Seventh Installment
And a day late, here I am, woah no. I was nearly ready to post this at around two in the morning last night when I thought it would be better to rest.
Title: Long Way to Goodbye VII
Rating: The much beloved T, where characters may swear and possess sexuality, but not so much that I will be banned for posting this.
Summary: Rukia and Ichigo disappeared and, although she tries, Karin has no idea what happened to them. Did Ichigo abandon everyone or did he and Rukia die?
Series: Bleach
Genre: Exciting murder mystery melodrama with action plus humour.
Fun fact: This chapter was the first that I wrote. Except it was for a completely different fic back when I began it, and now it’s hardly recognizable from the initial draft.
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VII
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Finally, Karin had cornered Chad. If he wouldn’t give her some answers about Ichigo, no one would. Still pissed her off that he’d been so elusive. And it really peeved her that she needed to overcome a life or death situation before she could question him. Go figure.
The Hollow with a sword circled around them like a vulture, keeping a wary distance from Chad. Was her brother’s friend that strong? Karin couldn’t tell-her spiritual senses didn’t detect Chad, even with him right in front of her. Something about him was seriously different since she last saw him fight,.
“Chad, your arm?” He had fought with a freakishly huge right arm last time. “Can’t you make it bigger or something? I don’t think we should mess around with this guy. Hey! Are you even listening to me?”
“I don’t need to transform my arms or my legs anymore,” he replied, concentrating on the Hollow. “I’m stronger if I fight as I am now.”
“Really?” Karin doubted it.
“Yes. In a way, my limbs are different right now. You just can’t see the changes.”
He’d better be telling the truth or else Karin would haunt him in the afterlife. The Hollow, meanwhile, reminded the two that he was still there by shrieking in Pig Latin. What a nuisance!
“You going to attack him or what?” Karin asked, glaring at the Hollow. “Why hesitate?”
A long silence followed, and Karin thought Chad was going to stare at the Hollow all night. At last, he murmured, “I know that Hollow.”
Karin gaped. “You what?!”
“Yes,” he nodded gravely. “His name is Shinji Hirako. He’s my friend, or was briefly. He saved my life.”
Shocked, Karin gave the Hollow with a sword, Shinji Hirako, a second appraisal. Come to think of it, his ragged garb sort of resembled Ichigo’s school uniform. But it was hard to imagine that feral monster in a school.
“Whether he was your friend before or not,” Karin growled, “I think we can safely say he isn’t anymore. So, Chad?” she gestured at Hirako.
“Hmm?”
“Well, are you going to attack him or what?! I don’t know about you, but I don’t socialize with lunatics out to kill me!”
Chad grunted, but still didn’t budge. Hirako continued his circuits around them, slowly inching closer. He and Chad were locked in an epic scowling match of deadly proportions, and Karin wondered if they had forgotten her.
“Oh, for God’s sake!” Karin cursed, throwing her hands up.
And she rushed the Hollow herself, taking the offensive. Her foot smacked into the side of Hirako’s mask and she felt ivory crack as the Hollow went flying. Damn, his mask was harder than a concrete wall! Her foot would be bruised or worse.
Chad was staring at her, lost for words, she realized; so was Hirako, after the Hollow stood up. Well, come on! She wasn’t going to do nothing while they both ignored her.
Besides, Karin handled life and death situations pretty nicely these days. She wasn't no eleven-year-old nobody anymore. Her breasts were even growing, much to her dumb father's horror. Ah, but her womanly developments were unimportant at the moment. Got to take care of the big bad ghost first.
“Are you insane?” Chad whispered, his body quaking. “Do you have any idea how strong he is? If you don’t stay behind me, you could die.”
Karin whipped around to face him, ignoring how tender her foot felt. “In my situation, would you want to hide behind someone else?” she snorted and he recoiled: Bullseye. “I didn’t think so.”
He regarded her in exasperation. “I don’t mean to condescend, believe me, but you’re standing on one foot.”
Her foot throbbed, punctuating his point. She scowled at Chad.
“Fine,” he gave in. “But,” he added, “don’t do anything sudden again. You were very lucky before.”
“All right,” she smiled, accepting his conditions. She knew Chad would be a pushover! “Now let’s kick your old pal’s ass together.”
Speaking of the Hollow, he was incredibly pissed. In fact, Hirako literally emitted black smoke from his pores as he shook in fury. Blood leaked from the crack in his mask. His reiatsu, invisible before, skyrocketed well beyond Karin’s own. His slender frame widened into something muscular and intimidating. How much had Hirako been holding back, seriously?
“Okay, I can’t do a whole lot here,” Karin admitted through clenched teeth. Saying the truth hurt far worse than her aching foot. “You do the grunt work and I’ll provide support if I can.”
