Death Himself
Chapter 7
Renji Abarai began his day by storming out of the First Division barracks in the middle of the mandatory Captains meeting. They just refused to listen! He strode with purpose to the nearest senkaimon (which happened to the be the largest and most widely used in all of Soul Society) and promised himself that he would not leave until the gate was opened! He would have to be cut into tiny pieces before he would move from that spot!
"Renji," Rukia pleaded, slightly exasperated. "Renji! Wait a second!" She drew level with Renji's fast walk, and glared at him. Renji kept his head steadfastly forward, ignoring her. They walked in silence for a time, waiting for the tension to build up.
"You fool!" Rukia finally hissed. "Don't you know we all feel the same way!"
"Then why aren't you acting!" Renji broke, immediately halting his stride and turning to face Rukia full-on. Rukia stopped as well, hands on her hips. "We have to go to the World of the Living and find Ichigo— It's the only chance we have!"
"I know that! But as soon as we open the senkaimon—"
"Aizen can get to the World of the Living— yeah, I know. I've heard that argument a thousand times already and I still think you're all underestimating him! He broke out of Muken, for kami's sake! He's probably in Hawaii right now drinking pina coladas on the beach!"
"So do we just let him escape?!" Rukia threw out her arms emphatically. "We don't know for sure where he is! We don't know anything!"
"Exactly! We've dealt with Aizen before, Rukia, we know him. That guy's been in the World of the Living from the moment he escaped and he's probably already gotten rid of Ichigo!"
Their argument immediately ground to a halt like a boulder that smashed into the bottom of a mountain. Neither of them were angry, Renji knew. They were just worried. Renji hated to admit how helpless Ichigo was in the World of the Living. He wanted to drag the idiot back to the Soul Society by the tips of his stupid orange hair. At least here he could defend himself. In the living world… Ichigo was just another human.
"Hey, you two."
Renji snapped to attention, Rukia following suit a moment after. "Captain Commander!"
"Ah, I'll never get used to that," Kyoraku sighed. "Rukia-san, Renji-san, you both seem to be rather opinionated on the decision I made regarding the senkaimon…"
"Sir, I meant no disrespect," Renji said. "But in my experience dealing with Aizen, it's best to consider him ten steps ahead of us. We're just playing catch-up, sir, and unless we make fast decisive action, we'll be doomed."
"We'd all like to do something, Renji-san, but the fact of the matter is that Aizen is not the only person we have to deal with here. There was another break-out, one we tried to keep quiet…"
"Sir, do you mean to say that the lockdown was not meant to keep Aizen inside Soul Society?" Rukia questioned.
Renji glanced at Rukia and then back to the Captain Commander, very confused. "What are you talking about?" Renji demanded.
"Of the two people who broke out of Muken," Kyoraku explained. "One was a woman who delved into something she shouldn't've. She was obsessed with a very special breed of human, you see. These humans exhibited qualities that were… bizarre." Kyoraku seemed reluctant to go on, but figured he must. "When these people died, they did not go to Soul Society. In fact, their souls did not even form a plus. These people are nonexistent." He let that sink in.
Renji seemed to have trouble grappling with this new information about a woman obsessed with people who didn't exist… definitely explained why she was locked up in prison…
"How do we know this special breed of human exists if you say they are nonexistent?" Rukia asked practically, though she seemed confused by her own question.
"Let me rephrase, these people are nonexistent to shinigami. To regular humans they appear just as normal."
"Then how?" Rukia asked, mystified.
"To put it simply, these humans harbor a certain energy that is the antithesis of reishi. I believe the humans call it magic."
Renji scoffed, "Magic?"
Kyoraku shrugged.
"Wait, wait, wait! How did this insane woman study these people if she couldn't see them?" Renji was having a lot of trouble grasping this subject.
"You see, this is where the touchy bit comes in," Kyoraku gestured. "And it involves something the humans call the 'French Revolution.' In short, it involves the slaughtering of countless humans, shinigami double overtime shifts, and lots and lots of human experimentation."
"And in the end?" Rukia whispered, horrified, but needing to know the answer.
"In the end," Kyoraku's gaze bored into Renji, "we got a lot of shinigami-human hybrids." The last words went unsaid.
Just like Ichigo.
Rukia brought them back to the present. "But what does this have to do with shutting all the gates to the Dangai?"
