A/N: Thank you all for reading this! Review Reponses at the end of the chapter now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach!
Thank you very much for so many reviews and favorites and follows! Thank you so much for waiting patiently. Sorry this chapter took so long to get out.
~22~22~22~22~
Bleach: The Other Side of Me
Arc 2: The Memory Rosary Arc
Recap: The Substitute Shinigami has been given a mission: to protect the former Shinigami and his adopted younger brother, Hitsugaya Toushirou, at all costs. With Toushirou's own resolve hanging on by a thread, Ichigo solemnly vows to carry out this mission no matter what it takes. Meanwhile, a strange girl named Senna has appeared, along with what appears to be new enemies: white ghosts with red, pointy hats. However, Senna is the bigger mystery. Toushirou senses something off about her, and he vows to discover the truth.
Chapter 24: The Graveyard Battle
'Remember who I am...remember!'
That voice was back. So was that dragon made completely of ice.
"S-Stop saying that...I-I'm trying to!"
'Please, Master...remember!'
Toushirou's eyes snapped open in a split second. Hovering his face, Urahara's own was looking at him with slight worry, slight suspicion, but majorly patience.
"U-Urahara?"
"You were muttering the word 'remember' repeatedly, Hitsugaya-san," the shopkeeper replied, calmly. Isn't that what Ichigo told him two days ago? "That and your reiatsu spiked." Toushirou said nothing, becoming slightly confused as Urahara smiled, opened up his fan, and said cheerfully, "I believe you are being visited by your own Zanpaktou, Toushirou-kun!"
"Huh?" Okay...that did it. "Zan..paktou?"
"You know, a Shinigami's sword?" Urahara clarified. "You had one too. I guess you still do. Back then, your reiatsu was as cold as ice. It still is, even now, which just comes to prove the possibility that you may be recovering your former powers as a Shinigami."
Toushirou blinked. Really? Was that really true? "You're kidding." No more watching on the sidelines?
"Nope. By the way," Urahara paused for a few seconds. Toushirou felt it too, "You seem to have company."
"Let me go, you big bull! I want to pound that hat and clogs wearin'-"
"Language, Sir! That is Urahara-san you speak of."
Toushirou sighed in exasperation. "Ichigo..."
The two went out into the main hall, where, sure enough, Tessai was holding an enraged Ichigo back, the latter of whom saw Toushirou the second he walked in.
"Toushirou, there you are!" Then, he caught sight of the one he was enraged at. "You! You've got some nerve kidnapping my brother clean out of our bedroom like that! What do you have to say for yourself?!"
"Kidnapping?" Urahara repeated, shock and humor coming to his heart and eyes.
"Any last words?" The carrot-top asked, darkly.
"That's enough, Ichigo," it wasn't Urahara or Tessai who spoke, but Toushirou.
"What? Toushirou, you're okay with this?" Ichigo asked, incredulously.
"I came here of my own free will, Ichigo, not by force. I told you before you fell asleep, I didn't intend on sleeping in my own bed last night. Remember? Because I meant it."
Ichigo, in this moment, then became very ashamed by his thoughts and actions. "Sorry, Urahara," he muttered.
Urahara waved his fan at him. "It's alright. It just proves you really are brothers at heart."
"Ichigo," Toushirou paused, "where's Senna?"
The carrot-top froze. "Uh-oh. She wasn't there when I woke up, but I didn't pay any attention to it. You were the only thing on my mind. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Let's just find her."
"Later, Urahara, Tessai."
"Wait, who is this Senna?" Tessai asked, Urahara wanting to know the same thing.
"An enigma," was all Toushirou replied with as he followed Ichigo out the door.
Once the two brothers were out of sight, Tessai turned to his boss, and asked, "Did you get it out?"
"No," Urahara replied, almost gravely, "I couldn't determine its exact whereabouts."
"You placed it within Hitsugaya-san yourself. How could you not know?" Tessai asked, slightly confused.
"It is what it is. The Hogyouku is a very complicated piece of work. I haven't seen it in person for nearly seven, eight years. I'm beginning to lose my touch with it. I couldn't remove it like the Soutaichou wanted me too, but I was able to, ahem, make a few adjustments. Let's just say the next time Aizen comes after Hitsugaya, that bastard won't be able to find what he's looking for. He can sense it, but he won't find it..."
