Special thanks to the 4,500+ people who have read Soulborn so far. In case any of you were wondering, no, this is not what I had in mind when I said I was hoping to update next week! As I told a reviewer recently, the massive delay in this chapter was a combination of one of the worst case of writer's block I've ever had, combined with an overstretched schedule. That said, I'm hoping to get back to a normal routine now, and I'm hoping for updates to be coming back into a regular schedule of an update once every one to two weeks.
I have a question for the lot of you readers, though. Should I look into getting a beta reader for Soulborn? I've toyed with the idea for a while now, but I'm a little bit hesitant about whether or not it'd really make it better. What do you readers think?
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, or any of the characters contained therein either story. I write this for my own amusement, the amusement of my fellow fans of said series, and for the sake of technical practice in writing itself. Do not ingest without first consulting a physician.
I waive ownership rights to any original characters created by me, for this crossover, if the original creator(s) of either of the two aforementioned manga wish to use them. However if said event occurs, I humbly ask to be consulted first.
Though frankly, if either author even so much as acknowledges this story exists, I think I might die from shock.
This story is rated M for violence, coarse language, and mild innuendo. Reader discretion is advised.
Chapter 5: Violent Nocturne
Once upon a time, Ichigo had heard in passing an old German proverb that went, 'an angel without, a devil within'. In essence, the old idiom was meant to provoke thought to the danger of lies and deception. Stored away somewhere within his subconscious, Ichigo hadn't given the few scraps of language a second thought, up until that very moment. How that small part of him managed to recall such an obscure piece of information would have been amusing if the circumstances were different.
Off in the distance on the opposite side of the beach, Tsukune was locked in combat with the hulking horror that had nearly killed him and his friends. At least, one could loosely call it combat, as the battle so far had been completely one sided. It would be more accurate to say Tsukune was in the process of systematically massacring the barbed behemoth that Yukari had identified as a Scraken, with his bare hands. Initially, Ichigo had taken this as a good thing. It wasn't until he heard Yukari's warning that he realized just how bad the situation was.
"Tsukune's not a normal monster, like we are, he's something else, something that had to use a seal to keep himself in check," Yukari had told him, her growing desperation becoming more and more apparent after every blow Tsukune hit upon the azure assailant, "and if that seal broke completely, then..."
Ichigo clicked his tongue in irritation. The situation was quickly escalating into a worst case scenario. He and Yukari had come ashore after Tsukune and the Scraken's battle had moved to the opposite end of the cove, and were now standing on the smoldering blemish where their attacker had sprung his trap. He needed to move the wounded girls off the beach before the battle shifted back to this side of the beach, and once they were safe, get them to medical attention as soon as possible. He had no idea what to do for the one fighting off the would-be beach butcher, as Tsukune was apparently out of control, and that condition could very possibly be permanent if whatever was sealing his powers was permanently destroyed. On top of that, Yukari was beginning to panic, leaving him without any answers regarding what the hell a Scraken was, and about what to do with the lavender haired girl... who appeared to be melting?
Looking around, Ichigo appraised the circumstances. He'd hoped after seeing Tsukune rush into action that some of the girls might be able to walk, or at least be conscious. Yet when he arrived near the gently smoking scar on the formerly untarnished cove, those hopes were dashed. It appeared he wouldn't have to deal with that Scraken thing attacking them at any point in the foreseeable future, thanks to Tsukune. Judging by Yukari's words, though, there was a chance that if Tsukune killed their assailant, he could end up turning on them. If that happened, Ichigo had little doubts that there would be nothing he could do, and none of them would survive. Best case scenario, he quickly realized, was that his father would show up that very moment, kill the Scraken, and have the good sense to restrain Tsukune without killing him on the spot along with the assailant. Yet Isshin seemed bound and determined to not show up to help.
