Me: Ah! The tension! The pressure! The-
C.T.E.: WOULD YOU SHUT UP?! I'M TRYING TO READ THIS EPISODE!
Me: Dammit! Give me that for the readers, psycho!
S.A.N.: …(sigh)… so passionate for this chapter.
Me: I don't own Bleach. ONWARD!
C.T.E.: I SAID SHUT UP!!
Chapter 21: Thunderous Intruder
"During the year 1690, what occurred in the 9th division?" The raven-haired girl asked as she tried to look for the answer in the textbook.
"The 9th division had a blind captain, Kaname Tousen, who believed that peace and justice are the sole solutions for Soul Society after he was chosen, despite his blindness." The brunette answered as she was writing the answers down on her third page.
"I-I knew that."
"Yeah, and I'm a psychologist who depicts every single event in your life."
"Very funny, Wa-chan."
It was a study class in their homeroom since the teacher was in a mission with his comrades in the real world. Karin was muttering nonsense and complaining why they had to do a packet for homework. Under her breath, she muttered, "I want to play soccer, but no. Freakin' Tatsuki-sensei just tossed me back to class."
Heiwa shook her head in amusement and thought how long did they play soccer against each other or with other students. Heiwa was just taking her time to write down the answers in a casual pace while she was answering Karin's simple questions just to frustrate her.
For the past few months or so, they were use to the lifestyle in Seireitei. Sometimes, they consider it an ordinary day if it involves pain, bruises, and exhaustion from the sadistic Tatsuki. On occasions or normal days, Rangiku would bring in something from the real world. Mostly, they received letters from their two younger siblings once in a while, and Natsu and Yuzu asked them how they are and if they like living there.
Natsu and Yuzu wrote about the new techniques they learned for hakuda, hohou, and zanjutsu against the 2nd captain, Soifon, and 7th captain, Captain Komamaru. They were quite surprised that Captain Komamaru was kept as a dog in Yuzu's house, and Karin was jealous on how cute and fluffy the animal is. Soifon was nowhere to be heard or seen, but Heiwa had the feeling that she was in Urahara's house. Only one letter took the cake and screech of confusion (mainly Karin) was that the captain general, Yamamoto, the 11th captain, Kenpachi Zakari, and the 4th captian, Unohana, are currently training both on zanjutsu and kido. The older sisters never said a word to anyone why they shouted in the evening. On some days, Natsu and Yuzu would write in complaint about their fathers being worried for them and crying about missing their daughters. One letter that Karin and Heiwa laughed was when they read Ichigo's letter about Rukia's cravings and his torture from his wife. On other days, Rangiku would bring in girl clothes for them. Karin and Heiwa asked why did she bought skirts, tank tops, tight shirts, and bikinis in the middle of the winter, but Rangiku never answered their questions.
"Oy, Heiwa. Did you finish translating the papers?" Karin whispered as she started on her second paper. Heiwa sighed and answered her question.
"No. I wasn't able to translate one single paper because I had to do homework like you have to do. Also, there something from the Densetsu no Tenchi myth concerns me." Heiwa pondered as she removed herself from the packet.
"Nani?" Karin asked in curiosity.
"There were nine known angels in the myth book, but the last one is called Ikiru when I looked at the table of contents." Karin blinked to hear the tenth angel's name.
"Life?"
"I skipped a lot of pages to get to the end, but…" Heiwa hesitated for a bit, and Karin was anxious to hear the last angel.
"Well? Spit it out." Heiwa glanced at Karin and sighed in distress.
"…the whole section about Ikiru was ripped out from the book. I think someone is trying to hide the history of the last angel or… Ikiru is no longer one of the angels." Karin sighed in hopelessness as she began finding the next answer in the book. It sucked to find out what happened and later going back to square one. Karin was hoping to find anything about the tenth angel, but all she got was the name. When she turned to the next page, she glanced at one picture and later did a double take.
What the hell?
"Ne, Heiwa…"
"If it involves Kusajishi-fukutaichou's biography, she was found in District 79 where Zaraki-taichou found her." Karin's eye twitched, thinking that Heiwa definitely is half-psychic and half-uncaring.
"Arigato for answering half of my question, bookworm, but I'm serious! Check this out!" Karin turned the book upside down and showed Heiwa the picture. Heiwa's eyes widened and stared at the picture.
"Why the hell did they took a picture of me and put it in the history book?" Heiwa asked and pushed her glasses to observe the words under the picture.
" 'Nasake Yamaka is known to be the peacemaker in Seireitei and broke the record of making five-hundred peace contracts between opposing sides.' So… this is what the librarian saying." Karin slumped back on her chair as Heiwa questioned her friend.
"What do you mean? Elaborate." Karin glared at her with much annoyance.
"Bossy, aren't you?"
"Get to the point." Heiwa snarled, and Karin backed off.
"All right. All right. Cool off." Heiwa closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Karin felt safe when this meant that she was in control and explained.
"When I was trying to find you in the library, I asked her about you. The librarian said that you have me as a friend beside Shuuhei and directed me to where you studied. It has been bugging me for a while, but I just thought that it was just the librarian's imagination. What does that mean?" The silence between the girls gave them a feeling that something wasn't right, and Karin couldn't do anything because Heiwa was thinking deeply or figured out why her picture was there.
