I DON'T OWN BLEACH .THOUGH I WISH I DID.
Thoughts'Wow.'
Zanpakuto whispering 'Wow'.
Hollow "Wow."
Visored talk "Wow"
This was one difficult chapter to write. I hope you enjoy it.
CHAPTOR 6
It Begins
Ichigo was watching Karin regain her shinigami powers from a distance. His hiding skills were so good that not even Aizen could find him.
'She's doing well.' he thought.
Events had played out exactly like they had before. Except for four things. First Karin had taken his place in all of the events. Second Rukia had somehow managed to convince his dad to let her stay in the house while her 'Parents' were away. Third the Grand Fisher battle.
In short nothing was left of Fisher but memories. Unfortunately Aizen had gotten the Hōgyoku a lot earlier then expected, but setbacks were to be expected. Ultimately, while Aizen was VERY dangerous, Soul Society was the real problem. He had defeated Aizen in the future and was confident that he could do so again. But he would have to be careful with how he dealt with Soul Society. They had the incredible ability of screwing everything up. And not just for themselves either.
Finally the last change was that instead of Byakuya and Renji, they had sent Toshiro and Matsumoto. Karin's fight with Toshiro was nothing short of incredible. Ichigo knew that she had been training under Yoruichi for two weeks but the way she fought was just insane. Yoruichi was a good teacher, after all she did manage to teach him shunpo in one day. But to help her make progress to such an extent….
He knew that shunpo was a technique. That it did not rely on the release state of their Zanpakutos with a few exceptions. The speed depended almost purely on the person and their ability to grasp the technique. So, no, he was not just a little jealous of Karin's progress. But he was also very proud of her.
All in all Soul society had not sensed him. He knew that it was a risk and that Aizen had become suspicious about a few things, but no one in soul society knew of his existence. His contacts in Hueco Mundo were active again. He had been able to restore Nel to her adult form and gained her trust. And with her help they tracked down Grimmjow and convinced him to join them.
Yoruichi had approached his friends. He had kept a low profile and saw Yoruchi scouting Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki in her cat form. But their reiatsu was almost nothing at the moment and she had apparently judged them as useless for this endeavor. He also did not want them involved in this as he still hoped that he could end it before that. He also didn't want to reveal his shinigami or hollow powers till the last minuet so as to keep his opponents on their feet. He turned back to Karin and wondered just what was going on in her head.
KARIN'S MIND
Karin woke up in a bed made of leaves and feathers. It was soft and she was very comfortable. A gloved hand reached down to help her to her feet.
"Thanks," she muttered, frowning. 'Where am I? The last thing I remember was the tunnel…'
She took in his surroundings for the first time. She was sitting on the ledge of a building that was on top of a conglomeration of disused, condemned buildings that have, through chance or design, clustered together to form a self-contained habitat. Many smaller buildings surround its ground level, serving as the entrance to the fortress, while the core was formed of one especially tall tower that looked as if its construction was abandoned mid-way. She looked down and gasped at the endless abyss below. She did not want to fall down.
"Chokushi?" Karin asked.
Smiling slightly, the Chokushi gestured to one of the larger stones. "Sit down Karin. I have important information that you need to hear." She said in her skin crawling voice.
Karin dropped into the intended seat.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Not now Karin."
She used her other hand to point up towards the heavens bring a blue sky crisscrossed with black crack like lines to Karin's attention. They were small lines but they were slowly expanding.
"Those…" She said pointing to the cracks. "They are similar the cracks that hollows come out of. They represent your hollow transformation. When they completely open, you will began your transformation into a hollow." Karin's stomach dropped in horror as she remembered what was happening.
"Yes," said the Redhead. "Outside of your body, the mask of instinct is about to form. You have roughly One minute before the Hollofication process is complete." She said calm.
"Then what am I doing here?" Karin demanded, as she jumped to her feet and looked around, not entirely sure where to go. "I have to…. to find a way to…" She didn't know what to do.
"Karin." Her avatar said, interrupting her panicked ranting. "There is a way to abort a Hollow transformation."
"What??? How?" asked Karin.
"Become a shinigami." she finished.
She then pushed Karin of the edge and she found herself falling into the Black Darkness below. A lot of scalpels rained down around her as the world shattered.
"The hell…?"
"Somewhere, in this mass of scalpels, you will find your own shinigami power," She said. "But if you do not find it in time…"
She didn't continue. She didn't need to.
"One minute…."
Cursing, Karin tried and failed to find her powers. There were so many scalpels and so little time. All of them were white and she tried grabbing a few but it failed miserably.
"Think Karin, think." It took all her will power to calm down. "What did Rukia Ni-chan say…?"
She closed her eyes and concentrated. 'There' she thought as she could sense the sprit threads from the scalpels. Almost all were white except for one. It was red. She quickly grabbed it and pulled it.
REAL WORLD
A huge ball of fire erupted from the pit and hit the artificial sky once, twice, thrice and finally crashed down in front of them while the tremendous burst of reiatsu knocked the three of them back wards, Urahara covering the two to protect them. Once the dust cleared, they could clearly see the being inside. From his angle he couldn't see if she had a hollow mask or not as she was covered in fabric but he knew that it was not important now.
Ichigo looked on as Karin continued with her training. He wanted to help her but knew that if he fought her battles for her then she would never grow stronger. Things were going well so far. The visored had agreed to help him. They felt too betrayed by soul society and wanted to create a new home for themselves. This was good as they were all high level fighters that could keep up with the best of them. Nel and Grimmjow were recruiting arrancars and hollows for their cause. Grimmjow was suspicious at first but he started to trust him later.
