Evolution Of A Vengeful Protector - Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
(Urahara Shoten - Underground Chambers)
"And that's that. Whew! Finally. I seriously need some shuteye." Kisuke said jokingly, sweating profusely. He and his mentor and friend Tessai has been working for hours on end trying to find a way permanently destroy the Hogyoku. When that didn't work, they tried to seal the Hogyoku, which was a difficult task, considering the fact that the Hogyoku might awaken and cause even more problems. So they had to move quickly in order to seal it.
Now that it was permanently sealed, it meant one less problem for the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living.
While they were taking deep breaths in order to calm themselves, Tessai asked Kisuke, "So how is the young man, boss? I presume he is heartbroken at the loss of his powers?"
Kisuke looked at his mentor with a look that Tessai has not seen unless the situation called it.
Seriousness.
"Tessai, when I looked at him and asked him if he was okay, he just looked at me with this expression that I couldn't reach properly." Tessai shot a confused look at Urahara. Kisuke sighed. "What I mean is that he looked content with saving the world, but something was also troubling him."
"Does it have something to do with Aizen?" Both men turned around and looked at the entrance of the underground chamber. There, standing in all her beautiful glory, the Flash Goddess herself, the 22nd head of the Shihoin clan, one of the Four Great Noble Houses in the Soul Society, Shihoin Yoruichi.
Kisuke looked at his friend and lover and smiled. "She's much better compared to 30 minutes ago." Kisuke thought. When they were fighting Aizen, she was injured badly, but thanks to some Kaido from Tessai, most of her injuries were healed. She now wore her former Stealth Force uniform but there were bandages that were visible thoughout her body.
"I don't know Yoruichi. He was just staring at the seal that Aizen was trapped in with this saddened look on his face, like he was pitying the man."
Tessai and Yoruichi looked at each other. It didn't suprise them that much that Ichigo felt like this. They knew he always felt compassionate about others and respected them, even if they were enemies. Yoruichi started, "Well it doesn't supri- "
Then they were hit by this huge spiritual pressure that made them sweat. When the spiritual pressure finally resided, Yoruichi cried out, "What the fuck was that!?"
"Hollows."
All three of them looked at the entrance and saw the Gotei 13 standing at the entrance, but all three of them knew their stances: They were guarding the entrance.
"What do you mean hollows, old man? If there are hollows, shouldn't you go attack them?" Yoruichi asked, but then she noticed that some of them, especially Soi-Fon, were looking down at the ground. Whether it was from guilt or shame, she couldn't tell.
"That's exactly what I mean, Shihoin Yoruichi. Hollows.
They are here because we summoned them with hollow bait." Kisuke, Tessai and Yoruichi were shocked. It wasn't like the old man to WILLINGLY summon hollows.
"I would ask you if you are making a joke, but knowing you Yamamoto, you don't make jokes. Never have, never will." Then Kisuke looked at the old dragon with a look of rage that Tessai and Yoruichi rarely saw.
"You killed Ichigo, didn't you, Captain Commander Yamamoto?"
The amount of chills that ran through everybody's spine was unsettling, at the very least. That sentence, neither question nor statement, actually made Yamamoto and Kenpachi feel chills for the first time in centuries. Tessai and Yoruichi looked at their friend with worry and dread, because it had been 100 years since Kisuke spoke in that tone. This wasn't the 'you are in trouble' tone, no, this was the 'I am going to kill you/ Someone is going to die' tone.
Tessai asked, "What do you mean, boss?" The thing that scared the former Captain of the Kido Corps wasn't the tone that Kisuke used.
It was the smile.
Kisuke Urahara was smiling a bitter smile.
Kisuke looked at Yoruichi and said, "Don't you feel anything familiar in the air, Yoruichi? Aside from the hollows." Yoruichi looked confused but she started to sense spiritual pressure around her. And then it hit her.
Aizen.
And where Aizen is...
"ICHIIIGGGOOO!!!!!!!!!"
She screamed at the top of her lungs and rushed to the ladder, hoping to save Ichigo before it was too late, but was immediately stopped by a force that knocked her back several feet. She did a flip and landed on her feet. "A barrier? But when?" She thought. She was knocked out her thoughts by Tessai. "This barrier is a time and trap barrier. It does not matter what you do. We can't leave this barrier unless the person who casts the spell allows us to leave. Isn't that right, Captain Unohana? But my question is when did you set it up?"
