Chapter 11: An Unwilling Hero (Inventions of Insanity)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner hollow/Zanpakuto speech'
xxx
Closing the opened window because the air flowing through it made him feel a bit chilly, Ichigo silently returned to his seat and enjoyed the sunrays falling on the skin of his arms, warming him slightly. Now that the annoying coldness wasn't reaching him anymore, he concentrated on the class again.
"…and since most of you succeeded in mastering the Bakudō #1: Sai to a satisfactory degree already, we are moving onto the theory behind the next spell, Bakudō #4: Hainawa. Therefore, I'm hoping all of you will take proper notes." The instructor said, earning an excited murmur from the class. Every student, proficient in Kidō or not, always looked forward to learn something new about another spell. They all found the thrill of getting to know something previously unknown was to be greatly enjoyable.
Ichigo hastily took out his notebook. Kidō may have not been his best subject so far but recently, he came to enjoy it. He had realized that he couldn't achieve victory in every fight by using brute power only. Kidō maybe was troublesome to learn but the efforts always paid off. Despite being a Monday morning, he wasn't sleepy at all and so he started to write his notes.
"Why are we skipping straight to spell number 4? Shouldn't we be learning numbers 2 and 3 first?" One of the students asked. The instructor nodded.
"Yes, that would be logical, wouldn't it? However, there is a reason behind this. We won't be teaching you every Bakudō simply because there is no time for that. Even if you weren't the accelerated class, even six years are not enough for you to learn so many spells. Therefore, we will be learning only the most practical ones. Moreover, I have chosen number 4 because its theory is a bit similar to the spell Sai so you should understand it easier." He explained and smiled when the student thanked him.
"Now, Bakudō #4: Hainawa, as its name Crawling Rope suggests, is a defensive spell, which serves as a means of binding the enemy. Similarly to Sai, you have to send the intent to bind the enemy into your reiryoku first. While doing that, visualize your energy extending itself from within your hands forward. Don't think about any of its other properties. If your intent is proper, the energy will respond correctly. Doing this, you will be able to create a yellow rope of energy, which you can throw towards your opponent. The rope will automatically wrap around his arms and body, immobilizing him quickly. Since this is still a low-level spell, there is no incantation."
With his brow creased in concentration, Ichigo's hand was moving up and down in an attempt to write down every important detail the teacher said.
"Now, that is enough about its use for now. We will move onto the theory behind it. What mechanics are causing the energy to behave as we want it? Well, for that to-"
"!"
A loud screeching noise interrupted the instructor's explanation, causing the man to look out the window with a sour face. The noise continued to rang without stopping and all the students gulped nervously.
"That's an alarm…" All of them whispered.
Seeing the panic slowly creeping into his students' eyes, the instructor stepped out and cleared his throat.
"All of you calm down. I'm sure it's nothing serious and…" He trailed off when loud booming sounds, accompanied with massive shaking of the whole academy started to come from a close distance. Eyes wide open, students hurried to the window. Being the fastest one, Ichigo bested them all and looked outside. Because of the academy's location, they all could clearly see large blocks falling down from the sky in quick succession until they surrounded the whole Seireitei, barricading the whole area.
"S-sensei, what are these?"
The teacher too, had an astonished expression as he watched the walls come down and, hearing the question, he gulped.
"Those…those are the Sekkiseki walls that originally serve as a defense mechanism of the Royal Palace but in case of a great emergency, they are meant to fall down and protect the Seireitei instead… but I heard they haven't fallen down in decades…" He replied automatically. He wasn't even aware of what kind of information he had just given to his students but when he heard their gasps, he realized it and quietly cursed.
"Great e-emergency?!"
"The Royal Palace?!"
"No way!"
Ichigo ignored the gasps and, instead, squinted his eyes when he noticed there were some small inscriptions on each block.
'I've never seen letters like that before.' He thought and glanced at the distressed instructor who was busy trying to calm the students down.
"From which alphabet are those letters?" He spoke to the man and pointed at the walls. His confusing and unexpected question surprised both students and the teacher, causing the whole room to go silent.
"What are you talking about, Kurosaki-san? I don't see…" The instructor went quiet after the symbols came into his view. With a puzzled expression he turned back to Ichigo and negatively shook his head.
"…I have no idea. However, I haven't been in this academy for long so maybe some of the older staff members would know."
That absolutely didn't answer the teen's question but it didn't matter as his attention was soon redirected towards the doors of the classroom when a powerful blast shook the whole building.
"We're under attack!"
…
The panic within the academy grew with every passing second and Ichigo, after leaving the class, found himself swarmed by a large crowd of people running away from something. He had to literally fight his way through them to be able to breathe freely again. When he finally got out, he witnessed a part of the corridor in front of him to crumble down, burying a few unfortunate shinigami with the rubble.
'Damn it, what's going on?' He thought, trying to be calm despite the situation.
"Move along! Quickly!" Slightly turning his head around, he saw one of the teachers hurriedly guiding students out of the area.
"He's coming!" A familiar voice announced, running out of a side corridor with a nasty gash on his head.
"Ōnabara-san! Leave him to the Gotei! You don't stand a chance against him!"
Another teacher called out to the man, who looked like he had been already battling the enemy for a few minutes. It was Ichigo's main instructor, Gengorō Ōnabara. His clothes were torn and he looked visibly drained but he refused to continue running.
