A/N: Thanks for the reviews!
Well, I have nothing much to say, except that this time, I really think there will be a lot of story contradictions in this chapter. Please point them out for me, if there's any. Take note of some of the terms where I marked an asterisk - I'll explain it as thoroughly as I can in the end of this chapter.
As before, I appreciate reviews and criticisms. Thanks, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach... obviously.
Kurosaki Origins
by
Levan
Chapter 2:
----------------------------------------------Bound by Blood----------------------------------------------
A cascading figure immersed into the isolated streets below.
He was tense –he held his bow with shaking hands. With as much will as possible, he straightened his grip and let himself relax. The night won't be over yet until he finds her. And it would ache him so to find her dead.
The glasses-wearing college student had more than enough problems with his responsibilities already. He never knew another problem would be added to the mess. He hated her for doing this to him, yet she was his responsibility – and in no way in hell would he abandon her.
The reiatsu in the area were fortunately crisp and clear – being around with her a lot, the man was familiar to her specific and discernable reiatsu and its distinct shape was perfect for tracking her. He has sensed a lot of Hollow reiatsu pouring in lately, but not a trail of Shinigami scum. At least he's aware that the only ones who could attack her were weak hollows, and the charm he gave her would be enough to repel them. But still, the feeling of regret remained no matter how he thought of the situation – if only he could've responded less aggravatingly to her, she wouldn't have thought of leaving his presence without his permission. Even more of his concern was based from the fact that she had not returned for hours on end. He anticipated her arrival much earlier than this.
If only she was stronger, he thought dearly, but she had to be the fortunate one to not possess the same powers he had.
He neared her location as quick as possible, using Hirenkyaku to its fullest potential. It would probably tire him out quicker than he should, but he didn't care nonetheless. A single arrow from his bow was enough to take care of a Menos Grande, thanks to the teachings of his father.
And like him, Ryuuken was destined to be a Quincy. And he loathed being one, much to his dismay.
He glided down the town blocks with as much effort as possible and went down to the direction of her reiatsu. He stopped dead in his tracks, however, when he sensed another, more immense reiatsu forming through his senses.
Captain-level Shinigami. With all the luck, he had to fight someone terribly stronger than him. Aware of the looming presence, he immediately masked his reiatsu indefinitely and proceeded down the trail of her sister's location. Whether or not the holocaust had ended 200 years ago, it was safe to say that the genocide won't be over till they've gone completely extinct.
Both auras, hers and the Shinigami's, had grown more intense the nearer he went, up until he found out that their spiritual auras were within close proximities, both of which were inside an abandoned building. Mustering up his courage and stamina, he didn't bother to climb up the stairs – he ran through the walls instead, if this would mean getting to her faster.
The scene wasn't exactly what he expected. He entered a random window of the floor they were in, and carefully leaned on a wall inside the room. Leaning back to peek, the Shinigami was there, a man wearing the standard shihakusho – a black robe and hakama. Being captain-level, the man wore a white, sleeveless haori with an armor piece attached by his left shoulder. An elaborate insignia of some sort of flower – a daffodil*, Ryuuken noted, was visible on the armor piece.
But the one thing he noticed the most was that his sister was there, conversing with the Shinigami. He was too far away, hence her speech was intelligible. He saw the bandage wrapped around her head.
He clenched his hand into a fist with the sight of seeing her sister injured. Though, he was well aware that the Shinigami posed no threat to her sister. But still, he probably doesn't know of her Quincy descent as of yet, and who knows what that Shinigami would do when he finds out.
Ryuuken readied his bow, and pinpointed at him. He fired.
-
There was no notable scream when Isshin's right shoulder was pierced by his assailant's arrow. Isshin winced at the pain, dropped to the ground, and groaned instead. Masaki gazed at his injured form in astonishment, before facing his brother.
"Ryuuken, stop!"
"I told you not to trust Shinigami, Masaki."
"But-"
"Get over here. Now."
"No!"
Her refusal made Ryuuken's eyes widen in shock. Surprised by her will, Isshin stood up, ready to face the man that shot him.
"What the hell are you doing Masaki? I told you to-"
"She said she didn't want to!"
Isshin, barely standing up, grunted from the pain as he answered. Ryuuken raised his bow again to his direction.
"You shut up, Shinigami. You have no business with us."
"Oh yes I do, you asshole. I'll tear you to pieces if you try and force her again."
