Hello again my good readers! So sorry for the delay. Here we have the next chapter of Holy Blade and Cutting Chain!
Soul Society, 10th division barracks
Karin was pissed. No, that's not right. She was beyond pissed. Because of the Head Captain's orders, the Kurosakis were forced to stay in Seiretei until he said otherwise. Which meant they were practically prisoners. It didn't help that the tiny captain of the second division kept shooting dirty looks at them, as if expecting them to do something illegal. At least she got to stay in Toushiro's division…
'Damn that dragon…' Karin heard a voice inside her head. 'I finally manage to materialize in weapon form and he up and vanishes! Why, I oughta…'
'Oh, be quiet already.' She droned at her Zanpakuto. 'It's not like they had a choice.'
'I know, I know! But that doesn't take away the fact that both our brothers and now our crushes were sent to some other world!' Karin, while blushing, perked up at that.
'Your brother? You mean Ichi-nii's Zanpakuto?' She felt her spirit nod.
'That's right. Zangetsu onii-chan. Although… his weapon form did feel odd all the time. It felt like something or someone was altering his form and keeping it from reaching his full power."
'Huh? Like what?'
'How should I know?' The spirit answered. "All I know is that his weapon form looked weird. Not like Hyorinmaru's sleek form…" Hangetsu sighed dreamily.
'Are you sure you're a part of me?' Karin sweatdropped as she asked that. No way she'd sigh like that over Toushiro.
'Keep telling yourself that. I know you better than you know yourself. I live in your soul, for Pete's sake!' The Reflecting Moon Fang snapped at her owner. 'Admit it, you lllllllike him!'
'Don't roll your tongue like that!' Karin winced when she noticed they had just reenacted a running gag from her favorite anime. That's when she sensed someone was watching them…
'Ah, yeah, there's someone from that woman's division spying on us.' Hangetsu revealed. 'Zan-nii told me that the last time he and Ichi-nii were here they pretty much sent the whole place into chaos. We're talking major fights and incapacitated officers of Soul Society. I guess she's expecting us to screw something up.' The thought of doing just that flashed through Karin's mind.
'Was… was that thought yours or mine?' She asked tentatively.
'Uh… both.'
Meanwhile, in the Province of Eldin
It had taken around half an hour to get the Ichigos awake (and get Hichigo back in). The Hollow and Zanpakuto spirit bid their adieu to the goddess incarnate right before going back into their owner's soul, leaving Ichigo and Zelda alone. The carrot top turned to the girl.
"So, what now?" The girl pointed at the large volcano towering over them.
"I need to get to the temple up there." She was going to keep talking, but hesitated. "But… There are a lot of monsters on the way. I can sense them even now, their evil souls flooding this place." She turned to the soul reaper. "C-could you… Could you please help me reach the temple? I… I'm not sure I can get there alone." She was worried that he'd decline, and was surprised when she felt his hand patting her head.
"Alright." He said. "I'll be your escort up the giant, fire-spitting active volcano that looks like it's just about to blow." His face betrayed his emotions, showing the slight fear about going up a volcano of all things. The rivers and geysers of lava surrounding them didn't help. At all. Inside his mind, the two spirits looked through his eyes nervously.
'H-He can't be serious, can he?' Hichigo muttered nervously. He was insane, sure… just not that much.
'I think he is…' Zangetsu answered. The Hollow started freaking out.
'NONONONO! KING, DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! I CAN'T DIE YET! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE! I HAVEN'T SEEN MY SISTERS TAKE PHYSICAL FORM! I HAVEN'T OVERTHROWN THE OLD FUCKER! I CAN'T DIE WHILE BEING THE… huh?' The Spirit stopped talking, looking as if he'd remembered something. "My… Sisters…?' The old man looked at the hollow, nervous. He was remembering his sisters, which meant it was only a matter of time before he fully realized what he was.
Let's get back to Ichigo and Zelda.
The carrot-top and the goddess incarnate began their trek up the mountain, with Ichigo hacking and slashing through every monster that tried to get in their way. Having a blade with massive power for destruction helped when exploring. The girl, not having anything better to do, turned to the Soul Reaper.
"So… this friend of yours, what happened to them?" Ichigo knew who she was talking about. There really wasn't anyone else, after all. The carrot sighed.
"She got hit by a concrete – uh… rock – slab when we came here, and it caused her to forget everything. That bastard Ghira-something-or-the-other must have manipulated her into believing she served him…" He paused for a second to dispatch a group of bokoblins, "… He turned her against me and Link. I wanted to kill the guy then and there, but I couldn't shake her off. Not without risking getting her injured." His hand unconsciously reached for his chest. "Granted it wouldn't be the first time either of us would get injured. She's stabbed me in the past, right through the chest… after I kicked her on the head." Zelda nearly tripped when he said that.
