Chapter 21: Where Evil Goes
Listening to the spirit within the parakeet tell his story was very sad. Basically his mother had been a murder victim by a man who had attacked her within their home, only to die when she had fallen through glass of the veranda. The boy had been tricked by the killer, who the boy had accidentally killed. The murderer made him think he could bring his mother back if he could survive three months in the body of the parakeet.
"I can't believe this." Ichigo groaned as he rubbed his hand over his face. "So the killer is a hollow?" he asked the parakeet.
"Yes." was the spirit's reply.
"Ichigo..." Chad began when they felt something. The hollow was coming near them. Chad's eyes widened.
"Shit." Ichigo cursed as he popped Kon's soul candy into his mouth, appearing in his soul form just as the side of the school building fell apart. Chad grasped the bird cage to stop it from falling. "Chad, run!" Ichigo yelled at his friend, as the hollow appeared front of them. "There you are." Ichigo commented as a grin crossed his features.
"A soul reaper." the hollow said before laughing out at this coincidence. "Here I was hunting my latest victim and you show up." The grin on his mask seemed to get bigger. "How delicious!"
Ichigo felt his own hollow surface slightly. Is this guy fer real King? he asked sounding bored. Kill him! He's a weakling.
Suddenly the hollow was throw back by a kick to the head from above as Rukia jumped from the rooftop and landed on the hollow before she jumped back held her hand out a recited an incantation. "Mask of flesh and bone flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance. upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado 33: Sokatsui!" A ball of blue light flashed from her hand and hit the hollow on the back of the head. I could fire it! she thought happily. Yes! Some of my power is returning... Her thoughts came to a stop as the smoke from the attack cleared to reveal a very loaded off hollow. What!? The hollow slammed its fist into Rukia, throwing her away from it. "Ugh!" she groaned in pain.
"Shinigami power." he growled as he eyed the raven haired girl on the ground. "But yours is weak. I didn't feel a thing!" The hollow burst out laughing as it went to thrust its fist into the downed shinigami woman only for Ichigo to use flash step, grab her into his arms and flash step away towards the parking lot.
"Are you okay?" he asked with concern lacing his voice.
Damn. she thought as she gritted her teeth together as pain was running up and down her stomach and back. So I haven't recovered enough to use that level of power yet. She looked up towards Ichigo and saw the way he looked at her with concern. Why is he looking at me that way? Shouldn't he be more concerned about the others? "I'm fine." she told him.
She's lyin' King. He heard his hollow say.
What's more... Rukia thought as she really looked at Ichigo. I could've sworn... She pushed her senses to their limit as she tried to find that presence shed felt coming from Ichigo, but found nothing there.
"Right." Ichigo set her on her feet. "I don't know why you're lying, but try not to get yourself killed next time." He pulled his sword from it's place on his back.
"Another shingami! That explains why this place smells so good!" He was practically salivating. "They taste the best!"
"So I'm guessing you're the murder that killed that boy's mother and ultimately tied him to that body of a bird." Ichigo stated causing Rikus to look from the hollow towards Ichigo with wide eyes. She knew she'd sensed something from the bird, but hadn't thought it was much of anything. This changed things.
"Oh?" the hollow turned its attention back to Ichigo. "So the brat told you?" he scoffed. "It's not like it matters now." He chuckled lightly. "It was so easy to feed him that lie! All he wanted was that bitch of a mother back. I killed her, but then that boy went to stop me by grabbing my shoe laces. I died by falling over the veranda! What a damn shame too. I had plans."
Ichigo scoffed at the hollow. "Like I really care." he told the creature. "What I care about is this game you've been playing. It's now involved me and my friends, and I can't have that." He moved his sword from his shoulder to the front of him. "So I'll just get rid of you now."
"So you think you can do that?" the hollow asked. "Let's see..." He held his hands out causing wings to shoot out from his arms and suddenly he was airborne.
Ichigo grinned as he engaged flash step again, this time going straight up into the air. Suddenly the hollow begun to fling out toad-like creatures from it's body, when the creatures got near Ichigo leaches came out of those creatures and began to explode in the air around him. When the smoke from the attack cleared it was revealed that a glowing shield had surround Ichigo.
Rukia turned around and saw Verena had just called out a barrier incantation to protect her brother. Verena grinned at Rukia. "You're not the only one who knows hado and bakudo." she told the raven haired girl.
Rukia smirked. "I didn't think so." she said softly as she saw Chad running towards them with what looked like a...telephone pole in his arms. The two girls watched the large man launch that into the air and tear right through one of the hollow's wings in his arms. "He can see hollows?" Rukia asked causing Verena to grin.
"That's not all he can do." she told the other before she went to assist Ichigo in killing the hollow with another incantation. "Sprinkle on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. Sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado 63: Raikoho" A massive wave of yellow energy flew out of her hands towards the back of the hollow causing the creature to scream out in pain as it's back was burned.
The scent of burnt flesh filled the air. Ichigo raised his sword up over his head and swung it down upon the hollow's head. His reiatsu glowing bright blue as he brought his sword down upon the hollow, killing it; however, unlike the others, it's body didn't disappear. "What the-" Ichigo began when suddenly two enormous red doors appeared with skeletons on them. "What?" Ichigo looked up at the large doors with wide eyes as a foreboding feeling filled his being. He could even feel his hollow felt nervous about these doors.
