This chapter ended up being a little later than I expected to upload, because I was busy with my college admission. Sorry! Okay, so on to chapter two. It starts of exactly where chapter one leaves off.
Disclaimer: I do not own bleach
2. Revelation
Orihime continued to stroke the spirits head, feeling quite flustered as she did so. He didn't appear to be that much younger than her, and while he had stopped crying, he still held on to her tightly. She didn't feel anything wrong with that, but she was starting to get a bit uncomfortable. The whole scenario incongruously reminded her of a child clinging to his mother. Weird. However, it became worse when urahara chose that particular moment to enter.
'Am I interrupting something?' he asked, spreading his fan in front of his face presumably to hide a perverted grin.
Orihime's face flushed red and she had to struggle to find her tongue. 'N-n-not at all, Urahara-san!' she managed.
By then, the plus had let go of her and was staring at urahara. 'Who's this, onee-san?'
Orihime turned to look at the spirit and got a good view of him. Messy brown hair that reached to his black eyes, and a slight physique. It hadn't escaped her that he had called her onee-san again. Usually, it wasn't uncommon for her younger friends to call her onee-san, but when this spirit called her that, she wasn't getting the same vibe. That and the fact that he had cried when he first saw her... something was off.
' Oh?' asked urahara. 'do you know this girl?'
Apparently, he was addressing the plus.
The spirit turned his eyes on urahara. 'Considering the fact that she is my elder sister, yes, I do know her.'
Orihime's eyes widened and she looked at the plus in astonishment. "Elder sister?!" she thought incredulously.
However, she didn't get the chance to reply, as then ichigo entered as well. He took one look at the soul and said, 'Was she the one you were searching for?'
'Yes.'
Now orihime's head was starting to spin. Noting her evident discomfort, urahara knelt down next to the spirit and said,' I think you have the wrong person.'
The soul looked at him in annoyance and was about to say something, but urahara waved a hand and cut him off. 'If you do know her, then can you tell us her name?'
The plus was now visibly trying to control his temper. 'Her name is Kazumi Lee. And I know that because-'
'That's not my name.' Orihime interjected, finally finding her tongue. 'It's orihime inoue.'
The plus looked at her, confused. 'Onee-san, what-'
'And why do you keep calling me that?'
The plus gave her a look of dismay, and was about to answer, when urahara cut him off again. 'I think it would be best if you would explain the situation to us. If you do, perhaps I can give you an explanation of what's going on.'
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Kazuya hated the world right now. To be so cruel as to show him the exact likeness of his sister, only to find out that she was someone else entirely ,and that too after searching for so long ... it was enough to make anyone's blood boil. Of course, he couldn't blame these people for that. The girl-orihime- who bore the perfect resemblance to his sister, was the one that had healed him. So he owed her a debt of gratitude. The shinigami too-ichigo- had his trust, or at least a benefit of doubt. He was the only shinigami to ever offer him help with anything and he also seemed to be an honest soul. He had absolutely no idea who the man in the green coat with the cane and mysterious hat was, but he was apparently on good terms with the other two, so that was good enough for him. He would tell them his story, and then continue on his way. With or without their approval.
They were all seated around a low table, with a cup of steaming tea in front of each of them. The man in the green coat was the only one who had touched his, however. The rest of them remained as such. 'Let me apologise for my earlier behaviour, Inoue-san. That was very presumptuous of me and-'
'Oh, don't worry about that! I don't mind at all!' she responded with a bright smile.
Kazuya's mood soured further. Not only was this girl the splitting image of his sister, she also had the same mannerisms. Addressing the man in green, Kazuya said 'Well, what about me do you want to know?
'Start from the last moment you have memory of when you were still alive'.
"My last living memory, huh..." thought Kazuya. He had replayed that last, fatal accident almost too many times to count in his mind to see what he could have done better, so recalling that incident was no problem but...
'I can recall a particular incident, but I don't remember the information leading up to it. So what I can tell you will be incomplete.'
The man took another sip of tea and said, 'That's fine. Whatever you remember ought to be enough.'
Kazuya took a moment to compose himself , and began his tale.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Flashback
Kazuya was sitting in a car. He didn't remember where they were going or where they were returning from , but he knew they were in a car, along with his sister, Kazumi Lee, sitting beside him in the rear seat, and their parents, Isao and Kaiya Lee ,in the front. The mood in the car was light, with his father just having cracked a funny joke. What was it? Kazuya couldn't remember. He hoped it was a funny one, though. That would be the last time he would laugh in years.
