Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. I do however own all of the OC's in the story, unless stated otherwise.
AN: Hey there fellow fanfiction peoples. I hope that you enjoy reading this chapter. I know I enjoyed writing it. *smiles evilly.*
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Chapter 9: Old Lovers
You wake up, yawning greatly and stretching, ready to greet the new day... until you realize you have to start your vizard training today. Damn, what a pain. You roll over to get off the bed when your leg collides with something. You look down and see an arm and a leg poking out from underneath the covers. Lifting up the covers you see Soi Fon completely naked and sprawled out, still sleeping peacefully.
Everything comes rushing back to you in an instant. Your fight with Kanashimi, waking up in the underground trading room, and then taking Soi Fon into one of the spare rooms in Urahara's shop, the very one your in right now. You look at her once more and then cover her back up.
Damn, she is beautiful.
Picking yourself off the other side of the bed, you make your way across the room gathering your clothes off the floor. They, along with Soi Fon's, were scattered about aimlessly in the urgency of last night.
You smile at the thought and quickly get dressed. Stepping out of the room, you silently close the door, so as not to disturb Soi Fon, and make your way across the store to the training room.
...
"What the hell do you mean you are not ready!?" You find yourself yelling at the shopkeeper. "You had all of last night, and this entire morning to get everything ready! How could not be ready!"
Urahara puts his hands up in surrender. "Hey, just calm down. Everything is ready, we just need to wait for Ichigo and Shinji. I thought it would be better to have an experienced vizard here with us and not just Ichigo. Not doubting his skills expertise, but Shinji has been a vizard for over 100 years. He would have better knowledge on what to do as far as your training goes. He was supposed to be able to slip away for a few days, so being a little late won't change much."
You give Urahara a growl and sort down on a nearby rock.
"Hey Shi, can you materialize for me?" You get no response. "Shi?" Still nothing comes from your sword. "Shi!? What happened!? Why aren't you answering me!? You lose it. What the hell happened to Shi no Dansu? Why is she not responding to your call?
"Hiroto if I may, I know where Shi no Dansu is at."
You whirl around and face Urahara. "How would you know that?"
"Oh it is simple, really. She never reverted back from her physical form. Last she was being held by a crying Ichigo. So logic states she must still be with him. They should be upstairs getting breakfast, or still asleep in one of the spare rooms."
"Fine then. I'm going to get them." You turn around and start marching towards the exit.
"Oh, and speaking of spare rooms." Urahara calls out to you. You stop and turn to face him. "I hope you left the one you and Soi Fon were using intact and relatively clean? I don't fancy cleaning up undesirables just because you can't aim."
That statement leaves you catatonic. You just slowly turn back around and walk away. All the while, Urahara is laughing at your expense.
...
Arriving in the kitchen, you find Shi no Dansu sitting on Ichigo's shoulders while he appears to be making pancakes. You smile at the sight of the two. At least they are getting along well enough.
"I hope you made enough for all of us. I know I'm definitely hungry."
"Why is that I wonder? It couldn't have been because you were up all night, could it? Or due to the fact that you used up all your energy?"
You stare at Ichigo. Did he really just say that? In front of Shi no less?
"Hey Oto?" Shi no Dansu gives you a curious look.
"Yeah?"
"Were you making babies last night?" Your eyes go wide and you you stumble backwards, sputtering incoherent words.
"What!? Where did you hear that from!?"
"I want another baby brother." You fall on your butt. Unable to deal with anymore surprises, you cover your face with your hands and sigh.
"Why do you want a... baby brother?"
"I want to take care of him like you take care of me."
"That's something to discuss another- wait. Did you say another baby brother?"
"Yep!"
"Who is the first?"
She smiles at you and pats Ichigo right on the head. "Ichi-chan is younger than me! He is my baby brother!"
You try to contain your laughter. Seriously? He is a baby brother? You look at Ichigo who just rolls his eyes and sighs at you. "It can't be helped. Besides, me and Shi did some talking last night. Turns out I'm actually quite fond of her."
You just stare at him. If Shi doesn't have a problem with it and Ichigo doesn't have a problem with it, then who are you to stop them.
"What smells so good?" You three turn your heads toward the hallway where Soi Fon just exited.
"I'm making pancakes for Shi, but there will be enough for everyone. It will take a few more minutes though so just chill until then."
"That's fine." She turns and faces you. Her face turns a little red. "Good morning Hiroto." Her voice was little more than a whisper.
"Good morning Soi. Did you sleep well?"
"I slept amazingly." You smile at her response. At least she had a good nights rest.
"Hey mommy-chan?"
"What is it, Shi no Dansu?"
"Were you making babies last night?" Soi Fon freezes. She looks at you wide eyed and then back at at Shi no Dansu. She turns around and walks back down the hall.
"I'm going back to bed."
Ichigo is shaking with silent laughter. Shi no Dansu looks at the hallway entrance with disappointment. When she is older... or at least more experienced with the way the world works, some one will tell her.
BANG! The sound of a loud explosion rips through the shops interior, jarring you.
