The Night Walk
By evolution-500
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Disclaimer: "Bleach" is a property that belongs to Noriaki Kubo and Viz Media. I do not own any of the characters except for Lupo, although his species are a property belonging to DC Comics.
WARNING: This story contains coarse language and mature subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.
Night had begun to fall.
Letting out a yawn, eighteen-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki shifted the weight of his backpack over one shoulder as he muscled forward, his short orange hair standing out from the drab grey streets and districts. Taking in the red, orange, yellow, and gold of the sun fading as he made his way back home, Ichigo listened to the constant droning of distant cars.
'Seems like traffic is going to be a pain in the ass,' the orange-haired teen surmised.
He was glad that school was finally over, but Kami, he was exhausted.
Between balancing school and his duties as a substitute Shinigami, Ichigo felt like he had been run over several times with a car, and then run over several times more. He could barely recall ever feeling so completely and utterly drained.
It didn't help matters that he had been dispatching Hollows nonstop; over the last few weeks, Ichigo and Rukia had to deal with a very sizeable horde that just suddenly appeared out of nowhere within Tokyo.
Kami, there had to have been hundreds of the things! He could barely remember a time when there had been so many to deal with at a given time. If it hadn't been for the assistance of his friends Chad and Orihime, along with the Quincy, Uryū Ishida, things could have ended badly for all of them.
He was shocked that there had been so many in the first place; the first few days there had to have been over a dozen, perhaps more, and it seemed like every day after there were more and more.
Thankfully the last few days weren't too bad, but still, part of Ichigo felt a little on edge by the fact that so many have been popping up recently.
Just what in the world was going on?
What could have resulted in so many Hollows appearing at once?
Feeling the cool wind caress his angular face, Ichigo clicked his tongue distractedly as he furrowed his brow in thought.
The Hollows were a race of malevolent creatures that were born from the corrupted spirits of the dead. When a person died, the soul would leave the body and would stick around until a Shinigami, or "Soul Reaper, would send it to Soul Society. Those that failed to pass on, that stayed for too long within the Human World, or was overwhelmed with negative emotions, would end up becoming soul-devouring monsters, either on their own, or through forcible conversion by other Hollows.
Often Hollows were mindless beasts, driven by a never-ending desire to devour other souls to fill the void within themselves, but sometimes, however, a Hollow would retain the memories, personalities and intelligence of who they once were.
The worst were those souls that had been evil in life; it was hard for Ichigo to imagine such hateful people existing, let alone relish their new twisted forms and equally dangerous powers.
The orange-haired teen gave a slight shiver as the breeze picked up, adjusting his coat.
Those latter spirits were what Ichigo and the others had been dealing with, and while he had been more than happy to destroy them, he was more than a little perturbed by such an alarming amount.
Neither he nor his friends knew how so many were able appear, but Rukia believed that it was all connected with some recent murders mentioned in some headlines; for some time now, various Yakuza members, lowlifes and a great many others were turning up dead.
The bizarre thing, though, was the fact nobody knew what happened - there weren't any witnesses, nor were police able to find any evidence whatsoever of the person(s) responsible.
The only thing that police were able to find, according to various newspapers, were the bodies, or rather their remains, the descriptions of which were so utterly horrific that it had nearly made Ichigo sick to read.
Wincing, Ichigo shook his head furiously, trying to rid himself of all that horrible stuff.
Hard to believe such a thing could happen in this world. It never ceased to amaze him how awful some folks could be sometimes.
Opening his eyes, Ichigo adjusted the straps of his backpack as he continued his pace.
Rukia wanted to stay at the local library and do some research about this matter, but Ichigo just wanted to focus his efforts on getting home and getting some sleep.
Checking his watch, the orange-haired teen checked the time.
'Six-thirty,' he noted. 'I should be home in just a few-'
He was cut off as an impossibly strong arm latched itself around his throat, cutting off his air supply.
Struggling furiously under his assailant's freakish vice-like grip, Ichigo tried to break free from the person's hold.
Opening his mouth to shout, the teen's yell became muffled as he felt a hand clamp itself over it.
Ichigo's lungs burned as he struggled to breathe, his vision filled with black spots.