This was his world. These were the people he loved the most. And he would have rather died than be separated from them... funny how fate could be so warped.
And then...
Suddenly, the air around them grew oppressive and heavy. Even before anyone could comment on the change, Isao went rigid and then slumped in his seat. Which, unfortunately, was the driver's.
'Oto-san! What's wrong?!' cried out Kazumi.
He didn't answer. The car began drifting off course, and towards the loose dirt alongside the road. Kaiya reached out for the steering wheel before she too went limp.
'Onee-san! What's going on?!' shouted Kazuya fearfully.
'I don't know! Hold on, kazu-kun, I'll try to get to get to the wheel!' Kazumi replied as she undid her seat belt and tried to work her way towards the drivers seat. Just as she reached the steering wheel and stepped on the brakes, however, the car slipped off the road an onto the soil. The worst possible moment to hit the brakes. Kazuya was thrown forward and his head hit the back of the drivers seat. But the real bad news was that his father's comatose hand jerked up as a result of the brakes, and slightly jolted the steering wheel. Less than a second of contact. But the damage had been done.
The slight realignment of the wheels was all the car needed to turn it's front half sideways, and start to skid on the soil. That alone wouldn't have been so dangerous, but combined with the retarding force of the brakes, the torque was enough to send the car into a deadly cartwheel. Tossing everyone inside like leaves in a whirlwind.
Kazuya, still being strapped to his seat, escaped the worst it.
Kazumi was not so lucky.
Despite holding on to the steering wheel with all her strength, her grip gave out before long and she was sent crashing into the side of the car. Or was it the roof? It was difficult to say because of the spinning. But before Kazuya even had time to cry out, everything went black.
The next thing he noticed-amid extreme disorientation- was a faint voice crying out , but he couldn't make our what exactly was being said...
Picking himself up, he found that he was somehow outside the car, which had crashed sideways into a tree, almost obliterating the passenger seats. As he regained his bearings, the voice crying out resolved into his sister's.
'HELP ME, KAZU-KUN!'
Kazuya looked towards her voice to see her desperately holding on to the tree, with a chain extending from her chest trailing off towards the western horizon.
'Onee-san! Hold on!' Kazuya ran towards her, but just as he reached her, his sisters grip gave out and she was pulled away by the chain attached to her chest. Desperately lunging for her hand, Kazuya dove forward.
And missed grabbing her by a mere centimetre.
'ONEE-SAAAAAAN!' Kazuya cried out as his sister rapidly faded from view.
'Damn it, I lost a meal!' a deep, rasping voice cursed behind him
Kazuya whirled around to face the speaker, only to recoil from the monster before him.
A huge form towered before him, with a pale white mask in the shape of a frog skull. He, no it, possessed lanky arms in contrast to its thick fists, and stood upon stout, slightly short legs atop webbed feet. Of course, these observations were all secondary to the fear he felt.
'No matter, the main course still awaits.' The monster said again with a gruesome cackle.
Forcing his head away from the creature in front of him, Kazuya looked around. His parents were nowhere to be found.
' If you're looking for your parents, they're gone. I ate them.'
Kazuya stared at the monsters perversely grinning mask with horror. 'What did you do to my sister?!'
The monster, which had begun stomping towards him, paused. 'That's your reaction to your parents death? Either an excellent brother or a horrible son.'
'Don't mess with me! What did you do to her?!'
'I don't know. Cheated me out of a meal too.'
Kazuya's concern for his sister outweighed his fear. 'Tell me the truth, you monster!'
The creep stepped forward, grabbed Kazuya in one of his large hands, and brought him close to its face.
'Don't you understand speech? I thought I was the monster here. I said I don't know. '
Kazuya struggled against the monsters tightening fist and spluttered, 'T-tell m-me or I'll ķ-kill you...'
The masked creep threw back his head and laughed.
'A plus threatening a hollow! Isn't that just grand!' The monster drew Kazuya so close that mere inches separated his face from its. 'Do you really want to Know?' Without waiting for a reply, it continued. 'I sent your sister to hell.'
Kazuya temporarily stopped writhing in the monsters fist.