He chuckled, and pushed his glasses further down his nose. Rather than thinking of his laugh as a joke, Isshin was disturbed by it. His enemy was none other than a Quincy, based from the component of the arrows – pure reiatsu. Ignoring the pain from the recent shot, he reached out to his Zanpakuto, but in his shock, his right arm was completely numb.
"Surprised, Shinigami?" He smirked before continuing. "It's simple, really. I just aimed for a special nerve in your shoulder that caused your arm to be paralyzed. Can't talk big now if you can't use a weapon, eh?"
Isshin clenched his teeth in his frustration. "I don't care about this arm. You must've forgotten... I still have the other."
Isshin grabbed his Zanpakuto with his left hand, and called out its name.
"Fulfill, Kokugengetsu*!"
In an instant, his ordinary-looking katana morphed into another. The blade grew slightly thicker, and the tip of the blade bended quickly, until the shape of the whole became similar to a crescent, almost mirroring the crescent moon in the night sky. Masaki was familiar to this, a blade that showered the blood of the hollow that attacked her. She feared this would turn into a brutal battle if she doesn't stop it first.
"Stop this! There's no need to fight!"
Ryuuken raised his bow. "Be quiet, Masaki. This is our fight. Step away from him, now."
As much as she dreaded the loss of their lives, she completely trusted her brother. She knew he wasn't some bloodthirsty combatant, and he would never take the life of another person. She thought differently, somehow, on Isshin when he said his words – he sensed a source of violence from it. She still believed in him, though, that he was just as passive as his brother. It was just a simple threat, she thought.
She refused once again. If staying in the middle of a battlefield would stop the battle, then so she would.
Isshin shoved Masaki aside uncaringly. "You should know better than to step into the middle of a battle, Masaki. Just stay back and watch. You shouldn't worry about a thing."
Masaki stared at the two men, their eyes writhing in fury against each other. Perhaps she wasn't strong enough to stop the battle, after all.
"This battle will be over before it starts, Shinigami."
In quick succession, he fired an arrow to Isshin's direction. Isshin effortlessly dodges the arrow with a shunpo and reappeared beside Ryuuken, sword ready to slice. Aware of his trick, Ryuuken raised his bow and blocked the incoming attack. With Isshin stuck, trying to drive the sword to his opponent and his limp arm dangling uselessly, Ryuuken took out a small silver tube from his left pocket while effortlessly keeping Isshin at bay.
Isshin recognized this fairly well – and it's obvious that this tube wasn't as innocent looking as it seems. Ryuuken threw the bottle in front of him. Glimmering light emanated from his hand as he chanted his words.
"A silver rod strikes the five-fingered stone bed – Quintuple Binding Frames!"
The tube evolved instantly into a cylindrical chamber – it was too late for Isshin to dodge as he was engulfed completely by the cylinder, and was trapped. With a stern look, Ryuuken faced Masaki, fear developing in her chest from the constant fighting.
"Let's go-"
An unintelligible phrase erupted from within the chamber where Isshin was trapped. When Ryuuken finally noticed the flash of lightning igniting from the cracks of the chamber, he jumped away as fast as he could. His instinct was right – the lightning that he saw was none other than Shinigami magic, Hadou. However, he couldn't elude from the lightning fast enough. The lightning had directly hit his left arm, tearing off a part of the sleeve and slightly burning the area of impact.
"You're not the only one who can do magic, Quincy."
Ryuuken's face remained stern, ignoring his brag.
"Persistent, are we? Very well then."
Ryuuken raised his bow once again to fire another shot, but surprisingly, a hand gripped against his bow, forcing him to lower it.
A messy, blond man with a striped bucket hat stepped into the fight. Silence broke over the tedious battle.
A/N:
*Daffodil - This is the insignia of the 10th Division, currently Hitsugaya's division. The main reason why I made him captain of this division is because it was highly likely he was in this division due to the time of Hitsugaya's promotion as a captain. 20 years ago Isshin lost his powers, and some point around that time, Hitsugaya was promoted captain. It's highly likely, but it's just a theory - my explanation still doesn't prove anything.
*Fulfill, Kokugengetsu - Well, Isshin's a Shinigami of course, and I had to create a Zanpakuto for him. Sadly I'm not really creative in Japanese, hence why I simply took the Japanese terms for "Cutting (Koku)" and "Crescent Moon (Gengetsu)" and merged them together. So, you may ask, why nearly similar to Ichigo's? Ichigo was of course, gifted with the potential of a true Shinigami but not originally one. With the fact that Isshin is his father, I would've thought Isshin has a somewhat similar Zanpakuto compared to Ichigo. It's release phrase is just... meh. I didn't know what to put, so I tried my best. xD