"He's human too?" Gin wondered out loud from the chair he was sitting on. So great a shock the news had been that he didn't know if his legs would've been able to keep him upright much longer.
"That… I think he's lying. He… he said it so that we could all rescue Tsukune. He was just being a friend!" Moka tried justifying Ichigo's actions, even if she wasn't too sure about her own words.
"Being a friend to a human. Don't tell me ya sympathize with him?" Gin asked as he shot Moka a particularly nasty look. Moka recoiled a bit and hung her head. It's true; Ichigo did try to help out a human, of all things.
She looked up when she heard little Yukari's deeply concerned voice. As to whom the concern was focused on, she didn't know until she turned around. There, sitting in a desk in a meditative trance was one Kurono Kurumu as Yukari desperately try to get her attention.
"Hey milk jugs! Are you there?" Yukari frantically called out as she waved a hand in front of her face. But it was of no use, either she was trying really hard to ignore them… or she really was no longer there.
Even though Moka had been fighting with Kurumu for Ichigo's attention, she couldn't help feel sorry for the Succubus. Her insecurities had already won over her, thus she no longer felt any sort of attachment towards Ichigo… but Kurumu… it seemed she hadn't let go so easily. It seemed she wouldn't be getting out of that trance soon.
Or so they thought. They all jumped in their places when Kurumu suddenly brought down a fist, slamming it against the desk and nearly breaking it. Moka looked at Kurumu, and was surprised to find a determined look in her features. Her eyes shined brilliantly and her posture was straight and rigid. She had come to a conclusion.
"A Destined One…." She began in a clear and strong voice, "A Succubus spends time seducing men in order to find their Destined One. Once she has found that one man who steals her heart away, she will forever be with him. No matter who they are… even if they're human."
Suddenly, Kurumu stood up. With newfound affirmation of her belief, she nodded her head and began walking towards the door. Though Ichigo would not need any help, she wanted to be there for him. Because that was the duty of a Succubus to her Destined One… to always be there no matter what.
"Where are you going?" Moka asked, sensing what was going on in Kurumu's mind.
"What are you talking about? I'm going to help Ichigo! It doesn't matter who or what he is, he's still our friend… and my Destined One." Kurumu replied sternly, but then gave a grin that puzzled Moka. "Plus, even if he wasn't my Destined One, I'd help anyway. He hasn't done anything wrong to any of us after all. Why single him out just because he's human? Didn't you hate it when you were singled out because you were a vampire?"
With those final words, Kurumu left. Moka, despite hearing these words could not bring herself to accept them. Humans… they were absolutely disgusting, filthy creatures! But… hadn't she once said that she'd accept Ichigo if he were a human? These conflicting emotions tore away at Moka, regretting nothing. Then, another voice quipped up.
"I'll help milk jugs too!" Yukari proclaimed as she hopped down from her spot on the windowsill. Moka turned to face Yukari only to find her smiling.
"Besides, maybe I'll get that threesome with you and Ichigo if I help him!" And with those last words, Yukari ran out the door.
Finally, only Gin and Moka were left in the room. Moka turned to face Gin, wondering if he had any other 'inspiring' words to say. Instead, she saw a creepy, lecherous smile crawl onto his face. "So…" He asked in a smooth tone as he strode over to Moka slowly, "Do you wanna… you know…"
Moka turned a bright red before she ran out the door, screaming "Pervert!"
Unbeknownst to her, this had been part of Gin's plan. He had sensed her uncertainty and reluctance and thought that his actions would've been effective in getting her out of the room. After all, he himself had been convinced even before Kurumu had finished her little speech. Tsukune was an okay guy since he wasn't as popular as Gin was. That's all that really mattered to him.
"Geez, what annoying kids." Gin muttered with a smile as he too left the room.
---
'Why is this happening all of a sudden?' Tsukune wondered as his body shivered from fear of the cold, dark corridor he was walking through. 'How did they find out I'm human? Now everyone else in the club knows too. I'm not going to have anywhere to turn to now…'
"Tsukune…-kun." Said person looked to his side to find Mizore huddling close to him. She held out a delicate finger in front of her and pointed towards one of the many holding cells. "They couldn't all be… evil people could they?"
Tsukune looked around and began to wonder that also. There were far too many people here to be considered delinquents or even dangerous. Some were simply huddled in the corner, fear and exhaustion showing clearly through their facial expressions. Others were angry and vengeful, but at the same time were equally fearful. Tsukune could only guess that it was related to Kuyou, but he had no idea how true that thought was.