'I killed and ate your parents, I sent your sister to hell and now you're next! And there's nothing you can do about it! Your soul will provide me with enough reiatsu to become an adjuchas!'
Kazuya had absolutely no idea what this creep was going on about.
Except the fact that it had killed his entire family, and sent his sister to hell.
And he would soon be following suit.
An explosion of some sort of forced the monsters hand open, and Kazuya dropped to the ground, surrounded by some sort of constantly fluctuating aura. Keeping his gaze angled downwards, where it was hidden by his untidy brown hair, he mumbled a few unintelligible words.
'This is magnificent! This power will be enough to transform me into a vasto lorde, and nothing less!' saying so, the monster lunged toward Kazuya with his mouth stretched wide open.
Kazuya stood his ground, still engulfed in the weird power. Which began to flow to his fists and feet.
As the monster approached, ready to swallow him up, Kazuya jumped up high, higher than he had ever jumped before. Not that that observation occurred to him at that time. Hell, he didn't even feel the fear he was supposed to in the face of almost certain death. The only emotion he was experiencing now was rage. His parents were dead, eaten by this monster. His sister was dead, and apparently on her way to hell. His self-concern and survival instinct had been completely overwhelmed by his anger. He no longer cared if he died, as long as this monster went down with him.
'I'LL KILL YOU , YOU BASTARD!'
As he came down towards the creep, he punched it in the back with all the strength he could summon.
'GAAAAHHH!' it cried out in pain as it's chest collided with the ground and produced an impact crater. But Kazuya wasn't done just yet.
Catching ahold of one of the monsters feet, he proceeded to continually smash the creep into the ground. In the back of his mind, he wondered where he was getting this strength, but for the most part , his brain had room for nothing at the moment but his rage.
Suddenly, just as he was about to let go of the monsters foot, it turned upon itself and punched at Kazuya. Being surprised, he jumped away from the huge fist, but because of the monsters long arm, he couldn't completely dodge the blow, and caught thee edge of the monsters fist. He was able to get his arm up to block-his fist still surrounded by that weird light-but he was sent skidding back by the force of the blow. When he looked up again, he saw the monster, it's pale mask partially cracked, with its body bruised all over. Despite all this it was still chuckling softly.
'Looks like I bit off more than I could chew. Who knew a plus that could control it's reiatsu even existed? '
'What the hell are you going on about?!' at this point, Kazuya's rage was tapering off and the fear and despair were rushing back to him.
The monster smirked with what was visible of its face underneath it's mask .'You haven't seen the last of me, I swear. Next time your soul is mine, do you hear?' and with that the monster faded into a black, shadowy portal that appeared behind him.
Kazuya collapsed. He couldn't even lift up his head to look around. Nor did he want to. The true horror of the situation was finally catching up to him. His entire family was gone. His parents had been devoured by a monster. His sister was gone, on the way to hell if that monster was to be believed. What was he supposed to do now? Kazuya blacked out, his last sensation being the torrent of tears running down his face.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Kazuya was startled awake by a creaking sound. Looking towards it, he saw the remnants of some sort of wreck. A wrecked car that looked exceedingly familiar. Wait, that was the remains of the car his family had owned! Kazuya scrambled to his feet, remembering all the events of the past hour. His heart thumping in his chest, he stumbled towards the car. Cautiously, he peered into a side window.
Only to scream in terror and fall backwards as he beheld a truly horrifying scene.
An exact likeness of his head-just his head- was staring back at him vacantly. The heads body was nowhere to be seen, presumably crushed in the collision.
As he fell backwards, he headed a sound of clanking chains below him. Looking down, he saw that a chain was attached to his chest. Grasping it, he tried to pull it off only to scream in pain as a spasm wracked his body. It had felt as if he had just been set on fire, the doused with ice cold water. He would not be trying that again anytime soon.
Remembering the original reason he fell, Kazuya steeled himself, and peered back into the car, steadfastly avoiding looking at his head.
The front of the car was relatively undamaged, and when he looked through the front window, he saw his parents.
As corpses.
The sight would have been enough to drive him insane, if he wasn't already.
Perhaps this was all just a hallucination, or maybe he was having a nightmare.
Maybe.