"You don't know until you try. Damn it, where are the others?! I need some support! He's killing every student he comes across!" Gengorō angrily shouted, freezing everybody in the vicinity with his words.
Then the panic increased and students began to push forward like they were in a trance.
"Now, now, you shouldn't scare all of them away like that."
A man with short brown hair and a large goatee said, slowly walking out of the corridor, from which Gengorō came shortly before that. He was dressed rather formally, the only thing standing out was a living snake wrapped around his neck.
'…so he's the one.' Ichigo noted with narrowed eyes. Cautiously, trying not to draw attention, the teen backed away. He didn't want to needlessly get into a pointless fight. There was no reason for that. He barely knew any student at the Academy and so he wasn't about to risk his own neck just like that. The Gotei 13 was going to take care of it. Even though the man, the enemy, didn't look that dangerous. But the energy surrounding him somehow reminded the teen of the two men he had encountered that one time in the World of the Living.
'Is he one of those…Bounts?'
"You bastard. What reason do you have for killing all those poor and defenseless students? They were practically still just kids for god's sake!" Gengorō rounded on him, keeping a distance between the two of them. The man raised one eyebrow and stared at him in contempt.
"For god's sake? That is eerily funny coming from a shinigami. I just killed them because I was hungry and they were an easy food." He then grinned and showed his teeth, revealing his canines that were a bit longer than canines of a normal person.
"Damn you." Gengorō responded with seething anger.
"Now, I believe you have interrupted me while I was having a nice meal." The man said and took a step forward. Immediately, Gengorō raised his hands and shot out an orb of red energy at him, signaling a beginning of a fight.
However, two things were easy to deduce. Gengorō was clearly just trying to buy some time for the students to leave the premises. The second one was that it was useless. The fight didn't last even a full minute before the Bount overpowered him and sent him flying backwards after using the snake around his neck as a whip.
In that moment, Ichigo prepared to make a stealthy escape when he heard voices of some students.
"…why are we running away?"
"Yeah, we are planning to become shinigami of the Gotei 13! We should fight him!"
"…if we attack together maybe we could buy a few minutes."
Ichigo groaned.
'You idiots! Gengorō-san was unable to do a single thing. Do you really think you have any…' He trailed off when he got a look at the students who were muttering those words.
'…damn.'
Those students weren't stupid and weren't suicidal. They were completely frozen with fear and were acting only on auto-pilot, on some sort of an inner conviction telling them what the right thing to do was. And since most of them were just innocent kids, their beliefs were just as naïve. They believed in the justice, just as a regular and ordinary kid would. In his own way, Ichigo pitied them. But before he could stop them, they sprang into action.
Only after they were blasted in all directions, some injured heavily, some already dead, he realized he saw somebody familiar going into the fray with them.
'…Yuno Kyōraku? Oh, for fuck's sake, first Gengorō-san now her. Why do they do this?' He growled, having a short inner fight about what he should do next with himself. He wasn't really that much of a heartless bastard to just leave all those people to die but he also wasn't that much of a saint to just sacrifice himself for a stranger.
But before the Bount could walk up to the girl with pink hair, one of the few students fighting him and still conscious, Ichigo made a split-second decision, gripped the hilt of his sword and jumped forward.
"That's enough." He said in a low voice. Standing between the man and the barely awake Yuno, Ichigo made his point clear when he raised his zanpakuto and pointed it at the Bount.
"Oh, another one? Food shouldn't be so proactive, you know? It spoils your shelf life." The man said disinterestedly and completely unimpressed with Ichigo's actions.
'I didn't want more people to know about me, certainly not other students, but I think it would be really stupid to underestimate this guy and fight him with a handicap. Ah, somebody tell me why I, of all people, am playing the hero?' The teen sighed heavily and concentrated on his reiryoku.
'Because you really want to kick this fucker's ass?' The voice of his zanpakuto echoed within his mind, causing him to smirk.
'…maybe. Limit, release.'
At the moment of his reiatsu explosively bursting outwards, Ichigo utilized his Shunpo to vanish from his position only to reappear behind the man, the blade of his sword already cutting a horizontal line on his enemy's back. Completely caught off-guard, the man stumbled forward but managed to flaunt his whip around and prevented Ichigo from doing any further harm.
"That was really-" The Bount tried to say something but Ichigo didn't give him a chance and instantly closed on him again, this time bringing his sword on the man's shoulder, diagonally wounding him across his whole torso. In an attempt to finish him off for good, the teen missed several snakes coming to life all around him. As he was in the process of delivering a simple jab to the man's chest, those snakes slithered to him and wrapped themselves around his legs, locking his movements and almost causing him to fall down.
'…the hell? Where did they come from?' He wondered and slashed at them with his zanpakuto. Cutting them into pieces, he was able to move again but, at the same time, the Bount managed to create a distance between them.
The man panted, his wound bleeding heavily but then the gash glowed in a bluish light and rapidly mended itself, leaving no trace of any injury. With narrowed eyes, the Bount stared at Ichigo in disbelief.
"…I can't believe a simple student would give me this much trouble. No, I refuse to believe it. Are you a sleeping agent of the Gotei 13?" The man asked, keeping a cautious gaze on the teen.
