10- Slipping away like sand through Fingers
The orange haired teen looked at him with narrowed eyes, nodding as he walked over to the wooden fence behind him, leaning his back against it as he crossed his arms, looking at the redhead with a serious expression.
"What do you need to talk to me about," he demanded, "Renji?"
The red haired Zabimaru possessor nodded, showing that he was going to tell. Reaching a hand up, he grasped the one end to the white of his uniform, pulling it away from his skin and reaching in with his opposite hand, pulling out a slip, a scroll actually.
"There's an emergency in the Soul Society and old man Yamamoto requests your presence immediately." he reported, handing the young Kurosaki the scroll, unrolling it and looking up at the man with a skeptical look, then his auburn eyes scanned the report, seeing that indeed there was trouble. "But…before we go…I need to ask you something,"
"What?" came a harsh reply.
Growling, Renji crossed his arms, forcing himself to relax. "It's about your Hollow…are you able to talk to it?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Well…I was asking just in case we may need his power."
"Why's that?"
"…this is no ordinary opponent we're going up against, Ichigo," the tattooed man scowled, "anyway…if you die…who'll tell your family? Certainly not my ass, I can assure you that."
Ichigo stopped reading, gazing up with a raised orange brow, "And what if my last request is that you tell them that I died?"
"Bastard," the shinigami hissed, teeth clenched.
Rolling the scroll back up, Ichigo sighed, shrugging his shoulders, smirking once a crack was heard, looking at Renji with determined eyes as he nodded. "Let's go," he grinned, "I need to cut loose after this long."
"All right," Renji smirked, jabbing his sword to the side, turning it like a key and opening the portal to the Soul Society, the redhead yanking a red glove on and pressing the palm of his hand to Ichigo's head, pushing his shinigami form out of his body, both then walking through the gates, Ichigo's empty corpse in tow.
888
"Ichigo," Rukia smiled as she looked up at him with a warm smile, then looked over at Renji, "wow…you two got here in one piece…I'm impressed," she chuckled with a sly look glinting in her deep violet eyes, both blinking, then bonking her upside the head simultaneously, "OW!"
"That's what you get, you pervert," both snarled, glaring at her as Ichigo sighed, shifting his body on his back, blinking once he felt something poke his back. Shrugging the thought off, he looked around, seeing that the buildings were demolished, some broken down to the dirt, others scratched up. Quirking a brow, he looked over at Renji.
"What happened here, Renji?" he asked him since Rukia rushed off to tend to some injured shinigami limping to greet the orange haired teen.
"Well…this happened a few days after you attacked Rukia," he explained, walking behind him and lifting his body off his spiritual back, hoisting it over his shoulder, Ichigo rolling his shoulders with a groan of appreciation, "we thought we could handle it without extra help, since it was a simple Hollow, but then my nightshift watch partner got killed before my very eyes, we realized that no one could sense it…so we decided to get you to help us."
"So, pineapple, does anyone else know about my Hollow?" he whispered in a threatening tone. Reddish-brown eyes glared at him.
"Only Rukia and I, Strawberry," he sing-sung in an equally threatening tone compared to Ichigo's.
"Oh…you'll pay for that," he snarled, reaching up and coiling his fingers around his Zanpaku-to's hilt, yet stopped once he noticed that old man Yamamoto walked up to them with a welcoming smile, X-shaped scar embedded into his forehead, "hey, what's up old man Yamamoto?" he scowled, waving.
"Good to see you too, Ichigo," he nodded, turning his attention to Renji, seeing that he was looking over his shoulder at the lifeless body with a questionable look. Then he returned his attention to the orange haired High Schooler. "Well…as Renji has informed you, there is a Hollow wandering the grounds and we must find it and kill it before it hurts any more shinigami."
Ichigo was in half-nod when a scream echoed throughout the place, a girl's no less. Turning swiftly, he darted off, the redhead cursing as he chased after him, his free hand's fingers wrapping around Zabimaru's hilt, narrowing his tattooed brows. Watching as Ichigo bent his knees and lunged himself up atop a roof, soft clacks echoing throughout the slim walkways.