Tsukune flinched as a voice broke through his thoughts. "How dare you falsely imprison me you bastard!" A man from one of the holding cells leaped to the bars, his left arm growing into a monstrous claw that resembled a crab's. He pushed his arm between the bars, ready to decapitate Kuyou as he screamed, "Let me out of here Kuyou!"
Kuyou's impassive face turned into a sadistic grin as he sent out his supernatural power, stopping the man in his tracks. "You low class monster, what do you plan to do to the likes of me?" He asked before sending a torrent of flame towards the man, burning and melting his skin. The man couldn't even yell in pain since the flame had burned the oxygen from his lungs. Soon, he fell to the ground, seemingly dead… but one twitch of his hand indicated he was still alive if barely.
Kuyou then moved towards the bars and placed a foot inside the cell. He placed his foot on the man's head, claiming superiority. "We are the protectors of the peace at this Academy." He began in a sure and proud voice, "The sacred keepers of Justice! Anyone who turns against us is an evildoer who has turned against this very Academy. I must purge such evildoers in the name of Justice in order to make this a beautiful place for only those who obey the law!"
Tsukune looked on in surprise. This man… he actually believed what he was doing was right. He wasn't corrupted, he was simply confused and using his own brand of Justice. This was what he felt was right! And that meant he couldn't be bargained or reasoned with. But he was ripped from his thoughts when Kuyou turned his calm gaze towards him. "Well then… it is your turn Aono Tsukune. Just try showing me your true form like this thing here." He said as he put pressure on the man's head. Tsukune heard a faint gasp come from the man as Kuyou continued to apply pressure.
"If you are a monster then it's easy is it not?" Kuyou asked with a predatory smile upon his face. "You can stop pretending to be a human here and end your transformation."
When Tsukune did nothing, Kuyou's smile merely widened in satisfaction as he continued, "Well hurry up and prove to me that you're not human…
…if you can."
And when Tsukune still did not transform, he swung leg, landing a solid blow to Tsukune's stomach. He let out a grunt of pain as he was hurled into one of the bars of the cells before sliding down to the floor. "Hurry and transform and stop wasting my time!" Kuyou demanded as he sent another kick, this time to Tsukune's face and knocked him back through a door into a room. "Or is it true… that you really are human?"
Suddenly, an ice shard made its way to Kuyou who simply caught it in mid-air. It disintegrated easily when he applied a little bit of his power. Annoyance caught his demeanor as he turned to the girl that was helping Tsukune up. "You traitor of monsters," Kuyou began in a disgusted voice, "You'd rather help a human than protect the peace at this Academy? You're kind are a disgrace!"
"We don't discriminate against any monster… or human." She replied calmly, thus increasing Kuyou's anger. "It's only lower class monsters that pick on the helpless creatures."
That did it. Kuyou's anger overfilled as he rushed towards the two and rained blow upon blow on them. Both Tsukune and Mizore were helpless against his fury. But the beatings stopped when a voice spoke up, "Hey hey wait Kuyou. This isn't what you promised me!"
Kuyou looked up to see Ishigami emerge from the shadows, sporting a grin filled with dark intent. "I'm the one that's going to kill them. I can't have you going too far and killing them yourself."
Her voice took on a darker, more desperate tone. "The newspaper club, they took everything from me including my honor… everything!" Her voice was seething now as her voice rose and the raw anger she felt was displayed, "I'M THE ONE THAT HAS THE RIGHT TO KILL THEM! I WON'T BE SATISFIED UNLESS I RIP THEIR SKIN FROM THEIR BODIES AND DISMEMBER THEM!"
But her rant was stopped prematurely when Kuyou spoke up. "Move it Ishigami." He stated promptly and without question. Ishigami was about to retort when she noticed an orange inferno surround him, heating up the room significantly.
Kuyou's irises disappeared and were replaced by what seemed like embers that flickered. "Now that we know Tsukune is human, we have plenty of reason to destroy the newspaper club." He spoke sinisterly as the clothing on his arm was burned to ashes. In his hand, he held an orange flame that wavered dangerously. "The useless lot must be killed according to law and that is my duty as an Academy Police Officer!"
"Oh come on…" Ishigami spoke, trying to hide the fear she was feeling, "But I get to kill some of them right?"
"I don't think so." He simply said as he launched the flame from his hand past Ishigami towards Tsukune and Mizore. Ishigami grunted in annoyance, that flame had been way too close for comfort. Disappointment crossed her features when she realized that her prey had been killed… but then she noticed something moving from the corner of her eye.
Upon turning around, she found Mizore standing in front of Tsukune, panting slightly. Not a single burn marred their skin or clothing. It was when Ishigami noticed the ice claws that she figured out how they survived.