It was then that Ichigo spotted Tsukune's parents, Koji and Kasumi. They were still conscious, albeit huddling in terror behind the changing house. While it wasn't a bad choice of place to hide from a rampaging monster on the other side of the beach, Ichigo had a clear line of sight on them from where he was standing. Ichigo knew that the longer they stayed on the beach, the greater the chances that someone could die, and that if he wanted to get the wounded out of danger he'd need help. Sighing in frustration, Ichigo latched unto Yukari's shoulders with both hands and tried to shake her from her stupor, "Oi!" he shouted, gesturing to Tsukune's parents with a nod, "Yukari, get a hold of yourself! I need you to bring Koji and Kasumi here! I can't carry everyone by myself!"
It didn't work.
Gritting his teeth, Ichigo decided to take a chance. Leaving the wounded girls alone with Yukari for a moment, he broke into a dead run, making a B-line towards the elder Aono pair. "Koji, Kasumi!" Ichigo called out as he came to a stop beside them, and even as the words slipped from his lips, he knew things were worse than he feared. The aforementioned Aono matriarch was caught amidst inconsolable hysterics, and Koji wasn't too far behind her. They were so caught in their fear that the pair didn't seem to notice Ichigo's existence as he approached. Scowling, Ichigo shouted their names again, this time earning a sidelong glance from the patriarch of the Aono family. He hoped it was enough.
"Koji, we need to go," Ichigo ordered tersely, in a tone that commanded more authority of the situation than one his age should have been able to muster, "come on, we have to move the wounded."
"A-are you crazy?" Koji stammered, clearly just a step above delirious as he spoke, "that m-monster will kill us! We have to hide!"
"There isn't anywhere we can hide! I saw you as clear as crystal down by where that bomb went off, and so will that blue... thing... we have to get off this beach and go!" Ichigo's temper flared as he tried to reason with the older man, but the former shinigami managed to hold it in check in front of said older man's cowardice. Koji could only shake his head no, swallowing back a panicked yelp as he refused to see the reason behind Ichigo's words. So in response, the irritated teen did exactly what he wanted to do in the situation. He cold clocked Koji in the chin with a hard right hook.
"You idiot!" Ichigo snarled, towering over the sprawled Koji like a pillar, his self control well beyond it's limit on a good day, "your son is fighting that monster on his own, and you refuse to get yourself, and his friends to safety? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Koji looked up stupidly at the orange haired teenager who had effortlessly knocked him on his ass, his mind completely and totally blank. Ichigo continued unabashed, "Let me tell you something. When someone's fighting to protect you, you, as the protected, owe it to the protector to keep yourself out of danger as much as possible. Your son is protecting all of us right now, and you will quit cowering here behind this wall, and help get everyone to safety."
"You're right... what the hell is wrong with me?" Koji managed to say as he got to his feet, his face set in a line of stubborn conviction, "what do we do?"
Ichigo nodded in reply, turning his attention to Kasumi. She was huddled against the corner of the small beach house, weeping to herself between haggard breathes. Quite obviously, all the short monologues or punches to the face in the world wouldn't help her think rationally at the moment. That made four bodies that had to be carried out between two able bodied individuals, and maybe one half-coherent child. After a moment of contemplation, it was actually Koji that spoke up first, "actually, why don't we use the picnic tables?"
Jerking his head around, Ichigo had to admit it wasn't a bad idea. Arranged alongside the grills was a space designed to let revelers prepare and consume food in a comfortable environment. In addition to the smaller table with a smooth, counter-top like surface for preparing food was a pair of long, rectangular picnic tables set in two individual rows. The picnic tables were made of steel, perhaps aluminum, with bench seats attached directly to the thin metal rods that made up the table's support structure. If they could lift it along with four people, it would be perfect.
"It's worth a try," Ichigo agreed, gesturing for Koji to follow him as he made his way towards where the girls laid, stealing a split second glance to check on the progress of the battle. The Scraken monster was wielding it's sword now, and was missing most of it's quills. If the thick rivulets of blood and frayed flesh were any indication, it meant that Tsukune had plucked the quills free from the monster's back at some point in the fight.