Not even realizing he was towing Ichigo's body along, he leapt up onto the roof as well, catching up to the angered Kurosaki after a few flash-steps, looking at him with narrowed deep brown eyes.
"Running off without backup is an idiot's idea of battle," he growled, Ichigo glaring at him from the corner of his eye, grip on his blade's bandaged hilt, glancing forward to see Rukia on the ground a few feet away with blood gushing from the bite mark in her side, her skin giving off steam like she was burned, green ooze melting in the red liquid. "Rukia!"
The redhead stopped atop the roof near the body, lowering down to a crouch as he tilted his head to an angle to look at the wide eyed shinigami.
"Rukia…couldn't be defeated this easily," he growled, narrowing his eyes as he leapt down, Renji's eyes widening once he saw a Hollow fade into view next to the orange haired teenager. His ears perking up to a disoriented giggle, Ichigo swung around, Zangetsu held in front of the claw that was close to piercing him through the chest. "Dammit, I didn't even see you, you sneaky bastard." His brown eyes narrowed, turning a honey-like color as he quickly shook his head. "You'll pay for what you did to her."
Greenish-purple worms wiggled at the back of the white mask, a moon crescent on the left side of the mask, chuckling as one of the worms flew at him, leaving a sticky, tingling, sensation on the youth's cheek once it brushed against it, making him quirk a brow.
His senses were attacked all at once, slight burning, then full out scorches against his skin, blood pouring down the left side of his face, a worm slamming down on his right shoulder, making him collide down on the ground, barring his teeth as his back smashed harshly against the ground. The redhead jumped high in the air, Zabimaru in its second stage, swinging it down hastily with barred teeth, sweat dripping down the side of his brow.
This…this is a poisonous Hollow! he thought as he veered swiftly over to Ichigo than back at the Hollow after he saw the orange haired teen clapped a hand over his right shoulder, fabric to the Soul Reaper uniform torn and blood oozing out crazily as a groan from pain was ripped from the pale teen's lips. I have to avoid the tentacles… He yanked his arm back, throwing his arm to the side, chopping off a venomous tentacle, only for it to grow two more. One rushing through his side, one through his left shoulder, making him throw his head back with a scream torn from his lips. But…this bastard grows more…they don't stay dead!
Ichigo's head snapped up, growling as he steadily stood, reclaiming his grasp on Zangetsu, leaping up at the demon, swinging the blade in a semi-circle, releasing his Zanpaku-to's special ability, blood-red outlining the deep blue, slicing an arm off the Hollow, his pain only increasing as he bit his lower lip, eyes halfway shut as he panted once he landed back onto the ground, Renji right beside him, nodding at him for thanks.
How…are we gonna kill this thing?! he thought bitterly as he looked at it with a inspecting look. Dammit…I can't think of anything……Shirosaki might have a solution, His face dawned with realization, then it soon died out, narrowing his eyes, but…he might not answer my calls.
"Renji, get Rukia and get out of here," he growled, staring at the Hollow, ignoring the look the redhead was giving him. Looking at him like he was completely insane. "I figured out…how to get rid of it, but you two need to get out of here…I'm not really," He swallowed the lump in his throat, "able to keep control of my new ability…and I don't want you two to be caught in the blast…"
"Yeah," the red haired man muttered, flash-stepping and grabbing the raven haired girl, leaping away as he glanced over his shoulder, seeing Ichigo shut his eyes. Landing next to the boy's body, he hoisted it over his shoulder, leaping off away from the battle with furrowed brows. "Make it out alive, ya stupid ass."
The orange haired Soul Reaper took in some air, letting his eyes flutter open, seeing that he had his back pressed against the wall, the venomous being stalking up to him as he took in some air, eyes slowly closing again, wounds pulsing.
