Chapter 36: Ichigo VS Grimmjow
Later, Ichigo, Ricky, Wall-E, Ben, Saber, Will, Allen, Lenalee, Rukia, Toph and Talim are now riding on a boat that is rowed by a man named Hong Yun-Seong. There is a lot of thick fog in the atmosphere right now so everybody couldn't see what's ahead of them, but Yun-Seong continues rowing straight.
"Alright guys. We are almost there. Just continue to remain silent." Yun-Seong whispered to the group as he continues rowing the boat. They had to remain silent at all times as Talim and Yun-Seong feared that the assassins might hear and track them down.
A few more minutes later, something came out of the fog and came to the view to everyone on the boat. It was a part of a huge unfinished bridge.
"There it is, that's the bridge me and my people are trying to build." Talim said softly.
"Whoa…" Ben said in amusement. Everybody stares at the bridge for a moment. Then Ichigo turns to Talim and glares at her.
"Alright Talim, that is an amazing bridge you and your people are building. But before we reach the pier, it's time you tell us why are the assassins after you. If you don't tell us, I'm afraid we will have to turn this boat around and go back to the council." Ichigo said sternly. Everybody else in the boat turned to Talim as well.
Talim sighed. "Very well. After Japan's battle against the Faction, most of the Faction soldiers retreated. But one officer remained here in Japan. His name was Sosuke Aizen. After the Faction's embarrassing defeat, Oswald ordered Aizen to stay behind in Japan until they could come up with a plan. And a few years later, they did. They know that Hokkaido is where the Japanese stored their latest weapons and technology. If they conquer Hokkaido, they will have an advantage to take back Honshu, and defeat the Shinigamis. But, if we can build a bridge that connects Hokkaido and Honshu, the Faction will not have the advantage to take over my land, our latest technology and try to conquer Japan once more."
Everybody looked at Talim wide-eyed.
"So, that's why the assassins are after you." Ichigo nods his head.
"Yes." Talim replied.
"Then I guess we have no choice. We must help Talim and her people finish building the bridge." Ricky said. Everybody else nod their heads in agreement.
Talim smiled and gave a peace sign. "I win."
"Okay, guys. We're here. Hakodate." Yun-Seong said as the boat finally arrived at the pier. The fog has also start to dissipate. Everybody got off the boat and take their stuff.
"We are very fortunate, Talim. Nobody has notice us so far." Yun-Seong said to Talim.
"I know." Talim said as she carries her bag. Everybody then leave the pier and enter the town.
They walked through the town, in awe of the town. Despite being a small town, it was very lively. People are happily signing and doing their daily routines while the children are happily playing in the streets.
"Alright guys, take me to my home in one piece." Talim said to Ichigo, Ricky and his group.
One of the villagers named Juniper Lee, noticed Ichigo and said, "Hey? Is that…Ichigo Kurosaki?"
Another villager named Kari Kamiya also saw Ichigo and smiled, "Yeah! It is Ichigo Kurosaki!" The whole village burst in cheers as all the villagers happily rushed over to ichigo and gathered around him.
"Welcome Kurosaki!" One of the villagers greeted.
"What brings you here?" Another villager asked.
"Are you hungry? Would you like some bread?" A woman asked as she holds up her tray of bread.
Ichigo laughed as he took a loaf of bread. "It's okay guys. You're all too kind."
"Wow. Ichigo is a celebrity, isn't he?" Allen said.
"Yeah, he's a national war hero to Japan. What do you expect?" Rukia shrugs.
"Loo guys, I have a mission here, so please kindly stand back and let my friends guide your bridge builder to her home." Ichigo said.
"Okay." The villagers all said in unison as they both went back to their daily routines.
"Okay, guys. Let's go." Ichigo said as he turned to the others. Talim and the others followed him from behind.
Ichigo frowns as he turns his head away and thought, 'The next assassins the Faction will send will be elite swordsmen with professional sword-fighting skills.' He sighed sadly at the thought. He looks down at his bread and took a bite.
Later, Ichigo, Talim, Ricky and his group walked through another forest and numerous rivers.
"I spy…with my little eye…" Will said as she looks around the forest.
"A tree." Saber, Ricky, Allen and Lenalee all said in unison.
"Hey! You guys are good! What, are you guys psychics?" Will laughed.
