A.N.: This is a request by draxon.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Chapter Six
Karakura Town
Rukia Kuchiki walked down the street, tears in her eyes. She felt betrayed. She felt like she'd been punched in the gut. Ichigo, who she'd considered her friend, had committed an unspeakable sin. "How could you?" she muttered as she walked.
The Soul Reaper had known one truth of the world: that Hollows were evil. Perhaps not inherently since some Souls became Hollows not of their own choosing but they were darkness incarnate. She'd heard of some Hollows who'd removed their mask to gain greater power but this was the first time she'd seen an Arrancar in the flesh.
Her head hanging low, Rukia walked along the sidewalk, not knowing what to do. So many questions ran through her head that her mind threatened to explode from confusion. 'Why is he learning from a Hollow? How long has this been going on? Is she why he's become so strong?' She merely sighed in exasperation. "I've stayed here too long. I've become too attached to him."
"You're damn right you have!"
The small girl looked up and gasped at who spoke to her. She saw two individuals standing on a nearby rooftop. The bright red hair drew her eye and she recognized the person in an instant. "Renji!"
The lieutenant pulled up his sunglasses and leered down at his friend with a wicked sneer. "That's quite the look on your face, Rukia. You look like a Human." He leapt down from the building and landed in front of Rukia.
Rukia was overjoyed to see her friend. She hadn't seen him in over forty years and it was nice to see an old friend. 'Maybe he can help me get Ichigo out of that Arrancar's influence.'
But any hope of a happy reunion were dashed when she stared down the pointy end of Renji's zanpakuto. "Where is he?" the lieutenant demanded. "Where's the one who stole your powers?"
"Stole?"
"Don't try to hide him from us, Rukia!" Renji shouted, angry that his best friend had her powers taken from her. "You will tell us where he is so we can end him!"
"As he said," said the other visitor. "We're here to take you into custody and exterminate the one whom you've allowed to take your powers."
Rukia turned around and gasped when she recognized who'd joined Renji. "Brother!"
Byakuya Kuchiki stared coldly at his sister, a hand on his sword. Both men made one thing clear to the powerless girl: these two were out for blood.
"Tell us, Rukia!" Renji shouted. "If you don't, we'll force it out of-"
A blue arrow shot out of nowhere, causing Renji to jump back out of alarm. All eyes turned to the origin of the shot. Rukia's eyes widened when she saw who'd interfered. "Uryu…"
"Good grief…" said the Quincy, pushing his glasses up. "Two armed men against one defenseless girl. What's the world coming to?" He set down his bag of groceries that he'd bought and drew his bow. "That kind of thing makes me really mad."
Renji grimaced. "Who the hell are you?"
"Just a classmate. One who hates Soul Reapers."
Meanwhile…
Ichigo and Halibel's Training Ground
Locked in the midst of fighting, Ichigo and Halibel stopped what they were doing when they felt the air itself shudder. The hairs on the back of Ichigo's neck stood up and he whirled around. He felt something off in the distance, something very powerful. "What the hell?"
Normally Halibel would take advantage of Ichigo's distraction with a kick or elbow, but the sudden stillness of the air did not escape her notice either. Lowering her blade, Halibel closed her eyes and reached out with her Pesquisa to see what had caused such a disturbance. "Soul Reapers," she concluded.
Ichigo turned around. "What? Did Rukia regain her powers?" he asked.
"No. I sense…" Halibel concentrated deeply. Her Pesquisa was among the most refined amongst her kind, such to the point where she could see what was happening from a distance. "Two Soul Reapers. They are attacking your friend. The Quincy has intervened but it is a losing battle." She looked up and she couldn't hide the sadness in her emerald eyes. She didn't want to tell Ichigo but he needed to know. "He will die. And so will the girl."
"No!" Ichigo gasped. Sheathing his zanpakuto, he took off running. "I have to save them!" He was stopped, however, when he felt a tug on his shoulder. "Halibel! Let go!"
"Ichigo, don't!" Halibel said in an almost pleading voice. "You're not ready!"
