"Well it could be worse."-Speaking
'Don't say that you fool...'-Thinking
"Pathetic"/"What the hell?"-Hollow/Weapon Form talking
"Fight!"-Zanpakuto/Yelling/Attack Name
Rain.
Why did it have to be rain?
It could snow, hail, it could even be a tornado...but why did it have to rain?
Chapter #10: Battle of the Souls
The village was silent, the recent battle must have scared off anyone who was willing to stick around. The rain was the only source of sound, reminding everyone that they had not pasted on to the next life...yet.
BlackStar was still there, his body covered in a few cuts and wounds but he seemed fine overall. Ryoku was still unconscious, no change there. Ichigo was there of course, having arrived just moments ago and still processing the situation in front of him. Having killed the hollow in the forest, the young Vizard had rushed back to the village but to his surprise it wasn't battle that he had returned to...but silence.
And Tsubaki? She was sitting in front of them both, acting as if she was asleep. Her eyes were closed and she was gripping a strange black sword.
"BlackStar...what happened?" Something was wrong here, something was extremely wrong here. Ichigo may still be a bit new to the DWMA and its activities, but even he could tell that something was off and BlackStar was the only one who could ease his troubled mind.
BlackStar looked over his shoulder and finally noticed his fellow student, "Took you sweet ass long enough didn't you? I knew I should have been the one to kill that big monster, I would have gotten it done in no time!"
"BlackStar! What the Hell happened!?" Ichigo was in no mood for BlackStar's showboating attitude.
The blue haired ninja simply shrugged, "I beat the hell out of the Demon Blade after he possessed that annoying kid," he pointed at the unconscious form of Ryoku, "And then Tsubaki went inside the sword to fight the bastard head on, its her fight now."
"And you're just sitting here...why?" Ichigo asked, he was not liking where this was going at all.
"She wanted to this on her own, and so she is." BlackStar sounded like he knew what exactly what was going on (despite the fact that he didn't). Ichigo though seemed even more confused, this is what happens when you leave your teammates to go kill a giant monster in the woods. You miss out on important information.
Ichigo looked at Tsubaki and then the sword before it finally clicked, "So you expect me to just sit here and wait to see what happens!?" BlackStar nodded, that was exactly what he intended to do. He trusted Tsubaki, he knew Ichigo did as well, so hopefully it wouldn't take too long before-
"No."
The young ninja's smile dropped, "What do you mean 'No'?"
Ichigo's knuckles started to turn white, he was gripping them a bit too hard. "I won't just sit here on the sidelines, watching as my friend fights for her life..."
"What are you talking about? Tsubaki's fighting inside the Demon Blade! There is nothing you can do but watch." It's true that BlackStar wasn't any happier with the situation than Ichigo was, but what could they do? He wasn't as skilled a meister as Maka was so there wasn't really anything he could do...right?
"I don't care..."
BlackStar just grumbled at that attitude, still he couldn't help but admire his stubbornness. Maybe if he was that stubborn then one day he could truly surpass GO-"...but I'm going to end this, right here, right now."
BlackStar stared at Ichigo, who was walking towards Tsubaki with a dark aura starting to resonate around him. Now this was just starting to piss him off, what was he going to do? Shake Tsubaki awake and crush the Demon Blade in his hands? That would be just stupid. Trying to get past his annoyance (or maybe it was a headache due to all the blows to the head recently) BlackStar tried to convince Ichigo to see the truth one more time.
"Dude, there is nothing you or I can do. If I! The all mighty BlackStar can't do anything, then there is no way in hell you could. So knock it off already, we might as well just sit here and wait for Tsubaki to finish this by hersel-"
"Shut Up!"
Everything went quiet. BlackStar never saw Ichigo this mad before, even during their fight back at the academy Ichigo wasn't this made. Oh he was mad that is for sure, but this was something else. He was concerned for Tsubaki of course but he trusted her...Ichigo however looked downright insulted at the idea of just letting her handle this.
Why? Why was he so set on helping her?
"The last time I stood on the sidelines...a lot of people got hurt." Ichigo's tone darkened, "I saw an innocent girl get impaled, her closest friend traumatized, and everyone else? I saw people I consider my friends and allies get torn apart like it was nothing..."
The air started to get heavy. The rain started to fall even faster, as if gravity itself had been enhanced. A dark pressure started to gather around the young shinigami, his reiatsu growing thick and heavy. Rage tends to be a powerful emotion when a shinigami is convened and at the moment, that is an emotion that Ichigo was overwhelmed with.
"...and all of that happened...while I just stood there and WATCHED!" The ground nearly cracked, the force of Ichigo's reiatsu was overwhelming the world around him. BlackStar was surprisingly unaffected though...
Rage was just bursting from the shinigami. He would never allow the Gotei 13's battle with Aizen to repeat itself, never again. But why was BlackStar so willing then? How could he just sit there while his partner was fighting for her life? Was he that self-centered? No, he wasn't. Ichigo may not like BlackStar that much but he knew that the kid was not that kind of person. He would risk his life for his friends, even if he acted like a complete dumb-ass while doing so.
So why? Why was he just sitting there?
Ichigo glared at the young ninja, "Why are you, her meister just sitting there?! Why are you so calm when she is in a position that could end up getting her killed?!"
Silence took hold of the village, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of the rain. The two student gazed at each other, their eyes communicating their opposite positions. But at the end of it BlackStar sighed, his gaze becoming a bit glazed as he started to recall a very special memory.
"When I first came to the DWMA, I made a grand speech to everyone. One that described how great I am, how I would become greater than god..." BlackStar couldn't help but grin at that memory, the vision of a younger version of himself standing atop the school while shouting to everyone that stood below him. It was one hell of a moment for him.
