Here's another chapter of Savage, that I hope you'll enjoy.
If you do enjoy the chapter, please do let me know but, more importantly, I've got a question for you. People have been wondering whether Ichigo's going to get any more Zanpakuto (some have suggested particular Zanpakuto, understandably, in this arc) and I have ideas regarding the subject that I'll keep to myself. What does everyone think of that?
-()-()-()-
"Hichigo/Hollow Zangetsu"
"Old Man Zangetsu"
"Nejibana"
-()-()-()-
Ichigo watched, with no small amount of amusement, as the Second Division rushed about underneath him; going back and forth as they spread the word of the spotted Zanpakuto. Apparently, one of the men serving under their Lieutenant had escaped, and reported that the other members of their group had been caught by a pair of the spirits. The first of them, a shirtless fat man, had attacked the highest of their ranked members; Omaeda, while the others had fallen to a large, muscular and hairy Zanpakuto wielding a spear.
Ichigo, however, had nothing in particular to do. He stood on one of the walls of the Division, and watched the Shinigami begin to congregate in the centre of the courtyard. Seconds after they had fallen in line, Ichigo saw Soi Fon appear in front of the crowd. As always, she had a stern expression on her face, and her captain's Haori covered her rather unique robes. The men stood at attention; their faces covered by the balaclavas, and Soi Fon began.
"Zanpakuto have been spotted!" She announced, without any hesitation. "They have last been spotted mid-way between our Division and that of Squad 11. Those of the Detention Corps will remain here, and await further instruction. Teams B and E of the Executive Militia will accompany; those not mentioned will await instruction to either join us or to receive word that you are required elsewhere. You will ask one of the ranked officers remaining behind for instruction, if this is the case. Teams A and D of the Patrol Corps will accompany myself and Ichigo Kurosaki, along with those of the Executive Militia. It is reported that two Zanpakuto are at our location, and you are to exercise caution.
"Move out." She finished. The speech was one of few that Ichigo had heard from the stoic captain that could be called long by anyone's standards. She appeared next to Ichigo a moment later, as the groups she had mentioned vanished. "Ready?" She asked the man
-()-()-()-
Ichigo was baffled by the situation unfolding itself before his eyes. How, of all of the embers of the Stealth Force, did Omaeda find his Zanpakuto first? Of the Division that specialised in reconnaissance, did that pathetic slob, and Ichigo was aware of the fact that he despised the lieutenant, succeed in their mission first? Before even Soi Fon? In fact, Ichigo felt like a failure because he was beaten by the balding bastard despite not being involved in the search whatsoever.
And, so, the Substitute-Shinigami found himself rooting silently for the Zanpakuto in the fight between Omaeda and Gegetsuburi, even if he wished the spirit had some form of clothing to hide the... flabbiness of his upper body. Then again, that was almost certainly Omaeda's fault also, and so Ichigo added it to the list of annoyances perpetrated by the Lieutenant of Squad 2. Nevertheless, the human-shinigami frowned a little as the balding man's face was met by the spiked ball of his own Shikai and he was thrown backwards to crash through a brick wall. When he did not rise, Ichigo murmured to the petite captain next to him.
"Should we not intervene?" He asked of Soi Fon, as they maintained their distance and observed the fight. Omaeda was both outclassed and outnumbered, as a large, hairy gorilla-looking Zanpakuto waited off to the side; most likely he had been ordered to pair with Gegetsuburi to find any Soul Reapers wandering around, or perhaps they were targeting their own wielders. That would make some sense; satisfying the spirits at the same time as taking out some of the hard-hitters of the Gotei 13.
"I am observing their strengths and weaknesses," Soi Fon said, with a discreet smirk, crouched on the rooftop as she and Ichigo watched the fight, and turned her head slightly to look at her fellow watcher.. "I am willing to sacrifice Omaeda for that purpose, if I must."
"Oh?" Ichigo smiled in return. "Fair enough, although I would suggest that now would be the best chance we'll et to attack." He suggested, and Soi Fon's brow dipped into a scowl at the logic; the Zanpakuto's attention seemed entirely focused on her useless.
"Fine." She muttered, turned her head to the right, and nodded once. "Come." She vanished in a blur of Flash Step, and Ichigo blinked confusedly before following in his own high-speed movement, and reappeared a fraction of a second later, with a blade pressed against his throat.
"You are easy to follow, Ichigo," A calm voice spoke from behind him. "When the enemy knows your movements as well as you know your own."