"SHUT UP!" Saber yelled.
"Quiet! Someone is following us." Toph said.
Everybody stop and gasp.
"Okay guys, stay on your guard." Ichigo said to the others as he draws out his Zangetsu. Toph frowns at ichigo.
'He thinks he's so good.' Toph thought.
'I won't let Ichigo get all the glory this time.' Rukia thought as she draws out her zanpakuto.
Everybody surround Talim as hold their weapons tightly. Suddenly, Toph widens her eyes and yelled, "Ichigo!"
A sword soon came out of the bushes and flew over to ichigo's head. But Ichigo bends his body and barely dodges the sword in time. The sword then flew over to a nearby tree and stabs into the tree trunk.
Grimmjow then jumps out from the bushes and lands on his sword's hilt.
Ichigo turns to Grimmjow and frowns deeply at him. "Well well well, if it isn't Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, the white demon."
Grimmjow turns to Ichigo and smirked evilly. "Yeah, and if it isn't Ichigo Kurosaki. No wonder my men fail to take our target down."
"Enough talk! Time for us to take you down!" Ricky said as he draws out his Carsomyr. But Ichigo held up his hand and Ricky looks at him puzzled.
"It's okay Ricky. I think I can handle him myself." Ichigo said.
"But Ichigo, we wish to help." Rukia protested.
"It's okay." Ichigo turns to Rukia and smiled. "I'll be alright." He turns back to Grimmjow. "Grimmjow, how about we fight together one on one."
Grimmjow smirked. "Fair enough." Ichigo gestures Grimmjow to a nearby open field and the two leaps over to the field.
Ricky, Talim and the others ran over to the field and watch the fight. Ichigo and Grimmjow both arrived at the field and the two glared at each other, ready to fight.
"This should be interesting." Will said as she crossed her arms.
"This is truly an honor." Grimmjow smirked. "I get to fight against you, Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Just show me your true strength and let us get this fight over with. I got important things to do." Ichigo said.
"Oh yeah, I'll show you my true strength alright!" Grimmjow suddenly lifted himself into the air with levitation. He then formed a ball of energy in his hand. "Let's see how you like this little trick!" He threw the orb at Ichigo.
"Is that all you can do?" Ichigo chuckled. He simply strolled out of the way of the orb. The orb harmlessly hit the ground and diminished quietly on impact. "That was pathetic! You really intend to fight an enemy with such an attack?"
"Just wait." Grimmjow replied. Just then, the ground around Ichigo began to glow. Ichigo gasps as he looked to find light and a slight tremor erupting from the soil.
"What in the…?" Realizing that the attack was not finished, Ichigo quickly leaped. The ground then bellowed in a powerful explosion that blew Ichigo away. He fell to the ground, kicking dust up. "That attack, it was a delayed explosion."
"That's right." Grimmjow chuckled. "I use it against enemies who are too cocky for their own good. It's a deceptive attack that looks like a harmless energy ball, but the aftershock is to die for. And since I can set off the attack at random, there's no predicting when it would go off. Also, each sphere has a different level of energy, thus differentiating each explosion's power, so you don't know whether it'll be a weak explosion, or a strong one. No one has ever pushed me so far as to use that attack. And even if they did, they never survive the first strike. But I'm rather surprised to see that you are still alive with only a few minor scratches. That only indicates that you are a warrior of extraordinary skill." Grimmjow formed another ball of energy. "But I can guarantee you that you won't survive the second attack despite your superior abilities."
"Ichigo!" Rukia cried.
Grimmjow hovered higher into the air and fired a barrage of six energy balls. Ichigo, seeing the incoming orbs, quickly evaded. As before, the spheres were absorbed into the ground. He quickly evaded and evacuated the area. This time the spheres did not detonate. Instead, Grimmjow descended to battle Ichigo personally. He appears before Ichigo like a phantom.
"You should concentrate more on your foe." Grimmjow chuckled. "Those orbs were mere decoys to distract you." He thrust away with his sword, giving Ichigo no time to react. "I'll teach you something savage for deforming my fair face." He clashed at Ichigo tossing him back. Finally, he swung hoping to maim Ichigo at his feet, but Ichigo quickly jumped and flipped backwards.
