(no subject)
Apparently, I have now taken being late to an art form. Well, here's the next chapter in my series. The end is coming, and I figure I should hurry up before Kubo makes this story into too much of an AU on me.
Title: Long Way to Goodbye VIII
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: Dramatic thriller transforming into horror transforming into oh-god-why-would-you-end-the-chapter-there?!
Disclaimer: I don’t own Bleach.
Edit: May 1, 2010. Corrected a few minor grammar issues and modified a few sentences. Nothing significant altered, however.
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VIII
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“That Hollow you fought earlier…it was someone we know, right, Sado-san?” Urahara asked Yasutora after he caught up with the group. “Why don’t you tell us about it to pass the time? Are you worried about Karin-chan? Come on, open up-honesty and openness nourish the soul.”
Yasutora frowned in silence; he hadn’t enjoyed killing an old friend and saying Shinji’s name would be akin to confessing to murder.
Buildings blurred as they ran through Karakura at breakneck speed. They rushed underneath the bridge where Ichigo and Yasutora became friends. Another blur and they passed by the street where Ichigo told Yasutora he wasn’t needed. So many memories in an instant, as fleeting as the time it took to reach the next area. How would tonight’s clash fit into his memories?
“Don’t give Kisuke any heed, Sado,” Yoruichi, now in human form, scoffed. When exactly she had transformed and when she had changed into clothing and even where the clothing came from, Yasutora had no idea. “He’s not someone who should be criticizing others for being tight-lipped.”
Tessai ran alongside Yasutora, similarly quiet. Lost in his thoughts, the Mexican barely heard the chatter.
“Are you implying anything untoward about my integrity?”
“What integrity?” replied Yoruichi with a grin. She was running slightly further ahead of the rest and seemed impatient with the others’ speed or lack thereof.
The landscape shifted as they entered a forested and left the city proper behind. The night was pitch black, hot and humid; nearby, the enormous, negative reiatsu drummed their senses. For once, the cicadas were silent.
Yoruichi turned her attentions to Yasutora. “You keeping quiet to irritate Kisuke or are you having trouble keeping it together?” she asked in a serious, maybe even concerned, voice. “We’re all Ichigo’s friends, but you were the closest to him and the plan depends largely on you, Sado. Are you prepared, mentally, to do all that is necessary should things go awry?”
Prepared? That foreboding spiritual pressure was darker than the night sky. A lifetime of training wouldn’t have been enough, and everyone in the party knew it. But Yasutora grunted and nodded.
“You better be, Sado-san,” Urahara piped in. “The slightest hesitation could be the difference between life and all of us dying. More importantly, you’d best be prepared because we’re here.”
They reached a clearing in the woods near a river. Here the reiatsu was a swirling tempest of malice and hatred. And in the heart of the chaos, a figure in black stood.
Yasutora shivered upon seeing what had become of his long lost friend. Ichigo’s little sister was better off not witnessing what was to occur.
---
In the Kurosaki Clinic, unpleasant comprehension came abruptly to Isshin upon sensing the Hollow. At last, much of the last two years, including Urahara’s silence about his son’s whereabouts, made sense to Isshin. However, this epiphany didn’t exactly come at the most convenient of times; he was a little too busy, at present, to deal with a disobedient son.
“What do you mean you can’t spare any ambulances?!” Isshin yelled into the phone. “Why? What do you mean why?! Because I can’t treat half my patients here! They need further attention at the city hospital or they’ll die! Well, if none of the ambulances are available, send some cabs-anything! I don’t care what it is so long as it moves! If you don’t, I hope the thought that you let people die keeps you awake tonight!”
He slammed the phone down. Kon and Yuzu scuttled back and forth, tending to patients with lesser ailments. Isshin’s throat was raw from shouting, while his fingers felt numb after operating on so many people. It was a miracle he could work, what with all of his distractions.
Oh, where could Karin be? Why had he let her go? Was he going to lose another family member? But Isshin stood by his earlier decision to remain in the clinic. The hard truth of it was, Isshin had to rely on Ichigo’s friends to guard Karin because someone needed to guard Yuzu. If he ran outside to be Big Daddy Hero for Karin, he would risk losing both girls; as it was, each might be saved and both of his darling daughters needed to be kept safe.
