Welcome once more to another chapter of Ballad of the Strawberry. Thank you for reading this far into the story, still going strong! Over 100 follows and I am so happy! I am undeserving of all of you amazing people reading this and as a special treat I'm putting an Omake at the end of this story. Now for reviews!
ssj3gohan007: Thank you for the correction and please let me know if you see any more like that.
If you see anything that doesn't make sense of you find a plot hole then let me know, either in the comments or in PM. I am most gracious for all of you who are reading this and I hope to continue to entertain you all with this fan-fiction. Now onto our feature presentation.
Orihime was helping Tatsuki and Chizuru clean up the glass shards that the Karakura judo team had left behind. There was some discontent and that led to the Judo team to get into a rampage and break the windows. It was funny if she thought about it. She didn't really mind cleaning up after them of course. She got to spend time with her friends and Chizuru wasn't groping her at the moment so that was a plus.
"Why do we have to clean up after those ruffians?" Chizuru pouted. Tatsuki just deadpanned at her.
"If you hadn't made such a fuss about the mess we wouldn't be here right now!" Chizuru blanched at being called out.
"You! I knew you would side along with those sweaty good-for-nothings!" Orihime ignored them as she entertained the feeling she had been having for a couple of minutes now. It was strange. A dark feeling that gripped her, she could see it, Tatsuki could feel it too. Something bad was going to happen. Chizuru didn't seem to be of like mind.
Orihime felt something watching them. An eerie feeling that felt like a hand gripping her heart. It felt difficult to breathe under the blood lust that filled the air. It felt almost animal but it was different. It felt hollow. She looked to the top of the school building and her heart sank. On the roof was a shadow, lurking, watching, waiting. She knew that she had to run, she had to leave and she had to take her two friends with her.
"Hey, you two wanna go see a movie?" Tatsuki looked up, confused while Chizuru perked up.'
"Oh my Hime!~ You want to take me to your home and oh.." She shudders at all the thing's her Hime would do behind closed doors. That was until she was smacked upside the head. "Why did you do that, you muscle-bound excuse of a girl?!" Tatsuki paid her no mind as she walked up to Orihime. She could tell something was bothering her. Something also didn't feel right but she was more worried about Orihime unless Orihime's unease was connected with her own.
"Orihime? Is something wrong? You're spacing out more than usual." Orihime didn't know how to explain it so she just grabbed Tatsuki and Chizuru and ran. Chizuru was enjoying every minute of it before noticing Tatsuki.
"Hey, Tatsuki, you going to wear your gi home?" Looking down Tatsuki noticed her current state of attire and ran for the changing room.
"You two go ahead, I'll catch up with you guys!" Orihime freaked out.
"Tatsuki no! I-I mean, it doesn't matter what you wear, let's just go, I have some of your clothes and you can change there." Why was Orihime acting so strange? Tatsuki felt something off.
Orihime looked back to the roof and found nothing. Everything felt too calm. Something was wrong. Tatsuki seemed frozen in her spot and looked over Orihime and Chizuru. Orihime froze as a bone-chilling voice filled the empty schoolyard.
"You can see me, can't you?" Everything exploded around them as many projectiles hit the ground. Chizuru was thrown away as she was hit with one of the many projectiles.
"Chizuru!" Orihime went to check on her friend, forgetting her current problem. "Chizuru? You're hurt!" Chizuru stood up and took a quick peek at her arm. Grimacing she sighed and put on a smile for her Hime.
"It's okay Orihime. As much as I like your teary face, I love you smiling even more." Orihime giggled and hugged Chizuru. That was till Chizuru reached a hand up to stroke her face only for it to grab Orihime by the throat. "What am I doing? I can't make it stop!" Orihime forgot how to breathe, her eyes wide as she slowly registered what was happening. Why had Tatsuki left? Why was Chizuru choking her? Why was there a monster lurking in the schoolyard? Did this have anything to do with Ichigo? She didn't know, all she knew was she was being choked.
