Not sure what to say... I mean, aside from thanking RG-Guest for their detailed and thoughtful feedback. Beyond that, I'm not sure how to feel about the fact that no one else left any feedback. Though, I guess what bothers me more is that all of my other long-standing readers have more or less vanished. I'd like to believe that I'm writing something that other people enjoy- aside from just myself and RG-Guest. Never the less, I'm working like a maniac to finish this story, and I'm well ahead of my minimum amount of chapters for a buffer, meaning if I keep up the pace, I don't see myself running out of content for the foreseeable future.
Regarding RG-Guest's comments: TBH, Ichigo's separation from the larger story and other characters was- to an extent- something of a narrative conceit. Also, I wish you watched more older 'classic' films, because you might have noticed the influences from Spencer Tracy's closing speech in Judgement at Nuremberg (lol). This story is filled with references to all kinds of things- movies, music, tv, history, literature, etc. I'd be interested to see if anyone noticed some of the more obscure ones.
TO FORGE A
BETTER TOMORROW
Chapter LII:
"Confrontation"
Soul Society, One Year Ago...
The instructor regarded the 'students' seated before him. "All of you, gathered here in this room, you will be part of something unique in the history of this Academy." He spoke. "It is you young men and women," he went on. "Who will be the first class of students to graduate in this bold new era."
The young cadets, an almost equal mixture of males and females, listened intently to the older man standing at the head of the room. He had a long main of dark hair (streaked with gray on the the sides) that flowed down his back, as well as a mustache and goatee adorning his weathered face.
"I hope you will take a moment to reflect upon this fact." He continued.
The instructor paused to adjust his glasses before continuing. "These times in which we all now find ourselves, these days will be an age of change." He remarked. "Never forget, you will be the first class in the aftermath of the Winter War... And the implications of this are considerable."
"You, all of you, you are the future- an entire generation of cadets that will be faced with a world so new that it hasn't even been written yet." The Shinigami explained in a serious tone.
"And that is because, rather than simply reading about history, you will be making it." The older man proclaimed to the students as he stood at the lectern. "The Arrancar, the enemy you all learned of since you were children... In this new world you're inheriting, you will know them as allies."
"Even now, amongst your friends," he went on. "Some of you will undoubtedly count Arrancar."
A few of the assembled youth, gathered in the seats before the instructor, exchanged glances between themselves, but otherwise remained silent as he continued with his address.
"Heh," he continued, smiling and adjusting his glasses. "Perhaps, if you'll forgive me for being so bold, some of you may even count them as loved ones."
This earned an array of varying blushes from a few of the students.
"And yet, I would like to take this moment to temper this fact with the knowledge that no one expects you to simply accept this reality without question..." He continued. "After all, yesterday's enemy does not simply become today's comrade overnight. In truth, I would ask you all to remember that change comes not by force of strength, but rather, it unfolds by the courage and willingness within each of us to move forward- even in the face of fear and uncertainty."
The Instructor cleared his throat. "It's my hope that you will hold to that, in the days- and years- to come." He added as he addressed the class. "As it is to you, that the people will be looking to for guidance in the future."
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
The Present...
The Living Realm, Karakura...
"What do you mean by 'prepare for the darkness'?" Szayel repeated the Man in White.
He sighed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but there's not much time. Things are transpiring faster than was predicted." The man replied. "Even now, I have other matters to consider..." The mysterious figure went on. "Depending on how things play out, we may speak again."
"Just what sort of 'things' are we talking about?!" Szayel asked, becoming visibly frustrated.
"For now, all I can tell you is to prepare yourself for..." He paused. "For Unforeseen consequences."
"Wait!" Szayel exclaimed, before the man vanished.
"Captain Grantz..." A voice spoke behind him.
The pink-haired Espada turned to see Kira Izuru, an uncertain look on his face. "Excuse me, sir, but who were you speaking to just now?" He asked, clearly uneasy.
Realization quickly dawned on him: of course the world around them wouldn't stay frozen forever!
The Arrancar composed himself. "Sorry, it's... no, it's nothing." He responded hastily after a moment, in an effort to reassure the blonde-haired man. "Really, it's just nerves, that's all." Szayel added.
At this, he pulled out his communicator- disguised as a cellphone- from one of his lab-coat pockets...
