Reign Over Me
Chapter 26: A Series of Very Unfortunate Events
Menoly looked at Szayel. She was standing on top of the stairs in the foyer of Las Noches.
"Do you think they'll make it in time?" she asked. "It's raining pretty hard over there," she said. Szayel ran a hand through his pink hair, a smirk on his face.
"They'll make it, Menoly. It would be quite unfortunate if they didn't," he said. He shut the front door. "Quite unfortunate indeed."
Luppi slipped on the ledge of a building. Just as he started to fall, a small hand closed around his own. He looked up to see that Nel had caught him. She swung him up to another building. She winked at him. For that split moment that their eyes met, several things seemed to happen at once.
A flash of lightning blinded Zommari and Stark, who were just ahead of Nel and Luppi. They came to stop to avoid it. Something solid rammed into Nel from behind. From the way she arched forward, Luppi could tell that her back had broken with the impact.
"NEL!" Luppi yelled. He watched as she started to fall to her death, unable to move. Zommari caught her swiftly and moved her up to a safe place a few buildings away. Luppi looked over to their mysterious attacker. Stark recognized him immediately.
The man from the roof, he thought. He sighed inwardly and looked over at Luppi. The smaller male looked like he wanted to murder. Best to calm Luppi first. Stark moved to his side just as Luppi was about to attack. He put a hand on Luppi's shoulder.
"Wait," Stark said. Luppi glared up at Stark.
"Didn't you see what he did to Nel? He must pay..." Luppi said. Stark shook his head. Why were the Sextas so thick-headed?
"If you feel you must 'avenge' Tercera Beta, make sure you break his mask," Stark said. He released Luppi. Luppi raised an eyebrow before disappearing from Stark's side.
I'll be mopping him up in five minutes tops. He's too angry to fight, Stark thought, watching Luppi attack the one called "Kensei" out of blind fury. I didn't know he cared so much about Neliel.
Zommari examined Nel's injury. He noticed her blink. She seemed to be trying to move. He noticed her eyes widen when she realized that she seemed somewhat paralyzed.
"Sep-Sep-Septima?" Nel whispered through the rain.
"Yes?" Zommari answered.
"Why can't I move?"
"Your back has been broken."
"Luppi?"
"Fighting. Save your strength for when we get you back to Las Noches, Neliel," Zommari said.
Luppi was throwing everything he had at Kensei, only to have it returned five times faster and ten times harder. He knew enough about Stark to know that unless Luppi was dying that he would not intervene for any reason. At the moment, Luppi had only managed to chip off a piece of Kensei's mask.
Damnit! What is this guy? It's like he doesn't feel anything! I might as well break his arm and he wouldn't even notice it, Luppi thought. The rain washed away some of the blood running down his face. How the hell am I supposed to get to his mask?
While Luppi was contemplating his next move, he failed to follow Kensei's moves. The larger man rushed Luppi, taking him by surprise. Before Stark could recognize what was happening, Luppi was slammed into the side of a building. He was being held there by Kensei's hand.
"Septima, where's Luppi? What was that noise?" Nel asked over the rain. Zommari did not answer her as he watched Luppi try to fend off his larger opponent. "Zommari, tell me what's happening," Nel said.
"Neliel..."
Stark appeared behind Kensei. His eyes widened when he saw Luppi's grip go lax. Kensei's hand pulled back, covered with blood and holding something. Stark blinked, focusing back on the task at hand. He grabbed Kensei by the neck and pulled him back. They wrestled for a moment, trying to overcome one another. Stark tried to break Kensei's mask, but the larger man was doing a great job of protecting it as he overpowered Stark. Stark got out of the hold, moving over towards Luppi. He looked down at his fallen comrade and shuddered a bit.
I cannot believe that just happened... he mused. How do you just rip someone's throat out with your bare hands?
Kensei glanced around for Stark. He found him across the roof, waiting. Stark faced Kensei as he charged towards him. He got ready to move again, but a small white blur flew past Stark, knocking Kensei down. Stark raised an eyebrow at the spectacle before him.
"HEY!"
Yammy and the girls drove down Shizuki Avenue. They were homeward bound. The rain was coming down in torrents and for some reason, they let Apache drive. There was a reason Apache had polychromatic eyes. She squinted in the heavy rain and swerved a bit. It did not help that she was driving extremely fast.
"Apache, why didn't you just let me drive?" Mila-Rose asked from the passenger's seat. Apache glared at her.
"Because I wanted to do it. There's nothing wrong with my driving," Apache said. Mila-Rose sighed.
