A/N: Alright! We've got ourselves the end of the Bount arc, folks! I didn't think we'd get here, but here we are. I just want to say a quick thank you to Darfo, 000-Killua-Lawliet-000, Kemar372, and H3LLF1R3IIO5 for following and Darfo, Thomas96, 000-Killua-Lawliet-000, and Kemar372 for favoriting.
Thank you all for everything! It really helps with motivation and all! I apologize for this taking as long as it did. Life kinda kicked my ass for a bit, but I got through the worst of it. I think. . . but yeah much sorries for the extremely late update. I hope this chapter will be satisfactory.
But yeah, here's the arc finale. I'll have a little spiel in an author's note at the end of this chapter as for where the rest of this story will be going.
But yeah. Here's the arc finale, for real!
Chapter 27: Dawning
Jin and Yoshino laid spread out on a nice quilt on the forest floor. The prickly grass clashing against the thin quilt wasn't the most comfortable thing to relax on, but the air was nice at least. The trees around them stretched up into the sky, partially blotting out the sun. It cast a nice shade over the forest, but the darkness outweighed the coolness. It was draining, in a manner of speaking, to live in such a place, deprived of light but familiar all the same.
"What will we do?"
Jin frowned as he brushed away a strand of Yoshino's hair. "What do you mean?"
Yoshino turned over to him, a few rays of light shone down on her face. His breath caught at the beauty of her softened features. Her lips were pursed in their natural apprehensive manner. The gears in her head would have to have been turning at a mile a minute. "The world hates us. They won't accept us."
Jin paused for a moment, simply contenting himself in rubbing circles in her back. He could remember asking Ran'Tao a similar question many years ago. He could only give the answer that he knew. "We'll make them see us as we are. They'll accept us in time, my love. I don't know how long it will take, but we'll show them together. Truly."
Yoshino smiled up at him, leaning into his chest. "How can you be so sure? How can you speak with so much certainty?"
Jin chuckled. "We're Bounts, Yoshino. We are too strong of a species for this to turn out any other way. We'll be alright."
Jin grunted against Ichigo's sword swing, using his wind covered fist to bat it aside. Ichigo's arm went wide, leaving himself exposed. Jin moved into the shinigami's space and jabbed with a wind enhanced fist, slamming into Ichigo with the force of a hurricane. The shinigami doubled over on his fist before rocketing across the landscape.
Ichigo flipped back into, landing into a skid. He reared his sword back and shouted, "Getsuga Tensho!" as a rippling wave of black Reiatsu shot at him. Jin's eyes widened slightly as he only barely managed to avoid it. He smirked slightly until he saw a bit of smoke rising from the corner of his eye. A quick glance told him that the leg of his pants had been lightly singed.
It took all that he had in him not to blow the landscape into oblivion.
"I'm not here for you, brat," spat Jin. "Show me where Ran'Tao is hiding. I know she's here."
"What happened to all of your pleasantries?" Ichigo shot back.
"Kurosaki, I have sensed her and seen her with my own eyes. Now, you can tell me where she is now, or I can beat the answers out of you. I am not entirely against either choice."
The brat of a shinigami simply scowled at him. "Not a chance! I'm gonna kill you before you get the chance!"
Jin snarled as his hand filled itself with wind Reiatsu. "So be it!"
Jin chucked a wind wave at Ichigo that he promptly cut in half. With a burst of Shunpo, Ichigo crossed the distance between the two and nicked at Jin's arm. Jin winced slightly as he swung out his opposite arm, buffeting Ichigo through the sky and careening into the ground. The substitute Shinigami skidded for a while before coming to a stop.
Ichigo's legs tensed as he shot off, blurring around the man and leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake. 'I see. . . he's trying to overwhelm me with his enhanced bankai speed. Unfortunately for him, I have a counter that will put him in his place.'
With a deep breath, Jin harnessed his Reiatsu. He kept track of Ichigo's every movement as he worked, heavily fighting the urge to smirk at the teen's futile efforts. It was admittedly an admirable plan that would soon crumble.
The moment Jin felt his Reiatsu hit slam against his breaking point, he unleashed his wind Reiatsu with a mighty shout. A cavalcade of sharp, thin wind blades shot out from his being. Jin's body seemed to sigh in relief from the welcome lack of pressure. He finally let a smirk come through as he heard Ichigo's yelp of pain. As he faced Ichigo, he was rewarded with the sight of a devastated landscape with gashes carved into the terrain at random. Dirt and smoke had been kicked into the air obscuring much of Jin's vision.
And in the center of it all laid Ichigo. His body was riddled with gashes with his blade, impressively still in his grasp. He didn't look like he would put up much more of a fight. At least, he hoped that he wouldn't.
"This is tiresome," Jin muttered as he landed. "Do yourself a favor and just lie there. It will bring you far less pain than if you were to continue this nonsense." Jin paused for a moment, merely gazing at Ichigo's prone form. After being satisfied with his lack of movement, Jin turned and began off. "There will be no stopping this retribution."
"Kukukuku!"
Jin paused and turned back to Ichigo with a scowl. "Excuse me?"
