This took me all day to do. I couldn't go to the library, so I had to write this without the aid of that magical place. But I did very well I think! This chapter is probably my favorite, solely because of the action. I hope you guys can like it as well!
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters associated with the Anime/Manga. They belong to Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump Magazine. Please support the official release.
-Saying Goodbye-
"Hey, kid." A voice called softly, hesitantly. "You...okay?"
Ichigo cracked open an eye, frowning deeply as he looked up at the face crouching over him. It was a man with long white hair and green eyes dressed in a blue business suit. His brow was furrowed in both concern and trepidation, and Ichigo could only imagine how these people must feel after witnessing a teenager being tossed through their ceiling like a wrecking ball and still being alive.
Ichigo gave a loud grunt as he pushed himself up, causing a few of the people to gasp in shock at the fact he was alive, and a few backed away as he rubbed his head. He looked around at the office he was in, the floor under his body cracked from the impact. He looked up into the destruction he had caused with his own body, and frowned as he looked into the empty sky above.
Where'd Renji go? Ichigo thought.
"Ugh..." Ichigo pushed himself up, stumbling slightly as his head was still spinning slightly. He could see the sky was starting to get dark, and he needed to hurry before Renji got away otherwise he might not be able to find him again until it was too late.
"Are you okay?" The business man asked again, putting his hands out in case Ichigo fell. He shook his head at him, and waved him off.
"I'm fine," He said softly, focusing his vision to clear it of the blurs that kept passing before his eyes. He took in a deep breath, and looked up again. "You guys should evacuate the building and get somewhere safe. I'm not sure how safe the city's going to be tonight..."
"What are you-" The man began to ask, but Ichigo didn't let him finish, clenching his fists and hardening his features as he bent his knees slightly and launched himself from the ground into the sky, shooting through the floors and ceilings of the office floors he had crashed through not even five minutes before. He could see the shocked and horrified faces staring at him as he flew by, but he couldn't worry about that now. He had to stop Renji before he hurt anyone else.
When he reached the free air he scanned the sky for his red haired friend. At first he could see nothing, but when he turned his head to the left he couldn't hold in the chill that filled his bones.
[–]
Rukia could feel every fiber of her body being assaulted by jolts of pain as she lay sprawled out against the building the bus had knocked her against, her frame having been indented into the concrete; her arms and legs wide as if she were making a snow angel. She felt a bit of rubble fall onto her head, dirtying her hair. She coughed, trying to pull her arms free from the building.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Rukia's eyes popped wide open as she looked up and saw Renji glide in front of her, a wide smirk on his face.
"Renji, stop thi-" Rukia tried, but Renji shot his hand up and Rukia had the breath knocked out of her lungs as a force as heavy as a tow truck slammed into her, pressing her further into the building. She cried out, shutting her eyes tight as she felt her ribs being pressed against painfully.
"You don't get to talk," Renji growled. "You don't get to talk anymore!"
Rukia felt her body being pressed harder upon, and clenched her teeth as she tried to fight back against the force, but with the position she was in she couldn't get a good grip on her powers. Renji had the advantage, and Rukia feared she didn't have much time before he crushed her completely.
"Rukia!"
Her eyes shot open at the sound of her name, and she watched as Renji turned to see who it was who was yelling. Suddenly Renji was slammed back through the building by a condensed ball of telekinetic energy, Rukia yelping as he crashed through the spot next to her, the force shaking her whole body violently. She looked up to see Ichigo flying towards her, and she felt relief flood her.
"Ichigo! You're okay!" She said.
Ichigo came up to her, frowning as he looked at her position. "What the hell happened?" He asked, reaching to grab her arm and pull it free. With one arm free, she had more leverage to pull the other free, and then her legs. She sighed, shaking her head free of the rubble.
"Renji happened. He threw a bus at me!" She said.
Ichigo cursed. "We need to get him out of the city. He's causing too much damage." He said, looking down at the bus that had its front sunken in from the crash. He could see people crowding around it, looking up at them screaming and taking pictures of the flying teenagers.
