Welcome to Prime Time, Bitch! ~ Freddy Krueger
The thing about nightmares is that in the end, they are only dreams and every dream, no matter how beautiful or cruel, must end. It's time to wake up~ Soifon
When Soifon woke up, the first thing she saw was the titles making up the ceiling of what she quickly realized were the Squad 4 barracks. Slowly, she sat up in her bed and wiped the final remnants of sleep from her eyes. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was dressed in a new set of robes befitting long-term patients of Squad 4. She felt a little beam of sunlight hit her eye and turned to the left, surprised to see an open window letting in the sound of the birds singing from outside. Memories of Freddy and his Arrancar army still ran through her mind but with how beautiful the day was, they seemed so far away, almost as if it was all just a bad dream.
"Look who's finally awake!" A familiar yet unwelcome voice sounded from Soifon's right. The Squad 2 Captain turned to see Kisuke, Ichigo and Retsu standing at the doorway. "How's our little savoir of Soul Society?"
"Savoir? What are you talking about?" Soifon tried to get up but the pain from her wounds interfered, causing her to grunt with pain.
"You shouldn't move around too much," Retsu demanded as she approached Soifon's bedside and gently pushed her down. "We've treated you the best we could but you'll still need plenty of rest if you're going to make a full recovery."
"What happened?" Soifon asked. "Where's my Zanpakuto? And Freddy?"
Retsu pressed her finger to her mouth and hushed Soifon. She bent down to her bedside and lifted up a sealed Suzumebachi. "You're Zanpakuto is just fine. Captain Kurotsuichi wanted to experiment on it due to the strange spiritual energy it gave off but I managed to wrestle it out of his grasp." She placed the Zanpakuto back down against Soifon's bedpost as Kisuke and Ichigo stepped up.
"And you don't need to worry about Freddy anymore," Kisuke confirmed with a tip of his hat. "You destroyed him, remember?"
"I...did..." Soifon tried to sort out the various images in her mind and after a little while, managed to succeed. "That's right. I destroyed Freddy's Bankai! And then the Gates of Hell..."
"Swallowed him right up." Ichigo finished happily. "He's gone."
"And everyone who was affected by his Akumu No Otome have safely woken up." Retsu chirped.
"But...what about his followers?" Soifon asked. "The Fredheads?"
"Well as we expected, without their leader, the army lost its morale and its composure," Kisuke explained. "It certainly didn't help that the Queen of Hueco Mundo, Harribel, was fighting on our side at the time. Soon enough, what remained of the army surrendered and we won the war."
"What is the Head Captain planning on doing with them?" Soifon further inquired.
"That's actually what he's discussing with Harribel at the moment. As we speak, the Head Captain and Queen Harribel are having a private discussion over how to handle things going forward. It may result in a peace treaty or it may birth another war. We'll just have to wait and see."
Soifon sighed. "So I see." Frankly, she wasn't comfortable with the idea of either peace or war with the Arrancar. She just wanted them to fuck off to their own dimension and stay there indefinitely. But in the end, the final decision was the Head Captain's and so as always, she resigned herself to going with the flow. She looked back out of the window again. "So it's finally over."
"Yep." Ichigo agreed. "It sure is."
"Eh Ichigo?" Kisuke pushed his shoulder against Ichigo with his fan covering his mouth. "Do I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice?"
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" A vein popped on Ichigo's forehead.
"Well it's just that normally, you're the one who saves the day but this time it seems that Soifon here stole your thunder. Come on, you must be at least a little jealous!"
"Who the hell would care about that crap!?" Ichigo shouted. "I'm happy that for once I didn't have to do the heavy lifting! After all, I'm only a Substitute Shinigami! This kind of thing is your job!"
"Oh," Kisuke fanned himself. "Are you saying we should do all your work for you? That's pretty lazy!"
"I'm going to punch you in the stomach!" Ichigo threatened as Kisuke laughed. Both men were silenced by Retsu's death glare as it fell upon them from behind.
"This is a place for the sick and wounded to rest and recover." She stated flatly. "I must insist that you keep it down."
"Sure." The two scared men agreed in unison. "Whatever you say."
Soifon fought the urge to snicker at the men's beratement, lest she get a taste of it herself. Silence, however, would elude Soifon a little while longer for as soon as Ichigo and Kisuke ceased speaking, a somewhat familiar voice cried out from the hallways.
"Someone get me out of this drab excuse for a kimono!" It cried. "I can't be caught dead in this thing!"
As Soifon watched from her bed, a shape darted out in front of the open doorway. It was only within the frame of the doorway for three seconds but that was enough for Soifon to recognize who it was, as hard as it was to believe. "A-Ayasegawa?"
"Calm down will ya?" Ikkaku called out as he chased after his friend. "Do you want to get on Captain Unohana's bad side?"
"Forget it!" Yumichika's voice cried through the sound of tearing. "It'd be less shameful to be naked than wear this monstrosity any longer!"
"Put that kimono back on dammit!"
Soifon needed a full minute to process what had just happened. "W-Wait! What's going on? I thought Third Seat Ayasegawa was killed by Freddy!"