The teen was pushing himself back to his feet now. His back was turned to Kariya and his shoulders shook with each laugh. "Where do you think you're going?"
Jin frowned at the Reiatsu coming off of the teen. It was dark and unnatural; it felt not unlike the energy from a hollow. A shinigami with hollow Reiatsu? He'd never seen such a thing in all his years. "What are you?"
Ichigo cast one long look over his shoulder. Jin was only able to make out two details; his sclera had turned a chilling pitch black and his wide grin that promised pain. "I'm the one who's gonna kill ya!"
CHING!
Jin's eyes widened as he felt the sharp, cool steel of a zanpakuto held to his neck. Only, it wasn't Ichigo's zanpakuto. The blade held to his neck was silver in color. not black. In fact, the possessed shinigami looked just as surprised as he was at the new development.
"Maki," Jin started, sensing his subordinate's familiar Reiatsu, "what are you doing?"
He could feel the sword press more firmly against his neck. Any harder and he was sure it would draw blood.
"When I joined you, I saw a man who was caring. A principled man who was willing to make a difference. I followed you through years and years of work as your faithful servant. In a way, you reminded me of my old Captain." The blade had dug into his skin now, and Jin could feel a drop of blood running down his neck. He could feel his pulse quickening with every sentence, quietly compounding his Reiatsu. Who was that ungrateful brat to judge him? He was that boy's savior.
Before he could stew too long in his rage, Maki continued. "I thought that you could help me change the Soul Society, so that unprincipled and unfit monsters like Kenpachi would never hold power again. I was wrong. You've become callous and unprincipled. You're on the verge of blowing up Soul Society! I won't let you do it, Kariya!"
"Oh," Jin murmured through gritted teeth. "And how do you plan to stop me?"
"Like this!"
Just as Maki drew his sword back, Jin let his wind energy explode. The man went flying across the battlefield, rolling along the ground. He didn't get a good chance to get a good look at the downed shinigami as Ichigo was on him in an instant.
With a wild cackle, the shinigami swung at him. Jin only barely dodged the strike by stumbling back. Much to his alarm, the substitute Shinigami had gotten faster.
The two engaged in a battle of attacks and parries; a battle that Jin was quickly losing. Jin was hit with slash after slash, and Ichigo showed no signs of slowing down. With every step he took, the teen was on him. Before long, Jin caused an explosion of wind Reiatsu to knock Ichigo away. The teen skidded to a stop several meters away, a cloud of dust billowing out behind.
Jin huffed in a few quick breaths of air as he wiped the back of his fist across his lip. He scowled as it came back bloody. He knew the wounds would heal themselves in a few moments thanks to the Seireitei's abundant Reiatsu, but he couldn't help the rage he felt brewing within him.
"You OK there? You're not looking too hot."
Jin's teeth gnashed together. "Don't get too cocky, brat!"
"Ichigo!"
A flicker of annoyance seemed to flare in the teen's eyes. For once, Jin could sympathize. "The King isn't home right now, Danny. Now butt out of this. I'm gettin' tired of people interrupting my fun."
Danny went silent, no doubt attempting to process what unholy creature had possessed his friend. Jin didn't get much time to reflect on this as Ichigo was on him once again.
Jin hissed in pain as a well placed slash across the chest sent his blood spewing. It was followed by a stab to the gut and a slash to his shoulder. Jin snarled and threw a wave of wind Reiatsu the Visored's way, but he was too fast.
Jin gasped in shock as he was stabbed in the back and then the leg. He dropped down to one knee as he felt a sharp pain in his ankle. He tried to make another wind attack to gain some sort of space between him and Ichigo, but it was of no use. The teen had become a blur of speed, striking at the Bount every now and then.
Until it suddenly stopped.
Jin's brows creased as he glanced up at Ichigo. Jin quickly noted that Ichigo's arm had gone slack. A hand reached for his mask before it paused just in front of it. Jin looked on in morbid curiosity as Ichigo's sword arm began to tremble. "Gah! Not this again! I had him on the ropes!"
"Stop! Possessing! My! Body!"
With a guttural roar, the hollow mask was shattered into hundreds of pieces.
Danny looked on in no small amount of horror.
Ichigo had a hollow just like him. It didn't make sense. He'd never encountered that spider hollow, so that couldn't be it. Unless he had? Maybe Ichigo had had a similar experience with a different hollow?
Danny spared a glance over at Vlad, who was watching the two combatants intently. His lips were pursed, but Danny couldn't read much from the man's face.
"We should step in," Danny muttered, hoping it would lead Vlad into doing a good thing. For once in his life.
Vlad simply glanced at him once, rather annoyedly, before turning back to the combatants. "He's got him right there. What is he doing? He could easily take him down while Kariya is disoriented!"
"He's obviously distracted, so we should go do something."
"Hn. Isn't that more your thing, Daniel?"
Danny growled as he glowered at the older man. "Fine! I'll do this myself!"
Danny soared down, quickly turning invisible. It was of great convenience to be able to use his ghost powers in his shinigami state. Ever since the Soul Society had stopped regarding him as the enemy, Danny had done his best to train his powers for moments like this. It made the perfect storm for stealth and ingenuity. As such, he quickly covered Jin in ice, from head to toe, before he or Ichigo could even get a word out.
