New World, Same Problems (ch5)--Bleach/xxxholic crossover
Title: New World, Same Problems
Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Bleach, xxxholic
Pairing/Characters: Watanuki, Doumeki, Mokona, Yuuko, Ichigo, Urahara
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Before Hueco Mundo Arc, after incident with Jorougomo is resolved
Summary: When Yuuko asks Watanuki and Doumeki to deliver something for a client in another world, Watanuki is excited at first. He should have known that no matter where he is, trouble is never too far behind.
Chapter 5: Meeting Through Dreams
Darkness. Absolute darkness.
Watanuki had been in places with no light over the course of his life due to his interactions with spirits, but he never encountered something like this. It felt like the darkness was actually alive.
That wasn't the worst part though. The worst part was the pain. In the past, entangling with spirits had left him feeling like his lungs were being crushed, and his nose had been abused by the awful stench so much that Watanuki was amazed it hadn't affected his cooking yet. This, however, was nothing like that.
It was like someone was replacing his blood with scalding lava. Like someone decided to sharpen knives against his flesh. Screams were wrenched from his throat, leaving it sore and scratchy. He yelled for it to stop, but of course that didn't do any good. As time wore on he found himself growing weaker and weaker, unable to take the strain of this assault much longer.
Just when he was ready to give up, the pain started to lessen. It was as if someone were gingerly placing a blanket over him, and the warmth chased away the pain. It left behind a lingering dullness though, but it was certainly preferable to what it had been before. The only bad thing about waking up though, was having to deal with those who had captured them. Watanuki didn't know which was worse, the pain or whatever Aizen wanted with him.
"Nice to see our guest is awake."
Realizing he had no choice, Watanuki weakly opened his eyes and turned his head to find a man with glasses and pink hair peering at him. His first instinct was to jump back, but his body was rather unresponsive at the moment. Not that it surprised him much.
"What an amazing specimen," the man said. "And the power he wields is simply delicious. Wherever did you find him, Aizen-sama?"
"Oh, wandering the streets." Aizen then came into view and gave what Watanuki figured was an attempt at a reassuring smile, but all it did was make Watanuki shiver in fear and disgust. He had to get out of here!
The pink-haired man sighed. "Such a pity we had to pause the transformation. And I was having so much fun, too! Though I did get some good data." He bent over and tapped some sort of computer on the other side of Watanuki. It was then the boy took into account his surroundings, or more importantly, what was on him.
"Wh-what the hell are you doing to me?" Watanuki knew his shriek was embarrassingly high and raspy, but he could care less about that at the moment.
He was lying on a hospital bed of some sort with thick black straps holding him down. Then there were probes attached to his head and bare chest. His shirt was still on, just unbuttoned.
The man chuckled at Watanuki's discomfort. "I'm just monitoring your brain wave and reiatsu patterns," he explained. "Such power manifesting itself in a mere human is quite unbelievable. I also hope to gain a way to boost my own power through my findings."
Watanuki just stared at the creepy, eccentric . . . thing and decided to just ignore his existence. He shifted his gaze to the #1 creepy guy and cleared his throat. "So um . . . now that I'm all powerful and stuff, is there any chance you'll let me go?"
Aizen gave him a condescending smile. "I believe we both know the answer to that, Watanuki Kimihiro. And you should know the process isn't over yet. I'm merely giving you a break because if I let it continue any longer, the strain would have killed you." He broke their gaze and nodded in the other man's direction. "Which is why one of my loyal Espada, Szayel, is prepping your body for the rest of the process."
Watanuki followed Aizen's gaze and saw the pink-haired man-Szayel-holding white gloved hands over his chest. The area around Szayel's hands was illuminated in a deep pink color.
Even though his sore and ravaged body felt like it was beginning to heal, Watanuki couldn't help but feel disgusted. They were just doing it to hurt him again! Desperately, he turned to Aizen once more. "Okay, but if I get all powerful like you say, won't I be able to fight you when I'm done? Why do you need me?"
Aizen gave an amused chuckle. "You humans are so stubborn. Always trying to fight back. I will use your power when I attack Soul Society. And as for fighting back-if you'll pardon the cliché-I believe I'll make you an offer you can't refuse." Aizen turned around.
"Bring him in."
When the two Fracción from earlier came into view, Watanuki yelled and fought against the bindings.
"You bastard! Leave him alone!"
Aizen walked to the three figures and smirked. "Well, that wouldn't be smart, would it? He's an important person to you, and I thought you'd like to be together." He leaned over and grabbed Doumeki's chin, seemingly oblivious to the golden eyes glaring at him. "See? he's so happy to see you."
Watanuki thrashed against the bindings once more, fully aware that it was a futile effort. Doumeki just hung there, supported by the Fracción while his arms and legs were bound and mouth gagged. While Watanuki was pleased to know Doumeki was alive, he had a feeling the situation hadn't improved much. The stoic boy's entire chest was heavily bandaged, and the only clothing he wore were the tattered pants he had been wearing when he crashed into the wall.
"He has nothing to do with this, so just let him go!"
Aizen raised an eyebrow. "Now see, I don't appreciate that kind of behavior from those who serve me." He then let go of Doumeki's chin only to give him a swift punch to the chest.
"NO!" Watanuki could only watch as Doumeki's eyes widened with pain and he cried out, only to have it muffled by the cloth around his mouth. The two Fracción released their grip on Doumeki and let him fall to the ground to curl in on himself.