"I really do hate conflict. It is detestable, isn't it? That is why I have planted those seeds inside of your friend there. It's so much simpler to have you humans kill each other instead of sullying my hands in that messy affair." The Hollow chuckled merrily as if enjoying the scene before it. From around it came some of the other students. It was terrifying as Orihime finally got Chizuru's hand from around her neck.
Remembering all the self-defense that Tatsuki had drilled into her she started to attack those that got too close. It wasn't any use though as she steadily got overwhelmed. So many, every corner of her sight was taken by the controlled students as the Hollow laughed in the background.
"What do you think you are doing?!" Tatsuki! Orihime was relieved when all the students hovering over her were kicked off by a pissed off Tatsuki in a fresh set of school clothing. The Hollow recoiled when Tatsuki showed up.
"This changes nothing, now I get to watch two beautiful girls get killed by their classmates." The rest of their classmates lurched towards the two girls, zombie-like in their movements. Slow but persistent.
"You don't think I'll beat up all my old classmates?" Tatsuki grinned. "To protect Orihime, I'll do anything." Then the great ass-kicking began. One after one they fell. It was starting to get tiring though as when one fell another stood back up and it was draining.
Numb Chandelier watched as its zombies overwhelmed the two. A pulse of energy. A weight settled on the surrounding area and Numb licked its lips. This would indeed be a delicious meal. The brat was taking down more and more of her classmates. As much as Numb wanted to keep bringing them back they wouldn't continue to bruise much longer. It needed to finish this. It shot a seed at Tatsuki.
Tatsuki was fighting away the classmates. She had to protect Orihime, she had to. She felt almost honor-bound to fight for the orange-haired hime. She was happy though, she was doing what she did best to save her best friend. Besides, how would she be able to face Ichigo again if she just let one of his friends die?
An impact. It was strange. She didn't notice it immediately but something had just embedded itself into her stomach. She fell to her knees as she hacked up a large sum of blood.
"Tatsuki! Are you okay!?" Tatsuki wanted to be sarcastic but her mouth wouldn't work, she couldn't think. Trying to stand up she failed. She felt Orihime try to help her up but something was keeping her down, and it wasn't her own free will.
"That's my ability. Because I don't like fighting I'll embed these seeds into my opponent and they will grow roots that allow me to control your body. Then I just get to watch my opponents tear each other apart and feast on the leftovers." Tatsuki felt sick as she slowly stood up and turned to face Orihime. Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes as she approached the shocked Orihime. Reaching a hand up she slowly gripped Orihime's throat as Chizuru did previously. It was a strange feeling, to choke out your best friend. It made her sick to think that some monster was using her body to kill her best friend. Orihime's gaze glazed over. She couldn't let this happen, she couldn't let this continue! This was her body and it would be under her control!
Tatsuki let out a burst of reiatsu that floored the surrounding classmates. The Hollow growled as its hold on Tatsuki's body faded and the seed dropped to the ground. Fine, if she didn't want to fight fair then neither would it. The Hollow swung one of its many tentacles and knocked Tatsuki out of her body. That would allow things to proceed as planned without further interruptions.
It was happy to see the other girl start to curl up and about to die by the hands of her classmates. It was sickeningly sweet to watch. It always enjoyed watching the weak fall to those under its control. What it didn't expect was a mini-tornado to engulf the girl, blowing away all of its zombies. The girl stood there surrounded by some form of insect. What a bother. It guessed it would have to fight her itself either way. The humans wouldn't be enough.
Orihime was losing hope, she had lost Tatsuki to the Hollow and Chizuru was being controlled by the monster now. She was alone, and that scared her. She hadn't been alone for a long time, 3 years. Forever ago, or what felt like it, she had been bullied about her hair. It only got worse when her brother had died. At least before then, she could push it out of her mind but afterwards. It was all she had not to break down in tears every day. It was only after meeting Tatsuki that she felt confident. That someone actually cared about her. She had been protected for so long she had forgotten what it was like to fight for herself. Now she knew If only a little, what it felt like to fight for herself. To no longer be the one protected but to be the protector. If only this once. She would protect Tatsuki.