BlackStar looked to the sky, the rain gently falling on his face, "By the time I was done everyone was gone, I guess they just couldn't handle how much of a star I was." He chuckled a bit, "But she stayed, Tsubaki stayed and listened to the whole thing."
"That was the day we became partners..." BlackStar's eyes became focused, serious once more, "She stayed by me and now, its my turn to wait for till the end of her performance."
Ichigo understood now, he understood BlackStar's reason for just sitting there. Why he was so calm in all of this despite the fact that she could die in this situation, but could Ichigo do the same? Could he ignore the danger and sit by and watch?
Not a chance. With his previous experiences in this type of situation and his protective nature, Ichigo just couldn't stand by and watch this situation unfold on its own. He had to do something, anything would be better in his opinion that just sitting around and waiting. Walking past BlackStar, Ichigo approached Tsubaki, prepared to do anything to end this battle.
"But..." Ichigo stopped, turning his attention back to the ninja.
"Everyone needs an assistant during their performance..." A real smile gracing the kid's face, " So why don't you go help her prepare for the big show?"
Reading between the lines was never Ichigo's strong suit but, this was something he could easily understand. So the question was now...how was he going to actually help? Taking a seat next to Tsubaki, Ichigo focused his mind on the matter at hand.
'Guys? Any ideas?' Ichigo called into his inner world, hoping that his allies could offer some sort of advice.
"..."
'Hello? Old Man? Are either of you two there?'
A very loud and annoyed voice suddenly rang though Ichigo's head, "Shut up King! We are thinking here!"Giving them a few more minutes while the ringing stopped Ichigo was finally contacted by Old Man Zangetsu with an idea.
"Ichigo, Tsubaki seems to be battling the Demon blade in his own inner world correct?"
Going off of BlackStar's explanation and the fact that no one was home in Tsubaki's head, that seemed like the logical explanation. How else could Tsubaki be fighting the Demon sword but going to the Sword's own soul ad fighting him there?
"From what I'm getting, the two of them are currently engaged in a tug of war so to speak, where the victor will claim and absorb the loser's soul into themselves." Now that was an outcome that Ichigo really didn't like, the idea of Tsubaki losing her soul to anything was a terrible thought.
'And this helps me...how?'
"She was able to enter his inner world by resonating with the Demon Sword's soul, if you do the same to her then perhaps you will be able to manifest yourself inside their battleground in a similar manor". Now that was a good idea, this would allow Ichigo to engage the Demon Blade personally. But there does seem to be one major issue.
'Um Zangetsu...while your idea is great and all...I have no idea how to resonate with a weapon.'
That was mostly true. Besides Zangetsu, Ichigo has never really had a chance or a reason to try and resonate his soul with anyone else. Zangetsu has always been enough when he joined the DWMA so there was never a time to try anything with a suitable weapon partner. Hell, while in his shinigami form Ichigo didn't even know if the process was even possible for him.
Ichigo didn't miss Zangetsu sigh however, "Ichigo, resonating your soul will not be that difficult. The bond a Meister and Weapon have is actually quite similar to a Zanpakuto and their shinigami." Ichigo honestly doubted that, "Just calm yourself ad focus, try to make yourself link up Tsubaki. You can feel her reiatsu, go forward and match it with your own."
'Oh yes, be calm and match hers...you make it sound so easy...'
Zangetsu wasn't amused by Ichigo's comment, "You do realize that I can still hear you right?"
'Yeah, I know. You were meant to hear that!' Ichigo retorted.
"Burn!" Ichigo's hollow shouted, interrupting their conversation.
"Quite You!"/'Shut Up!' Both Ichigo and Zangetsu shouted, causing the hollow to laugh even harder.
With that said, Ichigo got to quick work on making his soul to Tsubaki's. Easy to say, it was hard as hell. Not only did Ichigo have a much larger soul and little control over it, but he also had to tune it to Tsubaki's. But at least there was something positive about all of this, Tsubaki's soul wavelength was surprisingly accepting. Maybe it was because she was so kind and gentle...or maybe it was due to the fact that Ichigo and BlackStar had very similar wavelengths on some level.
Either way, eventually Ichigo finally connected their two souls together. It wasn't nearly as strong as a Meister's bond with their weapon partner, but it was good enough for Ichigo's task. As his hold on the world around him started to fade, Ichigo gave one last look to BlackStar before passing out.
BlackStar couldn't help but chuckle at that, "Heh, jackass..."
-Masamune's Inner world-
Empty...the world felt empty.
It's not like visiting other people's inner worlds has ever been a hobby of Ichigo's but the moment he entered this one, it felt...wrong. If Ichigo tried to describe his own inner world then it would be a large city, filled to the brim with mystery and danger. Yet at its center you could feel a warm light, a warmth that would make you feel like nothing could hurt you, like you were being watched over by a knight or something.
But this place? It felt...dead.
It didn't help that the world looked like it was nothing but water. It reminded Ichigo of that time where his inner world transformed into a flooded version of Karakura town. The Demon Blade's world however lacked anything else, there was just water and strange stick figure shaped creatures sticking out of the water.
Other than that, nothing.
That wasn't the only thing Ichigo noticed however. The moment Ichigo appeared in this realm his appearance had changed a bit. His hair was noticeably longer, he was a bit taller, and Zangetsu looked a bit different as well. While it retained its cleaver-like shape, the sword had grown in size slightly, the cloth that covered the blade's handle was pitch black now, and was even covering his entire hand along with the lower portion of his arm. It reminded Ichigo of his inner hollow's version of the sword, but the blade itself remained its normal coloring.
Besides Zangetsu's shikai apperence, he looked exactly like he did after he learned the Final Getsuga Tenshou (Lacking ripped sleeve and chain around his arm for obvious reason though).
'Guys? Whats going on?' Zangetsu and his inner hollow didn't answer however, causing Ichigo a bit of concern.
