Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or anyone or anything from Bleach. It's as simple as that. Everything else, however, is mine. :D
Chapter 18: The Long-Awaited Heartwarming Reunion
The sun is up by the time I awake the next morning. While I didn't get much sleep last night it did give me time to think. Ichigo's gone to rescue Rukia, which certainly lifts that particular worry from my shoulders. And while he's doing that I'm going to stop Aizen. I don't really want to. I'd much rather go find Ichigo and just get the hell out of here. But I cannot let Aizen be successful again.
So instead of heading towards the Senzaikyu when I leave the storage shed I turn towards Central 46. I haven't the faintest idea what Aizen's up to, but it seems like it's got something to do with Central 46 so that seems like the best place to start. Central 46 is the most heavily guarded location in the Seireitei so I can't get in there, but maybe I can find some kind of clue nearby.
My spiritual pressure has recovered some more today, but not quite all the way, so I set out at a slow, steady shunpo pace that I'm sure I can maintain for a while. I don't get very far before I'm startled so badly by a piercing scream that I nearly fall off the roof I've landed on. I pause, to try and catch my breath and calm my racing heart, as another scream comes. The screamer is clearly female and it sounds like she's saying something…it sounds like 'Captain Aizen'. What the hell?
A strange feeling of dread comes over me. Checking this out is a bad idea. I can feel it in my bones. But the draw to find out is stronger than the danger. I take off towards the sound of the screams as fast as I can go.
I come upon it all out once. The tops of the buildings that I've been moving across end abruptly, leaving a yawning, open space. I come to a screeching halt, my feet slipping and sliding across the tile roof in my haste to stop. I nearly careen off the edge of the building again. And on the wall of the building across from me hangs the body of Sosuke Aizen.
He is suspended in the air by his own zanpakuto, which has been driven through the center of his chest. Blood has dripped all the way down the wall to the ground below, creating a massive reddish-brown swathe of a stain. His eyes are open and glassy behind his glasses. It is…horrific. My stomach heaves rebelliously at the cruelty of the scene before me. For a brief moment all my hate for him is gone and all my suspicions about his current objectives dissolve in my repulsion at his gruesome death.
But…there's something wrong. Just like there was something wrong in Central 46. I can faintly feel his spiritual pressure hovering over the entire scene of his demise. I can feel it buzzing in the base of my skull. Something isn't right here. My roiling stomach calms and it feels like my entire body has gone cold. Is the entire thing an illusion? I can't be sure, but I'm suddenly certain that Sosuke Aizen is not dead.
I am snapped back to the world around me by more screaming. I recognize the voice as the one who was screaming before and when I look I see a brown-haired woman with a Lieutenant's badge on her arm bearing the character for 'five'. Several other Soul Reapers wearing Lieutenant's badges are gathered around her all staring at Aizen's body in mute horror. She suddenly draws her sword and charges…Gin Ichimaru.
Shit! I suddenly feel cold for a completely different reason. Ichimaru being here is definitely not good for me. Aizen's Lieutenant is blocked from attacking Ichimaru by a blonde haired man wearing a badge with the character for 'three'. I watch, transfixed, as the two Lieutenants scream at each other while Ichimaru calmly walks away. There is a sudden explosion as Aizen's Lieutenant releases her zanpakuto. Ichimaru's Lieutenant does the same, but just before the two can clash a young boy with snow white hair appears.
I'm startled to see that the boy is wearing a Captain's white haori emblazoned with the character for 'ten'. Since when was the Seireitei making children Captains? The kid must be strong to have such a high rank so young. The situation has been defused by the white haired boy's arrival and he quickly orders the arrest of Ichimaru's and Aizen's Lieutenants.
More Soul Reapers begin to arrive and I turn around. Now seems like a good time to slip away. It's getting a bit too crowded for a fugitive like me to be comfortable. I take a running leap to the next building, but as I land I feel the roof tiles beneath my feet begin to shift. Damn it! I'm an idiot! Aizen's Lieutenant fired off a couple blasts from her zanpakuto in her rage and one of them hit this building. I'm not surprised that the roof got damaged, but my distraction has made me forget.
As a result of my stupidity I lose my balance and fall. The already damaged tiles break under my weight and suddenly I'm sliding down the steep slope of the roof. I plunge over the edge of the roof with a shower of broken terracotta and land hard in a heap on the ground below.
