apologies for the delay, this chapter is kind of all over the place in the original. It skips ahead two weeks, barely mentions Kon, and the only reference to Shrieker is a note about summoning the gates of Hell.
I've done what I can to defragment this and fill it out a bit, but there's only so much I can do.
things are going to pick up soon, but I've still got to get through this and a little more fluff before we get there
also: since Quetzelcoatls only started the fight with Sora but never finished it, I am taking it upon myself to adapt the conclusion of that fight
this will be the first time in this story that I'm not working from pre-made material, so I'm a bit nervous about how I did.
and before I forget, many thanks to DeathFrown for beta reading this for me even though neither of us is entirely sure how that process is supposed to work (fairly sure it doesn't involve sending entire chapters over PM though).
on a final note, this is officially the longest thing I have ever written, coming in at nearly 3,500 words. I'm rather proud of myself actually
Orihime Inoue had been having a nice night. She'd had her best friend Tatsuki over and was proudly showing off her latest culinary creation, some concoction of red bean paste, butter and bananas.
So then, how was it that she was currently getting lectured by some weird snake monster about how lonely it felt, while Tatsuki lay unconscious in a corner?
She supposed she should have been more worried when her favorite teddy bear spontaneously developed a rip, but how was she supposed to know that that was just the lead-up to having her soul forcibly ejected from her body?
As it was, she was pinned to the wall by an increasingly irate snake monster that seemed convinced that she should recognize it.
Finally, it seemed to have had enough and reared back to spear her with its claws.
Orihime shut her eyes tightly, her hands coming up to protect herself but she knows this might be the end.
Then, when the end failed to come, she opened her eyes to see... Ichigo Kurosaki? But, where did he come from and what was that he was wearing? And where on earth did he get that gigantic sword?
It was at this point that Orihime's overtaxed mind threw in the towel and the girl collapsed .
Seras arrives just in time to see a girl with auburn hair throw herself between Ichigo and the Hollow he'd been chasing. Against all logic, the Hollow stopped just short, it's teeth looming over her flesh. Ah! This must be that Orihime girl Ichigo had mentioned. Seras took advantage of the lull to rush over to where Ichigo was lying on the ground and help him up. "Let me guess," She said, "You hesitated, didn't you?", She'd seen his face when he'd chipped the mask before, it didn't take a genius to figure out what had gone wrong.
"Er..." Ichigo had the decency to look guilty about it at least. Seras sighed, "Well it's not as if I have room to criticize." At least your hesitance didn't lead to multiple casualties. Though Pip had long since forgiven her, she couldn't help but still feel that if she'd managed to get over her trepidation and drank blood sooner, that he and the rest of the Wild Geese would still be alive. But this was no time to be reminiscing.
Orihime, still locked in the Hollow's jaws had begun...hugging it? It was apparent she'd figured out who it was behind the mask and was working on breaking through to him, and given the way the Hollow's mask was warping and cracking, it seemed to be working. Finally, the mask shattered entirely. Orihime fought back tears as she looked at a face she never thought she'd see again.
"Sora!" Orihime cried.
"You've grown so much Orihime, I can see now that it's time for me to let go and move on, you don't need me to watch over you any more." He said as he went to pick up Ichigo's fallen sword, "I don't have much time before I lose myself again, please, let me do this, I don't want to hurt anyone else."
It's all Orihime can do to nod through her tears.
"Thank you." He smiles, then plunges the blade through his chest and into his heart, and even as he is disappearing into motes of light, the smile never falters.
"Come on Ichigo" says Seras, grabbing the boy and simply hauling him over her shoulder "Let's go home."
"Put me down dammit!"
"no"
The next weeks went by largely without incident, unless you count Ichigo getting his body hijacked by a Mod Soul and having to chase the stupid thing down. Said Mod Soul had been subsequently stuffed into a plush lion and named "Kon". While Seras would have loved to help out, she was still sort of happy she'd been asleep for that one, given the damned things tendency to try and bury itself in her cleavage, she was thinking about showing it a hint of her true form if it didn't give it up soon.
And then one of Ichigo's friends had found a possessed parakeet.
Turns out that a Hollow had stuck a young boy's soul into the bird's body after killing his mother, and using him as bait was preying on those who attempted to come to his aid.
Seras had once again been asleep for the final confrontation with the Hollow, but from what Ichigo had told her of the incident, the Hollow had gone after Rukia, who had managed to hold out long enough for Ichigo to get involved. The worst part, and the part that made her glad she hadn't been there, was that when the Hollow had finally been defeated, the gates of Hell itself had appeared to claim it. It was one thing to know on an abstract level that she was damned by virtue of what she was. It was another thing entirely to know without a doubt that Hell was a real place and that she would be sent there should she ever truly die.
In the meantime she'd been sorting through Rukia's memories, with assistance from Pip of course, the familiar was well versed in dealing with that sort of thing now, and now she had found something rather interesting.
Something she believed Ichigo needed to know, something about his sword, and how it really wasn't a sword at all.