"You can barely see! You're gonna miss the turn and then someone's gonna see us actually MAKE the turn and then we'll get caught," she said.
"Shut it, Mila-Rose. Nothing is gonna happen! Just stop... side-seat driving. Let me handle this, okay?"
"You're gonna get us killed!"
"Shut up!"
"Why don't both of you shut the hell up?" Yammy said from the back.
"SHUT UP, MEATHEAD!!" Apache and Mila-Rose yelled at the large man. Yammy rolled his eyes and looked away from them.
"Apache, I think you and Mila-Rose should put on your seatbelts and you should slow down," Sun-Sun said. Apache glared at her in the rearview mirror. "I'm just saying. There's a reason it's the law, you know."
"Listen Sun-Sun, I'll be just fine without my seatbe..."
Something landed on top of the van. Apache slammed on the breaks and hit her head on the steering wheel. Mila-Rose went flying through the windshield. Sun-Sun slammed her head against the side door. Yammy slid to the front of the van. When Apache looked up, she was seeing four of everything.
"Told ya I'd be fine without it." She glanced around. "Where's Mila-Rose?" she asked, looking around frantically.
Mila-Rose blinked as the rain hit her face. She looked up at the sky. A small smirk came to her face as she remembered Sun-Sun's words right before she went flying through the windshield.
The irony, she thought. Something gleamed in her eye. It was a... Is that a kanabo? she thought. Then she saw who or what was wielding it. It was a man with what looked like a Japanese oni mask on. Mila-Rose sat up immediately as he advanced on her. He raised the kanabo above his head.
"Oh shit," Mila-Rose whispered. She spread her legs as he brought the kanabo down. It cracked the gravel. Mila-Rose immediately rolled backwards to her feet. She had nothing to defend herself with as the man prepared for another attack on her. She dodged and ducked as he swung the giant club at her. Before he could swing it another time at her, he stumbled forward.
"Pick on someone your own size, jerk!" Apache yelled. She walked over to Mila-Rose. "You okay?" she asked. Mila-Rose nodded and let out a long sigh.
"What the hell is he?" she asked. Apache could only shrug. She missed him turning around. "Apache, look..."
Apache was hit with the steel club. It hit directly in her right side. Mila-Rose watched the metal studs puncture her friend's body. She sank to her knees in horror. The man shook Apache off of the club without a second thought and set his eyes on Mila-Rose. Mila-Rose looked up at him. Before he could do anything else, he was grabbed from behind and thrown into a wall by Yammy. Sun-Sun ran over to Mila-Rose.
"Mila, help me get Apache up! Come on! Move it while Yammy has him occupied!" Sun-Sun shook Mila-Rose out of her stupor. Mila-Rose nodded numbly and helped Sun-Sun with Apache. The latter moaned while they moved her.
Yammy was quite surprised at the masked man's strength. He was much smaller than him, yet he was either as strong as or stronger than him. Yammy had never met anyone who could best him in terms of brute strength. It did not help that Yammy was also trying to avoid that huge weapon.
"I'm impressed, little guy. You're pretty strong for someone who doesn't talk much. How about you put down that club and fight me with just these?" Yammy motioned to his fists. The man did not seem to understand. Instead, he swung at Yammy again. The club emitted a burst of fire and burned Yammy's face. Yammy stumbled back, unable to see. "You little fuckwad! Now I can't see! Unfair! Unfair!"
Sun-Sun turned around after hearing Yammy's scream. Mila-Rose looked up at her as she dressed Apache's wound. Sun-Sun was moving towards where she heard Yammy in distress.
"What is it, Sun?" Mila-Rose asked.
"I think Yammy's in trouble," Sun-Sun said.
"Well, go see if he needs help."
"You know how Yammy is with the prospect of anyone 'helping him'."
"Screw that. This is... extenuating... circumstances," Apache choked out. The other two women looked down at her. "Go help... him. That's an... order," she said. Sun-Sun nodded and ran off, trying not to slip in the rain.
She found Yammy stumbling around in the rain. When she caught sight of Yammy's face, she visibly flinched. He was burned so badly. Yammy was one of the tougher Espada. Like Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, and Nnoitra, he could take a beating and still find the will to fight. Halibel said it had something with testosterone and their refusal to lose. Sun-Sun noticed the puncture wounds from the club as well. He had several, unlike Apache's five. Sun-Sun could see the masked man coming up behind Yammy. She began running forward.