Ichigo pushed her hand away. "Halibel, please!" he shouted. "I can't just stay here while my friends die!"
Halibel scowled behind her mask fragment. If she let Ichigo go to face Rukia's hunters, the end result would be clear. Had it been her choice, she would gladly go in his stead. But she knew that if she revealed herself, the Soul Society would become aware that the Hollows were evolving and that would throw a wrench in her master's orders. And as much as she cared for Ichigo, her loyalty to her leader came first.
Knowing that she couldn't compel Ichigo to stay here and that if she used force, he'd never forgive her, she had to relent. "Go…" she said as she lowered her head. "Be careful," she warned. "One of them is incredibly powerful."
Breathing a sigh of relief, Ichigo quickly hugged Halibel. "I promise, I'll be okay," he told her before taking off, jumping into the air in a mad dash to save Rukia and Uryu.
Halibel watched him go, standing on the lonely mountainside. The wind blew past her ominously as he disappeared in the distance. She put a hand over her heart and closed her eyes. "Come back to me alive, Ichigo. Or I'll never forgive you…"
Meanwhile…
Renji vs. Uryu
The fight had been quicker than expected. Uryu lay on the ground, defeated and bleeding. Renji stood over the Quincy, not a scratch on him. "Time to finish this," Renji said proudly as he held his sword above his head. "Reflect on your stupidity as you die," he said with a sneer. "I'm Renji Abarai! Nice to meet you!"
Renji brought his sword down to kill the Quincy, only to once again jump back when he saw a surprise attack coming. The ground shook as a huge blade smashed the ground where he stood. He looked up to see who the hell attacked him.
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki! Nice to meet you!" the orange-haired teen said as he pointed his zanpakuto at Renji.
The lieutenant looked at the newcomer in confusion. "A Shihakusho? What unit are you with?" he demanded. "And what's with that ridiculously oversized zanpakuto?"
Ichigo blinked in confusion. "Oversized? I didn't know it was." 'But then again, all I've seen are Rukia's and Halibel's.'
The redhead came to the correct conclusion rather quickly. "I see. You're the one who stole Rukia's powers!" he deduced.
Ichigo smirked. "So what are you gonna do about it?"
"KILL YOU!" Renji shouted as he jumped high into the air…only for Ichigo to jump up simultaneously and meet him in midair. Their blades clashed hard, sparks flying between them. Ichigo knew that Renji took him for an amateur and took advantage of it. "Oof!" Renji groaned when Ichigo gave him a surprise kick.
Landing on his feet, Renji kept up the pressure, charging at Ichigo.
While fending off Renji's attacks, Ichigo continuously glanced over at the other Soul Reaper who'd come to kill Rukia. The tall, dark-haired man stood by, watching the fight with an inquisitive eye. Ichigo wasn't good at reading spirit energy but he had the feeling that this man was far more dangerous than the tattooed man in front of him.
"You're quite good," Renji noted as he and Ichigo bladelocked. "But not good enough. Your skills are way below mine. You won't even scratch me!" He did note, however, that there was something about Ichigo's fighting style that seemed off-putting. "Did Rukia teach you how to fight?"
"Maybe?" Ichigo smirked. "By the way, you shouldn't bladelock."
Renji was taken aback when Ichigo let off the pressure and let his blade slide past Renji's. The man dodged it at the last second but not before the tip of Ichigo's blade cut his chin. "What was that you were saying about a scratch?" Ichigo taunted. "You should really keep your guard up."
The redhead wiped the blood away and sneered at Ichigo. "That does it…"
But Renji stood still when the voice of his superior cut in. "Your guard was down," Byakuya pointed out, his steely gaze fixed squarely on Ichigo. "Do not underestimate him. He may be inexperienced but I've heard of him somewhere. There was a report thirty-three hours ago from the Stealth Force stating that the Menos Grande that'd appeared here was destroyed."