Aizen watched with acute fascination for a moment then turned back to Watanuki with a smug smile. "So, Watanuki Kimihiro." A pause. "You were saying?"
Watanuki glanced helplessly back at Doumeki, who propped himself up on his shoulder and shook his head pointedly. "I'm sorry," Watanuki whispered. Then he grit his teeth and stared up at Aizen with defiance and determination. "I'll help you."
"Wonderful." There was that smile again. "I knew you'd see things my way. Szayel-remove the barrier."
The man giggled. "With pleasure, Aizen-sama!" With a great flourish, Szayel sliced his hand across the air above Watanuki, and the pain returned. Watanuki screamed, his back arching and pushing against the straps as far as they would let him. Then his entire body shook violently, as though he were having a seizure.
Szayel sighed. "Such a beautiful sound. What I wouldn't give to hear an entire batch of humans sounding just like that."
After a few more moments of screaming, Watanuki fell limp against the bed, the only indication he was alive being the occasional twitch as if he were in the midst of a bad dream.
"He passed out quicker than last time," the pink-haired Espada noted with a hint of remorse. "Though I suppose going through the process a second time would have that effect on a human. Still-" He turned his gaze to Doumeki's fallen form. "I thought the boy had not yet been found?"
Aizen nodded. "He wasn't." Doumeki's form shimmered a moment, before disappearing entirely. "But Kimihiro doesn't need to know that." He then walked to the two Fracción and they shied away. "What I want to know is why you let our important bargaining chip lay in the street to die." The two followers held back their protests, knowing that no good would come out of trying to justify their actions.
"We . . . we apologize, Aizen-sama."
"You're lucky his life was spared, but unfortunately he was taken under the protection of Urahara Kisuke. As frustrating as that man is, he is a considerable foe. Nothing I can't handle of course, but dealing with him at the moment would be undesirable."
Nuete saw his chance. "We could go and fetch him for you, Aizen-sama! We'll fight Urahara for you and-"
"No, I don't think you will. Doumeki Shizuka will come to us, under the idealistic notion that he can save his friend. And the two of you will meet him upon arrival and bring him to me, or there will be consequences." Nuete and Pozione nodded vigorously, realizing this was the only way to save themselves.
Aizen slowly made his way to the door, then just before exiting he paused and turned around. "Oh, and Nuete?"
"Yes, Aizen-sama?"
"You might want to get that arm looked at."
Nuete and Pozione frowned at each other. It was Pozione who got his arm destroyed by the dark-haired human, not Nuete. Both of Nuete's arms were perfectly fine-
"AHHHHHHH!"
Nuete's left arm fell to the floor, cleanly severed. Aizen narrowed his eyes before speaking. "Now both of you bear reminders of your failures. One is for being weak enough for a human to harm you, and the other is for letting a valuable human to me fall into the hands of my enemy. Fail me once again, and there won't be a need for any reminders."
"What?"
"How's that possible?"
"You've got to be joking."
Doumeki frowned. "What do you mean? Who is this Gotei Commander?"
Everyone else was in various stages of shock and disbelief, so Urahara continued to explain. "Yamamoto Genryusai is the most powerful shinigami in all of Soul Society, and has been for a few centuries."
"And . . . Watanuki will be more powerful than him? How will Aizen do this?"
Urahara rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The necklace I gave him does more than just mask his reiatsu from Hollow and shinigami. It prevents his reiatsu from growing to its full potential."
"I understand why you needed to hide his power from the Hollows and shinigami, but why stop Watanuki from using his full power?" Doumeki asked, his anger steadily growing. "If he has the chance to be as powerful as you say, then he'd be able to defend himself." Urahara was treated to Doumeki's full glare as the boy struggled to his feet. He knew it was a bad idea in his current state, but this man had put Watanuki in danger and he wouldn't stand for it.
As he laid there in the street, struggling to breathe and stay conscious against the pain, he heard Watanuki agree to go with their attackers to save his life. While Doumeki found himself touched to find Watanuki was actually concerned for him, he was also furious beyond belief that Watanuki would give himself up so easily.
While it wasn't specifically stated, Doumeki knew it was his job to look out for the human spirit magnet. It wasn't like anyone else was going to; Yuuko did the best that she could without asking too much of a price from Watanuki, and Himawari was out of the question. And it wasn't like he didn't enjoy it. Doumeki wouldn't be able to see spirits without Watanuki, and protecting the younger boy from spirits or carrying out jobs for them gave him a chance to become closer to his grandfather.
Because he was unable to see spirits, all he could do was listen to his grandfather's stories and try to use his imagination to picture the spirits around him that his grandfather pointed out. Now that he was engaged in the spirit world with Watanuki, he finally had an edge into his grandfather's work and could finally see spirits.
It had bugged him a little in the beginning that Watanuki could see and talk with his grandfather when he could not, but Doumeki easily squashed that jealousy. There was nothing he could do about it so there was no use complaining. And if his grandfather's presence was able to help Watanuki, then all the better.
But now, Watanuki was in trouble. Doumeki hadn't been strong enough to protect him. In fact, by Watanuki agreeing to go with the Fracción willingly, it was actually Watanuki who was protecting him. And while Doumeki wasn't petty enough to not appreciate the help, he was furious at himself for having caused Watanuki to do so in the first place. Watanuki shouldn't have had to help him. That was Doumeki's job.
And here this man was telling them that he knowingly prevented Watanuki from achieving his full power? Power that could have saved him? Urahara better have a good reason for doing what he did.