We've been seen, He thought, scowling.
"Let's hurry," Rukia said. "Before he-"
Before Rukia could finish, Ichigo was suddenly slammed into by a powerful blast of energy, his body jerking and his vision turning white as he was sent back a good few feet through the air. Rukia yelled out to him, shooting after him to help stop his spinning, but before she could reach her boyfriend she was grabbed around the waist by a lasso of telekinetic energy, and she turned to watch as Renji yanked his arm back and tossed her up into the air and slammed her into the building, making her cry out in pain.
Renji scowled as he took her and smacked her against the building a second time. He was growing more and more angry, fueling his power. He grew stronger with the more anger he had, and as he slammed Rukia against the building for a third time, he could feel his muscles bulge with his growing power.
He reared back to slam her a fourth time, but this time he was interrupted as a fist slammed into the side of his jaw. His brains rattled slightly in his skull, and he growled as he turned to Ichigo, who was scowling just as fiercely and reared back for another telekinetic-induced punch. But Renji was ready this time, and placed up a barrier to block the punch, letting it shatter under the power of Ichigo's punch and smirking as Ichigo seethed in pain and pulled back his fist.
"What's the matter?" Renji taunted. "Can't handle a little pain?"
Ichigo growled, swinging his arm to knock Renji back with a blast of energy. Renji laughed as he let himself fly back, and then stopped himself with a single thought. He grinned at Ichigo, who was glaring at him angrily as he glanced up at the panting Rukia, who was floating high above trying to regain her senses after being slammed into the building so many times.
"Renji, you need to stop this. I'm being serious." Ichigo said sternly.
Renji snorted. "And I'm being serious, too, when I say: go to hell."
Ichigo growled, clenching his fists. "Listen, I know that I wasn't there for you. I know I should have said something when your father hurt you, and I definitely should have been there for you. But you can't keep hurting others just because of my mistake!"
"Stop that!" Renji suddenly roared, his eyes lighting up with rage. "Stop acting like you care! You don't care, neither of you do! No one cares!
"We do care!" Ichigo retorted. "We always have! I'm sorry for everything, I really am! Please, stop this and we can just go away! All three of us! We can just fly away from this city, and live anywhere we want! We can go to America, Europe, Tibet! Anywhere! Just stop this, right now!"
Renji snarled, shaking his head. "No...I can't just stop...I'm too far in this..." He said, then looked up at Rukia, who was staring down at them with wide eyes. Renji thought of all the years he spent loving her, all of the fantasies, all the times he stared at her wishing for more. He thought of all the times his heart skipped just at the sight of her, every time how he smiled whenever she was just near. He thought of all the times she numbed his pain, only to have her intensify it a hundred fold. She has forsaken him, chosen to fall in love with another guy- and not just any guy, but Ichigo. And Ichigo betrayed him, taking her away from him. His anger built up again, and he turned to glare at Ichigo.
"Renji-"
"This can't stop..." Renji said, clenching his fists. "I won't stop! Not until I prove that I am stronger than everyone!" He roared. "I am not weak!"
Ichigo's eyes widened as Renji shot forward at him like a bullet, balling up his hands full of energy. Ichigo braced himself, placing up a barrier just as Renji had done earlier to block the first punch. The barrier shattered, and Ichigo reared back from the force. Renji seethed in pain as he felt his fingers crack from the punch, but ignored it as he cocked back his other fist and slammed it into Ichigo's gut, making him groan and fly back from the attack. Renji grinned in triumph, following Ichigo as he flew back at a slope towards the ground.
Ichigo held his stomach as it burned with pain. He was sure one of his lower ribs had cracked from the punch, and he could taste blood in his mouth. He looked up to see Renji flying after him, growling in frustration as he reversed direction and flew head first at Renji. The two clashed, and Ichigo felt Renji assault him with a barrage of punches, all enhanced with telekinetic energy. Ichigo dodged and blocked a few, trying his best to fight back, but a few hit home and Ichigo could feel the bone in his jaw crack and a black eye forming from the punches. He could feel his anger growing, and with it a new wave of vigor that pushed him to duck under one of Renji's punches and tackled him from the waist, pushing all of his weight and mental will against the red haired teen to send him hurtling towards the ground.
