GWAAHHHH!! How long has it been?! omgg~ aahhh~. first it was research papers (ugh!!) then it was just plain lazyness. I just couldnt stand typing the fight scenes! Even though they were perfectly in my head, my fingers were like "...durrr..." lol. anywaysssss hope you like this. i tried to put as much details and voila...it took up about 7 pages on Microsoft Works! wtfffff, i can easily type this yet i suck at research papersss! hahaha
Chpt 9- Veneno Gato
By the time Hanatarou arrived at the entrance, everyone else had their weapons out.
"Here we are," Kei stated and sat on his rump.
Nel gasped when she finally caught up to the 4th Squad medic, quickly clutching onto the strap of Hanatarou's medic bag. The bloodlust from the hollow mixed with various reiatsus almost choked her. Hanatarou, noticing her stress, set a gentle hand on her head with a reassuring smile. Nel gulped but relaxed her grip. If Ichigo could take down the Cuarta Espada, then this one should be a piece of cake!
Ichigo was clear out in front, his hand grabbing the hilt of Zangetsu on his back. The light from the moon illuminated his fierce, brown eyes as he glared at the monster in front of him, daring it to harm his friends.
Urahara, Yoruichi, and Tessai decided to stay back, let the others handle the monster until they were needed. The sandy blond-haired man twirled his cane as he fanned himself. "Are, are…" he said. "It does look very human-like than most hollows."
The children, Ururu, Yachiru, and Jinta, were on the roof of the shop ready to help in any way. The black, pig-tailed girl meekly cheered with the bubbly Yachiru for everyone to "do their best" while the fiery red-head gripped his tetsubo-like weapon, eager to jump in at any chance.
Hitsugaya and Matsumoto were in the air, their kimonos fluttering from the cool night breeze. Hitsugaya glanced at his vice-captain. "How is your head?" Rangiku turned serious eyes to her captain…then winked and blew him a kiss, irking the little boy.
Chad, Ishida, Orihime, and Rukia took their stance, ready to help out their strawberry friend.
Veneno Gato hissed, his yellow eyes glowing in the dark with hatred. The feline hollow flexed his hands before the claws elongated to several inches; the white tail swung back and forth in irritation; hot air expelled from the fangs of the white mask.
"You're the hollow from before," Ichigo stated.
"Yes, and you are the murderer of Brother," the monster cat snapped. "But soon… it will all be over, right after I kill YOU!" The monster screeched as he disappeared.
"Ichigo, watch out!" Orihime cried.
Ichigo's eyes widened when the burst of power reappeared beside him. He quickly drew Zangetsu, the white bandages unraveling, to block the elongated claws. Sparks burst as zanpakutou grinded against claws.
Urahara gave a low whistle, "Hyuu…teleportation…"
"Graah!" Ichigo shouted as he pushed against his sword, throwing off the feline hollow. Veneno Gato jumped back but quickly did a back-flip to avoid a blue arrow of energy. The hollow turned to see where the attack came from, meeting Ishida's narrow eyes. The Quincy jumped in the air, drew his arm back, and created a shower of blue light. Veneno Gato turned somersaults here and there to dodge then disappeared in a poof of smoke, reappearing right in front of Ishida's face. "Too slow!" the monster growled. A swift kick sent the white-clad boy to the wall of fake buildings.
"Ishida!" Ichigo cried.
"I-idiot…I'm fine," the smoke from the debris cleared off to show the Quincy between the rubbles. Ishida slowly stood then began to walk out of the mess. He coughed and sat down, wincing as he felt a sharp pain in his side.
Medic instincts kicking in, Hanatarou bolted from Nel's grasp. He hopped up the debris to reach the injured teen. Kneeling down, Hanatarou opened Ishida's shirt then put a glowing hand over the discoloration. "It's definitely a fractured rib," Hanatarou said. He began to heal the wound with one hand while opening his white medic bag with the other. Taking a roll of bandages, the medic wrapped Ishida's chest. "Besides this and some bruises, it seems that you're fine." Ishida nodded then saw Ichigo looking over worriedly.
"Don't," he took short breaths. "Don't take your eyes off the enemy, baka!"
Ichigo bristled. Here he was worried about the Quincy and he gets snapped at! However, he quickly returned his focus to the hollow. In the nick of time, he dodged a kick that would have also sent him to the buildings. He was about to charge at the monster but stopped when the captain of the 11th division stepped in front of him.
"Kenpachi!"
"Yo, I'll be taking this one," the captain grinned. "Can't let you have all the fun. Stay out or I'll cut you down!"
Ichigo gulped and quickly stepped back.
"Yaay! Go Ken-chan! Beat that pussy up!" Yachiru cheered.
"Alright!" Kenpachi yelled, his dull zanpakutou out. "Let's go!"