"You talk too much." Ichigo replied and vanished from the existence again.
This time, however, the man was prepared and rapidly swung his whip all around him, preventing Ichigo to get close to him. The teen dashed in a different direction in an attempt to somehow evade the movements of the whip but it proved to be too unpredictable. Frowning a bit, he blocked a slash that came too close to hitting in.
'This is quite annoying. If I want to get close to him, I need to get past these and… oh, right, I get it. There are more ways to win a fight than just pure power. It's my first time using it in a battle but here goes.' Ichigo thought and, using a short amount of time in between the movements of the whip, raised his index and middle finger and pointed them at the man.
"Bakudō #1: Sai."
The Bount's arms suddenly locked themselves behind his back, causing him to drop the whip and lose his balance. Cursing loudly, he fell face down on the concrete wall. With no time to waste, Ichigo jumped to him and swung his blade down in an attempt to decapitate him.
"Damn it! Fried!" The man yelled.
His instinct screaming at him, Ichigo abandoned his attack and instantly flashed backward, just in time to see the gashes in the floor, left after the Bount flailed his whip around him, glowing and forming some sort of a seal.
"Yesss, it isss ready." To Ichigo's surprise, the man's snake said gleefully. Shortly after that, the Bount broke the binding spell and stood up, surrounded by the light from the seal beneath his feet.
"I admit, you are good but this is the end. Snake Net!"
The seal disappeared from the ground only to reappear at Ichigo's location with a pillar of snakes shooting out of it straight at him.
"…shit." Ichigo muttered and flashed away. But as soon as he landed on the opposite side of the hall, the ground beneath him glowed and another pillar of snakes shot at him again. With a frown, he made use of his Shunpo again.
Another pillar rose from the ground.
'Now this is even more annoying, damn it!' He mentally exclaimed, irritated with the attack.
"There is no escape, shinigami! My Snake Net is my absolute barrier!"
"…sure." Ichigo muttered while trying to escape all the pillars trying to drown him. From left to right, forward and then backward, up and down, diagonally across the whole hall, Ichigo tried to move unpredictably but no matter where he went, the glowing seal always found him. He was confident he could continuously use his Shunpo for a long time but it was beginning to get messy, with all the pillars around getting in his way.
"Haha! Snake Net also acts as a sensory net and so Fried reacts to every bit of the energy you spend on evading it! Just give up!"
If he had the time to stop moving, Ichigo would stare at the man in disbelief.
'Is he really that stupid as to explain how his ability works? I don't know if he's that confident or just plain idiotic.' He mentally shook his head. The Bount's words immediately gave him an idea.
'If it really reacts to any energy, then it means I just have to stop using it.'
When he landed on the ground again, Ichigo instantly lowered himself and rolled away before the pillar shot up. Standing up again, he glanced at the concrete surface with narrowed eyes, waiting for the seal to appear again. It did happen, but it took a few seconds. Jumping away using only the strength of his muscles, he grinned.
'I see. If I simply don't exert any reiryoku in my movements, the seal can't immediately locate me, creating a delay. I should be thankful for my reflexes, though.'
Evading another pillar, Ichigo stealthily pointed his index finger at the Bount and concentrated on his spiritual energy.
"Hadō #1: Shō!" He muttered and threw himself to the side, as using his energy caused the seal to instantly appear beneath him. But the Kidō connected with the man and sent him flying backwards.
'Now, that Snake Net shouldn't be active.' He thought and quickly began to mutter a chant for the only other Kidō spell he knew.
"…commendable, very commendable. You stopped using your Flash Step as soon as you realized I was using it to track you down. You have a superb battle instinct." The man said and pried himself out of the wall. Ichigo ignored him and continued to mutter to himself.
"…and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!" He finished and waited for a moment until the man came into his clear view. Then he discharged the accumulated energy straight at him.
"Hadō #63: Raikōhō!"
A massive concentration of yellow energy, resembling a lightning strike emerged from the palm of his outstretched arm and hit the man dead on, detonating at the moment of contact. The blow raised the gust of wind and forced the teen to shield his eyes.
'…I can't tell if I got him or not. The energy he's emitting all the time is barely noticeable.' He complained mentally.
As the parts of a wall crumbled and created an even bigger cloud of dust, Ichigo heard a loud clapping from behind him. In shock, he turned around to see a large group of students, barely able to stand under the pressure of his spiritual energy, applauding him while the few teachers that remained in the building stared at him in silence. The teen felt his blood boil and he growled loudly, not believing what he was seeing.
"What the hell are you doing here, idiots?! Do you want to get killed? This isn't a damn movie, damn it! Run! NOW!" He shouted anxiously.
There he was, trying to stop the enemy so that he wouldn't kill anyone else and they were watching the whole thing like he was an actor playing a role in an action movie?
He couldn't comprehend the sheer amount of stupidity it must have taken for them to do that. Truthfully, maybe he could understand students, they were probably seeing a serious fight for the first time in their life, but what were the teachers doing? Wasn't it their job? To usher them away?"
Many similar thoughts ran through his mind and so he almost missed when somebody walked out of the dust cloud.
It was the Bount. He was extremely wounded but all the damage was already repairing itself.
"…fuck." Ichigo cursed.