'A snow woman? No wonder she easily accepted the human so easily.' Ishigami thought idly. When the flow of supernatural energy increased in the room, she took that as the cue to merge into the shadows and disappear.
"Are you… alright… Tsukune-kun?" Mizore asked between pants as her ice claws formed back into normal hands. She had used all of her energy to simply block that one attack.
"I'm alright, thank you Mizore-chan." Tsukne replied as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Despite the situation, Mizore couldn't help but blush at the gentle touch. But the murderous energy that filled the room brought them to their senses quickly as they both looked up at Kuyou.
"Foolish woman, do you know what you're doing?" He threatened menacingly. "You realize that boy is human don't you? Saving him despite that makes you nothing more than a traitor to monsters!"
The heat in the room increased even more as two flames appeared in each of Kuyou's hands. The formed into a burning sphere as he raised his hands. "What you are doing is a serious act of treason against this Academy! That's more than enough to warrant the death penalty! With my fire I'll leave behind no evidence that you ever existed! DIE!"
Kuyou launched the scorching embers towards Tsukune and Mizore, who could do nothing as they watched the flames near them.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" Words were spoken as white crescent of energy intercepted the attack. The ensuing explosion caused everyone to grunt from the brightness and energy released. When the smoke cleared, a certain orange-head stood with a smirk upon his face. And behind him a certain blue-haired Succubus cheered him on.
"Looks like we made it in time Ichigo." Kurumu said as she saw Tsukune and Mizore huddled in against a wall adjacent to them.
"Kurosaki Ichigo!" Kuyou spoke the name as if it were a curse when he turned around to see the boy standing there in the doorway.
"Yo!" Ichgio simply greeted.
"Yohoo! Mizore! Tsukune!" Kurumu waved her hand as she tried to get said people's attention. Once she got it, she yelled out, "Don't worry! Ichigo will get you out in a moment!"
Forgetting about Tsukune and Mizore, he faced the threat to the Academy that was Ichigo. And when Ichigo felt the sudden increase in energy, he moved in front of Kurumu and blocked her with his body. "Stand back Kurumu, things are about to get dangerous."
"Okay Ichigo." She said, but not before going on her tiptoes and planting a small kiss on Ichigo's cheek. "Good luck!"
Then she moved to where Tsukune and Mizore were, unable to see Ichigo whose ears had turned a bright red. But Kuyou was not in the mood to mess around as he quickly sent a burning vortex towards Ichigo, whose eyes widened as it sped to him at high speed.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" He yelled out before sending his own energy at Kuyou. But this time, the two energies battled each other before Ichigo's Getsuga eventually won out. It cleaved the vortex in half and dissipated it. Kuyou's eyes widened as the white, crescent energy tore through his attack and collided into him. The attack engulfed him and was followed by an explosion.
In the background, Kurumu cheered, thinking Ichigo had defeated Kuyou… but Ichigo knew otherwise as the smoke was blown away by a surge of supernatural energy. From the smoke a different Kuyou emerged… at least, Ichigo thought it was Kuyou.
A fox-like creature that seemingly was made out flame stared at Ichigo. Flame erupted from it and produced five formations that resembled tails. With each step it took, the ground hissed as it boiled beneath its feet. After a couple of seconds it let out a howl that made everyone cover their ears. It seemed to reverberate within their heads, causing them all to grunt in discomfort. When it stopped howling, it turned its face towards Ichigo. Steam exuded from its mouth as its body made of flames flickered and danced.
"Human…" It spoke up. Hearing the voice everyone now recognized it as Kuyou. "Aono Tsukune, you really are human aren't you?" Its maw snapped at Tsukune as it scanned the area, thinking of the best way to dispose of these low class monsters. "We must kill any human who knows of this only Academy! That is the Academy law! Yet, you defy law by protecting this human newspaper club."
His tails whipped around in frenzy, boiling away anything that it touched, so intense the flames were. "The whole lot of you shall be buried right here by Kuyou—the administrator of this Academy's Justice!"
The flames were made prominent in the small room and the group could feel the flames lick at them, wanting to burn them. Granting that wish Kuyou unleashed two volleys of scorching heat towards Tsukune's group, seemingly forgetting about Ichigo…
But Ichigo did not forget about him. Using Shunpo, he stepped in front of the flames and slammed Zangetsu in the ground so the flat side protected him and the group from the fire. He called upon some reiatsu for some added protection and as the attack collided, it was split and diverted to either side of Ichigo, harmlessly passing by the group.
