Man I am so sorry about the slow updates, its just that right now school is burying me a live, and I've been training at my dojo for a while, anyways here's the much delayed next installment, plz review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach!
Chapter 21- The United Effort, Gather the Friends at the Critical Point!
"Shinn!" Miho screamed.
"No way…" Hitsugaya whispered, "Completely…gone!"
"This is bad," Shuunsui muttered.
"Damn you…" Hana swore as her fists clenched around her sword, "DAMN YOU!"
She raised her sword at the hollow's grinning visage.
"You killed him!" Hana screamed out, "You killed him! You're going down!"
Ichigo struggled back to his feet.
"Shinn…damn idiot," Ichigo swore, "Why did he come!"
He leveled his sword and turned to the others.
"Everyone, get out now!" Ichigo ordered, "None of you can even compare to this thing, I'll fight him because I'm the only one who's got a chance!"
"Idiot!" Hana snarled, "I'm not leaving till that thing is dead!"
She raised her sword and took off towards the hollow.
"Idiot!" Ichigo cried as he raced in.
He snatched Hana and pushed her away as the massive hollow fired a massive energy beam.
"Damn!" Ichigo spat, "I can't lose now!"
He blocked the attack with his sword and poured every bit of his energy into blocking the attack. His sword whined in pain as it was bent farther and farther back.
"Zangetsu, please hang on!" Ichigo cried as he desperately tried to ride out the blast.
Suddenly he sensed his darker presence lurking in the recesses of his mind.
"Not now!" Ichigo murmured, "Not now!"
He felt his soup pressure decrease and he began to be pushed farther and farther back.
Suddenly he felt his spirit pressure drop to zero right when the blast had finished. Ichigo was sent crashing into a wall.
"Ichigo-chan!" Orihime cried.
"Damn…" Ichigo gasped weakly, "Sorry…everyone…"
He collapsed unconscious.
"Damn!" Hitsugaya cried, "How can we compete against that when Ichigo couldn't even hold out against one attack!"
"But I'm not giving up!" Hana cried, "I swear I'm going to kill that damned beast!"
Her soul pressure began to increase and the ground around her began to crack. Her eyes turned yellow and her pupils narrowed into those of a cat.
"Unleash! Mizukuro 2, Ascend shikai!" She screamed.
Suddenly her shadow began to shimmer and wrapped around her sword.
"H-Hana…" Miho whispered.
"That bastard's going down!" She screamed.
She took off towards the hollow.
"Shinn would've done the same for me," Cho sighed, wait up!"
"Hana..." Miho whispered, then pressed her lips together and raised her sword, "One final run!"
"Oy!" Hitsugaya cried, "Get back here!"
Nanu ran in as well while Urahara looked on with a slight smirk.
"Unleash, Sakuhana 2, Ascend shikai!" Miho cried as she stood up and raised her sword.
Her hair glowed pink and her spirit pressure rose immensely.
The four ran in and began a massive series of cuts.
"Double handed knife strike!" Nanu cried as she spilt and slashed in from both sides at the hollow's neck.
Both clones backed away as Hana came in and flung her whip-like blade slashing across the hollow's face. She landed on the face then back flipped away as Cho came in and fired a series of fireballs into the monster's face. He landed on the ground in a smooth roll. The hollow looked up just in time to see Hana swing her sword down unleashing a wave of black water from the blade. The water turned into hundreds of replicas of her sword which stabbed into the hollow's face.
The four landed back into a square formation.
"We did it!" Nanu cried as the hollow began to topple.
Suddenly it righted itself then swung a massive claw hand down onto the four.
The four dispersed immediately and avoided the clawed hand.
"Damn you…" Hana snarled as she fired two bolts of fire into the hollow's hand.
Suddenly several black tentacles shot out from the hollow's palm and caught Hana and the other three and held them aloft.
"We have to save them!" Hitsugaya cried.
The hollow fired a Doom Bolt but the remaining members of the group dodged it. Just as they landed the hollow charged another attack.
"Another attack!" Chad shouted.
The group looked up in horror as the hollow reared back to fire another bolt.
Meanwhile…
"W-w-where am I?" Shinn murmured.
"You are dead," A voice answered.
"Who…" Shinn gasped as he spun around.
"I am your soul…I am your spirit energy and I am Soul Society's most darkest secret,"
"W-what?" Shinn managed to blurt out, "What are you talking about?
"I cannot tell you everything, only that you are something that should not exist…a product something that should have never happened,"
"Explain!" Shinn shouted.
"I cannot…that is all you may know…for now,"
"How do I get back to my friends!"
"You are dead, they are no longer your concern," The voice replied reassuringly.
"They're my friends!" Shinn shouted, "They'll always be my concern!"
"Hmmm…how confusing," The voice murmured, "Very well, since your spirit was killed before its full power could blossom I will give you one chance, if you defeat me!"
Suddenly a mist swirled around Shinn and swirled into a vaguely human form. It began to take form until it revealed an identical replica of Shinn, except the eyes were glowing pools of blue light.
"Fight me…and then you will achieve the power to be resurrected!" The bizarre Shinn cried.
Shinn unsheathed his sword and focused his spirit pressure.
"Yami…are you there?" He asked mentally.
No voice replied.
"Then I'll have to beat you on my own," Shinn muttered.
He raised his sword and channeled his spirit pressure.
"Burst, Raikaze!" Shinn cried.
His sword transformed into its blue gunblade form and pulsed with gathered energy.
"Let's do this!" Shinn shouted.
"Tch, your spiritless sword is no match!"
"Spiritless?" Shinn asked confused, "What are you talking about?"
