Chapter 7: Evil's Bane and Slaying Moon 2
Alright! Link got to take down a Menos Grande, and Ichigo and Link should be able to come to and understanding now that they aren't trying to kill each other. What adventures await the Hero of Hyrule? You'll have to keep reading to find out! Nothing to do with Bleach or Legend of Zelda is owned by me. (duh!)
With the giant Hollow destroyed, Link walked back toward Ichigo. As he approached the orange-haired Soul Reaper, a small cloud of mist swirled around him for a moment, obscuring his sword and clothes from view. When the mist cleared, his sword had returned to it's normal form of a giant cleaver, and his ragged trench coat had disappeared as well. He shouldered his massive blade and spoke.
"Hey! That was pretty impressive, taking down a Menos Grande like that."
Link looked quizzically at Ichigo. "Is that what that thing's called?" he asked. "I thought it was one of those Hollows."
"Well yeah." Ichigo replied. "A Menos Grande is an enormous type of Hollow. I've never seen someone fight like you before, what kind of Zanpakuto is that anyway?"
"A Zanpakuto?" Link thought. "What does he mean?" Then, he remembered Kisuke Urahara's explanation back at Hyrule Castle.
"That's right," Link replied. "Your weapons are called Zanpakuto, I almost forgot. This," he said as he drew his weapon again, "is the Master Sword. It's not really a Zanpakuto, but Zelda said that it would have just as much power as a Zanpakuto."
"That's...not a Zanpakuto?" Ichigo thought in surprise. "That means...he was holding his own against my bankai with just a regular sword?"
"What about your Zanpakuto?" Link asked. "It's called Bankai, right?"
"What? No, my Zanpakuto is called Zangetsu. I used my bankai during our battle, but that's not the name of my Zanpakuto."
"Oh, I see. Sorry about that." Link replied.
Suddenly, Fi reappeared from the Master Sword. Ichigo was startled by her sudden appearance, but he didn't show it. The blue and purple girl floated in front of Link as she spoke to him.
"Master Link, I have finished my analysis of this man's weapon. Would you like a detailed report?"
Both Link and Ichigo were surprised at this.
"Wait," said Ichigo. "You just analyzed my Zanpakuto? How the heck did you do that?"
"I didn't even know you could do that!" Link added.
"Are you sure you aren't a Zanpakuto? You look an awful lot like a manifested Zanpakuto spirit..." Ichigo asked.
"That assumption is logical, but incorrect." Said Fi to Ichigo. "As for my analysis, I was able to perform the task due to the similar nature of myself and Zangetsu."
"What do you mean, similar nature?" asked Ichigo.
"While our structures and abilities may be different," Fi explained. "The spirits that reside in your Soul Reaper Zanpakuto are quite similar to me. I could sense the presence of another being within your sword, and calculated that there was a 96% likelihood that I would be able to communicate with it. My calculations were correct."
"You mean, you can talk with his weapon?" asked Link.
"Correct. And I must say, Zangetsu was quite helpful in my analysis. Would you like the report now?"
Ichigo was getting more confused and frustrated as the conversation continued. He raised his voice in agitation as he spoke.
"What the heck are you saying? You just asked Zangetsu what our powers were, and he told you just like that?"
Suddenly, a new voice joined the conversation. "Yes, that's exactly what I did."
Ichigo and Link turned to see who had spoken, and both of their eyes widened in shock. Link's because another man had just appeared next to Ichigo, and Ichigo's because he never expected to see Zangetsu standing next to him in the real world again ever since the Zanpakuto Rebellion and the hunt for the Sword Beasts had ended.
"You shouldn't look so surprised, Ichigo." Zangetsu said in his usual monotone voice. "Or has it been so long since we last talked that you've forgotten my appearance?"
"It...it's not that," Ichigo stuttered. "It's just that, well, what the heck are you doing here in the real world like this?"
"Wait, so your sword has a spirit living inside it too?" Link asked.
"I must say, I wasn't expecting to be here." Zangetsu continued. "But it would seem that the power held within Link's weapon allows it's spirit to manifest at will. Fi was courteous enough to lend me some of that power."
"You lent Zangetsu...your power?" said Ichigo, still not understanding what was going on.
"That is correct." Fi replied. "After conversing with Zangetsu, I calculated that the chances of a peaceful resolution of our conflict would be approximately 87% higher if both Zangetsu and I appeared visibly."
"That makes sense..." Link mumbled, mostly to himself.
"Well, now that you're here, what exactly is it you wanted to tell me?" Ichigo asked.
"That this man is not your enemy. I have spoken with the spirit within his blade, and I know of their mission. They are here to aid us."
"Well, I kinda had that figured out already, so you're a little late." Ichigo replied sarcastically.
Just then, another garganta began to open above the soccer field. Link and Ichigo looked up in surprise, and Fi and Zangetsu vanished. But before they could react, a familiar face appeared through the portal. Kisuke Urahara and his three Mod Soul companions jumped down from the gaping black hole and onto the grass in front of the two heroes.
"Speaking of someone who's late..." Link began. "Hey! Mr. Urahara! What took you so long to get here?"
"Wait, you know Mr. Hat-and-Clogs?" Ichigo asked in confusion.
"Well, not really. We're more like acquaintances right now. He's the one who came to Hyrule and sent me here."
"Well, there you are Link!" Kisuke called cheerfully. "And I see you met Ichigo Kurosaki, very good!"
"No, it's not very good!" Link yelled back angrily. "What's the big idea, sending me through a portal without even telling me how to navigate it? And then this guy shows up and attacks me as soon as I land here..."
Ichigo cut in, his temper rising as well. "Hey, you're the one who showed up through a Hollow portal and wouldn't say anything about what you were doing here!" He turned toward Kisuke and continued his rant. "And just where the hell did you find this guy? What's he supposed to be, some kind of Elf?"