When the fire lifted, Kuyou bared his fangs with a growl when the newspaper club emerged unscathed. The fire itself seemed to bristle in annoyance when Ichigo rose with a smirk plastered on his face. Intent on wiping that smirk off his face, Kuyou began gathering the flames at the tips of his 5 tails. One by one the tails merged together, increasing the power, heat, and intensity of the flame collecting at the end. The flame was no longer red or orange, but glowing a light blue.
He stared at them, noticing that shocked look on their faces, even Ichigo's. The corners of his mouth pulled backwards into a feral smile as he knew he had them trapped. "Hazy rolling flame!" Kuyou called out as he unleashed the devastating attack towards the group once more, confident that this flame would eradicate them for good.
What he didn't count on was Ichigo having a second form. "Bankai!" Those words echoed through the room, over the roar of the fire as a sinister black energy actually engulfed Kuyou's attack, completely nullifying it. Kuyou was taken back as this new overwhelming energy almost brought him down to his knees. But somehow, he recognized this energy. He had felt a month back when the school roof had been decimated by some unknown power. Could that power… have belonged to Ichigo?
"Wha… What are you?" Kuyou demanded as he regained his posture. Ichigo simply smirked as he pointed Tensa Zangetsu at Kuyou. Its black luster shined despite there being little light and the rattling of its chain at the end sent shivers down the spines of the people in the room. This was a feature that Ichigo found out about Zangetsu. The rattling noise was designed to strike a subconscious fear in the enemy, thus knocking them off balance. It worked since Ichigo saw Kuyou seemingly struggle against something that went unseen to those on the outside.
This was his chance. Ichigo raised his Zanpaktou above his head and gathered energy, which swirled and crackled around the blade. "Getsuga," He began as he called upon more energy that weighed everyone in the room down, including Kuyou. His eyes momentarily met Kuyou's and he could see the fear within those eyes… and Ichigo savored that look. His blood pumped even harder, wanting to utterly decimate his opponent. Finally, he swung down his sword and roared out the last name of the attack. "Tenshou!"
But at the last second, he held back as he regained his senses. The black energy rolled across the room, a seemingly unfathomable darkeness that swallowed up Kuyou. Only the dim tails managed to rise above the darkenss… but even those eventually succumbed as they too soon disappeared. The attack made a noise that was a mixture between a low rumble and a clap of thunder as it still persisted despite having been 10 seconds since having been launched.
After what seemed like an eternity, the attack died down and disappeared into nothing. Everyone from the newspaper club gradually got up, curious to find out what happened to Kuyou. All except Ichigo, who felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach. Somehow, he felt that he had overdone it and actually…
"He's still alive!" Kurumu proclaimed, thus shooting down Ichigo's theory, much to his relief.
Ichigo slowly walked over, afraid to see Kuyou completely disfigured and unrecognizable. Instead, Kuyou was relatively intact. Ironically enough, there were burn marks from Ichigo's attack. This was another ability that he possessed. His reiatsu would create 'burn' marks that would continuously leach an enemy's energy if it made it past the skin. But that was only if he remained in Bankai. So, taking a deep breath, Ichigo let his Hollow reiatsu recede back into his soul.
Everybody jumped back when they saw Kuyou suddenly take a deep breath of air. It seemed that Ichigo's reiatsu had made it farther than he had originally thought. But even now, he still had something he needed to do. He kneeled down, but still roughly hoisted Kuyou so he could look him in the eye.
"You're going to disband the Police Committee." Ichigo simply stated. All he received was a weak nod before Kuyou passed out cold. Finally, Ichigo let go of Kuyou and stood up, taking in a deep breath as he rubbed the back of his head thus leaving him open to an attack…
… by one Kurono Kurumu.
"Yahoo! You did it my darling!" She congratulated as she rubbed her face against his chest. The fact that Ichigo actually hugged her back, albeit with one hand since he still held Zangetsu, made her all the more happier.
But suddenly she pulled away from the hug though not letting go completely. She looked into his eyes with a stern look. In a mock serious voice, but still serious nonetheless, she said. "Ichigo you got some 'splainin to do!"
Ichigo's eyes widened as he knew what she was referring to.
'Aw crap.'
I've decided to make my story 'M' since later manga chapters are actually pretty bloody. But you should know that since you've read the manga right? Hope you don't mind, but I have to do this if I want to keep the storyline relatively intact.
As for a lemon, since I know someone is thinking about it, there might NOT be one. Unless they get married or something. Or it depends how I progress other relationships, we'll see.
Ah, if something seems awkward in this chapter, it might be because the manga actually confused me. During the Kuyou thing, Tsukune was STILL in the corridor, but two pages later, he's in a room even though he hadn't moved at all. So… yea.