"A weeding, of a sort. Weeding out all the traitors. Before the woman was imprisoned she had a very extensive network, and hopefully most of my First Division had taken them out by now, because," the Captain Commander began walking toward the senkaimon once more. "I'm sending you both on a mission to the World of the Living."
Renji felt a grin steal across his face, and he glanced down at Rukia to find a similar one. "Sir, it would be my pleasure."
"Sir!"
"Good, good." Kyoraku waved languidly. "I don't know if two captains will be enough, but we can't spare any more for this particular mission." They stopped in front of the huge gates of the senkaimon. A hell butterfly flew over and perched on the Captain Commander's finger. He slouched a little bit, idly examining the butterfly in the sunlight. "Your mission: Find Ichigo Kurosaki. Bring him back to the Seireitei. Active immediately."
Renji and Rukia shared a look that conveyed a lifetime.
You ready, it said.
The answer was always the same. You bet I am!
They leapt onto the path between worlds, led by a black butterfly.
(o)(0)(o)
In the darkness, a persistent voice irritated Ichigo. Like a constant nagging at the back of his mind. He couldn't exactly hear what the voice said, and he didn't intend to change that. The damn voice was trying to interrupt his very important sleep! Content with his decision, Ichigo let the voice fade into the background, only for it to snap back to full-force once more.
He focused on the sound, and ended up in his inner world.
"—YOU AIRHEADED MOTHER FUCKER IF YOU DON'T GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW I'M TAKING OVER YOUR BODY AND— Ichigo. You're here."
Ichigo glared at his zanpakuto, crossing his arms. He slowly raised an eyebrow, giving off the vibe of 'Really? You're gonna do what now?' The hollow shrugged it off with a smile. "How long were you calling me?" Ichigo asked.
"Since forever, you orange-haired asshole! If ya weren't already unconscious, I'd've—"
Ichigo cut him off before he started ranting. "I'm unconscious?!"
"Yeah, don't worry 'bout it. The real problem's that!" The hollow said, pointing at something behind Ichigo. Ichigo turned and saw something he never expected to see in his lifetime.
Situated at the base of their skyscraper like a bunker against a storm was a compact gothic castle, stones so dark as to blend into the distant ground. Ichigo would have missed it except for the very obvious and huge turret that extended up (sideways, of course) out of the castle, coming to a stop barely a few feet away from the skyscraper they were standing on now. The turret was dark like the rest of the castle, but on closer examination the stone was dark grey, not black. Gargoyles and other crenellations decorated the balcony that topped the turret. A stained glass window showed a man with a funny pointed hat and staff. The door to the balcony was open, and pale white curtains drifted aimlessly in an unfelt wind.
Seeing the medieval addition to Ichigo's mind, Ichigo could tell that the skyscrapers surrounding the turret seemed a little too imposing, a little too tall. It was like the modern city that was Ichigo's mindscape rejected anything that did not fit in, and wanted to crush the castle into submission. The castle itself looked like it was struggling, fighting to stay up and center.
"What," Ichigo said, deadpan, "the fuck is that."
"... you tell me…" the hollow muttered.
"Has it always been there?" Ichigo asked, not moving his gaze from the bizarre sight of the turret.
"Well, ya know…" the hollow still muttered. "There might've been somethin' there…"
Ichigo snapped around. "Are you saying this huge ass castle has always been in my mind and I haven't noticed?!"
"Che," the hollow clicked his tongue, looking away. "Ask the stupid old man."
Ichigo's face darkened with realization. "Where is he." It was not a question; it was a demand.
"Dealing with the new addition," the hollow grinned mockingly. "The castle was always there, but the tower's new, and so's it's occupant."
Ichigo shot a questioning glance at the hollow, but the hollow just continued to grin, gesturing at the turret. Taking the hint, Ichigo flashed over to the balcony, standing on the railing (since the tower was sideways and all) and took a step towards the entrance.
The old man appeared in front of Ichigo (he was still taller) and stopped him from moving forward with a pale hand. "Ichigo, you must not enter."
Ichigo glared at him and shook off the hand. "Why?!" he snarled. "So you can continue to hide things from me?"
The old man closed his shaded eyes, as if in great pain. "This abomination was never supposed to plague you. Do not make my efforts a waste."
"Why?" Ichigo asked, stricken. "If nothing else, at least tell me why you did this?"
"To protect you, Ichigo. Always, that has been my goal. Please, step away from this tower."
Ichigo looked at old man Zangetsu for a long time, when in reality it was barely a moment. Then he flashstepped back to the skyscraper he was on before. The old man took up guard barely a foot from the balcony, watching the entrance, waiting.
