She glanced around but Seia was nowhere in sight. She caught her reflection in a mirror, her eyes wide and startled.
A dream, she thought. She remembered Seia taking her to her new room. It was a bit plain, but much more welcoming than the cell had been. Orihime had lain down on the bed and must've fallen asleep.
A faint blush tinged Orihime cheeks as she replayed her dream in her mind. It had been extremely vivid. It was like Seia was ready to kiss her and was dressed rather sexily. She didn't know why she would dream of something like that. It made her feel a little weird.
It's probably because of what she told me earlier, she thought. I might have nightmares from hearing such a scary story.
She sat up and stretched. Seia had promised her that they would take her back to Karakura Town so she could tell her friends that she was fine and the Anyetuan would stop attacking. She could hardly wait to go back, even if it was only for a short while. Hopefully the whole thing would be straightened out.
Someone knocked loudly at the door. "Come in!" Orihime called, knowing it was Seia. Sure enough, when the door opened it was the friendly former shinigami. She was smiling and looking pleasant. Seeing her again so soon caused Orihime to recall her recent dream. Particularly the part where Seia had made as if to kiss her. Orihime's cheeks suddenly felt hot.
"I wanted to let you know that we'll be leaving soon and—Orihime, your face is red. Are you feeling all right?" Seia's face switched from happiness to concern and she learned forward to take a closer look. Orihime flinched, half-expecting Seia to kiss her on the lips. But no; Seia just examined her.
"I—I'm fine, really," Orihime said. She felt embarrassed now. Why would she think Seia would just lean in and kiss her anyway? Because she admitted that she fancied girls? Orihime knew that ridiculous—just because Seia liked girls didn't mean she would try to kiss every girl she crossed paths with. Orihime felt ashamed of herself for even briefly entertaining the idea. After all, Seia seemed to be in a loving—if twisted and more than a little disturbing—relationship with Niou and the one she referred to as Suzuko.
"Thank you letting me know," Orihime said, and smiled to Seia. Orihime had to admit that the older woman was very beautiful and kind. If she were to like girls too then Seia would certainly be on her list of girls she would want to kiss, along with Tatsuki, Chizuru, maybe Kuchiki…
If Orihime were to like girls, of course. She was certain she wasn't that kind of person.
The day slowly faded into evening, bathing Karakura Town in a deep orange-red glow. Rangiku sat on a quaint stone bench outside the mansion, elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands, watching the sun set. If the predictions were correct then the heipomian would show up again to harass them that night. Rangiku had a feeling they were going to be more serious this time; several of their kind were killed the night before, and if they appeared again they would likely be more careful.
"Hey." Rangiku recognized the sound of María's voice. The heipomian had appeared at her right side, taking the vacant seat beside her. Rangiku slowly turned to face her new friend, and found María smiling at her. Rangiku smiled back.
"Hi María," she said. "Have a nice nap?"
"I wasn't that tired," María answered. "I just wanted to get away from the sun. I talked to those other two, Hoshi and Ishida. It's nice to talk to other an'uuto, but Ishida needs to practice being one a bit more. I guess it's harder for humans than hollows to adjust to the change."
Rangiku nodded, and briefly wondered if someday María will have to train her to be a proper an'uuto. "María," she said, "we think the heipomian will be back soon and I don't want you to get involved. It's you they want so you should stay at the mansion with the heidushuijing."
María made a sour look. "You weren't the one to suggest that, were you?"
"It was my captain's idea," Rangiku explained. "Everyone agreed with him though. We just can't risk the enemy getting their crystal back or hurting you."
"Fine, I guess," María sighed. "I'll stay here. Someone will be looking out for me though, right?"
"Yeah, Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa will be around to protect you," Rangiku said. "They're good at what they do, so don't worry."
María didn't look assured—quite the opposite, in fact. Rangiku figured she still didn't trust the other shinigami yet.
A rolling wave of reiatsu fell upon Rangiku. It was massive in its intensity; Rangiku felt like she was being pressed down. She gasped and nearly fell against María, but María grabbed onto her. She looked into Rangiku's eyes, deeply frightened. "That's them!" she whispered. "It feels like all of the Lanjushen are here!"
"Lanjushen?" Rangiku asked.
