~FIREFLY KNIGHTS~

Bleach Copyright Tite Kubo

Firefly Knights Copyright Illand Girl

'For those that need a Guardian.'


Chapter 15: This Was Not How It Was Supposed To Go


Kaname Tousen cleaned his blade on the fallen girl's shihakusho before sheathing it. He suspected, from the laboured breaths she took, that she would be no more in a matter of minutes. There were small gasps and groans that informed him that one of her lungs had been damaged. Seconds then. He turned, beginning to walk away, when a horrible sensation hit him in full force.

Kaname naturally felt many spiritual pressures in his life and had become rather attuned to telling the differences between positive and negative emotions displayed within one's spirit. It had been his key in recognizing Aizen as a leader worthy of his company. It had also been a valuable asset in determining the liars that would often try and join their plight. He could practically sense it despite his eyes remaining unseeing. He'd felt many chilling moments in his life, especially when he unintentionally questioned any of Aizen's commands.

This sensation, however, made his entire being freeze up.

A chill ran through him, the spiritual pressure felt like rain that was soaking through his skin and down to the core of his very being. It was what he would liken despair to be. One who was on the precipice of destruction might feel this sort of negativity.

Tousen turned, hand on the hilt of Suzumushi. He felt the spiritual pressure radiating from that girl and could tell she was moving. His skin felt cold and clammy as she groaned. Skin scraped against the concrete beneath them as she dragged herself up. There was something about the movement that almost sounded unnatural to him. Like a being not used to the parameters of the body they inhabited. The scrapes and short wheezing groans that sounded too active, too alive, made goosebumps appear at the back of his neck.

The hollow let out a long breath, pushing Naomi's body off the ground. She stared, her eyes adjusting to the control, slowly finding her feet. The hollow rose to a stand, disregarding the blood oozing from her skin. She watched the captain with narrowed eyes, her hair falling down the bridge of her nose, adding to the dishevelled state. Pieces of dirt and rocks entangled in her wavy locks. The tips of white horns pushed the strands aside at the top of her head as they began to emerge.

Tousen didn't move initially, confused.

"You should've bled out by now," he whispered, frustrated. The hollow glanced at the body she possessed, feeling Naomi groaning beneath the surface. Pain. She was in pain, that human. Even pushed beyond the surface, she was still acutely aware of everything her body experienced. How agonizing it must be, fully aware and yet unable to control the movements. Initially she wanted to ignore Naomi, but the whimpers and groans were quickly grating on her nerves.

The hollow brought her fingers to her lips and stuck them in her mouth. She tasted dirt from under her fingernails. The hollow coated her fingers in saliva, drawing her fingers out and watching the strands slip from between her fingers and mouth, dribbling down her chin, before running them over the major wounds of her body. For the ones on her arms, she simply licked them clean. The only sound Tousen could hear was the sound of skin sizzling from the contact of something searing the wounds shut.

Naomi's whimpers ceased, except for the groan of a weight she was unused to.

'Your body is cracking under your own spiritual pressure even like this.' The hollow mused; she slowly licked her lips clean of blood and saliva. 'It can't handle mine as well for long.'

Skin rebound itself as it sizzled and steamed; the hollow completely healed her host within a few seconds. Her horns elongated as time went on, slowly sprouting to full length and curving back over her skull.

Tousen could feel the change in the girl but could not determine what the change was. The rain had stopped, but this deep-seated chill was stuck in his chest. The air around him felt heavy, his breathing increased to make up for the difficulty.

"What's the matter?" She asked, a hum in her tone. It was not like the Naomi Kaname had heard moments prior. "You had so much to say before."

She relished throwing it back at him, a grin spreading across her lips as Kaname Tousen recollected his thoughts.

The hollow grabbed her sword from its sheath where it sat at her right hip. Slowly, purposefully, she drew it out. Tousen heard the scraping, felt the air shift again. This sensation felt like he was facing a... a hollow.

"What sort of abomination are you?" Tousen asked, wondering where such a beast had been created. She felt human, from her movement to her mannerisms. Naomi Sakurai was a human girl. And yet whatever was standing in front of him was most certainly not human. But the problem in his mind was how. How had this happened inside of someone like Noami Sakurai? Did Aizen? No, surely, he would've told Kaname. Surely? A flicker of doubt arose as he recalled the times before Kaname became Aizen's confidant. When he was simply a servant on the outer circle.