"I do know where you're coming from, Doumeki," Urahara began, looking more serious and solemn than Doumeki would have imagined, "and I have to agree that your logic makes sense. However, the process for Watanuki to be able to achieve his full power is very painful. Even if he managed not to attract every Hollow in this town, the process would take days. Karakura town has a rather high density concentration of reiatsu, but not enough to speed up the transformation. Hueco Mundo or Soul Society would actually be the ideal places to carry out such a thing, but both have such a high concentration where although the speed would be decreased from a few days to a few hours, it could very well kill him."
Urahara gave him a small smile. "I promise you that I did what I thought was best to make his time in this dimension enjoyable. If I knew Aizen or any Fracción were aware of his presence here, I would have kept a guard on you at all times, or possibly sent you back to Yuuko-san."
There was silence was everyone held their breath to see Doumeki's reaction He glanced at Urahara for a moment longer than nodded. It was obvious to him that the man bore them no ill intentions and was genuinely concerned for Watanuki's well being.
"So how can I get to his place?" Doumeki asked.
"I will have to open you a portal in my basement to get to Hueco Mundo," Urahara said. "Be aware that I don't do this lightly, but seeing as how this is partially my fault it's the least I can do. And I would accompany you if I could, but I need to stay on this end to let you back through."
Doumeki nodded. "How long will it take for you to prepare the portal?"
"Wait, Doumeki-kun!" Orihime jumped to her feet and gently grabbed Doumeki's shoulder. "You're still recovering from your injuries! I was able to fix your ribs and broken bones, but you're still suffering from blood loss."
"No." His expression was neutral, but his eyes were fixed with a firm resolve. "I couldn't protect him and I'm not going to let this Aizen hurt-" Doumeki clutched his left eye as a sharp spasm of pain ran through it. The next wave sent him to his knees and his ears throbbed to the point where he couldn't think. All he could see through his shared eye was darkness-so powerful that it was suffocating. And as if that weren't enough, he could hear screaming.
It was Watanuki.
Whatever was happening, it wasn't pleasant. Now Doumeki understood why Urahara didn't want to help Watanuki achieve his full power. If he himself was in this much pain, he couldn't imagine how things were going for Watanuki. And that made Doumeki all the more eager to find him.
"Doumeki!"
"Doumeki-kun!"
"Oi! What's wrong?"
Ichigo grasped Doumeki's shoulders and shook him. One moment he was talking to them about rescuing his friend, and the next he was on the ground clutching his eye and screaming like a maniac. Ichigo shook him again. "Doumeki! Doumeki!"
Then he noticed the thin trail of blood rolling down Doumeki's face. Was he trying to claw his eye out or something? Was his eye in that much pain? Panicked, Ichigo grasped Doumeki's wrists and pulled them away from his face. To his surprise, he found it rather difficult. The guy was pretty strong.
When he finally succeeded, he found that the blood wasn't from Doumeki's own doing. His eye was actually bleeding, as if his tears were made of blood instead of water. And not only that, but it was only happening to his right eye.
"Urahara!" Ichigo yelled. The shopkeeper was at his side in an instant. Doumeki continued struggling against Ichigo's grip in an almost crazed manner with his eyes clenched shut. To Ichigo's relief, Chad then appeared behind Doumeki and secured his arms behind his back.
With Doumeki properly restrained, Urahara reached out and placed a palm against Doumeki's eye. The boy immediately froze on contact. Urahara then closed his own eyes and started muttering something under his breath. Yellow reiatsu gathered around his hand and gently pulsated. Doumeki's breathing grew more and more relaxed and he stopped screaming. Once his breathing grew normal, he slouched forward and Urahara removed his hand.
"What happened?" Ichigo asked.
Urahara didn't answer right away. He merely stared at Doumeki with a solemn expression. Tessai then came to his side and held out a damp towel.
"Thank you, Tessa." Urahara wiped off the blood on his hand, then reached out and started cleaning Doumeki's face. The boy blinked blearily at him and Urahara gave him a reassuring smile. "What did you see?"
Doumeki spent a few moment to catch his breath. "Nothing . . . it was all dark." He took a deep breath and composed himself. "Watanuki is in pain. I need to help him."
"Wait! Wait!" Ichigo waved his hand back and forth then jabbed a finger at Doumeki. "What is going on here? Why was your eye bleeding and how can you tell Watanuki is in pain?"
"We share an eye, and it lets me see what he sees sometimes. Usually when he's encountering spirits and experiences strong emotions."
Ichigo and the others gaped at him. "You share an eye?"
"How is that even possible?"
"Oh!" Orihime clapped her hands. "Is that why Doumeki-kun has two different eye colors?" Doumeki nodded then turned back to Urahara.
"We need to go now."
"Right. I'll have the portal ready for you in a few minutes." Urahara then took off towards the basement. Doumeki started to get up and Chad helped him.
"Right," Ichigo said. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his brown talisman and held it to his chest. His shinigami form burst out of his body. "Let's go get your friend."
"You don't need to come."
Ichigo carefully laid his body on the round and frowned at Doumeki. "Why can't I?"
"Because his capture was my fault and you don't need to bother yourself in our business." Doumeki knew he was coming across as rude, but he didn't have time to sugarcoat his words. (Not that he ever did anyway) Watanuki was in danger and probably dying. He shrugged out of Chad's grip and started following after Urahara.
"Hey!" Ichigo grabbed Doumeki's arm and spun him around until their noses were almost touching. "What's your deal?"
