Another chapter up quick for all you who wanted it! -Airumel
-Chapter 7-
When Airi came to, she found herself completely alone. Her head felt muddled as she sat up slowly trying to figure out what had happened, "I just had the weirdest dream..." she groaned looking over to the other side of the room before realizing that Zezuri wasn't there. In an overwhelming rush all of the memories from the day before became clear in her mind. She felt so alone without her friend, but then she noticed she was more alone than she'd thought.
No guard was seated in the doorway.
Cautiously, Airi crept towards the doorway, but no one was sitting around the corner outside either. In fact the whole hallway was empty as far as she could see. "Now's my chance!" she thought excitedly.
She sprinted down one hall and turned down another and another. Everywhere seemed completely deserted. Airi was too exhilarated with the thought of escape and finding Zezuri that she didn't even wonder why she hadn't run into anyone yet or really think too much about where she was going. She just needed to get out.
As she came to the end of a hallways, she found a large set of doors as her only option. Heart-pounding with adrenaline, she slowly pushed one on the doors outward, praying that it wouldn't squeak. When the door had opened just enough for her to slip through, Airi found herself entering the large foyer room she recognized as the entrance from the desert. Elated with hope she rushed for the doors that would grant her freedom.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a voice chided her.
Airi came to a sudden stop in her run, "Who are you?" she didn't recognize the dark skinned man who now blocked the door in front of her.
"I am the envoy of justice, Kaname Tosen," he introduced himself with a plain tone.
Airi slowly approached the door. She wasn't letting this man or anyone stop her today.
Noticing the blonde's intent, he continued, "I think you should reconsider your intentions. Letting you go outside would be unjust; you would soon be eaten by the countless hollow out there."
Her pace remained steady.
"Very well, if you won't listen to reason then you'll have to be stopped by force," he clicked a button on a device in his hand.
Loud roars and growls filled the hall as several large hollows entered from other doors. All three were built like super-sized bears with long tails and all had one goal; to eat the human spirit.
"Since you are unarmed, I cannot be your opponent," Tosen explained.
In a flash all three hollows were charging at Airi.
She dodged to the left as she saw one making a grab for her and then to the back as another came forward. However, in her haste, she tripped on the outstretched leg of the third.
The hollows roared and all reached for the fallen girl at the same moment.
Seeing the large dark claws reaching for her, Airi rolled backwards and scrambled up to her feet. Soon the hollows were charging after her again.
As her breathing became heavier, Airi knew she was running out of time before she'd lose.
"When you give up, let me know and I will take you back to your cell," Tosen commented in his monotone.
Airi's blood near boiled from the comment; he was letting these hollows play with her.
"As you can see, you're safe in here where we can protect you from them. But outside, you're sure to meet your demise."
One of the hollows unleashed a sudden burst of speed and placed itself in front of Airi. She stopped in an attempt to turn, but in those few seconds, the other two had caught up. A clawed arm slammed into the girl sending her flying off across the floor. Despite the wind being knocked out of her, Airi struggled to recover, but a heavy force pushed her to the floor.
"This can't be how it ends!" Thought Airi furiously, "I won't let it!" She heard a cracking noise from her back and realized is she didn't do something quick all of her ribs would snap.
"Airi..." a faint thundering voice called in her mind. Images blurred through the girl's mind as she came to an understanding of what she could do.
Focusing on her free left arm, she willed her power to collect within it.
The hollows growled and all but the one that held her backed away in surprise as a blue-green light collected under her hand.
Airi felt something solid form under her palm as she curled her fingers around it. A sword, she realized. She'd summoned a sword! Every ounce of exhaustion left her with this new knowledge. She wasn't powerless anymore!
The hollow that had her pinned was surprised too and had let off just enough weight that Airi could slip out from under its leg. It roared in outrage as its prey turned on it and in one well aimed strike to the head, vanquished it.
Noticing their fellow's demise, the other two sought to take advantage of the situation and charged at the unsuspecting girl from behind. Yet the loud pounding of their feet on the bare tile floor alerted Airi to their attack. She was a blur as she sliced through one mask and then the other. The large forms dropped to the floor and disintegrated into dust.
Solo applause was heard from the door. Tosen stood slowly clapping his hands together, "Very impressive, now I'll be your opponent."
Ashido was trying to quickly calm down Zezuri before she hurt herself. But she could no longer come back to reality on her own, she had already lost herself to the power consuming her body.