Veneno Gato narrowed his eyes. The difference of power between them was painfully obvious. The man with small bells on his spiked hair was practically brimming with sealed energy! However, he decided to take a chance to attack. The feline hollow dashed to the scarred man, bringing his elongated claws down as hard as he could.
Kenpachi didn't dodge or parry the attack but stood there, grinning.
Veneno Gato quickly jumped back to his original spot right after he attacked. He wasn't surprised when he saw that his attack only left thin lines on the man's chest, blood barely trickling out from them.
"Is that it?" Kenpachi frowned. Sure the cat-like monster was nimble but it wasn't as strong as he had hoped. He was getting bored already, not seeing what was so fun about these new hollows.
'There's more to those cuts than you think,' Veneno Gato thought as he eyed the glaring, red marks. Sadly, he probably wouldn't be alive to see the effects of those trivial wounds. However, that didn't matter to him now. The hollow knew he was at a disadvantage by numbers and would be overpowered by the captains. He needed to attack them in some way that it would cause pain no matter how small!
"Ken-chan! Ken-chan!"
Veneno Gato brought his attention to the cheers coming from the small pink-haired girl. He had seen her hanging on to the scarred man's back before jumping on to the roof. The monster grinned as he thought of an idea.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
With a poof of smoke, five Veneno Gatos stood where only one was.
'Clones!' Urahara thought.
"Go!" one of them yelled as it thrust an arm out front. Four of the hollows disappeared, teleporting to their own separate targets.
Quickly, Matsumoto drew her sword to face one of the clones that was heading their way.
"Stand down, Matsumoto!" Hitsugaya ordered. "Let me take care of this one."
"H-hai," Matsumoto replied hesitantly and sheathed her Haineko.
The white-haired captain took a step then shunpoed in front of the hollow clone. The two clashed in a flurry of claws and sword. When they separated, the hollow had minor wounds while the boy had none. The hollow clone swung its tail around, causing Hitsugaya to falter. Taking the chance, the monster faked an attack. Hitsugaya brought his sword up to block but was taken by surprise when the monster grabbed his zanpakutou. "Hmph," Hitsugaya smirked. Suddenly, the clone felt the blade in its hand grow cold. It pulled its hand back only to find it stuck! Ice quickly began to encase the clawed hand, crawling up to the arm. In a panic the fake monster began to screech. Then, out of desperation, it brought its head to where small child-like hands were holding the hilt and bit down. Hitsugaya winced and yanked his hand away from the fangs. By then, the clone was completely frozen and disappeared in a poof of smoke.
"Are you alright, Taichou?" Matsumoto asked.
Hitsugaya glanced distastefully at the trickle of blood on his hand. "Yea," he simply wiped his hand on his kimono, "I'm fine."
Rukia quickly whipped her head to the left to dodge two shurikens, a few strands of hair cut from the sharp stars. " Mae, Sode no Shirayuki!" Rukia cried as she released her zanpakutou. The air around her cooled as her sword turned white. Ice crystals swirled around her as she slowly spun the sword, the white ribbon on the pommel forming a wide circle in the air. "Some no mai, tsukishiro!" A circle of bright light formed underneath the monster clone in front of her. Sensing the danger, the clone jumped in the air but was too late as ice quickly enclosed the fiend. 'Got it!' she thought. Her eyes widened, however, as the clone disappeared with a brick in its place. Before she could react, a kunai cut her on the leg. Rukia hissed and clutched at the wound. She quickly shot a kido spell at the monster but it dodged the attack. The Kuchiki braced herself as the monster threw a set of kunais at her.
"Santen kesshun, I reject!"
The metal weapons bounced from the shield formed in front of Rukia.
"Orihime!" Rukia gasped.
The clone glared at the orange-haired girl. "You-!" it was interrupted by a punch to the side of its head. The clone disappeared with a poof.
"Chad!"
"Are you okay?" The tall teen asked.
"Yea," Rukia stood up but hissed from the cut on her leg.
"You're hurt! Here, let me heal you," Orihime offered.
"No, it's okay," Rukia waved her off. "It's a small wound. Just some bandages will do."
Orihime hesitated but nodded. She stared at the cut on her friend's leg, unable to shake off a foreboding feeling.
Nel squealed when she saw one of the two remaining hollows running towards her.
"Ha!"
In a blur of pink, Yachiru jumped from the roof, landing on the hollow's face. Using the moment of distraction, she grabbed the former espada's hands. "This way!" Nel said with a giggle and shunpoed themselves to the top of the shop's roof.
Jinta stepped in front of the lieutenant and espada, his club-like weapon in batting position. "Ora, ora!" he cried as the monster jumped to the roof. He swung but growled when the hollow got past him.
"Che. Oi, he's coming your way!" he warned.
Ururu dashed to the threat, "Excuse me," and began to throw punches.
