It was officially night. Kazui, Ichika and Rikichi were heading back to the Kuchiki manor. It was very obvious that Ichika was thinking about what Rikichi said:" You destroyed the cane, not with kido nor with your zanpaktou, but with lightning that emerged directly from your body in response to your emotions, and caused your hair to glow".
She couldn't think of anything else but that it was a special ability of her zanpaktou; since it has a lightning bolt guard. However, no matter how much she kept trying to convince herself with that, she couldn't help but feel that it is really something abnormal.
While Ichika was drowning in her thoughts, Kazui and Rikichi kept watching her worriedly. They didn't know how to cheer her up or how to assure her. Suddenly, she turned to them, startling them, and in a serious voice:" Don't tell anyone about what happened! Not that kid's remarks nor my new ability. Nothing".
That took them by surprise. First of all, if that kid intentionally picked on her, he must be punished, especially that it seemed that this has happened before. Second, if it was a new ability, then she definitely needs to learn how to control it, and if it was something unusual, they need to investigate it and keep it under control.
When Rikichi was about to object, Kazui said reassuringly :" Ok. We won't tell anyone, not until you talk about it yourself". Rikichi was perplexed but soon he noticed, that those two have come to a point of understanding, that they were in sync, so he decided to yield to Ichika's wish:" Fine, as you wish, but you have to promise me that you would tell captain Kuchiki about everything soon, especially if something else happened".
Ichika was glad that he was understanding. That he was willing to trust her, and that meant a lot to her, now more than ever before. And so, she gave him her word.
She was under water. Ichika could tell that she was only seeing things, that she wasn't part of the dream. It was a weird feeling, to know that you are actually in a dream. It felt as if she was seeing someone else's dream, she didn't even know why she felt like that.
The water she was in felt suffocating, and dark. There were two figures in the water. One came from the surface and was extending their arm, trying to reach the other drowning one. For some reason, she felt as if she knew those two, but no matter how much she willed it, she couldn't approach them.
Suddenly, the darkness that came from the depth of the water surrounded the drowning one, as if it didn't want to let him go. While the other one was being dragged back to the surface. At that moment, Ichika felt herself being pulled back forcibly that she couldn't help but close her eyes.
When she opened them again, she found herself in a dark world, with no light, where only doors exist and endless stairs going in all directions with no end in sight, Ichika kept walking up and down the stairs, opening doors that led to other stairs, like a maze with no purpose.
Through all of that, she could hear whispers from time to time:" He must survive, he is our salvation", "When the time comes, he shall rise from the depth of despair", "He can't fight alone, he'd lose". Then she stopped. It all felt like a deja vu. Everything in this weird dream happened before, in the exact same way, but with someone else involved, not her. At this point, she had already stopped thinking of what any of what was happening with her in this dream could possibly mean.
Then it suddenly crossed her, a feeling telling her to look in a certain direction, to find a certain thing. And when she did, she found it. A door, different from the other doors, a door made of glass. And in front of the door, she saw Karin. Ichika was delighted, if her auntie Karin was around, then everything would be ok.
However, before she could call her out, she saw a hand, her auntie's very own hand, strangling Karin. Ichika was frozen in her place. Fear was an understatement, she was outright terrified. She felt completely helpless, not able to help her auntie. She could only watch as Karin kept struggling.
Just when she had steeled herself to make any damn move, Karin managed to push the door open and free herself. And just when Ichika was about to breathe a sigh of relief she was startled by a horrifying scream, Karin's scream, to the point of waking up, to find her reflection in red glowing eyes, an inch away from her face.
She was paralyzed. She was scared to death. She was mentally and emotionally exhausted. She felt like she was in hell. Something happens after the other. And none of them were good, and they just keep on getting worse. And she was alone.
Of course, she was grateful that Kazui was with her, sharing everything with her, but at this very moment, she felt completely alone. She felt fear like she had never felt before. All her life, she never feared for her life. She always knew that her father would be there to protect her. That her uncle and mother and all their friends would protect her, not that there had been any serious threat to her life before. But right now, there was no one beside her to protect her.
The man, or thing, she couldn't really tell what was it because of the dark, was crouching next to her, with its red eyes wide open, staring at her in a way that made her have goose bumps. This thing could instill in her fear like she had never felt before. She was so scared to even blink her eyes. Then suddenly, it moved away from her, and for some reason she could tell that that thing was smiling at her, in a not good way. And her fear was right; as she could somehow tell that that thing raised what she had assumed to be a large sword up, and had every intention to bring it down on her, to kill her.
She could only think that that was her end. That she was going to die in her room, a room that was shrouded in darkness, by the hands of a creepy thing with red glowing eyes, without anyone coming to her rescue, without even moving a single muscle. So she managed to close her eyes, waiting for her death, with only one thing in her mind, Daddy.
She felt nothing. The only thing she could literally feel was that she was squeezing her eyes so much that they began to hurt. A thought crossed her mind, that she died in a swift way, to the point of not feeling it at all.