"The most powerful heipomian!" hissed María. "If they're here then the Anyetuan must want to kill all of you right now! We need to get outta here!"
Feeling the sheer amount of reiatsu, Rangiku couldn't blame María for wanting to escape. It felt like several shinigami captains were gathered into one spot and let their reiatsu run wild. This was far beyond anything their group could handle at the moment; if a fight broke out they would be annihilated, along with most of the town.
Toushirou and the other shinigami came barreling out of the house. They had shed their gigai and had their zanpakutou at the ready. "Matsumoto!" Toushirou barked. "I called for reinforcements! Get out of your gigai now!"
Rangiku produced a piece of Soul Candy and swallowed it. Immediately she was in spirit form. She turned around and looked at her gigai. "You and María stay here with Ikkaku and Yumichika!" she ordered. The gigai nodded, taking María's hand and smiling at her.
"Where are Ishida and Hoshi?" Toushirou asked. As soon as he said it, they appeared in the door.
"We'll be staying here," Mion said. "If you're smart you'll get out now. No use in fighting a force like that. Shit! I've never encountered an'uuto this powerful before."
The gigai and María joined Mion and Uryuu. Rangiku turned to Toushirou. "Captain," she whispered fearfully, "what should we do?"
Toushirou was staring off into the distance, his brow furrowed in concentration. His eyes reflected the nervousness of the situation. It looked like he had no idea of what to do at the moment. He just looked…hopeless.
"Captain?" Rangiku repeated, now beginning to feel really quite frightened. Was Toushirou so distraught that he didn't know how to handle the situation? Were they just going to have to wait for backup or even retreat entirely?
Then he blinked, his expression changing from one of fear to puzzlement. "Wait, feel that reiatsu again Matsumoto. Everyone! Concentrate on the enemy's reiatsu!"
Rangiku tried again. The reiatsu was as overpowering as ever. What did Toushirou sense this time that was different from before? It stayed in place, throbbing ominously…
In that instant it came to her what her captain had noticed. That is strange, she thought. What are they doing over there? What's the point?
Renji stepped forward. He too looked confused. "They're not really doing anything," he observed. "They're just…standing there."
It was like a large group of them had appeared in the middle of Karakura Town, bunched themselves into a circle, and let their reiatsu flare up in such a way that anyone sensitive to it would have to notice.
"Should we investigate?" Rangiku asked.
"It might be a trap," Renji cautioned.
"I don't think they want to fight," Toushirou said. "It's like they just want our attention."
"An invitation, huh?" Renji said. "I guess we should take them up on it."
They took off in the direction of the reiatsu. They sped past humans, invisible to all by the most spiritually sensitive to them. As they went, Rangiku became aware that Rukia, Ichigo, and Yasutora had joined them. "You three," Toushirou said, "don't attack until it's confirmed the invaders are hostile. Considering the power of the enemy though it would be better to retreat if attacked."
"Got it Toushirou," Ichigo nodded.
Toushirou scowled but didn't reply. That made Rangiku smile a little.
They were lead to the local park by the reiatsu in due time. They slowed down as they approached the park, eventually stopping to observe. Standing in a circle formation in a wide clearing was a group of ten individuals. Seven figures made up the circle with the remaining three standing in the center of the circle. The figures composing the circle were dressed in blue and white uniforms.
Toushirou began to creep ahead slowly. The others followed suit. As they got closer to the strange group Rangiku recognized the heipomian Alba Wolf standing at attention with her arms crossed under her cannonball-like breasts. On her left was a grinning hunched man with long green dreadlocks and skin the color of white greasepaint. On Alba's right was a slender, voluptuous pale woman with long wavy hair. She couldn't get a good look at the others making up the circle, so she concentrated on the people inside the circle. The one to immediately catch her attention was a young, very pretty girl with orange hair and gray eyes—Orihime Inoue! She looked anxious, like she was waiting. Holding her arm was a tall woman with very dark skin wearing glasses and what looked like a modified shishakushou. The woman was clearly a shinigami, not a heipomian. The woman reminded Rangiku of the traitorous Kaname Tousen—maybe she was a relative?