"Ichigo!" Soi Fon turned, and found an unwelcome, unexpected image greeting her. Held to his neck was a dark blade roughly the size of the man's forearm, and Ichigo's Adam's apple bobbed nervously at the sensation. He did not expect this, and nor did the captain he was accompanying. Behind Ichigo, there was a tall, dark haired man, dressed in a ragged coat and slightly tinted glasses. His face was apathetic, even as he held his Shikai against his wielder's throat in an obvious threat, and Zangetsu stared at Soi Fon, daring her to intervene. The black haired woman gritted her teeth, and stared at the Zanpakuto with venom in her grey eyes as the other members of her division looked to her for orders. They found none forthcoming, as she waited for an opportunity to remove the Zanpakuto from her fast-forming friend.
"A wise decision, Soi Fon-Taicho," Zangetsu spoke. "But one you will soon regret."
The air around them thrummed, and Soi Fon's eyes widened with a small amount of panic as she sensed the incoming spirits.
Before she could either shout out a warning to her subordinates, or the other Second Division members could sense their enemies for themselves, and dozens of Zanpakuto spirits appeared around the group of Shinigami. Nearest to Ichigo, and the spirit holding him hostage, was Mramasa.
"Well done, Zangetsu." The brown haired spirit commented. "I am unsure if even Suzemubachi would be able to do a better job."
"I would." A small voice insisted, from behind the orange-haired hostage, firmly. Ichigo was unable to identify the source, as it would cut his throat to turn his head.
"As you all know," Muramasa addressed the other spirits, ignoring the interruption. "I was unable to reason Kurosaki Ichigo's Zanpakuto, those named Tabigarasu and Kikoo, upon first entering his world as they were in an... irrational state." Ichigo would have injected here, had he felt the need, that he believed this was a complete lie; he had been able to get a better feel for what his mute-ish Zanpakuto recently, as less was cluttering his psyche, and, while he did not know the specific details, Ichigo knew that Muramasa had escaped his inner world only due to quick-reactions and more than a little luck the last time.
"Unfortunately, binding Kurosaki so soon after we were forced to imprison the much more immediate threat of Genryusai Yammamoto proved impossible. Now, I believe that I can communicate with our fellows, as I have not exerted my abilities with the entering of other worlds for some time now, and Ichigo's death by one of their hands will signal the beginning of the end for the Shinigami order." Ichigo's eyes drifted to the small captain, as Soi Fon grew pale, and met his eyes; displaying the worry she felt for the hybrid for reasons unknown to the long-haired girl.
Soi Fon stared at Ichigo, panic creeping up her throat as she watched Muramasa approach the tall man holding him hostage, and barely noticed the tiny dip in Zangetsu's brow as he watched Muramasa press his freakish fingernails against the human's chest. Ichigo shuddered once, though Soi Fon could not say for sure why, and the captain's hand lowered slowly to her back, preparing to signal the attack to her subordinates through the drawing of her own sword, and attack the spirit herself. Then, she was hesitated, as the Zanpakuto began to pull his arm away from Ichigo once more, and Soi Fon could see no serious damage.
"Stay your hand, lady." A garbled voice said, from next to her, and a hand seized her braids; tugging her head back to expose her throat and placing the massive blade she had seen Ichigo wield against her bare, exposed neck. She stared up at a grinning, bleached version of Ichigo's face staring down at her. It was an unnerving sight. "I'd hate to kill the King's new squeeze." He giggled at the woman's suddenly slack, shocked expression that soon turned to outrage. "Ah, ah. No talking. Sit back and watch the show." He turned her head, forcefully, towards Ichigo and Soi Fon had to do as she was told, irritatingly. How had she been caught off guard by this spirit?
-()-
Inside Ichigo's mindscape, something shifted, and his, currently lone, male spirit's eyes narrowed; the crimson, glowing slits stared up at the deep blue sky as he felt the same foreign force begin to pull at him. Tabigarasu, previously having been lying on his back, was on his feet in a moment and moving towards Muramasa's calling tones in long; almost eager, strides. The shadows that formed his humanoid figure coiled much like the muscles of his wielder, and he did not look back as he felt the prickle of judging eyes upon his back. He did not need to explain himself to the water-woman.