"Technically, that is the case," Kisuke admitted. "But when you destroyed Freddy's Bankai, a rather spectacular thing happened."
Retsu nodded. "Soifon, do you recall those blue bursts of light that popped out of Freddy's wound after you destroyed his weapon?"
"I...do..." Soifon confessed
"All of those lights were actually the souls of everyone and everything Freddy killed and consumed since arriving in Soul Society." Kisuke explained. "Most of them were low-level hollows or normal human souls that already deconstructed within Freddy's body and as a result simply dissipated safely into the Cycle of Souls upon being released."
Soifon allowed herself a sigh of relief. "That's good. The Cycle is safe then."
Kisuke nodded. "Some of the souls, however, were a little stronger than that. They were able to keep their constitution and even their sentience while inside Freddy and so when they were released, instead of rejoining the cycle, they simply reconstituted themselves into being using the Reshi of our world. In other words, they were reborn."
"Reborn?" A heavy realization suddenly dawned on Soifon. "Wait! If Aysegawa was reborn into this world with his body intact, does that mean..."
"You guessed it!" A familiar but much more pleasing voice to Soifon's ears spoke from the window. All eyes fell on it as a perfectly intact and totally nude Yoruichi took a seat on its sill. "I've been waiting forever for you to figure that out, Little Bee."
"L-Lady Yoruichi?" Aside from this, Soifon was at a complete loss for words. Ichigo, on the other hand, his face turning as red as a tomato, had plenty.
"What the hell, Yoruichi!?" He covered his eyes with his hands, albeit with two fingers separated over the left eye. "What do you think you're doing coming into the room like that!? Don't you have any shame!?"
"Don't yell at me Ichigo!" Yoruichi replied in a voice full of mock hurt. "It's not my fault my clothes didn't reconstitute with me. What do you want me to do?"
"Don't give me that crap!" Ichigo pointed at her. "At least Yumichika had the decency to find an old kimono to wear, even if he did keep complaining about it! You're just an exhibitionist!"
"Now, now Ichigo." Kisuke implored. "Cut Yoruichi some slack. She's just come back from the dead." He turned to his violet-haired friend. "It's good to have you back, Yoruichi."
"Agreed." Retsu smiled.
Ichigo noticed this, sighed, and smiled at Yoruichi. "Yeah. Great to see you again."
"Thanks a lot, guys!" Yoruichi smiled as she jumped off of the window sill. "It's good to be back." She turned to her former apprentice who still remained shell-shocked. "Little Bee, don't you have anything to say?" She stepped closer, expecting Soifon to become flustered over her nudity like Ichigo or possibly even faint. "Come on, aren't you happy to see me again? You're hurting my feelings, Soifon." To the former Captain of Squad 2's surprise, however, tears trickled down from both of Soifon's eyes.
"L...La...LADY YORUICHI!" She suddenly embraced her undressed mentor and pulled her toward the bed, sobbing uncontrollably into her bosom. Yoruichi was caught off guard by this at first but once she fully grasped what was going on, she smiled and wrapped her arms around her former apprentice.
"I think we should leave the two of them alone." Kisuke suggested. "What do you think, Ichigo?"
"Yeah. They have a lot of catching up to do." Ichigo agreed.
Retsu nodded. "Then let's not waste another second." With this, all three left the room and closed the door behind them, leaving the master and student to their tearful reunion.
"I...I wondered when I saw the blue light...*sniff*...that maybe it was possible...but I didn't wanna give myself false hope..." She suddenly looked up at Yoruichi, the tiniest trace of fear in her eyes. "This isn't a dream, is it?"
Yoruichi gave Soifon a stern look before smiling softly and pinching her cheek. "Ow!" Soifon squeaked.
"Of course it's not," Yoruichi promised. "The dream, the nightmare is over now and from what I heard, you were the one to end it. Thank you."
"Lady Yoruichi.." Soifon continued to sob into Yoruichi's chest as her mentor held her close.
"You've gotten so strong since that day we parted, Soifon." Yoruichi thought. "I'm so proud of you."
Due to the vast amount of both Shinigami and Arrancar that perished in the battle, it was decided that a great burning would be held in place of countless funerals. This, of course, still left the morbid task of gathering the dead onto the pile at the top of Sokyoku Hill. Given how it served at the place where Freddy was banished to Hell, it only made sense to hold the burning there. Ichigo and his friends helped out in the gruesome task as well, save for Uryu who was barely clinging to life when he was found at the foot of the hill, thanks to Orihime, he was taken out of danger but would still have to recuperate at the Squad 4 barracks for some time. As Ichigo walked through an alleyway in search of bodies, he noticed a single Shinigami with a missing arm standing over two of his comrade's corpses. As Ichigo got closer, he recognized them as the two Shinigami he had encountered at Yoruichi and Yumichika's joint funeral. The body of the Squad Nine member lay over the corpse of the Squad 3 member.