"Yammy, DUCK!!" she screamed. Yammy did as he was told. He felt Sun-Sun jump up on his larger body. She used him as a springboard to hurl herself through the air. Sun-Sun then kicked the masked man in the face. She landed on her feet and watched him stagger backwards. She noticed a piece of the mask fall off. She squinted in the rain and saw an eye with a black sclera and yellow iris in its place. ""Yammy, can you make it back to the van while he's in shock?"
"No, I wanna..."
"Yammy, go!" Sun-Sun yelled. Yammy sighed and tried to open his eyes to see. Then he heard Sun-Sun choking. He turned to see her clawing at the masked man's hands as he held her against the wall. "Go... Yammy..." she mumbled.
Then it happened. The masked man released Sun-Sun. She sank to the wet ground of the alley and watched him recoil, holding his ears. The large club fell to the ground and rolled away. Sun-Sun watched in astonishment and awe, rubbing her neck. She looked up.
"Made it just in time!"
Grimmjow had picked up Wonderweiss as the rainstorm had turned into one of a torrential proportions. They were now moving through the air at a very speedy pace. Yoruichi was leading them. She looked back at them, a gleam in her eye.
"Come on, slowpokes! What's taking so long?" she yelled back at Soi Fon and Grimmjow. Soi Fon mumbled something under her breath and sped up. Grimmjow followed suit. Yoruichi sped up enough to keep ahead of them.
"No fair, Yoruichi! We aren't all some goddess at this kind of stuff!" Grimmjow yelled up to her. Yoruichi turned her head.
"Stop checking out my co-captain's ass and maybe you'll be able to concentrate!" she yelled. Grimmjow laughed and Soi Fon blushed while glaring at the both of them.
Before the latter could make a sharp retort back at them, something kicked her into the wall separating the Rukongai from Karakura. Yoruichi immediately came to a stop on the wall. Grimmjow stopped on a building just across from it, still holding on to Wonderweiss. They all looked around for what could have possibly done that.
"Soi, are you okay?" Yoruichi asked.
"I'm fine." Soi Fon flashed up next to Yoruichi. "What the hell hit me?" She was angry.
"I don't know. I didn't see it. Whatever it was, it was fa..." Yoruichi jumped out of the way, barely avoiding a foot. A piece of the wall broke off from where she had been standing. Soi Fon looked at her vacated spot as Yoruichi landed several feet away on the wall.
It was Mashiro. Yoruichi squinted at her. Then her eyes widened.
"What is it, Yoruichi?" Soi Fon asked.
"It's Mashiro Kuna," Yoruichi answered. "I wouldn't take her lightly."
"Why not?" Soi Fon asked.
As soon as the question was out of her mouth, Mashiro had planted her left foot in Soi Fon's stomach. Soi Fon, known for having a very keen eye and sensing an attack before it happens, was taken completely off guard. She stumbled back before falling on her knees. She coughed while holding her abdomen. The kick had a little extra on it.
"That's why. She specializes in hand-to-hand, or rather, foot-to-foot. I would NOT want to ever be on the receiving end of one of her kicks," Yoruichi said. Soi Fon pulled herself up to her full height. She set her eyes on Mashiro. She moved to attack her, but realized she was swinging at air. "She also has a short attention span," Yoruichi said.
Mashiro was in front of Grimmjow. Grimmjow threw Wonderweiss off his back and put up one arm. He felt it break when Mashiro's leg came into contact with it. He slid back, wincing in pain. His arm fell limply by his side. Mashiro spun around to kick him again when Soi Fon appeared in front of Grimmjow. The difference in height was apparent. Where the kick would have landed in Grimmjow's hip, possibly breaking it, the kick instead hit Soi Fon in the arm, breaking it. Her eyes went wide and she fell limply into Grimmjow's good arm. Mashiro stared at the two for a moment before disappearing from sight.
"Damnit, bee! What'd you go and do that for?" Grimmjow yelled at Soi Fon. Soi Fon merely moved her eyes towards him. Grimmjow growled some more curses at her as he moved off the ledge, making sure Mashiro was occupied. "I cannot BELIEVE you did this! Look at you!"
"Shut... up..." Soi Fon whispered.
"What the fuck were you thinking?"
"Wasn't..."
"Clearly," Grimmjow mumbled as he sat her down as gently as he could with one arm.
Yoruichi had seen the whole thing. She was trying to fight Mashiro off at the moment. She had fought Mashiro before. Never had her strikes been so strong, fast, or fierce. It was an endless barrage. The only reason Yoruichi had not succumbed like the other two was because of her superior speed; she was still faster than Mashiro.