Or maybe this was all real and his entire family , including himself ,was dead. And he was apparently the only one who became a spirit. Not wanting to see the shattered remains of his sister, Kazuya blindly began stumbling away, not even noticing where he was going. Nor did he care where his wanderings took him, as long as it was away from the nightmare that his existence had become.
'I ate your parents and I sent your sister to hell.'
The monsters voice continued to reverberate through Kazuya's mind. How had such a monster been able to completely negate all their time together?
' I ate your parents and I sent your sister to hell. '
Why could such a monster be able to control who went to heaven and who went to hell?
' I ate your parents and I sent your sister to hell. '
What if... what if it had been lying?
Kazuya had absolutely no idea where his parents went. But his sister...
'HELP ME, KAZU-KUN!'
The remembrance of his sisters voice caused Kazuya to shudder with shame and self loathing. The one time she called out to him, he couldn't help her.
Or could he...?
Kazuya looked down and took stock of his direction, to find that he had unconsciously travelling in the direction his sister had been pulled away.
If the monster had actually been lying, if there was even the slightest chance he could find her...
Kazuya shook his head, and turned toward the west. The monster had been lying. He chose to believe so to protect his sanity. This was the direction in which his sister disappeared. This was the direction where he would find her, if he travelled long enough.
Squaring his shoulders, he began his long journey.
He would find her. That was now his sole aim in life. Or rather, in death.
End Flashback
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
'And so I travelled West. A few more masked creeps attacked me on the way, apparently having been tipped off by the frog headed one, but they weren't more than what I could handle. The monster I saw yesterday was the largest one I had ever seen.'
Kazuya looked across the table at the shinigami and the two humans.
'My sister looked just like you, Inoue-san. That's why I mistook you for her.'
Orihime had dropped her eyes to the table. The plus had the most amazing story to tell, and it disturbed her quite a bit. She was able to comprehend fully the loss of a loved one- sometimes she still felt the loss of her brother sora even after such a long time- but that wasn't the worst of it. To travel for so long, and find someone exactly identical to the one you were looking for... her heart went out to the poor soul.
She looked towards ichigo, who had his signature scowl in place, but with twice the usual intensity. She couldn't blame him, though.
'What do you intend to do now?' ichigo was the one that asked the question.
'Continue my search.'
Urahara, who had been silent for so long, looked at Kazuya with a contemplative direction.
'Kazuya-san, can you find any differences between your sisters appearance and orihime's?'
'What are you getting at, hat'n'clogs?' ichigo asked with an annoyed expression on his face.
'Just humour me.'
Kazuya looked at Orihime again, comparing her, she was sure, to his sister Kazumi. After a while, he replied, 'There's actually no difference. She even wore her hair the same way, but the pins she used were different.'
Urahara's contemplative expression hardened.'Do you remember the exact date of your accident?'
Kazuya frowned. 'It was in September, and I'm pretty sure the month had just started, but I can't really remember the date...'
'And you said this incident occurred fifteen years ago?'
'Yes. Why?'
Kazuya didn't seem to be making any connection, but Orihime couldn't help but notice that her birthday was also in the beginning of September-the third of September to be exact- and that she was fifteen years old. That couldn't be more than a coincidence, however...
Urahara sighed. ' If you so wish, I explain to you exactly what happened to your family on that day.'
Kazuya's eyes widened. 'Please do.'
Urahara's paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts, then began.
'The reason that your parents went limp just before the accident was because the hollow - that's the name we use for what you called masked creeps- knocked your parents souls outside their bodies, and then presumably ate them. Usually hollows don't consume living souls, but I believe that it was attracted by your extremely high reiatsu.'
Kazuya was unimpressed. 'I guessed that much myself. And what's reiatsu?'
'Reiatsu-spiritual pressure- is an effect of reiryoku-spirit energy- which is the weird energy that you used to fight the hollows. And I assume that you also guessed that the hollow was lying when he said he sent your sister to hell.'
Kazuya nodded.
'Wait, what happened to his sister, then? ' it was ichigo who interrupted this time. 'Why was her chain of fate so long, and why did it pull her somewhere else?'
'That's what I want to know as well. 'Kazuya said.
'Hold your horses, I'm getting there.' said urahara.
Looking at Kazuya, urahara stated, 'Because you don't have any knowledge of how souls move to the afterlife, I'll give you a simple explanation. So usually, when a person dies, there soul is left behind. It takes the same appearance as the person, except that it has a chain attached to its chest, called the chain of fate. The soul is now called a plus. '
Kazuya glanced down at his chest, and then Looked back At Urahara. 'Okay...'
