Hello everyone, welcome back for chapter 3, anyway nothing much in the way of things note in this chapter, except for one thing.
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PJandLGequalsLove -Awesome story and ichigo should get with byakuya and akemi should get with toshiro
Thanks.
Unless anyone has anything to say to the contrary, this will be what happens FemIchigo/Byakuya and Akemi/Toshiro. That is all for this author's note, enjoy the story.
Chapter 3
Third Person POV
A Shinigami wearing a shihakusho in ragged condition, a fur coat of hollow masks, and a gazelle-like hollow mask paused in making his way towards the Shinigami reiatsus he'd sensed when he heard a voice yell,"Shinigami-san! Shinigami-san! Imouto and I are here to talk! We wanna make a deal!"
I paused and noticed two figures standing near the graves of my friends. The first figure had dual colored hair, hazel eyes, and wore the clothes of an Arrancar, while the second was slightly familiar with white hair and emerald eyes, she wore a similar outfit and both had zanpakuto. However it was their reiatsu signatures that warned him of what they were. Koware Reita, the souls who were neither masked warriors nor were they hollows with masks torn away, instead, they were beings who mixed Shinigami and Hollow on a genetic level. He however recognized one as the little girl he'd saved many years ago.
"What do you want?" He asked revealing himself.
"Kano-san, I wish to return the favor I owe you and do you a favor in turn." Akemi informed.
"What?" Ashido Kano asked confused.
"The Shinigami that appeared, they are here to rescue someone, if you meet up with them, then we will keep you alive until you are able to leave and then, you can tell the family of your comrades what happened, so they may know that their family member died with honor befitting a warrior." Akemi explained.
Ashido paused and nodded,"You're right."
"Now, one of the Shinigami is that way. We'll follow from a distance so as to keep her calm, but when they leave the forest we must make a show of fighting them play along. Akemi, hide your shinigami reiatsu." Ichigo ordered and Ashido felt a change in their reiatsu where they felt exactly like hollows until he noticed that when he concentrated on them specifically he could feel a smidgen of the shinigami power within.
So soon they found themselves moving out as Ashido made his way with the sisters shadowing him. It turned out they moved at the right time as Ashido arrived to save the Shinigami they spoke of grabbing her out of the way of a cero. With a single slash he decimated the Gillian and began moving away. As Ashido moved the Shinigami stated she was grateful for being saved but wanted him to let go. Deciding to ignore her and explain later he continued until she tried to leave him and he effortlessly caught her once more. Deciding to explain slightly Ashido said,
"Bear with me, my hideout is not far."
Upon arriving Ashido set the Shinigami down and walked inside, the Shinigami soon following. The shinigami tried to question him and he waited for a moment as he formulated what he would say.
"My name is Ashido and this is the Menos Forest, a place far away from the rules of the Soul Society." With that said he attacked her, testing her skill.
While the two Shinigami clashed Akemi and Ichigo waited for the next stretch of their journey. So when they left, the duo followed watching their fight, Ichigo was impressed by the strength of Ashido and his will to protect the World of the Living. The peace they had wasn't there long. Akemi and Ichigo watched to make sure neither died, but they killed any additional Gillians and Hollows that made their way toward the battle.
It was actually quite interesting to watch them fight and see their abilities and skill. When they regrouped and made their way to the exit and they were ambushed, Ashido was about to sacrifice himself to protect them when Akemi yelled,"Onee-chan before we leave, lets eat this group!"
Ichigo smirked a moment later and played along,"If you can't do your job properly Adjuchas, then you don't need it!"
Ashido eyes widened in surprise and a hint of fear, upon hearing the voices, taking his Hollow Mask Shield he turned,"Run! All of you Run! Now!"
"What is it Ashido?!" Rukia asked.
"Espada Hueca, run!" He called and the group all did as he bid them. Upon breaking the surface they rejoiced but it was short lived as a Garganta formed in the air and out of it came two familiar figures, Ichigo and Akemi.
Both had Hollow reiatsu still hanging from their mouths before it disappeared into their stomachs.
"I must say, you all put quite a dent in our basic hollow army. Though, I thank you for supplying us with easy food, most Hollows tend to just attack and fight back. Especially that moron Grand Fisher, he got away last time." Ichigo said clapping.
"Onee-chan, you let him get away, you have no right to complain." Akemi reminded.
"True, so Shinigami-san, Shinigami-chan, Kurosaki-chan, Yasutora-san, and Quincy-san, we were ordered to only attack when we were confronted with you, it is bad luck you did so. If you wish we'll hold back for a four-on-two." Ichigo offered.
Both the Koware Reita duo and Ashido were impressed with the brilliant acting they'd been doing.
"I see, a handicap?" The Quincy asked.
"Well yes, after all according to Aizen-sama, you could barely defeat a Shinigami taicho and even then you lost your powers. While even if you got stronger, we are naturally higher than even the Vasto Lordes. We are Koware Reita after all." Akemi explained.
