Chapter 7
*Zera's P.O.V*
Today was just any regular for me an the others. Right now, Ichigo and his friends and sisters were at school, so I was just hanging out at Ichigo's place. With them going to school and all, I've been able to go back to Hueco Mundo to get my full. I've also spent a lot of time in Ichigo's room. He won't mind me looking through his stuff, right? Anyway, before I knew it, Ichigo, Rukia, and his sisters came home.
"Welcome home guys!" I exclaimed as I stood on the stairs. But, my smile became smaller when I noticed it was only Ichigo, Karin, and Yuzu.
"Hey, where's Rukia?" I asked.
"Don't know. She said she wanted to take a walk by herself." Ichigo said.
"I still can't believe you let her go alone, Ichigo." Yuzu said.
"Come on, Yuzu. It's not like she's defenseless. She's a Soul Reaper, she'll be fine." Karin said.
After that, I decided to go back up stairs, ignoring Isshin start another argument with Ichigo. Karin was right, Rukia is a Soul Reaper after all. She would be fine. But lately, Rukia seemed to be becoming distracted and worried about something. Come to think of it, Ashido told me that it's a Soul Reaper's duty to always report and complete a mission. And Rukia's mission included disposing of Hollows like me, not to mention I'm positive she hasn't reported to the Soul Society once since we've met her.
After all that thinking, I finally decided climb out of Ichigo's window and follow Rukia's spirit energy. I had to run around for quite sometime, but I eventually caught up to her. She had a backpack and was wearing one of Yuzu's dresses. Running away from home, huh? But, why? I quietly followed her as she walked down a small street while staying hidden until something made her stop, more like someone.
"So, we finally found you." someone called out.
Rukia and I heard that voice and looked in the direction that it came from. There were two people on top of some light posts, one with red hair tied up and another with a long scarf and black hair. They both wore Soul Reaper uniforms, so my suspicions were proven.
"Renji! Byakuya!" Rukia exclaimed. She knows them? Maybe they're in the same squad or something. The two Soul Reapers jumped down and the one with black hair approached Rukia first.
"Rukia, you haven't given any report to the Soul Society for weeks." the one called Byakuya said.
"Please Brother, I have an excuse if you'll just hear me out." Rukia said.
I did my best to not to fall over and make noise. Brother!? Rukia had a brother!? Wait a minute, Rukia's last name was Kuchiki wasn't it? I think Ashido said that the Kuchikis were a noble family. Oh boy, he's gonna be trouble.
"Whatever your excuse is, you can say when you get back to the Soul Society while we deal with the humans that have powers." Byakuya said. He must mean Ichigo and the others.
"What?! No brother! Please, they're just regular humans! Really!" Rukia said.
"Enough." Byakuya said. That caused Rukia to stop talking and practically shrink in front of him. Jeez, I know he's intimidating Rukia, but come on. Show some backbone.
"The stealth force has already observed you here, and they verified that you gave your powers to some humans." Byakuya said.
"What?!" Rukia exclaimed.
That's not true. I know I'm not too familiar with the Soul Reapers and their squads, but they couldn't have made that big of a mistake, not even rookies. Either the they're stupider than I thought, or something must be up in the Soul Society, I know it.
"Renji, take Rukia back to the Soul Society. I'll deal with the humans." Byakuya said.
"Yes sir." Renji said. Sir? This Byakuya guy must either be a captain or seated officer. Anyway, Renji walked past Byakuya and grabbed Rukia's arm.
"Let go of me, Renji!" Rukia said, trying to pull her arm away.
"Orders are orders, so quit struggling!" Renji said.
Oh man, this is bad. If anything, I know how harsh any punishment in the Soul Society is. We probably would never see her again. I have to do something! Renji, still holding Rukia's arm, began opening the portal to the Soul Society. But, just as he was about to enter it with Rukia, I made my move.
"Let go of her, ya' jerk!" I shouted as I jumped out of my heading place and kicked Renji on the face and sent him across the street into a light post. That caused him to let go of Rukia, who landed on the ground.
