Happy Valentines day, everyone! So, I have to say. Today's chapter is pretty exciting! Consider it my Valentines gift to you all. :]
The Fallen
Chapter 3: Becoming
EXOutlaw
Rukia Kuchiki stood outside of the abandon factory in the outskirts of Karakura Town, wearing a brown winter coat, with two rows of large buttons going down the middle, and a fur lined hood, dark blue jeans, and boots that reached halfway to her knee. It was a lonely place, where nobody ever came, or even would think to come. The area was near a pier, so the air wreaked of salt. This particular warehouse was one of many that had been deserted in the last economic downturn. Their matching tin roofs were covered in rust, their windows and doors boarded. Except for one. The door opened slowly, creaking loudly.
"Rukia, you're here. Figures you'd show up eventually," Shinji Hirako greeted, as he wedged his pinky into his ear and twisted, removed, then wiped on his pant leg. Rukia grimaced at this, and he seemed to notice, as he shrugged his shoulders. "So, are you gonna come in, or are you just going to stand there in the cold?"
"Oh, right," she replied meekly, pulling down her hood as she passed through the entry way. Sitting in many different places throughout the factory were the rest of the Vizards, all of their eyes focused in on her. The blonde haired man approached behind her.
"Well, don't just stare at her, that's just creepy!" He shouted at his family like unit. "Christ, have we been stuck in this place so long we've forgotten our manners?"
"Uhhh... Who is that, again?" Called Mashiro Kuna, who was sitting on a barrel, eating her lunch. Everyone else, seemed to share the same confused expression as her.
"Rukia Kuchiki? The chick who hollowfied a couple weeks ago? Rining any bells?" Shinji questioned sarcastically.
"Oh yeah, her!" The green haired girl responded. "Hey Rukia~!"
Kensei Muguruma raised his head toward the Soul Reaper as a gesture of "hello". Lisa sat with her back against the wall reading pornography, alongside Love who was reading manga. Rojuro Otoribashi sat atop of a beam on the upper level of the warehouse, with an ear-bud in one ear. Hiyori Sarugaki by this time had made her way in front of Rukia, and was eying her down. "Well, go on," she spoke.
Rukia tilted her head, confused by the small girl's statement. "Go on?"
"Get on the step master, and get running till you can't run anymore," she repeated, irritated.
"Why?"
"Just do it!" She shouted.
The visitor turned to Shinji, who merely nodded his head. "All right then." She walked over to the make-shift contraption, and took her coat off to reveal a plain white V-necked T-shit. She stepped onto the machine then began her trek.
Kensei walked toward the exercise machine, pulling a remote from his pocket, and turned on a television set placed on a crate in front of the machine. "You have a preference?" He asked the woman, as he sat in a chair he pulled up.
She looked toward him with a thoughtful look on her face. "Not really."
"Alright then," he changed the channel to an American foot ball game. He then turned back toward his ex-vice captain. "Hey Mashiro, you seen Hachi?"
"I think he went out to get groceries, or something."
"Ah, okay." He turned back toward the TV.
This is going to be a long few days, Rukia thought to herself, with a long winded sigh.
Rukia stood before Shinji, Hachi, and Hiyori in the sub terrain training ground beneath the warehouse. "All right, now on to the second portion of our training," The blonde proclaimed.
"What does this 'second portion' entail, exactly?" Rukia asked.
"Well..." He trailed off. "Hiyori is going to try and kill you," he tried to make as light of it as possible by adding a humorous expression. The woman took a step back.
"What?!" She exclaimed, a bead of sweat running down the side of her face.
"Well, we don't exactly have another way of drawing your hollow out other than near death situations. Ichigo's become active whenever he would use his Bankai, so we didn't have to resort to such measures, you see?"
Hiyori's hand fell upon her own face. She pulled it off to reveal her mask. She drew the blade from her back. Rukia nodded, drawing her own Zanpakuto. The two went at it for a little while, but clearly the woman was no match for the young girl's power, and wound up taking a slash across the chest. She lay on the ground, unable to make her limbs move. The whites of her eyes began to melt into a smokey black.
"Hachi!" Shinji yelled. "Restrain her and get a barrier up, now!"
The large man nodded. He began to chant, "Walls of ironsand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Stand upright, silent to the end! Bakudo 75: Gochutekkan!" Five pillars held together by chains came crashing down on the fallen woman's body. Next, he threw his hands to the ground. A barrier erected itself around the area.
"I'll get the others down here, you two hold down the fort," the blonde man comanded, before he ran up the stairs.
Rukia Kuchiki again found herself in the colorless Rukon district, staring herself down yet again. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," the pale woman shook her head. "I didn't think that you would be back so soon."
"I'm here to end your control over my body," Rukia spoke, her voice sharp.
Her counterpart formed her signature grin. "I won't let you," she retorted. "The one thing in life that I hate is the fact that you were the one put in control of our body. You're weak. You always end up taking down the lowliest of enemies, never once have you gone up against one of the high in command. You always tell yourself that if you were to die, you'd have no regrets, but that's not true at all. Which brings me to the thing I hate most about you, Rukia..." she sighed. "You have no nerve at all!"
"What are you talking about?" The atmosphere was quiet for a moment.
"Don't act like you haven't the slightest clue what I mean. I'm part of you. I know everything about you."
"What are you talking about?" She repeated again, this time with more force.
"You just can't seem to tell that stupid boy exactly how you feel about him," her darker self answered mockingly. "Oh, Ichigo, I love you so much, without you I wouldn't be alive," she continued to tease, making lovey dovey gestures.
The soul reaper clenched her mouth as tight as she could, in order to keep her teeth from grinding together. "Draw your weapon," Rukia commanded, her voice completely flat.
"Someone sure is bitchy, huh? Well whatever, as you wish," the pale woman shrugged. They unsheathed their Zanpakuto in unison. The two charged toward one another, slashing their blades, each time their paths crossed. "Not bad. Not bad at all, however..." The two stood still a moment, facing each other. "There's a difference between how you and I fight. Shall I tell you?"
"Go ahead," the dark haired woman allowed.
"See, you fight hoping you'll win. I fight knowing that I'll win. There's a power than we've possessed for a while know, but your lack of confidence in our fighting abilities hasn't allowed us to do it. Watch." The diabolical woman stretched her arms as if she were about to do some sort of strenuous exercise. She then smiled, as she held her blade out in front of her. "Bankai." Her blade became a translucent black, black ribbons wound their way around her body, branching off from the hilt. She was clothed in a black robe, almost the exact same as the one Ichigo wore in his Bankai state. She laughed manically.
The soul reaper froze. Her face was not one of fear, but one of concentration. Her darker self came rushing toward her. The blade pierced her body, yet she still remained still.
To be continued...
Hehehe. Makes ya' excited for next chapter, huh? Don't worry, it'll be out soon!
Okay, so anyways, I've recently decided to change the title of the story to The Human Heart as it's more a more appropriate title for the story I have outlined in my head. So, that will look different soon, I'll leave it as it is for about a week, so I don't catch anyone by surprise, but just keep that in mind.
And remember, as always, review please. :] Until next time! Later all!