Urahara continued. 'Now usually, a plus can't stay in the world of the living for long. So either a shinigami comes along and performs a soul burial- a konso- and sends the plus to the afterlife, or the plus transforms into a hollow.'
Kazuya frowned. 'Then why didn't I turn into a hollow? Fifteen years is quite a long time to stay as a plus, isn't it?'
Orihime redoubled her attention, and saw ichigo do the same. This was the question they wanted an answer to.
'When a plus transforms into a hollow, there are usually some factors that act as catalysts. These factors can be anything from a feeling of resentment of the living, or something tying down the soul to a particular place, or another hollow- or more typically a group of hollows- forcing a plus to undergo the change. In your case, none of these factors were present. Not only that, but the only thing keeping you tied to this world was the desire to find your sister. Which isn't a feeling of resentment. With enough determination, such a soul can greatly delay it's hollowfication , though this is the first time I've actually seen it happen.'
Orihime was starstruck. Determination powerful enough to resist a natural phenomenon? And that too for over a decade? A glance at ichigo told her that he shared her amazement at the soul's fortitude.
Kazuya, however, was still frowning. 'That still doesn't explain what happened to my sister '
'That's because I haven't finished explaining yet. Now, once a soul reaches the afterlife, or soul society, as we call it, they then have three options. One, they can remain a spirit for the rest of their existence, two, if they have a high enough reiryoku, they can apply to become a shinigami by enrolling at the Academy of Spiritual Arts, and three, they can choose to be reborn. Now, rebirth is a complicated phenomenon, and even we shinigami don't understand it fully.'
'Wait, you're a shinigami?!' exclaimed Kazuya. 'But then-'
'Appearances can be deceiving.'Urahara told him mysteriously, winking at him from beneath his hat. 'Now, where was I...? Ah, yes, rebirth. Now when a spirit in the soul society is reborn, the process is usually spontaneous and uncontrollable. The soul is reborn, and it is impossible to trace it's path of rebirth. However, there is a ,method by which plusses in the world of the living can be reborn. Instantaneous reincarnation.'
'Instantaneous reincarnation? ' Kazuya echoed.
'The soul, just as soon as it has its chain of fate severed from its body, resonates with another human body just before it is born. The chain of fate instantly elongates and attaches itself to the new born body, and in essence, is reborn. For instantaneous reincarnation to work, the newborn's body must share a high degree of similarity with the plusses earlier appearance, and once the chain of fate is reattached, the two become indistinguishable.'
Urahara looked directly at Kazuya. 'I'm sure you've already noticed that orihime possesses all the qualities that your late sister Kazumi did. That's because, in essence, they are the same person.'
Orihime looked at Urahara in shock. 'But, Urahara-san, -'
'You mean she really is my sister?' Kazuya interrupted hopefully, staring at her.
No, that couldn't be possible! Orihime had absolutely no memory of anything that this plus had said! While she couldn't deny that she felt sorry for his fate and that she felt slightly attached to him, she was pretty sure that this soul was not her sibling.
'I wasn't finished yet,' continued urahara. He gave Kazuya a look of pity. 'During instantaneous reincarnation, the souls memory is completely wiped clean. She has no memory of you, or your previous life together. While she possessed the same soul that Kazumi Lee did, she is now Orihime Inoue , and the two are not the same.'
Kazuya's gaze shifted to despair. ' No, that can't be true! You still remember me, don't you onee-san?!'
Orihime couldn't meet his eyes. She knew she wouldn't completely be able to mask her doubt and confusion, and she didn't want to add to this boys misery, so she refused to make eye contact.
Kazuya remained silent for quite a long time. When he finally spoke, it was in a completely controlled and emotionless voice.
'I understand the situation now. Thank you for healing me, Inoue-san, thank you for not trying to immediately send me to soul society, Kurosaki-san, and thank you for explaining things to me, Urahara-san. I shall not trouble you further.'
With that, he stood, bowed to them, and turned to leave.
Orihime couldn't bear the thought of his sadness crushing him alone, so she tried to call out to him. He might not have been her brother, but sora wouldn't want her to turn away such a sad soul.