Ichigo glanced at the hollow zanpakuto only to find him looking at the entrance as well, an insane grin marring his face.
Then it happened, the pale curtains flickered in a way that wind could not produce, and a silver figure glided out the door. The figure was a woman made purely out of white light, transparent around the edges, long hair streaming behind in a barely seen swirl. Her legs did not contain feet, instead, her ankles turned transparent and faded out. She wore a light dress of the kind Rukia liked to wear, material drifting around her, the same color as the rest of the woman. She glided upright on the floor, so that, to Ichigo's eyes, it looked like she was the one defying gravity, and not him. Her features were bare impressions upon a face made of light, and if Ichigo looked really hard he thought he could see his mother, but it must've been a trick.
The woman walked as if she had feet, casually defying the gravity of Ichigo's mind, and rested a hand upon the balcony, as if this was a normal occurrence. She spoke in an airy tone that reminded Ichigo of that girl he had met, Luna Lovegood. "My, what's this?" She seemed genuine in her words, and, if Ichigo might add, a tad confused. The impression of her mouth moved as if she was really speaking, though her voice did not seem to come from that source.
The old man relaxed, as if he was expecting someone else. The hollow's expression did not change. The woman's gaze wandered, though Ichigo was unsure how he knew that since the woman did not have irises.
"Who're you?" Ichigo asked, tone not as harsh as he wanted it to be. The woman seemed honestly confused, so perhaps she was as new to this as Ichigo was.
"Hmm… who am I? I wonder who I am today…?"
Ichigo furrowed his brow. "Your identity changes?"
"Why would that be?" Her gaze settled on a point somewhere to the left of Ichigo.
Ichigo bit down a sharp retort. "Then who are you today?" he ground out.
"Today I think I shall be... taller." She straightened her light-weaved back, trying to make herself taller.
Ichigo facepalmed. He dared to peek out between his fingers, only to find the woman standing on her nonexistent feet, jumping up and down. Ichigo turned to the hollow. "Have you met her before?" he asked, completely exasperated.
The hollow cackled as a response.
Ichigo turned away from him, done with insane people inside his mind, messing it up. "Zangetsu?" he pleaded, eyeing the old man.
"She is the one who appears when the Prophet does not wish to," the old man answered, cryptic as usual.
Ichigo sighed, trying to keep up. "And the Prophet is…?"
The old man frowned and did not answer.
The woman had finally stopped jumping. "What's your name?" Ichigo asked, trying to be specific.
She stroked her chin with a look of intense concentration, bending down. "I know it, I know I do… Name…" She scrunched her eyes closed, then bopped up, pointer finger in the air, startling Ichigo. "Me!" she said, completely content.
"Nice to meet you… Me." Ichigo felt extraordinarily awkward, like he was talking to himself. In reality, that was exactly what he was doing, but it helped if he didn't think of it that way. "My name is Ichigo Kuro—"
"We know who you are, The One Who Breaks."
Ichigo jumped at the sudden change in voice. The old man flashed in front of Ichigo, sword drawn. The hollow remained in place, though he started to laugh quietly.
The woman had a complete change of attitude. She stood still and looked directly at Ichigo, her complete attention on him. She now had three eyes, a third eye having opened up on her forehead. "I take it you're this Prophet?" Ichigo said wryly.
"The One Who Breaks will fix his mistakes." Her voice was booming, louder and deeper than the one of 'Me'.
"What mistakes?"
"The One Who Breaks will fix his mistakes."
"What's she talking about?" Ichigo asked old man Zangetsu.
The old man tightened his grip on the sword. "That is all she ever says. I do not understand the meaning behind it, but she is trouble, Ichigo. She contains much power, and, even at this moment, she works it on you."
Ichigo's eyes widened perceivably. "What do you want from me?!" Ichigo yelled, leaning forward.
The Prophet's voice was whispered in his ear, though the Prophet herself did not move from her turret. "Fix your mistakes, stupid human."
Ichigo felt himself wake from unconsciousness, like resurfacing from a pool. The cold silver light face of the Prophet stayed etched into his core, watching, waiting…
Waiting for what? Ichigo wondered. He didn't know.
A/N: Whenever Ichigo gets a new power, he gets a new split personality!
So you finally know what the deal is with those broken prophecies! I mention this 'cause few people will realize the connection.
(o)(0)(o)