Doumeki blinked and idly realized his right eye was starting to bleed again. The pain however had dulled to a prickling throb and he had a feeling he had to thank Urahara for that. He could still hear Watanuki's screams though. Doumeki bit his lips at the sound. Ichigo's look softened with concern but his irritation was still present, so Doumeki figured he had better answer him.
"What do you mean? I let them capture Watanuki and because of that you have no obligation to do anything."
"Obligation? First off, I'm a substitute shinigami." He flashed the medallion in Doumeki's face. "This means I can help Soul Society whenever they want me to, but more importantly it means I can take on problems that Soul Society thinks is 'too beneath them' to take care of. I can tell you for a fact they'd rather have Watanuki die than order an attack on Hueco Mundo to rescue him. And so I'm probably the only one who can help you."
Ichigo let go of Doumeki. "And there's no need to feel responsible. It's not like it's your fault." It was obvious to Ichigo that Doumeki didn't believe him, so he tried again.
"Look-as powerful as you and Watanuki are for not being a shinigami, those Fracción and Espada are on a whole 'nother level. Not to mention the fact that you've only practiced for a day. There's no way you could have won against two Fracción, so there's no need to blame yourself. You're lucky they let you live."
Doumeki glanced away in shame. He knew Ichigo was right from the beginning. He knew he'd need help rescuing Watanuki but-it was hard. Doumeki lived his life always doing what he could without any help from others. It wasn't necessarily that he thought others were incompetent, it was just that he preferred doing all he could by himself. The only time he had specifically asked for someone's help straight off the bat was that time Watanuki almost died.
He nearly shuddered at the memory. The sight of Watanuki lying on the ground, surrounded by hundreds of glass shards and a deep crimson pool of his own blood would haunt him forever. And if he wanted to make sure an image like that never appeared again, Doumeki had to save Watanuki as fast as possible.
Doumeki took a deep breath as if to steel himself and nodded. "Let's go."
Ichigo grinned. "Now you're talking."
"We want to come, too!" Orihime said.
"No!" Ichigo and Doumeki said in unison.
"It's going to be very dangerous," Ichigo said. "Hueco Mundo is probably crawling with Hollows, Fracción, and Espada. There's no way you can-"
"And you could get injured! I can-"
"Kurosaki, if you're under the delusion that you can just-"
"-not going to let you go and that's-"
"-all calm down-"
Doumeki's head erupted in pain and before anyone could move he collapsed on the floor.
"-and that's why-Doumeki? Doumeki! What happened?"
"What's wrong?"
"Doumeki-kun!"
Watanuki was once again swallowed up into the darkness, his only companion being unbearable pain. He didn't know if he could go through with this a second time. But he had to. If he didn't, then Doumeki would die. Watanuki had to be strong for his sake.
As he thought of Doumeki being held captive by these psychos, used as a bargaining chip so he would follow orders like a dog, Watanuki found that the pain was starting to lessen. In fact, it was starting to fade rather quickly, as if someone were taking it away from him and-
Suddenly . . . it stopped. All the pain vanished. And no lingering pain. It was as if everything he had just been through never happened. Watanuki blinked against the strangeness of it all, then noticed there was light now. It was faint, and looked to be hidden behind a door. He could also smell incense or smoke of some kind. Utterly bewildered, Watanuki started walking forward, idly noting that he was now dressed in a . . . yukata? What the hell was going on?
He had no other option but to follow the light. Watanuki pushed against the door and held up his arms defensively as he was momentarily blinded by the light.
"You're in quite the fix, Kimihiro."
Watanuki blinked at the figure before him stupidly. "H-Haruka-san?"
The warm presence who happened to bear such an uncanny resemblance to his rival nodded. "I can imagine why you're surprised to see me given the circumstances, but I can explain. Your power is growing rapidly in this dimension, and because of our connection, I was able to draw on some of the power and let us meet in a dream." Haruka gave a small laugh. "And I'm sure you'd much rather prefer being here than in that dark hole you came from."
Watanuki frantically waved his hands and took his usual seat beside Haruka. "Oh believe me, I'm very grateful. Thank you for that, by the way." He sighed and the two of them sat in comfortable silence for a moment, just relishing in each others company. It was Watanuki who broke the silence.
"Haruka-san? What . . . what am I going to do about . . . about all this?" he asked, absently fingering the fabric on his kimono. He turned to Haruka with a pained look in his eyes. "How can I get out of this? They're holding Doumeki captive and there's nothing I can do to get out of here! I-I don't want to hurt anyone or use my power against my new friends, but if I don't then he's going to kill Doumeki and I-"
Haruka moved closer to Watanuki and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "There's always a way, if you look hard enough." He gave Watanuki another comforting smile and took a long drag on his cigarette and exhaled, letting the smoke dance before them. The man opened his mouth to say something else, but was distracted by something behind him.
"I see our guest has arrived," he said with a fond smile.
"Huh? Guest?" Watanuki whipped around to follow Haruka's gaze. "Is that even allowed?"
Haruka chuckled. "Come on out."
Watanuki frowned. Who was coming? No one had ever entered their dream before. Was it Yuuko? He sure hoped so. Watanuki knew that she would have some sort of solution to this.
The sliding door was carefully pushed open, and the figure stepped into the light, looking momentarily disoriented as Watanuki himself had.
Watanuki soon found himself at a loss for words. This-this couldn't be real, right? Haruka was just playing tricks on him. There was no way . . . it just wasn't . . . it couldn't . . .
"Doumeki?"