"Ichigo!" He heard Rukia calling his name as she tried to fly to them, but he ignored her, focusing on taking Renji down. Renji flailed, smacking Ichigo over the head and hammering his fists down onto the back of his neck and shoulders. Ichigo shut his eyes tight and ignored the pain, pushing with all of his might to bring Renji to the ground.
"Dammit!" Renji's curse was followed by a soul-rattling crash, Ichigo's body tumbled onto hard ground as he felt it crumble under the weight of the two teen's and their energy. Ichigo rolled slightly, his skull vibrating with the sound of the loud crash that echoed into the air. He coughed, smoke and debris floating in the air as he lay there on the ruined ground, his whole body jittery with adrenaline. There was a rushing sound in his ears, like running water, and he had a headache forming the size of his fist dead center of his skull.
Ichigo opened his eyes, squinting against the smoke that billowed from the crater he and Renji had made in the middle of the street, and forced himself up. He looked over and saw Renji laying sprawled out on the ground, his eyes closed and his chest just barely moving. He was knocked unconscious, and Ichigo knew this was his chance to secure him to knock some sense into him.
With unsteady legs, Ichigo crawled out of the crater, waving his hand in front of his face to get rid of the smoke that filled his lungs and made him cough. When he looked up, he saw the horrified faces of the residents of Karakura city, all having jumped out of their cars to see what the hell was going on. They all looked at Ichigo as he emerged, gasping and backing away from him in terror. He bit his lip, knowing that everyone was memorizing his face and shock of orange hair. They wouldn't be able to stay here anymore, otherwise they'd be taken away.
"Rukia!" He yelled into the air, looking around for his raven haired companion. He couldn't see very much in the sky due to the smoke and the darkness of night that had fallen over them during their battle. He scanned the skies, searching for her. "Rukia!" He yelled again.
"Freeze!" A voice yelled through a speaker phone.
Ichigo looked down as three police cars came flying down the street, skidding to a halt a few feet away from him. His eyes widened as a plethora of policemen jumped out of their cars and pointed their guns at him.
"Get on the ground, now!" One yelled, waving his gun in Ichigo's direction.
Ichigo raised his arms. "W-Wait! Stop! I'm not doing anything!" He yelled.
"Get down!" The officer yelled again.
"Just hold on!" Ichigo said, looking up into the sky. "Just...wait!"
Where are you Rukia?
"Get down or we will shoot!"
"No!" Ichigo cried, his heart slamming against his ribcage painfully fast. "Don't shoot me! I'm not doing anything!"
Ichigo felt the air behind him chill, and he could see the looks on the cops' faces. He frowned deeply in confusion. What were they looking at?
"Ichigo!" Rukia's voice came from up above. Ichigo looked up, watching as she zoomed across the sky towards him. "Look out behind you!"
Ichigo's eyes widened as he realized what was happening, and turned to see Renji crawling out of the crater with an angry sneer. He must have woken up while Ichigo was being yelled at by the cops. He gasped, turning to the policemen.
"Get out of here!" He yelled at them.
"Both of you get down!" The men in black uniforms yelled, ignoring Ichigo's warning.
"Asshole..." Renji growled at Ichigo.
Ichigo could feel his chest heaving in panic. These men didn't know what was going to happen if they didn't get out of here!
"Get down now!"
Ichigo turned to warn them, but was beaten to the punch as the lead officer yelled "Fire!" and a loud bang rang out into the night sky. Ichigo felt something hard and hot pierce his right arm, and for a few moments he was confused as to what it was. He felt something warm and wet run down his forearm, and then the pain finally registered and he realized what had just happened.
They shot him.
He had been shot in the arm, just below the shoulder.
He let loose a scream of pain as he clutched at his bleeding arm, doubling over onto his knees as the shock of what just happened cost him his balance. He could hearing Rukia yelling in the sky, trying to reach them, but she wasn't fast enough before Renji reached the mouth of the hole and glared up at the cops.
