Title: The Devil's Plaything, Chapter 16 - The Third Seal
Series: Bleach
Rating: R
Warnings: AU, het (IchiHime, lots of other pairings eventually), blood, guts, testosterone, ANGST...yaoi-ish flavored things?!
Spoilers: This is AU. We don't need spoilers, where we're going.
Disclaimer: These characters belong to a lot of Japanese people, namely people like Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. You'll notice how none of those are me. This will probably (never) be updated weekly, until I eventually drop it like every other project ever. Not responsible for epileptic seizures or allergic reactions. May contain eye-and-brain-bleeding levels of radioactive ANGST and/or peanut products. Please sit a reasonable distance from your computer screen.
Author's Notes: No, really - go back and reread the warnings, they're a little different this chapter.
Shinji's eyes narrowed as he watched the fight inside the barrier.
The green-haired girl had been at it for nearly an hour now. This was her third shift with the new kid, and she was the last in the progression. Hiyori would go back in to tag her out in another couple minutes. But Shinji was well aware that they were running out of time and energy. They were about to be entering their thirteenth hour of this.
As Shinji watched, Mashiro performed an acrobatic back flip away from the monster's razor sharp claws. Usually graceful, the little Leavite's foot went sideways as she landed, causing her to fall flat on her rump. Shinji's hand twitched imperceptibly with the desire to step in and defend his comrade, but his higher instincts kicked in and quashed it. Mashiro would be fine. He had to trust her to do her part.
The monster loomed over her, foam-flecked teeth and claws bared, and for a moment she looked genuinely frightened. Ichigo was half-way through a transformation into something completely inhuman, a kind of demon that Shinji had only ever seen once before and hoped never to see again. The boy's fingers had grown into curved black knives, his hair had grown wild and long, and he'd grown a thick, spiked tail. His skin had been bleached white as bone, with sinister blackish-red stripes decorating it, slashing down his face, chest, and arms. And his eyes had turned completely black, the glowing yellow irises standing out against the inky ichor. Whatever Ichigo had the potential to become, this was only the halfway point. And to be perfectly honest, that scared the hell out of Shinji.
He watched the monster loom over his little comrade, stepping toward her with wickedly clawed bare feet. But as soon as he was within striking distance, Mashiro rolled backwards and shot a graceful kick right into his jaw.
"Mashiro Upper!" she yelled triumphantly, hopping back and putting more distance between herself and Ichigo. The berserk demon before her roared in response, clutching at his jaw and the wounded tongue that had been snapped between his teeth when she kicked him.
Although she appeared energetic, Shinji could tell that the long hours had taken a toll on Mashiro. That sneak attack was made on the fly; she had actually stuck that landing. Her fighting ability was rapidly deteriorating. He prepared to call her back.
"I'm back," a scratchy, high-pitched voice announced from beside Shinji's elbow. He looked down to see Hiyori, bags beginning to form under her eyes. She stepped to the barrier, sword already drawn and pointed towards the fight inside. "Lemme in, Hachi."
Shinji looked down at their portly friend. Of all of them, he had been working the longest with no break and it showed. His eyes were flooded with black, drawing upon the curse within him to help power the barrier. He had stopped sweating a couple hours ago, and had discarded his outer jacket in the process. Even though each of the group had brought him water and food in turn, he was still clearly close to exhaustion.
"Hachi, how you holdin' up?" Shinji asked quietly, not wanting to embarrass his larger friend while Hiyori was within earshot. As soon as the pigtailed girl was safely within the barrier, Hachi turned to meet his leader's concerned gaze. The exhaustion was evident on his face.
"I do not want to be the limiting factor in Ichigo-san's training," he began, causing Shinji to regard him with a look that told him to continue. "But I am very near the end of my strength." Shinji knew that Hachi truly had to be very near to total depletion to admit something like that.
"Should I call Urahara?" he asked grimly, observing his friend wince as another wave of raw power assaulted his shields.