The bount were a problem. But after he killed Jin Kariya and Uryu had killed Ryō Udagawa, the rest of them agreed to follow him. Almost all the pieces of the grand chess game were in place. It was now all up to soul society to decide the outcome. He looked on as Karin unleashed her shikai on Urahara and chuckled as Urahara jumped in the air holding his rear because Karin had impaled it with one of her scalpels. Oh yes, things were definitely going well.
"Kurosaki-kun? Why are you here?" Orihime asked him.
"I'm here to help my sister Orihime." Ichigo said.
"Chad?" Orihime whispered, "I think you should talk to Ichigo and convince him to stay. He doesn't have any powers and could get hurt."
"Actually he does." Uryu said as he saw Ichigo, when he heard Orihime. "He is stronger then all of you put together. If he can't do it then no one can. In fact we can safely say that we would probably only get in his way."
"Ishida-Kun is right." Urahara said as he approached them.
"Are you sure, Ichi-nii?" Karin said. "If you don't have any special ability then you could get hurt"
"Just show them, Kurosaki-kun." Urahara said.
"Fine then." He said and exited his body using Kon.
This newest revelation was too much for Karin and she nearly collapsed.
"Karin?" Orihime looked at her. "Are you alright?"
"Since when?" Karin all but demanded.
"Ever since mom died." Whispered Ichigo.
Karin understood and left it at that.
That was Ichigo's cover story. It would also give him some breathing space as he now had an excuse as to just why he was so powerful. All those years to develop his powers. The perfect excuse.
"We should get going." He said.
She stared at him quietly, making him want to fidget, until his salvation came in the form of Urahara.
"Mr. Kurosaki has the right idea." Urahara said.
He led them inside and showed them the gate. It was huge, it was square and it looked like it was made of paper mashie…..ok no one ever accused Urahara of being artistic. He then stopped and turned towards them.
"Now listen carefully. If you do not make it to the other side, all of you will be trapped there forever." Urahara said grimly. Orihime, Karin and Chad gaped at what they had been told. Ichigo and Uryu were unimpressed.
"Also, to make sure hollows don't get into soul society, there is a mechanism that traps souls it deems unworthy. It is used to trap them alive, not killing them. Therefore, if even a single foot is caught… you will not be able to make it through" Urahara said.
"Only those with strong hearts will succeed. Those who wish to stay do not come forward. Those who will assist Karin follow me" said Yoruichi. After a moment, everyone stepped forwards.
"We all came to help rescue Rukia" Orihime said determinedly. Chad grunted in response.
Yoruichi jumped through the portal, followed by Orihime, Karin, Chad. When Urahara turned he found that Ishida and Ichigo had vanished.
Urahara looked at the portal worriedly. He hoped that this would end well.
The Four intruders to the realm of spirits dropped to the ground with a loud crash, while Yoruichi landed gracefully on her feet. Orihime was thrilled at Yoruichi's 'Landing Pose' when Yoruichi head butted her.
"You fool! What did I say about not using powers? If the janitor had touched you, we'd all be dead! We were lucky that all the janitor ever touched was the shield." Yoruichi told her.
Orihime recoiled back at that, when Karin cut in "Oh, come on Yoruichi-san," She looked up and saw that the door through which they had come disappeared.
"If it hadn't been for her, we would have been caught by the janitor. Tell me how that would have been better."
Orihime flushed a little, but the cat merely looked away, muttering under its breath. Their thoughts were interrupted by Chad.
"Where are Ichigo and Uryu?" Chad asked.
Yoruichi opened her mouth to answer him but stopped. 'Where are they?' She wondered.
"I don't sense them, but they can take care of themselves. Let's keep going forward." She said finally.
The others were not happy with this but as no one had any better ideas they decided to go forward.
Karin then looked around, thatched roof housing and other primitive structures that stretched out for as far as the eye could see.
"This…..is soul society?" she asked. Soul Society resembled feudal Japan.
Yoruichi nodded. "This is the Rukongai (Town of Wandering Spirits). It's where souls of the dead come to live when they first enter Soul Society. They are the poorest and the freest part of Soul Society. They form the perimeter of the walled city Seireitei (Court of Pure Souls), the home and military base of the shinigami. The Seireitei is in the center of Soul Society, past the Seireimon. The Rukongai districts are ordinally ranked, with the lower-numbered districts being more peaceful. Soul Society is nominally ruled by a king, who resides in another realm within Soul Society, but in practice is controlled by the Soul Reapers. We're in the first district of West Rukongai one of eighty residential districts."
"There's no one around." Karin said.
"They are probably afraid of us." said Yoruichi. "Ryoka, souls who have entered Soul Society illegally, cause all sorts of problems in Rukongai. They probably don't want to get involved with us."
"What's that?" Orihime asked pointing at the Seireimon
"Ah, that." Yoruichi stopped and explained. "That is the outer limits of Seireitei. It is protective wall made of a special stone that absorbs reiatsu. The rock called Seki-seki, surrounds the perimeter of the Seireitei. It is placed as a ring and forms a three-hundred-and-sixty degree barrier that repels any form of spirit energy. It also repels and dispels reiatsu trying to get in or out."
Karin was about to charge ahead when Yoruichi stopped her.
"Stop, there's no chance of breaking through. The only way in are the gates themselves, and to pass through, we'll have to get past the gatekeeper."
"Just how strong arethese gatekeepers?" asked Karin.
"They are very powerful. Compared to them, other shinigami are just cannon fodder."
"We can take them. I've already fought a captain, he can't be….." She said when Yoruichi knocked her on the back of her head.
"Don't get overconfident. Jidanbo, the gatekeeper of the White Road Gate, is very powerful. He can dispatch ten Hollows with one stroke of his ax."
"Now, lets go." Yoruichi said and they followed her.
