Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach and RWBY. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and the late Monty Oum (rest in peace you saint of a man).
A question one would ask why type this up? Simple – why not?
Chapter 4: The Flash Goddess
Ruby can't remember a fight like she had against Ichigo. Their "spar" lasted through the whole afternoon according to Ren (Ruby couldn't understand how he kept track of time). Ren was surprised to see that Ruby didn't use those techniques she used on Ren against Ichigo. She was able to fire concussive blasts of reishi that gave her the same recoil dashing as Crescent Rose would. Her speed was what gave Ruby an edge over Ichigo, and despite using a weapon comparable to Ichigo, her Aura was enhanced further from the Lesson 2 and her increased strength and speed was in even more than it was before she left Remnant. It was only by Ichigo's sheer durability and stubbornness that their fight was so close. In the end when both their spiritual powers were so low that Ruby's stomach finally growled for food she barely won with by winning 3 out of 5 rounds, even though they settled for seven.
"Dang." whined Ruby, her stomach's growling unceasing, "I've never been so hungry."
Ren closed his book finally after Ichigo and Ruby were done. "Let's call it a day."
"Fine." Ichigo agreed grudgingly, "This isn't over, pipsqueak."
"Same here, orange-head." retorted Ruby, sealing her Zanpakuto.
Ren kept his Zanpakuto in a released form like Ichigo sheathed on his back connected to a circular disk Kisuke gave him. Ichigo left to his home where he had a father and two sisters waiting for him. As for Ruby and Ren, they lacked physical bodies still and Kisuke was having a bit of trouble making such bodies for them with their Aura that he never worked with before. That didn't stop Kisuke from giving them a full course meal in his shop, prepared by Ururu and Jinta.
Ruby drooled at the bowls of rice and soup just laying before her. She didn't bother with greetings and went right to the food. Ren was more composed and thanked Kisuke and his companions for the meal, and ate in a mannered fashion.
"You sure do eat as much as you run." commented Kisuke.
Ruby's mouth was too stuffed with food to talk. Her use of spiritual energy was much greater that she craved for the food without pause, unlike Ren who spent the whole afternoon reading the Kido book.
"Thank you for the food." said Ren after swallowing a piece of meat from a soup.
"Sho Gwode." said Ruby, muffled by her stuffed mouth.
As they ate, Kisuke placed an orb before Ren. He had a smile on his face. His smiles were all the same, but after spending 37 hours with Kisuke, Ren knew what his smiles said. The smile Kisuke right now held a little of excitement.
"What is this?" asked Ren.
"Glad you asked." said Kisuke, "I developed this spirit core to hold spiritual energy of any kind. You see, I never seen or even felt this kind of reiatsu, or this Aura as you called it. If I'm going to find you're world, I need the energy signature that only comes from that world, and that in turn is in you. Think of it like a homing beacon of two similar radio signals to put it simply."
Ren understood. "I see. You intend to use our Aura to find our world since that's where our power originated."
"Bingo." said Kisuke, "You wouldn't mind pouring some of your power in this spirit core now, would you?"
Ren paused eating and set a hand on the orb. For a moment, nothing happened, then his hand hummed with energy and the orb was filled with a violet and green light. Kisuke picked it up, looking as if he got a Christmas present.
"I'm going to have fun with this mystery." Kisuke said, then he turned to Ruby, "Hey Ruby, remember that friend I mentioned? She's agreed to train, first thing in the morning."
Ruby gulped down a mouthful in order to cry out a "Yay!".
The next day.
Ruby awoke the latest and headed down to the training flatlands. She found Ren this time sparring with Ichigo to work on his stamina and Kisuke watching from afar.
"So that teacher that you mentioned." said Ruby, "Where is she?"
Kisuke pointed to the distance to the left. "You'll find her waiting over yonder. She's excited to meet you."
"Thanks." said Ruby, and she suddenly vanished. Ruby was getting the hang of her Soul Reaper powers and she reached a clearing in a few shunpos. She surveyed her surroundings, eager to meet her mentor. The redhead wished she was better had sensing energy like Ren.
"So you're the speedster that Kisuke told me so much about." said a feminine voice. Ruby flipped to the direction of the voice, but didn't see anyone except a kick of dust.
"Over here." said the voice again.
Ruby swiveled her view again, this time catching a blur of movement. Without even hearing the voice, Ruby turned her head to a boulder and found a woman with bronze skin, purple hair, and wearing an orange jacket.
"Good reflexes." the woman complimented, smiling. "This is gonna be fun. What's your name, pipsqueak?"
"Ruby Rose." answered Ruby.