'Kazuya-san-' she started, but stopped when he immediately froze in place and looked down.
When he looked at her again, his eyes were filled with tears, though he refused to let them fall. He spoke to her,in a strained, tortured voice.
(Play bleach ost: requiem for the lost ones)
'That's the first time those lips have ever uttered my name so formally.'
His tears beginning to spill out, he turned and ran away from them, and out of the shop.
Urahara called out to him, and tried to stop him, but he was too slow.
'This is not good.' Her stated gravely.
'What isn't, Urahara-san? ' Ichigo found his voice before orihime did.
'The fact that he ran away.' Without giving either of them an opportunity to voice their confusion, urahara explained himself. 'While all plusses make good meals for hollows, the stronger the reishi , the more hollows are attracted. But that isn't the only way plusses attract hollows. When a spirit looses it's sense of self preservation, and becomes uninterested in existing any longer, it's like a flare for all nearby hollows: "please come and eat me, I'm tired of existing." Add in Kazuya's high reiatsu, and the effect is almost equivalent to that of a hollow bait being deployed.'
Orihime's eyes widened. She remembered the time that seemed so long ago when uryu had used his hollow bait to challenge ichigo to a fight. If that was what was happening now...
She immediately noticed ichigo releasing zangetsu from its cloth wrappings, and beginning to exit the shop as well.
' Kurosaki-kun? ' she asked him inquisitivly
Ichigo looked back at her, then at urahara. 'Urahara-san, if you could alert ishida and Chad, that would be helpful.'
'Alright, Kurosaki-san , but where are you going?'
Ichigo looked out of the doorway that Kazuya had ran through a while ago.
'I'm going to find that plus and knock him back to his senses.', he said, giving her a rare grin.
With that, he vanished in a shunpo.
Orihime sighed. 'I should have been a little more gentle with him.'
'Oh? 'asked urahara. 'I don't recall you saying anything particularly jarring to him. '
'No, but...'
'Leave it, Inoue-san. Your reaction to his story was completely normal. Anyone else would have done the same. Actually, others would have reacted even before you did.'
'But I'm not just anyone else to him. He expected me to behave as his sister would have.'
Urahara cocked an eyebrow. 'And you were fine with that?'
Orihime blushed slightly. 'I can't really explain it. While I still don't have any memory of him, and what he said made no sense to me, I just don't like seeing him sad. It doesn't make much sense to me either.'
And it really didn't. Why in the world would she feel like that about someone that she had met just a few hours ago? Sure, her personality was a caring one, but that only went so far...
Outside, a the sky darkened slightly, and a collective wail of hollows filled the air.
'Well, that would be my cue!' Urahara said, overly cheerful. 'Guess I'd better alert Uryu and Sado, then.' Looking towards her, he continued. 'Inoue-san, please remain here. It will be easier to locate you if someone requires healing.'
Though she didn't like being left behind, orihime couldn't find any fault with his argument, so she -reluctantly- acquiesced. 'That's fine, Urahara-san.'
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Kazuya stumbled forward, barely noticing the commotion around him. Apparently, the sky had started raining masked creeps- or hollows – as urahara had called them. But he couldn't possibly care less about his surroundings now.
His sister did not exist anymore.
He had spent the last fifteen years searching for nothing.
During the past, whenever he got depressed with his search, he usually cheered himself up by imagining his sisters voice, and all her previous words and advice to him.
'Don't be sad, kazu-kun. Your face looks a lot cuter when you smile!'
'I couldn't smile right now even to save a life, onee-san.'
'Even if we can't see each other for a while, it's not the end. We can always meet later,'
'No, we can't. You don't exist anymore, onee-san.'
'I'll always be there for you, kazu-kun. You can count on me.'
Kazuya didn't even bother replying to that voice. He didn't even care that he was talking to himself at the moment. He just kept running away from the despair his existence had fallen into.
A hollow suddenly appeared above him, jaws open wide to swallow him whole. Then it was shredded by what seemed to be a stream of blue light. A raven haired teenager holding a light blue bow was standing on the roof above him.
'Are you alright? Don't move, these hollows are everywhere! '
Kazuya kept running, hearing the man curse as another onslaught of hollows reached him.
An explosion of light occurred to Kazuya's left, and he saw another brown haired teenager with a weird right arm punching through the hollows like they were statues.