And, lest he forget, his patients needed him. Isshin could do the most right where he was, in the clinic. But damn reality, convincing himself this choice was the most sensible when it was his own son out there was near impossible.
If he were to act, he should have done so much earlier, right after Ichigo and Rukia failed to return with the others. Instead, he’d done nothing for a good two years and now his family was falling apart. The girls weren’t speaking to each other and Kon's imitation of Ichiog couldn’t be more of a sham. He’d kept his mouth shut in hopes of maintaining the status quo, but that had only made matters worse. Although, granted, it wasn’t exactly his own fault that Ichigo would, in a moment, terrorize the city and possibly destroy the family permanently.
Yes, Isshin understood why Urahara hadn’t told him anything now. He realized why immediately after he sensed that unbelievably strong reiatsu-Urahara must have figured that Isshin would do something stupid if he learned that his son had degenerated into a Hollow.
Well, that was dumb of Urahara. Isshin may have lost his son, but he would never do anything to jeopardize his girls’ lives. To be honest, Isshin wasn’t terribly shocked to learn of Ichigo’s loss of control, given how long the boy had been missing. He just couldn’t figure out what happened to Rukia. Because Isshin knew his son: even if Ichigo turned into a demon and went berserk, Isshin knew his boy would never harm Rukia.
Isshin’s fists clenched as he stepped back into the operating room, as his job could not possibly stop him from worrying about his daughter. Having faith in his son not to hurt Rukia was one thing, but Isshin wasn’t confident enough of that to risk Karin’s chances alone with Ichigo if worst came to worst.
---
So Karin was just supposed to let Chad and those weirdoes die? If Chad let himself get killed, who would help her find Ichigo and Rukia?! Would things ever get better with Yuzu? Honestly, Chad should have known that Karin wouldn’t let him handle this new threat by himself.
Can I actually make a difference, though? Her indignant resolve to help faltered and she stopped limping forward. The pain in her right foot assailed her. What if I only get in the way? One of my legs is practically useless and that huge reiatsu is…Terrifying, to put it bluntly. Yes, that enormous power frightened her, but not as much as the possibility of never seeing her brother once more. She might not be able to truly help out, yet she could not sit idly, all the same. I’ll never know unless I actually go.
Thus, she took a step forward and winced; her foot was getting weaker by the step. So distracting was the energy and the massive reiatsu that Karin failed to notice two newcomers until they were right upon her.
“Karin-chan!” Somebody screamed her name.
Karin knew who it was at once. Her first response was relief that the two were fine, but irritation quickly overcame her.
Great, the safety patrol is back, she thought in annoyance; of course, it was only after she and Chad had taken care of the small fry that the pair decided to make an appearance. The two were never far away unless she desperately needed them, apparently. Karin wasn’t sure what had kept Orihime and Ishida occupied-likely Hollows-but they must have noticed that impossibly large surge of darkness. Sheesh, they are definitely not going to realize that it would be best if all of us confront whatever that monster is…
Karin turned around and spotted her would-be security guards. Orihime was panting heavily, clutching her chest. Ishida, by comparison, was seemingly calm and collected, the same as ever.
“Thank goodness, you’re not hurt,” gasped Orihime, sighing in enormous relief. Before Karin could dodge, she gave Karin a tight hug. When Karin cringed, Orihime’s brows furrowed, “Or are you hurt?”
That damn foot again. After Karin managed to wrestle herself awkwardly out of Orihime’s grip, she said, “Hurt? Maybe a little,” she grudgingly admitted before dismissing her pain, “It’s nothing, though.”
Concern lit Orihime’s eyes as she suddenly examined Karin closely. “Where?” she demanded to know. “Your right leg, is it? You stepped back uneasily…”
“My right foot,” specified Karin. “Why are you treating me like I’m made of glass, all of a sudden? Well, I mean, you two usually do, but-what are you doing?!” Karin exclaimed as Orihime bent over and started rubbing a hand over her right ankle.