Previous | Next
Author: Reidluver
Fandom: Bleach, xxxholic
Pairing/Characters: Watanuki, Doumeki, Mokona, Yuuko, Ichigo, Urahara
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Before Hueco Mundo Arc, after incident with Jorougomo is resolved
Summary: When Yuuko asks Watanuki and Doumeki to deliver something for a client in another world, Watanuki is excited at first. He should have known that no matter where he is, trouble is never too far behind.
Chapter 5: Meeting Through Dreams
Darkness. Absolute darkness.
Watanuki had been in places with no light over the course of his life due to his interactions with spirits, but he never encountered something like this. It felt like the darkness was actually alive.
That wasn't the worst part though. The worst part was the pain. In the past, entangling with spirits had left him feeling like his lungs were being crushed, and his nose had been abused by the awful stench so much that Watanuki was amazed it hadn't affected his cooking yet. This, however, was nothing like that.
It was like someone was replacing his blood with scalding lava. Like someone decided to sharpen knives against his flesh. Screams were wrenched from his throat, leaving it sore and scratchy. He yelled for it to stop, but of course that didn't do any good. As time wore on he found himself growing weaker and weaker, unable to take the strain of this assault much longer.
Just when he was ready to give up, the pain started to lessen. It was as if someone were gingerly placing a blanket over him, and the warmth chased away the pain. It left behind a lingering dullness though, but it was certainly preferable to what it had been before. The only bad thing about waking up though, was having to deal with those who had captured them. Watanuki didn't know which was worse, the pain or whatever Aizen wanted with him.
"Nice to see our guest is awake."
Realizing he had no choice, Watanuki weakly opened his eyes and turned his head to find a man with glasses and pink hair peering at him. His first instinct was to jump back, but his body was rather unresponsive at the moment. Not that it surprised him much.
"What an amazing specimen," the man said. "And the power he wields is simply delicious. Wherever did you find him, Aizen-sama?"
"Oh, wandering the streets." Aizen then came into view and gave what Watanuki figured was an attempt at a reassuring smile, but all it did was make Watanuki shiver in fear and disgust. He had to get out of here!
The pink-haired man sighed. "Such a pity we had to pause the transformation. And I was having so much fun, too! Though I did get some good data." He bent over and tapped some sort of computer on the other side of Watanuki. It was then the boy took into account his surroundings, or more importantly, what was on him.
"Wh-what the hell are you doing to me?" Watanuki knew his shriek was embarrassingly high and raspy, but he could care less about that at the moment.
He was lying on a hospital bed of some sort with thick black straps holding him down. Then there were probes attached to his head and bare chest. His shirt was still on, just unbuttoned.
The man chuckled at Watanuki's discomfort. "I'm just monitoring your brain wave and reiatsu patterns," he explained. "Such power manifesting itself in a mere human is quite unbelievable. I also hope to gain a way to boost my own power through my findings."
Watanuki just stared at the creepy, eccentric . . . thing and decided to just ignore his existence. He shifted his gaze to the #1 creepy guy and cleared his throat. "So um . . . now that I'm all powerful and stuff, is there any chance you'll let me go?"
Aizen gave him a condescending smile. "I believe we both know the answer to that, Watanuki Kimihiro. And you should know the process isn't over yet. I'm merely giving you a break because if I let it continue any longer, the strain would have killed you." He broke their gaze and nodded in the other man's direction. "Which is why one of my loyal Espada, Szayel, is prepping your body for the rest of the process."
Watanuki followed Aizen's gaze and saw the pink-haired man-Szayel-holding white gloved hands over his chest. The area around Szayel's hands was illuminated in a deep pink color.
Even though his sore and ravaged body felt like it was beginning to heal, Watanuki couldn't help but feel disgusted. They were just doing it to hurt him again! Desperately, he turned to Aizen once more. "Okay, but if I get all powerful like you say, won't I be able to fight you when I'm done? Why do you need me?"
Aizen gave an amused chuckle. "You humans are so stubborn. Always trying to fight back. I will use your power when I attack Soul Society. And as for fighting back-if you'll pardon the cliché-I believe I'll make you an offer you can't refuse." Aizen turned around.
"Bring him in."
When the two Fracción from earlier came into view, Watanuki yelled and fought against the bindings.
"You bastard! Leave him alone!"
Aizen walked to the three figures and smirked. "Well, that wouldn't be smart, would it? He's an important person to you, and I thought you'd like to be together." He leaned over and grabbed Doumeki's chin, seemingly oblivious to the golden eyes glaring at him. "See? he's so happy to see you."
Watanuki thrashed against the bindings once more, fully aware that it was a futile effort. Doumeki just hung there, supported by the Fracción while his arms and legs were bound and mouth gagged. While Watanuki was pleased to know Doumeki was alive, he had a feeling the situation hadn't improved much. The stoic boy's entire chest was heavily bandaged, and the only clothing he wore were the tattered pants he had been wearing when he crashed into the wall.
"He has nothing to do with this, so just let him go!"
Aizen raised an eyebrow. "Now see, I don't appreciate that kind of behavior from those who serve me." He then let go of Doumeki's chin only to give him a swift punch to the chest.
"NO!" Watanuki could only watch as Doumeki's eyes widened with pain and he cried out, only to have it muffled by the cloth around his mouth. The two Fracción released their grip on Doumeki and let him fall to the ground to curl in on himself.
Aizen watched with acute fascination for a moment then turned back to Watanuki with a smug smile. "So, Watanuki Kimihiro." A pause. "You were saying?"