"Shirosaki…"
No reply came, making him bite his lower lip, hearing the demon's raspy breathing increase in volume as he searched deep inside for his inner Hollow.
"Shirosaki…" he whispered softly, his eyes snapping open as he felt a spike strike through his left shoulder, making him cry out in pain, echoing throughout the area, blood trickling down his lower lip as his auburn eyes hazed over. "I need you…"
The Hollow leaned in, a smug look glinting in its eyes as it licked its lips with its deep pink tongue, hunger flickering in its eyes as the hot steaming tongue prodded at his vulnerable neck, making him arch his back in pain, gritting his teeth with a hiss.
Shirosaki, please…I'm fucking sorry!!
His head snapped up, seeing the albino stand in front of him with a warm feature on his features, but the smile slowly transforming into a growl as the white and red mask formed onto his face, golden-black eyes laughing as he walked up to him, coiling his fingers around Ichigo's wrists.
Looking down on them, his auburn eyes widened, seeing blood dripping down his arm.
His brown eyes gazed up to see Shirosaki sigh, mask halfway covering his face, closing his eyes, the frown now a straight line. "I'll…save you." he said simply before pulling the wide eyed teenager close, placing his narrow chin atop the mop of orange hair, his arms around the pale, bleeding, form, right hand holding the face against his chest. "…I'll save you…"
Auburn eyes flickered to a dangerous golden-black, gold glazed over with bloodlust, his left hand snapping up and coiling his fingers around the Hollow's tentacle lodged in that specific shoulder, twisting it with his head dropped, orange bangs covering his eyes in a dark shadow.
"Asshole…" he chuckled darkly, water-like tone echoing deep in his throat, laugh sickening and deadly. Lifting his head, the Hollow immediately backed up once a smirk was placed on its prey's face. "Hurting Ichigo like that…if I didn't know better…I'd say you had a fuckin' death wish…" He stalked up to the retreating demon, Zanpaku-to clenched tightly, deep swirling energy surrounding him, relocating itself around the blade. "And…well…say 'hello' to death, dipshit."
He leapt into the air, tossing the blade, extending with the energy, snapping the mask in half, the energy separating and shattering the mask to bits as he smirked, landing with his knees bent in grace.
Slowly standing Shirosaki looked over his shoulder to see Renji standing there with Hanataro, both wide eyed and just plain stunned. A nervous look crossed his face, retreating back into Ichigo's inner world, the orange haired teenager's body collapsing to the ground with a gasp.
The dark haired Fourth company officer rushed over and dropped to his knees before the eldest Kurosaki sibling, checking his wounds vigorously, looking up at Renji every now and again with worry filling his eyes. Said redhead walked over to them, bending down to Ichigo's level, placing a cold hand atop the warm teen's forehead, causing him to groan, a twitch coming soon after, brown eyes fluttering open, smirking once he saw the worried look on Renji's face, his eyes trailing over to Hanataro, who immediately got to work placing ointment on the burns, bandaging them with his over-worried face on.
"So…is it dead?" he breathed out, smiling slightly once he saw Renji nod.
"That last move was impressive, Kurosaki," he commented as he slowly stood, going over to the orange haired teen's Zanpaku-to, yanking it out of the ground with much effort, not used to the weight of Ichigo's sword. "…but I wonder if it was really you…when it was pulled off," he muttered, recalling those shocking golden orbs with an abyss for the background, "or your Hollow." He sighed, shaking his head. "Well, he didn't attack us…so…I can trust that half of him, I guess,"
"What half?" the dark haired boy's voice came unexpectedly, making the muscular form jump, whipping around to see Hanataro wearing his surgical pink gloves, white mask over his mouth. Pointing behind himself, he grinned behind the mask as he pulled it down with his right hand's fingers. "Mr. Kurosaki's going to pull through; he just needs some rest, that finishing blow left him without much spiritual energy." The redhead nodded slowly as he placed a hand on the flinching form, smiling down on him.
"Thanks, Hanataro," he grinned, "I owe you one."