I lay still for a moment waiting for the pain from these new bruises to fade. That was so not smooth. Slowly I pull myself to my feet and brush myself of.
"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise."
I freeze as still as stone as the vaguely familiar voice washes over me. It's deeper than the one in Wakana's memories, but the sly undertone in it is instantly recognizable. I turn slowly, almost mechanically as a cold chill runs down my spine. Gin Ichimaru stands watching me closely, his hands in his sleeves with that enormous grin on his face.
"I'd heard you had escaped, but I didn't honestly think that you'd be out running around the Seireitei. Not very smart, really, but oh well. We were planning on letting you live a bit longer, but I don't think Captain Aizen will be too upset if I go ahead and take care of you now."
It if it's even possible Ichimaru's grin grows even wider. Wild fear begins to tear its way up my throat as Ichimaru draws his right hand from his sleeve and reaches for the hilt of his zanpakuto. I have absolutely no hope of taking Ichimaru in a fight right now and I can't seem to unstick my frozen brain in order to think of a way to get away. I'm like the mouse trapped in the snake's gaze.
Ichimaru draws in slow motion, the blade hissing as it is slowly drawn from the sheath. I can't move no matter how hard a try. Damn it! Ichimaru raises his blade until it's pointed at my head. Move! My mind is screaming at my body, but fear has locked every muscle and joint.
"Skewer her, Shin-!"
I never get the chance to hear the rest of Ichimaru's release command as there is the feeling of something colliding with my stomach and I'm suddenly being carried away at a ridiculous speed, the ground falling away beneath me in a blur of color. Looking down I see that someone's arm is wrapped around my torso. This is definitely not ok. I begin to struggle, trying to free myself.
"Let me go!" The person holding me is reluctant to let go, but I finally manage to twist violently enough that they lose their grip on me.
We had slowed down as I struggled, but the speed we were moving at is enough to send me bouncing and rolling across the ground once I'm free. Finally I start to skid to a stop and, ignoring my newest scrapes and bruises, I jump to my feet with my hand on Tennyo's hilt. However, the sight if the person in front of me stops me from drawing. "Yoruichi…?"
The same dark-skinned purple-haired woman from Wakana's memories stands before me with her hand on her hip. Her hair is longer than before, but her eyes are the same golden color with the same cunning glint.
Yoruichi Shihoin looks down her nose at me for a moment. "You recognize me?" she asks, her voice measuring.
"Yea…I've got all of Wakana's memories."
"Ah. Kisuke said that might happen." The last part is said in undertone as she thinks out loud.
"Yea, Urahara says a lot of things doesn't he," I comment dryly.
Suddenly Yoruichi cracks a large grin. "He sure does. Anyways isn't there something you'd like to say to me?"
I scowl at her, but she just looks back at me expectantly. "Thanks for saving me," I grumble under my breath. I don't particularly appreciate being chastised like a child.
Yoruichi throws back her head and laughs throatily. "Much better." She quickly turns more serious. "It's probably not safe to stay out here in the open though. Can you follow me?"
"As long as you don't go too fast."
"Alright," she says nodding. "Follow me then. I know a place that'll be safe for you to hide."
Yoruichi turns away and takes off in a leisurely shunpo. I follow her, curious despite myself. I'm surprised as she leads me towards Sokyoku Hill. This doesn't seem like a very safe place to be heading, but I can't find any reason in Wakana's memories not to trust her. And there's something about her vivaciousness that makes me like her despite how direct she is.
I begin to feel a bit apprehensive as we approach Sokyoku Hill, but she doesn't head for the top. Instead she keeps shunpoing towards the sheer cliff face like she intends to run straight into it. I see why when the mouth of a small cave in the middle of the cliff face comes into view, guarded by a…door?
Yoruichi lands on the ledge outside the cave entrance, pushes open the door, and leads me inside. There is tile laid across the floor and a variety of weapon's racks, barrels, and crates line the walls. Besides the obvious man-made modifications something about this cave doesn't seem natural. "What is the place?" I ask as I look around.
"Kisuke and I built it when we were in the Academy to train. There's another cavern down there that the training area under the shop was based on," she responds, pointing to what looks like a trap door in the corner.