Things were different then.

There was no sound as the hollow shifted and leapt for him. One minute she was fifty feet away, and the next Tousen blocked as the hollow struck him. Her strike was so heavy he had to brace against her blade as he slid more than ten feet from the single blow. Such power! It was certainly not the human girl he had faced moments prior.

This... entity... it was entirely different.

He pushed away, then came at her again.

The hollow caught his blade with her bare hand.

"Is that supposed to cut me?" She asked, closing her palm around Suzumushi. In the next second she slashed across his chest.

Tousen stumbled back as she released his sword, coughing and gasping. The hollow hummed, looking to the blood on her blade.

"I meant to cut you in two," she mused, looking over to the blind man. Tousen had gathered himself, growling.

"To think, I was pushed to this by the likes of you," he said, holding Suzumushi up and palming the ring on the side of the blade's guard.

"Bankai"

The rings spread, creating a dome of complete darkness around the hollow. She sniffed, noticing that the scent of Tousen had vanished entirely. Her face didn't change from before, remaining calm and collected. Pride evident on her features as she waited for something to happen.

Tousen slowly approached, planning to take her down with a single slice to her neck. She may not be much of a threat in her current state, but she could very well have other tricks up her sleeve.

"How does it feel? Your entire base of instincts is completely lost. You cannot hear, see, taste, or smell. The only sensation available is the sense of touch, so that you can feel the piercing effect of my Suzumushi." He spoke with pride, knowing his bankai gave him an immense advantage. Yet he felt immense frustration that the entity had yet to move. She had hardly reacted, as though perfectly aware of what was happening. Tousen raised his sword to point the tip not a foot from her nose. Such a small girl, to be turned into a bizarre half creature.

"You are unnatural, and only justice can bring you to your knees now," he said, drawing his sword back. He put his weight into it, knowing that a cleaner cut would be a kinder one. He sliced at her neck, the blade barely getting more than a scratch on her skin before halting in its tracks. He froze, realizing that her head was no rolling at his feet, but rather the force he had used was barely making a scratch.

"What?!" Tousen couldn't believe it. He was unable to cut her even in such a vulnerable spot. That moment of hesitation was all it took though as the hollow grabbed onto the hilt of his blade.

"Well well, look what I found." She said, her green cat eyes laughing as she yanked him down to her level. Tousen fought it, barely getting away as the hollow slashed at him again. On instinct he moved away, but the slash had done immense damage to his bankai.

In one swing, the hollow cut through the realm he'd made, along with leaving a massive gash in the ground from her strike much like the time she fought the menos.

Tousen's bankai crumbled, stunning him. How could a mere human do this? Even if she were part hollow, this spiritual pressure, this raw power so strong that he couldn't cut through it- it was impossible!

The hollow appeared in front of him, catching his blade when he swung out of defense, with her bare hand. He took a single step back; she slashed him again. This time the slash caught part of his thigh. He collapsed to his knees, then felt a foot kick him over and onto his back. That same foot shoved him down onto the floor.

Tousen was bleeding horribly as the hollow stood above of him. He could feel her aura looming over him like a heavy quilt. His body felt pinned to the ground as he struggled to breathe. She looked down her nose at the captain, her zanpakuto held limply at her side. Tousen tried to get up, but the weight of the girl pressed down onto his wounds. He could feel the sensation of a blade being pointed to his face and froze. The hollow held her blade upside down, pointing between his eyes.

"Now, disappear." She began to lower her blade.

"No!"

The hollow froze, her eyes widening. She struggled to lower the sword, but couldn't. Naomi struggled against her.

"He'd kill you." The hollow growled. "He already tried."

"Doesn't make me him." Naomi countered, struggling back. The hollow was thrust into their inner world, frowning. Naomi stood infront of her, holding the blade to the zanpakuto. The hollow growled.

"I healed you," she snarled. "I healed you, and saved you, and you won't even let me win."

"If we kill a captain all of our friends will die. We can't do it." Naomi said, her voice steely. The hollow tried to pull the blade away, but was unable to move. She growled, but as she struggled to pull the sword away her eyes widened. At the point of contact that Noami had made, a soft glow of purple could be seen around the blade. As the purple aura crept forward, the hollow pushed her green spiritual pressure into the sword. They clashed, neither giving in for a moment. The hollow snickered.

