So, it's spring now. This has got to be the most expensive time for me. First there's Mother's Day, then the birthdays of my dad and brother, and then there's the Easter eggs. Yeah. Pretty pricey. But, at least I get chocolate, too. So, last time, Toshiro was able to bring back the real Ren from Epona's corruption, and they're off to defend the city from the Feathers attacking it. Something tells me that Epona won't be too happy about this. And Ren is probably not too happy about being corrupted, either. This could be interesting…
Chapter 23
Rationality
"Roar, Zabimaru!" With one slash of Zabimaru, Renji struck down three Feathers at once, but the blow could only sever one of their legs and leave gashes on their heads. "Damn. These things aren't like Hollows. They're a lot tougher. How does Ren fight them?"
"HA!" Ichigo dropped down from the ground and, with one slash, struck a Feather on the head, splitting it in half. It glowed white and burst into ashes. Ichigo picked up the core as it dropped to the ground, and stood up, resting Zangetsu on his shoulder.
"You've gotta hit them straight on the head. Any other attack just slows it down." Ichigo said.
"Some no mai…"
"Eh?" Ichigo saw how the ground was slowly starting to get whiter. "Oh, crap!" Ichigo promptly moved out of the way, except the Feathers, who just looked down at the ground as it changed colour, not noticing Rukia appearing behind them.
"Tsukishiro!" Rukia slashed her sword, and the ice started to develop around the Feather's legs. Rukia leapt away from them, and in a heartbeat, the Feathers were frozen solid in a pillar of ice. It promptly shattered, and Rukia calmly caught the Feather cores in her hands. She looked at the silver charms on her palm. "So these are Feather cores."
"Rukia, you almost froze me!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"You were just standing there, completely forgetting the fact there were two more Feathers behind you." Rukia retorted, pocketing the cores.
"How's Rangiku doing?" Renji asked.
"Great!" Rangiku entered as if on cue, waving and running towards the other Soul Reapers. "I killed four of them!"
"Did you get the cores?" Ichigo asked.
"Right here." Rangiku opened out her left palm, showing the feather shaped charms to the others. "And you?"
"Yeah, a couple."
"I've killed about four."
"Three." Renji held up three fingers.
"Right!" Rangiku clapped her hands. "That's thirteen down." Rangiku heard several roars in the distance. "Some more left to go."
"How many are there? We've been fighting them for about twenty minutes." Renji nearly exclaimed.
"Too many for us to handle." Rukia said. "We've only been able to take out a handful, and there are still several more to go."
"At this rate, the Feathers will destroy the city."
"I know I shouldn't say this, but…we need Ren." Rangiku said, looking off down a street, where she could see a few more Feathers. They all turned their heads towards the Soul Reapers, and with loud roars, dashed towards them.
"Growl, Haineko!" Rangiku's sword dissolved into ashes, and the cloud whooshed through the air towards the Feathers, who skidded to a stop as the ash circled around them, cutting into their skin.
"Let's get to the centre." Ichigo said.
"Right." Rukia started to run off in that direction, but stopped when she spotted the shadow of a tree ripple, and a person rose up out of it, the shadows stripping down from the silhouette to reveal Epona.
"Not another step." Epona said in her usual sad tone.
"Who's she?" Rangiku asked.
"Epona." Rukia answered. "She's the one behind all this."
"So you're the one who changed Ren." Renji said with a growl, clenching the hilt of Zabimaru.
"That's correct." Upon hearing this confirmation, Renji immediately slashed his zanpakuto, and the sword whipped through the air towards Epona, but she didn't even flinch. She calmly raised her arm up, and caught the front protrusion in her hand.
"What?" Renji went wide eyed at what just happened. She caught his sword? And she wasn't even bleeding? Nobody had ever done that before. And she didn't even look fazed. Epona tugged on the sword, and Renji accidentally let go of the hilt, where the whip-like sword collapsed on the ground.
"Interesting." Epona said. "It seems your sword can change form, and it obeys only you. Much like Cielvian weaponry." Zabimaru floated off the ground, small white stars sparkling around it. "Here. You can have it back." Zabimaru was forcefully thrown to the ground at Renji's feet, and he quickly picked it up again, making the segments of his Shikai reform again.
What is this girl? Renji thought, glaring at Epona. She's strong. Can we beat her?
"Where's yours?" Epona asked Rangiku. "There is no blade on your hilt. Did it break?" Epona heard some roars in the distance, and a cloud of ashes burst out from the street, and part of it went back to Rangiku, reforming into a blade. "I see. You people have interesting powers that are not of Cielvia." Epona snapped her fingers. There was a silence, until the Soul Reapers could clearly hear the sound of thundering footsteps, and they looked behind Epona in shock when they saw an entire pack of Feathers head their way. They skidded to a stop behind Epona, growling and drooling from the mouths. "You are the bodyguards of the reincarnation, are you not? However, people of your abilities should have some trouble against this many Feathers. These are just a small fraction of the Feathers I released. There are more than two hundred in this city, and without Ren aiding you, your chances are slim." Epona glanced around her. "Unfortunately, my partner Etheline is inconveniently late. She would have enjoyed seeing her enemies get devoured, even if you have yet to get acquainted. No matter." Epona raised a hand up to head height, and the Soul Reapers instinctively went into a defensive stance, ready for the Feathers. "Attack."
BLAM BLAM BLAM!
"What?" Epona suddenly saw a huge group of fireballs being shot towards the Feathers, destroying them instantly.
"What was that?" Ichigo wondered, looking around for the source.
"It came from behind us." Rukia turned around, and her eyes widened. There was a girl standing not too far away from them, spinning the trigger hole of a gun around her finger before holding it still and making it vanish in a burst of flames, the fire around her limbs vanishing with it.
"Ren?" Rangiku said, convinced she was seeing things.
"So…" Ren started. "How many Feathers are left now?" Ren held her palm out, and the cores from the Feathers she just killed shot into her hand, where she counted them. A pause. "What? Thirty? Felt like a lot more."
"Is that really Ren?" Ichigo asked, suspicious, but not as suspicious as Renji, who was convinced this was a trick. Ren strolled towards the group, a spring in her step and humming a song to herself. As soon as she was in reaching distance, Renji pointed his sword at Ren.
"Eep!" Ren squeaked, holding her hands up.
"Don't come any closer, imposter." Renji said forcefully.
"Easy, Red Pineapple. Easy. Wait, how did your sword get so big?" Ren asked, getting side-tracked by how weird Renji's weapon looked.
"Don't change the…hang on, what did you call me?" Renji asked, lowering his sword.
"Red Pineapple." Ren answered, wearing her usual blank yet innocent look. "Last time I checked, that was my nickname for you."
"Does that mean…"
"Yup!" Ren smiled happily. "Shiro broke Epona's spell!"
What?! Epona thought, going wide-eyed from shock.
"You're back!" Rangiku immediately pulled Ren into a hug.
"Momf!" Ren muffled, her face getting buried in Rangiku's breasts. "Gah!" Ren managed to pull herself away. "Rangiku, I see you're as energetic as usual."
"Sorry, I'm just so happy to see you again."
"Me, too."
"Wait, I'm confused. How did Toshiro bring you back?" Ichigo asked.
