Hey guys, finally posting a new chapter here. I don't have too much to say, so let's get this going. Thanks for the reviews BloodyRose, quietreaper, Zara Blacknight and collmon16!
Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach
Claimer: I own the other story
Chapter 8: Travel to The Soul Society
Karin slowly opened her eyes, looking around. She heard Ichigo and Toshiro talking outside. She rubbed her eyes, seeing Marel and The Reaper in the corner. They were still asleep, and Elizabeth still hadn't come back after she left, so she just thought she might just be out somewhere. Well, that was pretty obvious. She got up and walked outside, seeing a Hell Butterfly on Tohsiro's finger.
"What's going on?" She asked, yawning afterward. She wasn't too good at getting up anymore for some reason. Toshiro looked over to her, the Hell Butterfly flying away.
"Seems like Elizabeth have sent a message to the Soul Society. And we've been given a message. This is an urgent message to all Squad Captains, including Captain Soi-Fon, Captain Kuchiki, Captain Hitsugaya and Captain Skysilver. A message from someone who lives in this world has been received and all Captains are to find the one who sent it and bring him or her to the Soul Society. The reason for this is we need more information about this world, and he or she might be the most willing to provide it. He or she controls flame at will and can make it alive if he or she pleases. Find the one who can do that and bring her here as fast as possible. That is all." He said, Karin not really getting everything he said.
"So, he wants Elizabeth to the Soul Society? What the hell is this old man thinking?" Ichigo asked, Toshiro shaking his head. Karin looked around, seeing Elizabeth walking towards them. I wonder if she heard us. She thought, poking Toshiro's shoulder and pointed towards her.
"There you are. Where the hell have you been?" He asked, Elizabeth closing her eyes and didn't even answer his question. This girl is going to get on my nerves, I can already tell. He thought, narrowing his eyes.
"Which way is to this 'Soul Society' you mentioned?" She asked, all of them looked surprised. The Reaper and Marel looked out of the window, hearing what she said. "I won't ask again, so just tell me." She said, seeming a bit impatient. Yup, she defiantly heard us. But why is she in such a hurry to get there? Karin thought, Toshiro shaking his head.
"Wish I knew. We weren't there when we arrived here. Do you know, Ichigo?" He asked, Ichigo thinking for a bit.
"Well, I did. But I'm not too sure now. But it shouldn't be too hard to find if we get someplace high." He said, Elizabeth shaking her head.
"The mountains around here are covered in trees, making it almost impossible to see anything. So trying to get a view from there would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, not easy at all." She said, The Reaper walking outside.
"You might be able to see something from the peak of the hill over there. Though, I wouldn't really suggest going up there now." He said, everyone looking at him.
"How come?" Karin asked, Marel walking out as well.
"That's where people who died are resting, but that's not the reason. Every since this happened, strange thing has been going on." He explained. Ichigo looked confused at him, Elizabeth narrowing her eyes.
"Such as?"
"Like the souls of the dead just rising up from their graves to kill the ones who deserted them. That's not normal, at least not for us." He said, Toshiro thinking about something.
"I just got an idea." He said, everyone looking at him. "We Soul Reapers are able to perform something called a Konso. When we touch wandering souls with the hilt of our Zanpakuto, they turn into a Hell Butterfly and fly to the Soul Society. Since the Soul Society is around here, we could use that to find out way back." He told them, Ichigo nodding. Elizabeth didn't have any objections either.
"It's worth a try. Reaper and Marel, you two stay here in case something happens while I'm gone. Oh, and if you run into Drew and the others, tell them what's going on." She ordered, both of them nodding as she led them to the hill. The people of the town seemed very suspicious of them, Karin staying relatively close to Toshiro so she felt safe. This made Ichigo very mad, so Elizabeth made sure to stay in between them. "What's so wrong with the two of them getting along, if I might ask?" She asked, catching the teen off guard.
"I'm not gonna let some Soul Reaper get close to my sister." He said, not letting the two hear him. Elizabeth sighed as they reached the hill top. All of them felt an uneasy feeling, Karin staying behind Toshiro. She wasn't too confident in her abilities in fighting Souls.