"I wish I could say it would not be necessary," Hachi said softly, clearly out of breath, "but I do not think this young man will be able to come back to us." Shinji's eyebrows flew into his straight blond hair. For Hachi to say that...
"You're not usually a pessimist," he mumbled back, eager for and dreading Hachi's explanation. The pink-haired Fallen gave his leader a sympathetic look.
"I'm not," Hachi affirmed. "Ichigo-san entered this battle at less than his full strength. There was a seal on him." Shinji was taken aback for a moment before quickly replacing his mask of indifference.
"You mean to seal his powers away," Shinji confirmed. Hachi nodded as he winced.
"Indeed," the older gentleman said. "I recognized it from the moment he walked in. It is the work of my old friend Tsukabishi Tessai."
"Urahara's assistant?" Hachi nodded his confirmation as Shinji looked on in puzzlement.
"The very same. I doubt Ichigo-san himself even knew he had it." Shinji's eyes narrowed as he watched the two girls evade Ichigo.
"Can you undo it?"
It was a straightforward question, and a predictable one. Hachi gave his leader a sad shake of his head.
"No," he answered, looking forward at the fight unfolding before them, "Only Tsukabishi or Ichigo-san himself can unlock those bonds. He will have to overload the seal until it breaks. That's the only way he'll be able to win." Shinji continued watching the battlefield, a serious expression on his face as his friend spoke. Did they really need to leave it up to chance like that?
And then it hit him.
"Don't worry about it, Hachi," he drawled, "I think I've got a better idea."
Ichigo leaned into his sword, panting as sweat poured down his face. The white creature before him not only looked as hale and healthy as he had at the beginning of the fight, but he was grinning. He was pointing his sinister white blade at Ichigo, receiving a murderous glare in exchange for his trouble. The redhead knew he had been pushed to his limit.
"Give up yet, partner?" the white clone asked with a jovial sneer. Ichigo knew he was hopelessly outclassed against this thing, but he couldn't let it win. He couldn't let it possess his soul.
"You said it yourself," he breathed, "If you're really me, you already know the answer to that." Ichigo pushed off of his sword with his remaining strength, trying to project a ferocity he didn't actually feel. Could he really win this, though? He was facing the possibility directly in front of him that he would be devoured by this creature and die. But he wouldn't really die physically, at least not from this. He'd simply be trapped in his own mind, helplessly beating his fists against the walls as his body was stolen. And then, the Fallen would destroy them both.
He leveled his keen, black nodachi at his opponent. The white monster was unfazed; in fact, he seemed to think Ichigo's continued defiance was amusing.
"Then let me tell you a little secret," the beast hissed, looking utterly satisfied with himself, "It's impossible for you to beat me like you are now. Your heart is still chained." Ichigo was too tired and battle worn to really process what his twin was saying. And if he could understand what he was telling him, he was far too angry to care. Instead, he threw caution to the wind and charged him.
The white demon moved imperceptibly, side-stepping the black blade and pushing it aside with the palm of his hand. As Ichigo tilted forward, ready to rocket past him, a white hand wound itself into his collar and yanked - hard.
"Is that your idea of a joke?" the demon sneered, jerking Ichigo upright and breathing sinister laughter into his face. "Look, dumbass. I'm trying to give you a little hint, just to make this more even. If you're just gonna slapfight me like a little bitch, I'll eat you right here." Ichigo stared defiantly back at his twin. He may have been too tired to speak, but he still hadn't given up yet in his heart.
"Fine, then," the beast said with a smile, "I'll show you." With a strength that Ichigo was powerless to resist, the white demon reeled him in, slamming his mouth against his opponent's. Even though he was past the brink of exhaustion, Ichigo's eyes flew wide open as he tried to back away. He was too weakened to have much success, his protests being met with an equal measure of force. The white fiend pushed past any resistance, shoving his tongue roughly into Ichigo's mouth. He could tell that his twin was smiling against his lips.