"Y-You what!?" She yelled, flabbergasted. The carrot top chuckled.
"Yeah, it was a weird day for me. I was resting in my bed when she suddenly walked through a wall and into my room. She thought I wouldn't be able to see her, since she was a Soul Reaper outside her fake body. It was quite a shock for her when I got up and kicked her right in the head." He laughed at the memory. "She stabbed me through the heart to give me her Soul Reaper powers to stop a hollow from attacking my family… and just about everything went to hell after that…" He shivered at the memory of the Gates of Hell. Not something easy to forget, truth be told. "Long story short, it included kidnapping, me fighting Captain Soul Reapers, and then blocking a giant fire bird to save her life. Like I said, everything went to hell."
"W-Wow…" Zelda was torn. One part was horrified at the story of how they met, one kicking the other and the other stabbing the one. Then there was the other part that was resisting the urge to squeal at how romantic it was, the fact that he had fought such powerful foes just to save her. "And tell me… Would you do it again?"
"For Rukia?" The question was aimed more at himself than at the Goddess. He smiled softly as he remembered all his good times with Rukia. "… Definitely. I'd go to hell for her if I had to." (A/N Sadly for him, he will (The Hellverse Chapter – Film)) Zelda smiled at him. She was glad there was still light in the boy, even if she sensed such a dark past in his life. "Come on, now. I'd rather get you to the Temple before that Ghira-bastard shows up." The girl nodded and followed him.
Skyloft, main square
"Oh, man, WHERE IS THAT GIRL!?" Link screeched, having spent hours looking for Kukiel. He knew he had to go find Zelda, but the poor little girl was lost! "I should've brought Ichigo along.. I'm sure that guy would be able to find her in a second using that weird speed power of his… What did he call it again?" Fi popped out of her home in the Goddess Sword.
"I believe he had called it Shunpo, meaning Flash Step in his language." The blue spirit said.
"Oh, right, thanks." He looked around the square… "I don't suppose you can help me find Kukiel, eh?" The spirit, much to his surprise, nodded.
"After the events in the Temple, I have found my dowsing ability has increased in power. I can now help you detect the Souls of people you have met before." Link looked confused.
"Huh? How did you even gain that ability?"
"I believe it to be from exposure to the aura of that Ichigo man. His 'Spiritual pressure' seems to have affected the way my power works and has allowed to me sense Souls instead of just auras like before. His power is… odd. It is similar to the Goddess's, yet incredibly different. It is the same with his white haired companion, his bronze haired companion, and the vertically challenged woman accompanying Ghirahim." Link had to resist laughing at the 'vertically challenged' comment. The girl was tiny.
"Nice! Ok, let's find Kukiel, and then go straight to find Zelda!"
"Master, while I understand your worry for the girl, finding Zelda should be your main priority. We have no way of knowing how fast she moves across land or air, if she's using her Loftwing. If you linger in one place for too long, she might be gone by the time you reach Eldin Volcano"
"Ah, you worry too much, Fi." Link reassured her. "I know Zelda. There is no way she'll be gone before we reach the volcano!" Fi then felt something she didn't think she had the ability to feel: Annoyance.
'Master, you are a fool sometimes…' The blue woman thought (A/N If you agree say AYE!). The floating Island's day was coming to an end, which could only mean that the monsters that inhabited the land would soon awaken. "Master, you might wish to hurry. Night can be dangerous, even in Skyloft." The young hero nodded, drawing his sword to use the dowsing ability. To his surprise, all color in his line of sight was inverted. He could see a flaming aura surrounding not just every human, but every living being. The Loftwings, the little devil-spawned cats, and… a small, human-shaped signature in the lowest area of Skyloft.
"I… I think I found her! She below Skyloft, let's go!" Fi nodded at her master, before returning to her home inside the sword, a small cottage in the woods…
… which shook with such force the blue spirit fell down. She proceeded to curl up in a ball, a massive headache threatening to split her head open. She saw her arms turning red and disfigured, her fingers arching into claws that could tear flesh from bone with no effort. It lasted for a minute or so, before everything went back to normal. Sort of. She could feel something, deep within her. Darkness so foul it threatened to corrupt her very essence. She brought her hands together, praying.