Danny landed, deftly, next to Ichigo, who looked none too happy to see him. He glared at Danny, his eye even began twitching a bit. "I was in the middle of something!"
Danny huffed. "Yeah, well, you're welcome. I didn't have to do that y'know."
"You didn't need to. I had it covered!"
Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. "Nope! We've gone so long without having an argument like this, and I'm not gonna break that streak over something stupid! Now what do we do with him?"
Just as Danny jerked a thumb at the Bountsicle, the ice began to shake. Danny lit his hands with ectoplasmic energy as he took a wider stance and returned to floating. The ice exploded outward in a whirlwind. The gusts were so powerful that it took everything Danny had him just to stay hovering in his position.
Jin glared at the two, hate was practically radiating off of him in waves. Without relenting on his fierce winds, he fished out the Infi-Map. He unfurled it and shot them one last glare. "I'll be taking my leave!"
Danny held his hands in front of his face in a futile effort to block out the winds. "No, you don't!"
Danny turned intangible, gaining sudden control of his bearings as he made a break for the Bount. There was a flash of light just as Danny had managed to reach the Bount. He was gone in a blink of an eye along with the winds.
"Dammit!" Danny kicked at the ground. "I almost had him!"
"Great," Ichigo muttered. "Now what do we do? We've got no idea where he went."
"That may not be the case."
Danny turned to glare at Vlad as he approached the teens. His infuriatingly slow gait did little to sate the teen's ire. Danny met him halfway after a few quick strides. "What was that?!" Danny shouted, throwing his arms up. "I asked you to help me! We had a deal! Or did you forget that?"
Vlad smirked down at him. "I was helping, and I'm about to assist you again. As you all can hear from the sounds of chaos, his Bounts are still here."
Ichigo's eyes widened slightly. "Do you think he's still here?"
Vlad shook his head. "The Infi-Map can take you from place to place but not different spots within the same realm."
"What the hell does that even mean?"
Ignoring Ichigo, Vlad continued on. "That is to say, it can't take a person to different spots within the same location unless there is another portal."
Danny's brows scrunched. "I don't see how that helps us."
Vlad sighed. "I'll rid your father's daftness from your brain if it's the last thing I do." Paying no attention to Danny's heated glare, he powered on. "In the realm that Jin was taking souls, I suggested that he let me create a ghost portal. I told him that it'd be "a necessary investment should a need for retreat show itself."
"You created another portal?!" Danny blurted. "But it's only been a handful of days since I last saw you!"
Vlad gave Danny a mock, pitying look. He could already tell that Vlad was thinking some disparaging thoughts about his father's influence on his intellect. "Daniel, I am a genius who managed to create a fully functioning portal on his own, along with a whole swath of other ghost weaponry and tools. All of this while creating a business empire in the human world and a feared reputation in the Ghost Zone. Not to mention, I have super speed. I only needed a day, at the most."
Danny grudgingly nodded as he glanced between Vlad and Ichigo. "So, any ideas on how we should take him on? I feel like we should talk to the others about this."
Vlad snorted, drawing the ire of the younger halfa. "What's so funny?" Danny hissed.
"You're looking for approval now?" Vlad scoffed. "I can't believe that I'd see the day that the great "Danny Phantom" was tamed."
"Well we don't have any idea of what the place looks like or why he was healing like that! We'd be going in blind into who knows what!"
"Actually, I do."
Danny looked at Ichigo. "What?"
Ichigo's face was twisted up into its regular scowl. Actually, it looked more uptight than usual, if that was even possible. "He said that the reishi was helping him heal faster. Minor injuries are nothing to him in the Soul Society."
"And would you look at that," Vlad singsonged. "Jin isn't in the Soul Society right now!"
"OK, but we don't know if the other dimension he's in has an abundance of reishi," Danny retorted. However, one look at the man's smirking face shot down his rebuttal. "It doesn't have an abundance of reishi, does it?"
"I can't say for certain, but yes, I believe so," Vlad answered.
"You believe so?"
Vlad pinched his nose in thinly veiled annoyance. "It is a wonder how you've thwarted me for all of these years!"
"It's because you're an egotistical, man-child."
Vlad continued on like he'd never even heard Danny. "We are natural sensors, you and I. With our Ghost Sense, we can detect ghosts in our immediate vicinity by sensing the ecto-signature emitted from their ectoplasmic forms."
Danny's brows scrunched up. He was only vaguely following the mumbo-jumbo spewing from Vlad's mouth. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be the only one.
"What?" Ichigo drawled.
"This conversation does not concern you, imbecile!"
"You want to run that by me again?!"
"Hey!" Danny interrupted. "Vlad, quit it with the jabs! Just tell us what your stupid plan is!"
Vlad waved a hand as if wasn't the instigator of the spat. "I was getting to that. Anyways, as natural sensors, we can pick up the other materials of the multiverse more easily. Things like Reiatsu and reishi, if you will. We even react differently to different species' Reiatsu as I'm sure you've noticed."
