Welcome back everybody to another chapter of Ballad of the Strawberry! It's chapter 12 and I have a special surprise in store for you. The only thing keeping this quick update schedule flowing are the comments and support I get from all of you and I am ever humbled by that very support. I want to thank my beta again because of the exemplarry work on editing and helping me maintain this upload schedule. The one and only Noivad Neao-Nefarious Izanagi! An amazing guy who also helps me brainstorm ideas so these chapters flow a lot faster than they otherwise would have. Thank you all for reading and now onto reveiws and questions.
merendinoemiliano: Yes, the supporting cast will be a lot stronger than their canon counterparts in this story. The supporting cast will also grow in size, pray for my sanity.
Guest Chapter 11: All in due time my friend, all in due time. Those questions will be answered but you'll just have to wait a little bit just like everyone else.
Now how did everyone like the Omake. I hope it was enjoyable, now something like that may happen in this story, you never know. Now let me give you, our feature presentation!
Things were getting weird. Keigo didn't know what was happening. He was casually walking through the shopping district of Karakura when out of the blue, both he and Mizurio had this ominous feeling. They shared it and moved on, trying to keep it out of their minds until a whole block was decimated by some kind of explosion.
"Gas explosion! Everybody evacuate the area!" Somebody tried to gain control and save some people but nobody really listened and the running and screaming of panic didn't see a dent as Keigo and Mizuiro ran to see what was happening. Maybe they could get some answers there.
Running to the scene Keigo and Mizuiro could see Chad running away with something following him. They couldn't see it directly but they could tell from the cracks in the ground and the sound of-something-roaring. It shocked Keigo to his core that Chad would take on something like that but was sure Chad would survive. The man was a beast and deserved a hype man to back him up. He stopped an I-beam with his shoulders for crying out loud. Keigo was awe-inspired for all of a few moments till something smashed into the ground in front of himself and Mizuiro. His instincts flared and there was only one thought that flew through his mind. Run.
Keigo grabbed Mizuiro and ran, ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Down one alley and into the next. He ran until he couldn't. Hand on his knees, breathing hard he looked over his shoulder at Mizuiro. The fear in his friend's eyes did not comfort him in the slightest. They had both seen the same thing. Some invisible monster managed to destroy a city block so quickly and even Chad ran. Chad doesn't run from much if anything. A howl filled their ears and they both shivered as something landed not too far away. More crashes could be heard and Kiego ran. He bolted away leaving all thought to the wayside. His fear was too overwhelming to remember anything. Even the friend that he left behind.
Mizuiro was frozen. He couldn't move. The amount of killing intent in the air was palpable. Fear filled every bone, every fiber of his being as he backed into the wall and could only watch as a shimmer in the air rushed towards him. Holding his phone to his chest he did the only sensible thing to do. Screamed for help at the top of his lungs.
Keigo hid behind a wall. Breathing heavily again when he heard a shout.
"Keigo! Someone! Help!" He cursed under his breath as he remembered what had been nagging in the back of his head. He had left Mizuiro behind. Left to his fate. He ran. Ran away. It's what he did best after all. Running that was. He ran from bullies. He ran from Ichigo the first time they had met. He then hid behind Ichigo and ran whenever trouble appeared. He had always ran. Now he had run and left his friend to what was probably going to his death. He was probably going to die soon anyway so what was the point? Why continue to run when those invisible monsters could catch them, could catch him, with ease. He would run away no more. Today he would put on a brave face and maybe, maybe, he wouldn't have to hide behind Ichigo any longer. He wouldn't have to run anymore. If not away then he would run towards the enemy. If only this once.
Yelling at the top of his lungs he ran towards the shouting of his friend with only one thought on his mind. I'm sick and tired of running.
Run he did, slowly getting faster till he turned the corner and there, standing in front of a cowering Mizuiro, were no longer the shimmers he had seen before, but see through monsters. Large white masks and hulking bodies. Suddenly all the fear he had momentarily thrown aside had returned. He grit his teeth. Fear had to wait until after this mess was sorted out.
Keigo ran up as fast as he could and attempted to execute a spinning kick he had seen Ichigo do with surprising success. He managed to crack the mask of the monster that was attacking Mizuiro before landing in front of his friend. Fear had left him again now that he had damaged the monster.
Mizuiro opened his eyes and found Keigo standing in front of him. The shimmer had backed up and seemed to be writhing, this idea being enforced by the howling that seemed to resonate throughout the alley they had taken refuge in.
"I'm tired of running, at least if I'm going to run it won't be away but towards the enemy. I'm tired of hiding behind Ichigo or Chad or any of them. I'm going to fight for myself from now on and I'm going to fight for my friends." The conviction in his voice struck a chord in Mizuiro. A small smile crossed his face. Hope filled his heart.
"Then don't die Keigo, I might have to comfort your sister in your absence." He smiled brightly at Keigo as he stumbled from his powerful stance.
"DON'T YOU DARE LAY A HAND ON MY SISTER YOU WOMANIZER!" Oh, he was easy to rile up. He understood the meaning behind it though and he nodded his affirmation.
Keigo turned to face the monster and started to run up to it before he vanished and suddenly the monster's mask shattered and it evaporated into spiritual particles. Keigo was panting slightly but he looked different. He had blue and black armor that seemed to cover his shoes up to his knees. They had small wings that sprouted from them and small pulsing red lines formed tribal markings from them.
Their victory was short-lived though as more Hollows began to appear and as much as Keigo fought it wasn't thinning the herd any. One of the Hollows swung its tentacled arm and managed to hit Kiego before he could dodge out of the way, slamming him into a brick wall. Sliding down Keigo was out cold.
Mizuiro was now in trouble. He had ran up and tried to wake Kiego but the fool refused to wake and help repel the shimmers. Without Keigo, he was going to have to find another way to survive to see the end of today. He had to think of something when nothing came to him. God if Keigo hadn't gotten them cornered but it was no fault of his own, he simply wanted to hide from these shimmers. Keigo had done something to awake whatever it was he used to fight the shimmers. Something changed about him. Mizuiro had struck gold. He had realized one of his faults and then he had received whatever power it was he had to fight the shimmers. What doubts did he have?
It hit him like a brick. Memories flooding back or at least he thinks they are. His expressions calms as he schools his features. Standing tall in the face of the now revealed monsters. Hollows, he didn't know how he knew but his brain just told him and he didn't bother to question it till he had some time to himself. Maybe once this mess is cleared up. He opened his hands and a strange fluid erupted from them and extended over his hands. A strange blue and black sheet of something covered his arms up to his elbow and he flicked his wrist on instinct. In his hand, he formed a little disk. Twin rings of a black, rubbery substance with a ring of blue light separating the two black rings. It hummed with power and Mizuiro twirled around flinging the disk at one of the Hollows shattering its mask. The disk then bounced between the other Hollows killing all of them.
The armor suddenly vanished and he collapsed on the ground. Feeling dead he let a grin cross his face. He did it. He saved Keigo. With that, the world went black for Mizuiro.