Ichigo was leaning heavily on his sword, he'd just finished off his third Hollow that day, it seemed the bastards were out in force. He looked up to see that the sun beginning to set. Good, that meant Seras would be there to back him up soon. Rukia had never quite gotten over being bitten and was still not convinced that Seras wasn't a threat [to all and sundry]. Ichigo thought the Soul Reaper was just being paranoid, sure Seras was (a Vampire) dangerous, but she (hadn't touched a human's blood yet other than her own and hadn't done anything bad other than that) wasn't going to go on a rampage anytime soon given how well she was eating. Though on the other hand, Seras had sat Ichigo down a few days after he'd discovered she was a vampire and laid out in no uncertain terms that even if she was one of the nice ones, she was still a monster by definition, and that he was not to hesitate to put her down should she ever lose herself in a frenzy.
Rukia's impression of Seras was not improved by the fact that the vampire in question had taken to teasing the Shinigami about having been her food, just thinking about it brought a smile to Ichigo's face, it was his firm belief that Rukia could stand to loosen up a bit as well.
"Well, that seems to be all of them for now" said Rukia, snapping her Soul Pager shut. She turned to Ichigo, only to see that the boy had already run off, two blocks away and still accelerating. The Shinigami just sighed and shook her head, she'd have to work on that impulsive nature of his, but for now there was no harm in letting him go, he'd earned a rest.
A few minutes later, Ichigo was touching on top of a parking garage near the waterfront, no better place to watch the sun set from. A few minutes after darkness fell; a whisper of displaced air announced the arrival of a winged shadow, which quickly took form of a young pale skinned girl and Seras stood beside him. She sat down next to Ichigo without a word, looking out over the lights of the city. "It's a beautiful night." she finally said. Ichigo nodded, this was one of the best parts of being a substitute shinigami: sitting out on a moonlit night, invisible to all but the most spiritually sensitive people, waiting for Hollows to strike. It really brought home the idea the reality that he had become something other than human, a god of death, even if only as a substitute. It honestly made him wish that he could fly the way Seras could, he sighed, gazing up at the crescent moon. "What's wrong?" Seras asks, glancing over.
" Just wishing I could fly like you."
"Ichigo, I've seen you stand in midair"
"Yeah, but it's not the same, I don't have the freedom you do, I can't experience the night the way you can. I'm honestly a bit jealous."
"I suppose you have a point, anyway, I need to talk to you about something." As she says this, Seras turns serious, eliciting a wary look from Ichigo.
"That doesn't sound good."
"It's nothing too awful, just something I think you should know." (Ichigo's guard falls a bit, turning to curiosity as he waits for her to continue.) Ichigo's wariness turns to curiousity.
"And that would be...?" He prods.
"It's something I picked up (while I was) from sorting through Rukia's memories. Have you ever wondered where that sword on your back comes from?"
Ichigo was taken aback, "No... I never did", he answered somewhat sheepishly.
"Okay, the simplest way I can think of to-." Her whispers are lost in the wind as she tells him what she thinks.
Ichigo blinked, "Huh?" Seras smiled and nodded, understanding his confusion.
"A Shinigami's Zanpakuto is more than just a piece of metal, it's...how do I put this...Well, it's a part of your soul, but with a will of its own."
Ichigo stared at Seras for a few seconds, "But if that's true, why didn't Rukia say anything? He asked, now more confused than ever. He got up and seemed ready to ask Rukia herself.
"Maybe she didn't think it was necessary, or maybe she was going to tell you later, but what's important is that I'm telling you now, so pay attention!" Ichigo's mouth clamped shut and he nodded. As Seras took a tone of authority, the same one she used when addressing recruits back at Hellsing.
"Okay, what you need to do is work on listening to your sword and learning its name, this will make you and your sword much stronger." As Seras continued, he stayed and listened, getting more and more bewildered.
"But...How the hell do I do that?" Ichigo was worried if Seras was alright, listening to a sword? None of this was making sense.
"I was getting there, don't interrupt! The answer is meditation, just relax and try not to think of anything, just...listen. Anyway, I need to go hunting. I'll keep sorting through Rukia's memories, meanwhile, just stay out of trouble, okay?" Seras smiled as Ichigo nodded, frowning at his sword, perplexed about how he was supposed to 'listen' to it. This was major news, and had the potential to change everything. Ichigo watched as Seras soared away into the darkness and then sat down to give this "meditation" thing a try; it wasn't exactly as if he had anything better to do.
Ichigo spent the next two hours deep in thought. It wasn't until three hours in that he noticed anything, but he was at least certain now that Seras wasn't delusional. There were faint emotions there, separate and distinct from his own, even if they were faint at the moment. Well, at least it was progress, and his sword seemed to agree if the sense of relieved amusement was anything to go by.
