Hey guys, it's me again with a new chapter (sort of) this is more of a continuation of the last chapter. I posted the last chapter before it was finished because my pc had to be wiped. To Lttaco, thanks dude. Your review really brightened up a shitty day. I apologize for the delay in updating lots of important (and unfortunately, time consuming) stuff is going on. Anyways, onto the story and no I don't own either of these epic animes.
Chapter 3.5- My first job, what could go wrong? (PART TWO!)
"Happy, take Lucy and Natsu then get out of here and back to the guild. Tell them we'll need some help try and get Erza and Gray to come" I said without turning around.
"What about you" Lucy asked worriedly as tears began to fill her eyes.
I turned and smiled softly "Don't worry it'll be over before you know it. Just focus on getting out safe, please."
Lucy looked unconvinced but, she nodded and left with Happy and Natsu.
"Ban- "I began but, the one with dragon eyes appeared in front of me. I raised my sword just in time to stop his blade from decapitating me.
"Nice" he said and reappeared back where the others were standing. I growled and pointed my blade at them as the hooded man stepped forward.
"I'm Minato of the dark guild, Evil's Roar and these are my lieutenants; Yoru, Tetsuryu, and Danjiik" he said gesturing at the hulking man then the twins.
"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, Substitute Soul Reaper" I responded as Yoru hefted his huge war hammer.
"I will be y-"he began but, suddenly dropped his hammer as blood spurted out of various wounds on his body. Everyone looked from his bleeding form to where I once stood where there was a little dust still swirling in a semi-circle.
"There will be no mercy for those who even think about harming my friends, Minato" I growled in my hollow's voice. Everyone turned slowly to see my mask on my face only now it was plain white with no horns and two vertical blood-red stripes down from the top to the teeth. My eyes were black with golden irises and my body seemed to have a faint, red glow.
"Interesting, he managed to not only block Danjiik's attack but also take out Yoru without using his full power. You are quite the quandary, Ichigo Kurosaki" Minato thought with a grin.
"Tetsuryuu, Danjiik take care of this, will you?" Minato asked as they both nodded with sadistic grins. He slowly walked towards Yoru when suddenly, he and Yoru vanished.
'What incredible speed. Even I couldn't follow that' I thought.
Danjiik stepped forward "Unleash the technique you prepared earlier and watch me nullify it instantly" he said in a rasping voice that sounded as if not one, but three people spoke as one.
In anger I raised my blade and roared in my hollow's voice "BANKAI!"
If only I knew how wrong I was.
I appeared in my bankai form, rushing forward.
I appeared behind him just as I was about to slam into him and roared "Issen Getsuga."
He lazily raised a hand as a sky-blue vortex appeared in front of his palm. To my surprise, the getsuga connected and was then absorbed by that technique. I froze in shock as he vanished. Suddenly, I felt two fingers on my forehead as my face was yanked skywards, my right arm pulled behind my back and put into a lock and as he forced me to my knees. He ripped Tensa Zangetsu free of my grasp and plunged it into my left calf and I roared like a wounded animal as my mask dissipated.
"Say good-bye to your power, Soul Reaper" he whispered as his finger began to glow a dark, venomous green.
The last thing I remember was feeling as if I was being torn in half before I blacked out.
It's dark, and cold. I feel like I'm falling yet I'm standing still. I'm breathing but, I'm suffocating. I'm sick and I'm uninjured. Where am I? Do I even know who I am anymore? I see but, I don't understand. I hear but, I can't respond.
This must be true oblivion. The end of all things, where those who are no longer in a plane of existence go to await their eternal slumber in the dark embrace of non-existence. Why am I here, though? Have I been erased from existence? No, I can still feel life within me. More importantly, how do I get back to them? I still need to protect everyone. Orihime, Chad, Uryuu, Tatsuki, Lucy, Rukia, Natsu, Grey, Nel, Erza, Mira, Karin, Yuzu… They all need me. I can't waste time in a place like this when there are still people that I need to protect!
I opened my eyes to find that I was lying on the ground. I saw Danjiik walking away and I slowly rose to look for Zangetsu. "You bastard, where is Zangetsu" I growled.
He turned and froze in shock as my anger rose.
"Where is my partner?!"
Anger filled me as I suddenly shifted into my Vasto Lorde form. My shihakusho billowed as my hair began to shake as if blown by wind. I appeared behind him and tore my claws into his back while flesh, sinew, and blood were sprayed everywhere. I brutally kicked him in the back and sent him flying into his twin. Fear was in their eyes as they looked up to see me above them with a murderous glint in my eyes. I grabbed their collars and lifted them up then, slammed their heads together before throwing one through the roof and slamming the other into the floor, sending him into the sewers. I flew after Tetsuryuu who was now standing on the mansion roof, breathing heavily.