"I must stop her quickly before she destroys herself..." he tried to think.
The pressure had become stronger and Ashido was finding it difficult to stay standing. Zezuri's chest was glowing and she had reeled her body over backwards, her back arching off the ground. The energy emitting from her was beginning to destroy her body as blood began to burst from her skin.
Ashido made his way over to her and quickly chanted something. He pressed his hand to her chest to contain the power source, but the power was so strong, his hand began to burn. Despite the pain, he did not move it.
The spiritual pressure Zezuri was emitting began to die down and eventually diminished completely. She lay on the floor, barely conscious with Ashido looking over her, also looking very exhausted.
"I've managed to suppress it... for now," he said suddenly holding his hand in pain.
Zezuri sat up wearily, and began to sob quietly.
"I-I'm so sorry...!" she apologized.
"Don't fret, I'll be alright... This is fixable." he tried to reassure her. "I've contained you spiritual pressure into a more stable state... I can teach you how to use it properly..." Ashido's head began to nod as he suddenly fainted.
"H-Hey! What's wrong...?" lifting his head, she tried to revive him in vain. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she sat alone in the dark, Ashido's head resting on her lap. She held his burnt hand in her own, wondering how that would even happen.
"There must be something I can do..." she thought. "Please... I need to use this power..." Zezuri pleaded. She didn't even notice her wounds from before had completely healed.
The sword in Airi's hand glistened softly as she looked it over. Just shorter than her practice sword, it was made of a very light colored steel. As she tilted the blade from left to right she saw the blue-green energy ripple through it as if it were made of liquid energy. She felt its power resonating within herself, yet it seemed severely muted.
"I'll be your opponent now," Tosen repeated, interrupting her analysis.
Airi looked up from her new found weapon.
"Or will you stand down?"
"Never," spat Airi, charging in a bit recklessly. She did not notice Tosen pressing another button on the device he was holding.
Knowing she had to make this quick, Airi aimed for the dark man's head.
A loud clang rang out as metal met metal; Tosen had drawn his sword faster than Airi could blink.
"That may have worked on those hollows, but you'll find the power of true justice to be well beyond anything you can muster," he pushed off on her sword to back up a few feet.
Airi staggered backwards, slightly off balance.
Her opponent surged forth aiming for a quick slice to her shoulder.
But this wasn't Airi's first sword fight. After all, she'd been training with Gin for quite some time. Instinctively, she raised her sword to block.
The two exchanged blows for some time. Airi was wearing out, she knew this, but escape was within her grasp. She couldn't lose!
"Gin has taught you well, but still, you're no match for me," Tosen suddenly vanished and appeared on the other side of the room.
Airi looked at her now distant opponent in shock. How could he move so fast? She shook her head, dismissing all negative thoughts. If he was fast, she would be faster. She quickly closed her eyes. Again focusing her energy, she imagined a surge of power pushing her at Tosen. Forcing her eyes open she found herself launching up at her enemy. Raising both arms above her head, she prepared for a knockout blow.
Pain surged through her body as if she'd been suddenly shot in the chest.
I'm hit! She panicked, but her opponent stood motionlessly. A cruel smirk began on his face as he sheathed his sword.
"W-what's going on?" she yelled as she rose to her feet. Another burst of pain caused the blonde to crumple to the floor and let go of her sword.
Tosen stepped forth and kicked the weapon out of her reach, "All part of Aizen-sama's plan," he smirked.
"Wha-?" Airi was cut off as a white substance burst forth from her eyes, nose, and mouth.
Zezuri continued to sob over Ashido, she felt as if she should give up and let them be eaten by hollows. But she remembered Airi and knew her best friend would never give up. She knew Airi would be fighting with everything she had to stay alive.
"I can't stop now..." she said quietly as her palms started to glow with a blue hue. She looked at them, slightly afraid, but she realized she had to own up to the responsibility given to her. She didn't know any special spells, but all she thought about was how much she wanted Ashido to heal. She clasped his hand and began to hope and wished with all her might that his arm would heal and Ashido would awaken.
And to her surprise his wounded arm was returning to normal in a matter of seconds. Ashido's eyes began to open as Zezuri managed to heal him completely.