"Call me Shihoin." replied Shihoin, "Come on, try to poke me."
"Try?" repeated Ruby, holding a laugh. She prepared her foot and dashed into a shunpo. When Ruby reappeared expecting to get Shihoin, she gasped finding her gone. Ruby realized in time that Shihoin was above her, and Ruby was only nudged before the definite impact by using her Semblance to get back to the ground.
"Impressive." said Shihoin, "You've got potential, Ruby. But don't think you can outrun me."
Ruby bit her lip. If there was one thing that ticked her off, it was someone outclassing her in speed. Speed was her Semblance, a literal part of her.
Ruby used a shunpo with more effort, but she found herself grabbing nothing. Shihoin had merely swayed to the side, smiling. Ruby retreated again with her Semblance, but Shihoin had predicted her move.
"Learn to adapt." said Shihoin, grabbing Ruby by the shoulder, "Think faster."
Shihoin slammed Ruby to the ground, and all she could see was that smirk. It was annoying her so much.
"'Think faster'." grumbled Ruby, "I'll make you think faster."
She summoned her full Semblance and her Aura burned red around her. Shihoin raised an eyebrow, surprised by this unknown power that Kisuke informed her about. A smile spread on Shihoin's face.
"Let's race." challenged Shihoin.
They zipped in and out of sight across the training grounds. Wherever they landed, they would instantly shunpo out leaving a kick of dust in the air. Ruby raced after Shihoin, but at last second she dodged out of Ruby's reach and was at her blind spot. At one point, Ruby lunged her full body forward to get Shihoin but left herself completely open for her as she again dodged Ruby.
Ruby lost all sense of logic and her body acted almost on instinct. In that lash of action, Ruby's Aura focused at her feet and she suddenly felt that she was back on ground, allowing her to back-flip out of the way. She almost lost that balance when Ruby found herself walking on air. Shihoin was doing the same.
"Wha-How?!" Ruby exclaimed, swiveling her head side-to-side, "How am I walking in the air?!"
"You continue to surprise me, Ruby." complimented Shihoin, just causally walking on air, "Intense action has make learn hoho in the allotted time than the years it would take a Soul Reaper. Then again, it was simple for me too. That still just means you are a walking piece of talent in a red hood."
"And a giant scythe." added Ruby aggressively, reaching for her Zanpakuto.
"No Ruby! She's not using a weapon, so it's fair that you don't use one."
Ruby mumbled to herself in anger and rested her hands. She vanished in shunpo, but Shihoin avoided her yet again. A vein bulged on Ruby's forehead in the frustration of that constant smirk. Then, seeing as her anger wasn't accomplishing anything Ruby calmed herself down and her Aura and reiatsu simmered with it. With a clear head, Ruby remembered the important words to the clairvoyance of her eyes. Do not look and search. Find upon first blink.
Shihoin spoke. "You look like you finally gave up on your tantrum."
Ruby smiled. "Don't act so sure of yourself. Sorry, but I'm going to end this in just three steps."
Shihoin's smile flattened into a more serious expression. "Is that so?"
Ruby kept her eyes open, not even a single blink. Shihoin raised an eyebrow seeing a glow in Ruby's eyes, and it sent a rush of adrenaline. Ruby prepared her first step and charged herself with her Aura to start off with her Semblance. Instead of red petals dancing in her wake, they were silver. Her step rocketed Ruby like a hyper sonic projectile as she cracked at a speed so fast Shihoin's eyes were wide unprepared from seeing such speed without shunpo.
'That was fast.' thought Shihoin, 'Too fast.'
Ruby vanished into shunpo, this time far faster than Shihoin expected. Only by her reflexes did Shihoin escape with a shunpo herself. Suddenly, the second Shihoin used hoho, Ruby was already behind her. Shihoin smiled and disappeared and reappeared behind Ruby.
"You wasted your third-"
"Got you!"
Shihoin didn't even notice it. Ruby had her eyes on her the whole time, and she grabbed Shihoin by her jacket and threw her to the ground. Before Shihoin could get her senses back, Ruby was already on top of her with a fist inches from Shihoin's face.
Shihoin raised her hands up in surrender and smiled. "You've got me, red. I can accept you as my pupil."
"Huh." said Ruby, lowering her guard, "This was all a test."
"Kisuke said that I should be the one to train you." explained Shihoin, "Even so, I was still skeptical. I had to test you to see if you're worthy of my teachings. You've passed better than anyone before."
A wide smile spread Ruby's face and she jumped in the air. "Yes. I'm awesome."
"Don't get cocky." said Shihoin. She sprang to her feet in such quick succession and Ruby found herself on the ground instead.
