Chapter 13: Escape from Hueco Mundo
Ryuichi stared at his father in horror. He tried to understand what happened – how his father had turned against Aizen before he was slashed across the chest. What must have triggered it? Was it Ruby's attack? Was it his father's victory over his conscience? Or was it Aizen's appearance?
Whatever the case was, Ryuichi was glad that his father was himself – for the most part. The hole was still in his chest, and the markings from the mask were still on his face. Ryuichi was not sure of how that would be reversed. From his father's stories, he had heard that a former friend had the ability to reverse any damage done, but she switched sides and was killed in battle against his mother.
Most of all, he was not too sure if his father could stay barely alive for much longer. The plus was that he could still sense that his father was alive – well, struggling to be despite the fatal wound that split his chest.
Aizen turned towards Ryuichi, alerting Rukia to struggle more under Hinamori's hold. Hinamori tried desperately to calm her superior, but she was having a hard time to do so. She also could not bear to see what Aizen was about to do next. She was grateful that Ichigo was still alive, but that was not enough. They were still in a tight spot where escape was minimal.
Ryuichi froze in his spot as he watched Aizen step slowly towards him. He wanted to stand up, but Aizen's emanating reiatsu was too much to handle. This situation reminded him of that horrible dream that he had before. Ryuichi's breath caught in his throat when Aizen stopped in front of him.
"Ryuichi Kurosaki," Aizen's voice echoed through the room, chilling the blood in everyone's veins. "You thought you could resist the darkness, did you? Well, since Szayel was killed, I have no more use for you." He turned slightly to glare at Ichigo gasping for small breaths in a pool of his own blood. "And I have no more use for your father either. Can't do a simple task of killing his own family."
Ryuichi growled at his father's nemesis despite the heavy reiatsu suffocating him.
Aizen turned back to him. "No matter. Your father will die within the hour, and you will join him."
"Ryuichi! No!" Rukia cried from across the room.
Aizen ignored her. "However, I do have a back-up plan – someone else I can use." Aizen's eyes averted to Jade.
Overhearing what the evil lord had said, Jade became furious. "What the HELL did you DO to me?"
Aizen chuckled. "You won't find out its effects until later, but I had given you what you wanted – a boost of power – all in one dose of a drug I had just injected into you. It will come in time, and I'm sure you'll thank me when it does."
His eyes averted back to Ryuichi. "As for you," he raised his sword over Ryuichi's head; Rukia sobbed in Hinamori's shoulder as Ryuichi's eyes widened, "it's time for you to die."
Ryuichi's eyes squeezed shut as he waited for the blade to come crashing down onto him. He had a feeling that he would die like this – helpless and unable to do anything. He regretted not being able to tell Hinamori how he felt; he regretted not being able to live up to his dream; and most of all, he regretted not hearing that his father was proud of him. However, he knew in his heart that his father was proud of him.
"HOWL, ZABIMARU!" A loud voice echoed through the room as a long string of multiple blades caught Aizen off guard.
Ryuichi opened his eyes in surprise and everyone's head snapped around to Renji and Tatsuki standing in the opening leading into the vast room. Tatsuki had Aiko lying in her arms.
"Renji!" Hinamori and Rukia shouted in unison. "Tatsuki!"
When Rukia saw Aiko, she breathed a sigh of relief to know that her daughter was okay.
"Hey Ryuichi!" Renji shouted towards the younger shinigami. "Catch!" He threw Ryuichi's confiscated katana towards him.
Ryuichi grinned as he stood up to grab his katana mid-air by the hilt. "Thanks Renji!"
"Don't mention it, kiddo!" Renji smirked.
It did not take long for Aizen to recover. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," he growled.
"Rise above the smoking crater, Karyuu!" Ryuichi shouted as he unleashed his shikai. "Eat this, you fucking bastard!" He flung his scythe at Aizen, who blocked it before it came to him.
At that same moment, Renji used flash step to arrive at Ichigo's side. He knelt down to pick up his long time friend. "You've taken quite the beating, Ichigo, but don't worry, you're safe now." He flash stepped towards Rukia and Hinamori.