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"I can't believe I lost her..." Ichigo muttered, he and Toushirou running through town side by side. "Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit–"
"Careful with your language, Ichigo. There are little kids nearby," Toushirou calmly warned.
"Sorry, sorry," Ichigo quickly apologized. "Now, where to find a crazy, hyper, air-headed girl?"
Winds, leaves, autumn...
She was near. Toushirou could feel it.
"She's up there," he pointed to the balcony above them.
Ichigo looked up, and sure enough, there was Senna waving at them. "Wow, you're right. How'd you figure that out?"
"Beats me," was the boy's reply, which was a lie, as he did know, before turned up to look at Senna. "Hey, we're not done questioning you yet!"
Senna giggled. "But didn't you say that if you caught me in a game of tag, I'd answer anything you want?"
"No, we didn't!" came Ichigo's outburst. "That's ridiculous!"
Senna only giggled again, before turning around and running away, smiling the entire time.
Ichigo growled. Toushirou calmed him down, saying, "Calm down, Ichigo. As long as we play her game, it's a good chance we'll all the answers on the way."
Ichigo sighed. "You might be right."
"Besides, together, we can outrun her in no time," there was Toushirou's confidence.
"Forget the 'might be', hell, you are right, Toushirou." The carrot-top got himself ready to run. "On your mark, get set, go!"
The two brothers shot down the hallway, confusing anyone they went past.
But it appeared Senna was faster.
"It seems to be," Toushirou spoke up, the two of them still running, "that we've underestimated our opponent."
"Yeah," Ichigo muttered back. "Damn, she's fast. And she's disappearing around corners that are dead-ends, but she's never there. What's her secret?"
"Her gigai...is made of leaves that she can form and disassemble at will. Strange power..." came the boy's response, before falling to his knees, his breathing labored and heavy.
"Toushirou?" Ichigo now stood beside him. "You okay?" He kneeled, a sturdy, yet gentle hand on his brother's back.
Panting, Toushirou replied, "Y-Yeah. Just tired." And his chest really hurt for some reason. But you just don't say that to Ichigo.
This was not normal. Both boys had so much reaitsu, they could run for three days straight, four for Toushirou if he was feeling up to it (mainly in the winter). But for Toushirou to be tired after only ten minutes?
Something didn't feel right.
Toushirou wanted to tell his brother the truth, but how many had witnessed Ichigo's overly protective nature when it came to his brother? A lot, mainly Toushirou himself, and a protective Ichigo was usually an angry Ichigo, which was never pretty.
Frankly, Ichigo didn't believe him, but he didn't say that, not to Toushirou. His little brother was big on trust. If you didn't trust him, he didn't trust you. It was as simple as that.
Ichigo couldn't let their brotherly bond take such a blow, big or small. Any infraction on their bond would spell certain death for that said bond. Ichigo couldn't risk it.
So instead, he replied with, "You sure? I can get you some water..."
"I'll be fine," Toushirou waved him off gently. "I'm beginning to feel better already." As proof, Toushirou slowly stood back on his feet, but one simple step had him shaking and sent him back to the ground. Ichigo caught him without second thought.
"You sure about that?" Ichigo repeated, this time his voice stern, as if telling Toushirou that he knew he was lying.
No sense trying to hide his pain now. Ichigo could read him like an open book, and he was the only one who could.
"Not really," Toushirou sighed, hanging his head, letting Ichigo rub small circles into his back.
After a short silence, the game of tag with Senna now long forgotten, two pairs of feet halted near the two brothers.
"Is this bad time?" came a familiar voice, a woman's voice.
The two brothers glanced up to see Matsumoto Rangiku and Kusaka Soujirou.
"Hey, Rangiku-san, Kusaka-san," Ichigo said, "what are you guys doing here?"
"To talk to you," Kusaka said. "We need to head over to some place private. Know any good hideouts?"
"Yeah, there's our house, but that's not private enough," Ichigo replied. "The only place left I know of is Urahara's store."
"Let's get moving then."
Kusaka led the way.
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Kusaka, Rangiku, Urahara, Ichigo, Tessai, and Toushirou were all sitting around the table.
"Spiritual waves, a new dimension creating a mirage of some kind in the Dangai, lost communication?" Urahara repeated what he had heard. "None of this makes any sense..."
"The Omnitsukidou tried investigating this new world," Kusaka continued, "but they failed. So we formed a new team to analyze the influx of spiritual waves into the world of the living, and they chose me as the leader."
