Bleach Fanstory: A Bleached Honeymoon
By Michael Xu
Initial Comments:
Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo
This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters in it, apart from OC I may create.
This is the sequel to Bleach: After the War, and follows Ichigo and Rukia as they embark on their honeymoon/mission around the world.
Summary: When Commander Unohana orders them to investigate spiritual hotstops around the world, Ichigo and Rukia decide to use the mission as an excuse for a honeymoon to celebrate their wedding. They soon discover that the mission is anything but smooth sailing. After a monster attack in Tokyo, Ichigo and Rukia follow Chad to Okinawa to visit his relatives, before helping Yoruichi and Soifon deal with a hollow threat in Beijing. They proceed on a train to Nanjing, but before they reach their destination they are attacked by hollows. Kon and Chappy get kidnapped and in the process of rescuing them Ichigo and Rukia, along with Renji and Lisa, stumble upon a grave containing the several Shinigami, including Rukia herself. With the threat in Nanjing dealt with, Ichigo and Rukia head west into the heart of Asia. As the plane crosses over Afghanistan a mysterious beam causes it to plummet to the ground. Ichigo and Rukia save it from crashing, but are left with a difficult journey across treacherous mountains and desert. The two of them spend a night in a cave, before heading north into Uzbekistan. Running low on money, they go by train, motorbike and foot in order to reach the Aral Sea region, centre of the world's greatest concentration of spiritual energy. Ichigo and Rukia are ambushed by a horde of hollows but in the middle of killing them the Royal Guards Susanoo and Tsukuyomi descend from the heavens, revealing that the place was the site of the Quincy Wars, and was now the location of the portal to the King's Realm. Soon after Unohana herself appears and apologizes for sending Ichigo and Rukia on such a difficult mission. She then orders them on a new mission: to assist Ishida and Mayuri with their investigations in Poland...
Chapter 6: Poland
Ichigo and Rukia exited the Seireimon in a daze, and almost stumbled into a tree in confusion. The sensation at having their spiritual bodies and their physical bodies dematerialize and then materialize in another location was so disorientating that both of them fell onto their backs trying to recover from it.
As he stared up at the sky above, he noticed that it was the middle of the day. Even if the ground was covered with frost, the overhead sun still shone brightly upon his face. That's weird. The passage through the Seireimon felt almost instantaneous. Even if we're in a different time zone there shouldn't be that much difference. When he recovered enough to get up, Ichigo scanned the surroundings. They were in a small clearing in the middle of a forest, surrounded by elm and oak trees. The trees were bare and half frozen, whilst the ground was covered in frost up to an inch thick. Ichigo had no doubt they were in the heart of continental Europe; he just wondered where the hell Unohana had transported them to.
"Urgh, I think I'm going to be sick," Rukia moaned as she got up from the ground.
A gust of wind blew across her face, causing her to shiver and grip her coat tightly. "Brrr, where are we?"
"Somewhere in Poland, I think," Ichigo replied. "Let's see if we can find a road somewhere so we can get directions." He and Rukia walked through a dense clump of trees, pushing aside shrubbery, until they exited the forest and found themselves beside a two-lane road. A few cars drove past, but the road barely separated what seemed like two halves of an enormous forest. Ichigo didn't want to admit it, but they were lost in the middle of nowhere, and unlike the previous time, there wasn't a definite location for them to head towards.
"What are we going to do now?" Rukia asked. "Didn't the Commander say Uyru was going to pick us up?" Ichigo shrugged his head.
"He might not have been expecting us," Ichigo said. "Anyway, there's no point hanging around here. Let's try to find the nearest village and get some directions." They walked north along the road, sticking close to the footpath. For what seemed like an eternity the road seemed to continue on, unbroken, as if they had been stuck in an endless forest. Then, just as Ichigo was about to give in to despair, he heard a car horn from behind. He and Rukia turned around and saw a black Mercedes Benz had pulled up beside them. The driver's side door opened and out stepped Ishida, dressed in a whitish-gray tuxedo with gray pants and a white t-shirt. He flashed his trademark smug grin at Ichigo as he walked up to them.
"Sorry it took me so long to get to you," he said. "When I sensed your arrival, I had to do a lot of preparation and paper work before I could come and pick you up, and by the time I arrived at the Seireimon, you had already left the vicinity. I searched around for ages before I sensed your reiatsu."
