Chapter 5
"Precisely," Urahara-san quipped, adding that it should not be possible for such a pure Human Reiatsu to reach such a level.
Ichigo wanted to retaliate and rebut Urahara-san's statement. He wanted to sock the mug of that smug old geezer. How dare Urahara-san insinuate that Inoue is not a human, when she has the most humanity out of them all!
It was not enough that their mentor had to imply it, but to call Inoue a monster - that is crossing the fucking line! Ichigo gripped his fists so tight that his nails dug to his palms, drawing blood.
"And what I find the most curious about is that she's the exact opposite of you, Ichigo Kurosaki," Urahara-san said in a somber tone, snapping Ichigo out of his rage. What does Urahara-san mean by that? Ichigo felt his eyes narrow.
Thud. Ichigo felt the atmosphere within the room suddenly change. There's another presence with them!
"Zangetsu!" Ichigo cried out, springing to action as he grabbed the hilt of his Zanpakuto.
Whoosh. Something inside Ichigo rushed forth, and he felt the familiar sensation of something coming out of his body. The feeling was akin to whenever Rukia utilized her red glove to separate his Spiritual Self from his Physical Self. There was a rush of air coming out of him, and it settled on his left side. From there emanates the deceptively tame yet dangerous presence of Hollow Zangetsu.
"Ichigo," Rukia's stuttering voice carried itself in the air. She paused for a moment before asking, "Who's that standing beside you?"
Ichigo did not look towards any of them. Now is not the time for explanations because there is still danger that lurks beneath the shadows. His eyes focused on the figure of a man near Inoue; however, he should also pacify the growing concerns - evident in the tense Reiatsu - of his friends and comrades. Ichigo kept his glare on the person before them, while choosing the basest of words to answer Rukia's question. "This one beside me is Zangetsu, the Hollowfied Spirit that resides within my Zanpakuto."
"King!" Hollow Zangetsu cried out, his eerie voice marred by something Ichigo had never heard from the Hollowfied Zanpakuto Spirit. "Stand back. That thing reeks of bloodlust."
Desperation.
Hollow Zangetsu was desperate for something. He was desperate to fight that unfamiliar man that reeked of bloodlust. He was desperate to keep Ichigo out of the fight, arguably full of glee and anticipation upon the prospect of fighting something that radiates pure killing intent. This does not surprise Ichigo anymore. Hollow Zangetsu has always been the personification of his more violent urges.
And yet It is for this reason that Ichigo cannot quite grasp as to why Hollow Zangetsu is desperate to remove that thing away from Inoue…to the point that he had to manifest outside his sword form.
"Inoue!" Rukia cried out.
The man stepped out of the shadows. He was clad in black with cloth wrapped around the bottom half of his face. The man has blades attached to his arms and legs, and black bat-like wings sprouted from his lower back.
"Who are you! Name yourself!" Ichigo growled as he and the materialized Zangetsu brandished their swords, ready to attack. "Get away from Inoue or else."
"My, my," the unknown man said. "So this is how you ended up, woman."
"You!" Yoruichi-san gasped. "How is it possible?"
Ichigo and Hollow Zangetsu lunged forward, bringing their blades upon the man. In a split second, the Stranger flashed away from the swords.
"Zangetsu, to your left," Ichigo barked, and Hollow Zangetsu immediately changed his gripping hand.
Ichigo used the distraction to kneel down and begin taking Inoue's unconscious body.
"Ahahahaha!" Hollow Zangetsu followed the stranger, laughing maniacally. "Who are you, Stranger?"
The Stranger did not respond, instead he flew towards Zangetsu, and just as his face was mere inches away from the tip of the blade, the Stranger disappeared.
Ichigo's eyes widened. 'He's fast!'
A thin stream of golden light appeared near Ichigo's peripheral vision, and he immediately moved his hand away. The light whizzed by, almost hitting his arms but searing the skin and hair on his arm. It flickered before reappearing near Inoue's body.
Ichigo reached out again for Inoue, but the stream of light moved once again, intent on hitting Ichigo.
"Ichigo, stop," Chad said.
"Why?" Ichigo demanded, gritting his teeth in annoyance.
"Just wait for a moment."
"Zangetsu, stop attacking," Ichigo grunted, lowering his sword. Zangetsu took his position beside him once again.
"Look," Chad instructed, gesturing towards Inoue. The stream of golden light hovered and circled around her sleeping form as if to guard her vigilantly.
"That's Tsubaki," Chad came forward. "One of Inoue's Shun Shun Rikka."
"Why did you manifest?" Yoruichi-san walked forward, placing herself in front of Ichigo, Zangetsu and Chad. "What happened to your master?"
The stream of light slowed down before stopping altogether. It morphed again into full height. Tsubaki's eyes roamed the room until it zeroed in on Hollow Zangetsu.
Tsubaki disappeared and reappeared in front of Hollow Zangetsu in a split second, ignoring Yoruichi-san. "My name is Tsubaki. I am feeling a very strong presence from you. It would be nice to fight against you once again," the male Shun Shun Rikka thrusted his hand as if to greet Hollow Zangetsu.
"Hihi," Zangetsu grinned, taking the outstretched hand to shake it. "Yours is as violent as well. It would be my pleasure to trample you."
Tsubaki snorted.
It was surreal how these two somehow managed to form a connection despite only formally meeting for the first time. Ichigo snapped from his stupor and sized the male sprite. Tsubaki has spiky black with a single bang hanging over his forehead, and a scar on his right eyebrow. The rest of his face was covered by a fabric. His black clothing was tight-fitting. He is almost as tall as Ichigo.