'Oh goddess… What's… What's happening to me?' She knew her maker wouldn't answer, but for now she had to focus on dealing with emotions she had never felt before: Anguish, despair, panic, frustration… It was almost too much for the blue spirit. An evil voice cackled through the walls of her little home…
"Hehehe… Tick. Tock. Goes the clock. A chill goes up your spine~" The voice sang, in the tune of an old nursery rhyme taught to Skyloftian children (A/N Rain, rain, go away… ). "Tick. Tock. Goes the clock…" An eerie silence ensued, and for a split second, the image of a never ending field of corpses, with a red Fi and Link wearing bone armor standing over them, appeared in front of the blue spirt. "… Your soul will be MINE!"
Eldin Volcano, with Zelda and Ichigo
It took them a few hours to get up to the summit, since Zelda had vehemently refused travelling through Shunpo. Ichigo had made short work of the bokoblins there with a well-placed Getsuga Tenshou. And now the dynamic duo stood in front of a massive gate, locked tight in place.
"Looks like the bokoblins took the key… and broke it, by the looks of it." Zelda picked up one of the shards of the key, and turned her gaze to the fiery expanse behind her. She didn't notice Ichigo raising his sword over his head. "It'll take us an eternity to find the key shards. The Bokoblins will have spread them out as far and wide as they could…" She didn't notice Ichigo pulling a mask over his face. "… We should start looking right…"
"GETSUGA TENSHOU!" The Shinigami's Hollowfied voice interrupted her, followed by the distinct sound of something blowing up. Ichigo removed his mask and huffed proudly. "There we go. Who needs keys, anyways?" Zelda stared at the door – or what was left of it – her visage unperturbed.
"I… I see… S-Simple but effective, right?" She asked nervously. She was really glad this man was on her side. "Y-You're very strong, Ichigo." The Shinigami shrugged.
"I guess." He motioned at her to follow him. "Come on, let's get you to the spring inside this place…" he took a step forward, and his senses alerted him of another presence, hiding in the shadows. He motioned at Zelda to keep moving, before turning around, sword at the ready. "All right, come on out. I know you're there so no point in hiding!"
"Interesting…" A dark-skinned woman (that reminded Ichigo of Yoruichi) stepped out of from behind a rock, her light hair contrasting her features. She had a red tattoo that resembled the symbol on the old woman's hood, and a teardrop tattoo under her left eye. "No one can sense me when I'm hiding, and yet you could. Most interesting." The two warriors (since Ichigo could tell from just looking at her that she was a warrior) stared at each other for a few seconds. Curiously, the woman looked at Ichigo's hair, before speaking. "What is your name, boy?" The teen scowled, knowing full well she was staring at his hair.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, Shinigami Daikou." He deliberately allowed himself to speak in his native tongue, if only to give himself more time to analyze this potential opponent. The woman smirked at him.
"Nīsu ni tsutomete orimasuga, saishūtekini wa yakunitatanai." She answered him in perfect Japanese, much to the substitute's shock. "Megami wa watashi ga subete no gengo o rikai suru koto ga dekiru yō ni megumarete imasu."
"N-NANI!?" Hearing someone other than the ones who came with him speaking japanese surprised the Shinigami. This made things a bit more difficult. He readied his sword, just in case. "What do you want?" The woman pointed at Zelda.
"I am here for my Mistress. It is my..." She was unable to finish her sentence, as Ichigo's shunpo powered fist crashed against her face.
"Wrong answer, lady!" He ran towards the destroyed gate, grabbing Zelda by the waist as he ran past her, and entered the Earth Temple, hoping to leave the woman behind.
"Um… I-Ichigo?" Zelda's voice drew his attention.
"Yeah?"
"That woman is, well… my caretaker." Ichigo nearly fell on his face, coming to a full stop instantly.
"SHE'S YOUR WHAT!?" On any other occasion, Zelda would've found his reaction hilarious. However, he had just pummeled her bodyguard to the ground. "That's the kind of info you should mention before, you know, someone gets socked in the face!"
"I must agree with him, your Grace…" The woman said as she wobbled towards the two, holding her bleeding nose, a sickening crunch showing she had set the bone back in place. "he has… quite the punch." The shinigami chuckled nervously.
"Sorry…" He apologized, putting Zelda down. "When you said you were here for her, I assumed you were with ghira-something."
"Ghirahim." Zelda and the woman both said simultaneously. Ichigo waved his hand dismissively.
"Ah, tomato, tomahto." He turned back into the temple. "Come on, there are more doors to blow and more idiots to slash apart." The white haired woman stared at him.
"Won't you ask for my name?" She asked him. The Shinigami shrugged.
"Go ahead, I'm gonna have a hard time remembering it though." The woman chuckled, and she and the Goddess walked with the Reaper.