Instead of simply answering through their mental link, Ichigo was nearly surprised when he saw a cloud of black reiatsu gather next to him. The energy shifted around for a few seconds before finally taking shape as a tall middle-aged man in a black cloak and orange sunglasses. Zangetsu had arrived with Ichigo in the Demon Blade's inner world.
The Zanpakuto looked at his surroundings for a few seconds before taking a glance at his partner. Letting out a little chuckle, Zangetsu couldn't help but grin at Ichigo's expression. He was as some would put it, 'flabbergasted' or utterly shocked to say the least.
"Come now Ichigo, you have entered another person's inner world. Are you so surprised that I was able to follow you here as well?" Zangetsu's words seemed to snap Ichigo out of his shocked state.
Not taking too kindly to his Zanpakuto's smirk, Ichigo gestured towards his change in appearance,"Okay then...can you tell me whats going on then?"
"Ichigo, you are in your purest form here. There is nothing here that is suppressing your power here, you are unrestrained." Zangetsu explained, Ichigo actually grinning a bit once he understood the news. "Although, you are likely going to have a nasty headache once you return to your body however."
Zangetsu had to repress his laughter after hearing Ichigo groan. He had just gotten over one power overload induced hangover, he didn't want to deal with another already! Still it was nice to feel free for a while longer, especially since one particular negative effect was absent at the moment.
You see, whenever Ichigo removes that seal his power is restored but Zangetsu and his hollow...they vanish. Why? Neither of them know the reason since the Final Getsuga Tenshou no longer applied to the situation, but it still wasn't a pleasant feeling for either of them. Still, now that Zangetsu could manifest himself while Ichigo was unrestrained...this was rather nice. Thinking about it however...if he could appear, does that mean that the other could as well?
Sensing his partner's unrest, Zangetsu quickly set Ichigo's mind at ease. "The hollow has promised that he would not make himself known, a little too much madness in this realm could be dangerous..."
Tossing someone like his inner hollow into the inner world of a Weapon that is on its way to becoming a Kishin? Yeah, that could be a bad thing.
"But Ichigo, didn't you have a reason for coming here?" And with that, Zangetsu disappeared in a cloud of black reiatsu once more, leaving Ichigo alone once again.
Grumbling a quick thanks, Ichigo began to focus on finding his friend. Seeing how this was someone's inner world, you would expect that it would be quite simple to find someone since at this very moment there was only three people residing in it. But...there was something wrong, something else inside this place.
It was like this place was filled with tormented souls, the souls that the Demon Blade had consumed during its path to becoming a kishin. But even then, there was something else. A spirit, unlike anything Ichigo had ever felt before. It was dark, menacing, and it was...odd.
Ichigo made a mental note to avoid that one...
With that in mind, Ichigo continued his search. Along with how wrong this place felt, the young vizard was shocked to notice how large this place actually was. It just kept on going, it was like the endless barren wasteland that never seemed to end. But despite that, Ichigo used his enhanced speed to traverse this dark land. With that said, Ichigo did soon find the location of his friend and the target of their mission.
And boy...did he regret it.
In the middle of an open bed of water was Tsubaki. Ichigo hadn't known her for that long but she seemed nice, she seemed like a very caring individual. She even seemed like someone who could be a great friend for Ichigo if he got to know her better. Knowing that...the pain that Ichigo felt when he saw the scene before him spiked straight through his heart.
Because, standing in front of Ichigo was Tsubaki..who was currently being impaled in multiple places by an unknown figure in front of her.
The figure appeared to be a young man, one who was a few years older than his opponent. He was wearing a fairly large cloak that hid most of his tall appearance, although Ichigo could see some bandages tired around his arms. In his hand was a sword, one with a black blade and a bandage-wrapped hilt.
The boy had a very sickly appearance, his skin a very pale color along with a few lines that were actually not wrinkles marking his face. His eyes were actually quite a sight however, as they were black with a red center to them...which reminded Ichigo of a hollow in a way. Getting a look at his face however, Ichigo noticed that this man looked quite similar to Tsubaki...why though?
By taking into account the figure's appearance, Ichigo couldn't help but notice what was surrounding the figure. Twisting and wrapping themselves around the figure were these shadow-like creatures, which were the actual sources of the blades that were piercing the other DWMA student.
It appeared that neither of them had noticed the Vizard approach as the figure that Ichigo guessed was the Uncanny Sword continued to speak, "Do you have anything to say in the end?"
Tsubaki did not reply, as the wounds she now possessed only caused her to cough in return. Finding no pity at his opponents suffering, the Uncanny sword positioned his blade towards Tsubaki, planning to run her through once more.
"You're no more than a Tsubaki, the "Scentless Flower." The man muttered, "No expression, even in the end..." Drawing his arm back, the fiend prepared to end the life of the prey before him.
Too bad Ichigo wasn't going to have any of that.
Leaping into action, Ichigo dove between Tsubaki and the Uncanny Sword. Letting out one strong swipe with Zangetsu, Ichigo sliced through the blades that were impaling his friend. Ichigo then caught Tsubaki with his free arm before swinging Zangetsu around once more, only barley missing the Uncanny Sword as his foe dove backwards to avoid the attack.
Tsubaki was of course surprised by the sudden appearance of her fellow student, completely dumbfounded on how he had joined her and her foe in a place such as this. Ignoring her injuries for the moment Tsubaki voiced her confusion to the orange haired shinigami,"Ichigo...how?..."
Looking down at her Ichigo gave a small shrug, "Eh, I'm complicated." With that out-of-the-way, Ichigo focused his gaze on the figure standing across from them.
"Is this him? The Uncanny Sword?" Tsubaki nodded her head slowly, her wounds still effecting her to a certain degree. With his guess ringing true, Ichigo glared at the Uncanny Sword, who in turn gave Ichigo a very cold yet emotionless stare. Without any words between them, the Uncanny Sword dashed towards Ichigo with his blade held high.