Watanuki glanced helplessly back at Doumeki, who propped himself up on his shoulder and shook his head pointedly. "I'm sorry," Watanuki whispered. Then he grit his teeth and stared up at Aizen with defiance and determination. "I'll help you."
"Wonderful." There was that smile again. "I knew you'd see things my way. Szayel-remove the barrier."
The man giggled. "With pleasure, Aizen-sama!" With a great flourish, Szayel sliced his hand across the air above Watanuki, and the pain returned. Watanuki screamed, his back arching and pushing against the straps as far as they would let him. Then his entire body shook violently, as though he were having a seizure.
Szayel sighed. "Such a beautiful sound. What I wouldn't give to hear an entire batch of humans sounding just like that."
After a few more moments of screaming, Watanuki fell limp against the bed, the only indication he was alive being the occasional twitch as if he were in the midst of a bad dream.
"He passed out quicker than last time," the pink-haired Espada noted with a hint of remorse. "Though I suppose going through the process a second time would have that effect on a human. Still-" He turned his gaze to Doumeki's fallen form. "I thought the boy had not yet been found?"
Aizen nodded. "He wasn't." Doumeki's form shimmered a moment, before disappearing entirely. "But Kimihiro doesn't need to know that." He then walked to the two Fracción and they shied away. "What I want to know is why you let our important bargaining chip lay in the street to die." The two followers held back their protests, knowing that no good would come out of trying to justify their actions.
"We . . . we apologize, Aizen-sama."
"You're lucky his life was spared, but unfortunately he was taken under the protection of Urahara Kisuke. As frustrating as that man is, he is a considerable foe. Nothing I can't handle of course, but dealing with him at the moment would be undesirable."
Nuete saw his chance. "We could go and fetch him for you, Aizen-sama! We'll fight Urahara for you and-"
"No, I don't think you will. Doumeki Shizuka will come to us, under the idealistic notion that he can save his friend. And the two of you will meet him upon arrival and bring him to me, or there will be consequences." Nuete and Pozione nodded vigorously, realizing this was the only way to save themselves.
Aizen slowly made his way to the door, then just before exiting he paused and turned around. "Oh, and Nuete?"
"Yes, Aizen-sama?"
"You might want to get that arm looked at."
Nuete and Pozione frowned at each other. It was Pozione who got his arm destroyed by the dark-haired human, not Nuete. Both of Nuete's arms were perfectly fine-
"AHHHHHHH!"
Nuete's left arm fell to the floor, cleanly severed. Aizen narrowed his eyes before speaking. "Now both of you bear reminders of your failures. One is for being weak enough for a human to harm you, and the other is for letting a valuable human to me fall into the hands of my enemy. Fail me once again, and there won't be a need for any reminders."
"What?"
"How's that possible?"
"You've got to be joking."
Doumeki frowned. "What do you mean? Who is this Gotei Commander?"
Everyone else was in various stages of shock and disbelief, so Urahara continued to explain. "Yamamoto Genryusai is the most powerful shinigami in all of Soul Society, and has been for a few centuries."
"And . . . Watanuki will be more powerful than him? How will Aizen do this?"
Urahara rubbed the bridge of his nose. "The necklace I gave him does more than just mask his reiatsu from Hollow and shinigami. It prevents his reiatsu from growing to its full potential."
"I understand why you needed to hide his power from the Hollows and shinigami, but why stop Watanuki from using his full power?" Doumeki asked, his anger steadily growing. "If he has the chance to be as powerful as you say, then he'd be able to defend himself." Urahara was treated to Doumeki's full glare as the boy struggled to his feet. He knew it was a bad idea in his current state, but this man had put Watanuki in danger and he wouldn't stand for it.
As he laid there in the street, struggling to breathe and stay conscious against the pain, he heard Watanuki agree to go with their attackers to save his life. While Doumeki found himself touched to find Watanuki was actually concerned for him, he was also furious beyond belief that Watanuki would give himself up so easily.
While it wasn't specifically stated, Doumeki knew it was his job to look out for the human spirit magnet. It wasn't like anyone else was going to; Yuuko did the best that she could without asking too much of a price from Watanuki, and Himawari was out of the question. And it wasn't like he didn't enjoy it. Doumeki wouldn't be able to see spirits without Watanuki, and protecting the younger boy from spirits or carrying out jobs for them gave him a chance to become closer to his grandfather.
Because he was unable to see spirits, all he could do was listen to his grandfather's stories and try to use his imagination to picture the spirits around him that his grandfather pointed out. Now that he was engaged in the spirit world with Watanuki, he finally had an edge into his grandfather's work and could finally see spirits.
It had bugged him a little in the beginning that Watanuki could see and talk with his grandfather when he could not, but Doumeki easily squashed that jealousy. There was nothing he could do about it so there was no use complaining. And if his grandfather's presence was able to help Watanuki, then all the better.
But now, Watanuki was in trouble. Doumeki hadn't been strong enough to protect him. In fact, by Watanuki agreeing to go with the Fracción willingly, it was actually Watanuki who was protecting him. And while Doumeki wasn't petty enough to not appreciate the help, he was furious at himself for having caused Watanuki to do so in the first place. Watanuki shouldn't have had to help him. That was Doumeki's job.
And here this man was telling them that he knowingly prevented Watanuki from achieving his full power? Power that could have saved him? Urahara better have a good reason for doing what he did.
