Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Rosario+Vampire
Author's Notes: Wow. It's been a month. Anyway, I lost the file for this chapter… So I rewrote it from scratch. Yeah, it sucks. Anyway, I am also working on a separate FanFiction that will not pertain to the universe of Bleach or Rosario+Vampire…. Or any anime universe in general. It will be released real soon… I hope. Anywho, here's the meaty stuff you came for. Sorry, it's not as long as the last.
Much love,
~SAYONARA~
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The sky lit up brilliantly as a lightning bolt shot across the dark clouds, exploding into a million sparks. The heavens were then met with a thunderous roar as thunder ripped throughout the sky. It almost seemed that heaven itself might break from the enormous power and pressure. The wind blew fiercely and tore at the trees on the ground.
Ginei hung onto a large branch for his dear life.
The tree branches rocked and bucked back and forth with the wind's current. Some were torn from their places and thrown nearly hundreds of feet away.
Ginei looked up into the sky and could only see darkness. He lost track of Raida several minutes ago. But that was enough time. The ensuing battle had lasted for about seven minutes so far and much of the forest was already demolished to nothingness. Trees were torn up from their roots, crates, nearly several miles wide were created, and rock and debris began to fill the area. Raida had unleashed total havoc on the battleground unlike anything he had ever seen before. And that was a first.
Raida was a very versatile fighter who had mastered various fighting styles but such destruction was not favored by him. Something like this was what Matsui excelled at. Raida preferred to fight swiftly and cleanly. Along with his lightning abilities, Raida was dubbed the "Thunder God" by his peers. Everyone looked up to him, especially Ginei.
Even now, Ginei looked up to him. Ginei wanted Raida to win this fight. Raida had to win this fight. Ginei knew that Raida would win this fight.
With a brilliant flash of light, Raida appeared nearby Ginei. He was engulfed in a wave of energy and his power was only increasing. Ginei saw Raida looking around, looking for Fujisaki. Suddenly, a blur of a figure shot out of the darkness and attempted to deliver a fatal blow with a high kick. Raida evaded the attack swiftly. Effortlessly, Fujisaki then landed several meters away from Raida, chuckling to himself. Ginei saw Fujisaki mouth several words. He then leaned closer to the two, trying to hear them.
"… You really deserve the title "Thunder God", Inazuma Raida." Fujisaki said, wiping the blood on this mouth away with a gloved hand. "I've never had this much fun since I last fought with Morioka… He taught you well."
"This will be last time you ever have fun, Fujisaki." Raida shifted his stance. He raised an arm as electricity enveloped itself around it. "I will personally end you."
Fujisaki then burst out laughing. "Do you think a shrimp like you has any chance against me? I said that I was having fun, NOT losing to you."
Raida then threw a lightning bolt towards Fujisaki who dodged with ease.
"Damn, watch where you thr-"
Suddenly, Raida was right in front of Fujisaki's face. Catching him by surprise, Raida delivered a monstrous blow to Fujisaki as he swung his arm with full-force, catching Fujisaki in the arc of the punch.
Fujisaki was thrown back many feet before he stumbled back onto his feat, straightening himself out.
"Ch," He said, spitting on the ground. "Taking advantage of me while I was talking… Don't worry, it won't be this easy anymore."
Fujisaki threw his trench coat off and stretched his back nonchalantly. Rolling up his sleeves, he glared down Raida, giving him an unnerving smile.
"Why don't we play this game…" He said. "Only this time, with equal power."
In an instant, Fujisaki had flash-stepped his way to Raida in a single bound and swung a flurry of punches. Raida evaded the wrath of the blows by sidestepping and dodging them. However on the last punch, he miscalculated a step and was hit straight in the gut. He then coughed up blood and was hunched over Fujisaki's fist.
Fujisaki then smiled gleefully. "I finally made you bleed…"
Again, only this time with much more power, Fujisaki delivered a flurry of punches. They all hit and met their mark, coming in contact with Raida. The final blow hit Raida straight in the face and sent him rolling and tumbling across the crumbling landscape.
"All that talk about ending me… and this is it?" Fujisaki said, spitting. "This is all the so-called Thunder God can muster up?"
Raida forced himself to stand up, struggling. He stared down Fujisaki. "This… this isn't over…"
"Oh, I know that." Fujisaki said, walking towards him. "I plan to kill you ever so slowly… and painfully. You'll regret not forking that Morioka child over to me."
Fujisaki then stopped walking and looked into Raida's eyes. They were no longer filled with enmity as before. They were filled with… a fire.