-Clang-
Despite the suddenness of the attack, Ichigo easily brought Zangetsu up in time to block the strike. Sparks erupted from the blades as they clashed against each other, the strength of the two combatants not swaying in the slightest. The Uncanny Sword leaned in closer, making sure not to leave any weaknesses in his stance while doing so.
"Given that she just asked you my first question, I shall skip it for the moment" The Uncanny Sword spoke, "Still, who are you?"
Ichigo merely shrugged, "Ichigo Kurosaki. Still, I have yet to get your name as well. I am getting tired of calling you 'The Uncanny Sword', you don't seem that uncanny anyway." The Uncanny Sword merely raised an eyebrow at the question.
"Masamune Nakatsukasa." That answer was something that surprisingly caught Ichigo off guard, for he was quite familiar with that last name, for it belonged to the lady that was current resting in Ichigo's free arm.
'Nakatsukasa? But that's...are these two related or something?'
Catching the confused look on Ichigo's face, Masamune decided to elaborate even further on the subject. "The girl you are currently holding is my younger sister, who was granted nearly all the weapon forms from our clan..."
The air around Masamune suddenly started to thicken, the shadow-like creatures spouting from his shadows once more. "...weapon forms that should have been MINE!"
But all of this was ignored by Ichigo, who was currently trying to process the information that he had just been given.
'Older...brother...'
This sickly, soul devouring monster...was the older brother of Tsubaki? Who was perhaps one of the kindest people Ichigo had met since he had arrived in Death city. That this man, who claimed to be her older brother had caused such wounds to his younger sister? To attack her? Harm her?! He DARES!?
It was at this time that Tsubaki had noticed a change in Ichigo.
His brown eyes, which normally held a bit of darkness lurking in the background had suddenly become engulfed in a hateful expression, his gaze acting if it could burn through the gates of hell if necessary. His scowl had transformed into a frightening sneer, all of his anger being transferred straight toward her older brother. And this aura, this 'killing intent'...Ichigo was producing so much that it was making it hard to breath for the young weapon.
"Tsubaki..." Having been brought out of her own thoughts by Ichigo's cold voice, Tsubaki gave the speaker her full attention,"...do you think you can manage on your own despite those wounds?"
Knowing how much more durability she had while in this world Tsubaki nodded in return. Having her answer, Ichigo gently laid the young ninja to the ground, allowing her to rest herself on the inner world's surface. With her out of the danger zone for the moment, Ichigo turned his darkened gaze on Masamune, whose eyes gave an indication how far he had taken into his insanity.
"So..." Masamune started to grow concerned as he felt himself being pushed backwards by his foe's increasing strength, "After everything you just did, harming her, belittling her, and attempting to kill her...you still call yourself Tsubaki's older brother?"
Masamune said nothing, he was far more concerned with the fact that he was losing control of this duel before it had already began. But that small concern quickly exploded into complete and utter fear as the infamous 'Uncanny Sword' saw blue and black fire start to rise from his foe's blade. Taking his gaze off the sword and to its wielder, Masamune was shocked at what he saw. Gone were the brown eyes that were previously boring into his skull, now there were two new eyes staring at him...eyes that were black and yellow.
"You don't deserve that TITLE!" Releasing his pent-up rage Ichigo rushed forward with Zangetsu in hand, batting away Masamune with a single swing.
Overwhelmed by his foe's power, the Uncanny sword quickly found himself being flung through the air and unceremoniously slamming into the ground of his inner world more times than he can count. After finally coming to a stop, Masamune looked up to his shock to see Ichigo diving toward him with a burning hate in his eyes.
"Big Brothers are supposed to be there for their siblings!"
Savagely and without mercy, Ichigo swung his sword in a beserker-like fashion. Masamune was barely able to put up even a pitiful defense against his foe's savage attacks. Back and forth, up and down, Masamune explored nearly every passage he could think of but nothing was enough to break Ichigo's offensive march.
"They are meant to care for their sisters!" Bringing Zangetsu upward from the ground, Ichigo deflected Masamune's sword and caused the swordsman to break his stance. Taking advantage of this, Ichigo grabbed the would-be Kishin by the throat and tossed him across the landscape.
"To love them!" Landing on his feet this time, Masamune quickly tried to make use of the distance between him and his opponent. Summoning his shadow puppets in massive numbers, Masamune took a sideways stance and lifted his sword to his eye level.
With Ichigo slowly making his way over to him, Masamune shoved his sword forward as his shadow puppets responded in unison.
"Puppet Thrust!"
As Masamune drove his sword forward towards Ichigo, all the shadow puppets he summoned did the same. This resulted in all of the limbs of these puppets suddenly extending in length, the sharp points rushing towards the orange haired shinigami. Ichigo made no move to dodge the spikes as they finally made contact, casing a small explosion in water due to their impact.
'Got him' Masamune grinned.
But that grin did not last long. Before the water even died down, Masamune saw a speeding blur running across one of his shadow puppet's arms. Looking closer, he was shocked to see Ichigo calmly running across the very thing that had tried to kill him seconds earlier. Rage boiling within him due to this embarrassment, Masamune twisted his sword in a rage.
"Split Branches!"
Following their master once more, the puppets suddenly twisted their limbs in a similar fashion. But unlike last time this had a different result, as once this was done dozens of spikes suddenly emerged from the puppet's arms, creating a volley of spikes posed to impale their target. Unfortunately in his rage Masamune had announced this attack out loud, which was unneeded and only allowed Ichigo to counter this attack with ease.
With his already impressive speed, Ichigo was able to easily dodge the incoming spikes and merely hopped to a different arm whenever a new spike came toward him. With that said, the distance between the two foes quickly shrunk in size and Masamune soon found himself once again in range of an infuriated Ichigo.