"He died trying to protect him." The one-armed Shinigami explained. "He tried to block the attack from that General Arrancar but it was too strong. It killed them both." The Shinigami looked down at his missing arm. "I got hit by the blast as well. If it weren't for Captain Muguruma, I'd be dead." He sniffled. "It's all my fault! If only I had been stronger!"
"Hey, hey!" Ichigo uttered. "Now's not the time for tears!" He approached the one-armed Shinigami and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on now, would your comrade really want you sniffling like this over him?"
The Shinigami shook his head. "Honestly, Hinata would have kicked my ass for even feeling sad about his death. He always was the kind of guy who seemed more at home in Squad 11 but he was just too loyal to the Captain to transfer."
"Hinata," Ichigo repeated as he looked back down at the bodies. "Do you know the other man's name?"
The Shinigami nodded. "Yuito. Despite being in different squads, they somehow became rivals. I think it's because they went to Academy together. Oh!" The Shinigami held out his own hand. "By the way, My name's Riku."
"Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Shinigami." Ichigo introduced himself.
"I know who you are. You only saved this world like hundred times already. Thank you for that." He looked down at his fallen comrades. "I just wish we could have given these guys a proper funeral."
"Yeah." Ichigo agreed. "But at least with you there, they'll still have mourners."
Riku looked back up to Ichigo and smiled. "I suppose you're right. Will you help me carry them to Sokyoku Hill?"
"Of course," Ichigo and Riku carried the bodies of Hinata and Yuito back to the top of the hill. It was evening by the time all the bodies had been gathered. Everyone surrounded the pile of the dead with Yamamoto standing the closest to it. Beside him was a group of hooded Shinigami with torches standing by to set the dead ablaze. Yamamoto waited until he was sure everything was ready before giving his command.
"Ok. Light it up!"
The hooded Shinigami pointed their torches to the corpses and allowed the flames to travel from their wicks onto the dead. In seconds, the entire pile was burning, the flames reaching the sky just as the Sun went down. Once again, Orihime couldn't keep from crying and this time, no one tried to stop her. This was a night of both victory and grief for the Seireitei, one that would be remembered long after all 13 Captains had been succeeded.
The next day, a meeting was called at the Squad One barracks, one that required the attendees to have it outside. The reason for this, aside from the destruction of the Meeting hall, was the large party of Arrancar standing behind Harribel, Nelliel, and Grimmjow. Apacci, and Mila Rose stood at either side of the group while Sung-Sun brought up the rear, their weapons unsheathed and ready to take out anyone who dared to try and escape. To Harribel's right, Yamamoto stood in front of the other Captains with Sasakibe at his side. Once he was sure everyone was listening, he began.
"After a lengthy discussion with the Queen of Huceo Mundo, we have both come to a decision. I know not all of you will agree with it but we both believe this is our best course of action going forward." He paused for a moment to read his fellow Captain's faces and pulled out a sheet of paper from his robes." Both Queen Harribel and I have signed a peace treaty! Effective immediately, the territories of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo are now allies."
There were gasps and shouts of rebuttal amongst both the Captains and the Arrancar.
"You can't be serious!"
"Have you gone mad, Head Captain!?"
"Allies with the Shinigami? Over my dead body!"
"Enough!" Yamamoto silenced the crowd with a single slam of his cane. Even Harribel couldn't help but feel the slightest bit unnerved at the sheer power behind it. "I understand your grievances but believe me when I say this was no easy decision. The fact is, with the revelation of the Dream Realm and the attack launched by the entity known as Freddy Krueger, it's become painfully clear that there are still forces out there that we do not fully understand. We were able to fend off Freddy but there is no telling how many beings like him are out there nor when they may attack. Therefore, in the interest of protecting the balance of souls, we have decided it would be best to become allies with Hueco Mundo in the event of another situation such as this."
"I see your point, Head Captain." Retsu spoke. "But what exactly does this mean for us going forward? Are we to stop hunting Hollows altogether?"
"Not quite," Harribel spoke up as she walked in front of the Shinigami. "As much as it pains me to think of all the Hollows that might die by your hand, your Head Captain has explained to me the true reason as to why you hunt them. It would definitely be bad for Hueco Mundo if reality itself were to collapse around us and so we've come to an agreement. You Shinigami will still hunt Hollows that come to Soul Society or the World of the Living of their own volition Any and all Hollows that are in Hueco Mundo, however, are under our protection."
"How do you intend to handle them?" Soifon asked.
"We hope to redeem the Hollows and Arrancar under our care in our own way. It won't be an easy task, especially with how vicious the hunger for souls can sometimes be but it is our hope that in time, we can all learn to live in peace with each other."
Harribel's words earned her more jeers from her fellow Arrancar.
"No way in hell will we live in peace with Shinigami!"
"Go to hell!"
"Lord Aizen and Lord Freddy were way better rulers than you'll ever be!"
"Enough!" That word once again rang out in a loud enough voice to silence everyone. This time, however, instead of coming from Yamamoto or even Harribel, it came from a violet-haired Arrancar with green eyes. Her clothing consisted of a single dress with a diamond-shaped window over her navel, boots with thigh-high socks and white fingerless gloves. Her mask remnants took the form of a headband with two gazelle horns protruding from them. Her Hollow hole was nowhere to be seen, hidden somewhere underneath her clothing. As her fellow Arrancar and Shinigami watched on, she marched out of the group past Grimmjow and Nelliel and toward Harribel.