"Wait here," Yachiru told Nel. She, Ururu, and Jinta began to gang up on monster who began to have a hard time dodging their attacks. "Come on, lets get him!" Jinta shouted. "One hit should kill this clone!"
"Leaving the children by themselves to fight?" the hollow in front of Kenpachi asked.
"Heh, they can take care of themselves. I would be more worried about yourself," the man grinned. "That clone of yours is going to get pummeled."
The two attacked each other fiercely, Kenpachi given more cuts while the hollow began to bleed all over the place. "It was pretty fun but now the fighting is beginning to bore me," Kenpachi said. The monster gasped when it felt the rusty sword stab him through the stomach. "If you disappear, I bet that clone will too, right?" Kenpachi asked. Blood poured out of Veneno Gato's mouth. "Saa…I wonder." It lifted its head to flash the captain a bloody smile, then, poofed to nothing. "Shit!" Kenpachi cursed as he realized the trick.
Urahara cursed under his breath as he, too, saw the trick on Kenpachi. "Kids, the one you're fighting is the real one!" he yelled.
"Huh?" Jinta and Ururu looked over at the shopkeeper. The monster kicked the two children, knocking them away.
"Damn it!" Urahara and Tessai quickly ran to the two injured kids.
"Lets go, Ichigo!" Yoruichi commanded.
Ichigo nodded and the two quickly began to attack the last hollow.
"Go, Ichi, go!" Yachiru cheered, Nel close behind her.
Then, the monster began to retch, saliva running down its chin as a long object slowly came up from its throat. Yoruichi and Ichigo watched as Veneno Gato slowly pulled out a sword from its mouth.
"Ichigo, now!" Yoruichi shouted.
Right as the sword was fully out, the two skewered the hollow. With the last of its strength, the monster threw the sword up in the air then burst, splattering a heavy, sticky goo.
Hanatarou's eyes widened when he saw the sticky mess land on Ichigo, Yoruichi, Yachiru, and Nel. He knew that attack! "Oh no, this is bad!"
"Ugh, what the hell is this shit?!" Ichigo struggled to get out of the mess. "Wait, then that means that what we attacked was also a clone!"
Yoruichi gasped as she realized the situation. 'Then that means!!' She looked up at the sky where the sword was coming down. In a poof of smoke, the sword turned into Veneno Gato. It came down from the air, with a clawed hand extended, aimed at Yachiru and Nel who were struggling in the goo. Yoruichi moved to shunpo but gasped as the sticky mess held her down.
"Yachiru!" Kenpachi cried.
The pink-haired lieutenant tried to use her reiatsu to break from the sticky bond but felt the goo drain her energy. "Ken-chan! Something's weird! I can't use my reiatsu!"
"Yachiru! Nel!" Ichigo screamed, his eyes. He felt helpless as the energy-sucking goop held him down, the children just a few feet away from him!
Ishida blinked when he noticed someone missing from his side. He looked ahead to see the medic running ahead. "Hanatarou, stop! You'll get hurt!" he yelled but winced from the pain in his ribs.
Hanatarou ran as fast as he could, past the others who were too bewildered to move. His legs seemed to come to life, shaking the dust off and remembering how fast they used to run in the past life. Although he couldn't shunpo, the medic exerted chakra from his feet to boost his speed. He didn't care anymore if anyone would notice. 'Faster…Faster!' he thought. However, even he could see that shunpo, let alone running, would not get him to the children in time. Hanatarou closed his eyes in frustration as he ran. 'Just a little faster! If only…if only…!'
Amidst the drops of water…he heard a low chuckle.
Hanatarou opened his eyes, finding himself in front of the mirror, water splashing his ankles.
"You want to help those children, don't you?"
"Of course I do!" Hanatarou hissed. Only the monster within him stirred him up so easily. He glared at the mirror, the monster within obscured by darkness only showing a pair of glowing golden eyes.
"I could help you," the demon whispered enticingly. Paper seals appeared plastered all around the mirror, half of them worn away.
"N-no!" Hanatarou stepped back, comprehending what the demon wanted. "I'm not taking off the seals."
"Who ever said to take off all of them?" the demon said. "Just one would be enough…If you don't…Well," it slowly grinned with blood-lust in its eyes. "I don't mind seeing the blood of two children."
That did it. Hanatarou shook with frustration. 'Screw it!' He quickly grabbed one paper seal and ripped it off.
Yachiru struggled desperately, the claws coming closer and closer. She glanced behind to see Nel crying, blubbering, "Itsyugo! Itsyugo!" The lieutenant began to feel her eyes stinging and turned to look at her father-figure for the last time. Then, she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the pain.
Blood danced in the air.
Yachiru felt something warm drip on her face, the familiar metallic smell coming not from her but in front of her. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped to see the small 4th Squad.
"Hana-chan!" she gasped.
"Hanatawou!" Nel blubbered, tears and snot falling like a fountain.
