Shinigami ½
-Chiba Hiro
(I do not own Ranma ½ or Bleach; all credit shall go to their respected creators.)
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Chapter 29: The Approaching Danger!
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Midnight, Tuesday-
Two lone figure walks through the nighttime town of Nerima. Unbeknownst to certain people, he trudges through undetected. The shorter of the two had shoulder-length black hair with aqua-blue eyes, pale skin and strange white clothing with the tattoo of tear drops below his eyes and runs down his cheeks. He has a Hollow mask propped on the side of his head and wears an expression of complete misery. He had a hole in place of where his heart should be.
His companion is bald, much taller, and wider with his mask tucked under his chin, making it look like a large jaw and fangs protruding out from it and a beard to complete his looks. Like his shorter partner, he also had a hole in his chest.
"Ulquiorra, is this the place?" the big one grumbled.
"Of course, Yammy." The smaller one said in a monotone voice. "It was his orders to come here and do away with this place."
"I'm a little hungry." Yammy said, placing a huge hand over his belly. "Mind if I take a few souls, or maybe the whole neighborhood?"
"Go ahead." Ulquiorra dismissed him casually. "It's fine as long as you're not caught in the act by certain Soul Reapers."
"By the time they get here, I should be done." Without further ado, he opened his large mouth, and a collection of souls from the surrounding neighborhood came to him like a whirlwind. (Thank goodness the Tendos were on the opposite side of town!)
Meanwhile-
Ryoga and Ukyo just happened to walk out of a twenty-four hour grocery store with bags in hand and tired expressions fixed on their faces. Ryoga let out a groan of frustration before Ukyo slugged him on the back of the head with one of the bags.
"Ow! What the heck was that for?" Ryoga asked.
"Stop groaning! You sound like an old man!"
"Sorry! I can't help it! I'm a little tired, in case you hadn't noticed." Ryoga said. "Why the heck do we have to go to the grocery store so late anyway? I'm sure the store could wait 'till tomorrow, or later today, after school?"
"No, it can't because tomorrow's business day for many people and I want to be ready for it now!"
"Why didn't we get this stuff-Oof!" Ryoga was badly interrupted by Ukyo's elbow that happened to get him in the stomach. "What was that for?"
"Hey, do you sense…" Ukyo started to say.
"…A wave of souls!" Ryoga completed for her.
They dropped whatever they carried, and ran toward the source of the wave of energy they sensed. They turned a corner at the right, and immediately came upon a horrible sight. They happened to witness a huge guy sucking in the souls of everyone in the neighborhood. Without further ado, Ryoga's arm transformed and shot a wave of energy at the big guy. That stops him.
"Who dares interrupt my feeding?" he shouts.
"We do!" Ryoga and Ukyo responded.
Ryoga shot another wave at Yammy, but he dodged it, and vanished from sight. Before Ryoga knew what hit him, his armored right arm was being badly abused like a rapid-fire punching bag. Ryoga was thrown to the ground just as Yammy reappeared in the same spot he was just a second ago.
"So…fast…" Ryoga mumbled before his arm started bleeding, and falling unconscious. Ukyo was on him fast enough, and put up a shield to heal him, or regress.
"Soten Kisshun." She whispered.
"What is this? Healing?" Ulquiorra suddenly asked. "No, it's simply regression."
"Ulquiorra, do you mind if I kill her?" Yammy turned to his shorter superior.
"Sure, why not."
Yammy launched a giant finger at Ukyo so he can crush her slowly, but he didn't expect for a barrier to hold his finger up. "What?"
Ukyo stood up and glared as hard as she could at Yammy. No one does this to her coworker, and friend, without her permission! Ukyo put her hands together in a praying position and closed her eyes for a minute before launching a beam of energy at Yammy.
Please, Ranma! Get here fast enough-wait! Why do I need to depend on him for this? I should be able to hold him off in time, before he gets here! Ranma won't always be around to save the day! And it's high time I prove myself a capable fighter around here! Ukyo conversed inside her head.
"Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun!" Tsubaki appeared, and directed the beam of energy at Yammy as she produced it.
Yammy merely brushed his hand out and pushed the beam off to the side, causing a home to burst into flames.
"What is this? It felt like a fly went by." Yammy said.
Ukyo's eyes widen when Yammy did that, and stepped back a bit from the shock. Her attack was strong, she was sure she put a lot of heart behind all that. But it still wasn't enough. Off to the side, Ryoga let out a cough, and immediately caught Yammy's and Ulquiorra's attention.
