Chapter 7: To The Land of Gray, To The Sky of Blue
I have to try
To break free
From the thoughts in my mind
Use the time that I have
I can say goodbye
Have to make it right
Have to fight
'Cause I know in the end it's worthwhile
That the pain that I feel slowly fades away
It will be all right
Night had come upon the town of Karakura; the darkness gave its cold embrace upon the small woman's body. Rukia stood before the Urahara Shoten, her hand grasped the side of her brown tattered cloak that she had used years ago when she had traveled into Hueco Mundo to save Orihime.
She was going back, back to the place where all the horrors in Ichigo's life took place. She swallowed hard, her mind racing and wondering if Urahara would aid her in her journey, even though he had refused to help Ichigo. Would he allow her to walk to her death?
She stood in silence and it seemed to be hours when it was only mere minutes, she raised her hand to knock upon the wood and rice paper doors of the Shoten. However, before her hand could even rise to the sliding doorway, it flew open.
A pair of gray eyes stared back at her, "I figured you would come back." Said Urahara as he moved out of the doorway and walked through his shop, adjusting his hat. "You best hurry, it will not take them long to find you missing." Rukia, confused stepped into the Shoten and closed the doors, she went to say something but Urahara had already disappeared into the basement training grounds.
Rukia followed and called out, "Wait, what?" She called out as she went down the ladder quickly; Urahara was already on the rocky ground and moving swiftly to a small dark archway. "Urahara!" She called out, jumping off the ladder and running out to him, "Are you…"
"Helping you, why yes, I think so." He cheerfully said and snapped out his fan, his eyes going serious suddenly. "But you understand, this is all I will do for you. I will do nothing else to aid you or Kurosaki-kun. When you go through this portal, you will be marked as a criminal, Rukia. You will not be able to go back home. Or back to the Kuchiki Clan."
Silence echoed around them.
Rukia stood tall and her head was raised, hand resting on her blade. "I understand and am aware of the consequences of my actions, Kisuke."
His eyes moved in a way that could show that he was perhaps smiling behind his infamous fan, "Very well then, off you go and do watch out for the stray hollows." Rukia gave a swift nod and turned towards the portal.
One foot moved, then the other, she knew the more steps she took the closure she would be to saving Ichigo. Though the further, it would take her away from her family and friends. Her life was going to change, no; it had changed long ago on the fateful night that she had met Kurosaki Ichigo. A normal high school student that often was beaten on for having bright orange locks.
A boy whose future was twisted and distorted all thanks to her blade, she bit her lip and placed one small foot into the black hole.
--
A harsh wind is what greeted her. She stood in the pale ivory sands of Hueco Mundo. She knew above her was an ebony sky with a pale moon. Slowly she looked about her, looking at the crystal like trees.
She had returned, she was back within the world of the Hollows. She took a deep breath and turned her blue-gray eyes towards the dark world before her. In the distance, she could see the remains of Las Noches, the fallen palace of the hollows.
To the place of Salvation.
Or rather, so she hoped.
--
It swirled.
Around and around as idly as pinwheel during a cool breeze. Brown orbs followed the easy flow of the black object. He knew the object well; it was a bond of trust and power. It was a reflection of his soul, it was everything to him, it spoke in riddles, and it offered him peace and tranquility.
All it asked for was respect, called by name, used and never broken with fear.
Fear is what would kill them. Fear is what held Kurosaki Ichigo captive. Fear destroyed his resolve. Fear is what made Zangetsu disappear. The black blade of Zangetsu stopped its idle spin, a pale hand held the sword at his side. The seated Hichigo tilted his head at his colored counterpart. Studying him carefully from his sitting position on the blue building, one of many that made up Ichigo's world.
"Tell me," said the Hollow as Ichigo, broken, bloody, and trapped within the very blue building that Hichigo was perched upon. A pale fingered drummed on the window between his legs, thumping on the thick blue tinted glass to gain his imprisoned counterparts attention.
"Ichigo." Seeing he was not gaining Ichigo's attention, he twisted the blade of Zangetsu around, using the point to tap on the glass, as if teasing an animal at a zoo. "What does it feel like to be the horse?" He chuckled as he watched his ex-king stare up at him, a hand punching into the glass, but never shattering it. His old king did not have the will to break out. He was trying to hide from his life, his choices, and his fears. However, that did not mean he was going to sit back and listen to the albino talk.
"Ya know, she thinks you are savable. She was here a while ago caressing yer face, saying how she was going to help ya when everyone else abandoned yer sorry ass. Tryin' ta give you hope to fight back. But it didn't work did it, Horse?" Stated the albino as he studied the man below him; the brown orbs of the orange haired man seem to glisten for a moment. It was as if he recognized something or perhaps remembered what his hollow was talking about an event he had blocked out.
"She is going to die, die for a man that no longer exist!" He laughed aloud and threw his hands into the air at his last few words that escaped his lips. He swung Zangetsu around wildly and switched his position to lie on the blue building. Propping himself up on one elbow, he bent his knee to raise his leg up and left the other stretched out. Zangetsu lazily traced random patterns on the glass that separated the two discolored twins.
"She will never make it in time to save you. She could free you from the shinigami but she can't free you from me. Even now, your body is changing; it is becoming more like me. Have you ever wondered, Horse, about the cycle of things?"
Ichigo seemed to have tilted his head up, to stare at his counter part with narrowed brows, "You see, when you die, you become a spirit. From there, you get a choice you maybe enter Seireitei if you are Soul Buried. Or, you turn into a hollow when your chain comes to an end. But from their, a soul may be come a Shinigami if sent to Seireitei, if not it can become an Arrancar after feasting on souls and other hollows of different rankings." A smirk twisted on the hollows face.
"That there is it, that is the line that is drawn. But we broke that line we are Vizard. A soul that has surpassed the limit, we are everything. We are Shinigami and we are hollow. Unlike the Shinigami or Arrancar, we may revert. You see, Ichigo. You went from human, to shinigami, to human, then you died and became a shinigami once more. But during that process your chain was destroyed and you became a hollow, thus you became a Vizard. Now here is the real kicker, are you ready?" asked the Pale one.
"A Vizard can stay as a shinigami or it can revert back to a hollow. Once you are said hollow, you automatically change into an Arrancar cause you already have the spiritual power for one and the body morphs!" He laughed, "The longer I stay in charge, the quicker you lose the parts that make you shinigami."
Hichigo pressed his face down on the window, allowing his nose to touch the glass, looking directly into the shinigami's face. "You will become an Arrancar. I will become you in a merge and the shinigami parts of yourself will fade away."
Ichigo looked up at his hollow, his brown eyes were narrowed and suddenly he lashed out and slammed his fist into the glass, trying to punch his hollow but failed. His hollow smiled still.
"You don't have the resolve to stop me."
A/N : Sorry for taking so long to update. I have had some family, work, and health issues over the past couple of weeks and had no time to write. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and I will try to get the next one up as soon as I can! I am always welcome to ideas, comments, and suggestions for the story.
Until next time
Ja ne!