"And above all else..."
Unleashing another slash with Zangetsu, Ichigo sent Masamune tumbling backwards once more as he was barely able to deflect this strike with his (now chipped) sword. But this was what Ichigo was planning. Bringing Zangetsu over his head, Masamune and even Tsubaki could only watch as both blue and black energy suddenly started to spread across the blade's surface.
"They PROTECT their SISTERS!"
With untold ferocity, Ichigo unleashed a massive arc of reiatsu towards the so-called 'rightful air of the Nakatsukasa clan'. It was gigantic, outclassing nearly anything Ichigo had unleashed since he came to this part of the world. And at the center of it was a frightening image, a white skull-like mask with two horns on each side of its head. Its raging yellow eyes burned into the soul (or whats left of it) of its target, the mask's jaws opened wide as the wave of reiatsu consumed its target.
"Getsuga Tenshou."
Ichigo's cold words was all that remained after his attack made contact. The responding explosion from his technique created a massive effect on Masamune's inner world. Tidal waves were generated and the responding displacement of water was quite large, perhaps if the world wasn't entirely made of water then the attack may have even reached the bottom of the ocean.
Tsubaki looked on in shock and even a bit of horror at the apparent demise of her brother. But Ichigo? His gaze never changed or shifted, rage was still burning in his eyes. Even as one of the tidal waves rushed towards the young shinigami all Ichigo responded with was a slight growl. When the wave neared less than a few yards from the boy, a single swipe of his Zanpakuto sliced open the wave and allowed Ichigo and Tsubaki (who had been sitting a good distance behind Ichigo in conveniently the same angle) to pass safely through the water.
But as the water started to settle, Ichigo could barley contain his annoyance. "Are you serious?"
Standing in the distance was Masamune, who had somehow survived his Getsuga. Apparently the boy had summoned all of his shadow puppets to his side the moment Ichigo had launched his technique. Covering their master in a protective shell made of their own bodies, the puppets took the full force of the technique and protected their master.
This however also meant the demise of most of these puppets as Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshou burned most of them to ashes, leaving a pitiful few remaining under Masamune's command. He could of course make more of them, but the power he used to create so many had put massive stress on his inner world as a result.
So with his foe out of breath and rage still burning in his soul, Ichigo swung Zangetsu behind his back and prepared to charge head first into the slaughter. But before he could put one foot forward the young man felt a hand grasp his arm, stopping his assault. Turning his attention from the target of his wrath, Ichigo matched eyes with the person he had come to protect in the first place.
"Ichigo...thats enough." Tsubaki's voice was firm, but it wasn't void of the fear that she previously processed.
Shocked, Ichigo tried to state his case, "Enough?! This Bastard deserves more than this! He deserves-" Tsubaki however would not allow him to continue any further.
"Ichigo..." Tsubaki's voice was filled with regret, "I came to the school so I could eventually stop my brother..." Memories with her brother filled her mind, the memories from a time where she loved her brother dearly and even admired him enough to suggest the things he liked in order to please him. These were memories she loved, of a time that she wished she could return to. But these weren't the only memories that returned to her. They started to turned dark, the memories of her brother's change into the monster that he was now and even his painful remarks from earlier in their battle. They hurt so much, coming from a person that Tsubaki admired and loved so dearly...
But these remarks also sparked something within her, "...I can't just let you kill him like this, its something I...have to do myself."
Ichigo listened closely to Tsubaki's words, reading the emotions she put forth through them. The sadness of what her mission would have her do, the love she had previously and still has for her brother despite his harsh words and actions, and finally the fire that has ignited in her soul. Despite Ichigo's current rage at Tsubaki's brother, he could not deny the determination that hid behind the sadness in her tone.
Releasing a sigh Ichigo slowly returned Zangetsu to his back and stood aside, allowing the young girl to processed.
Tsubaki's eyes widened a considerable amount at this action. After seeing the utter rage he had unleashed against her brother, Tsubaki had not expected Ichigo to simply back down so easily. Putting up a small smile, Tsubaki materialized her Chain Scythe form and began to walk towards her brother. But before she got too far away, the young weapon turned back to her friend with a kind expression.
"Ichigo...thank you." And with that said, Tsubaki charged forward into battle, fully intent on bringing an end to her brother's tortured existence.
Masamune, who was still recovering from the explosive attack that nearly snuffed out his soul, did not take too kindly to the change in opponents. Despite his wounds Masamune let out an annoyed huff, "Again? You of all people seek to challenge me again you wretch? Didn't you learn from our previous encounter?"
Tsubaki said nothing and continued onward, her gaze never weakening and her expression never faltering for a single moment.
Masamune twitched at the sight of his little sister's gaze, "Whats with that look...are you trying to be brave or something!? You are nothing but a pathetic flower! Without substance, without a scent, you only have that pathetic appearance and falsity about you! You are nothi-"
"You're wrong!" Tsubaki exclaimed and interrupted her brother's words, her thoughts imminently going to more to a more positive place. Her mind thought of her friends, BlackStar, and even Ichigo, the one who just invaded a hostel soul just to help her. These people are the ones that cared for her and she did the same to them.
"Your wrong! you're wrong, you're wrong!" Tsubaki defiantly repeated, "I won't mother you anymore! I'm going to stop you, brother!"
Griping her Chain Scythe, Tsubaki quickly transformed it into a small blade, the Ninja Sword. With determination burning in her eyes, the young ninja made her case clear to her brother, "Brother, please, feel in your soul...how serious I am!"
Masamune looked unconvinced, his gaze still cold and unmoving. "Useless. You put up a brave front, but you are still a humdrum flower with no fragrance."
"You're Wrong!" Tsubaki would have no more of her brother's damning statements, "I won't let you call me a humdrum flower any longer!"