He paid it no mind.
In other circumstances, he would have wondered how on earth these spiritually aware people were all present in the same town, but right now, he was just crushed by his despair.
Strangely, he wouldn't have felt this bad if he hadn't found her. He would have been a bit depressed, maybe, but not on this level. The fact that his sister no longer remembered him, or rather, the fact that his sister was someone else entirely... that was what killed him the most. Fifteen years spent chasing an illusion. No, not an illusion.
Fifteen years spent chasing someone that didn't exist anymore.
'Why?' thought Kazuya despairingly.
Just then, his legs gave way beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. Lacking the will to even get up, he remained in that position, with his face planted on the ground.
For quite a while.
After a few minutes ( or was it hours? Kazuya had completely lost track of time) he heard the roar of a hollow right above him. Raising his head, he caught view of an enormous hollow rushing towards him, mouth opened wide. At this point he didn't have the strength to get up and run any further.
Nor did he particularly want to escape anymore.
He didn't even close his eyes in the face of his death.
'GETSUGA TENSHO!'
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
A few minutes ago
Ichigo was currently jumping through karakura town, looking for the lost soul. Any hollows that got in his way, he cut down, but the rest he left to Ishida and Chad. The number of hollows wasn't as large as when ishida had used his hollow bait, but there were still monsters swarming the town in hundreds.
Nothing more than what his friends could normally handle.
He, on the other hand, was busy chasing down Kazuya. He had heard what hat'n'clogs had said about loosing his drive for existence, and ichigo had to find him before a hollow did. If a hollow was able to eat him, then his high Spiritual Power would strengthen the hollow many times, and he couldn't let that happen.
The consequences would be too dangerous.
Just as he began to get Kazuya back in his sights, a garganta opened up straight above him, and a giant, insectoid hollow emerged from it.
'Damn it!' ichigo mentally cursed. He was too far away to reach Kazuya before the hollow would have swallowed him up, so he swung zangetsu just as the hollow reached the soul.
'GETSUGA TENSHO!'
A white blade of condensed reiatsu completely sliced the hollow in half, and it faded to oblivion without so much as a sound. Rushing towards Kazuya, ichigo healed him back to his feet, and gave him a once over. He didn't seem to be hurt.
Then he made eye contact.
Kazuya's black orbs were completely emotionless, and they stared back at him as if he didn't exist. He seemed to be looking at the horizon instead of at ichigo.
'Why did you stop him?'
Ichigo resisted the urge to smack the soul with his blade.
'Because he was going to eat you, you moron!'
'Did you think I didn't want to be eaten? That was the reason I didn't run from it in the first place.' The sentence was uttered without even a hint of any emotion, be it sadness, despair, or anything else.
This time ichigo really did smack the plus upside the head.
'Why are you so eager to die?! Just because your sister didn't recognise you-'
Kazuya finally cracked.
'MY SISTER IS GONE! She doesn't exist anymore! I spent the greater portion of my existence searching for her, only to find that she doesn't even remember her little brother! I should have been eaten alongside my parents all those years ago. It would have saved a whole lot of trouble. And when I try to end my existence to escape this nightmare, you just won't let me! Damn you shinigami! How the hell can you know what I'm going through right now!? Stop acting as if you understand me- you don't. ' Kazuya fell to the ground and wrapped his arms around his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks.
'I may not know exactly what you're feeling right now, but I can imagine the pain you're going through-'
'How?! How can a shinigami who doesn't care one whit for the souls he buries after they reach the afterlife even comprehend-'
'Because I'm not just a shinigami, dammit! I also happen to be a high school student with two younger sisters and a father. They are my world, too. That's why I said I understand –'
'And what would you do if your sisters just forgot you one fine day, hmm? '
'Ichigo knelt down beside Kazuya and put an arm on his shoulder. 'I would reach out to them and try to make them remember me. I certainly wouldn't go about trying to end my own life out of despair.'
Kazuya groaned. 'But her memories were completely wiped clean. There's no way my sister can even recognise me, let alone remember me.'
'Says who? Just cause you heard something from someone you hadn't even known before today, you lost the determination you had for over fifteen years?'
'It's worse than that. I saw Inoue-san react to my words. She really doesn't remember me, and she-'
'Memories aren't the only thing tying souls together.'