“Stay still,” Ishida said, “It will take longer for Inoue-san to heal you if you jump about.”
Karin’s eyes widened and she glanced down at Orihime, who was concentrating on fixing up Karin. “She can do that much?” A light spread from Inoue’s fingertips and latched onto Karin’s ankle. Wherever the light touched, Karin's pain vanished. Amazing.
“Yes, she can, and it’s a good thing she has the power to do so because you need to run away soon,” advised Ishida.
“Run away?” balked Karin. Not this again…
“Don’t you know?” replied Ishida. “Hollows are everywhere-or they had been. We got caught fighting dozens of Hollows, in case you’re wondering why we were absent a moment ago. We thought we’d be fighting them all night. It wasn’t until a moment ago that they all abruptly fled.”
“Fled? Hollows? Why would they…?”
She didn’t need to finish the question for the dark spiritual pressure throbbed. It seemed humans weren’t the only ones afraid of that massive energy. The reiatsu reminded Karin of her need to hurry after Chad even as it made her feel cold inside.
“All done,” Orihime proclaimed and stood. “Your foot shouldn’t trouble you now, so long you don’t sprain or bruise it right away. Go ahead, try it out!”
Stunned, Karin put some weight on the foot and jumped up and down once. True to Orihime’s word, Karin’s sprain was gone. If it weren’t for her own memory, she’d never have believed that her foot had been crippling her a moment ago. In spite of her frustrations with Orihime of late, Karin could not help feeling a large sense of awe and gratitude.
“Thanks,” she dipped her head in acknowledgement briefly.
Orihime smiled bashfully. “You’re welcome. I’m just glad I made it in time.”
“Really, I mean it.” Her dad would kill to be able to mend sprains like that. “Wait a moment,” Karin said, struck by dread as she recalled her home and family, “what about Yuzu?! Is she all right?”
“Your sister is fine,” Ishida answered for Orihime. “We looked for both you and your sister, I’ll have you know. Yuzu is safe at home.”
Anxiety seeped away from Karin. “Thank god.” So long as Yuzu was safe, Karin could pull through the night.
“You’re the one we’re worried about right now!” Orihime added. “You need to get back home soon! For a moment, we-I, thought you might have…” she abruptly stopped in midsentence and glanced at Ishida, flushing.
Karin did not fail to notice this interaction. In fact, Orihime tended to do this a lot around Karin and, frankly, it drove her insane. Not so far away, the malevolent power pulsed with even greater strength; the longer Karin dallied here, the more likely that force was going to begin destroying.
Karin threw up her arms. “Thought I might have what? Decided to check out the Hollow that’s radiating enough reiatsu to turn the regular monsters into frightened kittens?” She tilted her head in the direction of the spiritual pressure. “‘Run away,’ or ‘Don’t do that, Karin-chan,’ or ‘We can handle this for you.’ Have you two ever considered that maybe I’d be more obliged to listen to you if once-just once!-you’d bother to explain what’s going on or why I shouldn’t do these things? I know that I’m not as strong as you two-yet-but I want to help out as much as anyone, if you hadn’t realized. Honestly, what the hell is that crazy powerful Hollow? Weak as I might be, I know the two of you or even Chad can’t handle it by yourselves, either. This is a time for all of us to join forces! And if you can’t do that much, at the very least, talk to me, please!”
She gasped for breath, startled by her own emotional outburst. Ishida stared at her, and Orihime flinched when Karin glanced at her. Her rant had hit home, evidently.
Yes, Orihime and Ishida were awesome people for saving Karin and Yuzu again and again, but couldn’t they see that hiding the truth could only be destructive in the end? Really, Chad was supposed to be the one to shed some light on a few things for her, but prying open his lips had been as easy as it would have been for Karin to lift the giant off his feet-that is, flat-out impossible.
Anyways, the Safety Patrol was having trouble responding to Karin. “Uh-yes, we maybe could be a little more forthright,” mumbled Orihime. “Err…” She looked at Ishida for help.
A proper response came no quicker to him. “You shouldn’t go there,” he finally said, “because Kurosaki, your brother, definitely would not want you to face that monster. You’ll die if you do,” he added bluntly.