I have to subdue her somehow, Yoruichi thought. But how?
Then the masked woman caught Yoruichi by surprise. Mashiro threw a punch. Mashiro NEVER threw punches. When she did, they were usually to throw an opponent off. This was obviously one of those rare cases. The punch was much more potent than usual and knocked the wind right out of Yoruichi. She fell back on the slab of rock that was the wall between the Rukongai and Karakura. Mashiro brought her left leg up. Yoruichi was still coughing and rubbing her chest. She opened her eyes just as Mashiro brought it down.
Then Mashiro was gone. A pink and white blur had tackled her to a building across from Yoruichi. Yoruichi then saw another one standing next to her. She had on flip-flops.
Flip-flops in the rain? she thought. She rolled over and stood up. Her eyes widened. Hiyori and Yachiru?
"Surprised to see us?" Hiyori asked.
"You could say that. I'm definitely not complaining, though," Yoruichi said. Her voice was scratchy. She turned her head to where Yachiru was currently battling Mashiro. Then she looked over to Grimmjow and Soi Fon. "Soi Fon and Grimmjow went and got their arms broken."
"That's awesome," Hiyori said. "Same injury? They're definitely made for each other." Yoruichi sighed and shrugged. She looked back towards the Seireitei.
"Sure they are. I can't believe Soi actually threw herself in the line of fire like that," she said. "Do you have any idea how to stop Mashiro?" Yoruichi asked. Hiyori held up what looked like a ray gun of some sort. She pointed it at Mashiro and pulled the trigger. Nothing seemed to happen.
"Wait for it..." Hiyori mumbled.
Mashiro was in a lock with Yachiru. Suddenly, she released the pink-haired teenager, holding her head as if she was hearing something no one else could. Her mask began to crack. Then it suddenly shattered completely. Mashiro looked up at Yachiru before passing out completely. Yachiru looked across towards Hiyori and gave her a thumbs-up. Hiyori rolled her eyes.
Stark looked up. The white-haired teenager from the 10th Authority was standing in front of Stark, watching Kensei's every move. He was not the voice he had heard, though. Stark looked around. Above him, on another building, was the busty female named Rangiku. She waved at him with her right hand. In her left hand was a gun of some sort. She pointed it at Kensei.
"Now, Rangiku!" the teenager yelled. Rangiku pulled the trigger on the gun. For a moment, nothing happened. Kensei started to regain his bearings. Then he began to falter in his movements. Toshiro did not move as Kensei made his way forward, trying to fight off whatever he was hearing. By the time he reached Toshiro, his mask was gone. He grabbed hold of the teenager's wet clothes and looked up at him. Then he passed out. Toshiro turned and faced Stark.
"Nice, kid," Stark commented.
"Thank Szayel, not me." Toshiro looked around. He saw Luppi and grimaced a bit. He noticed Rangiku had moved over to where Nel was with Zommari.
Rangiku kneeled next to Nel. Nel moved her eyes up to Rangiku. She smiled a little. Rangiku moved her hair from her face.
"Hi, Rangiku. You come to save us?" she asked. Rangiku nodded. "No one is telling me what happened to Luppi. Is he okay?" Nel asked. Rangiku looked at Zommari. Then she glanced back down at Nel.
"Nel, we'll talk about Luppi once we get you out of this rain, okay? Right now, we have to go."
Sun-Sun watched as the masked man's mask began to crack under the ray gun that the one named Yumichika was pointing at him. His friend, Ikkaku had jumped down to her side. He helped her to her feet, still watching as the mask cracked. Then it suddenly fell away. The man fell down, unconscious.
"Who... Who was he?" Sun-Sun asked.
"Love Aikawa. He worked for the Seventh Authority. He was said to have gone missing," Ikkaku said. Sun-Sun raised an eyebrow. "Come on. Yumichika, get down here and help the big one."
"Why do I have to? I'm already out here getting wet. This rain is so unbecoming," Yumichika groaned. Ikkaku shot him an evil glare. "Fine, fine. Here I come." He jumped down and helped Yammy to his feet.
"How did you find us?" Sun-Sun asked.
"Szayel. He sent a bunch of us out with these." Yumichika waved the ray gun around. "I don't know what they do, but they work and that's all that matters."
"Less talk, more work. The sooner we get back to Las Noches, the better," Ikkaku said.
Shinji sighed. He glared at Momo, who was twisting a piece of tissue nervously in her hands. Gin leaned against the door while Urahara sat in a swivel chair.