"What do you know? It seems the Thunder God has gained his strength back aga-"
In a blink of an eye, Raida had his fingers around Fujisaki's throat and dragged him across the ground while doing that for several feet. He then placed himself on top of Fujisaki and returned the favor of dozens on dozens of punches Fujisaki had given him earlier. Ginei saw and the killing intent Raida had even fro, After delivering a volley of countless punches, Raida stood up from the motionless Fujisaki and wiped his now bloodied knuckles on his chestplate. He was out of breath, trying his best to catch his breath.
Ginei emerged from the woods and approached Raida who stood over Fujisaki. When Ginei looked down at Fujisaki's face, he could no longer recognize it.
"R-Raida?" Ginei said, looking back at Raida and Fujisaki… or what was left of him. Raida had beaten him to a bloody pulp to the point where no one could tell if it was Fujisaki or someone else.
Raida remained silent.
"Raida!" Ginei exclaimed. "Look at me man!"
Raida went back to where Fujisaki was and looked him over one more time.
"I think…" Ginei said, a ball in his throat. "I think you killed him."
Ginei had fought in this war for as long as he could remember. Despite being a part of a special corps team, he wasn't use to death. He hadn't killed anyone… well, yet… he wasn't eager to do so as compared to other members in his team. It may be because he had no real bloodlust in fighting compared to his other comrades. Probably because he couldn't hold grudges for long…
Raida then suddenly grabbed Fujisaki's collar and raised his limp body up. Raida stared long and hard. Ginei walked on over to Raida.
"What are you planning on…" He began to say.
"I didn't kill him." Raida said abruptly.
"Wh-what?!" Ginei exclaimed.
"I said that I didn't kill him."
"Wha-" Ginei said looking at Raida with disbelief. "Raida, I think you of all people know that when you cave someone's face in until there is nearly nothing left, I assure you that the person is 100% dead. Yep, dead. You can't even recognize him anymo-"
"Not this." Raida snapped, glaring at Ginei briefly.
"What the hell are you muttering about?!" Ginei yelled. "He's dead! Let's get out of here and join everyone else!"
"No Gin." Raida said, shaking his head. "I killed this. But I didn't kill him."
"What are you…"
Still holding Fujisaki up with his arm, Raida raised his free arm. It then shone brilliantly with light and electricity. Then, pointing his hand like a blade, he brought it close to limp body he held. And, to Ginei's astonishment, the skin on the body began to peel away. No, not burn and peel. But literally fall to the ground like as if the body was shedding skin.
"Wh-what the fu-"
"It was a full body/ability decoy." Raida said, adding the finishing touches his handiwork. "A damn good one too. I wasn't able to tell… until now."
"Huh?" Ginei asked, dumbfounded.
Raida dropped the body to the ground and Ginei saw what Raida had meant. The body no longer looked like Fujisaki's body. Instead, it looked like it belonged to a tall female. With Fujisaki's skin and coat burned away, all that was left on the body was some sort of white filament or coating. Despite the damage inflicted on Fujisaki's body, this body was relatively untouched. The figure had aqua-blue hair and pale skin.
"Do you recognize it?" Raida asked, discharging his electric hand-blade. "We saw… her earlier."
Ginei nodded silently. There was no mistake. This was one of the things that spawned behind Fujisaki earlier. This and two others. Although her mouth guard-like mask was gone, it was clear as day. But one question remained.
"How and when Raida?" Ginei asked. "When did you figure out?"
Raida glanced at Ginei. "Fujisaki." He began. "It is a name that brings terror to the hearts of many of our allies and friends alike. He is the mastermind of this entire war and many previous conflicts… Including the one with what happened to Daichi…"
"Daichi…" Ginei said solemnly.
"But my point is, Fujisaki does not… He…"
"What is it?" Ginei asked. "Are you alright?"
Raida cleared his throat. "Fujisaki does not show fear."
Ginei remained silent.
"When I was on top of him, beating his face in… The look on his face…" Raida said, almost in a whisper. "Was utter fear."
Ginei felt a cold chill shiver down his spine. "b-but that's not all, is it?"
Raida shook his head. "Fujisaki is character of perfection and precision. He never allows himself to slip and he always thinks ahead of his opponents. Even when you think you are one step ahead of him, he's already three or even four steps beyond what you are thinking. He simply cannot lose… no… not like this…"
"What are you saying?" Ginei asked.
"What I am saying is that there is something wrong!" Raida said. "If Fujisaki had wanted you that badly, he would have come after you himself… He knows that with his abilities, that would be a cake-walk… But he didn't. Instead, here we have a decoy… So what are we missing?"
Ginei thought for a moment. "Earlier, before you guys started fighting, he said something about you being the Thunder God if I am not mistaken."
"He did."
"Okay. So he knew that beforehand. Then, let's go back a couple steps. When you and everyone else arrived on the scene, if what you what you said was true, then he would have killed me at that moment and harvested whatever I have sealed in me, correct?"