Without so much as a clatter to let him know he'd dropped his sword, the other creature's hand was now free and searching Ichigo's body. He grabbed the redhead roughly and methodically, his roaming hand finding Ichigo's crotch and squeezing hard. Ichigo hissed, a hot mixture of pain and warped pleasure assaulting his senses.
"Don't worry, Ichigo," he said, giving his victim a firm pull, "This is what it'll be like when I'm in charge." Ichigo didn't know if it was meant to be a threat or an enticement, but he wasn't interested. He gathered his strength and pushed back one more time. The white demon didn't even budge.
Instead, with a mocking sneer, Ichigo's mirror image released his member and moved his hand up to the redhead's chest. As Ichigo looked on in horror, the fiend plunged his hand past the skin and bone almost like a ghost would have done.
"What-?!" Ichigo gasped for air, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. His chest felt hot and tight as the creature's hand moved within him. He seemed to be searching for something, clawing and grasping in different places as Ichigo stood by helplessly.
"Let me show you something." Ichigo felt the hand grasp something beside his heart and pull - hard. As he looked down, he could see a shimmering red band grasped tightly in the clean, white hand, the ends fading back into his chest like a phantom. He still felt as though he couldn't breathe, almost as if his heart or lungs were being squeezed instead.
"This is the seal," the white creature said with a wicked grin, "It was bound to you when you were first born and has been there for almost sixteen years." Ichigo stopped struggling and stared at his copy.
"What?" he gasped again, "Why?! Who... Who put it there?" The beast looked impassive as he squeezed the bond, causing Ichigo to gasp in pain.
"Why does it matter to you?" he asked, receiving a combustible glare in return, "If you ever get out of here, ask Urahara. But you won't get the chance. You'll never leave this place again."
The smile the white creature gave Ichigo then was absolutely chilling.
Shinji didn't turn when he heard the footsteps enter his underground lair. He didn't need to; he already knew to whom they belonged. He refused to take his eyes off Hiyori and her fight with Ichigo long enough to acknowledge them.
"My, my," came words like a sigh, "So it's come to this?" Shinji cast a glance over at his old friend. This was the most worried he'd ever seen Urahara look in at least twenty years.
"I sure hope not," Shinji replied, "You brought your friends, right?"
"See for yourself," the shopkeeper replied. Shinji allowed himself a glance; accompanying Urahara was the beefy friend who'd placed the seals on Ichigo in the first place, as well as two children carrying a rather large shoulder cannon between them. Following the group closely behind was a sleek black cat.
"We want you to try to undo the seal on Ichigo first," Shinji said seriously, "Hachi doesn't have much left in him." The pink-haired gentleman in question wheezed in response, casting sad black eyes at the group around him.
"Do not worry about me," he said softly, his voice strained. Shinji gave Urahara a pointed look. Before anyone else could speak, though, Urahara's black-haired assistant crouched beside his old friend and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll reinforce you," he rumbled, adding his strength to Hachi's slowly fading spells.
"Can you do that and undo the spell you cast on Ichigo at the same time?" Shinji asked bluntly. Urahara shielded his face with his fan while Tessai's eyebrows subtly lifted behind his square glasses.
"I don't know if that's advisable," Tessai said warily. Shinji's eye twitched.
"I don't care if it's 'advisable'!" he nearly yelled, "It's better than hitting him with your nuke!" Tessai looked to Urahara, whose eyes slowly fell as he nodded.
"He's going to need a stronger regulator," Urahara muttered as Tessai began chanting under his breath. Shinji turned his attention back to Hiyori, saving his consternation for later. There would be time enough to ring Urahara's weasely neck for this once no one was in danger.
As he watched his little friend kick the monster repeatedly in the face, Shinji barely registered the sounds of labored breathing coming from beside him. It wasn't until he heard a man scream in agony that he turned his attention to the two barrier demons sitting on the ground. Tessai was bent forward, hands clutching his head as blood poured from his nose. Hachi hid it well, but he was reeling from whatever impacted Tessai, too. If it had been anyone else, Shinji probably wouldn't have noticed, but he knew that his friend was in pain.