Meanwhile, Grimmjow sat alone with his thoughts in an empty hallway. He suddenly stood and began to pace angrily. He wanted to get rid of Aizen or at least stop getting pushed around. The blue haired espada thought about the young girl who had gotten thrown out a few days before. He knew where she was and how Aizen still needed her. If Grimmjow could use her to sabotage Aizen he would, regardless of the risks of being terminated.
"She's in the Menos Forest with that Shinigami... I could get there in a couple hours and hide her somewhere else..." he said making up his mind.
He headed towards the back entrance in full pace as he was watched on a distant camera, hidden in the hall.
Gin's face glowed from the monitor screen reflection in the dark room as he watched Grimmjow leave the premises. He had a brief idea what he was up after their discussion from before. The fox faced man had begun to think it would be more interesting if he kept this secret to himself as he quietly grinned with amusement.
The ex-captain of the ninth division listened with satisfaction at the scene in front of him.
"Tell me what's, ugh... what's happening to me?" shouted the terrified girl. She lay on the floor convulsing in pain as a thick gaseous substance slowly streamed out from her eyes, nose, and mouth.
"Your powers are converting," Tosen stated and continued to gaze in her direction. Little did Airi know that behind his visor, Tosen's eyes were unseeing. He was trying to agitate the girl in any way he could.
Airi opened her mouth to make a retort, but suddenly the pain intensified, rendering her speechless as it concentrated at one spot in her chest just below her neck. Unable to even scream, she watched in horror as the white gaseous matter became denser and covered her face. The last thing she remembered before fading out was the feeling of utmost despair.
"Airi..." a voice called over the sound of gently crashing waves. The girl stirred lightly, but remained unresponsive. A wave rushed in gently, pulling her blonde hair as it swept back out into the ocean.
"Awaken," the voice called again.
Airi's eyes opened just enough that she could see the rocky shore of the bare island that had frequented her dreams. The sound of light sobs caught her attention. She turned her head in the direction of the sound.
A young girl around her own age sat just above the shoreline with her back to Airi. She wore a white dress cut low in the back revealing two small wing-like tattoos in a blue-green color. Her hair was dark black with purple highlights and shorter in the back than in the front. The girl's body shook as she sobbed.
"Who are you?" Airi wanted to ask, but found herself unable to do more than watch. She tried to get up but found that she also lacked the strength to do more than move her head.
Growing more frustrated by the second, Airi soon realized that the tide was coming in as well, "Not again!" she thought frantically. She'd never had a fear of drowning until these dreams started. Despite even her best efforts, she couldn't manage to move even an inch. Surely she would drown! Even though she was sure this was a dream, desperation to live surged through her.
The girl on the beach appeared not to notice the tide rushing in or the sky darkening. Waves surged around her, but she remained oblivious.
"Look out!" Airi suddenly managed to yell.
The girl looked over at Airi with large purple eyes set in her tear stricken face. A huge wave came up before her. She raised her arms and gave a smile as it crashed down over the whole island.
Szayel had just finished reparations when Ulquiorra arrived carrying an unconscious hollow.
"Go ahead and set her down over there," he motioned the Fourth Espada to an empty chair. Working in conjunction with the higher Espada still unnerved the Eighth, but these were Aizen-sama's orders and he was obligated to follow them despite how much he feared the others.
Gin and Aizen entered the room following Ulquiorra's silent exit.
"What's the status?" Aizen asked.
"Stable, at the very least," Szayel replied. He hadn't begun to do a full analysis just yet. Looking over at the unconscious form of the girl turned hollow, he felt a sense of pride that his experiment had worked so well. The girl's body had maintained its human form. A hole now peered out in the middle of her chest while a white mask completely obscured her face. Remarking over the detail, the experimenter noticed it looked like an owl's face. He turned back to Aizen, "It would appear that she is not the one, however."
Aizen nodded, "I had suspected as much. We will need to retrieve the other shortly."
Gin's usual grin widened just a little, "I believe someone has already taken on that job."
The leader arched an eyebrow in understanding. A new plan formed in his mind. He was well aware that Grimmjow was among the most likely to rebel, but he knew just how to reign in the battle-crazed flunky.
A beep from a machine behind them sent the pink-haired Espada whirling around towards it. Quickly scanning over the output, a grin crossed his face.
"What's up?" asked Gin.
The smile kept on Szayel's face, "Not only is she stable, but her power is very strong. Clearly into the Adjuchas stage, but judging by her human form, I wouldn't be surprised if she was stronger than that."