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
"What do you say to the idea of you having a little heart-to-heart with us, hmm?"
Ichigo swallowed hard as the man stepped forward. The seventeen year old drew back, only to feel it as set of prongs pressed into his back, followed by a sudden electric shock overtook his entire body!
"AAAGHHH!"
The young man cried out in pain, swiftly dropping to his knees, even as electricity crackled violently between the metal prongs of the hand-held taser. The orange-haired teenager could see only white as he now knelt, gasping for breath even as the slew of (mostly) men moved in to surround him.
"Now, it's getting good!" A man in a black leather jacket with quaffed hair exclaimed.
"Enough of that, Lou!" Dario exclaimed to the others. "This boy is worthless to us, if he can't speak!"
"What the hell are you playing at?!" Ichigo exclaimed, looking up at him.
"Quick, take him into the ally," Dario coolly instructed the others. "Before we end up attracting too much unwanted attention." He added, watching as Ichigo was dragged away.
Dario held up his hand, which seemed to be enough to halt the others. "Now," he continued, kneeling before the prone figure of the young man. "Perhaps you and I- the two of us- perhaps now we can talk."
At this, Ichigo was lifted back up onto his feet by two of the other brethren. The whole time this went on, Dario watched with a smile on his face, removing a cigarette from the pack and lighting it, as the youth was brought to his feet before him. Flicking the lighter to life, he lit the cigarette.
"What-" Ichigo started, only to falter as Dario produced a switchblade knife- the narrow blade popping out as he held it aloft in his gloved hand. "W-what do you want?"
The man in the fur-lined jacket and the woman with the tattoos smirked as he continued. However, the hooded man only shook his head. "What do I want?" Dario countered. "Why, to talk."
"Lenny, Ozzy," he continued. "Hold him still." Dario instructed calmly. "Now then, now that I finally have your full and undivided attention, there are a few things that I want to discuss with you." The man went on, taking a drag off of his cigarette. "To start with... What is Darkwood to you?"
This question took the orange-haired young man by surprise. Surely, if these people actually knew so much about him, then why were they asking such a question?
Seeing the teen's obvious confusion, he elaborated. "We know you've been in-communication with that man, for the better part of a year now- perhaps even longer." Dario revealed. "However, what we really want to know right now is why?" He demanded of him.
"I don't understand what you're asking?" Ichigo replied, still glaring at him. However, his reply was met with a glare from the ring-leader, followed by the other men retaliating against him- striking at the youth in the back with metal-laden blows, compliments of various metallic implements.
Ichigo cried out in agony as he felt the pointed sting of brass knuckles and chains as they lashed against his increasingly sore back. "AAAGH!" The teenager screamed, lurching forward and gasping for breath.
"Hawke, c'mere," Dario instructed the man in the baseball cap and camo pants. "And bring the bat."
He stepped forward- brandishing the weapon menacingly. "Now... why don't you give Kurosaki some prompting." He instructed the other man, resulting in the man taking a mild swing into his side.
Once more, Ichigo wailed in pain as his vision flashed white!
The man in the black hoodie stepped back, taking a puff. "Again." Dario instructed, resulting in the man in question hitting him in the side once more with the aluminum baseball bat.
Ichigo screamed, before his body went slack while still held in the two men's grip, only for the leader pf the group to reach forward and tilt his chin upwards, facing towards him. "Alright kid," Dario spoke, looking him in the eyes. "How about now, do you feel a bit more like talking with me?"
At this, Ichigo spat at the man kneeling down before him. Wiping off his face, Dario smirked, stepping back from the young human man. "I see..." He commented, taking his cigarette and pressing the end of it into his chest- followed by his yelp of pain as it sizzled. "Have it your way, then."
Without any further prompting, Lenny then proceeded to wrap his chain around Ichigo's neck, eliciting an agonized gasp of pain from the youth as he pulled on it, drawing it tight.
Ichigo could feel his head spinning as the people circled around him laughed like jackals...
"Is... this it..." He thought woozily. "Am... I going... to die?"
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Urahara wiped the sweat from his brow, before lifting up the protective goggles that had been covering his eyes as he worked in one of the rooms beneath his shop...