"What happened?" he barked. He would never admit it, but Shinji felt panic's icy fingers begin to grasp his heart. Urahara, meanwhile, had crouched down to bring his large assistant to a sitting position.
"Something repelled my attempt to break the seal," Tessai gasped, clutching his nose, "It snapped my own power back at me." Urahara and Shinji both exchanged a look; they were rapidly running out of time and they both knew it. Almost simultaneously, they began shouting orders.
"Hiyori, get out of there!"
"Jinta, Ururu, get ready to fire!"
They both watched, stern-faced, as Hiyori left the barrier. She tripped from her momentum, turning to see the creature she'd just left as she skidded back on her bottom.
"You're... You're gonna nuke 'im?!" she gasped, wiping her mouth as she wobbled to a standing position. Neither Shinji nor Urahara acknowledged her.
"You assholes!" she shrieked, grabbing Shinji by the shirt collar and making him face her. Seeing his stricken face only caused her to shake him by his lapels. "You could save him! Damn you, Shinji - fix this!" Shinji turned a stern gaze he rarely used towards Hiyori then.
"We tried," he said seriously, "We tried and we still failed. Now we have to do what's best." Hiyori stared defiantly up at him for a few more moments; Shinji was genuinely worried that she might do something stupid for a moment until her hard mask crumbled. Tears formed at the edges of her eyes and she ducked her head before anyone else could see. She was quietly crying through gritted teeth.
"Jinta," Urahara said quietly to his assistant. His voice was so low that only the two children beside him could hear. The black-haired girl was crouched on the ground, the large cannon hoisted over her shoulder and aimed at the monster now clawing angrily at Hachi's barrier. The redheaded boy that had just been addressed was positioned at the back of the bazooka, hands on a glowing green canister that was already half-loaded into the giant gun. Urahara nodded at him, a signal that the boy seemed to immediately understand. He slammed the cartridge into the cannon, shut the compartment on the back, and pulled the large trigger with both hands.
Urahara pulled his green-and-white striped hat down further over his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Kurosaki-san."
Ichigo was on his knees, gasping for air. He looked up at his white counterpart, his hatred plain across his sweaty face. The stronger of the two still held the red bond in his white hand. Far from looking concerned, his face held a look of mild interest.
"Did you feel that, Ichigo?" he asked with malicious glee, "Someone is trying to break this bond." The creature laughed, causing Ichigo to wince as he squeezed the bond attached to him again. He pulled it taut again, just to demonstrate his hold over the kneeling teenager.
"I won't let them," he sneered, "You'll stay locked in this place forever."
As soon as he'd spoken, though, the white creature looked as though something had startled it. Ichigo looked up, too, this time out of curiosity. What had distracted it? Then Ichigo realized that it wasn't anything tangible that had attracted its attention: it was sound and heat.
The sound started out like that of a loud faucet running water and progressed steadily until it was as deafening as the roar of a jet engine. The heat, too, quickly ramped up until Ichigo thought they might be broiled alive. And indeed, the white creature seemed to be suffering far worse than he. Ichigo could tell it was screaming only because he could see its face; the sound was completely swallowed by the roar that had engulfed everything. While this was painful for Ichigo, his counterpart was writhing in excruciating pain.
In its agony, it clutched Ichigo's seal tighter in its fist. Ichigo watched the grip change, forgetting the pain in his chest. The hand that held the red band went from a normal human hand, extending and growing claws until it was tipped in blackish-red and had blazing red fur sprouting from its wrists. Ichigo looked to see the rest of the creature now.
Its hands had turned to claws and it's white hair had grown until it reached past its waist. It was still screaming in agony, but its face had become nothing more than a black, horned skull. Those wicked horns twisted away from its face and towards the sky as it roared; if Ichigo had possessed the strength, he would've stepped back. Instead, he was tethered to this berserk beast by the chain in its hand.
