A/N: Thank you all for reading this! Review Reponses at the end of the chapter.
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! Please, forgive me!
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Bleach: The Other Side of Me
Arc 2: The Memory Rosary Arc
Recap: Kurosaki Ichigo has been given a mission, directly from the Soutaichou himself: protect the former Shinigami and his adopted younger brother, Hitsugaya Toushirou, at all costs. With enemies closing in around the Hogyouku, currently housed inside the boy's body, a strange girl named Senna has appeared, along with Blanks and the Valley of Screams. However, Senna is the bigger mystery. Is she really the Shinenju everyone is looking for?
Chapter 25: Meaningless Words
Toushirou and Senna had gone out like lights that night. Senna was exhausted, but Toushirou's shoulder was still in pain from it getting cut from that large guy, Jai's, blades.
Those two were in Toushirou and Ichigo's room, while Ichigo had taken a nice, warm, uncomfortable spot on the couch, in deep thought.
After what Senna had told him a couple of hours ago, the carrot top couldn't help but think back to what Toushirou had mentioned just hours before.
His Soul Pager went off. Ichigo answered it quietly. "Kurosaki, it's me. Urahara. Any leads on the Shinenju?"
"Nope. But we encountered the enemy Kon was talking about."
"Are you hurt?" Urahara asked.
"I'm fine. Toushirou's got a hurt shoulder though. They took off right away."
Urahara was quiet on the other end. "I see. About that, we were able to turn up a few things up on our end."
"What, exactly?"
Kisuke explained, "After analyzing the visual images taken from Kon's memories, we managed to identify the armor as belonging to the clan that was banished long time ago from the Soul Society after their take-over attempt failed. So we know for sure that they hold a grudge against us. But we still don't know what they're after. Whatever the case, keep Toushirou close. It could be him they're after. I've also notified the Soul Society, so they're on high alert."
"Right." Ichigo paused, before asking, "Urahara, can I ask you one thing?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"Can a Shinigami have memories of when they were alive?"
"Let's see...I doubt that very much. Why do you ask?"
"No reason...Just curious."
The two hung up, ending their conversation, as Ichigo thought, 'Toushirou's right. Senna's a Shinigami. She shouldn't be able to remember her past. At all.'
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"Say, do you really think they'll show up again?" Senna asked Toushirou.
"Not sure...But the only lead we have is that we saw the Blanks here," the young genius replied, as he, Senna, and Ichigo stood watch over the courtyard they first saw the Blanks show up a few days ago.
Toushirou couldn't help but feel cautious around Senna. If she really was the Shinenju...he couldn't be sure, so he was waiting for a few more clues.
"Boring," Senna muttered under her breath.
Ichigo groaned, "Man, why so many people? It's usually less crowded around this time of day..." He paused. "Senna, don't go too far from my side. Hey! Hey Senna!" Senna had disappeared.
"Over here!"
The two brothers ran over to where she said she was. Ichigo rambled, "Huh? You and Toushirou were just attacked yesterday! Don't go wandering off like that!" Toushirou elbowed him, making the carrot top realize why Senna has wandered off in the first place. "A soul? Hey, what's the matter?"
The young soul of a boy backed off in fright when Ichigo spoke.
"You're scaring him," Senna scolded. Her voice tone then did a complete 180. From mean and scolding, to kind and gentle. "Hi. My name's Senna. What's yours?"
"Tomoya," the soul answered.
"Tomoya, huh? Will you tell me what's wrong?"
The boy sniffed. Apparently, he had been crying. "Umm...My dad's gone..."
"You were with your dad?" Toushirou asked.
"Uh huh," the boy answered.
"What happened?" Toushirou continued.
"We were driving to the festival, but when I looked, he was gone."
"I see... Well then..."
Ichigo cut Senna off. "Your dad is probably in heaven and..."
Tomoya cut him off in return, yelling, "That's not true! Dad is looking for me!"
Senna was optimistic, her usual bright and cheery self. "Okay! Then we'll help you find your dad."