"You people really are out of your minds if you think those two tyrants were better leaders for Hueco Mundo." She continued. "I don't know about you but if given the choice, I rather have a shot at redemption as I am now." Once she was directly in front of Harribel, she bowed on one knee with her arm over her chest. "Queen Harribel, I pledge absolute loyalty to you!"
There was a few moments of silence as everyone pondered what had just happened. Finally it was broken by Harribel who instructed the young Arrancar to get up."
"Please stand up and tell me your name." She asked.
The violet-haired Arrancar gulped as her Queen addressed her and did as she was asked. "R-R-Roberta! Roberta Shayne!"
Harribel let out a soft chuckle. "Well Roberta, can I count on you to help me fix the mess Aizen and Freddy have created?" She asked.
Roberta blushed as she did not expect her new Queen to speak to her so causally. "Y-Yes! You can!" She nodded fervently.
"Tsk. There goes my plans for an Arrancar-capturing expedition to Hueco Mundo." Mayuri scowled. Not to mention, thanks to those accursed Gates of Hell, I didn't even get to study Freddy's corpse! This whole ordeal has been nothing but a waste of my time!"
"Cheer up, old chum." Shunsui placed a comforting hand on Mayuri's shoulder. "I'm sure I heard Kisuke say he'd lend you his data on Krueger if you asked nicely."
"Psst! As if I need handouts from that sorry excuse of a scientist!" Mayuri retorted as he brushed Shunsui's hand aside. "And keep your filthy paws to yourself!"
"Get over yourself," Zaraki interjected. "With Kisuke's data, at least you can do some of your precious studying. I barely even got to fight that asshole!"
"Fear not Zaraki," Restu reassured. "Remember what the Head Captain said about the Dream Realm and the possible realms beyond. Perhaps someday you'll get the fight you're looking for."
"I better." Zaraki scoffed, earning a laugh from most of the other Captains. "Hey, What's so damn funny?"
With some of them agreeing with Harribel's vision and others knowing that they really didn't have a choice considering the circumstance, the Arrancar pledged loyalty to Harribel. She shook hands with Yamamoto, a moment captured as a picture thanks to Mayuri's new camera device, and opened a Garganta. One by one, the Arrancar were herded into the gaping maw with Grimmjow and Nelliel and her brothers following afterward.
"Don't even think of trying to betray Queen Harribel's trust!" Sung-Sun warned as she and her comrades stood before the Garganta.
"We might be at peace for now but if you even think of going back on the treaty, know that we'll be ready to fight!" Mila Rose roared.
"Just you wait, Soul Society. We'll become an even more powerful empire than you could ever hope to be!" Apacci taunted.
"Girls," Harribel said sternly. "Stop teasing already."
"Y-Yes Queen Harribel!" All three women said in unison, their faces slightly flushed from being called out like that in front of the Shinigami. With one final dirty look at the Gotei, the Tres Bestias vanished inside the Garganta.
"I do hope that the next time we meet will be on better terms." Harribel bowed. "Until then, Farewell Soul Society. Please give Ichigo Kurosaki my regards." With this, Harribel disappeared into the Garganta as well. After a few seconds, it closed in on itself, leaving the Captain to their own devices.
"Lady Yoruichi, what is this?" Soifon pointed to the green bottle on their table.
"That's wasabi," Yoruichi explained. "I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to punish your tongue for some reason." She snickered. "I still remember when Kisuke tried it for the first time when we were exiled."
"Hey! That was over 50 years ago! Can't you let that go?" Kisuke whined. He, Tessai as well as Jinta and Ururu were all sitting at the same table as Soifon and Yoruichi. Behind them, Ichigo, Rukia as well as their friends were just ordering their food. It had been a week since Freddy's defeat and Soifon had spent most of that time helping to clean up and repair the Seireitei. Thanks to the Omaeda clan stepping in with their vast wealth, the Head Captain let Soifon off with only a slap on the wrist for destroying the Seireiheki during the first battle with Freddy. Nevertheless, the sheer amount of work she and her Squad had to do to help with the repairs allowed very little time to rest. Yoruichi noticed this and so reminded Soifon of their promise to eat sushi in the World of the Living once Freddy was gone. This is how Soifon found herself in a Gigai, wearing strange clothes and even stranger-smelling makeup, sitting across from the man that she hated more than anything in this world, Soul Society or even Hueco Mundo.
The fact that her beloved mentor was sitting right next to her, however, made it well worth everything else.
"Lady Yoruichi." She said. "Forgive me for speaking out but...are these clothes really appropriate for public dining?" As she asked this, Soifon was looking down at the purple crop top with black splotches and the violet skirt with black stockings that Yoruichi had her wearing. On her feet were a pair of black boots.