When they neared the Seireimon, they heard the sounds of battle. When they came close enough they saw a huge dust cloud. Orihime and Chad were worried about what was happening. Yoruichi was calculating the situation and Karin was just itching for a battle. Then the dust cloud cleared and…..
They all started gaping.
Even Yoruichi.
They had come to a massive gate. Yoruichi had explained where they were and they that they had to fight the giant but what they found shocked them. On the ground was the defeated form of Jidanbo. Two figures were calmly walking towards them. It was Ichigo and Uryu.
"What the hell took you guys so long?" Ichigo calmly asked them. Then all hell broke loose.
"Ichigo???" four voices shouted at the same time.
"What am I? Chopped liver?" Uryu muttered but everyone just ignored that.
"Ya. Now lets go. Jidanbo please open the doors." He said to the giant who was waking up.
"Are… you sure he can open the door?" Orihime asked looking at his injuries.
She really wanted to stay a while and heal Jidanbo, but Yoruichi disagreed. If they delayed it could cost them dearly as soul society was probably on full alert.
"Yes…" Jidanbo replied, turning around and fitting his huge fingers underneath the gate in the Seireimon. "I have been defeated so it's only fair I let you through."
"Now please enter." He said as he opened the gate with a lot of effort. Suddenly he froze. Ichigo and Uryu knew exactly what it was, having lived it previously. It was then that the others felt it. A huge amount of reiatsu.
And then they saw the source. The man's most distinguishing characteristic was his expression, with his slitted eyes and ever-present grin, his face looked like that of a fox. He also had unusual silver hair, which has a purple tint to it. He held up his index finger and shook it, as if scolding a child.
"Jidanbou, what on earth are ya doing?" the man asked seemingly happy. Jidanbou stammered, looking at the man with fear in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" Orihime asked, concerned.
Ichigo knew what was going on and walked forward, closer to the Seireimon. He then all but went just inside the gate and got a good look at the Captain. It took all of his impressive will power not to kill him then and there.
"Who's he?" Karin asked.
"Ichimaru Gin…" Jidanbo replied, obviously terrified. "Captain… of the third division."
"Ah… this ain't allowed." Ichimaru looked up at the giant, peculiar smile seeming to stretch.
"Why'd ya open ta gate?" He asked talking as if to a small child.
"I …g..got d…defeated, so its m…my duty." Stammered Jidanbou.
"It's too bad, y'know. Gatekeepers ain't supposed to open gates when they loose. They're suppose ta die. " With that he fired Shinso at Jidanbo.
The blade cut deeply into Jidanbou's arm and a small unseen kido spell from Ichigo sending Jidanbo flying backwards. Without anything to hold it open, the gate started to close. The last thing anyone saw was Gin's smirk.
"Well that went well. Ichigo I…." For the second time that day, Yoruichi was left gaping like a fish, and the others mirrored it when they realized that Ichigo and Uryu were missing.
A small scrap of paper floated next to Karin. She opened it and read it.
-Hey Karin, I'll see you later and oh by the way tell aunt Kuukaku I said Hi.-Ichigo.
Ukitake Jūshirō, who was being followed by his subordinates Kiyone and Sentaro, was many things. He was powerful, which was why he was a captain. He was sick, which was why his subordinates pretty much ran the Division. He was also a calm and down to earth type of person, which was why he was totally unfazed when his dead Vice Captain bumped into him in a deserted alley. Wait WHAT?
They had gotten lost. Plain and simple. Ichigo hadn't been in soul society in a long time and neither had Uryu from a crazy time travel type of perspective. So the pair found their Kimono clad selves skulking through the Alleys of the Seireitei trying to avoid the attention of anyone searching for them and crossed to the other side of the street when they went past the 11th division. They had thought that they were in the clear when they had almost literally bumped into Ukitake.
"Are the two of you alright?" Ukitake asked them.
"Yes we are." They replied.
"Might I enquire as to your names?" he asked.
"Kimino Ichiro, first year student at the academy." Uryu said.
"Shirosaki Ogichi, final year student at the academy." Ichigo said. Uryu smacked his head.
Ukitake raised an eyebrow and did his best not to laugh. He murmured the last name 'Shirosaki' which sounded suspiciously like Kurosaki.
"Where are you two going?" He asked.
"Umm..." Ichigo started, trying to make up something. "We were heading to the Tower of Penance. I don't suppose that you could tell us where it is could you?"
Behind him, Uryu smacked his head again.
"What are you going to do there?" Ukitake asked.
"We are going to redecorate it." Ichigo said with a strait face.
"Redecorate?" Ukitake repeated incredulously.
"Yes, is that a problem?" Ichigo asked.
While he could spot a lie from a mile away, with all his dealings in the academy, strangely enough he felt as if they were speaking the truth. Ukitake wisely decided to follow another line of questioning.
"Are you by any chance related to Shiba Kaien?"
"Yes he is my father's wife's brother-in-law's brother's wife's sister-in-law's brother's son's uncle. Other then that, no relation." Ichigo said quickly.
Ukitake was completely dumfounded by the reply. But before he could even begin to think about what the hell that meant, he noticed that the shinigami had…. orange hair? Yes he had unruly orange hair and it even looked natural. He had a strong resemblance to Kaien but he was also too young. He looked around 15 years old while Kaien was a grown man.
Ichigo and Uryu meanwhile assessed the situation warily. They were out numbered and the confines of alley restricted their movement. Also they could not use their high end techniques unless they wanted all of soul society to know their location.
"I'm afraid that, as there is a criminal being held there, the tower of penance is currently off limits." Ukitake said, secretly pinching himself to see if this was some form of warped and twisted dream. He had experienced a lot of fevered dreams before but this….this one took the cake.
Never in his wildest imagination had he dreamt up a situation where he would be having such a… unique, uniquely insane, conversation with a person who looked so much like his dead Vice Captain.