"Now, now, slow down both of you!" Kisuke interjected. "Let me explain. Link, Ichigo, I see you two were having a...disagreement, and both of you are injured. Why don't we all head over to my shop and I'll fill you both in." As he spoke he whipped out his fan and waved it in front of his face.
Link and Ichigo both took a deep breath and with still-suspicious expressions replied "Ok, fine."
Before they could say anything else, Rukia, Chad, Uryu and Orihime came running up onto the soccer field, all talking at once.
"Ichigo, we felt you releasing your bankai. Is everything alright?" Uryu asked.
"Who's that guy, Ichigo?" said Chad.
"Oh, hello Mr. Urahara!" Orihime called out. "Hello there Ririn, Kurodo, Noba!"
"Kisuke Urahara, I'm sure you have an explanation for all this?" Rukia asked.
"Indeed I do." The former Captain of Squad 12 replied. "I'll explain everything back at the shop, if you all don't mind stopping by. But first things first. Everyone, this is Link."
Link, who didn't know what else to do, smiled and waved at everyone with his undamaged left arm. "Hello, nice to meet you all." Was all he could think to say at the moment.
Orihime noticed that Link's right arm was bleeding, and she rushed over to examine his wound.
"Oh, you're injured!" she exclaimed with concern. Then she looked over at Ichigo and saw that he had been cut as well.
"You too, Ichigo! Were you both fighting Hollows earlier?"
"Yeah, you could say that..." said Ichigo.
"That's not what happened!" Link interjected, always being one to tell the truth. "We both got in a fight, and ended up wounding each other. But a really big Hollow showed up, and that kind of stopped us."
Ichigo started laughing again. "Yeah. Hey Uryu! You'll never guess how he took it down..."
"I'm assuming he did it with that sword of his." The Quincy replied matter-of-factly.
"Well duh!" Ichigo snapped back. "But you remember my plan to defeat the Menos that time you used the Hollow bait?"
"I remember it being something stupid and reckless."
Ichigo glared at his friend as a vein popped on his forehead. "Well, guess what? Link here was able to defeat a Menos by chopping it's legs and making it fall down so he could whack it on the head! Which is exactly what I was going to do, until you came up with the dumb-ass idea of tying my Zanpakuto to your head!"
Now Uryu had a vein pop as he shouted back at Ichigo. "What are you talking about? That was a perfectly sound plan involving the combined use of my abilities with your massive spiritual pressure! And if you remember, your reckless attack on that Menos only forced it back to Hueco Mundo, whereas my idea would most definitely have killed it."
While they argued, Rukia, Chad, and Link all stared from the sidelines. Link leaned over and asked them; "Are they always like this?"
"Usually." Was Chad's reply.
Rukia sighed with resignation. "Most of the time. Although neither of them will normally admit it, they really are good friends."
Suddenly, a girlish squeal interrupted their argument and caused everyone to look over at Orihime. She was staring at Link with a widened eyes.
"Ohh!" she cried out. "Look at his ears, they're so cute!"
Link's face turned red with embarrassment as he instinctively put his left hand up to his ear and tried to look away.
"Just like in a fantasy anime!" Orihime continued. "Mr. Link, are you an Elf?"
Link stuttered, not knowing what an "Elf" was or how to respond to the question. Rukia stepped forward and looked at him intently for a moment.
"You're right, his ears are very unusual." Then she smiled as she exclaimed; "Just like Chappy the Rabbit!"
"Excuuuse me, lady!" Link retorted as he began to lose his temper. "I do not look like a rabbit! It so happens that lots of people have ears like mine. People of Hylian descent have larger ears, a legend says it's so that we can hear the voices of the gods."
"Wow, that's really cool!" Orihime replied.
"It's kinda lame, if you ask me..." Ichigo mumbled.
"Well, obviously there's a lot for us to hear," Uryu cut in. "so why don't we get back to Urahara's shop and hear what he has to say?"
"An excellent idea!" Kisuke called out as he snapped his fan closed. "Why don't we all discuss this over a nice cup of tea?" Then his usual jovial expression left as his voice took on a more serious tone. "Actually, there is something very important that I need to share with all of you, so it's best that we don't waste time."
"Wait!" said Orihime. "Ichigo and Link are injured, shouldn't I heal them first?"
"Well, I suppose that would be a good idea." Kisuke replied. "Everyone else go ahead, and we'll meet you back at my shop."
Orihime held out her palms as she summoned Shun'o and Ayame to begin reversing their wounds.
Link looked surprised as the glowing barrier surrounded himself and Ichigo and the cut on his arm immediately began to close. Within a few minutes, Ichigo and Link were both completely healed.
"So, if you don't mind my asking," she began. "why were the two of you fighting?"
Link looked embarrassed again as he searched for a reply. "Well, I guess it was just a misunderstanding."
"Yeah...a misunderstanding." Said Ichigo.
"Well, that's good!" Orihime replied cheerfully. "I hope now that that's settled, we're all going to be best friends!"
Link and Ichigo looked at each other, and grinned nervously.
"Me, best friends with this guy?" Link thought. "There's no way I'm gonna be hanging out with that crazy carrot-top any more than I have to..."
Ichigo was having similar thoughts himself. "Best friends? Yeah, right! Like I'd want to be seen with a weird kid like him..."
"Come on, you three!" Kisuke called out. "Time's wasting, let's get going!"
Yay! Another chapter completed! Hope that answered some of your questions about how people would react to Link's ears, lol! If you're still waiting for Midna, don't worry, I have plans for her return. Any thoughts or suggestions? Reviews are a big help and encouragement! Again, I hope that some of the older fans of this story are still reading, or that you'll check in and realize that I'm still writing the story. Until next time!