Watashi wa Bleach o shoyuu shite imasen
Chapter 26: Reprise - Book of the End
"And just where have you been!?"
A thank you was one of her expectations. Even a smile would have sufficed for her. She expected an expression of gratitude, even for just a short while. But what did she get? Ichigo yelling.
"There's time for that later! Tsukishima's our first priority!" Nozomi replied. She was right, they needed to deal with Tsukishima as soon as they could or things'll get more screwed up.
"Alright." Ichigo sighed, before nodding at Nozomi.
Ichigo took the initiative and quickly dashed towards Tsukishima with refueled self confidence. Tsukishima however, simply stood there as Ichigo unleashed a quick swing of his sword. It didn't take long for Ichigo to find out why Tsukishima didn't move though.
"Three Sacred Links Shield!" Inoue cast her signature shielding technique, completely negating Ichigo's attack.
Before Ichigo can react however, Chad quickly appeared beside him and threw a punch enhanced with his Brazo Dereche del Gigante. Ichigo manages to block the punch with his free left hand, but his feet slides back due to the punch's physical force.
"Why, Ichigo…!? I didn't get stronger for this…!" Chad said as he continued to push Ichigo back with his right hand.
"Wait, Chad…!" Ichigo attempted to talk some sense into him but it was futile.
"I didn't get stronger… to hurt you!" Chad held his left arm back, and white armor quickly covered it all the way through the fingers, ending in Hollow-like claws. "Brazo Izquierda del Diablo."
Chad unleashed a punch with extreme speed using his left hand, sending Ichigo crashing through the walls of the mansion.
"Ichigo!" Nozomi called out in concern.
Her attempt to come to his aid was foiled however, courtesy of Tsukishima. He quickly dashed towards Nozomi and swung his sword down. To his surprise though, Nozomi managed to deflect his strike fast enough before he got a chance to impale her.
"Oh? Better moves than last time." Tsukishima commented as he jumped back to avoid Nozomi's potential counter-attack.
True to his prediction, Nozomi began her counter-attack. She immediately dashed forward and unleashed a continuous barrage of quick sword swings, all the while absorbing large amounts of Reiatsu. Tsukishima knew he wouldn't be able to dodge her attacks this time, so he resorted to blocking them with his own sword. It would soon prove to be a bigger mistake though.
"Hm… If I remember correctly, her ability is to absorb Reiatsu and use it to her own advantage. But based on my observations, she can only release the stored Reiatsu in the form of a crescent wave, which takes a while to prepare. Attempting it at close range would be foolish, but then again, she's already proven she's capable of surprises." Tsukishima thought while continuing to block Nozomi's multiple slashes.
"Tenran!" Nozomi called out, sending a small tornado towards Tsukishima and catching him off-guard. "Rain without End, Arazome Shigure!" She quickly followed up while Tsukishima was still being pushed back by her Kidou.
"Ame no Rabenda!" Nozomi followed up once again, completely leaving Tsukishima puzzled as to what she was planning.
Nozomi swung her sword directed upwards, sending a giant wave of pink Reiatsu in the same direction. The Reiatsu then broke down into smaller orbs which rained down towards Tsukishima, generating continuous mini-explosions.
Ichigo stood up, wiping the blood trailing from his right hairline.
"Why did everything turn out like this? I wanted to protect you! I…!" Ichigo shouted out, his frustration reaching extreme levels. "For what purpose did I get my power back!?"
To his surprise, the one who answered his fits of rage was Tsukishima himself.
"Tsukishima!" Ichigo screamed out.
"Ichigo!" Ginjou called out.
"Dirty Boots!" Jackie activated her Fullbring and unleashed a swift kick at Ginjou, forcing him to dodge and foiling his plans to help Ichigo.
"Time tells no lies!" This time it was Giriko's turn to activate his Fullbring.
He pumped his fist out while holding his pocket watch, sending out golden beams of Reiatsu in the shape of the clock's numbers. Ginjou was forced to jump up to avoid Giriko's assault.
"Dollhouse!" Riruka activated her Fullbring next and pointed her Love Gun at Ginjou, who had no way to dodge in midair.
But that wasn't the master plan.
Ginjou turned around as soon as he realized this, and managed to block Moe's sneak attack with his sword. He easily sends Moe flying back with the sheer weight of his blade.