"The better question is why didn't you guys make as much effort as Shiro did?" Ren asked.
"You threatened to take away our powers permanently." Renji answered.
"And you believed that." Ren said flatly.
"Huh?" The Soul Reapers said at the same time.
"Just because I can restore what's lost doesn't mean I can make them lost again. I don't even know if Zena has that power."
"You mean…What you said the other day…" Renji trailed off.
"That was a lie, of course." Ren said bluntly. The Soul Reapers mentally sweat dropped, feeling foolish for believing that threat, and had no idea why they should feel ashamed.
"Did you really believe it?" Ren asked, cracking a smile.
"…" Renji shifted his eyes, refusing to answer.
"You did, didn't you?"
"No."
"Betcha I'm right."
"Betcha you're wrong."
"Betcha you're a Red Pineapple."
"Betcha you're a midget.
"Bitch I kill monsters!" Ren exclaimed angrily. "And I'm not short, I'm average!"
"That settles it." Rukia said with a smile. "This is our Ren."
"Rukia is right." Toshiro finally entered onto the scene, followed by the two humans, who weren't exactly sure if they belonged there or not. "This is no trick. The real Ren has returned to us. I don't know what happened, but all traces of Epona's spell are gone. And I doubt it will happen again."
"Captain! Are you alright?" Rangiku asked, noticing the faint blood stains on his clothes and the scratches on his skin.
"I'm fine. Ren healed me." While the conversation between Ren and the Soul Reapers took place, Epona was rooted to the ground, unable to look away from Ren as she smiled and yelled about not being short.
"Impossible…" Epona finally managed to whisper.
"Hey, um, aren't there Feathers in the city?" Steph asked.
"Crap, there are!" Ren slammed a fist on her palm.
"And then there's…" Ichigo turned around to face Epona, only to find her gone. "Where'd she go?"
"Well, it doesn't matter. She'll be back." Ren said, spotting some more Feathers begin to approach the group. "I know we have a lot of catching up to do, and maybe even some grudge matches. But first…" Ren clicked her heels together, and the Fire Shackles appeared around her wrists and ankles. "I have a little spring cleaning to do." Without turning away, Ren materialised two guns in her hands, and handed one to Toshiro. "Here you go, Shiro. I'll be right back." Ren began to walk towards the Feathers. "Take five, guys. You've done well, but I can handle the rest."
"Are you sure you're strong enough for them?" Renji asked. Ren looked over her shoulder with a smile.
"Dude, you haven't even begun to see how strong I am." She made another gun appear in her empty hand, and held the trigger, creating a fireball on the tip of the gun that gradually got bigger. She pointed the other gun at the Feathers coming towards her. "Let's count, shall we?" Ren shot six fireballs from the gun, and one by one, the Feathers were hit, they roared and they vanished into ashes. "One, two, three, four, five, six," Ren counted as each Feather died. "TEN!" Ren yelled happily, firing the newly developed fireball from her other gun at the remaining Feathers. The Feather cores shot into her hand, and Ren counted them. "Eeyup." Ren opened up her drawstring bag. "Wow, this thing's gettin' pretty full. Good thing I have a spare." Ren pulled out an identical drawstring bag from her pocket and dropped the cores in there. "Somebody hold these." Ren threw the other bag over her shoulder.
"I've got it!" Rukia quickly caught the bag in her hands.
"Keep an eye on those, will ya? Oh, and watch Shiro's back. Brb!" With that, the Fire Shackles around her ankles burst out more fire, and Ren shot up into the sky like a rocket. "Let's see…" Ren hovered in the air around forty feet above the ground, surveying the city. "There's a few over there…some more over there…oooo, there's a big group over there! Oh, guys, heads up! There's about five heading your way!"
"What?" Ichigo looked over his shoulder, and sure enough, there were five Feathers sprinting their way. "Getsuga…" Ichigo started, raising Zangetsu above his head, but several fireballs were shot from behind him, and the Feathers were hit by a barrage of fireballs, killing them all. "Huh?" Ichigo turned around, and Toshiro had Ren's gun raised, the tip smoking from the shots, and his expression remaining unchanged.
"Nice one, Shiro." Ren said with raised eyebrows, mildly impressed. "Okay, now you gotta spin the gun around your finger! Like this!" Ren demonstrated using one of her own pistols with a grin on her face.
"Ren, I'm not doing something that pointless!" Toshiro shouted up to her.
"Is looking badass pointless?!" Ren shouted down in response. "Wait, hold that thought. I think the Feathers are all grouping towards us." Ren heard a loud rumbling getting closer and closer, along with occasional growls and even some high screams. "Yeah, they must be attracted to the Cielvian presence." Ren scratched her head. "Probably doesn't help that I've been using my Shackles for a while now. Ah, well. If that's the case…" Ren threw her two pistols up into the air, and they span until they turned into wheels of fire, and then two balls of fire about the same size as a human head. "I'll have to end this quickly." One of the fireballs split into another one of the same size, and so did the other one, and then there were two more, and then four more, and the fireballs kept multiplying around Ren until there were more than one hundred fireballs surrounding her. The fireballs burst into small explosions, and the fires cleared away to reveal pistols replacing the fireballs. Ren materialised another one in her hand, and pointed it at some oncoming Feathers, the remaining pistols rotating and pointing in all directions. Ren gave a smirk.
"Dakka." She said, pulling the trigger of her gun. All of the guns fired simultaneously, disappearing into bursts of flame afterwards, and a rain of fire fell down from the sky. All that could be heard in that moment were the explosions of the guns, the shattering of the ground as the fireballs fell to earth, and the screams of the Feathers. While this was going on, Ren span her gun around the finger, making it disappear in a wheel of fire. The fierceness of the flames around her feet toned down, and Ren floated back down to earth, barely making a sound when she landed, her Fire Shackles vanishing again. She calmly walked back to the other Soul Reapers, and the ones who were still not used to Ren yet were amazed at her display of power.
"Well, that was easy." Ren said, sounding a little disappointed. "So, what did you think of that, Shiro? I've never done that kind of move before. What's the verdict?"
"Ren, that was reckless and idiotic." Toshiro said sternly. "Some of those fireballs came our way. We could have been killed if your aim was off by even a little bit." Pause. "I missed you."
"Yeah, I missed me to. And does that mean you don't approve of my move?" Ren asked, tilting her head to the side a little.
"Don't write it off. It might come in handy."
"So it's, like, a forbidden technique?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Sweet."
"…" Epona stared down at the group from the top of a building. She just couldn't comprehend how her magic vanished. While watching her fight, she noticed how Ren was no longer as merciless as she was the last time. She was…herself.
"Well, this is interesting."
"I'm not in the mood." Epona said coldly, narrowing her eyes after recognising Etheline's voice. Etheline was stood behind her, a hand on her hip and a sly smile on her face.
"So much for the Leader's plan. Guess we'll just have to keep fighting her until she sees sense." A whip appeared in Etheline's hand, and she began to walk towards the edge of the building. But, Epona blocked her path with her arm. "Epona?"
"No." Epona's sad expression became determined once again. She looked down at Ren, clenching her hand into a fist. "I will deal with her myself. You are not to interfere."