"That was a close one." Ichigo uttered to himself. But as he gazed at his opponent, he noticed that Grimmjow still had that mischievous and rather malicious look on his face. Ichigo realized what was happening. Gazing down upon the ground, his landing point was the place where the orbs had absorbed into the soil. "Those orbs, they weren't decoys."
"Now take this!" Grimmjow raised his arm and like controlled mines, the orbs were detonated, causing massive explosions, some two the five times the capacity of the very first. Ichigo, not able to dodge quickly enough, was caught in the maelstrom and thrashed about violently. His robes were ripped and torn, forming nicks and holes. The heat from the energy itself charred Ichigo. He fell to the ground, beaten and weary, and tumbled upon rocky terrain, receiving cuts and bruises. Ricky, Talim and the others who are watching this gasp and widen their eyes in shock.
"Oh no!" Saber cried in horror.
"Ichigo!" Rukia yelled.
"I thought he was an elite Shinigami." Ricky said in shock. Grimmjow landed not too far from where Ichigo lay.
"You are such a fool. You underestimated me completely. You may be an elite Shinigami, but you are still a fool. You should never underestimate the White Demon. Doing so would lead to a final blow, which is the reason why this is the result." Grimmjow came closer to Ichigo, who staggered to his feet. His robes had been torn up to tatters. His hakama equaled the same damage. Blood dripped down his forehead, indicating that he had hit a rock or a stone on impact. He stood tall and holds up her Zangetsu.
"You have skill, I'll admit that," Ichigo said with an ironic grin, "But it'll take a great deal more than that to defeat me."
"Confident aren't we? I'll put you in your place soon enough!" Grimmjow descended and attacked with a swoop. He struck at Ichigo, but Ichigo easily evaded. Grimmjow dropped more energy orbs and sent the hurling towards Ichigo. This time, on impact, the spheres exploded. Once again, Ichigo was caught in the barrage and was sent hurling. But he regained his posture. Grimmjow unleashed another attack, but this time, Ichigo was ready and easily evade them. The orbs exploded on impact, but Ichigo was far from harm's way. To add, he seemed to be taunting Grimmjow in his gestures. This infuriated Grimmjow. "Don't you dare to mock me!"
"It's not that. It's just that after a while, your moves become more predictable. Not much of a Strategist are you?" Ichigo smirked. Those words angered Grimmjow.
"You little…!" With all his rage, Grimmjow sent down another plethora of energy balls. "I'll incinerate you to your bones!" But Ichigo was ready this time. Using his Zangetsu, he gave one mighty swing. Gusts of wind bellowed upward like typhoons, directing the orbs back towards Grimmjow. "Impossible, he deflected my own attack back at me!"
"Alright!" Toph cheered as she, Ricky, Talim, Saber, Allen, Ben, Lenalee and Will smiled.
"Ichigo is awesome!" Lenalee said.
"Yeah, he is…" Rukia said sadly.
Grimmjow eluded the incoming energy balls. The orbs made impact with the ground and detonated instantly. Grimmjow covered his face, guarding it from the dust and debris. The explosions were close enough to knock him off his feet. Grimmjow tumbled as the winds pushed him down. Within seconds, the barrage was over and Grimmjow stood up to his feet, weary.
"That guy, that guy, I have to get rid of him somehow." Grimmjow thought to himself. "He's proven to be more of a nuisance than I had expected." Ichigo was drained of his strength, practically hunched caused by the weight of his Zangetsu sword. But still, he made ready to fight.
"Come on, Grimmie," Ichigo mocked, "You'll have to pick it up a little to defeat me."
"Don't give me your idle threats, Ichigo! I can see by your stance and your posture that you're losing a great deal of energy! You barely have enough energy to lift up your weapon, let alone engage in another brawl against me. I guess that banging around took its toll."-
"That may be so, but you have underestimated my ability to survive such a pitiful tumble." Ichigo said as his sword was at the ready again. "Now put up or shut up, pretty boy."
"You little…!" Grimmjow, hearing enough of Ichigo's mockery, unleashed a finishing move. He raised both hands in the air and began to form the ultimate energy ball. "Now let's see you take this on!"
Ichigo narrows his eyes and grits his teeth as he watched as the sphere seemed to get ten times bigger than the first ones used.