Flashes of people close to her began racing though Tsubaki's mind. Maka, Soul, Kid, Patty, Liz, BlackStar, and even Ichigo, everyone she had grown to know during her time at the academy. "People once made me realize something!"
"Camellias...camellias...do have a fragrance!"
Somehow these words...this declaration snapped something inside Masamune. His eyes burned with an intense hatred and even insanity, the madness of his journey into becoming a kishin finally taking hold. His face morphed and twisted into a demonic expression, his soul wavelength exploding forth in an intense force. Water burst forth around him as he roared in rage, creating pillars of water in his wake. With his rage pouring into his inner world, Masamune called upon the remaining shadow puppets under his command and launched into battle. The puppet's limbs quickly extended with fierce ferocity, all of them homing in on a single target.
Tsubaki however didn't back down. With a quick flex of her knife, the female ninja dove into the battle. Her quick movement easily dodged one puppet's attack and rushed right into the others. With the speed and grace of a person who had trained their life for this task, Tsubaki began to slice and dice her way towards her older brother. Even Ichigo was impressed by her movements, a boy who had seen the likes of the Flash Goddess Yoruichi and Byakuya Kuchiki stood in silence as his ally showed off her skills in the art of combat.
"Damn...nice moves." Ichigo whistled.
Like a figure skater upon the ice, Tsubaki gracefully raced across the watery landscape that made up her brother's inner world. With the shadow puppet's limbs raced towards her, Tsubaki displayed a remarkable reaction time as she sliced away at the limbs, cutting them to bits. Upward and downward, side to side, anyway they came from Tsubaki either sliced them in half or simply ducked out of their path.
This however did not mean the end of their battle as Tsubaki soon jumped high into the air in an effort to more easily dodge her brother's attacks. But Masamune would not allow that to happen. He quickly instructed his puppets to direct their efforts skyward towards his sister, but Tsubaki was prepared for such a tactic. As one of the puppet's limbs came barreling towards her, Tsubaki twisted her body and escaped her impalement while also driving her blade into the responding appendage. Dragging her arm with significant force, Tsubaki cleaved the limb asunder and continued to do so to the others as she made her way back to the ground.
With his sister rapidly approaching his position and the uselessness assistance that his puppets had provided, Masamune roared into the sky with the rage of a beast. Readying both their blades, brother and sister gazed into each others eyes as the distance between each other vanished. With a responding roar from each combatant, the members of the Nakatsukasa clan clashed for one last time.
"AAAAH!"
"AAAAAGH!"
-CLANG!-
At the moment their blades clashed a massive shock-wave was unleashed upon Masamune's inner world. Such a wave of energy completely dissolved what remained of Masamune's shadow puppets and even cleared away the sickly appearance that polluted the inner world. Ichigo however was completely ignored by the wave, as if it meant him no harm.
But at the center of the shock-wave was brother and sister, having one final moment together before the end of their time together.
Tsubaki sat there on her knees, her eyes closed since their clash. Running through her however was her brother's sword, directly in the center of her chest. But why wasn't she dead?...such a wound even here in a clash such as this should mean the end for her...unless...
"You've shown me...what your feelings are." Masamune's voice echoed through the darkness, "Is the camellia blossom...a flower with no fragrance?"
Opening her eyes at the sound of her brother's voice, the young ninja gazed at everything before her. The clear sky that had replaced the darkness of the inner world, the clear blue sea, and her brother...or what remained. Floating over his sister was what remained of the Uncanny Sword. Their clash had left a much more devastating result on the young man. All that remained of him now was his upper body, floating above his dear sister.
His face had been altered as well, it was no longer the monstrous creature that the devouring of souls had transformed him into. Staring back at Tsubaki was the kind brother that she remembered. His voice no longer held the dark hatred that it formally had when he spoke to her but a kindness that was far overdue, "No. Once I touched your soul, I realized that..."
"Brother..." Tsubaki quietly said, the sadness of the impending situation coming ever closer.
"It's a nice fragrance." And with that, Masamune vanished from the world. His remains shifted, the energy of his remains reforming themselves into a small red orb, a kishin egg. Said egg found itself in the palm of his dear sister, who gazed at the soul within her grasp.
Tsubaki gazed at the soul in hands for a few seconds before embracing it, the full impact of her actions finally taking hold.
"...Brother..." Tsubaki sadly muttered to herself, the grief of her brother's demise at her own hands overtaking her. Not only had she killed her brother, but Tsubaki had witnessed her brother finally regain his sanity...during his final moments. Why? Why did it have to end this way? Why...why did he have to die?
As tears threatened to fall, Tsubaki suddenly felt a strong hand rest on her shoulder. With her eyes still resisting the stinging sensation of the tears still threatening, Tsubaki looked over to the source and found her eyes meeting a very different looking Ichigo. While his appearance was unchanged, his expression was something she had never seen before. Like the rage beforehand, there was an emotion in his eyes that the young ninja had never seen before. But unlike the rage from before, this one had a very different meaning.
There was no hate or destruction in his eyes, but sadness that matched her own and understanding of the position she was in.
"Tsubaki..." Ichigo's tone was not his rough usual one but instead one that matched his expression, understanding, soft, and most of all, dejected. Dropping to one knee so he could stare into her eyes, Ichigo embraced the fragile girl in comforting hug. Allowing the girl to vent her emotions while in his embrace, Ichigo had only one thing to say to her.
"...I'm so sorry..."
-Later: Back in the Village of Needles-
So...the last few minutes hadn't been the greatest in BlackStar's opinion. First there were all the annoying villagers, all of which appeared shortly after Ichigo's descent into the Uncanny Sword's soul. They all figured that the recent events were BlackStar's fault due to his clan's reputation and decided to take their anger out on him. BlackStar didn't care of course, he just took their beatings in stride and didn't react to them at all. Still, they were a bit of a pain in the ass.