Nejibana watched this with concern; she would never have thought that the spirit, strange as he was, would be so excited to betray Ichigo. She had always thought that the savage spirit was loyal to his wielder above everything else, although loyal might not be the right word. It was more like Tabigarasu... She frowned, not liking the direction of her thoughts simply because of the fear they inspired in her, and the likelihood of the figure causing carnage outside Ichigo's mind, and watched the vicious figure stalk towards the outside world. Then, however, the blue-haired Zanpakuto spirit twisted, and laid her hands on the shoulders of the woman following her sister.
"Hoo?" Kikoo asked of the blue-woman in front of her, confused.
"He's going to the outside world." Nejibana answered the woman's question, and Kikoo tilted her head in confusion.
"Coo?" The flame-haired woman asked, with confusion.
"To... to fight Ichigo." Nejibana answered.
"Hoo." Kikoo shook her head. "Cuckoo-Hoo." The newest addition to Ichigo's soul denied.
-()-
Ichigo's body shook, as he felt an unfamiliar feeling gather in his chest; one that felt like butterflies, made of razors, were slamming themselves against his ribcage. He groaned in pain, and sharp, dark ruby hands clawed their way out of his chest. A torso, made of shadows as solid as the man they were escaping from, followed with a clump of obsidian sat atop its shoulders. Muramasa stepped back, and watched the spirit crawl out of Ichigo's chest, and his lips twisted into a small smile at the promise of distraction from Tabigarasu. From what he understood, the creature was filled with rage, and would be all too willing to unleash his anger upon the Soul Reapers; the people who took away his first wielder. The brown haired man denied the unease that came with Tabigarasu's appearance, and ignored the memory of last time he tried to reason with the spirit.
"Greetings, my friend." Muramasa spoke, as he watched the spirit step away from Ichigo; his entire form now freed of his prison, and watched Ichigo sag, slightly, against Zangetsu. The regal-faced Zanpakuto held his wielder up, and set Ichigo back on his feet. It was interesting to watch the man's reaction to the extraction. "It is good to have you join us."
Tabigarasu did not speak, as he looked down at the purple-eyed spirit.
Ichigo noticed the reactions of others, though, as he was used to the intimidating form in front of him, as the others got caught up in the living shadow that stared around at them with blood-red eyes born from the pits of hell. The pink-cat woman that bore some resemblance to her wielder; Rangiku, more specifically, hid behind a blue-haired man with a cobalt X diagonally across his face and squealed at the sight. Another, less... busty girl tried to shove her out from behind the man in order to take her place; also afraid of the new figure. The blue-themed man seemed largely unconcerned, if with a hint of trepidation in his eyes at the deadliness of Tabigarasu's aura.
A red and black spirit that made the hairs on the back of Ichigo's neck rise took a step back and his grin; reminiscent of Hichigo's, faltered at the sight of the similarly-coloured, if with an even darker, and more... sinister feel. Near to said creature, Ichigo saw a gaunt man, with a slab of rock strapped across his back and a large metal ball on his shoulder, shiver at the sight, and an effeminate man that was stood next to him backed away; cowering ever so slightly. A creepy spirit; dressed in bandages and a heavy cloak that cast a deep shadow over its face, was off to his side, and Ichigo flicked his eyes over to see its reaction, only to find nothing forthcoming. It seemed largely indifferent to the dark figure, worryingly.
"I am glad to see," Muramasa began again; still addressing the newest member of his cause. "That you have finally come to sense, and that you have chosen to join my cause." He said, forcing his lips into a half-hearted smile. He awaited a genuine response from the other spirit, as Tabigarasu's red eyes focused on his purple, before a crack appeared in the lower half of his face; an imitation of a mouth. Muramasa felt a drop of sweat run down the back of his neck; a response to fear that his user had had in the few instances that he had been afraid, and swallowed audibly at the sight of the tall, demonic spirit's smile.
He did not have teeth inside his maw.
It was simply the same crimson glow from hell that formed his eyes, that inspired fear in the man, and birthed, in him, an urge to flee. He did not have time to run, as Tabigarasu's scarlet hand seized him by the throat, and the purple eyed man's legs dangled in the air. The savage spirit's claws dug into his flesh, and blood began to dribble down the sides of the spirit's neck as Tabigarasu brought his face close to his own and snarled.