"Not to seem rude or anything," Ichigo interrupted, "but you're not exactly the best analyzer. So why were you picked?"
Kusaka could not deny the truth in that, but Rangiku giggled behind her hand, and said, "Because all of the other Captains backed out."
"Let's just stick to the details," Kusaka groaned.
"That must have been what those white things were," Toushirou said quietly, speaking for the first time since they got here.
"You saw something unusual?" Kusaka asked him.
"Yeah, there were these white, ghostly things, must've been hundreds of them, wearing these red, pointy hats," Ichigo explained.
"But they didn't feel like normal souls," Toushirou added, solemnly, recalling the encounter and his spiritual empathy at that moment perfectly. "They felt like shells of souls, like they were souls, but they were empty inside. They seemed like zombies. I've never felt anything like that before."
It was...disturbing, to say the least. It wasn't something he wanted to feel ever again.
"It sounds like Blanks," Urahara muttered.
"And that means the Valley of Screams," Kusaka said.
"..."
These two terms were completely new to the two brothers, even Kon, who was with them at the time.
Urahara chuckled. "Allow me to explain. As you know, souls migrate between the Soul Society and the World of the Living. However, some souls are pulled out of the transmigration for whatever reason and collide and merge together to form a new dimension, hence the Valley of Screams, where their energy and memory are separated, and then the souls return to the cycle of transmigration. Toushirou is right when he says they are souls, but empty inside. That's exactly what Blanks are. Blanks, what you saw, are what the energy becomes when it separates from the memory."
"But what about the memory?" Toushirou asked. "It has to go somewhere."
"The lost memories come together to form a single entity and return to the World of the Living. It's called the Shinenju. It's a jewel that acts as a collection of memories. But the appearance of the Valley of Screams is a more pressing matter in and of itself. The Valley of Screams is nothing new, but this time, it has connected both the Soul Society and the living world together, something that has never happened before."
"You mean this isn't a common occurrence?" Ichigo asked.
"There has never been a natural occurrence that has linked two worlds together. That's the problem here. Since it's never happened before, obviously, someone's doing this deliberately, someone with ill intentions," Kusaka explained.
"That's right!" Kon explained.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ichigo asked.
"I saw a guy with weird armor standing among all those Blanks. I saw it myself!" Kon said.
"Can you remember any details?" Rangiku asked. "Maybe we can find out who the culprit behind this is."
"Of course. I've got a memory like a steel trap. Let's see...uh...er...um..."
Urahara donned a familiar red glove and poked Kon's soul out. Tessai grabbed the pill and said, "I'll just take this and analyze this."
"Please do," Urahara said, "but you two," he spoke to the two brothers, "I have this funny feeling about the Shinenju. With the appearance of all those Blanks, it means that the Shinenju must have returned to the World of the Living. While Tessai and I analyze the data, Kusaka-taichou and his Vice-Captain will return to the Soul Society and analyze what they have. Meanwhile, you Kurosakis need to find the Shinenju and report to us right away when you do."
They nodded, before getting up and going their seperate ways.
Tessai came back into the room after they had all left besides Urahara. "Boss, do you think that Hitsugaya-san's lost memories could be in the possession of the Shinenju?"
Urahara was quiet for a while, before speaking up softly, "I don't know for sure, but it's a good bet that Toushirou's memories also got separated from him while in the process of transmigration. Why he's not a Blank like the others...that I have no clue about."
"Perhaps you pulled him out in time," Tessai suggested, "and that's why he didn't merge with the others. "
"And he had someone watching over him the day he arrived, or maybe just that and I had nothing to do with it. Maybe that's why he's so close to Ichigo...Ichigo saved him that day. He gave Hitsugaya a personality, some traits old and some new, and allowed some of his natural talents, like his intellect, to return."
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They caught her, Senna, I mean. They finally caught her. She had gone and done a high-rope act and nearby killed herself, but she had used her gigai again to trick them. Now thhe two had taken Senna to the nearby deli, where she was treated to some lunch, and also where she had asked them an interesting question.
"Do either of you have any clue as to what this Shinen-thingy looks like?"
"...not a clue..."
"Well, I remember my dad used to tell me to go by your gut, your instinct. But my mom always told me to sit and wait for whatever you were searching for, though sometimes she never answered, and just went out and replaced that one item."
