Chapter 14: His Name Was Jason...
"Hahaha! Did you bastards really think you could stop me!?" roared the Vasto Lorde as it floated before the wounded Ichigo. By its red and green color scheme and deep voice, he could tell it was Freddy Krueger, having somehow escaped Hell and become a Vasto Lorde. Around both of them, Karakura City lay in ruins, the skyscrapers and apartment buildings reduced to little more than rubble. Ichigo felt around for the spiritual pressure of anyone who might be of help against the monster he was facing but to his horror, there was none.
"Are they all...no...it can't be!" With a cry of defiance, Ichigo forced himself back to his feet, using Zangetsu as a crutch to lean on. The four gashes on his right shoulder were bleeding profusely and he knew if he didn't get them treated soon, he would die.
"Oh?" Freddy turned his head. "Still not done, Carrot Top? Are you that much of a glutton for punishment?"
"Shut up!" Ichigo shouted as he stood upright, ripping Zangetsu's tip out of the ground and pointing it toward the monster. "Do you really think I'll give up just because you're stronger than me!? Let me make one thing clear, as long as I'm living, I'll keep fighting and as long as I'm fighting, I'll fight to win!"
"Well said Ichigo!" A familiar voice spoke up from his left. Ichigo turned to see none other than Rukia standing by his side, her violet eyes glaring at Freddy with contempt rather than fear.
"R-Rukia?" Ichigo whispered.
Without turning to look at Ichigo, Rukia unsheathed her Zanpakuto and called it out. "Dance, Sode No Shirayuki!" At once, the blade took on its Shikai form, its beautiful white sheen nearly blinding Ichigo. Only then did Rukia turn to the Substitute Shinigami, offer a small smile, and held up her blade. "Come on, let's end this together."
Ichigo knew at once what she intended and with a smile of his own, tapped the tip of her Zanpakuto with his own. A spiral of ice and wind formed around both the blades and as both Shinigami faced the Vasto Lorde once known as Freddy Krueger, despite the grimacing mask he wore, they could tell he was afraid.
"Wh...What is this?" He asked himself as he began to back away. "This...power..."
"This is the power born from our resolve and our teamwork," Rukia explained. "A monster like you could never understand it."
"It's over Krueger." Ichigo followed. "You're through!"
"Getsuga Hakuren!" They both shouted in unison as they unleashed the attack. Freddy tried to shield himself but it proved to be a useless effort as he was sliced cleanly in half by the condensed but powerful snowstorm, both halves of his body freezing up in the process and shattering upon contact with the ground.
"We did it!" Ichigo cheered as he turned to Rukia. "We did it...Rukia?"
Rukia was still there, looking up into Ichigo's eyes and smiling. It was a smile he had never seen on her face before, one that seemed...warmer than usual. What really caught Ichigo off guard, however, was the Moon's sudden appearance behind Rukia. It was full and beautiful, appearing more like a giant ball of ice than a ball of rock. It bathed Rukia in its crystalline light, making her appear as if she were in the spotlight of a grand play and about to make her performance. The sky around would have been pitch black if not for the countless stars twinkling among the darkness.
From the corner of his eyes, Ichigo noticed a second light behind him and turned to find its source. The Sun, which was obscured by the Vasto Lorde Freddy not too long ago was now hovering several feet behind Ichigo. Despite its immense light. Ichigo was somehow able to take in the swirling flames and darkened spots making up the huge ball of starlight. The sky around it was as blue as the ocean and with this, Ichigo realized that somehow, night and day were one right now, standing before each other through the two Shinigami at their head.
"Ichigo." Rukia whispered as she stepped closer to the Substitute Shinigami, the smallest hint of a blush on her cheeks.
"Rukia." Ichigo stepped closer as well and gently placed his arms around her small frame. He bent his head as if in prayer and slowly brought his face closer and closer to Rukia. She closed her eyes and so did he and they prepared to make contact...
...Only for Ichigo's head to reel back from the force of the alarm clock slamming into his forehead. "Get up already you lazy ass!" Kon, the Mod Soul-possessed plushie that lived with Ichigo rent-free shouted. "It's 10 o'clock in the morning!"
"Gah!" Ichigo rubbed his bruised forehead as he grabbed the alarm clock and shut it off. "What the hell Kon?" He roared as he tossed the clock aside. "That hurt dammit!"
"Serves you right for sleeping in like a bum!" Kon defended with his arms crossed. "Just because it's the weekend doesn't mean you should sleep in all daaa-HHHHEEEYYY! What the!?" While Kon was talking, Ichigo grabbed him by the head as roughly as he could and tossed him out the window onto the street below. This was not the first time he had done this and if Kon's behavior was any indication, it would not be the last.
"Damn Kon!" Ichigo growled as he slammed the window shut. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Ichigo sat at the edge of his bed and let the fleeting memories of his dream wash over him. "What the hell's up with me?" He thought. "I never used to have dreams like that about Rukia or anyone for that matter." His gaze shifted to the closet where Rukia once slept when she first came to the World of the Living. Part of him expected her to come out and call him an imbecile for waking her up which would inevitably ignite an argument about how it was all Kon's fault. For some reason, the thought made him smile.
"Ever since Freddy was defeated, I've been having these dreams. I keep thinking back to that day," Ichigo recalled how he and Rukia had combined their powers to destroy the last of Freddy's fraccion. Such a technique had never been heard of before and Rukia seemed excited at the prospect of discovering a new way of fighting. Ichigo felt a little excited as well but as the weeks went by and he was given time to think, he wondered if it was for the same reason as Rukia. "What the hell's going on with my brain?" Ichigo sighed as he rubbed his head. He got up to take a shower right when his phone began to ring.
"Huh?" He picked it up from his desk, accepted the call and placed it against his ear. "Hello?...Uyru?...Huh? Kisuke wants us to meet at his shop? What for? What happened?"...What do you mean he wouldn't tell you?...All right! All right! I'll be there!"
Ichigo groaned as he hung up on his Quincy friend and placed the phone back in his pocket. "This day just keeps getting better and better." He muttered sarcastically.
"I'm so glad you could all join us today." Kisuke greeted coyly. Sitting before him in his little meeting room was an annoyed Ichigo, an indignant Uryu, a neutral Sado and Orihime who was currently thinking over what she wanted to make for dinner that night, craving something involving green onions and chocolate. To everyone's surprise, the lieutenant of Squad 12, Nemu Kurotsuchi, was sitting besides Kisuke, her usual aloof expression failing to provide any hints as to the nature of this sudden meeting. As if sensing everyone's impatience, Kisuke continued. "I'm sure you're all wondering why I called you today."
"You'd be guessing correctly," Ichigo replied dryly.
Uyru fixed his glasses. "I think I can safely assume it has something to do with Lieutenant Kurotsuchi's presence here?"
Kisuke nodded. "As you all know, it's been about two months since Freddy Krueger attacked the Soul Society. During that time, I lent Captain Kurotsuchi some of the articles we've uncovered while studying Krueger and well...he ended up discovering something a little...unpleasant."
"Unpleasant?" Uyru repeated. "What do you mean?"