"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed as she ran towards her husband.
"There's little time," Renji said quickly. "We have to retreat back to Soul Society so we can give him urgent medical attention." He noticed Rukia's injured shoulder. "And you as well."
"This is minor," Rukia assured as she covered her wound. "Just a scratch."
"Oh, stop it, Rukia," Renji rolled his eyes, "Minor or not, it needs to be treated."
"What about Ryuichi-kun?" Hinamori questioned as she turned towards her friend trying to hold Aizen off.
"He won't hold him off for long," Tatsuki joined in. "We have to do what we can to keep Aizen at bay."
"Carriage of light. Divide these unto 6. Bakudou 63 – Rikujokoro!" Ryuichi shouted. Six rods of light bound Aizen in place. Ryuichi flash stepped back towards his mother and allies. "That won't hold him for long," he said, "let's go."
They flash stepped out of the room, leaving Aizen behind. He cursed as he struggled against his bonds. "Damn them!"
Ryuichi, Renji, Hinamori, Jade, Ruby, Tatsuki, and Rukia dashed through the hallway.
It was not too long before they met Grimmjow and Neliel in front of them. Neliel breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them. "Thank goodness, you guys are all right."
"For the most part," Renji replied. "We have to retreat back to Soul Society."
Neliel nodded. "Understood."
"Who's left?" Rukia asked, "of Aizen's followers that is."
"We eliminated Stark and his annoying fraccion, Lilinette," Grimmjow replied.
"We defeated Gin," Ruby answered.
"I finished off Szayel," Renji added, "and he had taken a beating from Ryuichi."
"And I took care of Aaronierro," Rukia mumbled. "So I guess Yammy is left."
"And Barragan and his fraccion, Findor and Ggio," Neliel added.
"Won't be long before they come for us," Ryuichi said.
"In that case, we'll finish them off," Jade trailed off.
"Sounds good to me," Grimmjow smirked.
"For now, just keep running," Renji said, looking down at Ichigo's frail and dying form in his arms. "We're running out of time."
They continued to run down the hallway in desperation. Ryuichi wondered how much longer Aizen would remain bound in that enormous room. With Aizen's strength, he will break through his bonds within several minutes and then chase after them in a terrible fury. Ryuichi shuddered at the thought as he continued to run as fast as he could, using flash step along with the others – Neliel and Grimmjow used sonido – to increase their pace.
It would not be too long before they finally reached the exit. However, their way was blocked by Yammy, Barragan, Ggio, and Findor.
"You thought you could get away, huh?" Ggio said with a wide grin as he flexed his fingers.
"Don't even try," Findor added as he drew his sword.
Grimmjow cracked his knuckles before drawing his sword. "Bring it on."
"Grimmjow," Yammy's voice sounded from behind Ggio and Findor. "Long time no see...you fucking traitor."
"Yammy," Grimmjow half-smiled as the atmosphere grew tense around them.
At that moment, Aizen flash stepped behind the group, growling in retaliation. "You will NOT get away. Eliminate them all except for Jade Carmine!"
The arrancar sprang forth with their swords drawn. Renji and Tatsuki as they attempted to dash past the charging enemies, knowing that they had to take care of Ichigo and Aiko right away.
Despite Rukia's injured shoulder, she fought along with her subordinates, son, Neliel and Grimmjow. Ryuichi slashed his sword against Yammy, who blocked it with his large zampakutou.
"Snap, Tobiume!" Hinamori shouted, running towards Findor while her sword changed shape.
Ruby blocked every attack that was executed by Ggio, and Neliel and Grimmjow assisted Ryuichi against Yammy. Barragan sat in his skulled chair as he watched the fights before him.
Rukia touched the tip of her released zampakutou in four spots on the floor in front of her, and then pointed her blade over her shoulder at Findor. "Tsugi no Mai – Hakuren!" Ice ridges exploded outward and covered the arrancar. Immediately afterwards, Hinamori swung her five-pronged zampakutou in front of her, releasing a giant wave of fire, which engulfed the ice.