Chad’s following silence screamed volumes at Karin and her cheeks colored. Moving along! Hirako stood no chance against the Karin-Chad combo! She was ready.
Or not. Faster than Karin’s eyes could follow, Hirako charged and his mask was in her face in a blink. Before she could react, Chad swung a heavy left hook at the Hollow. Hirako leapt back and Chad pursued. The Hollow slashed at Chad, missed, and the two exchanged a rapid series of blows. For a time, each would evade just in time while launching a counterstrike of his own. Their attacks sped up, their bodies blurred, and the exchanges proceeded until an explosion rocked the park. Hirako howled as Chad’s fist hammered into his stomach; the Hollow slammed into the ground and skidded all the way to Karin’s feet.
So maybe Karin doubted Chad needed any help. Well, he obviously didn’t-he made this look easy. Grudgingly, Karin thought to herself that he looked pretty cool out there. Still, did he have to make her feel so useless?
Wanting to play a part, too, Karin kicked Hirako, ignoring the lancing pain in her foot, and sent him right back to Chad. The Mexican closed his eyes and put all his weight into a simple, but devastating, right straight. Hirako’s mask shattered and a decision was reached: TKO. The victors: the Red Flame of Karakura and her dimwitted sidekick, Chad.
She pumped her fist in victory, caught up in the moment. Then she saw Chad and her desire to celebrate withered away. On the ground, Shinji Hirako’s face was visible for the first time. Hirako’s body returned to normal and he appeared content, but Chad seemed tormented enough to shed a tear.
“So your conscience truly was gone-you refused to return as yourself,” Chad said quietly, watching the remains of Hirako fade away. Blood trickled from small nicks all over Chad; so he hadn’t won unscathed. “I hope you find her, wherever you go now.” Chad stepped away and Hirako’s soul vanished completely.
A warm and strangely humid wind swept through the park as Karin observed Chad’s last rites. She wondered about this Shinji Hirako; the man must have been the powerful Hollow Orihime and Renji had warned her of. What had he been like? Who was that girl or woman Chad mentioned? There was too much Karin had been excluded from by Ichigo and his friends.
But enough of Hirako. Change of topic. Focus, Karin! Remember why you’d sought out Chad! To find her brother (plus Rukia, if possible) and solve all of her problems in one fell swoop!
Karin sauntered up to Chad and glared up, up, and way up at him. Okay, she'd grown a lot since she first saw him, but it was impossible to stare down this giant. Not to mention his eyes were hidden beneath a mat of shaggy hair, making it hopeless for Karin to see if his eyes were shaking in fright from the full force of her glowering. It was important to at least try to intimidate him.
“Chad,” she took in a deep breath, because she could be louder than him, if not taller. She was sorry about his former friend, but her brother took precedence. “Where are Ichigo and Rukia?! And don’t say Ichigo’s still going to school, because I know about the fake!”
The ringing of her final piercing syllable disturbed the evening’s calm. Karin was satisfied by her volume. Oh, she must have really put Chad on the spot. Heh, he was shaking; his shoulders sagged while the rest of his body jerked repeatedly. Trembling in his boots, was he? No denying it, she had him on the ropes. Ho ho, and he was whimpering now, too, should her ears not deceive her. Wow. She almost felt bad for him. His strangled noises grew louder. Whoa, okay, maybe she didn't almost feel sorry for the poor guy; he was winning her over with his sad display of unmanly weeping...
Then Chad exploded into a fit of rich, booming laughter, and Karin hurriedly took back whatever sympathy was building up inside her. In fact, he hadn’t been all that cool in the fight.
His laughter did nothing to calm Karin; it reminded her too much of Renji, for one thing, and his chuckles didn’t answer her question, for another. She upped the power of her glare to eleven.
Time passed and he settled down, eventually. “You really are his sister,” was all he could say, as if that explained his bizarre reaction. It was just like Renji!
How infuriating!
“Where's Ichigo?!” she demanded once more.
No laughter this time. Karin didn't think it possible but, looking at his melancholic expression, she preferred his earlier good spirits.
His brows furrowed in deep thought. A slow, rumbling sigh escaped Chad. “I don’t know his whereabouts,” he confessed, picking his words carefully. “Your brother departed into the unknown and left us all behind.”
Chad didn't know. Was he telling the truth? Karin, recalling Renji’s taunting, felt Chad wasn’t saying the whole truth. Then again, maybe it was impossible for her to believe him, as doing so would be akin to throwing away all hope of finding Ichigo.
Oh, but she shouldn’t forget her other lost friend. “And Rukia? Is she really in Soul Society?” That’s what Orihime and Ishida had told her.