The dark energy throbbed as if it, too, agreed with the Quincy’s point.
Karin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You know what that thing is,” she surmised, recalling how Chad personally knew that Hollow with a sword. Hirako or whatever his name was. The looks on Ishida and Orihime’s faces confirmed her suspicions.
Ishida grimaced, noting that Orihime wasn’t going to speak up any time soon. “It’s an especially dangerous Hollow,” Ishida told Karin carefully. He took a deep breath. “We know this because your brother lost against this Hollow. That’s why he’s been missing for so long.”
Shock overwhelmed her. “Ichigo…lost…?”
“But Kurosaki-kun didn’t die!” Orihime quickly put in, fortunately, before Karin’s conclusions turned morbid.
Karin desperately needed to know more, but she couldn’t resist a little dab of venting. “And was it so hard for you two to tell me this?” Seriously, if ranting would have gotten some results, she would have flipped out at them sooner. As it was, Karin likely needed a little time to settle down to process this information, but she felt all kinds of catharsis to finally hear some truth.
Orihime pursed her lips, “But we really don’t know where he is, so we’ve never been able to tell you that much. He vanished two years ago.”
Something wasn’t adding up in this story. “Wait, what about Rukia? Why did she disappear, too? Did that monster defeat her or did she go looking for Ichigo or what?! Just don’t tell me that she…” Karin swallowed and couldn’t finish the sentence.
Neither Ishida nor Orihime gave her an answer. Orihime averted her eyes and Ishida saw fit to adjust his glasses. The humidity suddenly became noticeable and added to the discomfort. Nobody said a word, as the distant reiatsu pulsed, but silence was about to get a kick in the ass.
“Come on!” A new voice spat out at Ishida and Orihime. “Why don’t you at least tell the girl the truth?! Are you afraid of shattering her fragile heart? She’s tougher than you think.”
And the instantly-recognizable man appeared in a flash. No one else had long, red hair and a face covered with scars and tattoos. However, he didn’t have his former cocky bravado tonight-only an impatient, disturbing fury. His grimace twisted the black tattoos on his face into something more than a little scary. Not that Karin was scared.
In any case, Renji demonstrated again he knew more about Ichigo and Rukia’s disappearance than Karin. Furthermore, he might be more forthcoming about it than Ishida and Orihime. Then again, did Karin trust him? He had implied that he liked Karin, but the feeling was definitely not mutual.
Orihime’s face paled. “Renji…”
Karin glanced at Orihime’s white face in alarm. Apprehension ate away at her excitement to learn the truth, and she forced herself to breath. “What happened to Rukia?” she asked Renji, watching him walk across the glaze, towards that dark power. Her thoughts turned dark. “Did she get in trouble with some bigwigs in Soul Society? Was she…hurt bad?” Somehow, Karin doubted Rukia was having wacky adventures with Ichigo, the way she’d like to imagine.
Orihime made a start towards the tattooed Shinigami and screamed, “Renji, don’t say a-!”
“Rukia’s dead,” Renji said bitterly, fingering a long scar across the bridge of his nose.
In spite of her minor misgivings about Rukia’s fate, the news smashed into Karin’s chest, leaving her breathless. For a moment, she was speechless and could only think of was how impossible it was for Rukia to be dead; Karin had to be the butt of some sick joke. Yet Orihime and Ishida, who were beside Karin, had lowered their heads in grievance. Renji is telling me the truth. Dreadful acceptance seeped into Karin as she realized, for the first time, that she would never see Rukia again.
Renji, upon delivering his succinct words, continued forward.
“What…” Karin tried to process the information coherently. “How could that have…wouldn’t Ichigo and everyone have…but…why…?” Then rage consumed her. “Who did it?!”
“Renji!” Ishida yelled.
But the Shinigami didn’t listen to Ishida. He stopped to turn around and look at Karin. Pity briefly replaced anger in his eyes. “Haven’t you figured it out by now?” he sighed and pointed towards the massive reiatsu-in other words, the stupidly powerful Hollow killed Rukia. Renji’s anger returned quickly, “If you can recognize that spiritual pressure before I slaughter the asshole,” he snarled, “you’ll know well enough who did it!”