'How is he healing so much? It almost looks like he's using pure reishi… but that's…' He wondered, begrudgingly impressed.
"I thought about leaving this academy after having a good meal but this is unforgivable… now I really want to kill you, whoever you are, shinigami." The Bount said while walking forward. Something shattered on the ground in front of him. It was an empty vial. Whatever he had drank, it caused a green glow to envelop his whole body and the veins on his face to pop out.
Tightly gripping the hilt of his sword, Ichigo frowned deeply.
'I have a feeling that he just became a bigger nuisance than he already was… and if he can heal indefinitely then I'm screwed.'
'Nobody can heal indefinitely. It will probably just take a lot of damage for his healing ability to reach its limit.'His zanpakuto offered him its opinion, for which he was thankful. It was nice knowing at least somebody was optimistic.
"Die!"
Ichigo instinctively raised his sword and barely blocked a violent slash of a whip. Gritting his teeth he suppressed the pain when the second strike of the unpredictable weapon ripped a gash on his left shoulder.
'…yeah, a bigger nuisance. I don't know what he just drank but he's a hell of a lot faster than before.'
Hastily using his blade as a shield, Ichigo lowered himself and elbowed the man in his abdomen. When the Bount bent over, Ichigo raised his sword to strike him directly but his sword hit only a circular shield made out of a curled snake.
"You can try as much as you like but there is no sword which can cut through Fried!" The man exclaimed and whipped the air where Ichigo's head was. The teen leaned backwards and tried to kick his opponent in the face while doing so but the man avoided it. Going all out, the Bount started to use his whip erratically and began to push Ichigo backwards. Unable to block all strikes, Ichigo felt his clothes and his skin getting torn.
'This is not good. I need something to make him lose his focus or something. I can't even use any Kidō… what to do?' He thought, slowly starting to feel that annoying emotion called fear. With a growl, he pushed it into the back of his mind. He couldn't afford to get scared just like that. Once he would, he was finished.
'…there is something you should be able to do.'His zanpakuto said slowly.
'Okay, give me your best shot.'
'Let's make this educational. The sword you are holding, your zanpakuto, is an extension of your own soul. You already know that, right?' The spirit said, sounding as if he was enjoying the bit of blood seeping out of his wielder's wounds.
Ichigo wanted to roll his eyes but was too busy avoiding the enemy's whip.
'For fuck's sake I'm getting my ass beaten! Could you, please, hurry it up?'
'Eh… no. You won't die against this weakling. I want you to think now, to come up with the idea yourself. Now, you can use your energy in Kidō, where it flows through your arms. So, can't you do the same with another part of yourself?'
The teen blinked, unsure.
'…you mean my sword? I should pour my energy into my sword?'
'Well, since it's an extension of your soul, it should be easy, right?'
Ichigo gingerly dodged yet another swipe at his head and resolutely jumped over the man, trying to buy himself just a bit of time.
'Will that be helpful?'
'Try it and you'll see.'The spirit said with a large grin.
Listening to the advice, Ichigo gripped the hilt and raised his reiatsu output, forcing the man to stop moving towards him so carelessly. Then, using his instinct, he let the energy to flow to the sword, making it burn with a dark glow. His brow creased in concentration, he kept it locked there and jumped towards the man.
His next blow was intercepted but the power behind it sent the Bount skidding across the hall.
"Nice." Ichigo couldn't help but to say out loud with a smirk. Thanks to this idea, he then managed to trade several blows with the man but it seemed like he created a stalemate.
"You are too obstinate for your own good, food!" The man exclaimed and the ground beneath Ichigo glowed again just when he was about to swing his zanpakuto down at him.
That made him lose some of his concentration and he accidentally released the hold on the energy contained within the sword. In that moment, the accumulated energy shot out of it in a form of a large crescent wave and hit the man straight into his shield.
The following explosion tore a hole in the part of the building where the two of them had been fighting, causing more rubble to fall down.
Ichigo just stood frozen and watched the results of his accidental blasting attack with shocked expression. In the back of his mind, he heard his zanpakuto spirit laughing with glee.
'You… you knew this was going to happen, didn't you?!'
'Yes, Ichigo. This is an attack I was originally planning to share with you only after you reached my name but, since it's just a basic energy blast, you can still use it even in my sealed state. Though the power of the strike is considerably weakened.'The spirit said in a tone that suggested he was extremely satisfied with its wielder at the moment. Ichigo felt his jaw loosening.
'Considerably weakened? You call this a weak strike?'
The spirit laughed again.
'As you've been told, Ichigo, you are a person with the potential to reach not just stars but even the space beyond them. Heh, compared to what we will be able to do together, this is nothing. Don't be a wuss and get scared of it, though. All of this power belongs to you and you only. You should be proud.'He added seriously.
"Yeah…" Ichigo muttered to himself.
When minutes passed but nobody walked out of the center of the explosion, Ichigo sighed in relief. He won.
...
Propped against a wall, Ichigo watched as a swarm of shinigami officers from Gotei 13 swept the area and questioned all the students that had witnessed Ichigo's fight with the Bount. The unseated officers were already cleaning up the mess, the rubble, while also uncovering the bodies of students buried underneath it in the process leaving them to the members of the 4th Division. One member of the 4th Division, a shy looking boy with chin-length black hair was currently attending teen's injuries, as superficial as they were.