"Well, he was right. There's defiantly something wrong here." Toshiro said, looking around a bit. After he took on step onto the dirt, trying not to step where the bodies lay, a soul came rising from the earth, just like they had said. And after one had come, several others came after it.
"What the hell? This Soul doesn't look normal." Ichigo said, Toshiro agreeing.
"They're souls of dead Masters with regret or anger towards normal humans. I can already tell. And what you said is true, and then we first need to make them normal humans again." She said, Ichigo asking how the hell they were going to do that. "Easy, we just have to hit them with the power of a Spirit that's stronger than theirs, in this case, Karin, me and Toshiro have stronger Spirits." She explained, Karin looking at some of them.
"Do we have to hurt them? They look like they're already in a lot of pain." She asked, Elizabeth nodding.
"Unfortunately, we don't have much choice. Besides, they won't feel that much pain, so it's not too bad. But it's better than hating and holding anger towards the people they're supposed to have protected in their time alive." She said, Karin still looking a bit sad. Toshiro didn't really know what to say either, since his job was to protect humans and make sure souls were safe. Just do as she says, Toshiro. The sooner we get to the Soul Society, the better. Besides, what she said was true, these souls are in pain because of their anger towards people they were supposed to protect. Timedrano said, Toshiro nodding mentally. Karin moved a bit to the side, wondering a bit how she should even do this. Send fires right at them?
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ichigo asked, getting and elbow in the gut.
"The more impatient you are, the longer this is going to take. There's no point in doing a million times when we could just wait for the rest of them to come so we can take care of all of them in one go." She said, looking at the younger ones. "When I give the signal, use your powers and hit as many as possible. Doesn't matter if you both hit the same one, as long as we get all of them. And you can use you Zanpakuto is your Spirit is connected to it." She said, Toshiro nodding.
"Alright." He said, Karin nodding. Calm down, Karin. Like she said, it's better for them this way. Unless you want them to feel more pain and regret. Who knows, they might even turn into Hollows if this keeps up. And I really don't want to fight against a Hollow who has the power of a Master. FlameWolf said, Karin nodding. As they stood there, waiting for more of them to come up, Ichigo made sure no one came up here and no Hollow were creating havoc. After about 5 more came up, Elizabeth narrowed her eyes.
"Now!" She yelled, using her sword to send out a huge wave of fire, Toshiro doing the same but with ice with Timedrano's power inside of it and Karin concentrated her power on the ones they didn't get. They finished relatively fast, all of them but one going back into the ground as small balls of light. The one that stayed seemed to be the oldest one of them all. He also looked like an old Samurai from the old ages.
"Who are you?" Toshiro asked, not really threatening, more like wanting to know who he was.
"I'm an old soldier from many decades ago. Like all the others here, we had been cursed here by the forms we died in. This have been here for about a month or so, and we've not been able to rest in peace." He said, Karin looking confused.
"But if you're a soldier from decades ago, shouldn't have passed on a long time ago?" She asked, the man shaking his head.
"Like these Souls, something held me to this world. And the only reason I didn't do anything in the beginning, was because that man who lives in this town made sure we didn't hurt anyone. He's the one who sent you here, right?" He asked, Elizabeth nodding.
"Yeah, Reaper has the power to control the dead, either using their souls to help people in need or punish Souls and send them to Hell." She explained under her breath, Toshiro hearing her. But he didn't say anything and walked towards him with the hilt of his Zanpakuto.
"Then I think it's time you passed on. I don't know what happens to Souls now that the Soul Society is here, but I'm not going to risk you turning into a Hollow." He said, tapping his head and he turned into a Hell Butterfly.
"Now we just follow it, right? You sure it will lead us to this Soul Society?" Elizabeth asked, Toshiro nodding.
"Yeah, pretty sure." He said, Karin walking over to him and Ichigo walking beside Elizabeth. "Ready to go?" he asked, all of them nodding. He pulled Karin onto his back and jumped after the two teens in front of him.