For several seconds, Ichigo felt his vision dim, his movements becoming more sluggish before ceasing entirely.
Something cold and wet splashed against his face.
Letting out a weak groan, Ichigo stirred awake, his eyes fluttering open as he attempted to move, only to find himself unable to do so.
Now alert, the teen looked down, finding himself seated upward ontop of some wooden crate with hands tied around his back, which was resting against a wall, his mouth tightly gagged.
Looking around, Ichigo's brows furrowed as he took in his surroundings.
The place was massive and heavily shadowed, what appeared to be some sort of long-abandoned industrial warehouse with various overhanging chains that clanked and squeaked with each movement, the windows all covered with black cloth or barred off with wood. A few catwalks and crows nests overlooked the area, while various crates, rat droppings and debris lined the floor.
Despite the seeming dilapidated appearance of the area, Ichigo heard machinery in the background, although what kind he had trouble discerning.
Glancing to his left, he was surprised to find a section of the warehouse open, revealing what looked a few piers and docks, along with a few boats and ships, making him jerk up in alert.
'The hell?! Where the fuck am I?!' Ichigo wondered.
As far as he knew, his hometown of Karakura didn't have any docks or docks.
So where in the world was he?
As Ichigo tried to make sense of his surroundings, the sound clack of footsteps drew his eyes to the front, where he saw the outline of a man approaching from the shadows.
Red and black seemed to be a consistent color pattern for the figure, his form tall and lean, with broad shoulders and good muscle tone. From Ichigo's observations and rough estimates, the guy was about six-two, which dwarfed Ichigo's five-point eighty-five inches, his weight a hundred and eighty-five pounds.
What shocked Ichigo was how unexpectedly young his captor looked, along with his appearance; the man, or rather boy, was young, a Bōsōzoku-looking thug of about eighteen, probably nineteen years old at best. Dressed in a form-fitting red leather zipped-up jacket with a flared up collar and V-neck, the coat was in pristine condition, looking like it had been well cared for.
Silver vertebrate-like decorations lined the shoulders, each side possessing a sharply jagged fin-like piece that protruded upward and back. The sleeves and various other sections of the coat were marked with strange geometric designs mixed with some form of calligraphy that Ichigo had trouble identifying, while silver ribbing lined the lower abdomen and chest. Taken together with the lush red color, the jacket almost looked like a freshly flayed and bloody hide.
A pair of black jeans were secured by a similarly colored belt with a silver buckle.
Ebony clawed hands adorned in dark fingerless gloves hung down the figure's sides, just barely within touching distance of a pair of strange-looking holstered handguns resting on both sides of his hips.
His long legs clad in a pair of long, red, knee-high boots, the knees were protected by silver knee guards that had two pairs of straight lines punctuated by some slight inward eye-like grooves, making them resemble some abstract, barely finished construction of faces.
Squinting in the dim lighting, Ichigo remained completely still, swallowing nervously as the youth continued to silently approach.
Flicking a match off of Ichigo's cheek, the red-clad figure lit up a cigarette directly in front of the orange-haired teen, giving Ichigo his first actual look at his captor as the tiny flame illuminated the latter's features.
What Ichigo saw completely took him aback.
Christ...the guy was scary to look at!
His captor's face was ghostly white, with short pointed ears and a short, slicked back though voluminously thick and poofy black mane with a widow's peak, the hair especially so at the back and up top, forming a sort of dome shape. The sides, however, were thinner and cleaner looking with slight sideburns, while neatly tucked behind each pointed ear was a long, thin tendril of hair, framing his face in a way that made him look lupine.
The man appeared to be Caucasian with sharply cut and perfectly proportionate chiseled features, with a V-shaped face, a long, sharp and straight nose that protruded outward, a pair of raised cheekbones and a high forehead. Thin lips were built over a strong pronounced jaw and chin, giving him a strikingly sculpted and imperiously aristocratic look, his eyes concealed by a pair of red sunglasses.
Surrounding the latter as well as on parts of his cheeks and forehead was some sort of ornate tattoo styled like a pair of black batwings or double-sided axeheads.
'Wait,' Ichigo suddenly paused, squinting his eyes hard at the markings.
No, they weren't markings at all; they appeared to be some form of... black, rocky/bony growth or ridges around the eyes.