The scruffy-faced pale blonde-haired man exhaled as he paused to gaze down at his work. "Alright... Let's see." The former Shinigami began. "If I did the job correctly, then the beam should be projected from 'point A' to 'point B'... that is, if I wired the input-output properly."
Sitting back, he adjusted his hat. "If not, then..." Urahara murmured aloud to himself. "Well, I guess, then I'll have a different concern to worry about... like not burning down the shop." The man muttered to himself as he pulled his shielded goggles back down over his eyes.
He flipped a switch, and there was an intense flash of light. But when there appeared to be no issues, the man gave a sigh of relief. "So far, so good." Urahara remarked. "Now, I just-"
He was interrupted by the sound of his cell-phone ringing. Setting his tools down, Urahara moved to retrieve the phone from the nearby desk. "Hello, this is Kisuke Urahara?"
His eyes widened in surprise. "Szayel?" The Soul Reaper spoke, as he struggled to slide his goggles off of his eyes with only one hand. "Why are you in the Living Realm?"
"One of the Recon Teams has detected some disturbing energy readings- in Karakura, no less." The Arrancar replied, over the line. "They're identical to the force that manifested in the Soul Realm, the force that killed Kenta Ando."
"Dammit!" Urahara cursed. "And it couldn't have picked a worse time for it..."
"There's something else..." Szayel continued, somewhat hesitantly.
The ex-Shinigami exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Don't tell me... More bad news?"
"That... depends." The Espada cautiously answered after a moment.
Urahara hadn't expected that sort of response from him, so he now listened intently as the Hollow on the other end of the line continued. "Hard to say. More than likely, you'll probably need to speak with him in-person, if you really want to be certain for yourself." Szayel went on.
"First off, what do you mean by 'Him?'" Urahara inquired, confused.
A sigh could be heard over the line. "That's... a long story, I'm afraid."
"I can imagine." The other man responded wearily.
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Ichigo dropped down to his knees, gasping for breath as a sharp pain surged through his side.
"It's like we told you the last time," Lenny started. "This is it, kid- this is the real deal!" The imposing, leather-clad man declared in his low gruff voice as the teen was pulled up onto unsteady legs.
"Welcome to the jungle." He added with a smile.
One of the newer guys- the one with the head of long stringy black hair, clad in a pair of tight black pants and a flowing black ruffled shirt- smiled as he leaned against a nearby wall. He folded his arms across his chest as he watched the teenager being assaulted before him.
"Watchin' this givin' you any ideas, Ronnie?" One of the other men asked. This time, it was a man with piercing eyes, a soul-patch on his chin, and a pair of long full sideburns framing his face. He was dressed in a waist-length jacket, that featured a heavy fur-lined collar.
"Well, maybe just a few, Wolfe." The one named 'Ronnie' answered, still smiling.
The heavily tattooed woman stepped forward. "Knowing you two fucks," Jinx cut in, giving a devious smile as she spoke. "I wouldn't be all that surprised if both of you had hard-ons!"
Everyone seemed to have a good laugh at this...
But as soon as Ichigo saw the one with the bat- Hawke, he thought- the teenager summoned up every last ounce of strength that he could in that moment!
And with a concerted effort, he used that very same strength to hurl the two men holding him by the arms forward, sending them both crashing into the men in front of him- including the man who'd been brandishing the bat at him- resulting in a cacophony of cursing and a noisy collision of limbs!
Spotting the fallen bat clattering to the ground, Ichigo moved in quick and snatched it up, only to end up finding himself eye-to-eye with Dario himself. Without saying a single word, the man produced the very same switchblade knife that he'd previously wielded, earlier during the encounter.
What happened next took only secants, as if the youth was being compelled solely by instincts!
Ichigo swung the bad directly at Dario...
Followed by the sound a sickening 'crack' that echoed in his ears, as the aluminum instrument made contact with the side of his head! And, it was in this moment- overcome by a mixture of fear, rage, and adrenaline- that the orange-haired teen held the baseball aloft, bringing it to bare once more...
"Motherfucker!" Ichigo exclaimed angrily as he swung the bat.
It didn't even matter to Ichigo in that instant, that Dario had dropped to the pavement, and his now-kneeling figure was visibly teetering before him. Spurred onward by nothing more than blind instinct, he'd swung the bat with enough force to make a home-run!