"Oy! Kazeru-san! Could you help us out a bit?" Heiwa's trance was broken, and she turned her attention to the other group of friends who waved to her. Heiwa glanced at Karin and stood up, obligating to their call. While the brunette was walking away, Karin frowned and looked at the picture in the book. Did something happen to the girl in the book? What was Nasake and Shuuhei's relation, and is Heiwa and Nasake the same person? Then again… they do look alike. She did see Heiwa and Shuuhei talking in the library sometimes when there are a few students in the room. Karin grinned when she witnessed Heiwa correcting the 9th captain about various concepts from the book or witnessed her blushing and playfully glaring at the grinning captain. She had a large amount of blackmail for both Shuuhei and Heiwa. Oh the humiliation. Karin thought about possibilities for shredding Shuuhei's reputation and making Heiwa's life a living hell.
However… she felt… sad… for some reason. She remembered the last two letters from their siblings in the real world. Jinta and Yuzu were finally together, and Natsu finally noticed Ururu over the past few months. Heiwa and Shuuhei were becoming friends by his unusual visits, and she didn't even mind his visits one bit. Karin's hand automatically ran through her bangs, and she sighed in distress. She was jealous of them. They all have someone to count on, and she didn't have anyone to count on.
But… what about Toshiro? Her thoughts focused on when Toshiro became so kind. When Rangiku doesn't show up to take them back, it is usually Toshiro who would pick them up from school and escort them to his division or her apartment. Karin would thank him time to time, or she would ditch Heiwa and drag Toshiro to play soccer with her. Toshiro didn't complain, but he did remind her about the homework and her unfinished work. Nevertheless, he still played with her on a one-on-one match against each other. She blinked and blushed. Now when Toshiro did get to her mind?
Not too long, her head began to hurt from thinking and asking too much in her head. She could feel something coming out of head, but the shikai incident was already over. Where is this headache coming from? Then, she felt something on her head, and her headache was gone. Karin looked up to see an unconcerned Heiwa who masked her concerned face. Karin grinned and rubbed her neck in embarrassment.
"Eh… gomen about that." Heiwa sighed, knowing what her friend was thinking, but she pretended not to care. She went back to her seat and continued her uncompleted homework. Karin was about to do the same when she saw something black from the corner of her sight. She turned her head to the window and saw the clouds gathering together.
"It was sunny a minute ago…" Karin muttered.
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"I have a bad feeling about this." Toshiro muttered as he stared at the clouds gathering in the sky. He should have heard something from the weather report and would bring an umbrella, but they said that it would be a clear sky. However, this weather was giving him a bad vibe. It wasn't natural; he felt reiatsu pouring through those clouds. Later, he felt a shiver down his spine and the hairs on his neck sticking straight. It wasn't the cold temperature because he likes the atmosphere. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the problem. Later, he suddenly opened his eyes in slight fear. Something bad was going to happen to…
"Kuso!" He dashed to the door and swung the door to see Rangiku about to knock the door.
"Taichou! There's an emergency! There's-"
"…a large amount of reiatsu coming out. I know. Listen, we have to find out who-" Another set of footsteps rushed to the front door where Rangiku and Toshiro were discussing.
"Hisagi-taichou? Abarai-fukutaichou?" Toshiro said in surprise. Shuuhei and Renji were panting in exhaustion, and their eyes and faces were showing terror. Toshiro knew that what they feared, but Rangiku knew Shuuhei's face right away.
"No time! The reiatsu is going straight to the academy, fast! We have to hurry! All squad members from every division are defending the academy, but I don't know how long they'll keep up." Shuuhei informed the 10th division's captain and vice captain. Toshiro cursed and ran through the hall to the outside door with Rangiku, Shuuhei, and Renji behind him.
"Taichou! Karin-chan and Heiwa-chan are still in the academy!" Rangiku said as they spotted a cluster of squad members around the academy. The lightning flashed and struck the squad members, either disintegrating them or burning them.
"That just makes things worse. Have the students evacuated yet?" Toshiro asked as he jumped on the roof to the next.
"The seniors have already evacuated, along with the freshmen. The sophomores are in the middle of evacuating, and the juniors have begun evacuating. The teachers, along with Tatsuki, are helping the students while protecting them from the lightning." Renji informed Toshiro, but Toshiro cursed, remembering one of the Diablo's specialty powers.
"Shit! Kurosaki and Kazeru haven't left yet. Keep your guard up." Shuuhei gritted his teeth as he followed the white-haired boy. He could remember Nasake's death all over again, but it is going to be here… in Seireitei.
Don't die on me again. I'm not going to let you die this time.
0000
Everyone was startled to hear the sirens off in the school, and some gathered to the window to see a group of Shinigami surround the school. The class was talking nonstop about what was going on, and some said that something bad was going to happen to this school. Later, lightning struck the Shinigamis, making the girls scream in fear and the boys backing away from the window. Karin dropped her pen and felt her whole body shaking. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep herself from shaking. Something in her mind was making her scared, but what? She pushed all her fears behind her mind, and she became strong. But… what did she miss? Her breathing was labored; her eyes were looking around to find that source of fear; her body temperature dropped fast as she shivered; a bead of sweat ran down her face.
"Karin."
Karin looked beside her to see Heiwa concerned for her. Karin smiled and shook her head, releasing herself from her tight, shaky grip.