"Hold on! You're not saying Freddy can come back can you?" Ichigo's eyes widened.
Kisuke held his hands over himself. "Now now Ichigo! No need to panic just yet!" Kisuke picked up his fan and opened it before his mouth. "Freddy himself is no longer a threat, that much is certain, the issue Captain Kurotuschi discovered was the existence of another entity like Freddy."
This time, all of the group's eyes widened.
"Another entity...like Freddy?" Orihime whimpered.
"You have to be kidding." Sado muttered.
"Afraid not." Kisuke turned to Nemu and nodded, prompting her to place a stack of printed-out news articles onto the table. Quickly, Ichigo and his friends shifted through the articles, all of which talked of the same monster.
"Jason Voorhees?" Ichigo asked.
Kisuke nodded. "Apparently, Freddy isn't the only human to escape the Cycle of Souls and become a supernatural killer. According to these articles, there's a legend of a boy named Jason who drowned in a place called Crystal Lake back in the 50's. His mother, Pamela Voorhees, went insane with grief and killed two counselors soon afterward, forcing the camp to close down. About 20 or so years later, however, they attempted to reopen it and Pamela returned to kill all the new counselors, trying to keep the camp closed."
"How awful!" Orihime said.
"This continued until the last survivor, a girl named Alice Hardy, killed Pamela in self-defense. Now, by all accounts, that should be where this grisly story ends but according to legend, this is actually where it all begins."
"What do you mean by that?" Sado asked.
"Two months after the camp massacre, Alice vanished from her home, never to be seen again. A few years after that, people began to die off in droves in the area near Crystal Lake. What few survivors there were alluded to a giant hulking man wearing a mask of some kind as responsible for the carnage, a man they believed to actually be Jason Voorhees, all grown up."
"Now wait a minute!" Ichigo argued. "How can they be sure it was Jason? Didn't you just say that kid died back in the 50's?"
"That's just what the legend says Ichigo." Kisuke replied. "And if you think that's a head-scratcher, just wait until you hear the rest."
Ichigo cocked an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Now, according to the reports, a man fitting the description of the killer was himself killed about three days later, by a child no less. DNA test more or less confirmed that this man was in fact Pamela Voorhees's son and he was buried with that marked on his grave. However, several years after his death, Jason's body supposedly vanished from its grave."
Orihime gasped and covered her mouth.
"And as if things weren't already bad enough, around that time, people began to either die or go missing. It turned into an off-and-on thing for a while until the FBI stepped in and destroyed Jason for good or at least that's what the articles say. However, Captain Kurotsuchi managed to find one more article dated from the early 2000's that tells a different story." Using his cane, Kisuke tapped upon the stack of articles and shifted through them until he came across the one he wanted. He then pushed it toward Ichigo and his friends whose's faces curled in horror once he removed the cane.
"The Killer Matchup of the Century? Survivors of Springwood Massacre Describe Intense Struggle Between Horror Legends!" read the headline. Underneath it were two illustrations of the supposed participants of this battle. One the group recognized as Freddy from his distinctive hat and claws. The other one, the hulking figure in the white mask and a machete in his right hand, they quickly figured was Jason.
"Killer matchup?" Ichigo asked. "Are you saying...Freddy fought this Jason guy?"
Kisuke nodded. "Apparently before making a mess in the Soul Society, our old pal Krueger made contact with this Jason fellow and they did battle. The details on the context are a little spotty but one of the eyewitness suggested that Freddy actually used Jason to revive the fear of him in the hearts of the folk living in Springwood so he could return to their dreams. It ended up working a little too well and Jason was stealing Freddy's prey so they fought. And from what these eyewitnesses say, it would seem that despite not possessing the same powers as Freddy, it was still Jason who came out on top."
Ichigo gulped as did his friends. "A-Are you saying that this Jason guy actually defeated Freddy?"
"Yep. Now as of now there's no guarantee that all details concerning Jason are real but if they are, we're dealing with quite the problem here."
"Mr. Urahara." Uyru spoke up. "I don't mean to interrupt but from what you've told us, this Jason person doesn't have the same powers as Freddy nor is he from the Dream Realm. Surely, he doesn't pose a threat to Soul Society tucked away in the American wilderness so why go through all this trouble to gather intel?"
"Two reasons." Kisuke replied. "The first is that Jason has the highest body count of any modern-day killer and if the eyewitness accounts and reports are anything to go by, he's still out there, taking out humans as we speak."
A grim look overtook Ichigo's face.
"If we just look away and pretend he's not there, Jason could eventually kill enough humans to throw off the Cycle of Souls and the results would be catastrophic."
"He's that deadly?" Orihime asked fretfully. Despite this Jason person being thousands of miles away, Orihime still felt herself shaking in fear, as if he were just outside the door.
"What's the other reason?" Sado asked with uncertainty in his voice.
Kisuke fixed his hat into place. "The other reason, the one I find even more troubling is what Jason's and for that matter what Freddy's existence entails. The fact that these two human souls somehow escaped the Cycle and became monsters other than Hollows doesn't just fly into the face of what we as Shinigami have known for thousands of years but suggest that the same thing could have happened to countless other souls as well. There's no telling how many beings like Freddy and Jason are out there, lurking just out of the corner of what our eyes could see."
The room went silent as Ichigo and his friends processed all that they had just heard. Memories of that horrible battle against Freddy and the Arrancar under his thumb replayed in their minds. They could still feel the flames, smell the blood, hear the screams and see their worst nightmares unfold before them. And now, Kisuke was telling them that not only was there without a doubt another killer even stronger than Freddy but that there might in fact be a whole race of them right here in the World of the Living? Letting out a frustrated shout, Ichigo slammed his fist onto the table, startling everyone.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" He snarled. "We have to destroy Jason before it's too late!"
"Ichigo," Orihime uttered.
"Now settle down Ichigo." Kisuke warned. "Haste makes waste you know? The reason why the Gotei 13 are gathering intel on Jason right now is so that they can formulate a plan to capture and destroy him." He explained. "Captain Kurotsuchi even created a new subdivision within the Department of Research and Development for just this purpose. It's called the Death Anomaly Correction Unit or D.A.C.U for short.
"D.A.C.U!?" Uryu repeated.
"That's right and you're looking at the Captain of its Human World Division!" Kisuke said coyly with a dumb smile. Still wearing the same stoic face she always did, Nemu struck a pose from behind and blow on a party horn. At the same time, balloons and confetti rained down upon everyone in the room. Needless to say, Ichigo was not impressed.
"Ohh! Congratulations!" Orihime shouted.
"Just a quick question," Uryu once again fixed his glasses. "Did Captain Kurotsuchi really make you head of the Human World division of D.A.C.U or did you just make that up yourself?"
Kisuke froze like a stone. "He may not...have been told that I know about D.A.C.U yet." He sweatdropped.
"So he didn't even invite you to help." Ichigo, Uyru and Sado deducted in unison. In response, Nemu blew on the party horn again.
"That's besides the point!" The slightly embarrassed Kisuke shouted. "The reason that I called you all here was to help escort Lieutenant Kurotsuchi here to the Department of Research and Development." He turned his head to the side, his lips pursed. "And maybe put a good word for me to lead the human world division of D.A.C.U."