Everyone gaped at the timid boy, claws impaled all the way through his chest until the white hand of the hollow was in his body. Blood flowed from his wound and mouth.
"Hana…tarou," Ichigo whispered.
"Hanatarou!" Rukia and Orihime cried.
'Shit, this is bad!' Kei thought. Glancing side to side to make sure no one noticed, the mongoose disappeared in a poof of smoke.
Veneno Gato narrowed its eyes at the medic. "You…" he growled.
"Don't…you dare…touch the children!," Hanatarou hissed through gritted teeth. His small hands held on to the monster's arm. If he didn't catch the monster, his chest would probably have been impaled up to the hollow's elbow. He lifted his eyes to the hollow's. Cold, gray eyes met yellow.
The monster blinked, then threw its head back and began to laugh, much to everyone's confusion. "So that's it!" he shouted. "I understand now!" He sighed as he finished laughing then brought his hand up, lifting Hanatarou to his face. The medic cried in pain. "I can sense it now, finally, your chakra. I was suspicious of you. The way your threw that rock to distract Brother was so familiar. Now I realize, it was the same as if throwing a kunai! Hahaha, who would have thought, that a lowlife like you was a shinobi! Well, like they say, 'Don't judge a book by its cover.'"
"…Hanatarou…is it true?"
The boy glanced over to see Orihime, disbelief written all over her face. He glanced at the others. Disbelief was written on all of their faces, except maybe Urahara and Yoruichi.
"Is it true? Are you really a shinobi?" Orihime asked again. She was able to accept Ichigo as vizard because he was protecting her but… the way shinobis were described…killers in cold blood…Hanatarou would never do that! Not gentle, kind Hanatarou.
Hanatarou turned his gaze away from her face, unable to answer.
"Hahaha, look at them! Did they not know what you truly were?" Veneno Gato laughed then turned to Orihime. "Lady, this boy has probably killed hundreds of people."
Hanatarou flinched when the hollow sniffed him. "The smell of blood is still on you although a bit faint, and I'm not talking about your own blood," the feline hollow grinned. "How many did you kill, huh? How many women? Children?"
Hanatarou remained quiet.
"Why don't you come with me?" Veneno Gato offered. "Become one of us, boy, and be free to do whatever you want. I know how the shinigamis treat us, shinobis. So what do you say?"
"How about…you…shut up!"
The monster flinched when he felt a quick burst of alien chakra from the boy. Hanatarou quickly used his left hand to dig into his medic bag, producing a kunai. He brought the weapon down to stab the hollow's wrist, blood splattering on his face. He gripped the kunai with both hands and tore through the muscles and bones with all his strength, successfully severing the hand in his chest from the arm.
"GAAAHHH!!" The monster screamed in pain, blood spurting from the stump.
Hanatarou fell to the ground as the clawed hand melted away in the air. He gasped as the loss of blood began to affect him.
"You brat," Veneno Gato growled. "I'll kill you!"
Yoruichi watched, impressed, as the boy shakily stood up. Panting, he stood in stance with the kunai in front.
"Soten ni zase, Hyourinmaru!"
The last thing Veneno Gato saw was the fangs of a frozen dragon.
"…So, what are you called?" a plain-masked hollow asked, standing in front of a beat up hollow. Plain-mask liked the hollow's spunk, although it may be a bit dense in the head as well as stubborn.
The feline-masked hollow sat up, licking its wounds from picking a fight with an older, stronger hollow. He cautiously stared at the plain-masked hollow who stood by during the fight. "…Veneno Gato…What's it to you?"
"Want to stick by me?" Plain-mask asked. "You're interesting."
Veneno Gato stared at him like he grew a second head. "W-what the hell? What kind of question is that? Anyways, only weak hollows stick together in groups and I ain't gonna be one of them!"
Plain-mask shrugged. "You just seemed interesting."
"Anyways, w…what about you? I told you mine, so what are you called?"
"Others just call me whatever they want. I don't care."
"…Then…can I call you…Brother?" Veneno Gato asked. The word "Brother" tasted so familiar, as if it was connected to something from the past he couldn't remember.
"Brother" shrugged again and began to walk away. "Sure."
Veneno Gato watched as the hollow walked off, then scrambled to its feet.
"Oi…don't just walk away from me!" he shouted as he ran after Brother.
Aahhh finissheeddd. so, how was it, the fight? aahh!!!... last part was supposed to show a softer side of hollows and make you be like "AAWWW VENENO GATOO!" Especially when I learn about Grimmjow's and Nnoitra's past, I couldnt help but be like "THEY'RE JUST MISUNDERSTOOOOODDD!!! BWAAHH!!!"
What really did happen to grimmjow? is he dead? oh gawd! cause they just took him out of the picture when nnoitra attacked him :(
haaa so i guess review please?