Danny could dimly recall his weird mist color change whenever he'd met Plot on the airplane. It had been so long ago that he'd almost forgotten about the whole thing. "OK, so what? We just waltz into Jin's other dimension? What if he knows we're coming?"
"Relax, Daniel," Vlad said. "I never took you to be the uptight type."
"It's because I'm dealing with you!"
"In any case," Vlad continued. "We can either deliberate with those inept Captains, or we can strike while he's potentially off-guard and weaker."
"I hate to interrupt the megalomaniac, but we should still tell the Captains about this," Ichigo stated. "It's just like Urahara's training, remember? This is arguably worse, to be honest. Can we really trust this guy?"
That gave Danny pause. Could they trust him? If Danny had been asked this same question a week ago, hell, if he'd been asked that question just a few days ago, he would've answered with a resounding heck no. But thinking back on everything now: Vlad's past, their recent fight, and Vlad's overall nature. He couldn't help but reconsider.
"Not exactly," Danny finally responded. "But I can trust him not to alienate me. I say we go."
Vlad gave him an appraising smile that he wasn't sure he hated or liked. "You're learning, Little Badger. You're learning."
"Hey!"
The trio turned to face Maki. Danny had to admit that the man's perseverance was admirable. He'd have thought that the man would've been knocked out for the foreseeable future. The shinigami didn't look to be in the best shape, regardless of his mental fortitude. He was clutching at his right shoulder, which looked to be severely bruised, if his purpling skin was any indication.
"What is it?" Vlad spat, crossing his arms. "We have somewhere to be."
"Take me with you."
Maki's eyes were absent of pain as he stared Vlad down. It didn't take a mind reader to know that he wouldn't be swayed.
"Alright, alright!" Danny shouted, "let's just go!"
Vlad nodded and held out both of his arms. "Very well. Everyone, grab on."
"How're you holding up, Kariya-sama?"
Jin turned at the sound of his closest subordinate. "I'm doing as fine as one could hope given the circumstances."
Koga paused beside him, looking outside the window. Satisfied, Jin returned his gaze to the city he'd been watching as he often did. The city life; it was a wonder how he could see something so beautiful yet so vile in one setting. It should have an impossible paradox yet he found himself as intrigued and repulsed as ever. The people wandering the streets were absolutely oblivious to the deeper world hiding in plain sight. Completely unaware of the burden they'd forced upon him. He truly envied them as much as he loathed them.
This day only made it worse.
"Y'know, Cain would've given an arm and a leg to be in a city like this the first time I met him," Koga muttered. "That boy was a prissy piece of work."
Jin chuckled at the memory. Cain had been such a temperamental youth. He was headstrong and more than a little impulsive, but damn did Koga set him straight. "He absolutely hated being sent to that farm. He wouldn't let me hear the end of it once I'd brought him there."
Koga let out a boisterous chuckle. "Same here. I didn't like the look of him much, but that kid. . . that kid could grow on just about anybody."
"That he could. That he could."
"I know he'd be happy at the developments in your work, Kariya-sama. A safe way to increase Dolls and power? He'd have been over the moon."
Jin smiled although his eyes remained cold. He was thankful for the dark of night as he felt the burning tears welling up. He was the reason Cain died. He knew that Cain was too immature, too brash. The moment that he found out about Dolls, it would be a no-brainer that he'd take to crafting one of his own. Yes, he caused Cain's death and for what? His goal to live among the humans as equals?
He steadied his breathing as he smiled, thinly. "Indeed. Much of this progress can be attributed to him, after all." Kariya stepped away from the window, turning his back on the city lights. "Yes, we have much to be thankful for. Especially for having known Cain. That boy helped us see the light."
Jin stumbled through his makeshift headquarters, hissing as he went. There were a myriad of unhealed cuts that stretched painfully with each move of his muscles and whined as he bumped into various furniture. He'd underestimated Ichigo. The sheer amount of tricks that the boy had up his sleeves was remarkable.
Scratch that. He had under-evaluated him.
He'd need to secure more souls from the bitto. Just enough to bring himself on top in all of his fighting attributes, consequences be damned.
A dull thud stopped him. It sounded like it came from the outside of the building. It couldn't have been a human. There were too many bitto around for one to have gotten loose. Much less, there wasn't a single human crazy enough to try and take Jin on in his own abode.
At least, no human in this dimension.
His suspicions were proven true as Maki, Ichigo, Danny, and Vladimir phased through the front door.
Jin stumbled back with a slight bout of panic, wincing slightly as another cut reopened on his arm. "Don't come any closer!"
"Give it up, Jin," Vlad drawled. "It's over."
When Jin didn't budge from his side of the room, Vlad sighed and rolled his eyes. "Jin, look. You're a smart man. Your subordinates are outmatched, I'm no longer on your side, and you're cornered here. The bitto can't come in and, even if they could, we could hack them to pieces. If you don't surrender here, you'll still get caught in Soul Society. And if you choose not to go to Soul Society, you'll be on the run for life and your subordinates will either be dead or captured. You'll be the last free Bount or the last living Bount either way. You might as well turn yourself in now."
