Frozen flame– Chapter Six: A Place to Hide
Summary: Tsukikade Faces off against her long time freind, and Ganju, with Hanataro in tow, meets up with Ichigo during the conflict, how does Ichigo react to everything?
Author: Adameia Kirantro
Rated k+: no cussing, or innuendos or, has violence, possible pairing not sure
Disclaimer: I did not create, and do not own the characters from Bleach, They are owned by, and I may borrow them for your possible and hopeful enjoyment. But I DO own Tsukikade, she is completely mine so do not steal her or else you will feel my wrath once I find out that you did (and trust me I will).
Author's Note: Sorry for the wait… I started school this last week, good news is I also posted a new story today which is an off shoot of the most recent chapter of AOTT. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter it has a much more detailed fight scene than the last one I did. Please let me know what you think!
Chapter Six: A Place to Hide
We ran and as we closed in on the staircase that led to the main buildings of Seireitei, a familiar Red-headed Shinigami stood in our way. I stopped in my tracks, followed closely by Ichigo. "Hello Renji, what-cha you doing here?" I asked passively, as if I wasn't in a situation that could potentially get me into a lot of trouble.
"I am here to make sure that the Ryoka don't get any farther." He said, eyes lingering on Ichigo a little bit as he mentioned Ryoka… –oh crap... Well maybe I can get out without a fight?– I thought, then after a little contemplation, I tried to implement my newly improvised plan.
"Well, it seams that the rumors of Intruders in Seireitei are true? Well I will keep a look out, thanks for the warning, but I have to get going, I was just finishing the quick tour I was giving this academy graduate who I found a little lost a ways back.." I trailed off a little towards the end, I had been moving towards the staircase in a casual, unhurried walk with Ichigo following my lead-though a bit annoyed- just as carefully. As I closed in on Renji I knew that he somehow recognized my new tag-along by the looks he gave him as he drew closer and by the fact that he shifted to remain in our way. I sighed. "What is it now Renji? I am in a little bit of a hurry… Captain Hitsugaya has assigned me some work that I need to get to." I said, meeting him eye to eye as he tried to stare me down, with little success.
"Fine, you can go, but the imposter-Shinigami that is following you goes no further." Renji said, eyes now never Leaving Ichigo's form. I stepped in his eye-line, making him stop glaring at Ichigo (who wasn't really hidden from sight since he was taller than me) and look into my eyes as I gave him a hardened look.
"This 'Ryoka' is coming with me, and if you will continue to block my way with your sword drawn… not only will I take it as you challenging me personally but I will also treat you as if you betrayed Rukia, who you are letting get executed without protest and without informing me, and I STILL don't know why she is in this situation but frankly I don't care, because the reason I am helping this kid is not just because I care for Rukia but also a personal matter I cannot ignore. So stand aside or I will show you why I am not to be messed with…" I trailed off, pulling out one of my Ten Shuriken that is my Sealed Zanpakuto to emphasize my threat. I could see Renji sweat slightly in slight fear, I knew he has seen me spar, and I also know that no one… in Soul Society that is, knows my full strength and potential… yet. Ichigo mad a motion to argue, probably because he wants to fight, but I held my arm to the side and made a motion with my hand that made him nod in resignation and step back slightly.
Renji pondered my words, and seemed to be in great personal turmoil, and shook his head and steadied his sword and focused his gaze on me this time, with a serious look on his face. "I don't like what is happening with Rukia, but I do have orders to apprehend Ryoka, so I have to stand in your way… sorry" he said, I could see the look in his eyes that said that he didn't think there was a choice in the matter and that he regrets not being able to save her probably because of Byakuya. So I nodded in acceptance and got into position.
"I will show you that you do have a choice…" I said quietly, but I am sure that he heard it anyway, and then he charged and attempted to swing at me in an over head strike. I blocked and threw his sword to the side and did a swipe of my own ice extending the reach of the blade i was holding, which he easily dodged, but didn't expect the thrown shuriken that I had executed a second after, seeing as he didn't even see me draw it. It cut his sleeve and arm a little since he dogged to the side a little and I wordlessly called it back to where I store the Shuriken.
after a few more rounds of dodge, block, strike combinations Renji seemed to sense that things should be brought up a scale and shifted positions and yelled his release phrase, "Hoero, Zabimaru!"(1) And his zanpakuto was released into Shikai, but that didn't faze me in the least, I easily dogged his now extended blows and used my experience with Zabimaru to my advantage and landed a few minor hand – to – hand blows and another cut, this one deeper.
I now felt that it was time and leapt back some distance and said softly, holding my arms crossed in front of me my hands equal in height to my shoulders, "Hae, Fukyuukarento" (2) and she replied with my request and transformed into the form I have used often. I saw Renji tense as he saw my Shuriken disappear from my hands and slowly something else appeared though in both hands not just in one.