"…now the other arm, please."
Ichigo raised his right arm and watched in fascination when the green light emanating from the boy's hands enveloped his whole arm and caused him to feel a pleasant warm sensation in it.
"That's quite cool." Ichigo muttered when he saw the cuts on his skin healing at a fast rate. The boy looked at him in surprise and then lowered his head, a small smile playing on his lips.
"That's probably the first time somebody told me that."
"Huh? But it's cool. I heard about Kaidō before but never actually witnessed its application. Its healing rate is quite fast." Ichigo retorted in an approving tone.
"The speed differs from one healer to another. Mine isn't very fast, you should see the Vice-Captain or even Captain. They are on a whole another level." The boy said with a dreamy expression. Glancing down at his arm, Ichigo raised one eyebrow.
"I think this is fast enough."
The boy recovered from his inner thoughts and nodded seriously.
"Usually, we restore the patient's reiatsu first and by doing so, we can attempt to recover the physical body using the patient's restored reiatsu and the healer's own external reiatsu. But yours reiatsu doesn't appear to be drained so I started with healing already. Even then, your own recovery rate must be amazing because I've never been able to heal anybody this fast." He explained. He curled his lips and stared at Ichigo in confusion when the teen frowned.
"But my reiatsu isn't full. I lost some energy in the fight because of the Kidō and my own attack I used. I mean I'm fine but I'm not full."
The boy's mouth formed a circle in surprise.
"R-Really? But it's already s-so high I thought… I see. I have still much to learn." He said and narrowed his eyes, increasing his concentration along with the intensity of the green glow. For a few minutes, neither of them said a word. The boy was really focused on this task, restoring Ichigo's reiatsu while at the same time healing his wounds, and Ichigo didn't really want to interrupt him. Then, after a while, a man with short dark hair, bushy eyebrows and stubble around his mouth and chin walked to them with a notebook in his hands. From the daffodil insignia on his kosode, Ichigo deduced the man was probably from the 10th Division, which made some sense, seeing as the 10th Division was located very close to the academy.
"Yamada Hanatarō! Is the patient ready for questioning?" He asked very officially, giving Ichigo also the name of the boy treating him.
"J-Just a second, Takezoe-san!" The boy, Hanatarō, replied in a panicked tone. Ichigo withheld his right arm from his reach with a sigh.
"This is enough, I'll be fine. Thank you." The teen briefly thanked Hanatarō, who looked like he wanted to protest but succumbed to Ichigo's nod and bowed curtly.
"I'll be on my way then."
After he left, Ichigo turned to the officer.
"So, what do you want to know?"
"Yes! From the collected reports it looks like you are the one who fought the intruder. Is that correct?" The man asked firmly.
"Yes."
"Your name is… Kurosaki Ichigo, is that correct?"
"Yes."
"You are a student of the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts, special accelerated class S?"
"Yes."
"Could you describe the incident to me?"
Ichigo sighed. It looked like this was going to take some time.
…
"…and then I blasted him across the room."
The man doing the questioning nodded and wrote what the teen just said down into his notebook. Finally, after several long minutes, it seemed he was finally done with questions. Seeing some movement on a side, Ichigo noticed two members of the 4th Division carrying a bald man on a stretcher. He glanced back at the officer.
"Excuse me but is Gengorō-san going to be alright?" Ichigo asked tentatively. The man raised his head and turned to the side, to briefly look at the man in question.
"I think so. Gengorō-san is known for his tenacity. Actually, most of the students that were in the vicinity of your fight will most likely recover thanks to your timely intervention."
"…most of them…" Ichigo muttered quietly and grimaced. But he had expected it. It would have been a miracle if nobody had died.
Then he felt a cold reiatsu approaching the scene and he turned around, expecting to see Rukia but he only found a short, white-haired Captain quickly approaching them. Trailing behind him was a fairly tall woman with orange hair and a top that looked too loose for her ample bosom, jiggling a little every time she took a step and causing Ichigo to look away. Not in embarrassment but in disgust. It reminded him of another pair of breast that had jiggled in his view a few months ago. He shuddered.
"Captain Hitsugaya, sir, and Vice-Captain Matsumoto, sir! We have questioned every witness and this is the final report!" The officer bowed deeply and handed the short Captain his notebook.
"Thank you, Takezoe." Captain Hitsugaya said and briefly looked over the report. Glancing at the quiet ichigo, he turned back to his officer.
"Is this all they said?"
The man nodded.
"Yes. Apparently most of the students were in shock and because of that the only thing they managed to say was how heroic the actions of Kurosaki Ichigo were."
*SLAP*
With a resonating sound, Ichigo slapped his forehead.
'Great, just what I needed. An image of a hero. And that's after I vehemently told everybody that I wasn't like that.'
Raising one eyebrow at the teen's action, Captain of the 10th Division then glanced at his surroundings.
"That's quite an extensive damage."
"Yes, sir. From what we gathered, during their fight, Kurosaki Ichigo used several Kidō spells and some unknown ability which we think belongs to his zanpakuto."
"Oh, you have a Shikai already? Captain, can we have him in our division?" The Vice-Captain said and pushed her arms together, squishing her breast and pushing them out of her clothes a little.