Raida nodded.
"But then he didn't. Instead, he called his… whatever those things are called and that gave us a good moment to devise a plan to get me out of there."
"Wait, so what are you getting at?"
"What I am trying to say is that he knew the Thunder God. He didn't know WHO it was but he knew about the Thunder God and his abilities." Ginei said. "And if he did know, then he would know that the Thunder God would be extremely fast and agile. But because he didn't know, he had to wait. And find out who it was."
"I see where this is going."
"Knowing my father and you, I realized that you would be the one to get me out of there. Fujisaki must have known about the Thunder God's abilities well enough to know about that. So he waited to see which of us was sent away to escort me out of there. And then, here we are."
Raida nodded but he thought for a while. "But why do you think he didn't come himself?"
Ginei shrugged. "Haven't thought about that…"
"Wait a minute…" Raida said. "You said that he knew about the Thunder God and his abilities, right?"
"I would assume so, yes."
"And he had to see which one of us in the group was the Thunder God… and followed us in pursuit."
"Except that it wasn't him."
Raida closed his eyes. "No… I think I know why."
"And that is?"
"In our fight, Fujisaki continuously talked about the power of the Thunder God. Almost as if he was challenging me to do more and more… it feels like…"
"What?"
"He was measuring my strength… Gauging my abilities to see where my powers lie…" Raida said quietly. "And in order not to put himself at risk, he purposefully used a decoy to see how long it would last in a bout against me… but something just doesn't sit right…"
"Why is that?" Ginei asked, raising his eyebrow.
"As far as our theory goes, it is plausible… however," Raida said, staring at Ginei. "It has nothing to do with you."
"Wha-what?!" Ginei asked. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Think about it Gin!" Raida exclaimed. "The whole point of our operation was to bring you back to safety. Away from Fujisaki! But from what it looks like, you were simply a diversion! In fact, it looks like Fujisaki targeted us, the Trinity!"
"But why?!" Ginei yelled. "Why you guys?!"
Raida looked up at Ginei solemnly and sighed. He raised his right hand and took off the glove, revealing layers of bandages covering his hand. Then, he undid the bandages, layer by layer. Soon, it revealed a black symbol. It was an s-shape lightning bolt symbol.
Ginei's eyes widened upon seeing the mark. Then he shifted his gaze to Raida. "Do Lin and Matsui…?"
Raida nodded slowly. "Us three were born with it… We were all orphaned at birth as well… When we were all young, we were ostracized for having the marks… as if they were a curse… And when we were pushed to our limits as children, we would accidentally tap into the power of our marks, hurting people around severely. With that kind of reputation, all three of us were literally excommunicated by society… it makes me sick…"
Ginei sighed sadly.
"But your father found each of us and took us under his wing… and from then on… you know how the story goes…"
Ginei heaved another sigh and then stood up. "So what do we do now?..." He looked down at the ground, slightly shaking. "We are screwed… aren't we?"
Raida stood up and went towards him. He crouched down and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Gin… look at me… No matter what happens Gin, I'll keep you safe."
Ginei felt a lump in his throat. "R-really? Promise?"
Raida smiled.
"I promise."
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PRESENT DAY…
Ginei jolted awake as he rose from his desk. Shaking his head, he rubbed his eyes.
God… damn… How long have I been out?
Looking outside his classroom window, it had already gotten dark. Judging the sky, he guessed it was around 8:30. Looking back at his desk, he saw a note towards the edge. Picking it up, he read:
Thanks for the coffee and small chat! After a while you kind of blacked out and I decided that it would be best to just leave you to sleep. Anyway, I have some important business I need to take care with Jean, you remember him right? So I will be out from the school grounds for about a week. Keep the school building standing until then, okay? –Love, your Uncle
Ginei folded the note and put it into his shirt pocket. He hadn't dreamt the whole situation after all. He actually had a conversation with his uncle about… that topic… About Raida…
No. I can't think about him… not here… or anywhere else…
Ginei heard the aluminum soda cans he had on his desk roll off and clatter on the hard flooring. Sighing, he reached over and picked up the cans and deposited them into the trashcan underneath his wooden desk. He then stood up and scratched his head, looking out the window. It had gotten even more dark than it had been several minutes ago.
"Damn…" Ginei said aloud to himself, "I should get going."
He walked out from his desk square and walked towards the door. As he reached the door knob, something caught his eye. Ginei looked down on the ground and saw several shattered pieces of chalk. And instantly, he was reminded of what happened several hours ago. He sighed.
What's done has been done… No use dwelling within the past…
He opened the door and stepped outside the classroom and into the empty hallways. They brightly lit as always only now, they were completely devoid of all students… similar to the science labs out by the woods. Of course, those were abandoned because of the incident but still… It was still a very eerie feeling. To be in an area that is usually so full of people just… empty.