Renji dashed out out of sight, and Karin collapsed to her knees in confusion. Renji’s hatred for that all-powerful Hollow was entirely too similar to his hatred for Karin’s brother. All of a sudden, Karin realized why that overwhelming reiatsu felt so familiar to her; it reminded her of Ichigo. But the fact that the Hollow was a goddamn monster contradicted that notion entirely. Karin was uncertain, thanks to Renji, but one thing was clear: more than ever, she had to confront the Hollow.
From the side Orihime edged close to her, with a hand in front of her that didn’t quite try to reach Karin’s shoulder and pat it in comfort. Good for Orihime that she did not, as Karin was in no mood for consolation.
Rukia was supposed to be alive, she thought angrily. She and Chad were supposed to find Rukia and Ichigo both and bring them back alive. That would be impossible if Rukia was no longer, but if she really had died …well, then it was clear that Karin and Chad’s mission needed a minor modification: Find Ichigo and kill whoever killed Rukia. But what if that murderer was…? Karin shook her head at the mere implication.
The air was tense and awkward again, and much too quiet; the night’s enveloping darkness did not help the atmosphere any.
Eventually, Ishida spoke, “I need to follow that lunatic before matters spin out of control. Sado and the others need all the help they can get, and I doubt thatt Shinigami will do any good in the state he’s in.” He glanced at Karin and nodded meaningfully to Orihime.
“I know,” murmured Orihime. “I realized long ago that I don’t need to be involved in a fight directly to help out-I’ll stay with Karin-chan and keep her alive.”
Ishida smiled. “I’d expect nothing less,” he said before running in pursuit of the others.
Karin watched the exchange between the two teenagers in horror, still stunned by Renji’s revelation. After Ishida took off, she awoke to her senses again; if she sat on her ass all day, she’d never learn the truth.
“I’m not going to stay here while everyone dies,” Karin stood and burst out determinedly.
Yet when she tried to move forward, a strange barrier halted her progress. Karin glared at Orihime.
“You’re staying here,” Orihime firmly refuted. “I made a promise to myself two years ago and I’m keeping it.”
“What’re talking about? Why shouldn’t I go?!” Karin pressed against Orihime’s barrier to no luck. “Who is that Hollow?!” It couldn’t possibly be her brother, could it?!
“It…he…” Orihime faltered, but the invisible shield remained strong and she regained her focus. “I mean it, Karin-chan, we’re staying here, even though I want to go help them, too!”
Something powerful backed up Orihime’s decision, and Karin growled in frustration. She may have been trapped by some barrier, but it was Orihime who was cornered now.
Closer now than ever before, the dark, yet incredibly familiar, reiatsu overwhelmed all else.
---
The river beside Yasutora flowed gently, in stark contrast to the turbulent energy swirling around the masked demon shrouded in black rags that had once been Ichigo Kurosaki. Only the form of his body suggested that the Hollow had once been human. Surprisingly, his physical body didn’t look much different, aside from his skin being unnaturally white-like a Hollow’s. His mask, in contrast, was completely black; two long horns should have protruded to either side, but the left horn had broken off. It was tempting to call the current Ichigo the embodiment of evil, so threatening was his presence.
So it baffled Yasutora, then, that despite the Hollow’s overwhelming strength, he remained perfectly still on the site where Masaki Kurosaki once died, years ago. The group of four hunters surrounding Ichigo, lead by Urahara, were certainly astonished.
Yasutora, Urahara, Yoruichi and Tessai observed their lost friend from a safe distance, put off guard by the lack of aggression. The four were all ready to spring into action and fight, but the Hollow chose not to attack, contrary to all of their expectations. Why? Shouldn’t this distorted Ichigo be hungering for powerful souls? The unusual behavior forced Yasutora and the others into silence for the past few minutes.