"Zera!?" Rukia said.
"Rukia, are you ok?" I asked, kneeling down to help her up. She was about to reply, but her eyes suddenly widened as she looked behind me.
"Zera, behind you!" Rukia exclaimed.
I looked behind me at the last second and saw her brother suddenly appear right behind me. He must know the flash step. I didn't have much time to think about that as Byakuya was about to stab me with his sword. I was able to react fast enough and the blade collided with my arm, cracking the blade to the hilt. His eyes widened for just a second before he jumped back.
"Guess you've never faced a Vasto Lorde in your lifetime, huh?" I said, standing between him and Rukia.
"...Just who are you?" Byakuya said. I was about to answer when I was interrupted.
"Zera! Rukia!" a familiar voice called out.
Rukia, Byakuya, and I all looked in the direction of the voice. That was when we all saw Ichigo, Yuzu, Karin, Orihime, Chad, Uryu, and Tatsuki running in our direction. They all stopped just a few feet away from me and Rukia.
"Zera, why didn't you tell us you were going after Rukia!?" Ichigo shouted.
"Sorry if I was in a hurry!" I shouted back.
"Rukia, are you ok?" Orihime asked.
"Yes, I'm fine, but you all need to get out of here!" Rukia exclaimed.
"What!? No way, we aren't just gonna leave you here!" Karin said.
"So, you are the people that took Rukia's powers?" Renji said after returning to Byakuya's side.
"What?! What is he talking about?" Ichigo said.
"That's not important! Ichigo, just help me get her out of here." I said.
"Right! Orihime, you and the others take Rukia to our training grounds." Ichigo said.
"But what about you?!" Tatsuki said.
"Don't worry, Zera and I will keep them busy, now hurry!" Ichigo said.
"Right!" Orihime said, rushing over to me.
"You'd think we'd just let you take Rukia?" Renji said, taking out his sword. I knew what he was planning, since that was obviously a Zanpakuto.
"Chad!" I called out. He already knew what I meant and quickly rushed after Orihime.
"Roar, Zabimaru!" Renji exclaimed, his sword changing shape. It apparently could extend in Shikai state. Luckily, Chad, using his arm in full bringer form, was able deflect Renji's sword.
"Thanks Chad." Orihime said as she helped Rukia onto her feet.
"Looks like Chad's gonna deal with Renji. Now hurry, get Rukia out of here." I said. The two girls began running with the rest of them the way Orihime and the others came.
"Rukia!" Renji shouted. I saw Rukia slow down and look over her shoulder for a second, but then she kept running.
"You think we would let Rukia get away so easily?" Byakuya said, looking like he was about start to follow her. But, in a flash, Ichigo, in his Soul Reaper form, charged at Byakuya. Their swords collided and they were staring each other in the face.
"If you want to go after her, you'll have to deal with me." Ichigo said as pushed Byakuya back.
"Hey, don't forget about me, Ichigo!" I said, standing beside Ichigo. Chad was obviously gonna deal with Renji.
"A human with Soul Reaper powers fighting alongside a Hollow. Disgraceful." Byakuya said.
"Hey, tell me. You said Rukia's powers were taken, what did you mean by that?" Ichigo asked.
"We gained information that Rukia gave her powers to humans, which is a crime in the Soul Society." Byakuya said.
"What!? But that's not true!" Ichigo protested.
"True or not, Rukia has not fulfilled her responsibilities as a Soul Reaper and is going to be executed once she is returned to the Soul Society." Byakuya said.
"Executed!? She's your sister isn't she, how can you say that so casually!?" I shouted.
"Those who disobey the law must be punished. That is the basic law of the Soul Society." Byakuya said. I couldn't help but feel anger rise inside of me. The Soul Society is completely heartless. After he finished talking, Byakuya held his sword up so it was standing completely straight up.
"Be careful Ichigo. The Kuchiki clan is said to be very powerful, not to mention we don't know what his Zanpakuto can do." I said.
"Yeah, thanks for the warning." Ichigo said.