"I-I'm alright." Heiwa wasn't convinced.
"You're not. Look at yourself, Fruit Face. Your face is pale as a ghost." Heiwa turned her head to the dark sky, and the lightning flashed again. The Kazeru girl glanced back to the shaking Kurosaki girl and grabbed her arm.
"Let's go, Karin. I don't like this." Karin blankly nodded and got up from her seat to be half-following, half-dragged by the worried Heiwa. They were an inch away from the door until Yuichi slammed the door open. He was out of breath, and he held onto his knees to stay in balance.
"Shibata? What's going on?" Heiwa asked, still holding the blanked-out Karin up to stay in balance. Yuichi took a deep breath and later shouted, startling everyone.
"Minna-san! We got to get out of here, immediately!" Heiwa cursed and glanced at Karin, still blanked out from the incident a minute ago. She looked ahead and continued to run out of the hallway with the unconscious Karin and the frightened Yuichi behind. Around the corner, they saw the teachers directing them to the exit. Heiwa nodded and ran to the directions, but she glanced at Karin.
Something must have happened to her.
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"My lady! I'm coming!" A loud, rumbling voice echoed through Soul Society as it fought away the oncoming Shinigami. His large pike swept against the group of Shinigami, killing three in an instant. His long black hair swayed violently and wild as he continued to strike the squad members down. His armor was impenetrable from the members' petty attempts that were trying to pierce, and his armored wrist band shot out sparks to paralyze the members. The large shoulder guard on his right shoulder was unharmed and shot out electricity to protect him from kido spells. Lightning flashed again, illuminating his golden eyes and darkening his tan skin. He wasn't running to the academy…
No… he was galloping to the school in full speed.
"Out of my way! Kaminari Hoku! (Thunder Strike)" Lightning shot at the cluster of Shinigami, and many fell from the sky to the ground. The half-man, half-horse was about to thrash toward the frightened group until an ice dragon suddenly wrapped itself around the centaur, surprising the centaur in place. The ice was forming from the hooves and up to the head of the centaur in a quick pace, immobilizing him in one place. Toshiro, Rangiku, Shuuhei, and Renji appeared with Ikkaku and Yumichika in front of all the squad members.
"Members of the 11th division, stay in place!" Ikkaku yelled at the men behind him as they nodded in agreement.
"9th division and 6th division, make sure all the students are out of the academy! This is a level 5 alert!" Shuuhei commanded as the rest of the squad members dashed to the academy.
"10th division squad members, help out the 4th division to find any survivors or injured Shinigami below! Matsumoto-fukutaichou will lead you." Toshiro ordered as many members flew down, and Rangiku followed them. Later, lightning struck at the ice, shattering the cold prison.
"Here he comes!" Toshiro held his zanpakuto as Shuuhei unsheathed his zanpakuto and Renji summoned the Shikai level.
"What business do you have here?" Toshiro asked as the last remaining ice was kicked off violently. The centaur growled at the young man and shouted.
"My name is Rekiuma. I'm here to retrieve her highness from your prison!" Toshiro's eyes widened when he heard the name.
Rekiuma? The Thunder Horse? Wasn't he supposed to be the guardian of-
"Get out of my way, mortal souls!" The white-haired captain sighed and glared as he held his sword up. Whatever he was after, he was becoming very violent, guardian or not. Renji, Shuuhei, Ikkaku, and Yumichika held their swords out and were ready for Toshiro's signal.
"Request denied. Bankai!"
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BOOM!
"EEEAAAAHHHH!!" Karin screamed as she fell to the ground. She held her head down from looking up and whimpered while her tears were pouring down her face.
"Shit, Karin." Heiwa fell to her knees and gripped onto Karin's shoulder. The other classmates and the rest of the class were running out, ignoring the fallen girl and the concerned friend. Yuichi stayed and was immediately beside Karin. Heiwa's eyes softened in concern when she could feel Karin's shoulder quaking under her grip and saw her tears dripping to the floor. The Kazeru girl looked outside and saw another lightning, but she also heard a horse outside of the academy.
"What was that?" Yuichi asked as he held Karin from the back. Heiwa bit her lip and tried to find out what was the connection between that neighing sound and reiatsu in the clouds. Is it a thunder horse?
"It's him." Karin whispered. Heiwa and Yuichi looked at the sobbing girl in surprise, hearing her being conscious. However, her conscious may be still lost, or she knew what was going on.
"Who, Karin? Who?" Heiwa asked, but Karin was still shaking and sobbing.
"He's here! He found me!" Karin's hands flew to Heiwa's arms, holding like it was the rope of security.
"Karin, calm down. Who is it?" Yuichi asked, trying to calm the hysterical girl, but Karin repeated over and over again.
"It's him! He found me! He found me in Soul Society. He's going to take me away! I don't want to leave! Please don't let him take me away!" Heiwa stared at the girl for a while without any thought how to calm her down.
"Move it." Another voice was heard behind Heiwa. Heiwa looked behind her and was shocked to see who it was. The brunette girl scooted away, but she didn't release her hold on Karin or leave her.
SMACK!
"KARIN KUROSAKI! GET A GRIP OF YOURSELF!" Karin looked up and saw Tatsuki in a stern voice. Heiwa and Yuichi were shocked to witness Ichigo's friend slap Karin across the face. The raven-haired girl gently touched the pain on her cheek and stared at her.