Yoruichi leads me over to the trap door and we go down into training area. She was right. The one under the shop is pretty much identical to this one, down to the fake blue sky. "There's a spring over behind that boulder that will heal your wounds and help your spiritual pressure recover," she says, pointing to it. "I suggest you use it. You're a mess."
"Thanks," I grumble. As I look around I'm suddenly struck by an idea. "Can I train down here?" I ask hopefully, turning towards Yoruichi.
Yoruichi considers me carefully for a moment. "That's fine with me, but what for?"
I pause at this. What's the best way to phrase this… "Did you know that Wakana had achieved bankai shortly before the incident with Aizen?" Genuine surprise flits across Yoruichi's face as she shakes her head. "Well she did. I want to see if I can use it too."
"Can you really do that?"
"It's all in here," I reply, absentmindedly tapping my temple. "I should be able to if I just copy what Wakana does in her memories."
Yoruichi frowns. "Bankai is a lot harder to do than shunpo."
"I know that. But I have to do something or else I won't be a match for…" Silence reigns as I trail off.
"A match for who?" Yoruichi prompts me, her expression stern.
I'm quiet for a moment as I think. Now that I have the time to consider it Ichimaru just confirmed my suspicion that Aizen is alive. Which means he faked his death. They're definitely up to something. "Aizen, Ichimaru, any of them," I finally answer. "They're up to something again you know."
"Yes, I do know," Yoruichi sighs wearily. "Are you certain that you'll be able to take them on once you've achieve bankai?"
"I have absolutely no idea. But I'm not about to sit around and do nothing while they ruin more people's lives."
Yoruichi and I stare each other down for a moment. I'm going to do this whether she lets me train here or not and I make sure that she knows it.
"Fine!" Yoruichi exclaims suddenly, turning away. She shrugs over dramatically as she begins to move back towards the ladder. "Just make sure you give them one for me," she adds, throwing me a grin over her shoulder. It's impossible for me not to grin back.
The world suddenly shifts as I feel an absolutely massive spiritual pressure explode not too far away. It's just…staggering. I've never felt anything like this. "Who the hell is that?" I manage to gasp.
"Kenpachi Zaraki…" Yoruichi says lowly, almost to herself.
There's another spiritual pressure struggling vainly against the larger one. The larger pressure is so overwhelming that it takes me a moment to identify the smaller one.
"Ichigo!" My cry is strangled as I realize that the smaller spiritual pressure is his. Without a second thought I throw myself towards the ladder my only intention being getting to Ichigo. Yoruichi has turned around and she grabs me around the middle before I can reach the ladder.
"Let me go!" I scream, thrashing in her grip in my desperation.
"Stop it Taylor!" Yoruichi yells and it's impossible to ignore the thunder of authority in her voice. I go limp in her arms and she's forced to hold me up. "What do you think you could do for him in your condition? You'll only get in the way and he'll get hurt trying to protect you," she tells me softly, her voice hard.
She's right of course. I step away from her and lower my face, hiding the tears in my eyes behind my bangs. Damn it! I can't help him! It seems like I can't do anything useful here…
"I'll go make sure he's ok," Yoruichi tells me, her voice back to normal. "You go get in the hot spring and try to recover some." With that she turns away and jumps up into the opening that the ladder descends from. I feel her spiritual pressure leave the cave above and speed towards where Ichigo and the Zaraki guy are fighting.
Reluctantly I do as she instructed and head towards the hot spring. She's right about that too of course. Hopefully soaking for a bit will help me recover enough that I can actually do something useful. Ichigo will be fine, I tell myself stubbornly. I need to focus on taking care of Aizen. These thoughts don't do a damn thing to stop me from worrying though.
Once I get to the spring, which is fed by a little slide that comes down from the boulder, I strip my shihakusho off and jump in. I can instantly feel my aches and pains being soothed. The cuts and scratches on my body begin to heal, little curls of steam drifting up from them. I can even feel my spiritual pressure returning. This water is amazing.