"Scatter, Senbonzakura." Byakuya said.
His sword turned pink and began to practically blow away in the wind. I guess like the name, they looked like sakura petals in the wind. It also seemed like the number of them were increasing. Let's see, a sword turning into small petals...ah crap!
"Ichigo, get back! Now!" I said, doing the same.
It took Ichigo a few seconds to follow my lead, but he did what I said. Luckily, we both evaded the petals quick enough. We both landed on the light post that was just behind us, which also gave us a good view where we were previously standing. Where were standing was now completely mauled, the ground was covered in scratches and the railing next to the spot was practically destroyed.
"Jeez, what kind of attack was that!?" Ichigo said.
"I figured it out at the last moment. His sword just turned into who knows how many small blades and they just look pink because of the reflection of light." I explained.
"To figure it so quickly is impressive, but knowing how it works won't save you." Byakuya said. All of the petals came after us again.
"Move Ichigo!" I said. And that's what we both did. We kept running and jumping all over the street, but the petals kept following us. They even seemed to be catching up to us.
"Crap, we can't out run them!" Ichigo said. He's right, I may be fine, but Ichigo would mostly be cut to ribbons. Looks like I'll have to use my power after all.
"Ichigo, I have a plan. Only when I say so, attack Byakuya from behind and aim for his legs." I said.
"His legs?" Ichigo said.
"He's Rukia's brother. He may be our enemy, but he's her family, not to mention we're only trying to buy time for the others. So we aren't gonna kill him." I said. I can tell that Ichigo knew what I meant. That's how I felt about my fellow Hollows who had a families as well.
"...Alright, so what's the plan?" Ichigo asked. We were both still running, so the moment we stopped, I grabbed Ichigo's shoulder.
"Just follow my lead." I said. I decided to speed up and move Ichigo and myself out of sight from Byakuya.
"Hiding won't save them." Byakuya said. After he said that, I reappeared in front of him.
"What's wrong, can't hit a kid?!" I mocked. Byakuya glared at me and more of the petals were coming my way. I once again moved faster than usual and out of sight. This time, he seemed to be shocked.
"Come on! Try and keep up!" I said, now on a light post across the street.
The same thing happened again, he glared at me, and the petals came straight at, only this time, Byakuya moved his hand and the petals moved even faster. This time, I jumped high into the air instead of moving somewhere else.
"Ichigo!" I called out. Byakuya's eyes widened and he turned around, seeing Ichigo above him coming down with his sword. Byakuya moved his hand again and all the petal instantly engulfed Ichigo.
"A sneak attack? That's the best you all could do?" Byakuya said. At that, I smirked.
"Nope." I said. When I said and when all the petals moved out of the of where Ichigo should have been, nothing was there. That time, Byakuya's eyes widened the most.
"Our plan was misdirection." I said, landing on the ground. Before Byakuya could even turn after I said that, Ichigo was behind him and cut the backside of both of Byakuya's legs. The cuts were obviously deep enough to prevent him from stand, lead alone walk or run, for awhile.
"What!? How?" Byakuya said as he fell forward. I may not use them often, but my power to control people's senses does come in handy.
"Captain!" Renji exclaimed.
Huh, so this guy is a captain. Looks like Chad was still busy with Renji, but the moment Renji became distracted, Chad took the chance and punched Renji right across his face and sent him flying into the wall beside the sidewalk. He slumped down and appeared to be unconscious.
"Alright, they're both down at moment, and the others all probably reached the training grounds by now. Chad, get over here!" I called out, grabbing Ichigo as well. When Chad reached us, I grabbed his wrist and took at high speeds, pulling the two of the along with me. Also letting Ichigo grab his body as we passed it.
"Are you sure it's safe to just leave them?" Ichigo asked.
"Yeah. They both won't be able to move for awhile, and don't forget, the training ground hides our spirit energy." I said. With my speed, it didn't take long before we reached the training ground ourselves. Everyone was there waiting for us. Even Kisuke and Yoruichi was there.