"Tatsuki?"
"If you want to stay, you have to fight your fears. You have to get over that fear of yours. I don't know what happened, but you are not going to let it go to your head. Otherwise, you won't win! You hear me?!" Tatsuki scolded and crossed her arms. Karin stared at the ticked off woman and absorbed her lecture in her head. It's true that she was scared of… whatever happened to her. But… she couldn't get it get to her and keep her behind because of that. She has chosen the path of a Shinigami, and her friends and family are counting on her. She has become like her brother, but she has her own way of protecting her friends. Karin stood up and wiped away her tears, smirking at everyone.
"Arigato for smacking some sense into me. I won't break down again." Tatsuki and Yuichi smiled, and Heiwa sighed, standing up. Later, Tatsuki frowned, feeling her inner foreboding alerting her. Something about this hall wasn't right. Tatsuki could hear something flying at their direction and pushed the three students away from her.
"Tatsuki-"
A dark figure crashed into Tatsuki, and she screamed by the forceful impact along with the other students. Karin, Heiwa, and Yuichi witnessed as they were falling to the ground out of harm's way. The woman flew to the other wall and crashed against the solid wall. With the sound of the thud and a groan, Tatsuki was unconscious and bleeding from her forehead. The other students who were involved fell unconscious and groaned in pain.
"TATSUKI!!" Karin screamed. The three quickly got off the ground and stood to see a large man with a body of a horse. They gasped to witness that the enemy was a centaur, and the Kazeru girl instantly pushed Karin and Yuichi back, putting her life on the line and staring at the centaur down. Karin was petrified when she saw the four hooves in front of them, and she tried to remember where and when she saw them. Yuichi was glancing around the place to find something.
"Give her to me, and no harm will befall on you." The large centaur bellowed and pointed to the frightened Karin. Heiwa glanced around to find anything to fight him, but she couldn't move her head, unable to let the centaur know what she is doing. They have to find a way to either fight him or run, or they will be sitting ducks in a greater risk.
0000
"No! The centaur just breached the Academy!" Toshiro flew down to the hole where the beast slammed through. They fought only a couple of minutes, but Rekiuma was fast and strong, smashing though their defense and breaking into the academy. Shuuhei, Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika followed behind to see what damage the centaur caused. There was no one in the classroom, and Toshiro almost sighed in relief. However, the centaur did smash through the walls of the academy in front of them.
"TATSUKI!!" A scream echoed through the academy, making the men's hearts stop.
"Kuso! Tatsuki!" Renji rushed passed his friends and to where the scream emitted. Ikkaku and Yumichika followed, worried about their little sister who reached to the 6th seat and beat a lot of senses into the pansies. Toshiro and Shuuhei followed as well, worrying about the two girls. The two captains reached to the huge hall and witnessed the fighting between an enraged Ikkaku and the centaur. Ikkaku looked pissed as hell, Yumichika was immediately treating Tatsuki's wounds, and Renji was trying to get all unconscious students to another room for safety. Tatsuki was already conscious, but she was weakened by the major impact.
"Hisagi-taichou! Hitsugaya-taichou! You need to go and protect Karin and her friends! That thing is trying to kidnap Karin!" Tatsuki yelled and later winced when she heard multiples of cracks on her ribs. Ikkaku was even more enraged when he knew how much damage his little sister has taken. Renji felt his blood boil when he heard that sickening crack from his girlfriend and yelled at his friend.
"Oy, Yumichika! Be careful over there!"
"Tatsu-chan! Don't move or speak!" Yumichika scolded. Renji panted in exhaustion when he was almost finished taking half of the wounded to a safer place. Other shinigamis have joined Renji on bring the injured students to the 4th division. Some of the members stayed outside for further orders, and some were in the academy, ready to take over for Ikkaku and protect the school.
"Don't worry about us! Go find them! We'll take care of him!" Renji yelled as he took his zanpakuto and took over for Ikkaku. They didn't hesistate; the two captains use shunpo to get to their destination quickly, hoping that they weren't too late.
0000
They didn't know where their legs were taking them. They don't know how far they ran or how fast they are. All they know is how to get far away from the fight and find safety. Heiwa was leading with a bokken on her hand. She knew that the lightning and the centaur gave trauma to Karin, and Karin was unable to lead since she has an unclear mind. Reluctantly, Yuichi went ahead to the other way for safety with the other classmates under Heiwa's command. Heiwa and Karin didn't want the other classmates to be in danger, so the two girls separated from the young boy. Heiwa glanced behind her to make sure that Karin was alright, sweating in both fear and tiredness despite her calm attitude.
"Oy, Soccer Ace! What's going on?! Why is there a freaking centaur attacking us?!" She shouted as she turned to the corner.
"… I can't remember what happened, but that centaur… all I know he wants me!" Karin panted and felt her hand grip tighter on Heiwa. Heiwa sighed and turned to the left.
"Don't worry. Hitsugaya-taichou, Hisagi-taichou, and everyone else are here to stop that mystical beast." Right after she said it, they immediately sensed two upcoming reiatsu and almost sighed in relief when they knew who was coming. Heiwa and Karin stopped and panted in exhaustion: Heiwa holding the wall and Karin down holding her own knees for support. They noticed many bokkens and books in front of them. They guessed that the seniors had to run and create a mess in the hallways.