"What's with this guy…? He's not much of anything!" Ginjou thought, perplexed by Moe's apparent lack of skill or power in fighting. But all those thoughts vanished after seeing a part of his sword's hilt broken. "What the…? It broke!?"
"Hah! Aren't you lucky that didn't hit your body? It was such a good roll… who knows what might have happened to you?" Moe stood up and mocked Ginjou.
"What do you mean by that?" Ginjou asked, earning a maniacal laugh in response.
Moe decided to answer his question properly after a while. He unwrapped his bandage covered hands to reveal what appears to be a brass knuckle with three golden 7's on it.
"The name of my Fullbring… is Jackpot Knuckle! The very top shows rolls that manipulate probability!" Moe declared, proudly showing off his previously hidden Fullbring.
Moe immediately noticed the confused atmosphere around Ginjou, so he decided to further explain.
"Just now, my punch hit the jackpot, and the guard on you sword just happened to fracture from wear! Earlier, the ten yen coin I flipped hit the jackpot, and the chandelier's screws just happened to loosen and come out!"
Ginjou didn't fully understand. Probability? Jackpot? He'd worry about the details later. Now, he needed to beat his opponents. With that thought in mind, he entered his battle stance.
"Bring it on, Ginjou Kuugo! I'll show you what a killing blow really means!" Moe challenged, also entering a fighting stance of his own.
Ichigo charged forward and swung his blade towards Tsukishima. He manages to block the attack with little effort, Ichigo's rage completely blinding him.
"What's wrong? How pitiful. Are you so overwhelmed with rage that the words won't come out?" Tsukishima half-inquired, and half-mocked.
To his surprise however, Ichigo pulls a fast one on him and kicks on the side with his right foot with no leverage at all. Tsukishima is sent flying by the attack but manages to quickly regain his footing.
"Ren no Rabenda!" Nozomi quickly appeared beside Tsukishima and unleashed a powerful slash at him, her Zanpakutou completely covered by her trademark pink Reiatsu.
"Just one swing?" Tsukishima was unable to figure out the reason for this before Nozomi pushed him back with her sword, from which countless beams of pink Reiatsu emerged.
The beams all scattered out in different directions before suddenly changing directions and bombarded Tsukishima like lasers.
"Getsuga..." Tsukishima didn't have enough time to react as Ichigo prepared his signature move. "Tenshou!"
"So fast!" Tsukishima cursed internally as a giant wave of Reiatsu was released from Ichigo's sword and made its way towards his direction. Luckily for him, he was able to barely dodge the attack.
"So even in Fullbring state, he can use Getsuga Tenshou, and moreover, his attack speed is several times greater than anticipated. Truly… he has succeeded in melding his Shingami powers and Fullbring together. As expected, even despair has helped him complete his power." Tsukishima thought while he amusingly watched Ichigo glare down at him.
"It's over for me. Let's finish this up, shall we?"
At that moment, Ginjou was sent reeling back because of Moe and Xcution's combined attacks. Injury and exhaustion was already wearing him down heavily.
"Damn it! Four against one really puts me at a severe disadvantage… That Shishigawara guy's ability is particularly troublesome." Ginjou took one glance at Moe before looking around. "I wonder if Ichigo's alright?"
Shock would be an understatement if Ginjou were to explain what he felt after seeing what was happening on Ichigo's side.
Nozomi was on her knees, completely exhausted from unleashing several powerful techniques in quick succession, she could only watch as Ichigo dashed forward to deliver another powerful slash to Tsukishima, but was promptly blocked by Chad.
"Tsuki no Rabenda!" Nozomi stood up with difficulty and unleashed a crescent wave of Reiatsu towards Tsukishima, which like Ichigo's attack, was blocked, this time by Inoue's shield. "Inoue…! What are you…?
She tried to approach her but fell down to her knees again as Inoue looked at her with the same disappointed face she showed to Ichigo.
"Nozomi…!" Ichigo called out, greatly worried. He grit his teeth before turning back to Chad. "Why did you guys come over!? Stop it already! Chad! Inoue!" Ichigo attempted to reason with his friends one more time.
"That's my line… give it a rest already, Ichigo…!" Chad shot back.
"Why can't you understand!? I don't want to fight you!" Ichigo tried one last time, but was answered with the disappointed look he dreaded so much.
It was all wrong. He shouldn't be angry at his friends. He knew full well who was responsible for all this mess, and he was the one Ichigo should direct his anger to.
"TSUKISHIMA! Stop hiding behind my friends! COME OUT AND FIGHT!"