"Ah well, we got bored waiting in the forest, so Rukia and I decided to find the nearest town. I guess we should have stayed put since all we almost ended up getting lost," Ichigo laughed.
"You would have done more than got lost if you had walked any further," Ishida smiled. He handed Ichigo and Rukia a map of Poland and showed them where they were. "We're near the town of Auschwitz, the portal's about five miles to the south. The nearest town north of here is dozens of miles away."
"This clears up a lot of things," Rukia said as she looked at the map closely. "By the way, why was the portal placed here?"
"I can explain that and more after we get in the car," Ishida said. Ichigo and Rukia got into the back seats as Ishida turned the car around and drove southwards. They soon exited the forest and found themselves in the middle of a vast plain of farmland.
"So, did Commander Unohana tell you anything before she transported you here?" Ishida asked.
"Not much, except that you and Mayuri had found something and needed someone with knowledge about hollowfication," Ichigo shrugged. "By the way, what time is it now? It looks like mid-morning, but when Rukia and I went through the Seireimon it was the middle of the night."
"It's quarter to eleven right now, and today is the twenty eighth of December," Ishida replied.
"Twenty eighth of December? That can't be right!" Rukia exclaimed. She did some counting with her fingers. "We arrived in Tokyo on the nineteenth, and if I'm correct, we had been on the road for roughly eight days by the time we got to the Nexus, so shouldn't it be the twenty seventh now?" Ishida was silent for a moment, but then he burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Ichigo asked.
"This explains why I was caught off guard by your arrival," Ishida chuckled. "I was expecting you to arrive early yesterday, since Kurotsuchi had told me you were coming the day before. I waited the whole day but you didn't appear. Now that I think of it, the Seireimon you used must have taken a long time to transport you from the middle of Asia all the way here. Perhaps it has something to do with dematerializing and materializing your spirit particles."
"Are you saying a whole day passed by as we went through the portal?" Ichigo couldn't believe it. He got what Ishida was saying it, but it was mind boggling that they had somehow travelled forward in time.
"Well, when you meet the Commander again you can try asking her for details. Right now, I'll give a brief explanation of where we're going. The town of Auschwitz and its sister city Birkenau was the site of an infamous concentration camp during the Second World War."
"Ah yes, I've heard about that. The Nazis used it to gas millions of Jews," Ichigo said. Ishida nodded grimly.
"Whoa, whoa, slow down, I don't get what the two of you are saying," Rukia said. "Can you explain to me what happened?" Ishida and Ichigo sighed, before they went into a fairly long explanation of Nazi Germany, the Second World War and the Holocaust. They tried to keep it as simple as possible, but by the time they finished, Rukia was left shaking all over.
"No way...How could anyone systematically order the genocide of all of those innocent people?" she asked. Ichigo and Ishida were sombre for a moment.
"It's the same way a guy like Aizen managed to wipe a hundred thousand people from existence without remorse. Within the heart of some human beings lies the potential for the most unspeakable acts of evil," Ishida explained.
"I know all about the Holocaust Ishida, but what is the specific reason you and Mayuri want my help?" Ichigo asked.
"You'll find out once we get there. Needless to say, it's something to do with hollowfication."
The three of them stopped at Auschwitz for a lunch time meal. Afterwards, Ishida handed Ichigo and Rukia a bag full of clothes he had specially made for them, much to their astonishment. In the afternoon, they arrived at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Though long dismantled and turned into a memorial site, the front entrance of the camp, a red brick pavilion, with a central tower, cast an ominous presence. A disused railway track ran through the entrance, whilst the entire place was surrounded by barbed wire fences. Ishida parked the Mercedes at a private car park some distance away. Then he, Ichigo and Rukia walked up to the entrance of the pavilion. A dozen security guards watched the entrance, but after Ishida showed them some identification, they allowed them through.
Inside, the former camp consisted of hundreds of plain red brick sheds lined up in neat rows. Several paths crisscrossed the place, but most of the area was covered with a layer of snow. Ishida led Ichigo and Rukia to the entrance of one such shed and opened a door. The inside of the shed was like a dark, gloomy dungeon, with a plain stone floor and grey brick walls. Rukia shivered, and so did Ichigo. The entire place reeked of spirit energy, and as they walked through the shed, Ichigo thought he could hear voices. Eventually Ishida led them to a secret doorway that led to a flight of stairs. Upon descending the stairs, they found themselves in the middle of a vast laboratory. In contrast from the dilapidated shed above ground, everything was seemingly modern, with spotless walls and floors, as well an automatic doorway.