Unohana hesitated to reply, "When I was here to visit Yoruichi." The werecat looked at Unohana with a look of shock and betrayal. "So that visit where you wanted to catch up. It was all lies, wasn't it?" She asked bitterly. Unohana looked at her with a saddened look. "Please forgive me Yoruichi. I had to-"
"Shut up!!!" Yoruichi screamed with tears in her eyes. "Please stop talking." Yoruichi looked bitterly at her former best friend and turned to look at her 'Little Bee'. Yoruichi looked at her right hand and saw blood.
"Soi-Fon, did you cut his throat?" When Soi-Fon did not answer, Yoruichi turned around and talked towards Kisuke. Once she reached him, he knew immediately what to do. He wrapped his arms around her body and she cried on his shoulders.
Shaolin Feng, current captain of the Second Division and commander of the Stealth Force, was heartbroken. She was a child when she met Yoruichi. She quickly learned everything she knew under Yoruichi's tutelage. She idolised Yoruichi and she also had not-so-professional feelings for Yoruichi. She was devastated when Yoruichi left Soul Society after helping Kisuke escape. Then she made a promise. She would learn everything she could and surpass Yoruichi. But when she fought Yoruichi, she underestimated the werecat. She thought since Yoruichi was exiled for 100 years she would be weaker. Soi-Fon quickly learned the hard way that her predecessor wasn't sitting around for a century, and she lost. She eventually caught up with the events that had happened when Sosuke Aizen was revealed to be a traitor, but she didn't care that much. All she ever wanted was to be with her idol, nothing more.
But now she was watching her idol, being comforted by the man she despised with all of her heart and soul, because of what she did to Kurosaki by slitting his throat. It was almost too much to bear.
Kisuke looked at the Gotei 13 with hatred in his eyes. "So I assumed this was all planned then. Me leaving Ichigo by himself to seal the Hogyoku was not just an order, was it? It was a way to get me far away as possible so that you can betray your SAVIOR, and just in case he made it out alive, you used hollow bait to bring hollows in order to finish him, isn't that right, Yamamoto?" He then looked at Rukia, who did not meet his gaze. Her eyes were red, indicating that she had been crying. "And I'm assuming you were a part of this assassination?" Kisuke asked Rukia.
"Yes."
That was all Rukia ever said. Byakuya looked at his sister and couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
"I see." Tessai said. It saddened him to see the Soul Society, the place he swore to protect, corrupted like this. Even though he never showed it, he liked the young strawberry. A tear tried to spill out of his eye, but he managed to hold it back.
The slightly mad scientist looked down at Yoruichi. She had cried herself to sleep. He knew that Yoruichi adored Ichigo, even though she would shout, tease and bully him sometimes. Kisuke knew that Yoruichi loved Ichigo, and not in a professional way. He then looked at Yamamoto and asked, "Why did you do it?"
Yamamoto replied in a gruff voice. "Kurosaki Ichigo had grown too strong, too fast. He had too much potential to be even stronger, and if not stopped, he could become power hungry and destroy the Sereitei, like Aizen attempted to do. He had to be put down." When he finished, he looked at Kisuke to see his reaction.
The scientist was looking down and said nothing.
"Leave my shop. All of you. Right now."
The old man simply nodded. "I understand. Captain Unohana, remove the barrier." Unohana nodded and removed the barrier. Then Yamamoto pulled out his sword, stabbed it in the air, and twisted it. A gate called the Senkaimon opened and one by one, all of them went through the gate, the last being Yamamoto.
Then the gate closed, leaving Kisuke, Tessai and Yoruichi in the underground chamber.
The former Kido Corps captain then turned to look at Kisuke. The bucket hat wearing man was dead silent, looking at Yoruichi with a solemn expression on his face.
"Tessai."
The man replied, "Yes, Boss?"
Kisuke then picked up Yoruichi bridal style and carried her towards a secret entrance near the ladder that was designed and built for emergencies.
"With the exception of Isshin and his daughters, no Shinigami are allowed in my shop. I do not want to see them for a very long time. Understood?"
"Yes, Boss."
(Royal Palace)
"Welcome, my son born from darkness. It is good to see you. I would reprimand you for coming to me without a defensive strategy, given your rash behavior. But looks can be deceiving. It would appear that you are anything but defenseless. Now let us see. Are you going to attack me from the left, or are you going to attack me from the right? I look forward to finding out."
"Does it matter where I attack from? All you have to do is see to the future with the Almighty and predict my movements."
"Do not worry, Ichigo, my son. I do not have the Almighty activated right now. In fact, if possible, I want to avoid conflict with you as much as possible."
"Listen here, you damn parasite. I am not your son. You are NOT my father. I already have a father and it is definitely not you."