"Looks like another hollow." Urahara and Yoruichi appear from the training room, looking to investigate the explosion. "This spiritual pressure... it must be him."
Before you could ask Urahara who he was talking about, you were interrupted. "Am I too late?" Captain Hirako bursts into the hallway, completely out of breath, with Soi Fon trailing him closely.
"No, your right on time. He just showed up."
You give the two a look of confusion. "Who just showed up?"
Urahara gives you a look of utter seriousness. "Vacio Mariposa."
...
Reigning your questions back for the moment, you follow Urahara and Captain Hirako out of the shop and into the street, where there are two figures standing in front of a giant smoking crater.
The first is easily identified as a hollow. He must be the one that Captain Hirako and Urahara were talking about. His mask covered half of his face and was like that of a snakes head. The eye hole was slanted downwards and thin. There was also a tiny slit where his right nostril would be. It had a deep blue line running from the eye hole out towards the edge of his mask. His zanpakuto was hanging from his waist. Its sheathe was the same color blue as the stripe on his mask. His eye was what made you uneasy though. It was solid black. No white. No iris. Just solid black, like one big pupil.
The other figure was harder to identify. From the looks of its slim build, it seemed to be a female. Her cloak covered her head and ran down her back. She wore right fitting clothes, so you assume that she was meant to be speedy. What was visible of her face seemed to be wrapped in some kind of cloth. Hanging from her waist was...
"That's a zanpakuto! What are you doing hanging around a hollow! You are a soul reaper aren't you!" You yell at the cloaked female. She doesn't even move at the sound of your voice. "Hey on talking to you!"
"My apologies. She can be... difficult when it comes to having conversations." The arrancar speaks out. His voice was deep and smooth, but he held an underlying evil in the tone. It reminded you a lot of Gin Ichimaru.
"Oh where are my manners. I completely forgot to introduce myself." He takes a step back and bows low. "I am Vacio Mariposa, at your service. My associate here... well she doesn't like it when her name is known. So lets leave it at that. You must be Hiroto Arinori. I'm so glad we finally have a chance to meet in person. You are quite the interesting individual."
"How the hell do you know my name?"
"Well if I didn't know your name, then what would all the reconnaissance have been for?"
"You were spying on me?"
"Oh that's such a terrible word."
"Just answer the question!"
"Well technically, she was spying on you. I was just made aware of the situations you were in."
"Well I've had enough of this crap. Shi, can you hop back in the sword for a while? I don't want you getting hurt out here."
"No problem Oto!" Shi no Dansu glows faintly before being absorbed by the blade of your zanpakuto.
Urahara steps in to try and diffuse the situation. "Why exactly are you here?"
"Well isn't it obvious? I'm here to kill all of you. Well actually just Mr. Arinori, but since your all gathered here, I couldn't let this opportunity go to waste."
You take a step towards Vacio. "I'd like to see you try, hollow."
He immediately drops his dramatic flare. His eye narrows intensely, as of hunting his prey. "It would be my pleasure."
...
"Oh come on. This can't be your full strength. I've seen Adjucha put up a better fight." He casually blocks the strikes performed by everyone, save yourself and the other cloaked girl. Leaving you both to fight each other, you move away from Vacio, so as to not get distracted.
"Who are you?" You glare at the girl. "Why are you working with a hollow?"
"That is none of your business. Lets finish this quickly so I don't have to be here much longer. The air here reeks of human. Its disgusting." She pulls out her zanpakuto. "Unfortunately for you, I don't have the time to waste. Sing, Enjeru."
A wave of energy flows forth from her like a tidal wave. When it finally ceases, you see her standing there with her blade above her head. It has shrunk down into the size of a large knife, around 14 inches in length. The blade also gained a graceful curve. The hilt looks as though it has morphed into a small pair of golden wings. As you studied her zanpakuto, she makes a step, like she was going to charge.
In a flash, she disappears. Reappearing beside you, she slashed at your side. You barely block the swing. Damn, she is fast! You push her away and thrust your zanpakuto into the ground.
"Die, Shi no Dansu." Your blade morphs into its new form and you charge the girl before she can recover from your push. You swing Shi no Dansu at her head, but she blocks it and takes a slash at your legs which you jump over. You kick her in the chest before landing back on the ground. She stands up to charge you again and takes a few steps towards you.
Before she moves any further, she grasps her head and cries out in pain, falling to her knees and dropping her zanpakuto.
You watch her in fear and curiosity as she writhes on the ground screaming obscenities into the sky.
This garners the attention if the others, who stop their fighting.
"Really? Right now of all times you choose to try and break the hold I have on your mind? You know it is useless." Vacio walks over to her.
"Get away from me, you monster! I won't do it! I won't kill him!"
"Come now, its not that hard. Just one swing and he is done for. I promise that everything will be better if he dies right now. Just let me-"
"No! Leave him alone!"
"You know... you really piss me off sometimes. Fine. We'll do it your way, but first I need to give you something." He plunged he sword into get stomach. She cries out in pain. "You have fulfilled your purpose. I really don't need to keep you anymore."