Renji froze before looking over at Ichigo. "He did what?" he gaped. "This kid?" Renji didn't believe it. "The Stealth Force ain't all it's cracked up to be anymore, I see. Just look at that kid's zanpakuto! It's a big, clunky embarrassment!" he taunted, unable to believe his own captain's words. "Boy! What's your zanpakuto's name?"
Ichigo blinked in confusion. "Name?" he asked, the puzzlement written on his face. "You can name zanpakuto?" 'Why didn't Halibel and Rukia tell me?'
Throwing his head back, Renji laughed at the naïve novice before his face twisted with anger. "You can't even ask your zanpakuto its name! You think you can fight me as an equal? Think again!" He ran his hand alongside the flat of his sword. "You're a thousand years too early! Roar: Zabimaru!"
In an instant, Ichigo watched Renji's sword glow a menacing red before it changed. It was wider now, with sharp protrusions along the edge of it.
Ichigo braced himself when Renji jumped into the air but he still wasn't ready for it. Renji's spiritual pressure seemed to explode with his sword's evolution and his strike was faster than Ichigo could react to. He felt the wicked metal tear into his shoulder in a flash. He cried out and stumbled as sinew and bone were shredded by Renji's whip-like attack.
Renji's laughter filled the air while a stoic Byakuya and a horrified Rukia looked on. "It's over, boy!" he laughed as he swung his weapon over his head. "You lost to Renji Abarai. You die here!"
Rukia was about to rush to Ichigo's aid. She was going to try to jump Renji in an attempt to buy Ichigo time to run away. 'He's going to die! If I don't do something he'll die because of me!' She took a single step forward before she saw Ichigo rise to his feet. His body glowed blue as he stood tall, readjusting his stance. 'His spiritual pressure is rising. Where is it coming from?'
Renji was taken aback by Ichigo's defiance but undeterred. "Excellent. It's no fun butchering a crippled pig. Come on then, swing your sword!" he called out, eager to kill the boy. When Ichigo refused to budge, he scoffed. "Well, if you won't attack, I will!"
"Ichigo! Run!" Rukia pleaded as Renji charged him. She wished she had her powers so she could stop her old friend from killing Ichigo. Instead all she could was stand idle as the boy who'd saved her was cut to ribbons.
Ichigo's grip on his sword tightened and his spirit energy soared. The pressure coming off of him made Renji's eyes widen, the man too committed to halt his attack by now. 'Such spirit energy! Where's it coming from?'
"You want me to swing?" Ichigo asked as Renji catapulted towards him. "HOW ABOUT THIS!"
The onlookers watched in complete shock as Ichigo swung his sword at Renji, killer intent in his eyes. Renji felt the slash and watched as he fell one way…while his arm fell in the opposite. "ARGHHH!" Renji screamed, pain shooting through him as blood gushed from the stump of a right arm.
Ichigo didn't hesitate. He brought his sword around to give the finishing blow. "This match…is mine!" he shouted with a grin.
His attack never reached Renji.
He gaped in astonishment as he saw that a good majority of his large zanpakuto was missing. 'What? It disappeared? But…he didn't do anything!' he looked up in abject horror when he realized that it wasn't Renji who broke his zanpakuto, but Byakuya.
The man held the broken part of Ichigo's sword in his hand. Dropping the broken blade, Byakuya slowly reached for his own weapon.
Ichigo never saw it coming.
He saw the man disappear from sight and then felt blood drip down his chest.
Then the pain set in.
Ichigo gasped as he realized that Byakuya had attacked him faster than he could react. 'What happened? Was I cut from behind? From the front?' He slowly leaned forward to fall to the ground; his defeat had happened before he even realized it.
"You're too slow," Byakuya Kuchiki mocked, watching the boy hit the ground. "Even to fall," he added with a condescending gaze.
Nursing his severed arm, Renji stared at his captain in awe. Even after all the time he'd known him he was still peerless. He'd seen only the second strike of his captain's attack. 'He's still miles above me.' He picked up his severed right arm, hoping that the medics could reattach it. He saw the look of disapproval in his captain's eye and bowed his head in shame.