Next of course was the disappearance of Tsubaki. Sometime after his partner had begun her inner war against the Uncanny Sword BlackStar was shocked to see Tsubaki disappear completely into the Masamune's black sword. At first he was concerned that Tsubaki had lost the duel and become absorbed by the evil being, a idea that struck the young ninja with utter dread. This was of course tossed aside once the Uncanny Sword had refused to awaken as well.
And of course there was still Ichigo...not that BlackStar was worried...right?
Still, all he could do at the moment was await until his friends returned...although he did spend this time endlessly poking the sword in question. Hopefully one of them would respond in a moment or tw-
~Poof~
It was at this very moment that the sword that BlackStar had been poking exploded in a cloud of white smoke, knocking the young ninja on his butt for a small moment (And distracting the villagers from their target). Quickly regaining his senses, BlackStar anticipated the reveal of who exactly had returned from the Uncanny Sword's soul. So imagine his relief once the smoke cleared and revealed Tsubaki, completely fine after her intense and emotional rumble.
"I'm back, BlackStar." Tsubaki greeted with a smile.
"Tsubaki..." BlackStar muttered, completely shocked at the sudden appearance of his partner (so were the villagers, not that anyone cared that is).
Tsubaki ignored whatever shock BlackStar had and continued with her cheerful attitude, "I went and saw my brother."
BlackStar quickly regained his attitude by the mention of this. Jumping to his feet, BlackStar quickly put on an arrogant (yet happy) expression on, "You did, huh? Welcome back then, you okay?"
"Yep."
BlackStar wanted to be sure though, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yea, I'm fine."
BlackStar and Tsubaki continued in silence for a few moments, neither of them saying a thing. In this awkward silence Tsubaki's cheerful attitude started to drop, she was unsure how BlackStar was going to react to her return outside the normal greeting. But that thought was swiftly thrown aside as BlackStar put on a big goofy grin and extended both his arms, "Well then come on! Let your buddy BlackStar give you a hug!"
Tsubaki was shocked for a moment but when BlackStar's words and appearance (still covered in blood due to the beatings the moronic villagers were giving him) sunk in she imminently broke down into tears. Launching herself towards her partner, Tsubaki instantly started to apologize to BlackStar, asking if he was okay and that she was sorry that she dragged him into this mess in the first place. BlackStar just stood there and allowed her to let it all out...not like he was paying attention to her apologizes in the slightest anyway.
Meanwhile while all this was happening, not a single soul noticed Ichigo awaken from his own slumber. Cracking his neck, Ichigo gazed at his fellow students and even adapted a small smile of his own due to the touching scene. His gaze however soon turned to the villagers, who looked more than ready to continue 'punishment' of the one they thought responsible for this entire situation.
Releasing a bit of his spiritual pressure (enough for them to notice and but not Tsubaki and BlackStar), Ichigo gave them a clear warning to NOT do anything stupid. It seemed to work for the most part, so when their little reunion came to a close Ichigo made himself known to the duo.
BlackStar was the first to see Ichigo arrive, noticing that his orange hair and attire kind of made him stick out like a sore thumb,"And where have you been shithead? Fall asleep or something?" BlackStar may have sounded a bit mad from his words alone, but Ichigo could easily hear the relief hidden behind the kid's voice.
Ichigo just shrugged, "Maybe I had? It's not like you were doing anything better shrimp, hell by how still you were when I arrived I thought you nodded off yourself before I even got here!"
BlackStar looked a bit insulted by that comment, "Is that what you think strawberry?! I'll have you know I could stay awake for months in worse conditions than this!" BlackStar shot back, "You on the other hand? I bet you couldn't last five minutes in a rain storm that was made for washing away mud!?
"Really? You want to test that theory punk?"
"Yeah, bring it on you overgrown fruit basket!"
Tsubaki watched as her two teammates yelled at each other for a few more minutes. While she normally would have considered stopping such an argument, she just couldn't bring herself to this time. Both of these two helped her complete her long-awaited mission and she was just so happy that they both were okay...and besides, it's not like they were hitting each other yet, right?
Too bad this cheerful moment couldn't last for her...one of the villagers made sure of that.
-WACK-
"AGH! Son of A-!" BlackStar shouted, rubbing the large bump that now adorned the back of his head. Eyes glowing a bit red with his anger, BlackStar turned his head and saw one of the villagers standing right behind him. It was a fairly pathetic looking kid with a 2x4 in his hands. This guy was actually the same one that tried to hit Tsubaki while she was occupied with her brother. BlackStar had scared the guy almost shitless when he tried it,but it seems that he hadn't learned his lesson.
So maybe it was time for his own remedial lesson?
"You ruined our MOMENT!" Bringing his fist forward, BlackStar smacked the moronic villager square in the face and sent him flying in a bloody pulp.
Tsubaki looked on in utter shock at the turn of events and Ichigo? Well, he was a bit disappointed that he didn't get a chance to knock some sense into the kid as well.
This of course resulted in the kids mom launching herself at her 'baby' boy and the other villagers becoming even more hostile, calling for the trio to get the hell out of their village and stuff such as that. BlackStar's response? He merely told them all to bite his ass and get over all the crap that his family had done (which Ichigo still had no idea what was going on concerning that) and it didn't matter to the young ninja in the slightest.
The villagers finally went off the deep end at the last comment and even started to throw things at the trio. It was at this point that the three realized that they had overstayed their welcome and took off towards the village's entrance (with Ichigo grabbing BlackStar during their escape to insure that he didn't do anything stupid on their way out). But as the three students made their way out of the hostile, none of them noticed Ryoku finally awaken from his own bout with unconsciousness.
Gazing at the retreating figures, the boy let a small grin come upon his face.