Shaking his head to drive away the grizzly image, Ichigo knelt down next to the pink haired girl who was covered in burns of varying degrees of severity. The fiery haired boy fought down the bile rising in his throat as he laid eyes on the formerly vibrant Moka Akashiya. He'd seen people die many times during his days as as a substitute shinigami, and had seen many different hurts and wounds before that due to his father working a home clinic. This though... this was brutal on a level he'd only experienced a few times in his life. It was something that never got easier.
"If you can, try not to move their necks around, Koji," Ichigo instructed, recalling his father's instructions with regards to first aid for victims with potential head injuries. Where was he, anyway? Ichigo shook off that train of thought, he couldn't think about his father showing up to save the day. He was the one these people were depending on, so he had to stay focused, lest they pay the price, "take Mizore, she looks like she's in the worst shape. I'll get Moka and Kurumu."
"Are you sure?" Koji asked, uncertainly, "that's easily over a hundred kilograms, can you lift that much?"
"Easily," Ichigo said without hesitation as he hoisted Moka up with careful, practiced ease onto his left shoulder. He took as much care as possible to keep her from jerking, but knew that without something like a stretcher, he could only do so much. It was odd, Ichigo observed, that the girl's collar and crucifix pendant had survived the explosion when the rest of her clothes had been incinerated. An odd twist of fate, indeed, but it was something he could ponder another day.
Taking a few steps towards the blue haired girl, he was interrupted mid step when Kurumu groaned slowly and lifted her head in his direction. She was regaining consciousness! Had he been someone else, he might have called it astonishing, or a miracle, but Ichigo was different. He had fought beings that could withstand punishment on a level beyond rational imagination, and survived punishment that no human had any business surviving. The idea that something could survive a land mine, albeit a powerful one, with only a few burns and a brief loss of consciousness wasn't amazing at all to him.
Didn't mean he wasn't happy to see it, though.
Haze. All around her, the world was a haze. All inside her mind, the world was a haze. It was as if someone had stolen away reality as Kurumu Kurono perceived it, and replaced it with nothing but a dark, hazy fog that she couldn't penetrate. Where was she? She didn't know. What was she doing? She didn't know that, either. All she knew, and vaguely at that, was that she was in pain. It was like someone had taken a club and beaten her along the entire front half of her body, especially in her arms, close to her wrists. It felt like hours, between that moment when she gained a slither of awareness that she was alive, and the moment that her eyelids slid open ever so slightly.
"W-wha..." Kurumu muttered senselessly, her vision blurring as she tried to push herself up into an upright position, before a new and greater wave of pain in her arms stopped her short and took her breath away. To her horror, she realized instantly that both of her arms were broken. 'How, though?' she wondered, 'the last thing I remember was Tsukune gathering us over on the side of the beach. He said he had to tell us something... but he was acting really weird. He said...'
She paused as it came back to her. Tsukune told them he was in love with Moka, then that disc shaped object came hurtling up out of the ground. She had just enough time to jump away and shield her face before the flash of light knocked her unconscious. Did that mean the flash of light was so powerful that it broke both of her arms on the spot? She was a high order monster, something like a land mine or a grenade should have hurt her, but not this badly.
Using her legs, which she pleasantly found to be unbroken, Kurumu squirmed her way onto her knees and sat there for a moment, her head still spinning. 'This... do I have a concussion?' she questioned, as she focused her eyes on the moving lump in front of her. It took her a minute to realize that it was the orange haired boy who was on the trip with them. 'Ichigo was his name, wasn't it?'
Only then did she realize he was speaking to her.
"Kurumu, can you hear me?" Ichigo asked again, his tone patient but firm. He had an odd expression on his face. She couldn't tell if he was afraid, angry, or something else entirely. She nodded at him, slowly. Her head hurt to move, but compared to her arms it was only a minor inconvenience. Something unreadable crossed the boy's eyes for an instant, and was gone just as quickly.