"When in the World of the Living, it's always best to wear the latest fashion!" Yoruichi reassured her protégé. She herself was wearing an orange crop top with yellow splotches and a pair of jeans. On her feet were a pair of black high-heels. "Besides Soifon, you have a really cute figure. It'd be a shame not to show it off every once in a while!"
Soifon felt tempted to bring up the fact that she more often than not already exposed said figure to the world every time she used Shunko but decided to let it slide. After all, the entire point of this evening was to relax and unwind from her duties as a Shinigami Captain. At least, that's what Soifon was certain Yoruichi would say.
From the other table, Ichigo and his friends carried out their own conversation.
"R-Really?" Orihime gasped. "You two used a fusion attack to take out Harekuin?"
"More or less." Rukia confirmed uneasily. "Although to tell you the truth, it wasn't really planned."
"Yeah," Ichigo agreed. "In the heat of the moment, we tried to show our resolve by tapping the tip of our Zanpakuto together and then all of a sudden, that attack appeared and took her out!"
"That's amazing!" Orihime beamed. "Have you told any of the Captains about this?"
Rukia nodded. "My brother. He said he'd look into the records and see if there's a term for it but did suggest that me and Ichigo might have discovered a brand new way to utilize a Zanpakuto's abilities."
"Wow! To think you might have made history." Sado mused.
Uryu simply scoffed as he fixed his glasses. "I'm not impressed. Besides, I'd wager that actually making contact with the tip of each other's Zanpakuto would prove too clunky of a maneuver to actually use in battle."
"Oh come on Uryu!" Rukia teased. "I bet you're just jealous that me and Ichigo discovered a whole new technique together!"
"Yeah!" ichigo agreed
"Oh shut it!" Uryu snapped, prompting his friends to laugh. As she joined in, however, Orihime's gaze happened to fall on Ichigo and Rukia. She noticed them looking at each other, their eyes gleaming with a warmth unusual for them even in their happiest of moments and the smallest shade of pink on their cheeks. Her laughter wavered and she looked down at the cup of water in front of her.
Her melancholy was interrupted by the waiter bringing the food for both their table and Soifon's. The waiter gently set the plates down on both tables, asked if there was anything he could do for either group, and left when his offer was declined.
"So this is sushi from the World of the Living?" Soifon pondered out loud as she picked up a piece of the raw fish before her with chopsticks and inspected it closely. It was a piece of salmon on top of a cube of rice.
"Don't knock it till you try it Soifon!" Yoruichi urged through her already full mouth. "Come on!"
"Very well." Soifon relented with a quiet tone of dignity before placing the food on her tongue. She chewed for a few seconds, allowing the flavor of the fish and rice to dance on her taste buds before swallowing.
"Well?" Yoruichi asked eagerly. Tessai and the others also watched Soifon with keen interest as they waited on her verdict. With a small smile, Soifon gave them a genuine answer.
"It's delicious!"
In the month following Freddy's defeat, The Head Captain met with Central 46 to discuss what to do concerning the hidden District within the Rukongai that called itself Beautiful Dream. Being as loyal as she was to the Head Captain, Soifon could not help but relay the events of her unintended venture there during Freddy's initial attack to him and her fellow Captains. Aside from Mayuri who wished to bring a few of the residents of Beautiful Dream into his labs for further study into the Dream Realm, none of them seemed to be all that concerned. Nevertheless, the Head Captain, knowing that Central 46 would find out about it sooner or later, decided to take the incentive to tell them himself so that he could help to cull any brash decisions they might try to make.
This proved to be the best course of action as Central 46's first idea in dealing with Beautiful Dream was to tear it down and force its residents into other areas of the Rukongai. They were very adamant about carrying out this course of action but the Head Captain was able to eventually turn them around, mostly by bringing up how the residents of Beautiful Dream inadvertently saved the Soul Society by teaching Captain Soifon how to utilize the dream skills she used to ultimately destroy Freddy. It definitely helped that the effects of Freddy's full power, including the flames of his Bankai, were felt within their compound. After a lengthy and heated discussion, Central 46 finally decided to relent and officially recognize Beautiful Dream as a district of the Rukongai on the condition that any able-bodied residents join the Shin'o Academy.
It was Soifon and her Stealth Force that was sent to Beautiful Dream to deliver the offer. She had her reservations as she was not sure how Nancy and her people would take such a decision being made on their behalf without their knowledge but to her pleasant surprise, most of them were more than eager to receive official help from the Seireitei. As it turned out, a good number of Freddy's past victims, including Nancy and the Dream Warriors, had the spiritual pressure needed to join the Shin'o Academy and eventually become Shinigami, an offer they also took with surprising gusto. It would seem their attitude concerning Shinigami had changed for the better since the day Soifon had appeared in their village and some of them even felt as if they had a debt to repay to her for defeating Freddy, Nancy being the biggest offender in this regard.
It was a cool Wednesday afternoon that saw Soifon take Yoruichi to the Academy to meet Nancy. It was her day off and Yoruichi had been bugging her to introduce her to the woman who had helped her save the Seireitei. After several minutes of searching the Academy grounds, the two found Nancy wandering outside the entrance to the training hall. Her blue eyes lit up as soon as they fell on Soifon.