"What is that?" Verena asked, in front of her Chad could feel his heart accelerating at the appearance of those doors.
"They're the doors towards hell." Rukia told them solemnly. "When a soul has done many evil things in their lives when they were living they go to that place, not Soul Society because a zanpakuto can only cleanse that spirit of the sins it has committed after death; not before." Smoke began to come out of the doors as they began to slowly open. "Look there! The gates of hell are opening!" she yelled at them causing the teens to look on in apprehension, a bit of fear coming off of both of the twins.
Suddenly the hollow stood straight up as the doors were fully opened. A sword suddenly slammed through the torso of the of the hollow. As the hand of the being that held the sword began to pull the hollow into the gates of hell frightening laughter could be heard. The gates then slammed shut before vanishing altogether.
"So that's hell." Ichigo stated, not expecting anything to be said.
"So what do we do about the kid?" Verena asked causing Chad to look towards her.
Rukia spoke, causing everyone to look at her. "I need to look at the child." she said. "If his chain of fate isn't severed then he can be returned to his body."
"And if it is?" Chad inquired looking worriedly at her.
"Then he can be taken to Soul Society." she told the larger boy. "He will be alright either way."
Chad gave a nod and led the group to where he had left the parakeet. The tiny bird looked up as the group came into view. "Mister!" he cried out happily as he spotsaw that his friend was still alive. Flapping his wings excitedly, he hopped on the swing in the cage. "You're alright!"
Chad gave a nod at the parakeet, the child's spirit seeming to be very happy. "Well?" Ichigo's voice sounded causing Chad to look towards his friend. "How is it?"
"It's a shame but," Rukia began as she examined the spirit inside of the bird. "the chain of fate has already been disconnected. No traces of it are left. Too much time has passed." She looked at the bird. "It's impossible for you to return to your body."
"No way." the bird began to cry lightly at this revelation.
"Shibata." Chad whispered the child's name.
"Don't worry!" Rukia exclaimed surprising the boy a bit. "Soul Society is a place where you have nothing to be afraid of." She suddenly looked a bit nervous as Ichigo stared at her with a non-believing looking. "Such as never being hungry. You body feels light and it's nine out of ten times better than this world!"
"You...you don't say?" Ichigo asked as he tried to believe that on but couldn't, especially with all the complaints he'd heard about Soul Society from Shinji and them. Rukia gave him a look that said please go along with this. "But that may be so." He smiled at the parakeet that was looking up at him. "At least...if you go to the other world you can see your mom again."
"That's right!" Rukia said excitedly as she turned away from Ichigo towards the spirit inhabited bird. "It's not impossible for her to have gone there, so if you go as well, you'll be able to look for her."
Ichigo smiled friendly at the bird child. "This time, you're mom will be waiting for you." This perked the spirit child up. "So, should we send your soul off now?"
"Yeah!" the child seemed happy before looking towards Chad. "Mister. Thank-you for everything."
"Hm. It was nothing." Chad said as he leaned against the back fence behind the school.
"Because you carried me around I never got hurt!" the bird flapped its wings as it tried to get across how much this meant to him.
"Hm.." Chad hummed in acknowledgement as he gave a nod. "It was nothing."
Seeming to give up the boy responded. "Well I should get going."
"Yuuchi." Chad called out the boy's name as the spirit left the bird's body. "When I doe and go over there...Is it alright if I carry you around one more time?"
The boy beamed with happiness at this. "Sure!" he exclaimed happily.
Ichigo smiled softly at the boy. "Are you ready?" he asked as he turned the butt of his sword towards the child, ready to konso him.
The boy grinned up at him. "Yeah!" he said happily.
As Ichigo's sword touched the child's forehead a brilliant blue light erupted around the spirit before it turned into soul particles that drifted up towards the sky in the form of a black swallowtail butterfly.
On the edge of town Eikichiro Saido, stealth officer sent to Kurakara Town to investigate the mysterious reiatsu that had appeared, but then disappeared was scanning the entire town with a device that Lieutenant Namu had given him that would tell him where this energy source was. The screen upon the device gave a beep causing him to examine it. Frowning he saw that the educational buildings were covered by the mysterious reiatsu, so was a huge location in the residential area, along with an area near the river and bridges, but what got his attention was an area near the docks and industrial buildings near the putter edge of town.
Smiling, he began chuckling as he pulled his amigasa hat down to cover his face a bit more. "I always love a challenge." he said to himself as he jumped from the tree limb he'd been sitting on. "Let's just see if I can find this energy source in record time." Engaging his fastest flash step he headed towards the first place on the map, the deserted industrial sector.
M-Angel: I had been planning to post this chapter on Friday, but then I got really busy and I found a new anime that caught my attention. Felt sick on Saturday, so I was determined to get this out tonight. Hope everybody enjoyed this.
Concerned One: I totally agree with Orihime healing Nel's mask. I really hated that we barely got to see Nel fight. That is something I want to make happen, along with amplifying Orihime's attacking capabilities. I want to make Orihime and Tatsuki like Ukitake and Kyoraku, in that one fights defensively as one fights offensively. That's kind of how I've always seen those two fight. As for healing Kukaku's arm, I like that idea!