They waited for a few moments for the flames to be extinguished but Findor slashed his sword through the ice and flames to free himself. Only a small part of his mask remained at his right eye.
"Impressive, ladies," he chuckled. "But of course it was not enough. For you see, I have broken down my mask to equalize my power to that of a captain. And since you two are of lieutenant power, well," he chuckled darkly and then disappeared for a moment. Then he re-appeared behind them. "You're out of luck!" He swung his zampakutou over their heads.
Hinamori and Rukia disappeared before the blade could connect with their necks. Rukia panted as she stared at her opponent. "He's strong," she noted, "it's mind blowing how much his strength increased in an instant."
"Yeah," Hinamori agreed, readying her sword for another round. "But then again, Hisagi fought him before and he was a lieutenant then. So if he had a chance then our combined strengths should be enough."
Rukia nodded as she prepared for the next round of their fight.
Outside of Las Noches, Renji and Tatsuki continue to gain as much distance as they can from the castle, hoping that their allies could keep the enemy distracted for a while longer. Every few minutes or so, Renji continued to glance Ichigo to make sure that he was still alright.
"How is he, Renji?" Tatsuki asked.
"He's okay for now," Renji called back behind him. "He needs to fight through the pain for a little longer. I hope that we won't be too late by the time we get back to Soul Society."
"What about the other things? The hole in his chest, the markings," Tatsuki pressed on.
Renji gave her an assuring smile. "We'll figure something out. Orihime may be long dead, but I think there's another person with similar powers to her out there."
Tatsuki frowned at the sound of her former friend's name. If only she did not betray her friends for the enemy, if only she did not lose herself to jealousy and the desire for more power – then she would still be allied with them. At least Renji was there to cheer her up and console her for her loss.
When Renji was satisfied with how much distance they had made from the castle, he stopped, and Tatsuki followed suit immediately afterwards. Shifting Ichigo's position slightly, he held his sword in front him and twisted it to a horizontal position in front of him. "Unlock!"
A pair of Senkaimon doors opened, and Renji sheathed his katana. "Job well done," he said with a triumphant smirk as he and Tatsuki ran through the doors. They closed behind them and disappeared into the darkness. Deep within one of the pockets in Renji's shuhakushou, the second Hougyouku glowed slightly.
Back at the castle, Rukia smiled as she felt Tatsuki and Renji's reiatsu disappear into a nearby Senkaimon. Now she can continue fighting without any worries about her husband and daughter. The only issue is winning against an opponent who was stronger than she was. At least, Hinamori – even though she was a third-seat officer – was there to help her. After all, she was still at lieutenant strength.
Findor's stare shifted between each of them impatiently. "Let's get round 2 started then! If you're not going to start, I will!"
The fist that was not holding his sword glowed red, and as he punched the air, a ball of crimson reiatsu shot out of it towards Rukia, who dodged it immediately. Hinamori charged for the attack, unleash multiple fire balls from her zampakutou. Findor parried them with his katana and used the spike on his left hand to create an indigo cero. Rukia attempted to block the cero as it sped towards her, but it pushed her back as she gritted her teeth to fight against it.
That was when Hinamori noticed an opening behind the arrancar. She slashed her zampakutou across Findor's back and drew blood from the shallow wound.
Findor growled in disapproval. He shot more balas from both of his hands, but Hinamori dodged them all.
Rukia tried once again to use her second dance, but Findor noticed right away and dodged the attack with acrobatic skills before it hit him. "That won't affect me again!" He fired another cero towards Rukia, who used shunpo to dodge it.
A purple rod formed in her hand and she aimed it at the arrancar. "Bakudou 62 – Hyapporankan!" She threw the rod javelin-like towards her opponent, who narrowed his eyes as he used sonido to dodge it.
Hinamori cupped her hands on top of each other as she recited this incantation: Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens! Hadou 73 – Soren Sokatsui!" Two cyan fire balls exploded out of her hands.
Findor tried to hold up his sword to block it, but was flung back into a nearby wall where his back hit it with tremendous force. As he landed, dust flew outward for a moment before settling.