The first thing Ichigo noticed was that Senna appeared to have a headache. However, Toushirou was quite the opposite. Senna was a Shinigami, presumably from the Soul Society.
Yet, she remembered her past?
"You know what? I'll help you two out. But there's just one little condition."
Ichigo sighed. Toushirou said nothing. "I knew it."
"First, we gotta go on that." She pointed to the Ferris Wheel. "Take me on that, and I'll you with whatever you want."
"I'm not falling for that, Senna," Ichigo said. "We high school kids aren't exactly made out of money."
Senna climbed up and stood on her chair.
"What the–? What is it with you and heights?"
"I don't know," she replied. "I like it when I'm way up high. All those things that are all blurry to me suddenly become clear." She turned around, giving Ichigo a good view of her hair ribbon.
"Hey, that ribbon!"
"Oh, you noticed! The red looks so much better on me than the yellow, don't you agree?"
"How'd you get it with no money?"
"I wandered into a store and tried it on. I got distracted and then left. Oh, well, I must have forgotten I had it on. It happens all the time."
"Not while I'm around." Ichigo grabbed Senna's wrist.
"Wait, aren't you gonna pay the check?" Senna asked. Ichigo groaned and grabbed it before running back off with Senna and Toushirou in tow.
Senna led the two back to the shop she got the ribbon from, and Ichigo went in and paid for it. When he came out, he let Senna go to the restroom and put it back on. She was happy and thanked Ichigo vigorously.
While she was in the restroom, Ichigo noticed that Toushirou hadn't said a word since Urahara's Shop. He seemed a little preoccupied with something.
"Something wrong, Toushirou?"
"Just a funny feeling I get whenever she talks about her past..." Toushirou replied. "How in the hell can she remember her past, but I can't?"
"Just cool it," Ichigo said.
Toushirou only lowered his gaze, and said, "Very well, then. I'll cool off outside for a bit. Is that alright with you?"
"Yeah, yeah."
He had sense her reiatsu going off somewhere he didn't expect. What business did Senna have at the graveyard?
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Senna quietly, cautiously walked down the rows. She could swear that her family was buried here.
All was quiet, until a deep voice scared the wits out of her. "Going somewhere?"
Senna squealed in terror, until she saw it was only Toushirou. "Oh, it's just you. Don't sneak up on people like that."
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"My family is buried here. And I'm sure I am too. See?" She pointed to a gravestone. "That's my parents. Or is that my brother? Is that one my sister over there? What about my aunt, my other sister? Or my uncle? Or my grandma, or my childhood friend?"
Getting a funny feeling at those last two titles and not liking what was going on, Toushirou placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He saw...memories...of not only his own, of Hinamori, but also...
Of other people...
In one memory, her father was living, but in another, her father was abusive. In another, her father was dead and she was raised by her grandparents, and her godparents in another.
He couldn't take it anymore. He took his hand off, unable to take the emotions, her happiness, her anger, her confusion, all at once, and he immediately backed away from her.
A red hand came out and grabbed Senna by the shoulder.
"Hey!"
The Blanks were back, and a blade came down and almost cut Toushirou's head off, had he not dodged in time.
Senna stood beside him, already donning her Shinigami attire. "Who are you?"
"You've got better reflexes that I expected."
"Why are you here?" Toushirou asked. "And what do you want?"
"I'm going to be your escort, you two. The boss, Ganryu, has great interest in both of you, and so he ordered us to take you both into custody."
"The last time I heard that," Toushirou calmly retorted, "I received a death sentence. How do I know you're not going to use that same trick on me now?"
"Death sentence?" Senna asked.
"Long story," was his reply.
"Jai, that's enough." Senna and Toushirou turned around. This Jai character had friends, four of them. "Stop talking and just grab them already."
The only woman spoke up, "And you shouldn't have jumped out like that."
"This will only take a minute." Senna drew her sword and attacked. Jai easily blocked with one of his own blades. "Stop that. It tickles." Punching her in the stomach, Senna flew several feet backwards.
Jai landed on top of her, as Toushirou gathered enough reiatsu to perform several kidou spells.
The woman scoffed, almost laughing. "Don't crush her."
"Hadou Four: Byakurai!"
"Jai, watch out!"
The big guy turned around into time for Toushirou's kidou spell to hit himn square in the face, but his grip on Senna did not fluctuate.
"I'll try another one," Toushirou warned, "if you do not release her right now."