"My name is Impa." She said simply.
"Impa, huh? I could swear I've heard that name somewhere before." He took a step into the temple, when Zelda grabbed him by the shoulder (with great effort given their size difference), stopping him. "Huh? Is something the matter?" The Goddess incarnate nodded.
"I think you should head back and wait for Link." The girl revealed. "He'll need your help to overcome all that he'll have to face. Don't worry about me, Impa will protect me." Ichigo looked at the tanned woman, suspicious. "Please Ichigo. She will protect me and I need someone to look after Link. He's a great swordsman, but he needs someone to help him." Ichigo sighed.
"Oh, alright." He grumbled. "I'll go wait for your lost puppy… on one condition." Impa raised an eyebrow, wondering what the carrot top would ask for.
"Say it, then." Zelda answered him, full of confidence.
"I want you to leave a message for Link for when we get here, something to show him you're alive and well." Ichigo's voice left no room for argument. "The guy will lose it if he arrives at the spring and finds you gone again, with nothing telling him that you're alright." Zelda was surprised by his request, but agreed. "Very well. Ja ne!" He shunpo'd away, slamming a few bokoblins away. Impa stared after him.
"Are you ok, Impa?" Zelda asked her bodyguard, who seemed in a state of thought. The woman hummed for a moment.
"… A sword like his would be useful… maybe I should get one…" Zelda sweatdropped at her guardian's musings.
"Come on, Impa…" She pushed the woman into the temple. "Next thing you'll say is you'd use it to fight hordes of bokoblins."
The next day, morning
Ichigo was asleep on a rock outcrop, high above all monsters and the lava. God knows what Zelda had done overnight, but whatever it was had caused the volcano to become far more active and the ravines were now full of lava. On the bright side, it kept Ichigo toasty warm during the regularly cold night.
Being asleep, Ichigo didn't notice Link landing in the area.
"Well, here we are. Eldin Volcano." Link said to Fi, looking around. "It's… hot. Very hot."
"Indeed." Fi popped out of her home. Link noticed that, unlike other times, she kept her arms tucked in at all times. "I calculate the chance of this eruption being unnatural is of 95%" Link's expression turned somber.
"Ghirahim?" The spirit nodded in return. "Then all the more reason to hurry up." The Hero took a step forward…
"WAKE THE FUCK UP!" A heavily distorted voice echoed through the entire, fire filled valley, startling both spirit and hero. Fi's startled reaction allowed the hero to see what she was trying so desperately to cover: Her hands were red and clawed.
"What in the name of…? Fi, what's wrong with your hands!" The hero grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands up into view. "What is this…?"
"Hm. It seems they have found out." The two turned to see Ichigo and Zangetsu walking towards them. "I had hoped it would have been longer before we had to explain this to you two, but it seems that fate has forced out hand."
"What are you talking about? W-what's wrong with Fi!?" The worry in his voice warmed the blue spirit's heart. The red faded away slightly. Ichigo sighed and scratched his head.
"Ok, how do I put this… Remember our last fight with Ghirahim?" Link and Fi nodded, although the last few bits of the fight were a bit of a blur. "Well, he decided you were too much trouble aaaand… cursed both of you."
"Curse?" Fi searched her entire knowledge base, trying to find a curse that would have an effect like the one she had. "What kind of… curse?"
"Well… uh…" He pushed the old man forward. "Your turn."
The man sighed at his owner, and continued the explanation.
"You two were infected with some sort of darkness. It took over you after the fight with Ghirahim. Ichigo and I have talked about it, and figure it is similar to an Inner Hollow, like him" He pointed at Hichigo, poking out of the blade. "We had hoped it wouldn't manifest itself again, but it is obvious that it will. Therefore, we face a grave dilemma. The only way to help you is to fight your dark sides, and subjugate them. Doing so will allow you to access their powers and become formidable foes." Link looked at Fi, worried.
"A-and if we don't? If we don't subjugate them?" He asked worried. Ichigo looked away, seemingly worried, like he didn't want to say what would happen. Zangetsu seemed to have no qualms, however.
"If you don't subjugate them, or you fail at doing so, they will completely take over your body and soul." The man's scowl deepened. "And if that happens… We will kill you."
AAAAAAAAND CUT! Once more I apologize for the large delay, and hope that next chapter won't take so damn long to write. This one was adamant against it! Next chappy will feature Link and Ichigo traversing the large expanse of fiery death, as well as begin training the Hero of the Skies and his spirit guide to dominate their inner demons. Literally. This is BladeOfThePoet, logging out!