He hesitated and answered, “No.”
So Ishida and Orihime did lie about Rukia! Unless Chad is lying…but why would he? She didn’t quite know what to make of this development just yet.
“Then where is she?”
Dead silence. What did that mean?
Karin pressed on with the next set of questions. “What do you mean you don't know, anyways? Aren't you their comrade?! Shouldn't you, of all people, know this? Aren’t you one of Ichigo’s best friends? I thought you fought by his side! Can’t you find him?!”
Chad trembled as she yelled at him, likely in anger this time. Fortunately, he kept himself composed.
“I still consider myself his friend,” his voice was strained, “but I can’t say the same for him. Really, I haven't seen him in years, Ichigo's little sister,” he replied after breathing in and out to calm himself. “If I had a better idea about where he was, you’d likely never have found me.”
Of course, Chad wasn’t going to say anything meaningful. Deep down, she probably expected as much all along. Actually, upon further thought, she was certain from the beginning that he wouldn't reveal the location of Rukia and Ichigo.
“Will you help me look for them?” Karin suddenly asked.
Ah, so that had been her real purpose. Her own cleverness impressed Karin, at times.
Chad was taken aback. “Look...for them?”
“Yeah!” she exclaimed, shifting her weight to relax her sore foot. “What do you say? Good idea, huh? I'll be the brains for your brawn. Let’s face it, pal, you need someone with a little charm-yours truly, that is-to help you out.”
The big guy's shoulders slumped, but he couldn’t resist a small smile. “I’d like to but I can’t. It’s not a good idea. Sorry.”
“Huh? Not a good idea?!” Karin was surprised. “Why not? We made a pretty good team earlier!”
He frowned and opened his mouth, closed it, and finally said, “What if it’s impossible to find them?”
As if Karin would ever accept that. She’d been desperately trying not to think her quest was hopeless for years already.
“If we don’t look, we’ll never know for sure.”
Chad groaned. Logic for the win! “Okay…you noticed how I fought the entire time without transforming my arms, right? You commented on it.”
She nodded.
“Do you understand what that means?” After Karin didn’t answer, he continued, “My powers are those of a Hollow’s. I managed to avoid changing the appearance of my arms by only accepting the darkness inside me. I don’t know how perfect my control is yet. At any given moment, I may go berserk.”
Karin listened with her head cocked. This sounded too much like a lesson.
“Basically, what you’re saying just means you’re really strong, Chad. I’m not afraid of you-I know you can handle yourself,” she dismissed Chad’s warning with the wave of a hand. “What’s the problem? You want to know where Ichigo and Rukia are, too. It's not hard to figure out what we should do-me and you should work together, that’s all there is to it. I cover your back for you, making sure you never flip out, and you make sure nothing happens to me. Then we can search all over the city, the country, maybe even Soul Society for my bro! Personally, I think we’ll make a great team as soon as you stop being a dweeb, no offense.”
“I...I...” He chuckled weakly. “I have my reasons to stay in Karakura.”
But Karin wasn't going to yield so easily. “Aren't your friends important to you?”
“They are,” Chad stated with all seriousness, the only way he could, “and I am important to them. What if they try to find us? That's why I must remain.”
In response, Karin paced. Or limped, rather. Her scowl resembled a certain family member's sour mug. Chad was working too hard to reject her offer. There was certainly something this guy refused to tell her. Was it about Ichigo? She’d come too far to go back now to be stopped by pair of tight lips.
“Okay, Chad, if this is ever going to work out, you need to be up front with me about a -”
Overwhelming all else, an immense surge of spiritual pressure tore into the world and effectively cut Karin off. Waves of
energy buffeted them continuously. This new reiatsu pulsed with darkness.
She reacted quickly, if just to voice her confusion. Wide-eyed, she asked, “What is that? I’ve never felt anything so…evil…”
Karin turned to Chad, only to see the man looking far into the distance, toward the source of this oppressive atmosphere. He had the appearance of a man put to trial, one who knew he was heading to the gallows.
What could possibly possess enough power to scare Chad? Is this a Hollow?! She wondered, squinting her eyes in the direction he was looking. The source of the reiatsu must have appeared around the graveyard, near the river where her mom had died.
Beside her, Chad’s knuckles cracked and he muttered, “Soon. Far too soon.”
Birds scattered from the trees and fled as night fell. The humidity was stifling.
“Chad?” Karin risked arching her brows. “What the hell is going on?!”
Sweat dripped off her brow and not from the heat; it took tremendous willpower to resist falling over, the reiatsu was so enormous. Chad, Renji, Hirako, much less herself…they all paled in comparison next to this monstrous power. Anxiety, fear, and curiosity battled to be the dominant emotion within her.