A distant screech caught his attention, and he stood up to try to determine where it had come from, launching himself off the roof in what he judged to be the right direction a moment later. Meanwhile, in Ichigo's inner world, an old man in a black cloak smiled faintly, he'd make sure to thank that Vampire later. Who knows how long it would have taken to get through his thick-headed Shinigami if she hadn't stepped in
Three days later, Seras was having trouble sleeping. She could tell that something was happening at the graveyard across town and it was playing merry hell with her sleep schedule. It was almost midday dammit, vampires were simply not meant to be up at this hour. A faint tracery of silver lines pulsed on her shoulder, pulling her yet further out of her slumber. Finally giving in, Seras pushed open the lid of her coffin and glared at the dim light coming through the shades. At least it seemed the clouds had taken over the sky, that would at least ease the discomfort.
then she felt it.
A massive surge of power that nearly knocked her off her feet
Seras' head snapped instantly to the west, towards the wave's point of origin. It had felt distinctly like Ichigo, but far angrier than she had ever known him to be. Without any further delay, she ran to the window and jumped out, running at top speed over the rooftops, not having the benefit of being invisible to most humans meant that flying was out of the question, but then it wasn't as if she couldn't maintain a top speed that would make Olympic sprinters jealous without ever getting tired, being dead had some advantages after all.
On the other side of town, Ichigo was getting frustrated, this Hollow simply would not stop taunting him about his dead mother and he was mere inches from snapping completely. Black energy swirled around his zanpakuto, responding to his anger. Ichigo flashed forward, cutting through spines and leaving a deep gouge in its side with his slash. The Hollow screeched in pain and leapt away, launching spikes at Ichigo as it went. Ichigo snapped his zanpakuto up to block, the black energy vaporizing the spines as they got close. Sensing an opening, Ichigo charged forward and managed to take the Hollow's arm leaving it to reel in pain.
Ichigo ducked under the retaliatory swipe of its remaining arm, the momentum of which left the Hollow off-balance. Seeing this as another opening, Ichigo slashed at its back, but the Hollow spun around far faster than he would have thought possible and swatted him into a tree. Ichigo's vision went blurry for a second as the pain threatened to knock him out, that last swipe had also left serious gashes in his side and he was bleeding badly. Ichigo groaned, fighting his way through the pain stood up unsteadily, only to have to jump out of the way of another attack. "Ha! Did you really think you could beat me?" the hollow taunted, seemingly unfazed by the loss of an arm, Ichigo just glared at it before heaving his Zanpakuto back up.
And then the unthinkable happened.
Ichigo stared as the Hollow that had been giving him so much trouble was bowled over by a small black blur. The hollow managed to throw said blur off, at which point the blur resolved itself into the form of one Seras Victoria. Ichigo was at a loss, it was midday! Shouldn't she still be asleep!? A scream of pain from the hollow shook him out of his daze, he'd never really seen Seras fight before and the sight was...unnerving, even the Hollow seemed taken aback at her ferocity. Seras simmered, poised to strike, her red eyes glowing. The shadows around her writhed suddenly coming to life and flew like spears at the hollow), tearing at the Hollow from the sides, hoping to restrict it's movement. she dived in a second time to try and skewer the hollow with her hand only for it to dodge narrowly as a deep incision formed on its side. "What are you and how dare you interfere with my hunt!?" Seras stared for a second before a lopsided, and very pointy, grin spread over her face. "Your hunt?" she taunted , "This boy is under my protection and I won't let you have him!"
Suiting word to deed, Seras leapt at the Hollow again, it tried to duck, but badly misjudged the reach of her shadow arm, which caught the edge of its mask. She twisted, using the mask as leverage to sink her fangs into its throat. The Hollow thrashed about and howled, trying, and failing, to rip Seras off of itself with its remaining arm. Ichigo watched wearily as the Hollow that had taken his mother's life dissolved into tiny motes of light that were absorbed by Seras' shadow.
Seras hit the ground in a perfect three-point landing, having recovered in the air. Still, she resolved to never kill a Hollow while hanging from its head again, dropping from ten feet up might not hurt her, but that didn't mean it was pleasant. She takes a moment to compose herself, she hadn't lost control of herself since the day the Hellsing manor was attacked and she would be damned if she ever let it happen again. Her shadows slowly shrank back into her body as she calmed down.
"Seras?" Ichigo looked over warily, his hands tightening over his Zanpakuto.
"It's okay, I'm fine now." She didn't blame him really, the boy had never seen a vampire fight [all-out]before, it had to have looked pretty bad.
Ichigo relaxed, finally letting his Zanpakuto sink to the ground as his grip slacks , "Thanks by the way."
"For what? I was just doing my job"
"That was the Hollow that killed my mother, in all honesty I'd rather have killed him myself, but you're family, so I suppose I can be happy with that."
Seras looked back at the spot where the hollow had been, memories of her own childhood flashing through her mind, "I think I know what you mean".
I cut off the final segment because it was a terrible cliffhanger that makes much more sense to put at the beginning of the next chapter
anyway, I looked ahead and it seems like it's going to be another two or three chapters before I can bring Pip in properly
this next chapter largely exists just to bring in a plot point that I'm not using, and it focuses around a character I hate, but it does also move bits of the plot forward, so I'm stuck writing it anyway
also: I'm working on trying to get into Seras' head a little more, let me know if it's working alright?
also of note, DeathFrown has said they're going to go through my previous chapters too, so expect changes to them at some point. I'll let you know more when I know more