Fight For Freedom I
Rukia screamed at the sight of Unohana's crushed skull and the sickening ooze that pooled around her and spread towards Rukia.
Angry shouts came from outside and Rukia placed a hand over her mouth and gasped.
No, they're going to find me now! Oh god no! I'm going to die!
Isane patted Rukia's shoulder. "Don't worry, we brought along a few toys for just such an occasion." She opened a large box which was filled with weapons. There was a riot shotgun, two rifles and a handgun. "Take your pick."
Rukia picked up a handgun and studied the weapon. She was no marksman, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let them kill her.
Isane took out the combat shotgun and rose to her feet. She kicked out a panel of glass from the windows and then fired. The recoil threw her back and she fell to the floor, but the damage was done.
Screams of pain came from outside and running footsteps, as well as loaded guns clicking.
"They are armed! Be careful!" One of the guards roared.
"No!" Kariya yelled over him and the whole area fell silent. "Barging in will just cost us good men. Let's play a game instead. It's called, hostage." Kariya chuckled madly.
Isane and Rukia both peeked out the window at the silver haired guard who was standing over Ukitake. The old guard was pinned down, a rifle pointed at his head.
"Shit! They've got Ukitake!" Rukia cried.
"Don't worry." Isane reassured her. "I don't think he'll do it."
"What? He killed Unohana without even blinking why on earth would-"
"Trust me!" Isane whispered harshly. "Just do as I say and we'll be fine." The glimmer of hope in her eyes made Rukia feel a little stronger, though it still wasn't enough to convince her she would survive this.
"Okay girls. Come out with your hands up and I will spare this old bastards life! If you continue to hide then I shall paint the town red in his blood. Is that understood?"
"Um...Okay." Isane mumbled uncertainly.
Rukia eyes her curiously while the police woman loaded a few rounds into one of the rifles. She then slid up next to the corpse of her friend. She lay on her stomach in the pool of bright blood, ignoring the chills as it soaked into her shirt. She pointed the barrel at the hole in the busses wall. And lined up a shot. She then turned to Rukia and smiled.
"Rukia. I want you to go out there, slowly. Just stand outside the door of the bus and put your hands in the air. Act calm; don't make them think we're up to anything, ok? Can you do that?"
Rukia nodded while tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Don't worry. I won't let them hurt you. I've got a plan to help us escape."
Rukia sniffed and wiped away the worst of the tears before walking to the head of the bus. Her arms were paralysed and remained stuck to her sides. She marched rigidly out into the street and froze outside the door.
Guards surrounded the area, all with their guns trained on her. Kariya grinned menacingly and spread his arms wide.
"Thank you for releasing Rukia. She was the one I was looking for. How can I ever repay you?"
Isane stared down the barrel of her rifle and growled. "Die!" She pulled the trigger and the powerful weapon fired. The recoil damaged her shoulder and she cried out in agony as the muscle tore. She peeked through the small gap and watched the bullet hit dead on.
Ulquiorra was leaning on the car boot, his hands tied together by rope. The bullet soared past and cut through the rope, freeing the beast. Ulquiorra wordlessly untied his legs and snuck up behind the guards, snapping two necks, beheading another two and then impaling a fifth guard.
"Rukia! Get in!" Isane yelled.
She did as asked and ran back onto the prison transport vehicle. Before she could praise her friend, the police woman was at the wheel, starting up the engine which roared like a creature from the darkest depths of hell.
"Let's go for a drive!" Isane snarled as she wrestled with the wheel and forced the huge vehicle to roll down a side street. She headed away from the battle for a while and then did a U-turn so that she was facing the direction in which she came. She revved up the engine and then slammed her foot down on the pedal.
"What are you doing?" Rukia asked just before she was thrown off of her seat by the wildly rocking bus.
"I'm going to avenge my friend. This is for Unohana!" Isane gunned the engine and the huge battering ram headed straight for the crowd of terrified guards. Heads turned just before their bodies were crushed by the large vehicle. Bodies were flung in all directions and bodies were crushed as the relentless warpath of the prison transport continued.
Ulquiorra and Kariya managed to escape the frenzy, as did a handful of guards, but the majority were killed or fatally wounded.
Rather than turn back for another round Isane kept on going. "Isane! What are you doing now?"
Isane smiled warmly. "We're getting the hell out of here."
Kiyone ran up to her companions, her expression grim. "Guys, I heard gunshots coming from the hotel! There were screams too! We have to go check on Rukia; she might be hurt...Or worse!"
Toshiro groaned. "What could we do anyway? We're completely unarmed."
"So you're just going to abandon her?" Kiyone cried. "How heartless!"
"Look, I like Rukia, but if my guess is correct, if you heard gunshots, then she is already dead."
Kiyone gasped.
"They might have sprung an ambush and shot down both Ulquiorra and Rukia, killing two birds with on stone. I'm sorry Kiyone, but she's gone."
"Liar! Kiyone roared. "I can't believe you! I thought you were a good person, but you're as evil as the prisoners around us! I'm going out alone!" She turned her nose up and stormed off.
"My, my, she's a worry." Kyouraku sighed. "Do you really have so little faith in Rukia-Chan?" Toshiro shook his head provoking a laugh from the older ex-guard. "She won't die. She's tough. She'll make it back here soon enough; we just have to wait here for her."
"I guess so..." Toshiro murmured, rolling his eyes.
The prison transporter began to slow down before coming to an abrupt stop. The two passengers were thrown forward and knocked back again by the momentum.
Rukia glanced over to the driver. Isane was gripping the wheel so tight it was creaking. Tears glistened on her cheeks and rolled down softly for a moment until they were gushing out. Rukia reached out to comfort her but hesitated when the bereaved policewoman buried her face into the wheel, sobbing relentlessly.