"Why should I take orders from somebody who can't accomplish a simple task?" Etheline asked with a sigh. Epona looked over her shoulder and gave Etheline a glare that shut her up right away.
"As I said…you are not to interfere." Epona repeated.
"Yes, Epona." Etheline said, looking away.
Damn, she's intimidating when she's mad. Etheline thought. Epona turned back around, the Shadow Shackles appearing around her limbs, and she shrunk into her own shadow.
"Well, I guess I'm an observer." Etheline sat on the edge of the building, laying her whip down next to her and crossing her legs. She smiled again. "This could be kind of fun."
"But, Ren, what happened back there?" Ichigo asked. "I thought that spell couldn't be reversed."
"I thought that, too. But, somehow, Shiro found a way. I was surrounded in darkness, and then I heard Shiro's voice, and…well, you know the rest." Ren looked over to Toshiro. "You should have him to thank. Speaking of which…" Ren immediately threw her arms around Toshiro's neck, surprising him. "Thank you, Shiro!" She exclaimed happily.
"It was nothing, I'm sure you would've done the same for me."
"It's not nothing, it's everything!" Ren pulled away from Toshiro, still gripping his shoulders. "If it weren't for you, I would still be…uh…shall I call her Dark Ren? Yeah, Dark Ren. And I do NOT like Dark Ren. If it weren't for you, I'd still be evil."
"Ren, you've already thanked me. You don't have to…" Toshiro cut himself off when Ren planted a kiss on his cheek. Ren pulled away and Toshiro placed a hand where she kissed him. Ren smiled her happy smile at him.
"Thank you."
"You…You're welcome." Toshiro eventually said, looking away with a small smile on his face.
"Captain, are you blushing?" Rangiku teased, leaning forward to get a better look.
"Uh, n-n-n-no! I'm er…um…uh…" Toshiro stammered, trying to think of a response.
"You're feeling cold today." Ren muttered into his ear.
"I'm feeling cold today." Toshiro repeated, suddenly calm and deciding to ignore how stupid that excuse was.
"But that's impossible, you-"
"Shut up before it gets even colder."
"Yes, sir." Renji immediately shut up.
"Thanks, Ren." Toshiro whispered to Ren.
"This counts as a stupid idea." Ren whispered back.
"Fair enough."
"Hey, wait a minute, you don't have any powers. You can't make it colder!" Renji realised.
"Who said it would be me making it colder?" Toshiro said with a sly smile. "Ren? Would you mind giving Renji an arctic breeze?"
"Gladly." Ren raised her arms up, preparing to activate her Wind Shackles.
"Alright, alright, you win!" Renji quickly gave in. Ren and Toshiro both exchanged amused glances.
"I know I said this before, but it's good to have you back."
"…" Tom looked up at the sky. Is it just him, or was it getting darker? He didn't see anything suspicious, although the clouds were rather dark.
"Anyway, Ren, there's something I think you should know." Toshiro said. Even though Ren wasn't herself, she had made a few good points. He was keeping things from her. And that stops now. He was going to be honest with Ren from now on. Toshiro was going to tell her about Zena.
"What is it?" Ren asked.
"Hey, guys, I think it's getting cloudy." Tom said, deciding to bring the weather into attention.
"We're in Britain, Tom. The sky is alwa…" Ren trailed off, looking up at the sky. "Wait…it really is getting cloudy."
"Is that bad?" Steph asked.
"Might be. Either it's gonna rain when I don't have an umbrella, or…"
"Or Epona is about to attack again." Toshiro finished for Ren.
"Here we go again." Ren sighed, tapping her heels again to make the Fire Shackles appear. "Guys, if Epona summons those ninjas again, remember they're weak to light, so hit 'em with anything bright. Anyone want one of my guns? What about you two?" Ren turned to Tom and Steph.
"What?" Steph blinked in surprise.
"But…I've never held a weapon before. I've never even been to Laser Force."
"First time for everything." Ren threw a pistol each for them, and they caught the guns, fumbling with them while struggling to get a grip on them, before firmly grasping it in both hands. "Anyone else? Shiro, you've still got yours, so you're fine. Right, do any of you know any bright…uh…Kido?" Ren looked at Toshiro, who nodded. "Yeah, Kido."
"I do." Rukia raised a hand.
"Renji and I know some."
"Yeah, but he can't do them without having them blow up in his face."
"Oi!" Renji growled at Ichigo.
"Right, you're getting a gun." Ren tossed Renji a gun, who caught it and stared at it from different angles, trying to determine what about it gives Ren her strength. "Ichigo?"
"Uh…"
"Urgh, here." Ren groaned, handing Ichigo another gun. "Remember, guys. Epona has power over darkness. Don't let her smoke touch you. And I mean never. If you do, you'll end up how I was. Got that?" Everybody nodded. "And while we're on the subject, how come she hasn't shown up yet?" Ren looked around, scratching her head. "She had plenty of opportunities. I know she's here. The sky is practically black." Ren didn't notice, but her shadow was starting to ripple around her feet. Tentacle-like shadows rose out of the shadows and around her legs, completely disregarding the Shackles around her ankles. "She might attack any moment now. I'm gonna go and-eh?"
"Ren, what's wrong?" Rangiku asked.
"I can't move." Ren answered, puzzled. "It's like my feet are glued to the ground." Immediately after this, three large shadowy tentacles shot out of her shadow, poised to attack and making the other instinctively back away. "What the…" Before Ren could get another word in edgeways, the tentacles wrapped themselves around her, and they started to sink into the ground, taking Ren with them. "Get off me!" Ren struggled against the shadows, managing to get one arm free.
"Ren!" Toshiro ran straight towards Ren, reaching out to grab her hand, but it sank into the ground before he could reach her, making Toshiro grasp the air where her hand used to be, and the shadow vanished. Ren was gone. "No!"
"Where did she go?" Steph looked all around her for any signs that Ren had been there, even listening out for her voice, all while keeping her new gun held up high.
"I think we should be worried about us right now." Tom said fearfully, noticing how the ground was a lot darker. It ripples, and out of the ground rose several dozen shadowy figures.
"It's the guys from the arcade." Renji instantly recognised them.
"And without Ren, we'll just have to deal with them ourselves." Ichigo reached for Zangetsu, but stopped himself, remembering the weapon he held in his hands. Deciding to give it a try, Ichigo aimed it at one of the shadowed figures and pulled the trigger. A fireball immediately shot out, hit the shadowed figure and it burst into smoke with a high pitched scream and disappeared. "It worked."
"Of course it did. It works for me, so why should you be any different?" Toshiro pointed out, deciding that protecting themselves right now took top priority over trying to find Ren. Besides, that girl was more than capable of taking care of herself, no matter where she ended up. At least, that's what Toshiro kept thinking to himself as he fired his pistol at any figures that happened to come close to him, acting purely out of instinct and giving no thought to plan out his moves. He just wanted to get them out the way so he could find Ren as soon as possible. After what happened, he was sure Epona was going to have a few things to say to her, and he honestly wasn't sure if Ren even stood a chance against her.
No! Toshiro shook his head, shrugging off those thoughts long enough to realise there was another shadowed figure behind him, and he quickly shot it with his gun, watching it burst into smoke. Don't think like that. Ren will be fine.
BOOM!