"I do know where you're coming from, Doumeki," Urahara began, looking more serious and solemn than Doumeki would have imagined, "and I have to agree that your logic makes sense. However, the process for Watanuki to be able to achieve his full power is very painful. Even if he managed not to attract every Hollow in this town, the process would take days. Karakura town has a rather high density concentration of reiatsu, but not enough to speed up the transformation. Hueco Mundo or Soul Society would actually be the ideal places to carry out such a thing, but both have such a high concentration where although the speed would be decreased from a few days to a few hours, it could very well kill him."
Urahara gave him a small smile. "I promise you that I did what I thought was best to make his time in this dimension enjoyable. If I knew Aizen or any Fracción were aware of his presence here, I would have kept a guard on you at all times, or possibly sent you back to Yuuko-san."
There was silence was everyone held their breath to see Doumeki's reaction He glanced at Urahara for a moment longer than nodded. It was obvious to him that the man bore them no ill intentions and was genuinely concerned for Watanuki's well being.
"So how can I get to his place?" Doumeki asked.
"I will have to open you a portal in my basement to get to Hueco Mundo," Urahara said. "Be aware that I don't do this lightly, but seeing as how this is partially my fault it's the least I can do. And I would accompany you if I could, but I need to stay on this end to let you back through."
Doumeki nodded. "How long will it take for you to prepare the portal?"
"Wait, Doumeki-kun!" Orihime jumped to her feet and gently grabbed Doumeki's shoulder. "You're still recovering from your injuries! I was able to fix your ribs and broken bones, but you're still suffering from blood loss."
"No." His expression was neutral, but his eyes were fixed with a firm resolve. "I couldn't protect him and I'm not going to let this Aizen hurt-" Doumeki clutched his left eye as a sharp spasm of pain ran through it. The next wave sent him to his knees and his ears throbbed to the point where he couldn't think. All he could see through his shared eye was darkness-so powerful that it was suffocating. And as if that weren't enough, he could hear screaming.
It was Watanuki.
Whatever was happening, it wasn't pleasant. Now Doumeki understood why Urahara didn't want to help Watanuki achieve his full power. If he himself was in this much pain, he couldn't imagine how things were going for Watanuki. And that made Doumeki all the more eager to find him.
"Doumeki!"
"Doumeki-kun!"
"Oi! What's wrong?"
Ichigo grasped Doumeki's shoulders and shook him. One moment he was talking to them about rescuing his friend, and the next he was on the ground clutching his eye and screaming like a maniac. Ichigo shook him again. "Doumeki! Doumeki!"
Then he noticed the thin trail of blood rolling down Doumeki's face. Was he trying to claw his eye out or something? Was his eye in that much pain? Panicked, Ichigo grasped Doumeki's wrists and pulled them away from his face. To his surprise, he found it rather difficult. The guy was pretty strong.
When he finally succeeded, he found that the blood wasn't from Doumeki's own doing. His eye was actually bleeding, as if his tears were made of blood instead of water. And not only that, but it was only happening to his right eye.
"Urahara!" Ichigo yelled. The shopkeeper was at his side in an instant. Doumeki continued struggling against Ichigo's grip in an almost crazed manner with his eyes clenched shut. To Ichigo's relief, Chad then appeared behind Doumeki and secured his arms behind his back.
With Doumeki properly restrained, Urahara reached out and placed a palm against Doumeki's eye. The boy immediately froze on contact. Urahara then closed his own eyes and started muttering something under his breath. Yellow reiatsu gathered around his hand and gently pulsated. Doumeki's breathing grew more and more relaxed and he stopped screaming. Once his breathing grew normal, he slouched forward and Urahara removed his hand.
"What happened?" Ichigo asked.
Urahara didn't answer right away. He merely stared at Doumeki with a solemn expression. Tessai then came to his side and held out a damp towel.
"Thank you, Tessa." Urahara wiped off the blood on his hand, then reached out and started cleaning Doumeki's face. The boy blinked blearily at him and Urahara gave him a reassuring smile. "What did you see?"
Doumeki spent a few moment to catch his breath. "Nothing . . . it was all dark." He took a deep breath and composed himself. "Watanuki is in pain. I need to help him."
"Wait! Wait!" Ichigo waved his hand back and forth then jabbed a finger at Doumeki. "What is going on here? Why was your eye bleeding and how can you tell Watanuki is in pain?"
"We share an eye, and it lets me see what he sees sometimes. Usually when he's encountering spirits and experiences strong emotions."
Ichigo and the others gaped at him. "You share an eye?"
"How is that even possible?"
"Oh!" Orihime clapped her hands. "Is that why Doumeki-kun has two different eye colors?" Doumeki nodded then turned back to Urahara.
"We need to go now."
"Right. I'll have the portal ready for you in a few minutes." Urahara then took off towards the basement. Doumeki started to get up and Chad helped him.
"Right," Ichigo said. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his brown talisman and held it to his chest. His shinigami form burst out of his body. "Let's go get your friend."
"You don't need to come."
Ichigo carefully laid his body on the round and frowned at Doumeki. "Why can't I?"
"Because his capture was my fault and you don't need to bother yourself in our business." Doumeki knew he was coming across as rude, but he didn't have time to sugarcoat his words. (Not that he ever did anyway) Watanuki was in danger and probably dying. He shrugged out of Chad's grip and started following after Urahara.
"Hey!" Ichigo grabbed Doumeki's arm and spun him around until their noses were almost touching. "What's your deal?"