"Kurosaki! Kazeru! Are you alright?" Toshiro appeared beside Karin who suddenly gripped Toshiro's sleeve. Shuuhei was already beside Heiwa, but she shoved his hand lightly, confusing him whether she refused his help or didn't know what she did.
"We're okay, but Karin is a little unstable." Everyone's eyes were set on the trembling Karin. Toshiro's chest tightened and hugged Karin, vowing to protect her from anything. They all sensed a large reiatsu coming to their direction, followed by many other reiatsu. Heiwa stumbled a bit, but she turned around to face where they were escaping. She held out the bokken in front of her and breathed out anything that was distracting her.
"Wh-what are you doing? You're not fit to fight against something that powerful." Shuuhei said as he recognized Heiwa's fighting stance. Shuuhei was about to pull Heiwa back, but she shouted.
"No!" Toshiro, Karin, and Shuuhei didn't move or say anything after her outburst, and Heiwa breathed out.
"No. I'm not going to run away. I won't leave my friends who I just met," said Heiwa when she turned her face fully to Shuuhei, "and I swear that I will protect everyone, even if I have to fight with a bokken on my hand." Shuuhei's eyes widened when he saw Heiwa's face the same as his beloved love. It was the same face when she grabbed a bokken nearby and fought on her last day. She died on that day, and the same girl promised him that she would not back down and not leave him to be in danger. He sighed and pointed his sword at the same direction Heiwa.
"Fine, but don't die on me."
"I'll fight, too." Karin said, surprising everyone and loosening her grip on Toshiro.
"I'm not too sure about your condition, Kurosaki." Toshiro stated coldly and pushed her behind him, but she held onto his arm with one hand, calming herself from shaking.
"I just need to fight it. The monster does scare me, but Tatsuki told me to fight it. I know that I'm scared, but I have to fight it to get over my fear. Just give me this chance." Karin almost pleaded, and Toshiro sighed in distress. He seemed to think this over before the mystical monster would come, and this monster was going to take her away from him. However, Karin needed to fight against the centaur to get over her fears, and she was the leader type yet stubborn. His icy wings spread, protecting Karin from any further harm.
"Fine. Grab a bokken or two, and don't get captured. Kazeru, get behind my wings if you want to defend Kurosaki." Heiwa nodded as she jumped back behind Toshiro and in front of Karin. Immediately, Karin found two abandoned bokkens behind her and held them beside her. Not so long, they expected the centaur to stop in front of them with a bloodied pike, slash marks on the body, and scratched armor.
"I'm here to take you back, my lady. Come. Let us return home." He said and held his hand out to Karin. The raven-haired girl shook her head.
"No. I'm not going anywhere because you hurt everyone. I don't even know you." The eyes of the centaur darkened.
"You… don't remember me, my lady?" Toshiro glared as he held his sword toward the half-man, half-horse.
"She told you. She doesn't remember nor wants to go with you. Leave, immediately." The centaur backed off a bit until his horse body stood up on his hind legs before slamming the forelegs down.
"Very well. I'll just take her by force if I must!" The centaur charged forward and swung his pike at the 9th captain. Shuuhei swung his zanpakuto at the upcoming pike, stalemating the weapons. The 10th captain flew forward and thrust his sword at the centaur's head; however, Rekiuma tilted his head to the left and let the sword miss. At the same time, lightning struck the two captains, injuring them but not backing them down. Toshiro was able to sustain little damage when the icy wings immediately defended him, and Shuuhei was able to jump away from the lightning and receive a spark on his leg. The centaur charged again, and his pike clashed against Toshiro's sword, sending electricity toward the 10th captain. Toshiro jumped out of the way and let the thunder strike the ground. Shuuhei charged at Rekiuma and managed to introduce his fist at the face. The centaur stumbled back, but he wasn't going to back down. With lightning and his war cry, he galloped straight to the 9th captain.
"Mizuiro Kagami!" A wall of water solidified in front of Shuuhei, making the centaur crash into the block of water. The wall dissolved and flow around the centaur, making him surprised and astounded. He also attacked the water by cutting the water into little droplets, but they were still standing.
"Y-You can manipulate water!" The water formed into something sharp around him as she glared.
"More than that. Mizuhari!" On her command, the needles flew straight at the centaur and injured the centaur. He shouted in pain and crashed against the wall, feeling the water leaving his skin. His eyes blazed, and he stood up from his fall. Another war cry emitted from his voice, and he dashed toward defending girl. Shuuhei was about to intercept the raging Rekiuma, but the centaur used his free hand and slammed Shuuhei with more power.
"Kaminari Hi! (Flash of Lightning)"
"Hisagi-taichou!" Heiwa cried as he slammed against the wall and down to the wooden floor.
"Sennen hyourou!" Pillars of ice shot up around the centaur and went close to him, trapping him in the ice coffin. Toshiro was about to stab through when two bolts of lightning struck the ice prison and the captain.
"Toshiro!" Karin screamed when she heard his painful cry. The lightning destroyed the ice, shattering it, and it also stunned Toshiro who was able to hold his sword that was stabbed on the ground. The girls didn't have time to counter his attack. The centaur was already in front of the girls, and Heiwa immediately reacted. She jumped up and swung the bokken across Rekiuma's face to slash his cheek, aware that the lightning will hit her.