"Leave us alone..." Renji snarled, raising his arms.
"Renji! No!" Ichigo yelled, turning to look at his friend.
"Get do-" The policeman was saying, but Renji didn't let him finish as he roared and swung his arm, blasting the policemen and their vehicles into the air, their screams echoing into the night as they all flew back across the street. The bystanders who were watching all screamed and began to run away from the evil teenager. Renji yelled, glaring down at Ichigo as he lifted his hand and swung it for a second time, and Ichigo only had a few seconds to see the lamp post rip from the ground and swing at Ichigo horizontally. He tried to move, but the pain in his arm and his growing exhaustion slowed him down too much to move in time. He watched the lamp post come for him, and closed his eyes in preparation for the pain.
"Watch out!"
Ichigo's eyes snapped back open just as Rukia finally reached the scene and pushed him down under the post, letting whip by over their heads as they both lay flat against the ground. The lamp post slammed into the adjacent building, crashing through the glass windows and the concrete walls. Ichigo lifted his head looking up as Renji stood over them with a heated look of anger. Ichigo cursed, pushing himself up to grab Rukia and jump back just as Renji brought down a hammer of energy onto the spot they had just been, cracking the ground under the force.
Ichigo and Rukia landed a few feet away from Renji, both panting and sweaty as they pushed themselves up onto their feet. Rukia looked at Ichigo, her eyes widening when she saw the waterfall of blood falling from his gunshot wound.
"Ichigo! You're injured!"
Ichigo shook his head, his face pale and sweat glistening on his brow. "It doesn't matter! We have to stop him!" He said firmly.
"Like you could ever do anything to me!" Renji roared, raising his arms, palms up, and then brought them into his chest, as if beckoning to someone- or something. Ichigo heard a loud squealing noise from behind, and spun around just as the three police cars from before came hurtling towards the two of them.
"Watch out!" Ichigo yelled, shoving Rukia out of the way as he raised his arms and sent a large blast of energy at the cruisers, only able to knock away the front two off their course. The third came directly for him, and Ichigo used his only split second to place a barrier in front of him to take the brunt of the crash, the weight of the car knocking him off of his feet and to the ground.
"Ichigo!" Rukia cried as she ran to help him, but just before she could raise her arm and blow away the cop car Renji came from out of nowhere and slammed into her, taking her off of her feet and into the sky. She yelled, trying to smack away the red head, but failed as he held onto her waist. She cursed, looking to the side to see that he was about to slam her through a building.
"Hope it was worth it!" Renji spat, letting go of her and letting her fly at the building with too much speed to stop herself. She clenched her teeth, shooting out her arm and grabbing Renji by the cuff of his shirt with her mind to drag him along with her. He cursed, the two of them crashing through the building.
[–]
Ichigo heard the crashing, and felt another wave of panic run through him. He threw the car off of him, panting as he pushed himself up to his feet with a stumble, looking over at the hole in the building Rukia and Renji had gone through. He cursed, spitting out a glob of blood and saliva as he ran over to the hole and launched himself into it, hearing the screaming of the people inside as the two of them crashed through the multiple floors of the building, battling it out. Ichigo tried to follow and save Rukia, but once he was inside the building he could only see the aftermath of their destruction.
"Rukia!" Ichigo called, flying upwards into the building, looking around for his friend. He heard a scream and then a boom, and knew they had exited the building from the top floor. He gritted his teeth together and blew out a hole in the other side of the building, jumping out of it to see Renji and Rukia come flying down from the sky.
Renji slammed Rukia down onto the ground by the throat, blood and spittle flying from between her lips as he crashed down on top of her. She struggled, but Renji was stronger and held her down, his eyes blazing with anger and hatred.
"This is the end of the line for you," Ichigo heard Renji say. "I'm tired of playing. It's time I end this."