"Can you walk?" Ichigo questioned, his arm extended for her to use for support if she needed it.
"Y-yeah, I think so," she replied in a weak, raspy voice. She was only half aware of the beat red stretches of first degree burns along her chest, abdomen, waist, and thighs, thanks in part to the overwhelmingly distracting pain in both her forearms, and completely oblivious to the fact that her bathing suit was simply gone. Slowly, she rose to her feet, though her balance was shaky at best. "What happened? Is everyone okay?"
"Everyone will be alright, but we have to get out of here," Ichigo responded, reaching out to provide the still staggered girl support with his free hand by means of gently grasping unto her bicep, just below the shoulder.
"Where's Tsukune?" Kurumu rasped, her head still spinning far too much for her liking. She only narrowly remembered the rejection, and her mind was in such a tumult of emotion and confusion that all she wanted was something she loved to hold on to. After all, she loved him, didn't she? Kurumu winced, the haze hadn't completely left her mind yet, and the pain made it hard to focus.
"Tsukune's fighting the big blue guy who attacked us," Ichigo answered hesitantly, "we need to get you somewhere safe while he holds it off."
"What are you saying?" Kurumu echoed in disbelief, her eyes widening in surprise at the revelation, "we can't just stand here and leave him! We have to help Tsukune!"
"Absolutely not, you're in no shape to help anyone right now," Ichigo cried, his scowl deepening. He knew he should have lied to keep her calm, but he decided to tell the truth. Well, if he was going to be honest he might as well be completely honest. He continued, "we need to get you, Mizore, and Moka out of here just in case what Yukari said is true and he turns on us."
"Turns on us, what the hell are you saying?" Kurumu murmured, before realization dawned on her. Tsukune was fighting a monster. After an explosion like that, it could only mean something had happened to the Holy Lock. Apprehension washed over Kurumu like a tide. She was scared, hurt, and confused. What would happen to Tsukune if the Holy Lock broke? Would he be able to stop the blue thing Ichigo was talking about by himself? If he did, would he come after them like Ichigo said he might?
'Wait', she thought to herself 'Ichigo said? He's human, why does he know this...? Wait, he said Yukari said it, that means she must have told him... but, wont she get in trouble if that's the case? Are things really that bad that she'd get humans involved?'
As if on queue, that's when Kurumu noticed the body Ichigo was carrying. Moka's body.
"Moka!" Kurumu cried, tears forming in her eyes as she noticed the condition of her friend and rival. If the explosion had done that much damage to her, what would it have done to Kurumu if she hadn't been able to jump away at the last moment? "No! Moka!"
"She'll live, but we have to go now!" Ichigo implored, trying his best to sound confident in his assessment of the situation, "we have to get her to a hospital, and that goes for you, too! Now come on!"
Kurumu could just nod dumbly and go along with it, her mind was just too spent to resist, so she relied on the boy who seemed confident enough in the midst of this hell. Using Ichigo's hand for balance, she wobbled along as best she could, but the world just wouldn't stop spinning. As they walked, she became vaguely aware that Yukari was following behind them, but the blue haired succubus had no idea when she'd got there, let alone that the young witch had been standing within a few feet of her the entire time.
Suddenly, Kurumu felt her stomach lurch, but in a feat of willpower held off the sudden urge to vomit as they neared the picnic tables. Her distress must have been obvious, as it drew a concerned look from her orange haired benefactor, but she shook her head at his concern. Kurumu endured the pain and discomfort, and they arrived at the picnic table. Kurumu bit back a terrified wail upon seeing the state Mizore was in. If she was hurt, and Moka was seriously injured, Mizore was on death's door.
Ichigo left Kurumu for a moment, and gently set Moka down along the left bench opposite Mizore, whom had been sat on the right hand bench. Without Ichigo there to help her stand for that moment, Kurumu stumbled, and landed unceremoniously on her knees. Her group of friends from Yokai Academy had been in tough scrapes before, but they'd never been in a situation that was this bad. She trembled, from fear and from the growing cold that was wrapping around her like a glove. Myriads of feelings threatened to overwhelm her, and at that moment, the sweet bliss of unconsciousness seemed like a blessing.