"Matsumoto…" The Captain said tiredly but he too, looked at Ichigo with interest.
"Is that true?"
The teen, trying to keep his gaze pointed at the Captain, shook his head.
"No. It was just some basic energy slash."
The Captain narrowed his eyes when he heard that and then glanced back at the destroyed part of the building.
"…just some basic energy slash, huh? And Takezoe says you used Kidō spells too? Hm, have you thought about what division you'd like to join upon graduating?"
"Really? You would do that for me, Captain?" Matsumoto squealed and hugged her Captain from behind, causing her breasts to rest on his head. His eye twitching from annoyance, the Captain growled.
"Matsumotooo!" He exclaimed and pried himself out of her grip. Readjusting his clothes, he looked back at Ichigo, who was doing his best not to roll his eyes.
"My reason for asking is that just from this report, it looks like you are quite the prodigy and excel in most classes. And even though it's written here that your Kidō is a bit weaker, using three spells in this kind of fight is admirable. Coupled with the reiatsu that is currently leaking from you, I'd go as far as to say I'd really like to have somebody as capable as you in my division. Of course, I don't know what kind of person you are so this is just a preemptive inquiry." Hitsugaya explained, causing Matsumoto to look at Ichigo with sparkling eyes.
"You are a prodigy? Then you are just like Captain was in the past!" She smiled widely. Her Captain sighed again, quite obviously tired from her antics.
Meanwhile, Ichigo frowned and thought about the question. It was his first time hearing something like that.
"Well, I actually didn't think about that yet to be honest."
"Then I hope you'll think about my offer when that happens." Hitsugaya said seriously and then buried his head into the notebook again.
"…used some weird whip-like weapon…" He muttered to himself and then stared at the place where Ichigo sent his foe with his last attack.
"You weren't able to recover the intruder's body, huh? That will make it difficult to identify him…"
"He was a Bount." Ichigo stated.
The Captain quickly spun around and intently stared at the teen, along with Matsumoto, whose changed demeanor caught Ichigo off-guard.
'So she's not just some bimbo…'
'Then again, she's got a nice rack.'
'…'
'Oh come on! You can't pity yourself forever, Ichigo. What happened, happened. You'll have to accept it eventually or do you want to turn gay?'
'…not now.'
Ichigo dismissed his zanpakuto words with a scowl and then realized the stares he was receiving from the Captain and his Vice-Captain became uncomfortable.
"Uhm…"
"Where did you hear this term? A student shouldn't be familiar with the affairs of Gotei 13."
Ichigo blinked.
"Well I was the one who helped Rukia, Renji, Ikkaku-san and Yumichika-san back in the World of the Living when they fought some of those Bounts. Both Captain Ukitake and Captain Unohana already know that I know."
Hitsugaya stared at him for a long time and Ichigo saw a weak light of realization dawning upon him. The short Captain closed his eyes in a grimace and nodded to himself.
"Right… I recall hearing something about a student interfering with their mission. I see. Well, keep that information under check. There's no need for anybody else to know about these Bounts, understand?"
"Sure." Ichigo replied and missed the annoyed glance from the Captain who was obviously displeased with the lack of formality in Ichigo's tone. The teen then watched them talk more with the other officers and when he, along with other student, was sent back to his dorm room, he made a small dash towards him.
"Sorry for asking but do you know if Rukia's group came back from their mission?"
Because he was being ignored Ichigo thought the Captain didn't hear him so he opened his mouth again but Matsumoto turned to him.
"You should be more polite when talking to a Captain, kid. However, I can answer for him. I heard that Abarai-kun's group is still in the World of the Living so if Kuchiki is together with him, she's not back, yet."
…
There had been eleven deaths during the attack on the academy and, coupled with the damage dealt to the building, the classes had been suspended until further notice. For the officers of the Gotei 13 that number was just another statistic for them to write in their records, nothing less but also nothing more. Even for Ichigo, who barely recognized one or two names from the list of victims, their deaths weren't very significant.
But it saddened him. Eleven, practically innocent, kids had lost their lives in a pointless incident. If such a thing had happened in the World of the Living, the press would have labeled it as a great disaster, a tragedy. Here, in Soul Society, it was just another bad day.
However, it shed a new light, offered a new insight for the teen that was currently sitting on a bed in his dorm room. It made him realize that there were things, unexpected things, which could happen anytime and cost innocent people their lives. Before, his aim had been to change the conditions within Rukongai. To make their life there pleasant and with as less suffering as possible. His goal had been to make radical innovations in the system to ensure the Soul Society would become that thing it was supposed to be. Not a paradise, just an ordinary and pleasant afterlife. A little piece of heaven.
Those thoughts, however, always considered Rukongai to be its main center of attention. Now, with the revelation of Bounts, a supernatural race of soul hunters, he had to broaden his horizon and to include even Seireitei into his final goal. If he wanted to change things, to better the place, he had to remember that there was a need for a responsible and reliable force which would defend the Soul Society from the dangers creeping in shadows.
Truly, becoming a member of Gotei 13, eventually maybe even a Captain could help him immensely. Everybody had been saying how much of a monster he was, an anomaly with prodigious talent and limitless potential and now, he was slowly gaining enough power to prove this statement right. He had been conscious about it. He had even been a bit scared of his tremendous and ever increasing power. But if this power could, in the end, become the very thing that would help him make those changes become true, he was going to embrace it.