After going through several doorways and corridors, the three of them arrived at a plain office, where they were greeted by a strange person. He was wearing a worn-out red and white overcoat and a pair of glasses, but the most noticeable feature about him was his sleek blue hair.
"My, my, the two of you sure a late," he said. "Did you know how long I waited?" His voice was unmistakable, but Ichigo couldn't believe his eyes, and neither could Rukia
"Captain Kurotsuchi, is it really you?" he asked.
"Of course. I apologize if you don't recognise me," Mayuri said. "I obviously couldn't walk around in the real world looking like my normal appearance, so the only choice was to disguise myself as my original unblemished form. I really dislike being stuck in a gigai like this but given the circumstances I have no choice. Now, Captain Kurosaki, Lieutenant Kuchiki, I have something interesting to show you." Mayuri directed Ichigo and Rukia, along with Ishida, to an observation platform overlooking a large chamber. Inside the chamber were ten prisoners with their hands and arms bound with chains. Ichigo stared at them closely.
"Who are these people?" he asked Mayuri.
"They are a group of terrorists who were responsible for an attack on Poland's capital city about a week ago," Mayuri replied. He pulled out a disc and slotted it into playing device. A second later news footage of an urban area appeared on the television screen. Ichigo and Rukia stared in horror, as they saw tons of people run around screaming in fright. A building exploded, and a helpless little girl was grabbed by an invisible force and lifted high into the air. Then all of a sudden the girl's head, followed by the rest of her body, was devoured. The screen flashed to a panicked reporter saying a few lines that were too hard to make out. Then the screen panned to a couple of terrorists who shouted phrases such as "Death to Allah", "There is no God" and "Banzai, Aizen-sama!" Finally the screen cut to a scene depicting a huge pile of bodies in the middle of a park before it finally went blank. For a whole minute Ichigo and Rukia were left speechless at what they just saw.
"As you can see, these are just a few of the scenes from a sudden attack on the central business district of Warsaw that killed four hundred people and left thousands injured," Mayuri explained. "What was unusual about this attack was how the perpetrators carried it out. Apparently they showed they showed up in the middle of a crowded area and opened several large containers, releasing a strange gas that quickly spread out and infected the nearby people. Those who breathed in the gas were reported to have suffered twitching and convulsions, before suddenly disintegrating, leaving nothing behind but their clothes. Soon afterwards, the surrounding buildings were attacked by a mysterious force, which as you saw was responsible for devouring people whole. So then, what do you make of it?"
"It looks those terrorists tried to hollowfy all of those people using that gas, and those who died merged into a menos hollow that rampaged through the buildings," Ichigo said.
"That was the conclusion I came to when the Commander and I were shown this footage, which your friend Ishida Uryu captured and sent it to Seireitei," Mayuri said. Ichigo looked at Ishida, who nodded grimly.
"I was doing some other business at the time when I heard about the attack," Ishida explained. "Fortunately I was not harmed by the gas and I managed to dispose of the menos quickly. Once Soul Society looked at the footage, Captain Kurotsuchi agreed to come over here and inspect the damage. He posed as a government agent and managed to make himself the head of the investigation process."
"The perpetuators were easily captured and were brought in for questioning," Mayuri continued. "They were a strange mix of individuals. Some were Muslim Turks and Arabs. A few were local Catholics, whilst the rest came from different parts of the world. They did not appear to have a clear motive, but as you heard from the footage, all of them shouted phrases that were quite disturbing, considering their religious affiliations."
"Did one of those terrorists really shout Aizen's name?" Rukia asked. Ishida and Mayuri nodded.
"It was primarily that aspect that convinced me there was something far more sinister at work behind the attack. That is why I convinced the authorities to quickly sentence them to death. The government didn't mind me using this site for the execution facilities, as the public were already crying for these terrorists to suffer the most cruel deaths possible, plus they were well aware of the chaos that was going on in the other countries. Also, I was fortunate enough to stumble across a hidden cache of gas containers that the terrorists failed to use. Now as an experiment and as part of the execution process, I shall use the gas upon these prisoners to see what they actually do." At this moment, Mayuri called in Nemu, who had been waiting in a storage room the whole time, to prepare the procedures. He motioned for Ichigo and Rukia to stand in the platform and observe the whole process.