He growled and wiped a trickle of blood from his chin as he slowly got up from the ground. "Exacta! You ladies are quite the destructive duo," he complimented, "but now I think it's time to end this. Engrave the surface of the water, Pinza Aguda!" Spiritual energy started to erupt from him in a large of wave of purple flames. Once the flames were extinguished, his sword transformed to that of a giant claw – reminiscent to that of a fiddler crab. The right side of him covered in a kind of chitinous armour and another, smaller claw was formed at his left hand. On the tip of the larger claw, there was a string-like, rope connection that joined the claw with his right shoulder.
Rukia and Hinamori gritted their teeth when they felt how immense their opponent's reiatsu had become, but they knew that in order to defeat this guy they had to push on through...somehow.
Rukia had one idea in mind, however. If only she could break her sword somehow, then she would use that technique. She turned towards Hinamori and whispered, "I've got an idea."
Hinamori leaned in closer to hear what her superior had in mind. "Let's hear it," she whispered back.
"I will charge after him first," Rukia explained. "Then I want you to bind him with kidou, providing me the chance to finish him off."
"What if that doesn't hold him?" Hinamori asked. "You know how powerful his reiatsu is right now. Also, you know that nearly half my reiatsu had been depleted when I fought against Kurosaki-Taichou earlier."
Rukia nodded as she described her plan further. "I know, but you've got to do the best you can because I know the perfect way to end this. Trust me."
Hinamori let her lieutenant's words sink in a little more. She had a feeling about what Rukia had meant, and she really hoped that their combined efforts would be enough.
Rukia turned back towards Findor. "Let's end this," she said with a deep breath.
Findor grinned as he got into a fighting stance. "Exacta, let's continue, but just so you know...I'll never lose to another lieutenant!"
Rukia smirked. "We'll see about that. After all, that was only one person."
Findor opened his right claw wide and ball formed within the pitch black opening. This ball shot forth in the form of a pressurized, water jet, travelling in hyper speed.
Rukia dodged it using shunpo, and Findor shot another water jet. Rukia dodged it once again and the water jet crashed straight through the wall of the palace, leaving a large gaping opening that would be large enough for anyone to escape through.
As Findor shot more water jets towards her, Rukia narrowed her eyes. It's going to be very risky trying to follow through with my plan, She thought to herself, but I must do this if I want to defeat him and partially ensure our escape. She raised an eyebrow when her opponent made an outgoing water jet stop before he used sonido to make another water jet, making that stop before creating another. What the fucking hell is he doing? She continued her thoughts.
Findor laughed out loud after he finished creating all the water jets he needed to. "You saw what these water jets can do, and I applaud you for trying to evade them. However," he laughed again, "Can you evade this?" The space between the water jets and Rukia shrunk.
Hinamori's worries started to increase. She wanted so much to help her superior, but she knew that if she did that, then she would be breaching the plan that they had made to defeat this guy. She hoped in her heart that Rukia knew what she was doing.
Rukia growled as the water jets zoomed closer towards her. She had to play this right, one way or another. She swept her zampakutou around her waist in a circle. "Some no Mai – Tsugi Shiro!" An icy column shot up from the baseline she had created to temporarily reduce any damage caused by the gigantic crusher ball of pressurized water, but that only lasted for a second. The column shattered as soon as it was hit by the crusher ball, shattering Sode no Shiroyuki in the process. Realizing this, Rukia used sonido to escape the violent attack before it could do any more damage to her.
Knowing that this was her cue, Hinamori stuck out her hand with the palm facing forward and her fingers spread, shouting, "Bakudou 63 – Sajo Sabaku!" She then clenched her hand into a fist.
A long, winding chain of reiatsu formed around Findor and tightened around him, holding him on the spot. "What the fuck?" He cursed as he tried to struggle.
Hinamori looked up to Rukia. "You haven't got much time, Rukia! Do it now!"
Rukia nodded. She used shunpo to appear in close proximity in front of Findor and placed the broken edge of her zampakutou against his forehead. "San no Mae – Shirafune," she said in a dark voice.