"Isane...If it means anything...I'm sorry."
Isane didn't respond. She whispered Unohana's name over and over between sobs.
Rukia left her friend to grieve and checked their surroundings. Amazingly they had not been pursued, Ulquiorra's release must have worked far better than they expected. Better still, they were only a few blocks away from the petrol station where Rukia's friends were staying. That meant they could pick them up and they could escape together.
Rukia approached her bereaved companion and frowned. "Do you want some time alone?"
Isane nodded weakly.
"Very well. I'll go and search the area for survivors."
Again, Isane gave no answer. Rukia waved timidly and then hopped off the armoured bus.
Kariya stared down his opponent. He had wanted to fight Ulquiorra ever since the world was informed of his murderous ways. Back then he was a retired Yakuza member, though the will to fight and to control the world...It still remained buried deep within him. The flame of passion had been reignited the day he saw that ghostly pale face outside the courthouse.
Kariya had been summoned for jury duty and so he arrived early to see the accused arrive. As soon as the man came within sight, an overpowering darkness enveloped him and his chest tightened. There was something truly terrifying about Ulquiorra, something unnatural.
That fear brought him back to his old self and soon the old Kariya returned. He re-entered the Yakuza and began to rise back up the ranks, biding his time and waiting for the day he would one day meet Ulquiorra and be able to fight him to the death.
He deliberately got himself caught, hoping to be sent to the same maximum security prison as Ulquiorra, but that went awry. Kariya had been sent to another prison hundreds of kilometres away. Kariya was bitter. He resented the world even more and the harsh mind he owned became more vicious. He grew more violent with each passing day, taking his rage out on the prisoners, executing them the same way Ulquiorra did.
One day, everything changed for him. He was approached by a strange man with spiky black hair. His off-putting smile and calmness made him curious. This man was different to the sum he had lived amongst. This man was powerful. He was strong enough to walk around angry prisoners without even the slightest fear. This man...Was a monster!
He approached Kariya and waved him over. Kariya dropped the meagre meal he was currently eating and wandered over. Several guards stood by him as the man led him away from the prisoners, past the cells and out into an office. None of it made sense to Kariya, but he just went along.
"I wish to purchase him." The man smiled.
The guards were shocked, but the prison manager chuckled and held his hand out to accept a briefcase full of cash. "I won't say if that was the right choice Mr Shiba. This one is a rebel at heart."
"He is a bloodthirsty man with the mind of a Yakuza leader. He is perfect." Mr Shiba said while inspecting his newly acquired friend.
"Where are you taking me?" Kariya asked, inciting a light chuckle from his new master.
"I'm transferring you...To Karakura prison."
Kariya's eyes narrowed at the mention of the fated prison...The Hellish world known by many as 'The Cage', the den of the damned...Where one Ulquiorra Schiffer resides...
Now, here he stood, surrounded by corpses, a river of blood that consumed the whole street. Only two men remained standing, the others either dead or fled long ago. Only Ulquiorra Schiffer and Kariya...One-on-one...To the death!
Kariya licked his lips and bunched his fists. "Oh, how I have longed for this day!" He growled excitedly. "Do not disappoint me, Human Blade."
Ulquiorra wiped the blood from his hand, rubbing them against his blood soaked uniform. He stared blankly at his foe and sighed. "I do not aim to disappoint, however I do not aim to please either."
"Very well, just don't die straight away!"
Ulquiorra blinked. "You seem confident that I will die here."
"Of course I am!" Kariya smirked. An abandoned car behind him suddenly became dented by an unseen strike. Kariya raised his hand up to his face and laughed. "I have mastered your very own fighting style! I shall slay you with your very own techniques and surpass you to become the next Human Blade!"
"How foolish. If you wish to die so much why don't you just stand still and let me finish you here and now rather than prolong the inevitable."
Kariya snorted. "You're overconfident. You haven't seemed to grasp my power, so let me show you!" Kariya charged forwards with lightning speed. He leapt into the air and waited for Ulquiorra to try and knock him down. He left Ulquiorra's fist until the last moment, then he caught it and pulled with all his might. As Kariya fell down the momentum and Kariya's added strength lifted Ulquiorra into the air and hurled him into an empty car.
Ulquiorra slammed into the bonnet and then rolled onto the ground. Before he could get up Kariya was upon him, stomping on his back and laughing mockingly.
"Where is the counterattack? I thought you were tough!" Kariya stepped back and waited for Ulquiorra to rise back on his feet. Ulquiorra's emerald eyes blazed as he shot a fierce glare to his enemy. He drew a hand back and prepared to strike, but before he could he was struck by something.
An intense pain shot through his body and it was unbearable. Ulquiorra lurched forward and coughed up blood. He had lived amongst the crimson fluid for his entire life, yet only now did it have an impact on him. This was his own blood. Someone had managed to wound him...Something was seriously wrong!
"What a shame. You were pathetic! I wasted so many years of my life waiting fro this moment and it ends so soon. You aren't a demon, you're just a mere mortal...I however-" Kariya drew his arm back, but it was already soaked in blood.
It took Ulquiorra a moment to register what had happened. Kariya had impaled him on his arm.
Kariya licked the blood from one finger and chucked. "I...I shall become a true monster!"
Ulquiorra tried to fight back, but his body went limp. He doubled over and fell face first in the dirt. As he lay there, a thought crossed Ulquiorra's mind.
Is this pain? It's...Awful...
Is this the end for Ulquiorra? Will anyone be able to stop Kariya? Will our heroes escape from this ghost town? Find out in the next chapter!
Please review. there aren't a whole lot of readers, but every comment helps greatly.