"Now die!" Grimmjow paused no further and launched the ball. Ichigo took a deep breath and aims his Zangestu sword at the ball.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" He yelled and shot a blast of black and red energy at the energy ball. The blast pierced through the ball, much to Grimmjow's surprise.
"What?! Impossible!" Grimmjow yelled in disbelief. The ball explodes and the blast continues heading towards Grimmjow. The blast hits grimmjow and Grimmjow yelled in pain as he sprawls onto the ground injured.
The fight was over and Ichigo took from his pocket a bottle of potion and guzzled it. He was back on his feet within seconds.
"Now then, Grimmjow. You have lost." Ichigo smirked.
"Alright! You were awesome, Ichigo!" Will yelled happily.
"Woohoo!" Lenalee cheered.
"Impressive." Allen grinned.
"He's good." Saber nods her head in agreement.
"Yeah." Ricky said. Rukia however, doesn't seem to look happy about this.
'Ichigo…he's now better than he was three years ago. While I still haven't improved.' Rukia thought.
Ichigo walks over to Grimmjow, who is breathing heavily while lying on the ground in pain. "Surrender now Grimmjow, and I'll spare your life." Ichigo said to him.
Then, all of the sudden, a knife flew over to Grimmjow and stabs into his neck. Grimmjow yells in pain while Ichigo, Ricky, Talim and the others widen their eyes in shock.
Grimmjow then closes his eyes, dead.
"It's pitiful that this fight was his last battle." A voice said. Ichigo turns his head and saw a woman with short dark blue hair, tied to two long braids, grey eyes and wears black robes with no sleeves or covering for the back. She also wears traditional Chinese shoes and white socks. Her name was Soi Fon. "My name is Soi Fon. I have been trying to take down Grimmjow Jaegerjaques for a while now and thanks to you, Ichigo, I finally took him down."
Ichigo kneeled down to grimmjow and gently places his fingers on Grimmjow's neck. He couldn't feel his pulse beeping. He sighed. "No vital signs. He's dead."
"I'm a member of a tracking team who is sent to take down Grimmjow for all the crimes he has committed. And now, he's finally got what he deserve thanks to you." Soi Fon said. She then walks over to Grimmjow and carries his body with her arms. "I have to go now and bring Grimmjow's body to my team and proof to them that Grimmjow is finally dead. Once again, thank you." Soi Fon then leaps away with the body. Ichigo just watches her leave the field.
"Ichigo!" Ricky yelled. Ichigo turned around and Ricky and the others came over to him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Ichigo smiled. "See, I told you I can handle Grimmjow myself." Then, he raised an eyebrow when he sees Rukia starting to cry. Ricky, Saber, Ben, Allen, Lenalee, Will, Wall-E, Toph and Talim turned to her in concern.
"Rukia? Are you alright?" Ichigo asked.
"Of course I'm not alright!" Rukia cried as tears rolled down her cheeks. She fell to her knees and bangs her fist on the ground in frustration. "Why? Why can't I be as good as you?! You are able to take down Grimmjow all by yourself! But I never been able to win a one on one fight in my entire Shinigami life! Grimmjow was bigger and stronger than anyone but Ichigo is still able to take him down! Why can't I do the same?!" Rukia wailed in despair while Ichigo and the others watched her cry in grief.
"Rukia…" Ricky uttered sadly.
"Poor girl…" Talim whispered.
Ichigo kneeled down to Rukia and placed a hand on her shoulder. Rukia stop crying for a moment and tilts her head up to him. "Let it go, Rukia. As Shinigami, things are never easy. Save your misery Rukia, for the next enemy." Ichigo then smiled. "And don't worry, I'm sure one day, you will get your chance."
Rukia then hugged Ichigo tightly and sobbed on his shoulder. "Oh Ichigo…" She sniffled.
Ricky nods his head. "Don't worry Rukia. I'm sure one day; you will be as good as Ichigo and become the next hero of Japan…and the world." He said.
Ben glares at Ricky. 'Stupid Ricky. He only cares about his other friends…but not me.' He thought.
END OF CHAPTER
Ryo: Oh god, I'm finally done with this chapter. Can't believe it took me ten days. Anyways, I hope I can update this story again sooner. And it looks like Grimmjow is finally defeated…or is he? In the next chapter, Ichigo, Ricky and his group get their rest at Talim's home. Stay tune and read and review!