"Ahhh….well at least can we visit it just to take a few measurements." Ichigo made up.
"Unfortunately you cannot. Also, Academy students aren't allowed here so, as a friend of the head, why don't I escort the two of you back to your dorms?" Ukitake asked. He knew that they were obviously faking it. He was the type of shinigami who preferred to negotiate. But he also knew a lost cause when he saw one.
"Can't we talk this over?" Ichigo asked.
"No its past curfew and you two really need to get back." Ukitake said.
"Well since you won't tell us where it is we'll just have to…."
Quickly Uryu created a flash of light and while the three Shinigami were blinded, they ran away.
Once the light had cleared Ukitake noticed that they were gone. He then tried to make sense of what had just happened. Looking around, he saw that Kiyone was still in shock while Sentarou had out right fainted.
'Well.' He thought, 'At least this proves that I am not hallucinating.'
He took a deep breath and exhaled. He then decided to think back and start at the beginning. Every thing had started off fine and he had left his office to go and meet Toshiro taking a short cut through an alley along with his subordinates when he ran into him. The orange-haired youth Ukitake had met in the alley certainly hadn't been Shiba Kaien, that much was for certain.
'Something is not right.' He thought.
And truer words were never spoken. First was Rukia's disappearance itself. Then her retrieval squad. It was not normal to send a Captain and Vice-Captain for such an offence. Finally there was the matter of her punishment. Death by the Sōkyoku? Only Captain level shinigami were executed through that method. While Rukia was powerful, she was still far from a Captain's level. Something was amiss.
"Captain, was that….Kaien?" Kiyone asked insecurely.
"I'm sorry Kiyone. But I don't think so." Ukitake answered.
"S...Should we report this?" She asked.
"….No. They were just a couple of Academy students. This sort of things happens." He said and picked up Sentarou. "Now let's get going. Toshiro-kun is probably waiting for us." He said.
He made a mental note to check the academy anyway. He was sure that they were not really students but it never hurt to check.
After a random Shunpo and Hirenkyaku, we find our heroes in a heated argument.
"Redecoration? Couldn't you have thought of anything better?" Uryu said.
"What the hell was I supposed to say?" Ichigo asked.
"Remind me never to go on a spy mission with you."
"Well, if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. Besides I think we've been very lucky considering…"
"Past experiences?" Uryu said with a smirk.
Ichigo nodded, avoiding a computer consol, "Exactly. At least we didn't get caught. With luck, they won't report us."
"And you say I'm optimistic."
"Hey, where are we anyway?" Ichigo asked.
The entire room was dark and was filled with cages and computer consoles. Shadowy figures were present in the cages and the entire area was crawling with researchers.
"I don't know. Probably in the 12th division by the looks of things."
"Ya I …"
"GROWL!!"
The creature in the cage, in which Ichigo was leaning against, let out an ear splitting noise and Ichigo slashed at it in surprise cutting the cage and freeing it. The slug like creature immediately started running or rather slithering around.
"OH SHIT! THE FLESH EATING SLUG HAS GOTTEN LOOSE!" Rin Tsubokura shouted as he ran away from the mentioned creature and bumped into another person.
This in turn caused that person to spill the beaker of acid onto a computer consol causing all sorts of malfunctions. Another man grabbed an experimental kido gun from a nearby scientist and started firing at the blob, looking just as scared as Rin and with good reason. The slug thing was acidic.
The scientist immediately grabbed the gun from the man's hand and threw it into the air. The gun was experimental and had dangerously over heated. The resulting explosion rocked the lab and ended up releasing more of the experiments.
While this was going on, a group of scientists immediately attempted to use Kido to contain the creatures but due to the mass confusion and general chaos they ended up accidentally hitting their own members in the confined space, binding some in place while sending many others flying into the sky in a fiery explosion.
While they were running around, they did not notice that the alarm had been set off due to the fact that that acid had been spilt onto the computer. This was only a localized alarm so only members of the 12th division rushed in.
Unfortunately for them, gravity had decided that those who had been blasted into orbit should return now and they crashed into the reinforcements causing even more mayhem. The members of the security squad, who were still standing, decided that they were under attack and reacted accordingly. They let loose a stream of fire Kido, setting the Lab alight… Right as Mayuri arrived.
"THE EXPERIMENTS." Mayuri hysterically screamed.
The black and white faced captain was panicking like mad. He had gone to document the Girl's fight with Toshiro when the alarm had gone off. Seeing the girl's abilities had made him giddy with excitement. His only regret was that he wasn't allowed to experiment on the girl so he decided to take an indirect approach. He had programmed the nanites within the young Kurosaki to gather information and send it to him. He was currently about to activate the nanites within her when the alarm had sounded. Now, due to the acid, the nanites self destructed and all data recovered was lost. He felt like pulling out his hair, if he had any.
Our two hero's were watching this chaos with open mouths. They looked on as the scientists and others ran around like headless chickens. Ichigo and Uryu clearly had two choices. One was to either help out as they had been the root cause of this or…
"Good one Ichigo." Uryu said as he patted Ichigo on the back.
"Aaahh, it was nothing." Ichigo said waving his hand.
Tormenting Mayuri was a really good way to start the way. It looked like it would have continued when….
"WARNING, WARNING, fire hazard has exceeded safety levels in Bio-Lab 7. Initiating containment protocols. Thank you for your time." A voice similar to Nemu's rang out.
Immediately a trap door opened on a wall revealing a huge tank with pipes attached to it. It immediately started gushing water. Unfortunately, they had forgotten to do the maintenance on the pipes and due to computer malfunctions, instead of a gentle sprinkle of water, they got a raging river.