Abruptly, the big guy spoke to her. “Sorry, Ichigo's little sister, but it seems I won't be able to accept your offer. Some of my friends will be here soon, and I’ll be going with them. Hopefully, we'll meet again someday, and we can be a team then. I would like that very much…although I don’t know if you’ll still wish to be partners with me.”
“Hey, what are you talking about? Who will be here? Hey, wait…you can’t possibly mean to fight whatever that is! Hirako was nothing next to this thing!”
But he didn’t answer. Just stood motionless. What was going on?
She grabbed his wrist (his shoulder was a bit too high for her to reach). “Listen, you can’t take on that, that thing alone!” Karin yelled at him. Fear welled up inside her but she gave it no heed; if he couldn’t fight that Hollow, how could she? Regardless: “I’ll go with you.”
He turned around and faced her.
Worry defined his words. “Hold on, Ichigo’s little sister,” he raised his hands to halt her, “you, of all people, cannot meet this Hollow! No one has told you, but -”
“I’m sorry, are we late?” a less than familiar voice intruded.
A gale swept through the park, heralding new arrivals. Chad and Karin were no longer alone.
Confused, Karin glanced at the newcomers. The man who spoke wore a strange, striped hat and old-fashioned Japanese clothes-Urahara, the shop owner. And there was a bald guy with weird facial hair, glasses and a large knapsack. Something furry brushed against Karin’s legs; rounding out their troop was nothing more than a stupid black cat.
Why was he here?
Urahara waved his fan. “Oh, having a chat with Kurosaki’s sister, Sado-san? Well, no time for that! We need to hurry!” he barely paused to yell this at Chad, and soon he and his companions were gone as swiftly as they arrived.
Ichigo’s friend made to go with them.
“Wait up, you!” Karin hollered, stepping forward. Pain shot through her foot and slowed her.
Chad paused to glance apologetically at Karin.
“I’m not done with you yet!” she berated him. “What’s going on? That was Urahara! Tell me!”
He shrugged uncomfortably. “If I make it back, I promise to explain everything.” He turned his back to her. “Don’t follow me. Please.”
She opened her mouth to yell at him, but he left as quickly as Urahara had. She moved to pursue and instantly, her injured foot came back to haunt her. She stopped; Chad and the others ran so fast, even the damn cat, that Karin Kurosaki couldn't have kept, anyways. She glared in the direction they went.
That powerful aura simmered with evil, yet felt oddly familiar to Karin. Standing alone in the park, then, it reminded her of a time when her mother was alive. A time when her mother might make Ichigo laugh at any given moment. Those days seemed further away than ever.
Determined, she limped after Chad and Urahara. Karin’s mind was already made up. She was going after them if she had to hop on one foot the entire way.
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It was not a peaceful night for Renji Arabai. How many Hollows had he killed prior to the dangerous reiatsu swelling suddenly? He grinned maliciously. That dark reiatsu had frightened off the weakling Hollows, but Renji was ecstatic. Tonight. It would happen tonight!
Most captains in Soul Society avoided duty in the human world; their powers were too dangerous for such mundane work. Furthermore, Soul Society was scared to part with any of the most powerful Shinigami for an extended time. Besides, most captains’ egos were too bloated to handle doing the same job as a regular Shinigami. Renji wasn’t most captains.
In fact, he had only accepted the position of captain on the condition that he would man the post in Karakura.
They thought him mad. Blamed it on the disappearance of his childhood friend, Rukia Kuchiki. Told him that it wouldn’t be right for a captain to essentially live amongst humans-he told them to go to hell. Likely, he would have been disciplined for his words if Soul Society wasn’t so desperate for captains after the war against Aizen and the Arrancar.
And then unusually strong Hollows appeared with shocking frequency in Karakura. The type of Hollows that a typical Shinigami couldn’t handle, and suddenly Renji’s outlandish demand wasn’t so absurd. Before long, he got his wish and he was patrolling the streets of Karakura, searching for restless spirits. They lifted his limit and permitted him to use his Bankai. He protected Karakura and its citizens from unspeakable dangers for over a year.
But it was not until tonight that his true reasons for wanting this post were vindicated. At last, he could have his revenge. The old fools running Soul Society weren’t exactly wrong; Rukia’s disappearance had everything to do with his demands to work in Karakura. Because Renji knew she hadn’t disappeared at all.
A voice warned him not to go through with his plans, but that incredibly strong spiritual pressure pulled at Renji. He leapt off a streetlamp and ran towards the reiatsu. That mysterious Hollow had hid its powers too well to be the one Renji despised most. The source of this unrestrained power, though, could only be his old “friend.”
Atonement and the past beckoned to Renji.