Doumeki blinked and idly realized his right eye was starting to bleed again. The pain however had dulled to a prickling throb and he had a feeling he had to thank Urahara for that. He could still hear Watanuki's screams though. Doumeki bit his lips at the sound. Ichigo's look softened with concern but his irritation was still present, so Doumeki figured he had better answer him.
"What do you mean? I let them capture Watanuki and because of that you have no obligation to do anything."
"Obligation? First off, I'm a substitute shinigami." He flashed the medallion in Doumeki's face. "This means I can help Soul Society whenever they want me to, but more importantly it means I can take on problems that Soul Society thinks is 'too beneath them' to take care of. I can tell you for a fact they'd rather have Watanuki die than order an attack on Hueco Mundo to rescue him. And so I'm probably the only one who can help you."
Ichigo let go of Doumeki. "And there's no need to feel responsible. It's not like it's your fault." It was obvious to Ichigo that Doumeki didn't believe him, so he tried again.
"Look-as powerful as you and Watanuki are for not being a shinigami, those Fracción and Espada are on a whole 'nother level. Not to mention the fact that you've only practiced for a day. There's no way you could have won against two Fracción, so there's no need to blame yourself. You're lucky they let you live."
Doumeki glanced away in shame. He knew Ichigo was right from the beginning. He knew he'd need help rescuing Watanuki but-it was hard. Doumeki lived his life always doing what he could without any help from others. It wasn't necessarily that he thought others were incompetent, it was just that he preferred doing all he could by himself. The only time he had specifically asked for someone's help straight off the bat was that time Watanuki almost died.
He nearly shuddered at the memory. The sight of Watanuki lying on the ground, surrounded by hundreds of glass shards and a deep crimson pool of his own blood would haunt him forever. And if he wanted to make sure an image like that never appeared again, Doumeki had to save Watanuki as fast as possible.
Doumeki took a deep breath as if to steel himself and nodded. "Let's go."
Ichigo grinned. "Now you're talking."
"We want to come, too!" Orihime said.
"No!" Ichigo and Doumeki said in unison.
"It's going to be very dangerous," Ichigo said. "Hueco Mundo is probably crawling with Hollows, Fracción, and Espada. There's no way you can-"
"And you could get injured! I can-"
"Kurosaki, if you're under the delusion that you can just-"
"-not going to let you go and that's-"
"-all calm down-"
Doumeki's head erupted in pain and before anyone could move he collapsed on the floor.
"-and that's why-Doumeki? Doumeki! What happened?"
"What's wrong?"
"Doumeki-kun!"
Watanuki was once again swallowed up into the darkness, his only companion being unbearable pain. He didn't know if he could go through with this a second time. But he had to. If he didn't, then Doumeki would die. Watanuki had to be strong for his sake.
As he thought of Doumeki being held captive by these psychos, used as a bargaining chip so he would follow orders like a dog, Watanuki found that the pain was starting to lessen. In fact, it was starting to fade rather quickly, as if someone were taking it away from him and-
Suddenly . . . it stopped. All the pain vanished. And no lingering pain. It was as if everything he had just been through never happened. Watanuki blinked against the strangeness of it all, then noticed there was light now. It was faint, and looked to be hidden behind a door. He could also smell incense or smoke of some kind. Utterly bewildered, Watanuki started walking forward, idly noting that he was now dressed in a . . . yukata? What the hell was going on?
He had no other option but to follow the light. Watanuki pushed against the door and held up his arms defensively as he was momentarily blinded by the light.
"You're in quite the fix, Kimihiro."
Watanuki blinked at the figure before him stupidly. "H-Haruka-san?"
The warm presence who happened to bear such an uncanny resemblance to his rival nodded. "I can imagine why you're surprised to see me given the circumstances, but I can explain. Your power is growing rapidly in this dimension, and because of our connection, I was able to draw on some of the power and let us meet in a dream." Haruka gave a small laugh. "And I'm sure you'd much rather prefer being here than in that dark hole you came from."
Watanuki frantically waved his hands and took his usual seat beside Haruka. "Oh believe me, I'm very grateful. Thank you for that, by the way." He sighed and the two of them sat in comfortable silence for a moment, just relishing in each others company. It was Watanuki who broke the silence.
"Haruka-san? What . . . what am I going to do about . . . about all this?" he asked, absently fingering the fabric on his kimono. He turned to Haruka with a pained look in his eyes. "How can I get out of this? They're holding Doumeki captive and there's nothing I can do to get out of here! I-I don't want to hurt anyone or use my power against my new friends, but if I don't then he's going to kill Doumeki and I-"
Haruka moved closer to Watanuki and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "There's always a way, if you look hard enough." He gave Watanuki another comforting smile and took a long drag on his cigarette and exhaled, letting the smoke dance before them. The man opened his mouth to say something else, but was distracted by something behind him.
"I see our guest has arrived," he said with a fond smile.
"Huh? Guest?" Watanuki whipped around to follow Haruka's gaze. "Is that even allowed?"
Haruka chuckled. "Come on out."
Watanuki frowned. Who was coming? No one had ever entered their dream before. Was it Yuuko? He sure hoped so. Watanuki knew that she would have some sort of solution to this.
The sliding door was carefully pushed open, and the figure stepped into the light, looking momentarily disoriented as Watanuki himself had.
Watanuki soon found himself at a loss for words. This-this couldn't be real, right? Haruka was just playing tricks on him. There was no way . . . it just wasn't . . . it couldn't . . .
"Doumeki?"
Previous | Next