Chapter 17: Karen's Fate
Hey everyone! It's me, sakuraphoenix, and I'm back with a new chapter! I know that it's been a while, but I've been busy with my own stuff, so… long story with that. Thankfully, since I have time this week, I can update more stuff. Anyway, disclaimer time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I also do not own Shizuku. He belongs to my good friend Lyokowarrior1994.
This will begin in Shizuku's P.O.V. Enjoy!
My eyes widened in shock as I heard the news from Captain Ichimaru
"What did you say Captain Ichimaru? I'm…" I started
"That's right. You've been put on probation. You're still allowed to perform your duties, but I must escort you at all times, safe for when you're off duty of course." Said Gin
"That's excellent news! And Rukia? What about her?" I asked
"I'm afraid her fate is far worse than yours. 25 days from now she'll be executed on the central execution grounds to suffer the greatest punishment." Said Gin
I tried to hold back the tears that were forming. I was to live and Rukia was to die? I've been in the human world for far too long. We've been taught not to shed tears, because that signifies that the body has been defeated by emotion. Karen…
Karen's P.O.V.
It wasn't easy trying not to punch four-eyes' lights out, especially since that I was really pissed off by this point.
"Lesson Two: Shattered Shaft." Said Tessai
"May I have your attention please? You two have a period of 72 hours at the bottom of Shattered Shaft you two. That is how long it will take for the chain of fate to be completely encroached. By the end of that time, if you two have not returned to the top of the shaft as Soul Reapers, then we will have no choice but to kill you two." Said Kisuke
"You bastard. So you intend to kill us?!" exclaimed Ichigo
"That's right. I do. Once you two have given up." Said Kisuke
"No way that's happening hat boy! I'll show you a thing or two with my fists once I get back up there!" I exclaimed
Suddenly, I was forced onto the ground as I was in severe pain and I saw the chain of fate eating itself! Suddenly, after it ate its fill, it stopped. I waited for a while to see if there was a pattern, and there was. Ichigo seemed to notice it too. That was the fifth one. If I'm gonna get out of this shaft, I'm gonna do it when they're taking a nap! I began running up the wall like a mad woman, but then I slipped and fell. This is going to leave a mark.
"Ugh. Tackling it the old fashioned way isn't gonna work!" I exclaimed in fury
"Hey! Are you two getting hungry down there yet?" asked Jinta
"No I'm not hungry yet! Besides jerk, we're in our soul forms! Why the hell would we be hungry?!" Ichigo and I exclaimed in unison
"Well that's great to hear, 'coz I'll let you two in on a little secret. If you're in soul form and then you start to get hungry, it's a dangerous sign. It means you're just one step away from becoming a Hollow. It's okay to feel thirsty though, oh, and if you do get thirsty, go ahead and drink my spit." Said Jinta
"What?! Why you little brat!" I exclaimed
"Come on Ururu. Get over here. You can do it too." Said Jinta
"Come down here and try that you little brats!" exclaimed Ichigo
"Once we get up there, you two are history!" I exclaimed
I don't how many times Ichigo and I tried, or how much time has passed, but I'm not giving up until I get up there! Just then, I saw Jinta climb down here with a plate of fruit.
"Yo. Thought I'd bring you two a little food down here. I figured you two would be feeling pretty hungry right about now." Said Jinta
"Ha, you must be nuts. I'm not getting hungry at all." Said Ichigo
"Me neither. We still have plenty of chain left." I said
"Well, that can't be helped. You'll find you'll lose track of time in a place like this." Said Jinta
"Of time?" wondered Ichigo
"You know, you two have been down here over 70 hours. I'm just thinking, some of the other souls started turning into Hollows by now. Oh, and uh, one more thing, the final encroachment… it's nothing like the other ones." Said Jinta
As if on cue, the whole chain started going berserk!
"The chains." I said in horror
All I could do was watch until they created a hole right above my heart. Then, my whole body felt like it was in pain as a white substance came out from my mouth. I was screaming in pain as the white substance began to form on my face.
'Sakura, can you hear me?'
I opened my eyes to see a sort of garden with Sakura trees all over the place. There was a small pond with the moon reflected in it, but there was no moon in the sky. Why?
"Where am I?" I wondered
"You're not Sakura. You're Karen. I keep getting you two mixed off. Maybe it's because you two feel the same to me." Said the voice
I turned to see the source of the voice. It was a woman with a white dress, silver hair, and she too had heterochromia, except one of her eyes was golden yellow and the other was moonlight silver.