"Huh?" Toshiro looked at the direction the explosion came from. In the distance, there was a cloud of dust on top of one of the taller buildings, and there was also some dark smoke mixed in with the dust. It looked like Epona's magic, which can only mean that she had transported Ren there. "Oh, screw it." Toshiro instantly took off in the direction of the explosion. "Rangiku, I'll leave them with you! I'm going after Ren!"
"Yes, sir!" Rangiku shouted back, confident in her captain and in the strength of her comrades to swiftly take care of these figures. After all, the sooner they were dealt with, the sooner she could re-join her captain. She just had a bad feeling about Epona. There was something about her that she just didn't like…
Stay safe, Captain. Rangiku thought.
…
"Nya!" Ren staggered as soon as she rose out of the shadows. She realised that she was now on top of a building, and upon looking around, she realised that she now had no idea where the others were. Something had transported her away from them "That felt weird." Ren rubbed her head, trying to get her hair back into order. That was when she noticed how the shadows were rippling briefly before they stopped, and she immediately knew what was going on. "Epona." Ren looked behind her, and sure enough, Epona was standing right there, her usual sad expression replaced with one that was a mixture of determined and angry, and the Shadow Shackles floating around her wrists and ankles. "Oh…Hey…" Ren said slowly. "So, uh, I guess you're a little peeved that your spell didn't work, right?" Epona said nothing. "Um…Look, I know you're mad, but let's just talk this out." Ren said with a smile. Epona's response was for her Shadow Shackles to become more intense, and some smoke billowed around her hand, until it dispersed, revealing a long dagger in each of Epona's hands, with a red hilt and the Cielvian emblem of a teardrop on the ends of the guard and the tip of the hilt. Ren's face fell. "I guess not."
"All you had to do was let the darkness take over. But, you refused to let go of the light."
"I-I-I had no idea your magic would go away, I swear! Brownie promise!" Ren insisted, making the hand sign afterwards to show her sincerity. But, to Ren's disappointment, just by looking at Epona's face, she knew Epona wasn't buying it, so Ren lowered her hand with her trademark "uuuu" sound.
"You were a thorn in my side, even before I showed you the darkness, and had you held onto the darkness, you would have been my partner, and you would always be the thorn."
"So I guess everything worked out in the end. Heh heh heh." Ren said nervously and with an equally nervous smile.
"Perhaps. But now I know that some thorns are too stubborn to be shown the darkness. And those thorns will have to be pulled out. Permanently." A cloud of smoke developed behind Epona, and Ren noticed how there were gleams inside the cloud that reflected what little sunlight was basking on the city. There were more daggers inside there!
"Eep." Ren said flatly, trying her best not to panic. "Okay…so you wanna kill me…" Ren slowly started to back away. She could deal with Epona later. Right now, her friends needed her help. She knew they were capable of taking care of themselves, but Ren just had to make sure. "I'd love to have a little chat girl to girl, but I've uh…got to go…do…something…" Ren glanced behind her, seeing that a building wasn't too far away from the edge. She could make a run for it right now, and since they were high up, she should be able to spot her friends and be able to help them. "Over there!" Ren turned around and made a dash for the edge of the building. "Parkour, don't fail me now!" Ren yelled as she jumped. Ren landed on the other building, rolling on the ground for good measure before she took off into a run again. "Try and catch me now!" Ren yelled triumphantly. Several seconds later, Ren heard a loud flapping noise. "Eh?" Ren looked over her shoulder, and she gasped. Epona was flying after her with her own pair of feathered wings, only these ones were black for some reason. "Oh, yeah, that's right, she's a reincarnation." Ren said calmly. "Craaaaap!" Ren broke into an even fiercer run after realising what this meant.
"You will not escape me." Epona made more daggers shoot out of the cloud of darkness behind her, and Ren somehow managed to avoid each one by running in a zigzag.
"Using those daggers just makes me want to escape even more!" Ren exclaimed, jumping over another building gap without missing a beat. "I'm not asking for a fight!"
"Well, you're getting it." Epona shot even more daggers at Ren, and she spun around and shot an arch of fire at the daggers, knocking them off course, and she spun back around again to continue running.
"Can't we be civilised about this?! It's not fair that you can fly while I can't!" Ren suddenly skidded to a stop, and Epona also stopped flying, letting herself hover in the air. "Wait a minute, I can totally do that."
"Enough of your foolishness!" Epona finally had enough of Ren, and she raised her arms up in the air, making the smoke cloud form on her hands. "Die!" With this shout, Epona threw the dark cloud at Ren.
BOOM!
"…" Epona lowered her hand, staring at the dust cloud mixed with her smoke. After several seconds, Ren burst out of the cloud, her Fire Shackles boosting her up into the air, and Ren was hovering on equal levels with Epona while still keeping her distance.
"Sorry about that." Ren apologised sheepishly. "In my panic, I totally forgot that I could fly! Doy, right?" Ren tapped her head with her fist while sticking her tongue out, and she laughed a little bit, but it turned into a nervous chuckle when she realised Epona wasn't laughing back. "Uh…doy?" Ren said again. Nothing. "Come on, laughter's the best medicine." Epona merely made her glare even fiercer. "And now, back to running." Ren promptly turned around and, with a burst of flames, she was rocketing through the sky and away from Epona. "I meant flying!" Ren's voice yelled from a distance.
"Get back here!" Epona shouted, and with a strong beat of her wings, she was flying after Ren.
"Right, where are they?" Ren looked over the city, trying to spot any signs of her friends. "Not there…not there…" In the midst of her search, Ren faintly heard a swishing sound, and she saw a gleam of metal in the corner of her eye. "Dah!" Ren flew to her left, dodging a dagger that lodged itself into a wall before disappearing in a puff of black smoke. Ren looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, Epona was flying above her. "Whoa, she's persistent. I don't have time for her. Guess there's no other way." Ren turned around. "Look, a distraction!" Ren yelled, throwing a fireball as big as her head at Epona. Epona crossed her arms in front of her, and as soon as the fireball hit her, it was dispersed by her shadows. When the fire cleared, Epona saw that Ren was no longer in the sky.
"Where did she go?" Epona flew off slowly, looking for her prey, and not knowing that Ren was actually hiding in an alleyway just below her.
"Right. Now, find my friends." Ren ran out of the alleyway into the open street. "Trouble is that the sky is so dark, it's hard to see. Hell, I'm surprised the street lights aren't on." Ren snapped her fingers. "Damn." Ren held her chin and tapped her foot. "Hm, what to do, what to do…" Silence. "Ah, I'll power through." Following her instincts, Ren ran off to her right. "I've dealt with worse, after all." After a couple minutes, Ren reached a turning, and she skidded to a halt, hopping on her right foot a couple of times, and she ran off down the left turning. She then saw a gleam on the pavement, and Ren took a glimpse at it while running past it. The gleam was a Feather core. And after a few seconds, Ren saw a few more gleams on the ground. "Ah, that's right. I killed all the Feathers at once. I need to gather the cores soon or…huh?" Ren stopped when she saw the cores around her start to shake. Slowly, they glowed white and levitated off the ground. "What? Are the Feathers coming back already? It's not even been an hour." Ren quickly held out her hand, and the cores in front of her shot into her hand, leaving behind brief trails of light, along with several more beams of light. In fact, there were so many, Ren had to hold her other hand out to catch the others. After the cores stopped shooting into her hands, the glowing stopped, and Ren was staring at purified Feather cores. "That was close." Ren sighed, relieved. As soon as Ren saw the glowing of the cores, she had just got a bad feeling about it, and she was glad she acted quickly. She was seriously not in the mood to fight the Feathers again.