"You still believe your sword was Yami?" The other Shinn sighed, "You idiot! That sword has no spirit!"
"What?" Shinn cried confused.
"That sword is a reflection of us, Shinn," The soul explained, "It is fueled and activated by our own spirit pressure!"
"What do you mean?" Shinn asked.
"I'm saying that…Yami was a by-product of a little accident," The soul explained bitterly, "Ask Ukitake or Urahara, after all they made us!"
"Enough!" Shinn snarled waving his sword, "I'm not going to listen to you, and my friends need me!"
He ran forward and slashed wildly across but the other Shinn blocked the attack with his bare hand.
"He blocked it!" Shinn thought in complete shock.
"If this is the best, then you're dead!" The spirit Shinn cried.
He stepped forward and his own gunblade materialized out of nowhere in his hand.
"Take this!" He cried plunging the blade through Shin's ribs.
Shin screamed in pain as his other self flung him to the ground.
"Weak," The spirit sighed.
Shinn struggled to his feet and focused his spirit pressure.
"Unleash Yamikaze! Ascend Shikai!" Shinn cried.
His sword reverted into its unimposing katana, except now it was white, which he promptly sheathed.
"That's not going to work," The spirit sighed.
Shinn ignored him and raced in crouched low with his hand ready to draw his lightning fast sword. He took a final leap towards the spirit then sprung into action.
"Raikenpo," Shinn cried, "White Lightning Strike!"
He slashed out his blade into a wide cut at an incredible speed. The other Shinn suddenly slashed forward forcing Shinn to stop the attack and duke under the attack while re-sheathing his sword in one fluid motion. He leaped above the spirit's exposed back and went for the kill.
"Raikenpo," Shinn cried drawing his sword viciously, "White Lightning Strike!"
Incredibly the spirit spun around and blocked the cut. There was a flash of white light then Shinn's sword shattered.
"W-what?" Shinn stammered.
"Idiot," The spirit sighed, "Do better,"
He swung with a lightning fast cut that formed a massive gash across Shinn's chest. Blood spurted everywhere as Shinn collapsed onto the ground.
"W-what…" Shinn gasped.
"Look inside yourself, what did your friends tell you?" The spirit asked.
"I'm not going to lose! Not while my friends are around!" Koji shouted.
"I've...gotta...stay," Hana gasped.
"Why?" Yami asked, "Isn't it so much easier to fall right now?"
"So...I...can...kick Shinn's ass for losing his body to such an annoying spirit!" She cried rushing forward
"Don't say sorry!" Rei snapped as she smacked him over the head with her clipboard, "Just get better!
"Shinn," Miho whispered again trying to wake him.
Shinn remained sleeping blissfully.
She looked around quickly to make sure none was watching then she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
The effects were remarkable if not funny. Shinn tumbled out of the tree and landed on his head.
"Why'd you do that?" Shinn cried blushing terribly.
"Well, you woke up," Miho giggled, "That's good enough,"
"I learned that all my friends are important, and I have to get back to save them!" Shinn cried.
"Then you will die," The spirit sighed slashing outwards causing both of Shin's leg to erupt in blood.
"I'm…going back!" Shinn snarled.
"To die again?" The spirit smirked, "Now you are without Yami, how can you even compare?"
"I don't care, I'll still try!" Shinn cried crawling forward.
"Idiot, you want to go back even though it means certain death," The spirit sneered, "No, no, it's better if fools like you just stayed dead,"
The words struck a chord in Shinn's memory.
"Do not seek to become powerful for yourself, become powerful to protect the people you love, then you will gain real power,"
At that moment he felt a fire ignite in himself, he his wounds glowed blue then sealed them leaving not a scar behind.
"Sorry Yumi-san…I forgot what you taught me," Shinn murmured
He realized the truth; it would be pointless to go there as he was now. He needed to unleash his real strength, his own strength.
"Certain death…" Shinn whispered, "I understand now, I've always came in expecting to help them, I never thought for them to help me, I'm going to go back and with their help, we're going to kill that thing!"
"There we go," The spirit chuckled, "But this fight is still on!"
The spirit raised his sword and ran forward.
Shinn didn't even flinch; he lifted his blade and slashed horizontally unleashing a massive wave of white energy sending the spirit back.
"Good, you're strong enough now…" He whispered, "But strong enough, but strong enough to make a difference…"
Shinn saw the world begin to fold in around him and envelop all around him and soon all went black.
"H-Hana!" Miho cried as the tentacles lifted her into the air.
"Damn this…what is this!" Hana snarled trying to cut it but the material wouldn't part.
"Oh my…this is not good at all," Cho sighed.
"Get off!" Nanu screamed as the tentacles wrapped around her arms and neck.
The tentacles began to lift the four towards the hollow's gaping mouth.
"Oh hell no!" Nanu screamed wriggling desperately to get away.
"Damn!" Hana cried.
"What a way to go," Cho sighed.
"Are we all going to die?" Miho thought frantically, "Is this it…"
Suddenly lightning flashed and all the tentacles parted and the four fell and hit the ground.
"Sorry Miho-san," Shinn gasped, "I was a bit late getting here!"
"Idiot took his time," Yami grunted.
"Shinn!" Miho cried as tears poured down her cheeks.
"S-Shinn?" Hana whispered in disbelief.
"Took your time getting here!" Cho sighed, "Come and give me a kiss!"
"Wait, Yami?" Hana cried.
"You're in a separate body!" Miho cried.
Yami stood next to Shinn garbed in the same uniform but his long flowing white hair blew in the wind and his red eyes glowed brightly. In contrast Shin's short black hair and his brown eyes seemed worn out and tired.
"Let's take this bastard down," Shinn and Yami remarked.