A voice, Nemu's, appeared on a microphone announcing that the execution was about to begin. The prisoners inside the chamber started to scream and yell obscenities. Some bashed upon the doors in an attempt to escape. It was in vain, for soon several vents along the upper walls opened, and a white, almost invisible gas was filtered into the chamber. Within seconds the prisoners started to twitch and convulse horribly. Their eyes rolled into the back of their heads and their mouth gurgled with saliva. Then in a sudden, shocking moment, their bodies burst into millions of pieces. Ichigo knew what was going to happen, for no sooner had the physical and spiritual bodies of the prisoners disintegrated the pieces coalesced together into a monstrous bone-white creature. Three heads grew out from the torso, and when the masks formed, the entire creature resembled a giant three-headed dog.
"Nemu, have you disposed of the gas?" Mayuri barked into a microphone.
"I have, Mayuri-sama," Nemu replied. "The chamber is safe to enter." Just then, the dog-like hollow went into a rage and leaped out at Ichigo and Rukia. Its front head smashed through the windows as it tried to bite at them.
"We'd better dispose of it quickly," Rukia said. She was about to get out her Gikongan when Mayuri stopped her.
"Let me handle this," he said. He ate a Gikongan of his own and a second later went into his normal Shinigami appearance. As the hollow backed down and readied for a second strike, Mayuri jumped down to the chamber floor. He then pulled out his Zanpakto.
"Scratch and tear, Ashisogi Jizo," he said. His sword transformed into a golden-coloured trident, with the handle shaped like a hideous-looking baby's head. The hollow roared and charged at him. Mayuri calmly Shunpo-ed behind the hollow and stabbed it in the legs. In an instant the hollow froze in its tracks, shook uncontrollably, and then dissolved into a pile of liquid substance.
"Nemu, go and clean this mess up!" Mayuri called out.
"Yes, Mayuri-sama," Nemu replied. She rushed out to the chamber with a vacuum device and began sucking the liquid up as Mayuri returned to the platform above.
"Now, Captain Kurosaki, what you just witnessed, did it remind you of anything?" Mayuri asked. Ichigo shivered, recalling some painful memories.
"It does. What I saw looks exactly like my experience with Urahara-san when I was training to recover my Shinigami powers. He put me inside this Shattered Shaft that was filled with some sort of gas. Being but a newly dead plus soul at the time, the gas stimulated the encroachment of my spirit chain, and caused a mask to slowly form. I came close to becoming a hollow before I regained my Shinigami powers," Ichigo explained.
" I thought something like that must have happened," Mayuri said. "Urahara told me you underwent the hollowfication process, but since I never witnessed one myself, I had no idea what do expect. This is why I brought you here to witness the execution, so that I can confirm what been a strong hunch of mine: the gas these terrorists used in the attack is the same gas that induces hollowfication. Urahara and I developed it shortly after he founded the Research and Development Institute. Whilst we never tested it in practice, Urahara theorized a dose diluted ten thousand times would be suitable enough to speed up hollowfication on souls whose chains had already been broken. It is likely he used the same dose in that shattered shaft of his. But the gas used in the attack was a pure, undiluted solution. Used upon ordinary souls and the concentration is so strong that they cease to maintain a solid form. Used upon souls with strong spiritual pressures and it might induce their inner hollows to come out."
"Wait, what was that last line again?" Ichigo asked. "When used on strong people, it causes them to hollowfy?" Mayuri nodded. "Then this is precisely what happened to Shinji and the other former captains the day they became Vizards."
"My goodness you're right Ichigo," Rukia said. "Didn't he say Aizen infected them with some sort of gas that caused them to turn into hollows?"
"He must have stolen it from you and Urahara-san," Ishida said to Mayuri.
"You are correct. Only Urahara and I knew about the existence of the gas, which, shortly after we developed it, was sealed in a tight vault. We forgot about it for a long time, until the day when we received a request from Kensei for help. Urahara ordered me to check the vault again and it was then that I discovered it had disappeared." Mayuri said. He paused for a moment, and then suddenly freaked out. "Curse that Aizen! He must have sneaked inside and stolen the gas long before we were aware of it!" He slammed his fists against a wall in a rage. "I should have known it was him as soon as I discovered it was missing. I don't really care if people live or die, but as a scientist having some upstart like him steal my work and use it for his advantage is so humiliating! If he was still alive I'd grind his bones and boil them in acid!" Ichigo and Rukia watched on nervously. They had never seen Mayuri act like this before, nor did they really understand him as they did with some of the other actors. Ishida however knew precisely what Mayuri was feeling inside; it was the same disgust he had showed when he fought the Espada Szayel Aporro. He turned to face Ichigo and Rukia.
