Hello my good readers! I am back yet again! Sorry about taking so long in updating, but I had a lot of things in my hands at the moment. ANYWAY! Last time, we left our heroes in the entrance to the forest, with Ichigo holding the little creatures known as Kikwis and having destroyed half the lake in the woods… yeah, someone's gonna be PISSED. Now, without further ado,
The two heroes walked through the woods, the little creatures known a Kikwis walking beside them. It had taken a while, but they had managed to calm them down and convince them they were not monsters. Zangetsu and Fi popping out of nowhere didn't help in that endeavor, but eventually everything calmed down. The kikwis explained that they had seen a 'yellow haired creature' that looked like Link, (something that prompted Ichigo into making jokes about that) taking shelter with the leader of the Kikwis.
"But you'll have trouble finding him. Our leader has the greatest camouflage skills in all the forest…"
5 minutes later
"You have got to be kidding me…" Ichigo muttered as both he and Link watched a massive, breathing figure with a few short leaves popping out of its tail. "Man, if that's camouflage, then my hair is purple with white streaks…"
"No kidding… even I have better camouflage than that…" Link muttered. The Kikwis, however, didn't even seem to notice the giant lump.
"Kukweee… Where could the boss be?" One of them muttered worriedly. In response, Ichigo drew Zangetsu, and began to poke the giant lump.
"Ichigo, you shouldn't do that…" Zangetsu muttered "… It could be hostile"
'Please, Old man, look at these guys. I don't think they can fight for their lives.' Ichigo thought back as the giant lump woke up.
"Kokweee… I must commend you for seeing past my camouflage, stranger…" Both Link and Ichigo sweatdropped at the words of the giant thing, but wisely decided to stay silent. "Oh! And you found my missing people. I am so glad they are alright…"
"Yeah, yeah, cut the crap…" Ichigo said as he pointed Zangetsu at the boss's face. "Have you seen a black haired small human, or a blond human about his size?" The giant Kikwi laughed a hearty laugh, odd, considering he had one of the biggest currently existing Zanpakuto pointed at his face.
"Well, aren't you worried about these humans… Well, considering you helped my people, I will help you. I have not seen a black haired human, but I did see the yellow haired one. She was headed for the temple, deep in the woods. I tried to tell her not to, but the clever thing vaulted off my belly and left." The words made happiness burst in Link's heart. Zelda was alive and well! Ichigo, on the other hand…
"DAMN IT, MIDGET, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?"
30 minutes later
After finally getting Ichigo to calm down, and receiving a slingshot from the Kikwi leader, the two heroes headed towards the temple, of which they were now standing in front of.
"Ok, let's get this over with…" Ichigo said as he walked down the stair, Link in tow. Neither of them noticed the two figures standing in the platform in front of the temple, nor when they vanished.
Inside the temple
The temple was a dark, dusty place with a decent amount of mold. It also reeked of humidity and something that mysteriously smelled like dead Bokoblin.
"Well, isn't this a happy place…" Ichigo deadpanned. "Oi, Link, do you think you could charge up one of those Sky strikes to light this place u-AHHH!" Ichigo was unable to finish his sentence when he found himself tangled in a giant cobweb. "AH GETITOFF GETITOFF!"
"Quit moving and I will!" Link yelled back as he tried to slice off the strings with the Goddess Sword, but couldn't do it out of risk that he would hit Ichigo instead. When they finally got him out, Link couldn't help himself… "So… someone's afraid of spiders." He said mockingly, while making spider figures with his hands. In return, Link pushed him into another cobweb, getting him entangled in the sticky strings. "AH! GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!"
"Who's scared now?" Ichigo mocked the young in-training knight, only to receive a slap in his head, courtesy of Zangetsu. 'You were watching NCIS again, weren't you?' Ichigo angrily projected his thoughts to Zangetsu.