"No es exacta!" Findor screamed, "That won't affect me..."
But before he could say anymore, Rukia's zampakutou reformed once again and blood streamed down the fatal wound in the arrancar's forehead. "I-impos...sible," Findor said with wide eyes.
Rukia smirked. "Good bye," she said as she sliced her zampakutou through the arrancar's body, severing it in half.
As the arrancar disintegrated into nothingness, Rukia's shoulder started to throb, and she shuddered as she brought her hand up to it. Hinamori ran towards her friend's side when she saw her in pain. "Rukia-san," she said in concern. Then she gazed out through the broken wall of the castle. "I think it's time to go since Ichigo and Aiko are safe and you need medical treatment yourself."
"What about everyone else?" Rukia protested through her pain. "Ryuichi, Ruby, Jade, Neliel...Grimmjow – what about them?"
Hinamori smiled as she watched their allies fight their respective opponents. "Don't worry. Knowing them, they'll get out in time."
Barragan raised an eyebrow as he watched one of his fraccion be defeated. "Impossible," he grunted. "How could two women defeat an arrancar like Findor, especially at his highest capacity?"
"They're kidou experts," Aizen trailed off, "and have always been trouble."
"Then they should be no match for me," Barragan said gruffly.
Aizen curled the corners of his lips into a devious smile. "Then finish them."
Barragan nodded as he used sonido to block Hinamori and Rukia's way before they could escape. "I may be an old man, but Findor's strength is no match for my own."
Meanwhile, Ryuichi threw his scythe towards Yammy, who used his bala to deflect the fiery blade. Before Yammy could counter, Neliel and Grimmjow attacked head-on – one towards the front and the other towards the back. Yammy was about to grab a hold of them with his large hands, but they knew that was coming for they de-materialized using sonido and fired cero towards the giant espada's head.
It took a while for the smoke to clear, but when it did, Yammy's head was not even blemished. However, this proved to be a distraction, for Ryuichi had attacked Yammy's stomach with a slash of his zampakutou.
Yammy roared in pain as blood splashed out of the wound. He tried to punch Ryuichi with a giant fist, but the young shinigami dodged it immediately.
It was then that Ryuichi had sensed that his mother was in trouble. Neliel had sensed it as well. "Go help out your mother and friend, Ryuichi-kun! Grimmjow and I will distract Yammy for as long as we can!" She called out to him.
Ryuichi nodded as he used shunpo to arrive in Hinamori and Rukia's position. He flung his scythe towards Barragan's direction, shouting, "Out of the way, old man!"
However, the attack did not phase the elder espada on bit. He caught the scythe, which only smoked slightly in his fist, and flung back to Ryuichi, who yanked the chain immediately.
Elsewhere, Ruby sensed that Ryuichi was having trouble. While Jade kept Ggio busy, she slashed her zampakutou sideways, shouting, "Hien Messhoujin!" This unleashed the giant wave of crimson energy towards a nearby spot on the wall, crashing it down to rubble.
Hinamori noticed this right away and pulled Rukia through the opening, shouting a thank you to her subordinate. Ryuichi nodded gratefully as he followed them through the opening, ready to protect them at all costs.
"DON'T YOU JUST STAND THERE, YOU FOOLS! AFTER THEM!" Aizen shouted.
Just when Yammy was about to chase after them, Neliel sent an axe kick flying against the back of his head. Grimmjow followed suit with a Gran Rey cero towards Yammy's injured stomach, causing the wound to open more with the impact. Yammy groaned and coughed up blood. This was their cue to follow those that had escaped before.
Before they could leave, however, Barragan sent a deep purple cero hurtling towards them, hoping that would eliminate them.
But Neliel had anticipated it coming. She opened her mouth to suck in the powerful cero. Once the cero disappeared into her mouth, she blasted the cero back towards the second espada. Barragan's eyes widened with surprise when he saw the cero coming towards him and he was barely able to avoid it with sonido.
Neliel and Grimmjow dashed towards the exit to join Ryuichi, Hinamori, and Rukia.