"I still don't like him...even if he wasn't like the rest of that stupid Star Clan of his."
-Sometime Later: The DWMA-
Once again going through a fairly crappy plane ride (Although in Ichigo's opinion it was a much better ride then the first one for some reason) Ichigo, BlackStar, and Tsubaki arrived back at their place of employment and education. Walking though the halls of the school, the trio were on their way to Shinigami-sama's office so they could turn in their report for the successful mission.
But as the three of them finally arrived at the Death Room, Ichigo decided to stay back near the entrance and allow the two partners to give their boss their report on their own. Tsubaki and BlackStar did do most of the work anyway, all Ichigo did (in his opinion) was kill a hollow and soften up Masamune a bit. Nothing too important really.
As the Meister and Weapon made their way towards the center of the Death Room, Tsubaki stopped for a moment and turned to the orange haired Vizard.
"Ichigo...I would just like to thank you for coming with us..." Ichigo raised his eyebrow but said nothing, "...without you there, things could have turned out much worse for BlackStar and me."
Ichigo merely shrugged at Tsubaki's thanks, "Eh, it was nothing. Things wouldn't have been that different without me, all I did was kill a big old monster and that's it."
Tsubaki didn't think it was that simple though, "...but what you did with my brother, how you defended me and fought for me...that's something I have to thank you for." Ichigo once again shrugged it off, he still didn't think it was something she needed to thank him for. It was something that he would have done for anyone in her position, especially if was a relative hurting them...a sibling. Looking at her however, Ichigo noticed that this wasn't the only thing Tsubaki wanted to tell him.
Tsubaki didn't know how to ask this, but it was something that had been bugging her since the incident had originally happened. "...but how you talked to him..." Tsubaki hesitated for a split second, "...why did you act so violently when you learned that he was my brother?"
"Why?" Ichigo let out a tired sigh at the question. This was a subject that Ichigo had really been hoping to avoid since he exploded back during the battle. Hell, it was something he had been avoiding since he first arrived in Death City. But of course, this had to rear its ugly head sooner or later.
"I got so angry because...as a brother, he should have been doing everything in his power to make sure that you were safe and cared for. And yet? He was doing nearly the exact opposite." Ichigo gripped his shoulder's in frustration, "As a brother, he was spitting on an obligation. One that he should have been doing since the day that you were born, but most of all..."
Ichigo briefly hesitated, the reality of his next statement being one that he never wanted to accept. "...he was wasting an opportunity that I no longer have..."
Stunned by his words, Tsubaki was about to question him on this but was cut off when Ichigo turned his back to her and started to walk back toward the door.
"You better get going, BlackStar is about to make a complete ass of himself in front of everyone." Tsubaki quickly spun around due to that statement but instead of seeing BlackStar making a fool of himself, all Tsubaki saw was her Meister calmly (That was actually surprising) waiting for her at a distance.
Turning her attention back to Ichigo, Tsubaki was slightly disappointed to see no trace of her orange haired friend. The young ninja wanted to go find him and ask him about what he meant with that last bit (hoping that it didn't mean what she thought it did), but Tsubaki knew she couldn't just walk away from BlackStar at a moment such as this. This was the first successful mission that they had completed since they had became a team, so it was a big deal for the two of them.
Quickly catching back up to her partner, Tsubaki made a quick mental note to find Ichigo at a later date. After all he had done for her with her brother, Tsubaki wanted to help Ichigo in any way possible...even if it meant comforting him on something that had damaged him in ways that she couldn't even comprehend.
x-Soul Eater's Soul Reaper-x
END OF MISSION:
The Uncanny Sword, Masamune has been ELIMINATED.
Kishin Egg Collected.
Tsubaki: New Form Unlocked, DEMON BLADE mode.
Notes:
1). Ichigo had full access to his powers when he entered Masamune's inner world. No limiter restricting his powers, he was fully released. So despite the fact that Masamune would have been more powerful in his inner world...a fully released (and pissed off) Ichigo would have been a hell of a challenge to fight.
2). Ichigo is a person who cares about family like it's no one's business. He deeply loved and cared for his family, even if he didn't always show it (which is mostly due to him bottling up his emotions after his mother died). Now knowing that, Ichigo was robbed of his entire family. His mother and Father were killed before his eyes and he even had to be the one to send his own sisters to the Soul Society (meaning that it was more than likely that he would never see them again). So with that injustice in his mind, actually seeing Masamune treat Tsubaki like he did kind of...infuriated Ichigo to the point of murder (and due to the fact that he was sent to kill this guy anyway didn't help). He despised the idea that an older brother, the role he held beforehand would actually treat their younger sister in such a manner (reason be damned) was unforgivable.
3). Ichigo has no idea what happened to the Black Star clan and what their reputation was like. Due to the fact that he got distracted by the hollow in the previous chapter and that there was no moment in the woods like in the anime/manga, the event where BlackStar told his story was avoided. Ichigo will learn about it later, but not at the moment.
4). Remember, at the start of this fic I mentioned that due to the overall power levels between a series like Bleach and Soul Eater, characters in the Soul Eater verse would get upgrades to their abilities so they could keep up with Ichigo on some level. That is basically what happened to Masamune in this chapter, although it didn't help him all that much in the long run.
And for anyone who is up to date with the Bleach manga...wow, what a twist right? At the moment I am unsure if I am going to put that into the story or not. Originally I was going to leave out the more recent manga arcs from Bleach so I could focus on the Soul Eater aspect of this one, but this new twist? Hm...I am considering it, and also? THE FEELS...OMG, the FEELINGS in the most recent chapter...just damn.
So, next will be a short Omake before the real next chapter. I will also be releasing another story that is Transformers and KARAS focused, so if you find that interesting then go ahead and have a look at that, if not then just stay tuned for the next installment!