The hold around Rukia's throat tightened, and she wheezed as her face began to turn blue. Renji grinned, feeling her hands clawing at his forearm in a feeble attempt to pry away his hand, but Renji held firm and applied even more pressure.
"Goodbye, Rukia..."
Rukia could feel her world going black, the corners of her vision darkening. She stared up into Renji's face in horror, knowing this truly was her end. To think...killed by one of her best friends in the whole world...
"Get off of her right fucking now!"
Ichigo slammed into Renji from the side, sending a telekinetic punch with his good arm directly into Renji's throat to knock him back a ways. Renji flipped back into the air, smacking against the ground and rolling away from Ichigo and Rukia.
"Ichigo..." Rukia coughed, sucking in a large breath.
"Rukia!" Ichigo kneeled down by her side, inspecting her bruised throat. It wasn't crushed, and she wasn't bleeding too profusely from the cuts on her arms from crashing through the building. She shivered, wheezing as her eyes drooped and she fell unconscious, her fatigue finally taking over. He cursed, calling her name, trying to wake her back up. "Rukia, Rukia, wake up! Come on! I still need you!" He said.
"Oh, you need her?" Renji yelled, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees, glaring at Ichigo. "You need her, huh? Like I did all these years? You need her, I see how it is!"
Ichigo looked up at Renji, feeling his energy slowly seeping away as he continued to bleed from his wound. He coughed, holding his arm as it throbbed with white hot pain. "Renji, please...this has gone too far! Stop this!"
Renji was about to retort, but was interrupted as a loud siren rang off in the distance. Both turned, watching as an army of black vans and police cruisers came racing down the street towards their location, skidding to a halt and blocking the way out of the lot the two teens stood in- at least to someone who needed to use the ground to escape.
"Get down on the ground!" SWAT came bursting from the black vans, holding black coated assault rifles aimed at Ichigo and Renji, red dots lighting up their torsos to signal that they were in the crosshairs of the gunmen. The policemen stood behind their vehicles, aiming their pistols and standing by the SWAT members that trained their sights on the two powerful teenagers.
"Why does everyone have to stick their noses into other people's business..." Renji growled, turning to face the officers as he glared.
Ichigo's eyes widened as he looked at Renji, who was rearing back his arms. "No! Renji, stop! Don't hurt them!"
Renji ignored Ichigo's plea, yelling as he swung his arms forward to send a strong blast of telekinetic energy all around him. Ichigo cursed, ducking down to shield Rukia's prone body from the blast by placing up a barrier over the two of them. The barrier shook from the force of Renji's blast and broke into pieces, sending a shooting pain through Ichigo's head as he felt the blast hit him. But the shield took the brunt of the blow, so he and Rukia were fine. If only he could say the same about the officers...
The blast smacked into the police cruisers and black vans and sent them flying back into the air, the men behind them following suit as they were smacked by the attack. The men all flung backwards through the air, not knowing what had hit them and screaming as they all hit the ground, a few being crushed by the falling vehicles.
Renji grinned, watching the mayhem of the policemen being thrown back. He cackled, clenching his fists. "No one is stronger than me!" He roared. "I will never be weak again!"
Ichigo raised his head from over Rukia to watch Renji laugh. His vision was blurring slightly, the blood loss finally catching up to him. He wheezed, trying to catch his breath as he kneeled over Rukia's unmoving body. He was going to pass out, or throw up, or die. Either way he didn't have long. He needed to hurry and finish this, otherwise Renji was going to hurt more people. He had to stop it, and he had to stop it now.
Ichigo cocked back his good arm, punching the air to send a burst of energy at Renji, who was too preoccupied with his taunting laughter to take notice. The blast smacked into Renji's side, knocking him off his feet and to the ground, his head banging against the concrete with a sickening crack. Renji groaned, clutching at his head as he felt blood begin to seep through his red hair. He pushed himself up, looking at his bloodied hand in shock. He clenched it, hardening his features and turning to glare at Ichigo.
"That the best ya got?" Renji yelled, standing to face Ichigo. "Is that really it? You really think you have a chance now? After all of this, after I've kicked both of your asses all across the city, you still think you can win?"