"You're one interesting man, Soul Reaper" he growled then vanished before my eyes and put me in the same lock as his twin did before him.
"Only, I'm not as foolish as my brother to let you keep some of that precious power of yours. You live only to protect. Now, I'm going to strip you of that strength you hold dear so you can no longer protect. You will live your life in suffering while my brother and I dominate this world" he leaned in to whisper in my ear.
"We'll move on to your world next and obliterate every single one of your precious people but, you'll have no power to stop us" he said with a sadistic grin before laughing like a mad-man. His eyes and his fingers then began to glow a deadly blood-red that only promised pain and death.
'I've failed once more haven't I? I failed to protect my mother. Now where am I? I'm not near Karin and Yuzu to be able to protect them, Zangetsu's gone, Shiro's about to be taken too. I lost my partner's, my power and all to these mad-men. Why? Is there no peace for me?' I thought as I closed my eyes.
Bound in darkness once more. I'm wrapped in this emptiness, constantly wondering; is there really and point to this? I live an endless battle for those I protect yet, they never seem safe. There's always some unforeseen danger just around the corner which stops me from keeping them safe. I can't even keep them ignorant anymore. Keigo, Mizuro, Tatsuki, Orihime, Karin, and Yuzu all of them; I just wanted them safe from harm. That's where this whole mess started isn't it, with my wish to protect and my ability to see ghosts. That's why I met Rukia and began my role as a substitute Soul Reaper. A hollow came to my home and attacked Yuzu meanwhile, Rukia was unable to sense it until the last moment due to my body leaking an enormous amount of spiritual pressure which covered the hollow's weak signal like a blanket. She had trapped me in a Kido but, with my anger and will to protect I awoke a little of my power and broke free. I remember rushing down to save Yuzu but ended up being saved by Rukia instead. She was heavily wounded and was forced to commit an illegal act, create a substitute shinigami. Then, all of my next battles were due to this one, single action. This power in my hand was gained for their sake and now I've lost it.
I opened my eyes to see that I was falling through the hole in the roof I had created earlier and underneath me was a nasty drop that I don't think I could survive without my power. 'So this is how I die. Ironic considering I've survived much worse' I thought before closing my eyes and allowing a single tear to fall down my face.
With Karin and Yuzu
Yuzu jolted awake and shrieked. She let loose all of her frustration, her worries, her fear, and now this horrible nightmare.
Ichi-ni, her kind, older brother dead; that just wasn't possible.
It couldn't be but, she had seen it.
Her strong older brother kicked down a hole in a mansion's roof and sent to his death like an animal.
"Yuzu! Yuzu, what's wrong?!" Karin asked, alarmed as she saw the fear in her twin's eyes.
Yuzu, she was the stronger of the two. When mom died and everyone was grieving she was the one who took it upon herself to start cooking and cleaning, taking the jobs mom usually did for herself. Now though there was fear in her eyes. Pure, unadulterated fear in her brown eyes and it terrified Karin. What had Yuzu seen that was so horrible it caused her to do this?
Suddenly, Isshin burst in the door in his shinigami robes.
He turned to see Yuzu screaming in fear and Karin by her side, repeatedly pleading for Yuzu to speak to her but never getting an answer.
'Ichigo, come back soon. Your sisters and I, we need you' Isshin thought as he left unseen and unheared.
Back to Ichigo
'Why is there someone, crying? Aren't I dead? No, if I was I would be sent to the Soul Society and Rukia would be here. Then, who is crying' I thought.
I forced one eye half-open to see Mira's head on my chest, sobbing. I kept my head still and looked around to see Erza standing in a corner of the room, beating herself up while Gray angrily slammed his fist into the wall again and again. Natsu angrily stormed up the stairs and Happy followed with tears rolling silently down his face.
"Why's everyone so upset?" I managed to whisper.
Those remaining in the room immediately spun their heads to look at me as Mira lifted her head slowly. She took one look at my face and began to cry again.
"There's no need to cry" I said, slightly louder than before.
"Ichigo!" she said and wrapped her arms around my neck.
She then leaned her forward and whispered "I love you" before landing a quick peck on my lips.
Blood rushed to my face and I blushed before turning my head to the side and looking away. That only served to make her more fierce as she grabbed my face, turned my head towards her and landed a passionate kiss.
Her lips felt soft and warm. Her lust was plainly shown through her rough grip on my face. Soon, I was lost in that single moment and returned with just as much lust.