"Gomen, minna." She whispered as the lightning struck her. In midair, the centaur slammed his fist at Heiwa's stomach, sending her across Karin's side.
"Heiwa!" She turned to see her land behind her, lifelessly. Her forehead was bleeding; her arm made a sickening crack; her uniform was torn on the back, showing the many woods and splinters sticking from her bleeding back. Karin was about to run to the unconscious girl, but the centaur grabbed her arm from moving.
"It's time to go, my lady." He pulled her arm, but she wouldn't budge. He tried again, but she still wouldn't move. It was like pulling a chain to drag a hundred ton weight, and he still couldn't pull her.
"My lady?" If he had known what Karin's mind was thinking, he would have known what kind of trauma Karin was experiencing. Karin's eyes widened and tears were leaking down her face. Her heart felt it stopped one second until she realized how she had her fear.
0000
"I know that you are happy to receive your powers, but come on. Let's go home." Karin sighed when she was walking behind the joyful Yuzu. They were thirteen years old, and Yuzu still acted childish when she gained her Shinigami powers with the help of Heiwa and NatsuNatsu gave the two bokkens for practice in their house and said that it is a gift; however, Heiwa told them to handle it carefully since it is considered a weapon. They were walking on the empty road, and Yuzu was skipping like a little girl. The raven-haired girl sighed and placed her hand on Yuzu's shoulder.
"All right.All right. You can stop the jumping around, Yuzu." The chestnut-haired girl smiled and held her two hands, jumping up and down.
"But Karin-chan I can help you, Heiwa-chanNatsu-kun, Jinta-kun, and Ururu-chan on fighting. I can't wait to help." Karin rolled her eyes and patted her fraternal twin's head.
"HaiHai However, you are going to be trained under me. I'm your senior for now on since I have my powers. Is that clear?" Yuzu, still smiling, nodded and skipped ahead. They continued to walk down the road, but they felt the chill in the air and something hovering over their heads.
"Ano… Karin-chan Was there going to be a storm today?" Yuzu asked as she looked up. Karin looked up and frowned.
"No. I don't think so-" Lightning instantly struck in front of them, creating a burnt spot on the ground.
"Shit!" Karin jumped back and pushed Yuzu behind her.
"Karin-chan. I'm scared." Yuzu whimpered as another lightning struck before them.
"AAAAAHHHH!!!" Her twin screamed and clutched onto Karin's arm.
"We have to get out of here! Run!" Karin yelled as the two turned around to the other side. However, another lightning struck on their direction, ceasing their run.
"Karin-chan!"Yuzu cried, and Karin pushed her behind, holding the bokken in front of her. She surveyed the area, but she couldn't find a trace of reiatsu. Unless…
"Yuzu This isn't a normal storm. Something's up there, so take out your bokken." Yuzu obeyed and held the weapon before her, but she was trembling. Lightning struck all around them, and not one struck the twins in one place. It was bizarre, but it was obvious that something was coming.
"My lady!" A large voice bellowed above them, and they looked at the clouds. Coming down from the dark clouds, a shadow of a man looked like his was riding a horse with a pike on his hand. When they saw him clearly, it wasn't a man riding the horse. The man was actually the horse himself. The centaur landed before the baffled twins, and the lightning stopped striking. He held out his hand to Karin with a smile on his face.
"My lady. I have found you. Come. Your presence is needed." Karin blinked and frowned.
"Er… I think you have the wrong… er… person to ask. I'm not who you think I am." The centaur shook his head.
"Nonsense. You are who I am searching for, so you must come with me." The centaur was about to reach for Karin's arm, but Yuzu put herself between his reaching hand and the surprised Karin.
"No! Karin-chan isn't going with you! She doesn't know you or wants to go!" The centaur glared at the young Kurosaki.
"Foolish mortal. Do you not see what you are doing? Do you not know who you are dealing with?" Karin's face reddened in anger and exploded. She pushed her sister behind her and glared at the centaur with the utmost anger.
"Hey! Don't call my little sister a fool, you dumbass!" The centaur blinked.
"I beg your pardon?" Karin tossed Yuzu her glove and Yuzu knew what this meant.
"Karin-chan?" Karin glared at her.
"Do it." Without hesitation or resenting, she slipped the glove over her hand and pushed Karin forward, separating the girl from her body. Yuzu caught her body and dragged it to the wall away from the fight. Karin brought her sword out and pointed at the surprised centaur.
"Don't call Yuzu a fool, you fool." Karin jumped and swung her sword down. The centaur brought his pike up and defended himself from the sharp sword. Karin jumped away from the mystical beast and charged at him again, clashing her sword against his pike.
"What's the meaning of this? This isn't what you want, my lady?"He asked while blocking Karin's aggressive attacks. He was about to attack her right back until Yuzu intercepted with her own zanpakuto. Karin was able to make one good slash, right at his armor.The twins jumped back and to regroup since there are two against one. Yuzu and Karin were wearing their Shinigami uniforms and held their swords toward baffled centaur.
"My lady?" He asked, but Karin shook her head.
"I'm not who you think I am, but if you are going to take me away, you just have to fight me." The centaur didn't move and sighed.