"We just keep underestimating them, don't we? They even took out Miss Legs herself. She is hard to take on without her mask on. I can just imagine those kicks with the mask," Urahara said.
"Shut up, Kisuke. This 'killer soldier' thing is such a nuisance. They aren't invincible. Just... strong," Shinji said.
"What're gonna do when Aizen finds out Miss Inoue ain't back? He's gonna be mad," Gin sang from his place on the door. Shinji sighed and looked at Momo.
"We'll just blame it on Hinamori." The girl glared maliciously at Shinji, who just laughed. "I'm playing, Momo. No need to get your panties in a twist. Seriously, as much as Miss Inoue has seen the sword, you'd think it'd be fixed already."
"Not what I keep hearin'. It's probably worse off then it was before," Gin said. "Negativity an' such."
"It's only been three days. How do you HEAR so much stuff, Gin?" Urahara asked. Gin's smile widened.
"Eyes an' ears, Head Twelve. Eyes an' ears."
What is Kyoka Suigetsu's purpose?
To cast images. Total hypnosis. Am I hypnotized now? Is what I'm seeing real? Is he really gone? Can I really not bring him back? Will I never see him again? Is this...it?
No. This isn't real. This can't be real. I can reject this. I must reject this. I WILL reject this.
I reject. I REJECT! I REJECT!
Orihime opened her eyes. Halibel was approaching her. Shun'o and Ayame were still out and trying their hardest. It was then that she noticed something funny about what was going on around her. She blinked a couple of times to make sure that everything she was seeing was real.
The rain had slowed down dramatically. She could actually see the individual drops. She held out her hand as one fell. It splashed softly and little droplets were created, splashing outward. Orihime immediately pulled her hand away. She continued to gaze around as everything slowed.
Then it stopped. It all stopped.
Rain hung in the air. Halibel was in mid-step. Even Shun'o an Ayame had stopped their work. Orihime could nothing but watch as time... stopped.
"I stopped time," she whispered.
"No. You're rejecting time. Time is still passing; just at a far slower rate." It was a new voice. It was one that she had never heard before. Orihime looked around for the owner of the voice. She saw a fairy just like ones in the Shun Shun Rikka she already had. The only difference in this one was that he was so old.
"And... who are you?" Orihime asked.
"Kronos," he said. Orihime nodded.
"Well Kronos, how am I 'rejecting' time all of a sudden? And why am I rejecting time?"
"You wanted to reject it. Besides, it's the only way you'll be able to save loverboy over there." Kronos looked at Shun'o and Ayame and snapped. They started to move. They looked at one another and then at Orihime. Then they looked at Kronos, who just waved.
"Kronos?" Ayame whispered.
"In the flesh, dearie." Kronos looked back at Orihime. "You were right, Orihime. You can reject whatever is keeping Ulquiorra down. You were asking yourself the right questions. It's up to you to answer them," Kronos said.
"Wait! How do I," Kronos disappeared, "use you?" she whispered. She looked back down at Ulquiorra as time resumed. She closed her eyes as she heard Halibel approaching again.
I'm not hypnotized. Ulquiorra is not dead. I'm not allowing this to happen. I refuse to allow this to happen. Kyoka Suigetsu will not fool me. She will not fool me, Orihime told herself.
Halibel opened her mouth to tell Orihime to give it up, though it would pain her to do so. Before she could utter the words, she saw the blackness in Ulquiorra's wound begin to rise. She looked at Orihime. The girl was silently chanting something to herself. Then she looked back at Ulquiorra. The wound was closing. Even the fairies looked astonished at their own work.
Once it was finished, Orihime opened her eyes. He was healed. But he had not moved. He eyes had not opened. Orihime rolled him over to get a good look at his face. Ulquiorra still had the same impassive look on his face. She placed an ear to his chest. His heart was beating. Why was he not waking?
"Ulquiorra?" Orihime whispered. "Ulquiorra!" she yelled. Nothing happened. "ULQUIORRA!" she yelled a little louder. Finally, she hauled off and slapped him as hard as she could.
Ulquiorra immediately sat up. Orihime sat back as he looked forward for a moment. Then he glanced at her. He looked up at Halibel, who sighed and turned to go back to the van, waving her arms in the air and muttering something about too much drama and needing a vacation. Then Ulquiorra set his reptilian green eyes on Orihime. He squinted in the rain at her.
"You smacked me, woman," he muttered. Orihime's bottom lip quivered. She could not speak. All she could do was...
... pass out.