'Only as much as you have, Ichigo.' The spirit retorted as he cut down the strings holding Link. "Now, if you two are quite done quarreling, how about we get moving. There's a strong spiritual pressure in this area, and it definitely matches the residue in that cloth Link has.'' When Zangetsu said this, Fi popped out of her home in the sword and regarded Zangetsu closely.
"Are you capable of sensing different energies while in this area?" She asked the spirit of the Cutting Moon, who nodded in return. Turning to her Master, Fi said: "Master, I suggest you utilize this elderly spirit's ability to track down Zelda, since my own power is unable to isolate her aura signature right now." Link nodded to his partner, but nearly had a heart attack when Ichigo started laughing out of nowhere.
"HAHAHAHAHA! S-she called you old, old man!" Ichigo managed to say between fits of laughter. Zangetsu glared at Ichigo, but slowly, a disturbing grin began to form on the normally stoic spirit's face.
"Must I remind you I'm a part of your Soul, Ichigo?" Hearing this definitely caused Ichigo to stop laughing. "Then, by definition, she called you old as well… And you have been calling yourself old, too."
"… Wise-ass… You've spent way too much time with Hichigo as of late" Ichigo muttered as he delved deeper into the ruins, Link following. "You certainly don't behave like this when Sode no Shirayuki is around… something you want to tell me?" The Spirit remained silent as he dissolved back into his bladed embodiment.
Exploration of the temple was swift, thanks to Ichigo busting apart every lock he found on the way, and a decided to let Link handle the three headed skeletal snake they found. On a more interesting note, they found something Fi had called 'The Beetle', a mechanical insect attached to a metal arm guard that could be flown by remote control. Now, after some time under the ruins, the two heroes were standing in front of a giant gate. "Should I bust it, or do we look for the key?" Ichigo asked.
"Let's look for the key. I have a feeling there's something powerful behind that door and we should save our strength. I think I saw a large chest back there…" Link said as he climbed up a vine he dropped with the slingshot. Ichigo watched as the Hero of the Skies swung like a monkey from vine to vine, while silently wondering why he didn't just climb up the broken wall.
"10 bucks says he gets smashed against a wall…" Ichigo told his inner counterparts.
"You're on, King!" Not a second later, Link was stamped against the wall above the chest, having swung a little too hard before jumping. "Oh, come on…"
5 minutes later
Ichigo and a red-nosed Link stood in front of the gate holding an odd piece. While they were sure it was the key, they didn't know how to fit it in.
"Maybe if you rotate it like this?" Ichigo suggested turning the piece around, but it still didn't work.
"Maybe like this?" Link muttered and repositioned the item. When it still didn't work, they decided to wildly spin it and rotate it to put it in, until it finally worked. "Well, that worked…"
"Yeah… don't you think that we got through this place a little too fast?" Ichigo asked him.
"Now that you mention it, it's kinda like someone is writing this and wants to get to a fight as soon as possible and write it the best he can…" Link answered. The two Heroes stared at each other for a second, their eyes wide, and…
"Must be our imaginations" They both concluded as they walked in.
The chamber they just entered wasn't particularly large or shiny, more like some sort of medium-sized shrine that had been abandoned for a long time. Both heroes felt a chill down their spines, the feeling that something big was about to happen present…
"Ah! And so they arrive!" The sudden voice caused both of them to unsheathe their weapons and face the direction it had come from. There, they saw a man with grey skin and gray skin, wearing a red cloak over a white outfit. "The Heroes of the Skies and Souls. So nice of you to have come…" the man then vanished in a cloud of diamond-shaped lights, and startled the two heroes again when he reappeared behind them, his long tongue extended. "I was hoping to get some fun before attacking that blonde girl…"
"Ok, that's just WRONG!" Ichigo yelled, swinging Zangetsu at the odd man. But just as the sword was about to decapitate its target, a streak of white intercepted its path
*CLANG*
A pure white katana was keeping the giant cleaver away from its victim, the air around it cold as a winter night.