"You have skill." said Shihoin, "All I need to do is hone it. Rejoice, Ruby, I'll train you like no one ever has under the Flash Goddess."
"Flash Goddess?" wondered Ruby.
Shihoin smiled. "Like I said, that's what I was called when I was a Soul Reaper. In fact, I was captain of of Squad 2 (hope that's the right one) of the Gotei 13. They called me the Flash Goddess for no one could match my speed, not even my predecessors."
"Coool." squeaked Ruby, thinking what awesome stuff Shihoin did back in the day.
"It's a title," concluded Shihoin with a heavy look, "I believe I can passed down to you. I hate to say it, but you may be faster than I am."
Flash Goddess?! The name was enticing, but it didn't have the ring Ruby was expecting for. An idea came to her head.
"I wouldn't be so sure of being called 'Flash Goddess'." said Ruby, "What about Red Flash?"
"Okay then," replied Shihoin, "Red Flash."
They headed back to see how Ichigo, Ren, and Kisuke were doing. They didn't expect to be doing nothing. Ren was back hiding his face away with his Kido book, and Kisuke and Ichigo seemed to amused by something. Ruby felt a cold sweat go down her back.
"What are you three slacking off for?" asked Shihoin, with a smile.
Kisuke couldn't talk holding in a snicker, but Ichigo approached Ruby his lip shaking trying to contain laughter.
"Ruby, I-" Ichigo said before bursting out laughing for a full fifteen seconds, "Is it true you "accidentally" robbed a bank?"
Ruby's cheeks flushed red from embarrassment. She was disgusted that Ren of all people let out that secret which should not leave the lips.
"Robbed a bank?" said Shihoin, "And here I was thinking it couldn't get anymore fun."
"It all happened so fast, okay!" snapped Ruby, "Yang, tell them-"
In her panic, Ruby completely forgot she was in a different world without any of her friends and family except Ren. The concept of their death finally hit Ruby, and in her head she was thinking what her team was doing right now ever since they died? Were they going to Atlas? Did they plan to take revenge? Whatever was happening, Ruby knew they were broken. She had to return to Remnant with her new strength so they themselves can get back the strength they lost with Ruby, and to help them defend against the forces of Salem that were moving on the countries for the relics.
"I think I'll take the day off." said Ruby, walking to the later.
Over the next few days, Shihoin would arrive on the training grounds late in the day to teach Ruby like the essentials of shunpo and techniques to better insulate faster movement. Ruby didn't have the talent at all to master Kido, but Shihoin was okay with that. After two days, all Shihoin could do was race with Ruby across the training grounds to further her mysterious power and that ridiculous speed. Shihoin couldn't have asked for a better student in years after her banishment from Soul Society. It was almost like she was back in Soul Society training her protege Soi Fon.
On the fifth and supposed final day, Ruby, Ren, and Ichigo spent the entire day in spars that sent storms of reiatsu through the training grounds. They decided on a royale, and Ruby and Ichigo smiled back at each other seemingly ignoring Ren among them.
"And begin." signaled Kisuke.
Ichigo and Ruby charged at each other first. Steel clashed against steel like high-pitched thunder, and their gigantic weapons locked in place between them.
"You're not gonna win this, pipsqueak." said Ichigo.
"Bring it, strawberry." replied Ruby with a snicker.
She struck a nerve that was visible as it bulged on Ichigo's head. Ruby wasn't ready for the overwhelming strength Ichigo put in Zangetsu, and he broke the lock between them and brought down a direct slice. The blow would've been fatal if Ruby didn't have an Aura that stopped the blade in place like steel armor. However, just because it didn't make contact didn't mean it didn't make impact as shown as Ruby winced from the blow. She back-stepped to gain distance and prepared a shunpo, which Ichigo hadn't mastered.
"Bakudou 9: Geki."
A red light paralyzed Ruby on the spot, and Ren jumped into the fray opening with a dashed strike of Kakushifokkusu. Ichigo easily parried it away with the immense size of Zangetsu, but could barely keep a steady defense against Ren's flurry of swings.
"Goddammit Ren!" cried Ruby, wiggling around like she was trapped in a sleeping bag.
"Bakudou 4: Hainawa."
A tendril of reiatsu shot out of Ren's palm and snaked for the arms, but Ichigo sliced it aside with Zangetsu. With another swing, Ichigo made whirlwind so strong he blew Ren away off his feet. While in midair, Ren's hand charged in reiatsu.
"Hadou 31: Shakkaho."