"Go by yourself then!" Ichigo shouted.
"Ichigo." Orihime gently tugged at his shirt, forcing him to look back. "Let's just do this! It'll be our way of helping out against Jason!"
"She's right Ichigo." Uryu agreed. "Every second we waste is a second that monster is free to take another life. He must be stopped as soon as possible."
"Uryu." Ichigo replied.
"I have to admit that I don't trust that Kurotsuchi guy all that much." Sado said. "In fact, he kind of scares me but if this D.A.C.U thing can keep another monster like Freddy from killing anyone, I want to lend a hand as well."
"Chad." Ichigo looked around at his friends, their fear turned into determination to stop Jason and any others like him. It was enough for Ichigo to smile and face Kisuke. "All right! We'll do it!"
"I knew I could count on you guys!" Kisuke smiled back before shouting out into the open hallway. "Tessai! Prepare the Senkaimon!"
Everyone, including Ichigo, jumped as Tessai's giant head suddenly peered out from the doorway. "Very well sir!"
It didn't take but five minutes for Tessai, Jinta and Ururu to set up the Senkaimon. With all the articles gathered in a knack sack around her waist, Nemu stood patiently in front of the gateway for Ichigo and his friends to get ready. Once he was done, Ichigo approached Nemu and stood alongside her. "So we just have to give these articles to the Department of Research and Development right?"
Nemu nodded.
Ichigo remained silent for a moment, not sure as what else to say. Finally, he followed up with' "So this D.A.C.U thing...what exactly will it do?"
"The aim of D.A.C.U is to learn the cause of death of the souls in the Rukongai, confirm whether or not it was caused by an unnatural entity like Freddy and Jason and then find and destroy that being if this turns out to be the case."
"The souls of the Rukongai?" Ichigo asked. "So does that mean you guys are heading out of the Seireitei?"
Nemu shook her head. "No, Instead we're bringing the Rukongai souls into the Department of Research and Development to interrogate them. In this case, we are currently hunting down and bringing in all the past victims of Jason Voorhees."
Ichigo's eyes widened. "What the? Jason's past victims? Can you even find them? Wait, just what the hell are you planning on doing to them? You're not thinking of running some crazy experiment on them are you?"
Before Nemu could give her answer, Kisuke called out to them. "Alright everybody! Time's a wasting!" Sado, Uryu and Orihime took this as their cue to run toward the Senkaimon.
"Thanks for everything Mr. Urahara!" Orihime shouted.
"You're welcome!" Kisuke smiled. "And make sure to put in a good word for me about the Hu-
"Human World Division of D.A.C.U, yeah yeah." Ichigo groaned. "Let's get going."
With a curt nod, the group ran into the Senkaimon and through the Dangai with Nemu leading the charge. Ichigo was second, keeping up with the lieutenant of Squad 12 rather well. "One more thing, who do we give these articles to anyway? Captain Kurotsuchi?"
Nemu shook her head again. "Master Mayuri is currently in the Daireishokario searching for any past encounters the Gotei 13 might have had with Jason or Crystal Lake. He said it's possible that there might have been some contact made at some point that got buried with time."
"You really think so?" Ichigo asked.
"Its a possibility." Nemu confirmed. "In any case, he'll return soon so we should make haste getting to the Seireitei."
"Right." Without another word, Ichigo and his friends followed Nemu through the Dangai
"Tsk tsk tsk. What a troublesome task this has become." Mayuri sighed. The Captain of Squad 12 was currently in the Daireishokario, the ultimate collection of records within the Seireitei. Everything that had ever taken place here, from the largest battle to the smallest footstep was recorded here. It wasn't easy for Mayuri to convince Captain Ukitake to let him sneak in but after bringing up all the suffering caused by Freddy and his followers, the Captain of Squad 13 relented.
For the most part, the search for any past encounters the Gotei 13 might of had with Crystal Lake or Jason was fruitless. Mayuri had already dug through hours upon hours of files for the various missions to America but none yielded the results he wanted. That was, until, he came across an extremely restricted file. One marked in the name of a Shinigami.
"Akane Watanbe eh?" Mayuri sneered. "What secrets are you hiding?" Mayuri reached into his robe and pulled out a squirming slug-like creature the size of a soda bottle. The purple and yellow monstrosity yelped in pain as Mayuri rammed its tail into the port of the computer where the file was kept. You wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it (unless, of course, you worked in Squad 12 or the Department of Research of Development) but this grotesque thing was in fact a device meant to crack through even the most secure firewalls and passwords. As it fulfilled its mission, bypassing code after code after code of protection, the thing screamed in agony.
"Shut it you!" Mayuri demanded. "Do you want us to get caught!" Mayuri was about to consider if giving this invention of his nerve endings on its tail port was a good idea when the computer beeped. The file had been stripped of all its protection, leaving only a naked wall of text as well as a picture of a female Shinigami. "Ahh! At last!" Mayuri inched his face as close to the screen as possible to take in this new data. As he read through the file, his excitement only continued to grow.
"Oh my! What an interesting development!"
Ichigo was at a loss for words. With what Nemu had told him, they were planning to bring in Jason's past victims for questioning which would in turn lead to a plan of action against him. But what Nemu didn't tell Ichigo was that they had already started. As soon as he and his friends jumped out of the Senkaimon, they were greeted by the sight of a crowd of Rukongai residents taking up a rather small hall. Men and women, most of which looked to be around Ichigo's age were either being questioned by Shinigami in white lab coats or talking amongst themselves and none of them seemed rather joyous.
"Are...Are these..." Ichigo trailed off, forcing Nemu to finish his sentence for him.
"These are the victims of Jason Voorhees." Nemu explained. "Master Mayuri used the information I had sent him a week ago and had us at D.A.C.U find them and bring them here for interrogation."
"Now wait just a minute!" Uryu shouted. "If Captain Kurotsuchi already had such information with him, why did we need to make this trip to bring him more?"
Nemu locked eyes with Uryu, her stoic-as-ever face somehow giving off a hint of smugness. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you now. The articles we have now are just copies of the ones I had already given to Master Mayuri. While we were gathering the test subjects, Master Mayuri instructed me to lure you four here as he felt the presence of souls from the World of the Living would make the subjects more compliant. I told Kisuke Urahara and he came up with this plan in the hopes that it would give Master Mayuri incentive to let him join D.A.C.U."
"So in other words, he's using us! Is that what you're saying?" Ichigo tensed up in anger. "Kisuke set us up! That bastard! When I get my hands on him...errr!" Ichigo balled his hand into a fist and was seething with rage at being roped into this mess by both Kisuke and Mayuri. Before he could make his demand for a new Senkaimon to be opened so he could knock some sense into Kisuke's thick skull, the sound of people arguing brought him back to reality. Ichigo turned to the crowd and realized that two smaller groups of Jason's past victims were arguing with each other. They were too far away for Ichigo or his friends to hear them clearly but from the sound of it, it was getting ugly. Even the Squad 12 Shinigami were having trouble keeping them at bay. "What the hell's going on?" Ichigo asked.