"Shit," Ichigo swore, as Kurumu landed on her knees near the picnic table. Moving to her side, he cringed at what he saw. Cold sweat dripped down from her forehead, her skin that wasn't beat red from burns was becoming ashen, and she was swaying in and out of consciousness. Thanks to growing up in a medical clinic, Ichigo was able to recognize the symptoms immediately, and quietly promised himself he'd beat his father half to death for being so late in such a bad situation. Kurumu was going into shock.
"Stay with me, Kurumu," He said as he easily swept the injured succubus up off the ground, and placed her down on the table portion of the picnic table with the greatest of care that he could manage at the time. Frantically, he searched for an object to elevate her legs. The key to treating shock, Ichigo recalled from seeing his father treat the symptom in the past, was to elevate the legs so that they were positioned above the victim's heart, while maintaining calm in the victim and a steady body temperature. While far from a trained medic, this was something Ichigo could do.
Ichigo found his object in the form of the basket that Kasumi had used to carry their plates. Placing Kurumu's ankles beneath the basket, Ichigo used one of the two table clothes to cover her body in an effort to keep her from getting cold. With a forced smile, he said in a soft voice, "don't worry about a thing. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."
Kurumu offered no reply, and Ichigo knew he was running out of time. Casting a glance towards the Aono husband and wife, he noticed that Kasumi was walking. That was good. She was still terrified, but having someone they wouldn't have to carry would make this a lot easier. Easier was good, it meant they had a better chance to succeed, and success was what they wanted right now. Ichigo steeled himself, knowing that as fit as he was, this was still going to be a challenge.
When Ichigo used the Saigo no Getsuga Tensho, he lost his reiryoku and all of his shinigami powers. Despite this, he retained many of the benefits to his physical body he'd gained from his time as a reaper of souls. His reaction time and reflexes were still as sharp as the day he'd fought Aizen, putting them well beyond the absolute maximum a human was otherwise capable of, even if the rest of his body was too slow to react to what his mind perceived. His body was toned and conditioned to just below his peak as a human being, giving him strength and endurance approaching that of an Olympic track and field star. His motor memory and battle experience were as keen as they ever were, meaning that even if he couldn't wield a blade to mountain disintegrating efficiency anymore, he was still amongst the most skilled swordsmen in the world. Carrying a table with a few girls on it, at a weight that tallied up to a bit under three hundred pounds, with the help of another able bodied person was well within his capabilities, even if it wasn't going to be easy. Had it not been for balance issues, he could have probably done it himself.
"Yukari," Ichigo said in a stern tone, gaining the witch's attention instantly, "help Koji with his side, okay?"
Yukari nodded, not trusting her voice to answer vocally. Koji and Kasumi were standing on the north facing end of the table. Koji, with Yukari to help him, would be taking the leading end of the table, while Ichigo would be taking the heavier back end by himself. On the count of three, they hefted the table up a few inches off the ground. Together, the three of them walked the table, along with it's occupants, towards the long flight of stairs that lead to the parking lot with Kasumi in front of them.
Walking up the stairs was tiring work for all parties involved. To his credit, Ichigo did his best to try and keep Kurumu's mind calm and occupied, but it was a vain effort given the backdrop. All of them were treated to an excellent view of the ongoing 'battle' between Tsukune and the Scraken creature. 'Both of them must have some kind of regeneration', Ichigo thought to himself in passing, as one of Tsukune's savage clubbing blows happened to slice clean through the beasts thigh, before Tsukune himself was knocked clear by a swift punch to the head that looked like it should have flattened the much smaller boy into a gory pancake. 'If they don't have some kind of regeneration, there's no way they could still be fighting with the blows they're trading.' As if in response, Ichigo noted the violent twist in the Scraken's flesh as a different wound on it's chest closed shut, evoking a deep frown on the former shinigami's face. 'Why does it always have to be regeneration?'
