Hopefully this chapter will explain some things. Anyway, enjoy and review!
Kaien Shiba
Rukia slammed her foot down on the accelerator. The car lurched forward and rumbled loudly as it drove after the Yakuza car. She broke the speed limits she was supposed to enforce and closed the gap between her and those she was chasing.
The Yakuza members seemed to not notice her, oblivious to the sedan quickly gaining on them. Their car veered off down a side street which led out to a large park. The park itself was cleared from the fringe of a large forest on the border of the town.
The car screeched to a halt outside the park and the Yakuza stepped out, bringing with them all manner of weapons.
Bystanders screamed and fled the scene, knowing full well that getting caught in these people's business spelled death for them.
Rukia parked on the other side of the road and watched them walk off towards the forest. She waited until they were almost out of sight before getting out and sprinting after them. She kept a safe distance and followed until the group stopped.
She hid behind a tree trunk, only ten metres away from them. She listened in on them, hoping to find out why they wanted Kaien dead.
"Split up into groups of two and hunt him down! That bastard won't get away with this!"
Rukia peered out from the tree trunk and stared at the Yakuza leader, a man in a reddish brown trench coat and silver hair. Cold eyes studied his followers and a venomous smile was affixed to his face. The smile looked all the more hideous with the presence of a scar that ran from his lip down to his chin.
The leader glared at one of his followers and proceeded to pull out a shiny black pistol. "Do you have a problem with this?"
The man he spoke to cowered and whimpered. "N-No..."
"No what?" The leader asked, jabbing the barrel of the gun into the man's forehead.
"No Kariya-sama!" The man cried.
Kariya grinned from ear to ear. "That's correct. Unfortunately, I can't have someone who isn't trustworthy running about here can I? That man might change his loyalties and get in the way."
"Please! I promise I won't screw up!"
"You have been a liability from the start. I only brought you out here because it would be easier to do this..." Kariya pulled the trigger and a deafening explosion forced the birds out of their homes, high in the tree branches.
Rukia screamed as the Yakuza member's head exploded in a shower of red. The others all spun around, hearing her outburst.
"Someone is following us!" One of them roared.
"Find them!" Kariya commanded. "Bring me their head along with Kaien's!"
"Yes sir!"
Kariya caught Ulquiorra's hand mid-swing and then flipped the pale man over onto his back in a judo-styled manoeuvre. Ulquiorra gave no indication of pain and thrust his palm out at Kariya's face, palming him off.
Ulquiorra rose back to his feet and dashed to one side. Kariya watched him cautiously and saw through the feigned attack, successfully blocking the real punch aimed for his ribs. He spun around and performed a roundhouse kick, catching Ulquiorra in the back and throwing him forward. Before he could recover Kariya used a flat hand to chop him in the throat.
Ulquiorra crumpled. Both men were exhausted, their battle had raged on for what felt like days, but had only been an hour.
Kariya booted his opponent in the ribs and picked up a large stone, hoping to bludgeon his foe and things now. He lifted the heavy stone above his head and proceeded to swing it down; only his target rolled aside and wrapped his legs around Kariya's arms in a sneaky grapple. Kariya stared at Ulquiorra who sat up and used his free hands to pummel his foe.
When every feature of Kariya's face was bleeding Ulquiorra laid back down and rolled sharply, bending Kariya's arms out of their normal place. Kariya roared in agony as his bones began to creak. They would surely break if any more stress was put on them.
Ulquiorra prepared for another roll, this time intended to snap Kariya's arms in two, but his nemesis stopped him.
With a loud roar Kariya lifted his arms up in the air, raising Ulquiorra's legs as well. When they were out of the way Kariya stomped on Ulquiorra's face, forcing him to unwrap his legs and roll out of the way of a second stomp.
The two combatants panted heavily. Ulquiorra wiped the blood from his lips while Kariya spat a mouthful of the stuff at his feet.
"Let's end this." Kariya snarled. "I have places to be."
"Very well." Ulquiorra sighed. "Let us put an end to this."
Both men took a deep breath and set off, charging head on at the other. They both drew back a hand and flattened it out, the signal for one of the unusual techniques that could allow a man to be impaled or sliced in two.
Both men closed in on each other. Kariya roared fiercely while Ulquiorra merely stared with murderous hatred, his emerald eyes blazing with an unusual fury.
Both men collapsed, a puddle of blood surrounding them.
Rukia awoke in a large room. A high ceiling stretched far above the ground and cheap fluorescent lights illuminated the room. Several were blinking rapidly and some were already dead. She could still feel the agonising pain from where she was stabbed and the warm trickle of blood.
"Stubborn young lady. I didn't think you'd wake up from such a wound."
She glanced up at the figure that towered over her. She did not know what name to call him, she couldn't tell. The man she knew as Ichigo smiled at her. His black hair stood out plain as day; a sign this was not the man she thought she knew, yet his face made her think otherwise.
"Who..." She croaked.
"Don't you recognize the man you love?" He asked, stunned.
"You're not Ichigo!"
The man laughed. "You catch on well, Rukia. Your days on the force are not yet forgotten."
That was when it ticked. Rukia's eyes widened and she almost choked on the name. "Kaien?"
"You remembered my name at last? I feel so happy..." Kaien wiped a mock tear from his eyes and chuckled. "I knew it would come back to you one day. How could anyone forget someone so dear to their heart?"