As I soak I carefully track the progress of Ichigo's fight. For a long time it seems like Ichigo's just running away while Zaraki guy, undoubtedly the Captain of Squad 11 with the name of Kenpachi, chases him. Finally Ichigo stops and engages Zaraki. It's disastrous. When I feel Ichigo's spiritual fall I lunge for the edge of the pool, but after what only seems like a seconds pause Ichigo's spiritual pressure skyrockets. I'm frozen in place by shock as the power of his spiritual pressure keeps climbing. I can't believe how strong he suddenly is. He's definitely a match for Zaraki now.
Ichigo and Zaraki clash several times and then finally seem to be preparing for their finishing blows. I can feel both of their spiritual pressures pushing their limits, overwhelming my senses completely. They meet, crash against each other, and then…nothing. Just like that all their power is spent.
I stand frozen by the edge of the spring as I wait for some sign that Ichigo's still alive. The wait feels like eternity. Finally I feel Yoruichi headed this way and she's carrying…it's faint, but that's definitely Ichigo's spiritual pressure. I leap out of the pool and throw my shihakusho back on, hardly paying attention to what I'm doing. My emotions are a complete mess right now. I'm excited to see Ichigo, but I'm dreading seeing the condition he's probably in. What I am going to say to him? What's he going to say to me? How am I going to feel?
Everything's a blur as I scramble up the ladder to the entrance of the cave. My feet hit the stone floor as the door swings open and Yoruichi walks in with Ichigo, unconscious, over her shoulder. It's all I can do not to sprint over to her.
"Grab that futon," Yoruichi commands. I hurriedly grab the futon from its position folded up against the wall and spread it out. As Yoruichi lays Ichigo gently down on it I gasp in horror.
Ichigo's completely covered with blood. His most obvious injury is a cut that runs from the center of his chest to his side where a sword has been pulled out sideways. It looks serious. "Oh, Ichigo…" My voice is more of a whimper than anything. Tears well up in the corners of my eyes as agony and guilt tear around in my chest. I absolutely hate to see him like this and to know that I didn't do anything to try and stop it.
"We need to act quickly," Yoruichi says, beginning to set up the trappings of a healing kido. "Do you think you'll be able to help me?" she asks, looking at me expectantly.
With some effort I swallow my tears and nod. I'll do anything I can to help save him.
…
It's been several hours since Yoruichi brought Ichigo back. He's all bandaged up and resting now. I'm a bit ashamed to say that I wasn't much help in healing him. My anxiety for Ichigo and my inexperience with healing kido turned me into a nervous wreck. Pretty much all I did was stop the bleeding while Yoruichi worked on his wounds. But, Ichigo's going to be ok now and that's what counts.
While he's unconscious I decided to get started on trying to use bankai. The first step is to force Tennyo to manifest outside my soul. This is something that is definitely easier said than done and unfortunately my progress has been pretty slow. It's taking all my concentration and energy just to create a shadow of her shape. It's because of this that I don't notice that Ichigo is awake until his spiritual pressure suddenly explodes right of above me and begins to speed away.
"What the hell?" I gasp, Tennyo's form flickering out of sight as my concentration is broken. I throw myself towards the ladder and in no time at all I'm in the entrance to the cave where light is flooding in through the broken door. "What happened?" I ask Yoruichi. She looks pissed.
"That dumbass is heading towards the Senzaikyu," she growls.
The Senzaikyu? I cast my attention in that direction. I can feel the spiritual pressure that was with Ichigo before that I didn't recognize, another unknown spiritual pressure, Rukia's and-
"Byakuya Kuchiki," I gasp. "He isn't healed enough to fight him yet!" I shout to Yoruichi.
"I know that!" she snaps back at me. "Stay here. I'll go get him."
Anger flares up inside me. "Hey! I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing again!"
"I'm faster than you are and we both know it! Do you think you can carry him away, by force if necessary, and still outrun Byakuya?" she asks me, her eyes flashing angrily.
I bite my lip. She's right again, of course. I'm getting really tired of being wrong. "No." I spit the word out like it has burned my tongue.
"Then I'll go get him." Yoruichi turns away. "That orange-headed idiot!" I hear her hiss under her breath as she launches into a fast shunpo.
While I may not be going to help him again, and man that rubs me the wrong way, I'm not going to go back into the training area and let Yoruichi take care of everything. Instead I cross my arms and plop myself down on the floor of the cave to wait. I carefully track everyone's spiritual pressures. Soon I can feel Yoruichi heading back towards the cave with Ichigo.
