© Copyright 2011
Written work by MsMifuyu
A/N- Finally able to get some important plot in. Sheesh. Thanks for being patient.
Love,
Mifuyu
Suzuran felt heat rising from her chest as her whole body glowed in the dusk light. She'd sat herself down, watching as the light slowly faded from Urahara's eyes. The poison injected into his body spread into his reiatsu veins and slowly engulfed his body. Light that had shined from her had seemed like an innocent luminous reflection from the sun's rays, however as she lifted her hands to glimpse it, she gasped.
The light was most certainly not simply a reflection of the sunlight as she watched her skin burn away. Instinct told her to scream, but she pressed her lips firmly together despite the shock. Looking around frantically, she glimpsed her reflection on something silver in the room. Bringing her fingers to her face, she watched as the fire engulfed the disguise she'd cleverly kept on for the past few days. Her Ojou-sama's face slowly melted away, as if she were a bug, moulting it's skin.
"No," she whispered when finally all she saw was the same purple hair and eyes, the same features she'd once bore on her face, "It was almost done…"
Her face scrunched up as she heard frantic footsteps running toward the room. She panicked, breathing gradually faster. There was no time before those footsteps would reach the door and the inevitable happened. In that moment of weakness and desperation, she allowed her conscious to slip away, and let loose her inner-self. Her body engulfed itself in its own light and transformed in a split second. Almost the same, but not. Another glance in the reflective surface showed menacing dark purple eyes and a tongue licking across the satisfied grin of Suzuran's true self.
Lifting her hand in the direction of the door in one swift motion, it slammed shut. Huge locks forcibly held it shut before melting into one thick block of purple reiatsu that shot out laser like beams, barricading the entire room as if protecting the world's most precious jewel. Suzuran hissed as she slowly watched Urahara's breath slow and soften as his life force faded away.
"Almost!" it hissed as it crouched guardedly over Urahara's body, awaiting the enemy.
They'd all felt it, heard it even. The gradual growth of a feeling of an unfamiliar reiatsu. The heart beat-like sound they'd heard in their eardrums that slowly grew deeper and stronger. And in a split second, they'd all comprehended the presence of what felt like an arrancar. Speeding toward the door, Rukia and Ichigo joined Tessai in a shunpo step through air. Only, they were too late. Inches from the door, it slammed shut with a deadlock seal that nobody could've foresaw. The strength of the barrier coming from the source inside weighed on the weak wooden sliding door. Some wooden chips of the door tore away from the rejecting force.
"Whoa," Rukia breathed, wide eyed, as the air from the slam blew at her hair. Tessai immediately placed his hand on the door, reading the codes that were intertwined with the seal. After what felt like forever, he turned to face them with a sudden tired and sombre expression.
"It's… nothing I can do anything about," his soft voice said.
Rukia, bewildered at this statement looked at him, stunned where she stood.
"What!" Ichigo managed to bellow before she was able to open her mouth, "I thought back in society you were like… the best of the best. What the hell!"
At this statement, Tessai slumped further down.
"It's an ancient seal that is beyond anything I could've imagined. It's to such a proportion that I believe only someone like Genryuusai would be able to combat,"
"… What!" Ichigo asked again in disbelief, "there's no way the old man's gonna come all the way to the human world just to save a measly human…"
Tessai sighed and nodded.
"Isn't there anyone else who's able to unlock it?" Rukia asked, dumbfounded.
"There's only one person…"
"Who!" the two cried in unison.
After a long pause and their shared look of impatience, Tessai looked away as he said,
"That is, none other than Urahara himself."
They wanted to fall down in shame. Having been unable to protect Urahara from the oncoming onslaught of this alien in his home and shop.
"Urahara!" Ichigo slammed the door, "For GODSAKE, FIGHT LIKE A MAN URAHARA! GET YOUR LAZY ASS UP!"
The force of rejection on the door threw Ichigo's body effortlessly a few metres away. He stood up and ran back to the door, slamming again. His eyes filled with a determination that Rukia had only ever seen when in the midst of battle. However, as she looked at it now, they were left with nothing but this option. This essentially was their battle.
She picked herself up and ran to the door also, doing exactly as Ichigo did. In a hopeless attempt to wake the weakened Urahara up.
Unexpectedly to the two, as their bodies were flung back again, they watched as Tessai's large body slammed into the door. They in turn heard his yelling in a strange language. Even having never heard it before, they were able to understand what he was desperately screaming.
Save yourself!
In a faraway place, amongst deserted area and dangerous mountainous region, a body floated in glowing crystal-like liquid. The beating of her heart slowed, as if knowing exactly what state its other half was in. It beat, gradually loudening, the sound echoing throughout the cave.
The body began glowing a beautiful white gold, appearing like a barrier to the dreadful purple waves holding it adrift ominous nightmares. The crease that had formed in between her brows softened into a small smile as the enormous amount of energy shot up through the top of the glass, through the mountain's skin and into the sky. It twinkled for a moment before disappearing.
His head swirled in a mass of grey and purple clouds. It was cold and dark as people walked past him on the street, looking at him, astonished, before they'd swirl back into the confusion of mist that surrounded him. His clothes were soaked wet, and his legs felt as heavy as lead. Where was he? Why did he decide to come here? Before he could conjure an answer up in his mind, he'd forget it. Yet it didn't worry him at all. Urahara continued walking aimlessly. Where he'd end up, he didn't know, but in his little tunnel of cold, shivering darkness, he'd seen a small peep of light that told him that wherever he was supposed to be going, he was almost there. The closer he'd walk, the less cold it seemed, however he never once stopped shivering.