The spinning blade was so fast, Toushirou didn't see it coming. One second, his shoulder was fine, the next, it wasn't. He fell to his knees. Jai grabbed Toushirou by the collar and held him like Senna. "Now, let's go, shall we?"
"Hold it," Senna and Toushirou glanced over at who was speaking, at a familiar carrot-top. "Not if I have anything to say about it." Jai looked over and then down. "Now, tell me. Where do you think you're going?"
"Who the hell are you? Get out of our business."
"I'm just a Substitute Shinigami passing through." The strike from Zangetsu had Jai's arm cut off, releasing Senna. Not wanting the same with his other arm, Jai let go of Toushirou as well.
As the younger boy activating a healing kidou on his own shoulder, Ichigo asked the two of them, "What's with all the wandering off?"
"Well, I, uh..." Senna stuttered. "Why don't you just mind your own business?!"
"Can't do that. Not until you've kept your promise. Hey, big guy. Sorry about the arm."
"You're...ugh...gonna pay for that! I'm gonna kick your ass!"
"Jai, that's enough! The time has not yet come anyways." And with that, the five strange villians left through a portal.
"Time? What time?"
"Dammit!" Was Jai's final words to them before he left.
Senna was sneaking away. "Hold it! You are not going anywhere! First, you let me pay for dinner, and then you run away!"
"I wasn't running away!"
"And now Toushirou gets hurt trying to protect you?!"
"I never meant that, honest! It's just that...my whole family is buried in this cemetery."
"Like you expect me to believe that..."
"No, I'm serious. I remember it all like it was yesterday. I remember when I was still alive, though it is kind of hazy to me."
Toushirou was speechless. He couldn't believe what he had just heard and witnessed.
'No, she can't be...she can't be the Shinenju...'
~23~23~23~23~
Preview ~ Chapter 25: Meaningless Words – "A few days ago, Ichigo made a promise to the Soutaichou, regarding his younger brother. Can Ichigo keep that promise or will they have been empty words?"
A/N: Review, please! Tell me how I did! X( Motivation block is killing me! I've also been somewhat busy lately. T^T I hope you liked it! Review Responses:
Akari Kamiya: Thank you. I'm glad you like it. I agree with what you said about Senna. Most interested, yet also one of the most tragic. P.S. I will, eventually, once I get my motivation for it back to normal. I'm glad you like it though. I feel as though a lot of my stories go un-noticed.
azure blue espeon: Good. The recap did it's job. I know that my updates for this story is sporadic and have a somewhat very long time-frame, so I'm keeping the recaps in from now on.
Toshiro with love: What Urahara did to Toushirou was explained in this chapter. Have a cookie for being the first (and probably the only) one to notice Urahara's would-be actions there. What Urahara's going to teach Toushirou is kidou, further explained in the previous chapter.
Emoemo: Yes, I updated! Thank you for the compliment and thank you for waiting. :)
StrangerInAStrangeWorld: Thank you. Oh, well...thank you for imforming me, but I really couldn't think of a better word for it. ^^'
Bloody Lord: Yes, I updated! :D Thank you. I'm glad you liked it, and here was the next update, just for you guys.
purpleswans: Thank you. Did Shirou-chan die in Central 46? Yes, that is what I'm implying. What happened to him afterwards is further explained in this story by Urahara, or what may have happened. Hogyouku, and Urahara noticed him and grabbed his soul from the cycle before he could be reborn. He was beat up, probably from his fight before he died (I say probably, because I'm brainstorming right now, for more details concerning this.) But I'm glad you enjoy this story. :)
Music Fantasi: Thank you, and no, I would never stop this story, not when it's this popular. Besides, the story's only just gotten off the ground.
Espadakatsukreuz XIII: Thank you, thank you! Don't worry, I will continue this story.
Musical Ninja: Thank you. I may add the Hell Chapter too, but I haven't really decided yet. If any of you want an arc in this story, redone, of course, just tell me in a review, and I'll see what I can do. Anyways, back to Musical Ninja, that memory transfer bit also comes back in this chapter. :)
Shiro Neko: I bet it was worth the wait. :) Don't worry, I will.
Yume no Kariudo: *blush* Y-You really think so? Why, thank you for the compliment. I really am glad so many people like this story.
rowan1025: That's also how I am. I'm a very fast reader. And thank you very much. Don't worry. He'll get his powers back in due time.