Finally, just when Ichigo thought the pain might surely kill him, it abruptly stopped. He looked down to see the monster's hand completely closed. All around it fell the shards of the bond it had just broken. As the red splinters fell, Ichigo felt the world fall away around him. The monster had vanished, leaving him in cool darkness and tumbling backwards into a blissful void.
A hushed silence fell across the room as the heat and light began to subside from Hachi's barrier.
It had been as gruesome as the last time. The monster had mutated further, growing horns and dropping its tail like a lizard, then moving on to sprout white, leathery, bone-like wings from its back. Finally it had screamed its last - an excruciating, bloodcurdling sound that none present ever wished to hear again. Then, it disintegrated into the blinding, white-hot light.
Hachi's barrier had shielded them from the heat, but the light could not be avoided. And as the portly fellow finally collapsed from the strain, his old comrade took over the burden of protecting everyone from the fallout. Because the training ground was enclosed, the air would no longer be safe to breathe until it could be properly circulated out; everyone present had been fitted with filtered masks after the shot had gone off. They wouldn't be taking them off any time soon.
"I'll have to tell his father," Urahara said more to himself than anyone, his voice garbled by the mask.
"We'll move to our other safe house," Shinji muttered as a sort of reply. "What will you do about his creator?" Urahara's eyebrows went up underneath his hat.
"What do you mean?" Shinji shot him a pointed look.
"Don't play dumb, Kisuke," the Fallen replied, "She wasn't the same one that we were made from. She's a new one." Urahara pulled his hat back over his eyes.
"Those obligations are different from this," he said slowly, almost entirely muffled beneath his mask. "Kurosaki-san's father and I have some very difficult choices to make. I was not counting on him failing." Shinji wanted to beat the other blond to within an inch of his life, but he shelved the urge. Then, something moved in the corner of his vision. It was the little pigtailed girl, Ururu, tugging Urahara's sleeve.
"Kisuke, look," she said softly, pointing to the barrier. Shinji followed Urahara's eyes to the barrier, where the steam and dust were starting to clear. There was someone standing inside.
As he came more into focus, it was obviously a humanoid figure. The group collectively watched in mingled fascination and horror as the figure took a step forward, then another. Its tattered coat reached the floor, it held a sword as long as it was tall, and there were two small protrusions atop its head - horns. As his face came into focus, the group saw three red stripes on each cheek and slitted, glowing red, cat-like eyes staring back at them.
"What the fu-" Shinji mumbled, too stunned to say much else. Urahara's face lit up like a kid's in a candy store as he realized what had happened.
Ichigo shot the group a lopsided smile. Then he stumbled forward, lost his footing, and fell flat on his back. As he looked hazily up at the ceiling of the training area, Urahara's masked face came into view.
"Welcome back, Kurosaki-san," he said with barely disguised joy in his voice, "I suppose you have a few questions for me."
Ishida Uryuu sighed as he studied his notebook. It wasn't the pre-calculus assignment he was supposed to be taking notes on in this class, but it was far more important.
This notebook held all the notes on the trail he was following thus far.
He had struck out on this mission a few months back, shortly before all the weirdness with Kurosaki and his friends had started. He liked to think of it as a mission, anyway; he was a Quincy, after all, and thwarting demons was what he was destined to do.
He had noticed the missing girls when no one else had. Of course, the demon government owned the mainstream news outlets, so four missing human girls from Karakura went hardly remarked upon. But Uryuu had been able to tell there was something fishy about the whole thing. He could sense demons, after all, and when he followed the first four girls' trails, there were definite signs of faint demonic activity left behind. Some demon was collecting human girls, and he needed to find out why.
At first, he was certain Kurosaki was the culprit. But as time had gone on, Uryuu began to notice that the timelines weren't matching up. He would trail Kurosaki to one place while another human girl would go missing in another. It quickly became clear that Kurosaki wasn't his culprit. Of course, that didn't change the fact that he needed to defend Inoue-san from whatever depraved intentions that demon might have had, but that could wait a little longer. The abductions were more pressing at the moment.