Jin merely stared at Vlad. The man had been one of the few obstacles in Jin's life that he could not control. He was too similar to Jin himself; he was too smart for his own good, and his detailed layout of his impending doom only confirmed it. His eyes scoured the room for a few moments before sensing a Reiatsu signature behind him. He almost clued Vlad in with the snort that almost escaped him. Steeling himself, he slowly began to compress his Reiatsu so that it was churning like a hurricane within him, waiting to be set free.
'Ah' Jin thought. 'So that's how you're playing it.'
Jin returned his gaze back to Vlad for a few moments before his lips twisted into a wide smirk. The Bount began to chuckle before he let that turn into a full-blown laugh. "I've almost forgotten how smart you are, Vladimir-san. It was almost enough to make me fall for your ploy."
Jin reached for the Infi-Map and disappeared in an explosion of wind, just as a pink Ghost Ray tore through the spot he'd been standing.
"Dammit!" Vlad cursed as he dispelled his clone. "So close!"
His Ghost Ray had rebounded off of Kariya's whirlwind of a shield and exploded against the wall instead of taking out the Bount. All they had to show for their efforts was a whole in a wall, four knocked down fighters, and a room looking like a twister had run through it.
"Well that went well," Ichigo groaned, glaring pointedly at Vlad.
"I thought you said this plan would work!" Danny scowled as he pushed himself to his feet.
Vlad tsked at him. "Ye of little faith. I will admit, I was hoping for this plan to work as it was, but the backup plan is already in effect."
"Backup plan?"
Vlad's smile twisted into a Cheshire smirk. He looked all too similar to an eager predator closing in on its prey. "I chose my words very carefully, Daniel. I tried a logos argument to appeal to his reasonable side. However strange that man can be, he can usually see reason. However, hidden within that argument, was an emotional dig at his character. I appealed to his pride as a Bount. I guess you could call it his Achilles' heel. If nothing else works, this would be the plot that does."
"You mind filling us in on how that helps us?" Ichigo retorted. "We still don't know where he went!"
"Clockwork! Must I spell out everything for you children? He went back to the Soul Society with his kin. Whether he's going to pick them up and regroup or simply reunite with them is anyone's guess."
Danny let out a groan as he kicked at a nearby desk. This was like Urahara's mock training on steroids. "So what? We just keep doing this over and over until he slips up? That type of plan can't work! We need to take back the Infi-Map!"
"You're right," Vlad said. "But first we need to return to the Soul Society."
Danny gave him a nod and latched onto his shoulder, followed by Maki placing a hand on his back. Ichigo gave Vlad one last glare before gripping onto his other shoulder. In an explosion of pink, they were gone.
Jin stared at his former confidant. Ran'Tao was standing right in front of him, looking absolutely gobsmacked; A look that seemed foreign to her usual calm and collected demeanor. She wasn't alone, unfortunately, but the powerless Quincy and Danielle wouldn't be too much trouble.
"How did you find me?" she whispered, her eyes alight with fear. He felt a slight twinge in his heart. She looked at him as the humans had so many times before. She was afraid of him. Ran'Tao, his former friend and cornerstone, had turned her back on him. His confliction easily gave way to rage.
Ever the composed one, however, Jin masked it.
Jin spread his arms with a wide grin. "I recognized the power of the Infi-Map. It works by traversing the multiverse through openings in between the dimensions. I simply made an opening from my former dimension to this one. Finding you was a mix of chance and my powerful senses."
He took a step closer with every sentence. It was so intoxicating seeing the color drain away from her wretched face as she realized her situation, much like his own had all those years ago.
Thankfully, it wasn't so intoxicating that he couldn't dodge a powerful Ghost Ray in time.
The blast kicked a wall of dirt and smoke, obscuring Ran'Tao and the others from his view. It was quickly dissipated by a wave of his hand, revealing Danielle in a stance.
"D-Don't come any closer!" Danielle warned, her zanpakuto drawn. With how bad she was shaking, she might as well have been holding up a wooden sword. "I don't wanna have to waste you!"
Jin gave the child a wide smirk that soon turned into shoulder-shaking laughter. "You? Stop me? How on Earth do you plan to achieve that?"
"I'll show you! Rip to pieces, Messatsu!"
Her blade began to glow as the light concentrated into her hands. After the light show had completed, she stood adorned in two white gloves with green lines running along the gloves' surfaces. "Run, guys! I've got him!"
"Nice costume change," Jin dryly remarked. "What have you got for me?"
"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Danielle shouted. She was right in front of him after a Shunpo, but he easily side stepped her while retaliating with a wind blast that slammed into her side. She crashed painfully through a building, crumpling into a heap on the floor.
Jin was at her side in an instant, towering over her. "If I were you, I would stand down. You're outmatched, and there is not a thing you can do to harm me."
Danielle forced herself, unsteadily to her feet. He had to give the girl some credit; she was tenacious albeit misguided. Once she was relatively stable, she glared at him. "Not a chance! I warned you!"
With that statement she disappeared from sight. Jin gave a derisive snort. "Invisibility? Can you even control your Reiatsu level? You may as well be still visible for all the good that'll do you!"