"Kisuke, Yoruichi. What are you doing here?" I asked after coming down with Chad and Ichigo.
"We could the massive amount of spirit energy from my shop and we already knew where to go to find you guys." Kisuke explained.
"What happened up there Zera?" Yoruichi asked.
"Two Soul Reapers came and tried to take Rukia away. They said she's guilty of giving her powers to humans." I explained.
"But that's not true is it?" Uryu said.
"Hell no. They're just making it up." Karin said. Right now, Rukia was sitting on a random rock with Orihime, Tatsuki, and Yuzu.
"Rukia, no matter what, you can't go back to the Soul Society. If you do, you'll be taken to be executed." I said. She looked at me with shock and fear written on her face.
"E-executed!?" Rukia said.
"But she didn't do anything!" Tatsuki said.
"Whether we like it or not, that's what the guy said." Chad said.
"That guy was Rukia's brother, right Zera?" Ichigo asked. I just nodded my head in reply. Rukia went back to looking at the ground with a downcast expression.
"Poor Rukia." Orihime said, trying to comfort her with Yuzu.
"So, what are you we gonna do now?" Yuzu said.
Now this going too far. First, they stereotype my whole kind, then they wrongly throw out Kisuke and the others, now they're out to hurt my friends. Accusing Rukia was one thing, but directly trying to kill Ichigo and the others. That Soul Society...
"...I know exactly what we're gonna do." I said, not to anyone particular. That caused everyone to look at me.
"And what's that?" Ichigo said.
"We're going to destroy the Soul Society." I said, with more determination in my voice than ever. Everyone around me either gasped or looked at me as if I was crazy.
"You guys all know it has to be done. They raise Soul Reapers who show no mercy, even to family. Not to mention what they do to my kind and their families or anyone they claim to be a criminal." Zera said.
"You do make a good point." Kisuke said.
"That's impossible! It's stood against thousands of attacks for centuries, it can't be done!" Rukia exclaimed.
"Well, I believe it can be done. At least, with a little support." I said.
"Where would you find people who would want to help destroy the Soul Society?" Tatsuki asked.
"Simple, my kind. Hollows from Hueco Mundo." I answered.
"The Hollows?!" Uryu said.
"We know that Hollows aren't all as bad as people think, but still, would they even listen to you?" Chad asked.
"That you can leave to me to worry about." I said.
"You seem really confident, Zera." Kisuke said.
"Of course. Don't forget, even if I never show it, I am most definitely the most experienced Hollow from Hueco Mundo." I said.
"Well, it's obvious you're not changing your minds on this. But, what about Rukia?" Yoruichi said.
"Oh yeah." I said.
"If I may suggest it, maybe we could make her just like Ichigo and his sisters. You know, to make stronger." Kisuke recommended. I knew what he was getting, and it looked like Rukia knew as well, but she seemed a little unsure.
"You mean...Hollowfication?" Rukia said.
"That's right. I mean, you can't return to the Soul Society and you can't stay in here either. Going with them is your best option, not to mention getting stronger." Kisuke explained.
"He's Rukia. You'll be safer with us." Ichigo added. Rukia stayed quiet for a few moments and looked at all us once, then looked down again.
"Well, you've all proved to me that not all Hollows are like what the Soul Society say. And like you said, I'll die if I go back or stay here." Rukia said.
"So?" I said, waiting for answer. While gripping her clothes, Rukia looked up and nodded her head.
"Yes, I'll join you all and do the Hollowfication." Rukia said.
"Yay! Rukia's gonna stay with us!" Yuzu and Orihime cheered.
"That's good to hear." Ichigo said. Everyone else, including me, were all happy that Rukia would be with us and safe.
"It's settled then. Kisuke, after you get the Hogyoku, can you do the Hollowfication process down?" I asked.
"Yes, and I'm already one step ahead of you." Kisuke said, reaching into his coat and taking the small orb that was the Hogyoku. How does he do that!?
"Well, alright then. Once Rukia's Hollowfication is done and once we prepare, we leave to Hueco Mundo." I said.