She exploded in a tornado of orange as her hairpins glowed with light. She felt a great power course through her as she stood defiantly over the body of Tatsuki.
"Today, I'll protect you, if only once Tatsuki." She couldn't tell but she felt a smile grace the other girls face. Orihime then faced the Hollow with renewed power. She held her hands out in front of her and shouted at the top of her lungs. As if on instinct. Pure. Primordial. Instinct.
"Tsubaki! Koten Zanshun!" A blast of energy, in the form of a spinning triangle, flew from her hands and split the Hollow in two. Orihime then collapsed from the strain. She could faintly see a shadow move over her. A mop of spiky orange hair accenting his face as he stared and her and Tatsuki worriedly.
"What can I do to help them?" The figure spoke to someone Orihime couldn't see. The last words she spoke before she blacked out.
"Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo turned to the bucket hat-wearing shopkeeper.
"I'll do it."Ichigo cut down another 3 Hollows in the process. Urahara simply smiled behind his fan.
Omake
Despiadado stood over the hallowed city of Las Noches in wait. She would be coming to rescue the girl Ulquiorra held captive. It had been a little over 6 months after being found by Lord Aizen but he owed that Shinigami his entire existence, if he is to be believed. Despiadado was still unsure whether to believe it but was willing to run with the idea as long as he continued to gain the power to protect his comrades in arms. He would do anything for the power. To prevent what he couldn't with Nelliel.
He could feel the air displace in front of his closed eyes. She had arrived. Despiadado opened his eyes to take in the sight of his new opponent. She had shoulder length, spiky black hair. Standard shinigami shihakusho that was a bit more form fitting than was regulation. Her dark eyes shone with determination and she took a stance, zanpakuto drawn already. It was a Wakizachi, with a red hilt with a brown, rectangular guard. Twin circles were designed into the guard with intricate norse rings around them.
"Where's Orihime?" It was a simple question but one that he could not answer.
"I'm afraid that I can't answer that Shinigami." Despiadado wore a large hood that covered his face in shadow. Something Aizen made him do in any case like this, where he would have to face one of the city's protectors. He never took it off unless around his fraccion.
Tatsuki readied her blade as she prepared to fight the Arrancar. She didn't know what to expect but asked for help from her Zanpakuto and prayed she didn't interfere. Maybe it was too much to hope for.
"Then I'll just have to beat it out of you Arrancar!" Despiadado grinned underneath his cloak. This would be fun. If she could barely bring Grimmjow to his Resurrection then she wouldn't be any trouble for him. He threw his cloak off and vanished from view.
"Then beat it out of me Shinigami." Fast, his blade was at her throat before he backed off but that wasn't what shocked her. Ichigo? Why, how was he here and why was he working for the enemy, Urahara said he died in the Shattered Shaft. Did he lie? No, that isn't Ichigo. This was-
Dispia Sonido'd into existence in front of Tatsuki with a boom. He then lifted his shirt and the blood drained from Tatsuki's face. On one of his Abs was the number 5. The only other Espada she had fought was Grimmjow, the Septima Espada. This was two ranks above him. She decided not to take any chances.
Ichigo grinned when Tatsuki's reiatsu level started to skyrocket. Almost to Grimmjow's unreleased state. From the reports she still had a bankai and something about a mask but he wasn't worried. He wouldn't even need to draw his blade until that mask came out. The wind started to howl as Despiadado watched the display. A small crater formed under Tatsuki as the pressure of her Shikai forced it down. Dust seemed to fill the air for a moment till everything went black.
"Let the ground swallow you whole, Chikyū no haha."
How do you like dem apples. This may or may not actually happen but this is a possibility. Hope you enjoyed it and please remember to comment and yeah. Peace!