Just as he was about to reach the end of the tunnel, the pure black surrounding him brightened, blinding him so, that he had to lift his hands in order to block his eyes. What was going on?
When it seemed safe to open his eyes, he found himself lying down, looking up at a roof. An enormous traditional Japanese mansion towered before him and around him as he lay on the small outside wooden area. He lifted his head to see a small, clear stream that glimmered in the light morning sunshine. Wind softly blew the flora and fauna around him, softening the sound of the birds chirping songs. Now where was he?
Everything seemed to silence as his eyes glimpsed the reflection of glistening blonde hair blowing gently in the breeze. Eyes shining, dressed fully in a dazzling white kimono that seemed to make her glow. When he looked carefully though, her pearly white skin was also dazzling. Nothing short of the word amazing came to mind. But even that seemed unfit and injustice to the beauty he saw in front of him.
A warm feeling coursed through his body as she slowly approached. Her small lips curving up into a smile as she sat beside him, her hands on her lap as she looked out at the scenery.
He'd half expected her to talk, but after a long moment of waiting, her silence had yet to be broken. Opening his mouth, he was about to ask, before he was interrupted,
"We've already met," her soft, melodious voice said. He had to wait a second before the echoing of it slowly dissipated from his head.
"What are you doing here?" he managed to ask, his eyes never leaving her face.
She chuckled at this, bringing her dainty hand to her lips as she did, like a well-bred lady.
"I think you already know why," her voice said, when she stopped.
"Huh?"
Her eyes looked into his. It's light honey brown colour astonishing him. Where had she gotten such beautiful eyes? It seemed to ring a bell somewhere in his memories, but when he tried to venture into them, a blockade stopped him.
"Don't get distracted," she said, seriously now, "think… remember where you are outside the bounds of this world."
"What do you mean?"
"Think,"
She looked at him expectantly as he searched her eyes for the answers he knew she had. As his memories of what was going on came flashing back and the shock of it all registered on his face, she smiled again.
"Ahh, so you're finally back to your old self again,"
Urahara stayed silent for a moment, trying to understand what was going on. He watched as the girl leaned close to his ear and whispered something barely comprehensible.
"Who are you?" he asked again, leaning away after hearing her plea, only this time confused after regaining his memories that he'd momentarily forgotten.
"I'm…" her voice said, but the world around him slowly collapsed and the image of her drifted away before he could hear her answer. His hand tried aimlessly to grab her arm to pull her wherever he was going, but she was gone.
The lightness, and carelessness he'd felt in that far off world seemed to fall off him as easily as dust would when something heavy was slammed onto its surface. It was exactly what Urahara felt as he slowly blinked his eyes open to the sound of slamming on the door with people yelling something behind it.
He couldn't make it out at first, but as he lay there, it gradually became clearer,
Urahara! Get up and fight that thing!
Please Urahara!
More pounding on the door. As he looked around, he saw nothing, and no one. But undoubtedly, he felt a presence behind him. In that second of realisation, a bone-like sword came so close to his neck, if he hadn't used all his energy to slam himself onto the opposite side of the room, he'd have been dead.
The arrancar he faced had dark purple hair, seemingly moved by a wind despite the room not being exposed to any of the elements. Her eyes shined purple as they glared at him, hissing at the missed chance. The heaviness of his body weighed on him as Urahara tried to see past the poison induced hazy vision.
"What do you want with me?" he asked, in a raspy, struggling voice.
It seemed to want no talking as it ignored him and disappeared before reappearing right in front of him. Having conjured Benihime up in time, he blocked the onslaught that would have ensued.
Outside, having heard the clash of swords, the banging and yelling had stopped momentarily.
"Urahara!" Rukia yelled in relief. She sounded teary behind the constraints of the wall. It brought his attention to the glowing purple that held the door shut. The symbols on them read words like death and misery. How he understood it, he didn't know. The arrancar hissed at its distracted pray and attacked again.
What did it want with him? What could it gain from killing him right then and there?
"Tell me what you want!" he yelled, using all his strength to push the arrancar back the length of the room. His eyes blurred worse than before. Not knowing whether or not it was intellectual enough to understand him, he waited. When he thought it wouldn't respond, he began to act, only to be interrupted.
"You should die, that's all you should do."
Astonished, he took a defensive position again as it jumped on him, slashing dangerously close to his face.
"Die Urahara, DIE!"
At the sound of his name, he stopped. Surprisingly, so did the arrancar. Its chest heaved as it seemed to talk to itself.
"Die!" it hissed, "die!"
The sweat on the side of its face showed the internal struggle it was in. Urahara looked, entranced by what was in front of him and paralysed by a different force. Perhaps it was the poison in him that stunned him in place.
"Get back to your place you little ungrateful witch! You let me out so wait for your turn again!" it screamed, grasping its head in pain.
The banging on the door started again.
"Urahara! Unseal the door! We can help you!" Ichigo yelled.
However, Urahara was rooted in his spot. How many hours had he been kept in this poison induced stupor? He was so disorientated from it all that it took so much effort to even be standing. Whatever this arrancar's ability was, she had control of the poison in his body. It gripped its head, its bony claws digging into its head. Blood seethed from the self-attack, and Urahara waited in a tension filled anticipation of what would happen next.
What was this thing that was trying to escape her body? Who was she in the first place? How did she know his name? And why did she want him dead? A million questions ran through his mind.
As he willed harder and harder for his body to move, the figure in front of him stopped. It stared up at him with the same vicious smile, only now with blood smeared across its face.
"Now, where were we?"