This name made Tatsuki, Rukia, and Renji shiver in fear, while Ashido semi-faked one. Uryu followed a minute later when he remembered the Quincy archives his father and grandfather had shown him, mentioned Koware Reita as the ultimate Hollow/Shinigami hybrid, a unpredictable abomination which when they didn't become mindless killers, were more dangerous then any Hollow or Shinigami could be, and they evolved to fight, those who were saved from insanity chose a cause and fought for that cause going as far as to swear themselves to the service of Quincies in exchange for help in those causes, but even their King would not dare fight one as their power fluctuated so much and they evolved in battle, the more he fought, the worse the fight would end.
"Tatsuki, you and I will fight carrot top." Renji Abarai said.
"Rukia and I will try our hand at the Imouto." Uryu commented.
"Ashido, Chad, protect the others." Tatsuki ordered.
The two nodded guarding the Hollow quartet.
"Very well, you have chosen, now Akemi, be careful." Ichigo said softly.
"I have accords to keep, do I not Onee-chan?" Akemi asked drawing her zanpakuto.
"You do." Ichigo nodded before turning to me and Renji, drawing her own zanpakuto.
"I think you've earned the right see see my Shikai now Tatsuki Kurosaki. You scared Grimmjow after all." Ichigo said,"Now, Blanket them in Darkness, Angetsu!"
As she said the release phrase shadows curled off her and coated her zanpakuto and when they receded they revealed a black blade in the form of a khyber knife, with the grip at the base of the blade and a handle extending back from this about roughly the width and length of Ichigo's forearm. There is a thin, hollowed-out portion running along the back edge of the blade from the base to the middle of the blade.
"Tatsuki Kurosaki and Renji Abarai, meet Angetsu." Ichigo said raising her hand to her face,"Now, I'll add my mask as well."
In one swift flick of her hand in front of her face the same mask with its thin lines came into being.
"Bankai! Tensa Zangetsu!" Tatsuki yelled summoning her bankai.
"Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji yelled his zanpakuto shifting into an even longer 6-part segmented blade; each segment is wider than the one preceding it from the hilt, with 2 pick-like protrusions on the front and back of each segment, with the ones on the front much longer than the ones on the back.
"I see you are rushing in, are you truly a fukutaicho. Shinigami-san?" Ichigo asked dodging to the side and with the telltale hum of sonido appeared behind Renji.
"Getsuga-" Ichigo began.
Renji's eyes widened in shock as black reiatsu covered the orangette's zanpakuto,'It can't be...?'
"-Tensho."
Then the energy slash blasted into Renji sending him flying.
Sonido was once more used to grab the hurtling Renji by the face and slamming him into the ground. Tatsuki seeing her friend under attack used shunpo to get behind the orange haired enemy only to be surprised by the familiar words,"Getsuga Tensho."
Tatsuki was blasted back by the technique,'How can she use that technique, Zangetsu?'
'I have no idea, I have no knowledge of this.' The zanpakuto replied.
"Pay attention Kurosaki!" The hybrid reprimanded as another Getsuga tensho hit Tatsuki once more.
"Come on, you can do better than that." Ichigo scolded the two.
"Don't mock us! Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji shouted angrily as he attacked.
Ichigo dodged his attack and sonidoed away, gripping her zanpakuto and stabbing it into the ground. To the duo's surprise blades made of shadows stabbed from impossible directions as they tried to skewer the two.
"Orodoki Kage Ha, the Surprise Shadow Blades. How did you like them?" Ichigo asked.
"You... Why do you fight for Aizen?" Tatsuki asked panting as blood trickled from a cut on her cheek.
"Oh, a question? Very well, I follow Aizen because he gives me no choice in the matter." She explained.
"No choice?" Tatsuki asked confused.
"When I don't do as I'm asked he tortures Akemi. You don't understand what it's like, to see the only person you truly care for writhing around on the ground in pain while you cry and beg for their torturer to stop and to know that the more you cry and beg, the more it adds pain for that person to see you in pain. A life of emotional torment is all I have known under Aizen, but it is worse for Akemi, she has known a life of physical torment and emotional torment as she sees me crying and begging Aizen to stop hurting her. Sometimes I wish the alternative had happened to us because then we wouldn't feel that pain." Ichigo informed and Tatsuki could feel the hybrid's reiatsu was filled with anguish.
"Please Ichigo, help us and you can avoid that torture, that pain, if not for us, for Akemi?" Tatsuki asked,"Help us beat Aizen and we can end that tyrant."
Ichigo looked into Tatsuki's eyes and sighed,"I see, Akemi!"
The whitette jumped back to avoid a barrage of Quincy arrows and the small Shinigami's ice stream and with a humm she was beside Ichigo.
"Hai Onee-chan?" Akemi asked.
"We're helping them." Ichigo informed and the mask disipated as she said so.
"Hai." She agreed as she sheathed her zanpakuto and the odachi became a katana.
"We will go on to Las Noches and we'll meet you inside." Ichigo informed and with a hum they left.
Later
Rukia's POV
As I was running down my chosen path, I was paused by the reappearance of Ichigo and Akemi,"So, I guess we're helping you first."