Kazuya looked at him, confused. 'What? '
'You heard me. In your previous life, you and your sister Kazumi had a really close bond, right?'
Kazuya nodded reluctantly. 'I was closer to her than I was to my parents.'
'Well, then, use that bond. A bond once forged between two souls will never fade, especially if it is constantly remembered and cherished. Inoue may not remember you now, but what's to say that she's forgotten your bond as well?'
Ichigo stood up and walked a few feet away from the spirit. 'As long as you can remind her of that bond, while she may not be able to remember you, you'll still be able to cherish that connection with her. That's just what her personality is. '
(End ost scene)
Her turned around to see Kazuya slowly wiping his tears. 'Are you sure your a shinigami? The other ones I've seen are nothing like you.'
Ichigo grinned at him. 'I'm not just any shinigami. Substitute soul reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki at your service.'
Kazuya stood up shakily, and smiled at him slightly. 'Thank you for the help, Kurosaki-san- '
'Call me ichigo.'
Kazuya's smile widened. 'Well, then, thank you ichigo. It seems like I owe you quite a debt of gratitude.'
Ichigo was just about to tell him not to mention it, when another garganta opened just behind Kazuya. He was barely able to shout out a warning to him and unsheath zangetsu as the white mask of a hollow emerged from the darkness.
Kazuya extended a reishi enhanced fist and smashed in its mask with a backhanded blow, with his back still turned as the hollow wailed in pain and retreated back into the shadowy gate.
'Seems like your back to normal.' commented ichigo lightly.
'Thanks to you , yes I am. If it's not too much trouble though, could I ask a favour from you before you send me off to soul society?'
Ichigo smirked at him. 'I have a feeling I already know what it is.'
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Orihime kept fidgeting as she waited for ichigo to return. The hollows had all been defeated, and Uryu and Sado had suffered negligible injuries. As such, she had finished healing the, quite a while ago. Now, they were all in the urahara shop, waiting for ichigo to come back. His tardiness was starting to worry her.
'Don't worry about Kurosaki, inoue- san. He can take care of himself.' Reassured uryu, sado silently nodding in agreement.
'I know that. I'm not just worried about him, though. There was this plus-'
'Oh, everyone's here? Did we really take that long to return?' the voice was ichigo's.
Turning towards the sound, orihime saw that ichigo had arrived, and that the plus was with him now, looking much better than he had just a while ago as he had left. She still felt a little guilty for his fate, even if it wasn't her fault.
'Kazuya-san, I'm sorry-'she began, but was cut off by him.
'It's really weird having someone who used to be my sister keep calling me kazuya-san all the time.' However, he said this with the hint of a smile, so she knew he wasn't really upset.
'Kazuya is fine. Or Kazuya-kun would be more preferable.' he continued.
Orihime smiled at him, happy that he had gotten over his sadness. 'Alright, then, Kazuya-kun. '
Kazuya forged on. 'I know it's a lot to ask, but could I continue to call you onee-san? I can't really think of you as anyone but my sister. '
'Don't call me onee-san, Kazuya-kun.' he began to frown, but she continued ,'I think onee-chan would be just fine.' She gave him a bright smile, which he mirrored.
'Well then, I guess your ready to go , Kazuya.' ichigo said.
Kazuya turned to him. 'Thank you for everything, ichigo. And yes, I'm ready to go. See you around , onee-sa-i mean, onee-chan.'he gave her one last smile before ichigo hit the center of his forehead with the hilt of his zanpakuto. Kazuya started to glow, and slowly faded out of reality.
'See you, Kazuya-kun. 'Orihime replied to the departed spirit, as a newly formed hell butterfly fluttered out the window.
'What just happened here? ' Uryu interjected with a severely confused expression, which was mirrored by sado, albeit to a lesser degree.
'Inoue just found a long lost relative.'Ichigo answered.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
End chapter two! Okay so, this one was a bit longer than I expected, but I had to include it all for the story to make sense. Speaking of which, I hope the explanations that I came up with for Kazuya's back story weren't too BS. On another note, I'm about to start college, so updates will become a lot less frequent , for which I apologise in advance.
A special thanks to all those who favorited and/or followed my story.
An even more special Thanks To monsuno Power, For The Review. Thanks for the compliment!
So, follow the story if you like it, and please do review!
Thestormwriter123 signing out!
See ya!
o