"W-What are y-urgh!" Muramasa interrupted himself, as he found claws digging into his stomach; piercing the flesh and causing blood to spray from his mouth as he gasped and spluttered out his pain. In response to the question, Tabigarasu growled, and yanked the claws back out; tearing the flesh and throwing the brown haired Spirit away with a grunt of irritation, before turning on the spot, and facing Zangetsu, where he was holding his blade against Ichigo's throat. Crimson slits locked onto Zangetsu's slightly covered, dark eyes and Tabigarasu snarled angrily. Unlike the others present, excluding Ichigo and, to an extent, Soi Fon, none of whom displayed anything nearing calm, Zangetsu simply stared back at Tabigarasu.
"You know my reasons," Zangetsu stated without emotion in response to the silent question. "If you disagree with my reasoning, I will fight, but I do not believe that you will be of that opinion." He did not give any more reason to his fellow Zanpakuto, and Tabigarasu's blood-red eyes narrowed. They seemed to dart to Ichigo; indicated by a small flicker, and the shadow-Zanpakuto relented with a grunt, turning back to Muramasa, who was now standing on wobbly legs.
"What are you doing?! Why are you fighting me?!" He demanded, angrily.
"He ain't a big talker, wanabee-king." A merry voice spoke up from behind the purple-eyed man, and Muramasa turned to find the bleached form of Ichigo grinning widely at him. "But I'd suggest you follow my lead and RUN! Haha!" He vanished, cackling, in a buzz just as Tabigarasu pounced; flying at Muramasa. Solely acting on instinct, Muramasa vanished, and reappeared a few metres to the side, in a burst of Shunpo. The shadow-demon of a Zanpakuto passed through the place he had just been stood; his claws passing through the space that had previously contained Muramasa's neck, and Tabigarasu snarled his annoyance; turning to face his would-be prey once again.
"Let him go!" Soi Fon did not pay any attention to her apparent-ally's actions, as she appeared next to Ichig and his captor; her blade drawn as other Zanpakuto weighed the pros and cons of following the pale Zangetsu's lead versus those of fighting the scary figure, versus those of going to find their wielder, and have their own confrontation when this commotion was only going to grow. It seemed, to most, to be the ideal time to do so, after all.
"Good luck, pal!" The scythe wielding Zanpakuto, Kazeshini, was the first to make up his mind, and called this to Muramasa just before he vanished in a burst of Flash Step.
"Bye!" Matsumoto's Zanpakuto, Heineko, called, and vanished. She was shortly followed by the girl that had been arguing with her, silently, for a portion of the meeting as they shot glances at Ichigo; before Tabigarasu had appeared and frightened them.
"YOU!" Apparently, Omaeda had woken, since he was now on his feet yelling at his Zanpakuto. "That was a CHEAP SHOT!" He yelled, angry as always.
"You are in the STEALTH FORCE!" His Zanpakuto responded. "How do you expect me to fight?!"
"Moron." Soi Fon could not help herself from commenting, though she did not take her attention away from Ichigo.
"YOU EMBARRASSED ME IN FRONT OF MY CAPTAIN!" Omaeda roared, as he noticed her presence. "RAH!" He leapt forwards, and his Zanpakuto vanished; choosing to fight somewhere without Tabigarasu as the brick wall behind him shattered as he sent a ball of invisible-reiatsu at the dodging Muramasa.
Others, too many for Ichigo to keep track of in his current predicament, echoed Kazeshini's sentiments, but one of them did not have that luxury, since her wielder was present and trying to interrupt her fun.
"Hey!" A small voice berated. "Stop it; I want to see him fight!" Soi Fon turned, to find a tiny figure hovering in front of her face; arms on hips. She was not happy that her wielder was attempting to prevent Ichigo's show.
"What are you..."
"What am I wearing? Nice, isn't it?" She posed for her wielder, showing the , and scowled as she got no response. "Hey, Ichigo," She buzzed over to hover in front of the human's face. "You like it, don't you?" She asked, sticking her bottom lip out as she shyly looked down. Soi Fon fumed at the obvious fakeness, and the fact that Ichigo did not seem to notice.
"Uh..." Ichigo was confused, at the sudden want of his opinion in the middle of this situation, and at the fact that the tiny Zanpakuto was seemingly unaware of his predicament as she waited for his opinion. "Yeah? Yes, you look... nice?" He half asked; his tone slightly uncertain due to the glare he could see from Soi Fon over to the side. He could not imagine what she was angry about, and was very uncertain whether he was saying the right thing, but insulting the tiny girl in front of him would be a bad idea, surely.