"Some one shut off the sprinklers." A scientist shouted as the flash flood consumed the tables. In the confusion no one had noticed the two. No one except…
"Who are you two?" A voice asked them.
They turned around and saw the irritated face of the Captain of the 12th division Kurotsuchi Mayuri.
"We are…the new recruits." Uryu said.
"Ya, what he said." Ichigo prompted.
"Then why aren't you two doing anything?" Mayuri asked impatiently.
"You want us to add to this chaos?" Uryu asked, waving his hand, drawing attention to the spectacle before him.
"Hmmm. Good point. Finally, two people who can think. Also…Hey where are you going?" Mayuri asked to the retreating form of Ichigo.
"Look behind you." Ichigo screamed as he ran away.
"Ah, I see what he means." Uryu said when he looked back.
Mayuri looked back and saw the huge tank of water. It was actually a containment tank for aquatic specimens complete with giant creatures, giant cracks and giant leaks.
"I estimate that we have less then a minute before…hey where are you?" Mayuri looked around and finally saw the now retreating figure of Uryu.
"Goodbye Captain, I'll see you later." Uryu shouted.
Mayuri then turned his attention back towards the tank.
CRACK.
"Ah shit."
WOSH.
The massive tsunami washed away all in its path. All the people unfortunate enough to get caught in the deluge grabbed on to whatever they could. Everyone had finally climbed on to something and they grouped together. No one noticed that while the water had put out the fires and killed off most of the specimens, there was a problem. Some of the creatures were absorbing the water and started killing each other off.
Sputtering and spitting out the water, Mayuri slowly dragged his body out of the water and onto a table.
"Captain, what do we…?" Someone began but was interrupted.
"ROAR."
A giant slug burst out of the water and started moving towards everyone. When the water splashed against the slug's acids, thick steam started rising as the water was rapidly being evaporated. The water then began bubbling and the very presence of the creature in the water caused disturbances, waterspouts, whirlpools and worst of all, a massive Tsunami like wave. The water was thrashing so much now that many of the people fell off the tables or whatever they were standing on.
"Zangetsu." Ichigo whispered.
Ichigo then took a stance and gathered his reiatsu, making sure to use the least amount. Then he looked at his current nemesis and swung his blade.
"NO, don't do it. You'll…" Mayuri began to scream from afar, but it was too late.
"Getsuga Tenshō."
"…cause a chain reaction!"
Every one stopped and watched as the wave of reiatsu hit the slug. A few seconds passed and there was no effect. The slug had clearly absorbed the blast. Then something happened. The room went completely silent as all eyes were on the gigantic Slug. The slug started expanding again, causing Ichigo to fire another two blasts ending with the same results. The slug's body then stopped expanding and started quivering.
A tremor went through the water and a weird squeaking noise was herd. It was at this point that they realized just what was happening.
'Oh crap.'
"IT'S GOING TO EXPLODE!" Rin shouted hysterically. Ichigo looked and nodded at Uryu and the two escaped via a hole in the ceiling and not a moment too soon.
A huge explosion rocked the entire 12th division causing it to collapse into itself and blowing up everything in sight. Thankfully, there were no deaths.
"Glad we escaped that." Ichigo panted as he leaned against a wall, trying to catch his breath before they could slip back into shunpo.
"Ya, me too." Uryu said.
He tried to stop panting before a hand fell on his shoulder. The slowly turned around and found themselves staring straight at what was possibly the worst captain they could have run into. They were so surprised that they accidentally let out a small part of their reiatsu. They quickly brought it under control it but it was too little too late.
"Captain Ukitake." Toshiro said. "What was it that you wanted to talk about?"
"Well I just wanted to get a first hand account on what happened when you captured Rukia."
This immediately put Toshiro on guard. "Basically, it was the same as in the report. We found Rukia and attempting to capture her when the girl, Karin appeared. We then fought and she caught me off guard and slashed at me a bit. After that I defeated her and used the device Mayuri provided to destroy her Soul Sleep and soul chain. We then returned. All the other details are in the report."
"Yes thank you. Also, Toshiro-kun, have you noticed something…odd with the way things are going?" Ukitake asked.
"Which part? Kuchiki's execution method, or the part where they are moving up the execution date? Or is it the part where Central 46 has gone rogue?"
Ukitake was taken completely by surprise.
"It is common sense if you look at it. Even Central 46 has to follow certain procedures, yet they are being completely bypassed. They are essentially breaking the law themselves and that pretty much fits the definition of rogue." Toshiro added.
"Why haven't you brought this to the attention of the other captains?" Ukitake asked.
"It's because of the possibility of a traitor among us." Toshiro said shocking Ukitake even more.
Ukitake was glad that someone other then he and Shunsui felt that there was something wrong in soul society. He got the distinct feeling that Toshiro was leaving out some key details from Rukia's capture but if what he said about a traitor was true...
Ukitake opened his mouth to reply when he felt it. It was only for an instant but both Ukitake and Toshiro immediately located the source and rushed towards it. Both of them were confused, the person's who reiatsu they felt was at least a vice-captain level, yet the feel of the energy was unlike that of any of the Vice-captains past and present. It was then that it hit him. Ukitake immediately recognized who the energy belonged to and sped up.
It was also then, that Ukitake realized just what was wrong with his earlier encounter. It was their speed. Up till now, the fastest person he had seen was Yoruichi Shihōin but those two were faster. Honestly, he had thought that if anyone would try to rescue Rukia, it would be that kid. The kid who had an older brother…
"Damn it." Ukitake said as he stumbled.
"Are you alright?" Toshiro asked as he too stopped.
"Yes. I just realized who that person was." He said.
"You mean you know about the Quincy?" Toshiro asked.
"Quincy, what are you…?" he was interrupted when they sensed just who had found the two.