Jin quickly batted aside a Ghost Ray, fired at his back, which was soon followed by another.
And another.
And another.
All of the futile blasts reached the same fate, scorching the terrain around the two combatants.
"This is your last chance to give up!" called the girl. Her voice seemed to ring out from every direction. It was no wonder with how fast she was moving. Even so, it would take more than some Shunpo to scare off the Bount.
Jin scoffed. "Your joke hasn't gotten any more funny over the past couple of minutes! Give yourself up now and spare yourself any lasting pain!"
"Fine! Here I come!"
Jin easily spotted Danielle as she came back into focus. He was on the verge of mounting an attack when she blurred, even faster than before, appearing right in front of him with a hand outstretched. Unluckily for her, he had a torrent of wind waiting for her. He easily flung it at her blurred figure.
Only for it to pass right through her.
Jin gasped in surprise as her now tangible hand caught him in the side, just before he could dive out of the way. Immediately, he could feel a tingling sensation that quickly escalated into a biting sting. Jin hissed as he stared down at his side, surprised to find that it was quickly falling apart and crumbling to dust. "What is this?!" He healed the wound almost immediately, but it quickly fell apart again once he'd let up. He flared his Reiatsu to concentrate on the area of affliction. It only appeared to slow down the deterioration.
"I warned you."
Jin's head snapped up to face the clone. Her face lacked the brazen satisfaction that he'd expected of her. Rather, she looked cold and resolute as she stared him down. "My zanpakuto allows me to break down bonds in objects. I'm surprised you're still standing."
Jin scowled as he tossed a wave of wind her way. She easily phased through it, retaliating with a large Ghost Ray aimed for his head. He let his wind energy turn into a drill-like weapon as he punched through the blast, causing him to skid back slightly as the battlefield was bathed in an explosion of green light.
Dani pressed her advantage, thrusting her hands at him. He dodged to the right just before she could make contact with him. He was half-tempted to make a retreat when he barely managed to dodge a blast from behind him. 'Or two blasts, rather,' he quickly noted.
He took a quick leap, to his right, on top of a building. He was just able to make out Ichigo, Danny, Maki, and Vlad standing together. A quick glance to the left told him that Dani was crouched to make a leap for him. At this rate, he wouldn't be able to focus long enough to use the Infi-Map.
Dani sailed right past him after another quick side-step on his part. He just barely managed to catch a united sword swing from Maki and Ichigo. He winced as felt his side start to ripple from the effects of Dani's zanpakuto. His inattention left just enough time for him to get seized by two Dannys and two Vlads by his arms and legs. In another short moment, he felt the Infi-Map slip out of his back pocket. He just managed to jerk his head in the direction of a blurring Vlad clone, or maybe the original, flying away with the powerful map in its clutches.
For the first time in a while, Jin felt true panic seize him.
Jin thrashed in the halfas' grips, but no matter what he tried they wouldn't let go. He unleashed a wind Reiatsu explosion. It absolutely devastated the surrounding landscape, slashing deep gashes into the surrounding buildings as well as toppling an already weakened building. But it didn't budge the half-ghosts, who'd turned intangible in the nick of time.
He was truly stuck.
"Should we. . . y'know?" Dani asked, her uncertainty returning. "Un-alive him?"
"Nah," Danny grunted. "Yamamoto wanted him alive, if possible. They've gotta have some kind of holding cell for this guy."
Jin scowled as he was talked about like he wasn't even there. Like his life was an insignificant string about to cut.
The way he'd lived all his life.
'Is this truly what everything has led to?' he seethed. 'Every sacrifice and every tear wasted on an unfinished plan? No. . . No, this is not how this will end! I refuse!'
With a shout, the ground shot up in an array of spikes and the winds erupted.
The halfas and their clones were caught off guard and dropped him in the process. With what little strength Jin had left, he used the winds to carry him off from the chaos as he crashed onto the hard rock. He could barely make out the shadowy figures of a couple of people skewered by spikes, making him chuckle. Chuckling in and of itself was a difficult task as the wound Danielle dealt him only grew larger. His focus was absolutely shot as he just barely managed to stay conscious.
"I couldn't do it. . ." Jin muttered. "I couldn't stop the madness from winning. I couldn't complete the. . . goal, and everyone is doomed. I. . . could die in defiance, though, can't I?"
His vision had turned blurry. He couldn't feel his legs either, but he didn't care as his gaze fixed itself on Vladimir. "I wonder. . . you and I. . . are we. . . the same?"
Then the Bount leader knew no more.
Danny jolted as he watched the chaos unfolding on the ground in shock.
Maki was speared on a large spike from his back and through his chest, bleeding profusely from the newly formed wound. Trickles of blood were seeping from his mouth. Ichigo was worse for wear as well. The substitute had three spikes protruding into his back and a spike that drove through his leg.
Danny spun at the sound of a loud thud, seeing Jin smack against the pavement. Everything seemed so out of whack. They'd had the man cornered and he'd weaseled his way out with who knew what. It had all been so sudden; one moment everything had been calm, only for havoc to break loose and return to normalcy almost as quickly as it had started.