“Finally,” he whispered, “you’ve returned, Ichigo.”
Title: Long Way to Goodbye VII
Rating: The much beloved T, where characters may swear and possess sexuality, but not so much that I will be banned for posting this.
Summary: Rukia and Ichigo disappeared and, although she tries, Karin has no idea what happened to them. Did Ichigo abandon everyone or did he and Rukia die?
Series: Bleach
Genre: Exciting murder mystery melodrama with action plus humour.
Fun fact: This chapter was the first that I wrote. Except it was for a completely different fic back when I began it, and now it’s hardly recognizable from the initial draft.
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VII
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Finally, Karin had cornered Chad. If he wouldn’t give her some answers about Ichigo, no one would. Still pissed her off that he’d been so elusive. And it really peeved her that she needed to overcome a life or death situation before she could question him. Go figure.
The Hollow with a sword circled around them like a vulture, keeping a wary distance from Chad. Was her brother’s friend that strong? Karin couldn’t tell-her spiritual senses didn’t detect Chad, even with him right in front of her. Something about him was seriously different since she last saw him fight,.
“Chad, your arm?” He had fought with a freakishly huge right arm last time. “Can’t you make it bigger or something? I don’t think we should mess around with this guy. Hey! Are you even listening to me?”
“I don’t need to transform my arms or my legs anymore,” he replied, concentrating on the Hollow. “I’m stronger if I fight as I am now.”
“Really?” Karin doubted it.
“Yes. In a way, my limbs are different right now. You just can’t see the changes.”
He’d better be telling the truth or else Karin would haunt him in the afterlife. The Hollow, meanwhile, reminded the two that he was still there by shrieking in Pig Latin. What a nuisance!
“You going to attack him or what?” Karin asked, glaring at the Hollow. “Why hesitate?”
A long silence followed, and Karin thought Chad was going to stare at the Hollow all night. At last, he murmured, “I know that Hollow.”
Karin gaped. “You what?!”
“Yes,” he nodded gravely. “His name is Shinji Hirako. He’s my friend, or was briefly. He saved my life.”
Shocked, Karin gave the Hollow with a sword, Shinji Hirako, a second appraisal. Come to think of it, his ragged garb sort of resembled Ichigo’s school uniform. But it was hard to imagine that feral monster in a school.
“Whether he was your friend before or not,” Karin growled, “I think we can safely say he isn’t anymore. So, Chad?” she gestured at Hirako.
“Hmm?”
“Well, are you going to attack him or what?! I don’t know about you, but I don’t socialize with lunatics out to kill me!”
Chad grunted, but still didn’t budge. Hirako continued his circuits around them, slowly inching closer. He and Chad were locked in an epic scowling match of deadly proportions, and Karin wondered if they had forgotten her.
“Oh, for God’s sake!” Karin cursed, throwing her hands up.
And she rushed the Hollow herself, taking the offensive. Her foot smacked into the side of Hirako’s mask and she felt ivory crack as the Hollow went flying. Damn, his mask was harder than a concrete wall! Her foot would be bruised or worse.
Chad was staring at her, lost for words, she realized; so was Hirako, after the Hollow stood up. Well, come on! She wasn’t going to do nothing while they both ignored her.
Besides, Karin handled life and death situations pretty nicely these days. She wasn't no eleven-year-old nobody anymore. Her breasts were even growing, much to her dumb father's horror. Ah, but her womanly developments were unimportant at the moment. Got to take care of the big bad ghost first.
“Are you insane?” Chad whispered, his body quaking. “Do you have any idea how strong he is? If you don’t stay behind me, you could die.”
Karin whipped around to face him, ignoring how tender her foot felt. “In my situation, would you want to hide behind someone else?” she snorted and he recoiled: Bullseye. “I didn’t think so.”
He regarded her in exasperation. “I don’t mean to condescend, believe me, but you’re standing on one foot.”
Her foot throbbed, punctuating his point. She scowled at Chad.
“Fine,” he gave in. “But,” he added, “don’t do anything sudden again. You were very lucky before.”
“All right,” she smiled, accepting his conditions. She knew Chad would be a pushover! “Now let’s kick your old pal’s ass together.”
Speaking of the Hollow, he was incredibly pissed. In fact, Hirako literally emitted black smoke from his pores as he shook in fury. Blood leaked from the crack in his mask. His reiatsu, invisible before, skyrocketed well beyond Karin’s own. His slender frame widened into something muscular and intimidating. How much had Hirako been holding back, seriously?
“Okay, I can’t do a whole lot here,” Karin admitted through clenched teeth. Saying the truth hurt far worse than her aching foot. “You do the grunt work and I’ll provide support if I can.”