"Soifon!" Nancy rushed up to the Squad 2 Captain. "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes!"
"It's good to see you again, Nancy." Soifon greeted warmly. "This is Yoruichi Shihouin. She's my mentor and former Captain of Squad 2."
Nancy held out her hand to Yoruichi. "Nice to meet you! I'm Nancy Thompson!"
Yoruichi grabbed Nancy's hand and shook it, her trademark cat-like smirk on her face. "So you're the infamous Nancy that usurped me as Soifon's mentor."
"L-Lady Yoruichi!" Soifon stammered. "Y-You know that's not true!" Her already flustered face became even redder as Yoruichi howled in laughter.
"Oh Soifon! You know I'm just kidding!" Nancy couldn't help but join in on the laughter which served the increase the desire Soifon had for the ground to swallow her up right then and there.
"But seriously," Yoruichi continued as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I've been meaning to thank you. From what I heard, it's thanks to you and your village that Soifon was able to defeat Freddy and save us all."
"I-I really don't deserve that level of praise, Lady Yoruichi!" Soifon blubbered.
"Of course you do!" Nancy argued. "We might have had the know-how when it came to dream skills but without your natural Shinigami power, it would have been totally useless for taking Freddy down. We're in your debt, Soifon and we'll never forget that."
"T-Thanks." Soifon wasn't used to this much praise and to be honest, she found it embarrassing more than anything else.
"Dream skills huh?" Yoruichi spoke. "That's quite an interesting concept. Maybe you can teach me how to unlock mine sometime!"
"Sure." Nancy giggled. "Anytime. "If you're the one who trained Soifon in the first place, I bet yours would be really powerful!"
"I suppose," Yoruichi purred. "Although if I'm going to be honest, I'd much rather find out how revealing my outfit would be."
"I'm sorry?" Nancy became confused.
"Oh, you didn't hear?" Yoruichi asked. "From what Kisuke and the others told me, when Soifon was using her dream skill, she was wearing some rather interesting getup."
Soifon's face once again turned as red as a tomato. "L-Lady Yoruichi! Must you keep bringing that up!?"
"Don't be embarrassed Soifon!" Yoruichi continued with her teasing. "Like I've said before, you have a nice figure and you should show it off every once and a while!"
Soifon sighed in defeat and lowered her head in shame as both Yoruichi and Nancy laughed once more. "Damn you Urahara!" She thought while making a fist. "I swear I'll get you for this, you loud-mouthed bastard!"
Before Soifon's indignation could continue any further, an explosion from inside the training hall caught all three girls' attention. "Oh no!" Nancy knowingly whimpered as she watched the smoke seep out from the doorway. "Not again!"
"What not again?" Soifon asked, mentally grateful for the distraction the explosion provided.
"What's going on in there?" Yoruichi asked.
Now it was Nancy's turn to blush as she faced the Shinigami and rubbed the back of her head nervously. "It's actually kinda amazing in a way..." She chuckled sheepishly. "The Academy instructors even went as far as to say it's the first time something like it has happened to this degree."
"What are you on about?" Soifon cocked a brow.
"Eh...it's better if I show you guys. Come on." Nancy beckoned to the Shinigami to follow her into the training hall which, after a brief moment to exchange a concerned look, they did so. By then, the smoke had mostly cleared and Soifon could make out four shapes spread out in the training hall. At the center of the hall was the boy she remembered as Will, now on his own two feet. In his hand, he held a strange wand-like object that Soifon couldn't quite make out. Standing a few feet before him was Kincaid, holding twin blades in his hands and pointing them toward his adversary.
"Are you sure you can handle this?" Will asked him.
"I wasn't ready that time!" Kincaid defended. "This time, I know I can knock your fairy tale bullshit out of the park!"
"Alright! Don't say I didn't warn you!" Will held his weapon back and began to wave it while chanting, "In the name of Lorick, Prince of Elves, Demon be gone!" At once, a strange green energy not unlike Kido burst from the tip of the object and rushed toward Kincaid.
"Wait..." It suddenly dawned on Soifon as she watched Kincaid hold out his blades. "It can't be..."
"Knock'em out, Bokusa!" Kincaid shouted at the top of his lungs. His blades started to glow and lose their shape. The resulting blob of light engulfed both of Kincaid's hands and ceased their glowing to reveal themselves as giant grey boxing gloves with red trimming. Holding his now-gloved hands out, Kincaid grunted with effort as Will's attack hit its mark. At first, he remained in place but after a few seconds, the force of the bespeckled boy's attack began to push him back.
"No...you...don't!" Kincaid roared as he forced the energy back toward Will with a final shove.
"Oh crap!" Will shielded himself with his arm as the green energy rushed toward him at breakneck speed. Before it could hit him, however, a whip-like object wrapped itself around his waist and pulled him out of the way, The green blast flew into the wall several feet behind where Will was standing and exploded, leaving behind a large smoking hole in the plaster. Soifon turned her gaze to where Will had been pulled as did the two women beside her.