Are those...scales?
Knitting his brows together, Ichigo watched as his captor removed his sunglasses, revealing a pair of cold, red, featureless narrow eyes.
Eyes devoid of either sclera or iris, that would at intervals flicker with some sort of filmy nictating membrane that would swipe across both eyes like a lizard or something.
Ichigo couldn't help but stare at his captor, trying to process what he was seeing.
What are you?
Was he even human?!
The puzzling thing about the guy was the seeming lack of spiritual pressure, although it was possible that he kept it carefully hidden.
And yet, there was a very subtle aura of danger surrounding the figure, of a kind that Ichigo never felt before.
Whoever - or whatever - this...person, for lack of a better word, was, he was powerful and deadly, and the guy knew it, making him all the more deadlier.
As he studied the red-clad figure's features, Ichigo couldn't help but be reminded of someone - a young Ted Danson with thick, 80s metal band/glam rock black hair and the cold squinty eyes of Clint Eastwood.
Part of him wanted to laugh at the absurdity of the situation - after all, one does not expect to be kidnapped by some cast member from "Cheers" after they got rejected from KISS. However, the more cautious part of Ichigo warned him against doing that, watching his captor carefully, doing everything he could not to provoke him.
Inhaling his cigarette, his captor regarded him with pure disdain, exhaling out a plume of smoke directly into Ichigo's face, causing the teen to look away.
"Tell me something, friend," the former spoke, his voice a dusky tenor. "Did I ever tell you...what the definition of insanity is?"
Ichigo stared nonplussed at the man in front of him, his brow wrinkling as he struggled to understand what this was about.
Was he really here, about to be lectured by this guy?
Who the hell is this nutjob?!
The man continued, not paying any heed to Ichigo's confused expression. "Insanity," he elaborated, "is doing the exact... same, fucking thing... over, and over again, expecting... shit to change... That. Is. Crazy." He exhaled out a plume of smoke, "The first time somebody told me that, I dunno, I thought they were bullshitting me, so, boom, I shot him."
The casual nature in which he described killing a person chilled Ichigo, who said and did nothing as he continued to watch the strange person.
The man then let out a mirthless chuckle as he nodded, continuing, "The thing is, okay...he was right. And then I started seeing everywhere I looked. Everywhere I looked, all these fucking pricks. Everywhere I looked, doing the exact same fucking thing... over and over and over and over again. Thinking, 'this time is gonna be different'.
'No, no, no please... This time is gonna be different.'"
He suddenly stopped, his red eyes narrowing as a snarl started to form on his pale mouth, revealing sharp fangs and incisors like a big cat or wild dog, his form leaning forward.
"I'm sorry, I don't like... The way..." He then violently punched a crate beside Ichigo aside, the force so powerful that it actually caused it to completely splinter, the impact causing Ichigo to flinch, "... you are looking at me!"
Ichigo tensed up as the man got into his face, the latter's agitation growing by the second as he got closer and closer, "Okay? Do you have a fucking problem in your head?! Do you think I am bullshitting you?! Do you think I am lying?! Fuck you! Okay? Fuck. You!"
The man shouted the last part, making Ichigo flinch slightly, who could only watch as the lunatic ranted and raved before taking in a deep breath through his nostrils.
"It's okay, man," the man in red waved, letting out a light laugh as he turned his back to the orange-haired teen, revealing more of his red jacket to him. On the back of his coat was an elaborate silver sculpture depicting a frightening tentacled face with emerald eyes, its silver tentacular "beard" forming the ribbings along the coat's side. Averting its gaze, Ichigo anxiously started to struggle with his bindings. "I'm gonna chill, my friend. I'm gonna chill. The thing is..." The youth turned to face Ichigo, "... Alright. The thing is, I killed you once already."
Hearing that made Ichigo's eyes widen in surprise, listening as the man continued, ".. And it's not like I am fucking crazy."
Blinking in genuine confusion, Ichigo furrowed his brows.
Once already?
Ichigo's eyes suddenly widened in realization, a pit forming in the middle of his gut.
Wait a minute, was this...was this all some sort of mistake?!