And she dared herself to open her eyes and look around, only to find herself in her room, her room in her father's house not in her uncle's. Her room gave a weird feeling, that there was something unusual, but she couldn't tell what. And when she looked to her side, her heart almost stopped. Her father was there. Abarai Renji, in the flesh was there.
She couldn't believe her eyes. Her father was standing there, with his hair down, and in his uniform. It was his usual night visit. As far as she could remember, her father always visited her at night, just before he went sleep. At that moment, she felt as if everything that had happened to her was a bad dream. That none of it happened.
Starting from her fight with her father, up to when the thing with red eyes killed her. She stretched her arms and called for her father, but what she heard was not her usual " Daddy" , but instead she heard a childish voice, an infant blabbering incoherently. She was shocked from her voice, but nevertheless, whatever sound she made, it did the trick, it caught her father's attention.
He moved to her bedside, a warm familiar smile on his face, and in a very familiar heart-warming voice, he said :" My sweetheart, I see your awake. How about I keep you company until you fall asleep again", and with that, he stretched his arm towards her, and carried her.
In his gentle yet protective embrace, she felt safe. She was no longer afraid; because her daddy was there. She returned the embrace affectionately, she felt like never letting go of him; so he wouldn't be able to stay away from her. She truly came to believe that everything was just a dream, that none of it was real. Until she opened her eyes and found herself staring at her reflection in the mirror, to see herself as a toddler no older than two years. The only thing that came to mind was:" What the hell is going on?".
Her mind was blank. She could only stare at her reflection in complete shock while her father was patting her on her back to put her to sleep. Then her father suddenly looked at her through the mirror.
At first glance, one would think it was the usual look any father would give his daughter, but she couldn't help but feel exposed. She felt as if her father knew she was distressed, as if he could see through her soul, it delighted her.
Her father was the closest person to her for a reason; that he always understood her, and that ability seemed to be from her very first years. He flipped her in his arms so that both of them were facing the mirror and looking at each other through it. Her distress was gone, her father always had that effect on her, and she was waiting. She felt like he would talk to her, tell her something, so she was paying attention.
" You know, in your appearance you probably only took my hair and the rest of you from your mother" , he said that while holding some of her red locks in his hand, then he continued:" but I believe that you are the most similar to me when it comes to your heart, that's why, Never fear the dark; because there is nothing in the dark that you can't defeat. People fear the dark because they don't know what lurks in it, but you can see what's in the dark and defeat it; because you are my daughter".
She knew it. She knew that her father could tell. His words to her proved that he knew what exactly was going on, and he was reassuring her, telling her what she had to do to fight this back. And at the same time, the fact that he knew startled her even more. She no longer understood what was going on anymore, but still she told herself:" Not like I understood anything happened before to understand this!". But she decided that she didn't care right now, as long as she could survive the day, she could ask all she wants later on.
She decided to think that everything so far was real and that right now she was in a dream, or a memory, where her father tells her how to handle things, and soon she would close her eyes and open them again to find her assaulter right in front of her, trying to kill her again. And her father didn't let her down in his next words:" If you ever fear the dark, just light things up . The dark is weak against the light", and he covered her eyes with his hand while whispering in her ear:" Fear nothing, my dear, for you shall always be protected" , and she closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes again, it was like what she had expected. She was in her room in her uncle's manor, with the thing with red eyes glowering at her. But she also noticed that there were some differences. For one, she was no longer afraid nor paralyzed. She felt like she could defend herself. And the other thing was that the thing was mad, really pissed. However, she didn't need to wonder a lot, for it started to speak in a hoarse, deep voice:" Even when that shit of a woman is not in this world, she still interferes with our plans", and he stroke with his sword.
Ichika reflexively closed her eyes, but she felt nothing, she opened her eyes once again to see the cause of his irritation. She was surrounded by a protective shield, preventing his attacks from reaching her. And for a second, her father's words rang in her mind, so She decided to give it a try.
She decided to light things up. She couldn't really tell how she knew how to do it but she did anyway. She used her new ability against her assaulter. She felt it. She felt electricity running through her body, running through her veins like her blood. It felt so right. She felt so strong that nothing could truly stop her, and she directed everything she had against her assaulter.
It was blinding, and deafening. She gave it her all to the point that all she could see was white. She gave it her all to the point that the screams of pain and agony were so horrible until they faded away. She gave it her all to the point of losing consciousness.
In a completely different place, in hueco mondo, a man and a woman reached a place, a place where two men lied down, dead. The woman wavered. She couldn't handle the sight of two men from her family torn to shreds. The man beside her put his hand on her shoulder, supporting her and said:" We can't let their sacrifice go to waste. They lead us to the gate and we need to open it, Yuzu". So Yuzu steeled herself, wiped her tears and looked at him:" Let's do this, Aizen".
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Hello guys...I know that this story has been neglected for soooooo long that I doubt someone will read it...but in case someone did read I hope you enjoy this new chapter and wait for more( there are 2 other chapters I'm going to upload soon and I hope I can continue writing more chapters). I'm open for advice and guidance so kindly share your thoughts about the story...and thank you in advance.