Chad’s following silence screamed volumes at Karin and her cheeks colored. Moving along! Hirako stood no chance against the Karin-Chad combo! She was ready.
Or not. Faster than Karin’s eyes could follow, Hirako charged and his mask was in her face in a blink. Before she could react, Chad swung a heavy left hook at the Hollow. Hirako leapt back and Chad pursued. The Hollow slashed at Chad, missed, and the two exchanged a rapid series of blows. For a time, each would evade just in time while launching a counterstrike of his own. Their attacks sped up, their bodies blurred, and the exchanges proceeded until an explosion rocked the park. Hirako howled as Chad’s fist hammered into his stomach; the Hollow slammed into the ground and skidded all the way to Karin’s feet.
So maybe Karin doubted Chad needed any help. Well, he obviously didn’t-he made this look easy. Grudgingly, Karin thought to herself that he looked pretty cool out there. Still, did he have to make her feel so useless?
Wanting to play a part, too, Karin kicked Hirako, ignoring the lancing pain in her foot, and sent him right back to Chad. The Mexican closed his eyes and put all his weight into a simple, but devastating, right straight. Hirako’s mask shattered and a decision was reached: TKO. The victors: the Red Flame of Karakura and her dimwitted sidekick, Chad.
She pumped her fist in victory, caught up in the moment. Then she saw Chad and her desire to celebrate withered away. On the ground, Shinji Hirako’s face was visible for the first time. Hirako’s body returned to normal and he appeared content, but Chad seemed tormented enough to shed a tear.
“So your conscience truly was gone-you refused to return as yourself,” Chad said quietly, watching the remains of Hirako fade away. Blood trickled from small nicks all over Chad; so he hadn’t won unscathed. “I hope you find her, wherever you go now.” Chad stepped away and Hirako’s soul vanished completely.
A warm and strangely humid wind swept through the park as Karin observed Chad’s last rites. She wondered about this Shinji Hirako; the man must have been the powerful Hollow Orihime and Renji had warned her of. What had he been like? Who was that girl or woman Chad mentioned? There was too much Karin had been excluded from by Ichigo and his friends.
But enough of Hirako. Change of topic. Focus, Karin! Remember why you’d sought out Chad! To find her brother (plus Rukia, if possible) and solve all of her problems in one fell swoop!
Karin sauntered up to Chad and glared up, up, and way up at him. Okay, she'd grown a lot since she first saw him, but it was impossible to stare down this giant. Not to mention his eyes were hidden beneath a mat of shaggy hair, making it hopeless for Karin to see if his eyes were shaking in fright from the full force of her glowering. It was important to at least try to intimidate him.
“Chad,” she took in a deep breath, because she could be louder than him, if not taller. She was sorry about his former friend, but her brother took precedence. “Where are Ichigo and Rukia?! And don’t say Ichigo’s still going to school, because I know about the fake!”
The ringing of her final piercing syllable disturbed the evening’s calm. Karin was satisfied by her volume. Oh, she must have really put Chad on the spot. Heh, he was shaking; his shoulders sagged while the rest of his body jerked repeatedly. Trembling in his boots, was he? No denying it, she had him on the ropes. Ho ho, and he was whimpering now, too, should her ears not deceive her. Wow. She almost felt bad for him. His strangled noises grew louder. Whoa, okay, maybe she didn't almost feel sorry for the poor guy; he was winning her over with his sad display of unmanly weeping...
Then Chad exploded into a fit of rich, booming laughter, and Karin hurriedly took back whatever sympathy was building up inside her. In fact, he hadn’t been all that cool in the fight.
His laughter did nothing to calm Karin; it reminded her too much of Renji, for one thing, and his chuckles didn’t answer her question, for another. She upped the power of her glare to eleven.
Time passed and he settled down, eventually. “You really are his sister,” was all he could say, as if that explained his bizarre reaction. It was just like Renji!
How infuriating!
“Where's Ichigo?!” she demanded once more.
No laughter this time. Karin didn't think it possible but, looking at his melancholic expression, she preferred his earlier good spirits.
His brows furrowed in deep thought. A slow, rumbling sigh escaped Chad. “I don’t know his whereabouts,” he confessed, picking his words carefully. “Your brother departed into the unknown and left us all behind.”
Chad didn't know. Was he telling the truth? Karin, recalling Renji’s taunting, felt Chad wasn’t saying the whole truth. Then again, maybe it was impossible for her to believe him, as doing so would be akin to throwing away all hope of finding Ichigo.
Oh, but she shouldn’t forget her other lost friend. “And Rukia? Is she really in Soul Society?” That’s what Orihime and Ishida had told her.
He hesitated and answered, “No.”