Ichigo panted, glaring at Renji. "I will...stop you..." He breathed out.
Renji ground his teeth together, his anger reaching new heights at Ichigo's words. "You're fucking stupid! All of you are weak! All of you are beneath me! I AM THE APEX PREDATOR!"
Energy began to pour out of Renji in waves as he bellowed into the sky, a tsunami of telekinetic power that shattered the glass windows of the nearby buildings. The policemen all began to scurry about, feeling the air getting thicker with Renji's malicious intent.
"Renji!" Ichigo yelled over the terrible noise that filled the air. Alongside Renji's scream and the shattering glass and the police running around yelling, there was a hiss as Renji's power oozed out of him. It grated against Ichigo's ears, vibrating his skull painfully. "Please! Don't do this!"
If Renji heard him, he ignored it, spreading his influence in every direction. The police cars began to crumble, the windows shattering and the men around them screaming as glass flew in every direction.
"Renji! Stop!"
Renji's influence spread, and Ichigo could feel it slithering towards him, coming to kill him. He felt panic wash over him, his eyes darting around for something to save him. He needed to do something quickly otherwise Renji would kill him and Rukia both!
Off a few feet stood a stone statue. It was of an old man, crouched low with arthritis holding a long stone cane in his wrinkled fingers. He had a long beard, scars over his bald eyes and long eyebrows, dressed in the long white robes of a traveler. The statue was of Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, the founder of Karakura. It wasn't until now did Ichigo realize they were in front of City Hall, the statue stationed out front as a reminder of who brought them this wonderful city.
"Renji! Please don't make me do this!" Ichigo yelled again imploringly, watching as Renji continued to yell and break the windows of the surrounding buildings. He could feel the energy creeping towards him, ready to tear him apart just like it did cars and windows. He scowled, cursing out loud as he raised his hand towards the statue.
The cane in Yamamoto's hand began to shake, and it took everything Ichigo had to tear it free from the ground and into the air. He spun it into a horizontal position in the air, aiming it at Renji, and then threw it.
Renji was not prepared for the cane, and only realized its existence a split second before it speared through his chest, right through his heart, and impaled him onto the ground. His eyes widened to their fullest, his face freezing in that expression of shock as his life was instantaneously ripped away from him, his once bright brown eyes dimming to a soulless gray.
Ichigo let his weight fall to the ground over Rukia's body. He panted, feeling the energy seep back into Renji lifeless body, the loud hissing sound fading. A heavy silence fell over the area, the SWAT soldiers and the policemen looking on at the impaled teenager. One of them waved his hand, and the SWAT soldiers began to close in, their guns raised.
Ichigo could hear their heavy footsteps, and raised his head slowly as a drip of sweat fell from his chin. He watched them come near, their red dots aimed right at his forehead. He scowled, looking over at his dead friend again as the men surrounding him and looked over the cane.
"Stay down," One of the men in black armor commanded.
Ichigo had no intention of doing so, and with the very last of his energy he wrapped his arms around Rukia and picked her up in his arms and turned away from the men. They all began to yell at him, but he ignored everyone as he launched from the ground and shot up into the night sky, leaving behind the dead body of Abarai Renji, his best friend in the whole world.
Goodbye...Renji.
Sad ending...I know. Renji is dead! Ichigo had no choice but to put an end to him. Renji was getting too out of control and needed to be stopped!
For those of you who don't know, this chapter was probably the most like the movie out of any of the other chapters. A lot of what happened in this chapter happened in the movie as well, and when it comes out TOMORROW you will see what I mean.
There's only one more chapter left. The Epilogue shall be up very soon, I don't know when...I just know it'll be soon. I hope you guys are prepared for it!
REVIEW!
P.S. I'm giving a shoutout to a new friend of mine, La Vie Musicale. She and xXxMiserableLoveFairyxXx- another amazing writer- are doing a collab story I actually find to be really good called Strangers, Again. It's an IchiRuki story, obviously, and it's extremely well written! I recommend you guys go check it out NOW!