"You mean Sosuke Aizen, your biological father or Isshin Shiba, your surrogate father? If I recall correctly, I killed them using the Almighty and Auswählen. I must admit, I did not expect that much power from the both of them. I am not ashamed to admit that they nearly defeated me. But in the end, their efforts were futile. Their deaths were very satisfying indeed."
"Listen here, you piece of shit. Don't you dare talk about my fathers. You claim to be my father, but what type of father does that to their own child? Kill the child's mother for his own selfish gains? Kill the five people who helped the child grow, in power and in maturity? Kill 3 unborn innocent babies all because you wanted to see my reaction!? My mother, fathers, teachers and children meant everything to me and you took all of them away from me!"
"Come now, do not pretend that your mother is a saint. She betrayed Isshin Shiba's trust by sleeping with Sosuke Aizen. All because of one little argument. She was not forced. She was not put into a state of hypnosis. She had sexual intercourse with Aizen willingly. Why your surrogate father married that whore of a woman is beyond me. She didn't deserve to be in the world where she would be filled with regret and guilt every time she looked at you. What I did was a mercy."
"..."
"Well, am I wrong?"
"She made a mistake. We all make mistakes. She was truly sorry for what she did. My fath-Isshin forgave her. Yuzu and Karin still forgave her after learning the truth. I forgave her. But there is one thing I will never forgive, not even in a million years."
"And what is that?"
"You."
"Interesting. Ah, I see you have your fathers' and teachers' zanpakuto. Are you going to honor them by killing me with one of them, or are you going to offend me, my father, and your fathers and teachers by your inferior strength?"
"I promise you, Yhwach. My strength is anything but inferior. I will kill you, here and now and not only will I end a millennium of animosity and rage, I will avenge my mother, my masters, my kids and my fathers!"
"Alright then, show me your power!"
"You will regret saying those words, you fucking parasite!"
"Make me regret my words then!!"
"CLEAVE DESTINY AND TEAR THE HEAVENS' ASUNDER, ZANGETSU!!"
XXXXXXXXXX
"Let her go."
"What will you do if I do not do what you tell me to do?"
"You are going to die a very painful death."
"Interesting. But I will not let her go unless you come to me. Isn't that right, Ms Inoue?"
"Ichigo!"
"I'm coming, Orihime. Be patient."
"Ichigo, I-"
Crack!
"Orihime...no."
"What a shame. I am sure that little one inside her would be very powerful. No matter."
"...you killed Orihime."
"Indeed."
"You killed Tatsuki."
"Yes."
"You have killed everyone I care about."
"Indeed I have. Now what are you going to do about that, my failure of a son?"
"Ressurreccion: Segunda Etapa."
"So much power!"
"And I swear to Kami, I will kill you with it!"
"Bring it."
XXXXXXXXXX
"This is pitiful. Look at you, weeping over your sisters like a child would do his mother. Your will to protect has made you weak."
"..."
"Your family and friends have always been your greatess weakness."
"..."
"Your inferior strength is what killed them."
"..."
"You failed them."
XXXXXXXXXX
"You...you drained all of my Reiryoku!! You turned Pernida, Mimihagi and Gerard against me!
"I did. They realized that you were just trying to use them, and so they gave me the power to beat you. Oh, and it is not 'your' power. It is Yamamoto's power. The only reason you even have power is because of the Soul King."
"IMPOSSIBLE!! I refuse to believe it!! How dare you take my power!? This is my power! MY POWER!!"
"How dare you take the lives of thousands of Shinigami? How dare you take the lives of thousands of Arrancar and Hollows? How dare you take the lives of an entire army that was loyal to you, and how dare you take the lives of my mother, my fathers, my lovers, my sisters, my friends and my teachers? What about my unborn children? How is what I did to you worse than what you did to me? Let me tell you the answer. It isn't. You took everything from me, and so I took something from you. And now, you are going to die like the piece of shit you are."
"You cannot do this to me!"
"Fuck off and go to hell."
"Wait! WAIT! Don't do this...no! STOP! PLEASE!!"
"This is for my mother."
"NOOOO!!!"
"Mugetsu.''
XXXXXXXXXX
A humanoid being opened his eyes. It was sealed within a blue crystal shaped barrier. It had slicked-back dark hair, oval eyes and very thin eyebrows. His eyes were also very unusual, each having four black irises. He did not have any arms or legs.
So, my foolish son. It would appear you got killed by my successor to the throne.
The being then narrowed his eyes.
Ichigo Kurosaki.