I stood with slight blowing wind around making my long braid and my bangs sway from the sudden release of Raitsu, while holding a newly formed blade in each hand. And these were no ordinary blades, though they were identical. I now held two swords of a unique shape; the hilt was a small circular disc with sloping edges that made it flare towards my hand. The handle was wrapped in violet cloth, and the back of the hilt was normal shape. The blade itself was the most unique thing about them, it was a double edged blade, and the edges sloped outwards from the hilt and then leveled off abruptly and ended in a usual European tip. If you looked closely the edges have a ever so small serration to them, making them all the more deadly, there were grooves along the flats of the blades that made a beautiful swirling design down each side of the blades, but had a hidden purpose.
I swung the swords from the crossed hold in front of me that I had down to my sides immediately dispelling the lingering wind and stray Raitsu and dispelling Renji's apprehension at the same time. And so Renji charged my position once again and did an extended swipe with Zabimaru and I blocked it easily with one blade. Sparks flew off as the blades ran along each other as he drew his blade back to him, and in the mean time I swiped my free blade at him, sending off ice as my blade cut through the air he had been, and the ice, in the form of small needle like shards flew at him at high speeds. I channeled Raitsu into Fukyuukarento and ice filled the grooves and built up on the rest of the blade as I prepared to launch an assault, I stepped into a stance with my legs crossed widely and my arms out to my sides, on blade facing front, and backwards, and I whispered, "Tuoketsutsuki" and then spun, my image becoming a blur in the sudden tornado of ice shards that were the result of my attack.
A flat circle of ice flew off at the level my blades were at in all directions, and ended not very soon after. The tornado kept up and I sliced my swords a few times causing the thin piece of the tornado where I swiped, from ground to top at that split second to fly off it it's own spiraling attack in the same direction I swiped. I continued doing so randomly and in different typed of slashes rapidly over the next five minutes until my tornado disappeared completely. I swung both swords in a small motion to rid them of lingering ice particles and examined the damage. I noticed that Ichigo now stood a decent ways away on a partially damaged building and that besides the new grooves in the ground that I did do some damage to the surroundings. Renji stood panting, ice shards stuck to him in a few places and some of them grew a little along his skin. He had more open wounds from before and was now only holding his zanpakuto with his right hand. I knew he would be stubborn to a fault and wouldn't end the fight before he was unconscious or dead (he had been in the 11th division after all) and so while he was catching his breath for a second I disappeared in a two second two second blur using my Seireisenkou, and appeared behind him and stoke him hard on the back with the blunt end of my blade, effectively knocking him out cold. I looked down on his now still form with slight pity as his Zanpakuto reverted back to its sealed state.
I let my Zanpakuto revert back to its sealed form in a multitude of spirit particles, and put the resulted Shuriken back in its proper hiding space. I turned to look to find Ichigo, now on the ground arguing with another guy, this one not a Shinigami, who seemed to have the Shiba clan swirl on his pants, or at least something similar, he also had a small kid who looked like a 4th squad member over his shoulder like I was holding Renji only this kid seemed to be conscious.
I walked over to their position and they quieted abruptly when they noticed my approach. The carried person turned to look at me with the sudden change of attention and said slightly loudly in a panicked voice, "Th-third seat Tsu-Tsukikade!" and his eyes shifted to the form on my shoulder and he startledly said, "Fuku-Taicho Abarai!?" in a quieter voice than before, I sighed, and looked at the startled face of the kid, and noticed, abruptly, that I recognized him.
Don't worry Hanataro, his injuries aren't as bad as they look, and I had knocked him unconscious. And if for some reason you are accompanying that idiot who I assume is helping Ichigo here, because I can imagine how he might've ended up carrying you around then don't worry I am also on their side. Do you know of a place close by that would be an ok place to hide while Renji here heals?" I said to Hanataro and looked at him expectantly as the unidentified man set his small form down. Hanataro nodded his head to my question and started off in a direction and we followed him quietly until I asked, "So Ichigo, does the idiot here have a name?" I asked, in reference to the still unidentified guy accompanying us. I heard him make some noises of protest until Ichigo cut him off.
"Yeah, his name is Ganju Shiba. He helped us get in to here and has decided to help us out in the rescue while he was in here with us. So there is no need to worry about him." He said, looking up in the sky as he explained it, a habit that according to what I could remember, a more somber Isshin had as well, I smiled slightly and his eyes slid over to my form and he asked compulsively, "what?" and I shook my head slightly, keeping an amused smirk. though looking at Ichigo i thought -if Isshin cut his hair anywhere NEAR that short he and i are going to have words... and none of them happy- i narrowed my eyes darkly at this train of thought, but shook my head putting that idea away for future deliberation.
"It's nothing; I was just thinking that the sphere of doom that broke through the barrier earlier must have been his doing is all." I said, directing the reason for my amusement to something else. It was about at this time that Hanataro leaned down and lifted one of the tiles to an opening to the sewer, the tile had been indistinguishable from the rest so I was surprised that he had had not trouble finding it. I shrugged and followed the others down the new opening in the ground at Hanataro's motion and made sure to put the tile back in place as I went down. Having had passed the unconscious form of my friend to Ichigo before I entered myself.
Author's Note:
hey guys, i know long time no hear, anyway i would like to know what you think of the story.
(1) "Howl, Snaketail"
(2) "Fly, Everlastingcurrent"