"I don't know but since we're here, we might as well see what the problem is." Sado suggested, already making his way toward the group.
"Hey Chad! Wait up!" Ichigo as well as Uryu and Orihime, all ran after him as Nemu watched on As they got closer to the warring group, Ichigo was able to make out what was being said.
"What the hell do you mean potato sack?" The brown-haired girl in the orange kimono asked. "Look here! I saw the asshole that killed me clear as day and he was wearing a hockey mask!"
"Oh yeah! Well I saw him too and he had some sort of sack over his head!" The black-haired boy in the red kimono argued. "He was wearing it as he was slitting my fucking throat!"
"Yeah!" Another brown-haired girl agreed as she stood beside the boy, her kimono a dark shade of blue. "I looked right into his eyes while he fucking gut me! He was wearing a potato sack!"
"Well we saw the asshole that murdered us too and he was wearing a hockey mask!" A black-haired girl with slightly dusty skin interjected. She and her two male companions were all wearing the same black robes with red flowers on them. "And ain't no one short of one tough motherfucker ever gonna be strong enough to take us down. I don't know who killed your pansy ass but it wasn't Jason!"
"What was that!?" The argument once again erupted into a full-on yelling war. The two Shinigami on either side of the group, Rin and Hiyosu, were at an utter loss as to what to do, afraid to even get close to the arguing souls lest they get dragged into the fight literally. With a mighty leap, Ichigo jumped between the two groups and used his spiritual pressure to force them away from each other. Almost everyone was taken aback by the strange power pouring out from the newest of these Shinigami bastards that had brought them here.
"What the hell is going on?" He demanded once both groups quieted down enough. "What's with the pointless fighting?"
"These assholes are claiming to have been killed by Jason but then keep saying that he was wearing a sack over his head or something!" The dark-skinned man next to the black-haired woman spoke. "They're trying to capitalize on our suffering!"
"Your suffering? You've got to be kidding me!" A girl with dark blonde hair and a green kimono shouted. "News flash asshole! We were murdered by a psycho in a mask too and I know for a fact it was a potato sack!"
"Easy, easy." The blonde boy behind her cooed as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just calm down Sandra."
"But it's not fair Jeff!" Sandra zipped around to face her would-be comforter. "We were both killed by the same maniac at the same time and these jerks are trying to write it off as us capitalizing on this Jason guy! Who capitalizes on something like that?" She turned back around and faced the dark-robed trio. "If anything, you jerks are trying to mooch off of our tragedy!"
"That's it!" The last of the trio, a blonde man with a slightly unhinged look on his face shouted. "I think it's time someone taught you some manners you little bitch!" He tried to run up to Sandra only for Ichigo to calmly step in his path.
"I know it can't be fun talking about the guy that took your life from you." Ichigo began. "But arguing about what he looked like isn't going to make it better and neither will attacking each other. Now just back off and let's settle this peacefully."
Orihime couldn't help but smile at the way Ichigo took on the role of peacemaker. Even if he was unfairly roped into helping in this manner, he just had this knack for coming to the aid of people who needed it. That was one of the things she liked the most about him. One of the things that made him Ichigo.
The crazy-eyed man, on the other hand was just than impressed with Ichigo's attempt at peace and grabbed the Substitute Shinigami by the collar of his robes. "Now listen here, Carrot-Top! Back when we were alive, me and my amigos were the most feared biker gang in America!" He gestured to the black-haired woman. "That's Fox!"
"Sup?." Fox winked.
The man then gestured toward the dark-skinned man behind him. "That's Ali."
"And just for the record, that Jason asshole didn't get me without a fight!" Ali added with a grin that could only be described as shit-eating.
"And as for me," The wild-eyed man snarled as he turned back to an unimpressed Ichigo. "I'm called Loco! And unless you want to go to Soul Society 2 or wherever you Shinigami fucks go when you die, you'll step out of the way." All three former bikers grinned deviously at Ichigo, clearly hoping to some extent that he would continue to play hero so that they could take out their pent up rage on his body and face.
Ichigo sighed. "Really? We're really doing this? Fine. It would seem you leave me no choice."
It was over in a matter of seconds. Ali, Fox, and Loco were sent flying through the air and into the nearby wall, hitting it hard enough to make large cracks in the concrete. Everyone in the room watched as the former bikers peeled off of the wall and landed back to the floor with a thud. Only then, did Rin run up to them, taking a Jigokucho out of his robes and speaking into it. "This is Rin Tsubokura requesting medical aid from Squad 4 for three Rukongai souls. It's a code Kurosaki!"
A vein popped up on Ichigo's forehead. "Did I hear that right? Did you just say a code Kurosaki? What the hell does that mean?" He demanded.
Despite her aversion to violence, Orihime couldn't help but giggle. Taking nothing from nobody and unafraid to knock sense into people when they needed it. Just another thing that made Ichigo Ichigo.
"Goddamit! What a headache!" Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck as if it had a crick. With all the stress he was going through today, that might have very well been the case. Regardless, he turned to the crowd who now viewed him with almost as much fear as Jason.
"Did you see that" Jeff commented. "He sent those guys flying with one punch!"
"These Shinigami are no joke." Sandra added.
It would seem Mayuri and by lesser extent, Kisuke's gambits worked out nicely.
"Alright," Ichigo started, standing before the group like a general sizing up new recruits. "I don't frankly care if you guys wanna keep arguing about whether or not this Jason guy wore a hockey mask or not but if you're gonna debate it, be civil about it. Let's start with..." Ichigo moved his pointing finger around until it landed on another brown-haired girl with a red kimono. "You. What's your name?"
"V-Vera." The girl stuttered.
"Alright Vera. Tell us. What mask was this Jason guy wearing?" Ichigo asked.
"A H-Hockey mask." Vera answered. "I was hanging by the docks when this guy appeared out from behind the barn. I thought it was my friend Shelly because he was wearing the same hockey mask he used to scare me. He had an unhealthy obsession with that kind of thing. Anyway, by the time I realized that it wasn't him, I had a spear in my eye socket. It...was less painful then you'd imagine but it was still really awful."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Ichigo said. "Do you remember what day it was?"
"Not really...just that is was a Sunday in the late 80's." Vera sniffled.
"Wait a minute." Jeff interrupted. "Just to be clear, you're saying the the hockey mask looked like the one your friend Smelly had?"
"It's Shelly but yeah." Vera wiped a tear from her eye. "Asshole used it to scare me half to death that evening."
"If that's true, maybe it's possible that we're all right." Jeff suggested. "Maybe Jason wore a potato sack before getting his hands on that hockey mask."
Realization hit everyone like a ton of bricks as they began to speak once more, this time, much more calmly and orderly.
"T-That's right!" The girl in the green kimono said. "It had to have been before."
"So we all were killed by that asshole Jason then." The girl in the orange kimono sighed. "I hate that guy."
"Hey what about that Shelly asshole?" The black-haired boy in the red kimono grunted. "It's thanks to him that this argument started in the first place!"
There were murmurs of agreement among the group and before long, these murmurs turned into angry jeers.