Still bound by her whip, Will lay at the feet of one Kristen Parker. "What the heck Will?" She scolded. "Are you trying to blow Kincaid up?"
"Relax!" Will moaned as he fixed his glasses back into place. "That's the weakest spell in my arsenal. At the most, it would have left a mark. That's all!"
"Leave a mark? On me? Only in your dreams, Four-Eyes!" Kincaid taunted before kissing both of his biceps as he approached the group.
"Guys!" Nancy shouted, catching all three teens off-guard. "What did the teachers say about practicing your Shikais on each other!?"
"Not too." Kristen replied with a guilty tone in her voice. Her face suddenly brightened when she spotted the Squad 2 Captain next to Nancy. "Soifon!"
"It's good to see yo-No wait!" Soifon was caught off guard by Kristen suddenly latching onto her with a hug that nearly knocked her down. Will and Kincaid ran up to her as well.
"We were wondering when you'd visit us here." Will sounded.
"Yeah. What took you so long?" Kincaid asked.
"I do have a job as a Captain of the Gotei 13." Soifon replied as she grabbed Kristen's sides and gently placed her back on the ground. "But I am glad to see you again. There's someone I want you all to meet." She gestured to her former mentor. "This is Yoruichi Shihouin. She's my teacher from when I was your age."
"Don't put it like that Soifon!" Yoruichi whined. "You make me sound old!" She turned to the students. "Still, it's glad to meet the people who helped my Soifon take out Freddy. I have to say, it's pretty shocking to see that you've all already unlocked your Shikais. Most students don't accomplish that until after graduation."
"What can I say? Our Zanpakuto seemed pretty ready to come out already." Kristen explained. "Maybe it's because we've already had experience fighting demons like Freddy."
"Or maybe because we're just that badass!" Kincaid gloated, his boasted smile vanishing with a loud "ahem!" from Nancy.
"That doesn't mean you can just go and destroy Academy property whenever you feel like it." She scolded.
"Yes, Ma'am." All three groaned in unison.
"Aww chill out Nancy." A fourth voice caught the group's attention, turning their gaze toward the girl approaching them. Her hair was done in a rather strange fashion, like a mohawk several feet high and rather than a standard Academy uniform, she was wearing a getup of almost all leather, a jacket over a dark blue shirt, a black skirt, fishnet stockings, and boots. In her hand was a switchblade-like weapon. "After all, they do say practice makes perfect." The girl noticed Soifon as well. "What's up Soifon?"
Soifon could not help but give the girl a confused look. "I'm sorry but...who are you?"
The girl's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. "A..Are you kidding me? It's me, Taryn!"
"Taryn?" Soifon squinted a little as she focused on the girl's face, finally able to recognize her after a few moments. "Oh I see! Sorry! I didn't recognize you with that strange...look of yours."
"Hey! That's my Shikai you're dissing!" Taryn snapped defensibly. "Whenever I activate it, it gives me this appearance. Pretty badass, don't you think?"
"Is...hair like that...considered badass in your world?" Soifon asked.
"What was that!?" Taryn gritted her teeth as a line of red appeared on her face. The fact that her classmates were laughing about the whole thing did not help matters. "Are you trying to start something!? How about we go a round?" She brandished her switchblade. "Come on, let's go!"
"Now now!" Nancy waved her hands as she stood between the two women. "There's no need to fight."
"That's right." Yoruichi chimed in. "Besides, as impressive as your Shikais are, you are still only students while Soifon here is a Captain. Try graduating first and maybe you'll have a shot of lasting more than one round with her."
"Miss Yoruichi!" Will spoke up. "Do you think we might be able to achieve our Bankais before graduation?"
"Bankai eh?" Yoruichi pondered this for a moment. "To be honest, achieving a Bankai before graduation is virtually unheard of but I suppose it wouldn't be impossible, especially with how fast you've achieved Shikai. That being said, you should know that Shikais tend to grow with their Shinigami. As you guys get stronger, I'm confident your Shikais will as well."
"You mean it!?" Will grew excited as he brought up his wand. "You mean Erufu Manjutsu-Shi here could become even more powerful without Bankai?"
"That's right!" Yoruichi chirped. "Just work hard on your studies and I'm sure you'll see results."
"Fucking A!" Kincaid shouted, prompting more laughter from the others. Soifon couldn't help but smirk as well but in the midst of the merriment, she noticed Nancy had a rather forlorn look on her face. "Nancy?" Soifon asked. "Are you alright?"
Yoruichi heard Soifon and noticed Nancy's distraught expression. "I take it you haven't unlocked your Shikai yet. Don't worry! It usually happens long after students graduate from the Academy anyway. There's no need to rush!"
"It's not that..." Nancy turned away, prompting Kristen to approach her.
"It's Freddy isn't it?" She asked.
"What do you mean Freddy?" Soifon turned to Kristen. "What's wrong?"
Kristen seemed hesitant to answer but ultimately did so. "Nancy gets like this sometimes. As you might remember us telling you, Freddy has a nasty habit of coming back from the dead."