"Toshiro-kun. Let us talk later." Ukitake said.
Toshiro nodded before entering shunpo again, hoping they would be able to get there in time or the whole of Soul Society could be at risk.
A wild and aggressive appearance that perfectly fit his personality. A captain's haori without sleeves and a ragged look to it. A unique hair style spikes with bells at the tips and a special eye patch on his right eye created by the 12th Division to absorb the bulk of his power. He was one of the tallest Shinigami, towering at 202 cm (approx. 6 ft 7½ in).
Zaraki Kenpachi, Captain of the 11th division. That fact in itself was enough to make them panic.
"So it was you two. I hope that the two of you have a good reason for destroying the 12th division." He said ominously.
"Well…hmm...it's like this..." Ichigo and Uryu began.
"Because that's her job." Kenpachi finished.
"Her?" Ichigo asked when a very tiny and very adorable pink blur jumped on his head and landed on Kenpachi's shoulder.
"Hi." The cute pink haired girl said.
"Now then, you two look strong so as punishment the two of you will have to fight me." He said bringing out his Zanpakuto and psychotic grin.
"Can't we talk it over?" Ichigo asked.
Kenpachi didn't respond instead raising his Zanpakuto when….
"Stop." A voice called out.
Deep in the bowels of Las Noches a group of Hollows had gathered. They were identical to shinigami and only their mask remnants and hollow hole were an indication that they were anything but. Also they were wearing white versions of the Shinigami uniform. There appearances were varied as they were plentiful. Arrancar, the hollows who have removed most of their mask to gain shinigami powers.
They were gathered here in the presence of their new master, Aizen, to witness the birth of the newest members of their kind. Three of them standing out from the rest. They were undoubtedly the top three most powerful.
They watched as the wrapping that surrounded the panther hollow's form shattered and it broke out in a burst of reiatsu. The three current assured members of the Espada, all former Vasto Lordes, watched as the newest and youngest one of their former kind became an Arrancar.
In a burst of reiatsu, Grimmjow stood up with his new Zanpakuto in hand. His Zanpakuto's guard resembling a narrow 'O' or a wide 'I'. The sheath and handle were light blue. His form on the other hand, was obscured in smoke. Immediately, attendants rushed in and covered him up. They set up a small barrier within which he could dress.
"Well, what do you think?" Aizen asked.
"I'll take two." Was the reply.
"Sorry, but the process can only be done once." Aizen said.
"Too bad."
When he came out, they got a good look at his now human body. Grimmjow now had light blue spiky hair and eyes and also had green lines below them similar to the eye markings on the Panthera genus of cats. Grimmjow's attire consisted of a white hakama and a black sash. His white jacket was ragged with an upturned collar. The inner lining was black, the sleeves were rolled up, and Grimmjow wore it open, leaving his chest revealed. The remains of his Hollow mask consisted of a right jawbone, and his hollow hole had moved to his abdomen.
"How are you feeling, Grimmjow?" Aizen asked.
"I feel like testing out my new powers."
"Good." Aizen smiled. "If you will wait for a little while, we can begin the fights for ranks in the Espada."
"Finally, some action." He said.
The Sōkyoku Hill training ground. Urahara had styled his shop's secret training ground on one he built beneath Sōkyoku Hill while he was young. In this training ground, he and Yoruichi Shihōin had played and trained. It is a large room with a ceiling and walls painted to resemble a cloudy sky over a floor of desolate, brown, craggy land dotted with dead trees.
"Impossible. You can't honestly believe this, can you?" Ukitake asked Toshiro.
"Nothing else makes sense. It all fits." Toshiro said.
Toshiro and Ukitake had managed to stop Kenpachi before anything serious had happened. Ichigo and Uryu had then managed to convince them to follow them to the Sōkyoku Hill training ground with the promise of an explanation for the first two and a fight for Kenpachi. Once they had arrived, Uryu proceeded to give the two a modified explanation of the events that had occurred while Ichigo fought Kenpachi with Yachiru.
"So let me get this strait. Aizen, Ichimaru Gin and Kaname Tōsen are traitors. Aizen was the one who created the Visoreds and framed Urahara. He has killed Central 46 and is plotting to overthrow the king of Soul Society with an army of hybrids, more specifically Arrancar. That…that…" He trailed off. That actually made a lot of sense. All the pieces fit.
"So what are the two of you planning to do now?" Toshiro asked.
"Lets wait till they are done then talk." Uryu said to the two captains and they nodded in agreement.
The fight was nearly done. A Zanpakuto in his right hand and his body a bloody mess. Kenpachi was not in the best of situations. His opponent was relatively unharmed, though not for the lack of trying. Kenpachi could only grin as his strike was calmly deflected by Ichigo. He idly wondered just where Ichigo had come from. He was many things but Kenpachi was no fool. He knew that no one just shows up out of the blue with so many prowesses that were above and beyond that of a normal captain level. He even used kendo and still was loosing. All of his attacks were being easily deflected.
"What's your name kid?" He asked with his trademarked grin.
"Kurosaki Ichigo. That's the best you can do?"
"Of course not."
The two exchanged a number of slashes and blows. The speed was simply amazing and all four of the spectators were now watching the fight completely spellbound. Finally Ichigo got Kenpachi in the face.
"How are you so strong?" He said as he got up slowly, staggering slightly. Her mood however was great.
"It's because I fight with my Zanpakuto."
"Borrowing power and fighting with your Zanpakuto makes you weak."
"If that's so then why don't you prove it?" Ichigo taunted.
They grinned and charged at each other.