"You must be exhausted." She taunted, sneering at the very human look of a tired teenager before her.

Naomi huffed, struggling to push back, but finally she was winning as the glowing purple reached into the green's territory and pushed it back. The hollow snarled, giving one final push back, glaring at Naomi.

"I refuse to be the horse to such a tiny human girl!" She snarled, the green pulsing. Naomi was panting, doing her best to keep breathing. Her purple spiritual pressure pulsed, her hands bleeding where she held the zanpakuto.

"Take it up with management, I'm trying to to let us die!" Naomi snapped. The hollow growled.

"The fuck does that mean?!" She shouted, now literally pushing against the human's grip.

Their world began to rain.

"Dammit." The hollow groaned, feeling exhausted. Her grip loosened enough for Naomi to yank the blade back into her hands, but in doing so she fell onto her back. The water didn't splash, instead rain droplets continuously hit her head.

'So tired...' She thought, staring at the clear sky. She looked down to her feet where the hollow stood. She glared at Naomi, then slowly, she began to dribble as if made of water.

Eventually, the hollow melted down to nothing, becoming part of the water beneath Naomi.

"Careful, if you don't stay focused, your body will crack under this sort of pressure."

Naomi let herself fall back, groaning when the back of her head hit a pair of feet.

"God dammit, anyone but you," she muttered; eyes heavy. The man took a long drag of his pipe from underneath the old style umbrella. He blew out a puff of smoke, watching her lazily with his one eye not covered by an eye patch.

"I might've taken offence, if I had feelings." He hummed, taking another drag. "But I am serious. Forcing that thing back with sheer will can only mean forcing your body into extremes."

"What?" She asked, not completely understanding him. He smirked, a tiny bit but still it was a smirk.

"How's breathing?"


I gasped, returning to my stance above Tousen with a wheeze. My breaths laboured, my bones groaning, the spiritual pressure of the hollow and my own mingling was heavier than I was used to. It felt like my body had done a full marathon in under five hours and was about to go into shock. I nearly fell, having to steady myself with my zanpakuto as a cane.

Tousen grabbed my calf, regaining my attention.

"I refuse... to be beaten... so casually..." He pushed against my leg as though it would somehow lift it, but his strength was less than mine. I watched him as I pressed my toes into his chest. Tousen hissed, leaning away from the pressure of my foot put on his bleeding wounds. "Justice will be served to you, and your friends!"

My eyes narrowed, bringing me back to our conversation from before. I needed to get out of here, quickly. No doubt spiritual pressure like that would alert the entire Seireitei that a captain had just done battle. I would snap in half trying that stunt again too.

I pulled myself away from Tousen, limping slightly as I used my sheathed blade as a cane. It was then that I realized I had a sheath for the zanpakuto now, and it didn't just vanish when I lost concentration.

However, despite my best effort to remove myself, Tousen would not let go of my calf. I tried shaking him off, too tired to do anything greater. It was then that I saw his blade lying not very far off. Looked like he dropped it when he collapsed.

"He tried to kill you."

It made me wonder what would've happened, had this been one of my friends who faced him instead of me? Tousen was trying to get up, still gripping my calf as I picked up his blade.

"Justice... will... prevail... you ryoka have chosen... the path bathed in blood... and will suffer for it-"

I used my entire body weight to push the zanpakuto into his chest.

"Just stop already..." I groaned, my body protesting as I stumbled over top of him and away. I fell on my side, moaning. My vision swam, I felt like a rabbit in headlights. Completely overwhelmed.

"Hard dealing with my spiritual pressure, huh?" The hollow taunted. I groaned, struggled to stand. Once again, I had to resort to the zanpakuto cane idea as I stumbled to my feet. "You aren't used to that level of battle yet kid, of course you'll feel like crap."

"Go away." I muttered, feeling the fatigue in my bones more and more with each step I took. God I had to look horrible. My face was cut up, I had blood caked all over me, my hair had been ripped from its bun at some point and was covered in god knows what, and I had rips in all my clothing. If someone found me, they'd think I'd been through Hell's gates, not just fought a single captain.

The hollow huffed.