After about five minutes, they made it to the parking lot. Yukari and Koji practically collapsed into a sitting position as soon as they sat the table down, gasping for air as their aching muscles yelled in ire at their owners for such treatment. Breathing heavily in his own right, Ichigo immediately set to work moving the girls into their vehicle, first Mizore, then Moka, and last Kurumu. Some time during the process, Yukari found herself in the car's front seat. It was going to be a crowded fit, but they would manage. They had to if they wanted to survive.
"Ichigo," Kurumu uttered softly as the orange haired boy hefted her up in his arms bridal style, carrying her towards the car, "why are you doing so much to help us?"
"I'm not such a selfish person that I wouldn't help someone just because I don't know them very well," Ichigo answered, his words echoing those he said to a certain raven haired shinigami what felt like a lifetime ago.
"No, not that," Kurumu whispered, shaking her head softly, "I mean, you've realized it, right? We're not like you, you're human. We're-"
"And I'm not narrow minded enough to not help someone because they're different, either," Ichigo interrupted, cutting off the train of thought as quickly as he could. Bending down, he gently sat her on the last unoccupied back seat of the seating-for-five sedan. Tears rolling down her eyes, the succubus could only shake her head.
"I don't know if I would do the same thing if I were you," Kurumu whispered to herself, half sobbing. It was the truth, she realized. If she were surrounded by a bunch of strange humans she didn't know, and they got hurt by some crazy monster she couldn't fight, she didn't know if she'd try to help them or just run away.
"Just rest now, everything's going to be fine," Ichigo said in a soft tone, trying to calm the increasingly upset girl. It wasn't something he was skilled at, and this kind of conversation wasn't one he was prepared for. Turning his head, he decided they had been here long enough. It was time to go. "Koji, come on!"
"I'm not leaving without my son!" Koji shot back, shaking his head, "I shamed him once today by abandoning him today, I'm not going to do it again!"
Ichigo closed his eyes, suppressing the frustration that was simmering back to the surface at the older man. He turned his attention to Kasumi, "fine, can you drive?"
"I-I think so," Kasumi said, her voice hoarse from sobbing, but distinctly more calm after getting to the parking lot, "but I don't want to leave Tsukune!"
"Damn it, if one of you doesn't drive them to the hospital, they could die!" Ichigo growled, his temper billowing back up despite his efforts to stay calm, "do you really think Tsukune would want to hear that his mother wouldn't help save his best friends lives because she wanted to stay and watch!"
Kasumi looked like she'd been slapped, but after a moment, she relented. Ichigo could only huff slightly, as Kasumi crossed towards the car and got in the driver's seat. Nodding at her, Ichigo retrieved the keys from Koji and brought them to Kasumi, who gave him the keys to her car in return. Nodding his head, he tossed the keys to Koji and simply said, "thanks."
Engine humming to life, Kasumi backed out of the parking place and shifted the car into drive. As she pressed down on the accelerator, a huge object flew out from the cove and into the air, landing with an asphalt shattering crash where she'd been parked just moments before. The impact was so great that man-sized chunks of broken blacktop and dirt flew into the air, opening massive cracks and sinkholes all over the parking lot. There on it's back lay the Scraken, badly wounded but alive as it clutched a wound on it's stomach with one hand, it's blade with another.
Pushing the pedal to the floor, Kasumi tried to flee as best she could, but was rewarded with a sudden jerk and the squeal of unmoving rubber on asphalt. Looking back in one her mirrors, she saw that the monster's impact on the blacktop had made opened a large hole directly in the path of her sedan, and in a stroke of bad luck she'd driven the back end of her vehicle right into it. Slamming the accelerator to the floor, Kasumi tried to escape, but to no avail. She was trapped in the middle of the parking lot, and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.