"I will not let you hurt Ghirahim-sama!" The wielder of the blade yelled, retracting her sword and preparing for an attack. The sword came down again, what little light entered the chamber reflecting off the polished surface.
"T-that voice!" Ichigo said as he blocked the katana with his own blade, the sound of metal against metal echoing through the room. In a single swift move, he moved the katana away and removed the hood his attacker was wearing. He was greeted by the sight of a pair of big, blue eyes glaring angrily at him "R-RUKIA!" Ichigo yelled in happiness, having finally found the one his was looking for… and almost got stabbed through the gut.
"I don't know how you know my name, nor do I know who you are, but you tried to hurt Ghirahim-sama! You will pay for it!" Rukia said, driving her sword into the ground three times. The sword pierced the stone without making a single sound, and white light poured out of the spots that had been stabbed. "Tsuge no Mai: Hakuren!" A deluge of snow poured out of the beams of light, and Ichigo knew very well that if those hit him he'd be in trouble. With precise and swift movements, the Substitute dodged every single piece of snow and ice that headed his way, hearing them shatter behind him. Slowly, he realized that his normal Shikai power would not be enough for this fight.
"Come on, King! Use me! Usemeusemeuseme!" The incarnation of Ichigo's instincts loudly whined.
"Shut the hell up, asshole! BANKAI!" A massive wave of black and red Reiatsu surrounded Ichigo, its power causing Ghirahim himself to stop and stare in awe. A mistake that cost him dearly, since Link managed to deliver a powerful slash to his chest. Despite this new injury, the Demon Lord smirked and summoned a blade of pure shadow, before reengaging the young, green clad hero. The sound of two pairs of swords clashing against one another echoed through the chamber, sometimes closely followed by the sound of iron piercing through flesh. Ichigo, because of his feeling, was unable to go all out on Rukia. Even if he wanted to, he could feel Zangetsu's reluctance to unleash his true power against the white blade wielder. Link, even though he was going all out, was having a hard time against Ghirahim, who seemed to be enjoying their little fight. Only when Link managed to strike another powerful slash did the Demon Lord reel back.
"Well, you fight very well, for a human… you could cause me trouble in the future… I think I'll give you a small 'Victory gift'." The Demon lord said as he teleported behind Link. He placed his left hand on the young hero's head and muttered something in a clearly demonic language. Several evil runes appeared around the young hero, their foul energy forcing its way into his very soul. "I hope you enjoy it! RUKIA! We shall be leaving now." Rukia then parried an attack from the orange headed warrior and stood next to her master. Both of them vanished with a loud ping and a cloud of diamond shaped light.
"CH-CHOTTO MATTE!" Ichigo yelled, his anger and frustration temporarily overriding the Transaltion Kido. "Damn it all! Link! Get up! We need to… Link?" The Shinigami asked. "Oi, Link, you alright?" No answer. He eventually heard groans and grunts of pain, one set male, on female. He couldn't see well because of the mysterious fog that had formed in the room, and slowly approached the location of the sounds of pain. "Link, what's going on!?"
"HELLBOUND SLASH!" A spinning, red ring of fire was launched in Ichigo's direction, who only managed to dodge it out of pure speed. That mattered little, though, when his eyes saw the attacker. In front of him, wielding a pure black blade and an armor that seemed to made out of bones, was Link, his eyes red as freshly spilled blood. Floating at his side, was Fi, her normal blue hue turned into a devilish red, a pair of clawed, wretched arms extending under her cloak, and a disturbing, sadistic grin plastered on her face. For the first time since the Bount invaded Soul Society, Ichigo felt one thing…
… Fear…
And that's a wrap. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Now, to answer some reviewer questions!
Lord Lycaon: Oh yeah, she will…
Belladonna209: Translated, Zangetsu is Cutting Moon. As for the curse business… ^ There you have it.
Aaaand… that's pretty much it. Oh well, BladeOfThePoet, Logging out!