"Your body will break down if you're not careful. Healing only goes so far."

"I said go away." I repeated, almost ready to cry from exhaustion. It finally became silent in my head, and somehow it brought the slightest sensation of relief.

It was dashed, quite quickly, as a familiar scent appeared in the air.

I struggled to stand perfectly upright, turning to look at the red-haired lieutenant that was approaching me.

"Oh fuck off," I muttered, my half-lidded eyes watering from fatigue. I couldn't do this right now with my noodle arms. Even Kisuke never pushed me like this. I knew right then that I was at my limit.

Like Renji Abarai would give a damn though. He came at me without a care. I was forced to guard, using both of my arms to block his shikai release. It pushed me to my knees, tears of frustration and fatigue in my eyes.

"Well, you're certainly not the one I thought would be here." Renji said, baring his weight down onto me. I winced, feeling my bones crack and groan like trees in a storm.

"Feelings... mutual." I pushed away from him, unable to use my rebound anymore, staggering slightly but forcing myself to hold my zanpakuto in front of me. The world flickered, spots clouding my vision as I realized he was swinging at me again. I all but tossed myself sideways, crawling away.

"No matter, you are still a ryoka, and you're in my way!" He swung with such force that I was forced to dodge it again. It culminated to me falling backwards to evade the strike, but the extension of his shikai swung over top of me. I used my sword as a shield, but the teeth of his blade slide both my arm and shoulder. I cried, arms shaking as I tried to keep it out. Reji yanked his blade back, the teeth at the end slicing open my shoulder. I cried shortly, hissing in pain as I forced myself to stand.

Renji came at me again.

I struggled to move my feet, feeling the exhaustion. Two fights back-to-back was too much. And now a second lieutenant? I tried to move, but barely took a step before his zanpakuto swung at me again.

Move!

Something warm enveloped around me, pulling me away from the strike as metal clashed against metal. I whimpered as my bloody shoulder was jostled, something pulled me closer. It took a moment to register that sweet smell of summer and warm chocolate. I didn't have to look up to realize what had happened as my fingers reached to touch the arm holding me close.

"Ichigo..." I felt my tears fall, relief and fatigue heavy in my voice.

"Sorry I'm late, Nao," his voice soothed me as he pulled me in closer to him. His head rested on top of mine; I could feel the vibrations in his throat when he spoke. "I got here as quickly as I could."

I whimpered, feeling so small in his arms, so small and tired. I felt like I could collapse right there. My breathing calmed, I choked back a sob.

"I'm tired," I said, feeling the relief flood through me at finally finding him. "It's been... such a long day..."

He gave a short laugh, pulling back so I could look up at him. His eyes looked as relieved as I felt, and it brought a smile to my face despite the tears.

"What? You're crying? Don't tell me you missed me that bad." He teased, though he looked sad to see it. I huffed, tears freely pouring from my eyes.

"I told you I'm tired. I had to fight, I had to- I feel gross, ah blood's on your clothes too now. Sorry, sorry..." I felt dizzy as I stared at the giant blood stain on his chest from my back. Ichigo looked down, shocked.

"What-" he seemed to register the blood then. His eyes looked darker as he looked at my shoulder. Then he looked at Renji over top my head. The lieutenant had backed off when Ichigo arrived, preparing himself for battle.

More footsteps appeared behind Ichigo. I tensed, ready to see more enemies.

"It's alright, they're friends, Nao." Ichigo assured me when I began to claw at his robes with nerves. He stood properly, setting me on the ground. "Hanataro, this is Naomi. Could you heal her please?"

"Yes of course!" Came a gentle voice from somewhere behind us. I looked at Ichigo, then to Renji across the way. My fight with Tousen wasn't very far from here... this place would be swarming with soul reapers soon. What's more, where were the others right now?

We should leave right now.

"I-Ichigo," I struggled to get onto my knees and looked up to him. "We should go..."

He looked at me, half turning as I struggled to my feet with my sword.

"What? Kinda hard with Renji standing there," he muttered, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.

"Where is Orihime? Chad? Uryu? Yoruichi? I-I'm worried. Those captains- Ichigo they're really strong." I felt the fear rise in me when Ichigo frowned.

"I don't know where they are," he admitted. My heart sank, "but they're alive."

I grabbed onto his sleeve, holding myself up on shaky legs.