"I had a feeling you would do that."
"Eh?" Ren looked up at the sound of the voice. Epona was standing in front of her on top of a streetlamp.
"Sooner or later, you were going to collect those cores." Epona continued. "Had you not collected them, you would have faced far worse than a few Feathers. Your own instincts are your downfall." Epona raised her hands a little, showing Ren the two daggers she held, letting them gleam in what little light there was in the city.
"…" Ren, with a blank face, dropped the cores she held in her hands, making them clatter noisily around her feet. She had had enough. Just when she finally got away from Epona, she was stupid enough to reveal her location. She was so frustrated she just wanted to scream!
…
"Damn…She's not here either." Toshiro cursed under his breath after stopping again in another deserted town square. "You'd think having nobody here would make it easier." Toshiro started to run off again, but at the first step, he stopped. He heard metal. Toshiro removed his foot and looked down. It was a Feather core. Looking around him, Toshiro noticed how there were about a dozen cores in the square. "Right. Ren hasn't purified them yet. But how long is it until they come back as Feathers? I should pick up these ones while I'm here." Just as Toshiro was about to reach out towards the core, it started to glow. "Huh?" The glowing of the Feather core continued, and it continued to the other cores, and they soon rattled and levitated off a few inches off the ground. Toshiro cautiously stepped back and aimed his gun at one of the cores. Something told him that they weren't being collected. But, Toshiro's fears were put to rest for the time being when they shot up into the sky, leaving behind trails of light, and shot out straight behind him. Toshiro turned around and followed where the cores were going with his eyes, noticing how there were several mores beams of light going off in the same direction. Toshiro watched where the cores ended up, noticing them fall back down to the ground further off in the distance at a single point, before the beams of light stopped. It didn't seem that far away, either. It was just down the street.
There she is. Toshiro thought, finally pinpointing Ren's location. But, she's been moving around a lot lately. What if she's moved again? How do I know where she is?
"OH, COME ON!"
"She's there." Gripping his gun, Toshiro ran off again in the direction he saw the lights. After all, if he saw those lights, the chances are Epona saw them, too. And this girl was not to be underestimated. After all, Toshiro had only just got back the real Ren, and he was not about to lose her again.
…
"OH, COME ON!" Ren yelled. "I've finally got away from you, and you pulled a dirty trick like that to find me!"
"Actually, you were the one who, as you said, pulled a dirty trick. As I said, you are your own downfall." Epona said calmly, although on the inside, she was bewildered at the level of Ren's stupidity.
"Oh, and now you're making me feel like an idiot!"
"?" Epona glanced behind her. She sensed it. That person was coming. As she thought, that boy was sure to rush off and find the one he had promised to protect whenever she was separated from him. This was the perfect opportunity for her.
"Hey, what are you looking at?" Ren, after calming down quite quickly, noticed Epona staring off into the distance.
"Nothing." Epona turned back to Ren. "I was just contemplating opportunities." Epona stepped down from the streetlamp, levitating an inch from the ground for a brief second before touching the ground. Ren cautiously backed away from Epona, and she subtly placed a hand behind her back, materialising a gun in that hand just in case. "The opportunity of continuing my plan, to be more precise."
"Plan? What plan?" Ren dared to ask.
"The plan to spread the power of my darkness across the world, of course. You were the first one who resisted, and you will doubtless be the only one. After all, it's impossible to stay away from the darkness. Everybody tastes it. And everybody will embrace it."
"But I didn't. Like you said, I'm immune." Ren pointed out.
"True." Epona said with a hint of both annoyance and disgust. "But, there is nobody else like you who can resist the darkness. In fact, one is coming right now."
"Eh?" Ren looked to her left, and in the distance, she saw Toshiro running straight towards her, getting closer and closer with each second, and at the same time, Toshiro saw Ren and Epona in the distance.
"Ren!" Toshiro called out.
"!" Ren's eyes widened as she realised just what Epona was planning to do. "No." Ren looked back at Epona. "No, leave Shiro out of this, please. He's done nothing wrong!" Ren pleaded.
"On the contrary…" Epona raised her hand up and pointed it at Toshiro, the smoke in the Shadow Shackles becoming thicker. "He's done everything wrong." With that, Epona shot a spiralling blast of black smoke out of her palm and on a direct path towards Toshiro.
I can't stop it with my fire. Ren thought, trying to think of a way to stop the attack. If I shoot, I might hit Shiro.
"Shiro, get out of here! Run!" Ren shouted.
"Huh?" Toshiro didn't hear what Ren said, but as soon as he saw the black smoke, and as soon as he felt his back get warmer, he knew this was bad. Toshiro skidded to a stop, and before he could even consider jumping out of the way, the blast of smoke had already engulfed him, and all he could do was try to fan the smoke away to no avail. It wasn't long until Toshiro started to feel dizzy and his vision began to get dark.
"Shiro!" Completely disregarding Epona, Ren ran towards Toshiro, who had collapsed on one knee with a hand on his head. "Get outta here!" With fire surrounding her hands, Ren fanned away the smoke to expose Toshiro, and as soon as the smoke was gone, Ren made the fire vanish and got down to his level. "Shiro, are you alright?"
"I…" Toshiro started, the dizziness going away as he contemplated his answer. He expected something to change when that smoke hit him, but he didn't feel any wicked intent. He tried to think of something devious, but nothing came up. Why? He looked up at Ren, confused. "I'm fine."
"Eh?" Ren blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I don't think that spell worked."
What? Epona went wide eyed, having heard everything. It had no effect? Epona, trying to contemplate what had just happened, watched as Ren helped a baffled Toshiro to his feet. He is just an average human. It should have worked. And yet, why isn't he attacking her?
"Are you sure?" Ren asked. "How do you feel?"
"I don't feel any different. Do I look any different?" Toshiro asked, looking at his hands almost as though he expected them to morph into claws somehow.
"Not really." Ren tapped her foot with folded arms. "Ah!" Ren snapped her fingers. "Try insulting me."
"Ren, I really did try to think of something even remotely dark, and nothing."
"Really? You couldn't even come up with some kind of Joker plan?"
"What's that?"
"You ever watched Batman?"
"Does it matter?"
"Nah, I'll explain later. But, why didn't it work on you?" Ren folded her arms in thought. "It doesn't make sense."
He has darkness in his heart just like any other human being. Epona thought, looking down at the ground. In fact, he has more darkness than anybody I've ever met. So, why hasn't it overpowered him? Why is he still in the light? It's impossible!
"Maybe it's because we're Cielvian?"
"That shouldn't affect it. It's a Cielvian ability, so it should have affected me just as much as it affected you."
"So, maybe it's the 'too much light' thing that she keeps going on about?"
"I think that's more a state of mind than actual Cielvian ability. This doesn't make any sense. Why am I still the same?"