"He's still alive? No healing spell should be strong enough to bring him back from the brink of death." Yammy said. "Ulquiorra, is it something that woman did?"
"Very observant of you, Yammy. I'd say that was the first smart thing you've said now." Ulquiorra said blankly. "I believe this woman is not using a healing spell, rather…it's more like time reversal, and making it seem like the wound never even occurred. Just by looking at him now, it seems that the wound is completely gone."
"What should we do, Ulquiorra?" Yammy asked, and turned back to their opponent. "The woman may prove to be useful to us one day."
"No. It is not necessary." Ulquiorra said. "Kill her."
"Alright then!" Yammy responded, and proceeded to try and grab Ukyo while she was still in shock, but not before something wet and sharp like steel grabbed his wrist and prevented him from going any further. "What the-?"
"Sorry I'm late, Ukyo." The voice said, and Ukyo traced the voice back to its owner.
"Ra-Ranma!"
"You bet it is." Ranma smirked and emerged from the shadows while keeping Yammy's wrist bound by his water whip.
"Who the heck are you?" Yammy demanded, still trying to get his wrist free, but the whip only succeeded in tightening its grip on his wrist, causing some blood to seep from it. He winced slightly, before his expression turned to one of anger.
"I-Ranma, I'm sorry!" Ukyo started sobbing. "…I-I c-couldn't hold them o-off! I-If only I was st-str-stronger!"
"No, don't apologize, Ukyo." Ranma said. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that these two will be dealt with one way or another!"
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"Bankai: Tenka Mizuryuu!" Ranma shouted, and his water whip dispersed.
"Ha! Where's your zanpakuto? I thought zanpakuto were supposed to be the stronger version of their Shikai, but it's gone!" Yammy taunted.
"Just wait, it's coming." Ranma smirked. " Oh, and Ukyo, you might want to step back, or leave, it's up to you."
Those words struck hard to the core of Ukyo's being. Ukyo desperately wanted to help Ranma, but a small part of her desperately wanted to run away, and forget all about Hollows and Soul Reapers, but she couldn't.
"Are you leaving, or not?" Ranma addressed her again.
"Oh, ok." She said, and left them while she picked Ryoga up and hobbled a good distance away from the three fighters. Once she was far enough away, Ranma got into a fighting stance.
"What's happening now? I thought you said bankai! I knew you were all bark and no bite!"
"Hmm, you shouldn't judge your opponents based on looks alone. Take a look around you." Ranma said, and Yammy saw droplets forming around him. "You never would've noticed that my bankai is surrounding us at this very moment."
Ranma brought his hands together, and water from all the sources around him came to him at his will and surrounded him on all sides. That startled both Yammy and Ulquiorra, though his expression barely changed at all.
"Ulquiorra, is he the one?"
"Yes, he is the one. The one with the bankai that allows him to control the nature of water, and bend it to his will. It's almost amazing how your idiocy lured him out so quickly."
"Feh, it saved us the trouble of finding him ourselves. How lucky!" Yammy raised his fist, and drove it down at Ranma, failing to notice the water surrounding him in ringlets. Before Yammy could even think about breaking through and beating Ranma in a pummel, Ranma effortlessly flicked his finger, and a stream of water formed a shield and prevented Yammy from getting close.
Now, the water shield was not made of just water, it's made with Ranma's reiatsu bound with it, so it makes the water he controls as hard as steel, but flexible like a snake.
"Are you the ones causing all this trouble? And, and you the one who injured Ryoga? Because then I'll rip your arm off along with it." Ranma said in a low, but menacing tone. Ranma lifted his arm up and made an upward slashing motion with his open palm. Without warning, the water did his bidding and followed through with the same exact movements, and curled up and around Yammy's arm. The water sliced clean through Yammy's arm, and fell to the ground.
"Ah! Why you-! My arm!" Yammy howled in pain, and clutched whatever was left of his arm.
To their surprise, Ulquiorra let out a gasp, before returning to a more serious expression. The fool! I keep telling him to read his opponents before attacking. Any simple-minded person would be able to figure out that at the slightest movement of his hand the water would respond. Ulquiorra thought.
"You're still standing." Ranma complimented dryly. "You're as handy as they get."
"Hey, Yammy, you seem to be struggling." Ulquiorra said. "Do you want to switch?"
"No way in hell! I will handle him myself!"
"Neh, suit yourself."
Yammy reached for a sword he kept strapped to his back, and drew it.
"Hey, is it really necessary to use your zanpakuto?"