The fact that he'd done so with far more rage and fury than he would have thought himself capable of, it didn't initially register in his mind as he made contact with his skull once again. That was, not until he heard the sound of bone cracking as the side of Dario's head buckled...
...and the resulting spray of blood, splattering his face and coloring the ground!
Ichigo screamed, overcome with horror as the realization of what he'd done now dawned on him, flinging the bloodied weapon (like a red-hot coal) and frantically running- knocking the others aside as he fled the scene...
He wasn't even sure of where or why he was running. All Ichigo had to go on, in that moment, was the certainty that he couldn't stay- that he had to run!
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Orihime was standing in the kitchen of her and Ulquiorra's apartment, humming to herself, when she jumped slightly- feeling an inexplicable chill course though her!
Worse yet for her, the young women was also filled with an inexplicable feeling of complete and utter dread. The feeling was overpowering. And as Orihime tried to come to grips with it, the redheaded girl was stuck by a vision- a fleeting image, of a white-gold light flying across the sky, like a shooting star. Yet, just as fast as the image had come to her, it was already over...
"W-what's going on?" Orihime thought to herself, her brown eyes wide.
Stepping back from the counter-top, the curvaceous young woman couldn't help but take notice of how the air (or was it the atmosphere?) around her suddenly felt cold. Leaving the kitchen, she passed by the small dining table, and walked into the living room- spotting the birdcage.
The little 'community' of finches she (along with Ulquiorra somewhat reluctantly) had been nurturing seemed otherwise fine, which helped to put her at ease somewhat...
Still, something was wrong, it was a sort of unease that she'd become familiar with over the course of numerous ordeals she'd been subjected to these last few years: encountering the spirit of her brother as a Hollow, being taken to Huecco Mundo, and more recently her run-in with the Sternritters.
"S- something's not right." Orihime spoke out loud, her heart racing as she looked around the room, before bolting to her feat. "N- no, not this time!" The sunset-haired woman exclaimed emphatically to her self. "I have to do something... before- before it's too late."
Grabbing her cellphone, she headed towards the front door. Whatever was transpiring within the city, Orihime wasn't going to remain passively in the sidelines as it unfolded this time...
"Hold on everyone..." The redhead silently thought to herself as she departed.
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city, a bedraggled and dazed Ichigo was making his way down along the backstreets of the business district. The teen was moving in sluggish steps, arms folded across his chest as he rubbed them frenetically and muttered to himself...
"Oh fuck," he thought silently to himself. "Fuck, fuck, fuck! What have I-"
"Oh my god, Ichigo, is that you?!"
The teenager turned, dully, toward the sound of the voice. Ikumi was standing in the open backdoor of the shop, without her cap (with the goggles) or work gloves. The stunned teen looked on dumbly as the woman rushed over to him. "Ichigo! Ichigo, talk to me!" She exclaimed.
Ikumi grasped him by his broad shoulders, shaking the youth. "Dammit Ichigo, snap out of it!" The woman yellowed, before finally delivering a slap across his face for good measure.
This at least appeared to be enough to pull him of whatever stupor that he'd fallen into, as the look he gave her (as he rubbed his stinging cheek) was one of confusion, followed by horror. Ikumi looked at the teen, giving him a quick once over: Ichigo was cut and badly bruised... But more than that, there was blood on him- and from the look of how it marked him, she suspected that not all of it was his!
"You were attacked again, weren't you?" She asked, looking him in the eyes. "Tell me, Ichigo, was it the same people who attacked you the last time?" Ikumi went on.
A moment passed, then he nodded. "Y-yeah..." He managed dully. "They- they came after me again, and... and something happened." Ichigo rambled, not meeting her gaze. "I- I- I did something."
Ikumi didn't like the sound of that, nor the way he kept saying 'something'. With that in mind, the dark-haired woman grabbed hold of him, by the hand, and lead him inside the shop. Once inside, she locked the door, and made him sit down, before going to retrieve her first-aid kit from her office.
She cursed silently, hating the fact that this wasn't the first time she'd done this...
As soon as he heard footsteps coming his way, Ichigo looked up. "Ikumi..." He started, looking intently at the woman standing before him. "No! You don't understand, you're not safe... not around me."