"Really?"
Senna replied. "Of course! Tomoya, which way did you come from?"
"Over that way!" He pointed behind him, to Ichigo's left.
"Then let's go."
"Hey! Hey! Right now, we have to..." Ichigo protested.
"But we have no leads, right?" Senna brought up a good point. "No sense in hanging around here. Let's go."
"Okay..." Toushirou followed after Senna and Tomoya, with Ichigo trudging behind.
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It was just after lunch time, and they were still looking for Tomoya's father.
Ichigo leaned in Senna. "Hey, how long are you gonna keep this up? There's no festival around here. Besides...there's no guarantee that his father is still on this side."
But Senna was optimistic. "We'll find him. That boy has to leave this world soon. And a long journey awaits him...It's his last wish. How sad if it doesn't come true. I can't bring myself to perform a Konso like this. I want to at least give him a good last memory."
Tomoya interrupted them. "Sis!"
Senna answered. "What is it?"
Tomoya jumped up and down in excitement. "Sis! This way! This way! Sis... My dad..."
Senna gently cut him off. "Don't worry. we'll find him."
"Okay." And Tomoya ran off into the festival, booths, lanterns, and lights all around. It was a very pretty sight.
"I'm so glad this place is still here. I came here a lot as a child."
It was an off-hand comment made by Senna, nothing really special, but it made something inside Toushirou snap. He didn't want to believe that Senna was the Shinenju, but as she kept making comments like that, the more and more, he became convinced that she was.
"You..." Toushirou muttered, wanting to and about to ask her something important, but the yells of a grown-man by the shrine cut him off.
"Tomoya. Tomoya!"
A smile immediately came to the boy's face. "Dad! Dad..." The two ran to each other, tightly embracing when they reached the other.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." The dad was crying, and Toushirou felt Ichigo subconsciously lean closer to him.
Overprotectiveness? Maybe. Sentimentality? Probably.
Ichigo was seeing the hug between father and son, in the afterlife, and like Toushirou, he was remembering when they were kids, and how awfully close they were then.
Toushirou let slip a small smile because of this.
"I don't believe this..." Ichigo mumbled in surprise. They actually succeeded in finding Tomoya's father in the afterlife.
"Thank you so much!" The dad and the son both bowed to Senna.
"I'm happy for you," Senna said, a smile on her face, happy that she had helped make their reunion possible.
"Uh huh," Ichigo nodded in agreement.
"It's all thanks to you," Tomoya said.
"No, I didn't do anything," Senna was being modest. She wasn't one to hog all of the credit.
The dad's next comment made that same instinct inside Toushirou snap once more, this time much stronger than before, "Haven't you haven't noticed it yet? All these souls gathered around you here. I was able to find this place thanks to them."
"These people...?" Senna muttered, her golden eyes growing wider.
"Uh huh... all of them here," Tomoya confirmed.
"How weird. You're the one who called them here. Tomoya...now we can go on our journey," the dad said, taking his son's hand.
"Bye bye," Tomoya said one last time before he and his father disappeared into a white light, and then nothing when the light faded.
'You're the one who called them here...' Toushirou's eyes were also wide. He couldn't beleive was he had just heard.
Ichigo didn't know what to say. Senna spoke up for him.
"Why?" She sounded scared, frightened. She was trembling. "Why do they always come around me? Ichigo...is it true...am I actually...?"
Toushirou swiftly cut her off. "I knew it."
"What are you talking about, Toushirou?" Ichigo asked, not understanding what the problem here was.
"I had a gut feeling, and I was right," Toushirou continued, not making eye contact with anyone. "Senna, you really are the Shinenju..."
"What?!" Ichigo finally realized why these two were acting weird. Senna was the Shinenju, but wasn't aware of that fact until now. Toushirou had a feeling the whole time, but Ichigo didn't, and all the facts were just confirmed. "Why didn't you tell me, Toushirou?"