And that was what he was doing.
Since there were no classes to attend, he was using his new free time to further hone his skills and abilities. At the moment, he was studying the book on Kidō.
The art of demon spells had proven to be crucial in his fight with the Bount. Yes, they didn't exactly won the fight for him but without them, his victory could have cost him much more than just a bit of his blood. The Bount had been that thing Gengorō and Rukia had warned him about. He had been an enemy he couldn't, at first, just simply overpower with raw strength. He had been forced to use more of his arsenal. Kidō, Hakuda, Hohō and Zanjutsu all together had been the ingredients behind his success.
The part of the book he was intently reading was about the mechanics behind the Hadō #63, Raikōhō, the one high-level spell he had learned by himself. It was a powerful Kidō, capable of producing quite a devastating damage but so far, Ichigo had been able to use it with incantation only. Even then, he couldn't use too much reiryoku on it as he was afraid to overload it, which always resulted in it exploding right into his face. And that hurt. So, his next goal was to learn how to pour as much energy as possible into the spell without it malfunctioning. After that, he was aiming to grasp the concept of successfully using Raikōhō without the incantation.
Also, concurrently, he was going to learn how to increase his control over the reiatsu he was subconsciously leaking. Those two seals on his chest had been working ever since he had finished his fight with the Bount but constantly deactivating and then reapplying them was beginning to annoy him greatly.
He was going to master his reiatsu. One way or another.
…
"You really are a piece of work, Ichigo. Taking on one of the Bounts all by yourself and defeating him like that… I think that when our Captain hears about it, he'll be trying to persuade you into our division. Could be fun." Ikkaku said with a smirk before he and Yumichika left to report to the Captain of their Division. Agreeing with them, Renji stretched his limb.
"Yeah, that was a nice job and all but I think I'm going to hit the sack. I'm beat." The Vice-Captain muttered and, yawning widely, he followed after Ikkaku, leaving Rukia and Ichigo alone.
"So, on a scale one to ten, how annoyed are you?" The teen asked the petite shinigami humorously when he noticed the deep scowl on her face. Without raising her head, Rukia sighed.
"I'm not annoyed. You did the right thing. I kind of wish you wouldn't come across such fights while you're still in the academy but I know you're more than strong enough to hold your own. I'm just… frustrated that this incident even happened. Because of our incompetence, the Bount have invaded the Soul Society and there are already dead bodies piling everywhere." She said and began to walk to the Kuchiki Manor. Accompanying her, Ichigo narrowed his eyes, confused.
"So the Academy wasn't the only invaded part of Seireitei?"
"…I meant in the Rukongai. That's where the Bounts ended up after travelling from the World of the Living."
"How many deaths?"
"Dozens."
Ichigo quieted down and became engrossed with his own thoughts. After a while, he spoke once again.
"What do you mean 'because of our incompetence'?"
This time, it was Rukia's turn to be quiet for a few minutes.
"I meant the Gotei 13 as a whole. We could have dealt with this situation, with the Bounts, sooner and before they managed to create the means of transport to the Soul Society. But I guess what is done is done." She finally replied.
"Oh, right, that's what I wanted to ask. How did they get here in the first place? I thought the only way how to travel to Soul Society is through the Senkaimon and that can be opened only by a shinigami, isn't that right?"
Rukia nodded.
"It is. Normally, you need a Zanpakuto, which serves as a key, to open it. But it seems the Bounts have found a way to forcibly open an illegal Senkaimon gate using their own energy along with a single reishi arrow shot by a Quincy which served as a substitute key."
The teen almost tripped on his own legs when he heard that. With both eyebrows raised high, he turned to her, greatly surprised.
"A Quincy? But Ukitake-san said…"
"What Captain said is true. However, there were survivors about which the Gotei 13 knew but still let them live under certain conditions. And we found one of these Quincy right in Karakura Town." Rukia stated with a frown.
"What's going to happen to him? He helped the Bounts to get here so…"
She shook her head.
"It's not as simple as it appears to be, Ichigo. We followed the trail and located a cave in which we found the illegal gate and that's where the Quincy peacefully waited for us. He said he hated the shinigami but he also wanted to set things straight so there would be no misunderstandings. We decided to at least hear him out and he told us one thing. He helped the Bounts to go to Soul Society for one reason. So that they could be defeated by us, shinigami."
Seeing the frown on Ichigo's face, Rukia continued to explain.
"You see, the Bounts had been killing innocent souls, even living people, of Karakura Town without anybody doing anything to stop it. He couldn't stop them either. Because of that, he sought another way to get rid of them. After contacting the Bounts, he learned that their target is Gotei 13 and shinigami in general. He told us he knew the Bounts were doomed to fail if they wanted to destroy shinigami with only so much power so he decided to help them travel here."
"So, basically, he pushed the problem here." Ichigo thought out loud.
"He is right, though. The Bounts are our problem. It's our job to defend the souls from any threat. I think he did the right thing. It sounds wrong but it actually isn't. If they had stayed in the Karakura Town, only more innocent people would have died." She said definitively.
They walked together until the Kuchiki Manor came up into their sight.
"You know, I'm surprised that there has been a Quincy living in Karakura Town all along."