"Exactly what the hell happened out there, Ichigo?" The older woman responded, as she moved in closer to tend to his injuries. "And please don't try and bullshit me, because you're not a very good liar." Ikumi added pointedly. "Something is wrong. It's like the entire city has been on the verge of exploding, for a while now... And don't tell me you can't feel it, this unnatural tension?"
"That's the problem, I can't!" Ichigo fired back at her. "Not any more, at least." The orange-haired teen paused, taking a breath. "Everything's wrong- including me!"
"What are you talking about?" Ikumi asked, even more confused now.
He exhaled, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "The people, the ones that attacked me, they... know things about me, things that they shouldn't be able to know." Ichigo continued. "And they were beating me up, I don't even know what for... But somehow, I got away from them."
"And in all of the chaos, I managed to get hold a bat- an aluminum bat- that one of them had just been using on me." The teenager paused. "And then, just like that... it all happened in an instant: one secant, I had the bat, and next, I'd bashed one of them in the head with it." He finally managed to say, covering his mouth with his hand and looking down at the spot on the floor between his shoes.
Ikumi gave a mortified look, but said nothing.
"It wasn't just self-defense... Because I hit him again." He confessed. "And that time, I hit him right in the head, as hard as I fucking could..." Ichigo went on. "That's all it took- just a fraction of a secant- for me to become a killer, I caved his head in- like it was nothing!"
"Ichigo!" Ikumi snapped, her hands grasping either side of his head and tilting it back upward so that she could look the seated young man in the eyes. "You are not a killer, do you hear me?"
Her heart was pumping and her mind was racing as she held his gaze, and she could see that the young man was visibly trembling, his mouth wavering as he looked up at her...
"But I-" He started to protest, standing up.
"I'm telling you, Ichigo," Ikumi countered. "You are not a killer. You. Are. A good man!"
Ichigo wasn't certain what drove him to do what he did next... But in his confused and frightened state, perhaps he didn't need a reason, as he reached up to clasp his hands over hers. He had expected for her to pull away from him, but instead, she only blushed faintly, her lower lip trembling.
Later on, neither of them would be sure why what happened next occurred. Was it their close proximity, the adrenaline coursing through their veins... or, perhaps even something else?
The orange-haired youth leaned in, his lips brushing against her own. She didn't resist, returning the kiss. And so, for the moment, at least, neither one of them cared about the reason as they kissed one another- passionately, almost feverishly.
. . . ...o.o.o... . . .
Szayel held up a electronic instrument in his gloved hand, the same design as the one that had detected the build-up of energy moments prior to the manifestation of the 'dark energy' in the Soul Realm... The same instrument that Ando had been using, just before said energy had wiped him out of existence.
In the aftermath of the tragic demise of his subordinate, the bespectacled Espada had fine-tuned the 'scanner'- as he'd taken to calling it- to be more sensitive to the presence of Dark Energy. He watched as the device's display quickly flickered to life, then proceeded to adjust the settings on it.
He arched a narrow pink brow when the instrument beeped sharply, the screen then showing data as some of the small lights built into the interface suddenly lit up at the same time. "Hmmm... I don't like the look of this."
Szayel turned to one of his men standing nearby- a small, sheepish looking sort, with brown hair and rectangular glasses. "Quickly now," he started. "Has anyone reported back in yet?" The Espada asked the man. "What sort of energy reading are we getting within this city."
"Yes sir, Captain." He replied, somewhat stiffly, with a nod. "I'll see to it, right away."
However, before the Shinigami had a chance to do anything, he received a communique of his own.
The Octavio watched as the man gave a look of surprise, before nodding and saying something back into his headset in response. "Sir... One of our operatives just contacted me." He began. "He's reporting the detection of unusual energy readings- matching the sort you instructed us to look for."
Just then, a female Shinigami appeared at his side. "Captain Grantz," she started. "I was in the process of finishing my check of the area assigned to me, when I detected the 'Dark Energy'."
"Captain." The male Shinigami spoke up, once more. "Just now, I received another confirmation."
"I'm definitely not liking the sound of this." Szayel remarked out loud, to no one in particular, as he rubbed his chin. "So many identical readings at once... This can't be a coincidence."
Taking a deep breath, Szayel looked up. "This is it, everyone... Call Soul Society."
(- End of Chapter LII... -)