"Let's leave him here until he cools down," Ishida said. "I want to check out something I noticed."
"Are you it's okay?" Ichigo asked.
"Don't worry, I've been give clearance to the lower levels of the laboratory." Ichigo and Rukia followed Ishida down to the room next to the main chamber, where Nemu was just finishing vacuuming.
"Nemu-san, may I ask you for a favour?" Ishida asked.
"What is it that you seek?" Nemu replied.
"Can you show me the gas containers? I want to inspect them." Nemu nodded and climbed into a storage duct. A while later she reappeared again carrying an empty gas container. Ishida scanned the surface of the container carefully, and then noticed something near the bottom that caught his attention.
"Look at this," he said to Ichigo and Rukia. "This is a list of all the chemicals that are contained inside. They look familiar...wait a minute, this is the exact same combination of gases that the Nazis used to gas to Jews!!"
"Are you serious? If the Nazis really used it upon the Jews wouldn't it have caused millions of menos to form?" Ichigo asked.
"It might be that they used a less concentrated form, since a gas like this would be extremely unstable, even in this container."
"Even so, wouldn't it imply that the Jews who were killed all turned into hollows?" Rukia asked.
"I think that would be obvious," Ichigo said. "Every single one of those victims would have felt pain and anguish when they died, and even without the gas they would have easily transformed into hollows."
"Something's wrong with that assessment though," Ishida objected. "I found no evidence of spiritual residue in any of the parts of Poland I visited, even though the deaths of so many people should have created a huge concentration of hollows." Before Ichigo, Ishida and Rukia could speculate any further, they were interrupted by Mayuri.
"What are you three doing down here?" he asked. He stared at the gas container. "I never gave you permission to touch the containers? Who brought them out from the storage duct."
"I did, Mayuri-sama," Nemu apologized. "Uyru-san requested one of the containers."
"I wanted to examine the containers closely," Ishida explained. Whilst I was looking at them I discovered something; this may not be the first time the gas has been used on living human beings. The Jews who died in the Holocaust were subjected to a similar sort of gas." Mayuri realized what Ishida was implying. Now incredibly anxious, he motioned for all of them to accompany him to the communications room. He quickly got Commander Unohana on the line.
"This is Captain Kurotsuchi," Mayuri said. "I have Captain Kurosaki, Lieutenant Kuchiki and the Quincy with me."
"I here you Captain Kurotsuchi," Unohana responded. "Tell us what you've discovered." Mayuri showed her the gas container.
"It appears our worse fears are confirmed. The gas that was used in the terrorist attacks is the same gas responsible for hollowfication. Furthermore, the Quincy speculates that it may have been used in the past on living humans."
"This demands an urgent inquiry," Unohana said. "I want you to return to Seireitei as soon as possible. As for Captain Kurosaki and Lieutenant Kuchiki, I want them to travel to meet up with the captains of 3rd, 7th, 9th and 13th divisions who are currently in America." Mayuri, Ichigo, Rukia and Nemu all nodded. Then the screen went blank.
"Well then, you all heard the Commander's orders," Mayuri. "I shall start the closure of this laboratory and take its contents with me back to Soul Society. As for the two of you, I suggest you leave this place as soon as possible."
"Of course, Captain Kurotsuchi," Ichigo nodded.
"If the two of you don't mind, I'd like you to accompany me on a journey through Western Europe," Ishida suggested. "I'm planning to do some investigation in Berlin and Paris."
"Well, seeing as we have to catch a plane from Western Europe to America it would be best if Rukia and I tagged along with you," Ichigo said.
Sorry for the delay again. The start of University and a few busy weeks of work meant I barely had time to do any writing. In addition, this chapter was difficult to write, given that it was an exposition heavy chapter. The combination of historical events, with special reference to the holocaust, and the convulted backstory of the Bleach manga and my first story meant I had to take care not to retcon anything or write anything that would offend certain people.
For people who do not know much about the holocaust, Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest of the concentration camps in Nazi Germany, mainly used as a labour and extermination camp for jews. Unlike other camps such as Treblinka, gas was never used to kill people, but the usage of gas plays a large role in this chapter, since I've linked the gas with the hollowfication process. The developments hinted at in this chapter will be expanded upon in chapter 7.