"Let's find them." I said, frowning. Ichigo grabbed me around the waist with his free arm to support me, his other holding his zanpakuto pointed at Renji. The lieutenant looked like he was getting impatient.

"I can't. We gotta fight him." He said calmly. Despite his calm demeanour I couldn't fight the fatigue anymore. The idea of entering another fight had me in hysterics. I would break, I couldn't help him. I felt utterly useless right now and it was frustrating.

"No- you don't understand. My last fight- it wasn't far from here-" I babbled, the word vomit not stopping as my voice slurred a little.

"Nao."

"If we don't hurry the others will be in danger and-"

"Nao."

"I don't think you understand what we're up against Ichigo-"

"Nao!"

"I can't help you! I'm so tired I just-"

Evidently, Ichigo knew how to shut me up.

But this was not what I was expecting. I mean I always assumed he would hold me tenderly; the wind would gently brush my hair as he caressed my face. I totally called it being unexpected and sudden. What I didn't expect was to be drenched in blood while crying and it to be as a parting before he went off to battle.

This was not how my first kiss was supposed to go.

Ichigo's lips covered mine for maybe a few seconds. Hard to tell when my world came to a screeching stop from it, but in that moment the only thing that registered was his lips on mine and the gentleness in which his arm snaked around my waist. He pulled back a moment later, his cheeks pink but his eyes held a firm resolve.

"Now for once in your god damn life, sit down, shut up, and let me protect you!" He said it with so much resolve I felt a pulse go through my whole body. My eyes remained wide as he let me go, turning his body to face Renji. "I'm not going to let a single member of our group die, so let me fight Renji and we can go find the others!"

That was the last thing he said to me as he ran off to fight.

I, on the other hand, was still standing there on shaky legs, staring at the back of his head. Nothing in the last minute had registered yet.

Ichigo... just kissed me?

Something pooled in my lower abdomen, I felt hot and fuzzy. My face turned bright red as I fell to my knees, staring at his back.

"Uhhhh, Miss? Are you alright?" A soft voice called.

"He kissed me." I said, blinking several times.

"What? Don't tell me that's the first time? Jeez that guy..." Another voice, a rougher one, called. I didn't look, even as I felt eyes on me and a gentle hand resting on my good shoulder. My vision was swimming, and I couldn't keep my eyes open for the life of me.

I fell forward, exhausted but still trying to watch Ichigo's fight. But that didn't last long, and the last thing I thought before collapsing was of his lips on mine and how good it felt.


Started rewatching Death Note. Juts imagined if instead of Ryuk, Zaraki showed up. God I'd pay good money to watch that massacre lmao. Picturing Byakuya instead of Rem. OML.

Anyway, anyway.

A shorter chapter, but I just wanted to end it right there since Nao's brain hit factory reset. She's gunna need some sleep to process this.

So yeah, first kiss is in the books. One of the original ideas was for this to be right before he fought Byakuya, but- for reasons you'll find out later, it no longer made sense. So doing this right here was a much better solution. This was always how it was supposed to go down though. I always imagined it being a lack of impulse control and Nao not really realizing what's happened until well after it did.

I did originally have a longer fight sequence mapped out, but after writing it I realized how dull it felt and cut it down quite a bit, so hopefully it still got all the points across as to what was happening. I will say, Kaname is so confused the entire time, wondering where the hell she got the juice from. Just imagine, you fight a teenager, thinking she's pretty weak, only for godzilla to bust out of her skin. I'd be shitting myself ngl.

I did wanna open the floor and say if y''all ever want any spoilers you can message me and i'll answer. I grossly underestimated how many chapters this series would be since I planned for 52 ish, but it seems like it might be closer to 90 at this point. I'll probably have to cut it in half, jeez. But the point being that the Bleach plot has so many write back moments. That is moments Kubo 'explains' why characters are actually way stronger than they appear and rise up to the occasion that they're needed in (IE, how Ichigo beat Zaraki and yet he goes on to beat the tar out of other captains like it's casual work for the squad 11 captain) But anyway, I planned the story to be like that as well, which means there is going to be a long long loooooooong time before all secrets are revealed. So if you can't wait, i totally get it. I also need to update my Naruto fanfic soon so that needs to happen...

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Cheers,

Iland Girl