Was it the case that Ichigo just had the bad luck of looking like someone that this guy had killed, that this was all a horrible misunderstanding, a case of mistaken identity?!
Struggling in his bindings, Ichigo murmured through his bag, shaking his head furiously as he tried to speak, everything coming out unintelligibly.
Seeing his distress, the man shushed him. "It's okay," he spoke in a deceptively soothing tone, gesturing to the dark pool nearby, "It's like water under the bridge."
The man in red then drew closer to Ichigo, kneeling directly in front of him, staring directly into his eyes. Nictating membranes flared across the red pools as he spoke.
"Did I ever tell you the definition... of insanity?"
Straightening himself back up, the pale man started to walk over to a block of concrete a few feet away, one that was tied up with a long cord of rope.
Blinking, Ichigo then began to realize the rope was tied around his feet, the teen's eyes widening in horrified realization at what was happening.
Oh no. Oh Jesus.
Putting a single boot on the concrete block, the man in red sneered at Ichigo, flashing his inhumanly sharp teeth in a horrible predatory grin before casually pushing it off the ledge of the concrete floor.
Shaking his head furiously, Ichigo struggled, his cries becoming muffled as he protested, feeling a sharp jolt that pulled him leg-first toward the ledge, sending him crashing into the water.
Staring up at the surface, the orange-haired teen struggled to break free from his bindings, his eyes frantically searching around as he continued to sink the river or ocean floor.
Wriggling around, Ichigo thumbed at the ropes around his wrists, feeling his way around as he tried to keep calm, his lungs burning.
It took forever to undo one loop, then the next, but eventually he was able to get his wrists loose.
Pulling off the gag, Ichigo then struggled to remove the ropes from his legs, only to find the knots were far harder to undo.
Looking frantically around, the orange-haired teen paused as the sight of a discarded beer bottle on the sand floor.
Grabbing it, he smashed it against a nearby stone, the teen wincing as he cut his hand, drawing blood.
Ichigo then started to saw quickly into the rope, the process so agonizingly slow as he felt his lungs burn with carbon dioxide.
Eyes strained as he struggled to retain every last bit of air that he could as he cut through one rope, then another.
Finally, just when he thought that he wouldn't last much longer, Ichigo cut the final cord, freeing his feet at long last.
Kicking the rope off along with his shoes, Ichigo swam as far and as quickly away as he could, kicking as hard as he could.
He must have swam twenty or so feet before breaking the surface with a sharp gasp, the teen coughing and hacking as he splashed around in the water.
Swimming over to the nearest dock, Ichigo rested his head its wooden frame, holding on for dear life as he struggled to catch his breath, relishing the air as he inhaled and exhaled.
Something crashed onto the dock, causing it to shake and the water to ripple.
Shaking himself off his stupor, Ichigo looked up and froze, his eyes widening in fright as the familiar and distinctive form of his captor casually approached.
Brandishing a pair of exotic-looking, red-lined, crescent-shaped blades or sickles that glowed, the weapons were mounted on long, thin handles, with long whip-like cables at the ends.
As he drew closer, he kneeled directly over Ichigo, a predatory smile etching itself on the man in red's face, his teeth sharp and glistening, like a wolf confronted with a trembling lamb.
"...Did I tell you the definition of insanity?"
Author's Note: So, the inspiration for this fic came from the phenomenal E3 trailer and speech made by Vaas for "Far Cry 3" made back in 2012. It was such a brilliant speech that had me mesmerized, and the idea of someone being in the protagonist's position, some captured nobody who might have been mistaken for somebody else, seemed like an interesting choice for a potential story. So, I kind of thought why not put Ichigo in that position?
As terrific as Vas was as a character, I didn't think he would work within the context of "Bleach", so I was trying to find a substitute for that.
Originally, I had been playing around with the idea of Lobo from DC Comics being the one who would kidnap Ichigo, but Lobo was about as subtle as a nuke; not only would he kill Ichigo in the most horrifying way possible, but he would also destroy everything else around him.
So, I kind of thought of using Lupo instead. In a way, it was kind of appropriate, as Vas' original name during early development was "Lupo", so it seemed kind of like a neat way to allude to that.
I hope you guys enjoyed this.
Take care, and stay safe and healthy, everyone! :D