Ggio laughed cockily. "You're not joining them this time! Bite off, Tigre Estoque!" Red stripes appeared on his face, marking his cheeks and forehead. His hollow mask became slightly elongated at the back, with his sabre teeth becoming more pronounced at the front. His white jacket grew longer and black, embroidered stripes marked the sides. His feet and legs became more cat-like, covered in fur. Yellow fur also covered his knees and elbows. Long, squared-off blades replaced his katana and appeared in each of his hands. His braid grew longer towards his knees, and another squared-off blade hung on the tip.
"Oh yea?" Jade yelled back. "Try some of this!" He played some riffs from his guitar-like weapon, sending waves of energy towards Ggio, who used his cat-like agility to try to avoid the energy waves as much as possible. As Ggio came around the corner to attack him, Jade played more riffs of his guitar to hold him back.
Ggio growled with frustration as he tried to block the energy waves that were tearing through his hierro. He had no idea that someone with less experience in fighting than he did would hold him back just as easily as this. He gritted his teeth as he stretched out his palms, forming a magenta bolt of reiatsu. This reiatsu blasted forth into a cero, which tore through the energy waves.
Jade dodged the attack with shunpo, and Ggio panted. "You're good, kid," he complimented in between breaths, "but let's see what you can do against this!"
He tilted his head black slightly and his sabre teeth shot out from his mask.
This was Ruby's cue to fight. She dashed towards the teeth and parried them away with excellent precision.
Ggio raised an eyebrow. He raised his right blade into the air, increasing his reiatsu as the blade glowed. "Time to end this, you little punks!" He shouted. "Tigre Estoque el Sable!" His size increased into that of a much larger, muscular, feral beast. A small, yellow mane appeared around his neck as brown and black fur grew all over his body. Enormous blades replaced his forearms and hands, and his braid grew longer. The red stripes on his face become more prominent and a widow's peak ran towards the bridge of his nose.
Veins pop out throughout his body as he glared at Ruby. "Let's start with you, bitch!" He ran towards Ruby, who had become paralyzed from his increasing reiatsu. He lifted a giant blade and stabbed it through her stomach, earning a shrill, blood-curdling scream.
"RUBY!" Jade cried. His hands shook as he played another riff from his guitar-like weapon, harder and heavier than before. The walls around him cracked and split as enormous amounts of sound waves burst forward. Jade's eyes glowed white as his power increased and he continued playing as the walls crashed down around him. Using shunpo, he grabbed his sister and continued playing his guitar, screaming louder as his reiatsu increased even more. The increasing pressure from his reiatsu was far too much for the crumbling building to take, and – before Aizen, Barragan, Yammy, or Ggio could do anything about it - it exploded with a tremendous force, spreading across a large surface area of the frigid desert.
Jade calmed his reiatsu down as he reverted his shikai back to normal. Then he picked his sister up and dashed across the desert, using shunpo to gain more time, until he met with the others.
Next Time on Inherited Nightmares...
Rukia sat by her husband's bed, staring at his comatose form lying still and surrounded by machines. The beeping from those machines were the only sounds in the room, and Rukia held Ichigo's hand tighter. She was relieved that he was alive and will be okay, but she was worried about how he would feel after this. She knew that his time in captivity had changed him, not only physically but emotionally as well, and she wished she could do something to help him. She was so worried...not only for her husband but for her son as well, who still had to deal with the hollow within him.
And there it is! Another chapter finished! You will find out Aizen, Barragan, Yammy, and Ggio's fates in the epilogue ending, which will lead towards the sequel. The sequel is going to be called Condemned Time, and will feature a grown up Aiko as she tries to go up against a powerful group of new enemies, who will appear in the epilogue ending. This story will be drawing to a close in two more chapters as well, and there will not be a video version of the sequel. There are too many original characters and if this one is hard enough, then the next one is going to be even harder. So when the video versions of Inherited Nightmares are finished, that will be the end of the Bleach Chat series for good. Sorry for any inconvenience, and I hope you understand. At least the Anime Cross-Over Chat series will still be in play.
Anyway, that's all I want to say for now, so hope you enjoyed this story and please review!
Take care!