"I accept your challenge." The centaur was ready and dashed toward the two prepared twins. He struck his pike down, but the twins split up before it could cut one of their arms. Karin pushed her whole bodyweight toward the centaur and brought her sword down, only to slice air. She quickly turned her head around to see a pike coming to her direction, but her twin pushed the pike aside with her own sword, leaving Karin to escape from the centaur. They continued to fight him; neither side was going to back down or lose. Karin and Yuzu were only scratching the armor and dodging the pike and horse's body, and the centaur was only swinging his pike and evading their swords.
"Enough! Play time is over! Kaminari Hoku!" He cried as multiple bolts of lightning struck the ground. They were separated, but Karin felt something hit her around. She screamed in pain as she fell to the ground. She heard Yuzu screamed her name out and later the lightning struck her twin. Fear flashed in Karin's eyes as she quickly got off the ground, seeing Yuzu struggling to get off the ground and the centaur closing the distance between him and her sister. Rain poured down, and Karin cursed, realizing that water conducts electricity. The only way to get out of the fight is to retreat back to their bodies and run far away from the centaur. She felt another wave of reiatsu and ran quickly to her sister, not wanting her sister to die or herself to get fried. The bolts barely missed Karin, but she was suffering a large amount of damage. The raven-haired girl's heart beat faster when she saw the pike over his head.
"NO!" She ran between Yuzu and the pike, letting the attack cut her shoulder. She heard her sister screamed her name out and landed on the mud. She glanced at her sister who was crying and trying to reach her hand out for her. Karin was also crying, but she was crying in fear. She was afraid, and that mystical beast was going to take her away from her family and friends. She failed to stand strong against him, and she felt her reiatsu diminishing. If only she was stronger and made a better choice, she and Yuzu wouldn't fight against the monster. She could hear the hooves coming closer, and Karin reached out to her sister. She didn't want to go! The hand grabbed her on the collar and pulled her up and away from her sister.
"Yuzu!"
0000
Karin screamed, and immediately, Toshiro's sword slashed the armor, freezing the armor and shattering it. The centaur released Karin, and she collapsed to the ground, fainting from her memory. Rekiuma was about to charge against the furious Toshiro, but he jumped back, avoiding an upcoming sword from the large injury and managing to have a cut on his chest. The 9th captain glared at the centaur and pointed at the half-man, half-horse with his sword.
"I'll kill you," Shuuhei snarled when he was seeing red toward the centaur.
"I'll kill you for hurting the woman I love. She is everything to me, and you hurt her. You don't deserve to live." Toshiro dashed beside his comrade and warned him.
"Hisagi-taichou. Control yourself. Kazeru is fine, and don't lose your judgment." Toshiro looked at the unconscious Heiwa and winced, having the feeling that she knew what Shuuhei was thinking.
"She's not Nasake, Hisagi-taichou. She's Heiwa, her reincarnation." Shuuhei blinked and calmed down, rationalizing his thoughts.
"Gomen, Hitsugaya-taichou." Toshiro nodded and glared at the centaur.
"Stay away from Karin Kurosaki and Heiwa Kazeru, you bastard. If you even dare step closer to them, I'll be forced to kill you right in this very moment. Hisagi-taichou will assist me if you do." Rekiuma blinked and laughed.
"You fools!" He snarled at the two captains. Lightning shot down behind the raging centaur.
"I am Rekiuma. I am the bodyguard of her highness! It is my duty to take her back and place her where she belongs!" The centaur charged toward the two captains and was about to slam his pike through either the wings or the 9th captains body. However, a sudden impact struck the centaur and forced him to the ground in a flash.
Toshiro's eyes widened and Shuuhei gasped at the sight, witnessing the cause of the centaur's downfall. The woman with wings appeared in front of them, and she had a companion beside her. The companion was also a woman with wings, but the woman glowed bright blue, contrasting to the other's orange glow. Toshiro, the captain of the 10th division, was saved again by the woman before him.
"W-what are you doing? Are you not coming back?" Rekiuma asked as he stared at the two women in disbelief. The women didn't say anything but stare at the centaur like they were communicating telepathically. His muscles were no longer tense, and the lightning ceased to strike. The centaur finally relaxed and got to his four feet.
"All right. I will no longer come here nor force you to come. If you feel like going back, you're welcome any time." Rekiuma closed his eyes and bowed with his pike beside him.
"Sayanora." In a flash of lightning, the mystical centaur disappeared, and the sky cleared from the clouds' gathering. Toshiro sighed and relief until he remembered the raven-haired woman behind him.
"Karin!" He dashed beside the girl and held her close. He put his two fingers at her throat and finally sighed. She just fainted from the fear, and Toshiro reminded himself that he needed to watch over her during thunderstorms. The 10th captain glanced at the Kazeru girl and the 9th captain. Shuuhei was healing her injuries while talking to the girl about the centaur. Toshiro mentally shook his head, remembering it would take a long time for Shuuhei to convince himself that Nasake is dead. He turned his attention to the two women who were making a discussion and stood up.
"Oy, you two!" The women stopped what they were talking about and stared at the calm captain. Toshiro closed his eyes and reopened them.