Ginei shrugged the feeling off like he usually did and walked down the hallway, his footsteps echoing throughout after every step. As he approached the corner, he stopped. After he stopped walking, the echoing of steps continued.
Someone else was in the hallways as well.
Who would be in the school hallways this late? Why would anyone…
Then Ginei facepalmed himself. Of course, I happen to be in the school building as well…
As he waited by the corner, he heard voices. Three voices in fact. They sounded like they were arguing about something. Something very…
Turning the corner, Ginei nearly collided with three people. He sidestepped quickly.
"Hey watch where you are goi-"
"H-hey Gin." Tsukune said, nervously. "Didn't know you were leaving, heh."
In front of Ginei was Tsukune, Ichigo, and Moka, white hair and red eyed. They weren't dressed in their uniform, rather more in casual wear. Tsukune wore black sweat pants and a striped t-shirt. Ichigo wore khaki shorts and a tank-top. Moka simply wore a grey sweater over a black skirt.
"Hey guys…" Ginei said. "Why are you guys doing out so late?"
"Well," Ichigo said. "We could ask you same thing but…"
"We have a problem." Tsukune blurted out, Ichigo slightly winced.
"Oh, really now?" Ginei asked. "May I ask what exactly it is?"
"Well, to put it in short-" Ichigo began to say.
"Moka won't put her rosary back on." Tsukune interjected. "After we had a little scuffle with these obsessed students, she doesn't even let me get near her with the rosary."
"And don't even think about getting near me, punk." Moka snapped, glaring at Tsukune. "I am going to stay like this for a while. Even the other Moka allowed it…"
"The… other… Moka…?" Tsukune said, slowly.
"Look, I'd like to help." Ginei began to say, "But I don't know what the problem is. If Moka wants to stay the way she is, then fine. Let the lady have her way."
"But you don't understand…" Tsukune moaned. "People are terrified of her…"
"But it is nighttime…"
"Even more the reason why…" Tsukune added.
"So…" Ginei said. "You guys all need a place to crash for the night or what?... I mean tomorrow is a weekend so…"
The three's eyes lit up. "Really Gin?"
He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
"OhmygoshthankyousomuchGinei." Tsukune said, getting on his knees.
"Oh my god Tsukune, get up."
Tsukune and Ichigo walked back down the hallway. Moka slowly began to go that way too.
"Moka." Ginei said. "If you got a minute."
"Sure Gin. What's up?"
"I just want to clear some things up. You have feelings for Ichigo, don't you?"
"What?" She asked, surprised. "Why do you ask?"
"The first day I met you guys, I saw how you acted towards him. And I know, that wasn't just all the 'friendship' nonsense. And don't think about feeding me that bullcrap. I already know. Besides, you haven't been released from the rosary for nearly a week and a half. I say you need a break and you got one."
Moka glanced behind her shoulder briefly before looking back at Ginei. "Let's say I do Ginei. Let's say that I actually like Ichigo. But why does this concern you Ginei?"
Ginei rolled his eyes. "Well, you three ARE spending the night at my room, which is actually pretty big… but regardless. I don't want Tsukune to wake up and find you on top of Strawberry-head."
Moka's face turned red very briefly before it subsided.
"And I am sure that Tsukune has feelings for the other Moka… and maybe you too…"
"Figures…" Moka said, sighing. "He followed me around all day today…"
"Well, you see what I mean?" Ginei asked. "I don't want to create fallout between Ichigo and Tsukune… because Tsukune… well… he's different."
Moka raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Well, it's because h-"
"Hey! Moka! Gin! You guys gonna sleep in the hallway? Come on!" Ichigo shouted across the hallway.
"We'll be there in a second!" Moka said, shouting back at Ichigo. She then turned to look at Ginei. "As you were saying?"
"Ah, never mind." Ginei said. "I'll tell you when the time's right."
"Huh." Moka said, turning to walk down the hallway. "Using that cheesy line, eh?"
"Hey." Ginei said, chuckling, following her. "Don't judge."
"Well, I assure you that I won't do anything with Ichigo… In your dorm… which is big…" Moka said, walking. "But promise me one thing."
"Hmm?" Ginei asked. "What is it?"
"Don't tell Tsukune… or Ichigo… I-I don't want them to know… just yet…"
Ginei nodded. "Okay. I won't"
Moka looked him straight in the eyes. "Promise?"
Ginei stopped and looked her back in the eyes as well.
"I promise."
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(A/N): I am typing this super fast right now. Holy crap. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. It took way too long. I am so sorry. But thanks for reading. Leave a review. I appreciate all the feedback, really. Anyway, I'll stop talking. And again,
THANKS FOR READING!
Much love,
~SAYONARA~