"Hey guys! Calm down!" Ichigo demanded but his demands were unmet. Their anger had turned from each other to this Shelly character who had indirectly caused this confusion and disharmony. Of course, by the laws of the Universe, it was around this time that another Rukongai citizen was brought into the room, one with brown curly hair and beady brown eyes.
"S...S...Shelly?" Vera gasped as she pushed through the crowd toward the newcomer.
"Vera?" Shelly wiped his eyes and blinked several times as he took in the sight of the last crush of his life. "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"
"That's the guy?" Jeff asked in a accusing tone. "That's the one who gave that psycho the hockey mask?"
"Hockey mask? What ar-" Shelly was silenced by the wooden sandal Kelly had taken off her foot and thrown at his forehead. With another angry uproar, the crowd rushed toward Shelly, the two Shinigami that had escorted him inside now backing away quickly.
"Calm down dammit!" Ichigo shouted to no avail. He tried to rush at the group to tear them off of Shelly but was stopped by Rin and Hiyosu wrapping their arms around him and forcing him to a halt. "What the hell? Let go of me! Can't you see they're gonna kill that kid!?"
"We can't let you damage the subjects anymore than you already have!" Rin explained fretfully. "Those last three you hit won't wake up for at least a couple of hours!"
"Captain Kurotuschi had strict orders to keep the subjects as alive and unharmed as possible!" Hiyosu added. "We can't let you start whomping their asses left and right!"
"You better let me go or the only asses I'm gonna whomp will be yours!" Ichigo growled, all of his patience, already drained from discovering his true reason for being here, gone completely.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, already resorting to violence I see." A familiar yet discomforting voice called out. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that barbarian Zaraki was starting to rub off on you, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Every pair of eyes in the room turned to the source of the condescending voice. A lot of the Rukongai residents gasped, a few even screamed, at the sight of the strange man in bizarre makeup and a very ornate headdress.
"Captain Kurotsuchi!" Rin and Hiyosu shouted in joint relief.
"Seriously, I can't leave this place for five minutes without everything falling apart." Mayuri complained as he made his way toward the stunned crowd. "First things first, introductions are an order. I am Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Captain of the 12th Division of the Gotei 13, Head of the Department of Research and Development, and as of now, Head of the Death Anomaly Correction Unit, also known as D.A.C.U. Before we can proceed further, I must ask that you cease your assault on the one called Sheldon Finklestien. This is a first for me but I can't exactly extract useful data from you if you're dead."
No one in the group could muster even an ounce of courage to reply to the Shinigami Captain looming over them, instead, they quietly complied with his request, backing away from the battered and bruised Shelly. Following this, the murmuring began.
"Is...Is that guy even human?"
"No way in hell! He's got be like a fucking demon or something."
"What does he mean by collecting data from us? What are these freaks gonna do to us?"
Ignoring this whispered commentary, Mayuri sharply turned to Orihime. "You! Ryoka girl!"
"Y-Yes!?" Orihime stuttered, completely caught off guard by the Squad 12 Captain's sudden addressing of her.
"Come heal this man's wounds. This will be the first run of Project D.A.C.U and the less that annoying Unohana and her squad are involved, the better!"
"Oh! Uh...right!" Orihime quickly dashed to Shelly's side and stretched her arms out toward him "Soten Kisshun, I reject!" At once, two petals from the flower hairpins she wore flew off from the rest and formed a half oval barrier over Shelly. The crowd watched in amazement as his blood returned inside the cut on his forehead which then closed completely. Once again, the murmuring started.
"Who's this chick?"
"I don't know but if she's with these assholes, maybe this won't be so bad.
"You know, I think I might have a scratch on me somewhere. Maybe she should look at it."
As the comments continued and Orhime continued to heal Shelly, Nemu meekly approached Mayuri. "As you can see, I brought the former Ryoka as you asked for. I also have an inquiry from Mr. Urahara concerning..
"Yes! Yes! I know." Mayuri sighed. "That idiot wants to lead the Human World affairs for D.A.C.U." Mayuri groaned as he rubbed his face. "I suppose he wouldn't make too terrible a candidate but I still need time to see if I can find someone better." Mayuri turned to Ichigo and smiled. "In any case, now's not the time to talk about it. Kurosaki Ichigo, I want you to come with me."
"M-Me?" Ichigo stammered. "W-Why?"
"Don't backsass me!" Mayuri growled. "We have a urgent matter to discuss concerning the final details of this project. It concerns Jason Voorhees."
Ichigo stiffened. "Jason...Voorhees?"
"I trust that imbecile Urahara at the very least told you the nature of the D.A.C.U's first assignment, am I right? We are to hunt down this Jason Voorhees, bring him to the lab for study, and then dispose of him. That's why I have his past victims gathered here. To supply precious undocumented information that might prove beneficial to our cause. To help matters along, I was doing some personal digging of my own in the Daireishokario and to my incredible luck, I came across something rather interesting."
"What is it?" Ichigo asked with a hint of caution in his voice.
"Not here!" Mayuri suddenly got up in Ichigo's face, causing the Substitute Shinigami to scream as he fell down on his behind. "The details are quite sensitive and were hidden behind a rather annoying firewall."
"So in other words, you stole them." Ichigo groaned.
"Who cares about such frivolous details?" Mayuri defended. "The point is that I found what may very well be the corner stone to this entire operation and I have deemed you worthy of learning it as well. You should be honored." Mayuri turned to his lieutenant. "Nemu! Go fetch the other one!"
"Right away, master Mayuri." She flash-stepped away and Mayuri grabbed Ichigo by the arm and started dragging him out of the room. "Rin! Hiyosu! Began the interrogations at once!" He barked.
"Right away Captain!" Both Shinigami agreed in unison
"Ryoka! I want you to keep the peace around here! If any of the test subjects start getting uppity, you know what to do!"
"Um...No we don't." Sado muttered nervously.
"Make no mistake Kurotsuchi. I may have joined my friends in this foolish mission but I do not take orders from the likes of you!" Uryu shouted, his fist balled up in anger.
"Um...ok...See you later Ichigo!" Orihime shouted, her healing of Shelly nearing its completion.
"Wait a minute!" Ichigo choked, trying to regain control of his footing as the Squad 12 Captain dragged him along,
"Grr! What now?" Mayuri snarled.
"What did you mean by the other one?" Ichigo inquired. "The one you sent your lieutenant to fetch?"
"Why the other person I deemed worthy of this knowledge of course. You see, in the months following the battle with Freddy Krueger and his Arrancar army, in addition to conceiving the idea for the D.A.C.U, I had also been working with a lieutenant of another Squad to perfect a revolutionary battle technique discovered during the aforementioned battle. One that could very well change the way Shinigami utilize their Zanpakuto." By the time Mayuri had finished his statement, he and Ichigo were already out into the halls
"R-Really? What technique?"
Mayuri stopped and gave Ichigo a look that, while hard to study at first, he came to realize screamed "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Are you really that stupid Kurosaki?" The Squad 12 Captain asked. "You should know damn well what technique it is! After all, you helped discover it!"