"Eh? Me First, why doesn't Akemi go to one of the others?" I asked.
"Because we have lived together as our only family and more importantly the only people who care about each other since birth, us being away from each other is... Unsavory as an option." Ichigo explained.
"I understand that." I said nodding. It made sense considering the stronger eats weaker nature of hollows.
"Now, let's go." Ichigo said and we continued on.
After some time and the fighting of the others we came up to what looked like the outside,"How is there blue skies here?"
"Would you like me to explain?" I blinked when the high-pitched voice spoke.
When I turned the speaker was no longer there but at a door a few feet away. I looked to ask Ichigo and Akemi about it, but they were gone. I gripped Sode no Shirayuki, and waited.
"Come with me." The now low-voiced speaker said entering the building.
I ran at the person and as I entered the building the door closed.
"Good, I can relax now." The voice said in its low voice,"Sorry, can't stand the sunlight out there."
I looked at the being, as its hand reached up to the mask covering its strange face,"Allow me to take of my mask."
"My name is Aaroniero, Aaroniero Arruruerie, also known as Espada number 9." But instead of a mask with a broken hollow mask there was the face of Kaien Shiba with his youthful appearance, aqua green eyes, and spiky raven black hair.
"It can't be, Shiba-fukutaicho..." I said surprised.
"It's been a while, you're looking well Rukia." He jumped down to land in front of me.
"Shiba-fukutaicho?" I asked.
"Hey, what's with that look, aren't you happy to see me?" He asked.
I took a moment to remember the warmth he always gave me. It was a moment later I noticed he held a pair of wooden swords. He threw me one and I grabbed it surprised,"It's been a while, there's that puzzled expression."
While I was lost in the memories he knocked the sword from my hands.
"This has been cute to watch and all, but we're going to have to end it there. You're toying with her I sense false kindness." I swiveled around and saw Ichigo and Akemi shimmer into existence.
'False Kindness?' I asked internally.
"Oh Akemi and Ichigo, this is a long awaited meeting away from the prying eyes of Aizen." Kaien said smiling.
"What the hell are you talking about, Noveno?" Ichigo asked.
"Well didn't Aizen ever tell you who your parents were?" Kaien asked.
"What...?" Ichigo asked confusion radiating from her.
"He didn't tell you? It is my DNA that runs through your veins, I, Kaien Shiba, Shinigami and former Lieutenant of the 13th Division, am your Otousan." kaien explained.
"I... Sense no falsehood..." Akemi said quietly.
"If you're our Otousan then why have you let Aizen torture us?!" Ichigo growled in anger.
'They're Shiba-fukutaicho's children?' I asked internally,'What about Miyako-chan?'
"What could I do? I'm weaker than you." He said with a shrug.
"If that's your argument, I don't want an Otousan." Ichigo growled drawing her zanpakuto.
"Onee-chan no! He's right!" Akemi said grabbing her hand.
"Huh? Akemi, he's done and said nothing while we were tortured how is he right?" Ichigo asked.
"What could he really do, I doubt he liked what happened but Aizen-sa... San is too powerful for someone of his level. Please." Akemi pleaded.
"If you're their Otousan, what about Miyako-chan?" I asked.
"Her soul is within this body when I died, I reformed here in Hueco Mundo, but Miyako was part of the Hollow, she's part of me now. Anyway, I soon met with Aizen, to become an Espada and with my DNA and that of a Vasto Lorde Hollow named Maria Sombra, they were born, then Aizen added the DNA of another Hollow to them before shipping them off to the Menos Forest." He explained.
"Otousan, I..." Akemi began but trailed off unsure what to say.
"Akemi, Ichigo, I want to be a good Otousan to you both, but I have one favor to ask you first." Kaien said.
"What is it?" Akemi asked curious.
"You see, I became a Visored because of Rukia, so I ask you kill her like she killed me." Kaien said warmly.
My eyes widened and Akemi's narrowed,"I now sense falsehood."
It was Aaroniero's turn to become wide-eyed.
"You were speaking half-truths weren't you, Otousan? Kaien-otousan is in there but you aren't him. Aaroneirro Arruruerie, you made a mistake. Allowing Onee-chan to kill you would be much less painful, Rukia-chan. Leave." As she spoke her eyes turned crimson as the whites in her eyes bled into black and a zanpakuto formed in her hands, even though her zanpakuto was sheathed at her side.
"What? I can't leave you here to fight him!" I shouted.
"Leave, now." She ordered in a double layer voice.
"Shinigami, we're going on ahead." Ichigo said lifting me up by my shihakusho and walking us out the door.
"What was that? I thought you didn't want to be away from Akemi. What if something happened to her?" I asked.
"Shinigami, you saw that blade, correct?" Ichigo asked.
"Yes. What is with that?" I asked.
"That is the key to the full strength of her Hollow powers. Just like how Bankai is the full power of a Shinigami." She informed.
"She'll catch up. Let's go." Ichigo said offhandedly and began to walk away as I felt Akemi's reiatsu surge with hollow power.
So, anyone see that coming from the Aaroniero bit?