I stand as Yoruichi lands, Ichigo thrown over her shoulder again. She walks over to the futon and lays him gently on it just as she did earlier, before stumbling back.
I quirk an eyebrow at her questioningly. "Are you ok?"
"Yea…" she pants, looking up at me with a wry smile. "Shunpo just takes a lot out of a person when you haven't done it in a hundred years.
I look her over carefully for a moment, but she seems ok besides being tired. I turn my eyes back to Ichigo and I see that the top of his shihakusho is open revealing his well-muscled chest and abs. As distracting as this is my eyes are immediately drawn downwards to his abdomen where a large bloody stain is spreading. "Yoruichi! What happened?"
"He wasn't being cooperative," Yoruichi shrugs nonchalantly.
"So you stabbed him?"
"Relax, it's just a sedative. He'll heal better if he isn't jumping up to go and fight every hour."
While I don't disagree with her I still glower at her for hurting him. Yoruichi kneels down next to Ichigo and begins to heal his newest wound. I sit down beside Ichigo's head to watch. I'm not going to leave, I decide. I'm going to stay with him until he wakes up to make sure he doesn't do anything else stupid.
Unfortunately my patience doesn't last that long. Late afternoon sunlight is filtering through the hastily repaired door when I can take no more and I stand. Yoruichi lazily opens one eye and looks up at me from where she sits, her head resting on one raised knee.
"I can't take this anymore…" I say quietly. I really can't. It tears me up inside to see Ichigo unconscious like that, his face pale and sweaty from the pain. I can't do anything for him right now so I might as well use my nervous energy for something productive. "I'm going to go train some more."
My feet are at the edge of the ladder when Yoruichi speaks. "Good luck." I turn to see her looking at me with her head up. Her expression is neutral, but there is kindness in her eyes.
"Thanks," I reply and then jump down into the training area. It's nice to know that there's someone rooting for me.
…
"You're going to learn bankai in just three days."*
Ichigo stared at Yoruichi in equal parts disbelief and shock. But there was no doubting it. Yoruichi was being completely serious. How this was going to work though Ichigo hadn't the faintest clue.
Then he mentally shook himself. No, that was definitely not what he needed to be focusing on right now. He could do this. He had to do this so that he could get strong enough to defeat Byakuya Kuchiki and save Rukia. And that's all he needed to know. He still felt kind of bitter towards Yoruichi for bringing him back and leaving everyone else at the mercy of Byakuya and the other Captain who had shown up, but Yoruichi was probably right in saying that the only one who could defeat Byakuya was him. And if he was the only one who could then he would.
Ichigo's determined concentration was shattered as another spiritual pressure suddenly exploded nearby. Ichigo could see the dust being kicked up over the tops of several large boulders. And this spiritual pressure…he recognized it! Excitement flooded through him and his heart began to pound wildly. He turned and ran towards the spiritual pressure with only one thought in his mind. "Taylor!"
When Ichigo reached the open space among the rocks where Taylor was he slowed to a stop. Before her stood a dark-haired woman in a silver kimono. Ichigo blinked, confused. Who the hell was she?
"Taylor!"
Taylor seemed to start at the sound of his voice. As she whirled around to face him the woman vanished into nothingness. Ichigo forced himself to blink a couple of times, not entirely sure if what he had seen was real. Maybe his injuries were worse than they had thought?
"Ichigo!"
Ichigo's eyes snapped back to Taylor. He always felt a pleasant little shiver when he heard his name in her voice. She approached him, smiling widely, but concern was creating a little furrow on her brow. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Ichigo found that he rather liked that. He could see more of her pretty face now.
"How are you feeling?" Taylor asked.
Ichigo shrugged noncommittally. "I'm ok." The corners of Taylor's mouth turned downward a little bit. "Really," Ichigo added hurriedly. "I mean I'm still injured, but I can handle it."
"Ok…" Taylor replied, but it was clear she wasn't convinced. Ichigo shifted uncertainly as Taylor's eyes traveled the length of his body checking for injury. Suddenly Taylor's cheeks flushed a bright pink as her eyes leveled with his chest and she looked away, though Ichigo had no idea why.