Rukia chuckled.
"Well, I'm not. Even you could have been considered to be something like a Quincy while you've been alive."
In the back of his mind, Ichigo heard a strained cough but ignored it.
"Do you know his name?"
Rukia puckered her lips in an attempt to recall the information.
"I think he said his name was… Uryū Ishida. Does the name ring any bell?"
For a while, Ichigo's brow was creased in concentration. He went over every name he could recall from his life, briefly stopping at his father. He had a nagging thought that there was something he was missing, some information that he had forgotten but he didn't know what it could have been.
"Nah, never heard of him."
…
As soon as the workers repaired the damage on the academy building, the classes, be it compulsory classes or optional seminars, had been renewed as if nothing had ever happened. So once again, Ichigo found himself in his seat next to the Captain of the 5th Division, drawing another set of symbols as it seemed not even the presence of Bounts could stop the man from having his seminar.
"I'm sorry about what you had to go through, Kurosaki-san." Aizen said in a low voice. Ichigo just waved his hand.
"It's okay. I'm fine."
"You did a splendid job and I think the Gotei 13 should be thanking you for your efforts, though. Especially the 12th Division."
Tired of drawing the same thing over and over again, Ichigo put the brush down and turned to the Captain with an uncertain expression.
"Why the 12th?"
Aizen smiled apologetically and sipped the tea from his cup.
"Because the Bounts are their invention, after all. They should be the ones taking care of the damage control now that the Bounts have appeared in the Soul Society."
"…Bounts are their invention?" Ichigo stared at the man with his mouth wide open. He did not expect to hear such an information. Aizen nodded with a serious gaze.
"Indeed. But I thought you were already aware of what kind of place the 12th Division is. After all, they are also directly linked to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute ever since Urahara Kisuke connected both facilities together over a century ago. They are all scientific geniuses but these kind of people often have a wrong or shifted ethical codex. Their inventions could sometime be tagged as… improper, immoral and even dangerous."
"Aren't they working under some kind of rules, regulations?" Ichigo asked with a frown.
"Why, of course they are. But since most of the time their inventions, at first looking crazy, eventually lead to great discoveries, they have quite a free hand in their research."
Ichigo grimaced. He didn't like the sound of that. As if reading his thoughts, Aizen continued.
"The Bounts aren't even their worst invention. I heard about some of them, mod-souls for combat created with illegal means, human gigai that went far ahead of what should be allowed, pills for enhancing one's power which, when used on a normal soul, could lead to self-destruction…" Aizen slowly said, causing the muscles in Ichigo's body to stiffen. That last thing sounded familiar, almost like those pills that wretched woman, the Boss, had used on him so many week ago…
He blinked.
It didn't just sound familiar. It was exactly that. Barely containing the tone of his voice, he turned to Aizen.
"…what happened to those pills?"
Looking at his own hands, he didn't notice the satisfied smirk on the Captain's face.
"Oh? I heard they got rid of them but since this is the 12th Division, I wouldn't be surprised if somebody could get them on the black market that's supposedly existing in Rukongai."
The brush Ichigo hastily grabbed snapped in his hand.
End of Chapter 11.
Well, what do you know? I was actually able to write and edit this chapter before this year ended. Horay!
So, Bounts are in Soul Society and Ichigo reluctantly played the hero. Poor Ichigo. But thanks to that, he learned a lesson and a new ability. Toshiro and Rangiku and even Hanatarou made their first appearance, what did you think of their portrayal? Ichigo is further honing his skills, becoming a more rounded fighter than ever. Yep, Uryu was mentioned too and he isn't a complete prick! I think his reasoning is in character and also logical. Aaaaand Aizen always has to manipulate and manipulate and manipulate. Look forward to next chapter, because sh*t is about to hit the fan!
To reviews:
*reality_deviant - I don't have any plans for them but I may leave one of them for future. Just in case I wanted to draw more parallels with Quincy.
*Harbinger_of_Kaos - nah, Shunsui words aren't enough. Ichigo has to screw things by himself for that to happen :D. Thanks, I tried really hard in that scene. Well, Spirits are Always with you, right? The last thing was explained in this chapter.
*NieveDrop - yes, she will have a prominent role in the story. Indeed, his spirits are smarter than him. If you take that they are actually part of his own soul, it is hilarious.
*Mr._Crimson_Fucker - at least that's what I read. The name suggests the character is a he but you never know with Kubo being such a good troll.
*bleachcrazyass - I replied to you via PM but for others: "Ichigo and Rukia are best buddies, sort of like in canon but I hope to deepen their bond throughout the plot even further. I don't think they will become a couple (as of now, like I told another reviewer, I haven't thought of any pairing so far, it's not really important to the plot) but they will be incredibly close. I do plan, however, on using their relationship to make some sort of impact on Ichigo's love life (if there will be one). Kind of like "if you want me, you get the whole package, me and Rukia". That sort of a thing."
*Gacsam - reiryoku is their energy, reiatsu is its output. You can control your energy (manipulate it) but also you can control the output (its potency)
Becool258 - indeed, they all have to try.
To the rest of you, many thanks! I have the next chapter outlined but it'll take some time before I'll write it. I still have to finish a chapter from my other bleach story. But chapter 12 will be good... I swear! xD
Okay, till next time, folks!