Both memories of the battle and and of his dream this morning flooded Ichigo's mind. "Wait! You don't mean-
Before he could finish his sentence, Ichigo felt the spiritual pressure of two female Shinigami appear in front of him.
"I found her as you have asked, Master Mayuri." Nemu spoke as she got down on a single knee. The other Shinigami besides her turned her attention to Ichigo with a smug smile. "Long time no see, Ichigo." She greeted.
"Rukia."
20 minutes had passed since Ichigo and Rukia left the hall filled with the past victims of Jason Voorhees and still they found themselves following Mayuri and Nemu down a dingy hallway. Deciding that he needed to find a way to pass the time lest he go insane from the endless walking toward an unknown destination, he began to whisper to Rukia.
"So what's the deal with you and Captain Kurotsuchi?" Ichigo asked. "Don't tell me you're planning to transfer into this nuthouse of a Squad."
"Don't be foolish!" Rukia scolded. "I intend to do no such thing. I've simply been discussing how we could use Shikai fusion in battle with Captain Kurotsuchii."
"Shikai fusion?" Ichigo asked.
"The name of the new technique we discovered. Mayuri coined the term." Rukia explained.
"Oh I see."
"My brother said that it would be best for us to learn everything we can about it before utilizing it for combat." Rukia continued. "And as the Head of the Department of Research and Development, Captain Kurotsuchi was very interested in its potential. He says it could prove very useful for the entities discovered through his D.A.C.U program."
"Has he given these enemies an name yet?" Ichigo asked "Like, collectivly?"
Rukia shook her head. "He says there's not enough we know about them yet and seeing as how we've only recently learned about two of them, I'm inclined to agree."
"Its still chilling to think about." Ichigo mused. "To think that all this time, monsters like Freddy and Jason have been running around right underneath your noses."
Rukia growled. "We Shinigami are focused on keeping the Cycle of Souls in balance above all else!" She hit Ichigo on the arm.
"Ow!"
"In any case, we've found them now and that's all that matters." Rukia looked down to the floor. "Hopefully with the D.A.C.U, we can find these monsters before they have a chance to cause the same damage that Freddy did." Memories of the awful day filled her mind, the rotting faces of the people closest to her jeering at her over and over again. It was enough to make Rukia shiver and this did not go unnoticed by Ichigo who gently placed a hand on her shoulder, startling her a bit.
"Don't worry. It won't be like last time." Ichigo said. "This time, we've got the advantage."
"Ichigo." Rukia allowed herself to breathe out her anxiety and fear as she stared into Ichigo's eyes. Something about them was just...so reassuring. Even in a situation like this.
It was around this time that Mayuri finally led the group to a giant green-tinted door covered with intricate designs. Standing to the right of it was a Squad 12 member, a woman with long blonde hair and her face and neck completely concealed by bandages. Only one hazel eye remained uncovered as it studied the group carefully. "Will all of these people be joining you, Captain?" She asked, her voice somehow totally clear despite her mouth being covered. It was the voice of a middle-aged woman.
"Yes. We need to discuss the final plan concerning the information the D.A.C.U has obtained." Mayuri confirmed.
With a curt nod, the woman moved the bandages from her mouth and bit into both of her hands hard enough to draw blood. Placing the two wounds together, she pressed her hands against the door and made the shape one would make while creating a bird with shadow puppets. This caused the blood flowing from her hands to flow directly into the designs on the door, turning them from a pale yellow to a dark red. Once the designs were filled up completely, the door began to vibrate before lowering itself away from the doorway. There was no slit to indicate that the door was simply pulled down into a lower compartment like bread in a toaster. Instead, the door appeared to simply melt into the grey tile floor, vanishing as if it had never been there to begin with. With her task accomplished, the woman bowed to Mayuri and walked past the group, only to stop once her one visible eye landed on Ichigo.
"That orange hair." She whispered. "You must be that Ichigo boy who's helped us out so much in the past. Thank you for that." Her voice was sweet and motherly, a complete and utter clash with her rather morbid appearance. The sheer contrast between the two left Ichigo feeling uncomfortable.
"Y-You're Welcome Ms..." Ichigo trailed off, not sure if it was such a good idea to casually inquire the name of someone working in Squad 12. They always seemed like the secretive sort to him, what with being cooped up in a lab all day long.
To his surprise, however, the woman simply chuckled and said' "Just call me Prim. Everyone does." With a small farewell pat on Ichigo's shoulders, Prim continued to make her way down the corridor, her long blonde hair growing smaller and smaller in the darkness until it vanished completely.
"Prim huh?" Rukia commented. "I don't think I've seen here around here before."
"She's an unseated officer who works within the inner trappings of my labs such as this corridor." Mayuri answered. "We've had her for about 17 years now. But enough about that. Let's get this discussion started." Mayuri led the rest of the group through the doorway in front of them. The room beyond it was for the most part bare. It only had a single chair which Mayuri quickly claimed, much to Ichigo's chagrin. Next to the chair was a column-shaped device about half of the Squad 12 Captain's size. With Nemu, Rukia, and Ichigo deciding to remain standing as opposed to sitting on the floor, Mayuri cleared his throat and began. "As you very well know, I was at the Daireishokario, searching for any information that would aid in our mission to capture, study, and ultimately destroy Jason Voorhees. More specifically, I was searching for any contact our kind might of had with him in the past."
Ichigo and Rukia's eyes widened. "Past contact?" The latter asked. "Did you find it?"
Mayuri's mouth twisted into a horrific smile. "Oh not only did I find it, I may have discovered the secret behind Jason's first resurrection to boot." As Ichigo and Rukia stared at him dumbfounded, Mayuri took a out the squirming device he had used in the Daireishokario and slammed it down onto the top of the device next to him. The creature once again struggled and cried out as its mouth unwillingly connected to the device, bringing it to life with blinking lights flashing all over it. A huge computer screen suddenly melded into view from the blank wall behind Mayuri in the same manner the door had vanished into the floor. Once it was fully formed, it switched on and displayed the picture of a young female Shinigami with brown hair and green eyes. "This is Akane Watanbe and if the information I gathered is to be believed, she is the one responsible for all the death and destruction Jason has wrought upon the World of the Living."
Ichigo couldn't believe it. The woman depicted before him didn't have a single once of hatred or contempt in her eyes. Yet, she was responsible for a monster like Jason? It couldn't be right.
"With all due respect, Captain Kurotsuchi." Rukia began. "I fail to see how this person could be responsible for Jason's resurrection or even why she would do something like that in the first place."
"Impatient as always, Kuchiki." Mayuri sighed as he held his hands up in a shrug. "If you would kindly shut up and listen, I'd be more than happy to relay the intel I gathered in the Daireishokario."
Rukia opened her mouth to retort, only to close it again and bow her head. "My apologies Captain Kurotsuchi."
Mayuri gave a curt nod before continuing. "Akane was the 7th seat in the fifth Division under Sosuke Aizen's leadership and before you ask, has no known connection to him. In fact, from what the reports indicate, Akane was the complete opposite of Aizen, a optimistic person with a strong sense of justice. She had a very close friend named Sanji Cursoe who used to work in the Kido Corps prior to joining the Gotei 13. These two went on various missions together with their last misson as Shinigami taking place at Crystal Lake in 1957, just a few days after Jason had drowned.