"I wanted to make sure," the white-haired boy replied. "I didn't want to cause any panic in case I was wrong."
The Senkai gate opened up behind the three. There stood Soifon, Ukitake, Kusaka, Rangiku, Renji, and Rukia, not in that order, but those were the six who were standing in front of the Omnitsukidou.
"Rukia? What's wrong? What happened?" ichigo askeed, stepping in front of both Senna and Toushirou.
Rukia did not speak. Instead, Soifon answered for her, stoic and very forceful. "This is a Level One order from Central 46. Kurosaki, Hitsugaya, hand over that girl!"
"What?!"
"Ichigo," Rukia finally spoke, "Last night, Toushirou called and informed us about Senna, and everything about her. I went through every record of the Goteijuusantai, the Omnitsukidou, the Kidou Force, and the Shino Academy. There is not Senna listed anywhere! And the zanpakutou the girl uses, Mirokimaru...it has been verified that it was swallowed up by the Restrictive Current in the Dangai Precicpice World. In other words, it cannot possibly exist today."
"Wait a minute!" Ichigo interrupted her. "Toushirou, you sold Senna out?"
"I wasn't aware we were protecting her," the boy coldly shot back. "We were only told to observe her and report to the Soul Society when we found reasonable evidence of who or what the Shinenju is."
Ichigo growled back at him.
"I am a Shinigami!" Senna interrupted, yelling through the Kurosaki brothers' arguing.
"Then how did you come to the World of the Living?" Ukitake gently asked.
Senna stuttered for a clear answer, her mind all jumbled and confused. "Well... two days ago I woke up by the banks of that river. But I remember my own name clearly. And that river...I've known it since I was a child...But... why? I'm supposed to be just me..."
"See? All kinds of memories are mixed up in your head, right?" Renji asked, knowing full well who Senna really was.
Kusaka said, "We know it's hard to believe, but Toushirou is right. The collective of memories you are searching for, the Shinenju, is you."
"No...I'm..." Senna stumbled.
Kusaka announced, "The Valley of Screams became visible twenty-four hours ago. Soul Society has concluded that the man behind it is Ganryu and his motive is to destroy the worlds...and that a crucial element in his plans is the Shinenju. The Shinenju Senna!"
"Soul Society will now take you into custody!" Soifon ordered.
"Hold it!" Ichigo immediately stepped in front of Senna. "That just doesn't sit well with me."
"Ichigo, what are you–?!" Senna asked, surprised that Ichigo would something like this.
But Toushirou perfectly knew why. Ichigo had already been unable to stop Toushirou from leaving once, against Ichigo's will, and he was almost executed because of it. There was no way he was going to let Senna meet the same fate.
"It doesn't matter what this girl is," Ichigo firmly stated. "It doesn't change the fact that she exists at this moment. She gets mad, she gets happy, she gets hurt...she has feelings, doesn't she? But you're gonna ignore that and take her into custody?! Then you're no different from them! In fact, you're acting the same way you did back when you sentenced Toushirou to death! I'm not handing Senna over to you."
"Sorry, but this is not the time to debate," Rukia gently urged Ichigo to reconsider, but he didn't budge.
"Move, Ichigo!" Renji ordered.
"Can't do that."
An giant explosion immediately encased the area. The six Shinigami and the Omnitsukidou jumped into the air to avoid it.
Ichigo grabbed Senna, and barrel-rolled with her in his arms, transforming into his Shinigami garb on the way.
It was Jai, the big guy from the graveyard last night. "Hey, kid. Today, you will turn the Shinenju over to us."
Ichigo scoffed. "Hah! You wanna lose your other arm too?!" Kon, in Ichigo's body, was behind him, holding Senna in his arms. "Kon, take care of her!"
"Right!"
But as Ichigo resumed his fight with Jai, he noticed that Jai had much more power than yesterday.
"Protect the Shinenju!" He heard Soifon call out.
"Yes, ma'am!" The Omnitsukidou replied as they went out to follow her orders.