The three of them kept jumping, still hoping the Hell Butterfly lead them to where they needed to go. Karin was on Toshiro's back, almost nodding off. Elizabeth said it would take some time for her to get used to the extra energy that she has, since their both Fire Masters. This would explain why she's suddenly having trouble waking up in the morning. This doesn't affect her control of her powers or anything else for that matter, just the fact that she wouldn't be able to stay awake for too long without resting now and again until she's used to it.
"Why is that a side-effect? I mean, how does that change anything?" Ichigo asked, jumping on a line of rocks that slightly stood out of a very fast stream.
"Ever thought how dangerous it would be for her by herself? She would be dead in less than 10 minutes." Elizabeth warned him, Ichigo a bit scared while Toshiro made sure he didn't drop her.
"Sorry about this, Toshiro. I should be walking myself." Karin whispered in his ear, Toshiro smiling slightly.
"Don't worry about it, this is nothing. Besides, if what she said was true, then walking wouldn't be the best thing at the moment." He said, trying not to make her feel useless. Karin smiled and thanked him, breathing softly into his hair. Toshiro smiled, closing his eyes and let Karin relax. Ichigo looked over, luckily for them though, he couldn't see Karin.
"Overprotective brother." Elizabeth commented, Ichigo quickly turning to see her smirking. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at her, only getting a look that basically said 'I'm-not-pointing-something-out'.
"Just shut the hell up." He said, Elizabeth turning to face the road ahead again. She kept thinking about the others, if they were OK or not. She hadn't been around for too long, so she didn't know where they could've gone. Not to mention the fact that the Soul Society made things even less how she remembered. The Hell Butterfly started slowing down as she thought, making her stop for a bit.
"Hey, what's wrong with it?" She asked, Toshiro looking over.
"Seems like it's trying to figure out which way the Soul Society is. So far, it's been easy for it to find. But now there's a fork in the road." He said, Elizabeth looking back at him. "Just wait for a bit and let it decide." He said in the end, Ichigo looking over at Karin.
"Is she asleep?" He asked, Toshiro shaking his head. He said she was just resting her eyes, since she was still sort of talking to him. Ichigo nodded, Elizabeth moving again.
"It's going again, so unless you want to lose it, you might wanna keep up." She said, the two of them jogging over to her as they kept following the Hell Butterfly. Though, they didn't have to for too long. They got to a hill, looking over the horizon. Ichigo and Toshiro looked around, both of them quickly noticing where they were.
"That's it, the Soul Society." Ichigo said, pointing at the area ring in the middle of a big field. Elizabeth looked around, seeing an eagle flying towards them. It looked normal when it was in the sky, but as soon as it got closer to them, she noticed it was the same fire creature she sent with the message for the Soul Society.
"Good work getting that message to them." She said, holding her hand out so it landed neatly, not hurting her and petted him as a reward. It gave one last cry before disappearing. Karin looked around, telling Toshiro he could put her down now. He nodded and carefully put her on the ground. "So, are we going or what?" She asked, all of them nodding as they went down the hill, Karin going a bit slow since she had been still for such a long time. Toshiro waited for her along with Ichigo, in case she lost her balance and fell. Elizabeth was down before any of them could even ask why she wanted to go there. She leaned against a big boulder, wondering what it was doing here.
"In a hurry, are we?" Ichigo asked, Elizabeth not answering. She still wondered why a boulder this size was here; it was about three times her size! Karin looked around, making sure she remembered the area. She noticed something in the trees, narrowing her eyes to get a better look.
"Hey, do you guys see anything in the trees over there?" She asked, making sure she wasn't just seeing things. Everyone turned their attention to where she pointed, Elizabeth instantly putting her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Yeah, and I don't think it's a friend." She said, Toshiro and Ichigo turning around as well, ready for a fight. "No point hiding, we know you're there." She called, Karin going behind Toshiro since she wasn't sure what she could do.
"Well, seems like you have sharp eyes." The person said, Elizabeth narrowing her eyes and growled slightly.
"Golden Eye." She said, the man, Golden Eye smirking.
"It's been a while, Skysilver."
OK, I'll stop here. Sorry if it's a bit short, but since it's been forever since I last posted one I thought I could make this one a bit short. So you guys can at least read something while I work on something else. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, leave a review and I'll see ya later!