He pulls his zanpakuto out of her stomach with a sickening squelch. Vacio turns to face rest of you. "I'm sorry, but it looks like our tine us up for today. I'll drop by some other time so we can finish our conversation." He gives you a maniacal grin and rips the air, opening a garganta to open.
Disappearing before you could reach him, you turn your gaze to the wounded girl.
"So she was being controlled by him? I guess that makes sense. No soul reaper in their right mind would willingly join up with a hollow." Ichigo places Zangetsu on his back, along with the others placing their respective weapons away.
"So who is she then exactly? We still haven't found out anything about her?"
You slowly approach then fallen figure, kneeling down next to her. "Who are you?"
She coughs, sending blood across the pavement. She shudders, taking a deep and ragged breath. "Please help me Hiro... Please help me."
You freeze. Did she just call you Hiro? No one calls you Hiro. No one except...
"No. You can't be..."
"Please Hiro..."
"She died... I saw her body with my own eyes. You can't be her." She gives a whimper of sadness at your last statement. You reach up to remove the hood covering her face.
"Hiroto? Who is she? How does she know you?" Soi Fon steps closer to inspect the girl.
With one swift move, you remove the hood covering her.
Green. That green hair. Only one person you know has hair like that. Heart racing, you ask hesitantly.
"Yuyu?"
The bandages slowly fell away from her face, showing her weak smile.
"Thank you... thank you Hiro."
...
Your sitting in your room, thinking about what this all means. Let's lay out the facts. And arrancar named Vacio Mariposa shows up out of nowhere and makes you look like a bunch of rag dolls. He brings with him a soul reaper... a soul reaper that you once loved. Yuyu. She had her mind taken control of by that sick freak and used little a puppet. She is still sleeping on the couch in the living room. Recovering after a blow like that to the stomach will take some time.
"Why can't anything just be simple?" You say this to no one, knowing your question really doesn't have an answer. You give a great sigh and pull yourself from the bed. You might as well go check on Yuyu.
Exiting the door to your room, you hear whispers coming from the living area where Yuyu is at. Slowly closing the door, you sneak down the hallway and stop before you would be seen.
"What are we going to do about her?" That was Yoruichi speaking. "We can't just leave her here. I mean, after she is healed, where is she going to go?"
"Well if the soul society doesn't let her back, she is more than welcome to stay here with us. Until Tessai and the kids come back from their vacation, I really could use the extra set of hands around the shop. Of course when they come back she can still stay. We have plenty of room here." You smile at that. Urahara may be a bit of a perv, but he has a good heart.
"What about Hiroto though?" Soi Fon is in there too.
"What about him Soi?"
"Well... if what Shi no Dansu said was right, then Hiroto loved Yuyu for a long time when they were kids... what... what if he doesn't want me anymore? Since Yuyu is back, what if he chooses her over me?" You can hear Soi Fon sobbing now. It breaks your heart to hear that sound. "I can't lose him. I can't. I... I... I love him... I love Hiroto."
You freeze at those words. She... loves you? Her feelings are really that strong? You sigh silently. What the hell are you supposed to do? Soi is amazing. You could honestly say that you loved her too. But Yuyu... you couldn't break either one of their hearts. You get the feeling that this won't end well, no matter what happens.
You turn to walk back down the hallway when you bump into Captain Hirako. He grins at you.
"Doing a little snooping I see."
"Captain! Please don't tell-"
"Tell about what? I don't know what your talking about Hiroto. I didn't hear or see anything that would constitute me telling someone about what didn't happen."
You smile gratefully at the vizard captain. "Thank you Captain Hirako."
"If you really want to thank me, drop the formality. We are both vizards now and that makes us equals in my book. Just Shinji will be fine."
"Of course capt- Shinji."
"Good. Now why don't we get a head start on that training of yours. The others will join us once their some with their chit chat." You nod and follow Shinji towards the training room.
...
"Now this won't be easy. There isn't a shortcut for using your mask. The only way you are going to get netter at it is if you practice."
"Got it."
"Alrighty then. Put your mask on. I'm sure that Kisuke has told you how to do that at least."
You nod at Shinji. You close your eyes and focus. Bringing your hand down over your face, you feel a surge of power coarse through you. When you open your eyes you see, not the physical form of Shinji, but a spiritual form. He seems to be made out of pure spirit energy.
"Interesting. Can you see me Hiroto?"
"Yeah." You are shocked at hearing your voice has changed. It sounds raspy and is higher pitched then before. "But you aren't in a body. You look to be made of spirit energy."
"Well as long as you can see. Are you ready?"
You tighten your grip on Shi no Dansu. "Ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this."
"Okay then." He draws his zanpakuto from its sheathe, settling into a stance. "Come at me then."
You raise you hand so it points at Shinji. "Yami no Beru." The same black wall appears in front of you and, after a minute, disappears.
"Ah. You can conceal your form to the naked eye. That's an interesting hollow power, but I won't need to see you to cut you." He rushes forward and swings at your gut. You block his blade but are flung back about 50 feet from the impact. Landing on the ground with a thud, you groan inwardly. This was going to be one hell of a training session.