All Toushirou could see was Blanks, all around him. Kon and Senna were not within sight, nor was Ichigo.
"Hadou 33: Soukatsui!" He was very grateful when Rukia joined him.
"Thank you!"
"No problem!" Rukia replied, as the other Shinigami shouted out their shikai phrases.
"Mind if I cut in?" A deep voice spoke behind the two.
"Y-You!" Rukia said. It was the leader. "As I susected. That pattern on the armor belongs to the banished clan...the once noble House of Ryodoji!"
"I wouldn't know. I am Ganryu, the leader. We are from the Clan of Darkness, the Dark One."
Rukia charged, but Ganryu easily blocked her every move.
Toushirou kneeled beside her as she knelt on the ground, on her hands and knees, trying to catch her breath. "He's...he's too good..."
"They want Senna. They'll go to any lengths to get her."
He shouldn't be on the sidelines, Toushirou thought to himself. He should be helping the others fight. He would not be useless in a fight ever again. "Hadou 73: Soren Soukatsui!"
Two columns of blue fire shot from his hands, aiming towards Ganryu, who unfortunately dodged at the last second.
"We'll go to any lengths to get you as well," Ganryu had shunpo'd behind him. Toushirou turned to meet his cold, cruel eyes and evil smirk, "Holder of the Hogyouku."
Toushirou's eyes widened. How did these guys know? Is that why they seemed to be after him too?
The air around the two seemed o get colder, evident by the two's breaths coming out in puffs, which were getting denser and denser with each passing second.
{Master!}
Toushirou paused upon hearing the voice, giving Ganryu the time and perfect opportunity to sock the boy hard in the gut, effectively knocking him out.
Ukitake and Kusaka immediately turned to Toushirou when they felt the air around them getting cold. He was in trouble.
But when they turned to see Ganryu standing in mid air, with an unconcious Toushirou under his arm, they immediately halted.
Oh no...
Ichigo noticed too when Jai, his opponent, stopped their fight and jumped up into the air. Noticing Ganryu and his prisoner, time aorund him just seemed to stop.
"Toushirou!" Ichigo tried to run after him, to get him back, before they took him. "Toushirou–!"
Something hit him in the back of his neck, and Ichigo blacked out, the last thing he saw being The Clan of Darkness retreating, taking Toushirou with them.
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Preview ~ Chapter 26: In Return – "With Toushirou captured by the enemy, Ichigo takes the brunt of the guilt wave as Senna struggles to find a way to help."
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:
azure blue espeon: Good. I really am very sorry this chapter is so late. I hope the recap helped you remember.
AMMO121: Thank you for the compliment. Probably. Thanks for that. I was on Writer's Blcok with this story for the longest time.
Izz-chan: Sorry this update isn't as soon as any of us woul have hoped, but I still hope you enjoy, nonetheless.
Ice-Dragon-Princess-10: Thank you. Hopefully, the next chapter won't come out two years from the last one.
Syl The tWins: Thank you. Here you go. :)
Purpleswans: You don't have to know the movie plot to read this story, but thank you nonetheless. I am trying hard to keep him in character, especially since he's starting to remember who he really is.
rowan1025: Will he get his memory back because of Senna? As well as his powers? Maybe. You'll have to keep reading to find out.
Bloody Lord: Thank you very much! I do try hard to update as fast as I can, but it's hard when you have Writer's Block and Motivation Block.
Meroku: I don't understand Spanish that well, but according to the translator on my computer, thank you for the compliments!
Emoemo: Here you go! And I know it has been a while. Sorry about that.
xXStormflame: Hello, my old friend! Yes, they do have an interest in Toushirou. Remember when I said that the Hogyouku still inside Shirou-chan would mean lots and lots of trouble? I demonstrating that now. Sorry you had to wait so long.
07-Ghostlover666: Yes. Chapter 2 confirms that.
PJOloverforeva74: Thank you. Don't worry. I don't intend to! No ever again!
xXAliceBlackXx: Thanks, I'm glad you are!