A ball of red reiatsu fires out of Ren's hand and lands upon Ichigo breaking his guard and sending him into a boulder. Ren landed on his feet and used a shunpo to close the distance opening with a thrust of one of his dual blades. Ichigo nudged it aside with Zangetsu, but Ren nicked him at the thigh with a lunge from his other blade. Ichigo ignored the pain and raised Zangetsu to swing it on top of Ren with full-force, but Ren black-flipped on the spot and kicked Ichigo on the chin.
"You're gonna pay for that." hissed Ichigo, rubbing his chin.
"AAAHH!" screamed Ruby as she resisted the paralysis of Geki. Her reiatsu burned silver around her, and the light broke away as her reiatsu released, sending a pressure on the ground. She grabbed Mazazoru and held it in her usual stance Ren knew too well. They stood in a triangle, glancing between their opponents to try and read their moves. A tension grew between them, and all became silent.
The tension was cut like a hot knife through butter, and the three shinigami charged each other down, ignoring every sense of logic. Their weapons raised in a swing, already too late to feint as they drew closer to the center.
"Scream, Benihime."
A red light followed by an explosion blew Ruby, Ichigo, and Ren into the air. They landed in embarrassing fashions head-first into the ground. Ichigo and Ruby found themselves buried in the rock, and then pulled out by Ren and Kisuke. The orange-head looked like he was going to pummel Kisuke down deeper than they landed.
"What the heck?!" barked Ichigo, "I was about to win that fight."
"As much as I would like to see which one of you would come out on top," replied Kisuke, "I unfortunately don't want my training grounds turned into a giant crater. Besides, Ren would've come out the victor in that clash. He already had a few Kido spells that would've repelled your attacks."
Ichigo and Ruby sighed grumbly, and they sheathed their weapons. Ren showed no reaction with that cool composure he rebuilt and he went back to reading his Kido book. Ruby started to realize Ren and Blake have a lot in common when it comes to books.
"All of you get the rest and time you need." said Kisuke, "After the last light for today, there isn't turning back."
Kisuke walked off as usual, his wooden sandals clicking on the ground. Ruby wanted to seclude herself and just talk with Summer since she wasn't hungry at all since she didn't use that much spiritual energy. To her surprise, Ichigo spoke up to both of them.
"I heard that Kisuke got some bodies finally for you." said Ichigo, "How would you two like to go see fireworks with me and my friends instead of being holed up in this shop?"
Ren closed his book and Ruby's eyes dazzled like gold stars on her silver pupils.
"Yes!" squeaked Ruby.
"Alright." said Ren.
Ren and Ruby's new bodies were exact to their own and even had their old outfits. Ichigo led them through Karkura Town to the river where they first landed in this world. There was a group of people already standing at the shore and looking to the sky. One of them, a grown man with flat black hair and broad shoulders waved at Ichigo and ran up to him.
"My boy!" called the man, "You just made in time. What took you so long?"
"Hey Dad." said Ichigo flatly, "I brought two friends of mine. Shortstack is Ruby, and quiet boy is Ren. Guys, this is my idiot of a dad."
"How you do?" greeted Ruby.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kurosaki." greeted Ren generously with a bow.
Isshin leaned closer to Ruby. "Oh, Ichigo, I'm so proud of you. You finally got a-"
Whatever Isshin was about to say, Ichigo landed a smashing fist on his head into the pavement. The man was practically made of iron because he got back up bleeding with a concussion but smiling like nothing happened.
"Good attack, son." said Isshin.
Ruby managed to not burst out laughing and instead snickered, and Ren made an amused smile. The sky boomed and illuminated as the fireworks were finally set off. Ruby rarely saw fireworks because of the fear it would attract Grimm. Her face glowed as bright as the explosions in the sky. So many colors caught her attention in patterns of orange, green, and even white. One firework, a big one, rocketed high in the sky and made a pattern of red, white, gold, and so bright it patterned the darkness of the night. Ruby knew it all too well as the colors of Team RWBY.
Her smile faltered. She started to worry yet again what they were doing. And more importantly what they were feeling. Did they still feel sorrow? Did that sorrow turn in vengeance? Were they - going after Salem?!
"Hey," said Ichigo, breaking Ruby out of her trance, "you alright, pipsqueak?"
Ruby was silent in thought before speaking. "Ichigo, whatever comes our way in this ordeal, just remember Ren and I have your back."
"I appreciate it." said Ichigo, smiling, "And if I can, I'll do whatever it takes to get you two back home."
Ruby was a bit surprised by this bold statement from Ichigo and could only reply. "Thank you."
After that, it is time to invade Soul Society. Next up is Chapter 5: Invade Soul Society
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