"Shut up!"
Zanpakuto! Come to think of it, these guys have swords with them. They both have broken Hollow masks, and holes on their chests. What are these guys? Ranma thought. No way! Are these guys…like Hirako?
No! Like me? An inner voice rang through his head.
What the-?
You cannot resist me forever!
What are you doing? Who are you?
I am you! I will do much better in this fight then you ever will!
Shut up!
While Ranma was having an inner conversation with himself, Yammy took his opportunity to draw his sword, and impale him in the gut. This causes Ranma to drop the water to the ground and cough up blood.
"Ranma!" Ukyo's voice rang, and Ranma turned to see that Ukyo hadn't run very far, but was in fact watching from a fair distance away from it, but still watching over them.
"Stay back!" Ranma choked out.
"Ha! How about you!" Yammy shouted, taking notice of the girl from before, and taking the time to move and kick her in the stomach and return to his original position. This all happened in a fraction of a minute, and now Ranma was seeing Ukyo being sent flying into a wooden fence behind her, and landing right next to where she placed Ryoga.
"No!" Ranma shouted, and tried to move, but his legs wouldn't respond. Damn it! I can't move my legs!
"Shut up!" Yammy growled, and proceeded to finish the job he started earlier, and slice Ranma down.
You need me! The same voice from before rang loudly in his head as he fell to the ground.
Damn it! I can't keep resisting you, can I?
I am taking over, whether you like it or not.
Don't!
Suddenly, the pressure increased, and the temperature around him rose exponentially, but Yammy was too busy beating him to a pulp to realize.
The fool doesn't realize that his opponent's reiatsu has risen. No, because he's gone completely insane. Ulquiorra thought. He'll pay for it sooner or later.
"It's over! I'm gonna beat you 'till you're black and blue!" Yammy shouted, and prepared to deliver a final punch to Ranma's heavily beaten body.
It's amazing how much that brat's spiritual pressure can range to. On one end he's perfectly normal, but on the high end, he can very well surpass my own spiritual pressure. Just where in the world can a half-human, half-Shinigami brat get that kind of power? Ulquiorra conversed to himself.
But, just as Yammy was about to deliver the final blow, a blur raced across his line of sight, and blocked his fist with the flat side of his blade. Ranma struggled to look up at who his rescuer was, and was shocked to see who it was.
"…You!" Ranma croaked.
"Yeah, it's me." The sandy, blonde-haired man in a straw hat said.
"Don't forget me." And a dark-skinned woman with purple hair and orange ninja attire arrived and stood behind him.
"Urahara and…Yoruichi?"
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Yammy pulled his fist back, and glared heavily at the two newcomers.
"What do we have here? More intrusions? They just keep coming and coming."
"Don't worry about getting used to it, because you'll be dead by the time I'm finished here." Urahara said in a haughty tone while smirking.
"Now, I'll just kill you first! Then I get that brat!" Yammy shouted with glee like a maniac, and proceeded to try and pulverize Urahara to the ground, but to his surprise Yoruichi stepped forward, and caught Yammy's arm and effortlessly threw him to the ground like in judo, even though Yammy was twice as big.
"What…the…hell?" Yammy groaned as soon as he fell flat on his back. "Damn you!" Yammy cursed and strode to his feet and was upon Yoruichi like a spider to the fly, but Yoruichi turned a blind eye and dodged the big guy's lunge and walked away casually, like she hadn't just flipped him over. "Don't ignore me!"
"Urahara…I'll treat that Kuonji girl, meanwhile you'll distract big guy here." Yoruichi said quietly to Urahara and he nodded.
"Hold it!" Yammy shouted, and chased after Yoruichi, but before he could even touch her, she kicked off the ground, and kicked him viciously in the gut, and leaped high over his head and slugged him in the jaw, causing Yammy to fall to the ground. The impact the giant made created a small crater in the ground.
Yoruichi walked away from the knocked out giant and proceeded to treat Ukyo's injuries. When Yoruichi went to Ukyo, she looked for any signs that she was still alive. Ukyo's eyes fluttered open, and Yoruichi came into view.
"Wh-Who are you?"
"Shh! My name is Yoruichi, and I'm here to help you." She said, and used whatever medicine she had on her person on Ukyo's wounds. Ukyo looked awful in her opinion. What was once a very pretty face, has now become bruised and bloody. She was extremely pale and had a bloody lip, a huge gash at her side, and a grazed shoulder.
"Uh…R-Ranma?"