"Excellent progress, Szayel. We will leave you to your work now," Aizen and Gin left the room.
The Espada quickly began scribbling out equations in his notebook, excited for what would come next.
Ashido awoke the next morning only to notice that Zezuri had disappeared from the cave. He ran outside to find her trying to concentrate on her newfound powers.
"Here let me help..." he said calmly after noticing she had no idea what she was doing.
"Oh, you're awake," Zezuri laughed nervously.
"You just need to be patient. Concentrate all of your being into your target," Ashido gently lifted her hands. "Usually you need to chant the spell first, but I guess you're a rare case," he chuckled. "But we call these abilities 'Kido."
Zezuri began to blush as her new teacher tried to guide her through an easy Kido spell. She came back to her senses when Ashido abruptly asked her if she was alright.
"You look like you have a fever. Is this too much?" he asked worried her powers would go out of control.
"N-no I'm fine! We should continue!" she ordered.
Ashido brushed off her suspicious behavior as he continued to teach her Kido. They spent hours before Zezuri finally managed to spew fire from her palms and blasted it at a tree.
"I-I did it!" Zezuri said exhausted.
"It was very powerful. And your healing abilities are also strong," Ashido smiled as he helped wipe sweat from her brow, dabbing it with a large black sleeve, "You could take out any low class hollow with ease by now."
Suddenly their happiness was shattered by an unexpected presence.
"Hmph... you were such a nuisance to find in these damn woods," a familiar voice said from the darkness of the woods before revealing itself to be the blue haired Espada, Grimmjow.
"You hid your spiritual pressure from us..." Ashido growled, only now realizing the high level of power the arrancar held.
Zezuri watched the two men glare each other down, sensing the inevitable battle ahead.
"Hand over the woman. Don't think I'll leave you here alive either, Soul Reaper," Grimmjow spoke again, eyes still fixed on Ashido, and his hands in his pockets.
"I won't let monsters like you hurt this innocent girl any longer," Ashido retorted, grasping the hilt of his sword.
"Heh I like your idea. A good fight is just what I need right now. Don't disappoint," scoffing Grimmjow also prepared for battle.
"Please don't do this!" Zezuri pleaded, looking back and forth between the two.
But no more words were said as Ashido pushed Zezuri out of the way as Grimmjow began to charge with his fists. Ashido flash stepped out of Grimmjow's radius, but the espada quickly followed suit, throwing rapid and powerful punches in his direction. The Shinigami barely dodged the blows but swiftly blocked a final combo with his sword. Grimmjow acted hastily as his fist came into contact with Ashido's weapon, and wrapped his hand around it, effortlessly ripping it out of the Shinigami's hands.
Before Ashido could blink, Grimmjow kicked him in the face with powerful force, sending him to fly backwards into a large tree.
"Gee and I thought I would get better action out here. Looks like I was wrong. Now, Get up and fight me!" Grimmjow shouted as Ashido tried to recover from his fall.
Grimmjow kept his stride over to the wounded man, eyes filled with intent to destroy. "I didn't even need Panthera for this. What a waste of time," he hissed.
"I'm sorry... Zezuri..." Ashido said, looking up at his future murderer.
Grimmjow grabbed Ashido by his neck, his other hand readying a cero blast. But suddenly the distraught girl rushed over and grasped Grimmjow's arm.
"Please! Stop!" Zezuri tried to change his mind. But it was useless as Grimmjow shook her off of him.
"Get off! You can keep watching while I slaughter this bastard!" he laughed.
But Zezuri would not stop trying to save her friend. She glared at Grimmjow and before he could finish off Ashido, she fired a blast of energy that blew Grimmjow away. Ashido fell from his grasp and found his sword as Grimmjow tried to regain control of the situation. Zezuri's attack wasn't enough to injure him, but it certainly threw him off balance and bought Ashido time.
Grimmjow's patience was all gone as his temper rose.
Ashido wanted to kill the espada as he readied his sword. "Please, stay back," he ordered Zezuri.
She wanted to help anyway she could, but she knew she would only get in the way.
Grimmjow rushed with full force this time, ready to kill, but Ashido dodged him again, this time managing to strike the espada through the shoulder. But Grimmjow barely took notice to the wound as he quickly turned and slammed his fist into Ashido's stomach, then grabbing him by the arm and flinging him into the air. The fighting did not stop as Grimmjow pursued his prey like a hawk, following with another powerful kick that slammed Ashido into the ground.