Byakuya stared at the boy with an inquisitive glance. This boy was far more dangerous than they'd initially thought. His swordplay was nothing to scoff at. In fact, it was more brutal and more furious, like that of a Hollow. "We're leaving."
As Ichigo lay there, he watched in agony as Byakuya and Renji took Rukia away, disappearing from behind the portal that the Soul Reaper's opened up. "Rukia…" he choked, raindrops pelting him as if to further shame his defeat. "Rukia…" Darkness took him and he lost consciousness.
Out of the shadows stepped out Halibel, who'd watched the exchange. It killed her to have to watch this, unable to intervene. She knew that if she did reveal herself, then the Soul Society would bring their full fury down on Ichigo for having relations with a Hollow, even if he did manage to save Rukia from the two. She knelt down in front of her defeated protégé. 'There's nothing I can do. I'm sorry, Ichigo.'
She could feel Ichigo's powers fade. Byakuya Kuchiki's attack had destroyed his Hakusui and his Saketsu. Her healing abilities could not save Ichigo's powers. All Halibel could do was ease his pain.
Cradling his head in her lap, Halibel put a hand to his wounds, her palm glowing yellow as she did her best to stop the bleeding. "Forgive me," she whispered to the unconscious Ichigo. "I should have fought with you. I let my student fight a battle he wasn't ready for. I have no right to call myself your teacher," she lamented, her free hand gently running through his wet hair. "I put my loyalty for Lord Aizen above the necessity to protect you. I'm so sorry, Ichigo."
The blonde Arrancar ran a thousand ideas through her mind at once. Could she possibly take Ichigo's powerless soul back to Hueco Mundo? Perhaps there, she'd find a way to get his powers back; if nothing else she could make him into an Arrancar and assist his revenge by killing the Soul Reapers who'd done this to him. Or perhaps she could beg her master for his assistance. She knew it was too soon for Aizen to reveal himself but if she could message him in some way, she could have him return his powers and have him join their forces.
But her plans were dashed when she felt someone coming. It was someone powerful, making her curse. Laying Ichigo's head gently down onto the ground, Halibel disappeared into the shadows and suppressed her spirit pressure. 'That's…'
Kisuke Urahara stood over the defeated Ichigo, an umbrella shielding him from the rain. He stared down at boy and knelt down to check and see if he was alive. Halibel cursed. She knew who Kisuke Urahara was; he was said to be one of the cleverest Soul Reapers alive.
The shopkeeper inspected Ichigo's wounds and noticed several things that clearly didn't add up. Standing up straight, he looked around to see if they were being watched. His eyes lingered at the spot where Halibel was hiding for a moment before he looked away. Regardless of what had happened, he needed to get Ichigo to safety before he died of his injuries. "Tessai," he called out. At his command, the burly assistant picked Ichigo up and the two walked away. Kisuke turned around and stared at the spot where Halibel was hiding again before turning away. "Hmm…"
Once they were gone, Halibel stepped out of the shadows and breathed a sigh of relief. Kisuke Urahara was craftier than she'd given him credit. She hoped that Ichigo's secret hadn't been revealed yet. Knowing there was no more she could do, she returned to Hueco Mundo.
Returning to her quarters, Halibel walked past her subordinates. The Tres Bestia saw their master's disheveled, soaked appearance and knew that something was wrong. "Master Halibel…" Sung-Sun dared to ask. "Are you crying?"
"It was raining," Halibel merely said without looking them in the eye as she walked past them. "Please give me some time alone," she said, not even turning to face them. She closed the door to her room and slumped into her chair.
After holding it in for so long she finally let the tears fall…
To be continued
A.N.: There's something odd that I noted as I was rereading the fight between Ichigo and Renji/Byakuya. I've come to the conclusion that Tite Kubo subtly meant for things to come full circle when it comes to Ichigo's battles. In Ichigo's fight with Renji, his very first sword is broken without his knowledge. And in the final battle with Yhwach at the end of the series, his final sword is broken without his knowledge. Well played, Kubo…