Yoruichi smirked again. "That may be true but he'll find it hard to get out of Hell itself."
"Maybe," Nancy whispered loud enough for the others to hear. "But not impossible. Not for him."
Soifon walked up to Nancy and placed a hand on her shoulders. "Nancy, I've been a Shinigami for longer than you've been in existence. Believe me when I tell you that there is no way for Freddy to escape Hell. He's gone for good."
"And even if he does somehow manage to escape," Yoruichi approached her as well. "We'll be better prepared next time. I certainly won't let myself go through that nightmare again."
Soifon shuddered at Yoruichi's words. In times like these, she was reminded of what Nancy had described being inside of Freddy was like and that Yoruichi had gone through the same thing. Her blood boiled with anger at the thought of her beloved mentor going through such a hellish situation and she would do everything in her power not to let her go through that again. "Lady Yoruichi is right!" She suddenly spoke up. "We knew very little about the Dream Realm or how beings like Freddy work but that was then. If that monster ever comes back here, we'll be ready. I promise you!"
Everyone stared at Soifon with wide eyes, surprised at her sudden outburst. Those shocked expressions quickly evolved into hopeful and determined smiles. "Yeah!" Kincaid shouted. "Next time, I'm gonna pound that motherfucker to the ground!"
"We'll be able to join the fight this time!" Will added.
"And if it comes to it, we'll even help you other Captains bring out your dream skills!" Kristen offered.
"I'd like that." Yoruichi smiled.
"So you see Nancy, there's no need to let Freddy's evil taint your existence any longer," Soifon reassured her. "You spent your entire life fighting against him. You deserve to live your afterlife free from his influence."
Nancy slowly turned to Soifon and smiled. "You're right. It's time to let go of the past." She turned around completely, unsheathed her sword and looked down at her reflection within its blade. "Nevertheless, I promise that if that bastard ever does come back, I'll be fighting alongside you."
Soifon smiled. "Right!" One more bout of laughter was shared by the group as the Sun climbed high into the sky.
Two weeks after her visit to the Academy, Soifon found herself in yet another Captain's meeting. By then, the Seireitei had almost completely recovered from Freddy's attack although there was still considerable damage throughout the area. The Meeting Hall, however, was given top priority when the repairs started and so was one of the first buildings reconstructed. Soifon couldn't help but be taken aback by how neat and clean the hall looked. It was as if it was never destroyed to begin with.
"I have called this Captain's meeting on behalf of Squad 12 Captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi!" Yamamoto began. "Apparently, he has come across some information that is vital to our knowledge." He turned to the Squad 12 Captain. "Captain Kurotsuchi, you may speak."
"Very well." Mayuri stepped out from the line of Captains at the right of the Meeting hall and cleared his throat. "As I'm sure you all know, it has been almost two months since the entity known as Fredrick Charles Krueger attacked the Soul Society. Thanks to a certain Stealth Force ingrate," He stared daggers at Soifon who returned the favor immediately. "I was unable to study Freddy thoroughly and had to be content with the research data Kisuke Urahara had gathered in the World of the Living."
Shunsui chuckled. "So you took my advice after all huh, Captain Kurotsuchi?"
"Quiet you!" Mayuri demanded. "In any case, a good chunk of that data consisted of news articles from America describing both Freddy's crimes as a human and the accounts of people being attacked by him in their dreams. Of course, these being humans, the latter articles were written off simply as the ravings of the demented youth. However, near the end of the articles, one account from a Lori Campbell and her boyfriend Will Rollins described an interesting encounter with Freddy. Particularly it described him engaged in battle with a similar entity."
All Captains widened their eyes at those words. "W..What did you just say?" Soifon asked.
"A similar entity?" Restu inquired
"It would seem Freddy is not the only entity of his kind." Mayuri continued, ignoring both questions. "At least not completely. It should be noted that this entity does not operate in the Dream Realm as Freddy did but hunts humans in the World of the Living instead. As with Freddy, however, it began life as a normal human who died but never joined the Cycle of Souls. Instead, it somehow came back as an undead revenant hellbent on destroying any human it comes across." Mayuri pulled out a device that resembled a compass. It had a single button at its center. "An entity that poses a threat to the balance of souls if left to its own devices." He pushed the button and a strange light shout out from the device onto the wall opposite of Mayuri. As the other Captains watched, the lights displayed an image of a man, or at least, it looked like a man, Its greyish-black skin gave it the impression of being a corpse and its face was concealed by a well-worn hockey mask.
"And its name is Jason Voorhees!"
Bleach: Jigoku Files: THE NIGHTMARE FROM HELL ARC (FINISH)
Up next: THE UNLUCKY 13 ARC
(Well here we are. The end of the first arc of this story but most certainly not the last. I do wish this story had gotten more attention but I've happy with what I have so far. After all, I'm far from done with this story. That being said, I will be taking a month-long break from it in order to work on my other stories. I will resume either December or January but rest assured, I won't keep you waiting long. In the meantime, I'm BloodySimpsonChibi and until next time, Bye-bye!)