"Thanks!" Whatever he was expecting in response to his uncertain statement, is was not this. The small Zanpakuto leapt forwards; or something of that sort, given that she was hovering with bee-like wings, and grabbed his head in an imitation of a hug; planting a kiss on his cheek and nuzzling him in an extremely odd reaction. Soi Fon reddened ever so slightly, and her scowl increased as her Zanpakuto turned to her, stuck out her tongue, and was about to speak in a teasing tone, when Soi Fon interrupted her.
"Idiot!" The Captain berated the girl. "You stung him!" Soi Fon scowled, and her Zanpakuto jumped back, yelping.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sting you!" She panicked, and waved her arms up and down in a matching fashion. She had a guilty look on her face, as a tattoo-butterfly spread across Ichigo's left cheek. At the cold sensation, he raised his hand and rubbed at it; not overly concerned but a tad... weirded out by everything that was happening. "A-Anyway, I was going to say that you need a man like him!" Suzembachi pointed her right arm at the orange-haired man. "I mean, I've only been out here for a few days, and I've gotten further with Ichigo than you!"
"How have you?!" Soi Fon demanded of her sword.
"I kissed him!" Suzembachi harrumphed, proudly.
"On the cheek!"
"Still counts!"
"No it doesn't!"
"Yes it does!"
"It doesn't!"
"Does!"
"Doesn't!"
"Doe-"
"Oi!" Ichigo exclaimed, from his place still frozen in place with the sharp of the blade pressed against his throat. "Can you take it some place else? Much as this is entertaining, I feel like I've got some stuff of my own to take care of! One of my Zanpakuto has my own Shikai pressed against my throat, and the other is halfway through killing your boss!" He directed this to Suzembachi, and the two females; Zanpakuto ad wielder respectively, turned to focus on the fight between the two.
-()-
The long-nailed one was slippery.
Cowardly slimy... coward!
Pale skinned pathetic human piece of filth!
He attacked Ichigo! That meant that all of his hate belonged atop the purple-man. He would not accept someone hurting the one who saved his sanity!
He would tear the intruder limb from limb! His sister would burn the man to ash!
HE WOULD NOT BE ALONE AGAIN!
He would not!
Never.
-()-
Ichigo watched his Zanpakuto's rage with concern. Not for Muramasa; it was foolish for him to trust Tabigarasu yet again, after the blow he'd been dealt the last time, and the purple-eyed man had tried to kill more than a few of his friends. All of the Shinigami, in fact. No, he was concerned for many things, but the slimy man was not one of them.
He was worried for Tabigarasu, first and foremost, as his claws tore a chunk from Muramasa's arm; the man barely slipping out of the way of a fatal injury. Of course, the Spirit's mental stability was long, long incurable, but Ichigo was not happy to see this. To see him so unstable, so far gone, made him worry for the future.
This lead to Ichigo's second cause for concern. Once Tabigarasu was done with Muramasa, what would happen? He doubted that the Spirit would be content with so little, and so Ichigo would need to stop him. That should be doable, since Tabigarasu was taking his sweet time with Muramasa, and the long-nailed man was a talented dodger, if nothing else.
"Zangetsu," Ichigo scowled. "Will you get on with the fight? I know that you did not rebel for the sake of cutting my throat, after all."
"I am aware, Ichigo," Was the impassive Zanpakuto's response, as he released Ichigo and the human-Shinigami turned to face him. "That you are no fool. You are also a wielder that none of us have true complaints regarding."
"And I know Nejibana's reasons by now." Ichigo stated. "She was insecure, and I can understand that even if I'm unhappy with it. Tabigarasu... well, he's not rebelling against me. He's rebelling against the rebel leader, in fact," The hybrid smirked. "So... he is still on my side, and acting like he normally does. Hichigo just wants to fight and cause chaos, and he can do that a lot better out here than stuck in my head." That, too, was simple as anything. "But you? I don't know why you're doing it."
"I am sure you have some idea." Zangetsu stated, slightly sceptically.
"The same reason as always?" Ichigo asked. "You think that I can do more than I currently am. That I need to move forwards, and make the most of my strength. To grow so that I never have to sacrifice myself in a fight in order to win, as you seem certain I would; something that I can't honestly deny." In the right circumstances... well, Ichigo would be hard pressed to think of himself over those he cared about.
"And how do I wish to achieve my intention?" Zangetsu questioned his wielder.
"A fight?"
"A fight."