"So, who are you?" I asked
"Who? What are you talking about? It's me." Said the woman
Her lips moved, but I didn't hear anything come out.
"After this time. I thought… since you and Sakura felt the same… you could hear my name." said the woman
"Sakura? Do you mean… Sakura Himiwari?" I asked in wonder
"Yes. I knew her for many years." Said the voice
"You know I'm still here." Said another voice
A woman with a royal blue kimono appeared, but I immediately recognized her.
"Sakura." I said
"It's nice to finally meet you Karen. You can finally hear our voices." Said Sakura
"What are you talking about? Where are we?" I asked
"Can't you tell? This is where she resides." Sakura said while pointing to the other woman
"This is my home, and in this world, the only people who know me the best are you and Sakura." Said the woman
"What are you talking about?" I asked
I took a look, and they were suddenly in the trees! How did they do that!
"Why are you sitting just over the pond?" asked the woman
I looked, and then I fell in. Surprisingly, I could breathe.
"Soul Reapers rule over death. If you have time to worry, you have time to spare. We Soul Reapers can control many spiritual beings." Said Sakura
"Look, you may be a Soul Reaper, but I'm not!" I exclaimed
"I was a Soul Reaper. My powers are lost, and I have no physical form. All I am now is a spirit. Remember this, the powers you lost when Byakuya Kuchiki took them away was nothing more than the power Shizuku gave you. He had hoped to stop things by taking his power, and by destroying it, he thought he could end things once and for all, but he was careless. And his mistake was that he failed to acknowledge that you have Soul Reaper power of your own!" exclaimed Sakura
"You mean… I have Soul Reaper power?" I asked
"Yes. You saw how you could cast a Kido efficiently without it blowing up once it reached a certain level. The power you had was awakened with the help of Shizuku's own power. It hid itself in the very depths of your soul and is still there. Now, you must find your power before it is too late. See those boxes falling down, inside one of them is the power you seek. Now, time is of the essence." Said the woman
But which one has my powers? They all look the same. Wait a minute! Soul Reapers spirit ribbons are red, so… track the ribbon!
"Gotcha!" I exclaimed as I grabbed the red ribbon
I pulled the ribbon, and I found the hilt to my zanpaku-to. Wait, that woman… just who is she? Is she also a spirit, or is she the spirit of the zanpaku-to? If so, then that means that the name of my zanpaku-to has to be… it has to be her name as well.
"You have done well. It is not time for you to know my true name just yet, but you have heard my name all your life." Said the woman
"Are you…" I started
The area I was in started shaking.
"Hurry! This world is falling apart! Pull me out, quick!" exclaimed the woman
I grabbed the hilt, and pulled her out, and when I did, I felt a surge of power within me, and I escaped the pit. I grabbed the hilt of my zanpaku-to, and broke the mask that had formed on my face.
"Whew, it was hard to breathe through that thing!" I exclaimed
"Hey, wait a minute, aren't you two supposed to be Hollows?" asked Jinta
I flexed my hand muscles, and things were a go on their end.
"Congratulations. It seems you two went and became Soul Reapers again. Well done. Lesson two, completed!" exclaimed Kisuke
"Shut up!" Ichigo and I exclaimed before we used the hilt of our zanpaku-to's to hit his head
"Well, well, well, I guess you weren't expecting us to come back alive, weren't ya?" I asked
"I swore to myself that if I ever made it out of that hole, I would kill you the first chance that I got." Ichigo said while he had a bunch of tick marks on his face while his face looked like a wild animal's
"Hmm… your timing is perfect. With all of your spirit, we should be able to get you two started on lesson 3." Said Kisuke
"What did you just say?" I asked
"And the best part is, lesson 3 has no time limit. Knock off my hat with your zanpaku-to, and the lesson will be cleared." Said Kisuke
Even without a blade, Ichigo and I managed to make a dent in his hat.
"Not bad, considering that your zanpaku-to's are broken." Said Kisuke
"I wouldn't be so smug, because we haven't really gotten down to business yet. Look, why don't we just forget about your concept of no time limits. I think we could end this lesson in five minutes." Said Ichigo
"Sounds good. Five minutes. You say that's all the time you two will need, right?" Kisuke asked as he unsheathed a sword within his cane
Done and done! I'm cruel, aren't I? If you want to know what happens next, keep reading. Please review, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix, saying I heart you, signing off for now. Guo nian hao! Happy Chinese New Year!