So Ishida and Orihime did lie about Rukia! Unless Chad is lying…but why would he? She didn’t quite know what to make of this development just yet.
“Then where is she?”
Dead silence. What did that mean?
Karin pressed on with the next set of questions. “What do you mean you don't know, anyways? Aren't you their comrade?! Shouldn't you, of all people, know this? Aren’t you one of Ichigo’s best friends? I thought you fought by his side! Can’t you find him?!”
Chad trembled as she yelled at him, likely in anger this time. Fortunately, he kept himself composed.
“I still consider myself his friend,” his voice was strained, “but I can’t say the same for him. Really, I haven't seen him in years, Ichigo's little sister,” he replied after breathing in and out to calm himself. “If I had a better idea about where he was, you’d likely never have found me.”
Of course, Chad wasn’t going to say anything meaningful. Deep down, she probably expected as much all along. Actually, upon further thought, she was certain from the beginning that he wouldn't reveal the location of Rukia and Ichigo.
“Will you help me look for them?” Karin suddenly asked.
Ah, so that had been her real purpose. Her own cleverness impressed Karin, at times.
Chad was taken aback. “Look...for them?”
“Yeah!” she exclaimed, shifting her weight to relax her sore foot. “What do you say? Good idea, huh? I'll be the brains for your brawn. Let’s face it, pal, you need someone with a little charm-yours truly, that is-to help you out.”
The big guy's shoulders slumped, but he couldn’t resist a small smile. “I’d like to but I can’t. It’s not a good idea. Sorry.”
“Huh? Not a good idea?!” Karin was surprised. “Why not? We made a pretty good team earlier!”
He frowned and opened his mouth, closed it, and finally said, “What if it’s impossible to find them?”
As if Karin would ever accept that. She’d been desperately trying not to think her quest was hopeless for years already.
“If we don’t look, we’ll never know for sure.”
Chad groaned. Logic for the win! “Okay…you noticed how I fought the entire time without transforming my arms, right? You commented on it.”
She nodded.
“Do you understand what that means?” After Karin didn’t answer, he continued, “My powers are those of a Hollow’s. I managed to avoid changing the appearance of my arms by only accepting the darkness inside me. I don’t know how perfect my control is yet. At any given moment, I may go berserk.”
Karin listened with her head cocked. This sounded too much like a lesson.
“Basically, what you’re saying just means you’re really strong, Chad. I’m not afraid of you-I know you can handle yourself,” she dismissed Chad’s warning with the wave of a hand. “What’s the problem? You want to know where Ichigo and Rukia are, too. It's not hard to figure out what we should do-me and you should work together, that’s all there is to it. I cover your back for you, making sure you never flip out, and you make sure nothing happens to me. Then we can search all over the city, the country, maybe even Soul Society for my bro! Personally, I think we’ll make a great team as soon as you stop being a dweeb, no offense.”
“I...I...” He chuckled weakly. “I have my reasons to stay in Karakura.”
But Karin wasn't going to yield so easily. “Aren't your friends important to you?”
“They are,” Chad stated with all seriousness, the only way he could, “and I am important to them. What if they try to find us? That's why I must remain.”
In response, Karin paced. Or limped, rather. Her scowl resembled a certain family member's sour mug. Chad was working too hard to reject her offer. There was certainly something this guy refused to tell her. Was it about Ichigo? She’d come too far to go back now to be stopped by pair of tight lips.
“Okay, Chad, if this is ever going to work out, you need to be up front with me about a -”
Overwhelming all else, an immense surge of spiritual pressure tore into the world and effectively cut Karin off. Waves of
energy buffeted them continuously. This new reiatsu pulsed with darkness.
She reacted quickly, if just to voice her confusion. Wide-eyed, she asked, “What is that? I’ve never felt anything so…evil…”
Karin turned to Chad, only to see the man looking far into the distance, toward the source of this oppressive atmosphere. He had the appearance of a man put to trial, one who knew he was heading to the gallows.
What could possibly possess enough power to scare Chad? Is this a Hollow?! She wondered, squinting her eyes in the direction he was looking. The source of the reiatsu must have appeared around the graveyard, near the river where her mom had died.
Beside her, Chad’s knuckles cracked and he muttered, “Soon. Far too soon.”
Birds scattered from the trees and fled as night fell. The humidity was stifling.
“Chad?” Karin risked arching her brows. “What the hell is going on?!”
Sweat dripped off her brow and not from the heat; it took tremendous willpower to resist falling over, the reiatsu was so enormous. Chad, Renji, Hirako, much less herself…they all paled in comparison next to this monstrous power. Anxiety, fear, and curiosity battled to be the dominant emotion within her.