"Hm?" Ren noticed something in the corner of her eye, and turned her head in that direction. "Uh oh." Ren said.
"What? What do you mean? Is something happening to me? Wait, what're you…loo…king…at." Toshiro trailed off after turning to see what had caught Ren's attention. "Uh oh." Toshiro instinctively said, even though he knew it sounded stupid. Epona was still staring at the ground with her fists clenched, but the Shadow Shackles were even fiercer now, and there was a cloud of smoke developing around her ankles, and becoming taller behind her back.
"Impossible." Epona muttered. "Impossible. Impossible. Impossible."
"…" Toshiro quickly snapped out of his daze, and he aimed his gun at Epona and quickly shot a fireball at her. But, some of the dark cloud moved in front of Epona and engulfed the fireball.
She blocked it?! Toshiro thought, shocked.
"Shiro…" Ren started, keeping her eyes firmly locked on Epona. "Find the others and get out of here. I'll try and hold her off."
"What? How can you suggest something like that so easily?"
"We don't really have many options right now. I don't want to hurt her, but I hate the idea of you getting hurt even more. Now go."
"No!" Toshiro said firmly. "I won't leave without you! I almost lost you once, and I'm not going to lose you again!"
"…" Ren looked over her shoulder at Toshiro, stunned at his words, as well as the sincerity of them. And, judging by the look on his face, Ren knew that Toshiro was going to keep true to them no matter what. Ren shook her head to get rid of those thoughts for now. She was touched that he was willing to stay, but the reality was that he would just be hindrance right now. She knew full well that his fireballs weren't going to do anything, but Toshiro was just so stubborn sometimes. "Shiro, we're running out of time. Run!" Ren heard a whistle like sound and felt something whoosh past her face, and she promptly saw a dagger jammed point first into the ground in front of Toshiro's feet, deliberately missing him.
"None of you are leaving here." Toshiro and Ren looked back sat Epona. The cloud of black smoke had grown even bigger, and the darkness was so great that the whites of her eyes were starting to flood black. Both Toshiro and Ren felt a little something inside them crawl at that sight, which was so familiar to both of them. "Nobody has ever resisted my Shadow Shackles before. But…" Epona raised a shadow surrounded hand up. "If I kill you both, then it won't be a problem for my goal anymore, right?"
"?" Ren was drawn away from Epona when she felt something warm trickle down her face. She placed a hand at the sensation and looked at her fingers, and she was alarmed to find blood on the tips. Epona was serious. Well, in that case…
"Alright, you asked for it, Epona!" Ren exclaimed. "Ya wanna screw with me?! Let's go!" The fire around Ren's ankles intensified, and she blasted off across the ground towards Epona, and kicked her across her face as soon as she arrived. Ren landed one foot on the ground and pushed off towards Epona, leaving a trail of fire behind her and a lot of uprooted rubble, which Ren noticed. "Cool! I'm like a DeLorean! I mean, take this!" Ren gave Epona an uppercut into the sky, and Ren promptly followed her, while Toshiro watched.
"She did not need much." Toshiro thought out loud, remarking on how easily provoked Ren could get. Then again, he was no different, what with his temper. But still, Ren did have a point. He had to contact the others and let them know what is going on. While Epona and Ren fought, Toshiro took out his phone and rang up his lieutenant.
"Hullo?"
"Rangiku, it's me."
"Captain, you're okay!" Rangiku said happily and rather loudly, making him hold the phone away for a few seconds. "We're doing really well, too!"
"Very good. So are the shadows dealt with?"
"Just finished off the last one. Ren's guns are really good; I have to give her that. So, where are you? What's going on?"
"I'm…" Toshiro started before he realised that he had no idea what the name of the street he was in was called. He looked around for a sign. Nothing. And even if there was one, it was almost impossible to read due to the dark clouds in the sky. "I'm with Ren." Toshiro finally answered, deciding that answer would have to do. Besides, he had an idea. "She's fighting Epona right now. You should be able to see it from your position."
"Uuuuuummmmm…Nope. Nothing."
"How about this?" Toshiro asked, and he shot a fireball from his pistol into the sky like it was a flare gun. When the fireball went past the high rooftops, it exploded into smaller sparks like fireworks.
"Oh, I see it! Hang tight, we're on our way now!"
"Just be careful." Toshiro hung up and pocketed the phone. Maybe having more people here could help things out, even if it was just a little bit. After all, Epona did seem rather powerful. Then again, Ren is powerful, too. But, was it enough? She definitely seemed stronger than the other members of White Raven. By how much was another question. It was the same with Ren. Every time she entered onto the battlefield, Ren always surprised him, whether it was a new move or an incredible use of strategy and wit.
I've just got to have faith in Ren. Toshiro decided mentally, clenching his gun as his only means of self-defence, even though it wouldn't do much good in this situation. She will find a way around this. She always does.
"INCOMIIIIIIIIING!"
"Dah!" Toshiro staggered out of the way just as something crashed into the ground where he was just a second ago. The dust started to clear, and Ren stood up from it, brushing off the dirt.
"Uwah, she's tough."
"Watch where you're falling!"
"Sorry, I can't control it. Besides, I did warn you." Ren said, looking at Toshiro.
"Ren, the enemy's right there!" Toshiro pointed up at the sky.
"Oh, yeah." Ren looked up at Epona flying in the sky with her black wings, still wearing her sad expression, only this one had hints of anger in it. "Hey, that rhymes!"
"Focus!" Toshiro exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah." Ren shot several fireballs from her gun in Epona's direction, but the smoke extinguished them without Epona moving a muscle. "Huh." Ren said calmly. "That's a dud."
"The light will always be extinguished by the darkness. Just as I extinguished the fire, I will extinguish yours. I did it once, and I will do it again."
"Yah beh." Ren said, a blank expression on her face. But, as soon as Epona shot a large blast of black smoke in Ren's direction, Ren's eyes widened. "Crap, she's serious!" Ren tucked her gun behind the waistband of her skirt and looked at Toshiro. "I am so sorry about this." Before Toshiro could dignify that with a response, he felt himself flung backwards and off his feet by some invisible force. Ren was using her telekinesis on him again, but not in the same way as before. Toshiro managed to place his feet on the ground again and skidded back until he came to a stop.
"What was that-" Toshiro started but stopped when he saw the smoke reach Ren, and it began to circle her while Ren watched.
"What the hey?" Ren said, just as the smoke obscured her from sight, making a dome of black smoke.
"Ren!" Toshiro brought out his gun again, aiming it straight at the dome.
Wait…Toshiro thought. What if I hit Ren?
"What?" Toshiro noticed how there were some hints of bright orange to the swirling black smoke. Before he knew it, the black smoke suddenly expanded out and vanished, revealing Ren standing in the middle, her palms pointing up to the sky.
"She broke through?" Epona said out loud, shocked.
"That's not gonna work on me again, hun." Ren said loudly, looking up at Epona and lowering her arms. "It's as the old saying goes. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…" Ren materialised a fireball in each of her hands. "Shame on me for not beating your ass the first time!" Ren threw the fireballs at Epona, but with another arc of black smoke, those fireballs were extinguished.
"That is not how the saying goes." Epona threw another huge cloud of smoke at Ren, who crossed her arms in front of her, bracing herself for the attack that smashed the ground around her, obscuring her from view again.