"Ugh, stupid ghoul..." muttered the Scraken as it tried, and failed, to sit up. It's entire body was covered in wounds that it's regeneration hadn't been fast enough to heal yet, especially that one particularly large one in the middle of it's torso. That last blow had been something else. In a single kick, Tsukune had sent the Scraken flying into the air, literally high enough to plant him on top of the north facing of the cliff. He was going to be killed at the rate he was going, and that wasn't a prospect that sat well with him.
"Shit!" Ichigo cursed, as he noticed Koji wasn't standing in his line of sight anymore. He didn't have time to ponder where the man had gone as another shape came into view, soaring into the air from the beach below. In a single leap, Tsukune had cleared the cliff, and was barreling towards the Scraken on a direct course for it's chest with a crazed look in his eyes. He reached the apex of his leap, and almost seemed to hover ominously like a deadly bird of prey about to pounce on an helpless rodent.
Yet he was slow. Too slow.
There was nothing Ichigo could do to stop it, even though he saw it coming a mile away. His body was simply too slow, and too weak. The Scraken chambered his blade, positioning his arm for a picture perfect one handed stab as Tsukune began his descent. In his berserk rage, Tsukune made no effort to shift or evade as he came down towards the Scraken face first. In a text book thrust, the Scraken slammed the tip of his sword into Tsukune between his neck and collar bone. The combined force of the thrust and Tsukune's fall buried the sword inside Tsukune down to the hilt like a shish kebab, the point escaping out the boy's hip in a roman candle of blood. Amazingly, for a moment, Tsukune made to grab the Scraken with his blood soaked hands, but after a few seconds, he was still. Just like that, the battle was over. In that tiny mirror of time, Tsukune lost his life.
A chorus of screams rang out from Kasumi's car, the voices belonging to her, Yukari and Kurumu. Ichigo ground his teeth in rage. Knowing that there was nothing he could have done to help didn't make it any better. For Ichigo, knowing there was nothing he could do really only made it worse. Eyes darting from left to right, Ichigo's brain fought desperately to try and find a way, any way, to stop this monster.
His trained eyes noticed a glint of metal in a nearby patch of grass. Pacing over to it, Ichigo discovered a thin, four foot long segment of pipe that must have belonged to something installed beneath the parking lot, perhaps plumbing or electrical cables. Ichigo didn't have time or the will to examine it to find out. Taking the pipe in hand, Ichigo held the length of metal like a sword and rushed towards the Scraken, just as the beast removed Tsukune's body from his own weapon with a sickening lurch.
The Scraken saw Ichigo coming and was slow to react, partially from injury, and partially because the orange haired boy was quite obviously human, and therefor not a threat. Swinging his sword in a lazy arch, the Scraken aimed to hit Ichigo in the shoulder and end his resistance on the spot, by way of bisecting the foolish human. Ichigo noticed the pathetically unskilled swing instantly, and corrected his movements accordingly. In a sudden jerk, Ichigo ducked the blow, lifting his pipe in an upwards thrust from his crouched position. With a good deal of force, Ichigo slammed steel into the blue behemoth's wrist, and was rewarded with a satisfying crunch. The creature was strong, and it could regenerate, but apparently it wasn't that much more durable than he was.
Yelping in pain and surprise, the Scraken dropped his blade and stumbled backwards, away from the orange haired boy who'd struck him. Leaving the surprised and confused monster no time to react, Ichigo tossed the metal pipe directly at the creature's face, where it connected with a high pitched tang of hollowed metal on a hard object. Wasting no time, Ichigo reached down and took the copper-colored, blood stained sword that the monster had dropped in hand. It was a heavy, but he didn't have time to care.
"Bastard, give me back my sword!" the Scraken yelled in rage, lurching forward towards Ichigo like an enraged boulder. Now, though, he wasn't facing a crazed berserker. He was facing a skilled fighter who was in his element. A fighter who wanted him dead.