Abruptly, the big guy spoke to her. “Sorry, Ichigo's little sister, but it seems I won't be able to accept your offer. Some of my friends will be here soon, and I’ll be going with them. Hopefully, we'll meet again someday, and we can be a team then. I would like that very much…although I don’t know if you’ll still wish to be partners with me.”
“Hey, what are you talking about? Who will be here? Hey, wait…you can’t possibly mean to fight whatever that is! Hirako was nothing next to this thing!”
But he didn’t answer. Just stood motionless. What was going on?
She grabbed his wrist (his shoulder was a bit too high for her to reach). “Listen, you can’t take on that, that thing alone!” Karin yelled at him. Fear welled up inside her but she gave it no heed; if he couldn’t fight that Hollow, how could she? Regardless: “I’ll go with you.”
He turned around and faced her.
Worry defined his words. “Hold on, Ichigo’s little sister,” he raised his hands to halt her, “you, of all people, cannot meet this Hollow! No one has told you, but -”
“I’m sorry, are we late?” a less than familiar voice intruded.
A gale swept through the park, heralding new arrivals. Chad and Karin were no longer alone.
Confused, Karin glanced at the newcomers. The man who spoke wore a strange, striped hat and old-fashioned Japanese clothes-Urahara, the shop owner. And there was a bald guy with weird facial hair, glasses and a large knapsack. Something furry brushed against Karin’s legs; rounding out their troop was nothing more than a stupid black cat.
Why was he here?
Urahara waved his fan. “Oh, having a chat with Kurosaki’s sister, Sado-san? Well, no time for that! We need to hurry!” he barely paused to yell this at Chad, and soon he and his companions were gone as swiftly as they arrived.
Ichigo’s friend made to go with them.
“Wait up, you!” Karin hollered, stepping forward. Pain shot through her foot and slowed her.
Chad paused to glance apologetically at Karin.
“I’m not done with you yet!” she berated him. “What’s going on? That was Urahara! Tell me!”
He shrugged uncomfortably. “If I make it back, I promise to explain everything.” He turned his back to her. “Don’t follow me. Please.”
She opened her mouth to yell at him, but he left as quickly as Urahara had. She moved to pursue and instantly, her injured foot came back to haunt her. She stopped; Chad and the others ran so fast, even the damn cat, that Karin Kurosaki couldn't have kept, anyways. She glared in the direction they went.
That powerful aura simmered with evil, yet felt oddly familiar to Karin. Standing alone in the park, then, it reminded her of a time when her mother was alive. A time when her mother might make Ichigo laugh at any given moment. Those days seemed further away than ever.
Determined, she limped after Chad and Urahara. Karin’s mind was already made up. She was going after them if she had to hop on one foot the entire way.
---
It was not a peaceful night for Renji Arabai. How many Hollows had he killed prior to the dangerous reiatsu swelling suddenly? He grinned maliciously. That dark reiatsu had frightened off the weakling Hollows, but Renji was ecstatic. Tonight. It would happen tonight!
Most captains in Soul Society avoided duty in the human world; their powers were too dangerous for such mundane work. Furthermore, Soul Society was scared to part with any of the most powerful Shinigami for an extended time. Besides, most captains’ egos were too bloated to handle doing the same job as a regular Shinigami. Renji wasn’t most captains.
In fact, he had only accepted the position of captain on the condition that he would man the post in Karakura.
They thought him mad. Blamed it on the disappearance of his childhood friend, Rukia Kuchiki. Told him that it wouldn’t be right for a captain to essentially live amongst humans-he told them to go to hell. Likely, he would have been disciplined for his words if Soul Society wasn’t so desperate for captains after the war against Aizen and the Arrancar.
And then unusually strong Hollows appeared with shocking frequency in Karakura. The type of Hollows that a typical Shinigami couldn’t handle, and suddenly Renji’s outlandish demand wasn’t so absurd. Before long, he got his wish and he was patrolling the streets of Karakura, searching for restless spirits. They lifted his limit and permitted him to use his Bankai. He protected Karakura and its citizens from unspeakable dangers for over a year.
But it was not until tonight that his true reasons for wanting this post were vindicated. At last, he could have his revenge. The old fools running Soul Society weren’t exactly wrong; Rukia’s disappearance had everything to do with his demands to work in Karakura. Because Renji knew she hadn’t disappeared at all.
A voice warned him not to go through with his plans, but that incredibly strong spiritual pressure pulled at Renji. He leapt off a streetlamp and ran towards the reiatsu. That mysterious Hollow had hid its powers too well to be the one Renji despised most. The source of this unrestrained power, though, could only be his old “friend.”
Atonement and the past beckoned to Renji.
“Finally,” he whispered, “you’ve returned, Ichigo.”