"I know what I said!" After this Ren leapt out of the flames, making a spiral of fire as she spun around, dispelling any traces of smoke. The fire vanished into two new pistols and Ren stopped spinning, firing her pistols at Epona while she fell back down, and with a swift back flip, Ren landed on one knee back on the ground, her pistols disappearing again.
They're evenly matched. Toshiro thought. Epona extinguishes Ren's fire, and Ren dispels Epona's smoke. At this point, any of them can win.
"You alright, Shiro?" Ren asked, standing up.
"I'm fine. Just give me a heads up before you use your telekinesis on me."
"I said sorry, didn't I?"
"Rrrr." Toshiro growled, frustrated that Ren was right again. She was just impossible to argue with.
"Give up now, Epona!" Ren called up to Epona, who as still flying up in the sky. "I know how your Shackles function! I've already been inside the darkness! It won't work on me again! Surrender now and we can stop this meaningless fight!"
"…" Epona said nothing, although she did look down at the ground thoughtfully. After a few tense seconds, Epona closed her eyes and her wings glowed white and shot back into her back, vanishing.
Did I get through to her? Ren thought as Epona started to float down to the ground using her smoke. Epona landed on the ground, and the smoke started to get thinner. Just to be sure, Ren's hand went to the gun behind her skirt, ready to grasp it at the first sign of trouble. The smoke vanished completely, and Ren loosened her grip on her gun. Epona's eyes opened, and from that distance combined with the darkness of the city, Ren had no way of seeing the anger and the malice in her normally sorrowful eyes. But, when Toshiro felt his back get hot again, he knew something was wrong.
"Ren, don't let your guard down." Toshiro said urgently.
"I'm not." Ren said, never taking her eyes from Epona. Suddenly, there was the distinct whistle of something slicing through the air, but Ren couldn't tell where it was coming from. Before she knew it, there were daggers jammed into the ground surrounding her feet, and vanished in a puff of smoke. "Where…?" Ren started, but stopped herself when she saw her left wrist. It had a thin line where there wasn't one before, and it was slowly turning red. "Eh?" Without warning, jets of blood spurted out of several small cuts around Ren's body, much to her and Toshiro's shock.
When did this happen? Ren thought, confused. Ren dropped down on her knees with a hung head, and the blood slid down her arms and legs onto the ground, with some more blood dripping from her face, creating tiny little puddles for each of her limbs and her head, and there were even some small slivers of blonde hair falling to the pavement.
"Ren!" Toshiro called out. He glared at Epona, who already had two daggers in her hands.
"You foolish girl." Epona said coldly. She walked forward, confident that Ren wouldn't move or do anything to stop her. "I may have made you adopt the dark, but I was born in the darkness." Epona was by Ren's side at this point, and she turned her green eyed gaze to Toshiro. "Now…" Epona pointed a dagger at Toshiro, who glared at her fearlessly. "I have a head to claim." A slightly bloodied hand reached up and grabbed the dagger. Epona turned, and Ren was holding the dagger, although her back was still turned.
"Sorry about that." Ren said quietly. "I was just a little taken aback at that last attack. I gotta admit, not too shabby."
"Let go." Epona ordered calmly.
What? Epona thought, staring at her left dagger. I can't move this hand.
"On another note, don't turn your attention away from your opponent." With that, Ren snatched the dagger from Epona's hand, standing up and backing away in the process.
"Usually people who take that attack are out of commission for a few minutes." Epona said, simply materialising another dagger in her left hand.
"I'm not like other people." Ren said with a cocky smile. "And, in case you haven't noticed, I'm Cielvian like you, so I can regenerate, too." Sure enough, Epona saw a couple of Ren's cuts seal up like a zip. "It's a little slow, mind you, but your paper cuts won't work on me. I'll say it again." Ren pointed her newly obtained dagger at Epona. "Give up."
"…" Epona said nothing, staring at this girl. She was clearly not going to back down, and yet there was still the air of hesitation around her. She did not want to hurt her, even after what Epona did to her. How cowardly.
"Now, back away from Shiro." Ren said calmly.
"And what if I don't?" Epona challenged. "He is a target of White Raven."
"I know. That's why I'm asking you nicely to back away. Drop those daggers, and move away."
"Very well." Epona spread her arms out and let her dagger clatter noisily to the ground, and after a few seconds, they disappeared in a puff of black smoke. Toshiro, who could still feel the small burning on his back, backed away slowly, not wanting to take any chances in Epona's supposed surrender. And he was right to do so, as Epona promptly pointed her palm at Toshiro, and shot a ball of black fire at him.
DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" Ren yelled, throwing her dagger at the fireball, only this time, the dagger was surrounded by Ren's fire, but for some reason, it seemed to be brighter and much fiercer than before.
"Useless." Epona said, conjuring up an arc of smoke to block the dagger. However, the dagger whooshed through the wall as if it wasn't even there.
What?! Epona thought, wide eyed. That should have blocked it! The dagger hit the black fireball, and both the fire and the dagger vanished into nothing, just as it was inched from Toshiro. He could have sworn that some tips of the white bang that hung over his eye were singed.
Too close! Toshiro thought, looking relieved on the outside, but on the inside, he was downright freaking out about the close call.
"I warned you not to touch him." Ren said, the look of anger still on her face.
Crack
"Eh?" The anger instantly vanished from her face when Ren heard that sound. It came from her right. She glanced to her right side, and was utterly befuddled. "What the…" Ren brought her right hand up and looked at it, confused. Or, more specifically, she was looking at the Fire Shackles around her wrist. They now had a thick crack the same length as her finger on them. She looked at the Shackles around her ankles and her other wrist. They had a black crack on them, too. "That can't be good."
"Captain!"
"Rangiku?" Toshiro looked over his shoulder. Rangiku and the others had just arrived. They had a few scrapes and specks of dirt on them, but other than that, they were fine. "Are you alright?"
"We're fine." Ichigo answered. "So, what's going on?"
Why? Epona thought while Toshiro was filling the others in on the situation. Why is she defying the darkness? Epona looked at Ren, who was cocking her head to different sides in confusion. That girl is a liability to my goal. She should be down on the ground, and yet she is still standing. Why is it that she still fights? Then, Epona remembered the attack Ren did when she was attacked Toshiro with her dark fire. The fire was different from before. Stronger. Could the reincarnation and Ren's power be linked?
"Yes…" Epona said quietly. With barely a sound, Epona created another dagger in her hand. "It's because of him." Epona glared at Toshiro and clenched her weapon. Nobody noticed this was going on, except for Steph. She nudged Tom and when he turned his attention to Steph, she pointed at Epona discreetly. "It's because of that boy." Epona fell into her shadow and vanished.
"Everybody!" Steph shouted.
"Watch out!" Tom yelled.
"!" Everybody immediately looked alert after that yell, not sure what to expect. But, that all stopped when they saw the shadows ripple beneath their feet.
"It's Epona. Everyone, move!" Toshiro yelled. "Don't let her-" Toshiro was immediately cut off from his sentence at the sound of metal piercing flesh.