Is that Tara Niou? Rangiku wondered. She turned her attention to the third figure, a tall man with short curly blond hair. His ears were long and pointed and a pair of broad white-feathered wings grew from his back. He was attired in a long black coat and a black uniform. From a glance Rangiku could tell the man was neither a heipomian nor a shinigami. She had no idea what he might be.
Rangiku turned back to Orihime. She didn't look distressed or even all that worried. She just looked like she was expecting something. She seemed to be all right, unharmed. Rangiku wondered what could've happened to Orihime. Why was she kidnapped at all?
She noticed the blond man had completely vanished. Alarms went off in her head when this fact registered. She was about to try to look for him a hand fell on her shoulder. "Excuse me miss, but can I help you?" a jovial voice asked. "It's not polite to lurk around like that."
Rangiku gasped. This guy is fast enough to appear behind me without anyone noticing? Her heart pounded rapidly; who was the guy and what was he going to do?
Her companions drew their weapons and surrounded the man. "Back down!" Toushirou ordered.
"Stop it!" Orihime cried. "Field martial, you're not supposed to hurt them!"
"I wasn't going to hurt this woman," he said innocently. "I merely noticed them snooping around like common thieves and wanted to get their attention, Miss Ino'ue." His words were polite, but Rangiku sensed a mocking contempt lurking in the back of his voice.
"Field martial!" the dark-skinned woman called loudly. The man nodded slightly, then vanished again. He re-appeared next to a startled Orihime, his coat fluttering. He was smiling widely, as if it was all a fun game to him. Maybe it was his long face, or his sarcastic demeanor, but Rangiku found the peculiar field martial to be disquietingly similar to Gin Ichimaru. He had even gone for her first. But it was impossible—the man couldn't be Gin. They just happened to look and sound a bit similar.
"Ino'ue!" Rangiku heard Ichigo shout. "Are you okay?"
Orihime smiled and waved back to him. "Kurosaki! I'm fine, there's no need to worry about me!" She turned to the woman holding her arm. "Seia, please let me go talk to my friends for a while. I miss them."
The woman, Seia, nodded silently and released Orihime's arm. The heipomian surrounding them parted for Orihime to pass through. She dashed over to Ichigo, laughing happily. Rangiku had to smile seeing the human girl's joy at being reunited with her friends. "I missed you guys," she said. "How's Tatsuki and the other girls?"
"They're really worried about you, especially Tatsuki," Ichigo told her.
Seia left the circle and approached them swiftly in long striding steps. "Shinigami," she spoke in a cold, authoritative tone, "Orihime Ino'ue has proven herself to be extremely useful to our benefactors. She must decide whether she will help them in their goal and asked for three days to make her decision. In that time we are to cease all attacks on Karakura Town. However, should she try to escape or should Soul Society attempt to interfere, we will kill every shinigami from Soul Society and all allied individuals who enters Karakura Town. Can you inform your superiors of this?"
"I promise not to run away, Seia," Orihime said.
Toushirou stared hard at Seia, his eyes bewildered. "Yes," he eventually said, "I can arrange a meeting."
"Good," Seia said. "We will be waiting for Soul Society's answer." She turned to Orihime. "Orihime, I'm giving your two hours to spend here. Have some fun with your friends."
Orihime nodded. "Sure. Thanks Seia!"
To be continued…
Bleach: Creatures of the Night Data File
Field Marshal Fuisa Dehatsu (地花 斐沙元帥 (デハツ フイサげんすい) Dehatsu Fuisa Gensui)
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 66 kg
Hair color: Blond
Eye color: Green
Appearance: Fuisa is young and handsome with short curly hair and crafty eyes. His face is long and slender and his ears are long and pointed. He has great white-feathered wings.
Attire: Fuisa wears a black peaked cap and a long black trench coat over a black uniform with breeches, jackboots, and black gloves. A katana-like sword and a pistol are sheathed at his belt.
Personality: Fuisa is a clam, laid-back man with polite mannerisms but a sadistic, cynical personality. He is really quite driven, but hides this as he sees it as improper to show that you work hard. He is a field marshal in the Imperial Remuran Army.
Author's note: Not much happened here. I'm just glad to get this chapter out of the way. Originally there was going to be a sexual scene between Seia and Tara, but it didn't really fit in after everything was done. We might get a scene between Tara and Suzuko soon though.
Thank you for reading and reviewing.