His demand was met with supreme haste. Tsukishima suddenly appeared behind Ichigo and thrust his sword forward.
All was silent as the sound of metal pierced the flesh. But Ichigo didn't feel anything puncture his skin.
He turned around, and the sight was not a pleasing one.
"GINJOU!" Ichigo screamed out.
He took the attack for him. The one he didn't trust. The one he didn't acknowledge as his friend. Ginjou Kuugo was impaled by Tsukishima's sword, and he couldn't do anything.
"Tsukishima's blade was aimed at Ichigo but… Ginjou took the hit for him…" Nozomi said to herself as she witnessed Tsukishima pull his sword out of Ginjou's limp body with utter satisfaction. She didn't consider him as a comrade, but why was she so angry? She never knew. "What will happen now…?"
Ginjou fell down from the hole in the floor all the way down to the lower level of the mansion. Ichigo instantly went to his aid, completely ignoring Tsukishima watching him, seemingly content.
"Ginjou… will he become Tsukishima's ally like everyone else?"
Ichigo's thoughts were blurred, calling for Ginjou to respond. After several incessant calls, he finally answered. Although not in a very reassuring manner.
"Shut up…" Ichigo found himself unable to respond. "Don't get distracted by me, Kurosaki…! Didn't I tell you that if he stabbed you… then it's already over…!?"
His statement was accurate. Ichigo turned around to block Tsukishima's sneak attack and subsequently pushes him away. He turned around to face Ginjou again.
"Are you all right…!? Ginjou…"
"No idea." Ginjou said weakly as he attempted to stand. "I do know… that I still perceive him as my enemy. And I see you as my friend."
"I see… that's great!" Ichigo said in glee.
"I don't understand why his power didn't work. I don't know if it's because it takes longer for some people… or if he purposely didn't activate it for some reason." Ginjou tried to figure out the reason as he finally managed to sit straight. "Either way… if you don't defeat him now… then you won't be able to after his power starts working!"
"He's right, Ichigo…" Nozomi said after coming over to Ichigo and Ginjou's side.
"Yeah!" Ichigo shouts out in approval.
They prepared to re-start their attack, but stopped themselves after sensing a very familiar Reiatsu. Did it belong to a friend? An enemy? Or a friend turned enemy?
"Kurosaki… Kujou…"
Ichigo and Nozomi turned around to see none other than Ishida looking at them. But he wasn't looking at them the way an ally who came to help would.
"Whose side are you on?" Was what instantly entered Ichigo and Nozomi's thoughts.
Ishida was cut by Tsukishima. Who healed his wounds? Inoue? But she was cut by Tsukishima too. Was she still not perceiving him as a friend when he healed Ishida? And if she did think of him as a friend, did she heal Ishida so that he could fight for Tsukishima as well?
Numerous questions flooded Ichigo and Nozomi's mind. Whose side was Ishida on? Their questions seemed to have been answered when Ishida activated his Ginrei Kojaku.
"I knew it… so you're on his side too…" Ichigo said with a tone of mixed anger, sadness and surprise.
"You two… come here." Ishida ordered, but was only met with hostile looks. "I already checked downstairs. Don't worry, I'm on your side.
"As if!" Ichigo refused to budge, and so did Nozomi.
"What are you doing!? Hurry up!" Ishida was starting to get irritated at this point.
"Ishida!" Ichigo said as he entered his fighting stance.
Ishida snapped. How stupid can one person be?
"Kurosaki! Don't you get it!? The one who cut me is that guy beside you!"
The words echoed in Ichigo's mind.
He didn't want to process them.
He didn't want to accept them.
"Ichigo!" Nozomi's voice was what brought Ichigo back to reality.
But it was too late. Ginjou was already behind him, and in one glance, everyone can tell that he's no longer the person who helped them.
Ishida fired a volley of arrows but was effortlessly blocked by Ginjou. The man in question vanished from their sights, only to reappear a second later behind Ichigo.
"Kurosaki!"
It all happened in an instant. Ginjou swung his sword down. Blood splattered in all directions. Absolute silence. Pure terror was the only thing visible in Nozomi and Ishida's face as Ginjou started to laugh hysterically.
"ICHIGO!"
Chapter 26 here. Sorry for the late update today, I was kinda busy. Anyway, hope you like the chapter and thanks for reading my story! I'll be back soon. Mata ashita ne!