Realization began to set into both Ichigo and Rukia's minds like the claw of a Hollow digging into their skulls. "You...You don't mean..."
"Once they had returned from their mission, they were both promptly arrested and put on trial before the Central 46. The reason for this was because Akane had used a forbidden Kido spell to do the unthinkable." Mayuri stared directly into Ichigo and Rukia's eyes as he said this. "She brought a dead human back to life."
This time, nobody reacted in surprise. Not because the fact that a Shinigami actually reversed the process of death didn't surprise them, it most surely did. But after a whole day filled with one uneasy surprise after another, Ichigo and Rukia had simply run out of gasp to let out. It did take a good minute for either of them to process this, however, and when Rukia broke the silence, it was only to confirm what she and everyone else in the room already knew to be the truth.
"That human...it was Jason wasn't it?"
Mayuri once again grinned harshly. "Indeed. When questioned about her actions, Akane explained that she had grown tired of the way human souls were handled by the Shinigami, complaining about the unfairness and savagery of the Rukongai. She stated that this poor boy, Jason, had gone through enough suffering already and that condemning him to the Rukongai would be the same as casting him off to Hell."
Ichigo looked down at the floor, processing Mayuri's words carefully. "That's right!" He thought. "Jason was still a child when he drowned the first time. When that Shinigami brought him back to life, she wasn't reviving some supernatural murderer upon the world, she was just bringing a little boy back to life. Ichigo's mind scrambled to comprehend how this selfless gesture could lead to unleashing a monster of mass destruction upon the World of the Living and came up empty.
"What ever became of Akane and Sanji?" Rukia asked. "Were they executed?"
Mayuri shook his head. "No. Despite Akane outright confessing to the crime, Sanji took the full brunt of the blame for teaching her the Kido in the first place. For this, he was banished from the Soul Society and forced to live in the World of the Living within a power-sealing Gigai. Because he was in the Kido Corps, almost every trace of his existence had been wiped from the database completely. There's not even a picture of what he looked like nor a description of the Kido in question."
Ichigo forced himself to look up at the image of Akane again. Only now could he read the sadness in her eyes.
"As for Akane, she was stripped of her Zanpakuto and sentenced to live out her days in the Maggot's Nest." Mayuri chuckled lightly. "Now, this is where things get interesting."
Ichigo and Rukia both stared at Mayuri with intent, unsure how this crazy story could get even more "interesting."
"Akane accepted her sentence without so much as the slightest complaint yet, she only ended up staying at the Maggot's Nest for 30 years, before being brought back before the Central 46, given back her Zanpakuto, and sent on one final mission to the World of the Living."
"What?" Rukia gasped. "S-She was sent on another mission? Why?"
Mayuri sighed. Tragically, the details for this particular mission were never recorded. To say it was a top secret operation would be an understament. All we do know was that it saw Akane lead a group of Shinigami back to America. It's very tempting to think that they returned to Camp Crystal Lake but alas, there's no hard evidence for that." Mayuri turned to the column-like device and began fiddling with the lights on it's sides. The image on the wall changed into a map of the Northern Rukongai with a small square scanning it. "As much of a pain as it will be, we have no choice but to question Akane herself about the missing details of this whole event."
"Question Akane?" Ichigo asked. "You mean she's still alive?"
"Alive and living within the 80th district of the Northern Rukongai." Mayuri explained. "Despite Central 46's attempts to erase Akane and our past contact with Jason, it doesn't change the fact that Akane was a Shinigami of the Gotei 13. I've programmed my supercomputer to be able to track down anyone that has ever served as a Shinigami if even for a day. Once I knew her name and face, it was simply a matter of waiting for the computer to close in on her location. Right there." Mayuri finished as he placed his finger onto where the square had stopped. "We are to go there and interrogate Akane Watanbe for the missing information."
"Now hold on!" Ichigo shouted. "Isn't this a little unorthodox? What are you planning to do to her if she isn't willing to talk?"
"Ichigo!" Rukia grabbed him by the robes and forced him down to her level. "Calm down! You don't want to make Captain Kurotsuichi mad, do you?"
"Rukia! Are you seriously going to just let this happen? You of all people should know what this guy is like." In truth, Ichigo had never interreacted with Captain Kurotsuchi all that much but what few times they had spoken before today were more than enough to drill it into Ichigo's head that this man was insane. He shuddered to think of what would happen to this Akane person if things went south.
"That's precisely why we're going!" Rukia whispered, snapping Ichigo out of his stupor. "With the two of us there, Akane might be more willing to talk. Plus, if worst comes to worst, we can keep Captain Kurotsucihi from doing something rash."
"Rukia," Ichigo couldn't help but smirk. "You know, this is the first time I've ever heard you conspire against a Captain. What, are you finally entering you rebellious teen phase or something?" Ichigo was rewarded for his unwelcome comment with a punch to the jawline.
"You imbeicile!" She growled, fighting to keep her voice down to a whisper. "I'm just saying things are more likely to go our way if we come along on this mission. And I'll bet you anything Captain Kurotsuchi knows it too."
Ichigo sighed as he rubbed his jaw. He knew Rukia was right. Going along with the Sqaud 12 Captain's current plan was the best way to ensure no innocent blood was spilled. It didn't make the idea of traveling all the way to the deepest District of a part of the Rukongai he'd never been before any more pleasant but he was willing to do it if it meant stopping that monster known as Jason from taking more lives. "Alright." He replied. "I'm in."
Rukia's scowl gave way to a small smile toward Ichigo. She then turned to Mayuri. "I'm will be coming along as well."
"Glad to see you two finally cooperating." Mayuri sneered. "We'll leave in an few hours so make sure to be ready by then. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to gather some supplies." He sharply turned to his lieutenant. "Nemu, see these two back outside and then meet me back in the lab." He demanded.
"Yes, Master Mayuri." Nemu bowed her head and led Ichigo and Rukia out of the room. As they marched back through the endless hallway, Ichigo suddenly felt the uneasy sensation of being watched. Turing his head slightly, he spotted someone leaning against the wall to his right, studying him closely with her single visible hazel eye.
It was Prim.
"You and Rukia are going to the Northern Rukongai with Captain Kurotsuchi?" Orihime asked, not trying at all to hide the shock on her voice.
"Yeah. That's pretty much the gist of it. Hopefully, this Akane person can fill us in on the details missing from the data that the Captain barrowed." Ichigo used his fingers to air quote the final word of his sentence. Around him and Orihime, dozens of Shinigami from Squad 12 were interviewing the past victims of Jason Voorhees. It wasn't an easy task as many of the people, mostly teenagers, felt uncomfortable relaying the nature of their demise to these strange afterlife scientist. With Sado, Uryu and Orhime's help however, most of them were coaxed into conversing with Mayuri's men in the hopes that it would lead to the destruction of the monster that killed them.