He didn't have to make much of a judgement call as he flew towards Ichigo, phasing him through the spikes and lowering him to the pavement. Immediately, he regretted his actions as Ichigo cried out in pain as his blood flowed more freely. Danny panicked slightly as an alarming pool of blood began to form underneath Ichigo, his eyes scanning for help before resting on Vlad. "Vlad! Vlad, seal up his wounds with your ecto goop! I need to find Orihime!"
Vlad didn't even look at him. Danny followed his gaze to Jin's quickly disappearing body as he let out a growl. "VLAD! Forget about Jin and help me save Ichigo!"
Vlad turned to him with slight surprise, only pausing for a moment before zipping over. He quickly, but thankfully carefully, got to work on Ichigo as Danny zipped off. But he stopped for a moment.
He stared at Maki's bloody form still impaled on a spike. His choices weren't looking too great; he could leave him there and go get Orihime immediately, or he could get Orihime after he had Vlad patch up Maki. Whichever decision he'd choose, he would need to make it fast.
Cursing to himself, he flew back down and phased Maki off of his spike. Unlike Ichigo, his blood flow didn't seem to majorly escalate after being removed from his spike and he only emitted a weak groan. He wasn't a doctor by any means, but he could tell he didn't have much time left.
"Do the same for him, too!" Danny called to Vlad as he lightly set Maki on the concrete. "I'll be back with Orihime soon! Dani, have you seen her?"
"N-Not since the attack started," Dani stammered.
Danny scowled as he cast his senses over the battlefield. Most of the fights had finished and things seemed to be calming down, making a search for Orihime a lot more simple. Even then, it was still remarkably difficult with the sheer amount of Reiatsu flickering everywhere.
'We are natural sensors.'
Danny had remembered Vlad's words. He took a deep breath and searched, less frantically. It was like the fog had been wiped away as each Reiatsu signature became more distinct. It was then that his eyes snapped open. "There!"
Danny zipped off for Orihime's Reiatsu signature, leaving a sonic boom in his wake. He scooped her up without warning as he rocketed back towards the injured shinigami.
He set her down as quickly and carefully as he could as she stumbled a little, holding her head. "Woah. . . what happened?"
"No time! You've gotta save Ichigo and Maki!"
It was like a switch had been flipped at Ichigo's name. Her eyes focused on him laying in a pool of his own blood and her hand flew to her mouth. She ran towards him, before long, dropping down next to Ichigo as her hair clips turned into her assistants.
Danny watched them transform into a glowing triangle as its light washed over Ichigo. He grew antsy for a moment or two, not seeing much of a change in his coloration although his wounds had already begun to heal up.
He turned his attention to Vlad instead, who was still staring off at Jin.
Or at least where he used to be anyways. There was only a pile of sand now.
Danny walked over to him with slight trepidation. He had no idea to expect from the man. He could be receiving anything from a glare to a Ghost Ray to the face. "Hey, Vlad. You did good. For the most part."
Vlad merely glanced at him before looking back at the spot. Well, at least he wouldn't be getting blasted. "He laughed."
"Huh?"
"He laughed and then he looked at me before he went."
Danny raised a brow. "Any idea what that's about?"
Vlad didn't say anything for a moment. "He was happy. It was one of the few times that he showed emotion. He had been controlled for much of his life. It seems that he finally got to die the way he chose. Maybe it was a laughter of dry mirth, though. He didn't entirely get to choose how he died, after all. I suppose it did him good to deliver one last blow of defiance before he left."
Danny stared at Vlad, giving him a quick nod. He was so unused to situations like this and even less used to talking to Vlad with such familiarity. He could only think of one thing to say to smooth over the awkwardness he was feeling. ". . . Yeah, you're a fruitloop, alright."
Vlad snorted as he glared down at Danny. "Tch. You asked!"
"Yeah, whatever."
"It just doesn't sit right with me."
Danny felt his interest pique despite Vlad's former dreary monologue. "What do you mean?"
"He was a careful and calculating person for much of the time that I knew him. I can hardly think of any time that he'd absolutely flown off the handle. The man was as cool as an iceberg. Yet, he goes and fights a battle that he's not yet ready for when he has more ammunition back in his temporary feeding dimension?"
"What?"
"He had more souls, Daniel. Souls that were not yet collected. He could have kept going until he was absolutely unstoppable. But he didn't."
Danny shrugged. "Maybe he knew something you didn't. Maybe he would explode if he had more or maybe he just really did get cocky. Why does it matter? He's gone now."
Vlad stared down at him with a piercing gaze. He had no idea what to make of it, and he fought the urge to squirm. "Daniel, you must know your enemy unless you wish to be deceived by him in the future. Jin may be dead, but there are others like him. I just can't seem to wrap my head around him."
He started to pace back and forth, glaring daggers into the pavement. "Even if there was a negative effect on consuming a large number of souls, he must have known that there were other ways for his plan to succeed. He was smart. He knew I wasn't entirely on his side from the beginning. He could spot Utagawa's betrayal coming. He knew the right pieces to push to get me relatively on his side, so why would he do something so nut-brained-"
Danny watched as Vlad paused, his eyes getting slightly wide. He stood stock-still for a few moments before glancing over at Danny and regaining some of his composure. "Wow. That strange fool."