6 feet
5 feet
4 feet
3 feet
2 feet
1 feet
Just as their Zanpakutos were about to hit Ichigo managed to jump over Kenpachi and kicked him forcing the irate Captain to crash Zanpakuto first into another wall. The rock pieces from the wall flew out crashing like meteors down onto the ground, making holes. He then calmly walked out of it and raised his Zanpakuto only to find…
"Hey where did my Zanpakuto go?" He asked.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Ichigo asked.
"All I remember is hitting some doll thing when it disappeared."
"W...wait. Did you say doll? As in the Tenshintai?" Ichigo asked.
"The what?"
"A vaguely human-shaped, man-sized doll used to forcibly materialize the spirit of a Zanpakuto into the real world when stabbed by the Zanpakuto. In doing so, the user can subjugate the spirit and attain the Bankai of their Zanpakuto. The materialization lasts for about three days, after which the spirit reverts back into the doll that spawned it. Without this invention, achieving the bankai takes at least ten years, not to mention the many years of combat experience needed. This method, however, is very dangerous due to the fact that it forcibly materializes the Zanpakuo's spirit. If used more than three times consecutively, it is possibly fatal to the user."
"What the hell does that mean? Just where the hell is my Zanpakuto?" Kenpachi asked.
"I'm right here." A new voice said, causing every one to take notice.
They looked at a vaguely humanoid thing. It was obviously a he due to its powerfully muscled body which was covered in a protective layer of scales. He was physically imposing. His skin tone was a lighter pink than a normal human's and his back legs were reversed-jointed like a cat's, and had sharp but thick claws on his toes. The hands also had claws and he was obviously just as comfortable on all fours as he was upright. A large, thick tail waved behind him, though he often curled it up over him in a scorpion-like manner, despite its lack of a stinger. Large, leathery wings grew from his shoulder blades. His hair was dark but short, not even reaching its shoulders. When stood up on its back legs, it was almost seven feet tall. (If the avatar is revealed in the manga, I may change it.)
"Well, well, well. Now isn't this interesting." The Avatar said, flexing his muscles and landed a massive punch on Kenpachi's face.
"Do you have any idea of the pain of not having a name? Of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't have named yourself or Yachiru. I told you my name and gave you my strength when you needed me the most, yet you promptly forgot it. And because of that you have caused so much damage to our powers."
"Why the hell should I bother talking to you when you're as fucking deaf as a block of wood? You are even more of a moron then what others give you credit for. You're so spectacularly dense that any thing other then eating, fighting and Yachiru goes through one ear and out the other, completely missing that shriveled up thing that you call a brain."
"It's not my fault I couldn't hear you…"
"YOU COULDN'T HEAR ME? I WAS FUCKING SCREAMING IN PAIN AS YOUR POWER CAUSED ME SO MUCH AGONY."
"Wait I…" Kenpachi began but was immediately cut off.
"No, I am tired of you not listening to me. So now I'll make you listen. To gain your bankai you will have to remember my name. We have three days Ken-Chan. Make good use of it."
"That doesn't sound so hard." Kenpachi scoffed.
"Did I forget to mention that I will be attacking you?" The avatar said and promptly slashed at the Captain's unguarded chest. "Three days Ken-chan. Don't waste them." With that, he lunged at Kenpachi and then the fight truly began.
"Shouldn't we help him?" Ukitake asked.
"No once started, the process has to end on its own." Ichigo answered.
"But…"
"We can't do anything. He has to succeed on his own or he will die. Also there are things that I need to tell the two of you." Ichigo said.
The serious look on his face was enough to convince them. They retreated to a safer distance and began planning.
Karin was in the ridiculously-themed house on the outskirts of Soul Society. When she had relayed Ichigo's message to that Kūkaku lady she had looked shocked for a second but quickly recovered. Then after a while, Kūkaku demonstrated the use of a special orb she developed.
Originally they had planned to master the orb and be shot through the Barrier surrounding Soul Society. But Yoruichi had received urgent news from within Soul Society and now they had decided to postpone the launch by a few days. Enough to learn Bankai.
"I brought you to this ground to help you fully release your Zanpakuto. You see Urahara created a technique to achieve bankai in three days, however if you fail to…."
"I don't want to know as I know that I will not fail." she interrupted. Yoruichi just nodded.
"Well then follow me Karin." They walked to the center of the training ground and Yoruichi brought out a human sized doll. She then asked Karin to stab it with her Zanpakuto. When she did however that's when the real fun began.
In a burst of blackish distortion, Chokushi appeared.
"Karin, why have you summoned me?" She asked in her creepy voice.
When she had first appeared, Yoruichi found herself unconsciously comparing herself to the woman in front of her. She was satisfied with her appearance, and wasn't afraid to show it off, but the woman in front of her was the very definition of beauty. She was clearly one of those types of women who did nothing to gain that beauty. It was all natural. But when she heard her voice he couldn't help but shiver in fear. For all her beauty, Yoruichi realized, the woman in front of her was dangerous, Very dangerous.
"I called you here to fully release you. Its time for me to know your full name." Karin replied.
"Do you think you are ready?" she asked.
"I was born ready." Karin smirked.
"Very well then, let's begin."
All the Captains stood in line as they awaited the beginning of the Captain's meeting. All except Kenpachi and Toshiro. Two days had passed and the psychotic Captain had yet to remember the name of his Zanpakuto. Thankfully, he had the nights to rest and to heal in the hot springs present in the training ground. Toshiro and his lieutenant Matsumoto were covering for him and so they too couldn't make it. Things were going exactly how Ichigo had said that they would, until now. This meeting had started two days before schedule. But knowing Aizen, it would not be good.
"Where are Zaraki Kenpachi and Hitsugaya Toshiro?" Yamamoto asked.
"Apologies, Genryuusai-sensei. But Kenpachi, Toshiro and their lieutenants are a little busy at the moment. It's nothing serious but he will be finished within one more day." Ukitake replied.