"…" The rest of the group stared on, speechless at what had just happened. Without warning, Epona had appeared in front of Toshiro undetected and she was partially crouched down, her hair hiding her eyes. Toshiro, meanwhile, wasn't too sure what had just happened. He could see Epona's hair, and he knew she had attacked him, but he couldn't feel any pain. What Toshiro did feel was something trickling out of his mouth, and all he could taste was lead. He slowly looked down. Epona was clenching her dagger with both hands, and the blade was lodged firmly into his stomach. The red of his blood was slowly spreading through the cream colour of his hooded cardigan. Toshiro, still unable to comprehend what was happening, reached a hand up to his new wound and touched the hilt of Epona's dagger. It felt wet and warm to the touch, and upon removing it, he saw the tips of his fingers were coated in blood. Then, everybody, including him, heard the sound of liquid hitting the pavement as drops of his blood dripped off the dagger. Steph covered her mouth with her hands, barely supressing a scream, and Tom placed a hand on Steph's shoulder in silent comfort, unable to take his eyes away from Toshiro. Likewise, the Soul Reapers were unable to believe, or even understand, what had happened until they saw the blood dripping on the ground.
"T…To" Ichigo stuttered. "TOSHIRO!" He yelled, finally recovering from the shock of what had just happened. No sooner had he yelled Toshiro's name, Epona pulled her dagger out of Toshiro, a gush of blood following it, and jumped back, letting Toshiro drop to his knees and then onto his side, his hands over the stab wound as if trying to stop the blood from flowing out, but this was clearly futile, as a puddle of blood was slowly spreading around him. After the shock, the pain of the stab wound was all too clear to Toshiro, and it was without a doubt the most painful thing he ever experienced in his Gigai. In his Soul Reaper form, a wound like this was just like getting hit by a paintball on bare skin; an annoyance more than something painful. But, now that he was powerless, it was like somebody had stabbed him with a burning poker rather than a knife.
"Captain Hitsugaya, hang in there! Rukia!"
"I'm on it. You'll be fine, Captain Hitsugaya. Stay with us."
"Captain!"
"Toshiro!"
"Is he going to be okay?!"
"Don't worry, Steph. He'll be fine. I think…"
"…" Ren still wasn't able to process what was going on. All she could see was red, and the metallic smell was heavy in the air. The smell of blood. Ren came back to her senses as soon as she realised that the blood was coming from Toshiro. Her friend. The person she wanted to protect the most. He was bleeding!
"SHIRO!" Ren almost screamed, running towards him and skidding onto her knees. Toshiro, hearing her voice, opened one eye, and through blurred vision, he saw rainbow socks and a light orange skirt. Looking up as best he could, he saw Ren staring down at him, horrified.
"Ren…" Toshiro said quietly, not finding the strength to make his voice any louder. "Don't worry about me. Focus on Epona. I'll live. You know that." Toshiro stopped talking as an even more intense ripple of pain went through his body, and his hands began to shake.
"Don't talk, Captain!" Rangiku said frantically.
"…" Ren kept silent, her eyes hidden by shadows. Ren raised a hand up and pointed her palm at Toshiro's face.
"Ren?" Toshiro said, noticing this strange behaviour. The others were also momentarily confused. What was she planning to do? Was she going to ignore Epona and heal him?
"I'm sorry." Ren said.
"?" Toshiro wasn't sure what to make of that. He knew Ren had a habit of apologising, but this apology wasn't out of habit. It was genuine. But, what was she apologising for? As he thought about this, a cloud of a yellow, dust-like substance floated out of her palm, glittering like stars, and engulfed Toshiro's head. It vanished after about three heartbeats, and without a word, Toshiro's eyes closed, his head dropped down, and he was still.
He's unconscious. Rukia thought, sensing the disturbance in Toshiro's body as soon as the dust hit him. No. Not unconscious. He's…asleep. Ren stood up silently.
"Take him as far away from here as you can."
"What? No! Tell us what you did to him!" Renji demanded.
"Do what she says." Steph said firmly. She heard Ren's tone of voice. And she knew it all too well. It was the kind of tone that made you want to run away and not look back. Ren was about to snap.
"Steph's right." Tom said. "Let's leave Epona to Ren."
"Tch." Renji looked away, frustrated. "Why am I taking orders from a human?" Renji wondered out loud, picking up Toshiro carefully.
"Let's go." Rangiku, turned around and ran off down the street, the others following close behind. While they ran, neither Epona nor Ren moved a muscle. When the sound of scurrying footsteps vanished, the only sound left was the wind blowing through the trees, and still, none of the two girls moved. Nobody had noticed, but another crack had appeared on Ren's Shackles.
"Why did you send them away?" Epona asked, breaking the silence. No response. "No matter. I'll just catch up to them once I've dealt with you." Epona held up her dagger, which was still dripping with blood. "I will create the perfect world, and I will erase anything and anyone who gets in my way." Ren still didn't say anything, or even move in acknowledgement. "Don't fight it. Everyone succumbs to the darkness. Even you did. But, since you and the boy are resistant for some reason, I will eliminate you. When it comes to my goal, I make no mistakes."
"You just did."
"Hm?" Epona lowered her dagger arm, surprised for the first time in a long while. One, Ren had responded to her. Two, Ren sounded different. She didn't sound cheery like usual.
"You just made the biggest mistake of your life." Ren started to turn her head, and Epona was met with a new expression on Ren's face that she thought she would never see on her, of all people. Her eyes were narrow. Her bright blue eyes had lost their shine. Her face was dark with shadows. Her teeth were clenched. Epona knew that face. It was the look of pure rage; an emotion she never thought Ren was capable of. "You made me angry." Ren said slowly. She turned all the way around, and tall fireballs reaching past her own head appeared in the palms of Ren's hands. Epona took a step back, intimidated by this new Ren.
"So…So what if you're angry?" Epona said, trying not to show her fear. "Your fire is still no match for my shadows. We're still at an impasse!" But, Epona's dissuasion did nothing to Ren, and she brought the heels of her hands together and shot huge blast of fire at her. With wide eyes, Epona conjured up a wall of darkness, but the fire burst through it effortlessly, and Epona was propelled back from the force, crashing into a building several metres behind her and denting it with a shallow crater. Epona slid onto the ground, and managed to sit up shakily. Epona flinched as soon as she heard footsteps approaching. Through the dust and dark smoke, Epona could clearly see the two tall fireballs, and they were getting closer. At this point, Epona was experiencing an emotion she thought she would never feel again. Fear. She was terrified of a human.
"You know, Epona…" Ren began, still hidden by the smoke and dust. "I like to see myself as a rational person. Someone who thinks with her head and not her heart. Someone who doesn't let her emotions get the better of her. However, you have been trying my patience these last few days. Believe it or not, I was actually willing to forgive you for what you did to me. But then, you had to hurt Shiro. Now, you've all but lost any chance of forgiveness. I like to see myself as a rational person, but just this once…" With one wave of her hand, Ren made the smoke clear away enough to reveal herself, and the darkness of the dust made the flames that much brighter, and made Ren even more terrifying, while all Epona could do was stare up at Ren unsmiling face, paralysed by fear. "I'd like to be irrational for a change."
Uh oh! Ren is PIIIIIIISED! Next chapter, the fight between Ren and Epona reaches its climax. Who will come out on top? Find out in the next chapter, only in Fate and Destiny.