"It happened so fast man." A black-haired boy in a grey kimono spoke. "One minute, I was driving the RV with my girlfriend in the can and the next, I got a fucking knife through my skull. Last thing I remember before coming here was feeling the RV turn over."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Rin replied as he jotted down the boy's words. "How would you describe the being that killed you."
"Man, I only got to see him for like a second but he was huge." The black-haired boy continued. "Not to mention he stank like roadkill."
"Did he have a hockey mask?" Rin asked.
"Oh yeah. Kinda new looking actually. The only new looking thing about him."
A few feet away, Akon was interviewing a girl with big black hair and an equally black kimono. "And just to be clear, this was Jason who smashed your head in with your own guitar? You're absolutely certain about that?"
The girl scoffed. "How many times do I have to tell you man? It was the real Jason! I don't know how he got onto that boat but it was him." Saddened, she looked down at her feet with her arms crossed. "Thanks to him, I'll never get to make it to the big times."
I'm sorry." Akon sighed as he jotted down her words. This girl, J.J Jarrett, was not the first person here who claimed that Jason killed them on a boat heading for the US city of New York. Akon had heard of the sightings of Jason there but had simply filed them away in his mind as a bad joke. Now, it looked as if it weren't the case. "This Jason guy gets around a lot more than you would think." He muttered to himself as he waved J.J off and called out for the next subject, completely oblivious to Ichigo and Orhime's conversation.
"Is something wrong?" He asked upon noticing the sadness in her eyes.
Orhimie quickly shook her head and fixed her face. "No! I'm alright! It's just...none of us have ever traveled that far into the Rukongai before." Of course, this wasn't the real reason Ichigo's words caused Orihime pain but she wasn't about to let him in on her moral dilemma, especially when it involved one of her closest and dearest friends in the world. "But it's you we're talking about so I'm sure you'll be alright!"
Ichigo could tell that Orihime was not giving him the whole truth but he also figured that it was for a reason and in any case now was not the time or place to grill her. He would have to wait until she was good and ready to get this thing off her chest. "Don't worry. Me and Rukia will be back as soon as possible."
"Right." Orihime nodded, her smile a little more genuine now. Alas, it faltered as Ichigo walked away, no doubt meaning to prepare for the long trip ahead. "He and Rukia have gotten so much closer since Freddy was defeated." She thought. "And I'm happy for them. I really am. But..." She looked down into the floor. "It doesn't make it hurt any less."
A few hours had passed, exactly one since Mayuri's team left in search of Akane and Akon was making his way into the labs with a huge stack of papers in his arms. These papers contained the written details and accounts of the subjects brought in today, all of which would be allowed to sleep in the main hall before being sent back to the Rukongai tomorrow. After a few minutes of searching, the Shinigami's eyes landed on the person he was looking for hunched over the controls of a supercomputer. "Hey Prim! I got a job for you!"
The bandaged blonde turned her single visible eye to the Squad 12 3rd seat. "Yes?"
Akon approached her and handed the stack of papers to her. "I need you to process all this intel into the supercomputer. It's the information we gathered from Jason's victims."
"Aww! Those poor dears." Prim cooed. "Its so unfair that life had to end so quickly for them."
"That seems to be the case for most of them." Akon agreed. "But once the Captain returns, we'll begin our operations to capture that Jason person and destroy him once and for all. Don't worry." Akon smiled. "Their deaths will be avenged." Akon figured that such news would brighten Prim's disposition, but to his surprise, there was a brief flash on anger in her eye. "Is something wrong?"
Prim seemed to have caught on to Akon noticing her mood because she quickly brightened up. "N-No! Nothing! I'll process all these papers, you just leave it to me."
Akon studied the unseated Shinigami for a few seconds before deciding not to press further. With a yawn, her turned away. "Good night Prim!"
"Good night Akon!" Prim turned to the screen before her and booted it up. "All those poor souls, struck down before their time." As she began to input the information into the supercomputer, her eye narrowed to a cold glare devoid of any warmth of sympathy. "Like they didn't deserve it."
Her fingers moved faster than the human eye could follow and within a few seconds, the entire screen was covered with green text, copies of the words written upon Akon's papers. All the while, Prim allowed her rage to bubble up to the surface. "They all deserved it. Drinking. Smoking. Having sex. Those nasty brats deserved their fate! All Jason was trying to do was make sure they received their just punishment and these Shinigami, these monsters want to destroy him for it? Its just like back then! No one understands Jason. No wants to even try. They just take one look and decide he's better off dead!"
Prim placed all the information she typed up into a file made specifically for the Jason case. Appropriately, it was headed by a sketch of Jason, the same one Mayuri showed to his fellow Captains. Prim allowed herself to be calmed by the drawing and even brushed her fingers against the bottom of it. "My boy. My precious little boy. All grown up." Carefully, she pulled at the loose end of a bandage on her neck, allowing the entire thing to come undone. "I've waited for so long to find you my child. I searched every inch of this horrible place and even became their lap dog, all so I could find you again. I know its been too long and I'm sorry. But I promise, now that I've found you, I won't let those bastards destroy you!"
As the bandaging fell to the floor, Prim, or as she was known in the World of the Living, Pamela Voorhees stared at her own reflection on the screen. "I won't let them kill you again Jason. This time, Mommy's going to protect you!"
(Wow. Just wow. Where do I even start? Well first of all, I'm not dead. Don't worry about that. To make the long stupid story short, my fucking laptop DIED on me and when I say died, I mean D.I.E.D! Had to wait a few days for a new battery that didn't do shit and now gonna have to wait a few days to get a new laptop. I'm finishing this chapter on my Aunt's laptop as we speak. I don't know when I'll get back to writing but hopefully it will be before the month is out and I just want to let you guys know, I'm not dead.
Now, on a happier note. I wanna thank a certain guest by the name of NoHorrorYesAnime for showing support for this story. They asked me a lot of questions pertaining to this story and I'm more than happy to answer them but since they don't have a account I can PM them with, I'll just answer them here and now.
First, there's a certain source on the Internet that I've worked my list of horror movies from. It's what actually inspired this fanfiction and the golden rule is if a movie has been covered by this source, it's eligible for this story. Currently, there are no plans for a Ringu arc but anything could happen and honestly, I like that idea very much.
Figure out the source and I'll confirm it for you so that you'll have you list of potential arcs and chapters. Here's a hint: It's big on Youtube
As for the non-supernatural slashers, I still have plans for them. After all, this is the Bleach universe where death is only the beginning. Trust me, I've got a plan for many of the franchises from this source but I don't really wanna spoil anything so for now, you'll have to be content with finding it. I will spoil this much however, there will in fact be a Child's Play arc and Scream side-story in the future. And I might just add that Chucky vs. Yachiru scene ;)
Finally, for those who might not appreciate the Ichiruki vibes, I'm sorry but I will not remove them just yet. I will go on record and say that it may not be the endgame ship but for now, I kinda want to play with it as a subplot and this is my fanfiction so please bear with it.
Good bye for now and hopefully, it won't take too long for me to upload again. BSC out!
EDIT: Last evening, I got a new laptop! I can finally start writing again! See you guys soon and Happy Friday the 13th!)