Uryuu looked at the small map he'd drawn in his notebook and worried his pencil between his teeth. After those first four, eight more had gone missing. He had the spots they had disappeared from marked on his rough map. There was no discernible pattern at all; just a random spattering of disappearances in the south side of town. Perhaps the culprit worked from a central location there; there was a four square block radius right in the middle that he could check. It was a largely human residential area, so finding a demon stronghold shouldn't have posed much of a problem to him. He outlined the area with highlighter. He could search there tonight, and if it didn't pan out, search a different grid the next night. It seemed like a solid plan.
The after school hours found Uryuu casually pacing the dilapidated sidewalks of the lower-class human neighborhood he'd targeted. This area was unfamiliar to him; his family was well-off enough that he rarely experienced the hardships that most other humans did. Instead of hardening his heart to them, however, when he saw the kind of ramshackle lives most of his classmates led, it filled him with anger. They must have just assumed he was antisocial, but it was almost the opposite; he probably cared too much.
Uryuu slid one hand into the pocket of his uniform slacks, hanging his school briefcase over his shoulder with the other. He took another look at his surroundings, opening all his senses to see if he could detect even the faintest demon aura. There was nothing at all. In fact, it was almost eerily still - the kind of stillness that makes a person question their own senses. Uryuu noted it as odd, but without being able to pick anything up on his own, there was nothing he could do about it. He prepared to move on.
"Ishida-san."
Uryuu's eyebrows shot up as he turned around. He didn't show it, but Nemu's presence had startled him a great deal. He liked to consider himself well-trained, but Nemu was always so quiet that she could easily catch him off-guard.
"A-Ah, Nemu-san," he returned, meeting her curious green eyes, "I didn't hear you there." Nemu blinked impassively.
"No," she replied simply, "I do not make much noise." Even as she stepped closer to him, Uryuu had to strain to hear her footfalls.
"You do not usually come this way," she observed once she was even with his shoulder. Uryuu was once again knocked off balance by her simple comment. Did she know which way he took home?
"No, I don't," he confirmed, moving to walk with her, "I had an errand to run." She cast him a quick glance without pausing in her slow, deliberate walk. He couldn't tell if she believed him or not.
"Do you live over here?" At this, she turned her face to him and gave a cool smile.
"My house is near here," she replied. Uryuu smiled back. He knew Nemu rarely showed emotion around others. If he was honest with himself, he was just a little proud that she had shown him alone a smile just then.
"I'll walk you home," he said firmly, "It's been dangerous out lately." Nemu hummed her assent and they were on their way. It was ground he had already covered, so it wasn't entirely unfamiliar. To be perfectly honest, though, Uryuu was a little uncomfortable knowing Nemu lived in this area. Was she really alright walking alone through here everyday?
In no time, the black-haired girl came to a stop before an unremarkable two-story house. Uryuu looked up at it; he'd passed it during his earlier trek through the neighborhood, finding it a bit run down but otherwise ordinary. He turned to Nemu, who was looking at him with something bordering expectation.
"Well, if this is your house, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Uryuu said pleasantly. Nemu blinked as though she did not understand.
"Come inside," she replied. Uryuu barely registered that it wasn't a request. Instead, he shook his head.
"That wouldn't be appropriate," he countered. When he looked at Nemu again, though, he saw that his words had fallen on deaf ears.
"My father is inside," she informed him, "You can meet him." Uryuu was a bit surprised at her insistence, but said nothing. Instead, he allowed her to take his hand and draw him up the stairs and into the darkened house.
Author's Note: Long time, no see! At Sariniste's suggestion, I did another chapter of this fic. I'm pretty happy with it, and excited about the direction the fic is going in now, so hopefully we'll be able to see this through to the end.
Now that you're done reading, why don't you go to my profile and click on the links to the We Love Fine t-shirt contest! I entered an IchiHime piece - Flower Fall - and hope we can get a t-shirt made of it! Thanks for reading and sticking with me all these years!