"No!" Rukia cried. "You're a monster! How could I ever love you?"
"Whether I am a monster or not is irrelevant. You fell for me and we got married. That is a fact and no matter how much you resent it, you cannot escape from the truth. You love me Rukia."
"NO!" She screamed.
Kaien grinned menacingly and pressed a foot down on Rukia's stomach, causing her to cry out in pain. "The plan failed miserably in the end...I did the same thing as that damned fool Urahara and got too confident. I overlooked the possibility of escape...Worse still I underestimated those damned police-women."
"Why are you doing this?" Rukia asked.
Kaien closed his eyes and sighed. "You all knew too much. I had to get rid of you all. I hired Urahara to do the dirty work for me, but his spectacular failure not only let you go free but drew attention to our activities. I decided to finish things myself, but again, it seems fate was against me...Until now!"
"Wait...You wanted me dead back then? I thought this was all about the 'Cage' incident?"
Kaien laughed heartily. "No. The motive was there right from the start. The incident with the cage merely placed more names on the list. I never intended to slay those prisoners, or the guards. They were unaware but they walked in on the wrong people. I originally only wanted you and those police women out of the way. All three of you knew about what happened back then and posed a threat to my success."
"Back then?" Rukia murmured, trying to remember what happened. When nothing came to mind she returned her attention to Kaien.
"You mustn't remember...Never mind, it may become apparent to you soon. Your memory seems to be a bit out of order, but you're slowly remembering."
Kaien shook his head and sighed. "The plan was quite simple really. Ulquiorra's escape had been a great reason to evacuate the small town you called 'No Man's Land'. It was a perfect place to bury all evidence and destroy anyone who would threaten us. I took those who survived the riots last year as well as the guards who betrayed me. They were to be left there and sacrificed to Ulquiorra, therefore freeing us from any implication into their murders. Genius isn't it?"
"The friends of those who survived were to be killed discreetly by hired mercenaries. Those police women were part of those targets, but they managed to survive. If all had gone to plan then it would have successfully ended everything without drawing any attention to us or our work."
Rukia was barely listening, distracted by her own thoughts. "I...I fell for your tricks...I feel so...so..." She trailed off, unable to finish the thought.
"Ah, the disguise. That was even simpler. My resemblance to Ichigo made it too easy. I merely dyed my hair orange and fooled his dim-witted friends into thinking I was him. You were the easiest to convince." Kaien said with venom.
The words sting and Rukia gasped at the awful comment.
"So madly in love, you were blind to the ruse. All you did was cling to me night and day, frightened and sad. You were so absorbed in your own problems you failed to understand who you were throwing yourself to."
"Why? Why would you do something so horrible?" Rukia pleaded.
"I knew you wouldn't warm to me after what I'd done, so I merely tricked you. That way you could spend your last moments with me, loving me the way you did when we were together..." Kaien scratched his head. "I guess even when I want you dead; I still can't forget the love we once shared..."
His words repulsed her beyond imagination. Rukia tried to crawl away but Kaien stomped on her and pinned her in place with just one foot.
"I planned on killing you without you ever finding out, but the unexpected storms ruined that...Now I have to do things the messy way!" He pulled out the bloodied knife he had used before and studied the blade with morbid curiosity.
Rukia looked around nervously. This all made little sense. She was going to be murdered for something she didn't even know about. Worst of all, the person she had been clinging to in No Man's Land had been a wolf in sheep's clothing, a madman in the guise of her beloved. The thoughts of the moments she had shared with 'Ichigo' made her gag and she had to try and think of something else before she threw up.
"Ichigo...Where is he?"
Kaien stopped staring at the knife and frowned. "That stupid little thorn in my side is currently resting. I shall deal with him after I have finished with you."
"No!" Rukia blurted out. "Can't I please say goodbye to him? Please?"
Kaien hesitated and eventually nodded submissively. "I guess it does not matter. All plans have failed. All there is to do now is to just cut you all down. If you're all together it saves time."
Rukia sensed a flicker of hope there. She alone stood no chance against this psychopath, but with others they could overpower him and try to escape.
"Enjoy your reunion Kuchiki. It will be the last time you see them." Kaien grabbed a handful of Rukia's hair and dragged her across the rough floor towards a door at the end of the room. The madman relished in Rukia's agonised screams and became increasingly anxious to tear down the last obstacles in his way.
Rukia sobbed quietly, too exhausted to make much noise. She glared at the manic smile affixed to Kaien's face. Rage welled up within her but it was quickly extinguished by the overwhelming doubt of survival.
I thought Ulquiorra was a monster...I was wrong...
Rukia remembered the feeling she got when she encountered the ghostly killer. It was completely different to what she felt around Kaien. This man made Rukia feel dead inside. Every semblance of hope crumbles in the presence of Kaien Shiba. Everything she thought she knew turned into a lie, certainty turned to doubt and on top of that she not only feared for her own life...But for the lives of every single person on the earth...
That was just a glimpse of the evil manipulative demon named Kaien Shiba.
There are still missing pieces in the puzzle...What happened in the past? Whatevent triggered Kaiens unusual and cruel vendeta against Rukia? Can she find out the truth before it is too late? Find out in the next chapter!
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