"Do not test my patience, Tsubaki," Yoruichi-san warned. "What. Happened. To. Inoue?"
Tsubaki floated towards Inoue before rearranging the blanket to cover her. He stood up once again and informed "I frankly don't know, mangy cat. I only know that after Ichigo's fight against that madman Yhwach, there was this sudden explosion within Orihime's Reiryoku. The next thing we knew is that a voice was ordering us to do its bidding even if we refused."
As he said this, Tsubaki glanced at Urahara-san. "I'm sorry to have taken your Shinigami powers. But I cannot undo it. This is Shun-o and Ayame's expertise. They're the ones that make up the Soten Kisshun."
"Well, why don't you call them out," Yoruichi-san raised her eyebrow.
"I cannot. They are not there anymore. Only I remain."
Ichigo swallowed thickly. No way. That should not be possible!
"Does that mean-" Ishida's voice was full of disbelief.
"Yes. Inoue has lost both her ability to shield and heal," Tsubaki shook his head. He then glanced at himself. "It is also perhaps the reason as to why I am in this form…Since I am the only one remaining, I have become the sole recipient of all of Orihime's Reiryoku."
"But why you?" Urahara-san probed.
"It was Orihime's last remaining conscious thought when you asked her to wake up," Tsubaki floated towards the former 12th Division Captain. "She knew that if I were to be controlled by someone else, then catastrophe would follow. I also suspect that since I am a solitary shield all on my own, only I was able to escape the grasp of that voice. After all, my bond with the others is not as strong."
"That makes sense," Yoruichi-san added. "Hinagiku, Baigon and Lily are irrevocably bound to each other as the Santen Kesshun, whereas Shun-o and Ayam are bound together as the Soten Kisshun."
Ishida spoke. "What happens if you were to be controlled by others?
"What happens, Quincy, is that I do not destroy souls like you. I do not purify them like a Shinigami. I do not absorb them like Hollows, Arrancars and Fullbringers. I erase souls out of existence. That's why."
"I see," Urahara-san added. "In the wrong hands, your powers could potentially unravel the very fabric of reality by removing souls that should have been in balance with each other both in the World of the Living, and the Spirit World."
"What now?" Ichigo spoke, his teeth grinding against each other. He was impatient. All of this talk is not doing anything that could save Inoue. "What will happen to Inoue? And what should we do about the other Shun Shun Rikka?"
"We have to find the rest," Tsubaki resumed his position near Inoue. "With or without me, the Shun Shun Rikka is dangerous in the wrong hands. You've seen what we inadvertently did to Aizen. Shun-o and the rest must be returned to Orihime."
"Then we need to track down the Reiatsu left behind by that voice, " Rukia suggested.
"I think there's some sort of tracking device in one of the barracks within the 12th Division," Renj added.
Ichigo felt his grip on the hilt of his sword loosen minutely. The tension that he had been feeling for hours on end has begun to subside. Finally, they have an initial plan on how to help Inoue. Thank God.
'Thank God, Inoue will be fine,' Ichigo mused, finally succumbing to the drowsiness that he adamantly kept at bay. He felt his whole body uncoil before turning his attention to Hollow Zangetsu. "Zangetsu, you may return."
"Tch," Hollow Zangetsu tsked before he dematerialized back into the Zanpakuto.
"I shall be returning as well," Tsubaki transformed back into his regular small form. "I don't know when Orihime is going to wake up. Or, given what she forced her body to endure, I don't even know if she is ever going to wake up."
Shatter. Some sort of porcelain dropped to the ground, crashing upon impact, but Ichigo also heard something in his heart shatter, stop and ache.
"W-What-" Ichigo choked.
"Please return my siblings," came the echoing pleading voice of Tsubaki as he returned to Inoue's hairpin.
"Wait!" Ichigo roared but Tsubaki was already gone.
"No…" It was Urahara-san's voice, but his tone betrayed surprise, doubt and disbelief. "How are you…alive?"
Ichigo felt several Reiatsu appear behind him, some familiar, some not. He felt his body tense again, gripping his sword more tightly. He had to finish whatever this is, so that they can promptly find the rest of the Shun Shun Rikka so that…so that…so that Inoue… Oh, God. What would happen to Inoue?!
"Mr. Urahara-san-sama-sensei-kun," a female voice full of mirth carried itself into the air, and Ichigo was suddenly awash with such a nostalgic feeling that he dropped his guard down. "I don't think this counts as being alive. We're in Soul Society, after all. Hehe."
Slowly, Ichigo turned to the new people that occupied the room. There standing before him was a woman of average height, fair skin, and long wavy brown hair. She was wearing the same plain dress and kind smile that he always remembered her by.
She was as beautiful as the day they lost her…the day he failed to protect her.
Ichigo felt heat gather in his eyes, with tears blurring his vision. And in a voice that made him remember being the lost little boy that he had been, he uttered, "Mom?"
A/N: Thank you for the support and the reviews:
Guest (Reviewed Chapter 1 in September 10): Yes! I agree, Orihime has one of the most unique abilities in Bleach, and that there are only a handful of fics that delve regarding this. Since she is my favorite character, I decided to try writing one. Hahaha
FairySprinkles27: Thank you for your warm reviews. I hope that my fic would give you some form of relaxation and rest after a hard day's work. And yes, it is quite hard to have some large engagement nowadays especially with the Bleach community. But I decided to just post the story just to express myself and of course my theories about the Shun Shun Rikka. Hahaha. And regarding your account, no worries. I had some pretty similar experiences in the past as well, so I completely understand. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you.