Zezuri waited for the dust to clear as she saw Ashido hanging onto life, motionless on the floor of the forest. She wanted to go to him but Grimmjow got in front of her, certain the Shinigami would die at any minute.
"Get out of my way!" she demanded but the Espada grabbed her by her collar, lifting her eyes to his level.
"Now you listen to me! I'm not taking you back to Aizen, but you're gonna do what I tell you to or I'll hurt you anyway I can without killing you!" and with that final threat he set her down.
Zezuri's eyes flowed with tears as she stared at the ground, refusing to move.
"Get moving or I'll make you watch me rip him apart," but Zezuri still did not move. "Hey, are you outta your mind!" he shook her by her shoulder.
"Leave me alone!" the girl finally screamed, slapping Grimmjow in the face.
The espada could do nothing but remain stunned as Zezuri rushed past him, over to Ashido.
"I can still save him!" she thought in a panic. She placed her hands on his bloodied chest and began to heal him quickly.
Grimmjow came to his senses and gave Zezuri enough time to only heal the Shinigami's wounds. She looked down at the unconscious Ashido, brushing some his hair from his face with her fingers. Her eyes gazed at him with a quiet and sorrowful goodbye as she heard Grimmjow's footsteps come closer.
"I'll overlook killing him if you come quietly this time..." he said, lifting her to her feet.
Zezuri brushed his grip off coldly and walked past him, Grimmjow knowing she would be stubborn the whole trip.
"Once again you have no idea where yer goin'," he said catching up to her.
"It doesn't make a difference if you have a human form, you're still the same lowlife monster," Zezuri spat, wanting to hurt him.
Although it shouldn't have upset him, the last comment still slightly annoyed him as she was aiming right for his pride and not his humanity.
The vast sea of stars twinkled gently as a pre-dawn sky glowed a soothing purple color as Airi awoke in her dream world again. She sat up before realizing that she was able to move this time. The small smooth stones shifted beneath her as she got to her feet.
"Good morning," the black-haired girl spoke. She was still sitting with her back to Airi.
"Uh... good morning?" replied Airi, staring at the girl. She seemed familiar, but at the same time, a complete stranger, "Who are you?"
The girl stood and whirled towards the blonde, "You... don't know who I am?" Her eyes began to water.
"Well, er... you seem familiar... and I'm not too good with remembering names," Airi felt terrible. Who was this girl she could not remember?
Tears streamed down the girl's face.
"I'm sorry! Could you remind me?"
"Remind you? How could you forget?" shouted the black-haired girl, visibly upset. She held out her left arm as her hand started to glow.
Airi backed up cautiously, not liking the feeling she was getting. The light in the other girl's hand grew brighter and larger. With a burst it solidified into a sword. "Wait a moment," thought Airi, "that looks like-"
She was unable to finish the thought as the girl rushed at her with the sword.
"H-hey! Why are you attacking me?" Airi dodged out of the way, she had no desire to fight this girl.
The girl's lips moved, but the words were lost as the wind suddenly swelled up to a gale. Knowing what was to come, a panicked look crossed Airi's face, but the other girl suddenly grinned. A huge wave rose up behind her and all went black as the starry sea overtook the island once more.
Szayel was cleaning out a syringe after injecting the lifeless hollow with more tonic. He'd finished checking his calculations three times over before he had begun this part. There was no room for failure here; after all, this was one of the few times that Aizen-sama had actually asked him for something on this scale. Usually, the Eighth Espada was only in charge of monitoring Karakura town or Soul Society. Speaking of which, he should probably check on that.
Setting down the syringe, he rushed over to a monitor, pressed a few buttons and stared at the screen. "That can't be right," he muttered looking at a pulsing dot on a map. He shut the machine off and turned it back on. The dot remained on the map. "Well then, I guess I'll have to report on that right away," snapping his fingers, he summoned a fraccion and handed it a piece of paper bearing a quick summary of what the machine had said.
Aizen was in his throne room when the messenger found him. It handed him the paper, bowed, and exited. The commander's eyes widened slightly as he read Szayel's report. "What are you up to Urahara?" he mused, "Whatever it is, you've just lost."
So, what did ya think? We'd love to hear from you!