"I, Toshiro Hitsugaya, thank you for your assistance on the behalf of Soul Society. For that, we give you our gratitude. Without your help, we could have lost many more comrades." Toshiro ended his speech and stared at the women. They mysteriously smiled, showing that they were happy and making his heart flutter, especially the radiant woman who saved him in the real world. They turned their backs to them and spread their wings. Toshiro thought they were about to leave, but when he heard a mystical tune, they were actually singing.
His mind blanked out and listened to the heavenly voices. They sounded sad yet powerful like a prayer, and it was like he was hearing music from real heaven. When he saw an orange feather, he thought it was some type of gift for him. However, once he tried to grab it, it disappeared… along with his wounds. It surprised him to no end and turned around to see what was going on. Shuuhei looked at his hands that were once injured and burned, and Heiwa's wounds disappeared with her bones reattached to where they once were and the wood removed from her back.
Are they doing this?
He heard the song ended and turned around, no longer seeing the two women. Toshiro ran to where they stood and tried to find any trace of their reiatsu. To his dismay, it also disappeared without leaving any spirit particles behind.
"Hitsugaya-taichou! Hisagi-taichou!" The two men saw their friends running toward them in relief. He saw that they had their uniforms torn, but there was no single wound.
"Status report." He demanded. Rangiku was the first one to report.
"Hai. All casualties are currently in Unohana-taichou's care, and the most of the students are safe."
"However, due to damages in the Academy, it would take about five days to rebuild the rooms and replace the books." Tatsuki said as she looked around the messy halls.
"What's the number of the casualties?" Shuuhei asked seriously as he held the unconscious Heiwa on his arms. Yumichika sighed, combing his hair.
"It's a miracle that the entire wounded are healed. It looked like feathers showing powerful reiatsu that healed all the injured." Toshiro nodded.
"I saw them." Rangiku raised an eyebrow.
"Saw who?" Toshiro looked up to the sky where the centaur disappeared into the clouds.
"Two winged women. One shines like the sun in the sky, and the other glowed like light under the water. I don't know their names or seen their faces clearly, but they are likely to appear anywhere when there is trouble. I'll report this for all the captains."
"Any other reports?" Shuuhei asked, and Renji reported.
"The unconscious are still unconscious and are under the 4th division's care, but the others who fought against the centaur…" Silence hung over them, and Toshiro sighed, knowing what's going on.
"It seems that the women couldn't revive the dead, no matter how hard they tried." Toshiro turned around and picked Karin's unconscious body on his arms.
"Taichou?" Rangiku asked, and Toshiro looked at the damage in front of him. His grip went tighter on Karin's arms, but he lessened his strength on her.
"Karin and Kazeru are unconscious; therefore, they are needed to be under Unohana-taichou's care. Hisagi-taichou and I will report to Yamamoto-taichou after they are safe." Toshiro glanced at Shuuhei who had the brunette girl on his arms.
"Let's go, Hisagi-taichou." In a blink of an eye, Toshiro and Shuuhei disappeared, leaving a surprised group behind them.
"Since when did taichou call Karin-chan, 'Karin?'" Rangiku asked out in the open.
Omake:
"Let me go!"
"No!"
"Natsu-kun! Don't go!"
"Kuso! Stop struggling!"
It was slightly humorous to witness the Kazeru boy struggling under the weight of two girls and one boy. Ever since "Yamamoto-sensei" ("Yamamoto-ojii" in Natsu's calling) received a report from Toshiro, "Unohana-sensei" and "Zakari-sensei" ("scar face" for Natsu) were immediately sent back to Soul Society for any casualties or any other dangers. Yamamoto instructed the two training Shinigami to stay in the real world, but Natsu rebelled and tried to go to Soul Society by himself.
"I said let me go!"
"NO!" His friends yelled back in response.
Yamamoto sighed and walked toward the struggling group.
"Release him. I'll deal with him by myself." Yuzu, Jinta, and Ururu stopped struggling and got off Natsu who quickly got up.
"Ah… much better. Arigato, Yamamoto-"
Tap.
"Zzzzzzzz…"
Blink, blink.
"Yamamoto-sensei? How hard did you tap your cane on his head when he has a stone head and never takes a nap?" Yuzu asked while Jinta pushed the sleeping Natsu by poking him on the forehead. Natsu fell backwards and hit his head on the ground, but he didn't wake up.
"Holy crap! He's out like a light bulb!" Jinta exclaimed. Hell, Natsu couldn't wake up by a rough beat-up or a foghorn (for Jinta's experiment). Yamamoto laughed and smiled.
"Ah… I haven't done that since Chisei told me how to knock Tsuyosa out." Yuzu, Jinta, and Ururu gawked at the eldest Shinigami. For a hardheaded student, Natsu and Heiwa's mother and Yamamoto knew how to put both their father and Natsu into sleeping babies.
C.T.E.: O.o
S.A.N.: O.o
Me: Um... you guys are okay?
C.T.E.: I'm going to sleep.
S.A.N.: Do I hear the women singing SalvaNos by Yuki Kajiura? When did you rip that off?!
Me: Um... okay, I don't own that song, but come on! You have to admit it! It was an angelic song!
S.A.N.: Fine. I'm going to sleep as well.
Me: Oh come on! I need help on the next chapters before Christmas break! Guys! (Sigh) I don't know how long I would be out, but the next chapter will be on hold. Just give me until the vacation!