"So, how are you?" Ichigo asked trying to break the suddenly awkward silence. "Renji said you escaped."
At that Taylor smirked. "Of course I did," she replied airily, haughtily flicking the end of her ponytail over her shoulder. "I'm not some damsel in distress, you know."
Ichigo scowled in response to that. "Wish I'd know that earlier. Would have saved me a lot of worry," Ichigo grumbled under his breath.
"You were…worried about me?" Taylor asked shyly after a moment's pause. Her blush had deepened. And it was adorable.
Ichigo looked away in a pitiful attempt to hide his own reddening cheeks. "Yea," he admitted, reaching a hand up to scratch the back of his head.
"Oh, would you two just make out already?"
Ichigo and Taylor both jumped out the sound of Yoruichi's voice. She was leaning against a nearby boulder, a smugly playful smirk on her face.
"Shut up!" Ichigo yelled at the same time that Taylor yelled, "Damn it Yoruichi!" They turned to look at each other, their eyes met, and they both looked away blushing furiously. Yoruichi simply laughed gleefully in response.
"Ichigo…" Ichigo looked towards Taylor, surprised at the sudden seriousness in her tone. She refused to meet his eyes as she continued speaking. "I'm just glad you're ok. Especially after what happened in the World of the Living…and when you fought Renji…and…"
Taylor cut herself off, sounding choked. She had hidden her eyes behind the curtain of her bangs and her hands had tightened into fists. It made Ichigo unhappy that she was so clearly upset and he finally lost it when she let out a loud sniffle. Unable to hold himself back anymore Ichigo stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Taylor's shoulders, hugging her tightly against his chest. She immediately stiffened against him.
"Stuff like that isn't ever going to kill me," Ichigo promised her softly.
"You shouldn't be here you know," Taylor responded lowly.
Ichigo couldn't stop himself from snorting. "I wasn't about to leave you and Rukia to the Soul Society's mercy. And I'm not leaving until you're both safe."
"You could die." Taylor's voice sounded stricken.
"I won't," Ichigo replied fiercely.
Taylor finally relaxed against him. His heart began to beat so quickly that he was certain it would burst as she wrapped her arms around him and returned his hug. "I know," Taylor murmured softly against his chest. "And thank you…idiot." The last word was barely more than a whisper, but Ichigo couldn't help smiling fondly when he heard it.
Ichigo would have been perfectly happy to stand there hugging Taylor for the rest of eternity. But, unfortunately, there were some other things that needed taking care.
"Alright, sorry to break you two love birds up, but we've got work to do Ichigo. And Taylor's got her own training." Yoruichi said, breaking the comfortable silence.
Ichigo reluctantly stepped away from Taylor. Her hands lingered along his sides, leaving trails of warmth where she touched. It nearly made Ichigo come undone in a completely different way, but he mastered himself. He met Taylor's eyes calmly. Their moment had passed and, he realized, they both had work do to.
Suddenly Taylor smirked. "Don't screw up."
Ichigo grinned back. "That's one thing you don't have to worry about."
Author's Note:
Chapter 18! I hope you enjoyed it, especially that little bit of fluff at the end. Since it's been a few chapters since Taylor and Ichigo had seen each other I wanted to make sure that their reunion had some fluff in it. Anyways we keep getting closer and closer to the end. As of right now I've got three more chapters plotted out. And then the sequel(s) of course. Get excited!
Citations:
*English language version, Volume 14, Ch. 120, by Viz.
Ten reviews! That's more like it! And we've finally hit a mark that I've been DYING to get to for a while now…over 100 hundred reviews! You have no idea how absolutely ecstatic I am. This is the first story that I've ever gotten that many reviews on and I never would have thought I'd get this far when I started this story. THANK YOU SO MUCH to anymore who has ever reviewed this story and a great big extra enthusiastic THANK YOU to all the reviewers who got this story over the 100 mark: , MikaBee2434LOVE, Shaybo27, Shannyrox101, bleach fan no 1, bored411, Sora'struelover, and XxLunarRockerxX! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
READ THIS PART: So I start the other training program that I mentioned a few chapters ago in a couple days and I don't know how much free time I'm going to have during it. I just want to warn everyone that if I don't update for a while it's because of that. I'll still try to update though!
Thanks for reading!
imagination junkie