"Very well now can some one please tell me why the almost half of the 12th division is gone?" Yamamoto asked.
"Well one of the specimens escaped and one of the assistants foolishly allowed a chain reaction which caused the experiment to explode. That simpleton died in the explosion and his body was presumably destroyed along with another more promising recruit." Mayuri reported.
"Very well. Now then Aizen" Yamamoto said turning towards him. "Why have you called for this meeting?"
Both Ukitake and Shunsui tensed when they heard that fact.
"Yes I have called this meeting to reveal that there are traitors in Gotei 13, in this very room infact." Aizen said causing mass outrage.
All the arguments were instantly silenced when Yamamoto raised his reiatsu. "Those are some serious accusations. What do you accuse them of?"
"I accuse three captains of conspiracy against Gotei 13, Soul Society and carrying out illegal Hollowfication experiments. They also killed off Central 46 and are the cause of many of the deaths and disappearances of many Shinigami and several residents in the Rukongai."
"Who are they and where is the proof."
"I will show you the proof and as for the Captains, I accuse Ichimaru Gin, Kaname Tōsen..."
"And the third?" Yamamoto asked.
"Yes, as for the third, the third is…" He said and releasing his Zanpakuto at the same time as Gin and Tosen "me. Shatter Kyōka Suigetsu."
Three days had passed and Karin and her group were flying through the air, all five of them in the cannonball from out of a sprit cannon and into the Seireitei. This was perhaps the most insane plan she had ever participated in. The plan was to create a reiatsu ball in which they would stand while Kukaku shot them out of a cannon into a supposedly inpenetratable barrier.
"Are you sure that this will work?" Karin asked Yoruichi.
"Yes it will, don't worry." Yoruichi reassured her.
"Ya, stop whining like a little girl." Ganju said.
"I am a little girl." Karin replied. "One who kicked your ass."
And indeed she did, royally. After achieving bankai, Karin had needed a good training partner to practice her powers on and Kukaku had graciously volunteered Ganju. Grinding his teeth, Ganju did not respond, instead pulling out some sort of paper from inside his shirt. He unrolled it and began to chant.
Karin only every heard the fourth word of what he was mumbling, but the effects were instantaneous. The cannonball gained in speed and in direction. All of them unconsciously began to apply more reiatsu into the ball and that alone helped them. Finally they approached the Seireitei and got a good look.
"I...is th...that the Seireitei?" A pale Karin asked.
The others looked as the clouds parted, revealing the massive barrier that surrounded Soul Society. Inside were the white buildings forming a maize of alleyways and byways. A tall hill that they could be seen in the distance. Or, rather, what was left of them.
The walls that made up the buildings were heaped in piles of burning rubble and rock. The entire place was spattered in blood and littered with bodies. Some were recognizable while others were too maimed to be identified as any thing but a pile of bloody meat. All throughout the place were large black hollows that dwarfed even the largest standard Hollows by at least the size of a two-story building. Gillian. All around them people were fighting and dying.
"What happened?" Karin finally asked just when they hit the barrier.
Whatever had happened in the Seireitei had distracted them and it ended in disastrous results. They had forgotten about the cannonball. Yoruichi attempted to push more power into the crystal to compensate but it was too late. While they had managed to brake through the barrier, they were separated. They had also temporarily gained the attention of all those still alive, who then attempted to reach them. Of their intentions only time will tell.
Finally, the force of the collision made them loose control even further. The force not only separated them but also pushed them away from each other. Chad was thrown into Ganju causing them to be pushed in one direction while Karin went in the opposite direction. While Orihime, luckily, was pushed towards Yoruichi.
While twirling in the air, Karin found herself a victim of gravity and started falling down. She charged up a kido and fired it just as she was about to hit the ground which helped her slow herself down. Normally this action would have brought a lot of attention towards her but all of the defenders were either dead or dying so there was no one to challenge her. No one except the owner of the pair of eyes which were looking at her with interest.
As she touched down, Karin noticed her surroundings. She saw a sign that said 10th division and heard the sounds of movement. She walked cautiously inside and immediately jumped out of the way. A cero hit the exact location in which she was standing. Once the dust cleared, she got a glimpse of her attacker through the dust cloud.
"Well, well. I haven't seen you before shinigami." He said.
The dust then finally settled and she got a good look at her attacker. He was a slim, male with scruffy dark hair, a short braided ponytail and a rather youthful, feminine face. He had pieces of a Hollow mask on the top of his head like a helmet. It resembled the skull of a Sabre-tooth tiger. He wore what liked like a white version of a Shinigami uniform but was customized and partly resembled a mandarin-style jacket with a small opening at his chest area, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, an upturned collar and hakama, all of which was white.
"Arrancar." Karin whispered. Yoruichi had told them about this type of hollow but she had never expected to meet one of them here of all places.
"Ahh, good. You know of my kind. My name is Ggio Vega. I am your death Shinigami."
"I'd like to see you try." Karin said.
They looked at each other and charged, beginning a battle that was just one of many in Soul Society.
Guys PLZ REVIEW.
OMAKE -
Ukitake Jūshirō, who was being followed by his subordinates Kiyone and Sentaro, was many things. He was powerful, which was why he was a captain. He was sick, which was why his subordinates pretty much ran the Division. He was also a calm and down to earth type of person, which was why he was totally unfazed when his dead Vice Captain bumped into him in a deserted alley.
"So you have finally returned." Ukitake said.
"Wait…what?" Ichigo asked completely surprised.
"Do you have any idea just how much the paper work has piled up because of you." He said and pulled out a huge pile of paperwork.
"I expect you to have this done by noon tomorrow. Goodbye Kaien." Ukitake said and shunpoed out.
"W..what just happened?" A confused Ichigo asked.