". . . Huh?"
"He entered a battle that he couldn't win because he didn't intend to win."
Danny stared at Vlad like he'd grown another head. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. Are you telling me that he killed the love of his life, ignored his hatred for the Soul Society, and gave up control for something as powerful as the Infi-Map just so he could lose?!"
"I've seen a lot of things in my life stranger than that. I can't say that he started out with that goal in mind, but it's certainly where he ended up."
Danny wanted to call bullshit, but a certain line of dialogue from Clockwork re-entered his mind.
"He's a different case," Clockwork had said. "From what I've seen, it is much too late for him."
Before Danny could speak, Orihime's voice rang out.
"He's breathing! Ichigo's breathing!"
Danny rushed over kneeling down next to her. His face had vastly improved from its former ghastly color, and Danny found that Ichigo was indeed breathing easily. He turned to see Maki breathing as well although his was slightly more labored.
"You're a miracle worker, Orihime!" Danny cried, grinning like a madman.
Orihime smiled back at him, flushing slightly. "It was all Ayame and Shun'o's doing! I summoned them, is all."
"Don't sell yourself short, Orihime. You've come a long way."
Orihime's smile, if at all possible, got even wider. "Thank you so much, Danny-ku-!"
"Is Kariya dead?"
Danny fought the urge to leap ten feet into the sky and just barely kept himself from yelping. He stared down at a now awake Maki, who was staring up at the sky. "You scared the heck out of me. . . but yeah, he's dead."
Maki gave a short nod as he grunted, trying to force himself up as Orihime was quick to stop him. "You aren't entirely healed yet! I still need to heal you for a bit longer!"
Maki shook his head as he pushed himself back to his feet. He could definitely see where Orihime was coming from; the man looked like a baby who'd just learned to walk. "You've done well enough. The time has come for me to take my punishment, wounds and all."
Danny watched him warily. "You're not gonna fight back?"
Maki shook his head with a stoic expression. If he looked a little bit closer, he could see something almost like wistful acceptance. "My qualms with the Seireitei aside, I need to pay for what I had a hand in causing. I truly did want to see this place changed for the better. I felt that for a long time Kariya-sama could bring about that change." He gave a short chuckle as he shook his head. "I think you can do it."
Danny stared at him. It was starting to get exhausting with everyone asking him to fix everything. "Me? Why me?"
"That day you fought Utagawa in the mansion, I heard you comment on the Seireitei's flaws. You didn't seem to have any ill will towards them, but you aren't their lap dogs."
"What are you saying?"
"You can be the one to change things. My way has failed, but you can still do it. You can make the Seireitei a place of principles."
Danny wanted to tell him that he had enough fixing for a lifetime, but he couldn't. Maki's gaze was just too urgent and sincere. He heaved a deep sigh. "I'll do my best."
Maki nodded and stumbled off, likely to find some shinigami to turn himself in.
Danny could feel his heartbeat running a mile a minute. The Bounts were finished; he should've been overjoyed, but all he could feel was a sense of foreboding for what was to come. At first, it was simply for returning home, but then he remembered that he'd be staying with Vlad.
He stared off at the man. He had no idea what living with him would be like, but he was almost certain that it wouldn't be good. Still, it'd be better than staying with his parents. Just imagining living with them at the moment made his skin crawl.
Wow his life was a mess.
"Danny, are you alright?"
Danny blinked at Orihime, who was standing now. "Huh?"
"You were spacing off again," Dani replied. He couldn't help but notice that she kept side-eyeing Vlad. Not that he would blame her.
He felt a surge of affection for his worried friends as he contemplated their question: was he alright? He felt like he should be, most of his problems were gone, after all. He was back on track to defeating Aizen, and he could begin to meaningfully help Momo. Not to mention, he could finally seriously think about returning home.
But there was still so much he wasn't yet prepared for.
He looked back at both of his friends, basking in their warm gazes before smiling. Whatever happened, they would have his back. He knew they would. He doubted he would ever be truly fine for a while, but it didn't matter. Not just yet, anyways.
"Yeah," he laughed, returning to his feet. "I'll be alright."
A/N: OK and that is the end of the Bount arc! I'm gonna have maybe a handful of chapters coming up that'll help orient the story into the Arrancar/Aizen arc instead of just jumping straight into it. Once I'm done with the Aizen stuff, I plan to mark this story as the end of part 1.
I say the end of part 1 because there's still more Bleach left to cover with the Fullbringers and the Thousand Year Blood War Arc that I want to cover. At the same time, I don't want to have this story reach like 100 chapters XD.
So yeah, thas where this story is gonna be headed. I just want to say thanks again to everyone who has kept reading this far, and I encourage you to leave a review for any feedback or other stuff you want to mention so I can make this the story the best it can be.
Have a good one y'all!
(P.S. Almost forgot): There might be some updates that aren't actually updates because I'm updating/revamping Chapters 1-3 to make for better reading. I'll try my best to sync them with actual updates though!
Uploaded: August 9th, 2021