Side stepping to the left, Ichigo ducked one of the giant's grubby paws as it reached out to grasp the boy in it's strong grip, and was treated to a sharp pain running up it's arm as Ichigo lashed out with the blood soaked sword. In a single thrust, Ichigo drove the point of the blade into the ligament just above the monster's elbow, and in a show of skill, changed the direction of the stroke and cut outward away from the elbow, severing the ligament and opening the wound in a single fluid motion. Leaping backwards, Ichigo avoided a smashing blow that would have most certainly have killed him from the Scraken's other, uninjured fist. Chunks and bits of stone and asphalt shot into the air, one of which connected with Ichigo's forehead, sending him sprawling onto his back. In an instant, the monstrous beast was on top of him, and hefted him into the air with a painful squeeze, forcing Ichigo to drop the monster's sword.
"You're good, human," the beast growled, as it tossed Ichigo into the back windshield of Kasumi's car, "I'll have you know I'm under orders not to kill any humans who don't interfere. But no, you just had to go and stick your nose where it didn't belong!"
Ichigo groaned, keenly aware that the shattered glass of the vehicle had opened more than a few cuts on his exposed back. He didn't have time to think about it, though. The beast already had taken it's copper colored sword from the ground and was aiming it at his neck. Ichigo winced, fighting back the bitter part of his mind that thought it was ironic that after doing battle against shinigami captains, going to war with the Espada, and saving the world from Aizen, he was going to be killed by an overgrown sea urchin with arms and legs.
The sound of an engine gunning to his right, towards the inside of the parking lot banished thought thoughts.
"I'll take you back to hell, demon!" Koji roared from the driver's seat of the vehicle Kasumi and her troop had used to reach the beach that day, a blue sedan of the same make as the red one he'd been given for the trip. He had spun the car around to the opposite side of the parking lot, and was on a collision course with the Scraken, already going forty miles per hour. With a loud crash of steel on flesh, the sedan collided with the Scraken's open back and kept going. The unstoppable chariot of death soared off the side of the cliff, the Scraken pinned helplessly to it's front bumper. The blue monster's cry of fear and anger was only drowned out by the louder cry of rage and victory of the car's driver, as both plummeted to the ground below.
Then, a crash, and... boom.
The ensuing plume of fire was barely enough to drown the wail of grief and horror that escaped from Kasumi's throat. Ichigo barely noticed. He was too stunned from what just happened to do anything but stare at the billowing wisps of flame as they danced up from the beach that had taken the lives of both Aono men that day. Rising to his knees on the back of the car, Ichigo managed a bitter scream towards the sky in anger and defeat. There was nothing he could do to save either of them, and it made him sick.
Soulborn School of Scintillating Subjects and Supernatural Species
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Scraken: The Scraken is a relative of the troll, genetically engineered by way of magic to have the best qualities of land trolls, mixed with several choice advantages by their creators. Bred by a sect of dwarves called the Menehune to act as hunter-killers, these trolls have the ability to breathe underwater, rapidly regenerate from wounds, and barbed spines that carry a potent toxin that attacks a victim's nervous system, causing paralysis. They are typically armed with a single close quarters weapon, such as a sword or trident, and utilize Monster Seeking Mines created by their masters to hunt down and eliminate monstrous entities that come to their shores without their explicit authorization. Scrakens take perverse pleasure in doing what they're bred to do, and often do so with a measure of brutality that most sentient creatures would find disgusting.
Oh, and for those of you who don't do the metric system, a hundred kilograms is about two hundred twenty pounds! As a rule of thumb, you can convert the two by either dividing pounds by 2.2, or multiplying kilograms by the same number. I chose to have Koji use metrics because that's what they use in Japan. Gotta try and stay authentic, yo!
Next time on Soulborn: Sable Foil - Isshin finally arrives, late to the party, only to find several wounded young ladies, a fainted housewife, his own son wounded, and unable to do much besides stare at the still smoldering grave of Koji Aono. But when a certain ice-woman's wounds prove to be so dangerous as to leave her precious minutes from death's door, will the magical item of a witch wielded by a shinigami be enough to save her?