There was no question for Yasutora that he needed to confront his old friend. Ever since the Ichigo snapped, Yasutora was well aware of the danger his former pal presented to the world, and he took it upon himself to defeat the lost Shinigami. Ichigo would want his sisters kept safe from him. Because Yasutora saw himself as Ichigo’s friend still, he would fight him and die, if so be it. So he was here tonight, standing before his insane friend, but Yasutora was nowhere near as calm as the river beside them.
Are we really friends, Ichigo? Do I need to kill you to truly be considered your comrade, or will that only make our friendship a sham?
Suddenly, Yasutora felt himself reconsidering his own decision, unnerved by the passiveness of the monster Ichigo. It seemed he had prepared himself so much for fighting Ichigo that he hadn’t been ready for this scenario. Yasutora thought of Shinji Hirako, and how he was unable to keep Hirako in this plane of existence. Was Ichigo’s soul similarly desperate to leave this world?
Judging by the other’s expressions, they too were feeling new doubts for, eventually, Urahara risked an explanation for the Hollow’s odd behavior and broke the silence.
“Hollows act out of instinct,” Urahara said to the others. The demon didn’t budge at the sound of words. “Kurosaki-san’s simplest instinct was to protect. After losing himself to the Hollow inside him, what does he have to protect? Who does he wish to save? Since his ego vanished, he cannot think about who he needs to save. So he just stands there, immobile.”
Yasutora nodded slowly. Ichigo hadn’t exactly been a normal Hollow when his mind suddenly slipped away.
“So,” Yoruichi called from the other side of Ichigo, “that means we’re safe then, if what you say is right.”
“If I’m right, yes. Unless we provoke him, I doubt he’ll attack us…for the time being, at least. Perhaps he’s only temporarily confused?”
A gust of wind flapped against Ichigo’s rags, and the Hollow stirred. Everyone got ready to attack, but he soon went motionless again.
“That’s very consoling,” muttered Yoruichi. Like everyone else, she kept expecting her former pupil to pounce on them. “He could only be pretending to be nice, for all we know.”
“What should we do?” Yasutora finally asked.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” chuckled Urahara. “Should we do anything to upset him, we’ll likely all die swift deaths,” Urahara laughed. Nobody else so much as chuckled.
Under the moonlight, they all stared at Ichigo, waiting, weighing, debating.
Tessai spoke, “My kidou is ready whenever you require it. We could avoid a lot of trouble if I restrain him before he attacks.”
“Hold still for now,” Urahara quietly ordered. “Any binding spells will likely fail, and I suspect they’ll only aggravate our old pal.” He faced Yasutora. “Sado-san, you’ve been training for the last two years and have far surpassed your limits: after all that work, do you believe you can take down Kurosaki-san?”
Clenching his fist, Yasutora shook his head sadly. “I’m still below his level, same as it was two years ago. I could damage him if I got a shot in, probably, but he’s too fast and a single punch wouldn’t be enough; I doubt he’ll give me the chance to pummel him.”
“I understand,” Urahara replied. “That’s better than nothing, at least.” He turned to Yoruichi. “Do you think you could outrun him and escape if the worst happens?”
Yoruichi hissed, glaring at Ichigo. “Probably not.”
In the center of the riverbank, the mutated form of Ichigo tilted his head to the side. He continued to send wave after powerful wave of reiatsu.
“Attack him and risk waking up a big, bad sleeping dog, or do nothing and be woefully unprepared if he does suddenly strike-which he almost certainly will. Ah, what a terrible situation we’re in,” Urahara idly commented to his companions, who were not amused. His expression became serious. “I am deeply sorry for letting Kurosaki-san fly out of control like this, everyone,” he apologized, “but I’ll do my best to ensure we solve this little dilemma…”
Then, out from the trees, another man arrived at the riverbank. Everyone turned to look at him in alarm. The Hollow slowly glanced at the new intruder.
It was Renji.
He was livid. “Murderer!” he shouted at an unresponsive Hollow. Renji faced Yasutora and the rest. “Why aren’t you doing anything?! He killed Rukia! Well,” he chuckled humorously, his eyes maniacal, “perhaps I should thank you. If you guys won’t, that means I can do it myself…”
Yasutora froze, while Urahara shouted, “Wait, no! Don't!”
“Bankai,” Renji intoned.
Too late.