Unfortunately, teenage hormones are a little hard to control when someone like Mira was practically sitting on your lap, running her delicate hands through your hair and kissing you like she was. Hey, I'm a guy don't judge me especially if you know that given the chance you would have done much worse. I poked at her lips with my tongue, pleading for entrance to which she obliged. I greedily explored every inch of her mouth before engaging in a battle for dominance within her mouth. She moaned as pleasure racked her body and ran like electric fire up her back as my hands began to wander along her body.
"Ahem" I heard someone let out a small cough. We froze and turned to see a blushing Makarov, stammering Erza, flustered Lucy, and an amazed Levy.
"We're not interrupting are we?" Lucy managed to ask timidly as Makarov began to drool.
"Hold that thought for a second" I growled and stood with a dark aura around my body and glowing red eyes but, it was noticeably weaker than usual. I cracked my knuckles as I stood before Makarov and gave him a sadistic grin. He froze and looked up at me in fear.
"Pervy old man!" I roared and threw him up the stairs before he crashed through the door. I went back to lie on my bed with a little sweat dripping down my forehead, was throwing Makarov always that hard and why was moving so difficult.
I slowly lay down on the bed as Mira sat next to me with a slight blush on her cheeks. "Before we say anything else, you will speak of this to no one" I growled and everyone nodded except for Mira who was still a little shocked apparently.
"Now, what did you need" I asked and everyone turned serious.
"What happened after we left?" Lucy asked.
"Well, why don't I just show you" I responded and motioned for them to stand closer. I held my hands with my palms facing skywards as sky-blue energy trailed like liquid fire off my fingers and pooled in mid-air before suddenly expanding and enveloping everyone.
Soon, the technique was finished and I collapsed onto my bed with labored breath.
"Ichigo!" Mira screamed worriedly and she leapt up to sit by me. Before I knew it I lay reversed on the bed with my feet resting on the pillow and my head at the foot of the bed in Mira's lap with her stroking my bright, orange hair. Like I said earlier don't judge me I'm a dude and I had just spent all my energy on that technique.
"What was that?" Erza was the first to ask. "A technique I learned from Old man Yama" I said tiredly. "Now you understand what happened after you left at least, from my point of view. Oh, and that disembodied voice you kept hearing was my thoughts" I said answering their unasked question.
"Well, it seems that you can't take on jobs any longer without your power. What'll you do now without a way to pay for your apartment in the guild and how will you make a living" Lucy, Levi, and Erza asked.
"First, I need a blade" I said with my voice becoming a mere whisper as I was reminded of Zangetsu.
"Well, I can take care of that. Once you're healed we can go to a magic blade shop owner I know, he'll be able to give you a good one" Erza said with a small smile. I closed my eyes and nodded as I allowed sleep to overtake me.
Ichigo, you dumbass! We're still here only sealed. You're gonna have to go to a seal-breaker to try and get rid of it before long or both me and Zangetsu will be gone, permanently! Zangetsu doesn't have the energy to speak because he's working on weakening the seal from the inside. Hurry, king before we're both dead!
I awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. 'They're still alive! I gotta check if the Master's here' I thought as I slowly forced myself to my feet. 'Ugh, at this rate I may not make it. No! I can't think like that, I have to free them' I thought as I willed my feet to slowly move towards the stairs.
After what seemed like an eternity I managed to get in front of the Master's office albeit covered in sweat and with blurred vision. I raised my shaking fist only for my strength to waiver and it slam against the door. I forced my arm up once more and latched onto the door knob.
"Makarov!" I roared and wrenched the door open.
"Let's have fun together, my beauties!" I heard the old man respond. He sat on a small, wooden stool cross-legged with a purple magazine in his hands and on the cover…. were several girls in various swimsuits. He looked over his magazine and saw me standing there in the doorway and froze while I sweat dropped.
"Uh…. I'll pretend I didn't see that if you help me with something" I said as stress on my body began to take effect once more.
"My dear boy, should you even b-"he began but, I cut him off. "Please! The man who injured me, he stole my powers and my partners in the process by sealing them. I beg you to set them free, please!" I shouted as I fell to my kness on the floor and slammed my forehead on the floor. He sobered up after that and looked at me seriously.
"Tell me, Ichigo. How was this sealing process performed" he asked and I proceeded to explain everything about the previous day.
When I was finished he had his eyes closed in thought. "I've only heard stories of this sealing process and those brothers, you were lucky to survive against them. They're known as Twin Dragons as they cause nothing but death and destruction. Rumor has it that they were attacked and kidnapped by a group of ruthless bandits at a young age and as a result, had been tortured endlessly. So, they soon lost their minds to insanity and began their rise as infamous cold-blooded killers. They say that they're so far gone that when they're mother finally found them they took one look at her and brutally beat her to death" Makarov said with a shudder as I felt anger begin to rise within me.