"He's fine, don't worry. And, you're safe now." Yoruichi soothed her while Ukyo winced at Yoruichi's touch. Yoruichi used some cleaning alcohol to clean the bleeding a little. Then, she used a strange salve to finish the job and seal the wounds. Finally, she wrapped some bandages around those areas, and made her swallow a pill, and laid Ukyo to rest.
Out of nowhere, Yammy sprang out from the crater and was on Yoruichi in a flash. His body was a mess, and Yoruichi made sure of that. His loud entrance made it seem obvious.
"What a persistent bastard." Yoruichi commented, and turned to look at Yammy. If she was frightened, and everyone who knew her knew she wasn't, she certainly did a good job in hiding it. Instead of the fright Yammy expected to see on her face, she had a rather bored expression plastered on her face.
"I'm going to kill you!" Yammy opened his mouth wide, and in it formed a huge ball of energy. "Cero!" he shouted, and a blast formed from it and aimed itself at Yoruichi's vulnerable form.
To say she was shocked was an understatement, she was completely unable to react to it, even though she could easily move, but something made it so that she couldn't move. It wasn't that she didn't want to move, it was that she couldn't move. The blast made its way to her, and BOOM! the blast created a huge crater and left nothing there.
"Ha! Serves you right! No one should've been able to survive or dodge my cero at this short a range! Now, you're nothing! Even your ashes disintegrated!"
Instead of seeing the sight of Yoruichi's dead body, or at least its ashes, Urahara appeared and took Yoruichi and Ukyo with him. They were completely unharmed, and Urahara looked smug with his sword drawn and pointed at Yammy.
"What? What the hell is this? How in blazes did you survive my Cero? I should've blasted you into oblivion with this much power! What did you do?"
"As you can clearly imagine, you have wasted away this entire neighborhood, leaving nothing but piles of dust in its wake. What a sad shape we've done to this part of town. The devastation you caused would've blown away the entire town had I not countered it with a similar attack, and escape at the last second with Yoruichi and Ukyo.
"Such a shame we can't control our powers, but the corpses around here are really none of our concern, as you can clearly see that all the souls you've consumed have now ended up in your gut, and your victims' bodies were left with nothing, so clearly we have nothing to lose."
"How can you say that so casually?" Yoruichi asked. "We should've dragged them elsewhere, and now more people could get hurt."
"That's true, but have you noticed that we've been in the park the entire time? The park's deserted at this hour, so we're clearly doing nothing wrong, except for a ton of property damage."
"Ah…"
"Now, we've had enough with the chitchat. It's time to get serious. Cry: Benihime!" Urahara shouted, and raised his zanpakuto up, calling out its Shikai. Urahara launched a deadly wave of energy at Yammy, but before it could reach it, a blur stepped in and brushed the wave away so casually. Gasp! His smaller partner had intervened and saved Yammy from certain destruction.
"Ulquiorra! What is the meaning of this? Why did you stop it?" Yammy asked his smaller partner.
Ulquiorra backhanded and punched Yammy in the gut, immediately shooting a wave of pain through him, like it had when Yoruichi first kicked him. Only this time it seemed to take less effort in bringing Yammy to his knees.
"…Wh-Why?"
Ulquiorra turned his attention back to Yammy and crossed his arms over his chest and bore into the glaring eyes of Yammy, but seemed all too calm about it.
"You fool. You're being too reckless." He lectured. "These two are ex-captains Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihouin. At your current level, you couldn't possibly defeat them, no matter how hard you tried." He said, leaving no argument to cross between them. "Forgive us, but we best retreat for now." He bowed out to them, and traced a line with his finger in the air, and created a rift in the dimensions.
"Are you too scared to fight?" Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at him.
"No. Think of it as a tactical retreat." Ulquiorra answered without blatantly denying her. "Think if you have to protect these trash while trying to fight against me, and you'd know who the winner will be, regardless of what you think. Count yourselves lucky I spared you tonight.
"My mission is over. I will tell my Captain Aizen that his target, Ranma Saotome, is nothing but mere trash, and he needn't bother with such. Farewell!" he said before the two disappeared into the rift. All the while Ranma was crouching low and glaring as best he could silently.
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A/N: Here's another chapter from yours truly. Oh, and thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! I'm glad that most of you truly support this fic, and to the rest of you who don't, heh, I couldn't care less. As long as I know that people still enjoy it, I won't stop writing until it's about finished. (Don't know how far the manga goes) Please don't forget to rate and review! And, I'll come back next week with a heated episode with more action to come!
Next time: Reinforced!