I breathed slowly to calm myself as Makarov stood. "I'll look into this sealing process and see if there's anything I can dig up in the meantime let's get you back into bed, you look pale" Makarov said with concern as he somehow managed to carry me back to bed.
A few weeks later….
"Morning, Ichigo" Mira said cheerily as she walked in. I leapt out of bed at the sound out of reflex from my old man and immediately regretted it as I roared in pain. My stiff muscles burned at the sudden movement as a tick mark appeared on my forehead and I growled. 'Dad, when I get home...' I thought.
Elsewhere…..
A cold chill ran down Isshin Kurosaki's back as he slew another hollow with ease. 'I feel a huge amount of killer intent focused on me. What did I do this time?' he asked himself as he failed to suppress a shudder and moved on to take out the rest of the hollows.
Back to Ichigo….
Mira slipped my shirt over my head and began to carefully massage my muscles starting from my wrists to my back and chest. Afterwards, I began to slowly test out my muscles to see if anything was still sore.
"Thanks, Mira. Another flawless job" I said with a grin and stood as she helped me slip my shirt back on and walk to the bathroom.
'Much better, I feel cleansed and ready to get training. I wonder if any of my shinigami techniques are affected besides the zanpakuto related and if I can still summon my mask. Well, now's as good a time as any to check' I thought as dried off after a warm shower.
I reached my hand up to my face and concentrated. After about five minutes of concentration I was able to rip enough reiryoku out of my soul to form the reiatsu around my hand that creates the mask. My hand dripped black reiatsu as my entire face was obscured from view. I focused on forming my mask and soon, it had finally taken shape on my face. Unfortunately, it was only half-formed and left my right eye uncovered and had a large crack on the left side near the teeth. After a few more seconds it shattered completely.
'Just as I thought it would be. It's infinitely more difficult to hold it without a closer connection to Shiro but, if I can best my previous time with the mask then it'll be way easier when I get my powers back. Until then I'll train hard and become stronger' I thought as determination filled me. I walked out of the bathroom with my eyes closed in deep thought as I began to think up a training regimen.
CRASH!
I lay sprawled on the floor entangled with another person. I tried to push myself to my knees and heard a girl's voice moan in what sounded like both pain and pleasure. Blood rushed to my face as I opened my eyes to see Mira lying on the floor with a blush on her face as she looked down to see me clothed in only a towel and my hand gripping her soft, firm breast.
I screamed and leapt backward in embarrassment.
I went on my knees and slammed my head into the ground "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry" I said as she slowly stood.
"It's fine. I should have paid more attention but, why are you dressed only in a towel" she responded embarrassingly.
"Well, it turns out that I don't have any other clothes" I said scratching the back of my head in embarrassment.
She nodded in understanding "Then what are you gonna do?" she asked.
"Well, I was gonna see if Lucy or someone else could run out and get me a pair of boxers, jeans, and a shirt quickly" I said as she sweat dropped at my obviously not very well planned out plan.
"How about I go get you that and when I come back we can go and get you a few more sets of clothes" she offered and I nodded.
"Thanks, Mira" I responded with a smile and she blushed a little more before walking away.
20 minutes later…..
I wore a black workout T shirt, a dark blue jacket with a high collar; some faded grey jeans, and a pair of red and white sneakers.
"Thanks Mira" I said and she nodded.
"You um… you look nice" she said with a blush and I bowed.
"Thanks but, what I'm wearing isn't even close to how you look" I responded and she blushed even more.
"Well, let's get going" I said and grabbed her hand. We left the guild and went looking around town for clothes. Somehow, I ended up not only getting some clothes but also getting my left ear pierced along the way which I still don't quite remember agreeing to. When we arrived back at the guild hall Erza was waiting patiently inside watching Natsu and Grey fight while calmly eating her cake.
Pissed at their constant fighting I ran up to them as they slammed their heads together and growled.
"Is there a problem?" I asked as I seemed to appear behind them with my eyes glowing a bloodthirsty red.
They both paled as I cracked my knuckles and grinned like Shiro.
"I leave the guild hall to buy clothes and you two think that because Erza is busy and my powers are gone you can fuck around. Hell no!" I roared slamming my fist into Grey's face in a powerful uppercut before knocking Natsu unconscious with a heel kick to the back of the head.
I turned and guild was in awe as I had managed to take out Natsu and Grey even after I lost my powers. "Come on, Erza. I need to get that blade already, I'm wasting time here" I said impatiently afterwards. She hurriedly rushed over to lead the way and I rushed to follow her but, not before I turned to wave good-bye to Mira.